The Badgers (4-2-0) scored five goals in each of their games over the weekend to capture two victories and solidify their standing as a new-and-improved team.
Friday, Wisconsin took down St. Lawrence (3-4-1) with five goals in the second and third periods. The Saints took the lead late in the first, but it wouldn’t hold for much game time.
Sophomore captain Luke Kunin got the Badgers on the board just 45 seconds into the second to knot the game at one score apiece. A week after expressing disappointment in the line of Kunin, senior Grant Besse and junior Cameron Hughes because of defensive lapses, head coach Tony Granato went back to that trio for his top line and it paid dividends in the first game.
Kunin would add a second goal late to seal the victory on Besse’s second assist of the night.
Special teams also played a key role again, as the Badgers went 1-for-5 on the power play with a goal from junior forward Ryan Wagner. Freshman forward Trent Frederic scored what would be the game-winning goal, finding the back of the net while the Badgers were shorthanded.
"Sometimes when you give up a powerplay goal, you tend to sit back," Granato told UWBadgers.com. "I thought we stayed aggressive and did a good job and obviously caused a turnover that led to a goal."
Sophomore goalie Matt Jurusik made 18 saves to keep the Saints at bay. Wisconsin also dominated the face-off circle, winning the battle 37-21. Kunin was the best of the Badgers, going 12-6.
Saturday, Wisconsin’s prolific offense stayed hot, defeating Clarkson (3-4-1) by a score of 5-4.
The top line of Kunin-Besse-Hughes keyed the Badgers to victory again, as they were responsible for four of the five goals.
Kunin scored his third goal of the weekend just 39 seconds after sophomore forward Seamus Malone gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead. Clarkson would storm back, though, scoring a goal with under a minute left in the first and adding another a minute into the second to tie the game at two.
But the top line stepped up again, as Kunin and Hughes assisted junior defensemen Cullen Hurley’s goal, giving UW a 3-2 lead. Three minutes later, Besse and Hughes combined for another assist, this time to junior defensemen Corbin McGuire, who extended the Badgers’ lead to 4-2.
After a Jordan Boucher goal for the Golden Knights, Besse found twine after an assist from Kunin and McGuire to again give Wisconsin a two-goal lead.
Boucher would score once more, giving him a hat trick, but Clarkson was unable to complete the comeback.
The win gave Wisconsin its first road sweep since 2014 against Penn State, according to the Wisconsin State Journal’s Todd Milewski.
With the two wins, Wisconsin is starting to garner a bit of national attention, receiving 42 votes in this week’s Top 20 poll. The Badgers will look to continue their winning ways this weekend with another two-game set against Northern Michigan, this time at the Kohl Center. The two squads split a series in the opening weekend in Green Bay.
