Through almost 50 minutes of play Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth, the top two women’s hockey teams in the country, had played a tight, closely-fought game that lived up to the expectations surrounding a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup.
After the first period, it was an all-around ugly night for the No. 17 Badgers, as they were swept right out of their own building by the Nittany Lions.
Vitto Brown didn’t go to bed until 3:30 a.m. Thursday night. Hours earlier, No. 7 Wisconsin (10-1 Big Ten, 21-3 overall) had sneaked by Nebraska in a hard-fought overtime victory.
Eight minutes into the second period of Friday night’s game, Penn State dumped the puck into the Badgers’ zone on a seemingly harmless play.
Head coach Jonathan Tsipis says he doesn't count losses, even as the Badgers’ losing streak was pushed to 10 last week.
The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers didn’t do much right Thursday night. Sure they led for almost 37 minutes, but Wisconsin looked like they were running on frozen Lake Mendota, continuously slipping, unable to run away from an inferior foe.
For most of the season, Wisconsin’s game plan has been to suffocate teams with layers of defense and roll out three or even four skilled offensive lines that collectively overwhelm the opposing team’s defenders, wearing them down. Thus, it came as a surprise to senior forward Sarah Nurse when head coach Mark Johnson told her before a game against Minnesota State two weekends ago that she would be joining junior forwards Annie Pankowski and Emily Clark for the game, a move that put the Badgers’ top three scorers on the same line.
In what has become a long, challenging season for the Wisconsin women’s basketball team, redshirt senior forward Kendall Shaw is just grateful she has been able to come in and make an impact. “It definitely means the world to me,” Shaw said.
In his first three seasons as a Wisconsin Badger, Aidan Cavallini amassed a grand total of zero goals.
A year ago, just a week before the NCAA Tournament tipped off, the Badgers’ hopes of any sort of Big Ten title were dashed by a Nebraska team that finished the regular season 14-17.
When the Badgers travel to Lincoln, Neb., this Thursday to face the Cornhuskers, Ethan Happ will take center stage on national television.
Badgers’ wrestling head coach Barry Davis has lots of good memories in Iowa City, but he may try to forget last Friday night.
A former Wisconsin Badger added another Super Bowl ring to his trophy case on Sunday as New England Patriots’ running back James White put together a record-setting performance to help his team pull off the greatest comeback in NFL postseason history. White played four years in Madison from 2010-'13, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors for his 1,000-yard, 14-touchdown 2010 season.
On Jan. 19, the Badgers (0-10 Big Ten, 5-18 overall) marched into Columbus to face off against then-No. 16 Ohio State (11-1, 21-5) and escaped with a just a 9-point loss.
For two periods, Bemidji State stuck with No. 1 Wisconsin, matching the Badgers nearly shot-for-shot and giving the country’s top-ranked team its toughest challenge in two months.
All season, the Badgers have prided themselves on their ability to adjust. Whether that comes in the form of changing lines mid-game or dressing different players on the fourth line and on defense, the Badgers have found a way to overcome adversity and often earn wins. In No. 18 Wisconsin’s (8-2-0-0 Big Ten, 15-8-1 overall) sweep of Michigan State (1-7-2-0, 5-16-3) in East Lansing this weekend, the Badgers once again had to adjust in order to earn a tough six points. In the first game of the weekend, Badgers senior defenseman Tim Davison drew a kneeing penalty, but was taken to the locker room and did not return.
As little as two weeks ago, it looked like Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan was about ready to lap the field in the Big Ten Player of the Year race. Swanigan has been a double-double machine, is a matchup nightmare for almost any defense and is a bona fide Naismith Trophy candidate.
Brevin Pritzl has tried just about everything to get on the court. At the end of last year, the redshirt freshman began growing out his hair, hoping a “new year, new me” mantra would help him see the floor.
Redshirt sophomore Ethan Happ’s breakaway slam with just over three minutes to play in No. 10 Wisconsin’s (9-1 Big Ten, 20-3 overall) 65-60 victory over Indiana (5-6, 15-9) was just about the only highlight that the Badgers had Sunday afternoon.
After a nearly two-week break from playing in front of a home crowd, the No. 10 Wisconsin Badgers (8-1 Big Ten, 19-3 overall) return to the Kohl Center to welcome an Indiana (5-5, 15-8) team that has fallen well short of expectations this season. Though the Badgers enjoyed their trip to Madison Square Garden, there’s no hiding that they are ready to be back in front of the Madison faithful this weekend.
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Solutions by The State News
