Big Ten play opens this weekend for No. 2 Wisconsin, and the Badgers get a Notre Dame team that has been moving in the wrong direction for most of October.
The undefeated Badgers are 4-0 and coming in rested, with their last official game a 4-1 win over Minnesota State on October 10. Wisconsin also took the ice against Western Michigan in an exhibition game last Saturday, a useful tune-up that helped them shake off the layoff and keep climbing in the rankings.
Notre Dame arrives in Madison at 2-4 and riding a four-game losing streak after starting the season with two wins over Niagara. Since then, the Irish have been swept by Western Michigan and Merrimack. Their roster did not get much of a boost this offseason, and they are coming off a year in which they finished last in the Big Ten by a decent margin.
The Irish do bring back three of their top five scorers from last season in Evan Werner, Danny Nelson, and Paul Fischer. But the losses of Sutter Muzzatti and Cole Knuble - who is currently suiting up for the Philadelphia Flyers - leave holes that are tough to patch, especially for a team already expected to have a hard time in a demanding conference.
Wisconsin has had Notre Dame’s number for a while now. The Badgers won all four meetings last season and 10 of the last 12 overall.
Even with that edge, the games were not walkovers. Wisconsin had to come from behind in South Bend before pouring in seven goals over the final two periods in the opener, then followed with a nine-goal outburst in the second game.
Back in Madison, the Badgers needed six and five goals, respectively, to slip out with a pair of one-goal victories.
There’s also a common benchmark between these teams this season: Western Michigan. Notre Dame was outscored 10-1 in a two-game set with the Broncos on October 16-17. Wisconsin’s 4-0 exhibition win over Western Michigan last weekend may not have been the Broncos’ sharpest effort, but it still says plenty about where the Badgers and Irish stand right now.
Wisconsin’s biggest advantage should be on the blue line. Notre Dame will have a hard time matching last year’s scoring output against the Badgers, and the Irish are not likely to find much room against a Wisconsin defense that looks too steady to let a below-average opponent do much damage.
That said, the Badgers can’t afford to sleepwalk through the opening minutes. Wisconsin has had some sluggish starts under Mike Hastings, and while that hasn’t been a major issue this season, it’s the kind of thing that lingers in the background when an overmatched team comes to town.
The expectation here is that Wisconsin gets its first line going, with Gavin Morrissey and J.J. Wiebusch making noise in the series. The second line is already doing its part, and this looks like a good chance for the Badgers to put together a more complete showing with six Big Ten points up for grabs.
Friday’s opener is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Kohl Center, with Saturday’s rematch slated for 5:00 p.m. Both games will be available on B1G+ and on 1310 WIBA locally.
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