The Matchup: No. 13/12 Wisconsin vs. No. 12/13 Lake Superior State
When: Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday, Nov. 2, 7 p.m.
Where: Madison, Wis.- Kohl Center (15,237)
Ice Sheet: 200' x 97'
TV: Wisconsin Chanel (check local listings)
Radio: WIBA-AM 1310 (Or other Badgers Radio Network Affiliates)
All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 3-1-1 (2-0-1 in Madison)
Last Meeting: T 1-1 (12/28/08)
About the Lakers:
Record: 4-0-0
Head Coach: Jim Roque, ninth season (124-146-45)
Notable: In addition to their 4-0 start, the Lakers are coming off a 9-2 victory of Canadian School Laurentian on Tuesday night. Like the Badgers, LSSU hasn’t played a series since the weekend of Oct. 18-19. Freshman forward Garret Clemment (Wausau, Wis.) is the only Wisconsin native on the roster. He has three assists in four games.
Statistics
Points: Three tied- 5 points (1 goals, 4 assists)
Goals: Kevin Czuczman and Andrew Dommett- 2 goals
Assists: Three tied- 4 assists
Save Pct. (min. 2 games played): Kevin Murdock- .921
Goals Against Average (min. 2 games played): Murdock – 2.32 GAA
About Wisconsin
Record: 2-2-0
Head Coach: Mike Eaves, 12th season (233-169-51)
Notable: This weekend marks the last home series for the Badgers until Dec. 6-7 when UW hosts Penn State. Friday night marks the third of eight consecutive games against ranked opponents for Wisconsin.
Sophomore Nic Kerdiles has scored points in his last 16 games.
Statistics
Points: Three tied – 5 points
Goals: Michael Mersch – 3 goals
Assists: Mark Zengerle – 4 assists
Save Pct.(min. 2 games played) : Landon Peterson – .779
Goals Against Average: Peterson – 6.39 GAA
Quick analysis: Though losing your top goaltender doesn’t help, Wisconsin proved that, as of now, it belongs nowhere near the top of the polls. This weekend’s matchup provides the Badgers with a chance to prove that they are still among the top-15 teams in the country.
No matter how the series shakes out, one thing is clear: someone is going to gain separation in the rankings and UW is control of its own stock value. A strong showing will begin the long process of erasing the disaster which was the weekend in Boston. A sluggish performance their street value will continue to plummet.
Will the Badgers give up 16 goals this weekend? Not a chance. The road trip to Beantown was tough on everyone, but there is simply no way a team as talented as Wisconsin will produce a repeat performance. They had a chance to mentally regroup and, while Lake Superior State is a formidable opponent, they are not the caliber of Boston College or, arguably, even Boston University.
The good news is, the UW offense is looking better than it did at this time last year. Wisconsin is averaging three goals per contest which, if it can establish its ‘grind it out’ style of play, should be enough to be competitive on a nightly basis.
Special teams are not as much of a concern as they were last year, especially the powerplay unit. Four of Wisconsin’s 12 goals have come on the man advantage. Three of them came off the stick of Michael Mersch.
At this juncture, UW is taking a few too many penalties, averaging 18.5 minutes per game. That won’t cut it against quality competition.
For a team that looks as good as Wisconsin does on paper, staying afloat shouldn’t be rocket science. All of the contemporary clichés apply. Stay out of the box, dictate the tempo, avoid mental miscues. Realistically that’s all it should take, especially given the skill on this roster.
Though I am the eternal pessimist (I prefer to use the term ‘realist,’ but whatever), I am choosing to look at this weekend as an opportunity. A starting block, if you will. A good series here, in their own barn, and the Badgers can begin moving forward.
But, I must offer a word of caution. While the Cardinal and White aren’t in a free fall yet, a bad weekend would certainly push them closer to the edge.
P.S. Who knows, maybe the Badgers will actually draw 10,00 fans for a game this weekend?
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