The Badgers are in South Bend this weekend chasing some needed points as conference play starts up.
Wisconsin’s trip to Denver could not have come at a worse time. The hope when looking at the schedule was that the Wisconsin Badgers (1-5 overall, 0-2 B1G) could stack a few wins before heading west for a marquee matchup with the Pioneers. Instead, the Badgers have dealt with early-season struggles, and the trip to Denver only dug a larger hole.
Despite losing both games to Denver, Friday’s game was encouraging. They were tied entering the third, and the result was in question until Denver clinched it with an empty-net goal. The Badgers got on the board first Saturday, but Denver responded with three first-period goals and scored six unanswered in the remainder of the contest.
Which leads us to this weekend. We are three weeks into the season, and Wisconsin is still sitting on just one victory, an overtime win against Lindenwood. Now they travel to South Bend to take on a relatively untested No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish team playing their first conference foe of the season, and the Badgers are in desperate need of points.
The good news for the Badgers is Notre Dame split their last two series, each at home, against Alaska and Long Island. A split would be a great place to start, but if they really want to get the season back on track the Badgers will need a sweep, or at least some guaranteed points in each contest.
The Irish are led in scoring by sophomore Cole Knuble and senior Justin Janicke. If Notre Dame’s offense is humming, it’s a good bet one of those two is involved. Aside from those two, look for sophomore forward Danny Nelson to let it rip. Nelson ranks second on the team in shots, though he’s only got three goals so far to show for it.
Notre Dame’s offense isn’t my concern, averaging just over three goals per game. It’s their goaltending. Junior Owen Say ranks third nationally surrendering only one goal per game with a .969 save percentage. Freshman Nicholas Kempf is slightly more vulnerable, but is still registering a respectable 2.39 goals-against average. Based on the first three weeks, expect the Badgers to see both this weekend.
For a Badger team that has struggled to score goals for the better part of two years, running into a hot goaltender is less than ideal. Sophomore Quinn Finley continues to do his part to break the Badgers out of their scoring slump, netting two more goals in the Denver series, but it’s going to take more than one player to right the ship and get the Badgers going.
It’s early, but Friday really feels like a must-win for the Badgers. Not only are they gunning for their second win of the season, but this is also their second B1G series, and they can ill-afford to fall further behind in the conference standings. A win on Friday night can go a long way toward salvaging a once-promising season.
The puck drops to open the series at Compton Family Ice Arena at 6 p.m. Friday. Both games will be available on Peacock (largely thanks to Notre Dame’s robust NBC deal, I reckon). If you don’t have Peacock yet, think of it as an investment for the Badger basketball season, which features 10 games on Peacock starting with Arizona in a couple of weeks.
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Friday, November 1
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: South Bend, IN | Compton Family Ice Arena
TV: Peacock | Radio: 1310 WIBA
Game 2
Date: Saturday, November 2
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Place: South Bend, IN | Compton Family Ice Arena
TV: Peacock | Radio: 1070 The Game