Wisconsin Hockey Weekly: Badgers preview Spartans and Tommies
Both Wisconsin hockey teams left last weekend with split decisions, and now face ranked foes this weekend
Neither of the Wisconsin Badgers hockey teams skated away with a clean sweep this weekend. Wisconsin men’s hockey stayed atop the Big Ten standings with a win over and a loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes inside the Kohl Center. Meanwhile, across the border in Minnesota, Wisconsin women’s hockey earned a win and a tie (albeit with a shutout victory) on the road against the St. Cloud State Huskies. Now, both teams prepare to face ranked opponents in conference play.
Head coach Mark Johnson and the Badgers women’s hockey team (12-1-1, 8-1-1 WCHA) get the weekend started early. A two-game series against the No. 15 St. Thomas Tommies, with contests on Thursday and Friday night, has junior forward Kelly Gorbatenko looking forward to a short week.
Gorbatenko said a Thursday matchup “definitely makes the gameday different when you go to school during the day.” The Illinois native added that she feels “like it makes the day a little bit shorter” compared to a typical Friday waiting for 7:00 p.m. to come around.
Over in East Lansing, Mike Hastings has the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (8-2-2, 4-2-0 Big Ten) set to do battle with the No. 1 team in the country: the Michigan State Spartans. Wisconsin, Michigan State, and the Michigan Wolverines sit in a three-way tie atop the conference standings, each with 11 points, making this weekend’s road test crucial if UW hopes to remain in contention for the conference title.
“We’ve gotta worry about us,” Hastings said of the prospect of facing the team atop the national polls, “And understanding that when you go on the road in the Big Ten it’s hard to win hockey games, but if you want to be where you want to be at the end of the year, you need to do it and do it well.”
Hear from Hastings, Johnson, Wisconsin men’s hockey captain Ben Dexheimer, Gorbatenko, and Kirsten Simms (WCHA Forward of the Week and the newest member of the Wisconsin women’s hockey 200-point club), as they prepare for the week ahead.
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