With the caveat that it is not quite November, it appears the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey program is following-up its breakout national runner-up campaign with another impressive season. A lopsided victory on Friday night gave UW its best start in over 20 years. Although an injury to its co-captain may have marred the evening.
“Tonight was a growing moment. Tomorrow is going to be a reset. They’re going to be better. We’re going to have to be better,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings’ said of his team’s early offensive success en route to a 7-1 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Twelve Badgers (5-0-0, 1-0-0 Big Ten) found their way on the scoresheet in the blowout victory as Wisconsin improved to 5-0-0 for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
“It was a good start tonight, and to see different guys on the score sheet is really important for our growth,” Hastings added. “And I was happy with some of the guys that got rewarded because there’s been some guys that have been grinding pretty hard without being rewarded for their efforts.”