This Friday the Kohl Center will witness a strange event. Nine weeks into the college hockey season, Wisconsin will finally play on its home ice for a second straight weekend. The opponent for Friday and Saturday is No. 15 Alaska
Anchorage.
The series will be only the third WCHA series held in the Kohl Center this season, and the Badgers are happy to finally sleep in their own beds.
Being at .500 and coming back home, it's going to be sweet to be back at home. I love being at home and I hate traveling,"" junior forward and team co-captain Blake Geoffrion said. ""The last two Mondays I've asked where we are going this weekend, and said, 'Oh yeah, I forgot we are at home.' But it's good to be back at home and I think that it definitely helps us.""
The Badgers (5-5-2 WCHA, 7-7-2 overall) take on the Seawolves (4-4-2, 7-5-2) a week after defeating both Michigan and Michigan State in the College Hockey Showcase and are currently riding a three-game winning streak. After starting the season 0-6-1, Wisconsin has gone an impressive 7-1-1 since then and have a lot of momentum and confidence in its favor.
Some of Wisconsin's current success can be attributed to its defense. Against St. Cloud State two weekends ago, after allowing six goals in a Friday loss, senior goaltender Shane Connelly rebounded and shut-out the Huskies on Saturday. Last weekend against MSU, the defense allowed only 12 shots on goal, and Connelly registered another shutout against Michigan Saturday.
""There's something about shutouts and what they do to goaltenders, they just pick you up and give a little bit of an extra jump in your step,"" senior goaltender Shane Connelly said.
The recent history between UW and Alaska-Anchorage has seen Wisconsin at a huge advantage. In their last 10 meetings, the Badgers are 7-2-1, and lead the overall series 38-13-9. At the Kohl Center, Wisconsin has a commanding 22-7-3 lead.
This season, however, it is AA that comes to Madison with the better record, and a No. 15 ranking.
""It is definitely different. They've been a growing program through the years and this year obviously they are getting their respect,"" junior defenseman and co-assistant captain Jamie McBain said. ""We're looking to hopefully get back into the rankings; we haven't been ranked since real early in the season.
It's definitely a role reversal, but we'll just try to use that and try to switch things back and get back into the rankings.""
McBain currently leads Wisconsin in points with 16 (three goals, 13 assists), while Geoffrion leads the team with seven goals. Connelly has a save percentage of .910 and gives up an average of 2.74 goals a game.
For Alaska Anchorage, junior forward Paul Crowder leads the team with 18 points, while sophomore forward Tommy Grant has chipped in 10 goals and seven assists. In goal, junior Jon Olthius and sophomore Bryce Christianson have split time, with Olthius starting eight games to Christianson's seven. However, there is a stark difference in the goalies' statistics, as Olthius has a save percentage of .876 and a 2.88 goals against average while Christianson's are .900 and 2.12.
The puck drops both Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. Friday's contest will be televised on FSN North, and Saturday's will be broadcasted on WISC-TV.
