Fresh off of its bye-week, the Wisconsin men's hockey team (4-7-1 WCHA, 7-8-1 overall) returns to action this weekend to face No. 1 and defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth (9-2-1, 13-4-1).
The Badgers' experience playing against the nation's best teams this season will be of use as the Bulldogs are the second top-ranked team to play at the Kohl Center this season and the second top-five ranked team. Wisconsin has a 3-1 record in those games, sweeping then-No. 5 North Dakota Oct. 21-22 and splitting with then-No. 1 Minnesota Nov. 11-12.
Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said the opportunity to play series against college hockey's top teams this season brought out the Badgers' best play.
"Any time you play a top-ranked team, it helps get your team ready for big time competition," Eaves said. "We've talked about the term ‘osmosis' before, where you're drawn up to a higher level by playing a good team."
"We've played good hockey [against the nation's top teams]," Eaves added. "So I think what it does it brings out our best and gives us an opportunity to grow and maybe make some noise in terms of the national picture."
Duluth comes to Madison this weekend as one of the country's hottest teams. After a 1-3 start to their title defense campaign, the Bulldogs have regained their championship form and are unbeaten in their last 12 games (10-0-2), the longest current streak in college hockey.
As Eaves put it, Duluth has "a lot of pieces." Bulldog senior forward, team captain and active NCAA career scoring leader Jack Connolly is tied for second in the nation with 25 points. Connolly is also on a 14-game point streak and has netted at least one goal in each of Duluth's past seven games. Overall, the Bulldogs have five players among the WCHA's top-25 scorers.
Wisconsin's defense, which has allowed 52 goals in its 16 games this season for a 3.25 goals-per-game average, will certainly be tested this weekend by a high-scoring Duluth offensive attack that ranks third in the WCHA averaging 4.12 goals per game.
The Badgers will attempt to match Duluth's high-octane offense with their own scoring punch of junior defender Justin Schultz and sophomore forwards Tyler Barnes and Mark Zengerle. Schultz and Zengerle each have 25 points this season, tied with UMD's Connolly for second in the country, while Zengerle and Barnes have formed a dynamic offensive duo on Wisconsin's top-line. Both players have already surpassed their goal totals from last year with seven a piece.
Zengerle's breakout season has him approaching program history. The Rochester, N.Y., native has scored at least one points in each of his past 15 games, a streak that is tied for fourth-longest in Wisconsin hockey history. Zengerle has seven goals and 18 assists during the streak and is only six games behind the school record 21-game point streak set by his head coach, Mike Eaves, during the 1977-'78 season.
"We actually talked with our team: When you're playing well, don't take it for granted," Eaves said of Zengerle's streak. "Mark is on a great streak, and you want to ride that wave as long as you can because of the fact that offense tends to be finicky. There is an ebb and flow that comes with it."
