Men's Hockey
It looks like the California kid finally brought some sunshine to Wisconsin. Freshman forward Nic Kerdiles scored his first career goal as a Badger, and the men’s hockey team (2-5-3 WCHA, 2-7-3 overall) was able to secure a win Saturday night against Denver (7-2-1, 9-4-1).
This weekend’s series marked the Irvine, Calif., native’s return after a 10-game suspension, and it was also the first time the Badgers have been able to secure a win since Oct. 26. Friday night’s game resulted in a tie. Head coach Mike Eaves met with the media Monday to discuss his team’s significant turnaround.
“I think we did a better job in the offensive zone,” he said. “We created more chances when we got the puck down there. We didn’t give up a lot of odd-man rushes against. When you’re doing that, you’re not giving those prime opportunities to the other team.”
The Badgers begin a four-game home stand this weekend, taking on Michigan Tech (3-6-1, 4-7-1) Friday night. Eaves is confident that his team can build upon the momentum of this past weekend and begin heading in the right direction.
“I think we just keep moving ahead. I think that we’ve got going here, the things we’ve been battling through,” Eaves said. “So maybe that ship is starting to come around, and we’ve got some wind at our back now. The most important thing is to keep the wind at our backs.”
Junior forward Mark Zengerle is possibly expected to return to the ice this weekend after being out with a hand injury, and freshman forward Morgan Zulinick is still recovering from an upper-thigh injury. The series against Michigan Tech begins at 7 p.m. Friday.
Women’s Hockey
The Badgers (6-6-2 WCHA, 10-6-2 overall) will return to Madison after being swept by Minnesota this past weekend in Minneapolis. Wisconsin will be at LaBahn Arena this weekend to hit the ice against North Dakota (8-4-0, 11-5-0).
Head coach Mark Johnson spoke to the media about the team’s efforts in Minnesota and what he’s expecting against North Dakota.
“I was happy with the way they competed,” Johnson said. “Yesterday was sort of a dogfight, went back and forth. I think playing both those games up in that atmosphere for our team is certainly going to help us prepare as we get ready for North Dakota. We’re looking for some positive things to happen this upcoming weekend.”
Despite losing to the No. 1 team in the league, Johnson says the team’s confidence is “good,” and he’s proud of his players as they look to close the first half of the season.
“I like my team,” Johnson said. “They work hard at practice. They come with a smile on their face. That’s all we can ask of them. We’d just like to win a few more games.”
The Badgers currently sit behind North Dakota in the standings, and will face a strong power play system that Johnson says has improved vastly since last year.
“They can stick five players on the ice that can create a lot of opportunities,” he said.
The series begins Saturday at 2 p.m.
