When the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (8-5-5 WCHA, 11-8-5 overall) skates into Ralph Engelstad Arena to play North Dakota (8-5-5, 13-8-5) for the first time this season, both teams will be five points out of first place in the WCHA.
The Badgers are on a 10-game unbeaten streak in the WCHA and have won eight of the last nine games they’ve played. The last time North Dakota won was a series split with Colorado College three weeks ago, and UND has since tied twice and lost twice.
The series will have major implications in the conference race, which is still hotly contested.
“These two games and the rest of the season are huge,” junior forward Tyler Barnes said. “We pretty much started playoff hockey a few weeks ago.”
Injuries and line changes have been frequent this year for UW, with freshman forward Nic Kerdiles’ NCAA suspension, junior forward Mark Zengerle’s broken finger and last weekend’s head injury to senior forward Derek Lee, who will miss this weekend’s series because of a concussion.
Following Lee’s injury Saturday, junior forward Jefferson Dahl stepped up to fill the void, recording an assist and a goal.
Junior forward Michael Mersch has also shone this season despite all the changes to the lineup, recording 15 goals, which ties him for second in the nation.
Five of Mersch’s goals were scored while Wisconsin had the man advantage, something the Badgers have struggled with this season.
After last weekend’s series against Alaska-Anchorage, in which Mersch contributed two power play goals, UW has scored eight times in 70 power plays this season.
