As Michigan State comes into town for a weekend series at the Kohl Center, Wisconsin is flying high on one of its longest winning streaks of the season.
Granted, the Badgers’ (1-9-2 Big Ten, 3-19-4 overall) streak is only one game long, starting last weekend in a 3-2 conference win against Ohio State. But for a program that has struggled mightily this season to generate offense, the one-game winning streak is something to show for a season of unrewarded effort.
“We were all pretty excited out there,” said senior goaltender Joel Rumpel. “It was kind of a weird feeling. We weren’t really used to it. Once you get a win and know what it takes and how it feels, winning is contagious.”
Wisconsin will have to fight even harder if it wants to beat Michigan State (6-4-2, 12-12-2) and extend its streak. The Spartans are notorious for blocking shots and junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand boasts the best save percentage in the Big Ten.
“They eat pucks: they block a ton of shots,” said junior defenseman Eddie Wittchow. “So it’s important for our defensemen to be able to move the blue line well and get shots through.”
This weekend’s matchup will be the first time the Badgers and Spartans meet this year. MSU seems to be finding its stride late in the season, recording a win against Michigan, the then-best team in the Big Ten, in late January and sweeping Penn State last weekend.
Compared to Michigan State, Wisconsin has improved marginally down the stretch. Despite getting swept by Michigan and Penn State, Wisconsin recorded two ties against Minnesota in January (which were technically “won” in a shootout) and secured its first conference win against Ohio State on Valentine’s Day.
On top of Michigan State’s defense and goaltending, the Spartans also have the best penalty kill percentage in the Big Ten, which the Badgers will have to try to crack. The series is likely to be a low-scoring affair on both ends, as MSU has the second fewest goals per game next to last-place UW.
Wisconsin has just four home games remaining in its season, along with another four road games. This weekend’s series is one of the Badgers’ last chances to get a conference win at the Kohl Center, a venue in which they were almost unbeatable last year.
“We set these short-term goals for the second half of the season,” said head coach Mike Eaves. “[When you] walk in our locker room, there’s the standings, right there. We’re down here at the bottom, and that’s not a very pleasant thing to look at … But right underneath where we are, we set our second-half goals in big, bold letters that our guys can see.”
The puck drops between the Badgers and Spartans at 8 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday.
