Desperately searching for its first win of the season, Wisconsin (0-3-3) will welcome the Arizona State Sun Devils (4-4-0) to the Kohl Center this Friday and Saturday.
Despite an offensive outburst last weekend at Ferris State, the Badgers were unable to earn their first victory of the season after tying the Bulldogs 5-5 and losing 2-1 in consecutive games.
Although the Badgers are still winless, head coach Mike Eaves has remained upbeat noting several positives that have resulted from his young team’s play.
“One of the good things was the fact we scored five goals. That’s a very positive thing,” Eaves said after the team’s first game against against Ferris State.
If the Badgers hope to win this weekend, their offense will have to continue its scoring ways just to keep close with the offensive juggernaut. In its last two games, Arizona State has netted a total of 16 goals.
Freshmen studs, defenseman Joey Raats and forward Jordan Masters, headline ASU’s high-octane offense. In only seven games, the two playmakers have orchestrated eight and seven points, respectively.
As for Wisconsin, the team will rely heavily on junior forward Grant Besse, as it has all season long. Leading the team in points, Besse figures to be the recipe for any UW success this year.
Coming into the year the Badgers knew just how valuable Besse would be to the team. However, UW could have never predicted the production newcomer Luke Kunin would provide in the early going.
Kunin is second on the team in points (four), and like Besse, the freshman has scored two goals in his six games of action.
Wisconsin will look to create opportunities for both Besse and Kunin in hopes of keeping up with ASU’s offense.
Aside from scoring goals, the Badgers will look to inexperienced freshman goaltender Matt Jurusik to shut down the Sun Devils’ potent attack.
In the young season, Jurusik has tallied 145 saves while allowing just 18 goals.
For Eaves, it is a matter of expanding on the positives.
“We have to continue to develop off the good things that we do and create characteristics of teams that know how to win,” Eaves said.
The puck will drop at 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center.
