By Jacob Messing
The fatigued Wisconsin Badgers welcome the refreshed Mercyhurst Lakers this weekend as each team looks to wrap up nonconference play with a pair of wins in Madison.
Wisconsin, 8-5-2, was able to maintain their No. 9 rank in the USCHO weekly poll with a win and tie versus No. 17 Michigan over the weekend. Visitor Mercyhurst is a stronger team than their 4-4-2 record indicates, as the team has endured two one-goal losses.
Practicing for a big non-conference matchup against the University of Wisconsin this weekend! pic.twitter.com/DD879aSxoq
— #HurstHockey Insider (@muhockeyinsider) November 20, 2017
Mercyhurst had last week off and could pose a real threat to a worn-down Wisconsin team that has played in eleven straight weeks and has struggled in the second end of back-to-backs this season.
“It's been a playoff type of hockey, really since the first game of the season,” Granato told Todd D. Milewski of the Wisconsin State Journal.
Granato said he plans on using non-power play forwards Tarek Baker, Jason Dhooghe, and Jarod Zirbel on the penalty kill more to ensure his go-to scorers stay fresh later in games, at least until the semester break in December.
Wisconsin averages nearly six power plays against per game, and removing your reliable penalty killers could be dangerous against the Lakers, who are converting at 29.1 percent on the man advantage; nearly half (16 of 35) of their goals have come from the power play.
The first game will be pivotal, as both teams have won their past two series openers; the Badgers are 4-2-1, while the Lakers are 2-2-1 in game ones of a series.
The Badgers’ wins include a couple of Big Ten victories. They handed Michigan State their first home loss on November 10 and defeated No. 17 Michigan last Friday. The Lakers, meanwhile, got the best of No. 17 Penn State on November 3 and defeated conference foe Canisius in overtime on November 10.
Wisconsin has maintained a top-10 rank for the past seven weeks largely do to their ability to walk away with points in 11 of 15 games. But the end of back-to-back games have posed a problem; the Badgers have just three wins in those scenarios, the last one coming October 21.
Dropping the first game could put them at risk of being swept for the first time this season, which would be a dagger to Wisconsin’s confidence to close nonconference play, especially with their next two series coming against No. 6 Minnesota and No. 4 Notre Dame.
Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.