Badgers men's hockey: Breaking down Wisconsin's 2017-18 opponents
The 2017-18 regular season started earlier than ever for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, and it features a beginning stretch never seen before.Â
The regular-season opener Oct. 1 against Michigan Tech in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game was two days earlier than the previous early entry on the calendar - the Hall of Fame contest in 1998 against Notre Dame that opened the Kohl Center for hockey.
The opener also kicked off an 11-week unbroken stretch of games that takes the Badgers into the December break. That's the longest run of consecutive weekends with a game to start a season in UW history.Â
The 34-game schedule brings former Western Collegiate Hockey Association rival North Dakota to the Kohl Center and adds four contests against new Big Ten Conference foe Notre Dame.Â
Here's State Journal reporter Todd Milewski's breakdown of Wisconsin's opponents:Â
MICHIGAN TECH
Michigan Tech
Oct. 1 at the Kohl Center
Wisconsin 3, Michigan Tech 2
Behind the bench
After three seasons as an assistant coach for the Huskies, Joe Shawhan is beginning his first year in charge. Mel Pearson took over at Michigan after a six-season stint at Tech that included two NCAA tournament appearances.
On the ice
The Huskies have a new-look defensive corps — they lost four players after last season ended in the NCAA tournament. Goaltender Angus Redmond also signed a pro contract after just one collegiate season, leaving largely untested junior Devin Kero, newcomer Robbie Beydoun and transfer Packy Munson to battle for time in the crease. Senior Joel L’Esperance (a team-high 28 points last season) and sophomore Gavin Gould, above, (a team-high 12 goals) are the top returning forwards from a team that went 23-15-7.
OHIO STATE
Ohio State
Oct. 6-7 at the Kohl CenterÂ
Feb. 23-24 at Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio
Behind the bench
Steve Rohlik enters his fifth season as the Buckeyes’ head coach after making his first NCAA tournament appearance last March. All three members of the Ohio State full-time coaching staff have Wisconsin ties: Rohlik played at UW from 1986 to 1990; associate head coach Steve Miller is a Sun Prairie native; and assistant JB Bittner had the same job at UW in the 2015-16 season.
On the ice
Junior leading scorer and All-American Mason Jobst (above) highlights a roster that lost some key parts of the 21-12-6 team that made the program’s first NCAA appearance in eight seasons. The graduation of 27-goal-scorer Nick Schilkey and 18-goal-scorer David Gust will change the offensive dynamic, but goaltending might feel the biggest impact of departures. With all three goaltenders who played last season gone, Ohio State has Maine transfer Sean Romeo and freshmen Evan Moyse and Tommy Nappier in position to get playing time.
BOSTON COLLEGE
Boston College
Oct. 13 at Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Behind the bench
No one has won more college hockey games than Jerry York, who enters his 24th season with the Eagles and 46th overall as a head coach with a 1,033-614-114 record. He has won four NCAA titles at BC to go with one at Bowling Green.
On the ice
Players that combined to score more than half of the goals for the Eagles last season are gone, and first-round NHL draft pick Eeli Tolvanen reportedly was rejected by school admissions. That might magnify the importance of having strong goaltending, and BC has that potential with Joseph Woll (above). The sophomore was part of the U.S. team that won the World Junior Championship last season. Junior JD Dudek (13 goals last season) and sophomore David Cotton are the top returning goal-scorers.
MERRIMACK
Merrimack
Oct. 14 at Lawler Arena, North Andover, Mass.
Behind the bench
After back-to-back winning seasons in 2010-11 and 2011-12 under head coach Mark Dennehy, Merrimack has suffered five straight sub-.500 campaigns. Dennehy and Badgers director of hockey operations Shane Connelly were on the coaching staff for the U.S. Under-17 Select Team that won the Five Nations Tournament in August.
On the ice
The Warriors will be looking to replace departed goaltender Collin Delia, who helped keep the team’s record a respectable 15-16-6 last season despite having an offense that ranked 46th out of 60 teams nationally. Junior Drew Vogler, who started 16 games last season, and newcomer Logan Halladay are the top contenders for the starting job. Senior Brett Seney (above) is the only returning player who reached double digits in goals for Merrimack last season. Defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic was a third-round pick in this summer’s NHL draft.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN
Northern Michigan
Oct. 20-21 at the Resch Center, Ashwaubenon
Behind the bench
Former Minnesota player and assistant coach Grant Potulny starts his first season as a head coach. Potulny also brings international coaching experience to Marquette — he was an assistant with the U.S. World Junior teams that won gold in 2013 and 2017.
On the ice
Potulny will have some new faces in key spots up front as he attempts to start a turnaround for a program that was 13-22-4 in the last of 15 seasons under Walt Kyle. Twenty-goal-scorer Dominik Shine completed his eligibility last season, and senior Robbie Payne, above, (29 points) and sophomore Darien Craighead (25 points) are the only two of last season’s top five scorers to return. Junior goaltender Atte Tolvanen recorded five straight shutouts last season, a streak of 339:05 that was second-longest in NCAA history.
ST. LAWRENCE
St. Lawrence
Oct. 27-28 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
Mark Morris has coached 15 full seasons in college hockey and has yet to have a losing record. He’s in his second season at St. Lawrence after a stint coaching in the pros that followed a job at Clarkson from 1988 to 2003. His daughter Emily captained the University of Wisconsin women’s team in 2007-08.
On the ice
It’s hard to quantify how much of the Saints’ 17-13-7 record from last season was because goaltender Kyle Hayton kept them in games. Hayton, who finished a graduate transfer to UW this summer and likely will play against his former teammates, and defenseman Gavin Bayreuther were second-team All-Americans a year ago, but both have left the team. Three other regular defensemen also graduated. The good news for the Saints is top goal-scorers Mike Marnell (above) and Joe Sullivan, both seniors, are back.
NORTH DAKOTA
North Dakota
Nov. 3-4 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
Brad Berry won a national championship in his first season as the Fighting Hawks’ head coach in 2015-16, but a three-year team streak of Frozen Four appearances ended last year with a first-round NCAA tournament loss.
On the ice
The personnel losses, while significant, weren’t as bad as they could have been for the Fighting Hawks. Forwards Tyson Jost and Brock Boeser and defenseman Tucker Poolman signed pro deals, but North Dakota has seven of its top 10 forwards, five regular defensemen and senior goaltender Cam Johnson (above) returning. Junior forward Shane Gersich was a breakout performer in a 21-goal sophomore season, and senior Austin Poganski has reached double digits in goals in each of his past two seasons. Rookie forward Grant Mismash was a second-round pick in the 2017 NHL draft.
MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State
Nov. 10-11 at Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, Mich.
Jan. 12-13 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
Michigan State alum Danton Cole took over for Tom Anastos, who resigned after a 7-24-4 season. Cole was with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for the past seven seasons, following three years at Alabama Huntsville.
On the ice
The Spartans are going to be young up front after four of the top seven forwards departed. Included among them was Green Bay’s Mason Appleton, who was named captain for the 2017-18 season but later decided to sign with the Winnipeg Jets. Sophomore Sam Saliba (above) was a 10-goal scorer last season. Senior Carson Gatt leads a defensive corps that struggled last year in front of goaltenders Ed Minney and John Lethemon, who were both in the bottom five nationally for save percentage.
MICHIGAN
Michigan
Nov. 17-18 at the Kohl Center
Feb. 2-3 at Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Behind the bench
Michigan has a new coach for the first time since 1984. Mel Pearson returns to Ann Arbor, where he spent 23 seasons as an assistant to 33-year Wolverines coach Red Berenson. Pearson won two Western Collegiate Hockey Association championships and made a pair of NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons as head coach at Michigan Tech.
On the ice
For the first time in seven seasons, the Wolverines didn’t have any players sign a pro contract with eligibility remaining this summer. That should give Pearson a good foundation from which to build after a rare Michigan losing season. Senior Sam Piazza (above), an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season, and sophomore Luke Martin, a second-round NHL selection, anchor the defense. Josh Norris, who was the 19th overall pick last summer, is one of the additions that could make an immediate impact.
MERCYHURST
Mercyhurst
Nov. 25-26 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
Rick Gotkin elevated the Lakers to Division I 17 years ago and has taken his team to six NCAA tournaments — three in Division I, three in Division III — in 29 seasons at the Erie, Pennsylvania, school. He starts the season fourth among active coaches in D-I with 996 games under his belt.
On the ice
With only three seniors playing, Mercyhurst had its worst Atlantic Hockey finish in a decade in 2016-17, finishing in seventh place and at 15-20-4 overall. The flip side is the Lakers can field an experienced lineup this season, with senior Jonathan Charbonneau returning after a 16-goal season. Junior defenseman Lester Lancaster (above) was a first-team all-conference selection last year and junior forward Derek Barach made the second team.
MINNESOTA
Minnesota
Dec. 1-2 at 3M Arena at Mariucci, Minneapolis
Feb. 9-10 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
Don Lucia starts his 19th season at Minnesota and 31st overall as a head coach in search of a seventh straight regular-season title. The Golden Gophers won WCHA crowns in 2012 and 2013, then claimed the first four Big Ten championships.
On the ice
Big Ten player of the year Tyler Sheehy (above), a junior, and No. 8 overall NHL draft pick Casey Mittelstadt, a freshman, could make the offense hard to stop. That’s even after the team lost 19-goal-scorer Vinni Lettieri and 18-goal-contributor Justin Kloos. The defense brings back four lineup mainstays, and junior goaltender Eric Schierhorn goes into his third season as the starter. They’ll be among the favorites for a fifth straight Big Ten title, but national tournament success has been hard to come by; the Gophers haven’t won an NCAA game since losing the 2014 title game to Union.
NOTRE DAME
Notre Dame
Dec. 8-9 at the Kohl Center
Jan. 19-20 at Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind.
Behind the bench
Jeff Jackson has coached Notre Dame in three different conferences since taking the job in 2005. The Fighting Irish left the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for Hockey East in 2013 and are now moving into the Big Ten.
On the ice
The Irish were primed for another strong season on the heels of a Frozen Four appearance in Chicago last April. That might still be the case, but they’ll have to do it without two key pieces: Mequon native Anders Bjork, last year’s top scorer, and goaltender Cal Petersen both gave up their senior season to sign pro deals. Notre Dame still has productive forwards like 21-goal-scorer Andrew Oglevie (above), a junior, and senior Jake Evans. The team added goaltender Dylan St. Cyr from the National Team Development Program to compete for playing time.
PENN STATE
Penn State
Jan. 5-6 at Pegula Ice Arena, State College, Pa.
Jan. 26-27 at the Kohl Center
Behind the bench
It took head coach Guy Gadowsky just five seasons of varsity hockey at Penn State to earn a conference championship — won by defeating UW in the Big Ten championship game last season — and a spot in the NCAA tournament.
On the ice
No team scored more goals last season than the Nittany Lions, and players who accounted for nearly three-quarters of the 160 goals return this season. All-Big Ten honorable mention selection Denis Smirnov, who had 19 goals as a freshman, and 22-goal-scorer Andrew Sturtz (above)Â are the big names up front. Goaltender Peyton Jones did well enough in his freshman season with the offense clicking to earn honorable mention league honors. Penn State added third-round draft pick Evan Barratt, a forward, and fifth-round choice Cole Hults, a defenseman from Stoughton, to the mix.
As featured on
Tony Granato lauds his team’s response in the third period of the 3-2 win at the Kohl Center on Saturday night.
