Michigan
Wisconsin
Wolverines to Travel to Wisconsin for Final Regular-Season Weekend
2/27/2019 4:11:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEKEND
Friday, March 1 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 8 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Listen | Watch | TV: BTN
Saturday, March 2 -- at Wisconsin (Madison, Wis.), 8 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Listen | Watch | TV: BTN
• Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Vimeo
The University of Michigan ice hockey team (13-12-7, 9-8-5-2 Big Ten) is set to travel to Madison, Wisconsin for its final regular-season weekend series to battle Wisconsin (11-16-5, 7-10-5-2 Big Ten) on Friday and Saturday (March 1-2). Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST.
The Wisconsin Series
Michigan and Wisconsin will meet for the 148th time in program history, with U-M holding an 75-59-13 record in the all-time series against the Badgers. The two teams first met in January 1923, as Michigan hosted Wisconsin for the first two varsity games in Wolverine program history. Michigan swept that series with 2-1 (2OT) and 1-0 victories, and went on to split the series in Wisconsin the next weekend. The two teams last met Nov. 23-24, 2018, in Ann Arbor where the teams played a pair of overtime games with the Wolverines and  Badgers splitting the two extra points.
Scouting the Badgers
The Badgers enter the weekend series after coming off of a high-scoring weekend split against No.19 Penn State. The Nittany Lions took Friday's game (Feb. 22), 8-2, but the Badgers answered Saturday evening (Feb. 23) with a 7-3 win over Penn State.
Wisconsin is led by freshman defenseman K'Andre Miller, who leads the team with 22 points (five goals, 17 assists). Sophomore forward Sean Dhooghe leads the team in goals with 10 and is fifth in overall points with 18.
In net, freshman Daniel Lebedeff has played in 23 games, sporting a 3.30 goals-against average, .890 save percentage, and an 8-10-2 record. Junior Jack Berry has played in 15 games with a 3.19 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage.
Wisconsin This Season
The Badgers come into the weekend series against the Wolverines in sixth place in the Big Ten standings with 28 points and a 7-10-11-4 conference record. Since playing Michigan on Nov. 24, Wisconsin has a 6-9-4 overall record, with a 6-7-3 Big Ten record, which includes wins over Minnesota (Jan. 25), Notre Dame (Feb. 15) and Penn State (Feb. 23).
Playoff Picture
With this the final weekend of the Big Ten regular season, Michigan is tied for third place with Notre Dame at 34 points. With one victory this weekend, the Wolverines would secure at least a fourth-place finish, which would guarantee home ice for the first round of the conference tournament (March 8-10). U-M can finish as high as second and as low as fifth at the conclusion of the weekend's games.
OSU Series Overview
The Wolverines faced Ohio State in their final home series of the regular season last weekend at Yost Ice Arena. The Wolverines came from behind on Friday night (Feb. 22) to defeat the No. 6-ranked Buckeyes, 4-2, thanks to two third-period goals from freshman forward Nolan Moyle. Â The following evening (Feb. 23), Moyle added his third goal of the weekend to tie the game in the third period, but Michigan was unable to complete the sweep as OSU and Michigan skated to a 3-3 tie with the Buckeyes claiming the extra point in the three-on-three period of overtime.
Thank You, Seniors
Michigan honored its three seniors (Nicholas Boka, Joseph Cecconi and Brendan Warren) after the conclusion of last Saturday's game. The trio has compiled an 72-55-18 record, including a 40-21-9 mark at Yost Ice Arena heading into the final weekend of the regular season. The class has won one Big Ten Tournament championship, one Great Lakes Invitational championship and three Duel in the D matchups. The group has also appeared twice in the NCAA Tournament and once in the Frozen Four.
Stars Align for Moyle
Nolan Moyle's earned the Big Ten First Star of the Week after his three-goal weekend performance against No. 6 Ohio State. His goal scoring began on Friday night (Feb. 22), when he netted two come-from-behind goals to help the Wolverines to a 4-2 win for his second multi-goal game of his rookie season. Moyle's has seven goals this season.
#Hughes43Hobey
Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes is among the initial nominees for the Hobey Baker Award. The first round consists of fan voting, which will run through March 10. Classmate Josh Norris was among the nominees before suffering a season-ending injury. » Vote
Quinn-tesential Blue-liner
Hughes has tallied 32 points (five goals, 27 assists) this season which is the fourth-highest point total of any defenseman in the NCAA. He is second among all blue-liners in assists and ranks third amongst all skaters in the country (second in the Big Ten).
Locked In
Junior forward Will Lockwood leads Michigan with 14 goals, while his 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists) are the second most on the team behind Hughes. Lockwood is tied for ninth in goals in the Big Ten and has tallied at least one point in 11 of his last 13 games (9G, 4A).
Advantageous Disadvantage
Freshman Garrett Van Wyhe scored a short-handed goal against Notre Dame (Feb. 12) for his  fourth goal of the season and was his second shorthanded goal of the campaign which places him tied for the top spot on the Big Ten in scoring on the penalty kill.
Offensive Defensemen
The defensive duo of sophomore Quinn Hughes and senior Joseph Cecconi have a combined 51 points, the third-highest point total of any defensive pairing in the country behind Quinnipiac's Chase Priskie and Brandon Fortunato (67), Mercyhurst's Joseph Duszak and Josh McDougall (55). They are tied with Ferris State's Cooper Zech and Nate Kallen (51).
Winning the Draw
The Wolverines have won 51 percent of their draws, going 1,047-1,005 in the circle. Junior Nick Pastujov and redshirt sophomore Luke Morgan lead the team with 56.7 percent and 54.8 percent rates, respectively.
Creating Chances
Michigan has taken 1,163 shots on goal, which is the second most in the country behind Penn State (1,302). U-M ranks second behind the Nittany Lions (40.69) with 36.34 shots on goal per game. The Maize and Blue has outshot its opponents by an average of 8.72 shots per game and has taken 279 more shots than they have allowed this year, the fourth-best margin in the country.
Up Ahead
Fri-Sun., March 8-10 -- Big Ten Tournament First Round, TBD
