Michigan Looks to Secure Points on Road Trip to Wisconsin

Friday, January 28

Madison, Wis.

6:00 PM CT

Michigan

Wisconsin

Nick Blankenburg (Michigan Photography)

Michigan Looks to Secure Points on Road Trip to Wisconsin

1/26/2022 11:07:00 AM | Ice Hockey

By: Kristy McNeil

» Michigan boasts the seventh best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 3.74 goals per game.
» Michigan will be without Owen Power and Kent Johnson as the pair have reported to Hockey Canada to prepare for the Olympics.
» Michigan is 82-64-13 all-time against Wisconsin and has won the last three meetings in Madison.

• Complete Game Notes (PDF)

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Sitting in first place in the Big Ten standings, the University of Michigan ice hockey team (9-7-1, 10-6-0 Big Ten) looks to add to its point total when it faces fifth-place Wisconsin (8-15-3, 5-10-1 Big Ten) this weekend. The Wolverines and the Badgers face off on Friday (Jan. 28) at 6 p.m., CST on B1G+ and again on Saturday (Jan. 29) at 8 p.m., CST on Big Ten Network.

Wolverine Bites

• Sophomore Owen Power was named to the Hockey Canada Olympic team, while classmate Kent Johnson was named one of six alternates it was announced Tuesday (Jan. 25). The pair has reported to the team's eight-day training camp.

• Power and Brisson bring the tally of players with Michigan ties on 2022 Olympic rosters to six. Matty Beniers and Brendan Brisson, along with former Wolverines Strauss Mann and Steven Kampfer, were added to the Team USA roster on Jan. 13.

• Michigan is 19-7-1 after taking four of a possible six points from its road trip at Minnesota and is tied with Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten standings with 33 points.

• U-M checks in at No. 4 this week in both the USCHO and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls.

• Matty Beniers leads the Wolverines in points with 32, thanks to 15 goals and 17 assists. Brendan Brisson has 31 points behind a team-leading 16 tallies in addition to 15 assists. One point behind Brisson is Kent Johnson with six goals and a team-high 24 assists in just 23 games played. Defenseman Owen Power (3G, 23A), the nation's highest-scoring blueliner, has 26 points on the back end, while newcomer Luke Hughes has nine goals with 13 assists for 22 points as the top-scoring freshman defender in the NCAA. Last year's leading scorer, Thomas Bordeleau (6G, 16A), is currently tied with Hughes.

• Owen Power leads the team in blocked shots with 37, while the captain Nick Blankenburg has 31.

• Sophomore Erik Portillo has started every game in net for the Wolverines, assembling a 19-7-1 record with two shutouts, a .924 save percentage, and a 2.25 goals-against average.

Scouting the Badgers

• The Badgers are 8-15-3 on the season after being swept on the road at Penn State last time out and are fifth in the Big Ten standings with 16 points.

• Wisconsin is led up front by a host of upperclassmen including Tarek Baker (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points), Brock Caufield (6-8-14), Roman Ahcan (4-4-8), and Dominick Mersch (3-3-6), but sophomores Carson Bantle (6-3-9) and Mathieu De St. Phalle (7-5-12) have been driving play recently.

• On the blue line, freshman Corson Ceulemans (5-12-17) is a blue-chip prospect who is tied for the team lead in points and was recently honored by the Hockey Commissioner's Association as the National Rookie of the Month for December.

• Jared Moe has emerged as the dominant netminder in Wisconsin's crease, appearing in 22 games with a 6-10-3 record, a .920 save percentage, and a 2.75 goals-against average.

Up Next

• Wednesday, Feb. 2 -- vs. USNTDP - exhibition (Yost Ice Arena), 7 p.m.