INSIDE MEN'S HOCKEY
BY PAUL CAPOBIANCO
In the thick of the race
Badgers just four points out of first after run
I
t would have been hard
to imagine back when
the Badgers were licking
their wounds following
a Thanksgiving weekend
sweep at the hands of Minnesota State. Wisconsin
was sitting at 1-7-2 overall
and 1-5-2 in the WCHA,
and in a tie for 10th place
in the league. Fast forward
to today and the Badgers
have gone 10-1-3 since
that weekend to find themselves in a three-way tie for
fourth place in the WCHA,
just four points behind
first-place St. Cloud State,
and ranked No. 19 in the
nation.
The Badgers are now
looking at a great oppor-
48 » VARSITY
JANUA RY 31, 2013
tunity as seven of their final 10 WCHA contests are
at home and eight of their
final 10 conference games
are against teams either
ahead of or tied with them
in the league standings. It
is still a daunting task to
reach the top, but nobody
thought that Wisconsin
would be in the position
it's in when it had just one
victory through 10 games.
Soldier Field rink
»
Last week, construction
began on the rink at Soldier Field for the OfficeMax Hockey City Classic,
scheduled for Feb. 17. The
Badgers take on Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. in the
@BadgerMHockey
SCHEDULE (11-8-5, 8-5-5)
Last Five
Jan. 12 at Minnesota St. W, 2-1 (OT)
Jan. 18 Miami (Ohio)
W, 1-0
Jan. 19 Miami (Ohio)
L, 1-2
Jan. 25 Alaska Anchorage W, 5-2
Jan. 26 Alaska Anchorage W, 2-1
This Week
Friday
at North Dakota
Saturday at North Dakota
7:30 p.m.
7 p.m.
Coming Up
Feb. 8 Bemidji State
7 p.m.
Feb. 9 Bemidji State
7 p.m.
Feb. 15 Minnesota
7 p.m.
HOCKEY CITY CLASSIC, CHICAGO
Feb. 17 vs. Minnesota
3:30 p.m.
second game of a double-header
that includes Notre Dame and
Miami at noon. The Hockey City
Classic Festival begins this Friday
with the "Light the Lamp" Opening Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Chicago Blackhawks alumni Bobby
Hull and Tony Esposito join local
youth hockey players to take the
first shots at Soldier Field.