For the second time since Mike Hastings took over head coaching duties in 2023, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team is ranked number one in the country. This week’s ranking pushed the Badgers to the top spot following back-to-back blowout wins over Notre Dame and former No. 1 Michigan, suffering their first loss to Ohio State.
Mike Hastings’ squad earned some credibility with their run to the NCAA championship game last year, and it’s now paying off after a 6-0-0 start to the season. Wisconsin’s
résumé isn’t the strongest, having played just six games with multiple bye weeks already. They beat then-No. 19 Minnesota State in two games on October 9-10, but the Mavericks are now just 2-4-2 on the season.
Wisconsin’s best win to date is the only game that didn’t count, a 4-0 exhibition win at No. 5 Western Michigan. Most recently, the Badgers took it to Notre Dame to start conference play, outscoring the Fighting Irish 16-2 last weekend to claim two important Big Ten wins.
Both games were mired in unnecessary extracurriculars with Notre Dame playing the aggressor. Adam Pietila was ejected midway through the third period with the Badgers leading 7-1 after responding to a dirty hit from Notre Dame’s Sammy Nelson, who threw Wisconsin defenseman Joe Palodichuk into the boards. Pietila got tossed for going right after Nelson in retaliation, and six game misconducts were issued.
Palodichuk sat out on Saturday, though Hastings noted he was in good spirits Friday night and would hope for more updates throughout the week. Speaking of Saturday, the Irish antics were no better in the 9-1 Badger win. Notre Dame’s Jaedon Kerr was issued a five-minute major and disqualified from the game for cross-checking, again, midway through the third period. Leo Gruba earned his own five-minute major and disqualification for slew-footing a few minutes later, just before David Klee was sent off with a five-minute major and disqualification for fighting.
Gruba and Klee’s offenses carry an automatic one-game suspension, while Kerr’s typically just earns an early trip to the locker room, but the Big Ten announced all three players will sit an additional game for the mischief caused in Madison.
Theatrics aside, Wisconsin’s defense helped bring the frustration to a boiling point, and the relentless offensive pursuit made it spill over. The Badgers posted 40+ shot attempts in each game, opening the series with a 25-shot first period to set the tone. Notre Dame mustered only 15 shots in the entirety of Saturday’s game, for comparison.
Bruno Idžan’s second-period hat trick on Saturday catapulted him into the team lead for goals. J.J. Wiebusch scored his first goal in a Wisconsin sweater as the top forward line chipped in seven points throughout the game, eclipsing their total production for the season heading into last weekend. The offense is starting to hum, which is bad news for Badger opponents.
It only seems fitting that the Badgers ascend to the top ranking just in time for a trip to No. 18 Minnesota on Thursday. The Gophers have two impressive wins over North Dakota, but struggled with a depleted Penn State team at home last weekend. It doesn’t take much to add more juice to a Border Battle series, but Minnesota will be eager to spoil Wisconsin’s time atop the polls and deliver their first loss of the season.
We’ll have more on Minnesota later this week; for now, the Badgers have a few days to get used to wearing the target on their back before heading into hostile territory.
