Fourth-year Wisconsin Badgers head coach Mike Hastings leads his team into action in his old stomping grounds, making his first trip to Minnesota State after spending 11 years as the Mavericks head coach from 2012-2023. The Badgers hosted Minnesota State last year, tying both contests in Madison.
It will no doubt be an emotional homecoming for Hastings, who compiled a 299-110-25 record in Mankato to go along with eight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Frozen Fours. His success in Minnesota State
is what led Hastings to Madison, etching himself as one of the top coaches in the country looking for a new challenge at one of the nation’s most historic hockey programs.
Hastings’ tenure at Wisconsin has been impressive to this point. The Badgers made a complete turnaround in his first year, nearly winning the Big Ten regular season championship and making an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Year two was a bit of a stumble before making a run to the national championship game last season and leading after two periods before ultimately falling to Denver.
The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) swept Robert Morris last weekend and fell one spot in the polls, but at this point the ranking means nothing. The defensive effort was impressive, as Alexis Cournoyer and Daniel Hauser only faced 18 shots a piece in each of their starts. Anchored by a couple of NHL draft picks in Logan Hensler and Luke Osburn, the blue liners looked ready to play in the opening series.
The offense hasn’t had any issues registering shots on goal in the first two games, averaging nearly 40 per game. Converting those chances into goals will be the emphasis this weekend, as Wisconsin only found the back of the net once in their 43 shot attempts last Saturday. Thankfully, once was enough, as Hauser turned in the Badgers’ first shutout of the season.
No. 19 Minnesota State does not have an official game under their belts yet, just an exhibition win over Manitoba last week. The Mavericks lost their top two point producers last year in Tristan Lemyre and Evan Murr, but bring back Luigi Benincasa, who scored twice in two games against the Badgers last year.
The Mavericks also have a familiar face in their forward group, as former Badger and Medford native Sawyer Scholl begins his senior season in Mankato. Scholl appeared in 39 games for the Mavericks last year, only registering two goals and six points overall.
Wisconsin junior Gavin Morrissey has yet to make his way into the scoring column, but he’s already making his importance felt in the circle. The Badger center won 36 of 49 draws last weekend, which is a big reason Wisconsin was able to dominate puck possession and overwhelm Robert Morris by more than doubling their shot attempts.
Sophomore center Vasily Zelenov led the way last week by registering three assists in the opener, while the Badgers featured five different goal scorers across both games. Interestingly enough, the top forward was kept off the score sheet while the second, third, and fourth lines contributed all the scoring last week. That won’t be the sign of a larger trend this year; if anything, it’s a good sign that all four lines can get rolling without Morrissey, Ryan Botterill, and J.J. Wiebusch being involved.
As expected, the Badgers split goaltending duties between their sophomore netminders in Cournoyer and Hauser, which I expect to continue into this series. Cournoyer conceded a power play goal early in the third period and a late goal in the waning seconds when the game was already decided, while Hauser registered the already-mentioned shutout.
Minnesota State will be a step up in competition for the Badgers before they embark on a three-week hiatus prior to conference play. A couple of ranked wins would be a great sendoff before heading into a multi-week bye, and it would be a heck of a way for Mike Hastings to celebrate his homecoming.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Friday, along with a 6:00 p.m. start on Saturday. Both games will stream on MIDCO Sports Plus with radio coverage on 1310 WIBA
Game Info
Game 1
Date: Friday, October 9
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Mankato, Minn. | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center
TV: MIDCO Sports Plus | Radio: 1310 WIBA
Game 2
Date: Saturday, October 10
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Mankato, Minn. | Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center
TV: MIDCO Sports Plus | Radio: 1310 WIBA
