WISCONSIN VS. QUINNIPIAC: OPPONENT PREVIEW

Much like the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team, Bucky’s men’s hockey program has drawn a tough path to the NCAA championship. Wisconsin is headed to Providence, Rhode Island for Round 1 and will face the defending champs Quinnipiac.

If the Badgers are able to make it through Friday’s first-round matchup with a win they will likely face the tournament’s number one overall seed Boston College, a team widely regarded as the best in the NCAA this season.

That is only if the Badgers make it to the second round. Coach Mike Hasting’s squad was swept by a bad Ohio State team with just a few weeks left in the season, which ended up costing them the regular season Big Ten title.

Wisconsin ran into Ohio State again in the first round of the Big Ten tournament with a shot at redemption and was unfortunately upset again, which bounced them from the tournament early.

Due to the early conference tournament exit, Coach Hastings has had nearly three weeks to get his team back on track for the tournament. Wisconsin will get a shot to save their postseason with an attempt at a tournament run starting Friday against the defending champs.

Opponent Preview

Quinnipiac holds a 26-9-2 going into the tournament after a national champion season in 2022-23. The Bobcats have tallied 11 wins in their last 14 games, but were stopped in their tracks in the ECAC tournament semifinals by St. Lawrence.

Quinnipiac is no stranger to running into Big Ten teams on the way to the Frozen Four. In last year’s tournament, the Bobcats cut down Ohio State, Michigan, and Minnesota en route to their national championship.

In the latest USCHO top 25 rankings, Quinnipiac was placed at number seven while the Badgers fell to nine.

Even though the Bobcats have not been as dominant through the season as they were last year they have still shown glimpses of their national championship prowess and will present a tall first-round task for Wisconsin.

Key Players

Quinnipiac: Collin Graf

Graf, the Bobcats leading goal-scorer, found the back of the net in both of the team’s conference tournament quarterfinal contests. Graf is tied for ninth in the country with 22 goals on the season and has five games with at least two goals.

The 6’1 forward is one of three Bobcat players with more goals than Wisconsin’s top scorer Cruz Lucius. Not only does Graf have a knack for scoring goals himself, he also has 26 assists to his name this season.

Graf creates a lethal offensive threat to opposing defenses based on his ability to not only score but also facilitate and feed the many other scoring threats in the Quinnipiac lineup.

The Bobcats have not lost a single game in which their leading scorer puts them on the board so far this season, meaning it is crucial for Hastings and the Badgers to keep him out of the net.

Wisconsin: Kyle McClellan

Kyle McClellan will be the man tasked with keeping Graf and the other prolific Bobcat goal scorers from creating offense against the Badgers. The Wisconsin goalkeeper has been one of the best in the country throughout the season with the second fewest goals allowed per game at 1.918.

The Badgers will need their goalie to be on his A-game in Providence versus a Quinnipiac team that ranks fourth in the country for offense with over four goals per game on the season. The Badgers aren’t far behind with 3.2 goals per game, but they will need McClellan to help make up the difference on the defensive side of things.

A big performance in the net from McClellan is crucial for Hastings and the Badgers to have a shot at taking down the defending champs.

2024-03-29T15:28:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd