This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Wisconsin winning streak still alive with Holiday Face-Off victories as Badgers excelling with team-first mentality

There’s nothing like December hardware to kick off the second half of the college hockey season. With a pair of 3-0 wins, Wisconsin captured the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off in Milwaukee, extending the Badgers’ current win streak to seven games and bumping Wisconsin up one spot to No. 5 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: First half sees conference teams successful out of B1G, with upcoming second half chock-full of conference games

It’s midseason, and here’s what we know about the Big Ten. Overall, it’s pretty impressive – but that may not matter next March. The league is 36-14-4 against nonconference foes for the best (.704) winning percentage among all leagues in interconference play. More good news: the Big Ten is 4-2-3 against the NCHC (.681) and … Read more

Wisconsin defenseman, Seattle draft pick Jugnauth leaves Badgers to play for WHL’s Winterhawks

Wisconsin sophomore defenseman Tyson Jugnauth has left the Badgers to play for the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Jugnauth, a fourth-round pick (100th overall) by the Seattle Kraken in the 2022 NHL Draft, was a healthy scratch in three of Wisconsin’s last four games but did return to the lineup for … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: After sweeping Ohio State, Wisconsin looking to ‘stay focused and go out and get our dailies done’

“The one thing you worry about right now is that it’s intense for a lot of our athletes in the classroom.” That, said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings, is one piece of the focus puzzle as the first half of the season comes to a close. “They’re getting toward finals,” said Hastings. “There’s a lot on … Read more

Denver’s Buium, Lake Superior State’s Westcott, Penn State’s Fink, AIC’s Wallstrom take home November monthly honors from HCA

The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced its national men’s monthly award winners for November. Denver freshman defenseman Zeev Buium and Lake Superior State senior forward Jared Westcott are co-players of the month, while Penn State forward Aiden Fink is the rookie of the month and AIC freshman goalie Nils Wallstrom is the goaltender of the … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: With calendar soon flipping to December, conference play proving that ‘little things make a difference’

What a good weekend it was for Big Ten hockey – and what an interesting season this is already proving to be. B1G teams went 6-2-1 in nonconference play last week, bringing the league’s overall nonconference record to 36-14-4 on the season for the best win percentage (.704) among all conferences in nonleague play. Especially … Read more

Motzko agrees to two-year contract extension with Minnesota, will remain Gophers coach through 2027-28 hockey season

Minnesota and men’s hockey head coach Bob Motzko have agreed to a two-year contract extension. The deal keeps Motzko with the Golden Gophers through the 2027-28 season. “I am grateful to (director of athletics) Mark Coyle and the rest of the athletics administration for believing in me and our staff and our leadership of Gopher … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Getting sweep over then-No. 1 Wisconsin has Michigan State enjoying ‘a really good weekend for our program’

What a difference a week makes. Last week, Wisconsin was the No. 1 team in the country, garnering 32 first-place votes in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll. The Badgers, then 9-1-0 overall with a 4-0-0 record in conference play, had just come off a bye week and by virtue of the ever-changing landscape among … Read more

Wisconsin collects 32 first-place votes, takes over as No. 1 team in Nov. 13 edition of USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

Wisconsin sat idle last weekend, but still picked up 32 first-place votes in this week’s USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, moving up two spots in the rankings. North Dakota also moved up two spots, sitting No. 2 this week and collecting nine first-place votes. Denver falls one to No. 3, picking up three first-place votes, … Read more

Wisconsin’s Kohl Center ice to be reduced to NHL dimensions during summer of 2024 or 2025; seating also to be adjusted

Built with an ice sheet 200 feet long by 97 feet wide when originally constructed during what was a wave of Olympic-sized ice sheets in college hockey, the Kohl Center ice will undergo construction and be reduced to NHL dimensions of 200 by 85 feet. “One of the reasons these young men come to the … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Ohio State mired in rough patch, but daily improvement means ‘these guys want to get better’

With a month of the 2023-24 season behind them, the Buckeyes may not be where they’d like to be, but they’re definitely not where they think they’ll be five months from now. “We’re doing fine,” said Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik. “We continue to try to strive to get better. That’s our goal. Lots of … Read more

Friendship Four college hockey event returning to Belfast in 2024, Friendship Series women’s event also back, book covering event out now

The Odyssey Trust has announced the continuation of the Friendship Four men’s college hockey tournament into 2024, in conjunction with the official launch of ‘Ring the Bell!’ – a new book centered around the history and legacy of the event. Held annually in Belfast since 2015, the Friendship Four is designed to promote education, social … Read more

Michigan’s McGroarty, Denver’s Rizzo, Boston University’s Celebrini, RIT’s Scarfone pick up October honors from HCA

The Hockey Commissioners Association has announced the men’s monthly honorees for Oct. 2023. The co-players of the month are Michigan sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty and Denver junior forward Massimo Rizzo, while Boston University freshman forward Macklin Celebrini is rookie of the month and RIT junior goalie Tommy Scarfone is the goaltender of the month. McGroarty … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Conference teams battling, finding ways to win nonconference games as calendar flips to November

This weekend is the first full slate of Big Ten play, with three conference series plus a home-and-home tilt between Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth. Since the start of the season, Big Ten teams have played a total of 43 nonconference games with a 29-12-2 record for the best win percentage in interleague play – barely. … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Coming off sweep over Michigan Tech, Wisconsin surging into weekend border battle with Minnesota

A week away from a full slate of Big Ten games, there are a number of interesting nonconference series for B1G teams, including No. 8 Michigan State’s pair at No. 3 Boston College and No. 16 Ohio State visiting an old CCHA foe, No. 20 Omaha. Last weekend, B1G play began with a single series, … Read more

Minnesota stays atop USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, gets 42 first-place votes in Oct. 23 rankings

After splitting with North Dakota last weekend, Minnesota remains No. 1 in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll, garnering 42 first-place votes. Denver remains No. 2, getting six first-place votes, while Boston College stays third with one first-place vote. North Dakota moves up one to No. 4 and Quinnipiac drops one spot to sit fifth … Read more

This Week in Big Ten Hockey: With conference play starting this weekend, teams moving ahead with poise, confidence

For the second straight season, the Big Ten has put up good numbers in nonconference games before the start of league play. Through three weeks and 22 nonconference games, the Big Ten is collectively 16-6-1 and has outscored opponents 81-57. It’s a solid beginning and a good omen. At roughly the same point last year … Read more

2023-24 Big Ten Hockey Season Preview: Minnesota still looks to be top team in conference, but gap closing as rest of teams much improved

The Big Ten made big strides last season, with a 55-21-2 record in nonconference play, the best winning percentage (.718) in D-I interleague play. From top to nearly bottom, Big Ten Hockey was a force to be reckoned with, and four of the conference’s seven teams played their way into the NCAA tournament. As the … Read more