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Michigan Hockey: Wolverines to host Wisconsin in two-game series

Michigan hockey has been on a roll of late. Now, they’ll look to continue this stretch versus the Wisconsin Badgers.

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Michigan defenseman Luke Hughes (43) looks to pass against Denver during the first period of the Frozen Four semifinal at the TD Garden in Boston, Mass. on Thursday., April 7, 2022.

Michigan Hockey is in the final stretch with only four home games left in the regular season. This weekend, the No. 6 ranked Michigan hockey team faces off against the unranked Wisconsin Badgers at Yost Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday night.

The Wolverines are on a hot streak and playing the best hockey of the season. Last weekend, they took down No. 6 ranked Penn State in a high-scoring series sweep. 

This series will be the first unranked series for the Wolverines since December 3rd, which also happened to be Wisconsin.  The last time the Wolverines faced the Badgers, each team took one game of the series. Michigan hockey lost game one 3-6 and bounced back during game two with a final score of 4-2. While this is a series that Michigan should win, anything can happen in the Big Ten.

Get to Know the Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Hockey team is 10-16-0 on the season, with a 3-13-0 record in the Big Ten. While their record could be more impressive, the Badgers have some key top-20 wins. This Wisconsin team beat No. 10 Minnesota Duluth, No. 5 Michigan, No. 20 Notre Dame, and No. 7 Ohio State.

Wisconsin’s shot percentage is .076 (64-841); meanwhile, their opponents’ are .103 (80-177). They also only average 2.5 goals per game which is very low, considering the competitiveness of the Big Ten.

Impact Players for Michigan Hockey

Adam Fantilli: Leading the team in points as a Freshman, Fantilli is proving himself even more as one of the best players in College Hockey. In 22 games played, Fantilli has 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists). Not to mention, Fantilli left the team for a short time for the World Junior Championship, yet that didn’t slow him down one bit.

Fantilli has points in all games but two this season, and we should expect that to continue going into this weekend’s series.

Luke Hughes: Fan favorite Luke Hughes has had the season everyone has hoped he would. With 30 points on the season (eight goals, 22 assists), he is exceeding expectations. Last weekend, in particular, Hughes scored five goals. Four of those goals were in Saturday’s game.

Luke Hughes is the definition of an offensive defenseman. He can do just about anything and will likely put up points this weekend.

Gavin Brindley: Freshman forward Brindley had a slow start to the season. However, after he went to World Juniors, he returned as a different player. He has improved immensely as the games have progressed, and he is one of the most valuable players on the team. While undersized, he is swift and will take any chance to shoot the puck he gets. He has points in the last five games and will be looking to continue that going into the games against Wisconsin. Brindley is going to get better from here.

Catch the Wolverines take on the Badgers on Friday and Saturday. Both games will be at 7:00 p.m. EST and will air on BIG+.

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Maddie Steinbock is an Editor at Blue By Ninety, and a lifelong University of Michigan fan. She has a Sports Management degree at Bowling Green State University. Her work has been featured in Yahoo!, Yardbarker, Bleacher Report, and more.

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