College Hockey Series of the Week: No. 13 Clarkson vs. No. 6 Wisconsin
We have a top 15 matchup in college hockey as No. 13 Clarkson travels to Madison, Wisconsin, to face off with No. 6 Wisconsin. Both teams are off to electric starts this year, and this series will be the one to watch:
Clarkson
The non-conference schedule has been tough for the Clarkson Golden Knights. To start the season, they had to go on the road to a hostile environment for a series with Michigan Wolverines and took care of business. The first game of the series ended in a 1-1 tie. In game two, they won 3-1 behind two third period goals from forwards Anthony Romano and Grant Cooper.
The Golden Knights returned home for a game with Vermont and squeaked by with a 3-2 victory behind a gutsy hat trick performance by Zach Tsekos. Tsekos, the points leader for this Clarkson team, scored two goals in the third period to lift them in this one.
Following the win, Clarkson went back on the road to play a solid Providence Friars squad. Providence led the entire game and held on to win 4-2, despite Romano and forward Josh Dunne scoring goals for the Golden Knights. This was Clarkson’s lone loss of the season, putting them at 2-1-1 on the season.
Goaltender Frank Marotte has started every game thus far and has been sensational. He has only given up eight goals and has a .942 save percentage. Clarkson will need him to step up big-time this weekend against Wisconsin.
Wisconsin
The Big Ten weam of the week last weekend has to be the Wisconsin Badgers. After a tough loss to start the year against Boston College, the Badgers have completely turned it around. Wisconsin scored 11 goals in a win against Merrimack and then swept the defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs last weekend.
Forwards Linus Weissbach, Alex Turcotte, and Cole Caufield have all been dominant to start the season for the Badgers. Weissbach and Turcotte lead the team with eight points, and Caufield is right behind them with seven points. Four other Badgers have five points on the season, so this Wisconsin team has been sharing the wealth offensively.
Wisconsin is playing with a ton of momentum and, right now, goaltender Daniel Lebedeff is a significant reason why. Lebedeff played great in the Minnesota-Duluth series, only allowing three goals in two games. He had 57 saves combined throughout the series, and that lifted the offense. The Badgers have won three straight games and now sit at 3-1 on the season.
It will be tough for Clarkson to go on the road once again and beat a high-powered team in Wisconsin, but they have proved earlier this season that they can get the job done on the road. The Badgers are clicking on all cylinders in every facet of the game and will continue their hot streak this weekend, but will not come away with a sweep.
Prediction: Split
Game 1: Clarkson 3, Wisconsin 2
Game 2: Wisconsin 4, Clarkson 1
Matthew McClure is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact, email mcm5964@psu.edu.
