After a 16-goal outburst last weekend and some help from Ohio State against Michigan, Wisconsin overtook the No. 1 spot in the USCHO poll on Monday. The Big Ten now holds the top three spots in the country with Wisconsin, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Michigan State. The newly-minted No. 1 immediately went into defense of that honor Thursday night against an archrival. In East Lansing, Michigan State is set to take on another ranked non-conference opponent this weekend.
Badgers Get Extra Shootout Point Against Gophers
In its first game as the top-ranked team in the country, Wisconsin got challenged by No. 18 Minnesota, specifically by Luca Di Pasquo. The senior netminder made 41 saves on a night where the Badgers outshot the Gophers 42-17. Di Pasquo’s incredible performance forced a 1-1 tie, but the Badgers picked up the extra shootout point.
Sophomore Mason Moe got Minnesota on the board first with a powerplay goal midway through the first period, before Zach Wooten finally broke through on Di Pasquo to tie the game at one nearly seven minutes into the second frame. The Badgers took 11 shots to the Gophers’ two in the third period but could not find the winner. In the shootout, Bruno Idžan used a nifty backhand to get one past Di Pasquo and Alexis Cournoyer stopped all three Minnesota shooters to clinch the extra point. More from the Badgers and Gophers.
Spartans and Terriers Renew Acquaintances
Following last week’s victory over No. 8 North Dakota in Texas, No. 3 Michigan State hosts No.13 Boston University for a two-game series at Munn Ice Arena. The two squads met last season for one of the high-water marks of the Spartans’ 2025-26 campaign, when they swept the then-No. 1 Terriers behind 4-2 and 4-3 victories in Boston.
Two of the sport’s hottest goal scorers will come together in this one. Sophomore stars Anthony Romani (Big Ten Second Star of the Week) and Tynan Lawrence are both top five in the country with seven goals each and lead two teams ranked in the top 15 in scoring offense. They’ll be challenged by two goaltenders off to impressive starts. Michigan State freshman Joshua Ravensbergen is ninth in the nation with a .947 save percentage while sporting a 1.62 goals against average. BU’s Mikhail Yegorov was named Hockey East Defender of the Week on Monday and is 6-2 with a 1.98 GAA so far this year.
Catch both matchups (Friday at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET) on B1G+.
Penn State and Notre Dame also face off in Happy Valley this weekend. See the full schedule.