Cruz Lucius nets top honor for second straight week, plus other notables from our look at Wisconsin men's hockey
MADISON – A weekly look at the Wisconsin men’s hockey team.
FOR THE RECORD
The Badgers own a 9-13 overall record and are 2-10 in the Big Ten. They’re coming off a 6-1 exhibition game loss to the U.S. National Team Development Program's under-18 squad Friday.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Cruz Lucius claims honor for second straight week
There weren’t many highlights for UW in its 6-1 loss to U.S. National Team Development Program on Friday. Cruz Lucius, however, was at the center of the Badgers' best play of the night.
The forward scored the team’s lone goal at the 7:35 mark of the second period. Before the score, however, he fended off three defenders before passing to senior Mike Vorlicky, who fed the puck back to Lucius for the shot and goal against his former team. The goal doesn’t count toward his team-high 23 points, but he enters play this week with points in his last six games.
NOTABLE
Blueliners returning to ice
The Badgers were severely hampered defensively against the USNTDP due to the absence of senior Daniel Laatsch, sophomore Corson Ceulemans and junior Anthony Kehrer. In their absence, UW played three different line combinations than the previous week. Goalie Jared Moe also didn’t play.
The good news for UW is that Laatsch, Ceuelmans and Moe will be back in action Friday. Kehrer remained a possibility to return to action as did sophomore Zach Urdahl, who played last week while despite a nagging injury.
More:Charlie Stramel brought home a bronze medal. Now he could be the boost Wisconsin hockey needs
Carson Bantle will serve disqualification penalty
Statistics from exhibition games don’t count toward a player’s season total. Disqualification penalties do, however, so junior Carson Bantle will miss the first game of the Ohio State series due to his ejection for fighting last week.
The skirmish came during the final five minutes of play Friday.
“Bans has gained his offensive confidence in a big way the past few weeks, so we’ll miss him Friday night,” Wisconsin coach Tony Granato said. “It was one of those things where as it’s happening you’re being competitive and then after it, you’re like that’s not very smart because it cost you a game.”
Wisconsin recruit Brady Cleveland mixes it up with future teammate
The USNTDP didn’t back down to the physical challenge of playing a college team. That was especially the case for 2023 Badger recruit Brady Cleveland, who got into a shoving match with senior Jack Gorniak during the second period.
“You look at practices. There’s guys battling like that in practices all the time, too,” Granato said. “That is what hockey is, so I was impressed that he was understanding enough to play the game the right way.”
UW represented well at BioSteel All-American game
Joe Palodichuk, a member of UW’s 2023 class, scored two assists for the White team in a 6-3 loss to the Blue team at the BioSteel All-American game at USA Hockey in Plymouth, Michigan, on Monday. Three other future UW players participated in the game: defensemen Cleveland and Zach Schulz and forward William Whitelaw.
BY THE NUMBERS
89.5 Success rate for the penalty kill of Ohio State, which comes to the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday.
5 Current or future Badgers listed on the NHL Central Scouting mid-term rankings for North American skaters available for the 2023 draft: Stramel (No. 21) and recruits Whitelaw (No. 55), Cleveland (No. 59), Aidan Fink (No. 66) and Schulz (No. 91).
41 Players listed on the Mike Richter Award watch list, including Moe. The award is given to the nation's top goalie.
COMING UP
Badgers get another chance at Buckeyes
vs. No. 7 Ohio State, 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday: The Badgers' push for redemption during the second half of the Big Ten season starts with the Buckeyes, who opened the year with a sweep of UW on Oct. 7-8. Ohio State owned a seven-game winning streak before falling at Michigan on Saturday. Friday’s game will be broadcast by Bally Sports Wisconsin; Saturday’s contest can be seen on the Bally Sports Wisconsin Extra. Both games can also be seen on Big Ten-plus.
More:Cruz Lucius racks up the points in our look at Wisconsin men's hockey
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cruz Lucius nets honor again for Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey
