By james art 
When the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team ended a two -week trip with a visit to Notre Dame in October, both teams hit the rinks. Wisconsin entered the Weekend series with a four-game losing series, while the Irish divided the series from the previous weekend with Alaska-Feribanks and the University of Long Island.
Quickly ahead four months: Notre Dame hockey ends a two -week journey with a visit to Madison, Wisconsin, this weekend … Both teams hit the rinks. Wisconsin has lost six straight, swept up on three consecutive weekends of No. 5 Minnesota, No. 18 Pen State and No. 7 Ohio State. Notre Dame has lost four straight, swept away by the bouquets and last weekend by Nitani Lions.
Sometimes the reflection in the mirror is not the image we want to see.
But for Wisconsin (11-18-3, 6-15-1 Big Ten) and Notre Dame (9-20-1, 3-16-1 Big Ten), the two teams in the last place in the Big Ten Conference, The Image In the mirror, it tells the story of what can only be defined as disappointing seasons.
For Notre Dame, the play is good but inconsistent. The results did not follow. Notre Dame recorded his 20th loss for the season at Penn State last Saturday, marking his first season of 20 loss after two decades (2004-05) and the first of leaving chief trainer Jeff Jackson.
“I thought we played pretty well after the first period (last) Friday night,” Jackson said this week. “We had a very good chance of assessing at least to tie the game or move forward. But it is still difficult for us to end at times. When you play well and not win, it’s a little disappointing. I know this applies to players and coaches. “
Jackson understands that this sense of powerlessness is mutual on the other bench. Wisconsin made the NCAA tournament last year in the first season of chief coach Mike Hastings. Badgers failed to repeat success this year. They got out of the gate, enjoying 9-4-3 sections in the middle of the season, but since then they have not fallen without victory in February.
From late, the target assessment is the fight. Badgers have combined for only eight goals scored in their last six games and have not scored more than two in one game during this period. In particular, the scoring a third period has decreased significantly. Wisconsin was exceeded 16-2 in the third period during his current lost series. This is a season after Wisconsin remained unbeaten (19-0-0) when he led after two periods.
“We did a lot of good things defensive, not giving up much, but we have to give our goalkeeper at our door,” Hastings said this week. “Our power game must return to being productive. We need to score more than one or two goals 5 to 5 if we don’t get the power game. We ask our goal to be close to perfect and it is difficult to do at this time of year. “
A player who had no problems with the note of Badgers is the sophomore Quinn Finley. Finley’s 19 goals make up 20% of Wisconsin’s score this season. The growing advance of the 14 years of completion of Ryland Mosley made up another 15%. However, Wisconsin has no other double -digit goal scorer.
While Wisconsin struggles offensively, Notre Dame’s challenge was defensive. The Irish ranked 57th of 64 teams on a national scale against the authorized ones, giving up 3.4 goals per game. In their last 21 games, the Irish have held their opponents up to two goals or less only three times. In their nine games, they had previously managed the feat eight times.
However, Jackson insists that his team defends himself better. The offensive finish, on the other hand, dried.
“We still have to try to give up a smaller goal game and try to score another,” Jackson said. “If we are going to win, we have to get to this magic number of three [goals scored] and keep your opponent in two or reach four [scored] And keep them three. One or the other. “
With two teams fighting by the end of the season, the series this weekend has the opportunity to end the season with a strong touch. The trials that these teams face are obvious, but it is not too late to start moving in the right direction, even if it is the last (for Wisconsin) or second to a long weekend (for Notre Dame) during the season.
“It’s so hard to be positive when you don’t win,” Jackson said. “My whole thing right now is to make progress, so when we enter the playoffs, we play well and give a chance to win the playoff, to get started and then go from there.”
For Wisconsin, especially this weekend, it has an extra meaning: it’s a senior weekend. And while the senior weekend is often seen as a harbinger of the end, he also offers the opportunity to look forward – an opportunity for gratitude for what it was, an opportunity to build more.
“If we want to honor (our adults) in the best way we can, this is to stay with them as long as we can,” Hastings said. “To make sure we play as deep as possible in the season, this is the best way to honor and show this group how we feel about them.”
Notre Dame and Wisconsin will release the washer at 8:30 pm and on Friday and Saturday in the center of Kohl.