BU Battles Bucky Badger

Tonight, BU will face number 2 Wisconsin at home. Last night, the Badgers were not just blown out, but they were massacred 9-2 a couple stops up the green line at BC. The Badgers came into this weekend with a perfect record, after sweeping Northern Michigan on opening weekend.

From The Vault
BU and Wisconsin kick off the 2011 season at the Icebreaker
Tournament in St. Louis
(Photo by Matt Dresens)

Scouting the Badgers
Sophomore Nic Kerdiles and senior Michael Mersch both have a 2-2-4 line through three games played  and lead the team in scoring. Mersch and Kerdiles were one/two in scoring last year, too. Mersch had 23 goals, 13 assists for 36 points in 42 games. Kerdiles, as a freshman, posted 11 goals, 22 assists to make 33 points in just 32 games. Junior Jake McCabe is easily the team's best defenseman and last year he racked up 21 points on three goals and 18 assists. McCabe was a member of the 2012 USA WJC Team that won Gold in Ufa, Russia last winter.    

In goal, Joel Rumpel and Landon Peterson have both seen time this year. Both split time last year with Rumple getting the majority of the starts. Rumple had a .929 save percentage, a 1.96 goals against and a 16-9-4 record. This year he has a .952sv% with a 1.00 GAA.

The Last Time They Met...
October 8th, 2010 in the first round of the Icebreaker Innovational held that year in St. Louis. BU (luckily) won the game 4-3. Wisco actually scored a goal late in the third period to tie the game, but the replay system was broken and the play was never reviewed. A shot beat Keiran Millan and hit the inside cross bar and it was not until I got home and watched the highlights did I fully realize it was a goal. Some times its better to be lucky than good.

History 
BU and Wisconsin have met three times in the NCAA tournament, with BU winning all three tilts. First was the in 1972 National Semi Finals. BU won 4-1 leading to their second National Championship in as many years. Skip ahead to 1978 and again the two teams met in the first round of the Frozen Four. Again, BU won on its way to a National Championship, this time 5-2. The most recent meeting was in the '94 regional in Albany, NY. BU won 4-1, but history did not repeat itself, as the Terriers lost the National Title Game 9-1 to Lake State.