Top-ranked Wisconsin men's and women's hockey teams face showdown series this weekend

MADISON – The number one has fit Wisconsin nicely the last couple of months.

Back in August the Badgers women’s volleyball team took over the No. 1 ranking in the American Volleyball Coaches Association ranking and held it for eight weeks.

A few weeks later the UW women’s hockey team debuted at No. 1 in the USCHO ranking, a spot it held every week this season.

Monday the men’s hockey team joined the club, climbing two spots in the USCHO ranking to lock in the nation’s No. 1 ranking. The Badgers also took over the No.1 spot in the USA Hockey/ The Rink Life poll.

It’s the first time Wisconsin men’s hockey has been ranked No. 1 since the preseason poll for the 2006-07 season. That also marks the last time the Badger men’s and women’s programs were ranked No. 1 at the same time.

So when it comes to hockey, Wisconsin can consider itself the capital of the college game … for the moment.

First time since 2006 Wisconsin's hockey programs ranked No. 1 at same time

“Some people might be really surprised, but some that know (men’s coach Mike Hastings) understand what he is capable of doing and he’s certainly been able to do that with the players he’s brought in and the group he’s put together,” UW women’s coach Mark Johnson said. “They’re fun to watch.”

Both of Wisconsin’s hockey teams will face challenges to their No. 1 rankings this week.

The women play Friday and Saturday at second-ranked Ohio State in a rematch of last season’s national championship game.

The men, meanwhile, play at No. 11 Michigan State, which is off to a 3-0-1 start (10 points) in the Big Ten and is in second place behind Wisconsin.

Having knocked off then-top-ranked Minnesota on Oct. 26-27, Hastings understands the challenges that come with being No. 1.

“It’s a moment so right now being where we are in the polls doesn’t give us a goal lead, it doesn’t give us an opportunity to be ahead of the game,” Hastings said. “In fact, I’ve been on the other side of that where we’ve hosted a No. 1 team coming in and I can tell you as an opposing coach it sharpens your pencil and it makes sure that you’re on point.”

UW Badgers women's hockey team used to No. 1 target

In addition to being ranked No. 1 all season, the Badger women (12-0, 8-0 WCHA) spent four weeks as the unanimous top-ranked team.

Wisconsin has played the last four weeks without All-American defender Caroline Harvey, who suffered a lower-body injury Oct. 20 in the series opener against Bemidji State.

Johnson said Harvey resumed skating this week but that she won’t play against the Buckeyes.

“They play an aggressive style," Johnson said of the Buckeyes. "They’re in your face. They forecheck very strongly. You can bend a bunch of times but you don’t want to break. … I’m excited because we’re going to be put on our heels for a period of time down there Friday night. How do we respond?”

Ohio State, which is 9-1 with a season-opening loss to No. 3 Colgate, took three of the five meetings last season, sweeping the Badgers in Columbus. Wisconsin has lost four straight there and five of the last six.

“It’s always a super-special weekend whenever we’re playing Ohio State no matter what we’re ranked,” senior forward Casey O’Brien said.

“I think we’re always two of the best in the country and so it’s always going to be a gritty weekend. It’s always going to be super difficult on both sides of the puck. I think we get a little more excited for this than any other weekend just because it’s a rivalry that we’ve built.”

Wisconsin men return to hockey action after much-needed week off

The Wisconsin men are coming off their first weekend off since the start of the season. The break interrupted the team’s six-game winning streak, but Hastngs didn’t mind its timing. There were injuries that needed to heal and illnesses that needed to run their course.

Hastings also used the time to tighten up some things defensively and being better off the rush. This week the Badgers will also try to get back up to speed on special teams.

"If you noticed our penalty kill or our power play, it took a little while to get going in the regular season," Hastings said. "Game reps are hard to replicate in practice, so our attention in the next couple of days is to try and get as prepared as we can for what State has been doing. They've been going since Day 1. so they're going to be dialed in on their Xs and Os and not take a long time to get up to speed."

Then again speed shouldn’t be a problem for the UW men. In the space of just six weeks, they went from being listed as honorable mention in the poll Sept. 25 to No. 1. Their rise really gained steam with a sweep of then-No. 17 Michigan Tech on Oct. 20-21. The next week they swept No. 1 Minnesota and followed that with a sweep of No. 4 Michigan.

It has been an excellent start for a team picked to finish fifth in the Big Ten.

“It gives a lot of credit to what we have on our team,” senior David Silye said. “There’s a lot of guys who really want it and want to prove people wrong and that is what we’re going to continue to do. … We’re going about our business. We know we belong and we’re just worried about us.”

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin hockey teams ranked No. 1 heading into big weekend series