Wisconsin Radio Network

Wisconsin News and Sports

You are here: Home / Archives for Badgers

Mertz, offense struggle in Badger loss at Northwestern (AUDIO)

By

Graham Mertz – Photo Courtesy of David Stluka / UW Athletics

Redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz committed three first half turnovers and four overall as the Wisconsin Badgers (2-1) fell to the Northwestern Wildcats
(5-0) (17-7 in Evanston, Illinois on Saturday.

The Badgers, who played without injured wide receivers Danny Davis and Kendric Pryor, lost for the fifth time in the last six trips to Evanston.

The Badgers managed just one score on 17 offensive possessions and finished three for 16 on third downs, committing five turnovers for the game.  UW has committed 18 turnovers in the last six meetings against the Wildcats.

Graham Mertz, who hadn’t turned the ball over in his first two games, finished 23 of 41 for 230 yards with a touchdown [Read more…]

Hockey Badgers fall to Wolverines in overtime

By

The 14th ranked Wisconsin men’s hockey team was looking to earn a split with 6th ranked Michigan on Friday night, but fell 2-1 in 3-on-3 overtime at LaBahn Arena.

The game was scoreless after one period before Wisconsin (2-2-0, 2-2-0-0-1-0 Big Ten) junior Roman Ahcan notched his first goal of the season just two minutes into the second period on the power play.  Ahcan got a perfect cross ice feed from senior Tarek Baker.

The Wolverines (4-0-0, 2-0-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) tied the game 1-1 with six minutes left in the second period.

The two teams were scoreless in the third before the Wolverines scored the overtime game winner with 26.6 seconds left in OT.

UW goaltender Robbie Beydoun stopped 34 of 36 shots on goal in the loss.

Badger sophomore Cole Caufield is still looking for his first goal of the season after leading the Big Ten in that category last year, but he dished out his fourth assist of the season, one in each of the teams four games.

Wisconsin has a quick turn-a-round on Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 23-24 with a pre-Thanksgiving series against No. 10 Penn State.

 

Hockey Badgers fall to 6th ranked Michigan

By

The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers (2-1-0, 2-1-0-0 Big Ten) suffered their first loss of the season, 5-2 in their home opener against the 6th ranked Michigan Wolverines (3-0-0, 1-0-0-0 Big Ten) at LaBahn Arena on Thursday night.

Senior Josh Ess opened the scoring for the Badgers, scoring his first goal of the season just 1:10 into the first.

The Wolverines scored three times in the second period to tie and take the lead.

The Badgers drew to within a goal early in the third on a Linus Weissbach power play tally, but the Wolverines quickly responded with a goal of their own and then added an empty netter late for the final 5-2 margin.

Senior Robbie Beydoun had 29 saves in goal for the Badgers.

The two teams return to action on Friday night with a 6 p.m. faceoff time at LaBahn Arena.

Badger women’s hockey tops WCHA Preseason Coaches Poll

By

Defending regular season champion Wisconsin is the pick among league head coaches to win the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Women’s League 2020-21 regular season title.

The Badgers totaled 34 points and four first place votes in preseason polling among the WCHA’s seven bench bosses.  Defending WCHA regular season champion Minnesota received three first place votes and tallied 31 points in the poll.

Ohio State finished third with 28 points to edge out fourth-place Minnesota Duluth (21 points).  Bemidji State (14), Minnesota State (13) and St. Cloud State (6) rounded out this year’s poll.

Daryl Watts, Wisconsin’s senior forward was named WCHA Preseason Player of the Year, edging out Ohio State senior forward Emma Maltais, Minnesota senior forward Grace Zumwinkle and Minnesota Duluth junior forward Gabbie Hughes.

The WCHA opens its 22nd season the weekend of Nov. 20-22 as Minnesota State hosts Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota hosts Ohio State.

Wisconsin opens its season the following weekend, Nov. 27-28 at Ohio State.

Badger football team moves up in both Top-25 Polls

By

The Wisconsin Badgers, coming off a 49-11 win over the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Saturday night, moved up in both Top 25 Polls on Sunday.

The Badgers climbed two spots to number-12 in the Amway Coaches Poll.  They’re third among four Big Ten Conference teams in this weeks poll.

Ohio State (3-0) is at number-3.  Indiana (4-0) is at number-10.  Northwestern (4-0) moved up three spots to number-20.

The Wildcats have made the turnaround from a 1-8 record a year ago and will host the Badgers on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Evanston.

The Badgers also moved up three spots to number-10 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

Hockey Badgers sweep Notre Dame

By

The Wisconsin men’s hockey team pulled off their first Big Ten weekend sweep since February of 2017, knocking off Notre Dame 5-3 on Saturday night in South Bend, Indiana.

Senior Ty Pelton-Byce finished sophomore Cole Caufield’s rebound to put the Badgers (2-0-0, 2-0-0-0 Big Ten) on the board with just 3:04 left in the first period.

The Badgers also got a pair of Goals from sophomore Ryder Donovan and single tallies from junior Brock Caufield and sophomore  Dylan Holloway.  It was the second goal of the weekend for Holloway.

Senior Colin Theisen notched his first career hat trick, scoring all three goals for the Irish (0-2-0, 0-2-0-0 Big Ten).

Graduate goaltender Robbie Beydoun is now 2-0 on the season, making 29 saves in goal on Saturday night.

Wisconsin’s power play went 3 for 6 on the weekend, while going three of four on the penalty kill.

The Badgers head home to begin a six-game homestand with a battle against Michigan at LaBahn Arena Thursday and Friday, Nov. 19-20.  Both games are currently slated for 6 p.m. starts.

Badgers crush Wolverines, move to 2-0

By

The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers took advantage of a couple of Michigan turnovers early and went on to a convincing 49-11 win over the Wolverines on Saturday night in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Safety Scott Nelson and linebacker Leo Chenal intercepted Joe Milton in the first quarter and the Badgers quickly turned them into touchdowns for a 14-0 lead.

The Badgers (2-0) built a 28-0 halftime lead and were in cruise mode for the rest of the game.

Michigan (1-3) suffered its third straight loss and had no answer for the Badgers, who played without four starters and six additional players.  The Badgers also lost defensive ends Matt Henningsen (elbow) and James Thompson (lower body), linebacker Mike Maskalunas (lower body) and safety John Torchio to injuries during the game.

Quarterback Graham Mertz, who tested positive for coronavirus one day after the season opener, got off to a slow start but settled in.  He finished 12 for 22 for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Wisconsin’s 38-point win was its largest-ever margin of victory over Michigan and is the 5th win in the last seven meetings against the Wolverines.  The Badger win marked the first win by the road team in the series since the Badgers scored a 48-28 win over the Wolverines at the Big House in 2010.

The Badgers face a big road test next Saturday at Northwestern (4-0), a 27-20 winner over Purdue (2-1) on Saturday.

Big Ten Scoreboard

Indiana 24, Michigan State 0
Nebraska 30, Penn State 23
Northwestern 27, Purdue 20
Illinois 23, Rutgers 20

Hockey Badgers blank Irish in Big Ten opener

By

The Wisconsin men’s hockey team (1-0-0, 1-0-0-0 Big Ten), playing in its first game in 250 days to the coronavirus pandemic, knocked off Notre Dame (0-1-0, 0-1-0-0 Big Ten) 2-0 in their season opener on Friday night in South Bend.

Senior Linus Weissbach scored the first goal of the season, with 6:55 left in the opening period.  The Badgers scored their second goal on the power play in the second period off the stick of sophomore Dylan Holloway to make it 2-0.

Graduate transfer goaltender Robbie Beydoun earned his first win and first shutout as a Badger.

The Badgers won a Big Ten season opener for the first time since the 2016-17 season.  It’s also the second straight shutout win over the Irish in their first meeting in a season after winning 3-0 in their first meeting last season.

The two teams wrap up their season opening series in South Bend on Saturday night (6 p.m.).

Wisconsin 7th in Top 25 Coaches basketball poll

By

Greg Gard

The Wisconsin Badger men’s basketball team will enter the 2020-21 college basketball season as a top 10 team.

Greg Gard’s Badgers came in at number-seven in the A.P. Top 25 on Monday.  Thursday, the Badgers came in at number-seven again in the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll.

The Badgers captured a share of the 2019-20 Big Ten regular season title.

A total of six Big Ten teams were in the USA Today Top 25 poll.  Iowa leads the way at number-six, followed by the Badgers at seven.  Illinois is tenth, Michigan State 12th, Rutgers is at 23 and Ohio State is 24th.

The last time UW opened the season as a consensus top-10 team was in the 2014-15 season.  They were No. 3 in the AP poll and No. 4 in the Coaches Poll.  They went on to win the Big Ten regular season title with a 16-2 record, won the Big Ten Tournament and made it to the NCAA Championship game before falling to Duke.  Wisconsin finished the season that year at 36-4.

 

UW Quarterback Jack Coan making progress (AUDIO)

By

 

Paul Chryst

Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan is no longer wearing a protective boot on his broken right foot and is making progress after undergoing surgery on Oct. 7.

“Hopefully sooner than later we can get it to where he can start doing some field work,” said head coach Paul Chryst.

The Badgers return to action Saturday night (6:30 p.m. ABC) in Ann Arbor against the Michigan Wolverines.  It’s the Badgers first game in three weeks after seeing games against Nebraska and Purdue cancelled due to high COVID numbers in the program.

Starting quarterback Graham Mertz is eligible to return to action for Saturday’s game after testing positive for coronavirus and working his way through the protocol.  But Badgers coach Paul Chryst wouldn’t say whether it’ll be Mertz at quarterback on Saturday night against the Wolverines.

AUDIO: Paul Chryst says Jack Coan is still rehabbing but getting closer :16

AUDIO: Paul Chryst said there’s no timeline for Jack Coan returning, but he’s progressing :15

AUDIO: Paul Chryst says they’re preparing all three quarterbacks as if they’ll play :15