Wisconsin vs. Northern Michigan: Friday night line charts

Wisconsin kicks off a brand new season tonight at the Kohl Center as they host Northern Michigan. The Badgers played the Wildcats last year to kick off their season as well, and NMU had the upper hand, winning both contests.

This season the Badgers look to get off to a better start after that horrendous 1-7-2 stretch at the begging of last year. It all starts tonight as they look to set the tone for what appears to have the makings of a special season.

Wisconsin comes into the season ranked No. 3 by all major national polls, and have also been pegged to win the inaugural Big Ten title by the league's coaches.

Season openers haven't been too kind to Mike Eaves and the Badgers, as they are just 5-6 during his 11 years at the helm, including an 0-5 record over the past five seasons. Wisconsin's last season-opening victory came in a 4-1 win over Notre Dame on Oct. 12, 2007, at the Lefty McFadden Invite in Dayton, Ohio.

Returning a veteran team, the Badgers feature nine seniors and 16 upperclassmen, the most since the 2009-10 Frozen Four team also had 16.

What you need to know:

Who: Northern Michigan (0-0-0) vs Wisconsin (0-0-0)
What: Season Opener
Where: Kohl Center (Madison, Wis.)
Capacity: 15,359
Rink Dimensions: 200x97
Game Time: 7:00 p.m CT
Television: None
Streaming: InsideBadgersports.com ($9.95/month)
Radio: Badger Sports Network

WISCONSIN LINES

Morgan Zulinick - Mark Zengerle - Tyler Barnes
Joseph LaBate - Nic Kerdiles - Michael Mersch
Grant Besse - Jefferson Dahl - Jedd Soleway
Brad Navin - Keegan Meuer - Sean Little

Jake McCabe - Frankie Simonelli
Kevin Schulze - Joe Faust
Eddie Wittchow - Chase Drake

Landon Peterson
Joel Rumpel
Adam Miller

Injuries: None

NORTHERN MICHIGAN LINES

Cohen Adair - Stephan Vigier - Erik Higby
Justin Rose - Darren Nowick - Ryan Daugherty
Ryan Aynsley - Shane Sooth - Dominik Shine
Jake Johnson - Ryan Kesti - Nate Taurence

Wade Epp - CJ Ludwig
Mitch Jones - Luke Eibler
Jake Baker - Barrett Kaib

Mathias Dahlstrom
Michael Doan

Injuries: Reed Seckel (undisclosed)