The Wisconsin Badgers enjoyed a strong start to the new era under head coach Mike Hastings, sweeping Augustana with a pair of shutouts to begin 2-0 on the season.
The Badgers, who are coming off a disappointing 13-23 season that led to the firing of head coach Tony Granato, implemented a number of freshmen and transfers into the lineup, including forward Christian Fitzgerald, who scored the first goal of the season for Wisconsin just 70 seconds into the opener.
While there's much to do to rebuild the program, there's a growing sense of confidence in Madison with the new-look team.
How does the nation view the Badgers after the first weekend?
Wisconsin just slightly missed the Top 20 in the latest USCHO Poll, earning 73 votes, which was good for the first team out of the rankings.
Here are the USCHO Top 20 after the weekend’s set of games, with first-place votes in parentheses.
1. Boston University (26) 1-0-0
2. Minnesota (18) 0-0-0
3. Denver (4) 2-0-0
4. Boston College (2)1-0-0
5. Quinnipiac 0-1-0
6. Michigan 1-1-0
7. North Dakota 0-0-0
8. Michigan State 2-0-0
9. Michigan Tech 0-0-1
10. St. Cloud 1-1-0
11. Cornell 0-0-0
12. Western Michigan 0-0-0
13. Providence 1-1-0
14. Ohio State 1-0-0
15. Merrimack 0-0-0
16. Harvard 0-0-0
17. Minnesota Duluth 0-0-1
18. Penn State 1-0-0
19. Northeastern 1-0-0
20. Connecticut 1-0-1
Other teams receiving votes
Wisconsin 73, Notre Dame 61, Northern Michigan 54, Omaha 34, Clarkson 30, Arizona State 17, Minnesota State 16, St. Thomas 15, Alaska 12, UMass Lowell 11, Maine 10, Colorado College 5, RIT 5, Holy Cross 4, Sacred Heart 4, St. Lawrence 2, AIC 1, Brown 1
The Badgers will continue their season with road games against Bemidji State and North Dakota this weekend.
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