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Jared Moe's return at goaltender, Charlie Stramel's impact lead four storylines to watch in Wisconsin men's hockey this season

mark stewart, milwaukee journal sentinel
·2 min read
Returning goaltender Jared Moe was named the Badgers' most valuable player last season.
Returning goaltender Jared Moe was named the Badgers' most valuable player last season.

Jared Moe leads deeper group of goaltenders

One of the reasons Wisconsin coach Tony Granato is excited for this season is the return of goaltender Jared Moe. The senior started 27 of the 31 games he played last season, registering a .917 save percentage and a 2.97 goals against average before being named the team’s most valuable player. Granato also added junior Kyle McClellan, a transfer from Mercyhurst, and junior Ben Garrity, who played sparingly during his first two seasons, returns.

Charlie Stramel poised to make instant impact

Could Charlie Stramel be UW' s next first-round draft choice? The 6-foot-3, 215-pound freshman from Rosemont, Minnesota, comes to the Badgers after two years with the U.S. national team developmental program. He was part of Team USA at the World Junior Championships earlier this year. “As a player I’m a big powerful and fast power forward. I go out there, I play 200 feet,” he said. “I can move for a big guy. I love to make the skill play but also make the hard play, do anything I can to help the team win and compete.”

Getting more from the power play, penalty kill

A key to climbing the Big Ten standings this season will be improving the team’s power play and penalty kill units. UW ranked fifth out of seven Big Ten teams in the power play last season and was last in penalty kills. “Specialty teams are two areas that would definitely have a big impact if we can shape those up and perform to where I think we can,” Granato said.

The leadership of Dominick Mersch

Good teams need strong leadership and the Badgers have that in captian Dominick Mersch, one of three fifth-year seniors on the roster. "There’s a guy who is a complete warrior,” Granato said. “When you draw up what a Wisconsin Badger athlete is, you look for a guy that has much pride at being part of it and that is what he is."

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Four storylines to watch in Wisconsin men's hockey this season