It's never too early to start thinking about next season so we might as well start with who Wisconsin is going to be playing. With 12 teams in the current WCHA, the league has adopted these pods for scheduling purposes. Next year in league play the Badgers will play every team one series, and they will play two series with North Dakota, Minnesota, and St. Cloud State, obviously one on the road and one at the Kohl Center.
Since this is only the second season of this format, I'm not 100% sure how the rest of the league schedule will work. I'm assuming most likely if UW played a team at home like Bemidji State, they will play them on the road next year. And a team like Denver that Wisconsin traveled to this season will come to the Kohl. The Badgers scheduling pod last year included Michigan Tech and Minnesota-Duluth, so the assumption would be playing one of them at home, and the other on the road.
According to Andy Baggot Wisconsin's non conference schedule next season includes (all home) series with Northern Michigan, RIT, and Mercyhurst. They will kick off the season with Northern Michigan, Mercyhurst will be in town over Thanksgiving (no more college hockey showcase), and the Badgers will get RIT over winter break.
UPDATE-I've been told this is the current tentative schedule for next season.
Oct. 7-8 – vs. Northern Michigan
Oct. 14-15 @ Michigan Tech
Oct. 21-22 – vs. North Dakota
Oct. 28-29 – vs. Nebraska Omaha
Nov. 4-5 – @ St. Cloud State
Nov. 11-12 – vs. Minnesota
Nov. 18-19 – @ Colorado College
Nov. 25-26 – vs. Mercyhurst
Dec. 2-3 – vs. RIT
Dec. 9-10 – vs. Minnesota-Duluth
Jan. 13-14 – @ Minnesota State
Jan. 20-21 – vs. Anchorage
Jan. 27-28 – @ North Dakota
Feb. 3-4 – vs. St. Cloud State
Feb. 17-18 – vs. Denver
Feb. 24-25 – @ Bemidji State
March 2-3 – @ Minnesota
chuckschwartz(at)live.com
Follow me on Twitter