The Wisconsin Badgers (3-2-1) bounced back from last week’s underwhelming performance in Boston against Lake Superior State (4-1-1) this weekend at the Kohl Center.
After falling behind early Friday, Wisconsin mounted an impressive comeback to finish the game with a 3-3 tie.
The Badgers scored a whopping eight goals Saturday and handed Lake Superior State a hefty 8-1 loss, the first of their season.
“It’s a nice way to end the weekend,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “I think that’s just what the doctor ordered.”
A shaky start Friday put UW down 3-0 four minutes and nine seconds into the first period.
The Lakers’ first goal, scored by freshman forward Alex Globke through traffic, came just 33 seconds into the contest. Less than three minutes later, two goals just seconds apart put Wisconsin under the bus before it could respond.
“There were some unfortunate bounces,” junior goalie Landon Peterson said. “That happens sometimes. You just have to forget about it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”
Senior forward Michael Mersch scored top shelf on a power play near the end of the first period to cut the Badgers’ deficit to 3-1. Sophomore forward Nic Kerdiles notched an assist on Mersch’s goal, bringing his point streak to 17 straight games extending to last season.
In the third period, senior forward Tyler Barnes tipped a shot from senior forward Mark Zengerle past Laker senior goaltender Kevin Kapalka, cutting the LSS lead to one. With a minute and 30 seconds remaining, Wisconsin pulled Peterson from goal and senior forward Tyler Barnes buried his second goal of the night to tie the game.
After an uneventful five-minute overtime period, the Badgers and Lakers went to a three-man shootout, a new addition to college hockey as of the 2013-’14 season. In Big Ten play a shootout determines the winner of the game, but in a non-conference game the shootout is simply for practice.
“[The shootout] is good entertainment value,” Eaves said. “It’s great entertainment for the fans. I become a fan watching it.”
Mersch and redshirt freshman forward Morgan Zulinick scored in the shootout for UW, while two LSS players also scored. Lake Superior State junior forward Stephen Perfetto then scored the “game-winner” past Peterson.
Wisconsin came out with noticeably more energy and intensity Saturday.
Midway through the first period a quick 2-on-1 play ended with Zengerle netting the first of more than a few Wisconsin goals. Later in the period, Wisconsin went up 2-0 on an unassisted, point-blank goal from junior forward Joseph LaBate.
Lake Superior State scored 16 seconds into the second period to halve the Badgers’ lead. Wisconsin responded with a goal of its own from Kerdiles, who extended his point streak to 18 games .
The floodgates opened in the third period as junior forward Brad Navin notched his first of the season and put Wisconsin ahead 5-1. Redshirt junior Chase Drake made it 6-1 a few minutes later with his first career goal as a Badger. A scrum following Drake’s goal resulted in a 10-minute misconduct for the Lakers’ Czuczman and a roughing penalty for Navin.
Shortly after, freshman forward Grant Besse tallied a back-door goal to bring the outburst to seven goals. Besse’s goal sparked another scrum. Senior forward Sean Little was issued a five-minute major for charging, and four Lakers ended up in the penalty box. Kerdiles finished off the rout with a shorthanded goal, and the Badgers won with a final score of 8-1.
“All in all, I think it was the type of weekend that our boys needed to get going and realize some things,” Eaves said. “We can move forward from here.”
