For the second time in three weeks, Wisconsin (8-5-1 Big Ten, 17-9-2 overall) split their series with conference rival Ohio State (5-6-3, 15-10-3) falling to the Buckeyes 2-1 on Friday night before rallying for a 4-2 win on Saturday.
Coming into Columbus, with momentum off their sweep against Minnesota and senior forward Tyler Barnes’ return to the lineup, the Badgers seemed poised to win.
However, OSU came out aggressive on offense and in a mere two minutes sophomore forward Tyler Lundey put away the first goal behind junior goaltender Joel Rumpel.
Wisconsin struggled to find its rhythm and after a turnover in the defensive zone, junior forward Darik Angeli extended OSU’s lead to 2-0 with just over five minutes remaining in the first period.
Ohio State goaltender Christian Frey limited Wisconsin’s second and third period offensive surge, yet it was the three pipes that surround him that seemed to be the real foe. The Badgers rang shots off the post four times throughout the night.
“If those pipes turn into goals, we’re not even talking about it,” head coach Mike Eaves said of the missed scoring chances. “It’s a game of inches. And sometimes the puck goes in, and sometimes not.”
At just over three and a half minutes to go senior forward Michael Mersch broke Frey’s shutout bid and put the Badgers on the board at 2-1 on assists from seniors Frankie Simonelli and Jefferson Dahl. The goal was Mersch’s 16th of the season.
But even with more offensive chances and firing away at the net, the Badgers couldn't manage to get the equalizer, and fell to a dismal 1-7-1 record on the road.
“Last week we played awesome, and we come in here and can’t put two goals on the board,” Mersch said. “It’s unfortunate, we had a lot of chances. And I think we just have to bear down and put the puck in the back of the net.”
The second-best goal scorer in the Big Ten couldn't seem to put his finger on Wisconsin’s lack of road wins.
“It’s tough to tell,” Mersch said. “We need all lines going on the same role, we need everyone contributing, getting shots on goal and doing the same thing. It’s not really a habit of ours yet. So we have to work towards that.”
If it wasn’t a habit Friday night, the Badgers certainly worked to change that on Saturday.
In a complete turn of story lines, it was Wisconsin who jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Buckeyes in the first period.
Freshman forward Morgan Zulinick scored on a wrist shot from the right circle on the powerplay at just about the halfway mark of the period. Sophomore defenseman Kevin Schulze and freshman forward Jedd Soleway were credited with the assists.
“It was a timely goal,” Eaves said. “The powerplay did some good things tonight.”
Just over two minutes later, freshman forward Grant Besse took a shot on Frey. Senior forward Mark Zengerle stuck his stick out on an attempt to redirect the shot, and succeeded when the puck went top shelf over Frey’s head. Oddly enough, the player most surprised that the goal was good was Zengerle himself.
“To be honest with you, I didn't even know it went in… I had no idea,” he said. “I thought it hit the cross bar and came right out.”
The only goal of the second period came from Ohio State freshman forward Nick Shilkey to cut the Badgers lead in half. But in the third period in was Zengerle again who gave Wisconsin the two-goal lead. After a shot from captain Frankie Simonelli rebounded, Zengerle put the puck away to give Wisconsin the 3-1 lead.
The Buckeyes final tally of the night came less than a minute later from a 3-on-2 odd-man rush. Junior forward Max McCormick beat Rumpel and pulled OSU back within one.
It was a hard-fought race to the finish but Wisconsin managed to fend Ohio State off, and Badgers sophomore forward Nic Kerdiles finished things off with an empty-net goal in the final seconds of the third period to give Wisconsin the 4-2 win and split the series.
The three points the Badgers gained in the standings were a satisfying way to continue down the final stretch of conference play.
“At this time of year, it almost seems that every game becomes the biggest game of the year,” Eaves said. “And literally for us to keep momentum… this was a pivotal game.”
Aside from his two goals, Zengerle’s comfort came in knowing that his team wouldn't be leaving Columbus empty-handed.
“It’s huge. There’s nothing worse than being swept,” he said. “It was a tough pill to swallow for us last night. After our sweep against Minnesota we were on kind of a high horse and we wanted to maintain that going down the stretch of the year.”
The Badgers return to the Kohl Center for their final home series of the season against Michigan State beginning Feb. 21.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
