With the final seconds of regulation ticking off the clock, Corbin McGuire set up in the slot for a one-timer. He received a pass, wound up and fired a shot as the buzzer sounded.
The shot was blocked before it could reach the net, and McGuire collapsed to the ice in agony. The Badgers had missed a golden opportunity to beat their arch-nemesis as time expired.
“It was tough. Bottom line is we gotta come out and play like we did late for a full 60,” junior forward Cameron Hughes said. “We did a lot of good things. We just [have to] build on the fact that when we play our game, we play our style, we have success.”
Despite UW grabbing the late momentum and nearly sneaking away with a last-second victory, the Gophers (6-1-0 Big Ten, 14-5-2 overall) would go on to grab the win in overtime. It was a heartbreaking, tight loss for the Badgers in a game where they came close to knocking off the No. 7 team in the nation.
Nonetheless, Wisconsin (3-2-0, 10-8-1) had too many defensive lapses in the opening moments, leading to easy put-in goals for Minnesota.
“They came after us early in the game. We didn’t get to our game fast enough,” head coach Tony Granato said. “We’ll have to be sharper earlier tomorrow. You have to play 60 minutes against a team like that if you’re gonna win.”
Less than five minutes in, a defensive lapse led to a tap-in goal for Leon Bristedt, who stood down a wide open net before breaking the ice with his seventh goal of the season. Seven minutes later, two Gophers stood alone directly in front of goalie Jack Berry without a Badger in sight. Berry did his best to keep the puck out of the net, stopping at least two attempts, but he never had a chance, as Mike Szmatula was able to score from close range.
The Badgers fought back, scoring twice in the second and then tying the game once more with 11:39 remaining. They had a flurry of chances in the final 30 seconds and looked like they would break the tie, but couldn’t bury the puck. Then, 1:43 into overtime, a two-on-one led to captain Justin Kloos’ golden goal.
“They’ve got so much speed that if you fall asleep for one second or you give them one opportunity on a rush, they can beat you, and that’s what happened in overtime,” Granato said.
It’s a hard loss to swallow for the Badgers, but there were plenty of positives to take away. Berry again stood tall in net, stopping chance after chance and keeping Wisconsin in the game. None of the Gophers’ four goals were stoppable, as the defense gifted Minnesota open space in high-scoring areas.
“I thought Berry was real big for us early in the game, it could have been a little bit bigger of a lead for them,” Granato said.
The fourth line of senior Aidan Cavallini, junior forward Matt Ustaski and sophomore Matthew Freytag played above average again. They were able to control the puck when in their offensive zone, thus generating multiple scoring chances. Ustaski scored his second goal in as many games.
“Winning those 50-50 battles and those races down the ice, I think we’re all pretty good skaters getting up and down,” Ustaski said. “Especially when the pucks are in the offensive zone in the corners, we really work.”
The Kohl Center was also lively all night long, with the loudest moments of the season—and possibly the last two years—coming in those last 30 seconds of regulation when Wisconsin sent a barrage of pucks at goalie Eric Schierhorn.
“I look forward to having the same energetic crowd night after night now the rest of the way,” Granato said. “I think we got a heck of a team to watch.”
The announced crowd of 12,589 was treated to a nail-biting, back-and-forth affair that had a little bit of everything. A beautiful wrist-shot goal from captain Luke Kunin and a circus-like one-handed shot by Hughes, which found the back of the net off of freshman Trent Frederic’s skate, incited roars from the Badger faithful.
Regardless, if Wisconsin wants to send the Kohl Center crowd home in good spirits tomorrow night, it will need to tighten up on defense and avoid the slow start that has plagued the Badgers all season.
The puck is set to drop at 5:00 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
