The No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team’s season opener against Lindenwood suffered the same mixed results as their last series against the Lions in January.
Rocky start
Wisconsin couldn’t hold a lead in the first game on Friday night and lost 4-2. On Saturday, the Badgers came back from down two with a tie-creating, baseball-style goal from sophomore forward Quinn Finley that sent the game into overtime. Defender Daniel Laatsch scored the game-winning goal with 18 seconds left in extra time.
Power play goals were crucial in this competition, but out of the 13 power play advantages Lindenwood gave Wisconsin, the Badgers only capitalized on them twice.
Gavin Morrissey and Finley were the Wisconsin players to score on the power play. Lindenwood’s sophomore right-wing, Jaeden Mercier, who scored the first two goals of game one, tallied Lindenwood’s only power play goal for both nights.
New talent
Morrissey, a freshman from Rochester Hills, Michigan, tallied three points in his first series as a Badger. Freshman Logan Hensler made for an impressive series record with one assist, five shots and two blocks.
Head coach Mike Hastings has eight freshman players on his team and four transfers, so there’s a lot of new talent to work with.
“You look at Logan Hensler who’s just turning 18 soon, he went out and played his tail off. There was no fear, he just went out,” Hastings told The Daily Cardinal.
Kohl Center-type energy
Physicality from both teams played a large role in this series. There were 18 total penalties called for minor situations, but other tense moments were observed on the ice. Frustration at passes not connecting led junior center Christian Fitzgerald to slam his stick into the ice after a play in the first period of the first game.
Scuffles led captain Owen Lindmark to say his teammates need to be on the same page after plays were over in the first game.
“We got to be all bought in and support each other, showing energy on the bench,” Lindmark said.
The energy on the bench was higher on night two at the Kohl Center. Even with Lindenwood scoring the first goal of the night, Badgers fans remained active and supportive.
About 7,500 fans attended the Kohl Center Friday night, but that number jumped to 8,875 for game two.
“Even when we were down, the fans were still really loud. It was a good boost of energy when we needed it most. We’re looking to reward them tomorrow,” Morrissey told the Cardinal.
Comeback season
Reward them they did. In game two, fans who lasted through the first two periods saw a comeback reminiscent of Wisconsin’s preseason competition against Omaha. In that game, Wisconsin came back from a 2-0 losing streak to win in overtime.
Down 2-0 against Lindenwood, Finley scored the first goal of the night for Wisconsin. Assisted by Simon Tassy and Ryland Mosley, Finley backhanded the puck into the net.
A shot in the third period from Fitzgerald was deflected into the air only to fall in front of Finley, where he whacked the puck out of the air into the top right corner of the net. Lindenwood goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz was still positioned to defend Fitzgerald’s shot and had little time to correct.
Goaltenders
While Lindenwood played the same goalie both nights, Wisconsin opted to switch goalies on night two, and sophomore William Gramme took the net.
Wisconsin’s goaltending depth includes graduate student transfer Tommy Scarfone, who played night one, and William Gramme, who played under Kyle McClellan, the Big Ten Goalie of the Year, the season prior.
Alongside Scarfone and Gramme is freshman Anton Castro from Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
Being a goalie requires a strong mental game, which Hastings believes this group possesses. After night one’s game, Hastings stressed that he wants his goaltenders to feel encouraged.
Hastings spoke of Scarfone’s four goals against: “We need to give him a little more run support.”
On night two, the extra defensive support helped Gramme let only two goals slip past him.
Looking ahead
After a loss like this series’ first game, Lindmark said “the most important thing is flushing it and coming to the rink in the morning and being ready to go.”
Wisconsin will take on Big Ten opponent Ohio State, the team that knocked the Badgers out of the Big Ten tournament last season, in a home series this weekend.
The Badgers have to shake off this rocky start and continue to drive net support, better passes and capitalize off of power plays.
“There’s some positives here, if you can believe it,” Hastings told the Cardinal. “These hurt, they cut deep. You learn from them, and we’re gonna learn from them.”
Coach Hastings entered his second season at Wisconsin looking to accomplish something former coaches Bob Johnson, Jeff Sauer, Mike Eaves and Tony Granato never were able to — open his first two seasons with a win.
While that record wasn’t broken, like Lindmark said, the Badgers have a new opportunity and need to prepare for that instead of focusing on the past.
Wisconsin’s faces off against Ohio State Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
