The Badgers men’s hockey team earned its first road win of the season on Saturday night against Notre Dame after falling to the Fighting Irish 2-3 in overtime on Friday. The Badgers are now tied for second in the Big Ten with five points in four games.
Notre Dame's Henry Nelson got the Irish on the board early with 7:38 into the game, beating Badgers goaltender Tommy Scarfone over his left shoulder, assisted by brother Danny Nelson and Blake Biondi.
Freshman Ryan Botterill tied the game for the Badgers on the power play with 4:58 remaining in the second period. Junior forward Tyson Dyck passed from the top of the right circle to Logan Hensler at the blue line, who took a shot on goal. Botterill tipped the shot past the Notre Dame goaltender, marking his first career NCAA goal.
Captain Owen Lindmark gave the Badgers their first lead of the night and his first goal of the season with 2:44 seconds remaining in the second. Kyle Kukkonen passed to defender Ben Dexheimer who rushed the puck up the ice and passed to Lindmark at the blue line. Lindmark brought the puck down the left side of the ice and beat goaltender Owen Say on his right side.
The Irish were able to respond just 31 seconds later, tipping it past Scarfone to tie the game going into the third.
The third period remained scoreless, but four penalties were earned. Three of the four were awarded to the Fighting Irish. The Badgers failed to capitalize on any of the power plays.
The Badgers went into their fourth overtime of the season. Wisconsin started the extra time with a power play, as the Irish got a penalty with 21 seconds left in regulation. But the Badgers’ advantage was short-lived, as freshman forward Gavin Morrissey received a penalty for tripping with 1:15 into overtime. Once the Irish power play started, Cole Knuble finished the game for Notre Dame, scoring with 2:49 left in overtime.
The Badgers outshot the Irish 44-24 for a season high. The Badgers were able to outshoot the Irish again on night two, 35-23.
On Saturday, Wisconsin clocked their first road win and second season win. This was the Badgers’ first conference win of the season and Scarfone’s first win as a Badger.
The first period remained scoreless, but it quickly picked up in the second. Lindmark started the night off for the Badgers, scoring 5:34 into the second period. Freshman defender Weston Knox passed up the left side of the ice to Kukkonen, who skated the puck into the Irish defensive zone before finding Lindmark on the right circle. Lindmark beat Irish goaltender Say over his left shoulder. With the assist, Knox found his first collegiate point.
Notre Dame responded shortly after, with Ryan Helliwell putting the Irish on the board with 7:34 left in the second, beating Scarfone over his left glove.
Simon Tassy closed out the second period, putting the Badgers up 2-1 with 35 seconds remaining. The Badgers were on the power player after the Fighting Irish got a penalty for goaltender interference. Junior defender Ben Dexheimer passed the puck across the blue line to forward Christian Fitzgerald, who took a shot that was redirected by Tassy. This was Tassy’s first goal of the season
Three penalties were awarded in the third period. Kukkonen stepped into the box with 3:21 remaining in the third. The Irish failed to capitalize on the power play, and the Badgers secured their second win of the season. The Badgers went 3-3 on the penalty kill but were 1-4 on the power play.
The Badgers will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers for the border battle series at the Kohl Center on Friday, Nov. 8, and Saturday, Nov. 9. Puck drops at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday.
