The Wisconsin men’s hockey team finished ahead in their final series of the regular season against Notre Dame, winning 7-3 on Friday and losing 1-6 on Saturday.
The Badgers also split their last series against the Fighting Irish back in November. Wisconsin’s record now stands at 12-19-3 overall and 7-16-1 in the Big Ten.
First-night finish
The Badgers had an electric start to the final regular season series, tallying four goals in the first period of Friday night’s game. This is the second four-goal first period of the season for Wisconsin.
During a quick run up the ice, sophomore forward Quinn Finley moved to score but instead spun backwards and passed across the crease to graduate student forward Ryland Mosley. Mosley, waiting on the side of the net, tapped the puck in. This goal marked Finley’s first point in six games.
Junior forward Jack Horbach scored Wisconsin’s third short-handed goal of the season next. Captain Owen Linmark stole a pass on Notre Dame’s offensive side and passed up the ice to Horbach, who went one-on-one with the goaltender for his third goal of the season.
Just over a minute later, Logan Hensler raced toward the Notre Dame goal and skated behind to dish a pass to sophomore forward Owen Mehlenbacher. Mehlenbacher perfectly positioned himself in front of the goal and found space in the upper right corner of the net.
Wisconsin sophomore defender Zach Schultz lit the lamp less than a minute later, making three of the Badgers’ first four goals within a three-minute frame. Schultz shot coming off the blue line, recording his second goal of the year.
The Badgers went into the second period ahead 4-0.
The Fighting Irish scored twice early, once on a power play, but Wisconsin responded with two goals in the middle of the period.
Freshman forward Adam Pietila recorded his first goal as a Badger on a breakaway run.
“It was like a weight off my shoulders…it took a little longer than I thought. It feels good, I finally got there,” Pietila said after the game.
Junior forward Simon Tassy made the score 6-2 30 seconds later with a short and quick shot from the right side of the goal.
Notre Dame’s Justin Janicke scored the final goal of the night for the Fighting Irish early in the third period.
The last score for Wisconsin came off of a power play. Mosley recorded his second goal of the night by tipping a pass from Finley off the blue line and into the back of the net.
Friday night’s game ended 7-3 for the Badgers, and Wisconsin finished with a 31-25 advantage in shots on goal and capitalized on one out of four power-play advantages.
Head coach Mike Hastings said he appreciated the response the Badgers made to Notre Dame’s two scores in the second period.
“The thing that I liked is when we went to 4-2, we got to 5-2, 6-2. That’s a maturation process for us because we haven’t been in this situation very often,” Hastings said. “I liked the way we reacted to some adversity in the second.”
Senior night Saturday
Notre Dame kicked the game off Saturday night with a slapshot goal from junior forward Niko Jovanovic less than five minutes into the first period.
Less than a minute later, Hensler received a minor penalty for hooking. Wisconsin killed that penalty, but freshman defender Weston Knox picked up two minutes for interference immediately after.
While Wisconsin worked to kill their second penalty of the night, Notre Dame received their first for too many men on the ice. The Badgers finished the penalty kill and got the advantage, but didn’t end up scoring on the power play.
Sophomore forward Sawyer Scholl picked up a penalty with less than a minute to go in the first period. With five seconds to go, the Fighting Irish scored on the power play.
The second period ended 2-0 for Notre Dame.
At six minutes, five seconds in the second period, Wisconsin and Notre Dame received a penalty on the same play. The Fighting Irish received a minor for unsportsmanlike conduct while the Badgers’ Horbach received two minutes for roughing.
The even-strength, four-on-four play gave Notre Dame the positioning for their third goal of the night.
Wisconsin received another penalty after Notre Dame’s goal. Less than a minute after the Badgers killed the penalty, junior forward Christian Fitzgerald picked up another two minutes for holding.
The Badgers finally got their first score of the night with 3:25 to go in the second period. Senior defender Anthony Kehrer cut to the right side of the net and picked up the puck from Horbach to sink it in the top right corner.
Nine seconds later, the Fighting Irish tallied another goal, bringing the score to 4-1, Notre Dame.
With 21 seconds left in the second period, Notre Dame received a penalty for cross-checking, and Pietila received a penalty for embellishment. The incident happened after the whistle was blown near Notre Dame’s net.
Wisconsin senior goaltender Tommy Scarfone played for the first two periods and had 20 saves. Sophomore goaltender William Gramme went in for the Badgers in the third period.
The Fighting Irish scored 7:36 into the third period.
Notre Dame’s sophomore defender Henry Nelson received a major penalty that left Tassy on the ice. The Fighting Irish received a game misconduct, and Nelson exited.
On the power play, Wisconsin pulled their goaltender to gain a two-man advantage. Notre Dame scored an empty net goal with 13 seconds left in the power play.
Wisconsin recorded three penalties in the first, five in the second and one in the third. They had 32 shots on goal and 18 saves between Scarfone and Gramme.
The Badgers went zero-for-four on the power play but managed to kill four out of the five Notre Dame advantages.
Postseason outlook
Saturday’s contest honored four Wisconsin seniors — Daniel Laatsch, Mosley, Cody Laskosky and Scarfone — whose eligibility expires after this season.
The Badgers now head into the postseason with a few promising moments but looking to improve.
“Win or lose tonight, we are going to the playoffs, and that’s a second season. You close the chapter on this season and the regular season, and you move on to the next,” Hastings said.
Next up, Wisconsin hosts an exhibition game against the U.S. Under-18 team on March 2.
Postseason play is two weeks out.
