The Wisconsin men’s hockey team lost both games in its series against No. 8 Ohio State this weekend, extending their loss streak to six games. Their overall record is now 11-18-3, and they’ve won just six of their 22 Big Ten matchups.
Badgers score low
Wisconsin held a 1-0 lead heading into the second period of Friday night’s game but lost to Ohio State 4-1 at the Schottenstein Center.
Junior forward Jack Horbach scored the only Wisconsin goal of the night. Sophomore defender Zach Schulz passed up the ice to Horbach, who turned and shot from the blue line for the first score of the night to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead.
This was Horbach’s 100th NCAA game, which makes him the ninth current Wisconsin player to have this career record.
Five minutes into the second period, sophomore forward Quinn Finley received a major penalty and misconduct for charging the goalkeeper. Wisconsin killed this power play. But Ohio State gained momentum and scored twice in the last five minutes of the second frame.
In the third period, it took less than two minutes for the Buckeyes to score again, making the game 3-1.
Wisconsin pulled their goaltender with 14 minutes, 57 seconds remaining, attempting to score with this advantage. But Ohio State responded with an empty-net goal with nine seconds remaining in the game.
Wisconsin freshman goaltender Anton Castro played most of Friday night, recording minutes in his first game of the season. He made 11 saves in the 42 minutes he played. Ohio State goaltender Logan Terness had a harder job that game. Wisconsin had 38 shots on goal, and Terness made 37 saves.
Twice isn’t enough
Wisconsin finished Saturday night’s game with an advantage in shots on goal over the Buckeyes 30-20.
But this wasn’t enough to close out the competition with a win, and the Badgers fell 2-4 against the Buckeyes.
Ohio State started the night with a goal by forward Patrick Guzzo late into the first period.
Wisconsin and Ohio State had two penalty minutes in the first frame, and both power plays were killed.
The Badgers lit the lamp for their first time on Saturday night only 10 seconds into the second period. Wisconsin forward Ryland Mosley drove toward the right side of the Buckeyes’ net and crossed over in front of the goalie to shoot. An Ohio State defender deflected his shot into the air, but when it came down, Mosley batted it from over the goalie’s head into the net.
This score was Mosley’s 50th career goal in the NCAA.
Only 1:25 later into the period, the Badgers’ freshman forward Ryan Botterill snuck into the Buckeyes’ zone and stole the puck from a player trying to pass up the rink. Botterill made a quick move in front of the crease and scored from the right side of the net off the goaltender’s pads.
This was Wisconsin’s final lead of the night, as Ohio State scored less than five minutes later. The rest of the second period was quiet, with no more points recorded and all penalties killed off.
The Buckeyes scored twice more in the final period, one an even-strength goal and the other an empty-netter after Wisconsin pulled goalie Tommy Scarfone for an advantage.
Wrap-up
Ohio State currently sits at No. 2 in the Big Ten standings, while Wisconsin is down to sixth. With Wisconsin in the lower half of the Big Ten, they’ll face away ice during the tournament.
The Badgers face off against Notre Dame for the final series of the regular season next week at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin is second to last in the Big Ten rankings, with Notre Dame 13 points behind.
