This past weekend the University of Wisconsin’s men’s hockey team split games with the Northern Michigan Wildcats.
While the Badgers registered four goals in the first game, it was not enough to keep them with only one loss on the season.
The Wildcats registered a whopping five goals on Kyle Hayton, taking only 25 shots on goal. The Wildcats capitalized on two of their eight power-plays in the first night of play while the Badgers only managed to slip one of six power-play goals past Northern Michigan goaltender: Atte Tolvanen.
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The Wildcats got out to an early lead against UW by opening scoring in the first period. Trent Frederic answered the scoring at 14:39, however, the Wildcats answered right back. The whole game, the Badgers seemed to be playing a game of catch up as the Badgers did not have a lead in the game at any point.
Two third period goals from the Badgers from Jason Ford and another goal from Frederic were enough to draw the game into overtime, fortunately allowing the Badgers to squeeze one point out of the first game against the Wildcats.
This is the second series this season the Badgers dropped the first game to a team that was ranked much lower than them, or not ranked at all.
Men’s hockey: Intense weekend ends in draw for Badgers and Buckeyes
Saturday, the Badgers showed up to play the game Badgers fans have come to expect them to play since Tony Granto has taken over as head coach. There was no doubt in Wisconsin’s convincing win over Northern Michigan as the Badgers walked away with a 4-0 regulation victory over the Wildcats.
Jack Berry got his first start of the season, however, the Badgers defense kept the Wildcats to only 11 shots — all of which Berry took care of with ease.
Late in the first period, senior Ryan Wagner opened up scoring giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead as they headed for the locker room. Then, only 57 seconds into the second period, junior Will Johnson managed to slip another goal past the Wildcats goaltender.
Less than halfway through the second period, senior Cameron Hughes slipped another puck past the netminder on a power-play, which led to a change in goalkeepers for the Wildcats. This, however, did not stop the Badgers from scoring — at 13:39, freshman forward Linus Weissbach registered his third goal of the season.
The Badgers wanted to have a weekend sweep against the Northern Michigan Wildcats, however, they still came out of the weekend 1-0-1. They also stayed in the top five for college hockey rankings, and look onto their next opponent, St. Lawrence, this weekend.
The Badgers hope to get a sweep against St. Lawrence, who is still looking for their first win of the season. The Badgers head into the weekend with a record of 5-2-0, and are chasing the top four NCAA teams.
