The Wisconsin Badgers Men’s Hockey team finished their two-game series against Notre Dame on Saturday, winning both games in dramatic fashion.
After an overtime win on Friday courtesy of junior forward Quinn Finley, the Badgers looked to carry that momentum over into the next game.
From early on, it was clear this game would be a high-scorer, much like the 6-5 finish the night before. Senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer fired a five-hole shot, beating the Notre Dame starting goalie, Nicholas Kempf, on the first shot of the game, only a minute and 54 seconds into the first period.
The Fighting Irish quickly answered with a few great shots before Michael Mastrodomenico finally snuck one past the Wisconsin goalie, sophomore Eli Pulver, in the sixth minute.
Following a few minutes of quality chances on both ends, Finley gave the Badgers the lead again from a top-corner shot over the shoulder of Kempf. But the lead was once again short-lived, as Notre Dame tied it up on a goal from Evan Werner that was deflected by a Wisconsin defender in front of Pulver.
The Fighting Irish likely thought they would take a tie into the first period break, but senior forward Simon Tassy had other plans. He scored with only 23 seconds left on a deflection off a shot from junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk, making the final score at the end of the first period 3-2.
The Badgers came out swinging in the second period as well. Sophomore forward Ryan Botterill netted what he thought was a good goal off the bounce off of Kempf’s pads and sophomore forward Adam Pietila’s skates up front, but Notre Dame head coach Brock Sheahan successfully challenged the play, which was called back for an offside.
Despite a strong showing from the defense so far for Wisconsin, Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson tipped in their third goal of the game off a shot from Cole Knuble in the eighth minute.
Suddenly, the floodgates had opened on Pulver, and Notre Dame scored again quickly, with Jayden Davis beating him over the left shoulder.
After his fourth goal allowed, head coach Mike Hastings made the decision to pull Pulver in favor of freshman Daniel Hauser, who had gotten the win on Friday. Pulver finished with 12 saves in just over 30 minutes played.
After Hauser’s entry, things started to click for the Badgers. A Pietila steal turned into a breakaway chance for Botterill, which he converted to tie the game up once again, which is where we ended the second period.
The third period started a bit slower than its predecessors, with the first goal coming about halfway through.
A takeaway at the defensive blue line by sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey led to a breakaway 3-on-3 goal by senior forward Christian Fitzgerald, beating Kempf on his glove side.
The Badgers shifted into defensive mode, hoping to preserve this lead. As the clock ticked down near four minutes left, Badgers were blocking shots, making steals and putting their bodies up to prevent any good opportunities for Notre Dame.
After a huge block by Morrissey, Wisconsin took their timeout and Notre Dame pulled their goalie for an extra attacker with just under three minutes remaining.
With a minute and a half remaining, Notre Dame also took their timeout. They were able to generate very contentious shots on Hauser in the last two minutes, but to no avail.
Wisconsin beat Notre Dame 5-4 behind a great performance in relief by Hauser, who had zero goals against and 13 saves in just under 30 minutes played.
The Badgers will take on Ohio State on Friday and Saturday in Columbus before returning home the next week for Senior Night.
