Wisconsin secured a big upset this weekend over No. 14 Penn State in their last home game of the series.
With a 4-3 win over the Nittany Lions (20-10-5, 10-7-1-1 Big Ten) Saturday following a close 2-1 loss Friday, the Badgers (7-17-8, 2-12-4-2 Big Ten) salvaged a positive end to senior day. The series was the team’s final weekend at the Kohl Center for 2015-16 and marked the final home game for seniors Eddie Wittchow, Kevin Schulze and Adam Miller at Wisconsin.
Respective crowds of 7,618 and 9,895 were treated to two nail-biters that each came inches away from overtime.
The 2-1 heartbreaker Friday was dangerously close to a Badger equalizer while the 4-3 triumph Saturday could not have ended sooner as the Nittany Lions scored twice in the third period and threatened to tie the game in its waning moments.
“Saturday was one of the first games all year I think we held the lead to a game,” head coach Mike Eaves said. “It wasn’t pretty but we found a way to win. I thought we did some tremendous things all weekend.”
The supporting cast made all the difference for the Badgers during Saturday’s win.
Freshman Jason Ford scored his first career goal off a deflection late in the first period to tie the game at 1-1. Other unusual suspects also helped the cause, with goals from Corbin McGuire, Jedd Soleway and Matthew Freytag, leading the Badgers to a dominating 4-1 lead for most of the game.
“We were really happy with the way we played,” Ford said. “We just wanted to stay positive and keep battling, and that’s what we were able to do.”
Despite the impressive play of the younger bench players, MVP for the weekend falls on the shoulder of freshman goalie Matt Jurusik. The freshman tallied 46 saves Saturday, with 19 saves in the third period alone during an onslaught of Penn State opportunities.
“Matty played a great game,” Eaves said. “We had to hang in there and he helped us do that.”
Another striking feature was a break from the usual norm of high penalty minutes. The Badgers won the penalty battle this weekend and secured some much needed power plays during crucial stretches of the games.
Penn State racked up 14 total penalty minutes Saturday and took two penalites late in the second period that helped stem the tide for the Badgers and hold on for the big win.
“This weekend definitely gives wind in our sails going forward,” Eaves said. “It just gives you a much bigger smile when you show up on Sunday.”
The loss for Penn State keeps them three points below Michigan in the Big Ten standings and sets up a key matchup between them and the Wolverines in the final series of the season in Ann Arbor.
The Badgers travel to Minneapolis next weekend to take on the first place team in the Big Ten and close rival, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in their final series. Wisconsin will look to avenge the two embarrassing home losses to Minnesota in February and close out the regular season on a high note.
