The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team got back on track with a 5-2 victory over the Michigan Wolverines Friday night.
After suffering their first sweep of the season, Wisconsin (16-10-1, 9-4-0-0 Big Ten) rebounded nicely against the Wolverines (9-15-3, 2-9-2-2), scoring three goals in the last 10 minutes of the game to beat Michigan 5-2.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 1-0 lead halfway through the opening period, with freshman Trent Frederic slotting home a rebound to mark his 11th goal on the year.
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The Badgers held the lead entering the second period, but not for long, as Michigan leveled the score just one minute into the middle frame on a power-play goal from Cooper Marody.
Wisconsin answered with a power-play goal of their own 11 minutes later, as Cameron Hughes converted on a beautiful give-and-go with Luke Kunin to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. The goal extended Hughes’ point streak to 11 games, the longest streak for a Badger since 2013.
The final period would prove to be the most entertaining, with the Badgers scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes to propel them to victory.
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The Badgers held the lead for the start of the third period, until Evan Allen equalized things for the Wolverines with 12 minutes remaining in the contest.
After the equalizer, however, it was all Wisconsin. The Badgers took the lead for the third and final time Friday on Frederic’s second goal of the night — a point-blank finish in front of the net off a nicely slotted pass from the Badgers’ captain, Kunin.
Wisconsin closed the door on the Wolverines with two minutes left, as sophomore Jarod Zirbel put a no-look drop pass from Aidan Cavallini over the shoulder of the Michigan goalie to give the Badgers a 4-2 lead.
Seamus Malone added another goal just 18 seconds later, putting the Badgers up for a final score of 5-2.
Freshman goalie and Michigan native Jack Berry made some big saves for the Badgers down the stretch, and saved 25-of-27 shots on the way to his second win over the Wolverines this season.
The two teams will face off again at the Kohl Center on Saturday night, with puck-drop set for 7 p.m. The Badgers are hoping to complete the weekend sweep, something they were unable to do in Ann Arbor earlier this season after winning the first game.
