The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team (2-2, 0-0 B1G) evened their record in a two game set against the Army Black Knights (0-4-0-0, 0-1-0-1 AHA) at the Kohl Center.
The two wins were the first of the season, providing momentum for the Badgers as they head into a tough matchup next week against the St. Cloud State Huskies.
In the first game, the teams were deadlocked at 0-0 through one period, though the Badgers doubled the Black Knights in shots at 16-8. In the second period, Wisconsin got on the board in the first five minutes on an odd man break, with Roman Ahcan sliding the puck over to Sam Stange who finished off the play for a 1-0 lead.
Army responded just six minutes later with a goal of their own from freshman forward Joey Baez. The second period ended with a score of 1-1.
Wisconsin took control of the game in the final period by outshooting Army 13-5 and adding three goals. Senior forward Jack Gorniak scored the second goal of the night for the Badgers on a powerplay, which stood as the game winning goal. Owen Lindmark and Ryder Donovan added empty net goals in the last minute of regulation to close out a strong 4-1 Wisconsin win. Cam Rowe picked up the win in net, stopping 21 of 22 shots.
The Badgers followed up their strong offensive output on Thursday with a stout defensive showing in the second game on Friday. They limited Army to eight shots through the first two periods, allowing goaltender Jared Moe to settle in with limited danger.
Wisconsin racked up 23 shots through the first two periods but were not able to beat Army goaltender Gavin Abric. The teams entered the third period tied 0-0, but not for a lack of opportunity for the Badgers.
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In the final frame of regulation, the Badgers were finally able to break through for the first goal of the game with just three minutes left. On a penalty kill, senior captain Tarek Baker stole the puck at the blueline, darted into the Army defensive zone on a breakaway and buried a shot past Abric to score the first and last goal of the game for either team.
Moe shut it down the rest of the way in net, finishing off a 19 save shutout — his first as a Badger and the team’s first of the year.
Wisconsin will be back in action on Oct. 22 and 23 to face St. Cloud State, the number two ranked team in the country. The two game set will be played at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud as the Badgers face their first regular season road test.
