The Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team (2-8-0, 0-6-0 Big Ten) were swept on the road this past weekend by the Michigan State Spartans (6-3-1, 2-1-1).
The Badgers were shut out in the first game one of the series, losing 5–0. Michigan State senior Erik Middendorf had the game of his career, netting four goals while goalie Dylan St. Cyr had 44 saves in his first shutout of the season. St. Cyr was the Big Ten’s first star of the week, while Middendorf was the conference’s third star from their showing against the Badgers.
Men’s Hockey: Badgers visit East Lansing to take on Michigan State
The Badgers’ defense started off game one particularly slow, allowing 18 shots on goal in the first period alone. Though they improved as the game went along, it proved too far gone for Wisconsin to play catchup. Wisconsin outshot Michigan State in this game 44-35, but St. Cyr was great, and the Badgers’ offense continued to struggle to put the puck in the net.
It was more of the same for game two of this series, with Wisconsin losing 5-1. Right wing Brock Caufield had the lone goal for Wisconsin in the series during the power play in the first period. The five Spartans goals came from five different players — forwards Miroslav Mucha, Jagger Joshua, Tanner Kelly, Tiernan Shoudy and defenseman Cole Krygier all scored.
Once again, the Badgers controlled the game offensively, outshooting the Spartans 45-26. But head coach Tony Granato’s team struggled to capitalize on their many opportunities.
Men’s Basketball: Wisconsin set to defend Big Ten title in 2022-23 season
Wisconsin’s goaltending was surprisingly sub-par this series, especially looking at what goalie Jared Moe did in his first seven starts of the season. Moe started game one and gave up five goals on 35 shots. Junior Kyle McClellan made his second start this season in game two where he also allowed five goals, but on just 26 shots.
In this series Wisconsin outshot Michigan State 89-61, but scored nine less goals. Wisconsin’s general inability to score has been hard on Badger fans this season. The defense has looked good for the most part and the goalkeeping has been above average, but the goal-scoring ability has been the main thing holding the Badgers back this season. Though it might improve in future seasons with the young talent Wisconsin has, it hurts not see any production on the offensive end in 2022.
Cross Country: Wisconsin off to strong start in postseason competition
The Badgers come back home to the Kohl Center to take Long Island University this weekend in a non-conference matchup.
