After skating to a 1-1 tie Friday night, the No. 19 Wisconsin men’s hockey team (8-6-6 WCHA, 11-9-6 overall) had a much rougher go Saturday against No. 7/8 North Dakota (9-5-6, 14-8-6). The Badgers saw their 11-game WCHA unbeaten streak snapped and one of their leaders carried off the ice in a 4-1 loss in Grand Forks, N.D.
In its last series with North Dakota before they move to the Big Ten conference, Wisconsin struggled to find the back of the net, scoring just two goals on the weekend, or find success on their much-maligned power play (0-for-8 in the series/8-for -78 on the season).
To add injury to insult, sophomore defenseman Jake McCabe had to be helped off the ice Saturday after suffering an apparent ankle injury in the third period and did not return to the game. His status as of this time is unknown.
Wisconsin and North Dakota had about as even a game as possible Friday night, as the two teams scored just 13 seconds apart and remained tied for the remainder of the night.
UND senior forward Danny Kristo opened the scoring with a shot that snuck by sophomore goaltender Landon Peterson, just 25 seconds into the second period. The Badgers would answer immediately however, with junior forward Michael Mersch knotting the score just seconds later.
The goal was Mersch’s 16th of the season—a team high for Wisconsin and tied for second most overall in the country. Junior center Mark Zengerle was credited with an assist on the goal, his 100th career point as a Badger.
While offense may have been lacking in Friday’s game, the physicality was certainly not. The two teams combined for 28 penalties as minor skirmishes occurred throughout the game.
If the Badgers gained any momentum from competing hard and tying a top-ten team in the first game of the series, it wasn’t evident in game two.
North Dakota scored 45 seconds into the game and never looked back, cruising to an easy victory. Junior forward Mitch MacMillan got UND on the board first and sophomore forward Mitch Parks would score two more goals of his own past Peterson, who got his third consecutive start.
Zengerle was able to put the Badgers on the board midway through the third period, preventing a shutout in the process, but it was far too little, too late for Wisconsin.
UW had gone 7-0-4 in their last 11 games in the WCHA before Saturday as they lost by three goals for the first time this season.
The Badgers will look to rebound next weekend as the return to the Kohl Center to host Bemidji State.
