No. 14 Wisconsin men’s hockey (4-0-2) swept Alaska Fairbanks (2-6-0) over the weekend in their second home series of the season.
First period action
Wisconsin secured a 5-3 win Friday.
Head coach Mike Hastings’ lineup, featuring the trio of forwards Quinn Finley, Christian Fitzgerald and Oliver Tulk on the top line, breathed life into the Badgers offense in the first few minutes of the game.
Wisconsin went on a power play six minutes in, and senior forward Simon Tassy tipped in senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer’s shot to put the Badgers up early in the first.
The Badgers’ power play unit went out for back-to-back minors. Junior forward Kyle Kukkonen knocked one in on the third power play of the game for his first goal of the season.
Freshman forward Grady Deering threw his body around the end of the first, creating movement on the ice that led to junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk’s first goal of the season. Fairbanks challenged the goal for a major penalty, but the call on the ice stood.
Four minutes into the second, Fairbanks put one in over Hauser’s stick-hand, bringing the Nanooks within two.
Fairbanks was reviewed for a major penalty against Wisconsin senior forward Jack Horbach after a hit to his left shoulderblade sent him face-first into the glass, but a two-minute minor for tripping-from-behind was assessed.
A Fairbanks forward got another goal past Hauser to shorten Wisconsin’s lead to one, and the Badgers went on the penalty kill soon after. Wisconsin went on two more power plays before the end of the second, both for Fairbanks too-many-men.
Third period action was quiet, until freshman forward Bruno Idžan sat for high-sticking and Horbach scored a short-handed goal on a breakaway to bring the lead back up two.
Fairbanks snuck one in during a mess in front of Hauser, Wisconsin challenged for offsides, but the goal stood. Nanooks pulled their goalies with 3 minutes to go, but sophomore Ryan Botterill secured the win for Wisconsin with an empty netter.
Breaking out the brooms
Saturday was a slower start offensively for the Badgers, but they ramped up the energy in the third period to take game two 4-1.
Fairbanks scored first in a filled-up arena. Wisconsin couldn’t retaliate on the score board, but Fairbanks defenseman William Fleet was assessed a five minute major for head contact and a game misconduct.
With seconds to go in the first, Finley ripped one in from between the circles to the top left corner, tying the game for the Badgers going into the first intermission.
The second period was quiet, but Hauser had some huge saves to keep the game tied. Wisconsin played three-on-five with just over half left in the period.
Freshman Luke Osburn sat for tripping and Horbach sat for slashing. Hauser held on, stopping a Nanooks shot on his stomach with his right leg outstretched.
With three minutes to go in the third, Wisconsin went on the power play after Tulk was crosschecked in the numbers, sending him into the boards. The Badgers couldn’t convert and the game was goal-less in the second.
Wisconsin reacted quickly in the third when sophomore defenseman Logan Hensler’s wrister flew past Fairbanks defenders just outside the right circle.
Seconds later, freshman forward Blake Montgomery put the Badgers up two in a breakaway. Montgomery scored his first of the season and first as a Badger from Horbach’s pass to Kukkonen.
Up 3-1, Fairbanks pulled their goalie with five minutes remaining. Botterill scored the empty netter and the Badger’s last goal of the series.
Wisconsin left the series with a .292 conversion percentage on power plays and a .190 for their opponents.
This week, the Border Battle comes to Madison when the Badgers face the Gophers 7 p.m. Thursday at the Kohl Center.
