No. 10 Wisconsin men’s hockey (6-0-2, 2-0-0 Big Ten) tore through Minnesota (2-7-1) in the first Border Battle of the season. The result kicked Minnesota out of the national rankings, bumping Wisconsin up seven spots.
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser had 36 saves and one shutout over the weekend. Hauser now has a .940 save percentage.
Gophers down
Wisconsin took game one 5-2, scoring all goals in the second and third periods and outshooting Minnesota 43-16.
First period action was quiet. Senior forward Jack Horbach sat for holding two minutes in, but the Badgers penalty kill held off Minnesota offense.
Wisconsin went on their first power play following a tripping call, but only tallied three shots during the two-minute minor.
The second period saw three penalties occur up to the 5:06 mark, putting the Badgers on the man advantage. Two Gophers sat for holding and roughing, while sophomore defenseman Jack Phelan was also called for roughing.
Scoring his fifth goal of the season, senior forward Christian Fitzgerald redirected senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer’s shot on the power play. Minnesota responded 30 seconds later, evening the score 1-1.
Halfway through the game, freshman forward Blake Montgomery sniped one in off of freshman forward Vasily Zelenov’s pass from behind the net. 40 seconds later, sophomore defenseman Logan Hensler ripped another in off a rebound through traffic.
Later, Hensler sat for tripping and Minnesota capitalized on their man advantage, bringing Wisconsin’s lead to one. The Badgers dominated the last three minutes of the second, winning the three faceoffs and tallying five shots.
Early in the third, senior forward Simon Tassy tipped in Fitzgerald’s shot from the left circle and upped the lead to 4-2.
Wisconsin went back on the power play at 15:12, pulling Hauser quickly for a delayed penalty, but did not score. Minnesota pulled their goaltender at 17:53, where Fitzgerald grabbed his second goal of the game in the empty net.
Shutout, completing the sweep.
The Badgers beat the Gophers 4-0 in a physical game two, with the Kohl Center filled with fans in their ‘white-out’ attire.
Junior forward Quinn Finley struck first, whipping a goal past Gopher goaltender Nathan Airey’s right shoulder from between the circles. Finley picked up junior defender Jack Phelan’s pass, shooting out of a 360 spin.
Freshman forward Grady Deering’s hit on a Minnesota forward was reviewed by officials, but he only sat two minutes for boarding. Wisconsin held on during the penalty kill and got their own power play with 2:37 left in the first period.
Unable to capitalize on their first power play of the game, Wisconsin kept the energy going into the second. Facing four-on-four play early in the second period, the Badgers kept their one goal lead.
Wisconsin’s second power play came from a tripping penalty. Finley netted his second of the game from the right circle, taking the shot from his knee.
Following a media timeout, senior forward Kyle Kukkonen skated off the ice and into the locker room with an apparent injury with nine minutes left in the second. He’s been skating since Tuesday and head coach Mike Hasting said Kukonnen is “in a good spot to be available” for Friday.
A slashing penalty put Wisconsin back on the power play with 13 seconds left in the second, starting the third period on the man advantage. Montgomery wristed one in unassisted on the power play, hyping up the crowd filled with white rally towels.
Seconds later, Montgomery notched his second of the game to bring the lead up to 4-0. With a feed from junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk, Montgomery tapped the puck through Airey’s five-hole.
Wisconsin went back on the man advantage with four minutes left in the third period on a roughing call. Finley and Montgomery both had chances to secure their hat tricks, but the Badgers couldn’t convert.
Hauser secured his second shutout as a Badger after Wisconsin kept Minnesota scoreless in game two, completing the Border Battle sweep.
Wisconsin heads on the road to face Michigan 6 p.m. Friday. at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor.
