In two tough games against one of the best teams in the country, the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers (15-5-2, 8-4-0 Big Ten) were swept by the No. 4 Michigan State Spartans (17-5-0, 8-4-0 Big Ten), losing 4-3 Thursday and 4-1 Friday
Wisconsin swept Michigan State in East Lansing in November, but the Spartans came back for revenge, exploiting Wisconsin’s weaknesses and showcasing the Big Ten’s incredible depth.
Down early
Wisconsin lost 4-3 to Michigan State on Thursday after an intense third period comeback attempt fell short.
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser got the start against Trey Augustine, the No. 2 ranked netminder in the country with a .937 in save percentage.
The Badgers tested Augustine throughout the first period, but they couldn’t sneak one past the Spartan goalie early.
After a disappointing power play with two shots on goal with less than 5 minutes to go in the first, MSU scored first from a deflection off Hauser’s pad.
The second period started with the Badgers on a power play 48 seconds in, but Wisconsin was bested by Michigan State’s penalty kill once again. Seconds later, freshman forward Oliver Tulk was set up by Hensler and freshman defenseman Luke Osburn for a wrister from the right circle.
A minute later, MSU took the 2-1 lead off a rebound Hauser couldn’t grab.
The Spartans dominated the Badgers’ defensive zone for a majority of the second period. Frustrated, sophomore forward Adam Pietila sat two minutes for goaltender interference, and senior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky was assessed a match roughing penalty with a Spartan.
With six minutes to go, Michigan State bested Wisconsin on a two-on-two rush that upped their lead to 3-1.
The Badgers were able to kill Tulk’s penalty, but ten seconds after the man-advantage ended, the Spartans struck again for a 4-1 lead. Former Badger forward Charlie Stramel beat Hauser on a breakaway to set up the goal.
Playing to shorten the deficit, senior forward Kyle Kukkonen picked up freshman forward Grady Deering’s sitting puck in front of Augustine’s crease to bring Wisconsin within two.
The Badgers played with fire going into the third period with blocked shots and saves by Hauser. Augustine was grabbing their few shots on goal until senior forward Tyson Dyck raced up the ice with Pietila and MSU’s lone defender, sniping the puck in to push within one goal.
Wisconsin fought in the offensive zone, even after senior forward Simon Tassy’s controversial diving penalty. Junior forward Quinn Finley had a chance to tie the game short-handed, but Augustine stood on his head to keep the Spartan's lead.
Hauser was pulled with less than two minutes to go, and Wisconsin went down fighting. MSU forward Tiernan Shoudy was assessed a five minute hitting from behind penalty and a 10 minute misconduct for a late hit after the game ended, but was not suspended.
Sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey blocked a shot in the third period and is day-to-day with an ankle injury. Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings said Morrissey was “feeling better” but remains questionable.
Mixed lines, top six winger out
Michigan State's offense was too much for Wisconsin on Saturday, as the Spartans outscored the Badgers 4-1.
Hastings mixed up the top lines with Morrissey out, pulling Tassy up to first line right winger and having Tulk center the second line. Without an extra forward, sophomore defenseman Weston Knox was the extra defender for the Badgers in his sixth game of the season.
Sophomore goaltender Elie Pulver faced Augustine in game two and was beaten early in the first period with quick MSU passes in front of the net.
Eight minutes in, Wisconsin went on power play and let MSU score short handed on a two-on-two. The man-advantage dwindled down as the Badgers couldn’t fight the Spartan’s 2-0 lead.
MSU scored on their power play with eight minutes left in the first period. Pulver was led out of his crease and left an open net for the Spartan’s 3-0 lead going into the second.
Pulver was pulled with 7:18 left in the first and Hauser made two saves before Wisconsin went back on the man-advantage.
“We didn’t support [Pulver],” Hastings said post game. “But then I thought he looked a little out of sorts out of his net a couple of times.”
The Badgers had a more successful power play early in the third period with three faceoff wins and three shots, but still couldn’t score on Augustine.
Wisconsin and MSU had matching two-minute roughing penalties with 12:15 to go, and both teams had short power plays following the minors, but none resulted in goals.
MSU scored on a deflection with 3:14 left in the second to take a 4-0 lead.
The Badgers showed similar third period energy to Thursday night, but Friday’s third period only resulted in one late goal seconds after another failed power play. Hensler wristed in the Badger’s lone goal from the blue line before the game broke out in penalties.
Two Spartans, Pietila and Knox, were handed a mixture of 10 minute misconducts, cross checking and roughing penalties before MSU completed their revenge sweep.
Wisconsin went scoreless in seven power plays over the weekend, despite being No. 6 in the country in power play percentage. The Badgers regularly keep a clean game with an average of 4.3 power plays per game, but the Spartans exploited each weak spot the Badgers have to take both games.
Wisconsin, Michigan State and Penn State are tied for second in the Big Ten rankings.
The Badgers came into the new year on a high note but played MSU like a different team. Hastings said with the success Wisconsin has had, the effort they’ve put into the success has been momentarily forgotten.
The two losses to MSU will serve as a learning opportunity for Wisconsin. Issues with the power play and defense in front of the goaltenders haven’t been problems for the Badgers most of the season, so a quick reset with targeting the known issues this coming week can put them back in the win column.
The Badgers play game two Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against No. 8 Penn State at the Kohl Center.
