Wisconsin’s Big Ten Tournament came to an embarrassing end, as the No. 10 Badgers (21-12-2, 14-10-0 Big Ten) were blown out by Ohio State (13-20-2, 8-15-1 Big Ten) 7-1 at home in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 11.
Aside from sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey, the Badgers’ top line was quiet. With no production from senior forward Christian Fitzgerald or junior forward Quinn Finley, Wisconsin lost in the tournament quarterfinal for the third year in a row.
After a win at Michigan State on Feb. 27, Ohio State went on a three-game losing streak — two of which came against a lowly Notre Dame squad sitting at the bottom of the Big Ten. Wisconsin, who had been playing some of their best hockey of the season, came in confident they could advance against the Buckeyes.
Disaster on ice
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser started the game for Wisconsin after playing in their wins over Penn State on March 5 and 6, while Eberly started in goal for the Buckeyes on the other end.
The Badgers got into a groove two minutes into the period, as Wisconsin’s top line fired shots on Eberly before Ohio State took control five minutes into the game.
Hauser saved a shot from Sam Deckhut before the forward took control of the puck again. Nathan Louis picked up a sprawling Deckhut pass and snapped it past Hauser. The puck sailed past Hauser’s stickside, giving Ohio State a 1-0 lead 5:01 into the game.
Desperate to even the score, the Badgers were active in the offensive zone until six minutes remaining in the period, but the Buckeyes blocked each of their shots. Hauser made three saves as Ohio State dominated the ice to end the period.
To start the second period, the underdog Buckeyes came out of the locker room with more energy than the Badgers. They added to their lead 2:06 into the period, as Felix Caron’s wrister from the right circle flew in the back of the Badgers’ net to make the score 2-0.
Wisconsin went on their first power play of the game seven seconds later, ending with no shots on goal. Hauser made two saves after the power play expired, and freshman defenseman Luke Osburn blocked two more before a media time out halfway through the game.
The Badgers struggled from there. Down two goals with 30 minutes left in the game, Wisconsin was unable to render much fight and continued to show minimal production.
With 5:03 left in the period, four-on-four play began, as Finley and Jake Karabela were both called for cross checking. Osburn took a shot that went wide before the two minute penalties elapsed.
With 2:30 remaining in the second, Karabela wristed a pass over a sprawling Hauser. Hauser lost his stick attempting to deflect the shot, and Ohio State widened the gap 3-0.
A minute later, senior defenseman Aiden Dubinsky sat two minutes for interference. Wisconsin held off Ohio State’s power play until the end of the period, but Fitzgerald was assessed a slashing penalty at the whistle.
The Buckeyes started the third period advantaged five-on-three and scored 25 seconds in to make it 4-0. Broten Sabo worked senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer, eventually scoring off Hauser’s right pads.
The Badgers held off the remaining time on the man-advantage, but the game had already gotten away from them. Eberly stayed perfect.
Adam Eisele took control of the puck with 13:18 left in the game and dug Wisconsin a bigger 5-0 hole. A pass down the ice put Eisele alone in front of Hauser as the Badgers’ netminder was once again targeted on his stickside.
Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings pulled Hauser in favor of sophomore goaltender Eli Pulver, relieving the freshman of a rough performance.
Pulver was tested early after freshman forward Grady Deering was sent to the locker room with a five-minute major and a game misconduct for contact to the head on Deckhut with 11:52 remaining.
Two quick passes 1:30 into the man-advantage had Pulver struggling to glove Max Montes’ one-timer directly in front of the crease. Ohio State took the 6-0 lead with 10:22 to go.
Able to score at ease in the five-minute power play, Riley Thompson joined Ohio State’s scoring party with 9:37 remaining in the period. Thompson slid the puck into an open net when Pulver couldn’t recover from the block attempt of Sabo’s shot.
With 7:31 to go and still on the penalty kill, freshman forward Finn Brink took the short-handed opportunity with four Buckeyes hot on his back. A belly-down Eberly had no chance to save Brink's shot, which flipped over his right pads to put the Badgers on the board 7-1.
The Deering penalty came to an end 30 seconds later, but Ohio State went back on the power play after sophomore forward Adam Pietila was called for slashing with 4:16 to go.
An exhausted Badgers team held them off before four-on-four play began 1:20 into the Buckeyes’ power play.
Wisconsin kept control of the puck for the remainder of the game, but failed to cut into the 7-1 score.
Coming off a two-game win streak and an injury, Hauser played a game that rivaled his losses at Minnesota. Pulled in the third period, Hauser faced 17 shots and recorded a .706 save percentage.
Playoff Picture
Wisconsin came into the Big Ten Tournament confident they would punch a birth to the NCAA Tournament. With Dartmouth’s win over Princeton in the ECAC championship, now they have.
The final bracket was announced on March 22, where the six conference champions received an automatic qualification and the remaining 10 best teams were chosen by a committee.
The Badgers are still a top-ranked team with the wins to show for it, but barely scoring against a struggling Buckeyes team doesn’t inspire any confidence as they head into the tournament. Wisconsin fans won’t see the Badgers at the Kohl Center again this season, but championship dreams are still possible.
Wisconsin will take on Dartmouth in the Worcester regional semifinal of the NCAA Tournament on March 26.
