Men's Hockey - The Daily Cardinal

Senior forward Will Johnson scored a pair of goals and contributed valuable physical play to help the Badgers collect their first win in six games.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Wisconsin rides momentum swings to roller-coaster 8-5 victory over Penn State

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Dec. 1, 2018

“The great teams are the teams that when the game is on the line, you figure out how to turn it into a W,” head coach Tony Granato had said the night before. It wasn’t always pretty, it didn’t always look likely, but in the end Wisconsin came away with a win for the first time in six games, and did so in dramatic, roller-coaster fashion.

Wisconsin took a 3-2 lead in the second period on two goals in 24 seconds, but couldn't hold the lead with its season on the line.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Caufield's two goals power Wisconsin to 3-3 tie with No. 6 Penn State

By Nathan Denzin | Nov. 30, 2018

Officially, it’ll go down as a tie. The unranked Wisconsin Badgers (1-3-3 Big Ten, 5-7-3 overall) matched up against the No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions (2-2-1, 10-3-1) Friday night, and after three periods and an overtime session the official score ended in a 3-3 tie.

Sophomore defenseman Josh Ess scored the game-winning goal in the third period after Wisconsin's defense kept it in the game during a penalty kill.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Defense holds strong as Wisconsin comes back to beat Minnesota 3-1

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Nov. 10, 2018

According to the official record, Saturday night’s game winner came 10 minutes and 20 seconds into the third period, when sophomore defenseman Josh Ess ripped a shot from the left point over Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn’s shoulder to put Wisconsin up 2-1. Ess’s shot was nearly perfect, and it did provide the the winning margin, but the real game-changing moment came 40 minutes earlier, when the Badgers bounced back from an early goal on a five-minute penalty kill and locked down the Minnesota offense.

Wisconsin gave up three goals in 74 seconds in a stretch that cost them a game in which they otherwise performed well.

MEN'S HOCKEY

74-second meltdown costs Wisconsin in 3-2 loss to Minnesota

By Nathan Denzin | Nov. 9, 2018

Everything was going well for the Badgers. Until it went really, really bad. The No. 20 Wisconsin Badgers (0-1-0 Big Ten, 4-5-0 overall) were cruising, up two goals to none on the No. 16 Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0-0, 2-4-0) midway through the second period when all hell broke loose on the ice.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Opening strong, playing consistently focuses for Wisconsin entering conference play against Gophers

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Nov. 9, 2018

Wisconsin’s opening-night shutout win over then No. 10 Boston College caught the attention of the college hockey community and signalled that the Badgers had the talent to exceed expectations in 2018-’19. But given the program’s recent history, what they did the next night seemed even more significant.

MEN'S HOCKEY

After stops in Pittsburgh, Chryst and Granato keep friendship back in Madison

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Nov. 8, 2018

In December 2011, Tony Granato received a phone call. An old friend from college had gotten a new job and was moving into town, and Granato was supposed to help him find a place to live. It was a normal story, except for a few details; Granato was an assistant coach for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins and his old friend was Paul Chryst, who had just been named the newest head football coach at Pittsburgh.

Junior Jack Berry stopped just 11 of the 15 shots he faced in Friday night's 5-0 loss, costing the Badgers a chance in a game where they outshot North Dakota.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Goaltending, penalties prove costly as Wisconsin swept by North Dakota

By Nathan Denzin | Nov. 4, 2018

The No. 16 Wisconsin Badgers (0-0-0 Big Ten, 4-4-0 overall) dropped both games of their weekend set to the No. 14 North Dakota Fighting Hawks (0-0-0 NCHC, 4-2-1 overall). Friday’s contest ended in a 5-0 blowout in favor of the Fighting Hawks, and Saturday night’s contest ended just seconds into overtime as Jacob Bernard-Docker found the back of the net for North Dakota, giving it a 3-2 win.

Seamus Malone tallied the opening goal against Michigan Tech, but it wasn't enough as the Badgers allowed too many penalties, and goals, to give themselves a chance at the win.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Special teams struggles doom Wisconsin in 6-2 loss to Michigan Tech

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Oct. 26, 2018

Five-on-five, Wisconsin played well enough. It battled for loose pucks, tracked back to shut down odd-man rushes and got traffic in front of the net to disrupt the opposing goaltender’s eyes and rhythm. The Badgers allowed a goal, but they scored one, too. It wasn’t a stellar performance, but it was good enough to have a chance at a win.

Sophomore forward Sean Dhooghe has scored five goals this year to lead a scoring explosion by Wisconsin’s underclassmen.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Underclassmen leading Wisconsin in all phases as Badgers welcome Michigan Tech to Madison

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Oct. 26, 2018

By numbers alone, Wisconsin’s men’s hockey team was always going to be reliant on its underclassmen this year.

Wisconsin split its opening road weekend of 2018-19 and maintained its offensive output with nine goals in the two games.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Dhooghe's scoring burst leads Wisconsin to split on New York roadtrip

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Oct. 21, 2018

As a freshman, it took Sean Dhooghe 22 games and three months to score four goals for the UW men's hockey team. On the first road trip of his sophomore year, it took him just five and a half periods.

Junior goaltender Jack Berry produced one of his best performances of the season in his first action in over a month, but it wasn't enough for the Badgers to come out with a win against Denver.

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Freshmen lead the way as new-look Wisconsin takes down No. 10 Boston College 3-0 in season opener

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Oct. 12, 2018

Nearly two years ago to the day, head coach Tony Granato made his home coaching debut against a top-10 Boston College team and left with a statement win. The same script played out again Friday night as an unranked Badger squad (0-0-0 Big Ten, 1-0-0 overall) welcomed the No. 10 Eagles (0-0-0 Hockey East, 0-1-0 overall) to the Kohl Center and captured a 3-0 upset.

Defenseman Peter Tischke was almost cut when Granato took over, but since then he's come to embody all the characteristics that 'Badger hockey' represents.

MEN'S HOCKEY

'Culture of character:' How Tony Granato has remade Wisconsin hockey on and off the ice

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Oct. 12, 2018

When head coach Tony Granato took over the Wisconsin men’s hockey program in the spring of 2016, he was agreeing to take stewardship not just of a team, but of an entire culture.

Since arriving at Wisconsin, Granato has been implementing confidence within his players and the program. Despite its underwhelming record this season, Wisconsin looks to continue progressing through that confidence.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Wisconsin primed to continue development as Granato stresses, implements confidence

By Ethan Levy | Mar. 15, 2018

For the first time since the 2013-’14 season, the Wisconsin Badgers had legitimate NCAA Tournament expectations heading into their season.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Wisconsin's season ends after loss to Michigan in Big Ten Tournament

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Mar. 5, 2018

Leading up to its first round series against Michigan, the Wisconsin’s men’s hockey team emphasized the importance of treating the Big Ten Tournament as a new season.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Wisconsin readies for opening round series against Michigan

By Ethan Levy | Mar. 2, 2018

“We don't want to think about what’s happened in the past. It’s a clean slate.” As sophomore forward Max Zimmer alluded to earlier this week, Friday marks the start of essentially a new season for Wisconsin.

Senior captain Cameron Hughes and the Badgers lost two four-goal contests against Ohio State in Columbus.

MEN'S HOCKEY

UW dominated by Ohio State in final regular season series

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Feb. 26, 2018

With an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament out of the picture, and little chance of capturing home-ice advantage for the first round of the Big Ten tournament, Wisconsin’s men’s hockey team entered Columbus for its final series of the regular season looking to recapture some momentum after a deflating home finale. After a pair of four-goal beatdowns at the hands of No. 6 Ohio State (14-8-2 Big Ten, 21-8-5 overall), the Badgers (14-17-4, 8-13-3) have acquired plenty of momentum — that of a stone dropped from a cliff, rather than a team surging into the postseason. Wisconsin started the weekend off strong, and took it to the heavily-favored Buckeyes for the first 40 minutes of Friday’s game.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Wisconsin dominated by Minnesota on disappointing senior night

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Feb. 10, 2018

Friday nights haven’t been kind to Wisconsin this year — the Badgers have dropped numerous series openers in disappointing fashion — but just about every time they’ve bounced back with a strong performance the following night.

Kyle Hayton played well, but the Badgers couldn't provide enough offensive support in 4-2 loss.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Good wasn't good enough: UW couldn't connect on multitude of chances in 4-2 loss to Minnesota

By Cameron Lane-Flehinger | Feb. 9, 2018

Sometimes good just isn’t good enough. By just about any measure, Wisconsin (8-10-3 Big Ten, 14-14-4 overall) played well Friday night against Minnesota (8-10-1, 17-13-1). The Badgers skated well, controlled play for extended stretches, crashed the net and got a strong performance from senior goaltender Kyle Hayton.

Will Johnson and the Badgers welcome Minnesota to the Kohl Center this weekend.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Badgers look for complete 60 minute effort against Minnesota

By Ethan Levy | Feb. 9, 2018

In Wisconsin’s opening game of its first series against Minnesota, the Badgers dominated the Gophers for almost the entire game, outscoring them 4-1 over 49 minutes and 34 seconds of the 60 minute contest.

The fact that hockey players only play in short spurts on the ice can lead to feelings of intense frustration, excitement and anticipation.

MEN'S HOCKEY

Quick change: Badger skaters wrestle with challenges of short shifts on ice

By Ethan Levy | Feb. 1, 2018

Hockey is vastly different than any other sport. It’s remarkably fast, uniquely physical and fiercely emotional.