(UW ATHLETICS) MILWAUKEE – Four goals in a wild third period helped the Wisconsin men’s hockey team defeat the UConn Huskies, 4-3, to capture its second-consecutive Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off tournament title on Sunday evening at Fiserv Forum.
The first two periods of the game were silent as both teams headed into the third period scoreless. The game remained that way until Owen Lindmark got Wisconsin (9-10-1, 5-7-0 Big Ten) on the board first with a short-handed goal 2:45 into the third. Less than three minutes later at 5:40, Quinn Finley made it a 2-0 game for UW on the power play. UConn (8-8-1, 4-6-1 Hockey East) got on the board 7:07, then tied the game at two with 4:05 remaining in regulation. Christian Fitzgerald restored the Badgers’ lead with 2:28 left in the contest before Cody Laskosky recorded what proved a key empty-net goal at 18:36 to make it 4-2. The Huskies added a goal with a second left in the game, but UW claimed the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off title with a 4-3 victory.
How it Happened
The first period was quiet, with neither team finding the back of the net. With 11:33 left in the opening frame, Wisconsin was awarded a five-minute major power play after a UConn skater was called for direct contact to the head, but UW was unable to convert on any scoring chances to take the lead.
Despite each team having a power-play opportunity, neither team was able to light the lamp in the second period either.
Graduate student forward Lindmark broke the silence 2:45 into the third period, tallying his nation-leading eighth-career short-handed goal. In an attempt to clear the zone while on the penalty kill, sophomore defenseman Zach Schulz sent the puck from behind the UW net into neutral ice. Junior forward Jack Horbach, who due to injuries was playing as a defender during the tournament, won a race against a UConn skater to possess the puck near the left side boards in Huskies’ territory. He then sent a pass to Lindmark in front of the net, who flicked the puck home to score his fourth goal of the year.
Sophomore forward Finley extended the Badgers’ lead 5:40 into the frame on the power play. From UConn’s right-side boards, freshman forward Gavin Morrissey passed backward to senior defenseman Daniel Laatsch at the top of the right circle. Laatsch then sent a pass across the zone to Finley at the left circle, and the sophomore let a wrist shot fly to tally his third goal of the tournament.
Almost 90 seconds later, the Huskies cut the Badgers’ lead in half with 12:53 remaining in the third on a shot from Kaden Shahan.
UConn tied the game with 4:05 remaining in the game after Joey Muldowney beat UW senior goaltender Tommy Scarfone.
Junior forward Fitzgerald gave Wisconsin its lead back with 2:28 left in the period. In the right corner of the UW zone, graduate student defenseman Anthony Kehrer and Horbach battled with two Huskies’ skaters for the puck. Horbach won the battle and tapped the puck backward to Fitzgerald behind the Wisconsin net. The junior then went flying down the ice before sending a wrist shot from the slot past UConn goaltender Thomas Heaney to record his third goal of the year.
After getting taken down on a rush to score on an empty UConn net, graduate student forward Laskosky was awarded a goal to make it 4-2, 18:36 into the third frame. Morrissey was given an assist on the tally.
With one second left in the game, Nick Carabin added a goal for the Huskies, but UW claimed a 4-3 victory and the 2024 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off tournament title.
Wisconsin went 1-for-6 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 33-25 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
– Wisconsin won its second-consecutive Holiday Face-Off title and its third in the four years of the tournament’s existence
– The Badgers are currently on an 11-game point streak dating back to a 3-2 overtime loss to then-No. 3 Minnesota on Nov. 9
– Quinn Finley recorded his NCAA-leading 15th goal of the season. His 26 points are good for second in the nation
– Gavin Morrissey (5g, 17a) is the nation’s leading scorer among freshmen with 22 points. He ranks ninth among all skaters
– Owen Lindmark scored his national-best eighth-career short-handed goal
– Cody Laskosky has four goals in his last four games
– Quinn Finley was named the tournament’s most outstanding forward, while Zach Schulz and Tommy Scarfone were named the most outstanding defenseman and goaltender, respectively
Straight from the rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On finding offensive success this weekend
“If you stick with it, we want that to be a message to all the guys. You look again, Laskosky on the score sheet, and what a good weekend for Owen [Lindmark] coming back. He had two assists last night and he scores a big-time goal for us to get the crowd into it and give us a lead. The glue guy, in Anthony Kehrer having the weekend that he had. It takes different guys at different times.”
On growing as a team
“I think this weekend’s a growing weekend for us, which we need in a positive way. We’ve had a lot of moments where we’ve grown from negative times when we haven’t been able to get it done. I’m proud of our group because I think UConn’s a good hockey team, and they showed that. Just to find a way to get it done at this time of the year is really important for us because we want to maintain the momentum we had at the end of the first half. I’m proud of the way the guys played, and we found a way to get it done.”
Up Next: The Badgers return to Big Ten play with a series at Michigan State on Thursday and Saturday, Jan. 2 and 4. Thursday’s game will be played at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Michigan, while Saturday’s game will take place outdoors as part of the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Thursday’s game starts at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday’s begins at 8 p.m.
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