(UW BADGERS) MILWAUKEE – Finn Brink broke a 2-2 deadlock with Lake Superior State on a breakaway early in the third period to help advance No. 2 Wisconsin to the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off championship game in a 3-2 win at Fiserv Forum on Sunday.
The Badgers (13-2-2, 8-2-0 Big Ten) got contributions from all over, including sophomore defenseman Weston Knox, who opened the scoring at 13:02 on a screened point shot for his first career goal in his 14th game played.
Lake Superior State (6-12-1, 3-9-0 CCHA) scored consecutive goals in the second period to grab a two-goal lead, one on a breakaway after a penalty kill by Adam Barone and the second by Luke Levandowski on a nifty passing play on the rush.
UW got back to even on a Ben Dexheimer power-play goal with 6:58 left in the second period, firing after a Christian Fitzgerald offensive zone faceoff win.
That set the stage for Brink’s goal 5:51 into the third on a breakaway just as UW’s penalty kill expired. Defenseman Joe Palodichuk sent the puck up around the boards past a pair of Lakers from behind the Badger net to send Brink off to the races.
Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser made 20 saves in the victory.
NOTES TO KNOW
– UW’s victory puts it in the championship game of the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off for all five years of the tournament
– UW owns titles the last two years and three of the four prior tournaments
– UW got two goals from defenseman to give the defensive corps 15 goals on the season in 17 games. UW scored nine goals during the entire 2024-25 season
– Sophomore defenseman Weston Knox scored his first career goal in his 14th career game
UP NEXT: Wisconsin plays in the 2025 Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off on Monday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of No. 7 Western Michigan and No. 12 Boston College still on tonight’s docket in Milwaukee.
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