(UW ATHLETICS) MINNEAPOLIS – Four Minnesota Gopher power-play goals were the difference as the Wisconsin men’s hockey team fell, 8-4, on Saturday night at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
A power-play goal and a short-handed tally gave Minnesota a 2-0 lead, before Tyson Dyck extended his point streak to eight games with a power-play goal for the Badgers to cut the lead to 2-1. Minnesota struck again with a power-play goal before the end of the period to make it 3-1 after the first. In the second, the Gophers (10-16-1, 6-10-0 – 20 points) scored just 38 seconds in, before Christian Fitzgerald cut the lead in half for the Badgers Wisconsin (15-9-2, 8-8-0 Big Ten – 22 points). UM scored twice more in the second, once on the power-play and again in the final minute of the period, to make it 6-2. The third frame was back and forth, with Fitzgerald scoring on the power-play 30 seconds in, before the Gophers retook their four-goal lead. Adam Pietila struck for the Badgers midway through the frame, but Minnesota had the final tally of the high-scoring affair on the power play to claim an 8-4 win
How it Happened
First Period
The Gophers took an early lead, 5:16 into the opening frame, with a power-play goal from Brody Lamb.
A penalty was called on UM, 9:10 into the first, but Brodie Ziemer extended its lead with a short-handed goal at 10:01.
On that same penalty, at 11:04, senior forward Dyck scored a power-play goal to cut the lead in half.
Wisconsin had another power-play chance at 16:03, but the Gophers killed it to keep it a 3-1 game.
Second Period
Sophomore Eli Pulver started the middle frame in net for the Badgers, but Erik Påhlsson scored just 38 seconds in to give Minnesota a 4-1 lead on a redirect.
At 11:28, senior forward Fitzgerald scored on a breakaway to cut the lead in half.
In the final minute of the second, at 19:11, Minnesota made it a 6-2 contest when Beckett Hendrickson found the back of the net.
Third Period
After the buzzer sounded at the end of the second period, Minnesota took a penalty, so the Badgers started the final frame on the man advantage. Thirty seconds in, Fitzgerald capitalized on the power play to score his second goal of the night and team leading 13th of the season.
Sophomore forward Pietila added a fourth goal for the Badgers, 9:37 into the final frame, on a drive to the net.
At 16:58 into the third, Minnesota had one final power-play chance, but the Badgers got the kill as UMN won, 8-4.
Wisconsin went 2-for-3 on the power play and 1-for-5 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 38-32 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know
–Tyson Dyck is on an eight-game point streak, the longest of his career. His 14 points and five goals are new career highs
Up Next: The Badgers return to the Kohl Center for a series against Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 6-7. Both games start at 7 p.m.
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