(UW ATHLETICS) MADISON – A goal 9:52 into the third period from Christian Fitzgerald broke a 4-4 tie as the No. 13/11 Wisconsin men’s hockey team took down Notre Dame, 5-4, on Saturday night at the Kohl Center to complete a season sweep of the Irish.
Wisconsin (17-9-2, 10-8-0 Big Ten – 27 points) opened the scoring, 1:54 into the game, with a goal from Ben Dexheimer. Notre Dame (5-12-3, 1-15-0 Big Ten – 5 points) tied the game at 6:33, before Quinn Finley reinstated the Badger lead. The Fighting Irish tied the game at two at 13:28. With 23 seconds remaining in the first. Simon Tassy redirected a shot to take a 3-2 UW advantage into the second and snap an 11-game goal-scoring drought.
ND scored twice in the second, once at 8:22 and again at 10:19, to take a 4-3 lead, before Ryan Botterill tied the game at four at 13:35. Fitzgerald’s game-winning tally came at 9:52 into the final frame to help UW to a 5-4 victory.
How it Happened
First Period
The first period was back-and-forth, with senior defenseman Dexheimer striking first for the Badgers at 1:54.
Notre Dame answered at 6:33 with a goal from Michael Mastrodomenico.
Junior forward Finley reinstated Wisconsin’s lead, 11 minutes into the first.
The Fighting Irish tied the game at two at 13:28 with a tally from Evan Werner.
With 23 seconds left in the period, senior forward Tassy redirected junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk’s shot to give UW a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.
Second Period
Sophomore forward Adam Pietila found the back of the net at 1:16, but Notre Dame successfully challenged the goal for offsides, keeping it a 3-2 game.
At 1:47, Wisconsin had its first and only power play of the game, but it was unable to convert on any scoring chances to extend its lead.
The Irish got their only power-play chance of the night at 4:19, but Wisconsin got the kill.
Notre Dame’s Danny Nelson tied the game at three, 8:22 into the second.
Jayden Davis gave the Fighting Irish a 4-3 lead at 10:19.
After the fourth goal, UW made a goaltending switch from sophomore Eli Pulver to freshman Daniel Hauser. Hauser made a perfect 13 saves the rest of the way to keep the Badgers in position to win.
Just over three minutes later, at 13:35, sophomore forward Botterill tied the game at four.
Third Period
Senior forward Fitzgerald picked a corner and scored the game-winning goal, 9:52 into the third, to help UW to a 5-4 victory and a four-game season sweep of Notre Dame. Gavin Morrissey stole the puck at the Badger blue line to start the play.
Wisconsin went 0-for-1 on the power play and 1-for-1 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 29-29 tie in shots on goal.
Notes to know
-UW completed a season sweep of Notre Dame tonight, earning four wins and 11 of 12 Big Ten points available against the Irish: 7-4 on Dec. 5; 9-2 on Dec. 6; 6-5 (OT) on Feb. 6; and 5-4 on Feb. 7
–Luke Osburn is second among freshmen defensemen scoring in the country with 19 points (5g, 14a)
-Osburn also extended his point streak to four games (2-5=7)
-This marks the seventh-straight game Wisconsin has played in front of at least 10,000 fans, both at the Kohl Center and on the road
–Simon Tassy snapped an 11-game point and goal drought with a goal and an assist in the game
-UW defensemen scored three goals on the weekend after tallying just once in the prior six games
–Quinn Finley scored in both games of the weekend, ending a six-game goal and point drought during which the Badgers were winless
–Ryan Botterill extended his point streak to three games (1-3=4) by ending his eight-game goal-scoring drought
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