Wisconsin falls at No. 1 Michigan StateBadgers’ 11-game point streak snapped
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Despite holding a 3-1 lead midway through the second period, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team fell, 4-3, to the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans on Thursday evening at Munn Ice Arena.
Michigan State (16-2-1, 7-1-1 Big Ten) opened the scoring 5:36 into the game, but Wisconsin’s (9-11-1, 5-8-0 Big Ten) Gavin Morrissey evened the score at one with 1:55 remaining in the period. Owen Lindmark made it 2-1 for the Badgers 51 seconds into the second period on the power play before Sawyer Scholl doubled UW’s lead at 5:27. MSU found the back of the net 14:26 into the second period and again 57 seconds into the third to tie the game at three. The Spartans scored again with 5:05 left in the contest to complete their comeback and claim a 4-3 victory.
How it Happened Michigan State got on the board first 5:36 into the first period after Tiernan Shoudy shoveled a loose puck past senior goaltender Tommy Scarfone in front of the net.
Freshman forward Morrissey responded for Wisconsin with 1:55 left in the frame. From the far side of the Spartans’ right face-off circle, sophomore forward Quinn Finley took a shot, which graduate student forward Ryland Mosley tried to tip past MSU goaltender Luca Di Pasquo in front of the net. The puck trickled past the post where Morrissey gathered and chipped the loose puck in the net to score his sixth goal of the year.
Graduate student forward Lindmark gave the Badgers their first lead of the evening with a power-play goal 51 seconds into the second period. Junior forward Tyson Dyck passed from the bottom of the left circle to junior forward Kyle Kukkonen in front of the net, but Kukkonen tipped the puck into the right post. Lindmark then cleaned up on the rebound, lighting the lamp for the fifth time this year.
Sophomore forward Scholl made it a 3-1 game at 5:27 of the second frame. Freshman defenseman Jack Phelan passed to his left across the blue line to freshman forward Ryan Botterill. Botterill took a shot, which rebounded off Di Pasquo’s pads and onto Scholl’s stick as he fired a one-time shot into a wide-open net.
At 14:26 into the second, Karsen Dorwart made it a one-goal game for the Spartans.
Isaac Howard tied the game for MSU 57 seconds into the third period.
Michigan State took a 4-3 lead with 5:05 remaining on a shot from Charlie Stramel.
The Badgers were awarded a power play with 20 seconds left in the game but were unable to convert on any scoring chances as they fell, 4-3.
Wisconsin went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 36-33 deficit in shots on goal.
MSU Coach Adam Nightingale, on playing at Wrigley Saturday: “The first time we talked about Saturday’s game was after tonight’s game, and we intentionally focus on one day at a time. Now, the key is to make it as normal as possible. You can get lost in it, and we want our guys to enjoy it. It is an unbelievable opportunity, but at the end of the day, it’s Big Ten points, and we’re trying to keep improving. The first time we’ll be on that ice is warmups, but we need to go out and play the way we need to win a hockey game.”
Notes to know: – Tonight’s regulation loss snapped the Badgers’ 11-game point streak, dating back to Nov. 9 – Quinn Finley is tied for the NCAA scoring lead with 27 points. He leads the country with 15 goals – Gavin Morrissey (6g, 17a) is the nation’s leading scorer among freshmen with 23 points. He is tied for fifth among all skaters
Up Next: The Badgers continue their series against Michigan State on Saturday, Jan. 4, with an outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field in Chicago as part of the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series. The contest starts at 8 p.m. and airs on the Big Ten Network. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA or on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
