SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Freshman goaltender Daniel Lebedeff’s sensational performance in goal was the difference for the Badgers Friday night at Compton Family Ice Arena, notching 30 saves to lead the Wisconsin men’s hockey to a critical 2-1 upset win over No. 15 Notre Dame.
Lebedeff made several key stops throughout the game, including a highlight-reel save to deny a 2-on-1 chance from Notre Dame (15-11-3, 8-9-2-2 B1G) and keep the Badgers (10-14-5, 6-8-5-2 B1G) in the lead midway through the first period.
Sophomore forward Linus Weissbach put the Badgers on the board early in the opening frame, ending Wisconsin’s power play woes with a tally on the man advantage. Weissbach now owns six points (3G, 3A) in the last seven games.
The Fighting Irish evened the score at the 15:52 mark of the first period, but freshman winger Roman Ahcan tipped a pass from fellow rookie Brock Caufield past Notre Dame’s Cale Morris in the waning minutes of the middle frame to give the Badgers a 2-1 lead.
Lebedeff stopped all eight shots he faced in the third period to secure the Badgers the road win and a vital three points in the Big Ten standings.
The Badgers climbed to within five points of second place and three points of the final home playoff spot for the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Notes to Know
- Linus Weissbach’s goal in Friday’s win ended the Badgers’ 25-attempt power play drought. Before Friday, the Badgers had not converted on the man advantage since freshman defenseman recorded a power-play goal against Notre Dame on Jan. 18.
- Sophomore defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk, who had an assist in both games last weekend, recorded his third point in as many games. The Virden, Manitoba, native ranks second on the team in scoring with seven goals and 20 points.
- The Badgers won their first Friday contest since they defeated Michigan State, 5-3, on Dec. 7Â at the Kohl Center, and their first Friday road game of the season.
- UW scored its first victory when scoring two goals or less since March 17, 2017, a 2-1 win over Ohio State in the semifinals of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament.
Up Next
Wisconsin goes for a road sweep on Saturday at they face Notre Dame at 5 p.m. (CT) on NBC Sports Network.
Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Tony Granato
On Friday’s game:
“Our goalie was probably the number one star. Their goalie was probably the number two star. We skated well, we got through the neutral zone well, especially in the first two periods. We got to the net well. When you draw up a road-game plan, this is how you want to play. You want good goaltending, you have to be good on special teams, and you have to put pressure on their D with your speed. All four lines were at least holding their own defensively and were able to put pressure on their D in the forecheck.”
“We have to refresh quick. We have an hour earlier game tomorrow, so tomorrow it will be important to come back out. Obviously we feel good about winning one game, but we’ve a great chance tomorrow.”
Freshman Goaltender Daniel Lebedeff
On the win:
“It felt great. Our team played well overall. We didn’t take stupid penalties, and when we got penalties we cleared them out easily. Tonight, our boys showed up very well and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Senior Defenseman Peter Tischke
On the win:
“Everything was clicking tonight. It started with our goaltending. Daniel played unbelievably, and then from the D corps on, we played really well. Going down to five D is really tough but we stepped up. I think Jesper (Peltonen) played really, really well. The forwards did a great job of getting open for us. Our special teams did great.”