Badgers complete comeback, claim overtime victory over Lindenwood
Finley scores twice, Laatsch tallies overtime winner
MADISON, Wis. – Two goals from Quinn Finley and an overtime tally from Daniel Laatsch helped the Wisconsin men’s hockey team battle back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Lindenwood Lions, 3-2, on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Lindenwood (1-1-0 Independent) scored one goal in the first period and one in the second to hold a 2-0 lead until the final minute of the second period. Sophomore forward Finley scored a power-play goal for Wisconsin (1-1-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten) with 34 seconds remaining in the second frame to cut the Lions’ lead in half. The sophomore then tallied his second goal of the evening, 14:29 into the third period, to send the game to overtime. Daniel Laatsch notched the game-winning goal with 18 seconds left in the extra time to give the Badgers a series split over Lindenwood.
How it Happened
Lindenwood got on the board first 14:23 into the opening period on a shot from Ethan Zielke.
The Lions doubled their lead 2:31 into the second period after David Gagnon found the back of the net.
Sophomore forward Finley tallied a power-play goal with 34 seconds remaining in the second period to pull the Badgers within one. From the Lindenwood slot, graduate student forward Ryland Mosley passed the puck to junior forward Simon Tassy in the middle of the right faceoff circle. Tassy tapped it over to Finley in the middle of the zone before the sophomore skated up to the net and put a backhand shot past Lions goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz.
Finley notched his second goal of the evening 14:29 into the third period. Junior forward Christian Fitzgerald picked up the puck deep in the Lions’ zone and defensively skated around the right side of the boards before taking a shot from the top of the left circle. The shot was tipped high by Simon Tassy’s stick and Finley batted the puck out of midair and into the net for his second goal of the season.
Senior defenseman Laatsch scored the game-winner with 18 seconds left in overtime. Finley rushed the puck into the Lions’ zone and passed to his right to meet freshman forward Gavin Morrissey in the middle of the faceoff circle. Morrissey tried to pass back to Finley in front of the net and missed. Laatsch picked up the puck near the left side boards and let a shot fly from a hard angle to give the Badgers their first win of the season.
Wisconsin went 1-for-8 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 45-17 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
– Quinn Finley has five goals in four career games against Lindenwood, including notching his first-career hat trick on Jan. 12, 2024
– Sophomore goaltender William Gramme stays undefeated, extending his collegiate record to 3-0-1
– This marks the Badgers’ second two-goal comeback of the year after completing the feat in its exhibition game at Omaha on Saturday, Oct. 5. The Badgers headed into that third period down 2-0 before scoring two goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation to force overtime. Finley then scored the game-winner 1:19 into the extra time.
Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On tonight’s offensive efforts
“We’ve been ringing the bell quite a bit as far as some opportunities that have gone off the post. We just need to stay with it. One thing I want our guys to take from this game is that they stayed with it and they were rewarded for it.”
On preparing for Ohio State next weekend
“I’ve said this from the beginning about this group – I like seeing them every day. They haven’t spit the bit as far as going to work, and this next week we’re going to have to go to work and keep getting better. That’s what this is about. It’s about trying to push the rock up the hill as fast as we can.”
Senior defenseman Daniel Laatsch
On scoring the overtime winner
“I kinda saw it out of the corner of my eye. I kinda saw the goalie fidgeting around a little bit, so I knew he wasn’t on his angle exactly, but definitely a little luck in there too, I just kind of threw it over in that direction.”
Sophomore forward Quinn Finley
On playing with a new line tonight
“I think in practice, we switch up the lines a lot during the week. It’s nice to get chemistry with everybody, and I think it’s really coming along. It’s gonna be better next week for sure”
Up Next: The Badgers open Big Ten play with a series against Ohio State at the Kohl Center on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-19. Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m., while Saturday’s contest begins at 6 p.m.