No. 4 Wisconsin falls in overtime to No. 9 Minnesota
Owen Lindmark tallies game-tying goal to earn UW a point
MADISON, Wis. – Despite outshooting Minnesota, 41-29, for the game, the No. 4 Wisconsin men’s hockey team fell, 2-1, in overtime to the No. 9 Minnesota Gophers on Friday night at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota (16-7-4, 9-5-3 Big Ten) opened the scoring midway through the first period, but Wisconsin (20-6-1, 11-4-0 Big Ten) battled back to tie it early in the third to send the game to overtime. The Gophers only needed 1:02 of extra time to find the back of the net and win the game.
Minnesota got on the board first 7:28 into the opening period on a shot from Oliver Moore.
Sixteen minutes into period two, the Badgers received the first and only power play of the game, but were unable to convert on their five power-play shots to tie it up.
Gopher goaltender Justen Close was strong between the pipes, stopping all 21 of UW’s shots on goal during the second frame.
Wisconsin evened up the score 1:35 into the third period. From center ice, freshman defenseman Zach Schulz sent a rim shot into the Gophers’ zone which sophomore forward Simon Tassy picked up in the middle of the right circle. Tassy flicked the puck up to graduate student forward Owen Lindmark, who took a shot and collected his own rebound before sending home a backhand shot for his 11th goal of the season.
Neither team scored in the remaining 18 minutes of the third period to send the game to a five-minute sudden-death overtime period.
Just over one minute into the extra time, Minnesota’s Brody Lamb scored for the Gophers, handing Wisconsin its first overtime loss of the season.
Wisconsin went 0-for-1 on the power play and played a clean game with no penalties.
Notes to know:
– 13,498 fans attended tonight’s game, marking the highest attended NCAA men’s hockey home game this season
– Wisconsin is 4-5-0 in matchups against Minnesota since Feb. 2005 when both teams have been ranked in the top 10
– UW has outscored its opponents 34-13 in third periods
– UW earned a point with the result, climbing to within four points of first place Michigan State, which lost at Notre Dame tonight
Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On the Badgers’ start
“I thought the first period was meh, I thought we needed to turn a page and start to play with some emotions or energy. I thought our start to the second period was really good.”
On the team’s third-period push
“Just stay with it, you know. The group, I thought they were buying in. I thought they were playing for each other. Thought we had to clean up a few of our changes there but I really wish we would have taken that opportunity and momentum when we scored a goal and to build on that. I thought Minnesota did a really good job on pushing back, and maybe we didn’t push hard enough. Again, a battle against two teams. I think that are playing really good hockey right now. We’ll turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.”
Graduate student forward Owen Lindmark
On the series finale tomorrow
“At the end of the day, we got a point and the opportunity to take 10 out of 12 points on the year against these guys. We’re going to be jumping ready to go, and we’re going to be playing for the fans and all the support we have on campus.”
Senior forward Mathieu De St. Phalle
On playing their best hockey right off the jump tomorrow
“We’re staying focused on tomorrow. We have a great opportunity in front of a huge crowd and we’re just going to give it our all and put everything on that first shift. That’s our big focus. Everyone is focused on that first shift tomorrow.”
On improving as the game went on
“Our start is something we want back, but we’re really happy with the rest of the game and the way we played and how we bounced back. We give credit to their goalie, he played a great game. I thought we did a good job feeding off the crowd as the game went on. Just a tough way to go, but good thing we got one more tomorrow.”
Up Next: The Badgers continue their series against Minnesota on Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Kohl Center. The game begins at 7 p.m. and acts as ‘NHL Night,’ one of the six nights chosen for special recognition as part of UW’s 75th season celebration. The contest streams on B1G+ while audio play-by-play airs on the Badgers Radio network, including 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee. It also airs on the Badgers app and The Varsity Network app. Follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.