No. 6 Badgers sweep Ohio State
Six different Wisconsin skaters score in 6-1 win
MADISON, Wis. – A four-goal second period lifted the No. 6 Wisconsin men’s hockey team to a 6-1 victory over Ohio State on Saturday Night at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin’s (12-4-0, 6-2-0 Big Ten) special teams were in full force, with goals scored in five different ways – two on the power play, one short-handed, one on a penalty shot, one during four-on-four play and one even strength. Tonight served as ‘Goalie Night,’ one of the six nights chosen for special recognition during Wisconsin’s 75th-season celebration, and senior goaltender Kyle McClellan did not disappoint, stopping 21 out of 22 of Ohio State’s (5-7-3, 0-7-1) shots on goal.
The Badgers found the back of the net first, 17:23 into the first period on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Ben Dexheimer controlled the puck at the blue line before passing to the right to find sophomore forward Cruz Lucius. Lucius made a short pass to David Silye in the middle of Ohio State’s right circle. The senior forward let a wrist shot fly to tally his second goal of the season.
Wisconsin lit the lamp again two minutes later on a short-handed goal from graduate student forward Owen Lindmark. Sophomore forward Jack Horbach got control of the puck in the Badgers’ zone and passed up the ice to find Lindmark in Buckeye territory. Lindmark skated to the front of the net and finished to make it 2-0.
UW’s offense continued to buzz, adding four more goals during the second period.
Freshman forward Quinn Finley capitalized on a penalty shot 3:18 into the middle frame to give the Badgers a three-goal lead.
Three minutes later, Wisconsin scored again on the power play. Owen Lindmark passed across the blue line to Cruz Lucius, who took a shot on net. Ohio State netminder Reilly Herbst saved Lucius’ shot before sophomore forward Simon Tassy cleaned up on the rebound to extend UW’s lead to four.
Ohio State scored its first and only goal of the series 8:11 into the second period on a redirection by Patrick St. Guzzo.
The Badgers responded two minutes later with Cruz Lucius’ eighth goal of the season. Sophomore forward Christian Fitzgerald picked up the puck deep in OSU’s zone and made a short pass to Lucius in front of the net, who ripped a quick shot past the right side of the netminder.
With 7:20 remaining in the frame, Jack Horbach scored his second of the year to make it six goals for Wisconsin.
The third period was quiet, with neither team finding the back of the net for a final score of 6-1, Wisconsin.
Notes to know:
– Owen Lindmark tallied his nation-leading seventh career short-handed goal tonight
– Lindmark also reached a new career-high in goals with his seventh of the season
– Sophomore forward Jack Horbach tied his career-high with eight points on the season
– Quinn Finley’s penalty shot goal was Wisconsin’s first since Jan. 19, 2018 when Trent Frederic scored against Notre Dame
– Tonight’s contest lowered UW’s national-leading scoring defense number to 1.69 opponent goals per game
– The Badgers’ six Big Ten wins already match last year’s season total
Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On the team’s performanceÂ
“I thought our start from the get-go was really good. I thought we went out and played physical and put a lot of pucks behind them and then we had opportunities, made some plays. It’s great to see Lindmark, Horbach and Bantle get rewarded for all the work that they have been doing.”
On the team’s bond
“This group is still growing, but tonight I thought they did a really good job setting up each other for success. I just thought there was a lot of “we” tonight and they were rewarded for that.”
Graduate student forward Owen Lindmark
On his short-handed goal
“It was a great job on the faceoff there. I think Joe Palodichuk pressured hard and Horbach ended up getting the puck and we just kind of read off each other really well. As soon as I saw the puck going to him, I took off and we practiced it a lot in practice. We just know that if one of us gets it in that area, we will take off and hit the other guy. It’s good for us to finally get a short-handed goal between the two of us because it been some time. [Though] as long as we were killing the penalty, that’s all that really matters.”
Sophomore forward Jack Horbach
On having six guys score tonight
“Our depth is probably one of our strongest things as a team. When we have every line contributing like we have been, and just really good for our team to build off each other because we don’t believe that one line is gonna do it, and then we’re just gonna build off that and have shifts going back-to-back to back where we can get in their zone and build off each other. It’s finally good to see them go in because it’s been going in in practice, but it feels good.”