Wisconsin battles No. 6 Penn State to 3-3 tie

by | Dec 1, 2018 | RRSN News | 0 comments

Wisconsin battles No. 6 Penn State to 3-3 tie

Freshman forward Brock Caufield tallies two goals in draw

MADISON, Wis. — Freshman wing Brock Caufield recorded his first career multi-goal game and rookie netminder Daniel Lebedeff made 37 saves as the Wisconsin men’s hockey team fought to a 3-3 draw against No. 6 Penn State.

The result marked the third straight game that has ended in a tie for UW.

Caufield opened the scoring for the Badgers (5-7-3, 1-3-3-1 B1G) in the first frame after tipping a shot from sophomore blue-liner Tyler Inamoto at the top of the zone past Penn State (10-3-1, 2-2-1-1 B1G) goaltender Peyton Jones to make it a 1-0 game.

Penn State forward Nikita Pavlychev then beat Lebedeff glove-side at the 12:33 mark of the first frame to even the score heading into second period.

PSU took their only lead of the night a minute into the middle frame on a goal from junior Liam Folkes, but Wisconsin gained the momentum once again after UW junior forward Max Zimmer tapped in a Seamus Malone pass past Jones nine minutes later to knot the score back up.

 

Four minutes later, Caufield tallied his second goal of the evening on the odd-man rush to give Wisconsin a 3-2 lead.
In the final minutes of the second period, however, Penn State forward and NCAA-leading scorer Evan Barratt scored on a breakaway to tie the game.

After a scoreless third frame and a pair of overtime periods, the two teams settled for a tie, and Penn State won the sudden-death shootout to earn the extra point in the Big Ten standings.

Lebedeff stopped 37 of the 40 shots he faced, good for a .925 save percentage.

 

Notes to Know: 

  • Brock Caufield’s multi-goal effort marks the first time a UW rookie has scored two or more goals since then-freshman Linus Weissbach tallied two goals against Michigan on Nov. 18, 2017.
  • Tonight’s result marks the third-straight tie the Badgers have played to this season. The last time Wisconsin had three consecutive ties was during the 2002-03 season when the Badgers drew Minnesota State before earning ties in both games of a series against Alaska Anchorage.
  • The Badgers are 13-for-13 on the penalty kill across the last three games. UW has not allowed a power-play goal since Nov. 17 when it went 5-for-7 in a 3-1 loss to Ohio State.

Straight from the Rink
Coach Tony Granato
On the game overall:

“I thought there were lots of small areas in the game where it looked like one team was better than the other team, so that probably happened six or seven times during the game where one team looked like they were taking control, something happened and then the other team took control. I think we had good moments in the game, probably most of them were in the second period. There were lots of parts in the game that were the way we have to play. Again, we’re playing a No. 6 team, so they’re extremely talented. Their lines bring a lot of speed, and I thought for the most part we did a heck of a job. We played hard. Like we say every week, we want to find ways to get better and improve, and I think there were areas of the game that we made good strides in. We were disciplined in not taking penalties, and I think offensively we did a lot of good things as well to create those chances.”

On Brock Caufield:
“Those were great plays. He’s gaining confidence. He’s only played about 11 or 12 games of college hockey, and the teams we’ve played have all been hard to play against. That’s part of the growth you look for in a player to gain confidence and learn how to contribute in different areas. He’s been one that looks like, offensively, is starting to get into a rhythm.”

Freshman wing Brock Caufield
On his assist from Tarek Baker:

“It was a four-on-four goal, great breakout play. I just found open ice and Tarek [Baker] found me and I was wide open, so that was a great pass by him.”

On performing so well in his freshman campaign:
“Every time you step on the ice you want to make an impact and you want to be the best player on the ice. We’ve got a good team with good players, and I’m accepting my role. I need to be a hard-working guy, play on the penalty kill and stuff like that.”

On the speed of the Penn State team:
“I feel like it turned into a track meet at some points of the game, and we’re a good skating team and I think we’re comfortable in that. We need to tie some things up defensively, but I think we’re comfortable playing that style of game, too.”

Freshman goaltender Daniel Lebedeff
On the outcome of the game:

“Yeah, I think the boys and I were a little disappointed by the final score tonight. Of course, we want to win, but today we just couldn’t. I think we just have to accept it and just try to focus on tomorrow being our best day.”

On having 5-on-5 for the first 35 minutes:
“I think that gave us a lot more energy on the ice, since being on the penalty kill is always tiring. I think it was much better for us to not take penalties in the 35 minutes and I think that helped us a lot, especially just getting the four lines rolling.”

Up Next: The Badgers wrap up their series with the Nittany Lions Saturday night at the Kohl Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. (CT).

Related Stories

Andy Waddle Brings More Than Just Football to Valpo

When Valparaiso University hired Andy Waddle in December, it got more than simply a head football coach. Waddle won a lot of games over the last 12 seasons at Marietta College, but he’s far prouder of the lives that he has saved than the games that he has won. Waddle...

Crossroads League in the NAIA National Polls | April 7-13

JACKSON, Mich. – The NAIA recently announced its Top-25 Polls for the sports of men’s and women’s tennis and women’s golf. The Crossroads League had 13 teams ranked or receiving votes in those polls and now has 39 teams ranked inside the Top-25 for the 2024-2025 year....

Bethel Softball surrenders doubleheader to Mount Vernon Cougars

MISHAWAKA, Ind.--The Bethel Pilots (8-26, 3-17) fell to the Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars (17-12, 10-10) on Thursday evening at Gardner Field. GAME ONE In the opening inning, the Cougars posted two runs on the board with a single to center by Skylar Zimmerman and a...

IUSB Baseball Completes Season Sweep of CCSJ

WHITING, Ind. - The Indiana University South Bend Baseball (13-23, 9-11 CCAC) team concluded their CCAC season series with Calumet College of St. Joseph (6-19, 3-13) Tuesday, winning both games of the doubleheader and and sweeping the series. IUSB won game one 10-6...

UCLA and Oregon Collect Big Ten Softball Weekly Awards

Bruins’ Grant and Ducks’ Sokolsky and Ma’ake receive weekly recognition Player of the Week Megan Grant, UCLA Jr. – UTL – San Bruno, Calif. – Aragon High School – Major: Sociology Led UCLA to a 4-0 week, including a top-25 sweep of No. 21 Ohio State, with a team-best...

Purdue MBB 2024-25 Final Release

Final Game Notes attached in PDF format. THE FINAL TALLY: Purdue ended the season with a 24-12 record and a spot in the Sweet 16 for the sixth time in the last eight years. The Boilermakers lost a heartbreaker to eventual national runner-up Houston in the Sweet 16,...

A LETTER FROM THE IHSAA COMMISSIONER- Paul Neidig

A LETTER FROM THE IHSAA  COMMISSIONER- Paul Neidig I may be showing my age with this reference, but Bob Dylan once wrote and sang “the times, they are a-changin.” In February, the IHSAA Executive Committee approved changes to the Association’s bylaws that will...