The Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team (11-18-1, 5-16-1 Big Ten) took on the Ohio State Buckeyes (20-9-2, 13-6-1) in Columbus, Ohio, over the weekend across two games.
The Badgers already played the Buckeyes twice this season in a two-game set in October at home and lost both games, the first game going to overtime. This past weekend, the Badgers traveled to Columbus seeking redemption.
The first game started strong with junior forward Jack Horbach scoring his second goal of the season with 2:10 to go in the first period. This put the Badgers up 1-0, a lead that they took into the second period.
In the second period, star sophomore forward Quinn Finley ran into Ohio State’s goalie, Logan Terness, and was charged with a major penalty and a game misconduct, putting him in the penalty box for five minutes. But, Wisconsin was able to kill the power play and keep Ohio State from scoring.
.sno-67b7536922288 {
background-color: #ffffff;border: 5px solid #888888;box-shadow: -1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 0 1px 1px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 24%);margin: 30px auto; float: none;}
.sno-67b7536922288 h5 {
color: #000000;
}
Ohio State then found their stride as Riley Thompson tied the game up at one a piece with 4:24 to go in the second, followed by Joe Dunlap scoring with just 31 seconds left in the second period to put the Buckeyes up 2-1 heading into the final period.
Ohio State added another goal just 1:40 into the third and prevented Wisconsin from scoring, forcing them to pull their goalie and allowing Ohio State to add an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left to put the game officially out of reach at 4-1.
The second game was played the next day and once again, the Badgers led early and couldn’t hold on.
After a Buckeye goal late in the first period, graduate student forward Ryland Mosley scored just 10 seconds into the second period, his 50th career collegiate goal, to tie the game 1-1. Freshman Ryan Botterill followed Mosley’s effort, scoring his fourth goal of the season to put the Badgers up 2-1 just a minute later. But, the Badgers wouldn’t hold onto their lead for long, as the Buckeyes responded with a goal of their own just four minutes later.
.sno-67b75369233fe {
background-color: #ffffff;border: 5px solid #888888;box-shadow: -1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 0 1px 1px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 24%);margin: 30px auto; float: none;}
.sno-67b75369233fe h5 {
color: #000000;
}
Both teams would fail to score until late in the third when, with just three minutes left, Ohio State’s Damien Carfagna scored the game-winning goal.
Another empty-net goal sealed Wisconsin’s 4-2 loss, making it six losses in a row for the Badgers, all in Big Ten play. On Sunday, the Badgers were dropped from both USA Today’s and USCHO’s top 20.
The Badgers will attempt to return to winning ways this weekend in a two-game series against Notre Dame for senior night, celebrating the last two games of their regular season on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Kohl Center at 7:30 p.m.