MADISON, Wis. — A thrilling weekend series came to a close Saturday night as the Notre Dame hockey team fell on the road to No. 13/11 Wisconsin, 5-4.
The Badgers got on the board early as an Irish defender picked off a Wisconsin attacker as he tried to wrap behind the net. Instead, the puck slipped off the blade of the Irish skater and under the pads of Nicholas Kempf in goal to make it a 1-0 game at 1:54 of the first.
Following the early Badgers goal, the Irish offense peppered the Wisconsin netminder with shots, including a pair from senior captain Michael Mastrodomenico from the point. Danny Nelson regained possession for the Irish along the halfwall and chipped it out into the neutral zone to set up the game-tying goal six minutes in. Mastrodomenico’s shot from the near dot beat Wisconsin’s Eli Pulver in the crease to make it a 1-1 contest.
Carter Slaggert nearly gave the Irish the lead just minutes later as Will Belle created an odd-man rush, finding Slaggert alone in front of the Badgers net but his shot was saved off the pads of Pulver and play continued.
The Badgers reclaimed the lead at 11:00 of the contest when a shot from the circle beat Kempf just under his glove to make it a 2-1 game.
The Irish refused to trail for long after the second Wisconsin goal of the night as Cole Brown found Evan Werner at the red line who net his fourth of the series to knot things back up, 2-2.
A heavy hit in the neutral zone sent a Badger to the box for the would-be first penalty of the night with 3:03 left in the first. The officials reviewed the hit for a potential major and after a lengthy time in the box watching it back, determined their was no penalty on the collision and play stayed five-on-five.
The Badgers converted late in the opening period to make it a 3-2 game through the first 20 minutes played despite a late chance by Cole Knuble as time expired.
Wisconsin thought they had extended their lead in the opening minutes of the second period but a successful challenge from the Irish bench kept it a 3-2 contest just 1:19 into the frame.
The Irish were called for a trip less than a minute later and the penalty kill unit was tested for the first time Saturday night. After managing to kill off the man-disadvantage for two minutes it was the Badgers called moments later to give the Irish the powerplay opportunity at 4:19 of the period. Notre Dame was unable to capitalize on their chance and play returned to five-on-five hockey with 6:19 elapsed in the second stanza.
With action changing ends frequently in the ensuing minutes after returning to even strength play, Danny Nelson converted on a redirect at the doorstep to tie it back up at 8:22 of the frame.
The Irish then saw their first lead of the weekend when Jayden Davis lit the lamp in his first game back from injury, giving the visitors the 4-3 lead just over halfway through the contest. Davis’ goal forced a change in net for Wisconsin as Daniel Hauser took over the Badger crease at the 10:19 mark of the second period.
The lead did not last long, however, as Wisconsin knotted it back up at 13:35 after a shot low snuck under the glove of Kempf to make it 4-4.
The score would remain stagnant through the horn signaling the end of 40 minutes played as both teams skated to their respective locker rooms looking to pull ahead in the third frame.
With the score still deadlocked 4-4 seven minutes into the final frame, Sutter Muzzatti stretched through the air to intercept a Wisconsin dump-in and found Werner on a partial breakaway. The junior raced in on net before firing a shot over the blocker of Hauser in the Badger net but his shot rang off the crossbar as the game remained tied.
The Badgers snapped the stalemate at 9:52 of the third frame as a turnover at the Irish blue line sent play up the opposite way and the Wisconsin shot sailed above the glove of Kempf to make it a 5-4 game.
A stoppage of play at 5:24 due to an equipment issue with Kempf’s mask put a pause on a long Wisconsin possession in the Irish end.
A pair of icings against the Badgers kept play in the offensive end for the Irish late in the frame but the visitors were unable to convert on a series of chances and the Badgers managed to get a clear with three minutes to play but iced the puck once more to send the face-off back to Notre Dame’s offensive zone and forced Wisconsin to call timeout with 2:48 to play.
The Irish had three grade-A chances after winning the draw and the extra attacker on the ice.
After Wisconsin cleared the puck, the Irish set up once more with Danny Nelson feeding a pass to Werner whose shot is stopped before Ali gets a chance at the rebound. A scrum in front of the net followed and the Irish called timeout with 1:39 to play.
Despite numerous chances in the final 99 seconds of play, the Irish could not convert with the extra attacker and ultimately fell to the Badgers, 5-4, Saturday night.
GOALS
- Michael Mastrodomenico’s fourth of the season evened the tally 1-1 before the first media timeout of the evening after the Irish fired five unanswered shots on net – three of which came off the stick of the senior captain.Jimmy Jurcev was credited with the primary assist on the play while fellow captain Danny Nelson was tabbed with the other.
- A shot from atop the far circle gave Evan Werner his fourth of the weekend, making it a 2-2 game at 13:28 of the first frame. Cole Brown picked off a Badger skater and got the puck to Werner who skated it through the neutral zone before faking a shot and throwing off the Badger netminder to bury his shot.
- A loose puck along the boards in the Irish offensive end was fed over to Cole Knuble by Michael Mastrodomenico before the junior fired a shot towards net where Danny Nelson stood to redirect it behind Pulver in the Badger crease.
- Henry Nelson negated a Wisconsin clearing attempt as he raced down the puck near the blue line, dumping it back in where Will Belle collected it and centered a quick pass to Jayden Davis in the slot for the 4-3 tally.
KEY STATS
- Following his hat trick performance Friday, Evan Werner’s hot streak continued as he net the second Irish goal of the night to make it a 2-2 contest at 13:28 of the game. The junior now boasts 12 points in his last six games and paces the Irish with 28 points (15-13-28) on the season.
- After scoring a pair against the Badgers during their first series back in December, Werner boasts six goals against the Big Ten foes this season, including four on the road this past weekend.
- Shots were even in the contest as the two teams traded 29 shots a piece, including the Irish outshooting the Badgers 11-5 in the final frame.
- Mastrodomenico’s four shots on goal led the Irish Saturday with one beating the Wisconsin netminding as he tallied his fourth of the season, tying a season-best previously set as a junior.
- The Irish blocked 10 shots in the contest, led by sophomore blueliner Jimmy Jurcev with three.
- With a goal Saturday, Werner extends his point-streak to six games (6-6-12).
- Cole Knuble’s assist on Danny Nelson’s second period tally moves his point-streak to four games as he boasts a goal and five assists over that stretch for six points total.
- Danny Nelson’s goal and assist Saturday night extends his point-streak to three games (2-3-5) as the junior found the back of the net twice at Wisconsin while adding a pair of assists.
- Brennan Ali was named a starter for the Irish Saturday night as the junior winger skated in his 100th career game in an Irish sweater.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame returns to Compton Family Ice Arena for a Valentine’s Day weekend series against the Gophers of Minnesota, February 13-14. The two teams will close out their regular season series with a pair of tilts in Irish territory with puck drops slated for 7pm Friday, followed by a 6pm start on Saturday.