MADISON, Wis. — A three-goal comeback came up just short for the University of Notre Dame hockey program Friday night on the road at No. 13/11 Wisconsin as they fell to the Badgers, 6-5, in overtime.

The Irish won early possession of the puck with center Danny Nelson winning the opening draw and giving the Irish the edge as Cole Brown nearly capitalized on a loose puck in the crease less than a minute into the contest.

Notre Dame was forced to be a man-down early in the game after a holding call was whistled in the offensive end at 2:51 of the opening period. On the kill, Danny Nelson broke up a play along the halfwall and chipped it out into the neutral zone where Sutter Muzzatti picked the puck up and created an odd-man rush the opposite way. Despite the chance shorthanded, the Irish were unable to convert and play returned to the Badgers’ end. It was there that Wisconsin would open the scoring, firing a shot from atop the far circle, beating Nicholas Kempf in net, with just two ticks remaining on the Irish penalty.

The Badgers doubled their lead just 20 seconds later to make it a 2-0 contest when a shot from the hashes snuck past Kempf with 14:50 to play in the first.

Notre Dame saw its first powerplay opportunity of the night at 7:08 of the first frame as Wisconsin was called for a hook.

The Irish capitalized on the man-advantage after Paul Fischer negated a clearing attempt by the Badgers, getting the puck to Cole Knuble who lofted a pass over to Evan Werner for the powerplay tally.

After a brief session of five-on-five hockey the special teams returned to the ice as the Irish were called for a hook at 9:35. The Badgers took advantage of the powerplay for the second time of the night, finding the back of the net at 10:32 to reclaim their two-goal lead.

The Irish answered moments later when the junior captain Nelson net his ninth of the season off a one-timer at the near dot.

Notre Dame nearly evened it up less than two minutes later as Werner had a shot at the wide open net but his wrister went wide of the crease and the Badgers took it down the other way to make it a 4-2 game at 12:33 of the night, taking advantage of a rebound opportunity that had Kempf out of position.

The Irish saw a late powerplay opportunity as Michael Mastrodomenico drew an interference call with 1:06 to play in the opening period. With 1.7 seconds left in the frame Brennan Ali had a chance in the slot but his attempt through the five-hole was stifled at the last moment and the Irish were sent to the locker room trailing by two at the first intermission.

A relatively quiet period compared to the former, the two teams traded goals in the second to make it a 5-3 contest through 40 minutes played.

The Badgers managed to kill off the remainder of their first period infraction before some extracurriculars at 3:56 of the frame sent a skater from either side to the box for two minutes. Neither team could convert on the four-on-four segment and play returned to even strength with the score still 4-2 in favor of the home team.

Wisconsin managed to snap the scoring drought at the 10:23 mark of the middle frame when a one-timer in the slot got behind Kempf in the Irish crease.

A late goal by Cole Brown, his first since Ohio State, got the Irish within two of the home team.

The Badgers were whistled for interference inside the final minute of the frame but the Irish failed to convert in the last 25 seconds of the stanza as they skated off the ice trailing by a pair after 40 minutes of play.

Notre Dame could not convert on the remainder of the man-advantage to start the third and the Badgers returned to full strength with play deep in their defensive end.

The Badgers were called for goaltender interference at 4:27 of the third period as the Irish saw their fourth powerplay opportunity of the night early in the third. A one-timer chance from Werner was denied by the Badger netminder as the Irish looked to close Wisconsin’s two-goal lead during the two-minute advantage.

For the second time Friday night, the first Irish powerplay unit converted off a shot from Werner to make it a one goal game with 13:53 to play in regulation.

At 9:45 of the third frame the Irish were called for a slash and were sent to the box for two minutes. The original PK unit spent the first 80 seconds of the kill out on the ice, denying the Badgers a quality chance on net but unable to clear. Mastrodomenico finally got a much-needed clear with 37 seconds to go on the penalty as the Irish got the change. An intercepted pass in the defensive end by Danny Nelson led to an odd-man rush with the junior center and freshman Will Belle as the Irish returned to full strength but the duo could not convert on the chance and the Irish continued to trail by one halfway through the final frame.

With 2:10 to play in regulation the Irish called timeout as they sought to draw up a game-tying play late in the game. After the timeout, the Irish returned to the ice with six skaters and the net empty at the opposite end.

A high stick played at the blueline brought the draw outside the Badger zone and Kempf returned to his crease with 1:47 to play, forcing Wisconsin to use their timeout.

After the Irish regained possession, Kempf quickly raced to the benches as the extra attacker hopped the boards and joined the pressure in the offensive end. The Irish capitalized with the extra man on the ice as Werner completed the hat trick to knot things up at 5-5 with 1:09 to go.

The three-goal night by Werner forced the thrilling overtime session but it was the Badgers who would reign victorious in the extra session as the Irish gave up a breakaway chance at 1:17 that would seal their fate Friday evening as Wisconsin clinched the extra Big Ten point with the overtime dagger.    

GOALS

• Evan Werner’s fifth powerplay goal of the season came at 7:35 of the opening period, beating Daniel Hauser in the Badger net to make it a 2-1 game. A trio of juniors connected on the goal as blue liner Paul Fischer kept a Badger clearing attempt in the offensive zone, feeding the puck over to Cole Knuble who found the open Werner in the slot.
• Captain Danny Nelson quieted the Wisconsin crowd Friday night, firing a one-timer into the back of the net just 12 seconds after a Badger goal. With the lone assist on the goal, Knuble had his second apple of the night.
• Freshman Cole Brown scored his fifth goal of the season after Sutter Muzzatti danced through the neutral zone before carrying the puck into the offensive end. There, he spun off a defender and sent a backhanded pass to Brown who was racing through the far circle to bury the puck.
• Werner’s second of the night came once more on the powerplay when Knuble found his special teams partner with 13:53 to go in regulation, drawing the Irish within a goal of the Badgers. Danny Nelson was also credited with an assist on the play.
• Sutter Muzzatti’s second primary assist of the night helped complete Werner’s hat trick performance to knot the game at 5-5 at 18:51 of the third. The graduate forward sent a pass across the ice where Werner was racing in on net, burying the feed over a diving Badger netminder to force the overtime session.

KEY STATS

• With a pair of powerplay tallies Friday night, Evan Werner now stands alone for first on the team in goals while his six lamplighters on the man-advantage is tied with Danny Nelson for the team-best.
• Werner’s hat trick set a new career-best for the junior and his four points ties his career high. With the four-point night, he extends his point-streak to five games as he averages over two points per game over that stretch (5-6-11).
• Picking up the primary assist on Cole Brown’s second period goal, Sutter Muzzatti’s four-game point streak ties his longest in an Irish sweater. The graduate forward boasts nine points over that span with three goals and six assists after his two-apple night at Wisconsin.
• Two other Irish skaters are riding point-streaks after the tilt at Wisconsin as Cole Knuble’s trio of assists gives him a three-game streak (1-4-5) and Danny Nelson has points in his last two outings (1-2-3).
• After his four-point night, Werner leads the team in points with 27 (14-13-26).
• The overtime session was the team’s third consecutive game decided after 60 minutes of regulation after a pair of ties against Bowling Green last weekend.

UP NEXT
The Irish close out the regular season series against the No. 13/11 Badgers Saturday night with another 7pm CT puck drop slated for the Kohl Center.