Wisconsin is still searching for their first win since opening weekend.
The first game of the series was just a new chapter in the same book we’ve grown all too accustomed to reading. The Wisconsin Badgers (1-6 overall, 0-3 B1G) went to overtime for the third time in seven games after what was by and large an entertaining hockey game against the No. 19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2 overall, 1-0 B1G), albeit with another frustrating finish that has defined the Badgers’ season to this point.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Wisconsin outshot Notre Dame 44-24 and still struggled to score.
Despite trailing 1-0 at the end of the first period, the Badgers got busy toward the end of the second. Wisconsin registered 21 of their 44 shots in the second frame, and freshman Ryan Botterill deflected a shot from the point off the stick of fellow freshman Logan Hensler to tie it up.
Just over three minutes later, graduate student and captain Owen Lindmark saw daylight and beat Irish goaltender Owen Say to the short side of the post, giving Wisconsin the lead. It would be short-lived, as the Irish tied it up just 31 seconds later off a weird deflection that squirted past an unwitting Tommy Scarfone. It’s hard to put that one on the senior netminder after the puck ricocheted off the body of Notre Dame’s Brennan Ali, who was posted up in front of Scarfone. Junior defenseman Ben Dexheimer scrambled to save the puck but was a moment too late as it slowly slid just past the goal line.
The Badgers had plenty of chances to put themselves ahead in the third frame, but they were in no way assisted by the officiating. This isn’t sour grapes, there wasn’t a bad call that put the Badgers at a disadvantage, and they had every opportunity to win; however, the Badgers were shorted at least two power plays, if not a penalty shot.
Seven minutes into the period, Lindmark and Notre Dame defenseman Jaedon Kerr were both sent off for offsetting minors in a scrum after the whistle – the only problem is Lindmark was called for a slash that never happened. Kerr tripped Lindmark and dished out a cross-check that sent him to the ice, leaving Lindmark, the Peacock broadcast, and Badger fans everywhere confused by his trip to the penalty box.
Later in the period, sophomore Quinn Finley found himself on a breakaway with a chance to give Wisconsin the lead. As he gathered the puck and snapped his shot, he took a clear slash right across the wrist that went unpenalized. Considering his advantage on the play, it may have been a candidate for a penalty shot. At the very least the Badgers were robbed of a second power play.
All that could have been for naught, as junior Simon Tassy took an elbow between the blue lines with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, putting the Badgers on the power play to begin overtime. Finley rocketed a one-timer off Say’s pad, and Lindmark was stopped by his skate on a nice turnaround look from the slot. Then, freshman Gavin Morrissey took an overly aggressive tripping penalty trying to win the puck in the neutral zone.
After a few seconds of three-on-three hockey, Notre Dame added an extra skater to start their power play. Caught in a change, graduate transfer Cody Laskosky jumped off the bench and made his way to the defensive zone. He skated toward Notre Dame forward Danny Nelson, who was toeing the blue line waiting for the puck to be onside to gain the offensive zone. Laskosky skated directly into him and fell to the ice, taking himself out of the play and clearing the way for Irish leading scorer Cole Knuble to step into the slot and net the game-winning goal.
Laskosky clearly thought there should have been interference on the play, and it seems that head coach Mike Hastings agreed. If you want my opinion: I don’t think it was interference. I’ve gone back and watched the play several times over, and I feel Nelson was just as entitled to the space. He may have noticed Laskosky at the last second, but he was already decelerating while watching the puck. I’d argue that Laskosky was entering Nelson’s space, and the onus was on Laskosky to avoid the contact. Either way, it was a horribly deflating way to end a game where the Badgers largely dominated for 40 minutes.
I would say there are positives to take from Friday night if this weren’t a 1-6 team watching winnable games slip through their fingers. But at this point, the Badgers can ill-afford to settle for moral victories. They need to find a way to start notching real, tangible wins. And fast. Saturday at 5 p.m. (on Peacock) would be as good a place to start as any.