Game One
A four-goal first period and an offensive clinic from six different goal scorers propelled the University of Wisconsin Badgers (12-18-3, 7-15-1 Big Ten) to a dominant 7-3 victory over Notre Dame (9-21-1, 3-17-1) Friday night at the Kohl Center. The Badgers snapped their recent struggles in Big Ten play with an energetic performance.
Wisconsin caught heat early, as graduate student Ryland Mosley opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the first period. The floodgates burst open soon after, with junior Jack Horbach and sophomores Owen Mehlenbacher and Zach Schulz lighting the lamp in a stunning two-minute and 25-second stretch, shooting the Badgers to a 4-0 lead.
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Notre Dame found some life early in the second, cutting the lead in half with back-to-back goals, but Wisconsin rebounded. Junior Simon Tassy and freshman Adam Pietila buried two goals just 30 seconds apart, stretching the lead back to four and crushing any of the Fighting Irish’s momentum.
Mosley capped off his night with a power-play goal in the third, securing his second of the evening and putting an exclamation point on Wisconsin’s biggest offensive outburst in weeks.
Game Two
One night after putting on an offensive showcase, the Badgers struggled to generate chances in a tough 6-1 loss to the Fighting Irish on senior night at the Kohl Center Saturday night.
Wisconsin fell behind early and never recovered, as Notre Dame opened the scoring just five minutes in and controlled play throughout. The Irish struck twice in the first period and pushed their lead to 3-0 midway through the second before Anthony Kehrer provided Wisconsin’s lone highlight of the night, burying his first goal of the season in his final regular-season home game.
But any momentum was short-lived. Notre Dame answered late in the second and tacked on two more goals in the third to seal a decisive victory, spoiling the Badgers’ senior night and splitting the weekend series.
Looking Ahead
With the regular season in the books, Wisconsin now turns its attention to the Big Ten Tournament. While Saturday’s loss exposed defensive lapses, Friday’s dominant performance showed this team’s potential when firing on all cylinders. If the Badgers can rediscover that offensive spark and tighten up in their zone, they could be a dangerous opponent in March.
The road to a postseason run starts March 7. Wisconsin will look to regroup as it prepares for its first-round matchup in the Big Ten tournament against either Ohio State, Michigan State or Minnesota, depending on the final matchups of the season.