• Hockey
  • Wisconsin Men's Hockey Skates Past Minnesota to Lead the Big Ten

Wisconsin Men's Hockey Skates Past Minnesota to Lead the Big Ten

Details
Hockey

The Wisconsin men's hockey team (13-7-0, 11-5-0 0-1-0 Big Ten) swept into first place in the Big Ten by skating to an 8-1 victory over the second-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-5-0, 11-5-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) in the team's final regular-season matchup of the season. Wisconsin's depth and skill were on full display tonight with six different Badgers notching goals.

The Badgers went on the man advantage just four minutes into the game and quickly get control of the puck in the offensive zone. Dylan Holloway passed across to Cole Caufield who fired a shot at the net. Roman Ahcan tipped the puck past Jack LaFontaine for an early 1-0 lead.

Holloway scored another power-play goal at 8:25 in the first period to give the Badgers a two-goal lead. Weissbach quarterbacked the power-play set up in the Gophers' zone and slid the puck to Caufield who passed through the slot to Holloway on the far side, leaving the sophomore with a wide-open net.

The Gophers responded with a goal at 14:08, scored by Ben Meyers and assisted by Bryce Brodzinski and Jonny Sorenson.

Ty Emberson restored the Badgers' two-goal lead at 15:55, notching his first goal of the season. He picked up a drop pass from Holloway then drove hard to the net. Tyler Inamoto also recorded an assist on the play. 

Ty Pelton-Byce scored a quick goal just 42 seconds into the second period. He cleaned up a rebound from a blocked Weissbach point shot, giving the Badgers a 4-1 lead. Emberson notched his second point of the game on Pelton-Byce's goal.

At 1:14 into the second period, Roman Ahcan scored his second goal of the game on a low angle shot from the goal line assisted by Brock Caufield and Holloway.

Jack Gorniak scored unassisted at 17:11 in the second period and the Badgers headed into the final 20 minute stretch up 6-1. 

Emberson scored his second goal of the game in the third period at 9:36. He fired a shoot through traffic from the point and the puck found its way into the back of the net. Holloway and Josh Ess picked up helpers on the play. 

Cole Caufield jumped in on the goal-scoring as well after rushing into the offensive zone and picking up a chipped puck from Gorniak. He made one quick move out in front and slid the puck in the cage for the Badger's eighth goal of the night.

Freshman goaltender Cameron Rowe also had a fantastic performance in net, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced.

Notes to know:

  • Wisconsin swept Minnesota in Minneapolis for the first time since Feb. 6-7, 2009
  • Sophomore Dylan Holloway recorded a goal and four assists for a five-point night
  • The eight goals equal the most the Badgers have scored against Minnesota in Minneapolis
  • Cole Caufield extended his point streak to 12 games (13 goals, 12 assists). He leads the nation with 17 goals and 33 points.
  • Dylan Holloway recorded a five-point night with a goal and four assists and has points in eight consecutive games (5 goals, 16 assists)
  • Ty Pelton-Byce has a nine-game point streak with six goals and six assists

Next up:
The Badgers will stay on the road for their next series against the Michigan Wolverines (10-6-0, 7-6-1-0-0 Big Ten) when they head to Ann Arbor, Michigan. The two will face off Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1 p.m. CT and Sunday, Feb. 14 at 4 p.m.