Badgers thankful for a homecoming win
November 28, 2008 | Men's Hockey
The Wisconsin men's hockey team defeated Michigan State 3-1 this Friday at the Kohl Center in the first game of the College Hockey Showcase. The newly created line of Ben Grotting, John Mitchell and Matt Thurber were responsible for all three goals and seven points.
Wisconsin came out strong from the very beginning. UW outshot MSU 18-3 in the first period and had quite a few near-goal chances. The Badgers outshot the Spartans again in the second and third periods 18-5 and 17-4, respectively, but did not find the net until the end of the second period, putting the first mark on the scoreboard with just over three minutes remaining. Wisconsin then increased its lead to two with 12:33 into the third period. The Spartans avoided the shutout soon after with a power-play goal at 6:17, but the Badgers sealed the deal with 2:55 left in the game, scoring their third and final goal of the game.
Junior Ben Grotting (Birmingham, Ala.) skated to his first multi-point game tonight against the Spartans. Grotting notched two assists and one goal for three points. Near the end of the second period Grotting put the first mark on the scoreboard for his first point of the game. Freshman Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka, Minn.) rushed the goal initially with a shot that was saved by goalkeeper Jeff Lerg. Grotting followed up the shot and scored on the rebound after the puck bounced off Lerg back onto the ice in front of the net. Senior goalkeeper Shane Connelly (Cheltenham, Pa.) was credited with the second assist, the first goaltender assist awarded to the Badgers since Brian Elliott was credited with one almost two seasons ago on Feb. 9, 2007 against Alaska Anchorage.
The Badgers scored again 7:27 into the third period. Freshman Matt Thurber (Beaver Dam, Wis.) skated down the ice with junior John Mitchell (Neenah, Wis.) for a 2-on-1 against the MSU defense. Thurber passed the puck across the ice in front of the net to Mitchell, who scored his sixth goal of the season to put the Badgers up 2-0. Grotting was credited with the second assist.
The Spartans responded soon after with a 5-on-3 power play goal to evade the shutout. Tim Crowder beat Connelly for Michigan State's only goal with 6:17 left in the third period.
UW found the net a third time to set the final score at 3-1. Thurber shot the puck past Lerg in a scramble in front of the MSU goal with 2:55 left in the game. Mitchell and Grotting assisted Thurber for the final goal.
The Badgers outshot the Spartans 53-12, nearly tying UW's record for fewest shots on goal against. The current record was set on Jan. 2, 1983 when Boston University tallied only 11 shots on goal against the 1982-83 Badger squad.
Wisconsin went 0-for-9 on the power play while Michigan State went 1-for-6.
The Badgers delivered their third win at home this season after a long streak on the road. Tonight was the first of eight consecutive contests at home, leaving only three more regular-season weekends on the road for UW this year.
Tonight's game is archived at the bigtennetwork.com .
Complete results are attached as a pdf below.
Wisconsin is set to face off Michigan tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in the second game of the College Hockey Showcase. Check back to UWBadgers.com for coverage of tomorrow's contest.
