MADISON, Wis. — Six freshmen tallied points as the Wisconsin men's hockey team routed the University of Victoria, 8-2, in an exhibition game Sunday night at the Kohl Center. 

The Badgers (0-0-0, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) raced out to a two-goal lead early in the first period thanks to power-play goals from sophomore defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk and junior forward Max Zimmer. 

The Vikes (0-0-0, 0-0-0 BCIHL) answered with a pair of quick goals to even the score midway through the first period, but freshman forward Dominick Mersch buried the puck past Victoria goaltender Zack Wear at the 15-minute mark to kick-start a six-goal scoring run. 

In the opening minutes of the second period, freshman center Mick Messner fired into the Victoria net to stretch the Badgers' lead to 4-2. Within two minutes of Messner's tally, freshman Roman Ahcan and sophomore Linus Weissbach each found the back of the net to give Wisconsin a 6-2 lead. 

After outshooting the Vikes 25-4 in the final frame, freshman Brock Caufield added a seventh goal to the Wisconsin ledger at the 16:27 mark of the period, and Zimmer notched his second of the night to seal an 8-2 victory over the Vikes. 

All three goaltenders backstopped the Badgers in the win. Freshman netminder Daniel Lebedeff led the trio with six saves, while juniors Jack Berry and Johan Blomquist recorded five saves and two saves, respectively. 

Notes to Know: 
- Sophomore Sean Dhooghe and freshman Roman Ahcan each had three-point nights in the Badgers' exhibition win. Dhooghe dished out three assists while Ahcan notched a goal and two assists. 
- Wisconsin outshot Victoria, 72-15, with the Badgers holding the Vikes to single-digit shots in each of the three periods. 
- Freshmen skaters tallied 40 percent of the Badgers' points in the victory. 

Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Tony Granato
On starting his third year as head coach:
"It was exciting. We have a big freshman class and they have worked so hard to be ready for the year. To sit on the bench, to throw on the sweater and play an opponent was a lot of fun for these kids."

On the Badgers' goaltending:
"Jack (Berry) made a couple great saves for us tonight. He will make the start on Friday and Daniel (Lebedeff) will probably start Saturday." 

On tonight's penalty kills:
"We were hoping for more opportunities to kill penalties. We needed a lot of reps. Our freshman did well in those situations. That is their role, and they are all really capable." 

Freshman forward Dominick Mersch
On tonight's freshman performances: 
"It was nice to get our feet wet and shoot some pucks towards the net in a game situation. It was a good experience implementing what the upperclassman and coaches have taught us so far in practice. 

Freshman forward Roman Ahcan
On the season ahead:
"We have to bring the mindset that we are going to beat every team we play. If we battle every time we compete, it will work out in our favor."

Up Next: 
The Badgers host No. 12/9 Boston College in a Friday-Saturday series at the Kohl Center, Oct. 12-13. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. (CT) puck drops.