CHICAGO — The Wisconsin men's hockey team and No. 12 Notre Dame battled to a hard-fought tie in regulation, but the Badgers could not secure the extra point in the Big Ten standings, falling in 3-on-3 overtime to the Fighting Irish Sunday at the United Center.
Freshmen linemates Roman Ahcan and Dominick Mersch scored Wisconsin's (8-10-4, 4-4-4-1 B1G) two goals in the first period, with Ahcan's tally coming with just half a second left on the clock.
Despite many offensive chances, the Badgers could not convert in the second and third periods, and the Fighting Irish (13-8-2, 6-6-1-1 B1G) scored an equalizer at the 10:35 mark of the second period to send the game to overtime.
After a scoreless overtime period, the Badgers and the Fighting Irish settled for a tie, but Notre Dame's Spencer Stastney scored during the 3-on-3 overtime to give the Irish the extra point in Big Ten standings.
Wisconsin went scoreless on five power-play chances, while Notre Dame went 1-for-2.
Junior netminder Jack Berry made 27 saves in the net for the Badgers.
Notes to Know:
- Freshman forward Roman Ahcan recorded two goals on the weekend, marking his second multi-goal weekend as a Badger, and his first since UW's series against Michigan Tech in October.
- The Badgers outshot the Fighting Irish 35-30 in the draw, including the overtimes, and recorded 19 shots on goal in the second period.
- Chicago-area natives Dominick Mersch (Park Ridge - goal), Sean Dhooghe (Aurora - assist) and Tyler Inamoto (Barrington - assist) each reached the scoresheet.Â
Straight from the Rink:
Head Coach Tony Granato
On the team's competitiveness:
"Every weekend I've been happy with how our team competes, plays and battles. I see a lot of progress, young players continuing to grow, and there are things to be excited about, so I'm excited about our team. I'm excited about the 16 games we have left."
Senior Defensemen Peter Tischke:
On returning to his hometown roots:
"It was a surreal experience. It is always fun to come here and play in front of family and friends and in the arena of the team I watched growing up. It's cool to experience the NHL-feel for a day."
Up next: The Badgers travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers at the Mariucci Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. (CT)Â starts both nights.
