Late scoring surge dooms Badgers

Friday, January 4

Madison, WI

7 p.m.

Wisconsin Badgers

8-8-3, 4-3-3-1B1G

Denver

11-4-2, 4-4-0NCHC

Denver

Wisconsin

Late scoring surge dooms Badgers

January 04, 2019 | Men's Hockey

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Denver scores four in the third period to earn 6-3 win

MADISON, Wis. — Despite two periods of back-and-forth scoring that kept the score tied heading into the final frame, a late four-goal surge was enough to power No. 8 Denver past the Wisconsin men's hockey team Friday night at the Kohl Center.

Thanks to second-period goals from sophomore defenseman Tyler Inamoto and senior forward Seamus Malone, the Badgers (8-8-3, 4-3-3-1 B1G) entered the final period of the game tied 2-2. However, the Pioneers (11-4-2, 4-4-0 NCHC) scored three quick goals to take a 5-2 lead with 15 minutes remaining in regulation.

Senior forward Will Johnson poked a deflected shot past Denver goaltender Filip Larsson in the final moments of regulation to cut the Pioneers' lead to 5-3, but DU forward Jake Durflinger put away an empty-net goal to seal a 6-3 defeat with 40 seconds remaining.

Freshman goaltender Daniel Lebedeff made 27 saves for the Badgers.

Notes to Know:

Sophomore defenseman Tyler Inamoto notched a goal and an assist in tonight's loss. Inamoto has recorded two multi-point efforts in the last four games.
Denver outshot the UW 33-28, but shots were even in both the second and third periods.

Straight from the Rink:
Head Coach Tony Granato:
On tonight's outcome:
"I can't be too critical tonight. We haven't played for four weeks and we played a top-five team. Give them credit, they made plays. They have some great players out there and have a lot of confidence in how they are playing. That's a great team though. I can't be too critical. We've played well all year. We've played hard all year. Tonight there were just parts of the the game that they were just better than us at. Let's not look too much into it. Let's see how we respond tomorrow. All year long Saturday nights have been a good response by us pretty much straight throughout the year and I expect that from us tomorrow."

Up Next:
The Badgers close out their series against Denver Saturday night at the Kohl Center. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. (CT) and airs on Fox Sports Wisconsin Plus.