MADISON, Wis. — Despite suffering a 4-1 loss to No. 3 Ohio State, the Wisconsin men's hockey team had much to celebrate as the Badgers retired former UW forward
Mark Johnson's jersey in front of a sold-out crowd Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers' (9-14-5, 5-8-5-2 B1G) series finale against the Buckeyes (19-5-4, 12-3-3-2 B1G) began with a ceremony for Johnson, recognizing his time as a Badger and highlighting his many accomplishments at the Olympic and professional level.
Ohio State controlled much of the first 40 minutes, notching a goal in the opening period and adding two more in the second frame to make it a 3-0 game heading into the final period.
The Badgers showed life late in the third period when senior forward
Seamus Malone drew a power play while putting a goal through the legs of Ohio State goaltender Tommy Nappier to cut the Buckeyes' lead to 3-1.
Wisconsin pulled goaltender
Daniel Lebedeff on the ensuing power play, but Ohio State notched an empty-netter at the 19:59 mark to seal a 4-1 loss.
Lebedeff stopped 19 shots in the loss.
Notes to Know:
- Freshman defenseman Ty Emberson gave up his No. 10 jersey in honor of Mark Johnson's retirement. The Eau Claire native will don the No. 21 sweater for the remainder of his career at UW.
- After a four-game scoreless stretch, senior forward Seamus Malone notched his seventh goal of the season in Saturday's defeat. Malone's seven goals and 20 points rank second on the team and first among UW upperclassmen.
- The Badgers were a perfect 7-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Tony Granato
On Mark Johnson ceremony and night as a whole:
"It was gonna be a special night, it was a special night for Mark and for our program and I was looking forward to our team having the opportunity to play in front of lots of people because I wanted to show off our team. We did not perform up to our expectations, nor to our standards, so that part is disappointing"
On energy from ceremony:
"The ceremony was beautiful and I know our players were really excited to be part of it. This was center stage for us, this was our night, this was our weekend that we were looking forward to all year."
Senior Forward Will Johnson
On Mark Johnson's emotional retirement:
"It was amazing.
Mark Johnson is a University of Wisconsin legend. He is a one-of-a-kind person and was a one-of-a-kind player when he was here. It was a special moment, getting to see his jersey go up. For Ty [Emberson], getting to see his number. For me, getting to see my name. The environment was great. It was why you come the University of Wisconsin, because of the crowd like that and the environment like that."
Up Next: The Badgers hit the road for a pair of conference tilts against No. 14 Notre Dame next weekend. Friday's contest begins at 6 p.m. and Saturday's game is slated for a 5 p.m. start (CT).
A MAGICAL NIGHT by
Wisconsin Badgers on
Exposure
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