MADISON, Wis. -- The Badger men's hockey team (7-11-1, 2-8-1-1 Big Ten) fought a hard battle with the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes (14-5-2, 7-3-1-0) in its 2020 home debut, but left the Kohl Center Friday night defeated, 4-2.

Scoring began in the first with an Ohio State goal, but the Badgers were quick to respond with a goal from Josh Ess early in the second period. The game would go back and forth again with a Buckeye goal, and then a Roman Ahcan response.

Through the second and third period, the Badgers would kill off a five-minute Ohio State power play, but Buckeyes would tack on two more goals to seal the victory on the road.

The top defender for the Badgers was Ty Emberson with three blocks. Additional point scorers for Wisconsin included Mike Vorlicky, Cole Caufield, Linus Weissbach and Tarek Baker all recording assists.

Sophomore Daniel Lebedeff recorded 26 saves on the night.

Notes to know:

• Senior Max Zimmer played his 100th career game
• Joss Ess scored his first goal of the season

Up next: Wisconsin will take on the Buckeyes again tomorrow night in game two of the series. For those wanting to make the trip out to the Kohl Center, tickets can be found here. Fans can also tune in on FOX Sports Wisconsin Plus or 1310 WIBA.