MADISON, Wis. — Thirteen goals were scored at the Kohl Center Friday night. Wisconsin sophomore Roman Ahcan netted three of them for the Badgers to notch his first career hat trick and five-point game en route to the Badgers beating No. 9 Arizona State, 7-6.

In a game where goals were scored in pairs, the Badgers (12-18-1) were in need of only one goal during the final minutes of the third period. For that, No. 13 Ahcan had the answer with his 13th goal of the season for the 13th goal of the game, scoring with 1:09 left in regulation to seal the win for the Badgers.

 

🎩🎩🎩
Roman Ahcan had five points, which included a hat trick, in a 7-6 victory for @BadgerMHockey over No. 9 Arizona State.#ncaahockey pic.twitter.com/FaBXZYoU0G

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) February 22, 2020

Freshman Alex Turcotte added two of his own goals, totaling three points on the night after assisting on Ahcan's second goal with a between the legs backwards pass. Ahcan returned the favor and assisted on both Turcotte's goals later in the night.

Scoring kicked off for the Badgers with the two Ahcan goals in the first. Turcotte tallied his first goal in the second period after freshman Ryder Donovan netted his second of the season, in spectacular fashion, to give Wisconsin the lead 4-2.
 

I'm struggling to find words for this one @rydesdono 😱#OnWisconsin | #Badgers pic.twitter.com/WKd8f4oO6B

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 22, 2020

The Sun Devils (22-10-3) answered with three goals of their own to regain the lead after they scored just 29 seconds into the game. Junior Ty Pelton-Byce tied the game back up for Wisconsin heading into the final minutes, giving Ahcan his window for the game-winner.

Sophomore defenseman Ty Emberson dished out three assists in the Badger win, while fellow defenseman K'Andre Miller and Josh Ess had two assists of their own.

Goalie Daniel Lebedeff put up 22 saves on the Sun Devil's high power offense, including killing off a five-on-three power play in the second period.

Notes to know:

• Ahcan recorded Wisconsin's first hat trick at the Kohl Center since Justin Schultz on Nov. 27, 2010 against Michigan State
• The sophomore had the Badgers first five-point game since Mark Zengerle on Nov. 25, 2011 against Mercyhurst
• Junior Josh Ess skated in his 100th career game as a Badger tonight. He is one of six active Badgers to reach the accomplishment

Straight from the rink:
Head Coach Tony Granato:
"Crazy. Totally unexpected type of game."

"How Roman shot tonight kind of summed up his season to me. He is banged up, probably if we were in a different position he would have had a nice chance to rest tonight but that's not happening with him. For him to come out and do what he did, especially the way the game started for us. We were sloppy and he comes out and gets those two big goals, kind of gives us some energy to get the building going and five points in a college hockey game is a heck of a night."

"There's been earlier games this year where its been wide open and we haven't been able to finish because it seems like the other goaltenders have been able to handle the games where we have had forty shots, it seems the goaltenders have stood tall. Tonight we played another great goaltender that still made some fantastic saves and we were still able to get seven out of him."

Sophomore forward Roman Ahcan:
"That was fun hockey. We were talking on the bench with about five minutes to go and everyone was up and down with their emotions. Thirteen goals in hockey, that's fun hockey. When we lost that two-goal lead, I was proud with how we responded and got back on the horse and started playing our hockey."

On his hat trick
"The team congratulated me when I got to the bench. Then seconds later it was turning around, we've still got 1:06 left to battle here and that's exactly what we did. We didn't stop until the buzzer went and even after the buzzer it was a little aggressive."

Freshman forward Alex Turcotte:
"I think just how desperate we are, we know how we need to play and what we need to do to make this a successful season. If we want to make a run in the Big Ten tournament, it starts now. Our coaches have been preaching that this is playoff hockey now and we've got to fight for one another and play for one another. Not letting ourselves down and not letting it slip away from us, that was our mindset. I'm really happy with how we stuck with it in such an up and down game."

Up Next: Wisconsin will face No. 9 Arizona State again tomorrow night in the series finale and final home game for the Badgers this season. Tomorrow's game will honor the three seniors for Wisconsin in Max Zimmer, Jack Berry and Johan Blomquist. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. with a stream available on BTN+ and radio play-by-play on 1310 WIBA.