MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team took down No. 5 Minnesota, 4-3, in an overtime conquest Friday at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers (4-5-0, 1-1-1-1-0-0 Big Ten) held off Minnesota (5-3-1, 2-0-1-0-1-0 Big Ten) in the first period and put up 13 shots on net.
The Gophers got on the board first at 4:00 of the second period. Sammy Walker scored from out in front of the net to give Minnesota a 1-0 lead.
Minnesota took a two-goal lead when Blake McLaughlin scored on a rush, assisted by Walker and Ben Brinkman.
Wisconsin was quick to respond with a power-play goal at 13:36 in the second period from Corson Ceulemans. Mathieu De St. Phalle passed to Roman Ahcan who set up Ceulemans for a one-timer from the point for his first career goal.
Just 17 seconds later, Jack Gorniak tapped the puck in from the edge of the crease to tie the game 2-2. Baker battled behind the net and got the puck to Liam Malmquist, who found Gorniak in front.
Minnesota restored their lead as a result of an empty-net goal on a delayed penalty call at 17:22 of the second period to go up 3-2. Malmquist's pass back to the point traveled past UW's pointmen and into their own goal.
The Gophers' lead was short lived in the third period. Brock Caufield tied the game 3-3 just 2:19 into the final stretch, assisted by Ceulemans and Josh Ess. He burst through the neutral zone and battled his way through four Gopher skaters then crashed the net and whacked the puck past Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine.
Minnesota went up on the power-play with just over three minutes remaining but goaltender Jared Moe was determined to hold them off.
Sixty minutes wasn't enough to settle this border battle, forcing the Badgers' first overtime contest of the season.
At 3:02 into the overtime period, Caufield netted his second goal of the game to win it for the Badgers. Sophomore defenseman Anthony Kehrer found Caufield blazing through the neutral zone where he swiftly maneuvered around a Gopher defenseman and took a slapshot to win the game 4-3. Ceulemans earned a secondary assist on the play for his third point of the night.
Transfer goaltender Jared Moe made 44 saves in net against his former team to hand them their first Big Ten loss of the season.
Notes to know:
- Carson Bantle made his Wisconsin debut
- Corson Ceulemans scored his first collegiate goal and notched two assists for a three-point night
- UW blocked 27 shots
Up Next: The Badgers face Minnesota again on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT at the Kohl Center. Watch live on Bally Sports Wisconsin and follow along on Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey
