BEMIDJI, Minn. – Cruz Lucius' two-goal night helped the Wisconsin Badgers push past the Bemidji State Beavers to win 4-3 in overtime on Friday night.
The sophomore forward netted the overtime winning goal to bring the Badgers one step closer to winning the 2023 Ice Breaker Tournament, co-hosted by Bemidji State and North Dakota. Wisconsin put on pressure the whole night, accumulating 61 shots on goal and 99 total shot attempts.
Freshman defenseman Joe Palodichuk opened the scoring with a goal less than three minutes into the game. Senior forward Mathieu De St. Phalle had control of the puck in the left side of the Beavers' territory. He passed to senior forward David Silye in the middle of the zone, who circled up to the blue line where Palodichuk was waiting. He made a short pass to Palodichuk, who executed a swift shot to reach the back of the net.
Bemidji State tied the game up seven minutes later when Mitch Wolfe passed from the Badgers' right circle to Kirklan Irey, who tapped it past the left pad of senior goaltender
Kyle McClellan.
Wisconsin skated into the second period with a tie game before
Cruz Lucius scored 12 minutes in to take the lead. Sophomore forward
Christian Fitzgerald won a battle for the puck deep in the Beaver's zone before passing to graduate student defenseman
Mike Vorlicky at the blue line. Vorlicky took a shot, which was saved, and Lucius took control of the rebound before shooting it past Bemidji goaltender Mattias Sholl.
The Badgers' lead was short lived when Bemidji lit the lamp just two minutes later. A power-play goal from Lleyton Roed tied the game at two to finish out the second period.
The Beavers scored once more three minutes into the third period when Jackson Jutting fired a prompt shot past McClellan to give Bemidji their first lead of the game.
Wisconsin answered eight minutes after when sophomore forward and Minnesota State transfer Simon Tassy netted the Badgers' first power-play goal of the season. Sophomore defenseman Ben Dexheimer held the puck at the blue line before passing to freshman forward William Whitelaw on his left. Whitelaw tossed it in front of the net to Tassy, who deflected it past the goaltender to tally his first goal as a Badger.
Lucius scored again late in the third period to try and regain the lead, but the goal was disallowed due to goaltender interference. The score remained tied at 3-3 until the final horn to send the game into overtime.
The team stood strong through the first four minutes of overtime, killing off a Bemidji State power play. With less than a minute left,
Mathieu De St. Phalle fired a stretch pass from deep in the Badgers' territory to
Cruz Lucius, who was rushing through the neutral zone. Lucius continued to use his speed to beat the Bemidji defenders and take a shot on net. His first shot was saved, but he cleaned up on the rebound with 49 seconds remaining to win it for Wisconsin, 4-3.
Notes to know:
- The last time UW had 60+ shots on goal was Feb. 26, 2010, at Michigan Tech (63)
- This was the first overtime road win since Feb. 4, 2017, in a 4-3 victory at Michigan State
-
Simon Tassy and
Joe Palodichuk each scored their first goal with Wisconsin
-
Cruz Lucius tied his career high with two goals in one game (last versus Lindenwood - 11/19/22)
- Senior forward
Carson Bantle and
Simon Tassy both hit new career highs in shots with eight and seven, respectively
- Senior forward
Sam Stange skated in his 100th game as a Badger
From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On the team's performance:
"I thought we played hungry. It's nice for us to be able to finish.
Cruz Lucius, I thought he definitely stepped up tonight. We had a lot of guys that had opportunities."
Up Next: The Badgers continue Ice Breaker Tournament play at No. 7 North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota on Saturday at 6 p.m. The game is available to stream on NCHC.tv and on the Fox Sports 1070 radio channel. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
The Badgers would claim the 2023 Ice Breaker title with a victory.
