MADISON, Wis. – Goaltender Kyle McClellan made 29 saves as the No. 6 Wisconsin men's hockey team shut out Ohio State, 3-0, on Friday Night at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin (11-4-0, 5-2-0 Big Ten) took a lead midway through the first period before scoring two goals late in the third to blank Ohio State (5-6-3, 0-6-1). Senior goaltender Kyle McClellan was again perfect in net, recording his third shutout of the 2023-24 season.
The Badgers got their first tally on the board 9:13 into the game. Freshman defenseman Zach Schulz picked up the puck in Ohio State's right circle and let a swift shot fly to tally his first career NCAA goal.
The second period was quiet, with neither team finding the back of the net. Wisconsin had three power-play chances in the middle frame but was unable to convert on any scoring opportunities to double its lead.
UW kept the game 1-0 until 14 minutes into the third period when
Christian Fitzgerald lit the lamp for his second of the season. Fitzgerald stole the puck in the neutral zone and rushed it up the ice to the middle of the Buckeyes' left circle. The sophomore forward ripped a slick wrist shot by Ohio State netminder Logan Terness' right blocker to make it 2-0.
With 28 seconds remaining in the contest, sophomore forward
Cruz Lucius sealed the deal for the Badgers with an unassisted empty-net goal.
Notes to know:
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Kyle McClellan is tied for the national lead in shutouts with three
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Zach Schulz scored his first-career NCAA goal
- The Badgers had back-to-back shutouts for the second time this season (last vs. Augustana on Oct. 7-8)
- Tonight's shutout lowered UW's national-leading scoring defense number to 1.73 opponent goals per game
- Graduate student defenseman and captain
Mike Vorlicky played in his 100th game as a Badger
Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On tonight's performance
"To start, I think when you're playing at home, you wanna utilize what you have at your disposal. We've got a crowd that they're starting to show up on a consistent basis. We could have a better start, but I'll also say this isn't easy in this league. I'm learning that on a weekly basis. So, [it's great] for us to be able to have one of our freshmen score his first goal and have Fitzgerald score his second goal where he's been pressing."
On how to prepare for tomorrow's series finale
"Hopefully, we can draw some confidence from this, but it's it's ok to learn when you win a hockey game too. That's something that we have to do for tonight and glad we defended our own ice and we need to be better tomorrow."
Senior goaltender Kyle McCllelan
On staying calm at the start of the game
"We knew that they were going to come out and be hard. They're a good starting team. So we knew that going in and I think that my job early on is to kind of settle the game down and give our team some confidence."
Freshman defenseman Zach Schulz
On the team's strong defensive effort
"Everybody's buying in, and we're connected when we're doing it. At big points in the game, we got those blocks and also at big points in the game, Kyle made some huge saves for us. So, I think everybody was there tonight, and everybody was working hard. It was just a great team effort."
Up Next: The Badgers continue their series against Ohio State on Saturday, Dec. 2. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. and serves as 'Goalie Night,' part of UW's 75th-season celebration. The game is available to stream live on B1G+ while audio play-by-play will be available on 1310 WIBA , the Badgers app and The Varsity Network App. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
