ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The No. 3 Wisconsin men's hockey team saw its 11-game unbeaten streak end on Friday night after falling 5-1 at No. 14 Michigan Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena.
Michigan's (12-8-3, 4-7-1 Big Ten) second-ranked offense overpowered the Badgers' (19-5-1, 10-3-0 Big Ten) top-ranked defense as the Wolverines notched one goal in the first and two goals in the second to skate into the third period with a 3-0 lead. Jack Horbach scored early in the final frame to try and spark a comeback for UW, but Michigan added two more tallies to take the first game of the series, 5-1.
Michigan got on the board first with 13:32 left in the opening period on a shot from Garrett Schifsky.
The Wolverines doubled their lead 13:49 into the second period after Frank Nazar III beat Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan top shelf on his own rebound.
With 21 seconds left in period two, Michigan's nation-leading power play added a tally from Dylan Duke to make it 3-0.
Less than two minutes into the third period, sophomore forward Jack Horbach got the Badgers on the board. Deep in UW's offensive zone, graduate student forward Owen Lindmark passed to his left to find senior forward Carson Bantle behind the Michigan net. Bantle skated to the middle of the right circle and took a shot, which rebounded off the pads of goaltender Jake Barczewski and onto Horbach's stick, who was stationed in front of the net. Horbach then ripped a short, quick shot past Barczewski to tally his fourth goal of the season.
Michigan regained its three-goal lead 5:04 into the third period on Frank Nazar III's second goal of the evening.
Wisconsin received a power-play chance with less than 10 minutes remaining in the third frame. The Badgers pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker while down three but were unable to convert any scoring chances to attempt a comeback.
Ethan Edwards added an empty-net goal with 5:34 remaining in the contest to seal a 5-1 victory for the Wolverines.
Wisconsin went 0-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 43-31 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
-
Jack Horbach scored his fourth goal of the season tonight, tying his career-high
- This marks the seventh time UW has put up over 40 shots on goal this season
- Tonight's four-goal difference in the final score is the Badgers' largest deficit of the season
Up Next: The Badgers continue their series against Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6 p.m. The game will stream live on B1G+, while audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee, as well as on the Badgers app and The Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
