MADISON, Wis. – Quinn Finley's go-ahead goal with 32 seconds left in the second period was not enough as the Wisconsin men's hockey team fell to the No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gophers, 3-2, in overtime on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Despite the loss, Wisconsin still picks up a conference point to total six points in six games.
Minnesota (9-1-0, 4-0-0 Big Ten) lit the lamp first, on the power play, with 7:42 remaining in the first period. Wisconsin (2-8-0, 1-5-0 Big Ten) responded with 4:12 left in the second period when Ryland Mosley put home his third goal of the year. Quinn Finley gave the Badgers a 2-1 lead with 32 seconds left in the second period, but the Gophers tied it up on a power play with 6:04 remaining in the third to send the game to overtime. Minnesota scored the game-winner 3:21 into the extra time to earn the extra conference point with a final score of 3-2.
How it Happened
The first period was silent, with neither team finding the back of the net or having a power-play opportunity. Sophomore goaltender William Gramme stood strong between the pipes, stopping 15 Gopher shots on goal in the first frame.
Brody Lamb got Minnesota on the board first on the power play with 12:18 left in the second period.
Graduate student forward Mosley tied the game for Wisconsin 15:48 into the second period. Sophomore forward Finley passed from the middle of the right circle to sophomore forward Ben Dexheimer at the top of the zone. Dexheimer took a shot, which was blocked by a Minnesota player near the front of the net. The blocked puck landed in front of Mosley, who shoveled it past UM goaltender Liam Souliere to make it a 1-1 game
Finley gave the Badgers a 2-1 lead with 32 seconds left in the frame. Freshman forward
Gavin Morrissey won a faceoff at the left circle and passed back to Dexheimer near the blue line. Dexheimer skated around the boards behind the right side of the net and passed off the side of the net to Finley, who let a wrist shot fly to put home his seventh goal of the season.
Minnesota tied the game and sent it to overtime with 6:04 left in the third period on a power-play goal from Connor Kurth.
With 1:39 left in the five-minute overtime period, Brody Ziemer lit the lamp for the Gophers for the 3-2 win.
Wisconsin went 0-for-2 on the power play and 0-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 42-33 deficit in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
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Quinn Finley's two points tonight bring his team-leading total to 10 through 10 games
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Ben Dexheimer and
Gavin Morrissey are tied for the roster lead with seven assists
Straight from the rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On William Gramme's performance in net
"He stepped right up. I thought he played with a lot of poise and this weekend was a test for him and I thought he passed it with flying colors."
On getting ready for Penn State next weekend
"We need to come back on Monday with an attitude that we've got to get better Monday through Thursday because Penn State is going to be waiting for us."
Sophomore forward Quinn Finley
On getting the offense going
"It's something that we obviously are working on in practice is scoring goals. So, those chances are there, and it's just a matter of time."
Junior defenseman Ben Dexheimer
On moving forward
"I think we have to flush these two games and come to the rink on Monday acting like nothing happened. Go to work Monday through Thursday, and it's gonna pay off one of these Fridays or Saturdays."
Up Next: The Badgers head to University Park, Pennsylvania, for a series at Big Ten-opponent Penn State on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 15-16. Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. CT and Saturday's begins at 6:30 p.m. CT. Both contests stream on B1G+. Friday's game airs on 1310 WIBA, with Saturday on 1070 The Game. Audio play-by-play is also available on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. Follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
