MADISON, Wis. – Goals from Quinn Finley and William Whitelaw in the shootout helped the No. 4 Wisconsin men's hockey team grab an extra point in the Big Ten standings as the Badgers tied the No. 9 Minnesota Gophers, 1-1, on Saturday night in front of a sold-out Kohl Center crowd. The 15,359 marked men's college hockey's largest crowd of the season.
Wisconsin (20-6-2, 11-4-1 Big Ten) took an early lead in the first period, but Minnesota (16-7-5, 9-5-4 Big Ten) tied it up midway through the second to force overtime for the second time this weekend. The lamp was not lit in overtime, so a shootout was needed to decide who would take the extra point in the Big Ten standings. Goaltender Kyle McClellan stopped both shots faced while Finley, then Whitelaw scored to give the Badgers the shootout win.
The Badgers got on the board first 5:54 into the first period. Sophomore defenseman Ben Dexheimer shot the puck around the boards from the right side of the Gophers' blue line. Graduate student forward Owen Lindmark picked up the puck in front of the net and took a shot, which rebounded behind Minnesota goaltender Justen Close. Sophomore forward Jack Horbach picked up the rebound and backhanded the puck into a wide-open net for his fifth goal of the season.
The Gophers responded 14:33 into the middle frame on a shot from Jaxon Nelson.
Neither team scored in the final half of the second or the entire third period, so Minnesota and Wisconsin skated into a sudden-death overtime period tied at one for the second night in a row.
No one found the back of the net in overtime, so the game officially ended as a 1-1 tie. Both teams then participated in a best-of-three shootout for the extra point in the conference standings.
Kyle McClellan made two saves and freshmen forwards
Quinn Finley and
William Whitelaw scored to give the Badgers the extra point and send the crowd into a tizzy.
Wisconsin went 0-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 45-25 deficit in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
- This marks the third game in a row that the Badgers played overtime
- The Kohl Center sold out for the first time since 2019 and for the 46th time overall for a men's hockey game
- The sell-out marks the highest-attended college hockey game of the 2023-24 season (15,359)
- Wisconsin is 4-5-1 in matchups against Minnesota since Feb. 2005 when both teams have been ranked in the top 10
- Sophomore
Jack Horbach scored his fifth goal of the season, setting a career-high
Straight From the Rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On playing at home
"Really big, you know. We are in the entertainment business, and I know there were multiple times tonight fans were probably sitting at the edge of their seats thinking it would go the other direction but they hung with us. This place, because the fans are here, is special. It's a beautiful building with an awful lot of seats but it's a different place when it's full. For anyone to think they didn't have an impact on these games is crazy. They make it a special place, and I'm glad they can walk out with a smile on their faces because we appreciate them being here."
Senior goaltender Kyle McClellan
On tonight's sold-out crowd
"It was probably one of the coolest experiences. Whether we had a good save or scored a goal, that was probably one of the coolest things I've been a part of."
Graduate student defenseman Mike Vorlicky
On tonight's game
"[It was a] hard-fought, shootout win, but I think the guys had good energy from the get-go this morning and we carried it into tonight which I think was big for us to grind it out and get it done."
On Kyle McClellan's performance tonight
"Sold out crowd and [Kyle] is making back door saves, bailing us out. I think when you have that confidence with your goaltender back there that he is going to make that extra save and continue to be consistent like that, it makes it so much easier to play shutdown defense when you know he's got your back."
Up Next: The Badgers continue their four-game homestand with a series against Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m. while Saturday's game starts at 6 p.m. and acts as 'Championship Night,' one of the six nights chosen for special recognition as part of UW's 75th season celebration. Both contests stream on B1G+ while audio play-by-play airs on the Badgers Radio network, including 1310 WIBA in the Madison area, 97.3 The Game in Milwaukee. It also airs on the Badgers app and The Varsity Network app. Follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.
