MADISON, Wis. – Goals from Quinn Finley and Sawyer Scholl weren't enough to take home a regulation victory as the Wisconsin men's hockey team tied the Long Island University Sharks, 2-2, on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Despite the tie, the Badgers won the exhibition shootout, with Christian Fitzgerald recording the shootout-winning tally.
Finley struck first for Wisconsin (10-12-2, 5-9-0 Big Ten) at the 15:35 mark of the first period. LIU (12-10-2, Independent) tied the game 10:46 into period number two before Sawyer Scholl gave UW its lead back 12:37 into the frame. The Sharks then made it a 2-2 contest with 3:58 remaining in the second. Neither team scored in the third period or in overtime as the game officially ended as a 2-2 tie, but Tommy Scarfone made three saves and Finley and Christian Fitzgerald lit the lamp to help the Badgers to an exhibition shootout win.
How it Happened
Sophomore forward Finley got Wisconsin on the board first with 4:25 left in the first period, seconds after a Badger power play expired. From deep in the left side of the LIU zone, freshman forward Gavin Morrissey passed up to graduate student forward Ryland Mosley at the top of the left circle. Mosley then sent the puck across the zone to Finley at the right dot, who sunk a one-time shot in the net to tally his NCAA-lead-sharing 18th goal of the year.
LIU tied the game 10:46 into the second period on a shot from Chad Muller.
The Badgers responded less than two minutes later, 12:37 into the period, on sophomore forward Scholl's third goal of the year. From the left side of the blue line, freshman defenseman
Jack Phelan took a shot that went wide, and Scholl picked up the puck by the right side boards. The sophomore then skated around the zone to the top of the slot and took a long shot to put UW up, 2-1.
With 3:58 remaining in the second, the Sharks' Josh Zary lit the lamp to send the game into the third period tied at two.
The contest stayed that way into a five-minute sudden-death overtime period. With 1:22 left in overtime, the Badgers were awarded a power play but were unable to convert and the game officially ended as a 2-2 tie.
In the exhibition shootout, UW senior goaltender
Tommy Scarfone made three out of four saves and Finley and junior forward
Christian Fitzgerald scored to give the Badgers the shootout win.
Wisconsin went 0-for-3 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 24-21 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
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Quinn Finley is tied for first in the NCAA in goals with 18 and is tied for second in the country with 33 points
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Gavin Morrissey (9g, 18a) is the nation's leading scorer among freshmen with 27 points. He is tied for 13th among all skaters
- Both Finley and Morrissey own eight-game point streaks. Finley boasts seven goals and 13 points, while Morrissey owns five goals and 11 points during the string. Finley has points in 15 of the last 16 games
- Under Head Coach
Mike Hastings, the Badgers are unbeaten in the shootout, winning four straight
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Quinn Finley is 4-for-4 in shootout attempts
- The Badgers finish non-conference play with a 5-3-2 record
Straight from the rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On what the team learned tonight
"Last night, we gave up things that didn't go in the back of the net. You forget those things when you score six, but when you only score two, then mistakes like a face-off loss after an icing lead to a tie game. Their energy increases – it's tough to only give Tommy [Scarfone] two goals for the night. We just have to be better offensively at home, and I think our guys will be. We'll continue to grow – that's what we have to do."
On the physicality of the series
"They're a physical team, as physical as a team we've played this year. I thought the penalties were more competitive than undisciplined. We're not used to going to the box that often, and having it be on defensemen made it tougher. I'm glad that we stood up and found a way to get those penalties killed."
Graduate student defenseman Anthony Kehrer
On the series against LIU
"Friday starting off, what we put together was good. We ended up putting six in, and we just stuck with our game coming into today. We knew they were going to push more and they did. Little steps today, and we just got to keep going and move on to Michigan."
Sophomore forward Quinn Finley
On veteran leadership
"They help us stick with it. They do a great job of calling out our group and getting us going, whether it's in practice or during games. They're phenomenal leaders and they really help us get to where we need to be."
Up Next: The Badgers continue their four-game homestand with a series against the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 24-25. Friday's game starts at 7 p.m. and streams on B1G+, while Saturday's contest begins at 7:30 p.m. and airs on BTN. Audio play-by-play can be found on 1310 WIBA as well as on the Badgers app and the Varsity Network app. You can also follow along on X/Twitter and Instagram at @BadgerMHockey.
