MADISON, Wis. – Goals from four different skaters helped the No. 17/16 Wisconsin men's hockey team complete a series sweep over the Alaska Nanooks with a 4-1 win on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Alaska (2-6-0) got on the board first, 8:55 into the first period on a deflected shot. With 21 seconds left in the opening frame, Quinn Finley tied the game for UW (4-0-2) with a power-play goal.
After a scoreless second period, Wisconsin scored three times in the third, including twice in the opening two minutes of the frame, with Logan Hensler and Blake Montgomery lighting the lamp at 1:04 and 2:00 into the period, respectively. Ryan Botterill found the empty net, 15:40 into the third, to make it a 4-1 game and clinch the Badgers' sweep.
How it Happened
The Nanooks opened the scoring 8:55 into the first period after Rylen Roersma found the back of the net.
UW knotted the game at 1-1 during a major power play when junior forward Finley scored his third goal of the season at 19:39 of the first period.
The Badgers exploded offensively in the third period, tallying three goals for their fourth three-goal period of the year and second in two games. At 1:04 into the frame, sophomore defenseman Hensler tallied his first goal of the year with a hard shot from the blue line.
Fifty-six seconds later, at 2:00 of the third, freshman forward Montgomery scored his first collegiate goal after beating two Alaska defenders to the front of the net and flicking the puck home.
To seal the sweep for Wisconsin, sophomore forward Botterill scored his third goal of the season with his second empty-netter of the weekend.
Wisconsin went 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 29-27 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know
- A season-high 10,584 fans watched the Badgers on Saturday at the Kohl Center
- This is the fourth time UW has gone unbeaten through six games in the modern era, most recently accomplishing the feat at the start of the 2000-01 season
-
Ryan Botterill has goals in back-to-back games, and all three of his goals this year have been empty-netters
- Wisconsin has had four three-goal periods so far this season, also scoring three in the first period of its first game against Alaska
-
Blake Montgomery scored his first collegiate goal
Straight from the rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On finding ways to win
"This weekend was a big weekend for us. You start off, and a part of it is trying to learn how to win. And that's not easy. What I think we saw this weekend is that we found ways. Last weekend, we fought from behind, and we couldn't quite get over the hill. This weekend, I thought we did, and that is what we're looking for and will be challenged."
On Daniel Hauser
"Daniel's a guy that just goes out and, what's in front of him, he tackles… Daniel is just a daily go-to-work type of guy, and he's a guy I think that the entire team loves to play in front of. They want to try and make his job as easy as it can be, and sometimes we do that, sometimes we don't. But he's definitely shown himself incredibly well."
Freshman Forward Blake Montgomery
On the team's mentality heading into the third period
"We just really took a step back, grounded ourselves a bit. We knew what we had to do; we were a little jumpy with the puck, rushing some decisions. But, we just came out a little more poised and confident, more simple. Put our heads down and went to work."
Freshman Goaltender Daniel Hauser
On the Badgers' defensive effort
"The start we've had has been amazing. The guys play so well in front of me every night. Guys are blocking shots and getting in lanes, making my job easy. I'm just trying my best to do my job, which is to stop the puck and we're going to continue to grow and hopefully continue this great start."
Up Next: The Badgers open Big Ten play when Minnesota comes to town next Thursday and Saturday, Oct. 30 and Nov. 1. Thursday's game starts at 8 p.m. and will be televised on Big Ten Network, while Saturday's game begins at 6 p.m. and streams on B1G+. 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.
Buy tickets here.
