Notre Dame Hockey Blanked by Wisconsin

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish hockey team is going to want to forget their first game against Wisconsin this season. The Irish traveled to Madison to start a series against the last place team in the Big Ten, but they unfortunately continued their trend of losing game one. The offense never showed up for Notre Dame and a strong second period from the Badgers led to a 2-0 loss for the Irish.

Game Summary (Notre Dame 0 - Wisconsin 2)

First Period

Wisconsin came out a lot stronger than Notre Dame early, looking to take advantage of another low ranked team in the conference at home. The Badgers more than doubled the Irish shot total in the first 20 minutes, 16-7, but neither team found the opening goal and went to the intermission scoreless.

Second Period

Most of the second period went much like the first. Notre Dame again struggled on offense, managing only 8 shots in the period. It was Wisconsin that broke the streak late on the period though, scoring the opening goal at the 14 minute mark. Wisconsin kept their foot on the gas after opening the scoring and 4 minutes later they found their second of the game for the 2-0 lead.

Third Period

The third period saw the Irish offense tick up a bit, but they were never able to solve the Badgers defense. The 2-0 Wisconsin lead held through the final 20 minutes and Notre Dame once again lost game one of the series. Notre Dame came into the series looking for a sweep to keep their tournament hopes alive. They now will need to win game two to avoid a disaster of a weekend.

Scoring

Wisconsin: Tyson Jugnauth (2) on the power play at 14:06 in the 2nd with assists from Cruz Lucius and Mathieu De St. Phalle

Wisconsin: Corson Ceulemans (6) at 18:51 in the 2nd unassisted

Penalties

Wisconsin: Corson Ceulemans 2 for interference at 1:07 in the 1st

Notre Dame: Justin Janicke 2 for tripping at 0:42 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Drew Bavaro 2 for cross-checking at 12:11 in the 2nd

Wisconsin: Anthony Kehrer 2 for hooking at 15:34 in the 2nd

Notre Dame: Fin Williams 2 for tripping at 18:41 in the 3rd

Goalies

Notre Dame: Ryan Bischel made 35 saves on 37 shots in the loss

Wisconsin: Jared Moe saved all 27 shots against for the shutout win

Up Next

Notre Dame and Wisconsin finish their series Saturday in Madison. The Irish will need to win to avoid the sweep and a totally lost weekend.