Wisconsin vs. Northern Michigan
Brian Ebner
2
Northern Michigan NMU 0-0-1
2
Wisconsin UW 0-0-1
Northern Michigan NMU
0-0-1
2
Final
2
Wisconsin UW
0-0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 OT 1 F
Northern Michigan NMU 0 0 2 0 2
Wisconsin UW 0 1 1 0 2

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

Badgers claw back late to earn draw with Wildcats

Grant Besse scores with 42 seconds left in regulation in 2-2 with Northern Michigan

Postgame Quotes  |  Photo Gallery

MADISON, Wis. – It might be a new year, but Grant Besse picked up his scoring right where he left off last season.
 
With Wisconsin trailing Northern Michigan 2-1 with less than a minute to play in its season opener, Besse stepped up and scored the game-tying goal to help the Badgers earn a 2-2 tie with the Wildcats Friday night at the Kohl Center.
 
"It was uplifting," Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said of the late goal by Besse. "You could hear the crowd, and the guys… I think Grant Besse was at the bottom of the pile, and I'm sure he couldn't breathe very well, but it was uplifting and that's a good charge for us."
 
UW (0-0-1) had pulled goaltender Adam Miller with a minute to play, and after a flurry of chances in the slot, the puck deflected into the air in front of Besse. He promptly batted the puck into the back of the net past Wildcats' goaltender Atte Tolvanen with just 42 seconds left in regulation to help the Badgers draw even.
 
"It kind of just got pushed towards the net, and that was our goal there at the end of the game, was to just get pucks to the net and try to create something and that's what happened," Besse said. "The puck bounced out to Kevin Schulze and he pushed it back and kind of fell over, and I took a little baseball swing at it, and luckily it was below the crossbar."
 
Just a few seconds later, it looked like Wisconsin had managed to strike for a last-second goal to win in regulation. With 0.2 seconds left on the clock, freshman forward Luke Kunin came in from left of the goal and poked the puck past Tolvanen as time expired. However, the officials reviewed the play and determined the whistle had blown before the puck had crossed the line, sending the game into overtime.
 
Although Besse came through to tie the score, Miller was just as big of a factor in getting the Badgers to overtime.
 
The senior goaltender, who hadn't seen game action since October 2013 against Boston College, made his first start as a Badger and did not disappoint. After facing just 12 shots between the first and second periods, Miller made 19 third-period saves to keep the Badgers within striking distance.
 
Miller finished the night with 32 total saves, surpassing his previous career-high of 24 at Boston College in 2013.
 
"There was definitely a little rust at first, it's been coming on two years now since I've played a game, but as the game went on, I felt more and more comfortable and settled in a lot more," Miller said.
 
Sophomore Jake Linhart started the scoring with a power-play goal at the 4:20 mark of the second period.
 
Nearing the end of Wisconsin's third man advantage of the night, Linhart got the puck in the high slot and blasted a slap shot top shelf to put the Badgers up 1-0. It marked the first career goal for Linhart, who put up six assists a season ago.
 
Freshman forward Seamus Malone and senior defenseman Kevin Schulze each recorded a pair of assists, teaming up to start both scoring plays. The helpers accounted for the first points of Malone's UW career.
 
After a strong foundation in game one of the season, Wisconsin will look to build on its debut performance when it takes on the Wildcats in the series finale Saturday night at 7 p.m.
 
"There were some excellent moments and moments that we're going to have to go back and learn from. We'll start there," Eaves said.
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