NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team needed just 39 seconds in the second period to gain a commanding lead over Merrimack College, defeating the Warriors, 4-1, on Saturday night at Lawler Rink.
 
The Badgers (4-1-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) executed on both ends of the ice to come away with the victory, despite being outshot 42-34 by Merrimack (0-2-1).
 
Senior goaltender Kyle Hayton made a season-high 41 saves in the victory, backstopping the team to his fourth win between the pipes at Wisconsin.
 
Senior Jason Ford put the Badgers on the board just one minute, 38 seconds into the first period with his first goal of the year. Defender Tim Davison sent in a shot from the point, that Warriors' goaltender Drew Vogler made the initial save on, but Ford beat Merrimack to the rebound and slipped it under the goaltender for the 1-0 advantage. The Badgers' lead would hold into the first intermission.
 
Merrimack scored its only goal of the contest at the 7:12 mark of the second period on a controversial play. Wisconsin responded to the slight minutes later by scoring three unanswered goals in a span of less than 40 seconds to cement the statement win.
 
Junior Seamus Malone struck at 12:01 while on the UW power play, streaking down the ice to the back door and tapping in a pass from Will Johnson.
 
Just 14 seconds later sophomore Max Zimmer made it a two-goal game, redirecting a shot from junior Peter Tischke at the point. Senior Ryan Wagner would score the Badgers' fourth goal on a nearly identical play at the 12:40 mark, against tipping a shot from Tischke.
 
Notes to Know
- Jason Ford, Peter Tischke and Tim Davison each recorded two points in the contest for Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin has scored the first goal in each of its five games this season.
- The Badgers have won four of their first five games for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
- Wisconsin has trailed just 1:16 of its 300 minutes of action this year.
 
Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Tony Granato
On the momentum shift before the Badgers' second goal:
"I thought we were actually playing well [before the UW power play] and I thought Kyle (Hayton) was playing great. The goal that they scored was… somewhat questionable, to say it nicely.
 
"I think the response that our players got from it – Kyle doesn't chase the referee down (normally). There were a lot of things that factored into that. It was [emotional] and I think for how hard Kyle has battled for us all year, it was one of those like, 'okay boys, let's get going here for Kyle.' Let's make sure we're taking this game over. I'm sure that that was an inspiration to our team, that this guy has been here for us the first five games of the year and we're going to make sure that now we make it easy for him to get that one back.
 
"I loved the way we competed. That's a hard rink to play in and it's a hard team to play against. They are tenacious, they compete and every battle out there was a tough one, like a playoff game. I thought that was really encouraging, especially how we played last night and they've been sitting and waiting for us to come into their building. I thought our readiness, to be ready for a game like that is really a nice thing to see this early in the season."
 
On Kyle Hayton's performance:
"He's very confident back there. That was the first time, chasing the ref down the rink there, that's the first I've seen out of him as far as emotion. But as soon as he got back in the net, I mean they never scored again. That's his mentality and his confidence. It gives our team that feeling of confidence in him as well, it calms us down."
 
On getting two redirected goals on two shots:
"The good thing is we were going with it, even if they are saved you're in a good position to recover those pucks. I thought our D did a good job of getting pucks through.
 
On the fourth line's scoring and the depth of the team:
"We need that out of them. Those guys can make plays. I think they're all capable of being good offensive players so contributions throughout our lineup is going to be really important for us to have success."
 
On Trent Frederic:
"Trent, we want him on the ice 60 minutes a game. He's positionally sound, wins battles, bears down on every faceoff. Everything you're asking system-wise as a coach, he does. Very little do we have to explain to him, very rarely does he make a mistake."
 
Kyle Hayton
On Merrimack's controversial goal:
"I'm a competitive guy and I don't like giving up goals, especially ones that don't go in.
 
"You can be upset about it for a little bit, but as soon as that puck drops you've gotta get back to the game. Still had half the game left at that point. Had to stay focused and keep pushing on."
 
On getting more comfortable with a new team:
"I think it was a bit of an adjustment coming in, but getting more practice under my belt and getting in the games with these guys and these defensemen, I've adjusted more."
 
On what the team's response to the goal against meant to him:
"The way that they did that was huge. Not many teams would come in and score three goals in that span. They battled back right away, you could tell it lit a fire under their butt a little after that. We came back hard. It was a good win for us."
 
On the team playing in front of him:
"They're a talented group of guys. I think we've got four lines that can play every night, four lines that can score which not many teams have. Defense is looking great, they had a great weekend blocking shots, diving and making plays. I think everyone is looking good and there's only room for improvement."
 
Up Next
The Badgers return to the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wisconsin for the second time in as many years, and for the fourth time in six seasons with a series against Northern Michigan on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 20-21. Friday's game begins at 7 p.m., while Saturday starts at 5 p.m.