MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team came out firing on Saturday evening, winning a 3-2 battle in the series finale with Ohio State at the Kohl Center.

No. 10/12 Wisconsin (2-1-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) outshot No. 19 Ohio State (1-1-0, 1-1-0-0 Big Ten) by a 25-18 margin, jumping out to a 3-0 lead by the midpoint of the game.

Junior forward Will Johnson put Wisconsin on the board at 12:14 of the first period, slamming home a rebound from a Cameron Hughes shot attempt.

Hughes would put away his own in the second period, shooting over a diving Gordi Myer and past goaltender Sean Romeo's blocker to give the Badgers a 2-0 advantage.

Not even two minute later, freshman forward Tarek Baker scored his second of the weekend and the eventual game-winner.  Receiving a pass off the boards from junior Jarod Zirbel, Baker went 1-on-1 with Sasha Larocque, faking a pass before sending the between Romeo's pads.

Wisconsin took the 3-0 lead into the third period, but Ohio State scored two goals in 24 seconds to come within striking distance, 3-2, with more than nine minutes to play. However, the UW defense beared down and limited OSU's scoring chances, holding on to the 3-2 victory.

Senior goaltender Kyle Hayton made 16 saves in his first win as a Big Ten goaltender.
 
Notes to Know
-Wisconsin held OSU to just three shots on goal in the first period, allowing only 18 shots all contest.
-The Badgers blocked 13 shots, led by sophomore forward Trent Frederic and freshman defender Tyler Inamoto with three each
-Wisconsin killed all 11 penalties this weekend against Ohio State, last year's national leader on the power play.
-Seven different Badgers recorded a point in the contest. Cameron Hughes recorded a goal and an assist for two points, while freshman defenseman Josh Ess recorded his first collegiate point on a secondary assist to Will Johnson's goal.
 
Straight from the Rink
Head Coach Tony Granato
On UW's response to game one: 
"You have to play well in the offensive zone to prevent a team like Ohio State who, offensively, might be one of the teams in the country.
 
"We did do that most of the game. We had a stretch in the third period when they were able to get their two goals but I liked our response after the two goals. I don't know that they had a scoring chance after that. It was probably an example of what a lot of Big Ten games will be like this upcoming season because the conference is going to be competitive and there's going to be plenty of games that go down to the wire like the last two nights did." 
 
On individual and team effort: 
"We got a lot of it. Zirbel and Labosky, who we inserted into the lineup tonight, had great energy. I thought that was a real big factor tonight that all four lines contributing in one way. I thought pretty much top to bottom our entire lineup contributed in some way.
 
"They (Ohio State) had six power plays. I thought was a huge factor tonight was how well our penalty killers killed them. I don't think Ohio State got any momentum off of their power play.
 
"We held them to three shots halfway through the game and that's pretty impressive. You know you're playing well when you look at the scoreboard and see three shots on goal against. We had lots of great performances up and down our roster and I think it was a pretty complete game for us."
 
Senior forward Cameron Hughes
On the response to last night's result and the two goals for OSU today: 
"Yeah I thought our response from last night was good. I thought our energy was there. We were playing our game and doing stuff that was making us successful. We had a little lapse, but at the end of the day, we said we'd take a one goal lead with 10 minutes left if they told us we'd win the game." 
 
"We just got back to the little things, winning those battles, tracking back and we did all those things and we like the result." 
 
On Trent Frederic's blocked shot with five seconds left:
'We were pretty pumped for Freddy. I think four or five of us went up and gave him a big hug. He's the kind of guy that's like 'I lost the draw,' and I was like 'Well you made a great play,' and he kind of sealed the game. It was a big play by him and we need plays like that." 

On keeping the team composed:
"I think individually you don't have to do a whole lot. There's a lot of guys that speak up. I think everyone calms each other down. We have a lot of leaders on the team with Seamus (Malone) and guys like Ryan Wagner and Trent Frederic. We know we're able to get the job done." 
 
Junior forward Seamus Malone
On making small plays that make a difference:
"I just tried my best to work hard out there. I know Friday night collectively as a group we didn't win those puck battles that we needed too, so I thought today we made an emphasis on doing that. Me and my line mates were working hard all over the ice and getting pucks back which leads to goals."
 
On his emotions after getting called for two penalties:
"You never want to let your team down. We just got a power play and we were getting momentum. Good things happen on power plays and I screwed up and I put our team back down to 4-on-4, and that can't happen regardless of the penalty, so I was just upset with myself."
 
Junior forward Jarod Zirbel
On getting into the lineup:
"After not playing for a while, you always want to make your first game back count, and I tried to just do my best to make it count."
 
On his role in the lineup: 
"I always try to bring my energy to the game. You always get those pre-game jitters and you have to try and shake that out, but I try to bring energy and compete and just make sure I'm vocal on the bench, keeping guys going, keeping everything upbeat. When they got two goals quick, I tried to keep the other guys going a little bit, keep their emotions up." 
 
On getting the puck out to Tarek Baker:
"It was kind of a long shift by me so I was getting bagged in the corner. I saw the D-man take a stutter step and the puck bobble so I took my chance to get the puck out and lucky enough (Tarek) Baker came through and picked it up and put it in the net." 
 
Up Next:
Wisconsin hits the road for a weekend out east, facing Boston College on Friday, Oct. 13 before facing Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 14. Both games are set for a 6 p.m. CT start.