Jack Gorniak
Greg Anderson
1
Minnesota MINN 2-4-1, 1-1-0-0 B1G
3
Winner Wisconsin UW 5-5-0, 1-1-0-0 B1G
Minnesota MINN
2-4-1, 1-1-0-0 B1G
1
Final
3
Wisconsin UW
5-5-0, 1-1-0-0 B1G
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 F
Minnesota MINN 1 0 0 1
Wisconsin UW 1 0 2 3

Game Recap: Men's Hockey |

No. 20 Badgers defeat No. 16 Gophers, 3-1, to earn series split

Ess goal midway through third period breaks 1-1 tie, propels Wisconsin to victory

MADISON, Wis. — The No. 20 Wisconsin men's hockey team got a pair of third-period goals to defeat No. 16 Minnesota, 3-1, and earn the series split Saturday night at the Kohl Center. 

After trailing Minnesota (2-4-1, 1-1-0-0 B1G) 1-0 through the first 18 minutes of the opening frame, Badgers' (5-5-0, 1-1-0-0 B1G) forward Sean Dhooghe tipped a shot from sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk into the net with two minutes remaining in the period to tie the game and ignite a three-goal scoring run. 

After a scoreless second period, sophomore defenseman Josh Ess ripped a shot from the blue line past Gophers' goaltender Eric Schierhorn at the 10:20 mark of the third period to break the 1-1 tie. 
 
Outshooting Minnesota 11-10 in the final frame, UW freshman forward Jack Gorniak collected a clear and put home an empty-net insurance goal to seal a 3-2 win over the Gophers. 

In his third consecutive start for Wisconsin, rookie netminder Daniel Lebedeff stopped 32 of 33 shots in goal. 
 

Notes to Know: 
  • Scoring his first collegiate goal in tonight's win, Jack Gorniak became the sixth UW freshman to tally a goal for the Badgers this season. 
  • The Badgers were 3-for-4 on the penalty kill tonight. UW is now 34-for-47 on the PK this season, good for a 72.3 clip. 
  • Forward Sean Dhooghe scored his team-leading sixth goal in the win. Dhooghe has six goals and eight points on the season. 

Straight from the Rink:
Head Coach Tony Granato
On Tischke's contribution to the defense:
"I think you are exactly right. He is a catalyst out there, that's why he is the captain. That is his MO, being able to get in front of the pucks, but I think the whole defensive group tonight did a great job of being selfless and being in the way. Obviously, I think we gave up a lot of chances, but I think they did a great job. You can't say enough about how many Daniel blocked. Daniel was sensational in the net and gave us a great chance to get going and take advantage of some chances. Tischke has been great."

On the rivalry:
"Big hits. Major penalty there is somewhat unfortunate. That's the same thing we talk about with our team. We're young. We want to play physical and energized. Sometimes you go across the line a little bit. Mersch has been great and Sheehy turned at the last second."
 
On talking to Ryan Stratzinsky:
"For anyone in hockey and anyone that followed the story, it is still real and in a lot of people's minds. To meet Ryan, his family, and friends was very special. I think our players really enjoyed the opportunity. He is a super nice kid and I think he really enjoyed his night. It was great for our fans to give him a beautiful cheer there to start it. I think he wants to comeback. He said he enjoyed it and wants to come back here again. We are hoping it was a fun weekend for him, last night in Chicago and be here tonight was really special to all of us."

Senior defenseman Peter Tischke
On the goaltending and team perfomance: 
Daniel [Lebedeff] played really well today. He made a bunch of huge saves for us and I think our effort was a lot better overall. Last night we had the effort but we gave up those three goals in a 1:14. We had a meeting today with just the guys and we really stressed the fact that to win in college hockey you have to play all 60 minutes or the tables can turn really fast.

On the team effort:
I think we did really well, I think everyone was blocking shots, not just the defense, but the forwards too. Everyone really bought in today, laying their bodies on the line, keeping things simple, keeping things hard and smart, and just chipping pucks behind their defense and really getting after them.
 
Sophomore defenseman Josh Ess
On responding to the major penalty: 
A five minute penalty is never what you want, but the way we came out, they got a goal unfortunately, but we came back and got one at the end of the period and that was big momentum for the rest of the game.

On being from Minnesota and playing Minnesota: 
You come out with a lot of fire against those guys, being from Minnesota and growing up watching them play, to finally come here and play against them is awesome. It's an unreal atmosphere in here and it's nice to get a win against these guys for sure.
 
Freshman goaltender Daniel Lebedeff 
On his performance:
I think it was pretty good overall. The team played very well, we battled, and for myself I think this was a huge booster. It's always great to win against a team like Minnesota, and play like this, and especially the effort from our guys, just blocking shots and making my night easy, was the key to my game.

Up Next: The Badgers travel to Columbus, Ohio next week to take on the No. 7 Buckeyes in a two-game series. Puck drop for Friday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. (CT) while Saturday's contest is slated for 4 p.m. (CT). 
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