MADISON, Wis. -- In comeback fashion, the No. 19 Badger men's hockey team (7-7-1, 2-4-1-1 Big Ten) claimed victory over the Michigan Wolverines (4-9-2, 0-6-1-0) Saturday night at the Kohl Center, 3-2.
K'Andre Miller's go-ahead goal in the third period combined with a stellar save by sophomore goaltender
Daniel Lebedeff sealed the Badger victory at home.
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Wisconsin was down 2-0 earlier in the second period, but a
Dylan Holloway goal pulled the Badgers within one on a pretty passing play with
Linus Weissbach. After that, the pendulum switched into Wisconsin's favor.Â
Captain
Wyatt Kalynuk tied the game later in the second period with nifty stick-handling play and a laser shot to the back of the net.
Lebedeff notched 27 saves in the victory while the Badger defense recorded 21 blocks on the night.
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Notes to know:
- The Badgers are unbeaten against the Wolverines in the Kohl Center over the last eight contests (6-0-2).
- Tonight marked the second consecutive game UW overcame a two-goal deficit for a positive result
- Miller surpassed his freshman year total five goals by scoring his sixth of the season.
Straight from the rink:
Head Coach Tony Granato:
"We made a couple plays, a couple great shots. The rush goal by Wyatt [Kalynuk] was a spectacular goal and fortunately, third period we made a good play on the face off. It wasn't the prettiest goal because it went off their skate, but it was a great play to get a chance. We got a bounce around the net which is always nice to get."
"Michigan was good, they played hard the first period. They deserved to get to that lead, took advantage of two power-play goals. Third period,
Daniel Lebedeff shut the door, and we had lots of blocks. Miller had a ton of blocks, and Baker had a couple good ones. Ess had a big one off the face off. Lots of blocks, so you can see we got into the game and did what we needed to do as the game went on, but it was a slow start."
Junior Captain Wyatt Kalynuk on his tying goal:
"I think [Ty Pelton-]Byce dropped the puck to me in the top of our end and I thought they were backed off pretty much and I got over the line and just got a chance to shoot and shot it as quickly as I could; I didn't really get a good peak at the net, I just shot it."
Sophomore defenseman K'Andre Miller on his game-winning goal:
"Obviously it started with a good face off, that is one thing I think we have been struggling with a little bit this year. We had a great draw, great win.
Ty Pelton-Byce came up to me right before the draw and tried to run a play, luckily got a good bounce and we won."
Freshman forward Dylan Holloway on his goal:
"We had a pretty good shift, at the very start we had a couple lads going before and got them hemmed in so we just extended that offense and it came out of the zone a little bit and we caught them on the change. Linus [Weissbach] made an unbelievable pass and it was just lucky enough to go in."
Up next: Wisconsin will faceoff against the Wolverines again tomorrow in a rare Sunday matchup. Stop in at the Kohl Center to celebrate a 'Wisconsin Holiday Vacation' experience including saucer races, light untangling and Uncle Eddie holiday hats for kids 12 and under. Also get family and friends photos taken before the game in the concourse with holiday props. The 4 p.m. game airs on BTN and 1070 WTSO.
