MADISON, Wis. – After fighting to send the Big Ten quarterfinal series to a third game, the Wisconsin men's hockey team fell to Ohio State, 3-1, on Sunday evening at the Kohl Center. This loss eliminates the Badgers from the 2024 Big Ten Tournament.
The Badgers now wait two weeks to find out where and when they will play in the 2024 NCAA Tournament with the selection show on Sunday, March 24.
Ohio State (14-19-4) tallied a goal in both the first and second periods to lead 2-0 by the end of the middle frame. The Buckeyes notched an empty-net goal 17 minutes into the third period before Sawyer Scholl got Wisconsin (26-11-2) on the board with 1:52 left for a final score of 3-1.
The Buckeyes got on the board 6:16 into the first period on a power-play goal from Davis Burnside.
OSU extended its lead 10:04 into the second period after Scooter Brickey banked the puck off the back of UW goaltender Kyle McClellan.
Ohio State added a third goal on an empty-net tally from Davis Burnside with 3:03 left in the third period.
With 1:53 remaining in the game, freshman forward Sawyer Scholl got the Badgers on the board, but it wasn't enough to spark a comeback as Wisconsin fell, 3-1.
Wisconsin went without a power-play chance and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 30-22 advantage in shots on goal.
Straight from the rink
Head Coach Mike Hastings
On the third night of a best-of-three
"I've been a part of a couple of these best-of-threes, and that third one is never a pretty one. Whether you win it or lose it the guys are put in a position to have to come back three nights in a row, and that's why I think it's really important to get that first one because you don't want to have that hill get any steeper."
On learning from this season
"An entire season is that learning journey of little things matter. Inches matter, finding a way to get the first one. The things that I've learned most from in life are the ones that have hurt and this is an opportunity that went by us. You play a regular season to play at home in the playoffs. You need to take advantage of that. We didn't, hence we're not moving on and Ohio State is."
On what's next
"Now we move on to chapter three. We had a regular season, we had a short playoff stint and now we've got an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament. Right now, the guys are going to go back and bring in some rest, regroup and get prepared for that."
Senior forward Mathieu De St. Phalle
On Ohio State's game this weekend
"I think their goaltending was really good this weekend for the most part. It just seemed like they were all buying in. I think they really got us with that neutral zone and they had a really good game plan going into it."
Graduate student defenseman Mike Vorlicky
On moving forward
"We need to continue building our book of business as we go here heading to the tournament. Obviously, this wasn't what we were expecting, but we've kind of been thrown adversity all year. I think it's something that this group's kinda handled, just handling diversity and moving forward."
Up Next: The Badgers look to receive an at-large bid to the 16-team NCAA men's hockey tournament. The tournament selection show takes place on Sunday, March 24, with play beginning on Thursday, March 28 or Friday, March 29, depending on the regional site.
