The #19 Minnesota State Mavericks opened their 2026–27 campaign with a 4-0 loss against the #7 Wisconsin Badgers on Friday night at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center. Outshot 35-13 during its home opener, the Mavericks fell behind early. The Mavericks now own a 0-1-0 record, while the visiting Badgers improved to 3-0-0 overall.
Entering the weekend matchup, the clash marked an opening test for a Minnesota State squad stepping into its 58th season of men’s hockey, including its 30th season at the NCAA Division I level where the program has put together a 571-418-111 record and 11 tournament appearances.
Early Badger Pressure and First-Period Breakthroughs
Wisconsin established tempo right from the drop of the puck, forcing Maverick goaltender Lassi Lehti into early action. Lehti turned away initial drives from Logan Hensler, Brent Solomon, and JJ Wiebusch. Minnesota State countered with brief flurries of offensive pressure generated by Sam Court, Sawyer Scholl, and Daimon Gardner, but failed to find the back of the net.
The visitors finally broke through with 8:09 remaining in the first period when Brent Solomon scored at even strength, capitalizing on setups from Ryan Botterill and Joe Palodichuk. Less than a minute later at 12:30, Oliver Tulk extended the Badger lead to 2-0 off assists from Vasily Zelenov and Bruno Idzan. Although the Mavericks successfully killed off a hooking penalty assessed to Ean Somoza—surviving a sequence where Botterill struck the pipe—Wisconsin maintained pressure right down to the horn, rattling off three attempts in the final 35 seconds of the frame.
Special Teams and Defensive Stifling in the Middle Frames
The second period saw both squads trade waves of pressure. Minnesota State pushed back through active looks from Court, Reid Morich, Jakob Stender, and Luigi Benincasa, followed by mid-period attempts from Rylan Bonkowski, Morich, Gus Thorp, and Will Skahan. Nevertheless, Wisconsin kept the Mavericks off the scoreboard.
With 3:56 left in the second stanza, Morich was whistled for cross-checking. Wisconsin turned the power play into a Logan Hensler goal at 17:58 with assists credited to Zach Wooten and Vasily Zelenov. The goal sent the visitors into the second intermission holding a 3-0 advantage.
Carrying that momentum into the final period, the Badgers struck again when Grady Deering scored at even strength with 14:48 remaining, assisted by Botterill and Tulk to make it 4-0. Following the goal, Raiden LeGall replaced Lehti between the pipes for Minnesota State, stopping 4 shots as the Badgers allowed just four shots on goal in the third period.
Special Teams Breakdown and Saturday Rematch
Wisconsin finished the game going 1-for-2 on the powerplay, while MSU went 0-for-1. In the faceoff circle, the two rivals matched up evenly, each winning 24 draws.
The Mavericks will look to rebound when they conclude their weekend series against the Badgers on Saturday. Puck drop for the rematch is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. CT at the Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center, with coverage on KTOE AM 1420.
