2023-10-15 02:10:00
The quality of opponent turned up a notch for the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team on Saturday after a more favorable start to the season.
No. 7 North Dakota ended the Badgers’ unbeaten start after three games with a 2-0 victory Saturday in what became the championship game of the Ice Breaker Tournament in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Resuming rivalry with North Dakota a ‘goal’ for Wisconsin men’s hockey coach
Hunter Johannes and Riese Gaber scored for the Fighting Hawks, who got 29 saves from Ludvig Persson and help from the pipes behind him.
Wisconsin built its first 3-0 start in 19 years on two wins last week against first-year program Augustana and an overtime victory Friday against Bemidji State, which was picked to be a mid-pack team in its league. The first meeting with a ranked team gave Mike Hastings his first loss as Badgers coach, and the team’s next eight games are against top-20 opponents.
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North Dakota (2-0) also opened the fixed-schedule tournament with a victory on Friday to set up Saturday’s meeting for the title. Wisconsin (3-1) has been in the event four times and has never won the trophy.
The Badgers fell to 1-12-2 in their last 14 games against North Dakota dating to their days together in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Here are the three stars and three things that stood out.
Three stars
No. 3: Gaber made the Badgers pay for a defensive slip-up with a great backhand shot from close range in the second period.
No. 2: Johannes scored short-handed in the first period to get North Dakota the lead.
No. 1: Persson turned away everything the Badgers threw at him and calmed things down for North Dakota during some stretches of Wisconsin pressure.
The Badgers hit the iron 4 times
3 stars, 3 things we learned in Wisconsin men’s hockey OT win at Bemidji State
Quinn Finley and Christian Fitzgerald got the puck past Persson on three occasions in the second period but got denied by the post.
Finley drew iron twice, the second time during a Wisconsin power play. Fitzgerald had a redirection go off the crossbar.
William Whitelaw had a shot hit the post in the third period for the Badgers, who had a 29-28 advantage in shots on goal and 64-49 in attempts.
Kyle McClellan absorbed a heavy hit
If there’s a teammate that Badgers goalie Kyle McClellan wouldn’t want to unexpectedly collide with him, it probably would be 6-foot-3, 215-pound center Charlie Stramel.
McClellan stayed in the game after Stramel ran over him in the third period while backchecking on a 2-on-1 rush, sending the goalie’s glove and stick flying. The senior goalie made 26 saves.
Owen Mehlenbacher spent much of his debut in the box
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Freshman Owen Mehlenbacher got into the Badgers lineup for the first time after he was a healthy scratch for the first three games, but he watched six minutes of it from the penalty box.
The seventh-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings replaced Owen Lindmark as the fourth-line center and was called for three penalties. The third was on the shift after he left the box from the second.
Sawyer Scholl returned to the third line after sitting out on Friday. Sam Stange was out of the lineup after he took two penalties in his season debut Friday.
Zach Schulz went into the defensive lineup for Brady Cleveland for the second game of the weekend for a second straight week.
First period: W — John 3 (Jamernik, Pehrson), 13:17 (sh). Penalties: Silye, W, :23; Britt, ND, 12:06; Gaber, ND, 18:49; Tassy, W, 20:00; Pehrson, ND, 20:00.
Second period: ND — Gaber 2 (Berg, Britt), 6:31. Penalties: Mehlenbacher, W, 11:46; Jamernik, ND, 13:07.
Third period penalties: Mehlenbacher, W, 7:23; Mehlenbacher, W, 9:45; Horbach, W, 15:41; Blake, ND, 19:03.
Saves: W (McClellan 8-9-9) 26; ND (Persson 14-9-6) 29. Power plays: W 0-for-4; ND 0-for-5. To. — 11,783.
Meet the 13 former Wisconsin players on 2023-24 NHL opening day rosters
Cole Caufield, Montreal
Adam Hunger, Associated Press
Caufield, who won the Hobey Baker Award in 2020-21, his last of two seasons with the Badgers, is in his third full season in the NHL and with Montreal. The forward is starting an eight-year, $62.8 million contract.
Ty Emberson, San Jose
Charles Krupa, Associated Press
Emberson was claimed on waivers by the Sharks from the New York Rangers on Sept. 30 and made an NHL opening-day roster for the first time. The defenseman played for the Badgers from 2018 to 2021 and is on a one-year contract that pays $775,000 at the NHL level and $85,000 in the American Hockey League.
Trent Frederic, Boston
Frederic, a forward who played for the Badgers from 2016 to 2018, is starting his sixth pro season. He’s starting a two-year, $4.6 million contract with the Bruins.
Dylan Holloway, Edmonton
Holloway played 51 games with the Oilers last season but didn’t appear in the playoffs. The forward who played for the Badgers from 2019 to 2021 is entering the final season of his entry-level contract, which pays him $925,000 in the NHL and $80,000 in the AHL.
Luke Kunin, San Jose
Tony Avelar, Associated Press
Kunin, who played forward at Wisconsin from 2015 to 2017, was limited to 31 games for the Sharks last season because of a torn ACL. He’s in the second year of a two-year, $5.5 million contract with San Jose.
Jake McCabe, Toronto
McCabe is starting his first full season in Toronto after he was traded from Chicago on Feb. 27, 2023. The defenseman who played at Wisconsin from 2011 to 2014 is in the third year of a four-year, $16 million contract.
Ryan McDonagh, Nashville
George Walker IV, Associated Press
McDonagh, a Badgers defenseman from 2007 to 2010, is starting his second season with the Predators after a trade from Tampa Bay. He’s in the fifth year of a seven-year, $47.25 million deal.
K’Andre Miller, New York Rangers
Miller signed a two-year, $7.744 million contract with the Rangers in July after his entry-level deal expired. He played defense for Wisconsin from 2018 to 2020 and is entering his fourth pro season.
Joe Pavelski, Dallas
Tony Gutierrez, Associated Press
Pavelski, 39, avoided free agency last season when he signed a one-year extension with the Stars that has a $3.5 million cap hit. He can earn a $1 million bonus for playing in 10 games and another $1 million for reaching 20 games. The forward played for the Badgers from 2004 to 2006.
Justin Schultz, Seattle
Schultz is starting the final season of a two-year, $6 million contract with the Kraken. The defenseman who played at Wisconsin from 2009 to 2012 is entering his 12th pro season.
Brendan Smith, New Jersey
Smith is in the second and final year of a two-year, $2.2 million contract with the Devils, his fourth NHL team since joining the league in 2011-12. The defenseman played for the Badgers from 2007 to 2010.
Craig Smith, Dallas
Smith, a Madison native who played forward for the Badgers from 2009 to 2011, signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Stars in July. That gave Dallas three former Badgers players, all of whom are from Wisconsin; Joe Pavelski (Plover) and Ryan Suter (Madison) are the others.
Ryan Suter, Dallas
Suter is starting his 20th pro season and 19th in the NHL after he played defense for the Badgers in the 2003-04 season. He’s in the third year of a four-year, $14.6 million deal with the Stars.
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