Wisconsin jumps ahead of Notre Dame in conference quarterfinal series
Notre Dame hockey couldn't solve Jared Moe on Friday night in Compton Family Ice Arena.
The Wisconsin goaltender put a wall in front of his net for 49 saves in a 3-1 road victory for the Badgers to open a three-game series with the No. 7 Irish in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
The resistance of Moe allowed sixth-seeded Wisconsin (10-22-3) to end Notre Dame's five-game winning streak despite trailing in shots by a 50-27 margin.
“They played well so give them their due,” said Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson. “It was playoff hockey, and you have to be prepared. Anything can happen in the playoffs. The goaltender played well, they keep you on the outside and we have to find a way to penetrate that.”
The lone Irish goal came on a power play in the second period. Senior forward Graham Slaggert converted a one-timer on a cross-ice pass from senior defenseman Nick Leivermann to the game at 1 with 6:08 remaining in the second period. It was the only power play conversion for the Irish (25-10-0) in five opportunities.
Wisconsin didn't let the game stay tied for long. Thirty-eight seconds later, Dominick Mersch redirected a Tyler Inamoto shot to beat Irish goalie Matthew Galajda.
The Badgers added an insurance goal in the third period when Sam Stange and Zach Urdahl perfectly executed a two-and-one with 14:03 left in the game. Urdahl finished with a goal after he passed to Stange, who returned it right back to Urdahl's tape.
Brock Caufield started the scoring for Wisconsin at 15:22 in the first period. He chased down a pass that Mathieu De St. Phalle whacked into open ice and knocked the puck into the net off the far post.
Earlier in the first period, the pipe was unkind to the Irish twice. Senior forward Cam Burke couldn't quite push the puck past the goal line off the far post five minutes into the game. A few minutes later, freshman forward Justin Janicke pinged a shot off the crossbar.
The Irish will need to win Saturday at 6 p.m. EST to stay alive in the conference tournament. Wisconsin has now won two of its last three matchups against Notre Dame. Moe had 38 saves in a 5-3 victory over the Irish on Feb. 12.
Notre Dame beat the Badgers three times earlier this season — twice at home in November and once on the road in February.
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