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Badgers Sweep Huskies | Looking Ahead to IL
The Badgers earn their first weekend sweep in dramatic fashion this past weekend as the Michigan Tech Huskies journeyed down from Houghton. Solid performances from both squads made for an entertaining weekend. Here are the game recaps.
Game one Friday night was a physical battle for all three periods. Both teams didn't want to give up the edge and looked to sustain solid offensive and defensive pressure. A few minor penalties for both teams were the only action until Trace Tompkins netted the weekend's first goal with just under 2 minutes to play in the first! 1-0 Badgers would hold into the break with a 12-7 shot advantage for the home team.
The bend but don't break mentalities would hold firm in the second as well. The Huskies would put the Badgers on the power play early in the second with an elbowing call but the Badgers couldn't capitalize on the chance. Then, with six minutes to go in the period, the Huskies would net the tying goal off a lucky bounce. Jordan Gachman took a late penalty that would give the Huskies a power play chance of their own late in the second and into the third. After the second frame, the game was tied 1-1 and the Badgers had a commanding shot lead of 25-15. Berg was great in net for the Badgers!
As the penalty time ticked down in the third, the Huskies would net their second goal of the night on the power play giving them a 1-2 advantage early in the last frame. But, a mere 4 minutes later, the Huskies were caught with too many men on the ice giving the Badgers another power play. Ian Barbour started a rush behind his own net, maneuvered down the ice, through the defenders and rifled home the Badgers' tying goal with 13:12 to go in the period! The Huskies would take another penalty a couple minutes later and rookie Nick Johnson would score on the ensuing powerplay giving the Badgers a 3-2 lead! Jake Feldt scored a nifty short side high goal off the rush about 4 minutes later to extend the Badger lead to two goals with about 7 minutes to play in the game! Then, with 2:22 left in the second, Gachman would win an offensive draw to Garrett Byrd waiting on the half wall. Byrd fired the puck through traffic, high glove side to net his first of the season, and first goal since the 2019-2020 season! Welcome back Byrd! The Badgers would take game one with a commanding 5-2 final score.
Game two Saturday morning showed signs of fatigue for the Huskies and the Badgers picked up right where they left off. With 14 minutes left in the period, #14 Mikey Perea took advantage of a fallen defeder, skating up the right wing before sniping home the Badgers first goal! 1-0 good guys! The Huskies would give the Badgers another power play opportunity with 7:30 to go in the first. The power play couldn't net another goal though, as the Huskies killed off the tripping minor. But, a minute later, rookie Chase Parlier buried his first of the year giving the Badgers a 2-0 lead! The Huskies would net one of their own with 1:25 left in the period bringing the lead to 1. They would also take a minor penalty to end the period. After the first, the Badgers would hold a 2-1 lead and had 1:05 left on the Huskie minor.
The second period started with a bang as rookie Harry Burmeister netted his first of his career on the power play from Barbour and Tompkins! 3-1 Badgers! That lead would hold through the period as both teams started to stall out offensively.
The third started with a bang but for the Huskies as they would net a goal 2 minutes into the period to bring the lead back to 1 for the Badgers. With 10:25 to go in the game, Nick Johnson got hit from behind, giving the Badgers a 5 minute power play. Johnson would not return to the game and experienced an injury on the play. We wish him a speedy recovery. On the ensuing power play, Andy Pitts scored a pretty goal to extend the lead back to two with 7:45 to play! The Badgers would struggle to close out the Huskies, however. a squeeker got past Goss with 5:25 to play bringing the score to 4-3. Just 30 seconds later, the Huskies would net the tying goal. After 60 minutes of play, the teams were locked at 4-4, sending us to 3 on 3 overtime.
The Badgers started the overtime period on a 4 on 3 power play after a late Husky penalty in the third. They would kill off the chance though, sending the teams back to 3 on 3 after about a minute in a half in the frame. Then, after corralling the rebound in what looked like pure slow motion, Brendan Doherty roofed the OT winner for the Badgers! 5-4 final for the weekend sweep!
This weekend, the Badgers host the Fighting Illini of Illinois for their final home series before heading on the road for the first time. Last year, the Badgers swept the Illini in Champaign in dominant fashion. However, the Badgers will take each game in stride, looking for a similar result this year in Madison. Game one is 8:30pm on Friday night at the Shell. Game two is 9:00am at Hartmeyer Ice Arena on the east side on Saturday morning. We look forward to seeing everyone at the rink this weekend!
