Badgers Sweep Irish To Extend Big Ten Men's Hockey Lead
The Wisconsin Badgers executed a two-game sweep of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday, winning 7-4 and solidifying their lead in Big Ten Conference men's hockey.
The Badgers (18-4-2, 10-2 in Big Ten) now have 30 points in Big Ten play and are six points ahead of Michigan State.
Wisconsin has now won nine straight games, but that came after a three-game losing streak in November that included a pair of losses to the Spartans. The two teams will get a rematch on March 1-2 in Madison.
Wisconsin took a 3-0 lead in the first period on one goal from William Whitelaw and a pair of goals from Mathieu De St. Phalle. Zach Schulz wrapped up Wisconsin’s scoring in the first period after Notre Dame (10-10-2, 4-6-2, 15 points) trimmed the lead to two goals.
A Simon Tassy goal early in the second period gave Wisconsin a 5-1 lead and the Fighting Irish made a comeback, scoring the final three goals of the period to cut the lead to 5-4.
But, the Badgers got a goal each from Ben Dexheimer and Carson Bantle in the third period to finish off the Irish.
David Silye ended up three assists for the Badgers. De St. Phalle was the game’s first star while Silye was the second star.
Goaltender Kyle McClellan gave up all four Notre Dame goals a night after saving 32 of 33 shots and being named the HCA National Goaltender of the Month. Per John Fineran of the South Bend Tribune McClellan suffered a cut on his blocker/stick side hand (right) after a teammate staked into him. Freshman William Gramme finished out the game.
On Friday, the Badgers won, 2-1, with Charlie Stramel scoring the go-ahead goal on a third-period power play.
The Badgers will ride their longest winning streak since 2000 into its two-game series with Lindenwood on Friday at the Kohl Center, starting at 7 p.m.