(UW ATHLETICS) COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fueled by four different goal scorers, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team charged past the Ohio State Buckeyes, 4-1, on Friday night at Nationwide Arena.
With tonight’s win, the Badgers are one victory away from advancing to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Wisconsin (13-19-3) got on the board first at 18:51 of the first period on a deflection from Ryland Mosley. UW scored two more times in the second with Owen Mehlenbacher and Simon Tassy lighting the lamp at 3:04 and 9:09 into the period, respectively, to give the Badgers a 3-0 lead. Ohio State (21-12-2) found the back of the net at 4:19 of the third period to cut UW’s lead to two goals, but an empty-net goal from Kyle Kukkonen at 18:14 into the final frame sealed a 4-1 victory for Wisconsin.
How it Happened
Graduate student forward Mosley opened the scoring 18:51 into the first period. From the Ohio State slot, sophomore forward Quinn Finley sent a backhand on net that got past the goaltender and to Mosley in front of the net, who deflected it home to record his 17th goal of the season.
The Badgers extended their lead at 3:04 of the second. From the top of the Wisconsin zone, junior forward Tyson Dyck sent a pass to freshman forward Adam Pietila at center ice. Pietila then rushed into Buckeye territory, creating a two-on-one with sophomore forward Owen Mehlenbacher. Pietila passed to his left to the freshman, who one-timed the puck into the net to tally his fourth goal of the year.
Junior forward Tassy made it a 3-0 game at 9:09 into the second period. Junior forward Christian Fitzgerald sent a pass from the bottom of the right circle to sophomore defenseman Zach Schulz near the slot. Schulz took a shot, which went wide and bounced off the back glass and off the top of the net before Tassy batted the puck home out of the air to give UW a three-goal advantage.
At 4:19 into the third period, Brent Johnson got Ohio State on the board.
Junior forward Kukkonen tallied an empty-net goal at 18:14 into the final frame to seal the victory for Wisconsin.
Wisconsin went 0-for-1 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. UW finished the contest with a 34-29 advantage in shots on goal.
Notes to know:
– The Badgers are 4-0-0 against the Buckeyes at NHL arenas, including three Big Ten Tournament contests
– This is the second time in 10 games against Ohio State that UW has scored more than two goals against the Buckeyes
– Sophomore defenseman Zach Schulz has points in three of his last four games played
Up Next: The Badgers play Game 2 of the best-of-three 2025 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against Ohio State on Saturday, March 8, at 6 p.m. CT.
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