At long last, the Wisconsin Badgers have finally returned to the winning column in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament with a 5-1 win over Dartmouth in the regional semifinal. It marks the first tournament win for Wisconsin since their 2010 Frozen Four win over RIT and the first tournament win for Mike Hastings at the helm in Madison.
Thursday night’s game was one that the Badgers dominated for the most part, but through two periods had little to show for it. Simon Tassy got Wisconsin on the board early
on the power play, beating Emmett Croteau on a second effort after Tassy was initially stoned by the goaltender.
Dartmouth’s Hank Cleaves evened the score at one apiece midway through the first period before the action stalled with neither team able to break through, despite Wisconsin giving the Big Green ample opportunity.
Freshman center Vasily Zelenov committed a faceoff violation by way of a hand pass that put Dartmouth on the power play to end the first, though Wisconsin had a successful kill that yielded more opportunities than the Badgers had skating five-on-five to that point. Junior defenseman Joe Palodichuk then earned the gate one minute into the second period as it appeared Wisconsin was committed to kick-starting the Dartmouth offense.
But it was not meant to be for the Big Green as the Badgers stood firm on the penalty kill, navigating their way through three Dartmouth power plays without conceding a goal. Wisconsin kept NCAA leading scorer Hayden Stavroff at bay all game, limiting his chances to make an impact on the game while the Badgers found their footing.
And find the footing they did, using a four-goal third period to break the game open and earn their first tournament win in nearly 16 years. After hitting a flurry of posts, including a point-blank attempt from freshman Grady Deering,
It was senior Jack Horbach and the third line that finally broke through again midway through the third period, sneaking one past Croteau and putting all the pressure on a Dartmouth team that was outshot 28-14 in the end. Then, sophomore Ryan Botterill snuck one through a crowd to find the stick of Simon Tassy, who scored a nice deflection to pick up his second goal of the night.
With Croteau vacating the net for the extra attacker, Wisconsin added a pair of empty net goals from senior Christian Fitzgerald and junior Quinn Finley, who remained tied atop the Wisconsin roster for goals scored in order to put the game on ice.
The lopsided final score is not indicative of how tightly the game was played. While Dartmouth didn’t generate too many offensive opportunities, its defense was stifling. At one point late in the second period, Dartmouth had as many shots blocked as they did shots on goal.
The Big Green defense did not make life easy on the Badgers, forcing Wisconsin to operate in traffic and creating narrow windows for Croteau to corral the puck. After the Dartmouth goaltender was beaten on an across-the-crease pass for Wisconsin’s first goal, he became more aggressive, snuffing out crossing attempts with his glove to keep himself out of harm’s way. Their defensive effort kept Wisconsin guessing until Horbach found a way to solve Croteau to put the Badgers ahead.
In the end, Dartmouth just didn’t have the horses to compete with Wisconsin’s depth, which ultimately wore down the Big Green after spending the majority of the game attacking zone. The Badgers played a stout defensive game that seldom gave Dartmouth a reasonable look at the net, something they’ll need to continue going forward if they want to advance to their first Frozen Four since 2010.
Speaking of which, the regional final rematch with Michigan State is now set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Spartans advanced past UConn in a game where UConn certainly looked the better team; it just so happened that Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine decided to put the team on his back.
The Huskies took an early lead before Michigan State answered with a quick power play goal. Porter Martone gave Sparty the lead near the midway point, and Augustine shut the door with 40 saves after allowing an early goal in the first period.
The Badgers are 2-2 against Michigan State this year, sweeping the then-No. 1 Spartans in East Lansing last November before dropping both games at the Kohl Center in January. The fifth game will serve as the rubber match with a trip to Las Vegas on the line.
It’s an interesting position for Wisconsin hockey, one of the nation’s most storied programs that feels like it lifted a huge weight off its shoulders with a singular regional semifinal win over Dartmouth. The Badgers enter the regional final basically playing with house money, as most people would not consider a loss to the Spartans a failure; however, earning a trip to the Frozen Four in Mike Hastings’ third season might be just what this program needs to once again reestablish itself among the top tier in collegiate hockey moving forward.
