The Wisconsin Badgers men’s hockey team traveled to East Lansing earlier this season, sweeping the then-No. 1 Michigan State Spartans to explode onto the scene and announce their presence. This time around,
the Spartans returned the favor, beating the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers in back-to-back games at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin (15-5-2, 8-4 B1G) made a strong comeback effort that fell short on Thursday night, but Friday night’s game was over before it really had a chance to begin. No. 4 Michigan State (17-5-0, 8-4 B1G) scored just 1:17 into the game before the Badgers could find their feet, and then the miscues started to compound.
The Badgers began sustaining some pressure against Trey Augustine, the Spartans’ standout goaltender, and then earned an opportunity to put their second-ranked power play unit on the ice. Michigan State spoiled the advantage, scoring a shorthanded goal 30 seconds into their penalty kill. The Spartans added a goal on their own power play to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.
Michigan State added a fourth goal in the second period before Logan Hensler helped Wisconsin avoid a shutout in the game’s final minute.
I may have spoken prematurely in my last write-up, implying that Eli Pulver was emerging as a steadier hand in net. Pulver was removed in the first period after surrendering his third goal, replaced by the same Daniel Hauser who surrendered three second-period goals the night before. Hauser stopped the bleeding and was able to weather the storm for the most part, but the Badger offense could not climb out of the early hole.
The lack of power play success stood out as a big issue this weekend. Wisconsin has been one of the best in the country all season, but went 0-for-7 in the series. The Badgers went to the power play three straight times, trailing 3-0, and were never able to cut into the lead.
A big factor was missing sophomore center Gavin Morrissey, who did not play Friday night after blocking a shot late in the game on Thursday. He is listed as day-to-day, though he is not guaranteed to play next week.
Digging a hole against a top-five team is never a good idea, but that’s especially true against Michigan State. The Spartans are pound-for-pound one of the biggest teams in college hockey. When they get a lead, they are capable of leaning on you and imposing their will. Between their size, physicality, and skill, Michigan State is a team that can wear you down, even more so when they are spotted three goals out of the gate.
This series was significant for the Big Ten standings. Wisconsin came into the series ranked second in the conference but leading in win percentage, as the Michigan Wolverines had played two more games. The Badgers now sit in a tie for third, but could fall as far as fourth if No. 8 Penn State gets another point against Notre Dame tonight.
Coming into this series, Wisconsin controlled its own destiny with regard to the Big Ten regular season championship, but now it will have to stack wins in its last ten games and hope to get some help. They play two series against Penn State and will get Michigan once more before the end of the season, so there is still plenty of hockey left to play.
The poor all-around performance could not have come at a worse time. Not only did Wisconsin lose ground in the race for the Big Ten, but they played in front of a season-high 12,114 fans at the Kohl Center, who were treated to a very deflating performance. It’s not an indictment on this team, which is still one of the best in the country, but two lackluster home performances don’t really move the needle for lapsed fans looking to support the Badgers.
The Badgers will certainly drop from the second position in the USCHO rankings; it just remains to be seen how far. The good news in this league is that opportunity is plentiful. Wisconsin jumps right back into another series against a team ranked in the top ten with a chance to get back on track against Penn State next week.
