MINNEAPOLIS — After firing 42 shots on goal and scoring just once Thursday night, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team responded with a similarly dominant effort Saturday. This time, the shots went in.
The No. 1 Badgers (7-0-1, 3-0-1 Big Ten) blanked No. 18 Minnesota, 6-0, in front of a packed crowd of 10,473 at Mariucci Arena on Saturday night to earn their first victory against the Golden Gophers on the road since the 2023-24 season.
“We had to face some adversity where a goal gets called off, and then I liked the guys sticking with it,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings said. “It was [Logan] Hensler to [Grady] Deering to [Ryan] Botterill that got us a lead. In this building, if you can play with the lead, it’s important because I’ve found one can turn into three here in a hurry as a visitor, and so I thought that was a good start for us.”
The Badgers eventually turned their one-goal lead into a three-goal advantage after Minnesota’s Tate Pritchard was assessed a major penalty and ejected for a cross-check to the head of Wisconsin’s Finn Brink. Wisconsin scored twice on the ensuing power play en route to the 6-0 win.
“It’s important in the Big Ten to get points when you can,” Hastings said. “It’s tough to win on the road, but I thought we had a good night managing the game, and we were rewarded for it.”
There were certainly a lot of great efforts to pick from Saturday night, but here are Badger Breakaway’s Three Stars of the Game:
3rd Star: Daniel Hauser
The sophomore netminder turned aside all 24 shots from the Golden Gophers, picking up his second shutout of the season in his fourth start.
“I thought Daniel Hauser was outstanding tonight,” Hastings said.
His 24 saves included a couple of difficult breakaway stops at critical moments when the result was still in doubt, helping the Badgers record their first road shutout of Minnesota since 2010.
“Obviously that’s pretty cool, I didn’t know that,” Hauser said when informed of that stat. “But you know, I really got to thank the team and how they play in front of me. They play so well in front of me every night, and they always do their job to the best of their ability. I just try my best to help them out.”
2nd Star: Luke Osburn
The dynamic Badgers defenseman was all over the ice Saturday night, recording a goal and two assists to bring his point total up to nine on the season through eight games.
The sophomore was one of three Badgers defensemen to find the back of the net, scoring UW’s sixth goal with a wicked wrist shot on the power play. Jack Phelan and Dylan Compton were the other two.
“They got some really good shooters,” Minnesota head coach Brett Larson said. “Both those goals were bar down snipes that I’m not sure [Gophers goaltender] Melvin [Strahl] can do anything about.”
UW defenders led the way offensively, combining for six goals.
1st Star: Jack Phelan
Not only did the junior defenseman score his first career goal as a Badger in his 81st game, but he scored a second one, too.
“Feels really good,” Phelan said. “Really good little four-on-four shift there, and then kind of was just in the right spot. I don’t know who shot it or what really happened, but it kind of just squirted out, and I put it on net.”
The two goals were his first two points of the season, but the veteran plays an important role on a team that doesn’t always get the headlines. The Badgers were happy to see him rewarded on the scoresheet Saturday.
“He’s just such a selfless person, and he does so many things that are unsung,” Hastings said of the Detroit Red Wings prospect. “He’s the first guy over the boards on our penalty kill. The only other guy—I would say he’s a guy that eats as many pucks as our goaltenders at times. So he’s okay putting himself in front of danger for others for our team, and he’s got a bright future because he’s a rock back there.”
Thank you for visiting BadgerBreakaway.com – With your support, we are quickly becoming a leading independent source for news, analysis, and intel on the Wisconsin Badgers hockey and basketball teams.
