Wisconsin hockey title game effort thwarted by Denver defense
The Wisconsin Badgers fired an astounding 81 shot attempts, but failed to get more than one into the back of the net
Las Vegas, NV — The rollercoaster Wisconsin men’s hockey season ends in heartbreak. A full-throated effort to knock off the Denver Pioneers fell just short. Despite UW outshooting DU 29-13, carrying a lead into the third period, and allowing just three total goals in the Frozen Four, the Wisconsin Badgers’ title drought will stretch past two decades. A 2-1 Wisconsin loss gives Denver its third title in five seasons.
“The ones that leave the scars are the ones you remember the most,” Badgers head coach Mike Hastings said.
Wisconsin might head home with emotional scars, but it will be Denver who figures to leave with the bruises. A standout defensive performance, as all of DU’s top four defenseman blocked four shots, thwarted a barrage of Badger attempts.
“I thought the effort, attitude, discipline, I thought was good,” Hastings said of his team’s play on the biggest stage. “We just, we couldn’t find a way to get it to two.”
First period pressure and Wisconsin Badgers lead
Wisconsin successfully killed one penalty in the opening frame, only allowing one Denver shot attempt that went wide. UW leading scorer Gavin Morrissey’s shorthanded attempt was the best opportunity either enjoyed during the two minutes Oliver Tulk was in the box.
The other 18 minutes in the first period were much of the same. DU did not manage a single shot on net until over nine minutes had passed. Pioneers winger Sam Harris fired a wrist shot at the Badger net on a point-blank attempt in transition from near the top of the left faceoff circle, but goaltender Daniel Hauser got just enough of his glove on the puck to turn it aside.
Wisconsin managed 10 shots on goal to Denver’s 2 in the opening period, but no shot was more impactful than the wrister from Vasily Zelenov. After carrying the puck through the neutral zone, the former Green Bay Gambler considered passing on a 2-on-2 rush to Ryan Botterill on the wing. Instead, the freshman opted to shoot and banked the puck off the post for his sixth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Denver hockey blocks crucial opportunities
Neither team got a puck into the back of the net in the second period. While the SOGs were again lopsided in favor of the Badgers (11-3), the numbers could have been much different if it were not for both teams stopping pucks before shots reached their goaltender.
The Badgers blocked 10 of the Pioneers’ first 23 attempts, including half of Denver’s shots in the middle frame. More consequential, though, was the Pioneers’ effort. Through 40 minutes, UW logged a combined 50 shot attempts. DU blocked 19 of those — more than it had in all but two games this season.
In all, the Pioneers blocked 31 of the Badgers’ 81 shot attempts. Denver’s previous season-high was 21 blocks.
“Their commitment level, just like our commitment level, is at an all-time high when you get to this moment,” Hastings said of DU’s effort.
Wisconsin entered the day with an 18-2-0 record when leading after 40 minutes. Failing to get a second goal on the board in that time, however, left the door open.
Wisconsin hockey lead evaporates in Las Vegas heat
Before the midway mark of the third period, a defensive zone turnover proved costly for the Badgers. Denver alternate captain Rieger Lorenz forced a puck off the stick of Tulk below the goal line before Pioneers defenseman Garrett Brown hammered a slapshot from the left point.
Hauser stopped the initial attempt. He stopped the puck again after giving up the rebound to Lorenz. The netminder even got a piece of his glove on a third chance after UW blue-liner Aiden Dubinsky came within inches of clearing the puck from the crease.
Despite the effort, it was not enough. Lorenz knotted the game at 1-1 with 12:29 to play in regulation on his second try.
Denver was the beneficiary of more Wisconsin miscues in the third. First, an extended offensive Pioneers possession turned into the go-ahead goal after Hauser seemingly lost grip on his stick early in the sequence. He sent his stick soaring from right to left before a Denver freshman Kyle Chyzowski put his team in front by creating traffic in the crease and tipping in a shot from the point by Boston Buckberger.
Then, after Badgers captain Ben Dexheimer hit the crossbar on a shot from the slot, Wisconsin freshman Blake Montgomery committed a holding penalty with 4:14 remaining in the game. Nearly half the time UW had left to mount a comeback was spent on the penalty kill.
Finally, Wisconsin did get the opportunity to call Hauser to the bench in favor of the extra attacker after a successful kill, but only temporarily. A pass by Dexheimer that missed the mark, however, forced Hauser back to his net with under 30 seconds remaining after an icing call. Morrissey, UW’s best player on the draw, lost the ensuing faceoff in front of Wisconsin’s net. The Pioneers managed to hold the puck along the boards for a period of time, preventing the Badgers from setting up another prime opportunity for an equalizer.
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