Wisconsin men's hockey falls to #2 Minnesota 7-1
In the first game of this weekend's two-game series, the Gophers simply outmatched the Badgers. Wisconsin fell to Minnesota by a score of 7-1.
Wisconsin (7-10-0, 1-8-0 Big Ten) knew it would be a significant challenge to defeat the #3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-5-0, 9-2-0 Big Ten). In the first game of this weekend's two-game series, the Gophers simply outmatched the Badgers. Wisconsin fell to Minnesota by a score of 7-1.
Minnesota opened the scoring 4:01 into the first period. Badgers senior goaltender Jared Moe was knocked out of position by sophomore defender Daniel Laatsch. That allowed Minnesota's freshman forward Logan Cooley to patiently drag the puck to the opposite side of the net for a wide-open goal.
Cooley was selected third overall in the most recent NHL draft and scored two goals against the Badgers last night. After putting Minnesota up 1-0 last night, Cooley and the Gophers led the rest of the way.
Moe allowed five goals on 16 shots in the loss. Junior Kyle McClellan entered the game four minutes into the second period. The transfer goaltender from Mercyhurst allowed two goals on 15 shots in relief.
Minnesota outplayed Wisconsin, but it did not outwork the Badgers. Whether Minnesota chose to take its foot off the gas is a different question.
The Badgers outshot the Gophers 38-31 last night, but Wisconsin gained its shooting advantage with the game already out of hand. After outshooting the Badgers 16-12 in the first 24 minutes, the Gophers slowed their offensive onslaught. Wisconsin outshot Minnesota 28-15 the rest of the way but failed to score a second goal.
Wisconsin will try to bounce back this evening in the second game of its series against Minnesota. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:00 PM CST. The game will be televised on Bally Sports Wisconsin.
UW's men's hockey program is in historically lousy shape. Tomorrow, look for my series recap, along with my thoughts on the negative trends of this once-prominent program.