With three losses and three ties to start the season, Wisconsin welcomed college hockey’s newest team, Arizona State, to the Kohl Center. And apparently, that was what it took to get their season in gear.
Thanks to stellar goaltending from freshman Matt Jurusik, the Badgers swept aside the Sun Devils last weekend, but both games offered stiff tests for Wisconsin.
On Friday night, the Badgers trailed 1-0 in the second before a four-goal outburst in the middle frame helped provide some separation. A Grant Besse goal and a Cameron Hughes penalty shot sandwiched goals from Ryan Wagner to help the Badgers take the lead. Tim Davison scored the final goal for the Badgers in a 5-1 win. Wisconsin fired 56 shots at Arizona State’s Ryland Pashovitz, who made an admirable 51 saves in the loss.
On Saturday night, it was Jurusik who saved the day with 16 third-period saves and 25 on the night as the Badgers held on for a 2-1 win. Seamus Malone scored in the second period just after a power play expired to break a 1-1 tie. Malone had three points on the weekend, including an assist on Jedd Soleway’s first period goal.
The weekend sweep was Wisconsin’s first since March 7-8, 2014 over Penn State.
Mercyhurst 2, Ohio State 1; Ohio State 5, Mercyhurst 1
On Saturday night, the Buckeyes salvaged a split and got their first win of the year in a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst. Nick Schilikey scored two goals and added an assist to cap off a four-point weekend for Ohio State. Matt Tomkins made 27 saves in the win.
On Friday night, Schilikey scored for the Buckeyes, which had 40 shots on goal, had a penalty shot saved and hit a few goalposts in a 2-1 loss. For the weekend, the Buckeyes had 92 shots on goal.
Michigan 5, Robert Morris 3; Robert Morris 4, Michigan 0
Michigan played with fire all weekend against Robert Morris, and it wasn’t until Saturday night that the Wolverines got burnt by a slow start.
Friday night, Michigan trailed 3-1 entering the third period and scored four times to rally for a 5-1 win. Cooper Marody and Michael Downing scored in the first 5:23 of the third to tie the game, before Zach Werenski’s 5-on-3 power play goal gave Michigan their first lead of the night. Tony Calderone sealed the win with a goal with less than 6 minutes left.
On Saturday, Robert Morris scored three first period goals and shut down Michigan’s high-powered offense in a 4-0 win. It was the first time that Michigan was shutout at Yost Ice Arena since Bowling Green did it on Jan. 16, 2009.
Penn State 2, St. Lawrence 2; St. Lawrence 4, Penn State 2
Penn State came into the weekend with the highest-scoring offense in college hockey, but were stifled by St. Lawrence at home. On Thursday, Penn State had 52 shots on goal against Arthur Brey – who was making his college debut – but needed Vince Pedrie’s first goal of the season to salvage a 2-2 tie. Alec Marsh scored in the first for Penn State to give the Nittany Lions an early 1-0 lead.
On Saturday, St. Lawrence scored twice in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and earn a 4-2 win. Kenny Brooks and Luke Juha scored for Penn State in the second period as the Nittany Lions rallied back from a 2-0 first period deficit.
Stars Of The Weekend
The stars of the weekend from the Big Ten are:
First star: Seamus Malone, Wisconsin
Second star: Nick Schilkey, Ohio State
Third star: Matt Jurusik, Wisconsin
This Weekend’s Games
- Michigan State hosts New Hampshire for Friday and Saturday night games.
- Minnesota travels to South Bend, Ind., for Friday and Saturday night games against Notre Dame.
- Penn State travels to Niagara for a Friday night tilt.
- Wisconsin hits the road to Grand Forks to take on North Dakota for games on Friday and Saturday night.
- Michigan and Ohio State are off this weekend.
Follow Lonny on Twitter @lonny_goldsmith and you can always reach him at Lonny.Goldsmith@prohockeynews.com
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