Comeback kids: No. 7 Badgers claim 5-4 win at No. 1 Michigan State | Comeback Bid Falls Short for…

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Comeback kids: No. 7 Badgers claim 5-4 win at No. 1 Michigan State

EAST LANSING, Mich. – A four-goal second period by Wisconsin and third-period game-winner from Ryan Botterill helped erase a two-goal deficit and fuel the seventh-ranked Badger men's hockey team's 5-4 win over the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans on Friday night at Munn Ice Arena. 

Michigan State (9-2-0, 4-1-0 Big Ten – 11 points) opened the scoring eight minutes into the first period, before doubling its lead 12:26 into the first with a power-play goal. Wisconsin (9-2-2, 5-2-0 Big Ten – 14 points) responded in the second period, adding four goals to take a 4-2 lead heading into the third. In the second frame, Christian Fitzgerald scored at 1:08 on the power play, before Blake Montgomery lit the lamp at 4:11. Adam Pietila gave UW its first lead of the night at 11:19, and Tyson Dyck scored the Badgers' fourth goal at 15:55.

MSU battled in the third, adding a tally at 9:34 into the frame to make it a one-goal game, but Ryan Botterill restored UW's two-goal lead just 16 seconds later at 9:50. The Spartans continued to push, scoring once more at 10:24, but the Badgers held on for the remainder of the contest to snap Michigan State's nine-game winning streak and hand it its first conference loss of the year. 

How it Happened
First Period
With sophomore goaltender Eli Pulver earning his first start in net as a Badger, Wisconsin and Michigan State faced off for the first time this year, starting the season series in East Lansing. 

After UW killed a Spartan power play early in the first period, MSU opened the scoring exactly eight minutes into the opening frame. Porter Martone capitalized on a failed clear at the blue line, sending the puck to Daniel Russel near the net, who sent it home to take a 1-0 lead. 

At 12:26, on MSU's second power-play of the contest, Martone tallied a goal of his own on a net-front pass from Shane Vansaghi.

Second Period
Just 1:03 into the period, Michigan State's Colin Ralph went to the penalty box for roughing, sending Wisconsin to its first power-play of the game. Five seconds into the penalty, Fitzgerald scored his nation-leading seventh power-play goal of the season. From the blue line, senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer sent the puck to senior forward Simon Tassy by the net, who passed up to Fitzgerald near the slot. Fitzgerald then sniped the puck past MSU netminder Trey Augustine to pick up his ninth goal of the year.
 

Comeback Bid Falls Short for #1/1 Hockey

Danny Russell draws first blood eight minutes into the first period!

Assists to Charlie Stramel and Porter Martone pic.twitter.com/jTNwk27rfp

Porter Martone scores his second of the night to bring us back within one! pic.twitter.com/Hxal04XoGM

Wisconsin stuns No. 1 MSU hockey, ends Spartans' nine-game win streak

EAST LANSING – The top-ranked Michigan State hockey team returned to Munn Ice Arena after sweeping Notre Dame last weekend, looking to continue its winning ways against No. 8 Wisconsin.

But, after a disastrous second period, during which the Badgers would score four unanswered goals, the Spartans would play from behind for the first time all season. MSU put together a comeback bid in the third period, but ultimately saw its nine-game winning streak come to a halt in a 5-4 loss on Friday, Nov. 21, giving MSU its first Big Ten defeat of the season.

"Tough night, and give Wisconsin credit, the second period they took it to us, and a lot of up and down the sheet, and I don't think that's a recipe for success for our team," MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. "When you're a young player, you can think this is fun hockey, going 'you get a chance, we get a chance,' but we're playing a really good team. They did a better job of gapping and being on top of us and kept coming at us with speed."

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