Discounting a poor night at the office against Ohio State two weeks ago, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team plugged the holes that plagued its defense in January.
Those deficiencies were at the heart of the Badgers’ six-game losing streak when the team allowed more than five goals per game.
That seems like so long ago now.
On Thursday, March 26, the third-seeded Badgers defeated No. 2 seed Dartmouth, 5-1, in an NCAA regional semifinal at DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. The win gave UW (22-12-2) its first tournament win since 2010 and sets up regional final matchup with No. 1 seed Michigan State at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
Dartmouth finished 23-8-4.
UW’s defense carried the day, holding the ECAC champion to 14 shots and the nation’s leading goal scorer, sophomore Hayden Stavroff, to just two shots.
The Badger D needed to be that tight because the game was a tied affair until the final 10 ½ minutes when goals from seniors Jack Horbach and Simon Tassy broke open the game. Horbach’s score off passes from Vasily Zelenov and Jack Phelan was the game-winner.
“That wasn’t a 5-1 game,” Badgers coach Mike Hastings said. “That was a little bit of ping pong, back and forth. We knew that Dartmouth would be a hard out, and they obviously were. I’m proud of the guys for sticking with it.”
Here are four takeaways from the victory.
Long layoff doesn’t hamper Badgers start
Wisconsin had not played since losing to Ohio State, 7-1, March 11.
But the time off didn’t prevent the Badgers from a strong start. They recorded six shots on goal in the game and needed just 2 minutes 52 seconds to get on the board.
Both of Tassy’s goals came in similar fashion with the senior patrolling in front of the crease and making the most of rebounds or shots just off the mark. His first goal came off assists from junior Quinn Finley and senior Ben Dexheimer.
“We know that Dartmouth’s defense is really good, so we knew that getting the first goal was going to be really important,” said Tassy, who took a team-high eight shots. “We hadn’t played for two and a half weeks, so just getting into it and just getting some momentum, the start was really good, so it was just nice getting something on the scoreboard.”
Daniel Hauser bounces back
When Hastings was asked about Daniel Hauser before the game, the coach noted that the freshman goaltender had a knack of coming through for the team when it really needed it.
Those words proved prophetic.
Hauser wasn’t challenge often – he finished with 13 saves – but he authored the play of the day when he tossed his stick to save the Badgers from allowing a goal. The stick prevented the put from bouncing back into the Badgers defensive zone for a potential wide open shot. Instead the puck was redirected toward the corner.
He couldn’t have planned it better.
Defense as a whole did the job against Dartmouth
Much of the Badgers’ defensive effort took place before the puck reached Hauser. In addition to Stavroff, his linemates Hank Cleaves and Cam MacDonald combined for four shots, one goal and one assist.
Hastings credited the line of freshmen Finn Brink and Grady Deering and sophomore Adam Pietila for slowing them down.
“That line has made their head coach feel comfortable having them play against anybody,” Hastings said. “We’ve done it in regular season against the other Big Ten schools, the other Big Ten teams. And they’ve really risen to that occasion, and they did again tonight.”
Special teams rise to the occassion
Not only did Wisconsin kills all three of Dartmouth’s power plays, but it allowed just three shots, two on goal in the process of doing so.
The Big Green’s struggle in that facet of the game frustrad its coach.
“We have too much talent and these kids care toomuch for our power play not to, to be better,” Dartmouth coach Reid Cashman said. “And you don’t need to score every one, but you need to create momentum. And in these sorts of games, usually if you win special teams, you win. … To get those three and not to generate momentum out of that is a huge disappointment and a huge failure on my part.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fast start, defensive dirty work help Wisconsin move step closer to Frozen Four
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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