Did we just witness the greatest comeback in Wisconsin history?
Without a deep dive into the topic, it’s safe to say that what the Badgers men’s hockey team pulled off Saturday in Worcester, Mass, will go down as one of the storied program’s unforgettable moments.
Down two goals in the final period against No. 1 seed Michigan State, Wisconsin scored twice in 34 seconds during the final 5 minutes to force overtime and then needed just 24 seconds of OT to complete a 4-3 victory over the Spartans at DCU Center.
In less than 5½ minutes of play Wisconsin went from the despair of possibly seeing its season end to exhilaration of advancing to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2010.
“Any time the sun comes out and you can keep playing hockey, it’s a good feeling,” sophomore Gavin Morrissey said. “We’re really grateful that we were able to be together and go through this together, through the ups and downs, and come out on the other side of it.”
Senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer recorded his team-high fourth game winner of the season on a shot he fired from just inside the zone.
Wisconsin (23-12-2) accomplished a couple of things with the win.
The third-seeded Badgers became the first team to bounce a No. 1 seed from the tournament. The victory also gave UW a 3-2 record against the Big Ten’s regular-season champion, a run that included four games decided by one goal and two decided in overtime.
UW went home with bragging rights but also a healthy respect for the Spartans.
“They helped us grow this year because of how good they are and (how) they pushed us,” Badgers coach Mike Hastings said. “And tonight, they definitely pushed us to a point of almost trying to get us to break.”
The victory sets up a match in the national semifinal versus North Dakota, the No. 1 seed of the Sioux Falls Regional, on Thursday, April 9, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Morrissey (one goal, two assists) and Dexheimer (one goal, one assist) had a multi-point effort. Seven players recorded a point.
That effort helped Wisconsin overcome a second period surge that resulted in two Sparty goals in 31 seconds. They added a third goal at the 8:33 mark of the third period that seemingly gave Michigan State (26-9-2) an insurmountable two-goal lead.
Who knew it was the beginning of the end for the Spartans.
Here are three keys to Wisconsin’s comeback.
Ben Dexheimer puts the puck on the net
Dexheimer wouldn’t say he was trying to score on his game-winning goal. When he got the puck just inside the zone, he simply was trying to get a shot to the net.
The worst thing that would happen would be a miss. The best thing? We’ll you saw it as his shot was deflected by a Spartans defender, which helped get it past All-American goaltender Trey Augustine.
“I just saw my winger, who was supposed to be on me, got caught on the wall, and I just thought any shot’s a good shot in overtime, and just kind of filtered it there and was fortunate enough for it to go in,” he said.
The goal could be considered sweet justice. Michigan State’s first goal came on a similar play in the second period when Gavin O’Connell’s shot deflected off Dexheimer’s stick and past UW goalie Daniel Hauser.
Daniel Hauser maintains poise after Michigan State flurry
Hauser finished with 24 saves and maintained his poise after the Spartans scored twice during a 31-second span in the second period. The first of those goals was the deflected score that came off the stick of O’Connell at the 8:10 mark of the period. The second one, which came off the stick of Patrick Geary, came during an inopportune line change.
From there the freshman kept UW in the game with a handful of tough saves that included a stop on 2025 first-round draft pick Ryker Lee on a one-on-one situation with 4:17 left in the second period. That play kept it a 2-1 game.
And after Matt Basgall’s goal at the 8:33 mark of the third period, Hauser made three more stops that kept it the deficit at 3-1.
“If that gets to four [4-1], we’re in trouble,” Hastings admitted. “You know, it might be lights out.”
Wisconsin’s grit wins out
For long stretches of the game, particularly late in the second period and early in the third the Badgers appeared to be on their heels, one play from losing grip of the game.
But give them credit for how they responded after falling behind, 3-1. Over the next 6 1/2 minutes they fired 10 shots on goal and were finally rewarded with Luke Osburn’s sixth goal of the season and Morrissey’s score in the 16th minute.
“Yeah, obviously it’s been a tough year for us,” Osburn said. “We’ve gone through ups and downs, so I think our group knows how to deal with that, just being a part of it [and] obviously not getting too ahead of ourselves.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How Wisconsin came back to stun Michigan State, advance to Frozen Four
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
