The Wisconsin Badgers had everything going their way until the final period against Denver.
Denver was able to win its record-setting 11th national title at the expense of Mike Hastings, a coach who has now lost to the Pioneers in two National Championship games.
Wisconsin jumped out to a 1-0 first-period lead and seemed to be in prime position to win its first national title since 2006. Instead, Denver’s offense came to life late, and two goals were all it took for the Pioneers to win their third title in the last five seasons.
Here are two primary takeaways from the contest.
1. One goal was never going to be good enough
It’s not like the Badgers were timid or tried to coast to victory, but it was only going to be a matter of time before Denver found the back of the net. A shutout didn’t seem to be out of the question, but there were only so many quality saves Daniel Hauser could make against the Pioneers.
Wisconsin dominated in the shot department, but a late penalty gave them shortened time to come up with an empty net goal. In the end, the Badgers played two periods of better hockey but the third period cost them.
2. Tons of roster changes coming
Even though no one on this Badgers roster had Frozen Four experience, this was a team filled with seniors. After failing to make the tournament a year ago, there’s no doubt that making it this far was a huge success. With the way the game played out, though, it’s clear Wisconsin was the better team, but simply beat themselves in the final 15 minutes.
Now, it’s time for Hastings to take a look in the mirror and decide the true identity of this team. Ben Dexheimer and Simon Tassy won’t be on this season next year, along with the likes of Kyle Kukkonen, Christian Fitzgerald, Tyson Dyck, Jack Horbach, and Aiden Dubinsky.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Takeaways from Wisconsin hockey’s heartbreaking loss vs. Denver
Reporting by Jordon Lawrenz, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
