WORCESTER, Mass. — Michigan State appeared well on its way to the Frozen Four. Wisconsin had other ideas.
A pair of goals 34 seconds apart in the final five minutes of the third period erased a two-goal Spartan lead, and Ben Dexheimer scored 24 seconds into overtime to stun Michigan State and send the Badgers (23-12-2) to their first Frozen Four since 2010.
Dexheimer found himself alone at the blue line near the right boards and sent a high shot past Spartan goaltender Trey Augustine, setting off a celebration for Wisconsin.
“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,” Dexheimer said. “We just kind of filtered it there, and I was fortunate enough for it to go in.”
It was fitting redemption for Dexheimer, who got his stick on the shot that wound up in the net for Michigan State’s first goal and was in the penalty box for the Spartans’ third goal.
“We’ve had our ups and downs all year, this group’s just stuck with it,” Dexheimer said. “Taking one off the stick, being in the box for the (other) one wasn’t the end of the world, but we put our foot down and kept going to work and eventually it paid off.”
Dexheimer’s heroics would not have been possible without Wisconsin’s furious third-period rally, which saw Luke Osburn and Gavin Morrissey score at 15:13 and 15:47, respectively, to force overtime.
Osburn scored at 15:13 to cut the deficit to one, finishing a scramble in front for his seventh goal of the season.
Morrissey tied it 34 seconds later to send the game to overtime. After Augustine saved a close-range shot by Christian Fitzgerald, Morrissey slammed the rebound into the open net with Augustine out of position.
“We just stuck with it, and we were rewarded for that,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. “I’m proud of that for these guys.”
Michigan State had a scoring flurry of its own midway through the second period when Gavin O’Connell and Patrick Geary scored 31 seconds apart. The Spartans carried a 2-1 lead into the third.
After a scoreless first period, the Badgers took a 1-0 lead just 18 seconds into the second when Quinn Finley scored his 17th goal of the season. That was the only blemish through two periods for Augustine, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award and Mike Richter Award, who finished with 34 saves.
Michigan State answered at 8:10 of the second when O’Connell scored on the power play. Anthony Romani and Owen West assisted on the goal.
Geary then gave Michigan State a 2-1 lead at 8:41, taking a pass from Tommi Männistö and beating Wisconsin goaltender Daniel Hauser on the stick side.
Matt Basgall extended the lead to 3-1 at 8:33 of the third period with a power-play goal, sending a shot from the blue line through traffic and into the net.
“To lose in that fashion, I don’t know if you ever get over it,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale said. “But the only thing I can say to the team is I’m super appreciative to all the guys on the team. I wish we were still playing. (They’ve) put in a ton of work and they do it the right way.”
The teams split their four regular-season meetings, with each winning twice on the other’s home ice. Michigan State (26-7-2) was seeking its first Frozen Four berth since 2007.