On one of the most highly anticipated nights in Kohl Center hockey history, the Wisconsin Badgers were able to match the hype with their performance on the ice.
Three impassioned rebound goals carried UW to a 3-1 upset victory over Boston College in Wisconsin coach Tony Granato’s home debut at the Kohl Center.
“We’ve been looking forward to tonight,” said Granato, who earned his first Badgers victory on home ice. “We knew we playing a top team and had to be at our best, and I was happy with our energy. Guys were bouncing off the wall before the game saying let’s play.”
Credit the Badgers high-energy power play on the first two goals, as Wisconsin senior forward Grant Besse and junior Ryan Wagner each banged home second-chance opportunities on the man advantage. Like Besse’s goal, Seamus Malone’s third tally came as second chance off of his own shot.
“Our power play and goaltender Matt Jurusik were differences in the game when it was all said and done tonight,” Granato said. “We did enough to win, but there are areas where we can improve.”
Jurusik had a strong night recording 29 saves, including several of the spectacular variety as he stoned Eagles super sophomore forward Colin White twice when he was in the clear. JD Dudek recorded Boston College’s lone goal, while Eagles goaltender Joe Woll made 31 saves.
“Whitey had at least two breakaways and he’s got to be better about putting those away,” BC coach Jerry York said. “I thought we created a lot of good chances, but we’ve just got to bury those.”
York credited Wisconsin with pouncing on their opportunities.
“I thought (the Badgers) played well and their top line was certainly difficult to handle,” York said. “I thought our work ethic was good, (but) they got three rebound goals. We’ve got to be better and stronger in front our net.”
The Badgers played like they wanted to make Granato’s first night behind the bench in his new digs a memorable one. In the end, they delivered that and then some.
“There was good positive energy in the locker room tonight (pregame),” Jurusik said. “Coming into this game we had a lot of confidence and a lot of poise and I think it showed out there with how we played.”
The series concludes on Sunday, where the Badgers will be looking a little more assistance from their crowd. Despite the importance of the occasion, nearly half the seats at the Kohl Center remained empty.
“I would have loved to have seen more people here, but that’s a work in progress,” Granato said. “The people that came tonight hopefully liked what they saw and maybe in a few weeks that will result in a larger turnout.”
Big Ten results
Penn State 7, at Mercyhurst 0
Nate Sucese scored a pair of second-period goals as the Nittany Lions hammered the Lakers, 7-0, at Mercyhurst Ice Center. Nikita Pavlychev, Chase Berger, Denis Smirnov, Trevor Hamilton, and Andrew Sturtz also scored for Penn State against Lakers goaltender Brandon Wildung. Peyton Jones made 20 saves for the win, while Wildung stopped 36 pucks in the loss.
Lake Superior State 6, Michigan State 1
The Spartans Villiam Haag scored his team’s lone goal in a blowout loss to the Lakers at Taffy Abel Arena. Michigan State trailed 3-1 after two periods, but LSSU got goals from Brayden Gelsinger, Kris Bindulis, and Owen Headrick to complete the rout. Ed Minney made 28 saves in the loss for the Spartans, while Gordon Defiel stopped 19 pucks for Lake Superior.
