Two brutal losses for Badgers men's hockey as Ohio State picks up weekend sweep

It was a pair of 2-1 losses for Wisconsin over the weekend.

Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings seen Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023, in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off against Air Force at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. / Ebony Cox / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Two games and two losses by the same score. 

That was the story of the weekend for the 16th-ranked Badgers men’s hockey team, which dropped both games of its weekend series against Ohio State at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. 

The Buckeyes (3-0-1) scored two unanswered to beat the Badgers (1-3-0) 2-1 in overtime on Friday night. Ryland Mosley’s power-play goal 3 minutes, 35 seconds into the first period gave Wisconsin an early 1-0 lead, but Max Montes knotted things up with 13 seconds remaining in the frame. It remained scoreless through the remaining 40 minutes as the Badgers were unable to solve Buckeyes goalie Logan Terness, who stopped 37 of 38 shots. Wisconsin outshot Ohio State 38-23 — Tommy Scarfone had 21 saves — but never got another shot past Terness. 

Montes scored his second of the night 4 minutes, 42 seconds into the overtime session for the game-winner. 

It didn’t take overtime on Saturday, but it was once again Montes who pushed the game-winner across. Riley Thompson scored just 21 seconds into the first period to give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead, and Montes made it a two-goal advantage 1 minute, 1 second into the third period. Quinn Finley got the Badgers within one with his goal 8 minutes, 17 seconds into the third, but the Buckeyes once again got great goaltending from Kristoffer Eberly, who stopped 12 third-period shots and finished with 28 saves overall on 29 shots. William Gramme stopped 18 of 20 for Wisconsin. 

The Badgers will now look to bounce back, but it won’t get any easier as they’re set for a weekend series at top-ranked Denver on Friday and Saturday. Puck drops are scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.