Wisconsin falls short against No. 3 Minnesota

MADISON, Wis. – Despite holding a 2-0 lead midway through the second period, the Wisconsin men’s ice hockey team fell 3-2 to the No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gophers on Friday night at the Kohl Center.

Wisconsin (2-7-0, 1-4-0 Big Ten) put the game away with a power play goal at 13:44 of the first period Quinn Finley. UWs Kyle Kukkonen extended the Badgers’ lead to 1:21 in the second period. Minnesota (8-1-0, 3-0-0 Big Ten) scored two goals in the second period, one short-handed and one on the power play, to keep the game tied heading into the third period. Jimmy Snuggerud’s second goal of the night gave Minnesota a 3-2 victory with 7:15 to play.

How it happened
Sophomore forward Finley got the Badgers on the board first on the power play at 13:44 of the first period. Junior defender Ben Dexheimer Pass from the middle of the blue line to the freshman forward Gavin Morrissey at the top of the left circle. Morrissey skated toward the net and passed across the zone to Finley, who sank a one-timer for his sixth goal of the season.

It is Quinn Finley (@QuinnFinley2) World, we just live in it 😤

🍎: Gavin Morrissey & Ben Dexheimer pic.twitter.com/lTmWUZKGGR

– Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 9, 2024

Kyle Kukkonen doubled the Badgers’ lead to 1:21 in the second period. Defense graduate student Anthony Kehrer intercepted a Gopher pass in the air and hit the puck on the ice before passing to Kukkonen in the middle of the neutral zone. All alone, Kukkonen burst into Gopher territory and fired a wrist shot past Minnesota goaltender Nathan Airey for his first goal as a Badger.

 

DEMOLITION BEAUTY! 🔥

First start of the season for Kukkonen (@kyle_kukkonen)

🍎: Anthony Kehrer pic.twitter.com/zBRSMPSGX8

– Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) November 9, 2024

With 12:17 left in the second period, Minnesota got a power play. A minute and 43 seconds later, a penalty was called against the Gophers, forcing both teams to play four-on-four. But just as Wisconsin’s penalty expired with 9:46 left, Minnesota’s Ryan Chesley scored a shorthanded goal for the Gophers, cutting the Badgers’ lead in half on a 3-on-1 break.

Although Wisconsin killed three more power plays in the second frame, Minnesota tied the game with six minutes left in the second period when Snuggerud took advantage of the Gopher’s fourth-man advantage in the period.

Snuggerud scored his second goal of the night 12:45 into the third period, giving Minnesota its first lead of the game. The score remained the same until the final siren sounded and the Badgers lost 3-2.

Wisconsin won 1-2 on the power play and 3-4 on penalties. UW finished the contest trailing 31-30 in shots on goal.

Important instructions:
– Quinn Finley scored his team-leading sixth goal of the year
– Michigan Tech transfer Kyle Kukkonen scored his first goal as a Badger
– Wisconsin won 62 percent of faceoffs in the game, increasing its faceoff win rate to 56 percent this season

Directly from the ice rink
Head coach Mike Hastings
How we can overcome tonight’s defeat
“I think we’ve seen this movie before, and you know what, at the end of the day you just have to find a way to move forward in it and overcome it. The maturation of a team occurs as you gain experience.”

He loses momentum halfway through the game
“I thought we played a good first half of the game and then a little bit of emotion came into the game and they were good enough to take advantage of it.”

PhD student forward Owen Lindmark
To defeat tonight
“This is something we have to have. Having a 2-0 home lead against a good team. It’s frustrating but at the end of the day we have another game to play tomorrow and it’s a great opportunity for us. We will be ready to go.”

Second-year goalkeeper William Gramme
When I was told this morning that it would be launching online
“It’s just a weekly thing to prepare, even if you’re not playing. You always prepare. You don’t know if you’re going to get thrown late in the game or whatever happens, so I’m just always ready to go out there and do my best every night.

Next: The Badgers continue their series against border rival Minnesota on Saturday, November 9th at the Kohl Center. The game begins at 6:00 p.m. and is a “White Out,” with fans encouraged to wear white to the game. The contest will be streamed on B1G+ and audio play-by-play will air on 1310 WIBA radio as well as on the Badgers app and Varsity Network app. Follow us on X/Twitter and Instagram @BadgerMHockey.