Wisconsin ends Notre Dame skaters’ unbeaten streak at 8
MADISON, Wis. — Cole Caufield and Roman Ahcan scored power-play goals in the first two periods and Daniel Lebedeff turned away 22 shots as No. 15/15 Wisconsin handed No. 3/4 Notre Dame its first loss of the season, 3-0, Friday night before 9,698 at the Kohl Center.
Goalie Cale Morris made 32 saves for Notre Dame, 3-1-1-0 in the Big Ten, two points behind Penn State. The Irish, whose 7-0-1 start prior to the shutout was their best ever, also suffered their first loss ever at the Kohl Center, where they are now 5-1-1. Wisconsin is 6-5-0 overall and 1-2-0-0 in the Big Ten.
The teams completed their two-game series Saturday night.
The Badgers were 2-for-2 on the power play. Caufield scored his ninth goal of the season at 17:10 of the first period during which Morris stopped 15 other shots. Ahcan’s fifth goal of the season came at 12:01 of the second period.
The Badgers, who outshot the Irish 35-22, added their final goal at 17:20 of the third period when Linus Weissbach scored into an empty net.
WISCONSIN 3, NOTRE DAME 0
At Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.
Notre Dame 0 0 0—0
Wisconsin 1 1 1—3
First Period—Scoring: 1. Wisconsin, Cole Caufield 9 (K’Andre Miller, Alex Turcotte) PPG 17:10. Penalties: Notre Dame 2-4; Wisconsin 1-2.
Second Period—Scoring: 2. Wisconsin, Roman Ahcan 5 (Dylan Holloway, Alex Turcotte) PPG 12:01. Penalties (total): Notre Dame 1-2 (3-6); Wisconsin 1-2 (2-4).
Third Period—Scoring: 3. Wisconsin, Linus Weissbach 2 (Owen Lindmark, K’Andre Miller) EN 17:20. Penalties (total): Notre Dame 1-2 (4-8); Wisconsin 1-2 (3-6).
Power-play opportunities—Notre Dame 0 of 1; Wisconsin 2 of 2.
Faceoffs won—Notre Dame 35 (15-11-9); Wisconsin 24 (11-7-6).
Blocked shots—Notre Dame 16; Wisconsin 17.
Shots on goal—Notre Dame 22 (5-9-8); Wisconsin 35 (16-7-12).
Goalie saves—Notre Dame, Cale Morris 32 (15-6-11); Wisconsin, Daniel Lebedeff 22 (5-9-8).
Records—Notre Dame (7-1-1, 3-1-1-0 Big Ten), Wisconsin (6-5-0, 1-2-0-0 Big Ten).
A—9,698 (15,237).