Wisconsin men’s hockey splits weekend series against Northern Michigan

Wisconsin men’s hockey matched up with Northern Michigan this past weekend at the Kohl Center. This was the second time the teams met this season, as the Badgers opened regular-season play against the Wildcats just a few weeks ago at the Resch Center in Green Bay.

The Badgers dropped the opener 5-2 on Friday as goaltender Matt Jurusik’s early-game struggles continued. The sophomore let in the first two shots on goal and ultimately stopped only six of 10 shots before being lifted in favor of freshman Jack Berry.

Sunday was a different story, as Berry got his first career start and promptly shut out the Wildcats as Wisconsin won 2-0. Through eight games, the Badgers are now 5-3-0, all in non-conference play, and 2-2 at the Kohl Center.

Friday vs. Northern Michigan (5-2 loss)

Once again, Jurusik allowed a quick goal, as the Wildcats’ Zach Diamantoni scored just 33 seconds into the first period. Trent Frederic tied the game midway through the first, assisted by Tim Davison and Max Zimmer.

Northern Michigan was quickly back on top as Dominik Shine added two goals, one to close the first period and netting the game-winner to open the second. Fillip Starzynski added one of his own less than two minutes after Shine’s second goal, chasing Jurusik.

Seamus Malone added a penalty-shot goal late in the third period for the Badgers, but it was not enough as Gerard Hanson scored an empt-netter for Northern Michigan to put the game away.

Saturday vs. Northern Michigan (2-0 win)

Berry was the story on Saturday as he shut down the Wildcats in front of 10,014 at the Kohl Center. The game was scoreless until late in the second period when sophomore captain Luke Kunin scored a power-play goal assisted by junior defenseman Jake Linhart and junior assistant captain Cameron Hughes. Wisconsin added a power-play goal by Hughes with just a minute left in the game to cement the victory.

Wisconsin has the upcoming weekend off. The Badgers play Merrimack Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 at the Kohl Center.

Around the Big Ten

• Penn State (7-1-1; 0-0-0-0 Big Ten): Defeated Niagara 5-1 on Thursday; defeated Niagara 5-1 on Friday in University Park. Freshman forward Denis Smirnov was named Big Ten Second Star of the Week.
• Ohio State (5-1-3; 0-0-0-0 Big Ten): Lost to Robert Morris 6-2 in Columbus on Friday; tied Robert Morris 4-4 (OT) in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
• Minnesota (4-2-2; 0-0-0-0 Big Ten): Tied North Dakota 5-5 (OT) on Friday; defeated North Dakota 2-0 on Saturday in Minneapolis. Sophomore forward Tommy Novak was named Big Ten First Star of the Week. Junior forward Mike Szmatula was named Big Ten Third Star of the Week
• Michigan (4-3-1; 0-0-0-0 Big Ten): Defeated Arizona State 4-1 in Glendale on Friday.
• Michigan State (2-5-0; 0-0-0-0 Big Ten): Defeated Michigan Tech 3-2 (OT) on Friday; lost to Michigan Tech 5-1 on Saturday in East Lansing.