Michigan
14-10-1, 8-7-0
Wisconsin
11-12-2, 6-9-0
Michigan Loses Lead, Falls at Wisconsin
1/24/2025 11:25:00 PM | Ice Hockey
Michigan held a 4-2 lead midway through the game, forcing Wisconsin to pull its starting netminder. The move paid off as Wisconsin tallied three straight, including two in the final six minutes, to take the win.
Penalties made the difference as Michigan went 1-for-1 on the power play while the Badgers converted on two of five chances and doubled the Wolverines in shots because of it.
Sophomore winger William Whitelaw made his presence known in his first game back at the Kohl Center by breaking the ice just 1:37 into the contest. The former Badger picked up the puck in the slot and stickhandled his way into space in the left circle before spinning back toward the net and releasing a quick shot that was shelved to put Michigan up 1-0. Freshman defenseman Will Felicio and forward Kienan Draper collected the assists on Whitelaw's snipe.
A pair of mid-period penalties marred the strong start for the Wolverines. U-M was able to dismiss the first infraction, a roughing minor on T.J. Hughes, but Wisconsin quickly received a second chance two and a half minutes later following an interference call on Ethan Edwards.
Seven seconds later, Wisconsin evened things up with a power-play goal at 10:06.
Seizing momentum, the Badgers followed up their equalizer with a second strike just over one minute later to take a 2-1 lead at 11:11.
Later in the first, Michigan pushed back following a chaotic sequence in front to tie the game when Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen tallied a long-range goal from the left point with 4:54 left in the frame. Junior speedster Jackson Hallum earned the primary assist while Felicio notched his second helper in as many goals to clinch his first career multi-point game.
The game was tied 2-2 after 20 minutes, but Wisconsin had built up large advantages in both shots on goal (17-8) and faceoffs (18-9) in addition to converting on one of their power plays.
Once it was finally time for Michigan's first power play of the night, Hughes wasted little time before reclaiming a 3-2 lead for Michigan. Fellow forwards Evan Werner and Michael Hage assisted on Hughes' goal.
Edwards potted his fourth goal of the season at 11:40 to double the lead for the Wolverines. Hughes and sophomore forward Nick Moldenhauer, back in the lineup following an injury, notched the assists on Edwards' goal from the slot.
The fourth goal chased Wisconsin's starting netminder from the game. At that point in the contest, the Badgers had assembled a 26-14 lead in shots on goal despite trailing U-M by a pair.
After Whitelaw was called for interference following a neutral-zone collision, Wisconsin capitalized with a power-play goal to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 5:16 left in the middle period.
The penalty parade continued, as the Badgers received a fifth power-play opportunity at 15:22 following a call on Jacob Truscott for contact to the head after the player he had lined up began to fall prior to Truscott's hit. Fortunately for the visitors, U-M denied the chance to force play back to full strength.
Wisconsin scored with 5:12 remaining in regulation to tie it at 4-4 after the Badgers skated hard to the net and funneled the puck toward Cameron Korpi, allowing the pressure to assist in getting the puck to trickle across the goal line.
Just over two minutes later, Wisconsin pinballed another shot into the back of the net through traffic to take a 5-4 lead at 16:51.
Korpi finished the night with a career-high 41 saves as Wisconsin held a 46-22 advantage in shots on goal.
Tomorrow night (Jan. 25), Michigan will finish off the weekend series inside the Kohl Center. The regular season finale between U-M and UW is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.
