Second period the difference as No. 2 Wisconsin falls to Michigan State

MADISON –  Welcome to Big Ten hockey. Now buckle up.

In a game between conference rivals ranked among the top four nationally, Wisconsin and Michigan State battled over 60 minutes and then some Jan. 15 in the first game of their series at the Kohl Center.

After the Badgers swept the Spartans on their home ice in November, MSU got one back, scoring three straight goals in the second period and hanging on for a 4-3 victory.

“I liked the way we finished, but there’s a little bit of the middle period that bit us,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. “We’ve played with fire a couple of different times and it hasn’t. And we did make the push but not enough, and sometimes the ones that hurt the most you learn the most.”

No. 2 Wisconsin (15-4-2, 8-3-0) and No. 4 Michigan State (16-5-0, 7-4-0) were to meet again  Jan. 16 to conclude their regular-season series.

Second period was costly for Wisconsin

Freshman right wing Oliver Tulk had barely tied the score for the Badgers early in the second period when Gavin O’Connell got through the UW defense and beat goaltender Daniel Hauser the first of Michigan State’s three consecutive goals 3:57 into the period.

Daniel Russell added one off the crossbar at 12:17 and former Badger Charlie Strammel’s goal between Hauser’s legs made it a three-goal game at 16:51 before Kyle Kukkonen gave UW a huge lift at 17:59.

“Two of the goals I they weren’t alone until they were, and what I mean by that is through the neutral zone or at the blue line we’re in a good spot,” Hastings said.

“But again, I’m going to tell you that our defensive corps has been the backbone of our team this entire year and so has our goaltending, and you’ve got to give them credit for making a play. And then we’ll learn from not defending it the way that we probably could have.”

Battle is on for Big Ten men’s hockey title

Wisconsin entered the series leading the Big Ten standings in winning percentage but trailing Michigan, which played two more games, by four points. The Wolverines have a Friday-Saturday series at fifth-place Minnesota.

Wisconsin and Michigan split their series in Ann Arbor in November and are set for a rematch Feb. 21-22 at the Kohl Center.

“This is what it’s going to be the rest of the season in our league and when you get to the playoffs,” Hastings said.

“Small margins, whether it’s a post, whether it’s a penalty, whether it’s taking advantage of somebody making a play offensively or defensively is going to be the difference,” Hastings said.

Challenging night for goaltenders

Earlier in the week, Hauser and MSU counterpart Trey Augustine were announced as two of 29 players on the watch list for the Mike Richter Award for NCAA Division I goaltender of the year. The list includes anyone with a goals-against average of 2.30 or lower and save percentage of .920 or higher made the list.

Hauser entered the series at 2.02 and .917. He stopped 19 of 23 shots.

Augustine came in No. 1 in the country in save percentage (.938) and second in goals-against average (1.725). He made 24 saves, including 12 in the third period, several after UW pulled Hauser in the final minutes.

Wisconsin had its chances.

Augustine stopped junior left wing Quinn Finley on a breakaway in which he got a face full of snow and skates to the pads. A three-on-two break opportunity was lost to a deflected pass. And senior right wing Simon Tassy got called for unsportsmanlike conduct for diving when he whiffed on a shot but appeared to have a stick from behind across his wrists.

Plenty of shoving, headlocks and more

Both goaltenders were run over numerous times, and tempers flared throughout the game with plenty of shoving in front of the nets.

After the game, Michigan State center Tiernan Shoudy was escorted off the ice at a side exit he was the focal point of a dustup at the horn. Shoudy and Tassy had to be separated as their scrap continued after they fell to the ice.

“When your potential all-American and leading goal scorer gets ripped from behind, we’re gonna protect each other,” Hastings said. “I’ve got an issue with what happened, but I have no issue with how Simon Tassy came to the defense of Quinn Finley all day long.”

Shoudy was issued two penalties after the game, five minutes for hitting from behind and a game misconduct. The only way the penalties will affect Shoudy, though, is if he reaches the threshold of three misconducts in a season that results in a suspension.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin falls to Michigan State in Kohl Center hockey series opener