MANKATO, Minn. — #19 Minnesota State lost to #7 Wisconsin 4-0 on Friday in its home opener. The Mavericks were held to 13 shots while Wisconsin finished with a 35-13 shot advantage.
The Mavericks now own a 0-1-0 record, while Wisconsin improved to 3-0-0 overall.
Lassi Lehti stopped early Wisconsin attempts from Logan Hensler, Brent Solomon and JJ Wiebusch before the Mavericks generated chances through
Sam Court,
Sawyer Scholl and
Daimon Gardner. Wisconsin broke through with 8:09 left in the first when Brent Solomon scored at even strength from Ryan Botterill and Joe Palodichuk. Wisconsin's Oliver Tulk added goal less than a minute later at 12:30 off assists from Vasily Zelenov and Bruno Idzan to put the Badgers up 2-0. The Mavericks killed off
Ean Somoza's hooking penalty after Wisconsin put multiple looks on net and Ryan Botterill hit the pipe, but Wisconsin kept pressure late with three attempts in the final 35 seconds as the first period ended 2-0.
The Mavericks traded stretches of pressure with Wisconsin through the first half of the second period, with the visitors generating early chances and the Mavericks getting looks from Court,
Reid Morich,
Jakob Stender and
Luigi Benincasa that were blocked or stopped. The Mavericks pushed again around the middle of the period, including attempts from
Rylan Bonkowski, Morich,
Gus Thorp and
Will Skahan, but Wisconsin kept the Mavericks off the scoreboard. After Morich was called for cross-checking with 3:56 to go in the second, Wisconsin turned the power play into a Logan Hensler goal from Zach Wooten and Vasily Zelenov at 17:58, as the visitors carried a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.
Wisconsin turned early third-period pressure into a goal with14:48 remaining, when Grady Deering scored at even strength off assists from Ryan Botterill and Oliver Tulk to make it 4-0.
Raiden LeGall took over in goal after the score and made four saves as the Badgers allowed just four shots on goal in the third period to secure the 4-0 win.
UW finished the game going 1-for-2 on the powerplay, while MSU went 0-for-1. Both teams matched up evenly in the faceoff circle as they each went 24-24.
The Mavericks finish their weekend series with the Badgers on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. (CST) at Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center.
