Blake Montgomery and his No. 14 University of Wisconsin Men's Hockey teammates maintained their undefeated streak, delivering a decisive 5-2 victory over the No. 19/18 Minnesota Golden Gophers at the Kohl Center in a fiery Big Ten opener. The win was sparked by a prolific performance from forward Christian Fitzgerald and another goal for freshman Montgomery.
After a cagey, scoreless opening period, the game exploded into life in the second frame. Wisconsin, improving their record to 5-0-2 (1-0-0 Big Ten), broke the deadlock 5:26 into the period with a power-play goal from Christian Fitzgerald. Minnesota (2-6-1, 0-1-0 Big Ten) quickly retaliated, tying the game less than 40 seconds later.
The momentum shifted back to the Badgers midway through the second period, with young Bermudian forward Blake Montgomery continuing his strong start to the season.
At 11:13 into the frame, Montgomery lit the lamp for the second time in as many games, skillfully putting home a pass at the net front from fellow freshman Vasily Zelenov. This goal put Wisconsin back in the lead.
Just 43 seconds later, Logan Hensler added another, stretching the lead to 3-1. Minnesota managed to score their second goal at 17:08, ensuring the Badgers carried a slender 3-2 lead into the final period.
The third period belonged entirely to Wisconsin. Early in the frame, at 2:19, Fitzgerald delivered again, setting up Tassy for the team's second power-play goal of the night. Fitzgerald then completed his stellar three-point night—which included two goals—by burying the empty-net goal in the final minutes to cap off the 5-2 victory and secure the crucial Big Ten points.
|
