MADISON, Wis. – The RMU men's hockey team mounted a late third-period push with a pair of goals, but No. 6 Wisconsin held on for a 4-2 victory in the season opener at the Kohl Center. With the loss, the Colonials begin their campaign with an 0-1 record.
FIRST PERIOD
Wisconsin controlled the pace early, outshooting the Colonials 12-3 in the opening frame. The Badgers broke the ice with three minutes remaining when Luke Osborn scored Wisconsin's first goal of the season.
After killing off a penalty shortly after the goal, RMU nearly evened the score in the final seconds of the period on a breakaway attempt from
George Krotiris, but Wisconsin carried a 1-0 advantage into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD
The Badgers extended their lead near the halfway mark of the second period when Bruno Idzan found the back of the net to make it 2-0. Wisconsin doubled down later in the frame on a power-play goal from Dylan Compton, taking a 3-0 cushion into the 40-minute mark.
THIRD PERIOD
RMU capitalized on a power play early in the third period to get on the board. Controlling play in the offensive zone, the puck worked out to the point where
Dominic Elliott roofed a shot from distance for RMU's first goal of the season, assisted by
Jackson Reineke and
Bruce McDonald.
At the period's midpoint, RMU received a five-minute power play following a Wisconsin major penalty. Despite putting four shots on goal during the man-advantage, the Colonials surrendered a shorthanded tally to the Badgers, pushing the score to 4-1.
Krotiris answered with two seconds remaining in regulation, converting on another breakaway chance by ripping a wrist shot past the netminder to cap the scoring at 4-2.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Wisconsin held a 38-18 advantage in total shots on goal and won 38 of 67 faceoffs on the night. Sophomore goaltender
Charlie Schenkel stood tall in net for RMU, making 34 saves in his ninth career game with 30 or more stops.
Gunnar VanDamme led the Colonials with four shots, while senior defenseman
Gabriel Lunn finished as a team-best +1 rating. Defensively, RMU blocked 19 shots in total, led by
Braden Rourke and
Charlie Kinsman with three blocks each.
Trent Wilson paced the team at the faceoff dot by winning 10 of his 18 draws, and both squads finished 1-for-2 on the power play.
UP NEXT
RMU will face Wisconsin in the series finale at the Kohl Center. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00 PM ET with the game streaming live on the Big Ten Plus Network.
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