Michigan
10-1-0, 3-0-0
Wisconsin
6-1-2, 2-1-0
Michigan Hands No. 10 Wisconsin First Loss of Season in Series Opener
11/7/2025 10:59:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Michael Hage scored two goals in the third period, including a critical game-tying goal.
» Will Horcoff netted his 11th goal, the game winner, to continue his goal-per-game pace.
» T.J. Hughes led all skaters with four points off one empty-net goal and a trio of assists.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Four third-period goals and a never-quit attitude propelled the No. 2-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team past No. 10 Wisconsin 7-4 on Friday night (Nov. 7) at a sold-out Yost Ice Arena.
The Badgers scored twice in a 45-second span to claim a lead halfway through the final frame before the Wolverines rattled off four straight tallies to earn three important points in the conference standings.
Freshman netminder Jack Ivankovic continued his run between the pipes for the Wolverines, and the youngster earned his 10th collegiate victory by turning aside 20 of 24 shots that he faced.
Wisconsin (6-1-2, 2-1 Big Ten) received an early power play at 2:51 when a Wolverine was whistled for interference in the neutral zone near the blue line. Michigan's penalty killers prevented UW from creating momentum by continually disrupting the game's flow before play returned to 5-on-5.
Michigan (10-1-0, 3-0 Big Ten) broke the ice nearly eight minutes in to take a 1-0 lead following a heady play to keep the puck inside the offensive zone by Adam Valentini. After dropping the puck to the ice, he moved the puck to Aidan Park on the left flank en route to the goal. As he neared the cage, Park slid the puck over to Garrett Schifsky, who was able to finish off the play by driving to the net for his fifth goal of the year.
The nation's top power-play unit received its first shot at Wisconsin's penalty killers with 1:17 left in the first, but U-M failed to capitalize before the buzzer rang for the first intermission.
Michigan carried a one-goal lead into the dressing room along with an 8-6 edge in shots on goal and a 10-8 lead in draws.
The Badgers tied the game at 2:33 of the second period when a shot from the point made its way through layers of traffic to find the back of the net following a deflection off the leg of a netfront Wolverine.
UW took a 2-1 lead when it broke in on a rush and slipped a low shot past Ivankovic at 4:39.
The U-M power-play unit was reactivated at 5:50 when Nick Moldenhauer drew a penalty for interference after dumping the puck into the offensive zone and attempting to chase after it. Valentini nearly scored in the first 10 seconds of the advantage, but his golden opportunity was robbed by a flash of the goalie's glove.
Yost was sent into a frenzy when the Wolverines took advantage of a gaffe behind the net by the Wisconsin goaltender. With Jayden Perron in hot pursuit, the puck got caught up in the goalie's skates. With the net still empty, Perron dug out the puck and spun a pass out to the front of the net where Malcolm Spence was waiting to bury into the yawning cage at 10:33.
Nearly four minutes later, Josh Eernisse reclaimed the lead for Michigan off a goal in transition following a sharp cross-ice entry pass from T.J. Hughes while the group had momentum flying down the ice. After Hughes' pass deflected off Moldenhauer, the puck skittered into the slot where Eernisse collected it before burying his fifth goal of the season.
Valentini nearly doubled the team's lead with 4:40 left in the period, but his shot rang off the right post before sliding along the goal line, off the left post, and out of the crease. The arena collectively groaned as the officials went to take a longer look at the play, but there was no goal.
Senior forward Kienan Draper picked up a minor penalty for goaltender interference with 1:48 remaining after he bumped the netminder and sent him tumbling. The Badgers failed to score before the period expired.
Michigan owned a 3-2 lead after two periods. U-M continued to own the advantage in shots on goal (19-15), but UW had jumped ahead for a 21-18 lead in the dot.
Wisconsin netted a power-play goal nearly halfway through the final frame off a redirected point shot to tie the game with 10:05 left.
The Badgers built upon that tally by scoring a go-ahead goal less than one minute later off a rebound opportunity with 9:16 left in regulation. Michigan challenged the play for goaltender interference due to a Badger stick contacting Ivankovic's pad, but the goal stood as called to give the visitors a 4-3 lead.
Thirty-five seconds later, Hage scored off a give-and-go to tie the game at 11:18. Following a series of impressive hand-eye plays by Wolverines to deny clearing attempts and get the puck down line below the goal line, Hughes fired off a quick feed for his fellow attacker to bury as a one-timer from below the hash marks in front of the Wisconsin cage. Will Horcoff earned the secondary helper on Hage's seventh goal.
Michigan's power-play unit was tagged back in at 11:52, when Spence drew a hooking penalty while sprinting down the ice in pursuit of a breakaway chance. The Wolverines failed to generate a power-play goal, but it failed to deter them.
Back at even-strength with the puck deep in the Wisconsin zone, Horcoff stepped in front of a Badger's clearing attempt to win back possession and maintain pressure. The 6-foot-5 sophomore forward took a couple of strides toward the net before snapping home a shot that picked the top-left corner to set Yost ablaze in honor of Horcoff's go-ahead goal, his 11th marker in the team's 11th game of the season to claim a 5-4 lead for the home team with 3:44 left to play.
Less than two minutes later, Hage scored an empty-net goal from 180 feet out following a defensive-zone faceoff win to double Michigan's lead and provide a bit of insurance. Assists on his second marker of the night went to Asher Barnett and the captain, Hughes.
After chipping away all night long, the final swing of the axe came with 16 seconds left when Hughes buried a second long-range, unassisted empty-net goal to bump the final score to 7-4 in Michigan's favor. Hughes finished the night with a game-high four points.
The Wolverines took advantage of a strong third-period effort that saw the team rack up shots on goal while reasserting dominance over the faceoff dot. They put the finishing touches on a three-goal win while finishing the night with a 33-24 advantage in shots on goal and a 33-31 edge in the circle.
On Saturday night (Nov. 8), Michigan and Wisconsin will reconvene at Yost Ice Arena for the latter half of the weekend series. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m., and the contest will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
