Jack Gorniak, Josh Ess and Ty Pelton-Byce scored first-period goals for the No. 12 University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, and Cameron Rowe had to make only 11 saves for his first collegiate shutout in a 4-0 Badgers victory over Arizona State on Saturday at LaBahn Arena.
Three stars
No. 3: Rowe stopped Johnny Walker on a first-period breakaway to set the tone.
No. 2: Linus Weissbach had two assists for the Badgers.
No. 1: Tyler Inamoto had a goal and an assist and was plus-3.
Up next
The Badgers and the Sun Devils finish the series at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Pregame
More often than not, games between the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team and Arizona State have been heavy in goal-scoring. They combined for 21 goals in a two-game series last season and started November's series with a 13-goal outing.
So don't be surprised if Saturday's game (7 p.m., FSW, FoxSportsGo.com, BTNPlus.com, 1070 AM) has a quick pace. The 12th-ranked Badgers need victories this weekend to wipe away some of the effects of the Sun Devils winning twice at LaBahn Arena earlier in the season.
The start of the series was delayed by a day because of a positive COVID-19 test with Arizona State. The Sun Devils have five players out — defenseman Jacob Wilson and forward Willie Knierim with injuries, goaltender Cole Brady with an illness and forward Ryan O'Reilly and defenseman Jarrod Gourley because of COVID-19 protocols.
Cameron Rowe is set to make his second start for the Badgers. He made 40 saves in a 3-1 victory at Ohio State on Dec. 4.
Badgers (6-6)
Forwards
Linus Weissbach - Ty Pelton-Byce - Cole Caufield
Roman Ahcan - Dylan Holloway - Brock Caufield
Dominick Mersch - Tarek Baker - Sam Stange
Jack Gorniak - Owen Lindmark - Mathieu de St. Phalle / Ryder Donovan
Defensemen
Tyler Inamoto - Ty Emberson
Jesper Peltonen - Anthony Kehrer
Josh Ess - Mike Vorlicky
Goaltenders
Cameron Rowe
Robbie Beydoun
Scratches: F Jason Dhooghe, D Shay Donovan, D Luke LaMaster, G Ben Garrity
Sun Devils (5-9-2)
Forwards
Chris Grando - James Sanchez - Johnny Walker
Matthew Kopperud - Jordan Sandhu - Demetrios Koumontzis
Benji Eckerle - Michael Mancinelli - Sean Dhooghe
Dominic Garcia - Jax Murray - PJ Marrocco
Peter Zhong
Defensemen
Jacob Semik - Jack Judson
Gvido Jansons - Tanner Hickey
Carson Kosobud - Connor Stuart
Goaltenders
Justin Robbins
Evan DeBrouwer
Bronson Moore
Officials
Referees: Sean Fernandez and Tony Czech
Linesmen: Bill Hancock and Matt Gerlach
Fave 5: Sports reporter Todd D. Milewski picks his most memorable stories of 2020
This group of stories looks back on a Miracle, gets the details on the details of a jersey design and provides a window into an epic journey.
OK, this one was written in 2019 but it appeared in the paper in 2020, so I'm including it. A lot of memories in a few days in Pasadena.
The 40th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice was in February, and we got treated to Mark Johnson telling some of the stories that never get old.
Former Badgers player Claudia Kepler of Verona had a whirlwind journey end with a championship and some great yarns.
The designers of Forward Madison FC's drip kit were meticulous in going through the processes they used.
Those who helped Badgers captain Ty Emberson him grow into the player he is described how they saw it happen.