MADISON, Wis. – No. 20 Notre Dame knew it would have its hands full against No. 4 Wisconsin in Friday’s opening game of their Big Ten hockey series.

Surprisingly, coach Jeff Jackson’s Fighting Irish had a 2-0 lead against the Badgers in the first 39 minutes of the game. But coach Mike Hastings’ Badgers then scored three goals in a span of 1:56 between 19:22 of the second period and 1:18 of the third period on their way to a 4-2 victory before 9,789 watching at the Bob Johnson Rink in the Kohl Center.

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Hastings, the former Minnesota State head coach who has rejuvenated the Wisconsin program in his first season, saw two transfer-portal players from his old school stun the Irish with three goals. First sophomore center Christian Fitzgerald beat Irish goaltender Ryan Bischel at 19:21.9 of the second period and then senior center David Silye tied the score at 19:36.8. 

Silye then scored the game-winner at 1:18 of the third period before Carson Bantle scored an empty net goal at 18:00.

The victory improved the second-place Badgers to 12-4-1 in the Big Ten for 38 points and 21-6-2 overall. Wisconsin remained five points behind first-place Michigan State, a 5-1 winner at Michigan Friday night. Notre Dame, meanwhile, remained in fourth place at 8-9-2 for 27 points, two ahead of the Wolverines but now five points behind third-place Minnesota, which shut out visiting Penn State 3-0.

The two teams conclude their series Saturday night at 7 p.m. EST.

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Bischel, a grad goaltender and the reigning West All-American, made 34 saves, 18 of them in the first period. Wisconsin senior Kyle McClellan, who leads the nation with six shutouts and entered the game with a goals-against average of 1.88, turned aside 21 Irish shots after allowing goals by Hunter Strand and Tyler Carpenter in the first period.

Bischel was on his game early, making four saves, two each on Badgers Cruz Lucius and Daniel Laatsch, in the third minute. He then denied William Whitelaw at 5:23 and Quinn Finley at 6:29.

Notre Dame’s first goal came at 8:25. Grad defenseman Ryan Siedem carried the puck to center ice and dumped it ahead to Carpenter at the Wisconsin blueline. Carpenter then directed the puck over to linemate Justin Janicke, who skated in on McClellan. When the Badgers’ goaltender committed to Janicke, the Irish right wing passed the puck cross ice to Strand, who tipped it into the vacated net for a 1-0 lead. It was Strand’s fourth goal of the season.

Bischel then made another six saves to keep his teammates ahead before the third line combined again at 17:22 to give the Irish a 2-0 lead. Strand carried the puck down to the left of McClellan before getting the puck over to Janicke, who spun around and sent the puck across to Carpenter. Carpenter outbattled Silye for the puck in the crease and lifted it past McClellan for his fifth goal of the season.

Bischel then stopped three shots before Irish defenseman Paul Fischer went off for roughing at 18:40. He then stopped shots by Lucius and Silye before the period ended.

In the second period, the first of the two five-minute majors called against the Irish was a face masking penalty to defenseman Zach Plucinski, who also received a game misconduct at 4:55. After McClellan turned aside two shorthanded tries by Siedem, the Badgers appeared to have cut the lead in half at 8:50 on a power-play goal by Mathieu De St. Phalle. But Jackson challenged the goal having been scored after Wisconsin was offsides and it was overturned.

The Irish maintained their 2-0 lead until Fitzgerald and Silye did their damage. It was still 3-2 when Notre Dame defenseman Henry Nelson received a five-minute major and a game misconduct at 11:53 for hitting from behind. The Irish managed to kill that major off as well.

WISCONSIN 4, NOTRE DAME 2

At Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.

Notre Dame | 2 | 0 | 0—2

Wisconsin | 0 | 2 | 2—4 

First Period—Scoring: 1. Notre Dame, Hunter Strand 4 (Justin Janicke, Tyler Carpenter) EV 8:25; 2. Notre Dame, Tyler Carpenter 5 (Hunter Strand, Justin Janicke) EV 17:22. Penalties: Notre Dame 1-2, Wisconsin 0-0.

Second Period—Scoring: 3. Wisconsin, Christian Fitzgerald 5 (Ben Dexheimer) EV 19:22; 4. Wisconsin, David Silye 5 (Anthony Kehrer, Cruz Lucius) EV 19:37. Penalties: Notre Dame 2-15 (3-17), Wisconsin 1-2 (1-2).

Third Period—Scoring: 5. Wisconsin, David Silye 6 (Cruz Lucius, Simon Tassy) EV 1:18; 6. Wisconsin, Carson Bantle 11 (Simon Tassy) EV, EN 18:00. Penalties: Notre Dame 3-17 (6-34), Wisconsin 1-2 (2-4).

Shots on goal: Notre Dame 23 (7-12-4), Wisconsin 38 (18-11-9). Goalie saves: Notre Dame, Ryan Bischel 34 (18-9-7); Wisconsin, Kyle McClellan 21 (5-12-4).

Power-play opportunities: Notre Dame 0 of 2, Wisconsin 0 of 4. Faceoffs won: Notre Dame 33 (9-11-13), Wisconsin 31 (13-13-5). Blocked shots: Notre Dame 18 (7-7-4), Wisconsin 13 (5-1-7).

Referees: Brett DesRosiers and Jonathon Sitarski. Linesmen: Jonathan Sladek and Dan Cohen. A: 9,789 (15,359).

Big Ten standings: 1. Michigan State 13-4-2, 43 points (19-7-3 overall); 2. Wisconsin 12-4-1, 38 points (21-6-2 overall); 3. Minnesota 10-5-4, 32 points (17-7-5 overall); 4. Notre Dame 8-9-2, 27 points (14-13-2 overall); 5. Michigan 7-8-2, 25 points (14-10-3 overall); 6. Penn State 4-10-3, 17 points (12-12-3 overall); 7. Ohio State 1-15-2, 7 points (9-15-4 overall). 

Friday’s results: Wisconsin 4, Notre Dame 2; Michigan State 5, Michigan 1; Minnesota 3, Penn State 0.

Saturday’s games: Notre Dame at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.; Penn State at Minnesota, 4 p.m.; Michigan vs. Michigan State at Detroit, 8:30 p.m.

Feb. 16-17 series: Minnesota at Notre Dame; Michigan at Penn State; Wisconsin at Ohio State.