Wisconsin
No. 4 Badgers stun Irish with three goals in span of 1:56 on way to 4-2 victory
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.
Preview: Previewing Notre Dame hockey at Wisconsin this weekend. All you need to know
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.
Today’s men’s basketball: Tip time, television and ticket info for Notre Dame men’s basketball game vs. Virginia Tech
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.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas joins SEC team with ties to Badgers
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
-
Business27 minutes agoVideo: Why Your Paycheck Feels Smaller
-
Culture51 minutes agoFamous Authors’ Less Famous Books
-
Lifestyle57 minutes agoSunday Puzzle: For Mimi
-
Technology1 hour agoThe future of local TV news has taken a Trumpian turn
-
World1 hour agoPope Leo says remarks about world being ‘ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ were not aimed at Trump: report
-
Politics1 hour agoTrump renews bridge, power plant threat against Iran in push for deal, mocks ‘tough guy’ IRGC
-
Health1 hour agoLoneliness may be silently eroding your memory, new research reveals
-
Sports2 hours agoESPN’s Stephen A Smith hears boos from WrestleMania 42 crowd