Wisconsin
Sawyer Scholl’s game-winner helps No. 4 Wisconsin hockey complete sweep of Notre Dame
MADISON – The first game-winner of Sawyer Scholl’s college career was one of those bang-bang plays that didn’t leave him much time to think.
“I was lucky for it to pop up to me and then I just kind of stuffed it,” he said. “I don’t think too much when I get it that low, I just try to get it at the net and was lucky enough to get it in.”
The goal by the freshman from Medford came at the 13-minute 52-second mark of the third period and proved to be the difference in a 3-2 Wisconsin victory over Notre Dame in front of 12,672 at the Kohl Center on Saturday night.
The score was part of a wild final period that featured four goals, five penalties and one ejection. The win, meanwhile, gave the fourth-ranked Badgers their first wire-to-wire conference win since beating Notre Dame on Jan. 6 and a four-game season sweep of the Fighting Irish.
They accomplished the feat by holding Notre Dame to just 25 shots on goal, the third-lowest for a UW Big Ten opponent this season.
“I thought we defended our tail off tonight,” Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings said. “Kind of crazy game there in the third period with what happened. I thought the guys showed some composure. We talked at the beginning of our season that everybody matters and tonight you saw that.”
The win allowed Wisconsin (22-6-2, 13-4-1 – 41 points) to remain five points behind Michigan State in the Big Ten standings. The Spartans, who have played two more games than the Badgers, completed a sweep of Michigan on Saturday night.
Seven players accounted for the eight points scored by Wisconsin with Scholl, freshman William Whitelaw and sophomore Simon Tassy scoring goals. The only multi-point scorer was freshman defenseman Joe Palodichuk, who had two assists.
At the other end, senior Kyle McClellan didn’t allow a goal during the first two periods and finished with 23 saves.
“When we can come out of our end together and entered their end together we’re a much better hockey team,” Hastings said. “I thought we did a good job of breaking pucks out this weekend. It’s something the guys focused on this week and I thought they executed very well.”
Scholl’s goal gave Wisconsin a 3-1 lead. After a Notre Dame turnover near the blue line, Scholl passed the puck ahead to Cruz Lucius. Lucius didn’t have a good angle but his shot bounced off the side of the net and ended up behind the goal where where Scholl recovered it, reversed course and dumped it into the net.
Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel didn’t have a chance to make the stop because UW’s Owen Mehlenbacher had crashed into the goal after getting tripped by a Fighting Irish player.
At least that’s the way the UW staff saw it. After a video review the officials didn’t take the goal off the board.
“All you could see on the replay was Mehlenbacher going into the net,” Hastings said. “I talked to (assistant coach) Nick Oliver and I said ask our (director of hockey operations) Luke Regner. Let me know if he was pushed in and that is what my guys said. He got tripped going into the net, so he didn’t go in there on his own power.”
Wisconsin allowed the first goal in four of its previous five games. Whitelaw allowed the Badgers to break that trend at the 6-minute mark of the first period off an assist from sophomore Tyson Dyck and Palodichuk.
“It was puck pressure and it created a turnover,” Hastings said. “That’s one young man that when he’s in that area he’s very comfortable. He was able to get his head up and find a hole. You saw what he can do under pressure last week in the shootout where I think he gets excited about that. He doesn’t fade. He doesn’t shy away.”
Notre Dame tied the game about 5 minutes into the final period with a power play goal by Landon Slaggert. The Badgers’ response came at the 9:39 mark on a power play goal by Tassy, the team’s first power play score in three-plus games.
Palodichuck and sophomore Christian Fitzgerald got the assists on the play.
“Our first unit was all over them. The second should have probably had one or two, so it was good to be able to get one,” Tassy said. “Our power play has been struggling a little bit, so being able to get a tip like that might get some momentum going for us.”
Scholl’s score gave the Badgers a two-score cushion that proved valuable when Notre Dame’s Cole Knuble cut the deficit to one with 3:47 left.
The victory sets up the Badgers up for a chance to take over first place in the Big Ten next week at Ohio State. Michigan State is idle next weekend, so with two wins UW would move ahead of the Spartans in the standings.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin authorities put total arrests from clashes at beagle breeding facility at about 25
MADISON (AP) — Around 25 protesters were arrested as around 1,000 animal welfare activists tried to gain entry to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin and were met by officers firing pepper spray and rubber bullets, authorities said Sunday.
Saturday’s protest was the second attempt in as many months by demonstrators to take beagles from Ridglan Farms in Blue Mounds, about 25 miles (about 40 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Madison. They were turned back by officers who arrested the group’s leader.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The Dane County Sheriff’s Office said the situation was “significantly calmer and more peaceful” on Sunday, when around 200 people assembled outside the farm. They dispersed after around two hours, it said.
“We’re pleased with the group’s cooperation today, and their willingness to remain peaceful, while still sending their message of concern for the dogs at Ridglan Farms,” Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a statement. “We are happy to support anyone who wants to exercise the right to protest, as long as they do so lawfully.”
Owen Ziliak/The Wisconsin State Journal via AP
The sheriff had said in a video statement Saturday that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property.” They tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence.
Owen Ziliak/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Some got through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
Amber Arnold/Wisconsin State Journal via AP
Those arrested included the leader of the Coalition to Save the Ridglan Dogs, Wayne Hsiung, 44, of New York, who was being held on a tentative felony charge of conspiracy to commit burglary. But most arrestees were just booked and released, the sheriff’s office said Sunday.
“No one should be assaulted for giving aid to a dog, even if damage to property is part of that rescue effort,” Hsuing said in a statement from jail Sunday that also accused authorities of using excessive force. “The animals of this Earth are not “things.” They’re sentient beings. And we have the right to rescue them from abuse,” he concluded.
Protesters took 30 dogs when they broke into the facility in March, when authorities arrested 27 people.
Ridglan denies mistreating animals but agreed in October to give up its state breeding license as of July 1 in a deal to avoid prosecution on animal mistreatment charges.
On its website, the company says “no credible evidence of animal abuse, cruelty, mistreatment or neglect at Ridglan Farms has ever been presented or substantiated.”
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About 1,000 animal welfare activists who tried to gain entry on Saturday to a beagle breeding and research facility in Wisconsin were turned back by police who fired rubber bullets and pepper spray into the crowd and arrested the group’s leader.
It was the second attempt in as many months by protesters to take beagles from the Ridglan Farms facility in Blue Mounds, a small town about 25 miles (about 40 kilometres) southwest of Wisconsin’s capital, Madison.
Dane County Sheriff Kalvin Barrett said in a video statement that 300 to 400 protesters were “violently trying to break into the property” and assault officers. He said protesters have ignored designated areas for peaceful protest and blocked roads to prevent emergency vehicles from entering.
“This is not a peaceful protest,” Barrett said.
The sheriff’s department said a “significant” number of people were arrested out of about 1,000 protesters at the site but did not give an exact total as they were still being processed as of the afternoon.
Protesters tried to overcome barricades that included a manure-filled trench, hay bales and a barbed-wire fence. Some protesters did get through the fence but were unable to enter the facility, where an estimated 2,000 beagles are kept, the Wisconsin State Journal reported.
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.
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