Dec. 9, 2017
By Dan Colleran
MADISON, Wisconsin – Cal Burke scored a hat trick and Dennis Gilbert netted two goals as the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish blew past 12th-ranked Wisconsin 6-2 on Saturday night at the Kohl Center (11,934) to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
With the win, Notre Dame remained undefeated in Big Ten play (10-0-0) and improved 16-3-1 overall.
Andrew Oglevie and Cam Morrison each had two assists, while Cale Morris made 39 saves.
The Irish and Badgers traded goals to make the score 2-2 midway through the second period, but Burke scored what proved to be the game-winner late in the second and Notre Dame added three more goals in the third for the final 6-2 scoreline.
For Burke, it marked Notre Dame’s first hat trick since Steven Fogarty found the back of the net three times against Penn State on Oct. 16, 2015.
NOTRE DAME SCORING
1-0 | Cal Burke scored his 10th goal of the year to give the Irish a 1-0 lead at 5:27 of the first period. While on the power play, Cam Morrison fired a shot on goal from the slot and Burke crashed the net and fired home the rebound. Andrew Oglevie also assisted on the goal.
2-1 | Dennis Gilbert scored his first career shorthanded goal at 4:46 of the second period to give the Irish a 2-1 lead. He picked off a Wisconsin pass in the defensive zone and got the puck to Jack Jenkins, who skated down the far side of the ice with Gilbert and Jake Evans joining the rush to make it a three-on-two chance. Jenkins dropped it back off to Gilbert, who fired a wrister high past Hayton for his second goal of the season.
3-2 | Burke scored his second of the night at 14:16 of the second when he picked the puck up below the Wisconsin goal line and wrapped it around Hayton for his 11th goal of the season.
4-2 | Gilbert fired home a rebound from the top of the left circle at 10:55 of the third period following a Dylan Malmquist shot on goal that Hayton had turned aside. It marked Gilbert’s first career two-goal game and Oglevie also assisted on the play.
5-2 | Morrison created a turnover at the defensive blue line and sent Burke in on a breakaway, who buried his shot high past Hayton for the hat trick. The goal was scored at 15:23 of the third.
6-2 | Mike O’Leary iced the game with an unassisted empty-net goal at 17:40 of the third.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Irish went 1-for-4 on the power play, while Wisconsin was 1-for-5.
NOTES
- Notre Dame is on a 13-game winning streak, which is the longest active winning streak in the country.
- It is the longest Fighting Irish winning streak under head coach Jeff Jackson and the longest winning streak during a season in which Notre Dame competed in an NCAA Div. I conference.
- The only other times Notre Dame won at least 13 games in a row occurred during the 1983-84 season (15 consecutive wins from Nov. 4, 1983 – Jan. 21, 1984) and the 1987-88 season (14 consecutive wins from Dec. 11, 1987 – Feb. 13, 1988).
- The Irish competed under club status for the 1983-84 season and they were an independent during the 1987-88 season.
- Notre Dame’s previous longest winning streak under coach Jackson was 10 games from Feb. 13 – March 21, 2009.
- Jackson’s longest career winning streak came with Lake Superior when his team won 15 consecutive games from Jan. 19 – March 9, 1991, as part of a 28-game unbeaten stretch by the Lakers.
- Notre Dame is also 10-0-0-0 in conference play this season, making it the first Big Ten team ever to win its first 10 conference contests of the season.
- The Fighting Irish are the second Big Ten team to go undefeated through 10 games and the first since Minnesota started 2013-14 with a 10-game unbeaten streak to open conference play (8-0-2-0).
- Notre Dame posted its first-ever road sweep of the Badgers, with Notre Dame’s only previous weekend sweep (home or away) of Wisconsin having taken place at the Joyce Center on Feb. 24-24, 1973.
- Jordan Gross skated in the 139th consecutive game of his Irish career (dating back to the first game of his freshman season).
- Jake Evans skated in his 111th consecutive game dating back to his freshman season.
- Notre Dame improved to 8-0-1 when tied after one period of play and to 12-1-0 when leading after two periods of play.
- With two assists, Andrew Oglevie moved his point streak to three games (1-3-4).
- Cal Burke scored his first career hat trick and Notre Dame’s first hat trick since Steven Fogarty opened the 2015-16 season with three goals at Penn State (Oct. 16).
- Burke now has seven goals in the last five games.
- Notre Dame improved to 8-0-0 on the road this season and the Irish remain the only team in the country without a road loss.
- The Irish have also won 14 of their last 15 games.
UP NEXT
The Irish have the rest of December off, as the team will focus on finals and then have some time off for Christmas break. Notre Dame returns to the ice for a Big Ten matchup against Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The game is scheduled to start at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Jan. 5. The game will air live on BTN.
— ND —
Dan Colleran, Director of Athletics Communications at the University of Notre Dame, has been a part of Fighting Irish Media since August 2015 and coordinates all media and publicity efforts surrounding the Notre Dame hockey and golf programs. A native of Walpole, Massachusetts, Colleran spent the previous three years working with the men’s hockey and soccer programs at Providence College. Colleran also spent two years as an Assistant Executive Director of Communications & Championships at the Ivy League and is a graduate of Providence College (’06 & ’08G).