Ohio State freshman forward Gustaf Westlund (29) moves the puck down the ice in the second period of the game against UMass Oct. 19. Ohio State fell 6-3. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Managing Editor for Multimedia

No. 8 Ohio State (14-6-2, 7-4-1 Big Ten) split a pair of games at Wisconsin (9-11-1, 4-8-1-1) Friday and Saturday, breaking a string of eight wins in 10 games for the Buckeyes in the latter contest.

Game 1

Ohio State defeated Wisconsin 4-2 Friday in Game 1 of the Big Ten series at the Kohl Center.

Sophomore forward Gustaf Westlund sealed the Badgers’ fate with a pair of second-period goals.

The first broke a 1-1 tie with 6:01 to play in the middle period.

The second broke a 2-2 tie less than three minutes later.

Senior forward Ronnie Hein added Ohio State’s second power play goal of the game in the third period to seal the two-goal win. 

The Buckeyes took the initial lead just less than 10 minutes into the contest with a power-play goal from senior forward Carson Meyer. Wisconsin responded at even strength to even the score 6:23 into the second period.

Ohio State improved to 8-1-1 over its previous 10 games.

Game 2

Wisconsin responded to Friday’s defeat with a 5-2 win of its own Saturday.

The Badgers took control in the second period, dismantling Ohio State 4-0 in the scoring column. 

Sophomore forward Roman Ahcan converted two of the goals for Wisconsin, sandwiched around a score by freshman forward Cole Caulfield, who leads the Big Ten with 13 goals.

By the end of the middle 20 minutes, Ohio State faced an insurmountable 5-1 lead.

However, Wisconsin native Sam McCormick took matters into his own hands and scored his first goal of the year in the Wisconsin zone after a turnover in the second period.

Ohio State with an empty net, Wisconsin still led 5-2.

Seven penalties were issued on one play with two Ohio State players, freshman defenseman Layton Ahac and junior forward Eugene Fadyeyev, each picking up majors for both roughing and game misconduct.

Ohio State received a minor for too many men on the ice, and Wisconsin junior forward Jason Dhooghe picked up a double minor for roughing.

Ohio State hopes to rebound against Notre Dame when the puck drops at 6 p.m. Friday at home.