Notre Dame hockey's win streak broken by Wisconsin in Chicago

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CHICAGO, Ill. - When Notre Dame switched to the Big Ten conference, head coach Jeff Jackson said a big reason was the ability to play in more high-profile regional games.

That was the case on Sunday as the Irish met Wisconsin for Game 2 at Chicago's United Center, but the outcome was less than desirable.

Notre Dame's program record 16-game winning streak was broken, as the Badgers skated to a 5-0 victory.

“They wanted it more than we did tonight and we’re going to be facing that the rest of the way,” said Irish head coach Jeff Jackson after the game.

Wisconsin played from in front most of the game, taking a 1-0 lead after the first period, a 3-0 lead after the second, and putting the game away for good in the third.

“The last 3-4 series, we’ve done a better job of getting off to better starts," said Jackson. "Tonight, I think Wisconsin did a better job.”

While the Badgers dominated on Sunday, they knew how impressive a feat it was to earn a weekend split with this talented Irish group.

“Any time you can beat a number one ranked team that’s on a run like they’re on, you’ve got to gain confidence from it,” said Wisconsin head coach Tony Granato.

While this loss marks the first in Notre Dame's inaugural Big Ten season, Jackson said it's no surprise they lost the streak at some point. He simply hopes this will spark a new energy in his group.

“Everybody’s trying to jockey for position conference-wise for playoffs and the NCAA tournament," he said. "This is the time of year when everyone elevates their game. We got spanked tonight and we’ve got to be ready to come back have a good week. We’ve got four tough road games coming up.”

Notre Dame now heads back on the road to play Minnesota in a weekend series next Friday and Saturday.

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