By Anthony Winker (@anthonywinker6)

Two seems to be the number for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team this season. Unfortunately, more often than not, two hasn't been enough. 

The Badgers (2-7-0, 1-4-0 Big Ten) scored their two first on Friday night but could not find the critical third goal in a defeat, 3-2, at the hands of their archrival, No. 3 Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-1-0, 3-0-0 Big Ten) Friday night at the Kohl Center. 

A power play goal from Quinn Finley and a breakaway finish from Kyle Kukkonen gave the Badgers the first two markers of the game. However, the Golden Gophers scored three unanswered, including two from star forward Jimmy Snuggerud, to give them a win in a game in which they didn't play their best. 

Here are my three takeaways from the game: 

Quinn Finley continues his star trajectory 

Wisconsin's offense may be struggling this season, but don't tell that to sophomore forward Quinn Finley, who is playing like one of the best players in the conference so far this season. 

He opened the scoring tonight for the Badgers with his team-leading sixth goal of the season off of a cross-ice saucer pass from freshman forward Gavin Morrisey. Those six goals are also tied for the Big Ten lead. 

The unfortunate part? The team around him has just scored 16, meaning Finley, along with his two assists, has accounted for half of the team's offense. That hasn't been a recipe for success for the Badgers this season. 

Too many penalties in the second period

The Badgers were the much better team throughout the first period, and Finley's goal gave them a 1-0 lead through the first period. Then, 81 seconds into the middle 20, a great pass from defenseman Anthony Kehrer sent Kukkonen in on a breakaway, and he made no mistake to give the Badgers a 2-0 lead. But, then the parade to the penalty box began. 

The Badgers took six penalties in the second period leading to five Minnesota power plays. They were able to kill off four of them, but a team with as much talent as Minnesota will find a way to break through if you give them too many chances. 

Snuggerud scored the first of his two goals on the power play to knot the game at two on a one-timer from the left circle. He would also go on to score the game-winner in the third period as well.

Injuries are stacking up for Wisconsin 

The Badgers were without a lot of key pieces tonight, especially on the back end. Defenseman Joe Palodichuk and Logan Hensler, two of the Badgers more dynamic offensive threats, did not play. As a result, the Badgers dressed just five defensemen and also utilized Jack Horbach, normally a forward, on defense as well for the second straight week. 

Additionally, according to BadgerExtra's Todd Milewski, goaltender Tommy Scarfone suffered an injury sometime during the week leading up to the contest – he is considered day-to-day, but did not play in the opener. As a result, sophomore William Gramme made the start in net for UW. Gramme made 26 saves in the defeat. 

Stars of the Game 

3 – F Quinn Finley, Wisconsin. Finley's team-leading, and Big Ten-leading, sixth goal of the season got the crowd going early for the Badgers. 

2 – D Ryan Chesley, Minnesota. Chesley scored Minnesota's first goal, a shorthanded goal, on a perfectly executed 3-on-1. He also was solid as a rock defensively, blocking a game-high five shots. 

1 – F Jimmy Snuggerud, Minnesota. An easy choice. Snuggerud hasn't played too well against the Badgers in the past, but tonight had the two biggest goals of the game for Minnesota. 

Up Next 

The Badgers will get another crack at the Gophers on Saturday night in game two of the series. Puck drop is set for 6 pm, streaming on Big Ten Plus ($).