GREEN BAY, Wis. — Gerard Hanson and Brock Maschmeyer factored into every goal as the Northern Michigan hockey team defeated Wisconsin, 3-2, Friday night at the Resch Center in its season-opening game.

Troy Loggins's first career strike proved to be the difference as Atte Tolvanen made 27 saves, including 14 in the final frame, to hold the Badgers at bay.

"I'm certainly really happy with this win," head coach Walt Kyle said. "We saw a lot of good things in the game and a lot of things we have to work on. I thought it was a great effort, and we had a lot of guys who had excellent games."

The Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game by capitalizing on a Wisconsin turnover. Maschmeyer one-timed the loose puck from just above the left circle, and Hanson flipped the booming rebound over Matt Jurusik's glove.

Wisconsin took advantage of its first man advantage of the game to even the score at 4:50. Tolvanen denied Will Johnson's initial bid, but Johnson fired the rebound into the left corner of the net.

The Wildcats regained the lead at 10:17 after a Cameron Hughes boarding call gave them an extended 5-on-3 man advantage. Maschmeyer fired a shot from the point that Robbie Payne deflected past Jurusik.

Loggins gave Northern Michigan a two-goal cushion at 6:00 of the second period, taking a Hanson feed in the slot and ripping a shot through traffic past Jurusik low blocker side.

The Badgers struck just 35 seconds into the third to cut the Wildcats' lead down to one. Cameron Hughes forced a turnover along the boards and sent a pass over to Corbin McGuire in the slot for the score.

Wisconsin appeared to net the equalizer with 12:50 on the clock after a delayed penalty allowed Jurusik to come to the bench for the extra attacker. After Hughes fired a shot on net that Tolvanen stopped, the Badgers converged in the crease to try to send the puck home. Before the net was knocked off its moorings, Hanson pushed the loose puck underneath Tolvanen to keep it from crossing the line.

In the final minute of play, Tolvanen denied back-to-back bids by Johnson and Kunin to preserve Northern Michigan's victory.

The Wildcats and Badgers return to the Resch Center ice tomorrow, facing off at 8:07 p.m. (7:07 p.m. CT).

NOTES: Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 47-30-8 ... Northern Michigan leads the Resch Center series, 5-1-1 ... Maschmeyer tied his career high in points, last accomplished Feb. 27, 2015 at Lake Superior State ... Maschmeyer's three assists is a new career high ... Hanson tied his career high in points, last achieved Oct. 16, 2015 against Lake Superior State ... Entering this game, Maschmeyer had been held pointless in five games against the Badgers ... Loggins's goal was the first of his collegiate career and his first point since Nov. 28, 2015; he only played 16 games as a freshman due to injury.

NOTICE: In late November 2016, Northern Michigan's second goal was changed from Payne to Maschmeyer. Payne picked up the secondary assist on that goal to maintain his six-point weekend (2g-4a). Maschmeyer tied his career high in points, last accomplished on Feb. 27, 2015 at Lake Superior State, and matched his career-best total in assists, last achieved on Nov. 7, 2015 at Alaska.