MADISON — When the Michigan hockey team arrived at the Kohl Center having scored 21 goals in its last three games, it could have been chalked up as a hot streak. But with another seven-goal outburst in a win against Wisconsin, scoring five-plus goals a game is becoming an expectation, regardless of the opponent.

“With all the goals were putting up right now consistently, it’s kind of crazy,” said senior forward Zach Hyman.

Added junior forward Justin Selman: “We have so much talent. All four lines can score every night and it’s an exciting team to play for.”

But it wasn’t all flowers for the 16th-ranked Wolverines in their 7-4 win over Wisconsin.

Prior to Friday, the Badgers hadn’t led after the first period this season, getting outscored 18-to-2 in the first frame this season. A strong start was crucial and the Michigan coaching staff stressed that all week.

That’s partly because Michigan seems unbeatable when taking an early lead, but it’s also because Wisconsin has struggled immensely this season, and a loss to the Badgers could become catastrophic in terms of the PairWise Rankings.

That is, of course, unless you have Zach Hyman and the nation’s best offense — an offense that is averaging seven goals in its last four games.

Hyman tied the game midway through the third period — with his trademark backhanded shot over the goalie’s stick side — before Selman finished off his first career hat trick. The Wolverines have now scored seven goals in six contests this season.

Selman’s third tally came after freshman forward Dylan Larkin took the puck into the zone, drawing two defenders, before finding a wide-open Selman who beat Wisconsin netminder Joel Rumpel.

“It’s kind of shocking right now, honestly,” Selman said of his hat trick.

But before Selman’s third tally, Michigan (6-1-0-0 Big Ten, 14-7-0-0 overall) looked like a completely different team. And not the kind of team Michigan coach Red Berenson likes.

Sophomore defenseman Michael Downing took an early interference penalty and the Badgers (0-4-1-1, 2-14-3-1) quickly converted. Jack Dougherty received the puck in the slot, fired and junior netminder Steve Racine let up a rebound that Joesph Labate put home.

Selman soon equalized the game, but a plethora of penalties negated any sort of momentum.

On the first of three first-period power play chances, Grant Besse fired a shot from the slot that Racine surprisingly didn’t see and let in.

And just when it seemed things couldn’t get worse for Michigan, freshman forward Tony Calderone got called for a five minute major. Besse again made quick work of the extra-man advantage and rifled one past Racine.

“I don’t think we’re ready to go at the start,” Selman said. “We had to wake up on the bench, and once we did that we were OK.”

Berenson pulled Racine in favor of sophomore Zach Nagelvoort for the third straight game, in hopes of stopping Wisconsin’s momentum. And save one goal just seconds into the second frame, Nagelvoort allowed Michigan to build the comeback.

Down 4-1, Michigan needed any spark of momentum it could get. Look no further to Hyman, the Wolverines’ best player this season. Hyman corralled the puck deep in the zone, surrounded by three Badgers, and then slid a pass to Selman, who netted his second of three goals.

“I thought our team obviously tried to bounce back,” Berenson said. “We didn’t expect to get into a hole like that. They had us our backs. We were the desperate team. We had to earn our goals, and one by one we climbed back into the game.

“We were lucky.”