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Hockey splits series with Sioux

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Related stories:

• Hockey looks to rebound from recent losses, get healthy (December 5, 2001)
• Badgers receive break before continuing road trip (December 14, 2005)
• UW awaits WCHA tourney (March 3, 2006)
• Sioux Sweep Badgers (November 25, 2002)
• Badger's set for nation's best (February 6, 2004)

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Wisconsin entered Saturday night’s game with a chance to sweep the Sioux on their home ice for the first time since 1996. Rookie Bernd Bruckler got the nod in goal, starting his second game on the heels of a 5-0 shutout against Wayne State last Saturday night.

For the first time this season, the opponent got on the board first, taking the early 1-0 lead on a Tim Skarperud goal at 7:59. Minutes later, the Sioux extended that lead to 2-0 (the largest deficit of the young season for the Badgers) when Ryan Bayda scored his third goal of the season after Bruckler gave up a rebound on a shot off the stick of Brandon Bochenski.

Bayda struck again early in the second period. Down a man, the Sioux forced a UW turnover at center ice and, shorthanded, scored to go up 3-0. Bayda’s second goal of the game seemed to put the Sioux in control. That three-goal lead was short-lived, however, as sophomore Rene Bourque notched his first goal of the year on a pass from Kent Davyduke. UND returned the favor on the power play when Bochenski beat Bruckler to re-establish the Sioux’s three-goal lead at 13:12.

The Badgers came to life when senior captain Andy Wheeler and Kent Davyduke combined to score the team’s second shorthanded goal this season. Coupled with Brad Winchester’s third goal of the season, UW seemed to be back in the game at 4-3 with just over three minutes left in the second period.

Bochenski struck again before the end of the middle frame, converting his second power-play goal of the game at 17:40 to end the six-goal scoring spree in the period and give UND the momentum heading into the final period of play.

After the scoring frenzy of the previous period, it wasn’t until the 16:19 mark of the period that Matt Murray scored the first goal which drew UW to within one goal, for the third time in the game, at 5-4. With time winding down, the Badgers had plenty of opportunities to tie the game before pulling Bruckler at 18:50. The game was sealed when Kevin Spiewak flipped the puck in the empty net at 19:39, giving UND a 6-4 win.

On Friday night, the Badgers were a bit more successful against the Sioux.

Wisconsin defeated the favored North Dakota Fighting Sioux, 3-2 to record its first win at UND since March 7, 1998.

The Badgers used their special teams play and, with the help of junior netminder Scott Kabotoff and his career-high 32 saves, moved to 2-1-0 on the season and 1-0-0 in the WCHA. The win came in the first-ever game played between the two teams at the new Ralph Engelstad Arena, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,547.

The Badgers never trailed in the game, leading 1-0 after the first period and 2-1 after the second. Davyduke put UW on the board first at 4:05 into the game on a feed from rookie Alex Leavitt, the first of his two assists in the game. The power-play goal was the fifth of the year for UW.

In the second, UND tied the game when freshman Bochenski capitalized on a UW turnover in the offensive zone, taking it in on Kabotoff and beating him high and gloveside to record his first goal as a Sioux. Senior Dave Hergert regained the lead for the Badgers at 12:55 when he deflected a shot from Dan Boeser from the right point. For the senior it was his first goal against a Sioux team and his first in 13 games, dating back to the end of last season.

UND bounced back to knot the game for the second time on the power play. Ryan Hale scored off of a rebound after Kevin Spiewak took the initial shot, which had been saved by Kabotoff.

Wheeler notched the game-winning tally at 15:12 of the third period, when his shot was originally blocked by the UND defender. Sioux goaltender Andy Kollar lost sight of the puck and Wheeler flipped the puck in over Kollar.

The Sioux outshot the Badgers 34-20, including a 26-14 advantage after two periods of play. Wisconsin’s penalty kill stopped the Sioux on seven of eight chances in the win over the 2001 NCAA runners-up.