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Wisconsin earns Carnival victory
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Also by Tyler Mason:
- Connelly's kiss a perfect finish (February 11, 2008)
- Four recruits enroll early, begin practicing (February 7, 2008)
- Pats now prefect failures (February 4, 2008)
Related Stories:
- Connelly's kiss a perfect finish (February 11, 2008)
- Badger icemen prepare for Michigan Tech (February 28, 2003)
- Michigan Tech on the horizon (November 7, 2003)
- Wisconsin faces first WCHA opponent of '04 (October 22, 2004)
- UW looks to build on Lambeau win (February 14, 2006)
by Tyler Mason
Monday, February 11, 2008
HOUGHTON, Mich. — The players on the Wisconsin men’s hockey
team knew Michigan Tech’s history in games during Winter Carnival.
They just didn’t care.
The Badgers (13-11-6, 9-9-4 WCHA) picked up three points
over the weekend against the Huskies (10-13-5, 6-10-4) with a 1-1 tie Friday
and a convincing 4-1 win Saturday.
“I’ve never been up here to play in Winter Carnival,” UW
head coach Mike Eaves said. “It’s exciting around here. They play good in this
building.”
The loss and tie on the weekend for Michigan Tech brought
its overall record to 91-47-9 all-time in Winter Carnival games, while UW
improved to 5-2-1 during Carnival weekends.
Wisconsin spread the wealth offensively Saturday night, as
four different players recorded goals and seven players tallied assists.
The scoring started early for the Badgers as sophomore
Michael Davies’ power play goal got UW on the board at 5:23 into the first
period. Davies camped out on the left side of the net, allowing defenseman
Jamie McBain to hit him with a pass from the top of the point. All Davies had
to do was poke the puck into the open side of the net past out of position Michigan
Tech goaltender Rob Nolan.
Wisconsin wasn’t done scoring in the first and again took
advantage of a man-advantage to set up its second goal of the period.
With a Michigan Tech penalty expiring, UW set up its power
play in the Michigan Tech zone. Freshman Cody Goloubef took a pass from Patrick
Johnson and fired a shot from the point that beat Nolan just as Jimmy Kerr, the
penalized player, was returning to the ice.
Although technically not a power play goal, the Badgers were
able to capitalize on the man-advantage for the second time in the first
period.
“The power play gave us a great start,” Eaves said. “We
played well in the first period, and the power play gave us our goals.”
It would be Michigan Tech that would take advantage of the
power play in the second period to pull within one. After UW forward Blake Geoffrion
was penalized for a slashing call early in the second, Michigan Tech’s Geoff
Kinrade slapped it past Wisconsin goaltender Shane Connelly, who never saw the
puck. The goal brought the Huskies to within one — and elicited the throwing of
a squid onto the ice by a Tech fan.
In the third period, Wisconsin put Michigan Tech away off
the stick of a rather unlikely source.
Freshman defenseman Craig Johnson — playing in just his 13th
game as a Badger — took a pass at the left faceoff circle and fired what Eaves
called a “snipe” into the top left corner, giving UW a 3-1 lead.
“If they’re going to call it a snipe, I’ll take it,” Johnson
joked.
The goal was also the first career point for Johnson, who
has been filling in for the injured Brendan Smith on defense.
Sean Dolan, another freshman, would find the net Saturday
for the Badgers as they extended their lead to 4-1 late in the third. Dolan
skated into the wide-open zone in front of the goal, took a pass from John
Mitchell and wristed the puck past Nolan for his fourth goal of the season. It
was Mitchell’s second helper of the night, as he also assisted on Johnson’s
goal.
“I was kind of just right there in the slot, and kind of got
lucky,” Dolan said.
Connelly made 27 saves Saturday, earning the Badgers the win
and earning him the honor of Winter Carnival MVP.
“He was solid when he needed to be,” Eaves said of Connelly.
“I think the thing that set Shane up all weekend was his ability to handle the
puck when it was dumped in. I thought he … made good decisions, got it off the
block and almost acted as a third defenseman for us at times and helped us
out.”
Connelly was solid Friday night as well, stopping 19 of 20
shots he faced in a 1-1 overtime tie.
In what could now be categorized as typical fashion for UW, the Badgers had to
battle from behind after giving up the first goal.
Bennett Royer gave Michigan Tech a 1-0 lead midway through
the second period. After a defensive lapse by Wisconsin captain Davis Drewiske,
Michigan Tech’s Eric Kattelus stole the puck and passed to Royer, who beat
Connelly on the right side of the net.
“That’s just inexcusable,” said Drewiske, whose errant pass
set up the Huskies’ goal. “I’ve been here long enough where it shouldn’t
happen. It’s bad timing.”
Fortunately, Drewiske and the Badgers were bailed out in the
third period by freshman sensation Kyle Turris, who scored his first goal in
four games. With several players from both teams screening Michigan Tech goalie
Michael-Lee Teslak, Turris fired a wrister from the point on which Teslak never
had a chance.
The goal was a sigh of relief for Turris, who missed two
earlier opportunities to put the puck in the net.
“I should have buried them,” Turris said of the earlier
misses. “It’s funny how it works. The first shots I had, there’s nobody between
me and the net. I missed on an open net. And the one I scored on, it seemed
like the whole team was in front of the net.”
Neither team managed to score in overtime Friday, although
UW’s Matthew Ford nearly put one in with a minute left in the extra session.
Wisconsin returns home Friday to play host to Minnesota
State, which is currently tied with the Badgers for fourth in the WCHA.
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