On the Radar
UW bounced from WCHA playoffs
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by Tyler Mason
Saturday, March 15, 2008
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — With a 4-3 loss Saturday, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team may have played their final game of the season, as they were swept by St. Cloud in a three-game WCHA playoff series.
But ask any player in the locker room if they feel they deserve a spot in the NCAA tournament, and the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’
“Given the league we’re in, yes I do,” UW head coach Mike Eaves said when asked if his team deserved another chance to play.
“I’m hoping the hockey gods are smiling down on us and will give us another opportunity,” Wisconsin netminder Shane Connelly said.
The Badgers fell behind early, allowing the Huskies to score just 26 seconds into the game on an Aaron Brocklehurst goal.
But Wisconsin would respond with a goal of its own off the stick of Blake Geoffrion. The sophomore forward one-timed a pass from freshman Kyle Turris and beat SCSU goalie Jase Weslosky to his left.
St. Cloud took the lead heading into the second period when Matt Stephenson’s wrister beat Connelly—the second goal allowed on just nine shots.
Connelly’s performance caused Eaves to pull the junior and replace him with freshman Scott Gudmandson going into the second period.
“It’s a tough situation to go into,” said Gudmandson, who saw action in his first playoff game Saturday. “It’s exciting to go into.”
The move seemed to spark the Badgers, as they went on to score the game’s next two goals.
Captain Davis Drewiske tied things up with a shot from the point, and Aaron Bendickson put UW ahead 3-2 on a goal that was reviewed by officials.
“[Bendickson gave us] great jump,” Eaves said. “We tried to incorporate him more and put him in there with Kyle (Turris) a couple of times. …That was great to see. It gave us a real spark.”
But that would be all Wisconsin would score for the rest of the game, as they allowed St. Cloud to send the game to overtime on a power play goal by John Swanson.
In overtime, forward Ryan Lasch collected his own rebound and flipped the puck past Gudmandson, propelling the Huskies to the WCHA Final Five and sending the Badgers home searching for answers.
“It’s tough to swallow,” Connelly said. “We’ve fought through a lot this year.”
Despite losing the series—and three of their past four games—the Badgers still feel they deserve a spot in the NCAA tournament.
“I still feel like we’re going to get in,” Drewiske said.
The tournament seedings will be announced Sunday the 23rd. If UW doesn’t get in, it will mark the end of the careers of seniors Drewiske, Kyle Klubertanz, Matt Ford and Josh Engel.
“We’ll just see what happens,” Drewiske said.
