Even with a 2-1 loss Friday against North Dakota, the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

But following a 4-1 victory Saturday, the Badgers are now riding a wave of momentum — however small it may be — into the opener of the conference tournament.

It was Senior Night Saturday at the Kohl Center, but freshman forward Derek Stepan momentarily stole the spotlight in the span of 1:42. With the game knotted at 1-1 and North Dakota on the power play after a Ryan McDonagh penalty, Stepan scored shorthanded to give Wisconsin the lead at the 9:30 mark of the second period.

Teammate Andy Bohmbach was able to move the puck up the ice and draw two Sioux defenders before passing off to Stepan at the right faceoff circle. Stepan’s shot went just past the outstretched leg pad of UND goalie Brad Eidsness for a 2-1 UW lead.

But Stepan wasn’t done just yet.

Still down a man with McDonagh in the penalty box, it was the combination of Bohmbach and Stepan again connecting for the second shorthanded goal in under two minutes.

“Tonight pucks just seemed to come find me,” Stepan said. “It felt good finally to catch some. I’ve been battling it, fighting it, gripping the stick pretty hard the last couple weeks. It felt good to finally get some bounces my way.”

After the pair of Stepan goals, however, Wisconsin found itself in a familiar situation: entering the third period with a lead. Last weekend against Minnesota State, the Badgers led both games in the third period but escaped Mankato with just one point.

But Saturday against North Dakota, junior forward John Mitchell made sure the seniors left the building victorious. Mitchell’s wraparound goal just past the midway point of the third period made it a 4-1 Badger lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish.

“We played on our toes; we played aggressive,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “When [Mitchell] got that goal, that was the separation we really needed to seal the deal.”

Playing in his last regular-season game, UW senior goaltender Shane Connelly put together a 38-save performance, which he said is one he won’t soon forget.

“It ranks up there pretty high,” Connelly said. “On senior night, it makes it a little bit more special. It definitely ranks up there in pressure wins not just for me, but for this team. We needed to find a way to win a game, and we needed to find a way to win a game in the third period and hold onto a lead.”

Junior forward Ben Grotting broke a scoreless tie early in the second period to put Wisconsin up 1-0. On a pass from Mitchell, Grotting netted just his fourth goal of the season but his second in as many nights.

“Humongous weekend for Ben,” Eaves said. “Double-shifting him, killing penalties, playing with great energy, I think Ben is showing that he has another level inside of him. His ability to play this weekend was a statement. He led by that.”

North Dakota’s Brad Malone tied things up when he put back a rebound given up by Connelly just 3:31 after Grotting’s goal. But Stepan and Bohmbach took over and scored twice to put Wisconsin up for good.

“It was a turning point in the game for us,” Eaves said of the penalty kill. “To get those two goals shorthanded was one of the moments of the game that you would take a look at that was a determining factor.”

The win cured two ailments the Badgers were dealing with: giving up third period leads and struggling at home. Wisconsin failed to secure victories twice last weekend against Minnesota State when holding a third-period lead and had won just once in its last six home games before Saturday’s victory.

“Feeding off this game of winning in front of a big crowd, I think just makes us feel a little bit more comfortable with ourselves,” Connelly said. “We’re starting to regain that swagger back at home.”

It was Grotting on Friday striking first for the Badgers 6:12 into the first period. Grotting took a centering pass from freshman Matt Thurber, who played the puck behind the net and found his teammate in the slot for a 1-0 lead.

“Pucks were coming my way, and I was able to make some nice passes,” Grotting said. “My linemates were working hard. … I think it was one of my better games.”

That would be the only offense out of Wisconsin for the rest of the night, however. Special teams for North Dakota would prove to be the difference.

With Andrew Kozek in the penalty box, the Fighting Sioux were a man down late in the second period. That didn’t stop UND forward Matt Watkins, however, who scored shorthanded to even things up at 1-1.

Watkins got past UW defenseman Jamie McBain in the neutral zone and had an open breakaway opportunity against Connelly. Brendan Smith couldn’t help out on defense in time, and Watkins beat the senior netminder.

“It hit a piece of ice and popped right over my stick,” McBain said. “Unfortunately the guy had momentum and was going straight for the puck. Obviously, nothing you can really do on those. Just one of those bounces that you’d like back.”

It was special teams again scoring for UND late in the third, though this time the Sioux goal came on the power play.

UW’s Sean Dolan was whistled for interference at 12:56 in the final period when he knocked down the 5-foot-6 Ryan Duncan. The penalty proved to be a costly one.

Chris VandeVelde provided the eventual game-winning goal at 14:01 with the man advantage on assists from Duncan and Chay Genoway. VandeVelde’s goal did more than secure a victory for the Fighting Sioux: It gave North Dakota the WCHA regular-season title and the MacNaughton Cup.

Despite the loss, the Badgers clinched home ice advantage for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Wisconsin was helped out Friday with losses by Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State.

“It kind of brightens it up a little bit,” McBain said of getting home ice. “It’s always nice knowing we’re at home for the playoffs. … It’s maybe a little weight off our shoulders.”

Saturday’s win coupled with a Colorado College tie against Denver secured Wisconsin the third seed in the tournament, meaning the team will play host to Minnesota State this weekend.

The Badgers and Mavericks squared off just over a week ago, with MNSU taking three points from UW in Mankato. The rematch will give Wisconsin a chance to get some revenge.

“Whoever comes in here is going to be looking to run us out of the building,” Connelly said. “We just saw Mankato, so we can learn from the mistakes that we made against them.”