For a brief moment last night the University of Wisconsin played the role of the U.S. National Team as they took on the French Nationals squad just weeks prior to the Olympics.
With the French Olympic Team sandwiched between St. Cloud State and upcoming Alaska-Anchorage, UW (11-12-3 overall, 9-7-2 WCHA) was expected to play a plethora of players and it came as no surprise that UW head coach Jeff Sauer elected to utilize 20 players within the first eight minutes of the contest. The 2-2 tie came against what Sauer called “the best team to visit the Kohl Center this year.”
However, the game held no significant meaning other than competing against a foreign breed of hockey. Yet UW unearthed motivation and played a buoyant game, albeit an incomplete one. The French Olympic Team played fairly well but they struggled with shot placement throughout the game. This could possibly be attributed to playing just 24 hours earlier against Minnesota in a 6-2 loss in Minneapolis. Madison was the last stop for the French Olympic Team en route to Salt Lake City for the upcoming Olympics.
Starting third-string keeper senior Mark Baranczyk stymied the French squad during period number one, stopping all nine shots he faced.
“I planned on (starting Baranczyk) for awhile,” said Sauer. “He hasn’t played a full game in four years. He was thrilled when I told him he would play.”
The Badgers struggled on both ends of the ice against the much quicker players of France and strained to control the puck for extended lengths of time throughout the period. The French Olympic Team seemed to catch the Badgers off guard with their ferocious hits; some even resulted in small skirmishes, which the crowd couldn’t get enough of.
“They don’t give you the puck,” said Sauer. “They don’t shoot the puck the way St. Cloud did last weekend.”
It only took Wisconsin 34 minutes to snap out of their lethargic state and begin to take their form from the past weekend. UW’s flow began to resemble its old self after a French penalty allowed them to finally take a few shots on goal. It didn’t take UW many shots to get back on track, though.
The Badgers’ bagged the game’s first goal after winger Brad Winchester broke up the boards and dished the puck off to defenseman Dan Boeser. Boeser, hovering just outside the goal, found a slashing Kent Davyduke and fed the perfect pass Davyduke, who directed it over the sprawling French keeper.
UW’s Baranczyk made his presence felt while making a bid for a promotion on the depth-chart during the period. Stopping numerous French shots, Baranczyk found himself laid out, reaching for pucks all too often and notching himself eight more saves.
“I looked forward to it,” said Baranczyk. “It’s nice to see what I could do: start to finish.”
The third began quickly and Davyduke was in the mix once again. Wavering around the goal crease Davyduke was found by Matt Hussey after being supplied by Jon Krall for his second on the night. The goal came after only 30 seconds had ticked off the clock, but the score would soon be equaled. It took the French only two minutes to finally solve Baranczyk as they slipped a rebound past his outstretched right leg.
France’s equalizer came six minutes later and it mirrored the first. The French Olympic team once again found a loose rebound to knot the game at two with the goal by defensemen Julian Marcos for the final score of the game.
Since international exhibition games do not partake in the overtime phenomenon, the game concluded with a 2-2 tie.
Wisconsin managed not to better or worsen their win/loss record in their international exhibition history but was able to break their seven-game losing streak in them. Overall UW is 2-21-2 and hasn’t left the ice victorious since 1984. However, the results will be immediately forgotten by coaches and players as they prepare to face Alaska-Anchorage at the Kohl Center Friday in a WCHA showdown.
