The Wisconsin men’s hockey team (10-17-3 overall, 4-12-3 WCHA) swept its first conference series of the season, breaking its five-game losing streak and continuing the University of Alaska-Anchorage’s (1-20-7, 0-18-6) 27-game winless streak.
With a rejuvenated power play, spectacular goal-tending and savvy veterans, UW won its weekend series with 4-1 and 3-2 victories.
Three power-play goals were scored over the weekend, goalie Bernd Bruckler got the pair of wins, and Badger captains scored four goals while recording two assists.
“It’s a big weekend for us,” said senior captain Brad Winchester, who scored three goals on the series. “Really big.”
In the Badger’s 4-1 victory in the series opener, UW received a strong showing from its starting goaltender, Bernd Bruckler. In the first period, Bruckler stymied multiple UAA opportunities en route to a scoreless period. Bruckler then helped his own cause in the second period, assisting on the first of three Wisconsin goals. Spotting freshman winger Ryan MacMurchy flying down the ice on a UAA line shift, Bruckler fired a pass to the streaking forward at the UAA blue line.
“I was hesitating for a second,” Bruckler said of the play. “But then I looked and there was such an opening, and I got it down there.”
Handling the hard pass beautifully, MacMurchy carved his way to Seawolve goalie Kevin Reiter, back handing the puck past Reiter’s stick. Twelve seconds later, freshman Nick Licari took a pass from assistant captain Brian Fahey and bagged his fourth goal of the season.
During a second-period Seawolve power play, Winchester found himself on a breakaway with Licari. Licari, who forced the turnover, passed cross ice to Winchester who one-timed it home for his first short-handed goal of his career to make it 3-0. Andy Wozniewski added the fourth UW goal, tallied on the power play (the second of the evening) in the third.
“That’s one of the factors we talked about in us getting going,” said Eaves concerning the power play that came into the series at 10-130 (.077). “It was true to form.”
Not wanting to concede UAA’s first conference win at its expense, UW once again came out Saturday asserting itself offensively. On the power play in the first period, UW looked as if it had eroded to its former self. Poor passing and lack of concentration plagued the man advantage until Fahey, as time nearly expired, took a desperation slap shot from the blue line. The puck, which was not shot hard, bounced past Alaska-Anchorage goaltender Chris King’s glove, giving the Badgers an early boost.
However, it was the second period once again that distanced the Badgers from the Seawolves. Winchester, who seemed to be on the ice at all times, slid the puck past King amid an array of flailing bodies for a 2-0 lead. UAA transfer Pete Talafous notched the game-winner with the slightest redirection of a Fahey shot that bounced off the crossbar and in.
Wisconsin seemed to relax in the third period with a three-goal lead, and UAA took advantage, scoring twice before UW reasserted itself.
“I really thought when they scored (to make it 3-2) there was a feeling on the bench, ‘You know, let’s get this going again,'” said Eaves. “And they raised their level — we settled it down, kept it simple.”
Winchester later added an empty-net goal, his ninth of the season.
Wisconsin now looks to take their momentum north to Minnesota next weekend.
“We won two games; we had a lot of people contribute,” said a content Eaves. “We did a lot of good things. We’re going to focus on that (for this week).”
