Five Badgers skated on the Kohl Center ice for the last time this weekend, but UW failed to capitalize on the emotional high, as rival North Dakota swept them convincingly.
The Badgers (13-21-4 overall, 7-17-4 WCHA) were out-skated, out-shot and out-played en route to a series-opening 5-2 loss Friday and a 5-0 drubbing Saturday night. The sweep snapped UW?s four-game winning streak at the Kohl Center.
?We took a step back,? assistant captain Dan Boeser said following Saturday?s defeat. ?[North Dakota] out-played us tonight — they out-played us last night. In pretty much all facets of the game, they out-played us this weekend.?
The disparity between the two teams could be seen easily with a glance at the body language of the respective benches. Standing with a gleeful confidence, North Dakota (24-9-5, 14-9-5) looked on as the Sioux broke its seven-game winless streak. Meanwhile, the Badgers? bench sat uninspired and appeared emotionally dejected.
?You can look for excuses,? UW head coach Mike Eaves said. ?But we were not the team that we had seen here (previously) and we were not the team we had hoped to see.?
In its previous four games heading into the series, Wisconsin had out-muscled its opponents, using grit and emotion to tip games its way. A North Dakota squad that played with strength and quickness counteracted the Badgers? emotional play. In fact, the Sioux were so effective that both Badger goals on the weekend came without assists.
?They have a lot of weapons, and they?re physical,? senior captain Brad Winchester said. ?When you combine those two things [they?re hard to beat].?
Friday night?s contest began with fireworks for the Badgers, as UW?s Tom Gilbert delivered his seventh goal of the year, unassisted, on a power play to give the Badgers an early lead in the first period. North Dakota responded by using a five-minute span to net three goals, all assisted by Quinn Fylling (four assists on the night) as they took a commanding 3-1 lead into the second period. The Badgers, out-shot 15-40 in the game, placed only two shots on goal in the first period.
Midway through the second stanza, Pete Talafous used some nifty stick work to beat North Dakota?s Marc Ranfranz up high with a wrister, pulling the Badgers within one goal. But it was Zack Parise, North Dakota?s freshman sensation, who would net a goal just 20 seconds into the third, deflating any hopes of a UW comeback.
Saturday night wasn?t nearly as dramatic. With all five seniors earning the start, UW struggled to contain the North Dakota offense, as it took only two minutes before Parise fed Andy Schneider for the game-winning goal. Parise, ranked fifth in points-per-game nationally before the series, scored the goal that seemed to take the wind out of UW?s sails once again. Parise, bursting out on a North Dakota fast break, fed Jason Notermann and beat goalie Scott Kabotoff between the legs with less than a second remaining in the first period for a 2-0 lead.
?Anytime you give up a goal with nine tenths of a second left, it takes it out of you,? Boeser said.
Talafous suffered a second-degree MCL injury in the middle of the first period after a knee-on-knee collision with a Sioux player. Talafous was carried off the ice and did not return to the game.
North Dakota out-shot UW 39-17 on the evening and scored twice on the power play in the second before adding a fifth goal with 17 minutes remaining.
Despite dropping both games, Wisconsin, coupled with a Michigan Tech loss, was able to finish the season in the WCHA?s eighth slot. The Badgers remain optimistic about their chances heading into the WCHA playoffs, where they will face Minnesota State in a best-of-three series.
?We?re starting a new season,? Eaves said of the upcoming weekend. ?We?re going to be alright.?
