8:00–**FINAL SCORE–WISCONSIN 6, DENVER 2**
Who’d have thunk it? A team that no one thought deserved to be in the tournament came out with a big win on its home ice against the WCHA Tournament champion Pioneers.
Michael Davies scored his second goal of the night on a breakaway after collecting the puck at the UW blue line. Davis Drewiske added an empty netter off a pass from Davies, who finished with three points on the night.
The Badgers will take on North Dakota tomorrow night for the chance to advance to the Frozen Four in Denver. Faceoff is at 6:00 p.m. here at the Kohl Center. Join Herald Sports for up-to-the-minute scoring updates throughout the game.
7:42–**DENVER GOAL–TOM MAY**
The Pioneers were quick to answer Mitchell’s goal, as __ beat Connelly gloveside from the left faceoff circle as a Badger defender was sliding across the lane to try and block the shot.
7:08 remaining now in the third.
**WISCONSIN 4, DENVER 2**
7:39–**9:00 REMAINING: WISCONSIN 4, DENVER 1**
The Badgers just scored a pair of goals exactly a minute apart.
First, defenseman Cody Goloubef fired a shot that hit the right post, but bounced back and hit off of Mannino. The puck trickled across the goal line as Mannino reached back unsucessfully to try and grab it.
One minute later, John Mitchell broke away from the defense and wristed a shot that beat Mannino five-hole, putting UW up 4-1. Ben Grotting earned the assist on Mitchell’s goal.
7:03–**END OF PERIOD 2: WISCONSIN 2, DENVER 1**
Denver’s Dustin Jackson pulled the Pioneers to within one on a power play goal at 16:40. Jackson took control of the puck with his skate, switched it to his stick and fired over UW goaltender Shane Connelly’s left shoulder.
With one period to play, we’ll see how the Badgers can maintain a one-goal lead.
Two fans just had a shoot-out down on the ice, having to make one shot from each faceoff circle, the blue line and center ice. The fan representing Wisconsin defeated the fan from Denver. A sign of things to come?
6:40–**WISCONSIN GOAL–JAMIE MCBAIN**
McBain, playing right in front of the net, deflected a shot from Josh Engel at the point past Mannino. Engel and Turris with assists on the play. The Kohl Center is energized after McBain’s goal gave the Badgers a two-goal lead.
**WISCONSIN 2, DENVER 0**
6:10–**END OF PERIOD 1: WISCONSIN 1, DENVER 0**
The Badgers did an excellent job of killing off a penalty with four minutes to play in the period. Denver had plenty of chances to score, and Wisconsin was unable to clear the puck the entire length of the power play, but the Pioneers came up empty handed.
Michael Davies has the lone goal so far this evening, on a rebound off Jamie McBain’s writster.
Wisconsin is looking more intense and physical than they have all season. Even players like Kyle Turris and Aaron Bendickson are checking players, something not often seen during the regular season.
The energy level here in the Kohl Center remains high after one. We’ll see if the Badgers continue to play up to the level they did in this opening frame.
5:51–**WISCONSIN GOAL–MICHAEL DAVIES**
The Badgers jumped out on top early, with Davies collecting a rebound off a shot by defenseman Jamie McBain. Denver netminder Peter Mannino couldn’t handle the rebound, and Davies was in the right place at the right time to put the puck in.
The goal came with 11:01 remaining in the first period.
**Badgers 1, Pioneers 0**
On a side note, this definitely has the feel of a home game for UW, despite the fact that they are technically visitors based on seeding and are wearing their red uniforms. But Hockey Phil and the UW Band are both here, making this place feel like home for Mike Eaves’ squad.
5:30–Welcome back to the Herald Sports blog. Last time we posted in St. Cloud, Minn., no one was sure if the Badgers would make the postseason tournament. But here they are with the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region, playing host to the No. 2 seed Denver Pioneers at the Kohl Center.
These two teams met in just one WCHA series this year. In the series opener, Denver won on a controversial no-call late in the third period. Wisconsin’s Matthew Ford appeared to have scored right before time expired to send the game to overtime, but the referees reviewed the play and said the goal did not count. The Badgers lost 3-2, but came out the next night to top the Pioneers 7-2.
Per NCAA rules, we’re only allowed to post three blog entries per period. But continue to check back as we’ll give you scoring and game updates throughout this afternoon’s contest.
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