In UW head coach Jeff Sauer’s final regular season series at the Kohl Center, the UW men’s hockey team swept the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth and clinched the fifth and final spot for home-ice in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
An intense, emotional series characterized by bone-crushing hits and driven by playoff aspirations saw Wisconsin skate away with a 3-1 victory on Friday night and complete the sweep with a 5-1 win on Saturday. Saturday night’s triumph marked the 900th win in UW program history.
Friday night’s victory, coupled with a North Dakota loss to Denver, catapulted the Badgers into fifth place in the conference and finalized the seedings for the WCHA playoffs. Wisconsin (14-18-4, 12-13-3 WCHA) will host the sixth seed, Minnesota State, this weekend in a best-of-three series to decide who will head to St. Paul for the WCHA Final Five.
After a scoreless first period in Friday night’s contest, junior Brad Winchester put the Badgers on the board with 50 seconds remaining in the second period, notching his 12th goal of the season. Senior Matt Doman added to the lead with a goal of his own 14:09 into the final period, and Matt Murray sealed the game with an empty-netter in the final minutes of the game.
Junior goaltender Scott Kabotoff was brilliant in net, posting 31 saves on a night when UMD dominated most of the game, barraging Kabotoff with an entourage of blazing slap shots throughout the first two periods.
“Scott won the game for us that night,” Murray said after the game. “He really kept us in it early on.”
After getting off to a slow start on Friday, the Badgers wasted no time getting on the board in Saturday night’s contest, scoring four goals in the first 3:59 of the opening period.
Murray’s goal –just 43 seconds into the game — opened up a floodgate of scoring. Winchester knocked in a rebound 25 seconds later and Rene Borque rifled one in on a breakaway a minute later, forcing UMD coach Scott Sandelin to change goaltenders less than two minutes into the game.
Winchester knocked in his second goal of the period at the 3:57 mark, giving UW a 4-0 lead with more than 16 minutes left to play in the first period.
Although there was no additional scoring for the Badgers until late in the third period, the majority of the game belonged to freshman netminder Bernd Bruckler. Bruckler was superb throughout the game, tallying 47 saves on the night, stifling the vaunted Bulldogs’ attack.
Bruckler was replaced in the final minutes of the game by walk-on Mark Baranczyk, who was one of nine Badger seniors being honored on senior night.
In a game honoring this year’s seniors, the class of 2002 didn’t disappoint, tallying nine of the Badgers 15 points in the game.
A post-game tribute to Jeff Sauer brought the 13,300 fans in attendance to their feet, honoring the winningest coach in UW hockey history, who will be retiring at season’s end.
In the wake of an emotional night for the college hockey legend, Sauer remained focused on the team and the first round of the playoffs.
“In terms of getting home ice for the playoffs, it was the goal of the season,” commented Sauer. “We need some confidence going into the playoffs and the only way to get confidence is to win.”
