Wisconsin rallied from a 2-0 third-period deficit on Friday, then squandered an identical lead a night later as the team ultimately skated to a pair of 2-2 ties with the Colorado College Tigers over the weekend.

The scripts for the two contests were eerily similar, with the two clubs flip-flopping roles for the first and second game.

Friday, it was Wisconsin (3-2-3 WCHA, 6-3-3 overall) clawing back for a point after falling behind earlier to the Tigers (3-1-2 WCHA, 6-1-3 overall).

UW had trouble clicking in the first two stanzas, managing only nine shots on goal and no real scoring chances. Just as they had done the previous Friday against Minnesota, the Badgers came out with more intensity after the second intermission and played inspired hockey, scoring two goals and forcing an improbable tie.

“Whatever these guys did [between the second and third period], it did something, and we went out and played better in the third,” head coach Mike Eaves said.

The team looked better from the drop of the puck in the third period, but the real galvanizing moment was Robbie Earl’s fifth goal of the season, a tally that owed a little to inexperienced goaltending and a lucky bounce.

The play started inauspiciously, with Ryan Suter rushing the puck along the left-wing boards into the CC zone and firing a low-percentage shot from the goal line at Tiger goaltender Matt Zaba. Zaba was only playing because starter Curtis McElhinney, a first-team All-WCHA and second-team All-America selection last season, was diagnosed with mononucleosis earlier in the week. Suter steered the puck right into the slot, where a charging Earl pounced on it and knocked the rebound between Zaba’s legs 3:12 into the period.

The goal was sweet for Earl, who had taken a nasty spill less than two minutes earlier and stayed down on the ice for a while after he was upended at the CC blueline.

“That hit definitely woke me up,” the freshman forward said. “I was kind of flat the first two periods. “When you get hit like that, you definitely want to come back and show them.”

If the hit woke Earl up, his goal helped wake the team up, as the Badgers controlled play the rest of the way.

UW picked up the equalizer at 5:03 when Ryan MacMurchy blistered a slap shot into the upper left-hand corner of the net past a partially screened Zaba. Wisconsin had several other good chances down the stretch, out-shooting the Tigers 16-5 in the third period and overtime.

“[Wisconsin] just played with a lot more energy [to start the third period],” said CC head coach Scott Owens.

As impressive as the Badgers’ resilience was, the enthusiasm in the dressing room was tempered by frustration over having come out flat and fallen behind for the third consecutive game.

“We came back, and there’s some moral victory in that,” Eaves said, “but again, we have to recognize the fact that we can’t keep bucking the odds and getting behind 2-0 and expect to get points.”

Wisconsin rectified that problem on Saturday night, as some unexpected offense from the fourth line of Mark Heatley, Pete Talafous and John Funk helped the Badgers to a 2-0 lead after two periods.

Heatley got the ball rolling with his second goal of the year at 12:37 of the first period, converting a nice centering feed by Talafous from behind the net. Funk increased the advantage to two goals when he jammed a loose puck into a wide open net following a scramble in front at 9:34 of the second.

Heatley, Talafous and Funk have all found themselves in the uncomfortable position of being shuffled in and out of the lineup this season as Eaves has rotated personnel on the fourth line, so it was gratifying for them to contribute, with Talafous and Funk picking up their first points of the season.

“Sometimes the guys on the top lines aren’t getting their chances, so you’ve got to step up, too,” Talafous said.

The team’s top three lines failed to dent the scoreboard, however, and the Tigers showed why they have the second-best third-period goal differential in the WCHA (plus-15), as they put together a third-period rally to get back in the game.

Just as the Badgers had erased Colorado’s 2-0 lead the night before, they watched their own slip away Saturday night as sophomore right wing Joey Crabb netted his eighth and ninth goals of the young season to knot the game up at 2-2.

Crabb’s first goal was a redirection of defenseman Andrew Canzanello’s shot from the point, which found its way through Bernd Bruckler’s legs 4:28 into the third period.

UW held the Tigers at bay with strong defense for most of the third period, but CC capitalized on a rare scoring opportunity with under two minutes left to tie the game.

Sophomore center Marty Sertich picked up the puck behind the Wisconsin net, skated to the right-wing corner, and fired a short-side centering pass to Crabb, who roofed the puck over Bruckler with 1:50 remaining.

UW rebounded after a lackluster third period and came out strong in overtime but couldn’t find a way to score the winning goal.

Saturday’s tie had a different feel for the Badgers than the one they picked up the night before.

“I’m disappointed,” Bruckler said flatly after the second game, “and I’m sure a lot of the guys in the room are too. It definitely doesn’t feel good right now.”

In the greater scheme of things, UW extended its unbeaten streak to an impressive eight games (5-0-3). Getting two points against the defending WCHA champions and the sixth-ranked team in the country entering the weekend is a notable achievement, even taking into account that Colorado was missing its top offensive talent, sophomore Brett Sterling, and its starting goaltender, Curtis McElhinney.

Still, the team recognized that entering the third period of Saturday’s game it had an excellent chance to pick up three points and make a major statement.

“You’re up by two goals, and you’re going into the third period. You got the hook in the mouth [of the fish], but the fish isn’t in the boat yet,” Eaves said. “So you’ve got to get the net out and put it in the boat, and we didn’t do that tonight.”