The regular season for the Wisconsin men?s hockey team ended not with a bang but a whimper, as the Badgers managed only one point in their final two games of the year against the No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs.
UW managed a 2-2 tie Friday night before falling 4-1 Saturday.
?We just never got on track,? head coach Mike Eaves said. ?Our first period on Friday was our best period of the weekend, and from there we never really played our game.?
After returning from Alaska, the players struggled to find their legs, leading to what Eaves called a ?funky? week of practice. Frustrated with his team?s performance, Eaves ended Wednesday?s session prematurely.
?We always say that you play as you practice,? Eaves said, ?and we didn?t have a good week.?
With a sweep, Wisconsin (14-7-7 WCHA, 20-10-8 overall) could have moved into second place in the WCHA, but that possibility evaporated with Friday?s tie.
As Eaves noted, the Badgers controlled the play for much of the opening stanza Friday, out-shooting UM-D 10-5. Though the Bulldogs (19-7-2 WCHA, 23-10-4 overall) scored less than three minutes into the contest on defenseman Steve Czech?s third goal of the season, Wisconsin finished the period tied 1-1 thanks to Jake Dowell?s inadvertent deflection of a Jeff Likens point shot just after the expiration of a UW power play at 15:56.
?I was trying to just get in there and screen the goalie, and good things are going to happen when I do that,? said Dowell of his fifth goal of the year.
After the end of the first period, things started to slip away from Wisconsin. Minnesota-Duluth took the lead in the second period when defenseman Jay Hardwick capitalized on an extended scramble in front of the Badgers? net by chipping the puck over UW goalkeeper Bernd Bruckler?s outstretched right pad.
In recent weeks, the UW defense had done an excellent job of clearing traffic in front of Bruckler, allowing him to see the shots and cutting down on second-chance opportunities.
However, that was not the case Friday. Czech?s goal was a screen shot which Bruckler could not see clearly and Hardwick?s came after the Badgers failed to clear the puck from the slot.
The Bulldogs started to take command in the third period, but Bruckler kept Wisconsin in the game with 15 saves.
Finally, the Badgers caught a break late in the third stanza when referee Jon Campion called two simultaneous minors on Minnesota-Duluth, giving UW a two-man advantage.
The Badgers took advantage of the power play opportunity, as Dan Boeser fired a hard shot from the point that UM-D goaltender Isaac Reichmuth got a glove on, but couldn?t stop.
Boeser failed to score on a two-on-one with Robbie Earl minutes before, but converted this opportunity with 2:35 remaining.
?I wanted [another chance] real bad,? Boeser said.
Boeser?s goal finished off the game?s scoring, though the two teams played a spirited overtime period which featured several chances for each club.
The tie, coupled with North Dakota?s 5-1 victory over Michigan Tech, meant that UM-D and Wisconsin were assured of finishing second and third, respectively, in the final WCHA standings heading into Saturday night?s contest.
Outside of a minimal effect on the NCAA?s RPI rankings, the second game of the series had little meaning for the Bulldogs and Badgers. As a result, both teams started their backup goalies and the game deteriorated into a sloppy, penalty-filled affair.
In a physical contest, the two clubs combined to take a total of 44 penalties for 104 minutes.
?It was just one of those games,? Wozniewski said. ?We kind of got caught up in some tussles and just played to their game.?
Minnesota-Duluth?s Junior Lessard led the way offensively, racking up a goal, two assists and 11 shots on goal. His three points helped him catch UND?s Brandon Bochenski in the race for leading scorer in conference play, as each finished with 39 points in 28 games.
The lone highlight for the Badgers came when A.J. Degenhardt deftly played the puck to himself off the back of the net to avoid a UM-D defender before centering the puck to Adam Burish, who drilled a one-timer between UM-D netminder Josh Johnson?s legs with less than a minute remaining for his sixth goal.
Eaves and the Badgers downplayed the significance of Saturday?s loss, suggesting that it was not indicative of any kind of statement on the part of Minnesota-Duluth and that the Badgers would have no reason to feel intimidated if they should match up with UM-D in the WCHA Final Five.
However, Minnesota-Duluth defenseman Ryan Swanson added some fuel to the rivalry by slashing forward Nick Licari across the back of the knee in the game?s final minute. Licari had to be helped off the ice and did not return.
Licari was actually the second forward the Badgers lost on the evening, though the only one injured in game action. During the pre-game warm-up, Andrew Joudrey went down with a leg injury. The status of both players remains uncertain pending examinations by the UW training staff.
While losing Joudrey would be a blow to Wisconsin?s playoff hopes, it will not affect their preparation for their first-round series against Alaska-Anchorage.
?All we need to do is go back to basics, keep it simple, have a good week of practice and be ready to go next week against Alaska,? Rene Bourque said.