Following a bittersweet weekend at home for the No. 2 Wisconsin men’s hockey team — a weekend in which the Ice Badgers served up one of their best performances and one their worst performances of the season on consecutive nights — one differentiating factor between the two matches stands as paramount.
Prior to their Friday night upset at the hands of Michigan State, the Badgers had allowed only eight goals in 79 opposing power plays to top the WCHA on the penalty kill. In recent weeks, the Wisconsin defense had proved even more impressive, rolling out a streak of 26 consecutive power play stops before finally surrendering a goal at Alaska-Anchorage Nov. 20.
Yet, against the Spartans, Wisconsin allowed two power-play goals, virtually back-to-back, while failing to score on four advantages. The pair of goals — knocked home by right wing Colton Fretter and left wing Drew Miller — seemingly destroyed any momentum accumulated by the Badgers late in the first period.
“Guys have been confident in our power play and that was kind of being thrown around the dressing room this week,” Wisconsin left wing Adam Burish said. “But (against Michigan State), we were just too passive out there.”
To add to the embarrassment, the Badgers’ lapse came against a team struggling with a meager .159 power play on the year and sporting one of the most statistically dismal offensive attacks in college hockey.
“I think we’re a lot better team than our record [shows], but scoring has been so difficult,” Michigan State head coach Rick Comley said. “Anytime we give up three, we lose. Tonight, we didn’t have to score three to win.”
Wisconsin suited up the following night looking to respond against top-ranked Michigan, a team also seeking redemption following a one-sided defeat against No. 3 Minnesota.
It was the Badgers, however, who answered the call — and, more than anything else, the penalty kill illuminated the disparity between the two performances.
Goaltender Bernd Brückler led Wisconsin’s stalwart defensive effort with 23 saves on the night to notch his seventh win of the season between the pipes.
“We had a great attention to detail on the kills tonight,” left winger Andrew Jourdrey said. “Bernd (Brückler) was in there playing strong, we blocked shots when we needed to, cleared rebounds well and it goes back to the [increased] intensity.”
Wisconsin halted the Wolverine onslaught five times, while allowing just six shots on goal. Late in the second period, solid defense led to a shorthanded Joudrey goal on a feed from right-winger Ryan MacMurchy.
Tale of two goalies: Although the victor in the anticipated weekend battle between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Wisconsin invariably turned out to be … Minnesota (the Gophers knocked off both Michigan and Michigan State and will likely move to No. 1 in the nation when new polls are announced), the Saturday night showdown still held certain significance.
Most notably, the evening showcased the talents of two All-American goalkeepers: Wisconsin’s Brückler and Michigan’s Al Montoya.
“It always plays [out] a little different when there’s a guy on the other side that people talk about,” Brückler remarked.
Montoya headed into the weekend sporting a save percentage of .901 with just 29 goals allowed in 12 starts for the Wolverines. Following a lackluster showing against Minnesota, Wisconsin expected a strong response from the junior goalie. Montoya delivered with an impressive performance — allowing three goals on the night but also grabbing 25 saves, including several eyebrow-raisers in the first period.
“I think our focus was on how we could make it more difficult for Mr. Montoya,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “We talked about things that we wanted to do, but there was one save that he made that I couldn’t believe.”
Regardless of Montoya’s acrobatic presence in the crease, it was Brückler who eventually won the day. Tossing down one of his more notable performances of the season, the Wisconsin keeper allowed just one goal against the CCHA’s top-rated offense.
