[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Coming off a bye week, the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team’s largest concern going into its series against border rival Minnesota over the weekend was getting back into its WCHA-title-contending form in time to weather an early storm from the Gophers’ high-powered offensive pace.

The Ice Badgers knew that if they could come out and hold off the Gophers for long enough to shake off any rust accumulated since they last took the ice for a game Jan. 22, they would be fine. After all, head coach Mike Eaves’ squad has been nearly flawless once they’ve made it out of the first period this season.

The Badgers have outscored opponents by 40 goals in the final two periods and overtime during the 2004-05 season. Meanwhile, they have been outscored by one goal in the first. They have out-shot opponents by over 80 in the third period.

In Friday night’s hard-fought win, it seemed as if the Badgers played these cards perfectly. Countering Minnesota’s dynamic top line with its gritty third line, Wisconsin strolled a step closer to a WCHA championship. They held Minnesota off the scoreboard in the first frame and closed the door with two power play goals in the second.

The early success (or perhaps survival) came largely predicated by solid play by All-American goaltender Bernd Brückler and a bevy of blocked shots. Brückler was flawless on shots that made it to him in the first period Friday night. The Badgers gave him some breathing room by blocking nine shots in the frame (as compared to one that the Gophers kept from going on net).

“It’s really important that your goaltender is sharp right at the start,” Brückler said. “It gives your team a chance to catch up and get up to game speed, and I think we did that, and we were fine the rest of the way.”

Brückler’s standout save came early on, as he managed to just barely put a lunging shoulder in front of a shot by Minnesota’s Tyler Hirsch. The puck flopped in the air and landed precariously in the crease. Brückler threw himself on top of the puck to keep the game scoreless.

In Saturday night’s game, the Badgers again managed to stick with the Gophers early, but — for one of the first times all season — collapsed in the third period. Eaves’ squad couldn’t quite stick it out for a sweep.

With Wisconsin leading 3-2 going into the final frame, Minnesota’s chances seemed slim. But, in the end — as is generally the case when two rivals as bitter as Minnesota and Wisconsin face off — rust, storms, expectations and everything else went out the window as the Badgers managed only a split, and lost their edge in conference standings in the most painful way possible: failing to close the door that they’ve been so effective in slamming on opponents all season.

The Gophers pounded the puck on net and found chinks in Brückler’s seemingly impenetrable armor. On a good bounce for Ryan Potulny, a trickler from Barry Tallackson and an empty-netter from Andy Sertich, Minnesota equaled its scoring from the first five periods of the weekend in one frame.

“If you look at the big picture … the one period we were disappointed with was the third period here tonight,” Eaves said.

“That’s why it hurts so much,” UW captain Adam Burish said after the game. “We had that lead going into the third period. We had that opportunity to sweep a great team, and we just fell short.”

With Colorado College and Denver both taking care of their own business, the missed opportunity cost Wisconsin precious spots in the WCHA — dropping them into third place.