[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The No. 3 Wisconsin men’s hockey team (20-7-1 overall, 15-5-0 in WCHA) left the weekend with mixed results, splitting its series with No. 8 Minnesota (20-11-0 overall, 13-9 in WCHA). Wisconsin exerted its home-ice advantage Friday, winning 3-1, before falling to the resourceful Gophers by a score of 5-3 Saturday. UW twice took leads in Saturday night’s contest, but failed to hold on for the sweep.

“Well, I think the fact, if you take a look at the big picture of the weekend, we broke it down to six periods,” UW head coach Mike Eaves said after Saturday night’s game. “And the one period that we were disappointed in was the third period here tonight, and if you take a look at it, we just had people that didn’t perform to the level that they needed to, for whatever reason.”

Minnesota started off hot, scoring just 3:07 into the first period. A Jeff Likens interference penalty put the Gophers on the power play, and they took advantage. Defenseman Chris Harrington brought the puck into the zone along the right boards and sent a pass to forward Danny Irmen in the left slot, who fired a one-timer past UW goaltender Bernd Bruckler for his 19th goal of the season.

Wisconsin tied the score just 2:29 later on an even strength goal from defenseman Tom Gilbert. Robbie Earl then staked UW to a 2-1 lead with 9:23 remaining in the first on a highlight reel goal. Earl found the puck along the left boards, skated toward the net, and after deking past Gopher defenseman Mike Vannelli, sent a sprawling backhanded shot by goaltender Justin Johnson.

However, Minnesota fought back and equalized the game on a power play score from junior left wing Tyler Hirsch. Hirsch took a pass from Irmen and put a backhander high into the net.

“I thought we showed a lot a couple of times,” Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said. “We were ahead 1-0, then we got down 2-1. And then 2-2, and then we were down 3-2 on the road. But, we were able to come back.”

Wisconsin took its second lead with 11:34 remaining in the second period on a power play goal from captain Adam Burish. Gilbert took a shot from between the top of the circles that deflected off Burish’s arm into the net. Less than two minutes after the score, Lucia pulled Johnson in favor of Friday night’s starter Kellen Briggs. The move paid off, as Briggs stopped all 14 shots he faced, including a shorthanded chance by UW right wing A.J. Degenhardt.

“It wasn’t that [Johnson] wasn’t playing well,” Lucia said. “I just didn’t think the three goals on 16 shots, to be honest I thought that third goal went in, I didn’t realize there was a body in front, and I just felt the way Wisconsin’s playing and we’re playing … we’ve got to have somebody give up two goals on 30 shots if we’re going to win on the road.”

Minnesota assumed control of play in the third period from the start and tied the score at 3-3 with 17:24 remaining. Center Ryan Potulny fired a shot on goal from the bottom of the left circle, which Bruckler stopped but didn’t cover. Potulny took the loose puck and tallied his 22nd goal of the season.

“I didn’t see the goal,” Eaves said. “I just know [goaltending coach Bill Howard] probably would like Bernd to have played that different. So, that’s something we’ll address with Bernd this next week as well.”

Minnesota continued to generate offense throughout the period, and finally capitalized with just 41.5 seconds remaining on the game clock. Senior Barry Tallackson took the puck near the blue line, skated by Likens and beat Bruckler five-hole for the game-winner. Andy Sertich added an empty-net score to salt the away win for the Gophers.

“We didn’t do the little things right in the third period,” Burish said. “They out-competed us in the third period, and it was little things — not stepping to a loose puck, not shutting them down in the defensive zone for their tying goal. It was just the little things.”

Wisconsin handled Minnesota defensively in Friday’s match-up despite being out-shot 24-17. The Badgers started off slowly in the first period, looking very much like a team coming off a bye week.

“We were rusty,” Eaves said. “We weren’t used to [Minnesota’s] tempo, and they stole pucks from us, and we weren’t ready to make plays right away when we got the puck.”

Fortunately for UW, Bruckler stood tall in goal, and the Badgers hit their stride in the second period. Wisconsin used power play scores from Ross Carlson and Joe Pavelski and out-shot Minnesota 8-6 in the period to take a 2-0 lead.

Eaves’ squad added to its lead on an even strength breakaway goal from junior Nick Licari. Carlson blocked a Gopher shot from the point, and Licari picked the puck up in the neutral zone and beat Briggs for his fourth goal of the season.

“We talk about Ross Carlson’s ability to make plays on the seat of his pants, blocking the shot that gets it out to Nick and those kind of things,” Eaves said. “He’s just a pond hockey guy, and he was at his very best tonight.”

Minnesota avoided the shutout with a power play goal from Potulny with 8:53 remaining in the game, but failed to get any closer.

“I think we played the way we needed to play,” Eaves said of Friday night’s effort. “I thought, you talk about your play away from the puck; I thought we took the middle away effectively; I thought we had good sticks in lanes, and as a result of those things, never gave them as many chances as perhaps they could have had, had we not had that presence in the middle of the ice with our good sticks.”