[media-credit name=’MATTHEW KUTZ/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Badgers got away with sub-par performances on the ice this weekend with two wins against Minnesota State. Forward Joe Pavelski stepped up his game in the Badgers' Saturday night 2-1 victory, scoring two goals in the first period despite the absence of both his linemates. Forward Jake Dowell overcame early season struggles to get the game-winning goal in Sunday's 3-2 Badger victory.

The first period of Sunday's game began with an excellent performance from the Badger defense. They shut down any opportunity the Mavericks had, allowing only two shots in the first twenty minutes.

The Badgers got on the board with a goal from sophomore Matt Ford. With the puck loose in the right circle, Ford scooped it up and rifled a wrist shot at MSU goalie Dan Tormey. The puck disappeared for a second, then reemerged from underneath Tormey's right arm and landed in the net.

The Mavericks tied the game up quickly in the second stanza with a goal from David Backes, who caught goaltender Brian Elliott off guard with a backhander past Elliott's right shoulder.

The score remained that way until Ben Street broke the tie with perhaps the prettiest goal of the weekend.

With the Badgers in the offensive zone, junior Robbie Earl lost the puck for a second before Joe Pavelski gathered it up. Pavelski dished a pass behind him and around a defender to Street, who came into the play as the extra man for the delayed penalty. Street made a move, skated to the right side of the net, and flipped the puck into the top of the goal.

"What Ben really displayed was his good stick," Eaves said. "Nice quick move and he got that puck upstairs pretty quick, and that was where he had to put it on this young goaltender."

Jake Dowell got things going in the third with his first goal of the season, ending a scoring drought for the Badger forward.

Ryan MacMurchy missed a shot that rebounded toward Dowell, who stuffed the puck into the wide-open net.

"It's definitely a big monkey off my back," Dowell said after the game. "I've just been telling people that other people have been scoring and we've been winning and I'd get my first goal when we really needed it."

Dowell's goal would turn out to be the difference in the game. The Mavericks answered just a few minutes later when a loose puck in front of the Badger goal was pushed in by Kyle Pete, making the score 3-2.

Saturday night's contest saw Wisconsin take the ice shorthanded offensively with senior captain Adam Burish serving a one-game suspension Saturday night for a hit from last week's win over Colorado College, while Earl sat out the game for missing practice Saturday.

Pavelski scored first on a Badger power play, as the Mavericks only penalty in the period turned out to be a costly one. Pavelski took a pass from assistant captain Tom Gilbert just behind the left circle and ripped a shot that blazed past the right shoulder of Tormey.

Pavelski's second goal came in bizarre fashion. After skating the puck behind the net from the right side, the sophomore made an attempt at a pass to Jack Skille. Instead of reaching his intended target, however, his pass deflected off the shinpad of Maverick defenseman Steve Wagner, then off the shoulder of Tormey and into the net.

Pavelski began the game playing with forwards Skille and Andrew Joudrey, but when they didn't look comfortable together, Eaves put Ford on the line with Skille and Pavelski.

"It was really different after playing all last year with the same two guys," Pavelski said. "But you just go with it."

"We needed him to play the way he did tonight," Eaves said. "It was a big, big boost for us the way he rose his game to another level."

Pavelski had several chances at the hat trick throughout the game as he finished with 10 shots on the night. However, he and the rest of the team couldn't come up with anything beyond the first two goals.

Minnesota State made it a game in the third period with a goal from Joel Hanson. In a four-on-four situation, Elliott blocked a shot by forward Ryan Carter, but Hanson was there to stuff in the rebound.

That would be the end of Mavericks' scoring for the night, however, and the Badgers won the game 2-1.

The Badgers escaped with the two wins on the wings of their excellent shot blocking. In the first period of Sunday night's game, the Mavericks attempted 22 shots, four more than the Badgers, but only two made it on goal.

Minnesota State continually applied pressure throughout the weekend, refusing to go away, but the Badger defense held the Mavericks at bay while the offense did just enough to close out the victories.

"Even when we're not playing our best hockey, we're still finding ways to win, and I think that says a lot about the character of our team," Dowell said.