[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]GREEN BAY — The Badgers made history this weekend when they played the first-ever outdoor hockey game at Lambeau Field Saturday afternoon. A goal by Andrew Joudrey in the third period turned out to be the game-winner as the Badgers went on to take the game by a score of 4-2.

Playing in front of a crowd of 40,890 fans, almost all of which were cheering for the cardinal and white, the Badgers didn't disappoint. UW won a tough battle with Ohio State and capped the victory off with a "Lambeau Leap" into the makeshift student section that formed in the north end of the stadium.

"When we got here on Friday, guys kind of ran over there and there was nobody there to jump in there," captain Adam Burish said of making the leap. "It was an unbelievable experience to be able to run in there and share that with the fans."

Head coach Mike Eaves was impressed with the magnitude and energy of the crowd.

As for the game, Burish set the tone early with a goal just 23 seconds into regulation. Ohio State goalie David Caruso blocked Burish's initial shot, but the senior quickly gathered the rebound and put it past Caruso to give the Badgers a 1-0 lead.

Sean Collins would have evened things up with what appeared to be a Buckeye goal, but it was disallowed because the net had been knocked off its moorings by Badger goaltender Shane Connelly.

"They're just pegs," Connelly said of the net's fixtures. "They're not like the moorings where it's in the ice. I thought they were kind of off the entire game."

The sun continued to set as the clubs battled it out in the second period. Just over halfway through the frame, Buckeye Dave Barton scored the most unlikely goal of the outing.

Barton gained control of the puck behind center ice, and as he crossed the blue line into the Badger offensive zone, he shot the puck in what seemed more like a dump pass than a shot. The low line drive bounced once on the ice and somehow found some daylight between Connelly's right leg pad and his arm.

The tie would be short-lived, however.

Kyle Klubertanz gave the Badgers the lead once again with a tipped slapshot from the point. As the Badgers cycled the puck on the power play, Klubertanz wound up with the puck at the blue line. He whistled a slap shot that got deflected off a sliding Buckeye defenseman and past Caruso, as Wisconsin regained the lead.

The sun faded and brought night over Lambeau field going into the third period, though most of the players hadn't been bothered by the glare.

"In the first period the sun was still coming around the press boxes there, so on the left side around the Ohio State bench there was a little glare," Klubertanz said. "It wasn't that bad. Shadows didn't really come into play."

It became even more evident the Badgers weren't bothered by the sun or the cold when they scored their third goal of the night. This time it was Andrew Joudrey off a feed from Ryan MacMurchy.

MacMurchy made a perfect pass from the right corner to Joudrey, who was camped out on the left side of the net with a defenseman playing him tight.

But the Buckeyes once again made it a one-goal game 15:57 into the third period. Connelly blocked an OSU shot, but the puck drifted across the crease, unbeknownst to Connelly. Bryce Anderson was there to force it in as he fell to the ice, as OSU remained resilient

Fortunately for UW, Robbie Earl scored an empty-netter off a shot blocked by Joe Pavelski, and with less than a minute left in regulation, the Buckeyes chances were all but gone.

The experiment that was outdoor hockey at Lambeau Field was a resounding success. Conditions at times were less than optimal, especially with the ice, but players enjoyed the experience nonetheless.

"Obviously, you don't go to the game expecting great, great ice," Burish said. "Outdoors, you don't know what to expect, and as the game went on it got chippy. The puck was bouncing everywhere."

After the post-game handshake, every Badger on the ice ran from to rink to the student section and jumped into the stands like the Green Bay Packers' traditional Lambeau Leap.

Most players after the game found the experience of playing hockey in one of the most hallowed football stadiums in the country difficult to describe.

"It hasn't even hit me yet," Earl said. "Tomorrow, maybe the next day, it's going to set in that you played at Lambeau Field, 40,000 people, just a great experience."

As for the possibility of another Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic, Eaves said he would consider it.

"I probably would agree but probably not next year," Eaves said of another game at Lambeau. "We as a coaching staff talked about some ideas that we thought could make it better that we could throw their way."

For the time being, Saturday's game should suffice.