It took a valiant effort from the Wisconsin men's hockey team Saturday night just to send the game to overtime against a team it has had so much trouble with, but in the end, Denver's dominance in Madison won out once again.
After overcoming a 3-1 third-period deficit, the No. 7 Badgers fell short as they were once again swept at home by No. 14 DU, as the Pioneers clinched the two-game sweep with a 4-3 overtime victory Saturday in the aftermath of a 2-0 triumph the previous evening.
Wisconsin (4-6-2, 3-4-1 WCHA) tied the series finale at three with two goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation, but Denver (6-4-0, 4-2-0) prevailed in a heart breaker when right wing Rhett Rakhshani tipped teammate Ryan Dingle's shot through UW goaltender Brian Elliott's five-hole — with just 14.1 seconds remaining in overtime.
Rakhshani had two assists to go with the game-winner, and Dingle's overtime assist added to his two-goal effort on the night.
By gaining all four points over the weekend, DU has now won six games and tied another in their past seven meetings with UW. The Badgers were also swept by the Pioneers at home a year ago and hold a 1-11-2 record when playing Denver at the Kohl Center.
UW head coach Mike Eaves spoke of nothing but optimism after the series was over, hardly making the loss seem as devastating as it may have appeared.
"The only thing I'm disappointed in was the outcome," said Eaves, mainly praising his team for creating many more offensive chances than Denver. "We are battling ourselves through a little bit of a funk, and we did a lot of tremendous things tonight."
Freshman John Mitchell tied the game for UW with 7:29 remaining in regulation with a weaving end-to-end goal. After his initial shot was blocked by DU forward J.P. Testwuide, Mitchell regained puck control and went top-shelf, flipping a wrister over diving Denver netminder Peter Mannino to knot the score at three.
After Dingle's second goal of the game put DU up 3-1 with 15:45 left, Wisconsin took little time to strike back, as UW left wing Jake Dowell muscled home a backhand goal off a quick faceoff. Center Andrew Joudrey chipped the faceoff to right wing Michael Davies, who tapped the puck toward the net where Dowell earned his team-leading eighth goal of the season.
Eaves praised Davies, a pleasant surprise playing on the first line in place of the injured Jack Skille, for showing grit and maturity in a back-and-forth game, as the freshman contributed a goal and an assist with a team-high seven shots on goal.
"That's my style of hockey," Davies said. "I was just in my own little zone, just playing hockey."
Davies also had Wisconsin's best overtime opportunity with around 30 seconds remaining in the extra period, but was denied on Mannino's 39th and final save of the evening.
Despite what the score indicated, both goalies were strong between the pipes for the most part. The Badgers had better scoring opportunities during the game, but were turned away on several occasions due to a superb performance from Mannino. Elliott was just as tough on the other end for UW, saving 33 of 37 shots in the loss.
Once again, the Badgers ended up playing better hockey in the series finale than the opener. A scoreless game through to the third period, Denver pulled away late with two goals in the final 20 minutes by Steven Cook and Brock Trotter, while the Badgers struggled to create quality shots against Denver goalie Glenn Fisher in the 2-0 defeat.
Fisher turned away all 27 shots he faced, and Eaves was not as pleased with his team's performance in the series opener.
"We're in an offensive struggle to score some timely goals, because … the feeling is that we work, and we work, and we're winning battles and we're not getting rewarded," said Eaves, who had a lengthy discussion with his team before addressing the media after the Friday game. "Then because of not getting rewarded, if things don't go right we slump our shoulders and bend our heads down. We can't let that slide in."
Down 1-0, UW center Ben Street had Wisconsin's best chance to score with a wide-open net, but his point-blank shot hit a Denver player's skate and was deflected away. With 2:45 left to play, Trotter put the game away with a breakaway goal for a 2-0 Pioneers lead.
"We're just missing that timely goal, poor Ben Street has that one that kicks out and comes out of nowhere," Eaves said. "If we score that one, the crowd's into it, then maybe the tides turn for us. These are things that all teams go through."
Right wing Ross Carlson looked strong in his first game back from injury in four weeks, contributing with solid play on the power play and penalty kill.
"He gave us some energy, [we] wish he could have given us some goals, but that will come for [Ross]," Eaves said. "A lot of times, you don't know what you're going to get back in your first game … but he did some good things out there for us."
