[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

One moment the Wisconsin men?s hockey team and the Kohl Center crowd were rocking out to House of Pain?s ?Jump Around.? The next, they were frozen in shock after an overtime goal slipped through the spot UW goaltender Shane Connelly had just vacated, giving Minnesota-Duluth (11-9-6, 7-8-5 WCHA) the 2-1 win and a series split.

?This will be a kick in the stomach until we get back on the ice,? said UW head coach Mike Eaves of the defeat that puts his team back into a fourth place tie in the conference standings with UMD.

Following a roller-coaster game Friday night in which the Badgers (12-11-5, 8-9-3) willed themselves to a 3-1 victory despite several ?dumb? penalties and poor execution, Wisconsin appeared as though it would be rewarded for improved play Saturday when the game was still in a 1-1 deadlock at the end of regulation. But that wasn?t destined to be.

According to Connelly, UMD hadn?t been shooting much from the point, so when Travis Gawryletz launched one from there a minute into the extra period, UW?s goaltender was unprepared.

?I didn?t see it until ? it was in the back of the net,? Connelly said.

Gawryletz?s shot was redirected off the stick of forward Jordan Fulton and went into the net for the win.

?In a tight game there may be 25 to 30 shifts that you have, and you never know which shift is going to make a difference. It comes down to details,? Eaves said. ?We didn?t get to a puck that got deflected tonight.?

The game started off in much the same promising way, only to end in disappointment.

A hooking penalty by UMD defenseman Jay Cascalenda put Wisconsin on the power play just two minutes into the game. Rather than using the opportunity to get on the board, the Badgers, after a defensive lapse in which Kyle Klubertanz got beat to the puck behind his own net, found themselves down 1-0. Andy Carroll out-hustled the senior blue liner and then snuck a wrap-around shot past UW goaltender Shane Connelly for his seventh tally of the season. The goal marked the eighth time this season that Wisconsin has allowed a shorthanded goal.

?We got extended in the amount of time we were on the ice, we lost a one-on-one battle and didn?t have support,? Eaves said.

Looking back on the play, Connelly wished he would have gone out and played the puck.

?If I had gone to the corner, could I have made a difference? Yeah, most likely,? he said. ?If I had it over again, I would have tried to make something happen.?

Wisconsin got on the board early in the second period on a nice feed from Ben Street to a streaking Matt Ford, the senior?s fourth of the season. Ford had snuck in behind the Bulldogs’ line of defense and beat UMD goaltender Alex Stalock with a top-shelf one-timer on the man advantage.

That was the last of the scoring for either side in regulation, but there were plenty of chances, particularly for the Badgers. The combination of Stalock?s performance and the lack of execution were primarily responsible for UW not scoring again.

Friday night led to more positive results for the Badgers, even though they didn?t play as well as the staff would have liked.

?There were moments where we did some good things and moments I?m scratching my head saying, ?what are we doing” Eaves said. ?Good teams find ways to win when they don?t have their A-game. And tonight, I think, was a good example of that.?

As it did both nights, UMD jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Courtesy of a great centering pass by Fulton, Gawryletz one-timed the puck into a wide open net from the left crease just nine seconds into a Bulldog power play. Midway through the second period, UW defenseman Jaime McBain provided the equalizer.

Blake Geoffrion and Patrick Johnson collided out in front of the net, screening Stalock from the puck, and McBain took advantage with his first even-strength goal of the season and third overall.

?I just tried to follow up the play. The puck kind of came loose so I tried to put it upstairs and fortunately for me, it went in,? McBain said. ?I noticed that the goaltender goes down and spreads a little bit when he doesn?t know where the puck is, so I put it upstairs.?

Less than four minutes later, Geoffrion flipped a rebound off a Klubertanz shot into the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season. The go-ahead power play tally was set up by a great feed from freshman Kyle Turris, his second assist of the game, along the goal line.

The Badgers appeared to go into cruise control in the third period, and it nearly cost them. UMD controlled play for most of the frame and had several good looks that Connelly turned aside.

?I knew that I was going to be called on to make plays in the third period with that lead,? Connelly said. ?Overall, I felt pretty good.?

Street scored an empty net goal to seal the victory with 51 seconds showing on the clock.