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MINNEAPOLIS ? As seldom-seen as the total lunar eclipse last
week, Wisconsin exhibited a rare brand of hockey in Saturday night?s 4-4 tie
versus rival Minnesota.

?There must be a full moon tonight because there was shootout
at O.K. Corral,? UW head coach Mike Eaves said.

Four times the Badgers came back from one-goal deficits, and
nearly all their goals were finding unconventional ways of going into the net.
To further the unusual evening at Mariucci Arena, players who Eaves expected
little from contributed in game-impacting ways.

?It was just one of those games in athletics sometimes you
can?t quite understand,? Eaves said.

Nor was it just limited to Wisconsin.

Minnesota?s Patrick White scored off a deflection, and Jay
Barriball backhanded one in off the crossbar before falling over at the right
side of the net. And the Gophers? fourth line produced a goal as well. Evan
Kaufmann scored late in the first period, his sixth of the season.

Wisconsin, in atypical fashion, got goals from a member of
all four lines Saturday night. The way each even-strength tally was scored or
setup ? second line forward Michael Davies? came on the power play ? was just
as fluky as the next.

?Coach Oz (Osiecki) and I looked at each other a few times
and rolled our eyes, like ?Holy Moly,?? Eaves said.

First line forward Patrick Johnson failed to capitalize on
perhaps the best look of the night with the score tied early in the third
period, a chance from the low slot set up by a terrific pass from Kyle Turris.
But on a broken play in the offensive zone where linemate Blake Geoffrion kept
the puck alive, Johnson scored.

In the first period, third line forward John Mitchell,
unwilling to skate in any further because exhaustion was settling in, fired a
shot from the far point in on Alex Kangas. Minnesota?s freshman goaltender
misread the flight of the puck and it bounced off his forearm and fell into the
back of the net.

?We watched video after [Friday] night?s game and saw that
their goaltender is kind of weak at his sides and high,? said Mitchell,
underlining his mindset on the play.

?You emphasize, ?Get the puck on the net,?? Eaves said.

Perhaps most surprising was Wisconsin?s third goal of the
night. Not only did it come from a player who has been benched at times this
season for inconsistent play, but the precision of the shot was remarkable.

With little clearance room between the post and Kangas? pad,
fourth-line forward Podge Turnbull clanked a shot off the near post and in to
tie the game at 3-3. It was his first goal since Wisconsin defeated Denver 7-2
on Jan. 12.

?A couple of those goals probably shouldn?t have gone in
tonight,? Turnbull said.

?If you get a shot, you really don?t want to pass it up
because you never know, it might go in,? he added.

Although only Turnbull was part of the scoring equation,
Eaves commended his fourth line for its level of play.

?I thought the line of (Aaron) Bendickson, Turnbull and
(Andy) Bombach came out of nowhere and really provided us with us some quality
shifts,? Eaves said.

Bombach hadn?t suited up for Wisconsin since the second game
of the Alaska-Anchorage series more than a month ago, and had appeared in just
11 games heading into play Saturday night. But with defenseman Jaime McBain
unable to go and Brendan Smith still recuperating, Eaves was forced to move
Josh Engel to defense, opening up a roster spot for the sophomore.

From the team?s standpoint, fluky or not, they?ll take a
point any way they can.