The University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team ended their series against St. Lawrence University in a draw, with Wisconsin winning night one and St. Lawrence winning night two.
Wisconsin welcomed St. Lawrence to the Kohl Center with many certain that UW would walk away from this series with two more wins under their belt. Relatively few thought the Saints, who were 0-6 before this weekend, would manage to get past the Badgers.
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Friday’s contest was exactly what many thought it would be, with Wisconsin coming out of the gate strong and confident. Wisconsin would manage to pull away from the Saints during the second period, sealing their win with a final score of 4-2.
Saturday’s contest saw a strange turn of events, in which Wisconsin chose to start Jack Berry over Kyle Hayton. While head coach Tony Granato has never confirmed a starting goaltender, Saturday’s contest was a strong argument for making Hayton starting goaltender from this point on.
Berry allowed four goals within two periods, causing him to get pulled early in the third period. While Kyle Hayton was able hold back the Saints to one goal during his fifteen minutes in net, an empty net goal would cause the Badgers to lose with a final score of 6-3.
Wisconsin’s dismal performance this weekend has some major ramifications for the Badgers, who find themselves falling in the polls this week. The Badgers were No.5 in the polls last week, but have now fallen to No.7 this week after earning a loss to the Saints.
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Losing to a team that had not won a single game prior to this weekend is a tough blow for Wisconsin, and they will need to work harder than ever if they want to find themselves back in the top five of the national polls any time soon.
Wisconsin welcomes North Dakota to the Kohl Center this weekend, and they’re hoping to get back on track after last week’s dismal performance. North Dakota will not be easy, and could prove to be the breaking point in the UW’s fall season.
