If Friday night’s game against WCHA opponent Colorado College could be described as chippy, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team found Saturday night’s contest downright nasty.
After beating the Tigers 6-1 in the first game of the two game series, tempers were sure to be running high for the follow up match on Saturday night.
Neither team disappointed.
“In the second half of the WCHA, they are all playoff games,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “They are all highly contested, teams have their systems in place, they are going to battle.”
After the Badgers scored two goals in the first 12 minutes of the game, tempers reached a boiling point at the end of the first period.
With the horn sounding, a scrum ensued against the boards resulting in 11 penalties worth 38 minutes in total.
“It’s an athletic contest — emotions are a part of it,” Eaves said. “And we went and talked in between the period about it, to say, ‘Hey this part of athletics. … You have got to learn to control your emotions and use them to your advantage, so what happened at the end of the period, let’s use that.”
UW started the period with their top defenseman — assistant captain Jamie McBain — and junior forward John Mitchell sitting in the box for four minutes and 16 minutes, respectively. Although CC lost senior forward Cody Lampl for 14 minutes, the Tigers were able to swing momentum to their side, scoring three goals before seven minutes had passed in the second period.
“I think the guys were listening and understanding what we have to do,” Eaves said. “Did we go out and do it? I don’t know to what degree.”
Losing Mitchell proved to be a devastating blow to the Badgers, as neither he or his line were able to create any chances after his penalty. The junior had recorded six points in his previous three games, including a goal and two assists the previous night.
“We lost [Mitchell] for 16 minutes, and he has been one of our better players, if not the best player since Christmas break,” captain Blake Geoffrion said. “Then again, I also think it got us going a little bit. At the start of that period we kind of came in a little pissed off. So it helped us a little bit emotionally, but it hurt us losing a guy like Mitchy and [McBain].”
“I don’t think that John Mitchell was the same player because he was sitting there for so long,” Eaves added. “If you were 6 [foot] 5 cramped up in a little penalty box … I don’t think that helped him at all.”
After the brawl in the first period, UW felt its energy level was lower than the night before. Although Geoffrion scored a goal in the second period to stem the tide for the Badgers, the Tigers eventually prevailed, putting home game winner with less than four minutes remaining in the game.
“We didn’t play with great energy, including myself,” Geoffrion said. “I was terrible tonight. Maybe it has a little to do with the Alaska trip, the travel and the time change. I’m not making excuses here at all, because we didn’t get it done tonight, but that is the only thing you can look at I guess.”
Perhaps motivating the CC players was a perceived slight delivered by Geoffrion to the Tigers’ bench. According to CC head coach Scott Owens, Geoffrion may have “challenged” the Colorado bench.
When asked about the incident, Geoffrion denied it.
“Nope,” Geoffrion said. “Just because I talk a little smack doesn’t mean I challenged the bench. I think their trainer challenged me more than I challenged them.”
