Through 29 games, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team had not lost back-to-back games all year. The Badgers made sure to keep that streak alive in the midst of a heated conference title race Saturday.

After honoring the senior class in its final regular season home game, the Badgers planned on getting off to a good start in front of an energized home crowd in game two of a crucial series with St. Cloud State, but Garrett Roe’s goal just over a minute into the game let everyone know the Huskies had a plan of their own.

Roe was the beneficiary of a lucky bounce, as the puck went off a skate and came right to the junior forward who was all alone in front of goaltender Scott Gudmandson.

Down a goal, it was the UW power play that needed to respond.

With a 5-on-3 advantage, the Badgers poured on the pressure, and after a wild scramble in front of the SCSU net, senior forward Michael Davies found the loose puck and fired it top shelf to level the score.

On another power play late in the first, defenseman Brendan Smith blasted a shot past Mike Lee to give UW the lead.

The Badgers seamlessly moved the puck on the power play and applied relentless pressure in the first period. Wisconsin went into the locker room with a 20-7 advantage in shots on goal.

But with six and a half minutes gone in the second, tri-captain Blake Geoffrion was on his way back to the locker room after taking an open-ice hit to the head. The senior forward did not return.

“When Blake went down, as a group of 20 guys we have got to step up and fill his shoes,” sophomore forward Derek Stepan said. “We all had to chip in to make sure we could get the job done tonight.”

Stepan did just that, as he buried a centering pass from Ben Street at the 8:12 mark of the second period to extend the Badger lead. But St. Cloud answered as a shot from the corner banked off Gudmandson’s shoulder and into the net.

The fluke goal came with just 46 seconds remaining in the period, but that was more than enough time for Street and the Badgers to create a jaw-dropping response of their own.

Davies flung a cross-ice pass to Street from his own zone with four seconds on the clock, sending the senior on a breakaway.

Lee charged out of his net and attempted a poke-check, but Street made a quick move and fired the puck into the empty net as he flew over Lee’s stick.

“I knew I didn’t have very much time,” Street said. “I looked up and the goalie was charging at me so I figured I could make a move on him and get an open net. Luckily I was able to hold onto the puck as I was falling down and slide it in.”

Street was right — he didn’t have much time at all. In fact, the puck crossed the goal line with exactly 0.1 seconds remaining.

“I got pretty lucky,” Street said. “But to be able to shift the momentum back for us was pretty big.”

Goals went back and forth in the third period as the Huskies refused to go down easily, but senior forwards Andy Bohmbach and Aaron Bendickson scored late to seal the 7-4 victory for UW.

The energy and effort the Badgers had Saturday was in stark contrast to their play Friday.

UW was sluggish at the start of game one and Ryan Lasch took advantage, scoring a beautiful wrap-around goal as the Badger defense was caught watching.

“It took the crowd out of it right away,” head coach Mike Eaves said of the goal. “Our defensemen didn’t communicate and [Lasch] was able to get to the post and wrap it.”

Stepan scored 31 seconds into the second period, but the Huskies took the lead right back thanks to an error in the UW zone.

Gudmandson left his crease to clear a loose puck, but his attempt went right to Roe who gathered himself and shot the puck into the vacated net.

It was just that kind of night for the Badgers, who couldn’t crack goaltender Dan Dunn.

SCSU added two more tallies in the second period and a late third period goal by Brian Volpei gave the Huskies their first victory in Madison since 2001.

“For whatever reason, we were flat,” Eaves said. “And every time we made a mistake we found the puck in our net.”

Thanks to the win in game two, the Badgers move into third place and remain in the running for the WCHA title (five points behind first place Denver). But Street made it clear the Badgers will need to be better if they expect to claim the conference crown or play deep into the postseason.

“We are really happy with the way we played tonight, but overall on the weekend that is not really going to get it done,” Street said. “We need to make sure we don’t get off to [a] slow start like we did Friday and I think that is what we need to take out of this weekend.

“It was great that we responded but we should be playing like that anyway.”