HOUGHTON, Mich. — The benefits of not having senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion in the locker room are small for third-ranked Wisconsin.
Head coach Mike Eaves thought it was quieter insider the visitors’ locker room at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena. It was rumored that some of the players thought it smelled better, as well.
Geoffrion wasn’t in the building, but the players that stepped up in his absence made sure the Badgers wouldn’t slip up against the cellar-dwellers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Wisconsin finally solved the mystery of Michigan Tech freshman goalie Kevin Genoe by scoring three third-period goals and got 20 saves from junior goalie Scott Gudmandson to upend the Huskies 5-2 Friday night.
Although the MacNaughton Cup is out of reach for Wisconsin after No.1 Denver remained five points ahead with a sweep of Minnesota State, the Badgers have always been focused on the big prize at the end.
Earning its 20th win of the season (the fifth time that benchmark has been reached in eight seasons under Eaves), Wisconsin (20-8-4, 15-7-4 WCHA) took a step toward accomplishing another one of its intermediate goals, securing home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.
“I think everybody stepped up tonight,” Eaves, whose team outshot Michigan Tech 63-22 (5-25-1, 4-21-0) said. “I thought our team showed a lot of maturity tonight not pressing, not going outside the lines and trying to be a hero.”
No heroes were necessary, especially when Wisconsin threw a season-high 63 shots on goal, only patience. Wisconsin was stuck at 2-2 entering the third period, but broke the game open with a pair of power-play tallies in the period’s first three minutes.
Jordy Murray took over Geoffrion’s spot on the top power-play unit for the Badgers and delivered the game winner at 1:30, cutting to the net and getting the feed from sophomore Derek Stepan at the opportune time.
85 seconds later, the Badgers assumed full control, converting on a five-minute man advantage when junior Brendan Smith, one of many Hobey Baker candidates on Wisconsin, slipped a slap shot past Genoe (58 saves) at 2:55.
“A lot of guys stepped up and covered some ground for [Geoffrion],” Eaves said.
Senior forward Andy Bohmbach, who was elevated from the fourth line to fill Geoffrion’s spot centering the first line, sealed the victory with a blast past Genoe at 17:38.
Senior forward Michael Davies registered three assists and now leads the Badgers with 43 points. Sophomore forward Derek Stepan also added two assists and senior tri-captain Ben Street tied his career high with his 13th goal of the season to tie the game in the second period.
Even little used junior Podge Turnbull chipped in. Playing his first game since Nov. 7 and filling Geoffrion’s place in the lineup, Turnbull erased a 1-0 deficit in the first period when he redirected a shot by Stepan in front of the net.
“Any time you lose a guy like Blake Geoffrion, you’re going to feel that everywhere on the ice,” said Turnbull, who added an assist in the third. “Everybody knew they had to do a little extra.”
Gudmandson registered a solid performance, and bounced back from two peculiar goals in the first period. The first one, giving Tech the opening lead, deflected off a shin pad in front of the net and in, and the second one, giving Tech a 2-1 lead, bounced off Gudmandson’s helmet after he was undercut.
But when the third period started, the Badgers made their push, a result that gave them the chance to sweep the season series Saturday night.
Wisconsin did just that, downing the Huskies 5-2 for a second straight night. The Badgers were led by senior forwards Aaron Bendickson and Bohmbach, who netted two goals apiece Saturday.
With the win, Wisconsin moved into sole possession of second place in the conference, ahead of St. Cloud State, which was idle on the weekend.
After falling behind Friday night, Wisconsin started strong Saturday, jumping out in front of Michigan Tech 2-0 in the first period of play.
UW did not score in the second period, which allowed Michigan Tech to cut the Badgers’ lead to 2-1 heading into the third. For the second straight night, though, Wisconsin found the back of the net three times in the game’s final period.
Up next for the Badgers is a trip to Minneapolis next weekend to take on the Gophers in a series that marks the regular season finale for both teams.