When the Wisconsin men’s hockey team got back to its roots with an outdoor game, the Badgers brought a few friends with them; 55,031 friends, to be exact.

In front of the largest hockey crowd in UW history, Wisconsin came back in dramatic fashion to beat Michigan by a score of 3-2 in the Camp Randall Hockey Classic. Prior to the men’s game, the women’s team set an attendance record as well, with over 8,000 fans on hand to watch the Badgers have their way with the Bemidji State Beavers to the tune of a 6-1 final.

UW almost didn’t walk off the ice with the win, though — it took two power play goals in the last six minutes by defenseman Brendan Smith to down the Wolverines.

“To come back late, the crowd just kept getting fired up,” senior tri-captain Ben Street said after the game. “We were cold, but I think we just had goose bumps because of how loud it was and the way the game was going.”

The game also featured nods to the usual denizens of Camp Randall, with Smith striking a Heisman pose after scoring, and the entire crowd bouncing to “Jump Around” in the third period — as much to keep warm as anything else.

It was hockey the way it was meant to be played. It was also the kind of once-in-a-lifetime experience that felt just as special as it was.

“I’ll tell you what, I was really nervous before the game. I felt like a freshman again out there; I had the butterflies going and everything,” senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion said. “It was unbelievable.”