MINNEAPOLIS – It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t quick to be official. But it was enough.
Junior winger Jordy Murray managed to get just enough of his stick on a puck to poke it past Minnesota goaltender Kent Patterson, tying the game at 3 with just under three minutes to play.
That score would hold up as the final, after a goalless overtime period that earned the Wisconsin men’s hockey team three out of four points at Mariucci Arena. Saturday’s affair was much more tightly contested than the Badgers’ 6-0 drubbing of the Gophers the night before.
While Wisconsin pushed its streak of going winless in overtime to 23 games (0-6-17), the Badgers overcame two deficits in Saturday’s game to earn the tie. UW went down 2-0 early to start the first period and tied it up before Jay Barriball scored on the power play at the end of the second to give UM a 3-2 edge.
But a little luck and a long review gave Wisconsin the equalizer at 17:06 of the third. Freshman Mark Zengerle tried to jam the puck in on Patterson, but was denied. The puck stayed in between Patterson and his defensemen, who were unable to clear before Murray flew in and finished the play, his second goal of the game.
“We’re a hard-working team to the core, that’s our mentality,” Murray said. “I just didn’t give up on the play and got pretty lucky there that the whistle wasn’t blown.”
Wisconsin’s power play helped the Badgers pull out of an early two-goal hole.
UM’s Taylor Matson and Jake Hansen got a two-on-one in transition, with Matson keeping it and beating UW goaltender Brett Bennett from the left circle at 4:18 in the first.
Later, Murray was called for a trip, giving Minnesota a power play. Erik Haula had the puck to Bennett’s left and crossed it over the crease, giving Jacob Cepis a wide open net to put the Golden Gophers up 2-0.
But UW would strike back at the end of the first period on the power play. Bennett, who the coaches like for his ability to play the puck, came out to handle a Minnesota clear. He found Zengerle at the opposing blue line and the freshman took it to the goalline before dropping it to Justin Schultz in the high slot. Schultz converted on a wrist shot to Patterson’s blocker side, making the score 2-1.
“The puck was rolling so I had to caress it a little bit and I got it up to him as quick as possible to try to lead him across the blue line so he could get space going towards the net,” Bennett said of his assist.
Murray’s first goal tied the game at 2, another power-play tally, early in the second. Zengerle skated in the zone, dropping the puck for a trailing Schultz. Patterson made a pad save on the shot, but Murray leapt in and poked it through.
After winning 6-0 the night before, UW head coach Mike Eaves said he was very happy to take three points out of Minneapolis.
“To come into this building and take three out of four points, and to battle back twice from being down, shows a lot of heart of this group,” he said. “So the disappointment factor is pretty small.”
In Friday’s game, UW went just 1-6 on the power play. But it didn’t matter, as Scott Gudmandson got a shutout in goal and three freshmen scored for the Badgers.
Michael Mersch got the only goal UW would end up needing with 43 seconds left in the first period. On an unassisted effort, he was stuffed putting it on UM goaltender Alex Kangas’ blocker side, before getting his rebound and going around the back of the net to poke it in there.
“I got a chance, puck hopped up on my stick and like I said, good things happen when you go to the net,” Mersch said.
Wisconsin looked thoroughly dominant throughout the game, an impressive feat considering the venue. It’s an even more exceptional accomplishment when the opponent (Minnesota) and the fact UW was playing seven freshmen in its lineup are factored in.
All of Wisconsin’s goals came from down low, as the Badgers consistently won the battles in front of the net and in the corners. Derek Lee, Murray and Zengerle would all score in the second period and Mersch added his second of the night – and second two-goal game in two series – to make the score 5-0 after two periods of play.
Tyler Barnes would score on a wrap-around attempt in the third period to finish the scoring.
The Badgers shut out a Gophers team that was averaging over four goals scored per game and was fresh off a 9-3 win over Colorado College. UM went 0-4 on the power play and managed 24 shots on goal to Wisconsin’s 38.
“I thought we played really well,” Gudmandson said. “When Minnesota was getting scoring chances, I thought we did a great job boxing out and battling in front of our net.”
The big thing for Eaves was simply getting points and seeing his team grow.
“At this time and point, it’s about getting points and putting hay in the barn,” Eaves said. “Getting that point now will be big at the end of the year.”
