In a sport where polls and voters only get you so far, winning with style doesn’t always mean a lot – and for that the Badgers are thankful.

In a lethargic game at the Kohl Center, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team beat Canisius in the teams’ first ever meeting, 3-0. The 40 shots on goal UW ripped off indicated the score should have been more lopsided than that.

But Justin Schultz’s goal at 15:33 of the first period was all the scoring the Badgers would need. Mark Zengerle got the puck to Schultz near the left point and the sophomore skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot that beat Canisius goaltender Tony Capobianco glove side.

It remained 1-0 until almost halfway through the third period, despite UW’s large lead in shots on goal. Despite Canisius not touching the puck in the UW zone until 1:40 into the game, the Badgers’ dominance wouldn’t last.

“The first four shifts, we were down in their zone the whole time,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “The immediate success that we had in their zone, I think it lured us into not being as sharp, and doing the hard things; getting to the net and getting tips and rebounds.”

But after a scoreless second period, Craig Smith would take an entry pass from Jordy Murray into the slot and do the same at 9:43 of the third period to give UW a two-goal cushion.

It was the last goal that was highlight reel-worthy though, even if it meant little in the context of the game. A shot from the point bounced off the back wall and to Murray, who batted it out of the air and into the net for UW’s third score.

But the almost two-to-one shots-on-goal margin Wisconsin had on Canisius only reinforces the thing the Badgers took away from the game: They should have won by more.

Jake Gardiner had two shots go off the post in the same power play in the first period, which would be a sign of things to come for both teams. Aside from a couple of Schultz rushes in and one Sean Little breakaway, there wasn’t a whole lot of excitement in the game. There were shots and chances aplenty, but whether the game had ended 1-0 as it looked like it might, or 7-0 like it could have, the entertainment value was low.

“Our emphasis going into the second period was to stick with our game,” Smith said. “I think we got kind of off course after a few minutes in the first there.”

Canisius fell to 0-7-2 against WCHA teams and 3-15-1 against nationally-ranked squads. The Golden Griffins are 6-9-4 on the year.

Wisconsin improved to 13-7-3 on the season and will finish the non-conference portion of its regular season with the series finale Saturday night.

And while the win wasn’t flashy or nerve-wracking, it was a positive for Eaves.

“To me, this was a test of our mental toughness, in terms of not having what I would consider our A game,” he said. “Fighting ourselves a little bit and readjusting in between the period, relax a little bit, have confidence we can play at a higher level and then executing that.”