[media-credit name=’Claire Larkins / The Badger Herald’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

In a game that might be better remembered for the numerous penalties and scuffles than the quality of play, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (20-12-7, 14-8-7 WCHA) clinched a spot in the WCHA Final Five with a 4-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth (14-20-5, 10-14-5) Saturday, completing the series sweep after winning 3-1 Friday.

Opening up as a game with plenty on the line for both teams, the Badgers dominated from the get-go Saturday.

After scoring in the third minute of the first period, Wisconsin never looked back, adding two more goals over the next five minutes to give UW a commanding 3-1 lead entering the first intermission.

The second goal of the game, scored in the fifth minute of play, would ultimately be the game winner.

Scored in a typical fashion for junior winger Michael Mersch, a shot by sophomore winger Joseph LaBate got lost in the confusion right in front of the net before Mersch swooped in to put the puck away off the rebound.

This came just minutes after junior center Jefferson Dahl earned the first goal when he received the puck in the slot from junior winger Sean Little and turning to flip a shot into the top shelf of the net.

Wisconsin would cap off its scoring frenzy with a goal from the left circle by freshman Kevin Schulze after UMD had brought the game back within one on a counter-attack goal.

“To score three goals like that, that’s an explosion for us,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said. “That great start put them in position that they couldn’t get back from.”

Obviously frustrated with the prospects of finishing their season with a second-straight loss to the Badgers, the Bulldogs couldn’t stay out of the penalty box in the second period and beyond – earning six trips to the penalty box in the second and third periods.

Content to sit back and defend, holding on to a two-goal lead, the Badgers finished off the game midway through the third period after junior winger Tyler Barnes slipped in between two defenders and then cut right on another before putting the Badgers’ fourth goal of the night in the back of the net.

Wisconsin is now headed to the WCHA Final Five which begins Thursday in St. Paul, Minn., an unlikely feat after starting the season 1-7-2.

“In the locker room, we believed what we could do,” Dahl said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but everyone [did] their part and look where we are now.”

Badgers take first game against Bulldogs, 3-1

Continuing to build it’s resume for a potential NCAA tournament berth after the WCHA Playoffs, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team defeated Minnesota Duluth 3-1 in the first game of the WCHA Playoffs Friday at the Kohl Center.

Finding their range from well outside the crease, the Badgers scored two critical goals off of long-distance efforts to tie, and then to take the lead, in the second period, before icing the game late in the third with an empty-netter.

After having fallen behind on a UMD first-period goal, a deep desperation shot from junior forward Mark Zengerle was deflected into the back of the net by a well-positioned Nic Kerdiles standing directly in front of UMD’s goaltender six minutes into the second period.

The goal – Kerdiles’ seventh of the season – made Friday’s game Kerdiles’ seventh straight game recording at least one point for the Badgers.

Less than ten minutes later a confident Wisconsin team capped off a solid second period performance – they out-shot their opponents 13-8 – with an even more impressive long-range shot from senior defenseman John Ramage during a second-period power play.

“They wore them down,” Ramage said of his teammates. “Just grinded them down, and that wears on you as a defenseman. Being a defenseman, it sucks playing your own net for 1:20 and not getting any offensive chances. Mentally … it wears you down too.”

Sizing up his shot from the UMD blue line, Ramage shot a laser into the upper corner of the net, just past the outstretched glove of the UMD goaltender.

With the lead in hand, UW seemed content to sit back and rest on its laurels for the rest of the game – riding out its opponent’s pressure to take a commanding lead in the best-of-three series.

This was a completely different game plan from the one that Wisconsin entered the first period with however.

Dominating the first six minutes of the game, the Badgers jumped out to a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal.

But in the eighth minute of the game, UMD scored on a counter-attack against the run of play to take a surprise lead over their hosts.

While the goal put UW in a tough position to come back from, Eaves was happy with sophomore goaltender Joel Rumpel’s, and the rest of the team’s, ability to recover quickly with their season on the line.

“I think we did a good job in that second period, getting that tying goal, and then continuing to build,” Eaves said. “I don’t know how much we gave them in the second period in terms of scoring chances, but when we did, [Rumpel] was there for us. He made some great saves.”