Had the Wisconsin men’s hockey team swept St. Cloud State in its final series of the regular season, the Badgers would have been assured two games at the Kohl Center in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs.
After their split against the Huskies on the road this weekend, though, things become a bit more complicated.
A 2-1 win and 3-2 loss at the National Hockey Center meant the Badgers ended up with 27 points in the WCHA standings. Meanwhile, St. Cloud State and Minnesota State are within striking distance, each one point behind.
While UW’s regular season is over, both the Mavericks and Huskies have two games to try to overtake the Badgers for the prized fourth and fifth spots, which get home ice in the bid to qualify for the WCHA’s Final Five in St. Paul, Minn.
The Badgers (11-12-5 WCHA, 15-14-7) ended up one win shy of assuring home ice. They got the first half of the equation right in a comeback victory on Friday.
Down 1-0 after a St. Cloud State power-play goal in the first period, the Badgers scored two goals within 1:01 in the second period, during which they outshot the Huskies 16-3.
Just 17 seconds into the period, senior captain Davis Drewiske scored on the power play, with assists from sophomores Michael Davies and Jamie McBain. Then, at 1:18 into the second, junior Ben Street tipped a Davies shot into the net for the lead. Davies and McBain were again credited with assists.
Behind junior goaltender Shane Connelly’s modest 14-save effort, the Badgers held on to give themselves a significant opportunity Saturday.
Again the Badgers found themselves down 1-0, but they quickly responded. Sophomore Ben Grotting put a wrist shot into the net to tie the game less than a minute later. UW took hold of the lead early in the second period on a deflected power-play goal by Davies.
But in a span of a minute, the Huskies regained the lead, scoring two power-play goals before the second period was over. The third period went scoreless, and, as a result, the Badgers are now forced to play the waiting game.
St. Cloud State travels to North Dakota for their last series, while Minnesota State will play at home against Michigan Tech. In the event of ties in the standings, the determining factor would be head-to-head play. UW has the advantage in the season series only against St. Cloud State.
After Saturday’s loss, Badgers head coach Mike Eaves evaluated his team’s uncertain future.
“It’s out of our control, so we sit and watch now,” he said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I don’t know if frustrating is the word. That may be part of the emotion, but it’s not the whole emotion.”
—uwbadgers.com contributed
to this report.
