The UW men's hockey team had a tough road task this weekend and, simply put, the Badgers were not up to the challenge.
Facing the hostile environment of Mariucci Arena, the Badgers (10-13-3 WCHA, 12-18-4 overall), fell on both nights to the fourth-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-7-3-WCHA, 24-7-4 overall). Wisconsin is in the midst of a seven-game winless streak, but they still control their own destiny in clinching the fifth and final home seed in the WCHA playoffs.
The Badgers fell behind early on Friday night and never had a chance to catch up after Minnesota scored four goals in six minutes midway through the second period. Senior forward Andy Wheeler netted two goals for the Badgers and senior defenseman Rob Vega added an even-strength goal.
Saturday night the Badgers and Gophers played into a 3-3 tie and settled matters in overtime with the Gophers winning in overtime off of senior defenseman Jordan Leopold's game-winning goal.
Junior forward Erik Jensen gave UW an early 1-0 lead off of senior center Matt Murray's shot. Minnesota notched it up later in the first period before exploding for two goals in two and a half minutes in the second period making it 3-1. Late in the second period, Bucky had a two-man power play and took advantage of it, scoring to bring the score to 3-2. Freshman center Alex Leavitt registered the power play, with senior forward Kent Davyduke adding the assist.
Less than a minute later, Badger senior forward Matt Doman tied up the game with an even-strength goal.
The third period was marked by no scoring and many penalties; in overtime, Leopold, a Hobey Baker candidate, cut out the Badgers' heart with the game-winner two minutes into the extra period.
The UW women's hockey team (15-5-1 WCHA, 19-9-2 overall) faced off against the Buckeyes of Ohio State (9-11-3 WCHA, 15-12-4 overall) in a WCHA match up. The No. 10 Buckeyes may have come into Madison hoping to upset the Badgers but the Badgers instead sent OSU packing without a win.
Wisconsin swept the weekend series, winning 1-0 in overtime Friday night and 3-0 Saturday night. Junior goalie Jackie MacMillan notched her eighth and ninth shutouts of the year. Sophomore forward Meghan Hunter netted the game winner on Friday night scoring her 18th goal of the year. Junior forward Kendra Antony assisted her.
Saturday, Antony, freshman defender Molly Engstrom and junior defender Kerry Weiland all netted goals for Bucky.
Series Note: Friday's victory was the 100th victory for Badger women's hockey.
