The Wisconsin men's hockey team (0-2-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 4-4-0 overall) hoped to celebrate Halloween with a win against the No. 2 Denver Pioneers (2-0-0, 7-1-0) as both teams begin conference play. Wisconsin fans came to the Kohl Center dressed in their red and white, or other various forms of costumes, to get some treats and see UW get some tricks. The Badgers played against one of the top defenses and goalies in the nation, Pioneer senior goalie Wade Dubielewicz.
Friday, Wisconsin's only lead in the game came 28 seconds after the whistle when UW's freshman right wing Ryan MacMurchy scored off a rebounded shot from Badger sophomore center Alex Leavitt. This lead quickly diminished in less than a minute as Denver came back to score two goals.
The crowd helped to shift momentum to Wisconsin late in the third period. UW senior center Brad Winchester pushed a loose puck into the net. Presented with numerous power play situations, Wisconsin failed to take advantage of the six-on-four (after pulling senior goalie Scott Kabotoff) and Denver obliterated any momentum Wisconsin had. In the last 30 seconds, senior defenseman Aaron MacKenzie got his second goal of the game on an empty netter.
Sophomore center Alex Leavitt predicted the team would bounce back after Friday's loss.
\We're going to come back tomorrow night, we're going to play just as good as tonight, maybe better,"" Leavitt said.
Saturday started off quickly for Denver, which took advantage of two power plays, for a 2-to-1 lead after one period. The Pioneer defense helped junior goalie Adam Berkhoel by limiting the shots taken on him. UW only managed 12 shots on goal in the game. The shots that did occur paid off, however, as Berkhoel was only able to save one of three shots in the period, allowing Wisconsin to take a 3-2 lead.
Winchester received a penalty and Denver scored on the power play to tie the game at three a piece. Pioneer senior forward Greg Barber later secured the sweep by quickly redirecting a pass past the glove of sophomore goaltender Bernd Bruckler.
Denver sealed an eerie Halloween weekend for UW by scoring an empty net goal in the last few seconds to give Wisconsin the same 5-3 result both nights, even though they fulfilled Leavitt's prophecy to play harder. Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves was happy with his team for being able to raise their competitive level and play hard for 60 minutes against a top-ranked team.
""I wish we could play those guys every week because then by the end of the year we would become a really good team,"" Eaves said.
UW hopes to continue this competitive level when they face off against Minnesota-Duluth (1-0-1, 1-2-3) Nov. 15 and 16.
