The No. 6 Wisconsin men's hockey team traveled to take on the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs for their season finale this past weekend.
The Badgers (16-9-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 21-11-4 overall) came into the weekend 11-1 at Duluth since the 1996-'97 season, and confident after sweeping the Bulldogs (11-13-4 WCHA, 15-15-6 overall) at the Kohl Center earlier in the year.
However, the trip turned out to be disappointing for the Badgers as they failed to win a game, tying Friday night's contest and losing by one goal Saturday.
The Badgers came out firing in a balanced game Friday night, converting two of three power plays for goals in the first period. At 6:38 in the first period, the Badgers capitalized on a 5-3 advantage when sophomore forward Ross Carlson set up fellow sophomore forward Jake Dowell with a pass from the left corner that left Dowell with an open view of the net. The Bulldogs quickly responded on a power play of their own after an attempt to clear went awry and was intercepted by freshman winger Blair Lefebvre who put it past senior Wisconsin goalie Bernd Br??ckler.
After one more goal from both teams, the score sat at 2-2 for the rest of the game. Frustration set in as defense on both sides tightened up and play got more intense. Despite heavy checking on both sides, neither let up, and Br??ckler helped stop a furious assault at the net late in the game by Duluth to preserve at least a tie.
Saturday night, the Badgers once again scored first, but could not hold onto their lead. In contrast to the previous night, the first period was scoreless, but picked up soon into the second period. Defense on both sides was still tough, but the puck found its way to the sticks of Duluth players twice on unlucky bounces off shots. Freshman Badger forward Joe Pavelski scored the first goal and had an assist in the loss. Pavelski tied sophomore forward Robbie Earl for the team lead in points (38) later in the game when he recorded an assist.
Power play conversions were not the forte of either team this game, as Wisconsin was 1-4 and Duluth only 1-5.
The loss turned out to be an important one, as the Badgers failed to pick up a much needed point for third place in the WCHA standings. Their loss, coupled with Minnesota's win over Michigan State, means the Badgers tie Minnesota for third, but fall to the fourth seed in the playoffs due to Minnesota's 3-1 record against the Badgers this season.
The fourth-seeded Badgers will host Alaska Anchorage in a best of three series starting March 11 at the Alliant Energy Coliseum.
