Two goals by sophomore forward Joe Pavelski Saturday night helped the No. 13- ranked Badgers conclude their first weekend of Western Collegiate Hockey Association play on a high note. Wisconsin (1-0-1 WCHA, 2-1-1 overall) defeated St. Cloud State (1-0-1, 1-2-1) in Minnesota by a score of 3-1, just a day after tying the Huskies 2-2.
Freshman Goalie Brian Elliot stopped 14 shots in the Badger victory, while senior right wing Ryan MacMurchy added the third goal and junior forward Robbie Earl pitched in with all three assists. The win was the Badgers 600th in WCHA play.
With less than eight minutes remaining in the first period of play, Earl handled the puck behind the St.. Cloud net. With the Badgers on a 5-on-3 advantage, Earl faked a pass to one side of the net and passed to MacMurchy on the left side. MacMurchy fired the puck past junior goalie Bobby Goepfert and UW skated to a 1-0 lead.
Wisconsin's second goal was Pavelski's first of the evening and came with just over four minutes remaining in the second period. Goepfert swatted away Pavelski's first attempt, but his rebound was sent right through the goalie's legs.
St. Cloud got into the action early in the third period, when sophomore forward Joe Jensen started a fast break with no defenders back for UW on the power play. Jensen shot a cross pass to sophomore forward Andrew Gordon. Gordon beat Elliot for the Huskies' only goal of the game.
Pavelski provided some insurance with just over nine minutes remaining, when Earl found him again. Pavelski, stationed in the slot, one-timed the puck past Goepfert on his blocker side and tallied his second goal of the game and his third score of the season.
In the previous game, late goals by freshman forward Jack Skille and senior defenseman Tom Gilbert helped the Badgers escape with a 2-2 tie.
Skille's goal, with seven minutes left, was his second of the season and tied the game at 1-1. Sophomore defenseman Kyle Klubertanz fired a shot from the point. The shot was then tipped by Skille past Goepfert for the goal.
Fifty-one seconds later, Gilbert's slap shot beat Goepfert. The assist was sent in by junior forward Jake Dowell.
The Badger lead was short-lived, though, when less than a minute later, freshman center Matt Hartman's shot was stopped by Elliot into a Badger player and back into the goal.
The game remained tied, despite a huge power play chance for UW. In fact, neither team was able to convert on the power play in the game, going a combined 0-13.
The Badgers head home for a weekend series against Alaska-Anchorage. The teams are set to play Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m.
-www.uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
