The Wisconsin men's hockey team (13-2-2 WCHA, 18-4-2 overall) entered this weekend's series against Denver (11-5-2, 14-10-2) surrounded by question marks regarding freshman goaltender Shane Connelly, who was starting in his first career game in place of the injured Brian Elliott. But the story of the weekend was the inability of the Badgers' league-leading offense to score goals.
The Badgers came into the weekend scoring just under four goals per game in league play, but could muster only two goals the entire weekend as they got swept by second-place Denver.
'When you score two goals in a weekend, you're not going to win in this league,' senior center Adam Burish said. 'We didn't put the puck in the net enough times to win this weekend.'
In his collegiate debut Friday night, Connelly stopped 22 of 23 shots for the Badgers, but his effort was not enough for a victory, as Denver junior goalie Glenn Fisher pitched a shutout, making 28 saves. The game marked the first time the Badgers have been shut out since early last season.
Saturday night's game looked promising for the Badgers when sophomore forward Robbie Earl put the puck past Denver sophomore goalie Peter Mannino just 52 seconds into the game. Earl's two linemates'Burish and sophomore winger Joe Pavelski' both picked up assists on the play.
But the Pioneers answered seven minutes later on the power play when senior center Gabe Gauthier's shot found its way through traffic in front of the net and past Connelly.
Twelve minutes into the contest the Pioneers took the lead and never looked back. Sophomore winger Ryan Dingle scored his first of two goals with a slap shot to Connelly's glove side.
Dingle, Denver's leading goal scorer, sat out Friday's game on a one-game suspension for a check from behind last weekend.
'I've never been more nervous in my life than last night'not being able to have a hand in any of it, I just wanted to come in and help [my teammates] out tonight,' Dingle said. 'The puck's starting to bounce my way again and it feels good.'
Connelly had a handful of big saves in the game, including one on a shot that caromed off two Wisconsin defenders and was heading into the goal. Connelly spun around quick and got his stick behind him to scoop the puck out with the tip of his stick blade. The save earned him a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.
'Connelly did what he was supposed to do this weekend,' Burish said. 'He played well.'
Junior center Geoff Paukovich notched his second goal of the season near the end of the second period to give the Pioneers a two-goal advantage at 3-1.
Earl pulled the game to within one with a one-timer from Pavelski on the power play that beat Mannino on the blocker side. Andrew Joudrey added an assist on the play.
But Joudrey would take a boarding penalty with five minutes to play, and watch from the penalty box as Dingle slid a backhand on the ice past Connelly.
While the Badgers did not want to lose to Denver, according to head coach Mike Eaves, they learned something from the two-time defending national champions, and got to see first hand what Burish called a 'championship team swagger.'
'We will be a better team in the long run because of this weekend,' Eaves said.
After the sweep, and with Minnesota sweeping Colorado College, the Badgers now hold a four point lead over Denver and Minnesota in the WCHA standings. Next weekend the Badgers play host to Minnesota at the Kohl Center.
