It was around this time last season when the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team was showing signs of promise, building confidence with sublime play and on its way to an impressive unbeaten streak that would set the stage for a memorable year.
The same cannot be said this season. At least, not at this stage of the year, not after the Badgers were swept at home for the second straight series.
Their opponent, Denver, entered the weekend having won the five previous meetings against the Badgers, including three straight wins at the Kohl Center. That trend continued Friday night, as the Pioneers shut an opponent out for the first time this season.
Denver senior center Michael Handza scored his first goal of the season at 2:29 of the third period on a redirect, and freshman winger Brock Trotter scored late in the game on a breakaway to seal the win.
The game was scoreless through the first two periods, though not uneventful. In the first, Denver sophomore right wing Patrick Mullen stole the puck from UW junior defenseman Kyle Klubertanz and skated in alone against UW senior goalie Brian Elliott. Mullen rapped a shot that grazed the crossbar and went into the netting above the boards and celebrated what he thought was the first goal of the game as an assistant referee signaled a goal.
But video replay substantiated the fact that the puck never went in the net.
""I don't know how they thought it was in,"" Elliott (30 saves) said.
The Badgers were not without prime scoring opportunities throughout the night. A wide-open net was missed on a backhand shot by junior Matt Ford in the second, and sophomore Ben Street had a shot at a clear goal in the third, only to see it deflect off a skate and go wide.
After the game Friday, head coach Mike Eaves took an unusually long time before facing the media, eventually saying that he was making sure the morale of the team was not flagging.
""We're in an offensive struggle to score some goals—timely goals—because what we see from the bench and the feeling is that we work and we work and we're winning battles and we're not getting rewarded.""
On Saturday, the Badgers finally found the back of the net, rallying back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to tie the game, but fell in overtime on a goal by Pioneer freshman Rhett Rakhshani with 14 seconds left in overtime. It was a disheartening loss for the Badgers, who were on the verge of a hard-fought tie.
In the first period, Denver freshman Brian Gifford took a perfectly placed pass from Rakhshani for a power-play goal and a 1-0 lead.
The Badgers were able to withstand a five minute penalty after freshman Ben Grotting was given a game misconduct for checking from behind, but allowed a shorthanded goal in the second period when a pass bounced off junior Kyle Klubertanz's glove. Junior Ryan Dingle beat Elliott (33 saves) for a 2-0 lead.
Freshman Michael Davies scored a power-play goal to cut the lead to 2-1 in the second period. Another goal in the third from Dingle put the Badgers down 3-1, but they responded in a big way, with goals from senior Jake Dowell and freshman John Mitchell, who got his first as a Badger to tie the game at 3-3.
After the loss Saturday, Eaves said the team was showing signs of encouragement.
""We are battling ourselves through a little bit of a funk,"" said Eaves, who later added, ""We're going to be just fine.""
