Protecting the lead—a rarity during a five-game losing streak heading into the weekend—has been a point of emphasis this season for the Wisconsin men's hockey team. Playing in the College Hockey Showcase, the Badgers (3-6-1 WCHA, 5-9-2 overall) turned in mixed results against two top-ten teams at the Kohl Center Friday and Saturday.
UW fell to Michigan in the opener, 4-3, a game in which the Badgers were unable to hold leads of 2-0 after the first period and 3-2 entering the final stanza. Saturday night, the Badgers were bent on protecting their advantage in a 2-0 victory over Michigan State.
A one-goal lead entering the third disappeared quickly Friday, as Michigan, No. 7 in the nation, beat senior goaltender Brian Elliott (30 saves) for two goals in a lightning-quick span of 27 seconds.
""We talked about being on our toes, being ready to play,"" head coach Mike Eaves said of the team's discussion between the second and third periods. ""We had a couple of breakdowns that cost us.""
Freshman forward Michael Davies recorded his fifth goal of the season in the first period, and sophomore forward Jack Skille made a notable return from his elbow injury that had set him back for 11 games, scoring to put the Badgers up 2-0. Junior forward Matthew Ford added a score in the second to put UW on top, 3-2, but the third period belonged to Michigan, who beat Wisconsin for the first time in four tries.
More importantly, the Badgers' funk was extended to six straight losses. The Badgers will not have to fixate on a loss this week, though, as they topped Michigan State on the back end of the showcase.
Sophomore goalie Shane Connelly turned away 19 shots for his second career shutout, and UW got its first win since Nov. 3.
Senior forward Andrew Joudrey made it a 1-0 game only 42 seconds into the second period, and sophomore Ben Street added another score on the other side of the period with only 46 seconds left. Connelly saved nine shots in the third to keep the game in UW's favor and end a five-game losing streak at the Kohl Center.
Eaves was happy to see his team win, especially after the rough straits it experienced during its losing streak.
""We played some pretty good hockey [during the streak], and it's nice for these young men to get a win and just kind of have a collective sigh of relief that they got rewarded for their hard work,"" Eaves said.
—madison.com
contributed to this report.
