The No. 5 UW men's hockey team (3-2-1 WCHA, 4-4-2 overall) took a step forward Friday, perservering to get a 3-2 overtime victory over Alaska-Anchorage (1-3-1, 3-3-2). The problem is, the Badgers erased the step with a poor offensive showing in a 2-1 loss Saturday.
""There were times that we played really well,"" UW senior captain Andrew Joudrey said. ""But it wasn't enough. When you only score one goal and get beat on special teams, you're not going to win much.""
""I was disappointed in some of the efforts of our guys tonight, to be real honest with you,"" UW head coach Mike Eaves said. ""We have to go back and regroup.""
Wisconsin got off to a great start Friday, as freshman forward Michael Davies scored his third goal of the season in the game's first two minutes. The rest of the first period went by without any further scoring.
A bad break tied the game in the second period for Alaska-Anchorage. Seawolf Paul Crowder took advantage of a Ben Street penalty, and fired a power-play goal that deflected off Badger junior defenseman Davis Drewiske past senior goalie Brian Elliott.
The tie lasted for the rest of the second period before UW freshman forward Blake Geoffrion picked a great time to get his first career goal. Only 1:17 into the third, Geoffrion put a shot past Seawolves goalie Nathan Lawson. Wisconsin looked home free for a win before Crowder snuck a shot past Elliott with a mere 32 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Overtime was a back-and-forth affair until UW junior forward Matthew Ford took a pass from sophomore forward Tom Gorowsky and scored to give the Badgers a win. Elliott finished the game with 27 saves while Lawson stopped 31 Wisconsin shots.
Saturday's game started off well enough, as a scoreless first period was broken by UW's team leader in goals, senior forward Jake Dowell. With a minute left in the first, the puck caromed off Dowell's skate and into the goal. The play was reviewed, but the original call was upheld. Joudrey and Davies were credited with assists on the play.
A Drewiske penalty in the second period led to a power play goal by Seawolf Charlie Kronschabel. The rest of the second period went scoreless, but it did not take long for the third period to yield a chance to break the tie.
A scant 33 seconds into the third period, Alaska-Anchorage capitalized on a Jeff Likens penalty to score its third power play goal of the weekend. Justin Bourne took a pass from Jay Beagle and slid a shot past Elliott to give the Seawolves the eventual game-winner. The Badgers had three power play opportunities following the Bourne goal, but nothing came to fruition. Elliott completed the game with 24 stops while Lawson got the win with 22 saves.
Wisconsin returns home this weekend to the Kohl Center to take on Denver.
—The Wisconsin State Journal
contributed to this report.
