The Wisconsin men's hockey team (4-8-2, 3-6-1 WCHA) continued their struggles on the ice this weekend, being swept in its weekend border battle against Minnesota.
In Saturday night's 2-1 loss, Wisconsin played from behind early, and was unable to get any momentum and stage a comeback. With 2:22 left in the first, Minnesota junior Alex Goligoski scored his fourth goal of the season during a Minnesota power play with helpers from junior Mike Howe and freshman Kyle Okposo.
Minnesota scored the game winner at the 6:06 mark of the third, as sophomore Blake Wheeler centered a pass to freshman Jay Barriball who scored his ninth of the year, giving the Gophers the 2-0 lead.
Wisconsin cut the lead to one when senior forward Ross Carlson was able to round up a loose puck off of a shot by freshman defenseman Jamie McBain and put it in the net. The goal came with just under five minutes left in the game. Both McBain and junior defenseman Davis Drewiske received assists on Carlson's goal.
The Badgers were also outmatched in pure numbers, as freshmen Blake Geoffrion and Aaron Bendickson both left the game in the first period due to injury. These injuries left Wisconsin short-handed for the rest of the game, forcing UW to make adjustments on the fly.
Senior goaltender Brian Elliott ended the night with 33 saves for the Badgers, while Minnesota senior Kellen Briggs stopped 25 shots.
The Badgers were scoreless on the power play, going 0-for-2. Minnesota at least had some success, going 1-for-4 with a one-man advantage.
In Sunday's 3-1 loss, Wisconsin came out with much more intensity to take a 1-0 lead. Sophomore forward Ben Street broke the 0-0 tie with 14:37 left in the second period, and Wisconsin seemed to have the momentum in a silenced Mariucci Arena.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, the third quarter was all Minnesota. The Gophers tallied three goals in the final frame to secure the weekend sweep over Wisconsin. Minnesota sophomore Ryan Stoa started the scoring at the 4:49 mark of the period, tying the game 1-1. Later, with just over five minutes to play, freshman Tony Lucia notched the game winner as he was able to slip a loose puck past Elliott.
Elliott caught the puck off a rebound and had it in his glove, but the puck was knocked out. Elliott then tried to dive on the puck, only to have it slip under him and out past his legs, which were up in the air. Lucia slapped in the puck while falling past the net to put the game away for the Gophers.
Elliott stopped 27 shots, while Minnesota's Jeff Frazee recorded 23 saves. The Badgers finished Sunday's game 0-for-5 on the power play, ending the weekend scoreless on the man advantage.
The Badgers return home next weekend to host the College Hockey Showcase. Wisconsin takes on Michigan Friday night and Michigan State Saturday night. Both games are set to start at 7 p.m.
