The Wisconsin men's hockey team has been known to vanish late in the second and the entire third period, but if this past weekend's series against North Dakota is any indication of what is to come, then Badger fans should be in for a much different second half of the season.
The Badgers (5-6-1 WCHA, 7-9-2 overall) swept North Dakota (5-6-1, 7-8-1) at Ralph Engelstad Arena 4-3 Friday and 4-2 Saturday to score four points for the weekend, a tough task for any team on the road.
Friday's game started off the same way Badger fans had come to expect. North Dakota forward Ryan Duncan scored first on a power play at the 12:19 mark in the first period. But the Badgers were quick to answer, as senior captain Andrew Joudrey scored his third goal of the season off an assist from junior defenseman Davis Drewiske less than a minute later.
The second period became a goalie's nightmare, as four goals were tallied in the frame. Freshman defenseman Jamie McBain started the scoring barrage with a power play goal 4:18 into the period. For the Fighting Sioux, Duncan again found the back of the net, scoring his second goal of the night halfway through the frame.
The Badgers then went on to score twice in the last three minutes of the period to put the game out of reach. Senior forward Jake Dowell took the puck end to end, and scored over the shoulder of UND goalie Philippe Lamoureux to notch his team-leading ninth goal.
Only a minute and a half later, junior forward Matthew Ford sealed the game, scoring off sophomore forward Jack Skille's second assist of the night to give the Badgers the 4-2 lead. Chay Genoway pulled the Fighting Sioux within one goal, scoring at the 11:42 mark of the third period.
But the Badgers were able to fend off the Sioux to notch their second-straight win, the first time they have had back-to-back wins all season.
Saturday's game seemed nearly identical Friday's matchup. The Badgers again found the back of the Sioux's net four times, and were able to sweep North Dakota for the first time at Ralph Engelstad Arena in consecutive years.
The Fighting Sioux again took an early 1-0 lead, as Brad Miller scored on UND's first power play 1:34 into the first period. Dowell evened the score at the 13:02 mark in the first.
The second period was very inactive compared to Friday's affair, with UND scoring the only goal of the frame as Robbie Bina gave the Sioux the 2-1 lead heading into the final period.
The third period was home to three Badger scores. Dowell notched his second power play goal of the night with just under five minutes to play tying the game 2-2. Carlson then sealed the game at the 16:29 mark of the third. With less than two minutes to play, UND pulled goalie Philippe Lamoureux in a last effort to tie the game. Carlson then scored an insurance goal on the empty net at the 18:39 mark.
Senior goalie Brian Elliott had a total of 60 saves over the weekend series, and while he did allow five goals, seemed to resemble last year's form.
The Badgers return to action Dec. 29-30 in the 18th annual Badger Hockey Showdown.
