For the Wisconsin men's hockey team ( 10-11-1 WCHA, 13-15-2 overall), last weekend's sweep of Alaska Anchorage (7-16-1, 11-16-3) is just what the doctor ordered. With the regular season coming to an end and the Badgers in desperate need of some wins, the first home series sweep of the season may prove to be a corner that UW is hoping to turn.
Head coach Mike Eaves reflected on the weekend sweep and chalked up the four-point weekend to how his team prepared for the series.
""It was a continuum of what we had at practice this week, and that is a good thing,"" Eaves said.
It seems that practice finally made perfect for the Badgers, who moved from eighth place in the WCHA standings into a tie for sixth with Michigan Tech. UW manhandled the Seawolves both nights, with a 4-0 win Friday and a 3-1 win Saturday.
Friday's contest saw the line of senior Ross Carlson, Jake Dowell, and freshman Michael Davies score six of the Badgers' 12 points. Davies expressed how it feels to be playing with such an experienced line.
""Right now [I feel] just very excited obviously,"" Davies said. ""I'm playing with probably the two best forwards on the team as a freshman, so it's an honor to go out there and play hockey with them.""
While Friday's game was fast paced and very intense, Saturday's matchup got off to a less than thrilling start. The Badgers seemed to come out flat and it showed, as the Seawolves outshot the Badgers 13-8. Senior goaltender Brain Elliott proved to be invaluable in the first period, with several spectacular saves during Badger penalty kills.
However, the highlight of Saturday's win was the production of the Badger defensemen and a goal by freshman Tom Gorowsky.
Both junior Davis Drewiske and freshman Jamie McBain scored goals in Saturday's win and were very involved in UW's offense throughout the game. Drewiske's goal was one for the highlight reel, as his shot was deflected by a Seawolf defenseman over goalie Nathan Lawson and into the top right shelf.
But even with all the unorthodox scoring, the goal of the night was undoubtedly Gorowsky's. The freshman wasn't even slotted to play until Saturday morning, when junior Matthew Ford was injured during a morning warm-up.
Gorowsky made the most of his opportunity, and scored the game-winning goal on a one-on-one matchup.
""I was going to post up on the far blue line, just as an outlet,"" Gorowsky explained. ""The puck went over to the other side, me and Ben kind of made eye contact, and he tossed it out there for me, and I was lucky enough to have a step on the guys so that I could get a good shot off.""
Gorowsky's shot was better than ""good."" The freshman deked a few times, and chipped a wrist shot past Lawson into the lower left part of the net.
Wisconsin fans hope for another sweep next Friday and Saturday as the Badgers host St. Cloud State.
