The state of Michigan was the destination for the No. 12 Wisconsin men's hockey team over Thanksgiving break, as the Badgers took on the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines and the No. 6Michigan State Spartans in the College Hockey Showdown. UW was unable to capture a win, however, losing to Michigan 3-2 on Friday and tying Michigan State 4-4 in overtime Saturday.
The Badgers (2-4 WCHA, 5-6-1 overall) found themselves down one goal after one period of play against the Wolverines at Yost Arena Friday, a troubling trend as of late for Wisconsin. Senior forward Chad Kolarik scored the opening goal on a power play 11 minutes and 25 seconds into the game. Sophomore defenseman Steve Kampfer was credited with the solo assist.
Michigan (8-0-0 CCHA, 12-1-0) furthered its lead to 3-0 in the second period. The Wolverines found success on the power play again with Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty each scoring on the one man advantage.
Wisconsin was unable to score in the second period, even though it had many opportunities, including a 5-on-3.
The Badgers were not deterred, and came out in the third period with a force. With 2:50 left in the game, freshman defenseman Brendan Smith sent a pass to freshman forward Podge Turnbull, who backhanded the puck over the right shoulder of Michigan goaltender Billy Sauer.
Junior forward Ben Street scored another goal to bring the Badgers within one goal only 18 seconds later. Street sent a laser right past Sauer for the goal after skating up the left wing and found the open window.
That would be as close as Wisconsin would get. Junior goaltender Shane Connelly stopped 32 shots, compared to Sauer's 26.
The Badgers found themselves in a similar situation on Saturday against Michigan State (4-2 CCHA. 8-3-2), where they were again trailing early in the contest. This time, however, the score was 2-1 in favor of the Spartans. After MSU scored an early goal, freshman defenseman Ryan McDonagh scored the tying goal just over a minute after the Spartans took the early lead. McDonagh's shot deflected off of a Spartan player and into the net, a good sign for Wisconsin.
But Michigan State scored again in the first, as junior forward Matt Schepke scored a power play goal to give the Spartans the one goal lead heading into the first intermission.
The Badgers tied the game late in the second period. With only 5.2 seconds remaining, sophomore forward Blake Geoffrion gathered a pass from freshman forward Patrick Johnson, and hit a wrist-shot past MSU goalie Jeff Lerg, all while falling over a Spartan defender.
Both teams added two goals each in the third period. For Wisconsin, senior defenseman and team captain Davis Drewiske scored his second goal of the season with about nine minutes left in regulation. Junior forward Ben Street scored the final goal of the game, as he deked past Lerg on a one-on-one opportunity and backhanded the shot over his left shoulder. The goal was Street's sixth of the season.
Neither team scored in the overtime period, resulting in the 4-4 tie.
For UW, freshman goaltender Scott Gudmandson earned the tie in only his second collegiate start, while stopping 23 shots compared to Lerg's 33.
The Badgers will return to the Kohl Center this upcoming weekend for a two game series St. Cloud State. Both games will begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on Fox Sports Network.
Dowell makes debut
In other Badger hockey news, former Badger forward and assistant captain Jake Dowell made his NHL debut Thanksgiving night for the Chicago Blackhawks. Dowell made an early impact, scoring his first NHL goal against the Calgary Flames. The Blackhawks went on to win the game 2-1.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report
