One question circulating after a Western Collegiate Hockey Association men's series concluded at the Kohl Center this weekend asked whether a player could score a goal 20 minutes into a period.
The answer, parenthetically, is no - an official box score from Saturday night's game between Wisconsin and Michigan Tech showed as much, after UW freshman Ryan McDonagh scored an empty net goal precisely as the horn sounded on the Badgers' 4-2 win over the Huskies.
But bigger questions surrounding the Badgers' first conference match-up had to be asked: how would the freshmen respond as the competition stiffened against a league team? And how would the Badgers respond in the face of adversity? There hadn't been much in the first four games of the season, when the Badgers were scoring to the tune of 5.5 goals per game and winning three of four.
Answers to both transpired in a two-game face-off with Michigan Tech, a team that has drawn attention this season, for reasons on the ice and off. The No. 13 Huskies came to Madison having already played four WCHA contests, winning three, including one against No. 1 North Dakota.
After a 4-2 loss Friday, the Badgers - the youngest team in the conference, with an average age of 19.96 - were facing up a Saturday night game with about as much urgency as there can be in early November. The last thing the team needed was to lose the first two games of WCHA play - especially at home, where UW has made a point of playing better this year after a 9-9-2 showing last season.
The Badgers indeed came up big Saturday, even after facing a 1-0 deficit. Afterward, senior defenseman Kyle Klubertanz, who put UW ahead to stay midway through the third period, made clear the magnitude of win.
This is huge for us,"" he said, describing not only the win itself. ""To find out what kind of team we are, too,"" he added. ""We have all these high expectations, but come out and kind of lay an egg on Friday night. Absolutely, this was a huge game for us.""
To the extent that the win was significant for the Badgers, the game action against a conference opponent was important for the team's record large freshmen class. Notably, their first experience in the WCHA came against the league's oldest team, averaging 21.5 years old. Moreover, Michigan Tech has been playing on an unusual emotional level for its coach, Jamie Russell, whose nine-year-old son was recently hospitalized in Wisconsin with a life-threatening bacterial infection.
Badger freshman defenseman Sean Dolan said it was a ""wake-up call"" after the puck dropped Friday night. ""I'd say there was a lot more physical play this weekend,"" he said. ""My eyes were definitely wide open on Friday night.""
UW head coach Mike Eaves said he sensed a difference in his freshmen at the end of the series.
""Looking into their eyes, it was like, 'Wow, I got some ways to go here,'"" he said, adding, ""There was a lot of revelation going on.
