After two tough losses to start the WCHA season last weekend in Denver, the Badgers return home to the Kohl Center to face off against an old foe in the Minnesota Gophers.
The Badgers had a two goal lead with six minutes to play in last Friday's game, but couldn't stop a late Pioneer comeback and lost 6-5. Denver out shot the Badgers 52-31.
In Saturday's game, Denver got off to a hot start and led 3-0 after the first period, but the Badgers fought back to tie it at three on a redirection by junior forward Blake Geoffrion with just under four minutes left in the second. The tie was short lived, however, as the Pioneers responded with two goals in the next minute and added one more in the third to take the series with a 7-4 victory.
Wisconsin now has the difficult task of playing a rejuvenated Minnesota team looking to bury its fiercest rival even further into the WCHA cellar. But the Badgers have the advantage of playing in front of raucous homecoming crowd for their home opener, something senior goalie Shane Connelly calls a welcome sight after two weeks on the road.
We need this home series, I think one more week on the road and we'd tear each other up,"" Connelly said. ""Everyone has been waiting to get here in the Kohl Center. Homecoming weekend, Minnesota, it's awesome.""
The Wisconsin-Minnesota hockey rivalry is a rich one, dating back to 1922 when the two teams met for the first time. College Hockey News rated the rivalry the second best in all of collegiate hockey in 2006, mainly because of the annual Beanpot Tournament that fuels the top- ranked Boston-Boston College feud. But ask any WCHA fan around the country and most will agree that Wisconsin-Minnesota takes the cake.
After suffering from the desertion of the Wisconsin program from 1934-1963, the rivalry intensified again in the 1970's as the Bob Johnson-led Badgers captured two national titles in '73 and '77, but were bested by Herb Brooks' Gopher teams that won in '74, '76, and '79. Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves, who played under Johnson from 1974-78 and was a key member of the championship team in '77, commented on the rivalry when he addressed the media on Monday.
""My first game in Minnesota against the Gophers, I had never seen such a competitive and fierce rivalry,"" Eaves said. ""I played some junior hockey and been in some playoffs, but this just blew it right out of the water.""
The legendary coaches finally clashed in the 1981 championship game, when the underdog Badgers scraped their way to Duluth and crushed the Gophers 6-3 in their home state. The Badgers went on to win again in 1983 and 2006, giving them a total of six national championships, good for fourth best in all of college hockey and more importantly, one better than the Gopher's five. Although, as Gopher fans are quick to point out, Minnesota leads Wisconsin 14-11 in WCHA championships and 12-3 in regular season championships.
In recent years, the rivalry has been defined by close games and physical play. The Badgers and the Gophers racked up a combined 72 penalty minutes in two games in Minneapolis last February, and the last eight games between the two teams have been decided by two goals or less. Some say that the series has lost its luster as each team imports more players from out of state, but freshman defender and Minnesota native Jake Gardiner is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces on the ice.
""I played with all those guys on Minnesota, a lot of those guys. So it will be fun to play them again,"" Gardiner said.
This weekend's series marks the 110th and 111th games played between the two teams in Madison, and the 19th and 20th games at the Kohl Center. In total, Wisconsin and Minnesota have squared off 247 times since 1922, with the gophers leading the series 150-80-17, though at the Kohl Center the teams are tied at 8-8-2.
- uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report
