For both Wisconsin hockey teams, the semester break was a roller-coaster ride, full of record-setting highs and heartbreaking lows.
The men's team started things off on a high note, winning the Badger Hockey Showdown for the first time since 2005.
With a 5-0 victory over
Alabama-Huntsville in the first game of the tournament, senior goaltender Shane Connelly recorded the eighth shutout of his career, passing Bernd Bruckler for fourth on the UW's all-time list.
After the championship game against Lake Superior State hit the books as a 1-1 tie, senior forward Tom Gorowsky netted the shootout-winning goal to give the Badgers their 10th title in the 20-year history of the Showdown.
The Badgers saw the tables turn the next week, suffering back-to-back losses against Northern Michigan. Despite earning only three wins before coming to Madison, the Wildcats played Wisconsin hard all weekend, capping the series with a 6-5 overtime win after a 3-2 victory in the first game.
Looking to redeem itself, the team traveled Anchorage for a series against the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves on Jan. 9 and 10. After falling into a 2-0 first-period hole in the opening game, the Badgers rallied back to tie the game going into the third. Junior captain Blake Geoffrion tipped in a shot from junior defender Jamie McBain to give the Badgers a late lead, and they never looked back, taking the first game 3-2.
UAA jumped out to an early lead again in the second game, but Wisconsin answered quickly, taking a 4-1 advantage late in the second period. The Seawolves made things interesting, clawing to within a goal, but junior forwards Aaron Bendickson and Ben Grotting finished things off for the 6-3 win.
Last weekend's sweep in Anchorage propelled the Badgers into the No. 16 spot nationally. The team returns home this weekend for a pair of games against the No. 11 Colorado College Tigers.
The break also saw a series of ups and downs for the women's team.
Two days into the new year, the Badgers handed the U.S. Select team its first loss of the season against WCHA competition. After early goals from freshman forward Brooke Ammerman and sophomore forward Maria Evans, Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
A goal from sophomore forward Hilary Knight expanded the lead to three midway through the second period, but Team USA would not go away easily. Former Harvard star Julie Chu scored on a shorthanded chance late in the second to cut the deficit to 3-1. Minnesota assistant coach and former Golden Gopher Natalie Darwitz found the net early in the third, but the Badgers held on for the 3-2 win.
Following the win over Team USA, the Badgers headed to Duluth to face the No. 3 UMD Bulldogs. Unable to find their normal rhythm in the first game, the Badgers saw their 20-game unbeaten snapped by a 4-0 shutout.
After snagging the early lead in the second game thanks to a power-play goal from sophomore forward Kelly Nash, the Badgers found themselves trailing again after UMD reeled off three goals in the second. Junior forward Jasmine Giles scored a power-play tally of her own 1:30 into the third, and Knight notched her 23rd goal of the year to tie things up, but Wisconsin was unable to pull ahead, and the game was recorded as a 3-3 tie.
The Badgers were unable to solve UMD's Kim Martin in the shootout, while the Bulldogs beat senior netminder Jessie Vetter twice, earning an extra point in the WCHA standings.
After taking only one point from the Bulldogs over the weekend, the Badgers dropped out of the top spot in the polls for the first time since the middle of October. The team looks to rebound this weekend with a pair of games against North Dakota at the Kohl Center.
