MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - One cannot help but feel that senior goaltender Shane Connelly's career came full circle this weekend at Mariucci Arena.
Connelly was on the bench in December of 2005 for the Badgers' first road sweep of Minnesota in six years.
Saturday night, he was on the ice for the team's first sweep at Mariucci since then.
It was a tough weekend,"" Connelly said. ""Minnesota's a great offensive team. Playing the Gophers maybe for the last time, to come out with two wins is definitely incredible. It's one of the highlights of my career.""
This weekend did not just serve as a highlight for Connelly's career, but epitomized it, adversity and all.
Friday night, the senior netminder saw the most shots, 45, that he has ever faced in a Badger uniform. His 43 saves on the night tied a career high. At times, Connelly stood on his head, at others, it looked as though he and the Badgers were hanging on by a thread.
With Wisconsin up 3-0 and the game seemingly well in hand at the beginning of the third period, Gopher sophomore forward Mike Hoeffel exposed the first chink in the Badger armor when he tipped in a shot from senior defender R.J. Anderson to cut the lead to 3-1.
While Connelly and the Badgers managed to stave off the Gopher attack for the next 12 minutes, Minnesota maintained complete control of the game's tempo, causing UW head coach Mike Eaves to call timeout with just over four minutes remaining.
Whether that timeout interrupted the team's rhythm or merely prolonged the inevitable second Gopher goal, the four minutes that followed proved costly for Wisconsin. Connelly surrendered a rebound on a shot from Hoeffel with three and a half to go, and Minnesota junior forward Mike Carman hammered it home to bring the Gophers to within a goal. Equal to the task though, Connelly held on to preserve the win.
""Everyone was a little bit upset,"" Connelly said. ""We didn't put our best effort in. We escaped.""
Saturday night was a rollercoaster ride from the opening minutes. Connelly again showed flashes of brilliance but was rattled repeatedly in the second period as the Gophers came roaring back from an early deficit.
With Wisconsin up 3-1 near the game's midpoint, junior forward Ryan Flynn and sophomore defender Cade Fairchild sent a pair of goals past the Badger goaltender in 57 seconds. The Gophers' one-two punch not only drew them even, but it also electrified the capacity crowd, swinging the momentum into Minnesota's favor.
The Badgers were there with the answer, however, as junior defenseman Jamie McBain sent a slapper past Minnesota goaltender Alex Kangas less than two minutes later.
""We could have sulked or put our head down,"" Eaves said. ""[But] the next line came out, played with real good energy and got a goal pretty quick.""
After an insurance goal from Wisconsin junior forward John Mitchell that would be the eventual game winner, Minnesota's junior forward Tony Lucia beat Connelly high with less than four minutes left in the game.
For the second night in a row, Connelly refused to be outdone, flashing the leather on a huge Gopher one-timer near the 90-second mark to complete the sweep.
""I didn't look up and watch the replay, but I heard Blake [Geoffrion] talking to Shane [Connelly], telling him that was a 'sick save,'"" Eaves said. ""Sick is good, you know.""
With that save, and the other 75 he made over the weekend, Connelly proved he has come a long way since going 3-5 in nine games three seasons ago. More importantly, he and the Badgers proved they have come a long way since starting the season 0-6-1.
The save was sick. So was Shane Connelly. And so was the team.
