After a dominating performance Friday night, the Wisconsin men's hockey team had a chance to sweep Minnesota State on the road. But back-to-back five-minute majors on the Badgers led to a long power play, handing the Mavericks a win Saturday night and sending Wisconsin home with a frustrating series split.
The Badgers' offense exploded out of the gates Friday, scoring three goals in the first 16 minutes of play and setting the tone for the entire evening. Wisconsin put 40 shots on goal and had continuous pressure on the offensive end.
The most notable first-period goal was scored by senior forward Blake Geoffrion, who returned to the lineup after losing time last weekend because of a concussion.
The explosive offense continued into the second period, as the Badgers put 18 shots on goal and converted three more times. Juniors Cody Goloubef and Podge Turnbull and sophomore Jordy Murray each tallied their first goal of 2009 to turn the game into a rout.
For the second straight weekend, junior goaltenders Brett Bennett and Scott Gudmandson split the weekend between the pipes for the Badgers. Bennett handled the duties on Friday night and helped Wisconsin to its first shutout of the season. The Badger defense held the Mavericks to just 19 shots on goal for the night.
With Gudmandson in the net Saturday night, the Badgers once again came out and exerted control early. For the second straight night, Geoffrion tallied a goal, this time on a power play with just less than seven minutes left in the first period.
After giving up two goals in the second period to the Mavericks, the Badgers tied the game at 2 in the third period when junior Brendan Smith collected a behind-the-back pass from Geoffrion and beat Mankato's keeper, Austin Lee.
From there, however, the Badgers beat themselves badly, and it cost them a chance at a weekend sweep. Less than two minutes after the goal, Craig Smith received a five-minute major for checking from behind and was issued a game disqualification. In addition to being ejected, he will miss the Badgers' next game.
Wisconsin had killed off more than four minutes of the penalty when junior Ryan McDonagh was charged with another major penalty, again for checking from behind. The Badgers were unable to survive playing a man down for another five minutes, and Maverick senior Zach Harrison put the game-winner past Gudmandson on a rebound with 7:38 left in the third period.
The Badgers will now return home for a Halloween weekend series with New Hampshire.
The Wildcats are next in a sequence of talented opponents for Wisconsin. The Badgers will have the luxury of playing in Madison for the next three weeks as No. 11 Minnesota and Alaska-Anchorage visit the Kohl Center before the Badgers hit the road again.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
