For weeks now, members of the No. 12 Wisconsin men's hockey team have said from here on out every weekend might as well be considered a playoff series as the race for home ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs is on. A border battle always has the feel of a playoff series, but thanks to the playoff implications that this weekend's series with Minnesota carried the intensity was all the more heightened.
The Gophers came in trailing the Badgers by a mere three points in the standings and on Friday they were the team that came out playing inspired playoff hockey, trouncing the Badgers 5-2. Wisconsin did salvage a point from the weekend with a hard-fought 3-3 tie Saturday that left room for optimism moving forward.
On Friday, after senior forward Mike Hoeffel gave the Gophers the 1-0 lead late in the first period, the Badgers appeared to grab the momentum right back early in the second on the power play when junior defenseman Jake Gardiner scored to tie the game with a shot from the point.
But Wisconsin's momentum would be extremely short lived. Minnesota senior forward Jacob Cepis tied the game for the Gophers just over a minute later, and an onslaught of Gopher goals ensued. Two from senior forward Taylor Matson in the second and one from senior forward Patrick White in the third built the Minnesota lead to 5-1.
""That momentum swing definitely hurt us,"" senior forward and captain Sean Dolan said. ""We played on our heels the rest of the game and weren't on our toes and that came back to bite us.""
Wisconsin junior forward Jordy Murray scored in the waning seconds of the game to cap the score at 5-2.
After the game Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said the difference in the game was the Badgers' inability to make the right plays when they needed to.
""We were biking into the wind tonight,"" Eaves said. ""We didn't make enough hockey plays without the puck or with the puck. We were there but we weren't there, we were really fighting it tonight.""
Friday's game led Eaves to make a change in goal for Saturday's series finale, opting to start senior Brett Bennett between the pipes.
""It was just, pure and simple, time for a change,"" Eaves said. ""[Scott] Gudmandson wasn't as good as he had been, and with that effort last night it was time for a change.""
Bennett proved to be a key figure in the game, turning away 28 shots, including some clutch saves in the game's biggest moments.
""He definitely gave us a boost,"" sophomore defenseman Justin Schultz said. ""He played unbelievable tonight and I give a lot of credit to him.""
The Gophers got on the board first, but, in what would become a theme for the night, the Badgers responded quickly. Seventeen seconds after the Minnesota marker, Wisconsin tied the game with a Schultz shot from the point. The goal was Schultz's 16th of the season, tying him for fourth on the Wisconsin single-season list for goals by defensemen.
""Whatever I can do to help the team win,"" Schultz said. ""Whatever I have to do to help this team get back to the national championship game and win it this year.""
In the second period a breakaway goal from senior forward Patrick Johnson gave the Badgers their only lead of the series. However, a goal from Minnesota junior forward Jake Hansen tied the game before intermission, setting up an exciting finish.
The Gophers grabbed the lead right out of the gates in the third when Cepis scored on a breakaway of his own 44 seconds into the period. But again, the Badgers would answer immediately, this time from an unexpected source.
Camped out at the top of the crease, freshman forward Jefferson Dahl picked an opportune time for his first career goal, backhanding the puck into the goal to tie the game.
The teams headed to overtime and despite a flurry of Badger chances the game would result in a 3-3 tie.
Eaves said that he thought his team deserved to win, but they are happy with the tie.
""It was one of the better games we've played all year,"" Eaves said. ""We just ran out of time. We were down there, we could see we were on our toes in our play and we just ran out of time.""
