After two gut-wrenching overtime losses on the road last week, the Wisconsin men's hockey team (2-2 WCHA, 3-3 overall) returned home and earned a pair of hard-fought victories over No. 5 North Dakota (0-2, 2-3-1).
The Badgers' offense—which had been dormant throughout the first four games of the season averaging a mere two goals per game—finally awoke and exploded for 10 goals in the 5-3 and 5-4 victories.
UW head coach Mike Eaves made it clear to his players that they had to forget about last weekend's difficult losses at Michigan Tech and move forward, focusing their efforts on beating one of the top-ranked teams in the country.
""I think it started with practice,"" freshman forward Joseph LaBate said. ""On Monday, coach really emphasized just forgetting about last weekend and we've got to focus on North Dakota. I think we just went in with clear minds, and we just focused on North Dakota.""
The Badgers opened the scoring on Friday night, the first time they've done so this season, with sophomore forward Mark Zengerle netting his first goal of the season. However, the lead was short-lived as North Dakota tied the game just 27 seconds later with a tally of its own.
However, the Badgers would not be shaken, scoring three straight goals and jumping out to a 4-1 lead. Halfway through the second period, the Sioux cut the lead to one and were gaining momentum, when freshman forward Brendan Woods scored a highlight reel goal, his first as a Badger, to seal the win.
Woods grabbed the puck near center ice, deked past UND sophomore defenseman Derek Forbort, buried a backhander past junior netminder Aaron Dell and sending the crowd into a frenzy.
After allowing the first goal in every game this season, the Badgers showed they are very capable of maintaining a lead over an extended period of time.
""We seemed to play with some real poise and confidence,"" Eaves said.
The offensive fireworks continued Saturday when, after falling behind 1-0, the Badgers tied the game on LaBate's second goal of the season and added two more scores from juniors forward Ryan Little and defenseman John Ramage to take a 3-1 lead.
North Dakota forward Danny Kristo tied the game with two goals of his own, but the Badgers took the lead for good with tallies from Zengerle and sophomore defenseman Joe Faust.
With five goals from five different players in each game this weekend, the Badgers displayed the depth of talent that they will need to utilize if they want to continue playing competitively against top teams.
""This is going to be our formula for winning—spread out kind of production by both forwards and defensemen,"" Eaves said.
While UW came away with the win on Saturday, it was outshot (42-15) and struggled to control the tempo of the game. If not for the efforts of freshman goalie Joel Rumpel—who made 38 saves—Wisconsin would not have completed the sweep of its rivals.
""He gets the game puck,"" Eaves said of his young goaltender. ""Without his effort in the net, we don't have a chance.""
Both Rumpel and fellow freshman goalie Landon Peterson, who started Friday night, played spectacularly over the weekend series.
""They have both given us a chance to win every single game,"" Little said. ""I have confidence in both of them.""
Wisconsin may have gotten off to a slow start this season, but with two impressive wins over a top-five team, the players are feeling more and more confident heading into next weekend's series against Nebraska-Omaha.
""I think it just proves that our team can play with the best,"" Ramage said. ""I think that it proves that our young team can play with anyone.""
