Facing top ranked teams has become increasingly routine for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team this season, but after failing to come away with a win against No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth, the young Badgers are still looking to take the next step forward.
“What was disappointing was that we didn’t take that mental step to come out and be that dictating team,” head coach Mike Eaves said. “That’s just a sign that we’re not ready for that step. We’re still awfully young.”
The Badgers (4-8-2 WCHA, 7-9-2 overall) played a solid game on Friday, skating to a 3-3 tie with the top team in the country, but after coming away with one point, they were unable to carry their momentum through to Saturday.
If Wisconsin was going to have any chance against the Bulldogs (12-3-3, 10-2-2), it needed to get out to a hot start, which is exactly what it did Friday night, jumping to a 2-0 lead in the first period with tallies from freshman forward Brad Navin and junior defenseman Justin Schultz.
Minnesota-Duluth fought back to tie the game in the second before Schultz added his second goal of the night to retake the lead early in the third period. Schultz, who is tied for second in scoring in the country, scored fromt the point off a pass from sophomore Mark Zengerle that found its way through traffic and into the net.
The lead was short-lived however, as UMD freshman forward Caleb Herbert knotted the score just minutes later off an odd deflection that made it past freshman goalie Joel Rumpel. This ended the scoring for the night, as the teams played evenly down the stretch and made it through overtime with no real chances.
“There is a side where we’re happy with the point against the No. 1 team in the country, but there’s also that fine line where we cannot be satisfied,” Eaves said after Friday’s game. “If we slip tomorrow from where we are tonight, then this game tonight does us no good.”
Unfortunately, that ominous statement would come to fruition the following night. UMD senior Jack Connolly, the nation’s leader in points, opened the scoring Saturday less than two minutes into the game on a deflection off of Schultz. Although the shots were fairly even between the teams, it was clear that the Bulldogs were controlling the pace of the game and looking for their time to strike.
That time came in the second when UMD rattled off three more goals in the first 10:31 of the period, resulting in Rumpel being replaced by fellow freshman goaltender Landon Peterson. For the first time during the series, the Badgers looked completely overmatched and were unable to get out of their own way.
Wisconsin got on the board late with goals from Navin and Zengerle (who extended his point streak to 17 games—the second longest in UW men’s hockey history), but it was too little too late for the Badgers, who have been unable to put together a complete series against a top team this season.
“I think it’s the result,” captain John Ramage said when asked what he was disappointed with. “I think every day in practice we battle hard and we’re doing everything right, now we just need to get results.”
Eaves and his Badgers have the next three weeks off before facing the U.S. Under-18 National team in an exhibition game at the Kohl Center Dec. 31.
