A lot of talk has surrounded the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (2-5-5 WCHA, 4-7-5 overall) this season as they transition into their new locker room and practice facility.
This conversation was especially loud of late, as Wisconsin came into its fourth home series without a win at the Kohl Center.
Thursday night it all ended with a 5-0 trouncing of Alabama-Huntsville (3-14-1) in which the Badgers allowed a school record low 9 shots on goal and touted freshman forward Nic Kerdiles scored his first and second goals as a Badger.
Friday was a different story with a similar ending as Wisconsin saw some adversity out of the gate, but found the energy needed to take an early deficit and turn it into a 4-1 victory.
“We gave ourselves a nice gift as we get ready for the holidays,” head coach Mike Eaves said.
A few turnovers early in the first period set the tone for the Badgers, who committed four penalties in the first 20 minutes alone.
“We weren’t connecting the dots,” Eaves said.
With a minute and a half left in the opening period, junior and sophomore forwards Michael Mersch and Joseph Labate were assessed subsequent elbowing penalties, putting Wisconsin down two men to close out the first period.
The Chargers didn’t take long to pick up a lead over the shorthanded Badgers, and within a minute were able to put a rebound shot past sophomore goalie Joel Rumpel to go up 1-0 before the period came to a close.
The second period opened up with Wisconsin returning to full strength, and three minutes later Labate was able to equalize the score on a rebound of his own.
Later in the period another Badger would score the first goal of his career, as freshman defenseman Kevin Schulze took a five-star pass from senior forward Derek Lee and sent it into the back of the net, putting Wisconsin up 2-0 as the second period drew to a close.
Three minutes into the final period Kerdiles, who had shone the night before with two goals, was assessed a 5-minute major penalty for checking from behind and was subsequently ejected for game misconduct.
The Irvine, Calif., native snapped his stick on the tunnel wall in frustration as he made his way to the locker room following his ejection.
Earlier in the game Eaves had moved Kerdiles off a line with junior forwards Mark Zengerle and Tyler Barnes because “they seemed to be struggling with their chemistry.”
“They just seemed to be off,” Eaves said.
The Badgers picked up the slack, however, and showed their defensive prowess in the long penalty kill, escaping the Chargers power play with the lead and a renewed sense of energy.
Senior forward Ryan Little attributed Wisconsin’s success in shutting down the power play to the defensemen clearing the puck well, preventing Alabama-Huntsville from breaking into Wisconsin’s zone.
“We take pride in [our penalty kill] in practice,” Little said. “They didn’t really have a whole lot of time to set up.”
With 8 minutes left in the game Lee was able to intercept a pass deep in UAH’s zone and slip the puck into the back of the net, giving Wisconsin a 3-goal lead.
The Badgers’ scoring didn’t end there, as sophomore forward Brendan Woods was able to recover a clearing pass at the Chargers’ blue line and fire a shot into the goal, putting the cherry on top of UW’s weekend with a 4-0 victory, cementing Wisconsin’s first series sweep of the year.
Little said that the team was “heading in the right direction” but still “had a lot of work to do” after the early season hole that the Badgers dug themselves.
Eaves won’t say for certain whether this victory means the team has recovered completely from the early-season adversity that plagued them for much of the year thus far.
“I think right now the ship is in the port and when we come back at the end of December we’ll have to get it out and get sailing again to see where it’s at.”
Wisconsin picks up play again Jan. 4 at Alaska-Anchorage, with the puck drop slated for 10:00 p.m.
