This weekend was supposed to ease the Wisconsin men's hockey team into the 2001-'02 season, but the Badgers got a quick wakeup call.
Friday night saw UW upset by Wayne State 5-4, while the Badgers came back and shut out the Warriors 5-0 in Saturday's game.
In the first game, Badgers senior left wing Matt Doman, got UW off to a quick start, scoring just over a minute into the game.
The Badgers played more aggressively after their strong start, while Wayne State showed its frustration, pushing UW goalie Scott Kabotoff to the ice while he was out of the crease behind the goal. Just as Wisconsin was ready to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission, Warriors forward Dusty Kingston surprised the Badgers, scoring with 14 seconds remaining.
In the second period, the Badgers answered back 19 seconds after the faceoff with a goal by sophomore defenseman Dan Boeser. Later, the Warriors scored two goals on shots by John Brink and Kingston to move within one of the Badgers. Before the period ended, WSU tied the game 3-3 when Chris Vail got by UW defender Rob Vega.
In the final period, with more lax defensive play, Wayne State consistently beat Wisconsin to contested pucks. Nevertheless, freshman forward Alex Leavitt found the net. Turning up the offensive pressure, the Badgers pelted Warriors goalie David Guerrera with shots but couldn't get the puck past him. With 10 minutes remaining, WSU took the lead on a goal by Jack Redwood.
The Badgers never recovered, squandering their best chance to even the score on a powerplay in the final minute.
Guerrera played the spoiler for Wayne State with 50 saves.
'We had some great chances, [but Guerrera] had some good saves,' UW Head Coach Jeff Sauer said. 'It was individual [defensive] breakdowns by individual players that gave them the opportunities to score.'
The Badger defense, which played disappointingly in the opener, came back to play brilliantly on Saturday night as Wisconsin's strong defense and freshman goalie Bernd Bruckler shined.
Leavitt scored the first of two power play goals in the first period, following a great offensive set-up by teammates Boeser and senior left wing David Hukalo. Seconds later, Doman's shot found the back of the net.
The Warriors failed to capitalize on power plays as UW aggressively dominated offensive play, taking more shots on goal'even while shorthanded'than WSU could manage.
The second period opened with a shorthanded goal by senior center Kent Davyduke, who was left all alone by Warrior defenders for the score, after receiving the puck from forward Andy Wheeler at the blue line.
On a power-play, junior right wing Brad Winchester extended the Badgers' final margin to five, redeeming UW for the Friday night blunder and evening their record to 1-1 on the season.
Bruckler became the first UW goalie to debut with a shutout since Jim Carey did so in 1992.
'It's a dream,' Bruckler said. 'It was a team effort [and] a great way to start the season.'
