After the disappointment loss to Alaska Anchorage in the third game of last year's Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoff first round, the Badgers' victory Sunday night allowed UW fans and players to breathe a sigh of relief.
Wisconsin (16-9-3 WCHA, 22-12-4 overall) defeated Alaska Anchorage (9-15-4, 12-18-6) 2-1 to advance to the WCHA Men's Final Five for the first time under head coach Mike Eaves.
\It was a lot tougher to get there than I think we all thought it would be,"" said junior captain Adam Burish, who scored the game-winning goal. ""It's a relieving feeling and we're all looking forward to being there.""
In the game Saturday night, a 2-1 loss that forced Sunday's contest, Seawolves freshman goaltender Nathan Lawson turned away 44 shots. The Badgers realized then and there they needed to get rebounds and surround the net after every shot. Especially considering Lawson would be playing his third game in three days, after entering Friday's game early in the first period.
Burish scored the game-winning goal, his second of the sort in three nights, 11:13 into the second period, deflecting the shot past Lawson. Junior center Nick Licari had the initial shot, which then caromed off of Lawson and seemed to bounce off Burish's leg and into the net. The goal was Burish's eleventh, tying him for fifth on the team.
""It hit me in the thigh,"" Burish said. ""I saw it come up into my thigh area and I just tried to go with it. ... I played soccer too, growing up.""
Alaska Anchorage took the lead just under nine minutes into the first period on a power play goal. Sophomore defenseman Chad Anderson unleashed a wrist shot from the left side in front of a crowded net that found its way past UW senior goaltender Bernd Br??ckler, who was back after a day off. Sophomore Brian Elliot played in place of Br??ckler in Saturday night's game.
Wisconsin tied the game on freshman center Joe Pavelski's fourth goal and sixth point of the weekend. Pavelski's goal also occurred on rebound opportunity, after Lawson denied freshman defender Joe Piskula's shot. Pavelski managed to stuff the loose puck in the net 7:13 into the second period, tying up the game and swinging the momentum in the favor of the Badgers.
Through the first two periods of play, the Badgers more than doubled the Seawolves number of shots-on-goal, 25-12. Alaska Anchorage out-shot Wisconsin in the final period, however, behind a barrage of shots in the final two minutes that Br??ckler was able to turn away.
The Badgers won the game, despite going 0-4 on the power play. The Seawolves were 1-3 when they had the extra man.
For a slumping Badger club, who has failed to win consecutive games since Feb. 4, the win boosted the team's morale and raised spirits in the UW locker room.
""There's a happy group of young men in there. This has been really hard for us,"" Eaves said. ""When you do something this hard there's a great measure of success and happiness that goes with that.""
