The No. 15 Wisconsin men's hockey team toured the state of Michigan this weekend as part of the College Hockey Showcase and came away with a weekend split.
The Badgers took on Michigan State in East Lansing Friday night, exploding for a season-high seven goals in a dominating 7-3 victory over the No. 7 Spartans. Saturday night proved more difficult for Wisconsin, as it lost a close battle to the Michigan Wolverines 3-2 in Ann Arbor.
Junior defenseman Brendan Smith capitalized twice in the first period to stake the Badgers an early lead Friday. Smith's second goal came with a man advantage, the first of three power-play goals for Wisconsin on the evening. After the Spartans cut the lead in half midway through the second period, the Badgers put the game out of reach with a flurry of goals.
Senior forward Aaron Bendickson started the onslaught with an unassisted goal with just under seven minutes to go in the second period. In the four minutes following Bendickson's effort, senior forward Michael Davies and sophomore forward Derek Stepan added goals of their own, extending the Wisconsin lead to 5-1.
Two power-play goals in the third period rounded out the scoring for the Badgers. Senior forward Blake Geoffrion capitalized on a power-play chance, as did Davies. Stepan assisted on Davies' goal, giving him four assists and five points on the night. Junior goaltender Brett Bennett made 26 saves and improved his record to 5-3-0 on the season.
In Ann Arbor Saturday night, the Badgers matched up with the Wolverines. Wisconsin fell behind in the second period when junior forward Matt Rust converted on a power-play goal. Despite that success, power-play goals have been tough to come by against the Badgers, who entered the weekend with the nation's top-ranked penalty kill.
Geoffrion evened the game four minutes later with his team-leading ninth goal of the season. The tie did not last long, however, as the Wolverines tallied the next two scores, including a short-handed goal by senior forward Luke Glendening.
Stepan capped off his huge weekend with a goal late in the third period, cutting the lead to 3-2 and raising his two-game total to six points, with two goals and four assists. Junior goaltender Scott Gudmandson made 32 saves for UW on the evening, but his record on the season dropped to 3-2-1.
The Badgers put 41 shots on goal against the Wolverines Saturday night, giving junior goalie Bryan Hogan plenty of work. It will not be the last time Hogan and the Wolverines see the Badger attack this season, as they will be in Madison for the Camp Randall Hockey Classic Feb. 6 for outdoor hockey action.
The Badgers return to Madison and WCHA action next weekend as they face the Michigan Tech Huskies (2-8-0 WCHA, 3-9-0overall). The Huskies were swept at home by Minnesota State Mankato last weekend and have dropped six of their last seven WCHA contests.
The puck is set to drop at 7 Friday and Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
