The Badgers’ men’s hockey (3-3-0 WCHA, 4-4-0 overall) team was flying high after an impressive sweep on then-No.5 ranked North Dakota last weekend, but the team couldn’t capitalize on its momentum, splitting this weekend’s series with Nebraska-Omaha (3-1-0, 4-4-0).
Both games, a 5-4 loss on Friday and a 6-3 win on Saturday, shared some noticeable similarities, and in the end both games were decided by the execution (or lack thereof) from the Badgers in key situations.
“The game was eerily similar [to Friday night] in many fashions, but we were more detailed,” head coach Mike Eaves noted after his team’s victory Saturday night.
Eaves repeatedly mentioned his team’s attention to detail as the main factor for both its win and its loss.
Wisconsin opened Friday night’s game with a bang, scoring three goals in the first 5:45 of the first period, including a highlight reel spin-o-rama assist by sophomore forward Mark Zengerle to sophomore forward Tyler Barnes. The Badgers could not have asked for a better start to the game, but the momentum quickly shifted after junior forward Derek Lee suffered an upper-body injury, which caused him to miss the rest of the game.
“I think the turning point was when we lost Derek Lee,” Eaves said after the game. “In the second period we are trying to find the right mix and who can play with who, and it took us out of our rhythm a little bit.”
Lee was a key piece on Wisconsin’s penalty kill, and his loss set the tone for the rest of the night. Nebraska-Omaha stormed back, scoring three consecutive goals, including two power-play tallies, to tie the game at 3-3.
Wisconsin appeared to take back control in the third period when Barnes gave the Badgers the lead again with his second goal of the night, but it would not be enough. UNO’s captain Terry Broadhurst would knot the game at four, and with just 21 seconds remaining, senior Alex Hudson would score the decisive goal to seal the 5-4 win for the Mavericks.
The Badgers’ lack of attention to detail ultimately cost them on Friday as they committed multiple mental errors—including two too many men on the ice penalties—and allowed four UNO power-play goals on six attempts.
“I think it was just a few details here and there,” junior defenseman Justin Schultz said after the game. “A few too many men penalties and a few breakdowns that really cost us.”
Saturday night began the same way for the Badgers, once again jumping out to a 3-0 first period lead thanks to two goals from Mark Zengerle, including a short-handed score, but this time Wisconsin would not take its foot off of the gas.
After Terry Broadhurst’s seventh goal of the season cut the lead to 3-1, UW answered back with two more scores from sophomore defender Frankie Simonelli and junior forward Ryan Little pushing the lead to 5-1. UNO began to show life towards the end of the third period, cutting the lead down to 5-3, but sophomore forward Jefferson Dahl’s empty net tally put the final nail in the Maverick’s coffin.
Wisconsin closes out the first month of the season at 4-4-0, a record that Eaves feels is perfectly acceptable for his young team.
One of the main reasons that Wisconsin has a .500 record to this point is Zengerle’s play. He finished the weekend with six points (two goals, four assists) and has been the Badgers’ most consistent forward this season. His two goals this weekend give him four on the season, just one shy of his season total from a year ago, good for second on the team.
Wisconsin will take to the road next week, heading to St. Cloud, Minn. to take on St. Cloud State: Wisconsin will return to the Kohl Center Nov. 11 for a weekend series with archrival Minnesota.
