The Wisconsin men’s hockey team (12-14-2, 7-13-2 WCHA) had a chance to grab four crucial points and make a leap forward in the WCHA standings, but the Badgers fell flat this weekend and were swept at the hands of conference foe St. Cloud State (12-14-4, 9-10-3).
The team’s goal late in the season has been to make a push for home ice advantage in the conference playoffs, but after being swept for the second consecutive weekend, it’s clear that the Badgers aren’t going to be able to achieve that goal without some help.
“To be honest, we’re probably going to need some help,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said after Saturday’s 2-1 loss. “That’s the long and short of it. And once again, what becomes our focus is what we have to do next, but if you want to take a step back and look at the big picture, we’re going to need some help.”
Wisconsin started strongly Friday night, but momentum quickly shifted to St. Cloud after Badger captain, junior defenseman John Ramage, was ejected for a hit on Husky freshman forward Nick Oliver. Ramage was assessed a five minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct, leaving Wisconsin with just five defensemen.
St. Cloud State dominated the last 40 minutes of the game, leaving the Badgers with few quality chances while burying five goals of their own, including three in the second period. Freshman Brendan Woods got Wisconsin on the board with just over two minutes remaining, but it was far too little and well too late as the Badgers dropped game one 5-1.
“We’ve had two games that we have been out of all year, both were against St. Cloud,” Eaves said Friday night. “It was one of those games where we just didn’t do very much right. We did not see it coming as a staff.”
While the Badgers may have looked listless for much of Friday’s game, the team came back firing on Saturday. After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin took their first lead of the weekend in the second after sophomore defenseman Frankie Simonelli found the back of the net on the power play.
The Huskies tied the game early in the third period before SCSU freshman defenseman Jarrod Rabey beat Wisconsin freshman goaltender Landon Peterson for the game’s deciding goal.
Wisconsin controlled the game for long stretches on Saturday, but they were stopped time and time again by Husky goaltender Mike Lee. Lee, a junior from Roseau, Minn., was the unquestioned star of the weekend, stopping 72 of the 74 shots he faced, including a season high 42 from the Badgers on Saturday.
“We had chances,” junior defenseman Justin Schultz said. “We just couldn’t find a way to put anything in and that’s frustrating. [Lee’s] a good goalie.”
The Badgers have six regular season games remaining, and while home ice advantage may be out of the picture at this point, the team can still put itself in a good position for the WCHA playoffs.
Wisconsin has a bye week this weekend and will work to get back on track before welcoming Denver to the Kohl Center on Feb. 17.
