Much like polls for presidential elections, the hockey rankings don’t mean much, especially for the Badgers this early in the season.
But for a team that is still playing in front of a half-full Kohl Center, a spot in the Top 20 could garner a lot of attention for a program that has struggled mightily over the past two years.
Nonetheless, poor defense in the early going and missed chances in the latter part of the contest cost the Badgers (6-4-0) a series sweep and a chance at potentially sneaking into the Top 20 Saturday night.
“I gotta give them credit, I just wasn’t happy with the way we started. I thought the first period set the tone for how the game was going to be played,” head coach Tony Granato said. “The third period we had plenty of quality chances, but too little, too late. You’ve gotta play 60 minutes at any level to be successful.”
The Warriors (5-6-3) outshot Wisconsin 16-9 in the first period and had several scoring chances down low. Sophomore goalie Matt Jurusik got the start and stopped 13-of-14 shots, but left the ice after sustaining an injury.
“He was probably the one guy who was sharp to start the game, which was what we were looking for tonight,” Granato said. “It’s disappointing that he’s probably going to miss some time.”
Despite Jurusik’s strong performance, the defense in front of him didn’t help him out, leading to the Warriors first goal. After a turnover in the Badgers’ zone, Sami Tavernier slipped one past Jurusik to make it 1-0.
Early in the second, after freshman Jack Berry took over between the pipes, both freshman defenseman J.D. Greenway and junior forward Matt Ustaski got caught sleeping and left Mathieu Tibbet of the Warriors wide open on the wing. Tibbet buried the puck into an open net and doubled the lead.
Wisconsin responded after the first two goals, outshooting the Warriors 12-9 in the second period and 14-4 in the third.
In the third especially, Wisconsin had several good chances to get back in the game, but could not find twine. Junior forward Cameron Hughes found himself wide open right in front of the net twice, but was denied both times. The Badgers had four power plays in the frame and, outside of the second one, had ample opportunities to light the lamp.
Sophomore forward Luke Kunin fired a slapshot from the point which was stopped by Merrimack goalie Collin Delia. Junior forward Ryan Wagner got the rebound and nearly put the puck home, but Delia made a sensational pad save.
“Their goalie, when he had to make big saves, he made four-or-five spectacular saves, so give them credit,” Granato said.
Kunin also had a good look on a one-timer from the wing, but Delia slid over and stuffed the shot.
“Myself, personally, I should have had more chances throughout the whole game. I need to capitalize on those,” Kunin said. “It sucks when those don’t go in, but it happens.”
“I don’t think we got as many good looks on the power play as we had last night. Luke had four-or-five quality chances last night, normally two or three of those go in and they didn’t. And tonight he didn’t have as many shots from that area,” Granato added.
Additionally, the Warriors sacrificed their bodies all night, blocking 13 shots. Especially on the power play, Merrimack players stood tall in front of several shots from the point to prevent any danger in front of the net.
“I saw a desperate team over there. With the shot blocks, I don’t know how many times they dove in front of our shots tonight,” Granato said.
Despite Wisconsin’s furious comeback bid in the third, it failed to earn the sweep and snapped its win streak at two.
The Badgers will now head west to Colorado for two games over Thanksgiving break, one against Colorado College and another against Denver.
“We gotta get better,” Kunin said. “We gotta get back at it this week and get back to the way we know how to play.”
