University of Minnesota Athletics
Top-Ranked Wisconsin Downs No. 4 Minnesota, 4-3
12/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Hockey
Wisconsin used two-point nights from Joe Pavelski (2-0--2) and Robbie Earl (1-1--2) to hold on to first place in the WCHA standings with 20 points. The Maroon and Gold scored twice in the last 10 minutes of the third period, but could not overcome the 4-1 deficit. The Golden Gophers are now 1-1-0 against the nation's top-ranked team and 2-1-1 vs. ranked opponents this season.
The Badgers wasted no time in taking the game's first lead, scoring just 27 seconds into the game. UM defenseman Chris Harrington's shot at the blue line was blocked and Adam Burish picked up the puck and raced down the ice on a 2-on-1 with Robbie Earl. Burish threaded a pass across the slot for Earl to knock in past Kellen Briggs' stick side for his sixth goal of the season.
The Golden Gophers tied the game at 1-1 late in the period after UW's Ryan MacMurchy was whistled for checking from behind, resulting in a five-minute power play for Minnesota. Ryan Potulny got UM's first lamplighter of the night, taking a Harrington pass, deking a Badger defender and beating Brian Elliott with a wrist shot to the glove side. Alex Goligoski got the second assist on Potulny's team-leading 12th goal of the season. For the period, the Maroon and Gold out-shot Bucky, 9-5.
The Badgers took control in the second period scoring a power-play and even-strength goal to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. At 9:00, Wisconsin re-gained the lead with Joe Pavelski's team leading ninth goal of the season. Taking a pass from Elliott, Pavelski went coast-to-coast deking several Golden Gophers and beating Briggs to the stick side for the power-play goal.
About a minute later, Bucky made it 3-1 with Ross Carlson's third tally of the year. Nick Licari passed across to UM blue line to spring Carlson alone and best Briggs to the glove side. Joe Piskula was credited with the second assist. Minnesota out-shot Wisconsin, 14 -11, in the second period.
The Badgers padded their lead in the third period with Pavelski's second power-play goal of the game. Earl picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and skated in the UM zone on a 2-on-1. Earl passed across the slot to Pavelski who used a backhander to Briggs' stick side for his 10th tally of the season.
The Golden Gophers cut the lead to two at 10:36 with P.J. Atherton's first goal of the season. Kris Chucko gained possession in the UW zone and pushed the puck to Atherton who used a slapshot from the point to beat Elliott to the 5-hole. The goal was Atherton's first since March 12, 2005 vs. Minnesota State, a span of 18 games.
Minnesota continued its comeback at the 16:00 mark with Justin Bostrom's third goal as a Golden Gopher. Evan Kaufmann won the faceoff in the UW zone, carried the puck around the Badger net and fed Bostrom who shot high over Elliott to make the score 4-3.
Wisconsin's Jake Dowell was whistled for cross-checking with 1:10 remaining and Minnesota pulled Briggs to give the Maroon and Gold a 6-on-4 power play. Ben Gordon nearly tied the game with seconds remaining, but his shot was inches too low and Elliott made the pad save to preserve the win. For the period, Minnesota out-shot Bucky, 15-9 and finished the game with a 38-25 advantage on the shot board. For the game, UM went 1-for-6 with the man advantage, while Wisconsin was 2-for-3.
Briggs got the loss with 21 saves to fall to 4-4-2, while Elliott got the win with 35 saves to improve to 12-1-2.
The Golden Gophers and Badgers wrap up the two-game Border Battle series tomorrow at 7:07 p.m.
Game Notes
Tonight's game matched the nation's two longest unbeaten streaks - Wisconsin is now on a 13-game streak (11-0-2), while Minnesota's was snapped at six (4-0-2).
The Golden Gophers are 142-75-15 all-time vs. the Badgers, including an 83-21-5 mark at home.
Minnesota saw its 10-game home winning streak vs. Bucky come to an end. UM's seniors suffered their first career loss to Wisconsin at Mariucci Arena.
The Badgers defeated Minnesota in Minneapolis for the first time since posting a sweep on Feb. 25-26, 2000.
The Maroon and Gold is 9-12-0 vs. the nation's No. 1 team under Don Lucia, including a 1-1-0 mark this season.
The Golden Gophers are 4-2-1 at home this season. UM was on a four-game winning streak at Mariucci Arena.
Minnesota is 2-1-1 vs. ranked opponents this season.
Wisconsin currently leads the second annual Border Battle Cup, 140-100.
With his 169-81-25 record at Minnesota, Don Lucia is two wins behind Brad Buetow (171-75-8 from 1979-85) on UM's all-time coaching wins list.
The Maroon and Gold has not been shut out since March 18, 2005, a span of 19 games. That span is the second-longest among WCHA teams (Wisconsin 43 games).
The Golden Gophers are 5-4-2 in games played in Minnesota and 2-0-2 in contests played out of state.
UM holds a 3-2-1 series record this season.
In nine of 15 games this season, the team that has scored four goals has won. The Golden Gophers are 6-0-0 when scoring four or more goals, 3-0-0 when scoring five or more and 0-3-0 when allowing four or more.
Minnesota is 3-3-1 when the opponents score first, 3-1-1 when tied after one period and 1-2-0 when trailing after two periods.
UM is 5-3-1 on Olympic-size rinks and 2-1-3 on NHL-size ice sheets this season.
The Golden Gophers are 3-4-0 in one-goal games this season.
Ryan Potulny leads the team in goals with 12 and power-play goals with nine. He has a point in 11 of 15 games this season and a goal in nine contests. UM is 7-3-1 when he tallies a point.
Minnesota has scored a power-play goal in 12 of 15 games this season.
