POSTSCRIPT

Wisconsin sure picked a good time to have its best offensive period of the season. The four goals the Badgers scored in the third period tonight was better than any other 20 minutes this season, and only the second time Denver allowed more than two goals this year. The other? When Wisconsin scored three times in the first period of a 7-2 win on Jan. 12.

UW advanced to the Midwest Regional final against North Dakota with a 6-2 victory that was punctuated by the Badgers' play in the third. Add that to a solid effort from Shane Connelly and a good start, and it gave all those who didn't think the Badgers should be in the NCAA tournament something to think about. Just the way UW players wanted it.

THREE STARS

No. 3 -- Shane Connelly, UW (30 saves): He was big in the first, making 12 saves.

No. 2 -- Jamie McBain, UW (1 goal, 1 assist): His redirection of a Josh Engel shot was impressive, but he also added a strong overall performance.

No. 1 -- Michael Davies, UW (2 goals, 1 assist): You know the cliche about big players and big games.

DID YOU NOTICE?

During Wisconsin's starting lineups, Kyle Klubertanz started out toward center ice, only to hear Davis Drewiske introduced. Klubertanz cycled back.

UP NEXT

Wisconsin meets North Dakota at 6 p.m. Sunday (ESPNU only) for a spot in the Frozen Four.

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PREAMBLE

Which statistic will mean more tonight: That Wisconsin has never lost to Denver in the postseason (10-0) or that the Pioneers are 11-1-2 all-time at the Kohl Center?

It's not totally dependent on this, but keep an eye on how the Badgers start tonight's game. Any sign of rust means trouble for UW. Denver has played well the last two weekends; UW has played only one of those weekends, and it lost twice.

WISCONSIN'S LINES

5 Blake Geoffrion-19 Kyle Turris-9 Michael Davies
24 John Mitchell-16 Sean Dolan-14 Ben Grotting
10 Patrick Johnson-22 Ben Street-18 Matthew Ford
11 Andy Bohmbach-13 Aaron Bendickson-8 Podge Turnbull

4 Davis Drewiske-20 Kyle Klubertanz
17 Ryan McDonagh-2 Jamie McBain
6 Josh Engel-27 Cody Goloubef

35 Shane Connelly
1 Scott Gudmandson

DENVER'S LINES

19 Kyle Ostrow-21 Tyler Bozak-9 Rhett Rakhshani
16 Anthony Maiani-12 Jesse Martin-14 Tom May
17 Matt Glasser-15 Tyler Ruegsegger-8 Dustin Jackson
10 Stephen Cunningham-27 Brandon Vossberg-3 Jon Cook

4 Chris Butler-25 Cody Brookwell
11 J.P. Testwuide-7 Patrick Mullen
6 Chris Nutini-5 Andrew Thomas

29 Peter Mannino
1 Marc Cheverie
30 Eddie Guinn

POINTS TO PONDER

The power of others: Wisconsin has killed only 20 of 30 opponents power plays (66.7 percent) over the last six games.

Perfect 10: The Badgers are 10-0 against Denver in the postseason. That includes two WCHA first-round playoff games last season and six other league games. Wisconsin beat Denver in the 1972 NCAA third-place game in Boston, then beat the Pioneers again for the program's first national championship a year later at the same venue.

Streaks collide: Denver has won eight straight NCAA tournament games (its 2004 and 2005 national title runs), while Wisconsin has won four straight (its 2006 championship run). The Pioneers are tied with Minnesota (2002-04) and North Dakota (1980-84) for the longest NCAA tournament winning streak.