POSTSCRIPT

You had to think Wisconsin was in a pretty good spot after two periods, leading North Dakota 2-0 at the Kohl Center, with all the momentum on its side.

Nope. Not even close. Not against a seasoned tournament team like North Dakota, which got a goal from its captain and a goal from its Hobey Baker Award winner to quickly tie the game in the third.

From there, it was all new, with the Sioux now in control. They didn't win it in regulation, but they turned the game decidedly in their favor in less than a minute's time of the third. That set them up to win it in overtime on Andrew Kozek's follow of a blocked shot.

It was a tough way to end for the Badgers -- it always is when the season ends in overtime, but this one was double tough to accept because of the way they played in building the 2-0 lead.

So now it's watch season. As in, we watch to see what happens with some of the Badgers' better players. Is Kyle Turris headed to the pros? What about Jamie McBain? Anyone else leaving? Stay tuned.

THREE STARS

No. 3 -- Jamie McBain, UW (1 goal): Where was that power play maneuver all year long?

No. 2 -- Andrew Kozek, UND (1 goal): OT goals always earn you a star.

No. 1 -- Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, UND (41 saves): He got help from the posts, but he made plenty of big saves, too.

DID YOU NOTICE?

Wisconsin's Patrick Johnson and North Dakota's Joe Finley went eye to eye after a whistle early in overtime. Well, not quite. Johnson is listed at 5-foot-9; Finley is 6-foot-7.
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PREAMBLE

Michigan and Notre Dame are in the Frozen Four. Miami and Boston College are playing for a third spot now. Will it be Wisconsin (16-16-7) or North Dakota (27-10-4) that will take the final spot for Denver?

The Badgers and the Sioux split a pair of games at the Kohl Center, but that November series seems like ages ago. Shane Connelly made 43 saves for a 4-0 shutout in the opener before the Sioux came back for a 3-1 victory the next night.

Remember that Saturday night game? The coaches got into an argument, Bucky got slashed and a 10-player melee led to 122 penalty minutes.

This is no surprise, but the first goal tonight will be big. Each team wants to play with its style, and, for UW especially, getting ahead has been important there. Wisconsin is 11-3 when scoring first; North Dakota is 21-4-1.

These teams have history in the NCAA tournament, but it has been a while. North Dakota beat Wisconsin 5-2 for the 1982 national championship.

Wisconsin has replaced Podge Turnbull with Brendan Smith on the fourth line, and it's likely that has to do with Kyle Klubertanz's health. Smith, a defenseman who grew up as a forward, practiced in both roles this week and was considered an insurance policy in case Klubertanz wasn't able to continue playing because of a leg injury. This will be Smith's first game since Jan. 11.
North Dakota's lineup is the same as in its 5-1 victory over Princeton on Saturday.

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
7 Brendan Smith-13 Aaron Bendickson-11 Andy Bohmbach

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

35 Shane Connelly
1 Scott Gudmandson
NORTH DAKOTA'S LINES

16 Ryan Duncan-7 T.J. Oshie-14 Brad Miller
20 Matt Watkins-29 Chris VandeVelde-17 Rylan Kaip
10 Andrew Kozek-8 Ryan Martens-22 Brad Malone
26 Kyle Radke-11 Darcy Zajac-21 Matt Frattin

4 Taylor Chorney-28 Robbie Bina
2 Joe Finley-5 Chay Genoway
6 Zach Jones-25 Jake Marto

1 Jean-Philippe Lamoureux
30 Aaron Walski