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UW men's hockey: Sioux's comeback, OT victory sting Badgers

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/31/2008 6:41 am

The perilous thing about riding high on a wave is that there's really only one way to go.

The University of Wisconsin, 20 minutes away from an improbable berth in the Frozen Four, came crashing down before it could successfully navigate the final crest.

North Dakota salvaged its season with a stunning minute of play early in the third period, rallying from a two-goal deficit to tie the Midwest Regional final.

Then the Sioux, playing like the tournament veterans that they are, left the Badgers watching an opponent celebrate on their home ice.

Andrew Kozek's goal early in overtime finished off the UW, which not long before appeared on the verge of something big.

"We were riding pretty high there, especially in the second period tonight," Badgers senior captain Davis Drewiske said. "I was impressed with the way we were playing. I thought we were completely controlling the game there for a while in the second."

The 3-2 loss in front of 9,816 at the Kohl Center was a shock to the Badgers, who used the popular perception that they weren't worthy of their tournament bid as motivation to play some of their best hockey of the season.

It was a shock partially because things changed dramatically in what had been their best period of the season.

Wisconsin took a 2-0 lead with a Cody Goloubef power-play goal in the last minute of the second period and carried all the momentum into the intermission.

The Badgers (16-17-7) sat one period away from an incredible turnaround -- they were the first team with a losing record ever to make the tournament as an at-large selection -- and their second Frozen Four in three seasons.

They had outscored opponents 49-23 in the third period this season and had sealed the deal 12 of the 13 times they carried a lead into the second intermission.

In the North Dakota locker room, however, a tournament-tested team got revved up by its captain and used an early-third-period power play to swing things.

The Sioux (28-10-4) didn't score in the 1:51 of the advantage that remained at the start of the period, but they set the tone.

Rylan Kaip, the UND captain, started the Sioux comeback by following up a blocked shot in the slot and firing in the rebound.

Just 47 seconds later, defending Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan erased everything the Badgers had built with a well-placed shot. He took a drop pass from T.J. Oshie and zinged the puck off the right post and in.

"Our big-time leaders stepped up and made big plays for us," said UND goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who made 41 saves and was named the regional's most outstanding player. "We have a quiet confidence in our dressing room. We're comfortable in these situations and the bottom line is that you have to go out and execute plays."

Badgers goaltender Shane Connelly credited the Sioux for being tenacious.

"It just caught us by surprise since we were playing so well," he said. "We made the big (penalty) kill and we had some momentum with us. That's the way the puck went for us at the end of the game tonight."

The Badgers were on top after two periods, but they had at least some inkling of what was coming from a team that entered the game with seven straight victories in regional games.

"We knew we were going to have to weather a storm. I guess we didn't do a very good job doing it," UW center Ben Street said. "They came out pretty hot and things started going their way. We were on our heels for a bit, and we didn't really get back on our toes until seven minutes left in the third, and I think that was a big difference."

The Badgers outshot the Sioux 12-10 in the period and 43-31 for the game, but they couldn't again get the puck past Lamoureux.

"That was not very characteristic of us," UW coach Mike Eaves said of Sunday's third-period scoring deficit. "Usually we're scoring goals in the third period, and we weren't able to do that tonight."

The Badgers' season ended early in overtime, off a faceoff in the UW end of the ice.

Oshie won the draw against UW's Kyle Turris on the right wing, getting the puck back to Robbie Bina near the blue line. Bina fired at the net, but hit Turris in front.

The puck fell to the ice, where Kozek, a third-line winger, swept it off Connelly's skate and in.

Connelly stayed still, kneeling in the crease, as North Dakota piled off its bench to celebrate in front of its cheering section. The goaltender finally collapsed in a heap of emotion.

"Lamoureux gave them a chance to win, and I think that just gave them the confidence," said Connelly, who finished with 28 saves. "You can see they're such a veteran team. They've been in this game (five) straight years, and we just couldn't get that backbreaking goal to crush their spirits."

Wisconsin took steps toward the Frozen Four with second-period goals by defensemen Jamie McBain and Goloubef.

McBain redirected in a Turris pass just after the end of a UW power play. Goloubef made it 2-0 by missing the net and having the puck bounce back off the end boards, off Lamoureux and in.

Everything looked lined up for a trip to Denver. Then everything was gone.

"When you lose and you're so close, it stings," Eaves said. "It stings deeply."

By the numbers

6-3-1 -- Wisconsin's record in overtime games in the NCAA tournament.

0-2 -- The Badgers' record against North Dakota in the NCAA tournament. Wisconsin also lost the 1982 national championship game to the Sioux.

13-2-1 -- UW's record in NCAA tournament games played in the state of Wisconsin.

12-2 -- Wisconsin's record when leading after two periods.

4 -- Consecutive Frozen Four appearances by North Dakota. The Sioux have used overtime in the regional final to get there the last two seasons.

Sunday's summary

Wisconsin 0 2 0 0 -- 2

North Dakota 0 0 2 1 -- 3

First period: No scoring. Penalties: Turris, W, 5:41; Watkins, ND, 9:28; Grotting, W, 18:23; Finley, ND, 18:23.

Second period: W -- McBain 5 (Turris, Drewiske), 5:38; Goloubef 4 (P. Johnson, Klubertanz), 19:21 (pp). Penalties: Radke, ND, 3:36; Radke, ND, 12:54; Miller, ND, 17:25; Klubertanz, W, 19:50.

Third period: ND -- Kaip 8 (Frattin, Watkins), 3:33; Duncan 18 (Oshie), 4:20. Penalties: McDonagh, W, 8:24.

Overtime: ND -- Kozek 18 (Bina, Oshie), 1:47. Penalties: None.

Saves:  W (Connelly 10-9-8-1) 28; ND (Lamoureux 17-11-12-1) 41.

Power plays: W 1-4, ND 0-3.

Att. -- 9,816.

Todd D. Milewski  —  3/31/2008 6:41 am