You saw the lesson unfold, but you probably weren't aware of it until University of Wisconsin men's hockey coach Mike Eaves gave it definition.

The Badgers looked tired, sometimes overwhelmed, during their Western Collegiate Hockey Association series finale with Minnesota at the Kohl Center Saturday night.

They fell behind 2-0. They looked a step slow in every zone. They made errors in judgment that suggested fatigue. They appeared to be on the verge of wasting an important moment in the season.

"I think they were spent in a lot of ways physically," Eaves said. "But the lesson that was available to them tonight was the fact that, you know, that doesn't matter -- that they have reservoirs in them of energy that they haven't tapped into yet."

Yes, UW was coming off consecutive series at Denver and Alaska-Anchorage.

Yes, the second semester of classes had just begun.

Yes, the series with rival Minnesota was becoming a draining hit-fest filled with intensity.

"We were tired, we had traveled, we were beat up a little bit," Eaves said. "But it's interesting, in the third period, we went to another level as a team because we pushed through some tough stuff and got it done."

UW managed to follow up a 3-1 win in the series opener by rallying for a 2-2 overtime draw that moved it out of a three-way tie for fifth place into a fourth-place tie with Minnesota-Duluth heading into a crucial series with the Bulldogs Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center.

"I'm really proud of the kids and happy that they had an opportunity to learn this lesson," Eaves said.

The timing is important. The Badgers (11-10-5 overall, 7-8-3 with 17 points in league play) can keep moving up the WCHA standings against UMD (10-8-6, 6-7-5, 17 points) while putting some distance between them and the four schools right behind them.

Right behind UW and the Bulldogs are Minnesota (15 points) and three teams with 14 points: Michigan Tech, Minnesota State-Mankato and St. Cloud State.

This marks the third straight weekend the Badgers have faced a two-goal deficit and responded with resolve.

They seemingly scored twice in the third period against Denver -- a last-second goal was wrongly disallowed -- during a 3-2 loss.

They scored twice in the third against Alaska-Anchorage to pull out a 4-4 tie.

They got goals from freshman right winger Patrick Johnson and sophomore winger/center Aaron Bendickson Saturday against the Gophers.

"After we got down 2-0, I kind of had a moment to myself to say, 'You can't let it go any further,' " UW junior goaltender Shane Connelly said. "I just knew if we kept it at 2-0, we've been there before."

The Badgers had to find a second wind before they could rally.

"We had a couple shifts where Minnesota was just running around," sophomore defenseman Jamie McBain said, "but we just found a way to bend but not break, as coach likes to say."

After securing nine points in its first 10 league games, UW has eight in its past five. Its current five-game unbeaten streak in the WCHA is the longest in the regular season since the first half of 2005-06 when UW opened 10-0-2 in league play.

"In the big picture, getting three of four points (in the series with Minnesota), that's been our task this second half," Eaves said.