HOUGHTON, Mich. — This is a story about two impromptu receptions - one with lots of hugs and one featuring a kiss — that will sustain the participants for years to come.

The hugs were for Craig Johnson, the freshman defenseman for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team whose first career goal Saturday against Michigan Tech was not only memorable, but huge because it set the stage for an important win on the road.

The smooch involved Shane Connelly, the junior goaltender who decided at the last second to plant one on the cheek of the Winter Carnival queen after he was voted MVP of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.

Those were the prime storylines after the 11th-ranked Badgers claimed a 4-1 triumph before a crowd of 3,571 at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Coupled with a 1-1 overtime tie in the series opener Friday, UW (13-11-6 overall, 9-9-4 with 22 points in league play) took three of four points to remain tied with Minnesota State-Mankato for fourth place with six regular-season games left.

The overall effort made it easier for those in the Wisconsin entourage to deal with the fact that their charter flight back to Madison on Saturday night was grounded due to blizzard-like conditions in the Upper Peninsula.

The Badgers experienced a similar delay last February after getting swept by Tech, a situation that Connelly described as "awful."

The knowledge that UW is in a groove — 5-1-3 in its last eight and 3-0-2 in its last five on the road — should help.

"It's going to make the stay a little bit more enjoyable," Connelly said.

Sophomore left winger Michael Davies (power play), freshman defenseman Cody Goloubef and freshman center Sean Dolan also scored goals for the Badgers, who assumed a 2-0 lead in the first period and dictated large chunks of play thereafter.

The Huskies (10-13-5, 6-10-4, 16 points) cut the deficit in half early in the second — defenseman Geoff Kinrade beat Connelly with a wrister from the high slot on the power play — which is where Johnson comes in.

The kid from Waupaca — who might be the most improved player on the team this season — took a perfect pass from Dolan and zinged a wrister from the left circle past goaltender Rob Nolan (23 saves).

"It took a lot of pressure off us," Badgers coach Mike Eaves said.

"That third goal was a backbreaker," Tech coach Jamie Russell added.

When Johnson got to the UW bench, he was mobbed by teammates who know his story well. Johnson wasn't expected to see a lot of playing time this season, but a back injury to fellow freshman Brendan Smith has resulted in Johnson playing 13 games to date.

The milestone goal came one night after Johnson played so well in tandem with Goloubef that they took regular shifts in the third period and overtime.

"Everyone was so happy for him because he deserved it," Dolan said of Johnson.

"The reception I got was amazing," said Johnson, who also got the game puck for his efforts. "Everyone just gave me some love and it was awesome."

It was neat, too, that Johnson's older brother, Carl, was in the stands to see it all unfold.

Connelly, meanwhile, will be the first to tell you he didn't have to make a lot of high-stress saves en route to 27 stops.

"The defense did an incredible job," he said. "(The MVP is) a team award, in my eyes."

Connelly helped his cause immensely by deftly handling the puck on dump-ins by the Huskies, thus negating their ability to create pressure in the offensive zone.

"I thought he was really assertive, made good decisions, got (the puck) off the glass and almost acted like a third defenseman for us," Eaves said.

"I was able to move it and create battles along the wall," Connelly said. "We won a lot of those battles."

When Kristy Loomis, the Winter Carnival queen, announced that Connelly was the MVP during a postgame ceremony, he approached her with intent.

"I made up my mind right as my name got called," he said of the kiss. "I was going in there no matter what.

"Not many times you get to kiss the Winter Carnival queen, so I was going to enjoy it."

That's not all the Badgers enjoyed this weekend.