Badgers Lose Heartbreaker to Spartans
December 01, 2002 | Men's Hockey
Wisconsin (5-9-0, 1-5-0 WCHA) hosted Michigan State (6-6-1, 3-4-0 CCHA) in the second game of the College Hockey Showcase on Saturday night. The Badgers entered the game with a 2-16-1 mark in the 10-year history of the Showcase and in the midst of a three-game losing skid.
Despite one of the best performances of the year for Bucky and outshooting the Spartans 35-26 (16-9 in the third period), MSU won the game 2-1 in overtime in front of 11,133 at the Kohl Center.
The first period set the tone for the contest as both teams held the other scoreless the first 20 minutes. The Spartans had the better chances in the first, but UW netminder Scott Kabotoff (Strathcona, Alberta) stopped all nine MSU shots. The Badgers ' best chance was on a breakaway by junior winger Rene Bourque (Lac La Biche) who hit the post on a wrist shot that would have beaten MSU goalie Matt Migliaccio.
The first lead of the game was Michigan State's as David Booth tallied his fifth goal of the season on the power play to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead. The Badgers didn't answer until the 4:40 mark of the third period when Bourque scored his team-leading sixth goal on the power play. That goal snapped a 0-33 string on the man advantage for the Badgers, going back to the Denver game on Nov. 2.
The Badgers dominated play in the third period, outshooting the Spartans 16-9. Wisconsin was a victim of the post again in the third period, when senior winger Brad Winchester's (Madison, Wisconsin) shot from the slot deflected off the inside post.
Tied 1-1 at the end of regulation, the Badgers headed to overtime for the second time in the last five games. Earlier this year, the UW won a 2-1 overtime tilt at Minnesota-Duluth. This time, however, it was the Spartans getting the victory on a turnaround blind shot by senior defenseman John Michael Liles from the point. His shot found its way to the net after finding its way through traffic in front of Kabotoff and deflecting in over the UW goaltender's right shoulder at the 3:50 mark of overtime.
The loss is the fourth in a row for the Badgers and the seventh in the last eight for Wisconsin. The UW ends its first half of league play this weekend when it hosts rival Minnesota in a pair of games this Friday 'Saturday, Dec. 6-7 at the Kohl Center.
