No. 2 Badgers Drop No. 1 Wolverines
November 26, 2005 | Men's Hockey
Captain Adam Burish scored with 1:58 left to play in the third period to give the No. 2 Wisconsin men's hockey team a 3-2 victory over No. 1 Michigan Saturday night at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Ryan MacMurchy (Regina, Saskatchewan) and Robbie Earl (Los Angeles) added the other two goals for the Badgers (11-1-2 overall, 8-0-2 WCHA). UW extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games (10-0-2) with the win, the longest current streak in the nation.
Junior Brian Elliott (Newmarket, Ontario) made 23 saves to record his 11th win of the season. Elliott and the Badgers closed out November with a 7-0-1 mark, the most wins by UW in any single month under head coach Mike Eaves.
Goalie Noah Ruden stopped 24 shots for the Wolverines, who fell to 9-3-1 overall.
After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second.
MacMurchy opened the scoring less than one minute into the second period. The senior found himself all alone with the puck on the back door and tapped it in for his second goal of the weekend. Jack Skille (Madison, Wis.) and Jake Dowell (Eau Claire, Wis.) added assists on MacMurchy's fourth goal of the season.
UW extended the lead to 2-0 at the 9:32 mark of the second when Earl tallied his fifth goal of the season. Earl capitalized on a poor pass by Michigan in its defensive zone and fired a slap shot past Ruden. The unassisted goal snapped a five-game goal-scoring drought for Earl.
Michigan responded 1:11 later when Tim Miller scored on a wrap-around to close the score to 2-1. Tyler Swystun and Andrew Ebbett added assists on Miller 's first goal of the season.
The Wolverines tied the game at two 2:47 into the third period. Brandon Naurato beat Elliott with a shot while UM was on a 5-on-3 power-play. Jack Johnson and Ebbett recorded assists on Naurato's fifth goal of the season.
However, for the second consecutive night, Burish (Madison, Wis.) provided the game-winner. After Earl sprung Burish on a breakaway, the senior out-skated the Michigan defensemen and beat Ruden five-hole at the 18:02 mark of the third. Sophomore Joe Pavelski (Plover, Wis.) added the second assist on Burish's third game-winning goal of the season.
Wisconsin finished the game 0-for-4 on the power play while Michigan was 1-for-6.
The win over the top-ranked Wolverines gives the Badgers an impressive 5-0-1 record in their last six games against the nation's No. 1 team.
Wisconsin will likely ascend to No. 1 when the national polls are released on Monday. Should the Badgers do so, it would be the first time that UW was ranked No. 1 since Oct. 23, 2000.
The Badgers return to WCHA action Dec. 2-3 when they renew their border battle with Minnesota at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. Face off each night is set for 7 p.m. with live coverage provided by Fox Sports Net North.
