Badgers' Streak Snapped
December 09, 2005 | Men's Hockey
Michigan Tech used two short-handed goals and one power-play conversion to defeat the No. 1 Wisconsin men's hockey team 4-2 Friday night at the Kohl Center.
Junior Brian Elliott (Newmarket, Ontario) made 23 saves for the Badgers (13-2-2 overall, 10-1-2 WCHA), who saw their unbeaten streak end at 14 games.
Tom Gilbert (Bloomington, Minn.) and Ross Carlson (Duluth, Minn.) led the offensive charge for Wisconsin by each scoring even-strength goals.
Brandon Schwartz led the way for the Huskies (3-13-1, 2-8-1) with two goals and one assist. Goalie Michael-Lee Teslak stopped 31 shots to earn the victory.
Michigan Tech opened the scoring two minutes into the contest. Playing shorthanded, Jake Wilkens took the puck and found Chris Conner up ice. Conner skated in alone on Elliott, made a quick move to his back-hand, and beat Elliott five-hole.
UW tied the game at one at the 3:45 mark of the second period. Gilbert blasted a shot from the top of the right circle past Teslak for his third marker of the season. Carlson and Joe Piskula (Antigo, Wis.) added assists on the goal.
The Huskies took the lead for good 15:26 into the second. Conner beat a Wisconsin defender to a loose puck in the UW zone. He then skated around the net and sent a pass to Schwartz, who beat Elliott with a quick shot from the low slot. The short-handed goal was his fourth tally of the season.
Michigan Tech went up 3-1 3:43 into the final period. Nick Anderson knocked in a rebound from the left circle for his fourth goal of the season and the only power-play goal by either team on the night.
The Badgers cut the lead to one goal just over four minutes later when Carlson notched his fifth goal of the season. The junior intercepted a pass in the neutral zone, then skated in on a two-on-one and beat Teslak with a slap shot from the top of the circles.
The Huskies closed out the scoring with an empty-net goal by Schwartz at 19:32 of the third.
Wisconsin finished the game 0-for-8 on the power play while Michigan Tech was 1-for-5.
The Huskies have now snapped the two longest WCHA unbeaten streaks in UW history. MTU ended Wisconsin's 13-game league unbeaten streak on Jan. 9, 2004.
The Badgers and Huskies conclude their WCHA series Saturday night at the Kohl Center. Face off is set for 8:00 p.m.
