Box Score Oct. 30, 2009
Box Score | Box Score 
MADISON, Wis. -- Sophomore forward Derek Stepan scored two goals to lead Wisconsin to a 4-1 victory over New Hampshire at the Kohl Center on Friday.
In front of a crowd of 11,490 fans, the first period ended scoreless, and proved to be a defensive battle. Junior goaltender Brett Bennett (Williamsville, N.Y.) found himself back in the net for the Badgers. Though the score was even, the Badgers dominated UNH, as they outshot the Wildcats 18-5.
The Badgers finally got one of their shots to go in early in the second period, when true freshman defenseman John Ramage (St. Louis) cashed in his first goal of the season with 14:17 left in the second. The assist was credited to senior center Aaron Bendickson (Thief River Falls, Minn.). Ramage received the pass just inside the blue line, and, from there, he fired a shot past the Wildcat goaltender. This was also Ramage's first goal as a Badger.
The Badgers did not wait long to add another goal. Some strategic, close-goal passing among junior defenseman Cody Goloubef (Oakville, Ontario), senior tri-captain forward Ben Street (Coquitlam, B.C.), and senior forward John Mitchell (Neenah, Wis.) allowed the Badgers to score. An initial pass from Goloubef to Mitchell started the process. Mitchell sent the puck through the slot to Street, who tapped it back to his linemate right in front of the net. Mitchell was then able to flick it past the Wildcat goalie. The goal came with 7:13 remaining in the period.
UNH got on the board less than two minutes later, as senior forward Peter LeBlanc scored a unassisted, breakaway goal. The short-handed tally brought the Wildcats within one, as the score read 2-1 heading into the final period.
In the third, UW added to its lead. In a crowd of players in front of the New Hampshire goal, sophomore forward Derek Stepan (Hastings, Minn.) managed to have the puck bounce off of his arm and trickle past the Wildcat goalie with 14:38 remaining in the period. Sophomore Jake Gardiner (Minnetonka, Minn.) took the initial shot, while junior tri-captain defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) contributed the secondary assist.
With 9:15 remaining in the final period, Stepan scored again and cemented the Badgers' victory by scoring on a shot from just inside UNH's blue line. Stepan fired a waist-level shot, and it sped past the Wildcat goalie. The assist was credited to junior defenseman Brendan Smith (Mimico, Ontario). The score was now 4-1, in favor of the Badgers.
The final score read just that, with the Badgers also dominating 51-13 in shots on goal. Bennett stopped 12 Wildcat shots, moving his record to 2-1-0 on the season. Wildcat goaltender Brian Foster stopped 47 Badger shots, as his record falls to 2-3-1 on the year.
The Badgers (2-2-1, 1-2-1 WCHA) take the ice again tomorrow night, in hopes of sweeping UNH. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7 p.m. With it being Halloween in Madison, the Badgers hope to scare the Wildcats back to New Hampshire.
The game airs live on WISC-TV in the Madison, Wis., area, while also airing on Charter Extra Channel 87 and Time Warner Cable outside the Madison area. A tape-delayed broadcast will be shown at 10 p.m. following the game and at 6 p.m. on Sunday on The Wisconsin Channel. A stream of the tape-delayed telecast will be shown at The Wisconsin Channel Web site. WIBA-AM 1310 will carry the contest on the radio. Live stats and a for pay live audio stream are available at UWBadgers.com
Brady Hartung
UW Athletic Communications
