Nov. 21, 2009
Box Score | Box Score 
ST. CLOUD, Minn.-The Wisconsin men's hockey team (7-4-1, 5-4-1 WCHA) evened the weekend series against the St. Cloud State Huskies (5-5-2, 4-3-1 WCHA) by beating them 4-1 Saturday night. The Badgers were led by their penalty kill, succeeding on nearly nine consecutive minutes during one stretch of the second period. The kill finished seven-for-seven for the game.
The Badgers struck first in the first period. On a Badger power play, Brendan Smith found the back of the net for the third time this season 5:05 into the game. After an initial shot attempt refused to go in, Smith stayed persistent and punched it in after the puck deflected off a Husky defender. Freshman defenseman Justin Schultz (West Kelowna, British Columbia) tallied his second assist of the series. Sophomore forward Derek Stepan (Hastings, Minn.) also assisted the goal.
The Badgers' lead did not last long. Less than two minutes later, Husky forward David Eddy evened the match at one after some nice passing allowed Eddy to get freed up for the goal.
This concluded the scoring in the period. Though the score read 1-1, the Badgers continued their great shot productivity. They outshot the Huskies 10-5 in the period.
The first 15 minutes of the second remained scoreless. Badger senior forward John Mitchell (Neenah, Wis.) put UW back on top. After capitalizing off of a St. Cloud State turnover, Mitchell used his big 6-5 frame to shield off a Husky defender and cash in a backhander from just outside the crease. A nice behind-the-back pass from senior forward Aaron Bendickson (Thief River Falls, Minn.) set up the goal. The pass came just in time, as Mitchell was actually falling down when he scored. At exactly the nine-minute mark of the third, the Badgers added to their lead. Freshman forward Derek Lee (North Vancouver, British Columbia) snuck a pass through a crowd of Husky defenders and found sophomore forward Jordy Murray (Fairbault, Minn.). Murray maneuvered his way through the defense, and Lee found him right in stride. This was Murray's fourth goal of the season.
"I really feel like it was a game changer," added Murray. "St. Cloud's a great team, but it really helped our momentum."
The Badgers added another goal less than four minutes later. Junior forward Patrick Johnson (Madison, Wis.) scored his second goal of the season from just off the goal line. Bendickson worked down low before puck squirted free to Johnson near the goal line to the right of SCSU goalie Dan Dunn. Junior defenseman Ryan McDonagh (Arden Hills, Minn.) had the secondary assist on the play. The Badgers were now skating with a 4-1 advantage.
And that is what the scoreboard would read at the final buzzer.
Badger goaltender Scott Gudmandson (Sherwood Park, Alberta) was back in the net for the Badgers. He stopped 18 Husky shots, as his record climbed to 3-1-1 on the year. Junior Husky goaltender Dan Dunn stopped 29 Badger shots, as his record fell to 3-2-0 on the year.
Wisconsin continued its offensive attack by outshooting SCSU 33-19 in the matchup. It was a physical matchup as there were 22 total penalties called.
The Badgers hit the road for the second consecutive weekend next week for the College Hockey Showcase. Friday night, UW squares off against Michigan State at 6 p.m. CT in East Lansing. Saturday, the team will head south to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines. The puck drops at 6:30 p.m. CT Saturday.
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Brady Hartung, UW Athletic Communications
