March 5, 2010
Box Score | Box Score 
MINNEAPOLIS—The Wisconsin men’s hockey team (22-8-4, 17-7-3 WCHA) won its fourth consecutive game and took a 3-2 victory over border-rival Minnesota (16-17-2, 11-14-2 WCHA) Friday night in the Target Center. The Badgers were powered by two goals from freshman forward Craig Smith (Madison, Wis.) in the crucial conference victory.
The victory, coupled with a loss by St. Cloud State, clinches second place in the WCHA for the Badgers.
The Golden Gophers notched the game’s first goal at the 4:16 mark of the first period. Down a man, senior forward Ryan Flynn took advantage of a Wisconsin turnover and scored on a breakaway. Less than five minutes into the game, the Badgers were skating with a 1-0 disadvantage.
However, at the 6:53 mark of the same period, Smith tied things up. On the UW power play, sophomore forward Jordy Murray took control of the puck after a Minnesota short-handed attempt. Murray and Smith skated up the ice on a 2-on-1 breakaway, and Smith was able to slide the puck past Gopher netminder Alex Kangas. Senior tri-captain Ben Street (Coquitlam, British Columbia) added the secondary assist. The goal made it a 1-1 tie.
With less than three minutes to go and on another power play, Wisconsin took its first lead of the game. Freshman defenseman Justin Schultz (West Kelowna, British Columbia) made it a 2-1 Badger lead, when he cut to the net back-door and took a pass from senior forward Michael Davies (St. Louis). His third of the season also came with help from sophomore forward Derek Stepan (Hastings, Minn.). Stepan’s assist counted for his 40th point of the season, the third Badger on the team to reach the mark (Michael Davies, 44, Brendan Smith, 40).
This concluded the opening period’s scoring, with the Badgers leading, 2-1, on the scoreboard and in shots-on-goal, 13-5. The Badgers were also 2-for-4 on the power play in the segment.
No scoring took place in the second period. Minnesota nearly knotted the game up just less than three minutes into the segment, but the goal was waived off with a man in the crease. Junior goaltender Scott Gudmandson (Sherwood Park, Alberta) turned away all 10 Golden Gopher attempts in the period, and shots-on-goal were knotted at 15. Wisconsin was 5-for-5 in its penalty killing and held a 2-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Minnesota knotted the game back up at the 2:36 mark of the third. After winning a faceoff, a slap shot that would have gone wide plunked a Badger and found the back of the net.
With less than five minutes to go in the game, Craig Smith got his ever-important sixth goal of the season. After senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion (Brentwood, Tenn.) found an open Smith in the slot, the freshman ripped a wrist shot past Kangas, putting UW on top, 3-2, late in the game. The assist was Geoffrion’s 34th WCHA point of the season, which is tops in the conference in WCHA games.
The Badgers held the lead the rest of the way, including just over a minute of time with Minnesota pulling its goaltender for an extra attacker.
The Badgers finished 2-for-5 on the power play and a perfect 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. Minnesota held the edge in shots for the game, 27-23.
After the win, Gudmandson’s record rose to 14-3-4 on the season after he denied 21 Golden Gopher attempts. For the Maroon and Gold, Alex Kangas stopped 24 Badger shots, as his record fell to 14-13-1 on the year.
The Badgers and Golden Gophers will close out the regular season Sunday in Mariucci Arena as the Badgers go for their second road-sweep of the season. Puck drop is at 1 p.m.
