Badgers Lose 6-4 to Sioux, Splitting Weekend Series
October 28, 2001 | Men's Hockey
Wisconsin entered Saturday night's game with a chance to sweep the Sioux on their home ice for the first time since 1996. Rookie Bernd Bruckler (Graz, Austria) got the nod in goal, starting his second game on the heels of a 5-0 shutout against Wayne State last Saturday night.
For the first time this season, the opponent got on the board first taking the early 1-0 lead on a Tim Skarperud goal at 7:59. Minutes later, the Sioux extended that lead to 2-0 (the largest deficit of the young season for the Badgers) when Ryan Bayda scored his third goal of the season after Bruckler gave up a rebound on a shot off the stick of Brandon Bochenski.
Bayda struck again early in the second period. Down a man, the Sioux forced a UW turnover at center ice and shorthanded, scored to go up 3-0. Bayda's second goal of the game seemed to put the Sioux in control. That three-goal lead was short-lived as sophomore Rene Bourque (Lac La Biche, Alberta) notched his first goal of the year on a pass from Kent Davyduke. UND returned the favor on the power play when Bochenski beat Bruckler to re-establish the Sioux's three-goal lead at 13:12.
The Badgers came to life when senior captain Andy Wheeler (Duluth, Minn.) and Kent Davyduke (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) combined to score the team's second shorthanded goal this season. Coupled with Brad Winchester's (Madison, Wis.) third goal of the season, the UW seemed to be back in the game at 4-3 with just over three minutes left in the second period.
Bochenski struck again before the end of the middle frame, converting his second power-play goal of the game at 17:40 to end the six-goal scoring spree in the period and give UND the momentum heading into the final period of play.
After the scoring frenzy of the previous period, it wasn't until the 16:19 mark of the period before Matt Murray (Fond du Lac, Wis.) scored the first goal which drew the UW to within one goal, for the third time in the game, at 5-4. With time winding down, the Badgers had plenty of opportunities to tie the game before pulling Bruckler at 18:50. The game was sealed with Kevin Spiewak flipped the puck in the empty net at 19:39, giving UND a 6-4 win.
The Badgers were never ahead in the game as the team drops to 2-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in WCHA play.
