Sioux Sweep Badgers
November 23, 2002 | Men's Hockey
North Dakota (11-1-0, 5-1-0 WCHA) earned its first home sweep over the Wisconsin Badgers (5-7-0, 1-5-0) since Dec. 11-12, 1998, Saturday night, with a 3-2 victory at Engelstad Arena (11426). The Fighting Sioux dominated play in the first two periods outshooting the visitors 19-1 in the first period and 11-5 in the second period. That is the fewest shots on goal in a period for a UW team since Jan. 30, 1998 vs. Alaska Anchorage, in a game the UW won 2-1.
Senior goaltender Scott Kabotoff (Strathcona, Alberta) started in goal for the Badgers, stopping 39 shots on the night, including 18 in the first period. Despite the 19-1 UND advantage in shots on goal, the Sioux took just a 1-0 lead into the second period, on a power-play tally. A shot from the point by UND's David Lundbohm was saved by Kabotoff, but James Massen was there to put the rebound away.
The Sioux continued its stellar defensive play in the second period, holding the Badgers to just five shots on goal, including 0-2 on the power play. Kevin Spiewak (power-play) and Jason Notermann scored at the 11:14 and 18:34 marks, respectively to give UND a 3-0 lead and heading for back-to-back shutouts ' something that had never been done to a Badger team.
After five periods of scoreless hockey, freshman Tom Gilbert (Bloomington, Minn.) got the Badgers on the board. John Eichelberger (Glencoe, Ill.) from behind the net, passed the puck to Rene Bourque (Lac La Biche, Alberta) to the left of Sioux netminder Jake Brandt whose initial shot was saved before finding its way onto the stick of Gilbert at the 7:35 mark. Minutes later, the UW struck again. This time freshman Nick Licari (Duluth, Minn.) put home the rebound off a Jon Krall (Temperance, Mich.) shot from the right point. The Sioux took their time out following the Licari score and held the UW to only two shots the rest of the way. Kabotoff was pulled for the empty net at the 19:13 mark, but couldn't tie the game. The game ended 3-2 UND
Wisconsin went 0-3 on the man advantage, while UND converted on 2-7 attempts.
The Badgers are home next weekend to host the College Hockey Showcase, facing Michigan on Friday night (7:05 pm) and Michigan State on Saturday night (7:05 pm.)
