Wisconsin Skates Over Denver in Victory
December 06, 2003 | Men's Hockey
In an exciting contest at the Mile-high city, the Badgers extended their unbeaten streak to 12 games with a 3-1 win over the Denver Pioneers.
In a repeat of Friday night's opening 20:00, the Badgers again dominated the Pioneers in the first period of Saturday's action. UW dominated the puck, tallying 14 shots on target, while Denver managed only five. Wisconsin 's netminder, Bernd Bruckler (Graz, Austria), made his best save on a breakaway by Pioneer J.D. Corbin early in the frame. The game remained knotted at zero.
Wisconsin continued to play strongly in the second period, despite the heavy penalties called on both teams. The Badgers' Tom Gilbert (Bloomington, Minn.) took advantage of one of the UW's man-advantage situations, nailing a power play goal at 8:21. He carried the puck to the blueline and faked out the Pioneer defender, slapping it high on the gloveside of Adam Berkhoel and into the net. He had help from Dan Boeser (Savage, Minn.) and Robbie Earl (Los Angeles, Calif.). At 13:21, on a Pioneer powerplay after Ryan MacMurchy (Regina, Sask.) suffered a tripping penalty, Bruckler could not get his leg in front of Brett Skinner's shot and allowed the Pioneers to tie the game. Denver continued to apply the pressure to Bruckler, but he kept the teams tied after 40:00 of play.
The rough play and intensity continued into the third period. In a four-on-four play early in the last frame, UW's season goal-leader, Ryan MacMurchy (Regina, Sask.), found a spot in Berkhoel's goaltending and once again gave UW the lead. His ninth goal of the season was assisted by Jeff Likens (Barrington, Ill.). Bruckler continued to protect the net and made an amazing save as Denver tried to use a six-on-five advantage. Jake Dowell (Eau Claire, Wis.) sealed the deal as time expired with an empty net goal on assists from Adam Burish (Madison, Wis.) and MacMurchy.
Bruckler (6-0-4) made 22 saves in the game and Berkhoel had 36 stops. The win was UW's first in the last nine games against Denver.
The Badgers (9-3-4, 4-2-4 WCHA) return to their home ice at the Kohl Center on Tuesday night for an exhibition versus the Latvian National Team and on Friday and Saturday versus Minnesota State. The ice drops at 7:05 in all contests. The weekend 's games will be broadcast on Fox Sports Net and WIBA-AM.
