Wisconsin Drops Ohio State at Lambeau, 4-2
February 11, 2006 | Men's Hockey
With a goal and an assist, Robbie Earl led the No. 4 Wisconsin men's hockey team to a 4-2 victory over Ohio State in front of 40,890 fans Saturday afternoon in the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic at historic Lambeau Field.
The contest, which also served as the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game, drew the fourth-largest crowd ever for a hockey game and the second-largest crowd for a college hockey game.
Adam Burish (Madison, Wis.), Kyle Klubertanz (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and Andrew Joudrey (Bedford, Nova Scotia) also scored for UW, which earned its 20th win of the season (20-7-2 overall, 14-6-2 WCHA).
Freshman goalie Shane Connelly (Cheltenham, Pa.) stopped 18 shots to record his second career victory.
On the other end, Dave Caruso made 27 saves for Ohio State (14-14-4, 10-11-2 CCHA).
Burish gave the Badgers a 1-0 lead just 23 seconds into the contest when he buried a loose puck in front of the Ohio State net. Earl (Los Angeles) and Joe Pavelski (Plover, Wis.) were credited with assists on Burish's eighth goal of the season.
Dave Barton tied the game at one at the 11:11 mark of the second period. Barton dumped the puck in from the blue line and watched it take an awkward bounce over Connelly and into the net. The unassisted goal was his fourth of the season.
Wisconsin responded with a power-play goal by Klubertanz with 3:02 left to play in the second. The sophomore ripped a shot from the point which was partially blocked by an OSU defender, yet still bounced past Caruso. Ross Carlson (Duluth, Minn.) and Ben Street (Coquitlam, British Columbia) earned assists on the play.
Joudrey opened the Badgers' lead to 3-1 seven minutes into the third period. Ryan MacMurchy (Regina, Saskatchewan) made a pass from the right corner to a cutting Joudrey on the far post for a one-timer. Jake Dowell also added an assist on what proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Buckeyes closed the score to 3-2 with 4:03 left in the third when Sam Campbell chipped a loose puck past Connelly.
OSU pulled its goalie with 1:30 left in regulation, but Earl ended the drama with an empty-net goal at the 19:02 mark of the third. Joe Piskula (Antigo, Wis.) notched an assist on Earl's 15th goal of the season.
Wisconsin finished the game 1-for-7 on the power play while Ohio State was 0-for-7.
The 40,890 fans in attendance were treated to slightly better weather conditions than had been expected. The temperature at the opening faceoff was 28 degrees with winds out of the west at seven miles per hour, causing a wind chill effect of 26 degrees.
By the start of the third period, winds were calm and the temperature held steady at 27 degrees.
During the game's second intermission, fans were delighted to hear 'Jump Around' played over the stadium's stereo system, honoring a tradition at UW home football games.
'Jump Around' was just one example of how Lambeau Field was transformed into a northern combination of Camp Randall and the Kohl Center on Saturday. In addition to roughly 170 members of the UW Marching Band and Bucky, Kohl Center announcer Bob Look made the trip up to Green Bay, helping Lambeau feel just like home.
The Badgers return to WCHA action Feb. 17-18 when they travel to Houghton, Mich., to take on Michigan Tech. Faceoff each night is set for 6 p.m. Central.
