Feb. 19, 2010

Post-Game Press Conference | Gamestream ($) | Box Score |  Quotes | Box Score

MADISON, Wis.—The No. 3 Badger men’s hockey team (18-8-4, 13-7-4 WCHA) dropped a 5-1 decision to the No. 4 St. Cloud State Huskies (20-9-4, 15-7-3 WCHA) Friday night at the Kohl Center. The Badgers’ lone-goal came from sophomore forward Derek Stepan (Hastings, Minn.).

The Huskies got on the board first at the 14:14 mark of the opening period. After senior forward Ryan Lasch gained control of the puck at the blue line, he charged Badger goaltender Scott Gudmandson (Sherwood Park, Alberta). Lasch skated around the back of the net and slid in a wrap-around goal. That would be all the scoring the first period would see.

After one, though the Badgers trailed, 1-0, UW outshot SCSU, 12-7, in the segment.

However, it only took 31 seconds of the second period for the Badgers to tie things up as Stepan knotted the game. From behind the net, senior forward Michael Davies (St. Louis) slid a no-look pass into the left faceoff circle. The pass fell right into Stepan’s swinging stick. His slap shot rifled into the back of the net for his seventh of the season, but first in eight games. Senior tri-captain Ben Street (Coquitlam, British Columbia) also assisted the score.

At the 2:25 mark, the Huskies got their lead back. Junior forward Garrett Roe lost the puck trying to get through two UW defenders, but used a push by one to speed in on Gudmandson. The goaltender raced to play the puck, but his clear was knocked out of the air by Roe and shot into the empty net.

With 1:29 remaining in the same period, freshman forward Ben Hanowski added to the SCSU lead. After a nice pass from sophomore forward Drew LeBlanc, Hanowski was able to put the Huskies on top, 3-1.

After a late-second-period penalty by junior defenseman Brendan Smith (Mimico, Ontario) put SCSU on a power play, junior forward Tony Mosey gave the Huskies a 4-1 advantage with just 12 seconds left in the clock in the middle frame.

Though the Badgers were down on the scoreboard, they were still outshooting St. Cloud State, 24-18.

With just under five minutes to go in the game, the Huskies added one more goal. Volpei added his second goal of the contest after his shot slid through a crowd of Badger defenders and into the back of the net. The Huskies were now skating with a 5-1 advantage.

And that is what the scoreboard read at the final buzzer. The Badgers still managed to outshoot the Huskies, 38-24, in the contest. The Badgers now trail SCSU by four points for the second-place spot in WCHA standings.

Gudmandson stopped 19 Husky attempts in the loss as his record fell to 10-3-4 on the season. The loss snapped his 10-game unbeaten streak. St. Cloud State goaltender Dan Dunn turned away 37 Badger shots, as his record climbed to 12-2-1 on the season.

Wisconsin and St. Cloud State will square off again tomorrow night as the Badgers seek a split with the Huskies. The puck drops at 7 p.m. in the Kohl Center.

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Brady Hartung, UW Athletic Communications