Feb. 25, 2012
Wisconsin 4, Bemidji State 2
Sanford Center • Bemidji, Minn. | |
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| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | | Wisconsin | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | | Bemidji State | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | | | Scoring Summary
| | 1st | 10:30 | BSU | Kinne (Walters, Hunt) | | 2nd | 02:48 | WIS | Navin (Clark, Dahl) | | 2nd | 07:39 | BSU | George (Walters, Hunt) | | 2nd | 18:30 | WIS | S. Little (Simonelli, Meuer) | | 3rd | 03:47 | WIS | Schultz (McCabe, Zengerle) | | 3rd | 19:00 | WIS | Mersch (Dahl, Simonelli) | | Goaltender Summary
| Min | GA | Sv | | WIS | Rumpel (W, 10-9-2) | 60:00 | 2 | 21 | | BSU | Bakala (L, 9-11-2) | 58:46 | 3 | 31 | | Statistical Comparison
| WIS | BSU | | Shots on Goal | 35 | 23 | | Power Plays | 1-6 | 2-4 | | Penalties-Minutes | 4-19 | 6-23 | | |
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• Final Stats | Final Stats 
BEMIDJI, Minn. -- The Wisconsin men's hockey team (15-15-2, 10-14-2 WCHA) has found a rhythm, winning its third-straight game with a 4-2 victory Saturday night over Bemidji State (15-16-3, 9-14-3 WCHA). The win gives the team its first road sweep of the season.
In a game of opportunities, it's important to take advantage of your chances when they come. One of the best opportunities for the Badgers Saturday night came with 38 seconds left in the second period with the game tied 2-2. Bemidji State's Jake Areshenko was called for a game misconduct, giving Wisconsin a five-minute power play.
The Beavers held the Badgers scoreless for the closing seconds of the period and for nearly the first four minutes of the third period. With less than a minute remaining on BSU's penalty and 3:47 into the final period, junior Justin Schultz (West Kelowna, B.C.) scored the eventual game winner and his 15th goal of the season for a 3-2 lead.
| Fast Facts | | • Three straight wins is the longest winning streak for the Badgers this season | | • The win gives Wisconsin its first road sweep of the season and third road win | | • Justin Schultz now has 15 goals and 42 points this season, four more goals and eight more points than the next closest defensemen in the country | | • With another assist, his 33rd this season, Zengerle is now averaging 1.38 points per game, the fourth-best mark in the country. | |
Freshman Jake McCabe (Eau Claire, Wis.) and sophomore Mark Zengerle (Rochester, N.Y.) assisted on the goal. The assist for Zengerle was his 33rd of the season, which is third best in the nation.
For the second night in a row then, the Badgers added a late goal on an empty net, with Saturday's coming courtesy of sophomore Michael Mersch (Park Ridge, Ill.) giving the Badgers the 4-2 victory.
Bemidji State, also for the second consecutive evening, took an early lead when Brad Hunt scored on the power play 10:30 into the first period. The power-play goal came on a five minute penalty after Wisconsin junior John Ramage (St. Louis) was ejected for a game misconduct 7:51 into the period.
Freshman Brad Navin (Waupaca, Wis.) notched the equalizer just minutes into the second period when he slammed home a rebound from sophomore Jason Clark (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 2:48 into the frame. Clark's assist was the first point of the season for him, while sophomore Jefferson Dahl (Eau Claire, Wis.) also added an assist.
The Beavers then took back the lead back with 7:39 left in the second period off a power-play goal from Jordan George.
Wisconsin was not about to relent, as sophomore Sean Little (Fond du Lac) found the perfect opportunity to notch his first career goal to tie the game 2-2. Sophomore Frankie Simonelli (Bensenville, Ill.) took the puck out from the corner and found Little open on the far side for the backhander.
The score remained tied 2-2 until Schultz recorded his 39th career goal on the power play early in the third to secure the series sweep.
Freshman Joel Rumpel (Swift Current, Saskatchwan), back in net following an injury on the ice last Saturday, saved 21 shots for his 10th win of the season.
For the fifth time in the team's last six games, Wisconsin outshot its opponent, putting 35 shots on goal compared to BSU's 23.
Wisconsin went 1-for-6 on the power play while the Beavers went 2-for-4 with the man advantage.
Riding their hottest streak of the season and now sitting in ninth place in the WCHA, the Badgers finish out the regular season on the road at Minnesota next weekend.
