MINNEAPOLIS — A night after special teams helped pave the path to victory for the Wisconsin men's hockey team, the Badgers had a reversal of fortune on Saturday night in the series finale against No. 19 Minnesota.

The Gophers (19-16-0, 14-6-0-0), which needed to win to capture the Big Ten regular season title, scored shorthanded to tie the game in the second period and then added two power-play goals in the third to top the Badgers 4-1 at Mariucci Arena. 

"We knew to be successful against this team we had to stay out of the box, and we didn't do that tonight," senior captain Eddie Wittchow said of giving Minnesota seven power-play chances. "Whether we deserved those calls or not, it doesn't matter. We got to find ways to stay out of the box, and then we have to execute if we do go to the box."

Trying for their third straight win against a ranked opponent, the Badgers (8-18-8, 4-13-4-2 Big Ten) took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission, even while getting outshot 17-4 in the first 20 minutes.

It was freshman Luke Kunin who struck yet again to give the Badgers that early lead. Just 7:48 into the opening period, Kunin collected a stretch pass from Jake Linhart, who was in the right corner of the UW defensive zone. Kunin then beat Minnesota goaltender Eric Schierhorn on the breakaway for his team-leading 18th goal of the year.

Despite the big advantage in shots on goal for Minnesota, Wittchow believed he and his teammates handled the pressure well from the Gophers. It helped that UW goaltender Matt Jurusik came up big in the period with 17 saves.

"Obviously they had more shots than us and a little bit more time on attack than we did, but we weathered the storm," Wittchow said. "We know how to handle that."
Wisconsin then responded well in the second period, outshooting the Gophers 10-8 in the middle frame. But with UW on its first of just two power plays in the game, Minnesota found the back of the net short-handed at the 2:28 mark of the second to tie the score.

That goal gave Minnesota a short-lived boost, but Wisconsin quelled the Gophers' attack for the rest of the period to keep the game knotted heading to the final period.

The Badgers managed to keep the Gophers at bay at even strength all night, but a penalty-laden third period helped give Minnesota the upper hand. The third period saw the Gophers get five separate power-play chances, and they cashed in on two of those to take a two-goal lead that was too much for Wisconsin to overcome.  

"It's tough to get any momentum when you're in the box. Anytime you give up a short-handed goal, that takes a little wind out of your sails as well," Wittchow said of Minnesota's advantage in special teams, a night after UW scored two goals on three power-play chances. "We have to find ways to capitalize on both power plays and penalty kills to make sure we don't give up goals on either."

At one point in the third period Minnesota had six straight power-play chances dating back to its second chance on the power play in the second period. The Badgers finally got their second opportunity of the game with 3:20 left in the final period, and pulled Jurusik for an extra attacker at that point. But Schierhorn came up with several big stops on the ensuing Badgers' man advantage, as the Badgers couldn't draw any closer than two.

Minnesota's Leon Bristedt, who had scored the short-handed goal earlier in the game, then added an empty-net goal for the final tally of the night with 59 seconds remaining in regulation.

Although Wisconsin couldn't solve Schierhorn after Kunin's goal and settled for the series split, the Badgers have played some of their best hockey in recent weeks.

That has Wittchow and the rest of the Badgers eyeing up a fresh start next weekend at the Big Ten tournament.

'It's a new season. It's anyone's game," Wittchow said. "We've shown that we can beat or play with any team in the Big Ten, and that's our mentality moving forward. I'd be afraid of us if we had to play against us. We're definitely not one to look over."

Kunin's goal gives him at least one goal in seven of his last nine games and runs his season-long point streak to six games, the second longest streak for a Badger this season. Jurusik finished with 34 saves in the loss, his third straight game with 30 or more saves.

Wisconsin begins the 2016 Big Ten Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup against Penn State next Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center. Faceoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. against the Nittany Lions, with the winner advancing to Friday's afternoon contest against second-seeded Michigan. The entire tournament will be broadcast on BTN.