MADISON, Wis.—In front of the largest crowd in nearly three years, the Wisconsin men's hockey team did not disappoint in the series finale of the Border Battle.

"It was a big one for a lot of reasons. The fans being here, we knew they were going to come back," head coach Tony Granato said. "We knew they'd get them in here and we've played entertaining hockey all year and we wanted to make sure that when we got a bunch of them in here that we play well and we're able to find a way to win and that's what happened."   
 
Five different players scored for the Badgers (11-8-1, 4-2-0-0 Big Ten) as they defeated Minnesota (14-6-2, 6-2-0-0) by a score of 5-3 at the Kohl Center. The two-goal victory snapped the Gophers' seven-game winning streak. 
 
Will Johnson opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the year, 12:38 into the first period when he skated around the Minnesota defense and slipped it past goaltender Eric Schierhorn. Assists were credited to Ryan Wagner and JD Greenway on the tally.

"There is always a variety in scoring. You adjust to the team you're playing. This was a team that we knew we could physically overpower with our speed," Johnson said. "Even with my line, if I have (Jason) Ford coming in, I can chip it in there and (Ryan) Wagner can battle it out. They did a lot of the work for me this weekend."

Minnesota would fight back with two goals of their own late in the opening frame as Ryan Norman scored with under four minutes to go. Mike Szmatula put the Gophers up 2-1 just 1:31 later to put the Badgers in a deficit heading into the first intermission.

"I just think our rhythm in the first period tonight was no good, or not good enough I should say, especially if you look at lines one and two on the sheet," Granato said. "Whether you're first or second line doesn't matter, I didn't think they generated anything. I thought they were playing poor without the puck and I think we needed to mix it up a little bit, and they got going." 

UW found the equalizer halfway through the second period as Cameron Hughes stuffed in the puck on a wrap-around to knot the game at 2-2. Johnson and Peter Tischke were given assists on Hughes' fourth goal of the year.

The alternate captain's goal sparked an offensive flurry in the middle frame, which saw the Badgers score three goals in just over five minutes.

Tim Davison was the next goal scorer, potting his first goal of the season to give Wisconsin a 3-2 lead. It was the junior's first goal in 40 games, last scoring on Dec. 5, 2015 against Michigan.

The Cardinal and White headed into the third period with a two-goal cushion thanks to Corbin McGuire's power-play goal with 4:01 to go in the second. The defenseman picked up a loose puck in the slot and fired it home. Assists were given to fourth-liners Aidan Cavallini and Jedd Soleway.

"That was a big goal and moment with three guys that deserved to be on the ice all weekend. They battled hard all weekend for us," McGuire said. "All three of those guys – Jedd Soleway, Matt Ustaski, and Aidan Cavallini – deserve to be on the ice. For three years, we've been the "Special Sauce Power Play Unit" as the "mock" power play. For us, it was pretty standard for our unit."

Wisconsin came out in the third period just as they had finished the second period, scoring a power-play goal just 57 seconds into the final stanza. Trent Frederic scored his seventh of the season after collecting a rebound in front of the net to make it 5-2.

"I guess anyone could put that puck in the back of the net, I just happen to be there at the right time," Frederic said. "If you work hard and get a little puck-luck, that's all you need. That's what a lot of guys on our team are doing right now."

Minnesota added a consolation power-play goal with under one minute to play in the game but it would prove too little, too late as Wisconsin took the series finale 5-3.

Matt Jurusik, who was playing in his second game since coming back from an injury, made 32 saves on the night.

"This is a huge win for our team. It's a huge win for our program. It's a huge win for our fans. It's a huge win for the University of Wisconsin-Madison," McGuire said. "We're all so excited after tonight's win. This is why you come to Wisconsin – for these full-house games at the Kohl Center. Hopefully we can carry this win over to next weekend against a very talented Ohio State team. I like the way we played and competed. It was really fun to play in the building with all that energy."

UW will hit the road next weekend for a non-traditional matchup with Ohio State. The first game of the series will be played in Columbus on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on BTN Plus and available for radio broadcast on WIBA-AM 1310. The next game will be played on Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The game is part of "Super Saturday - College Hoops and Hockey" in which the UW basketball team will take on Rutgers in the morning and then the Badgers' will hit the ice against the Buckeyes at night. The game can be seen on BTN and will also be available on WIBA-AM 1310.