“Unlikely heroes spring Badgers to 3-1 win to open WCHA playoffs - UWBadgers.com” |
| Unlikely heroes spring Badgers to 3-1 win to open WCHA playoffs - UWBadgers.com Posted: March 12, 2011 COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. – Entering the first round of the WCHA playoffs, Wisconsin (21-14-4, 13-13-3 WCHA) knew they were in for a tight series against Colorado College (19-17-3, 13-14-2 WCHA), who the Badgers split a home series with last weekend. What they couldn't have predicted was contributions from surprising sources in a victory to open the series. Freshman Joe Faust (Bloomington, Minn.) scored his first career goal, and fourth-line forwards Ryan Little (Fond du Lac, Wis.) and Jefferson Dahl (Eau Claire, Wis.) also tallied in Wisconsin's 3-1 win.
For the third consecutive game in the pairing between these two squads, the first period ended scoreless. Each team had a good opportunity to score in the opening period. CC had a chance after a shot rang off the post, but after a review it was confirmed to have stayed out of the net. Wisconsin's Patrick Johnson (Madison, Wis.) also hit the post for Wisconsin after a one-timer, but the game remained at 0-0 heading into the first intermission. In the second period, the Tigers got on the board first. Nick Dineen scored, redirecting a sharp angle pass into the net from in front of the crease. The goal came 5:53 into the second period, and gave CC a 1-0 lead. At 12:11 of the period, UW answered back, getting their first key contribution of the game from an unheralded player. Freshman defenseman Joe Faust, who had just one point through 17 regular season games, scored his first collegiate goal at a huge moment. Faust ripped a wrist shot from the top of the left faceoff circle, and he found the back of the net. The score remained 1-1 after two periods. In the third period, the Badgers fourth line stepped up to take control of the game for Wisconsin. Ryan Little scored the eventual game-winning goal at 4:12 of the third period, putting home a shot from the high slot. Linemates Keegan Meuer (Madison, Wis.) and Jefferson Dahl recorded assists on the goal. Just five minutes later, it appeared the fourth line had added an insurance goal when Keegan Meuer knocked a puck into the net. However, after a video review, the goal was waived off, and the score remained 2-1 in the Badgers favor. The game remained tight until the final seconds, but Wisconsin goaltender Scott Gudmandson (Sherwood Park, Alberta) turned aside 10 shots in the final period to keep the Tigers from knotting the game. In the waning seconds, CC pulled their goaltender for an extra skater. The Badgers took advantage of the open net, with Dahl scoring a late goal to ice the Wisconsin victory. Wisconsin was outshot by the Tigers, 28-22. The Badgers were 0-for-2 on the power play, while holding CC to 1-for-7. Scott Gudmandson earned the win for Wisconsin, making 27 stops to improve to 16-10-1 on the year. Joe Howe had 19 saves for Colorado College, but fell to 14-13-2. The Badgers will go for the series win Saturday night. The puck will drop at 8 p.m. (CT). This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php | |||||||||||||||||
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