For the second night in a row, the UW men's hockey team fell to Minnesota State-Mankato by a count of 4-2.
The game got off to an all too familiar start as, once again, it was the Mavericks who struck first. This time, it was Matt Leitner who scored for MSU 4:38 into the game.
But, just as the previous night, Wisconsin had a quick answer and tied the game minutes later courtesy of Jake McCabe's second goal of the season.
Mankato answered in a big way as Eriah Hayes and Bryce Gervais each tacked on a goal before the end of the period to make it 3-1 Mavericks heading into the first intermission.
After the period, Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves opted to bench starting goaltender Joel Rumpel in favor of Landon Peterson who received the starting nod in the first game of the series.
Michael Mersch put some spring back in the Badgers' step when he scored 49 seconds into the second period, drawing Wisconsin within one. The power play goal ended a drought that saw UW go four consecutive games without scoring on the power play.
Additional chances we few and far between for the cardinal and white as Wisconsin mustered just five shots in the second stanza.
Hayes dealt the final blow when he netted his second of the night just under four minutes into the third period to extend the Mavericks' edge back to two.
The Badgers out-shot MSU 35-29 on the night.
McCabe and Derek Lee led the way offensively for Wisconsin with two points each. Rumpel recorded nine saves in his one period of work, while Peterson stopped 16 shots in a relief effort.
Wisconsin falls to 1-7-2 on the season and 1-5-2 in the WCHA. The Badgers hit the road to take on Denver next weekend in a two-game series that is expected to mark the debut of suspended freshman forward Nic Kerdiles.
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