Wisconsin had last week off after a bad weekend in Boston, and it appeared as if the time off didn't do much good as the Badgers (2-2-1) dug themselves a 3-0 hole, only to shoot their way back to a 3-3 tie with Lake Superior State (4-0-1) on Friday night at the Kohl Center.
The game ended in a draw, even though Lake Superior State beat Wisconsin in the shootout at the end of regulation, a first under the new college hockey guidelines for the Badgers.
Wisconsin can thank Tyler Barnes for the tie in this one, as he scored two goals in the final period of regulation to tie it up.
Despite the "loss" in the shootout this game had to feel more like a win considering the feeling of "here we go again" by most of the paltry crowd on hand for the opener in this series.
That's because it took all of 33 seconds for the Lakers to put themselves ahead 1-0 on a goal by Alex Globsky, his second of the season.
Wisconsin only had themselves to blame thanks to a bad turnover in their own zone that was put away easily.
It was followed up just less than three minutes later, as Dan Radke opened his scoring account on the season to make it 2-0. He did it just seconds into the Lakers' first power play of the game too.
The Badgers didn't show many signs of life on offense and defensively and it cost them dearly just seconds later.
Lake State's Colin Campbell slotted home his second goal of the season at the 4:09 mark of the first period.
However, it would be the wake up call the Badgers' offense apparently needed as Wisconsin took over from that point on, not allowing another goal the rest of the way.
The first period wasn't done with the action just yet thanks to one Michael Mersch, who netted his fourth goal of the season at the 16:09 mark of the period to make a dismal situation brighter.
May we suggest a new nickname for Mersch? Captain Power Play…
…Since all four of his goals so far this season have come off the power play and all.
Following that goal the Badgers just seemed like they would break through even more eventually as they began to take over the game.
In fact, the Badgers offense took off in a big way the rest of the game, outshooting Lake Superior State 29-11 the next two periods.
The second period would end in a scoreless situation, with UW only allowing the Lakers four shots on net in the period.
As the third period progressed it seemed that no matter what the Badgers were throwing at Lake State goalkeeper Kevin Kapalka, nothing was going in.
However, after peppering the Lakers netminder for the better part of ten minutes the Badgers finally broke through.
More specifically, Tyler Barnes found his magic touch.
He deflected home a Mark Zengerle wrist shot from the top of the glove side face-off circle and past Kapalka at the 11:18 mark of the third period for his second goal of the season.
Wisconsin continued to poor on the offensive pressure, winning 17-of-24 face-offs as well.
That fortitude paid off as Barnes (3) slotted home the game-tying shot at the 18:38 point in regulation. Jake McCabe and Joseph LaBate were credited with the assists.
Neither team could do much in the OT period
After giving up three goals early, Landon Peterson settled in nicely in the nets and realistically there wasn't much he could've done on two of the opening goals to begin with.
One was a bad defensive give away that hung Peterson out to dry and the other was a deflection he couldn't do much with.
He ended the game by saving the final 22 shots he faced and helped keep Wisconsin the game when they could've lost it early in the overtime period on a dangerous breakaway.
These two teams will skate again tomorrow night at 7pm from the Kohl Center. Television will be on the Wisconsin Channel from Wisconsin Public Television and can be viewed for free on the Wisconsin Channel online too.
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