It’s no secret that the Wisconsin Badgers and North Dakota hockey programs dislike one another. On Friday, we may have born witness to one of the most shocking moments in this storied rivalry.
That’s because the struggling Badgers, whose only wins came against first-year D1 Arizona State, took down No. 1-ranked North Dakota 3-1 in Grand Forks.
It appeared UW (3-3-3) would be in trouble, as UND (6-1-2) netted the opening goal of the game just seven minutes in to the first period.
However, it appears all that happened was an awakening for Wisconsin’s young hockey program. The defense buckled down and the offense came alive, as UW scored three unanswered goals en route to the upset.
“It’s one of those wins that you’d put under the signature win column,” Eaves said. “It gives us some juice. It solidifies some of the things we’ve been trying to teach and preach as a coaching staff.”
Eaves’ squad is no stranger to beating No. 1-ranked teams either, as his squad gained its first victory against a No. 1 team back in 2004 against North Dakota and now own 11 victories over a No. 1-ranked team.
Wisconsin got on its way to extending its win streak over No. 1-ranked teams to three just a few minutes after UND opened to scoring. Adrain Cavalini took a wrap-around shot and a pair of scrappy Badgers were there to fight for the rebound. Ryan Wagner’s initial effort was blocked, but Corbim McGuire wouldn’t be denied on the second round effort.
After a wild middle part of the first period, things would slow down a bit. The score was 1-1 after the first period, but it took just 37 seconds in to the second stanza for the Badgers to take a permanent lead.
It took a pretty set of passes from Cameron Hughes and Grant Besse to set up sharp-shooting freshman Luke Kunin for a one-timer that flew past UND’s netminder, Matt Hrynkiw.
With Kunin taking in his third goal of the season, fellow forward Jedd Soleway didn’t want to be left out of the party, and nearly nine minutes later he netted the final goal of the game.
North Daokta tried mightily in the final period and a half, but UW freshman goaltender Matt Jurisick was up to the task. He put aside all 12 shots in the final period and stopped 29 of 30 overall en route to easily his biggest win between the pipes.
Wisconsin also did itself a ton of favors by going to the sin bin just three times on the night. Between Jurisick and having few short-handed situations, things were much easier on UW.
The win extended UW’s streak to three wins in three games. The Badgers will go for the back-to-back sweep on Saturday night.
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