Friday marked the 162nd meeting between the Wisconsin men’s hockey team and North Dakota.
Considering that the contest marked the second-to-last time that the two heated rivals would meet as conference foes, the ending seemed oddly appropriate.
UW and UND skated to a 1-1 tie and Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Danny Kristo lit the lamp just 25 seconds into the second period to give UND a 1-0 edge.
The advantage was short-lived as Michael Mersch knotted the game at 1-1 13 seconds late with his 16th goal of the season.
Neither team managed a goal in the remaining 39:22 , but that doesn’t mean that they both didn’t have their chances to pull ahead.
The Badgers gained a big-time chance when Drake Caggiula went off for checking from behind with 3:30 left in the game. The infraction, which resulted in a five-minute major penalty, put Wisconsin on the power play for the second time in the game. But, UW failed to convert.
After the Cardinal and White spoiled a man-advantage early in the overtime period, it was North Dakota that had a power play late in the extra frame when Kevin Schulze was hauled off for holding late in the extra stanza.
But, UND was unable to make the most of their break, as they were unable to record a shot on the power play.
Landon Peterson made 29 saves in a solid effort between the pipes for UW. He improves to 1-0-1 all-time against North Dakota.
With the draw, Wisconsin (11-8-6, 8-5-6 WCHA) remains unbeaten in its last 11 WCHA games.
The same two teams will do battle for the final time in the WCHA Saturday night. Faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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