February
11, 2006
Frozen Tundra Classic
Badger
Booster Shot
Wisconsin sees game as a springboard
to late-season run
By
Mike Eidelbes
|
Wisconsin's
Adam Burish celebrates his goal 23 seconds into the
first period of Saturday's Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic.
(Larry Radloff photo) |
GREEN
BAY, Wis. – Maybe an outdoor hockey game in front
of a partisan crowd of 40,000 at one of the most storied
athletic venues on the planet is just what Wisconsin needs
to snap out of its three-week swoon.
The
Badgers, losers of five of their last six games, have seen
what was once a seemingly insurmountable lead in the WCHA
standings evaporate during that span. But like the team
that spent more than two months atop the national poll,
Wisconsin did what it needed to do to beat Ohio State, 4-2,
before 40,890 at the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic –
perhaps a more accurate name would’ve been the World’s
Largest Outdoor Kegger – at Lambeau Field Saturday.
“We,
as a coaching staff, looked at this game as an energizer
for the rest of the season,” said Wisconsin coach
Mike Eaves. “This time of the year is like the dog
days of the season. This week is unique in the energy it
brought to the team.”
Adam
Burish, perhaps sensing the Badgers’ need for a spark,
kept a throng that was whipped into a pre-game frenzy on
its feet by scoring 23 seconds into the game off a Dave
Caruso rebound.
“It
was like everyone traded in their Favre jerseys for Wisconsin
hockey jerseys,” said Burish, a Madison native. “The
plan was to do a Lambeau leap into the glass, but I got
so wrapped up I didn’t know what I was doing out there.”
It was
a game that played to the Badgers’ strengths with
an emphasis on hitting and, thanks to seven penalties in
the game’s first 20 minutes, special teams play. Wisconsin
did a good job of keeping Ohio State chances to a minimum,
outshooting the Buckeyes by a 12-7 margin in the first period.
Of course,
a little luck helps, too. It looked as if OSU drew even
a little more than seven minutes into the game when Sean
Collins’ shot from the high slot fluttered past Badger
goalie Shane Connelly, but the goal was disallowed when
the officials ruled the net was off its moorings prior to
puck crossing the goal line.
“I
didn’t mean to push it off in any way,” said
Connelly. “It wasn’t in the ice very good. I
told the ref it’s going to be a struggle down here.
They’re just pegs, not the moorings that are in the
ice.”
“I
didn’t know what they were talking about when the
three referees met,” Collins said. “None of
the Wisconsin players complained about it.”
Wisconsin
4,
Ohio State 2 |
Team |
Goal |
Str |
Time |
Assists |
First
Period |
1-UW |
Adam
Burish (8) |
EV |
:23 |
J.
Pavelski, R. Earl |
Second
Period |
1-OS |
Dave
Barton (4) |
EV |
11:11 |
unassisted |
2-UW |
Kyle
Klubertanz (4) |
PP |
16:58 |
R.
Carlson, B. Street |
Third
Period |
3-UW |
Andrew
Joudrey (7) |
EV |
7:00 |
R.
MacMurchy, J. Dowell |
2-OS |
Sam
Campbell (4) |
EV |
15:57 |
B.
Anderson, T. Fritsche |
4-UW |
Robbie
Earl (15) |
EN |
19:02 |
J.
Piskula |
Goaltending |
OSU:
Dave Caruso, 59:28, 27 saves, 3 GA;
Empty net, 0:32, 1 GA |
UW:
Shane Connelly, 60:00, 18 saves, 2 GA |
Penalties:
OSU 14/14; UW 11/22 |
Power
Plays: OSU 0-7; UW 1-8 |
Attendance:
40,890 |
Ohio
State would eventually get the equalizer midway through
the second period when Dave Barton’s shot from the
neutral zone hit the stick of Wisconsin defenseman Davis
Drewiske and befuddled Connelly like a ground ball on a
poorly manicured infield. Any momentum generated from that
goal, however, was short lived – the Buckeyes took
two penalties that led to back-to-back Badger power plays.
Wisconsin connected on the second of the two man advantages,
as a shot by defenseman Kyle Klubertanz hit an OSU forward
and caromed past Caruso with 3:02 left in the period.
Wisconsin
took a two-goal lead seven minutes into a fast-paced third
period on a pretty play that was started by a combination
of hard work by the Badgers and a sloppy clearing attempt
by the Buckeyes’ Tom Fritsche, who tried to skate
the puck out of his end but ended up backhanding it to the
halfboards, out of the reach of one of his defensemen. Wisconsin
played the puck behind the net, where it was dug out by
Ryan MacMurchy. He skated out to Caruso’s left and
threaded a pass across the slot to a streaking Andrew Joudrey,
who barely needed to move his stick blade to tap the puck
in.
Sam
Campbell cut into the Badgers’ lead on a rebound goal
with 4:03 left in regulation, but Wisconsin’s Robbie
Earl, who had a number of quality scoring chances in the
game, got an empty-net goal with 58 seconds remaining in
the period to seal the victory.
“[The
momentum] is not something that dies tonight,” Burish
said. “It’s gonna carry through all next week,
and guys are going to be so excited to come to the rink
and see each other on Monday and get back to playing.
“We
feel so good about our game right now. We feel good about
each other. That’s going to carry on for, hopefully,
the rest of the season.”
INCH's Three Stars of the Night |
|
3.
Adam Burish, Wisconsin
He
scored the game's first goal, but the captain saved
his best performance for the post-game media conference.
The chatterbox had a comeback for every question.
For example, he claimed the entire experience was
awesome, right down to the stalls in the locker room.
2.
Lambeau Field
A beautiful facility that recently received
a multi-million dollar facelift, the configuration
for Saturday's game created an intimate setting, believe
it or not.
1.
The fans
From the tailgaters who arrived hours before
the game to the Badger students who conregated at
one end of the stadium, the atmosphere was uniquely
Wisconsin. |
SEEN
AND HEARD AT LAMBEAU FIELD
•
One of the highlights of the game took place after the teams
left the ice. The Badgers, led by defenseman Jeff Likens,
headed to one end of the stadium and, like the Packers,
jumped over a retaining wall and into the arms of a swarm
of Badger fans.
"You
know John Madden diagrams it where your hips have gotta
be above the green [wall]?" said Burish, who called
the moment the pinnacle of the entire event. "I think
our guys had their hips above the green. We were perfect."
•
Denver coach George Gwozdecky would've been impressed: Both
teams were escorted from their hotels to the stadium by
Green Bay police squad cars.
•
It'd figure that a maroon-and-gold interloper would crash
the festivities at Lambeau. Well, maybe it's not quite that
egregious. Among those participating in pre-game face-off
ceremonies were former members of the Green Bay Bobcats,
the city's first professional hockey team, who are also
U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame inductees. One of the ex-Bobcats
was John Mayasich, the former Minnesota great who appeared
on the ice wearing a Gophers baseball cap and sweatshirt.
•
No surprise that Burish and Klubertanz would score goals
for the Badgers. After all, both are quit familiar with
the surroundings. Before heading to Wisconsin to play for
coach Mike Eaves, both were members of the United States
Hockey League's Green Bay Gamblers.
•
In spite of losing, Ohio State coach John Markell called
the Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic a great experience for
his team. But when asked if he'd bring his club back to
a similar event, Markell upped the ante slightly.
"I'd
like to host it," the Buckeyes coach said. "I'd
like to fill our stadium."
That'd
be quite a tall order. Ohio Stadium, the nation's fourth-largest
college football venue, has room for 101,568 fans.
•
Games like the Lambeau Field event certainly aren't going
to become everyday events, but contests of similar stature
appear to be on the horizon judging by the representatives
from other venues in attendance. One source told INCH that
officials from five stadia were at Lambeau Saturday –
including parties from the Metrodome in Minneapolis, where
Minnesota is scheduled to face Minnesota Duluth in 2007,
and NCAA brass, who'll run the 2010 Frozen Four at Detroit's
Ford Field. Also looking in on the Frozen Tundra Classic
were reps from Boston's Fenway Park, which is investigating
the possibility of a Boston College-Boston University doubleheader,
as well as the NFL's Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos.