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March 25, 2006
Midwest Regional | First Round
Wisconsin Death Trip
Badgers' stifling penalty kill sparks first-round win

By Mike Eidelbes

Wisconsin 4, Bemidji State 0
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-WIS	Joe Pavelski (21)	PP
17:07	A. Joudrey, A. Burish
Second Period
2-WIS	Joe Pavelski (22)	EV
0:26	unassisted
3-WIS	Jake Dowell (5)	EV
17:30	A. Burish
Third Period
4-WIS	Joe Pavelski (23)	PP
6:38	T. Gilbert, A. Joudrey
Goaltending
BSU: Layne Sedevie, 60:00, 41 saves, 4 GA
WIS: Brian Elliot, 60:00, 15 saves, 0 GA
Penalties: BSU 8-16; WIS 5/21
Power Plays: BSU 0-4; WIS 2-8
Attendance: 7,859

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The three-goal effort by Wisconsin's Joe Pavelski will likely generate the most headlines from the Badgers' dominating 4-0 win against Bemidji State.

What shouldn't be overlooked, however, was the effort put forth by Pavelski and the team's penalty killers during BSU's five-minute power play in the first period of Saturday's NCAA Midwest Regional first-round game at the Resch Center.

Neither team had scored when the Badgers' Ryan MacMurchy was whistled for a checking-from-behind major 11 minutes into the game. Faced with the prospect of the Beavers gaining momentum and taking the pro-Bucky crowd out of the game with a power-play goal (or two), the tournament's top seed understood the urgency of the situation.

"A power play, especially a five-minute major, is such a big situation at any point in the game," senior defenseman Tom Gilbert said. "We want to get the first lead, we want to get the momentum going, and they get this five-minute power play. Our whole focus was killing it off and getting the crowd and the momentum back into the game."

The Badgers didn't kill the penalty as much as they smothered it to death. Rare were the occasions the Beavers could even get out of their own end with a modicum of organization and when a BSU player did gain the Badgers' offensive zone with the puck, he was met immediately by Pavelski, Adam Burish, Ross Carlson or one of the other Wisconsin forwards at the point.

Layne Sedevie stopped 41 Wisconsin shots. (Photo by Larry Radloff)

"That's what we talked about before the game," Burish said. "We didn't let them come out of the zone easily and when they did get set up, we were pressuring them. Being a power-play guy, any time they put pressure on you, it's tough. It's tough to make plays."

In Bemidji State's case, it was tough to get a shot. The Beavers got none on Wisconsin goaltender Brian Elliott during the major advantage, which was cut short by 42 seconds when BSU captain Jean-Guy Gervais was cited for tripping. Pavelski scored the first of his three goals on the Badgers' ensuing power play, whacking a bouncing rebound from teammate Andrew Joudrey past BSU goalie Layne Sedevie with 2:53 left in the first period.

“If we could've got something going in the first period...,” Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore lamented afterwards. "You have a five-minute power play and you don't get a shot, that does deflate you."

Neither of the Beavers' subsequent power plays were any more uplifting. BSU mustered one shot on goal in its four man-advantage opportunities, a testament to the maturity of this Badgers' squad in comparison to the first two Wisconsin teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament under Mike Eaves' watch.

"I didn't [have to] say a word," Eaves said. "The penalty killers jumped up and started talking about what they needed to do. We've been through some tough times during the year and learned some tough lessons and today we applied some of them."

Wisconsin's Joe Pavelski tries a wraparound on Bemidji State's Layne Sedevie. (Photo by Larry Radloff)

Cornell 3, Colorado College 2
Team	Goal	Str
Time	Assists
First Period
1-CC	Brian Salcido (8)	PP
4:57	M. Sertich, S. McCulloch
2-CC	Jack Hillen (4)	PP
16:49	M. Sertich, B. Sterling
Second Period
1-COR	Topher Scott (6)	PP
16:44	M. Moulson, J. Seminoff
Third Period
2-COR	Matt Moulson (18)	EV
4:50	M. Carefoot
3-COR	Jon Gleed (1)	EV
9:20	R. Sawada, Chris Abbott
Goaltending
CC: Matt Zaba, 59:04, 20 saves, 3 GA
COR: Dave McKee, 60:00, 20 saves, 2 GA
Penalties: CC 4/8; COR 3/6
Power Plays: CC 2-3; COR 1-4
Attendance: 7,859

MOULSON GOLDEN

A television sports analyst – it may have been John Madden, Tim McCarver or Billy Packer – said something to the effect that in order to win, your best players have to play their best in order to win.

Whomever made that statement first could've been in line for some hefty royalty fees from the Resch Center had he or she copywrited it. That was the case for Wisconsin in the first game, and it certainly rang true for Cornell in the team's 3-2 win against Colorado College in the second first-round match.

Matt Moulson, the Big Red senior captain and leading scorer, sparked the team's rally from a 2-0 first-period deficit by setting up linemate Topher Scott for a power-play goal on a rush with 3:16 left in the second period. Moulson then tied the game 4:50 into the third period when he outmuscled a Tiger defenseman en route to a loose puck and stuffed it between goaltender Matt Zaba and the far post.

"Matt and our other seniors deserve a lot of credit for how they turned it around," Cornell coach Mike Schafer said of his team's effort after a first period which eerily resembled the Big Red's start against Harvard in last week's ECACHL playoff championship. "Obviously, the coaching staff wasn't happy with the way we played in the first period, but the leadership wasn't happy either."

Topher Scott (No. 26) slides a power-play goal past Colorado College's Matt Zaba. (Photo by Larry Radloff)

Cornell combatted the Colorado College effort to chip the puck deep into the offensive zone and regain possession in the corner – a strategy that was quite effective in the first period as evidenced by the 11-1 disparity in shots on goal – by having its defensemen quickly get the puck out of their end and onto the sticks of the wingers. The Big Red then utilized its muscle to keep the pressure on the Tigers.

"Playing the body a little more, that's how you slow down those fast guys," Moulson said. "That's how we like to play. We had some turnovers in the first, [but] our defense did a great job of getting the puck out a little faster."

Cornell also helped itself by staying out of the penalty box. After taking three minor penalties in the first period – and watching Colorado College score a pair of power-play goals – the Big Red were whistled for no infractions over the game's final 40 minutes.

"The biggest thing was to stay disciplined. We talked about that before the game and we didn't do it in the first period," explained senior defenseman Jon Gleed, who scored the game-winning goal for Cornell. "Going into the second and third, we knew we had to stay out of the penalty box and generate some offense five-on-five."

INCH's Three Stars of the Night

3. Adam Burish, Wisconsin Call him Pavelski Lite. The Badgers' senior captain was instrumental in the team's penalty kill and also collected two assists. 2. Matt Moulson, Cornell The Big Red senior class, led by captain Moulson, took charge during the first intermission and implored their teammates to play smarter. Moulson embodied that plea over the final two periods, setting up the first Big Red goal and scoring to tie the game early in the third period in addition to playing the tough, physical style that defines Cornell hockey. 1. Joe Pavelski, Wisconsin The sophomore wing was so good against Bemidji State that I was able to write this note with four minutes remaining in the second period of the first game. He and linemates Robbie Earl and Adam Burish were virtually unstoppable. He also combined with Burish to shut down the Beavers during their five-minute power play midway through the first period.

SEEN AND HEARD AT THE RESCH CENTER

• A reporter attending the postgame press conference asked Pavelski to explain how he scored his second goal, an unassisted effort in which he poked the puck ahead to himself after winning a draw to the right of BSU goaltender Layne Sedevie, then faked a forehand shot and went to his backhand to easily beat the sprawling Beaver goaltender.

His coach, however, was urging him to keep the secret under wraps.

"Don't tell him, don't tell him," Mike Eaves whispered not so subtly into his microphone, eliciting laughs from the gallery.

Pavelski offered a vanilla response to the query, much to Eaves' delight.

"Good answer, good answer," Eaves said, drawing another round of guffaws from those gathered in the Resch Center media area.

• Not to be outdone, Schafer fielded a question from a media member asking for his thoughts on the job Green Bay was doing as a regional host.

"I think they're doing a great job," Schafer said. "We haven't seen a lot. We got a tour of Lambeau Field yesterday and our players are still talking about it. I think they were talking about it during the third period."

• Bemidji State players were obviously disappointed in their performance against Wisconsin Saturday, a dramatic departure from last year, when the Beavers took Denver to overtime before losing in an NCAA Northeast Regional first-round game in Amherst, Mass.

"It's kind of an empty feeling your stomach," Sedevie said. "Last year, we gave the eventual national champs the best run they had the entire tournament. Today, we just didn't bring it."

• If you love records for fewest shots on goal – and who among us doesn't? – then Green Bay was the place to be Saturday. Bemidji State's 15 shots on goal in the loss to Wisconsin was the second fewest in an NCAA regional game. Wisconsin mustered just 14 shots on goal against Boston University in a 1994 East Regional match, while Quinnipiac managed the same number in a loss to Cornell at the 2002 East Regional.

The Big Red, meanwhile, got one shot on goal in the first period of its game against Colorado College. That, too, was the second-lowest total in regional history. Northern Michigan didn't get any shots on goal in a period – which one we don't know, because the NCAA record book doesn't say – in a 1993 East Regional game against Harvard.

• Say this about Colorado College coach Scott Owens: he has the makings of a journalist's best friend. When asked about the similarities between the Tigers' game against Cornell and the team's season, Owens replied, "If you're in to writing stories, it was kind of a microcosm of our season. Great start, struggled in the middle, still hanging in there early in the third and in the end, we wore down completely."

• CC defenseman Weston Tardy and an unidentified teammate provided a brief moment of high comedy during the third period of the Tigers' game against Cornell. Tardy was hit by a Big Red forward right by the door to the Tigers' bench, dropping his stick. Tardy scrambled to his feet and tried to reach down to grab his branch, but a glove reached out from the bench, grabbed the junior defenseman by the collar and yanked him off the ice lest he draw a penalty for too many men on the ice.

PLUSSES AND MINUSES

If your ciy or arena is in the market for a new arena – we're talking to you, Duluth – you'd be wise to visit the Resch Center for ideas on how to build a bright, clean, comfortable building. The building seats 8,700 for hockey and few, if any, could be categorized as a bad spot to watch a game. The hunch is that the NCAA returns to Green Bay for a regional soon.

As the holder of a degree from the University of Denver (master's in public relations, 1998), I may have been the one person to chuckle when the Cornell pep band ripped through the fight song of Colorado College's fiercest rival prior to the start of the second period. Maybe the Big Red musicians were on to something – after getting thoroughly outplayed in the first period, Cornell controlled the flow in the second. Denver, as you probably know, was 3-0-1 against the Tigers this season.

Did you know the NCAA men's hockey tournament bracket expanded from 12 to 16 teams in 2003? Well, after seeing it and similar NCAA Tournament nuggets on the Resch Center video board about 75 times during the two games, I'll never forget.

To few select members the vastly overrated Cornell cheering section who mocked Wisconsin fans and their catchy power play chant and dance – it consists of jumping up and down and singing "WHOAAA-ohh-ohh-ohh-OOHHHH!" This is like the guys in Sum 41 knocking the Sex Pistols' music.

WHAT'S NEXT

The similarities between Cornell and Wisconsin don't start and end with school colors and jersey styles. Both the Badgers and Big Red are physical teams that like to use their size advantange to wear down opponents over the course of the game and generate a lot of scoring chances by winning battles along the wall.

Though the teams are mirror images of each other, the Badgers would appear to have the edge in a couple areas. First, Wisconsin has more talent on its roster than Cornell – the Big Red will have a difficult time matching the likes of Robbie Earl, Joe Pavelski and Adam Burish, each of whom can create offense by winning battles with muscle power or utilizing speed.

Second, and perhaps most important, is that the Badgers' Brian Elliott has regained his rhythm in goal after missing a month's worth of games in January and February due to injury. He gets the edge over Cornell's David McKee, who was steady, if unspectacular, in his team's win Saturday, but still seems to be having difficulty picking up shots from the point.