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Badger junior netminder Bernd Brückler was named WCHA Defensive Player of the
Week for the second straight week Monday.
Brückler led Wisconsin to a series sweep of Minnesota State Friday and
Saturday, helping to extend the Badgers nation-leading unbeaten streak to a
school record-tying 14-straight games.
Brückler made 55 of 58 saves over the course of the two games, as Wisconsin
prevailed 4-1 and 3-2. With Brückler backstopping the defense, the Badgers did
not yield a power play goal all weekend despite playing a man down 14 times.
Brückler is now 9-3-4 in net this season while carrying a 2.31 goals against
average and a .916 save percentage.
Men's hockey cracks top five for first time in three years
Wisconsin (11-3-4 overall, 6-2-4 WCHA) jumped three places to No. 4 in both
the USCHO.com Division I Poll and the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll,
each released Monday. North Dakota continues to hold the top spot in each poll.
Wisconsin is currently in second place in the WCHA, just two points behind
St. Cloud State, while North Dakota is tied for third with Minnesota-Duluth with
14 points. The Badgers, though, have played two less conference games than the
Huskies, while the Fighting Sioux have played six fewer than St. Cloud State.
The last time Wisconsin was ranked in the top five was Oct. 30, 2000.
Men's basketball up one
Wisconsin's wins over in-state opponents UW-Green Bay (73-57) and
UW-Milwaukee (89-71) helped the team move up one spot in the ESPN/USA Today
Coaches' Poll to No. 17 and one spot in the Associated Press Poll to No. 22.
The Badgers next host Marquette Dec. 20. The Golden Eagles are currently No.
23 in each poll.