DURHAM, N.H. - With head coach Mike Eaves wanting to get his backup goalie some big-game experience for next season, sophomore Scott Gudmandson was put between the pipes to salvage one game of this challenging opening weekend road trip.
While he survived the first period by making some spectacular saves, the good vibes didn't last and the inexperienced showed.
The Wisconsin men’s hockey team fell 1-5 to the
fifth-ranked New Hampshire Wildcats this Saturday at a sold-out
Whittemore Center.
UW opened the game with four shots on the net before the Wildcats even
had a chance to handle the puck and continued to dominate offensively
until three men were called off the ice with various penalties giving
New Hampshire a five-on-three power play opportunity.
The Badger defensemen and sophomore goalkeeper Scott Gudmandson rode out the storm and managed to hold the
Wildcats at bay throughout the power play until Wisconsin returned to
full strength.
UW maintained a composed passing game early in the first period. The
team seemed much more cohesive and controlled than it did in the
frenzied bout against Boston College the night before.
The Badgers continued to rack up the penalties in the first period,
giving New Hampshire copious power play chances to find the net. With
two minutes left, Wisconsin gave the Wildcats their fifth power play of
the game.
The first period ended in a scoreless tie. UW’s offense looked strong
throughout the period, and Gudmandson executed some great saves against
UNH’s forwards.
At 3:43 into the second period, Wisconsin posted the first number on the
scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. Freshman Ryan McDonagh
passed the puck up the ice where junior John Mitchell
tapped it in. Sophomore Sean Dolan was credited with
the second assistant on the play.
Three minutes later at 6:29 James van Riemsdyk tied the game for the
Wildcats on a power play. The puck bounced off the back boards and over
the goal straight to van Riemsdyk’s feet, where he stuffed into an empty
net.
New Hampshire obtained its first lead of the game less than thirty
seconds later with a quick goal by Mike Sislo.
Confusion on UW’s part contributed to the third Wildcat goal with one
minute left in the second period. Gudmandson attempted to play the puck
away from one UNH player and put it in Sislo’s path, who scored his
second goal of the game to put the Wildcats up 3-1.
"I didn't see the guy coming in, and I should have thrown it behind the net," Gudmandson said. "It's an awful feeling."
UNH picked up in the third period right where they left off in the
second with a fourth goal at 1:47 into the period. Danny Collins slapped
the puck into the upper corner with a wrist shot for the 4-1 lead.
Gudmandson made a great save with 15:26 left as the Badgers were caught
on a change and UNH took the puck down the ice in a two-on-one rush.
The Wildcats continued to dominate the period into the 17th minute, when
Peter LaBlanc hit the upper corner of the net with a wrist shot for the game's final tally.
"We've got to mature as a team," Eaves said. "That was one of our themes tonight, our maturity as a team. Learning to play in a rink like this, under adverse conditions, playing with a lot of power plays and penalty killings and learning to do those things. We know we have a young team, and we have to grow in that way."