Badgers Riding a 4 Game Win Streak into Pivotal Matchup with Rival Bluegolds

With Thanksgiving around the corner, the Badgers are looking to refuel, recharge, and come out flying against UWEC for the final series of the first semester. The Badgers are currently boasting a 13-4-0-1 record with an undefeated WCCHA record. The team will have to be firing on all cylinders as they look to take down the Bluegolds for the first time in 6 years.
Two weeks ago, the team traveled to St. Cloud, MN to take on the Johnnies of St. John's. A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed financially to the team as this was the first time we utilized a coach bus for travel - an even bigger thank you to our driver, Wilson!
In game one, the Badgers come out flying with a good first shift from all four lines. Shaking the bus legs took just over half the period as Owen Phelps scored with family in attendance! Assists would go to Feldt and Skillings. The team would carry that lead into the first break; 1-0 Badgers!
The second period would see a flurry of goals for both teams starting with Mo Ahmedad burying a rebound chance off a Phelps point shot! 2-0 good guys early in the second. The Johnnies would net their first of the night at the 13-minute mark to cut the lead in half. But just about a minute later, Barbour would find the back of the net! Feldt would notch his second assist of the night and JB Vance would also receive an apple. Not even 30 seconds later, Vance would score this time with Barbour grabbing the assist! And again, half a minute later, Jake Bailey would find the scoring touch off a Feldt pass. The three-goal shift from the Yellow line would extend the Badgers' lead to 5-1! St. John's wasn't going down without a fight though as they would score on their next shift to make it 5-2 heading into the second intermission.
In the third, the boys were looking to finish the game strong and put game one out of reach. Skillings would score his first goal of the season as the Blue line all grab points on the play. Kernen and Byrd with the assists. Burmeister would extend the lead to 7-2 about two minutes later off a Gachman pass. The game was seemingly out of reach. The Johnnies weren't quitting though, as they would score 2 more in a 3-minute span halfway through the frame to make it 7-4. The Badgers would snag the last goal though as the Blue line connected again, this time with Byrd scoring from the high slot! 8-4 would be the final! Goss had 26 saves on the night.
Game two would see a similar offensive power from the Badgers. However, it would be the Johnnies starting the game hot scoring the matchup's first goal just 2 minutes in. Barbour and the Badgers would take matters into their own hands for the rest of the frame though, as the team capitalized on a few Johnnie penalties. Barbour would net both PP goals, the first passers were Feldt and Gunderson, the second were Tompkins and Gachman. The team would take the one-goal lead into the break. 2-1 Badgers!
The second was all Badgers with another power-play goal to start it off! Kernen scored off Tompkins and Barbour assists to make it 3-1! Around halftime, Gachman would put the boys up 4-1 with Barbour getting his 4th point of the night! Burmeister would extend his goal streak to two games off a nice pass from Tompkins to cap the period at 5-1.
In the third, Tompkins would continue the scoring for the Badgers as Gunderson and Vance assisted his goal to make it 6-1! St. John's would respond finally though as they scored two goals just 5 minutes apart cutting the lead to 6-3. Travis Kernen would seal the Johnnies' fate as he netted the game's final goal with 4:30 to play. The Badgers would win 7-3 and sweep the series!
This past weekend, the Badgers hosted the Bulldogs of UMD in their annual series. Game one was a continuation of the previous week's performance as the Badgers continued to fill the net early and often.
Ian Barbour would find the back of the net first with Dane Sjowall assisting on the play just over a minute in! Mikey Perea would tack on the team's second goal a few minutes later with Vance and Barbour assisting on his shot. The Badgers would ride the 2-0 lead into the first break.
In the second, Feldt would net his first of the series with Gunderson assisting as well as Quinn Friedow in his final game with the team! The goal came 3 minutes into the period and the Badgers would hold their 3-0 lead heading into the second intermission.
The third started a similar way with Feldt scoring off a beautiful pass from Barbour to spring him on a breakaway. Gunderson would get the secondary assist on the play. Gachman would score with 5 to go in the game, extending the lead to 5-0! However, the Bulldogs would catch the Badgers sleeping as they would break Goss's shutout with 3:30 to go in the game. Byrd would answer on the powerplay late, giving the Badgers game one by a final of 6-1!
Game two was all Badgers as they extended their winning streak to 4 games! The first period ended in a 0-0 tie as both teams looked as though they were shaking off the night.
Period two saw Barbour opening the scoring with assists going to Valentini and Feldt to make it 1-0 six minutes into the period. Doherty would net the team's second goal late in the period off a rebound. Perea and Vance would grab the assists. the 2-0 Badger lead would carry over into the third.
Doherty opened the third frame scoring his second fo the night making it 3-0! Perea and Barbour with the passes. Feldt would score just 40 seconds later extending the lead to 4-0! Skillings and Gunderson were the passers on his goal. And finally, Harrison Burmeister would score the game's final goal with 5 to play sealing the series sweep for the home team! 5-0 wold be the final score! Skillings and Perea would snag the assists on Burmeister's goal. Joe Berg with the shutout in game two!
The team would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving holiday! We are back in action on Friday 12/2 against UWEC at the Shell. Puck drop is at 8:30pm. Game two will be back at the Shell on Saturday, 12/3 at 11am!