The No. 13 Wisconsin men’s hockey team rebounded from a tough tie Friday night against the Colgate Raiders to beat the Bowling Green Falcons 5-3 in the third place game at the Badger Hockey Showdown Saturday.
Wisconsin (4-5-1 WCHA, 8-7-3 overall) was led by junior forward Tom Gorowsky, who scored two goals in the contest.
Sophomore forward Michael Davies started the scoring onslaught four minutes into the game, giving UW the early lead. Gorowsky scored his first goal of the game, and the season, midway through the period, giving the Badgers what seemed to be a healthy 2-0 lead.
The young UW squad has had trouble coming out of the gate this season with intensity, so it was a nice change of pace to see the early lead, especially with three of the top five scorers still playing in the World Juniors Championships.
However, the 2-0 lead would not hold, as Bowling Green (5-5-0 CCHA, 8-8-0) would score two goals of its own to tie the game early in the second period.
The first goal came at the 13:36 mark in the first, as freshman forward David Solway sunk a rebound over UW junior goaltender Shane Connelly’s left shoulder. The equalizer was scored by way of a one-timer from junior forward Brandon Svendsen. The Maplewood, Minn. native shot a laser from the right circle that Connelly was unable to locate in time.
The Badgers would answer through puck control. Wisconsin controlled the puck for a majority of the second period, but was unable to capitalize on many chances—including a 5-on-3 advantage.
But UW would find the back of the net once again, as Gorowsky scored his second goal of the season to once again give Wisconsin the lead.
The game winner came at the 13:03 mark in the second, as junior forward Ben Street scored his eighth goal of the season by sailing the puck over Falcon freshman goalie nick Eno’s left shoulder while he went low to attempt the save.
Senior forward Matthew Ford scored his second goal of the season in his second game back from an injury. Ford scored the final goal on a backhanded shot from the left circle at the 18:29 mark of the final period.
Bowling Green freshman forward Dan Sexton scored a short-handed goal in the third to bring the Falcons within two goals. Sexton intercepted a pass while the Badgers were on the power play, beating a 3-on-2 situation to score his fifth goal of the season.
Next weekend, Jan. 4-5, the Badgers will open the second half of their conference season as they host Colorado College at the Kohl Center. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. both nights.
In other Wisconsin news, Ben Street was named to the 2007 Badger Hockey Showdown All-Tournament Team.
Also, former Badger Jack Skille was called up to the Chicago Blackhawks and made his NHL debut on Sunday. With the addition of Skille, the Blackhawks became the first NHL team to play four former Badgers in one game. Skille currently joins Rene Bourque, Adam Burish, and Jake Dowell, all who have donned the cardinal and white at UW.
