Wisconsin 5, Northern Michigan 4
 
Two sentences sum up my view of Friday night's clash betwen Wisconsin
and Northern Michigan.  A much-anticipated game started out as a
disappointment and ended as advertised, a terrific event.  Wisconsin's
first period was just a little better than Northern's third period.
 
The Badgers scored immediately to start the game, once more at the
halfway mark of the first period, and again near the end, while the
Wildcats were unable to generate any real threats.  The large crowd had
absolutely nothing to get excited about, which was exactly the way
Wisconsin coach Jeff Sauer wanted it.  The Badgers not only outscored
NMU 3-0, they outshot them 16-5.  (One unusual note which was brought
out in the TV rebroadcast through review of the shot chart was that
EVERY Wisconsin shot in the first period was on goal.)
 
The second period was very different.  Both teams played excellent
defense and totally stifled the other's offensive attempts.  No goals,
only four shots on goal for the Badgers and six for the Wildcats.
 
Then came the third period.  The fans finally had something to make
noise about as Joe Frederick opened the period with a goal on his own
rebound following a rush at 00:19.  However, the scoring was still being
announced when the applause died sooner than usual because Wisconsin's
Jason Zent immediately retaliated with his second goal of the night on a
two-man break at 00:36.  The 4-1 score did not last long, either, as the
Wildcats' Greg Hadden scored on a slap shot from the left faceoff circle
at 03:03.  This brought the fans back into the game, and they stayed in
from there on.  The house really blew up at 05:07 when Bryan Ganz
bounced a centering pass off Badger goalie Jim Carey's pads into the net
to make it 4-3.  At 11:42 Wildcat nemesis Zent got his hat trick and
what turned out to be the GWG when he bounced a shot off NMU defender
Garrett MacDonald.  The most interesting moment of the game occurred at
16:38, when Carey evidently thought a delayed penalty call on NMU was in
effect and left the net; as he neared the Badger bench Wildcat Brent
Riplinger picked up a loose puck and scored on the empty net from the
red line to make it 5-4.  NMU had a great opportunity on a power play in
the last two minutes, particularly in a situation where MacDonald had a
shot at an open net and his foot-high attempt was deflected at the last
moment by a Badger defensman's stick.  In the final period the Wildcats
outscored the Badgers 4-2 and outshot them 21-8, actually ending up as a
result outshooting Wisconsin for the game 32-28.
 
In the postgame interviews Hadden and other Wildcats said they had
"given Wisconsin too much respect" in the first period and sat back a
little; that after the second period they realized they could play with
them and came out a different team in the final twenty minutes. It
apparently took that second period to erase the memories of the Badgers'
9-2, 11-0 routs of NMU last October, as well as the 3-0 first period.
Rick Comley sounded basically satisfied, although noting that it was of
course a tough loss to take.  Rick says Wisconsin is without question a
better team than Northern at this point, so he was glad to see the 'Cats
end up playing even with them.  The players promised to be a different
team for sixty minutes tonight.
 
I was really impressed with Carey, the Badger goal tender.  Paul Taylor
also played very well for NMU.  Tonight Corwin Saurdiff will be in goal
for the Wildcats, while I imagine it will be Carey again for the
Badgers.  Also, as usual the second half the season, the 'Cats' penalty-
killing was outstanding; evidently they are now in the top ten in the
country with a kill rate of about 82%.  Over the last six or seven games
they've killed about 92% of their penalties.  On the other side, the
totally dismal NMU power play looked the best it has in quite a while;
the Wildcats scored on two of their seven power play chances.  Comley
has installed a new approach which seems designed to set up rink-length
rushes by taking more time behind their own net at the beginning while
the skating lanes are set up.  The Badgers are really impressive,      c
particularly their speed and the way they take care of the puck in their
own zone.
 
I can't attend tonight's contest.  I'm told more than twenty NMU fans
are on the list, so maybe one of you others out there can post a story
on the game.  I will try to stay awake through the TV rebroadcast later
tonight, but I'm not sure I can make it after last night's, which didn't
end until close to 2 am.
 
Summary:
 
Period     1  2  3  F
 
Wisconsin  3  0  2  5
 
NMU        0  0  4  4
 
First Period
 
1.  UW, Spencer (8) (Fairchild, Plante), 0:31
 
2.  UW, Zent (16) (Moore, Shier), 9:54
 
3.  UW, Plante (19) (Katlaps, Fairchild), 16:57
 
Second Period
 
No Scoring
 
Third Period
 
4.  NMU, Frederick (18) (MacDonald) ppg, 0:19
 
5.  UW, Zent (17) (Shier, Moore), 0:36
 
6.  NMU, Hadden (17) (Karlander, Hehr) ppg, 3:03
 
7.  NMU, Ganz (7) (Simpson, Johnson), 5:07
 
8.  UW, Zent (19) (Shier, Moore), 11:42
 
9.  NMU, Rilinger (11) unassisted, 16:38
 
 
Powe play opportunities: Wisconsin 0/7; Northern Michigan 2/7
 
Penalties: Wisconsin 24, Northern Michigan 22
 
Goalie saves: UW, 28 (Carey, 5-6-17); NMU, 23 (Taylor, 13-4-6)
 
Attendance (paid): 4,243