Trailing 2-1 late in the second period, Team Wisconsin struggled to find the answer to the tenacity of Michigan’s forecheck and how to score on hot goalie Michael Boike, who had stopped 19 of 20 shots up to that point.

With just over seventy seconds left, two Michigan penalties put TW on a 5-on-3 power play, at almost the identical time that TW had the opportunity the previous day against Minnesota. TW had 1:49 of 5-on-3 and had a handful of shots, but Michigan’s Boike stopped them all.

Most teams would be disheartened by the loss of a golden opportunity, but not TW. Four seconds after the penalty expired, defenseman Brian Kemp rifled a pass from the top of the left circle to Russell Blaser, who was camped out at the backdoor. Blaser’s shot ended up in the back of the net and the contest was knotted at two with just seven seconds left in the stanza.

With the memory of that moment fresh in their heads, TW came out swinging in the final period and put up two scores in the first 1:25 of the period to earn a 4-2 lead, and for all intents and purposes, put the game away.

Michigan came out with an aggressive forecheck, forcing TW defensemen to work hard to get the puck out of the defensive zone. TW had limited scoring chances, putting only three shots on net in the period.

Will Badner opened the scoring for Michigan with a goal at the 3:10 mark of the first. Eric Rizzio got an assist on the play.

TW tied the score just 90 seconds later when Max McCormick scored with help from line mate Alex Tesensky.

The score would bump to 2-1 in favor of Michigan with Rizzio scoring off assists from Badner and Caleb Digison at 9:36. Michigan held a 11-3 shot advantage as they went to the locker room with a one-goal lead.

The second period saw all five penalties killed before Blaser scored the equalizer with just a few ticks left on the clock. Max Strasser also got an assist on the score. TW held an incredible 19-4 shot edge in the period, which was a complete turnaround from the initial period.

In the tide-turning third, McCormick was credited with a goal in traffic just 54 seconds into the period, with assists to Tesensky and Nathan Trannel. Not to be outdone, Tesensky scored on a breakaway 31 seconds later to give TW a 4-2 lead with 16:35 left in the game. McCormick earned the assist.

Team Wisconsin held on during the wild period–which saw nine shots for each team–and nearly scored an empty-netter in what would become a TW victory.

Goalie Aarin McLaughlin stopped 22 of 24 shots in the game, while Boike had 27 saves for Michigan.

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