March 9, 2007
Box Score
DENVER - Wisconsin's Jake Dowell tallied the game-winner with 4:24 remaining in the third period to propel the Badgers (16-17-4) to a 3-2 victory over the No. 10/11 Denver Pioneers (21-14-4) in the opening game of their WCHA first-round playoff series tonight before a crowd of 5,196 at Magness Arena. The Pioneers received goals from Ryan Dingle (Steamboat Springs, Colo.) and J.D. Corbin (Littleton, Colo.) and Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) made 34 saves in the defeat.
"The way we stepped on the ice and how we performed in the first period was unexpected and out of character, " Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. "We responded a little bit in the second period, but our guys have to understand that this is the playoffs and every play is critical."
Wisconsin got off to a quick start with two goals in the first period. Joe Piskula gave the visitors a 1-0 lead on an unassisted tally at 14:33, followed by a Ben Street rebound effort off a Kyle Klubertanz shot from the high slot at 17:44.
The Pioneers evened the game with a pair of tallies during an action-packed second period. DU made it a 2-1 game on Dingle's team-leading 22nd goal of the season at the 5:14 mark. Brock Trotter (Brandon, Manitoba) swooped in along the right wing and carried the puck around the back of Wisconsin's goal before feeding Dingle, who one-timed a shot from just inside the left faceoff circle. Corbin evened the score at 15:44 when his shot from the sideboards deflected off a Badger defenseman and slipped past UW netminder Brian Elliott (23 saves).
The frenetic pace continued in the third period, with both teams having multiple scoring chances before Dowell shelved a rebound over Mannino's shoulder at 15:36 to put Wisconsin ahead for good.
The Badgers outshot the Pioneers by a 37-25 margin. Both teams were held in check on the power play, with DU going 0-for-5 and UW finishing 0-for-6.
The teams will resume the best two-out-of-three series tomorrow night with puck drop scheduled for 7:07 p.m. at Magness Arena.
