MADISON, Wis. ? Wisconsin freshman forward Derek Stepan scored a pair of shorthanded goals on the same North Dakota power-play in the second period to lift the 19th-ranked Badgers to a 4-1 victory over the sixth-ranked Fighting Sioux tonight in the regular season finale at the Kohl Center.
The loss ended UND's eight-game unbeaten streak and clinched a third-place finish for the Badgers.
UND, which clinched the MacNaugton Cup as WCHA regular season champions last night, finishes the regular season 17-7-4 in league play and 22-12-4 overall. The top-seeded Sioux will host No. 10 seed Michigan Tech next weekend in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs.
“It's disappointing to lose our final game of the regular season,” said UND Head Coach Dave Hakstol. “We had too many lapses and that cost us. It's a good reminder of how you have to play, physically and mentally, for 60 minutes.”
After a scoreless opening period in which UND outshot the Badgers 16-9, Stepan tilted the game in the Badgers' favor with his opportunistic penalty killing. With the score tied 1-1 midway through the second period, Stepan trailed an Andy Bohmbach rush up the boards and beat Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness (Fr., Chestermere, Alberta) with a wrist shot low to the far side for the eventual game-winning goal.
With six seconds remaining in the same Sioux power-play, Eidsness made a brilliant save on a Bohmbach one-timer off a 2-on-1 rush, but Stepan buried the rebound for his eighth goal of the season and a 3-1 Badger lead.
The back-to-back shorthanded goals capped a period in which four of the game's five goals were scored.
UW's Ben Grotting opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the frame, snapping a shot past Eidsness to the short side from the right circle.
The Sioux pulled even less than four minutes later when sophomore forward Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) knocked home a Mario Lamoureux (Fr., Grand Forks, N.D.) rebound for his fourth goal of the season.
Malone's goal was the only instance in which the Sioux were able to beat UW senior goalie Shane Connelly despite 39 shots on goal. In addition to the two shorthanded goals allowed, UND's power-play struggled in a 0-for-5 effort and failed to score on a five-minute major early in the first period.
UW's John Mitchell made it 4-1 with a wrap-around goal at 12:28 of the third period.
Eidsness, making his 35th straight appearance and 28th start in a row, finished with 32 saves.
“It (the loss) stings, but you learn from it,” added Hakstol. “We're going to go home feeling very positive and excited to get to the first round of the playoffs.”
The best-of-three playoff series will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday (if necessary) at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday and 7:07 on Saturday and Sunday.
Notes: Senior forward Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta) had his season-long eight-game scoring streak come to an end ... UND has given up nine shorthanded goals this season ... Senior forward Matt Watkins (Aylesbury, Saskatchewan) played in his 164th career game to tie Jeff Panzer (1997-01) for sixth place on UND's all-time games played list ... Teammate Zach Jones (Sr., Lisle, Ill.) played in his 163rd career game, tying him with three others for eighth all-time.
