UAA nearly made it out of the first period unscathed on the road Friday night, but a double-bank shot staked Wisconsin to the lead and the rest of the evening proved hauntingly familiar for the visitors.
The third-ranked Badgers rolled the Seawolves 4-1 in the opener of the first-round, best-of-3 playoff series in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
Wisconsin's victory at the Kohl Center in Madison dropped UAA coach Dave Shyiak's record in Madison to 0-9-0, and his clubs have been outscored 43-11 in that span.
The Seawolves' goal Friday came from center Craig Parkinson with 47 seconds left.
Game 2 is today at 4 p.m. AST.
The Seawolves (11-22-2) played the Badgers (23-9-4) on even terms through most of the first period before Wisconsin enjoyed some puck luck that no doubt felt like a raw ricochet to the Seawolves.
Michael Davies intercepted a pass in the UAA zone and fed Derek Stepan, whose return relay glanced off a Seawolves' stick and then off Davies and behind goaltender Jon Olthuis (25 saves) to open the scoring.
All Davies has done this season after being a healthy scratch in the first two games -- that move by coach Mike Eaves evidently got Davies' attention -- is put up 16-30--46 totals in 34 games to lead the Badgers in scoring.
Wisconsin poured on the pain in the second period with three goals -- two at even strength from Aaron Bendickson and Craig Smith, sandwiched around a short-handed strike from defenseman Jake Gardiner.
That the Seawolves surrendered a shortie was not exactly stunning -- they pretty much lead the universe in that category with 14 shorties allowed in 35 games. No other team in Division I began the night sniffing double figures in that category.
The Seawolves also made their customary parade to the penalty box. UAA is the nation's most penalized team and afforded Wisconsin eight power plays, though UAA penalty killers held the Badgers' strong power play in check.
UAA also basically matched Wisconsin in shots on goal -- the Badgers owned a 29-28 edge -- and that was a big change from the regular-season series between the teams in November. Wisconsin swept that series 5-1 and 6-2, and outshot UAA 79-33.
Still, Wisconsin, which entered Friday second in the nation in offense with 3.94 goals per game, flexed its considerable offensive depth. The Badgers' four goals produced six assists, and those combined 10 points came from 10 different skaters.
The Badgers aren't too shabby on the back end, either. Of their six defensemen, three are first-round NHL draft picks and two are second-round picks.
Seawolves notes
Ten UAA players earned WCHA All-Academic honors.
Seniors Trevor Hunt, Josh Lunden and Jon Olthuis made the team for the third time. Seniors Kevin Clark, Jared Tuton and Nils Backstrom, and junior Luka Vidmar, made the team for the second time. And sophomores Brad Gorham, Jade Portwood and Dusan Sidor were first time honorees.
To earn All-Academic honors, a player must have been at his school for at least a year, have a 3.0 or higher grade-point average in the preceding two semesters or a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Around the Rinks
Minn. State-Mankato 5, No. 7 St. Cloud State 4 (OT) -- The Mavericks rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game inside the final second of regulation, then scored 20 seconds into overtime to stun the Huskies.
St. Cloud State led 3-0 and 4-2 before faltering. Jeff Irwin scored on a rebound with .3 left in regulation to force overtime and Kael Mouillierat, who scored a short-handed goal in the third period, roofed the winner in OT.
No. 14 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 15 Colorado College 2 (OT) -- Mike Connolly scored about 10 minutes into overtime to give the Bulldogs a home-ice win over the Tigers.
Duluth's Rob Bordson and CC's Nick Dineen each scored two goals.
No. 1 Denver 2, Michigan Tech 1 -- The No. 10-seeded Huskies gave the No. 1-ranked Pioneers a scare, but Brian Gifford's go-ahead goal late in the second period stood up in Denver.
Michigan Tech's Josh Robinson made 38 saves as the Pioneers outshot the Huskies 40-20.
No. 5 North Dakota 6, Minnesota 0 --So much for a border battle -- Matt Frattin scored two goals and Brad Eidsness stopped 27 shots as the Fighting Sioux hammered the visiting Gophers.
Northern Michgan 4, No. 12 UAF 3 -- Northern Michigan pounded the Nanooks for three goals in the opening 12-plus minutes, built a 4-0 lead halfway through the game and then held on to win the opener of a best-of-3, second-round series in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
The loss snapped UAF's six-game winning streak and 10-game unbeaten streak (8-0-2). The Nanooks fell to 18-10-9.
UAF used goals by Dustin Sather, Nik Yaremchuk and Bryant Molle to pull within one goal at 4-3 with about four minutes to go.
Also in the CCHA, No. 2-ranked Miami (Ohio) beat Ohio State 6-2 despite two goals from Buckeyes winger Hunter Bishop of Fairbanks.
Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.comhockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.
UAA 0 0 1 -- 1
Wisconsin 1 3 0 -- 4
First Period -- 1, UW, Davies 16 (Stepan), 18:10. Penalties -- Spencer, UAA (tripping), 6:33; Stepan, UW (boarding), 13:26; Geoffrion, UW (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00; Clark, UAA (unsportsmanlike conduct), 20:00.
Second Period --2, UW, Bendrickson 9 (Ramage, B. Smith), :47; 3, UW, Gardiner 5 (Geoffrion), 12:03 (sh); 4, UW, C. Smith 7 (Street, Goloubef), 16:03. Penalties -- Vidmar, UAA (delay of game), 6:24; Bendickson, UW (interference), 8:39; Tuton, UAA (holding), 13:58; Backstrom, UAA (interference), 16:32; Davies, UW (goaltender interference), 16:45; Clark, UAA (high-sticking), 17:52.
Third Period --5, UAA, Parkinson 6 (Grant, Backstrom), 19:13. Penalties -- Grant, UAA (contact to the head), :44; Gorham, UAA (roughing), 5:54; Grant, UAA (goaltender interference), 11:38; Murray, UW (contact to the head), 17:07.
Shots on goal -- UAA 6-10-12--28; UW 7-15-7--29.
Power-play Opportunities -- UAA 0 of 4; UW 0 of 8.
Goalies -- UAA, Olthuis, 8-15-2 (29 shots-25 saves); UW, Gudmandson, 15-3-4 (28 shots-27 saves).
A --11,225 (15,237). T --2:20.
Referees --Bill Mason, Brian Thul. Assistant referees --Dan Carey, Ed Moberg.
By DOYLE WOODY
dwoody@adn.com