GREEN BAY, Wis. - Among the myriad chants and cheers screamed by more than 8,500 raucous fans at Green Bay's Resch Center Saturday there was one that pretty much summed everything up:
"When you say Wisconsin, you said it all."
Badgers leading scorer sophomore Joe Pavelski scored a hat trick, leading the Badgers (27-10-3) to a 4-0 win over Bemidji State (20-14-3) in the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament Midwest Regional.
The Badgers scored once in the first and then dominated the second to take a 3-0 lead. Wisconsin, the nation's top defensive team allowing 1.95 goals per game, made it impossible for the Beavers to mount any short of comeback in the third and cruised to the win.
The Beavers seemed disjointed the entire game with everything about one-half step off. Much of that was due to the strength of Wisconsin, the top seeded team in the tournament. Big and strong, the Badgers dictated play from beginning to end. BSU got only 15 shots on goal for the game, while Wisconsin peppered BSU goalie Layne Sedevie with 45 - 23 in the second period alone.
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"It was a tough day for the Beavers," said BSU head coach Tom Serratore. "We had no jump. The key for us was to score first. They're just too good, too strong defensively and too physically imposing to come back against."
Both coaches harped on the importance of getting out to a quick start in the game and scoring the first goal. BSU had a golden opportunity to do just that. With the game still scoreless, the Badger's Ryan MacMurchy was whistled for a five minute checking from behind penalty and a game misconduct.
It looked like the opening the Beavers needed. It turned out to be anything but an opening. Wisconsin put on a dazzling penalty kill, holding the Beavers without a shot for the entire five minutes. Instead of an opportunity the five minute major deflated BSU.
The Beavers Jean-Guy Gervais was called for tripping with 40 seconds left in the major penalty. Wisconsin took advantage of the power play and connected as Pavelski had a puck that deflected high in the air drop at his feet just off the slot. He one-timed the puck past Sedevie with just under three minutes left in the period. That's the way the first period ended with Wisconsin leading 1-0.
"We had a hard time breaking the puck out of our zone and a hard time setting up once we did," said senior BSU defenseman Andrew Martens. "Not being able to get it going during that major deflated us. We couldn't get it done on the power play the whole game and it came back to bite us." BSU ended 0 for 4 on the power play.
While the Beavers were limited to just two shots, one was a golden opportunity to score. Ryan Miller was alone in front and jumped on a rebound. Wisconsin goalie Brian Elliott came up big to keep BSU off the board.
There's no other way to describe it, Wisconsin put a whuppin' on the Beavers in the second period. The Badgers took a 3-0 lead and out-shot the Beavers 23-4. The UW lead could have been much higher if not for some strong goaltending from Sedevie.
Pavelski put the Badgers up by two quickly in the second, scoring unassisted just 26 seconds into the period. It was a great individual move as Pavelski won the face off then walked in alone on Sedevie, scoring on the back hand without being touched.
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UW went ahead 3-0 with 2:30 left in the period. Burish made a strong play in the corner to control the puck and made a pass to Jake Dowell who was camped out at the side of the net. He buried the shot, again untouched by a Beaver defender.
Sedevie made some major stops to keep the game somewhat close. He stopped a shot from Ben Street at point blank range at the 8:30 mark and defender Kyle Kubertanz at 11:44, while the Badgers were skating short-handed.
Wisconsin controlled the final period as well with a 13-9 shot advantage. Pavelski completed his hat trick, again on the power play, as Wisconsin went ahead 4-0 and iced the game.
Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said Wisconsin went into the game wanting to dictate play from the start. "The kids came out pretty hard," he said. "They moved their feet better in the second and created more of a spread. Overall it was a very solid game. We've been through some hard times this year, learned from them and applied it today."
Elliott recorded his second shut out win in a row and ninth of the season. Sedevie played a strong game in net, stopping 41 of 45 shots. He was largely responsible for keeping the game was close as it was.
"As much of a butt kicking as it was," said BSU coach Tom Serratore, "three of the four goals came from their top line. You win with your studs and that's the big difference between a mid-major team like BSU and a major program like Wisconsin. They have players that will be competing in the NHL shortly, like Pavelski and Robbie Earl. Their high end is huge."
Regardless of talent level, Gervais said he would go into battle confidently with his current teammates any day. "We're not making any excuses," he said. "They out-played us and out-worked us. It showed up on the scoreboard."
Bemidji State 0 0 0 - 0
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Wisconsin 1 2 1 - 4
First Period - 1, UW, Joe Pavelski (Andrew Joudrey, Adam Burish), 17:07 (pp). Penalties - Tyler Scofield, BSU (tripping), 4:02, Ryan MacMurchy, UW (checking from behind-five minute major, game misconduct), 11:13, Jean-Guy Gervais, BSU (ob-tripping), 15:31
Second Period - 2, UW, Pavelski (unassisted), :26. 3, UW, Jake Dowell (Burish), 17:30. Penalties - Dave Deterding, BSU (high sticking), 8:50, Jeff Likens, UW (tripping), 10:18, Ross Carlson, UW (slashing), 13:05, Ryan Miller, BSU (high sticking), 19:22
Third Period - 4, UW, Pavelski (Tom Gilbert, Andrew Joudrey), 6:38 (pp). Penalties - Nathan Schwartzbauer, BSU (ob-hooking), :30, Josh Engell, UW (high sticking), 3:56, Gervais, BSU (high sticking), 5:05, Dave Deterding, BSU (holding), 7:49, Layne Sedevie, BSU (high sticking served by Garrett Roth), 16:38
Shots on goal - BSU 2-4-9 15, UW 9-23-13 45. Power play opportunities - BSU 0 of 4, UW 2 of 8. Goalies - BSU, Layne Sedevie (41-45). UW, Brian Elliott (15-15). Referee - Matt Shegoa. Assistant referees - Kevin Langseth, Keith Sergott. A - 8523.
