LAS VEGAS — They say that defense wins championships, and while Wisconsin is still one win away from a title, its penalty kill made it possible to advance, with a 2-1 win over North Dakota.
The Fighting Hawks had five power plays, including a lengthy stretch of five on three in the second period, put could muster just four total shots with the man advantage, including just one when up by two skaters.
The Badgers were able to stymie the Fighting Hawks by aggressively getting in lanes and blocking shots.
“We spent a lot of time preparing against their power play, watching a lot of film,” said senior defenseman Ben Dexheimer. “Honestly at the end of the day I think this time of the year it comes down to the want to get the puck out, the want to block shots. I think that was the difference with our kill tonight. Guys took a lot of effort on blocking shots, getting in lanes.”
When the Fighting Hawks did get a sniff at the net, Wisconsin freshmen netminder Daniel Hauser stood tall.
“(Hauser) won’t talk about himself, but your best penalty killer has to be your goaltender,” said Wisconsin coach Mike Hastings. “He definitely was tonight.”
North Dakota coach Dane Jackson said that Wisconsin was able to get the Fighting Hawks out of their comfort zone on the power play.
“Our power play has been very good all year,” he said. “A big part of it has been kind of our tenacious mentality to get pucks back after a shot, after a stick knocks a puck down. We’ve done a very good job of quickly getting around it, supporting the puck, getting a second or third chance. We didn’t seem to be able to do that.”
Killing off a 5 on 3 in the second period, as well as three other power plays throughout the game, robbed North Dakota of any momentum after quickly falling behind 2-0 in the first period.
“Special teams are such an important part of the game,” said North Dakota junior defenseman Jake Livanavage. “We just weren’t good enough. The amount of power plays we had, we should capitalize. That can turn the momentum right in the second period, give us momentum going into the third as well.
“It’s a big part of the game, and we didn’t get the job done.”