MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin men's hockey team might have had a week off, but it picked up right where it had left off two weekends ago.
 
After knocking off top-ranked North Dakota on the road two weekends ago, the Badgers (3-4-4, 0-0-0-0 Big Ten) faced their second-straight ranked foe and earned a 3-3 tie with No. 9 Denver on Friday night at the Kohl Center.
 
The Pioneers (6-3-2, 3-0-1-0 NCHC) took the lead in the first period, but as has happened on several occasions already this year, Wisconsin answered in the second. The Badgers found the back of the net three times in a span of four minutes and eight seconds to open up a 3-1 lead on Denver.
 
"I think during the course of the second period the thing that kind of got us going was that hit by [Patrick] Sexton and then right after that we had some really nice offense," head coach Mike Eaves said. "So we lost the first and won the second period and we go into the third focusing on things that you needed to do and we did some good things and there were things that needed to be shored up."
 
Freshman forward Matthew Freytag got the scoring started for the Badgers when he blasted a one-timer past Denver goaltender Evan Cowley at the 5:08 mark of the second period. Fellow freshman Will Johnson started the play for UW, as he raced down the right wing and let a shot go that was stopped by Cowley. But Johnson got to his own rebound, and then slipped a backhanded pass in front of the crease to Freytag, who promptly ripped it top shelf.
 
After Wisconsin had tied the game, defenseman Patrick Sexton leveled a DU player coming into the zone, a hit that gave UW some momentum according to defenseman Eddie Wittchow. 
 
"That was huge. It was a great, clean hit. Anything like that can really change momentum in the game and I think we did," Wittchow said. "That was early in the second period and for the first part of the second period there we had them (Denver) on their heels for a long time, so it definitely got the team going."
 
A little less than four minutes later Wisconsin took its first lead. UW's Seamus Malone entered the zone on a line rush for UW and dropped the puck to Adam Rockwood. Rockwood immediately found Jedd Soleway on the right wing, and Soleway's ensuing wrist shot beat Cowley blocker side to make it 2-1 at the 8:49 mark.
 
Denver pulled Cowley after the second goal, but it didn't remedy the situation. Luke Kunin beat new DU netminder Tanner Jaillet just 27 seconds later to put the Badgers up 3-1.
 
But the second-period scoring wasn't done there. Denver climbed within one goal when Trevor Moore scored on the power-play with 6:01 left in the frame. Then Evan Janssen scored 1:39 later to tie the game at three.
 
Wisconsin kept the pedal down for the remainder of the game, and outshot DU 12-7 in the final period of play.
 
Neither team could the back of the net in the third period, taking the game to an extra session. 
 
Playing in its third overtime game in five home contests, Wisconsin outshot DU 2-1 in the overtime, but again the score remained deadlocked after the five minutes.
 
UW did win the ensuing shootout 1-0, but it did not count toward either team's record.
 
"But in the end we go to a shootout and Mr. Besse scores and Matt saves it," Eaves said. "It feels like a win for us and I think we have to look at it like that with this young group and anything that gives us a puff of wind in our sails we are going to take advantage of."
 
Wisconsin goaltender Matt Jurusik stopped 21 shots for UW in the game, including a few big saves in the third period to keep the score tied. The freshman improved to 3-3-3 as the goaltender of record.
 
The Badgers look to take the series against Denver tomorrow night wi\h faceoff scheduled for 8 p.m. The game airs live on Wisconsin Channel.