This has not been the type of season the Wisconsin hockey team envisioned coming off its first national championship since 1990.

Yet the Badgers still boast the collective heart of a champion, not to mention one of the best goaltenders in the nation in senior Brian Elliott. Chances are Wisconsin will not return to the NCAA tournament, but suddenly it is one win away from perhaps halting the University of Denver's postseason aspirations.

Wisconsin recorded a 3-2 win Friday at Magness Arena in the first game of a best-of-three first-round series in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs.

DU needs to win tonight and Sunday to avoid its second consecutive WCHA first-round loss at Magness. Another loss would seriously dampen the Pioneers' chances of reaching the NCAA tournament and landing a berth in the West Regional.

For the second consecutive game, the Pioneers waited until they were down by multiple goals before their offense got on track. But unlike last week's furious rally at Colorado College, which resulted in a 5-5 draw, DU could not sustain its momentum after tying the score 2-2.

Jake Dowell scored the winning goal for the Badgers with 4 minutes, 24 seconds remaining.

"I'm completely dumbfounded as to why we weren't ready to play until we were down by two goals," DU coach George Gwozdecky said. "I don't have an answer for it. I really don't. Even though I don't feel good about our game (Friday), I know and trust that our older players will take it upon themselves to have this team ready to play as soon as the puck drops (tonight)."

DU, which has gone 3-5-0 at home in WCHA playoff games since 2004, was outshot 37-25 and went 0-for-5 on power plays against a Badgers team that has killed 20 consecutive penalties in their past five games.

The Pioneers (21-14-4) have scored only one power-play goal in 29 chances during their past five games, a continued source of frustration for the club as it enters what might be an elimination game for its entire season tonight.

"We just have to outwork them," DU senior J.D. Corbin said. "We were a little bit lazy (Friday) on the power play, a little bit lazy on the penalty kill, and they capitalized on a few key turnovers."

It was a rough start for DU goaltender Peter Mannino, who allowed the first goal of the season to Wisconsin defenseman Joe Piskula before allowing a rebound goal to Ben Street that gave the Badgers a 2-0 lead late in the first period.

The Pioneers rallied in the second, pulling to within a goal when leading scorer Brock Trotter found Ryan Dingle for his team-leading 22nd goal of the season and evening the score on a goal by Corbin late in the frame.

Mannino will give way to senior Glenn Fisher in Game 2 tonight, and the Pioneers expect to be without sophomore Patrick Mullen, who missed Friday's game because of an illness that is believed to be mononucleosis.

Badgers 3, Pioneers 2

Wisconsin......2	0	1	-	3
Denver......0	2	0	-	2

First period - 1, UW, Piskula 1 (unassisted) 14:33; 2, UW, Street 9 (Klubertanz 8), 17:44. Penalties - May, DU (hooking), 1:48; Drewiske, UW (obstruction hooking), 5:26; Klubertanz, UW (holding), 11:58; Ruegsegger, DU (obstruction interference), 12:02;Piskula, UW (slashing), 16:37; Rakhshani, DU (diving), 16:37; Butler, DU (slashing), 18:23.

Second period - 3, DU, Dingle 22 (Trotter 24, Veideman 10), 5:14; 4, DU, Corbin 2 (Gifford 10), 15:44; Penalties - Thomas, DU (cross checking), :39; Engel, UW (slashing), 2:25; Piskula, UW (interference), 5:45; Ford, UW (obstruction elbowing), 12:17; Thomas,DU (cross checking), 18:30.

Third period - 5, UW, Dowell 17 (Davies 12, Olinger 2), 15:36; Penalties - Piskula, UW (roughing), :42; Seabrook, DU (roughing), :42; May, DU (hooking), 8:38; Handza, DU (roughing), 19:03; Olinger, UW (roughing), 19:03; Handza, DU (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:03; Olinger, UW (unsportsmanlike conduct), 19:03.

Shots - UW, 13-14-10-37; DU, 7-9-9-25. Saves - UW (Elliott 23); DU (Mannino 34). Power plays - UW, 0-for-6; DU, 0-for-5. A - 5,196.

MICHIGAN TECH 2, COLORADO COLLEGE 1, OT at Colorado Springs - Jimmy Kerr scored 39 seconds into overtime, helping the Huskies beat the Tigers at World Arena.

The win gives Michigan Tech a 1-0 lead against Colorado College in the best-of-three WCHA playoff series.

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