Jan. 25, 2013
This flashback on Wisconsin's 1973 NCAA championship was excerpted from Mike Lucas' book "Five Golden Rings: The Saga of Wisconsin Hockey." It was published in 1998, before the Badgers added a sixth national title in 2006.
D
ick Perkins strode out of the locker room like a gun slinger looking for his next fight. A red cowboy hat with a white W was tucked snugly over his ears. A red corsage adorned his coat lapel. Sighing, he said, "I'm going to go out and relax and take it easy a little bit. It was a very emotional game. Believe me when I say that. It was very emotional tonight.''
Perkins, one of the fiercest competitors to ever don a goalie mask at Wisconsin, was tapped out emotionally. But he was not down and out and neither were his Wisconsin teammates. When they were down by four goals some may have counted them out, but the Badgers showed their resiliency and resourcefulness by bouncing back to stun Cornell, 6-5, in overtime.
The dramatic come-from-behind victory in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament at the Boston Garden advanced Wisconsin into the national championship game against Denver. "I'll be honest with you,'' said Perkins, reflecting on the spirited and improbable rally against Cornell, "It wasn't a very good feeling to be behind by as much as we were. But we kept coming back.''
The Badgers scored the last four goals of the game with Dean Talafous producing the tying goal with five seconds left in regulation and the winning goal with 33 seconds left in the overtime. The Mad Stork. That's what the Eastern press dubbed Talafous. "God saves ... but Talafous scores on the rebound.'' That's what the sign said, and Talafous made believers out of everyone.
Entire Article @ uwbadgers.com
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