An ugly second period was too much for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team to overcome Tuesday night in a 6-4 loss to Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament title game.

The Badgers trailed 2-1 late in the second period when the Gophers exploded for three goals in just 2 minutes and 44 seconds of action to take a seemingly insurmountable lead to the final period.

But Wisconsin didn’t go quietly. Mike Vorlicky cut it to a 3-goal deficit when he found the back of the net 4:05 into the third period. That was followed just minutes later by Roman Achan scoring his second goal of the game. Big Ten Player of the Year Cole Caufield made it a 5-4 game with 2:11 remaining, but that’s as close as Wisconsin would get, as the Gophers finished the scoring with an empty net goal.

Owen Lindmark had a pair of assists for the Badgers, who lost for just the third time in their last 17 games.

Minnesota claimed its second Big Ten Tournament crown, while Wisconsin fell to 1-2 in championship games.

Coach Tony Granato and his club will now wait to see what kind of seed it will get when the NCAA Tournament bracket is revealed Sunday.