MILWAUKEE – A record Badger Hockey Showdown crowd screamed for a period, held their breaths for the next, and exhaled with relief when all was said and done.

The tournament record 17,711 fans who packed the Bradley Center saw the host University of Wisconsin score three second-period goals in a span of 6:45 and allow two in the third before celebrating a 3-2 championship victory over No. 1-ranked Maine.

Senior goaltender Duane Derksen, who made 20 saves Saturday and 19 in Friday’s 6-1 win over Yale, was named the Showdown’s Most Valuable Player for the second straight year.

With his 69th career victory, Derksen also broke Dean Anderson’s school record of 68.

“We get extra pumped up to play in this tournament,” said Derksen, who ran his all-time Showdown record to 6-0. “The fans cause you to get pumped up. Everyone’s adrenalin is higher than most people’s race cars.”

Sophomore Mike Doers, pointless in 17 games, opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal as he took a pass from Blaine Moore and shot it over the stick of Maine goalie Garth Snow.

“He waited me out and I went down,” said Snow, who had a high pass intercepted by Moore leading to the goal.

That activated the raucous crowd and revitalized Wisconsin’s momentum.

“It’s always important to score first,” said left wing Jason Zent, who joined fellow Badgers Derksen, Doug Macdonald, and Barry Richter on the All-Tournament team. “You always want to get the crowd behind you, especially when there’s 17,000-plus in the stadium.”

Maine defenseman Jason Weinrich and Yale center Mark Kaufmann were the other all-tourney picks.

Freshman center Kelly Fairchild made it 2-0 when he stole the puck from Maine defenseman Lee Saunders, used him as a screen, and sent a knuckleball past Snow.

“It rolled up my stick and I just misplayed it,” said Snow, who finished with 23 saves.

“The second period was a funny period,” Maine Coach Shawn Walsh said. “Both teams had real legitimate scoring chances. They capitalized on theirs and we didn’t. Two of the goals they got are goals that maybe would never be scored again…. it happens. That’s hockey and that’s what makes it so good.”

Wisconsin made it 3-0 when Zent converted a two-on-two feed from Macdonald with 4:59 remaining.

The Black Bears (14-2-0) stormed back in the third period on goals by Randy Olson (2:54) and Brian Downey (14:50).

But Derksen sealed the net, Wisconsin won its fifth straight game, its third straight Showdown, and the appreciative cheers of a boisterous partisan crowd.

“We weren’t jumping in the first two periods but we got ourselves together in the third period,” said Downey. “If we had a few more minutes, we would have tied it up.”

“To beat the No. 1 team in the country in this type of environment is really special,” Badgers Coach Jeff Sauer said. “It was just a fantastic tournament, and to win it like this sends us into the new year on a great note.”

Wisconsin (11-6-1) was without two regulars, but Maine was without six, including leading goal-scorer Jean-Yves Roy and senior tri-captain Martin Robitaille.

“We still had enough forces to win,” said Walsh. “This was a very positive loss. If we want to go places, we have to look at ourselves and be analytical. We have to grow from this. We showed a lot of heart coming back in the third period in front of 17,000 people. But the bottom line is we weren’t good enough to win and we’ve got to get better.”

Maine, which attempted 74 shots to Wisconsin’s 54, had its 11-game winning streak snapped.

Badgers 3, Black Bears 2

Wisconsin 0 3 0 – 3 Maine 0 0 2 – 2

First period – No scoring. Penalties – Wisconsin, Zent, slashing, 4:08; Wisconsin, Mi. Strobel, roughing, 9:59; Maine, Martin, roughing, 9:59; Maine, LaCouture, hooking, 9:59; Maine, Mercier, roughing, 16:57; Wisconsin, Shier, elbowing, 17:37.

Second period – 1. Wisconsin, Doers (Moore), 8:16; 2. Wisconsin, Fairchild 4 (Hedlund), 11:32; 3. Wisconsin, Zent 12 (Plante, Macdonald), 15:01. Penalties – Wisconsin, Helgeson, roughing, 2:01; Maine, Silverman, charging, 5:23; Wisconsin, Plante, 8:04; Maine, Montgomery, hooking, 12:29; Wisconsin, Fairchild, roughing, 15:47.

Third period – 4. Maine, Olson 6 (Pellerin, Ingraham), 2:54; 5. Maine, Downey 10 (Ingraham), 14:50. Penalties – Wisconsin, Tok, roughing, :29; Maine, Ingraham, tripping, :29; Wisconsin, Kurtz, interference, 8:59; Maine, bench minor for too many men on the ice (served by Tepper), 14:04; Wisconsin, Nelson, tripping, 14:23.

Shots on goal: Wisconsin 7-11-8 – 26; Maine 6-7-9 – 22

Goalies: Wisconsin, Duane Derksen; Maine, Garth Snow

Attendance: 17,711 (tourney record)