Wisconsin senior Adam Burish dreamed of three things when he was a kid with season tickets watching the Badgers take the ice for every home game.

“I always wanted to play for the Badgers, I always wanted to be a captain and always wanted to win a national championship,” he said. “We accomplished all three of those.”

Wisconsin defeated Boston College, 2-1, April 8 in the Men’s Frozen Four championship game, completing the ice hockey sweep the Badgers women’s team began when it beat Minnesota in the Women’s Frozen Four March 26. The largely defensive men’s final was played at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee before a Wisconsin-friendly crowd.

Badgers coach Mike Eaves said playing before the sea of Wisconsin red wasn’t something he anticipated, even in the Badgers’ home state.

“Somehow, those wacky Wisconsin fans found a way to get tickets,” he said. “It was truly an emotional energizer. The kids talked about it; they wanted to give them a reason to cheer. It was a phenomenal atmosphere.”

The Badgers were dominant at the net, raining shots on Eagles goaltender Cory Schneider in the first period, but Wisconsin still found itself starting the second period down 1-0 after Eagles sophomore Pat Gannon scored off an assist from teammate Dan Bertram.

The Badgers tied the score in the second after Joe Pavelski wrested the puck from Boston College’s Brian Boyle and passed to Burish, who tapped it over to Robbie Earl for the tying score.

The go-ahead goal came in the third period when Tom Gilbert scored on a power play with assistance from Pavelski and Burish. It was the only time either team capitalized on a power-play opportunity. The Badgers specialized in penalty killing, not allowing a single power-play goal in the entire tournament. Wisconsin opponents were scoreless on 36 power plays during the tournament.

The Badgers had a scare in the closing seconds of the game when Eagles senior defenseman Peter Harrold slapped a shot that hit the right goal post. Junior goaltender Brian Elliott said he didn’t actually hear the puck bounce off the pipe, but he was confident he could have gotten a hand on it if the shot had been closer.

“Posts are your best friends, and I got one tonight,” he said.

Pavelski said he watched Harrold take the shot as the seconds ticked off the play clock, hoping it wouldn’t tie the game.

“I was dead tired, but that wasn’t anything. It was just something you’re trying to gut out. You heard three, two, one, and then all of a sudden it couldn’t come fast enough, just like the rest of the game,” Pavelski said. “It was just a shot, you saw it get tipped, and you’re just like ‘Oh please.’ ”

The victory brought the national championship back to Madison for the first time since 1990. Eaves, a member of Wisconsin’s 1977 championship team, said that when he was a player, he couldn’t remember the celebration on the ice immediately after the game because of the “euphoric high,” but as a coach, he made sure to make memories.

“It was fun to be very cognizant of what was going on and hug each one of those guys and look them in the eye and say ‘job well done’ or ‘let’s come back.’ It’s an intimate moment,” he said. “I enjoyed this one because I can remember it.”

Wisconsin finished the season with a 30-10-3 record, including a triple-overtime victory over Cornell to make it to the Frozen Four.

Boston College coach Jerry York said the last-minute shot that hit the post was proof that his Eagles never gave up.

“At the end of the game, Peter Harrold hit the post dead-on with two seconds left. That’s how close things are sometimes between winning and losing — that goes in, and all of a sudden it’s a fresh sheet of ice for an OT,” he said. “We competed really hard, and that shot with two seconds left showed that we really never died in the game.”

Boston College finished the year 26-13-3.

Boston College’s Chris Collins and Brett Motherwell were named to the all-tournament team. They were joined by Wisconsin’s Burish, Elliott, Gilbert and most outstanding player Earl. The victory is the fifth consecutive for a team from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. Denver and Minnesota each won twice.

Semifinals

Boston College 6, North Dakota 5

First period: BC — Brett Motherwell (Andrew Orpik, Pat Gannon), 7:43; BC — Chris Collins (Mike Brennan), 12:34; BC — Collins (Brock Bradford), 18:08.

Penalties: BC — Brennan (interference), 2:43; Tim Filangieri (tripping), 11:45; Benn Ferrerio (hooking), 13:15; Brennan (hooking), 15:45. ND — Zach Jones (holding), 8:36; Matt Smaby (roughing), 13:15.

Second period: ND — Rastislav Spirko (Travis Zajac), 4:23; ND — Rylan Kaip (Matt Watkins, Chris Porter), 13:25; BC — Anthony Aiello (unassisted), 15:38; BC — Collins (Ferriero, Cory Schneider), 19:37.

Penalties: BC — Nathan Gerbe (roughing), 2:00; Gerbe (elbowing), 5:35; Matt Greene (interference with goaltender), 6:44; Orpik (interference), 11:20; Ferriero (roughing), 14:03; Brennan (interference), 19:49. ND — Kyle Radke (roughing), 2:00; Joe Finley (interference), 4:02; Porter (high-sticking), 13:32; Smaby (roughing), 14:03; Kaip (hooking), 17:48.

Third period: ND — Jonathan Toews (unassisted), 8:11; BC — Nathan Gerbe (Filangieri), 10:33. ND — Zajac (Drew Stafford, Brian Lee), 15:42; ND — Lee (Zajac), 19:47.

Penalties: BC — Greene (hooking), 6:28. ND — Radke (high-sticking), 14:47; Porter (slashing), 16:22.

Shots: Boston College — 5-16-10-31; North Dakota — 12-11-18-41. Saves: Boston College (Schneider) 36; North Dakota (Jordan Parise) 25. Attendance: 17,637. Referee: Steve Piotrowski. Linesmen: Paul Tunison, Brian Hill.

Wisconsin 5, Maine 2

First period: W — Adam Burish (Joe Pavelski, Robbie Earl), 10:11. M — Michel Leveille (Matt Duffy), 17:37.

Penalties: W — A.J. Degenhardt (tripping), 4:01; Nick Licari (charging), 11:49. M — Brent Shepheard (boarding), 13:53.

Second period: W — Ross Carlson (unassisted), 4:18; W — Earl (Burish), 8:16.

Penalties: W —  Tom Gilbert (roughing), 3:53; Davis Drewiske (hooking), 9:52; Matt Olinger (high-sticking), 13:24, Pavelski (unsportsmanlike conduct), 17:11. M — Derek Damon (slashing), 7:35; Damon (cross-checking), 18:48; Shepheard (cross-checking), 19:52.

Third period: M — Mike Lundin (Greg Moore, Josh Soares), 11:29; W — Ben Street (Carlson, Jack Skille), 12:26; W — Earl (Josh Engel), 18:16.

Penalties: W — Degenhardt (interference), 12:40; Skille (roughing), 18:49. M — Leveille (hooking), 5:20; Ben Bishop (roughing), 18:49; Rob Bellamy (roughing), 19:11; Jon Jankus (roughing), 19:11.

Shots: Wisconsin — 9-13-17-39; Maine — 8-19-7-34. Saves: Wisconsin (Brian Elliott, Earl) 32; Maine (Bishop) 34. Attendance: 17,691. Referee: Dave Hansen Linesmen: Joe Ross, Andy O’Brien.

Championship game

Wisconsin 2, Boston College 1

First period: BC — Pat Gannon (Dan Bertram).

Penalties: W — Matt Olinger (interference), 11:48; Tom Gilbert (high-sticking), 13:36. BC — Anthony Aiello (interference), 3:22; Bertram (holding), 5:57; Bertram (high-sticking), 13:36; Bertram (hooking), 18:03.

Second period: W — Robbie Earl (Adam Burish, Joe Pavelski), 1:17.

Penalties: W — Andy Brandt (roughing), 5:03; Jeff Likens (high-sticking), 6:30. BC — Joe Rooney (hooking), 2:38; Nathan Gerbe (roughing), 5:03.

Third period: W — Gilbert (Pavelski, Burish), 9:32.

Penalties: W — Jake Dowell (cross-checking), 00:50; Brandt (hooking), 5:39. BC — Gerbe (interference), 2:44; Aiello (hooking), 8:34; Tim Filangieri (slashing), 11:29; Peter Harrold (boarding), 16:32.

Shots: Wisconsin — 17-11-11-39; Boston College — 9-10-4-23. Saves: Wisconsin (Brian Elliott) 22; Boston College (Cory Schneider) 37. Attendance: 17,758. Referee: Matt Shegos. Linesmen: Kevin Langseth, Keith Sergott.