Years from now, when Brendan Smith has an AARP card and a pension, he will share two distinct memories about Saturday night with anyone who will listen.

They have nothing to do with the clutch work he did on behalf of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team and everything to do with the spectacular theater that unfolded at Camp Randall Stadium.

"We had 55,000 fans," Smith said with a giant smile, "and we beat Michigan."

Smith, the junior defenseman and budding Hobey Baker Award candidate, scored twice on the power play in the final 5 minutes, 32 seconds to rally third-ranked UW to a 3-2 victory and slap an exclamation mark behind the inaugural Camp Randall Hockey Classic.

An announced crowd of 55,031 -- the second-largest to see a college hockey game -- showed up in chilly (21 degrees at the opening faceoff) and brisk (winds out of the northeast at 11 mph) conditions and were rewarded with a breathtaking finish.

Smith finished off identical passing sequences -- one at 14:28 and the other at 18:38 -- with blazing one-timers from atop the right circle that erased a 2-1 deficit and avenged a one-goal loss to the 19th-ranked Wolverines 10 weeks earlier in the College Hockey Showcase.

The day began for the Badgers with a spine-tingling walk out of a tunnel situated in the middle of the student section, where 10,000 voices serenaded their arrival.

"That first step out there, hearing the crowd and seeing them hanging over the sides, was something else," sophomore left winger Jordy Murray said. "Words can't describe that."

It continued through a hard-edged game featuring teams of similar styles, talents, tactics and work ethics. The Wolverines had a 27-24 edge in shots, while UW had a 43-41 advantage in faceoffs. Neither club generated any sustained offense until the decisive segments on special teams.

"It was a man's game," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.

It ended with the jubilant Badgers exiting through the same postgame tunnel as their football brethren and reveling in the high-fives and raucous energy of their schoolmates.

Five years ago, UW senior center and tri-captain Ben Street took part in the Frozen Tundra Classic at Lambeau Field in Green Bay and came away with fond recollections of a 4-2 victory over Ohio State.

"This one's a little more special," he said. "It was on campus. ‘Jump Around' was so cool. We had the student section. And then the way that we won it, too, to come back late.

"The crowd just kept getting fired up. We were cold, but I think we just had goose bumps because of how loud it was and the way that the game was going."

Murray accounted for the other goal, while junior goaltender Scott Gudmandson was credited with 22 saves for the Badgers (16-7-4 overall).

UW coach Mike Eaves said the three TV timeouts per period -- as well as multiple delays to address a gouge in the ice near the goal at the south end -- provided ample opportunity for him and assistant coaches Mark Osiecki and Kevin Patrick to look around and appreciate the extraordinary moment.

"It was an awesome atmosphere," Eaves said.

The Badgers struck first when freshman right winger Craig Smith made a strong play with the puck. He drove through defenseman Chad Langlais in the right circle and got off a shot from the lower edge that goaltender Bryan Hogan (24 saves) denied. But the rebound squirted to the far side and Murray was there to put it away at 3:04 of the first.

Michigan (16-13-1) got it back, courtesy of its fourth line, with just over a minute remaining in the opening session.

Left winger Lindsay Sparks passed from behind the net to right winger Scooter Vaughan, who was angling through the low slot. Gudmandson made a pad save on Vaughan's initial shot, but Vaughan beat everyone to the rebound and converted at 18:57.

The night seemed to get colder for the highly partisan crowd at 11:03 of the third when right winger Kevin Lynch surprised Gudmandson to give the Wolverines the lead. According to Eaves, Gudmandson lost sight of the shot from the high slot that found the upper left corner.

But UW took advantage of consecutive penalties -- one for tripping and the other for slashing -- on Michigan defenseman and captain Chris Summers.

Asked what he thought of the calls, made by a Western Collegiate Hockey Association crew, Berenson demurred.

"That's a bad question to ask a coach after he loses a game on a penalty in the last 5 minutes," he said.

Smith credited senior right winger Michael Davies with making the correct reads to set up his 11th and 12th goals of the season.

After taking a pass from sophomore center Derek Stepan, Davies had two options from below the left circle, all based on how the weakside defender reacted. Davies could feed senior center Blake Geoffrion at the back door or give the puck to Smith atop the far circle.

"He chose Blake twice," Smith said of the defender, "which left me open."

"We knew pretty much what they were doing (on the power play) and they're good at it," Berenson said of the Badgers. "You really have to do a good job and we didn't. They executed as good as it gets."

As a result, a great event ended in grand fashion.