SPORTS
Hockey looks to end losing streak
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Tuesday, February 26, 2002
The UW men’s hockey team hopes that its series this weekend against Minnesota-Duluth will end a seven-game winless streak and salvage a season gone wrong toward the end.
Amidst their most disappointing stretch of the season, the Badgers will play this weekend’s series needing three points against the ninth-place team in the conference to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Depending on how North Dakota fares against No. 1 Denver this weekend, a single victory on one of the two nights could get the job done.
UW (10-13-3, 12-18-4 overall) is now winless in its last seven contests, recording its last victory on Feb. 1 when it defeated Alaska-Anchorage 3-2 at the Kohl center. Since that victory, UW has faced off against three of the nation’s top teams — Denver, Colorado College and Minnesota — in consecutive weekends, coming just one goal short from walking away with points in each of those series.
Despite the recent struggles plaguing the Badgers of late, UW head coach Jeff Sauer remains confident in his team’s play heading into the regular-season finale.
“I think we’re a better team now than we were when we started this stretch of the schedule,” Sauer said. “Now we have to go out and prove it.”
A bright spot for the Badgers throughout this difficult stretch has been the play of the teams below them in the conference. Although Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage presently sit above them in the standings, neither team managed to capitalize on Wisconsin’s recent woes and have separated themselves by only one point from the seventh-place Badgers. With their conference schedule now completed, the unfortunate Mavericks and Seawolves can only sit back and watch this weekend as the Badgers get another shot at the final bid for home-ice in the WCHA playoffs.
“The teams below us have helped us out along the way,” noted Sauer. “Now we’re at a point where we need to help ourselves out.”
Maintaining the team’s composure and leading the way for Wisconsin during this difficult stretch have been the eight seniors on the Badgers’ roster, who will be playing their final regular season games in the Kohl Center this weekend. While the numbers put up by this year’s seniors haven’t reached the magnitude many expected, Sauer contends that the core of the team is undoubtedly the class of 2002.
“I’m comfortable with the leadership of the team,” Sauer said. “We haven’t had any serious problems along the way, the captains and leadership have taken care of them and we’re a pretty close-knit team because of it.”
The table is set, and the Badgers have the luxury of controlling their fate in the conference standings. A competitive schedule over the last month has built character in the heart of this team and a one-month victory drought has left a bitter taste in their mouths. Home-ice advantage is on the horizon and a home series against the ninth-place team is all that stands in the way.
“I’m just concerned about home ice in the playoffs,” Sauer said. “Hopefully we can come through this weekend, put ourselves in that position and we’ll see what happens from there.”
