UW looks to break ice, pick up win

by Kevin Hagstrom

Thursday, November 29, 2007 01:23

Looking down on the bench last Saturday night in East Lansing, Mich., players were excited, attentive and — most importantly — in charge.

According to UW head coach Mike Eaves, it was the first such time this season that he hasn't needed to, let alone felt the urge to lecture his team to get it together; they were doing it on their own.

"Our guys had the reins, they were in control on the bench, they were holding each other accountable; it was like a team that was starting to get it and come together," Eaves said.

Although the end result was a 4-4 tie with Michigan State, extending Wisconsin's winless streak to five games, Eaves believes the sign of maturation on the part of his players may be an indication of play to come.

"The guys are starting to take the team over in terms of it being their team; it's how they held each other accountable that I think is a healthy sign for the group," Eaves said. "After all, they have to win the game, not the coaches."

No. 13 Wisconsin (5-6-1, 2-4 WCHA) will get its chance to carry over the newfound energy from Saturday when it returns to the Kohl Center and conference play Friday against No. 10 St. Cloud State (7-3-2, 3-2-1).

During the winless streak, the Badgers have faced an endless barrage of talented opponents from then-No. 3 North Dakota to No. 2 Michigan. That, and the fact that his team is so young, have contributed to UW's struggles in the win column, according to Eaves.

"This year's winless streak is a little bit about our youth, who we're playing — because it's an awful tough schedule — and us trying to put the kids in the deep end in the early part of the season," he said.

UW forward Ben Street also gets the feeling that no matter how close the team comes to turning the season around, something bad happens, be it a bad rebound or a shot hitting pipe.

"It has just been one of those things where every mistake we've made has cost us, and every chance we get, or a lot of chances we get, aren't paying off for us," he said.

Scoring hasn't been a problem. The Badgers have recorded 43 goals through 12 games, 19 more than they had at this point in the season last year.

No, the struggles have come from the defensive end — what has been UW's strength over the past five seasons. In the last five games, Wisconsin has allowed 20 goals.

Eaves attributes the tremendous acquisition of youth to the anomaly.

"Who knew that when the schedule was given to us that we'd be so young this year through graduation and guys turning pro?" said Eaves, who is coaching a team where 13 underclassmen see significant playing time. "We're as young as we've ever been."

Like Wisconsin, St. Cloud State is offense-oriented. It is led by the trio of Ryan Lasch, Garrett Roe and Andreas Nodl. Lasch and Roe both have 20 points this season, good for second in the nation. Add in Nodl, and the first line forwards have scored 52 points in 12 games this season.

"They have guys that can move the puck and skate, and that's what their strength is," Eaves said. "If those guys are going then they'll be effective."

But the Badgers aren't worried about what the Huskies players can do. Instead, they're focusing on improvement and sticking to their guns.

"We've got to play our own game; we can't get caught playing into what the other team is doing, which is kind of what we've done lately," Street said. "I think we've done some good things — we've got a lot of things to learn as well — but we're making steps."

Turris tested

Wisconsin's top recruit and No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft Kyle Turris started off the season the way everyone expected: He scored five goals and led the nation with 12 points through Wisconsin's first four games.

But as he soon found out, teams like Ohio State and Robert Morris aren't of the same caliber as WCHA teams.

In the past eight games, he has been held scoreless and has just three points.

"He got off to a really nice start his first weekend and then against Robert Morris — he has all kinds of confidence that has been gained because of his production — and then, all of a sudden, he gets hammered (by the WCHA) and he's going, 'Where did this come from?'" Eaves said. "Confidence drops and he has to work through it for the first time."

Turris isn't the only highly acclaimed hockey player at Wisconsin to have undergone a time of many questions and few answers. Joe Pavelski, now of the San Jose Sharks, felt the same way when he was a Badger.

"They all go through (a rough learning curve)," Eaves said. "I mean guys at the next level, real good players, Jaromir Jagr, were [like] 'What's going on?' They were looking for answers."

According to Eaves, if Turris can control the things in his life that are controllable like eating right and practicing hard, it will come with time.

"A lot of times how they work through that mentally is how long they'll stay in that slump," he said.