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Playoff picture uncertain for UW

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Also by Tyler Mason:

Athleticism needed to drive in circles? (February 18, 2008)
Hockey in their blood (February 14, 2008)
Connelly's kiss a perfect finish (February 11, 2008)

by Tyler Mason

Monday, February 18, 2008

Saturday’s win over Minnesota State had the potential to be the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team’s last home game this season — and the last game of seniors Davis Drewiske, Josh Engel, Matthew Ford and Kyle Klubertanz’s careers in the Kohl Center.

That thought didn’t faze the Badgers.

Following Friday’s 3-0 loss, UW dropped to fifth in the WCHA standings and saw their chances of gaining home ice advantage for the conference tournament slipping out of their grasp, since the top five teams host the first round of the tournament.

But a win on Saturday changed everything.

After jumping on Minnesota State early and often to build a 4-0 lead in the second period, Wisconsin surrendered a goal — and the momentum — just before the second intermission.

“I felt like [the momentum] kind of swung back to them,” Drewiske said. “They got a goal, they had some chances on the power play at the end of the period.”

Realizing the game was far from over, and that they needed a win to help their postseason chances, the Badgers rallied in the locker room before the start of the weekend’s final period.

“Ben Grotting stood up between the second and third period, and said, ‘Let’s not have this be the last period for our seniors,’” sophomore Michael Davies said. “We came out firing, and got the win. Hopefully we’ll be back here.”

With the win, it’s likely that the Badgers will in fact be back at the Kohl Center. If they stay put in the WCHA standings — they’re currently tied for fourth with Minnesota State — they will be among the top five teams in the conference.

There’s also the possibility that the team will be back for the NCAA tournament, as the Kohl Center will host the Midwest Regionals leading up to the Frozen Four. The league’s top 16 teams make the postseason tournament; the Badgers sat at 12th in the Pairwise Rankings before the weekend series with the Mavericks.

With so much uncertainty surrounding the Badgers’ postseason plans entering the series with Minnesota State, the thought of whether or not they would be back after Saturday was something that weighed on some of the players.

“It crosses your mind, it could be your last game here,” freshman Patrick Johnson said. “This place is amazing to play at. All our fans are amazing. It’s just nice to be in your home building.”

But for senior captain Drewiske — one of four seniors honored in a pregame ceremony Saturday — the larger task at hand made it easy to overlook the thought that he might have skated his last series in front of his home fans.

“We’re so focused here on what we have to do to get home ice in the playoffs, and then to get back here for the NCAAs that it’s almost like it’s not an option,” Drewiske said. “We’ve got a job to do. If we take care of what we can, we’ll be back here for some more games. … You can’t look too far ahead.”

If head coach Mike Eaves had his way, his team would be back home come tournament time. Eaves feels that the strong play his Badgers have exhibited as of late — losing just twice in their last 11 games — has shown that they would make worthy tournament hosts.

“The way that we’ve played in the second half [of the season], I think that we deserve to be back home,” Eaves said. “I just hope we can continue to keep putting points in our column there and deserve the right to be back home. It’s always fun to play that first round at home here in front of the fans.”

In order to secure home ice advantage, though, Wisconsin will have two tough tests on the road in its next two series, as they face Minnesota and St. Cloud State away from the Kohl Center.

For a team that has only three road conference wins, this may seem like an even more daunting task. But Drewiske acknowledges that every game is tough down the late stretch of the season, no matter where it’s played.

“The second half, we’ve played well on the road lately,” Drewiske said. “This time of year, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing at home or on the road or who you’re playing. It’s going to be a battle, especially in our league.”

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