[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The No. 6 Wisconsin men’s hockey team (20-8-2 overall, 15-6-1 in WHCA) plays its final regular-season home series this weekend, as it welcomes No. 2 Colorado College (24-5-3 overall, 17-5-2 in WCHA) at the Kohl Center. The Tigers enter Friday’s contest in sole possession of first place in the conference standings, leading the Denver Pioneers by just two points.

“It’s obviously fun to play at the Kohl Center, and [it’s the] last weekend,” defenseman Tom Gilbert said. “We’ve got to use this. We need these points, and we’ve got to use the crowd. Just the feeling that this is our last game at the Kohl Center, just go out there and give it all for the home crowd. Hopefully we can use the crowd to our advantage.”

Wisconsin currently sits at third place in the league, trailing Colorado College and Denver by five and three points, respectively. With a win and a tie, UW can secure at least fourth place in the conference. Only five points over the final six games of the regular season would guarantee the Badgers at least third place in the WCHA.

The series will be the final two games at the Kohl Center for Wisconsin’s quartet of seniors — reserve goaltender Luke Kohtala, forwards Pete Talafous and John Funk and starting net minder Bernd Brückler. Brückler is looking to rebound after a tough series last weekend in Denver in which he stopped 59 shots but allowed seven goals in a tie and a loss.

“[Brückler] has been the staple of this program since we got here as a coaching staff,” UW associate head coach Troy Ward said. “And if we look to the most consistent player we’ve had over the last three years as a staff, he’s been there for us. And, yeah, there’s some saves definitely that Bernd, as a very proud man, would like to have back in the last two weeks. But he’s bailed this program out for three years that we’ve been here, and he’s been the cornerstone of our program and the success we’ve had, and he’ll rise to the top again when it’s most needed.”

Brückler will be tested in his final two games at the Kohl Center by a potent Tiger offensive attack. CC possesses the nation’s top two scorers in junior forwards Marty Sertich and Brett Sterling. Sertich leads the NCAA with 58 points (23 goals and 35 assists), while Sterling has totaled 52 (26 goals and 26 assists). Forwards Joey Crabb and Jimmy Kilpatrick have also chipped in 26 and 23 points, respectively.

“It’s going to be tough (facing Sertich and Sterling),” defenseman Jeff Likens said. “They’re two of the best players in the country and they just keep working. We’ve got to just do the things we need to do, stay within our systems and shut it down. I know they like to play transition; we can’t have turnovers and, defensively, we just need to get them out of the front of our net.”

On paper, the matchup is a veritable dead heat. Colorado College ranks second in the league in goals scored per game at 3.83, while Wisconsin’s 3.64 is good for third. The Badgers lead the conference in goals allowed per game at 2.27, while the Tigers sit in second with an average of 2.29. CC tops the league in power-play efficiency and ranks third on the penalty kill; UW ranks second on the man advantage and is tops in the conference in penalty killing.

The unsung hero in the Tigers’ success this season has been a stellar defense. Physical defenseman Mark Stuart anchors the CC blue line, and sophomores Lee Sweatt and Brian Salcido have both shown a willingness to jump into the attack, with 24 points each.

“They have a lot of skilled guys (on defense). [They are] pretty big,” Likens said. “They step up a lot. Mark Stuart’s a big guy back there, a big leader. [He will] step up all the time. I know, I’ve played with Lee Sweatt before and he’ll jump on every puck that he can and jump in the play. Defensively, they’re pretty solid.”

Both Tiger goaltenders, senior Curtis McElhinney and sophomore Matt Zaba, rank among the WCHA’s best in goals against average and save percentage. McElhinney has seen action in 13 of CC’s conference games, posting a 10-2-1 record, while Zaba has played in 12, for a 7-3-1 mark.

For Wisconsin, the series will be crucial, as the Badgers close out their year with away matchups at North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth before hosting a WCHA playoff series at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

“They say the way you play at the end of the year is obviously the way you finish,” Gilbert said. “And these last six games are going to be a sign to how well we’re going to go into the playoffs … it’s definitely good to get momentum at the end of the year.”