[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Clutching a clipboard rather than a puck and sitting at the far end of the bench, UW sophomore goaltender Shane Connelly wonders when his chance will come.

A year after being thrust into the starting lineup to replace injured starter Brian Elliott, Connelly has been patiently waiting his turn. Working tirelessly in practice and taking after Elliott in the net, Connelly focuses on improvement.

This season has had its upside, however, as the former member of the USHL's Chicago Steel has put his hard work to the test four times; Connelly is unbeaten in those four starts, including two shutouts in his last three starts.

It's a patient, and sometimes frustrating, process waiting for a chance to play. Yet it's a process that is nothing new to Wisconsin goaltenders.

Two seasons ago when Bernd Brückler was the man between the pipes, Elliott was the one on the edge of the bench with the clipboard, watching and learning from the All-American goaltender. After playing nine games as a backup, Elliott had the necessary experience needed in his first year as the starter to help the Badgers win their sixth national title.

Likewise, the system that head coach Mike Eaves used with Elliott of putting him in games where there's a high probability of winning is now being implemented with Connelly.

"What we're doing with Shane this year is similar to what we did with Brian, [by] looking at the schedule to put him in positions that we think he can be successful," Eaves said. "It's kind of this process that we're going through."

When he was presented with this process his freshman year, Connelly sought out the advice of Elliott — the one person who could guide him through the patient development process.

"I asked him what he had to go through and how he got through it," Connelly said. "I saw how he got through it, and I've watched him, so I know that it works. I just have to follow his steps, work as hard as he did, have attention to detail, and it'll work out for me in there, too."

For Connelly, the developmental process began a bit prematurely.

Fresh off a sweep of Colorado College in January 2006, Elliott was stricken with a leg injury that would force him to miss Wisconsin's next eight games. In stepped Connelly — a young man with no prior collegiate game experience — who was given the task of leading the No. 1 team in the country during Elliott's absence.

In retrospect, that stretch where he got valuable in-game action was the best thing for Connelly, giving him some valuable experience he has used in games ever since.

"I'm more mature with what I went through a lot last year," Connelly said. "Those first four games I played were all here, sellouts and pretty big games against Minnesota and Denver. I had to grow up really quick during that stretch, and it made me more excited to want to get back into the net."

The elder goalie couldn't agree more.

"He did a great job coming in," Elliott said. "The guys needed him right away, and he kept us in there. If I didn't get hurt, he maybe wouldn't have gotten as many games. It definitely accelerated his game-time experience."

With Elliott healthy this year, Connelly is back to the drawing board — constantly working on refining his technique with goalie coach Bill Howard.

His hours of practice and efforts have not gone unrecognized by the players and coaches.

"He doesn't get a chance to play very much, so he has to focus and practice at a high level," Eaves said. "It's much like a game where you don't get a lot of shots. You sit back in the crease, not getting a lot of action, and when you're called upon to make a save, you'd better make sure that you're ready.

"It's tough when you don't play for a while and you have to go out and play your best. … He's done well, looking at the record he has. Obviously, he's going to have success when he takes over full time."

Because of Connelly's success this season, the Wisconsin hockey team has been blanketed with questions of the "Shane Effect" and how a sophomore goalie can appear to be more of a calming influence than the starter, who is a Hobey Baker Award finalist, an All-American and a national champion.

Looking at his numbers, Connelly's wins have all come after embarrassing losses or disastrous losing streaks. In the games prior to the sophomore goaltender's starts, the Badgers were outscored 13-6 and criticized for playing flat, uninspired hockey in front of the Kohl Center's "Crease Creatures." According to Elliott, the main reason for the team's turnaround the following night was its refusal to not be swept at home.

"It's not the difference in goalie; it's the difference in how we come out to play that night," Elliott said. "The past couple games, we come out on a Friday night and don't play well at all. The coaches put Shane in to shake things up, and it's not something he does; it's the team needing to wake up.

"I don't know what the 'Shane Effect' is," Elliott added. "But I think it is our team responding from a loss."

Even the man responsible for this epidemic plaguing the Badgers agrees that it has little to do with who is between the pipes for Wisconsin.

"We don't like being embarrassed, and whether it's Brian or me in the net, the result would probably be the same," Connelly said. "We just want to get that taste out of your mouth and the pressure is on. It's a whole team attitude and not just my effect in net."

Whatever the reason, Connelly has been winning. For now, he will take his post at the end of the Badgers' bench, holding his clipboard while waiting for his turn in the net.