When I took it to the max a couple months ago, I used this space to tell you why the Badgers deserved a Big Ten awards sweep at the conclusion of the 2009 football season.

I went two-for-three on my predictions, as John Clay took offensive player of the year and Chris Borland grabbed freshman of the year. Unfortunately, O’Brien Schofield was beat out by MSU’s Greg Jones for defensive player of the year (OB was a bit of a stretch there anyway).

Today, the WCHA will hand out their postseason awards, and now I find myself writing a familiar column.

I’m doing all I can to view these conference candidates without cardinal-and-white-tinted glasses, but even without my vote, the Badgers are in line to take home some serious hardware.

UW deserves to have multiple players make first-team all conference, and the production is there to back that claim.

Now the three forward spots really boil down to the top scorers on the WCHA’s best two teams, and any combination of the four would be acceptable.

Denver’s Tyler Ruegsegger and Rhett Rahkshani will duke it out with UW seniors Blake Geoffrion and Michael Davies for first team recognition.

Rahkshani leads the league in points with 49, but Davies comes in a close second with 48, while Ruegsegger stands a few steps back with 40.

Geoffrion (41 total points) is tied with UAA’s Kevin Clark, who is still in the Kohl Center penalty box serving time for unsportsmanlike conduct, for the lead in goals with 23. The UW tri-captain doesn’t just deserve a spot on the first-team; he’s put himself in position to be named player of the year.

There may be three captains on the UW roster, but the Brentwood, Tenn. native has been this team’s unquestioned leader. He has been dominant in the faceoff circle, served as a top penalty killer, shown a willingness to stand up for teammates any way necessary and as mentioned before, he has the impressive stat line.

No number speaks louder than the goal total, and Geoffrion’s 23 make him one of the conference’s top forwards and, at the end of the day, the WCHA’s best player.

Now let’s move to the blue-liners, where UW boasts two of best defenseman in the country.

Juniors Brendan Smith and Ryan McDonagh are two opposities in terms of style, but by the end of the day Thursday they should both walk away with first-team honors.

The UW sweep on defense isn’t due to a lack of talent across the conference — Patrick Wiercioch and Matt Donovan from DU and UND’s Jake Marto are all solid. It’s due to the simple fact that Smith and McDonagh have been that good.

I’m not alone in my high praise for UW’s performers. Check out what USCHO.com writer Elliot Olshansky had to say in regards to the Hobey Baker race for the nation’s top player.

“I’ve said before that you could legitimately have four Hobey finalists from the Badgers, but if you go to Wisconsin’s official athletic website, there is only one candidate for college hockey’s highest individual honor, and that’s Smith… As the nation’s top-scoring defenseman, a top-20 scorer overall, and a clutch player whose presence on the goals that count the most exceeds that of any of Wisconsin’s forwards, Smith remains the favorite (in my eyes) to win the award.”

Smith’s offensive production puts him on a whole new level when analyzing defenseman, and he has locked up a spot on the first team, with the Hobey still very much within reach.

McDonagh, on the other hand, isn’t the kind of defenseman you judge with the stat sheet.

McDonagh is UW’s shutdown defenseman, and that role is equally important to the one Smith has taken on with his high point totals.

And if you were looking for a stat to judge McDonagh by, check out his plus-minus. He leads the team in that department with a plus-19 — better than anyone playing in the Final Five. Making it more impressive is the fact he plays against the league’s top forwards night-in and night-out.

UW freshmen Craig Smith and Justin Schultz are safe-bets to make the all-rookie team, but a final member of the Wisconsin program that deserves some credit is head coach Mike Eaves.

It’s unlikely Eaves will come away with coach of the year honors due to the outstanding season UND coach Dave Hakstol has put together, despite losing one of his best players for the season in Chay Genoway, but Eaves comes in a close second.

The Badgers, ranked 13th in the USCHO.com preseason poll, have been in the top three through the large majority of the season. Eaves made the incredibly difficult decision at the beginning of the year to bench Davies and Smith (check out yesterday’s paper for more on that), but instead of crumbling, those two flourished with a new sense of urgency.

But undoubtedly the toughest challenge for Eaves was replacing goaltender Shane Connelly, who graduated, leaving a hole in net for the UW coach to fill.

Fans questioned the continuous Scott Gudmandson-Brett Bennett shuffle hoping Eaves would decide one goaltender sooner rather than later, but Eaves was patient, and it paid off.

Gudmandson appeared to have gained the edge over Bennett, but Eaves continued to challenge him by playing Bennett when he stumbled or didn’t play to the best of his abilities.

Eaves knew he had to decide on one, but his willingness to wait kept Gudmandson on his toes. It’s no coincidence that now it appears Gudmandson is playing his best hockey late in the year.

The play of your goaltender can make or break your season, and Eaves’ patience with his netminders coupled with the production of his top players have put the third-ranked Badgers in the running for several conference accolades. Don’t be surprised when UW dominates the WCHA awards and watch for a Badger to win the Hobey.

Max is a junior majoring in journalism. Think UW is deserving of all the awards Max is ready to throw at them? Let him know at [email protected].