The question coming into the season was where the Wisconsin
men’s hockey team was going to get its points. UW lost four 50-point scorers
from last season’s squad, and its leading returning scorer had just one year of
college under his belt.

But for a team that lost almost three quarters of its
scoring from last season, the Badgers aren’t struggling to find the back of the net. Granted, it’s
only four games into the season, and three of those games came against the
likes of Alabama-Huntsville and Holy Cross, but Wisconsin is tied for third in
the nation in scoring offense, with 21 goals.

It looked like head coach Mike Eaves would need to rely on
his top line, with returning forwards Craig Smith and Jordy Murray to take upon
the bulk of the scoring load. Wisconsin’s other returning forwards accounted
for just nine goals and 16 assists last season.

“You always, as a player coming back, want to be one of the
go-to players, especially with the guys we lost last year,” Murray said. “We
both had really good summers training and we thought we were ready for a little
added pressure.”

Instead of crumbling under expectations, the Badgers’ top
line of Murray, Smith and freshman Mark Zengerle has excelled, posting a combined
7-13-20 to begin the season – roughly 33 percent of UW’s points.

So far, so good.

“It’s been good. I think Zengerle’s a nice kid, brings an
atmosphere on the bench, where we both can talk to each other during a hard
time in a game,” Smith said. “I’ve been playing with Jordy for about a year
now, so things are really clicking well.”

After the first UW hat trick since Blake Geoffrion’s
three-goal game against Michigan Tech last year, Murray leads the team with
four total goals, two of them coming courtesy of Zengerle. The freshman leads
the team with six assists, three of them to his linemates.

One came in Sunday’s 5-2 win over UAH. Zengerle had the puck
in the corner and fed a centering pass to Murray, who crashed the net and
scored.

“I don’t think we really had a guy like him last year – we
had Mike Davies, who’s similar,” Murray said. “He sees the ice so well, he’ll
find you – I know on my second goal, I don’t know if anyone else on the team
could find me like that easily.”

So far, each of the three’s playing styles have complemented
each other’s nicely.

“They have their own distinct personalities. Mark is a passer,
Craig Smith is going to shoot first, and Jordy is somewhere in between,” Eaves
said. “They all bring something like that to the table, and they feed well off
of each other.”

And not only have the three manned UW’s top line all season,
but they are also the forwards on Wisconsin’s first-unit power play. The
success on the power play has been just as notable, with the Badgers converting
11 times this season with the man-advantage. Zengerle’s three other assists
were to power-play point men Justin Schultz and Jake Gardiner.

The added opportunities to play with each other has only
helped the trio, both at even strength and on the power play.

“You’re playing with someone on the power play, you kind of
know what you do when you have time and space, know what kind of passes each
other are looking for,” Zengerle said.

With his power play and top line clicking so early in the
season, there’s not a lot Eaves could ask for offensively. On the other side of
the puck, it’s a different story.

Murray admits the three are more “offensive” players, and
all three acknowledge the need to play strong defensively. He and Smith have
experience with the team’s systems, but Zengerle has faced a learning curve, as
far as his responsibilities off the puck.

“[Zengerle] wants to be a 60-foot player and we want him to
be a 200-foot player,” Eaves said. “A lot like Michael Davies had to learn
those things. Michael did and I’m sure Mark wants to be as good as he can and
he’s listening and willing. He’s just got to get some new habits.”

By his senior year, Davies blossomed into one of the WCHA’s
biggest offensive forces, and comparisons between him and Zengerle seem to bode
well for the UW offense. But any Eaves-coached team needs to be sound
defensively, and that, as it was with Davies, could be the struggle for the
freshman.

On the other hand, it’s hard to argue with the point
production, even when considering the opposition it came against. The Badgers
could get a wake-up call when they head west to take on Denver this weekend to
open conference play. Or maybe the top line will continue to roll against the
Pioneers.

Either way, it’s early in the season.

“We’re getting the chemistry going, I’m starting to know
where they’re going to be without even looking,” Murray said. “I’m sure we’ll just
get better as the season goes on.”