Coming off two losses last weekend, men’s hockey head coach Jeff Sauer’s squad is heading to arctic Alaska in search of a win.
The Badgers (6-6 overall, 4-2 WCHA) are scheming not only to progress their 10-4-2 success in Sullivan Arena (UW is undefeated in the last four games there), but more importantly to rebound from a deflating weekend in the College Hockey Showcase.
The Seawolves (2-8-2, 1-6-1), who have dropped four straight games by a total of 13 goals, signify a golden opportunity for the Badgers, who can improve their WCHA standings with a weekend sweep and move beyond reeling North Dakota to fourth place.
With the play of the young Seawolves defensively, Wisconsin should be able to place the sophomore goaltender duo of Kevin Reiter and Chris King in the cross-hairs, and increase their WCHA scoring that last showed itself against Michigan Tech.
Throughout the season, the UAA defense has been suspect, to say the least. The Seawolves are proud owners of a 4.42 goal against average, allowing the goal lights to shine on them 53 times this year.
Alaska’s goalies have seen more rubber than a highway, and in fact, the goalie duo hasn’t had a game in which they have allowed less than a pair of goals.
Scott Kabotoff will step back between the pipes for the cardinal and white after taking a game off against Michigan last Saturday. The junior net minder has been named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week the past two weeks and doesn’t show any inklings of receding from his .946 save percentage and 1.89 goals-against average.
Kabotoff’s emphasis focuses on Seawolf junior forward Petr Chytka, the team’s leading goal scorer with five, and his set-up man, senior Steve Cygan, who leads UAA with 10 assists.
The Seawolves, averaging 2.5 goals a game, are not a high-scoring unit but will score if presented with the opportunity.
The Wisconsin forwards are aiming to solidify themselves further. Andy Wheeler and Matt Hussey have found the touch during conference games with both netting a team-high four goals.
The duo of Brad Winchester and Jon Eichelberger has been responsible for nine of the Badgers’ WCHA goals.
However, the Badgers are not dependant on the above players. UW has received a scoring punch from a dozen players, and five Badgers have tallied three assists each.
It is the team effort behind the scoring that is the most impressive and surprising, preventing opponents from keying their defense in on any one player.
What is hurting UW’s performance is its high number of penalties. The Badgers have been able to nab the top spot in the WCHA with 24.3 minutes of penalties a game.
While the 20-plus penalty box minutes are inflated with time that has been received through fights, it is still an aspect of the game that needs to be addressed if UW is going to make a serious run at top conference teams in the second half of the year.
The largest problem that has plagued Wisconsin has been the squad’s inconsistency to put a pair of back-to-back games together, with the exception of UMD. UW needs to find an inspiration for two nights and cease playing lethargically.
If a two-game sweep against a conference dweller isn’t enough inspiration, then maybe the cold temperatures, lack of sunlight and the hopes of seeing an early Iditarod contestant in Alaska will be.
