Things have not turned out the way that Jeff Sauer had planned.
The UW men’s hockey head coach had expressed hope that after starting out 5-3, the Badgers could go 5-1 over their next six games and vault the team into contention for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association crown. Instead, Wisconsin (6-7-1, 4-3-1 WCHA) has recorded only one victory and a single tie while losing four out of their last six.
“I’m disappointed because I thought we really had a chance,” Sauer said. “I’m disappointed because there are some games that we had chances to win or that we should have put behind us that we haven’t. ”
After sweeping Minnesota-Duluth in consecutive nights on the road, the Badgers looked to be primed to make a drastic move upwards in the WCHA standings. However, a split with lowly Michigan Tech at the Kohl Center the following weekend diminished those thoughts.
And two weeks later, after failing to notch even a single win in the College Hockey Showcase and after being severely humbled at Alaska-Anchorage, Wisconsin is basking in a season of mediocrity.
“Friday night was maybe the worst game we put together in a long, long time,” Sauer said. “Saturday night we came back and competed well. If you look at what is happening, and look at the league right now, this is really going to be a dogfight the rest of the way.”
Coming into the season, UW appeared to be a team that would be forced to rely on a core of returning veterans, which possessed significant offensive talent, in an effort to override a suspect goaltending situation. However, their offensive production has been stymied as of late, and it is now junior goaltender Scott Kabotoff who carries the big stick and the weight of the team’s success on his shoulders.
In the team’s defense, Sauer and Wisconsin have had to deal with a rash of injuries. All three members of the Badgers’ No. 1 line have missed parts of games due to a host of ailments.
Included in that lineup are senior captain Andy Wheeler, who missed important shifts in Saturday night’s 3-3 tie at UAA, and assistant captain Kent Davyduke, who is still playing himself into shape after sitting out both games against Michigan State and Michigan in the College Hockey Showcase over Thanksgiving weekend.
“It’s just a matter of getting physically ready to play, and that may be a bit of a challenge because we have some guys banged up right now,” Sauer said. “Davyduke wasn’t in game shape [against Alaska-Anchorage]. The layoff hurt him and you could tell that both on Friday and Saturday night.
“That goal that [Alex] Leavitt scored on Saturday night was a beautiful goal, but Davyduke is the reason that he scored, because he set the play up. It’s very important to have him in the lineup.”
Full strength or not, the fact of the matter remains that Wisconsin’s record has now fallen below .500, with a schedule that unfairly seems to only become tougher. No matter how, or even if, the Badgers choose to respond, one thing is for certain. They must do it quickly and confidently.
And even though his predictions haven’t proven correct, Sauer insists that his players are not out of it yet.
“We’re still right in the middle of things and have North Dakota coming to town [this weekend],” Sauer said. “We haven’t see [the Kohl Center] in almost three and a half weeks, and I think our guys are anxious for that. We’ll be ready to play.”
