Wisconsin men’s hockey faces an opponent that is an oxymoron. Hailing from Lynyrd Skynyrd country, the University of Alabama-Huntsville doesn’t seem a likely hotbed for hockey. However, on paper that assumption is loudly nullified because the program has only two in-state players and an amazing 22 skaters from either Canada or Minnesota.
Playing a pseudo-Alabama hockey team that has yet to lace the skates this year, UW (1-1) plays its first weekend-series of the season against a team that should not be taken lightly.
UAH joined the Division I ranks in 1998, taking a step up from Division II in which the Chargers left a small legacy. From 1993 to 1998 they appeared in three championship contests going undefeated in 1996 and repeating as champs in 1997.
Now in the College Hockey America conference, the Chargers haven’t found that same kind of success, going 18-18-1 just a year ago.
However, after dropping the first game of the Mike Eaves head-coaching era in which the Badgers looked timid and unsure of how to install the new conductor’s strategic ideas, UW bounced back for a victory last Saturday over Northern Michigan, 4-3.
“We had a lot of new information,” junior defenseman Dan Boeser said.
A week of practice later, Wisconsin seems content with keeping the focal point on the home front within the program.
Eaves still looks to break old habits of the players and learn what each individual brings to the table in preparation for the WCHA season. The main effort surrounding Eaves right now is the offense and their ability to get quality shots and rebounds after a weekend that started in a rather mundane fashion.
“(Against RPI Friday) we had a lot of shots but never got the second pucks,” Eaves said. “(Saturday) we did a better job of creating quality shots. We created better quality chances because of our effort. We saw periods of time where we were doing the right thing.”
Boeser, who completed cancer therapy just weeks ago and had never missed a game as a Badger, watched his teammates from the bench Saturday after Eaves noted that he was not playing up to his normal level the previous night. With another week under Boeser’s belt, Eaves hopes Boeser will be able to log time in the two games this weekend.
“Watching him on the bench (Saturday), his face was flushed,” reported Eaves.
“He made some decisions in the (Friday) game because he was not in great shape.”
A goaltending controversy still engulfs the team; senior Scott Kabotoff won Saturday allowing three goals and sophomore Bernd Bruckler permitted five on an opening night loss. The most obvious choice would see both net minders start one game considering Eaves’ prior comment concerning “getting to know our team.”
Facing a state declared by its governor to be the “hockey capital of the south,” Eaves believes that his choice of focusing inter-squad rather than on the opposition will yield improved results from last weekend.
“We are just going to focus on us,” Eaves said. “We are going to get some other people in the lineup that we did not get in this past weekend, give them a chance to play. Hopefully, we can focus on our game in terms of what we need to get going; that is where we have to put our energy.”
