Wisconsin men’s hockey head coach Mike Eaves is realizing the pains of reconstructing a collegiate program.
As promising as Friday’s 2-0 loss against North Dakota was, in which UND added an empty-netter with less than a minute remaining, Saturday was the exact opposite for Wisconsin.
The Badger offense was as absent as Ferris Bueller with spring fever during the contest Saturday evening, subsequently resulting in easily its poorest performance of the season.
Prior to Saturday night’s third period, which saw the two lone UW goals of the series (both of which came via freshmen), the Badgers had not scored in the first 100 minutes of the North Dakota series and were embarrassingly out-shot.
“We don’t have a lot (of instinctively offensive players),” said Eaves Monday after watching his team get out-shot 30-6 in the first two periods Saturday night. “When those guys shut down or are in a little lull it’s hard.”
Eaves attributed the North Dakota meltdown to the lack of maturity amidst the team. The developmental shortcomings have required the coaching staff to consistently put pressure upon the players, a facet Eaves’ did not think would be a necessity.
“We weren’t mature enough to repeat (Friday’s performance) without the coaching staff up in their face, being there every second, challenging them,” Eaves noted. “At some point we have to mature, we have to grow as a team to get those things done.”
Despite the fact Saturday night’s game resulted 3-2, Eaves still found that “there is no consolation” in a score that was not indicative of the actual contest.
“I looked up at the scoreboard (in the first), and I wanted to crawl under the ice,” said sophomore Alex Leavitt, referring to the shot differential.
Eaves, who is still probing for a solution to the absence of offensive firepower, promised a hellish upcoming week of practice in hopes of solving the crisis.
“They recognize what needs to be done,” Eaves said. “And we need to get back to doing those things on a consistent effort.”
Injury Update
Further attributing to the woes of the UW hockey squad are injuries. Freshman Adam Burish, who sat out Saturday against UND, was diagnosed with a separated right shoulder Friday. Burish received x-rays Monday afternoon, and UW trainers are optimistic he will see action against Michigan Friday.
Junior Andy Wozniewski, suffering from a shoulder injury, didn’t see action against UND and is also listed as probable for this weekend.
Defenseman Dan Boeser will resume all drills this week after suffering a hand injury in mid-October. His appearance hinges upon the amount of pain his hand can take and will probably see action against Minnesota Dec. 6-7.
Recruits inked
Head coach Mike Eaves utilized the early signing period to ink three newcomers, one forward and two defensemen, for the 2003-2004 season.
Forward Andrew Joudrey and defensemen Jeff Likens and Ryan Suter will make up Eaves’ first recruiting class at Wisconsin.
Joudrey currently stars at Athol Murray College in Saskatchewan, the same program that produced current Badgers Alex Leavitt and Ryan MacMurchy.
The real prize of the three is Ryan Suter, who is projected as a first-round pick in the upcoming NHL draft and will be the fourth Suter to play for Wisconsin. His father, Bob (1975-79), and two uncles, Gary (1983-85) and John (1973-78), all had outstanding careers in the cardinal and white.
Likens, a teammate of Suter’s, played under Eaves for the National Team Development Program Under-17 team.
