The Wisconsin men’s hockey team faces an uphill battle this weekend. However, it would be more appropriate to tab that hill as a mountain, as the Badgers will have more than their hands full against Colorado College.
Not only is UW (8-13-3 overall, 2-9-3 WCHA) facing one of the hottest teams in the country in the No. 3 Tigers, but CC is also one of most offensively potent squads in the nation.
The Tigers (17-2-5, 10-1-5), playing at home for the first time in the past month, are coming of a 100 shot series against Michigan Tech, which included a 58 shot outing on Saturday. It is an understatement to say that CC, who is currently tied for first place in the WCHA conference, has firepower. They do not merely beat you; they humiliate you. In facing a Wisconsin squad that has looked tentative on defense and lethargic on offense, it is pertinent that the Badgers bring more than they’ve shown in the past few contests.
“We definitely have to have a battle plan,” said UW head coach Mike Eaves, who has yet to face Colorado College in his career. “[The Tigers] have great forwards. I think that we’re going to have to create a strategy that will give us a chance of going in there and stealing some points.”
Paced by All-American junior winger Peter Senja, the Tigers have been scoring at a 4.71 goals per game clip, netting 115 scores this year. Senja heads a roster that possesses five players with at least 10 goals, with the junior having recorded 15 on the season. In contrast, UW winger Rene Bourque is the only player with at least 10 goals (12 overall) on a Badger team that has managed to score only 52 times on the season.
For UW, winless in the past five games against CC, special teams will be a crucial area. The Badgers can ill-afford to take penalties throughout the series. The Tigers, who are led defensively by Tom Preissing, have been successful 33.6 percent of the time with a man advantage and lead the nation with 43 power-play scores. Wisconsin, however, must break from the season-long funk that has plagued its power-play unit, a unit that has only been successful for nine goals in their last 107 opportunities.
“We talk about being able to connect the dots and take what’s given,” Eaves said. “[The Tigers] have that ability to do that. It makes it tough to defend.”
All is not lost for the Badgers, who have shown a knack for keeping games close due in large part to their goalkeeping. Yielding an average of 2.78 goals per game, the Badger goalkeepers have allowed the Badger offense opportunities to tie or take the lead late in games, especially in the new year. Scott Kabotoff, who started both games last weekend against Minnesota-Duluth, and Bernd Bruckler will be called upon to stymie the Tigers offense.
“We’re letting [the goalies] do their job,” Eaves said. “We know how we can help them in front by being good away from the puck and just picking up our offense. We’re going to need both guys to play well this weekend.”
Friday night’s game against Colorado College begins at 8:35 CST and Saturday’s game also starts at 8:05 CST. Both contests will be aired on Fox Sports Net.
