For those expecting the Badgers’ games this weekend against the visiting, non-conference, unheralded Quinnipiac Bobcats to be a walk, think twice before heading to the bookie.
While the Cats do bring a two-game losing streak into Madison, and do sport one of hockey’s most difficult to pronounce monikers, they’ve looked surprisingly solid this season. Their losses last weekend came against the sixth-ranked Wolverines of Michigan and are the only two losses that the supposed-unknowns have suffered thus far this season. The losses came on the road in the extremely daunting Yost Arena atmosphere; both games were tied late in the third period and both were decided by a single goal.
Badger head coach Mike Eaves explained that the Cats’ surprising play of late hasn’t surprised everyone.
“Really if you look at their last nine games against top teams, they’ve played them all really closely,” Eaves said. “They rely on their ability to play good defense and to get good goaltending. Offensively they just throw pucks at the net and try to crash. We expect them to play us the same way.”
The Badgers have brought home a three-game losing streak of their own. An emotional season-opening victory in sudden death over hometown Nebraska — Omaha, in the Maverick Stampede tournament, had the Badgers’ hopes high. But after being blown off the ice by fifth-ranked Maine in the tournament’s championship round and dropping two contests to St. Cloud State last weekend, the Badgers are just glad to be coming home.
“There’s really just no place like home,” said Eaves. “I think the crowd will elevate us to another level and that that will be the impetus to put us over the top and help us to start scoring some goals and getting some wins.”
The Kohl Center crowd will have to do its part to get into the head of flaming-hot Bobcat goaltender Justin Eddy. Against Michigan last Saturday night the senior netminder managed to allow only three goals in a 51 shot Wolverine barrage. The performance impressed enough people to garner him the Atlantic Conference player of the week award, despite losing the game.
“From all reports he’s stood on his head so far,” Eaves commented. “When you play a good goaltender like that and you’ve been struggling to put the puck in the net, you’ve got to take his vision away. You get in front of him — put traffic in front of the net and that makes his job more difficult.”
Another impressive weekend for Eddy will spell certain trouble for the Badgers, who have scored only seven goals through their first four games. Forward Rene Bourque, last year’s leading goal-scorer who has failed to convert in this season first four games, echoed his coach’s strategic comments on how to get the offense going.
“We’ve got to start capitalizing when we get scoring opportunities,” Bourque said. “Against a goalie who’s hot like [Eddy], you just have to put some bodies in front of him, obscure his vision. It doesn’t matter how it goes in or if it looks perfect, we just need to start getting it in.”
The Badgers hope that getting some new players ice-time over the weekend will help create new chemistry.
“There’ll be some new faces,” Eaves said. “We’ll get Mr. Heatley in there, and we’ll get young Matt Olinger in there. And there’s a good possibility that we’ll see Brian Elliot on Saturday. They’ve all played well in practice and deserve a chance to play, and hopefully we’ll see good things from them.”
Perhaps the most important of the debuts will be touted goaltender Brian Elliott. Elliott was ranked the 29th-best American goaltender by the NHL’s Central Scouting Service prior to this year and was taken by Ottawa late in the NHL’s entry draft. Getting the freshman some playing time isn’t a comment on starter Bernd Bruckler’s play thus far, though, so much as it’s a chance to see what the prospect can do.
“Bernd had a really good weekend last weekend,” Eaves said. “Based on the schedule, we just think that this weekend is a good chance to get a young goaltender in there ? see what he can do. The way that he’s progressed in practice: he’s looking really good. He deserves this chance; he’s earned it.”
With seven out of their next twelve games coming against Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado College, and Denver ? all top ten teams this season ? nixing their losing streak this weekend will prove vital for the Badgers.
“It’s really important for our kids’ confidence to come away from this weekend with some wins,” Eaves said. “It helps them see what we’re trying to accomplish. From the coaching standpoint that’s what’s most important.”
