The Wisconsin men’s ice hockey team failed to notch a point in the standings this past weekend in Minneapolis, and the team’s recent sputtering has left many pundits questioning the Badgers’ true identity.
Since returning from a three-week hiatus from conference games during the World Junior Championships, the Badgers have posted a disappointing 3-5-2 record against WCHA opponents. However, even with the losses of this past weekend, head coach Mike Eaves believes that his team is showing vast signs of improvement.
“In November, when we got the points we got against Minnesota, we were not the team we were this weekend. We had a better team on the ice [this weekend] — on Saturday especially,” Eaves told reporters at a press conference on Monday. “We played better than we did in November and got no points, so it’s kind of ironic how sports sometimes treat you that way.”
Some people may feel that Eaves is simply being overly optimistic in his assessment of his team’s performance, but he maintains that his team is playing the best hockey it has all season. He even feels that the team is better than they were when they were ranked fourth in the nation.
“We’re probably better than we were when we were playing before the break. I would say that what we demonstrated on Saturday night was a level that was even higher because it was against a very good team in a very hostile environment,” Eaves explained. “In playing that way, we’re going to win a lot of games. [If] we play that way down the stretch and in the playoffs, we’ll give ourselves a tremendous chance to be successful.”
The Badgers’ improvement will continue to be tested, as they are in the midst of a tremendously difficult portion of their schedule. Things will not get easier this weekend when they play host to the top team in the nation, North Dakota.
One positive to carry into this weekend for the Badgers is that they are back at the Kohl Center, where they have posted a 7-3-4 record this season. They hope to improve on that record and protect their home ice.
“If you’re good at home, you’re going to have a pretty good record,” Eaves said. “We hope that once again we can feed on the excitement. I think the kids like playing here. There is that extra person coming off the bench, [which] is what the crowd represents.”
The home ice advantage promises to be big, as there is sure to be plenty of excitement in the air at the Kohl Center this weekend for the series with North Dakota. A series of this magnitude does call for excited players, but Eaves feels that he doesn’t need to supply any extra motivation.
“The thing about weekends like this, to be honest, is the fact that the kids are going to be geared up as it is,” Eaves explained. “If they’re too geared up, they’re not going to be effective.”
Once again Eaves touched on the past weekend in Minnesota as a positive experience for his players going into this weekend and the rest of the season.
“I think playing Minnesota the week before was a lesson. Friday night we were too tight,” Eaves said. “Saturday night we did [play to our capabilities] because we’d gone through the war, we were a little bit more relaxed and we were close to our ideal performance state. So this weekend coming up, we hope that our players draw on what we learned from last weekend.”
