What a dominating week it’s been for UW athletics.
I mean with the football team shutting out Purdue, the basketball team coasting past Bemidji State in its exhibition opener and the men’s hockey team sweeping New Hampshire — we’ve seen some flat out impressive score lines. Even the non-revenue sports got in on the fun with the women’s soccer team wrapping up third place in the Big Ten with Monday’s win at Northwestern.
But none of those matchups featured much strength from the opposition and with head coach Bret Bielema and his boys heading down to Bloomington tomorrow, we will see another UW squad heavily favored.
Head coach Mike Eaves and his hockey team aren’t staring at a doormat this weekend though, as the Badgers are set to face their bitter rivals — the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Let’s just say it’s going to be a pretty intense weekend at the Kohl Center.
Yesterday my fellow hockey beat writer and associate sports editor Adam Holt laid out how tremendously deep this UW hockey team is. It’s a team that has experience and scoring depth everywhere. And as the other half of the Herald’s dynamic hockey coverage duo, I’m here to tell you why this weekend’s series against the Gophers is already a critical one for the Badgers.
I am aware that the 2009-10 season is still very young and a lot can change in the next few months, but the outcome of this series will say a lot about this year’s men’s hockey team.
To start, this is an extraordinary rivalry between two elite programs and this series always brings about some extra emotion. Without a doubt, it’s a series that can test a team’s mental and physical toughness.
There may not be an oversized Axe given out at the game’s conclusion, but when Wisconsin and Minnesota battle on the ice it’s just as meaningful as the duel that takes place on the turf, if not more. These two programs aren’t just playing for conference supremacy — they’re playing for national titles.
The state of Minnesota truly lives for hockey (I saw more Gopher hockey jerseys in TCF Bank Stadium than any football-related apparel) and it produces some of the nation’s top hockey talent. The Gophers have certainly taken advantage of the in-state talent. Aside from one player, the entire roster is comprised of kids from Minnesota.
That one player not from the Gopher state would be sophomore defenseman Sam Lofquist. Can you guess where he’s from? Wisconsin.
Despite Lofquist’s enrollment, Gopher hockey is truly an embodiment of the state of Minnesota, and what makes this border rivalry so great is that UW’s core is built on Wisconsin natives. But interestingly enough, UW has managed to nab some top players from Minnesota (Derek Stepan, Jordy Murray, Jake Gardiner, etc.).
So when the six-time national champion Badgers face off with the five-time national champion Gophers, it’s about as good as it gets in college hockey — a true border rivalry that brings out the best of both powerhouse programs.
Beating UNH is all well and good, now let’s see how UW can do against its rival and one of college hockey’s perennial powers.
Now this series doesn’t carry so much weight solely due to the potential satisfaction of beating your hated rival. This series presents an important opportunity to earn some big points in WCHA play, and it means even more than that for the men in cardinal and white.
This is a pivotal series for UW because of the need to change a trend that has continued over the past few years.
Simply put, UW has lacked consistency in the past few seasons, and when they may have looked unbeatable one weekend, disappointing series’ would continue to follow.
Take a look at last year. The Badgers went to Mariucci Arena and earned a sweep of the Gophers late in the season. They followed that impressive performance by getting swept by Denver on home ice. The momentum the win in Minneapolis created evaporated almost immediately.
And playing at home has been another issue for the Badgers. Two seasons ago the Badgers only earned two sweeps at home (against Robert Morris and St. Cloud State). Last year, it happened just twice (Michigan Tech and Alaska-Anchorage).
UW needs to take advantage of these opportunities in front of the home crowd and they delivered with last weekend’s impressive sweep of the Wildcats. That needs to continue.
What looked to be a slow start to the 2009 season ended when the Badgers made UNH look like a high school team, and the key will be whether or not UW can immediately build on that momentum and earn some conference points on home ice.
This team needs to start putting solid performances together on back-to-back weekends; it can’t continue to let inconsistency plague the squad. There is just too much talent on this roster.
So how much has this team has matured? Will last weekend’s success carry over? Just how good can this Wisconsin team be and how much has this group grown over the last few seasons?
There’s no better way to find out than with a series in Madison against the rival Gophers.
Max is junior majoring in journalism. Think this weekend’s series with the UM is critical for UW? Send your thoughts to [email protected].