After appearing only sporadically amid a WCHA-record-setting slide, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team has finally found its offensive groove. Sparked by an offensive walloping of Team Italy Dec. 12, UW took its renewed scoring confidence into WCHA play hoping to put another victory in the win column and climb from the unfamiliar basement setting.
In the four WCHA contests of the new year, Wisconsin has shown improvement; however, they have not yielded a single victory.
Coming off a Badger Showdown title run, UW (7-12-3 overall, 1-8-3 WCHA) faced Minnesota State Jan. 3 and 4. In the series opener, UW showed much of the same offensive firepower seen just days prior, netting two first-period goals.
Rene Bourque started the scoring, and John Eichelberger followed with his first goal of the year just two minutes later. However, late-period goals haunted the Badgers once again with MSU (7-7-6, 5-5-4) bagging goals at the end of the first and second stanzas. A late penalty by MSU gave the Badgers another chance, but the UW power play, which finished 0-4 on the night, was unable to seize the opportunity. With just under two minutes remaining in the extra session, MSU was able to find a hole in Scott Kabotoff’s goal protection to notch the victory.
The following night, Wisconsin took another 2-0 lead only to have it disintegrate as time wore on. Three consecutive MSU goals gave the Mavericks their first lead of the game in the second period. However, freshman Tom Gilbert scored, sending the game into the third period tied. Bourque bagged his second goal in as many nights, giving UW a 4-3 lead, but the Mavericks tied the game with less than nine minutes remaining. In overtime the Badgers failed once again to score on a power-play opportunity, ending the game at 4-4.
“We hadn’t solidified the way we wanted to play,” head coach Mike Eaves said after Saturday’s game. “That was the disappointing fact. I think we came out and played hard — did a lot of good things — but again, the consistency wasn’t there for the whole 60 minutes.”
The following weekend saw UW travel to Alaska-Anchorage (1-12-7, 0-10-6) for its longest road trip of the season. Just one year ago, UAA and UW traded words in the press and then ended the series with an all-out brawl that saw both benches cleared. In the Jan. 10 opener, UW was out-shot 1-12, but the Badgers were able to net the first goal of the game in the second period. Bourque fell into his offensive groove yet again, bagging his fourth goal in as many games.
UAA scored two quick goals in the third period to give the team a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining. Freshman Ryan MacMurchy saved Wisconsin, deflecting a shot to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Badgers fended off the Seawolves to earn their second consecutive tie, 2-2.
UW was unable to snap a seven-game winless streak Saturday. UAA led the game 1-0 throughout until Bourque placed yet another goal in the net to tie the game at 1 just 36 seconds into the third period. Bourque has scored in five consecutive games and in seven of the past nine. However, the Badgers could not pull another goal from their hats, settling for their third consecutive tie. The Badgers were still unable to solve their woes on the power play, failing to score on man-advantages.
“Power plays are about having skilled people taking what’s given,” Eaves said. “It’s been an experiment trying to find the right people to play together.”
With three ties and one loss, the Badgers are showing improvement, just not as fast as players, coaches and fans have expected.
“I think [the fans] see the effort; they see a change in what’s going on the ice,” Eaves said. “I know that Pat Richter tells a story that when Barry (Alvarez) first got here and their record didn’t improve much that first year, but it was a different animal that was on the field. And I think that’s what people are seeing here too. The results aren’t there that we’d like, but the direction in which we’re going is proper, and it’s a different animal on the ice.”
