Having completed his first year at Wisconsin, men’s hockey head coach Mike Eaves knows the program has nowhere to go but up. After a season that featured major adjustments for returning members and improbable off-the-ice troubles, the Badgers are only too happy to put their worst WCHA season in the history books and move on to next year.
The Badgers (13-23-4), who finished eighth in the 10-team conference, experienced a roller-coaster of emotions during the season as a 4-2 start left many believing that the predicted mediocre season would be avoided. However, with the start of the WCHA season, those hopes were extinguished. During the 10-game stretch that preceded Christmas, Wisconsin amassed a record of 1-9. A scoring punch was lamentably absent as the roller-coaster took a severe plunge.
Winning the Bank One Badger Hockey Showdown Dec. 29 and 30 boosted spirits and put UW back on track to conclude the season by playing its best hockey. And a 1-1-3 start created some optimism before UW fell seven times in the next nine games by a total of 30 goals.
With losing came off-ice turmoil. The Alex Leavitt/Mike Eaves hotel room confrontation went public nearly three months after the fact, and Leavitt, whose minutes had steadily decreased, felt he had been discriminated against. Leavitt was suspended from practice, his future held in limbo, before he was dismissed from the team for the remainder of the year. Just one week following the incident came senior captain Brad Winchester’s folly. Winchester, following a three-point series against St. Cloud State, allegedly punched a Madison police officer outside the Kollege Klub, earning him a two-game suspension.
Concluding the regular season 3-2-1, The Badgers entered the playoffs feeling confident with their level of play. UW fell 2-1 and 6-5 to Minnesota State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. UW had multiple opportunities to steal the series away in what would have been a silver lining to a dreadful season.
Offense: D+
UW’s offense, thought to be anchored by upperclassmen at the season’s start, hinged primarily on newcomers to the program. Accounting for three of the top five scorers on the squad, freshmen accounted for 46 percent of the total offense and notched 40 percent of the goals. Second on the team in scoring, forward Ryan MacMurchy had 10 goals and 14 assists, while his first-year counterpart, defenseman Tom Gilbert, led the nation’s rookie blue-liners in offense with seven goals and 13 assists.
Eaves saw Rene Bourque lead the Badgers in points (27) and declared that the junior should be voted the WCHA’s most valuable player. Bourque, who netted a team-high seven power-play goals and four game-winning scores, fired 162 shots on the goal, nearly doubling the next-closest total. Winchester, UW’s top returning offensive threat from a year ago, went AWOL midway through the year after a season full of disappointment.
Defense: C
Comprised primarily of upperclassmen, the defense struggled with adjustments to Eaves’ philosophy. The unit seemed out of sync with and confused by its strategy and positioning, allowing opponents to score five or more goals on 12 separate occasions throughout the year. Senior assistant captain Brian Fahey became an offensive threat with five goals (up from one goal last year) at the year’s conclusion. Overcoming radiation therapy administered at the season’s onset, assistant captain Dan Boeser played in 30 games, assisting on 11 goals while taking only two penalties all season. Gilbert’s levelheaded defensive play impressed the coaching staff, and his role in the future appears promising.
Goaltending: BC
Sophomore Bernd Bruckler showed himself to be the top net-minder for UW and one of the few bright spots during the year. It was his play down the stretch, often consisting of acrobatic maneuvers, which single-handedly left the Badgers opportunities to win. Bruckler, who will no doubt be a huge part of next year’s squad, allowed 2.88 goals a game (seventh in the WCHA) while amassing a save percentage of .905 (fourth in the WCHA). Senior Scott Kabotoff couldn’t match his numbers from a year ago and fell on hard times during the second half of the year when he allowed goals on the first shots he faced against Colorado College and Minnesota.
