If the Wisconsin men’s hockey team is looking to come away from its trip to Houghton, Mich., this weekend with a couple more notches in the win column, it’ll have to accomplish something that no one has accomplished against Michigan Tech so far this year.
While the Huskies haven’t gotten the national recognition of some of the Badgers’ other upcoming opponents, they are quietly having quite an interesting season. Under first-year head coach Jamie Russell, formerly a standout assistant coach at Cornell University, Michigan Tech’s has become one of the country’s best offensive hockey programs. The Huskies have averaged four and a half goals scored per game this season, not including an exhibition game to begin the year, in which they tallied an astounding 10 goals against a decent Waterloo team.
That scoring average is good enough to place the Huskies in the top five teams in college hockey offensively. The only teams that have been better at putting the puck in the net are North Dakota, New Hampshire and Maine ? the No. 1, 2 and 3 teams in the country.
Much of Michigan Tech’s early offensive success has come off of the sticks of its top line. Sophomore forward Chris Conner is leading the nation in goals scored with 11 in just six games. With his four assists, Conner is tied for the nation’s lead in points at 15. Conner also has an eight-game scoring streak; the last time he played and didn’t score was March 8.
One of the two players that Conner is currently sharing the national scoring lead with happens to be his linemate, Colin Murphy. Murphy, a junior, has eight goals and seven assists so far this season. He also has tallied two game-winning goals ? fairly impressive seeing as the Huskies have only won two games. Not to be outdone by Conner, Murphy has an impressive scoring streak of his own, dating back to the last time he faced Wisconsin ? Feb. 28 last season, some 11 games ago.
The third member of the Huskies’ explosive top line is freshman Taggart Desmet. While Desmet hasn’t put up quite the noticeable numbers of his linemates, the touted winger has been just as impressive, leading all first-year players in scoring so far this season. In spite of missing the season’s opener, Desmet has put up nine points this season. He has a remarkable little scoring streak of his own: Desmet has scored in five straight games, which happen to be the only five games in which he has played.
If the Badgers are to stop the Huskies this weekend, stopping their seemingly unstoppable first line will be a top priority.
“They’ve got a couple of kids up there who have just been lighting it up so far,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves said at a press conference Monday.
Fortunately for the Badgers, Michigan Tech hasn’t been quite as successful in its own zone as it has in its opponents’. The Huskies have put up 27 goals in their first six games but have also allowed 24. Freshman goalie Bryce Luker, who has played the majority of the season in net, has posted an unimpressive 3.88 goals against average while stopping less than 90 percent of the shots he has faced. He only has one win in four games. Backup Cam Ellsworth has been equally unimpressive, allowing an even higher percentage of shots past.
The Huskies have managed to preserve a .500 record (2-2-2) so far in spite of their defensive deficiency, based on their ability to post more shots than their opponents. They have put the puck on net an impressive 229 times this season.
This should produce an interesting matchup for the Badgers, who have put up 221 shots themselves and have also struggled in net. Starting goaltender Bernd Bruckler has stopped only 88 percent of the shots he’s seen, though his goals against average is a respectable 2.92.
“I think we’re looking at two very similar teams,” Eaves said.
With contests against Minnesota, Colorado College and Michigan (all top 10 nationally ranked teams) in the next three weeks, the Badgers’ best chance to pick up some wins and some confidence may be against this talented but flawed Michigan Tech team.
