This weekend the Badgers will discover whether momentum means anything outside of a physics classroom as they enter their matchup with Minnesota.
Though the Golden Gophers have captured back-to-back national titles and were a strong preseason candidate to contend for a third, they have stumbled out of the gate, posting a disappointing 2-6 (1-5 in the WCHA) record going into this weekend’s series.
UW, on the other hand, is riding a four-game winning streak and coming off an impressive sweep on the road against Michigan Tech last weekend.
Given the two teams’ respective play thus far, Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves likes his team’s chances against Minnesota.
“We’re playing well, we feel good about ourselves, we have some confidence,” Eaves said.
“Minnesota is a very good team, and they’re trying to get it going. They don’t have it going on all cylinders like they have to … so I think it matches up pretty good. It should be a pretty fun series.”
“Fun” isn’t a word anyone in the Badgers’ camp would use to describe the last time these two teams met, back in February.
The Gophers, just commencing the hot streak that would ultimately carry them all the way through the Frozen Four, thumped Wisconsin 5-2 and 8-1.
And neither game was as close as the score indicated.
In a down season for the UW hockey program, that two-game series was undoubtedly the low point. Minnesota skated circles around the Badgers, outplaying them in every facet of the game.
Things have changed a lot on both sides since then. This weekend’s matchup will be an important measuring stick for both teams, showing where they stand nine months later.
The Gophers are battling a case of championship hangover and, perhaps more importantly, struggling with key losses along the blueline and in net.
Minnesota lost its go-to defensemen in second-team All-American Paul Martin, who decided to forego his senior year in order to join the New Jersey Devils organization, and Matt DeMarch, a first-round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, while Keith Ballard is out with an injury.
The most problematic loss of all, however, has been Travis Weber, who left the team due to personal reasons.
Though he wasn’t a topnotch netminder, Weber’s unexpected departure has forced Minnesota to rely on the inexperienced tandem of Kellen Briggs and Justin Johnson, neither of whom has stepped up thus far.
Through the first eight games, the pair has combined for a dismal 3.98 goals-against average and an .863 save percentage.
The Gophers’ offense, which remains almost completely intact from last season, hasn’t been terrible, but it hasn’t done enough to make up for the team’s defensive struggles.
Still, with players like Grant Potulny and 2002-03 WCHA rookie of the Thomas Vanek up front, Minnesota can cause headaches for any opposing team.
“We have to be very careful when Vanek’s on the ice,” Eaves said of the power forward. “He’s their magic guy. They have other good players, but he’s the guy … when they need a big goal, he’s got those abilities.”
Ideally, Eaves would have liked to throw Tom Gilbert and Ryan Suter out there against Vanek’s line, but with Gilbert sidelined with a shoulder injury, Eaves will have to mix and match in an attempt to limit Vanek’s impact.
While the Gophers are looking to turn their season around in Madison, Wisconsin hopes to find out just how good it is.
The Badgers have been dominant in their last four games, but their success has come against relatively weak opponents in Quinnipiac and Michigan Tech. Even though Minnesota is still finding its way, the Gophers should provide more formidable competition for UW.
Eaves, for one, thinks that the influx of young talent has helped his team come a long way since February.
“We’re unquestionably a faster team and I think that our skill level is higher,” he said.
Nothing would make that point more emphatically than a win or even two against the Gophers this weekend.