The Wisconsin men’s ice hockey team will square off against WCHA foe Colorado College this weekend in Colorado Springs. The series kicks off a month that includes four match-ups against ranked opponents within four weeks for UW. It is a stretch that has been circled on head coach Mike Eaves’ schedule for a long time, and will provide a good indicator as to where the Badgers stand in the WCHA.

“We know that this part is going to be a difficult one for us,” Eaves said. “This is going to be a revealing part of the schedule; it’s going to help us get ready for the playoffs, because in the playoffs you’re going to have to play the best teams at the end and that’s where we want to be.”

Head coach Scott Owens and CC have lost four straight games, dropping a pair at Minnesota-Duluth last weekend and a pair to Minnesota-Twin Cities the weekend before that. The Tigers series against the Golden Gophers marked the first time in more than three years that they have been swept at home.

Ranked fifth in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll as recently as Jan. 5, the Tigers’ struggles have been predicated on their inability to come through in the offensive end. CC led the nation scoring a year ago, but has registered a WCHA-worst 2.17 goals per game in conference play this season. They have scored just five goals during their current skid, for a paltry average of 1.25.

That the Tigers haven’t struggled more this season is largely a testament to the outstanding play of their goaltenders. Owens has split time thus far between freshman netminder Matt Zaba and junior Curtis McElhinney. Zaba has been a brick wall, setting the bar in the WCHA with a 1.84 goals against average and a .926 save percentage, while allowing over two goals in only three of his 14 appearances. McElhinney, who as a junior has racked up an impressive 36-9-7 career record in net, hasn’t been much worse, posting a 2.60 goals against average.

CC’s current slip has dropped them considerably in the standings. They rank eighth in the WCHA with an unimpressive 4-6-2 conference record. A nearly perfect 7-0-1 non-conference record has kept the Tigers in national rankings, though they have dropped nine spots to number 14 in the latest polls.

One of the things to watch in the series will be how the Badgers fare in special teams play. Four of the five goals given up by head coach Mike Eaves’ squad last weekend came while down a man. Wisconsin has more penalty minutes than any other team in the WCHA this season with 433; Colorado College only has 295 penalty minutes and has been one of the best teams in the country on the penalty kill, allowing only seven special teams goals in conference play.

When Colorado College came to Madison earlier this season, Wisconsin controlled the action in the series, though they couldn’t put the Owens’ squad away in a pair of 2-2 ties. The series gave the unheralded Badgers some confidence and helped catapult them into a 15 game winning streak. Since the streak ended on Dec. 28, the Badgers have played their way into a minor skid of their own, picking up only two wins in the past seven games.

To regain the spark they had earlier in the season, Eaves says the Badgers need to get back to the basics and work on creating scoring opportunities.

“We have to manufacture goals,” said Eaves, “and there’s a whole approach to that: screening goaltenders, getting the rebounds, making sure that every time you take a shot, getting the shot to the net instead trying to pull a fancy move and trying to create something that isn’t there.”

Whether they can find their offensive groove or not, Eaves says the Badgers will go into this weekend with a vengeance.

“It hurt the other night not to win, but that’s a good thing. You want your athletes to feel that pain because when they come back tomorrow they’re going to be more focused. They’ve forged themselves into a pretty good team and they believe in themselves. They understand what’s going on right now. Their self-talk in the locker room has to be: You know what, we’re okay. We know we’re a good team. We just have to find the offensive spark and get the ball rolling again.”