With all the success the Wisconsin men’s hockey team’s freshman class has enjoyed this year, sophomore Ryan MacMurchy occasionally gets overlooked.

A look at the club’s leaderboard, however, puts an end to that problem pretty quickly.

The Badgers’ top goal-scorer?

It’s not freshman Robbie Earl, even after his hat trick against North Dakota. MacMurchy’s 13 goals lead the way.

What about plus/minus?

Ryan Suter has stepped in and compiled an impressive plus-12 rating in his first season, but he’s not even close to MacMurchy, who currently sports an eye-popping plus-20.

And MacMurchy can change the momentum of a game in ways that don’t end up on the stat sheet, as he’s just as likely to deliver a crushing bodycheck as a clutch goal.

When the team staged an intra-squad tournament this past week, MacMurchy rigged his blue practice jersey to look like that of physical Toronto Maple Leafs forward Gary Roberts.

Even when MacMurchy suits up in his familiar red and white, however, it isn’t hard to see a resemblance.

Okay, so maybe it’s a longshot that the UW winger, who was chosen by the St. Louis Blues in the ninth round of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, will ever go on to score 400 goals in the pros, a milestone Roberts will soon reach. But at least at the college level, he provides a similar blend of scoring prowess and toughness.

The 6-foot-2, 207-lb. native of Saskatchewan helps to set the physical tone for the Badgers. He consistently finishes his checks, and enjoys taking it upon himself to deliver a big hit to get the Kohl Center crowd involved during home games.

“Obviously, the feeling of knocking a guy down is a good feeling,” he said.

Though the power forward has blossomed this season, he hardly came from nowhere.

MacMurchy was one of the few bright spots during UW’s dismal 2002-03 campaign, finishing second on the team in scoring with 24 points and leading the Badgers with 14 assists as a freshman.

In a season in which some players seemed merely to be going through the motions, MacMurchy brought energy, intensity and his hard, accurate wrist shot every night.

Now, with a more talented group of players around him, he’s taken his game to the next level.

Playing mostly on the right side of a line with left wing Rene Bourque — the team leader in scoring — and center and fellow Saskatchewan native Andrew Joudrey, MacMurchy has collected 13 goals and 22 points in 32 contests this year.

Seventeen of those 22 points came over the course of Wisconsin’s 15-game unbeaten streak earlier this season, during which MacMurchy had 12 goals, including third period scores to tie Minnesota and Colorado College and defeat Denver.

He had struggled on offense more recently, failing to register a goal in the 12 games and even a point in the five before finding the back of the net against North Dakota in the team’s 5-2 win last Saturday, but he can still make a positive impact — literally and figuratively — in other areas.

MacMurchy’s plus/minus is a testament to the fact that, regardless of whether he’s scoring, good things generally happen for the Badgers when he’s on the ice.

While his contribution has obviously been a big part of Wisconsin’s success this season, he believes the most important element has been the team’s chemistry.

“[There’s a lot of] team camaraderie,” he said. “Everyone sticks together, everyone plays hard, everyone knows their role.”

In addition, he gives plenty of credit to head coach Mike Eaves for the turnaround.

“His intensity gets you going every night,” he said.

The same could be said for MacMurchy.