The Wisconsin men’s hockey team had a week to bask in the glow of its sweep of then-top-ranked North Dakota.
Now it’s back to business.
The Badgers (11-6-5 WCHA, 17-9-6 overall) will find themselves in their latest “Biggest Series of the Season” this weekend in their return to action following a bye when they face off against the No. 8 St. Cloud State Huskies at the Kohl Center.
This matchup marks the beginning of the stretch drive for UW, which has three series remaining to jockey for position in the WCHA standings before the conference playoffs begin March 12.
These particular contests could potentially have important ramifications for the WCHA tournament, as the Badgers and Huskies are currently tied for third in the conference with 27 points apiece.
Finishing among the top three is especially important because of the design of the tournament.
Five teams advance to the second round (the Final Five), but the fourth- and fifth-highest remaining seeds must face off in a play-in game Thursday to determine which team advances to the weekend’s action.
Thus, if the top four seeds all advance, the No. 4 team in the conference is the odd one out.
Since no team that has landed in the play-in game has ever gone on to win the WCHA tournament, it would behoove Wisconsin to avoid it altogether.
Of course, there are plenty of variables in those calculations, and head coach Mike Eaves insists that his team isn’t looking that far ahead.
“I don’t think we need to go there,” he said. “I think that in the big picture of things, the kids understand what’s at stake. Our job is to keep them focused on the next task at hand.”
This weekend, that task is picking up as many points as possible against St. Cloud.
The Huskies (12-7-3 WCHA, 18-9-3 overall), like UW, have exceeded preseason expectations.
In what was supposed to be a down year for the program, they have scratched and clawed their way to a respectable record in a tough conference.
St. Cloud stormed out of the gates this season, putting up a 6-0-1 record in its first seven conference games (including a sweep of Wisconsin Oct. 17-18, a series in which the Badgers managed only one goal in each game).
The Huskies cooled off a bit after their fast start, but a favorable schedule has allowed them to go 8-3-1 (4-3-1 in the WCHA) since the Christmas break and they will arrive in Madison riding a four-game winning streak.
There isn’t anything about this St. Cloud club that particularly stands out, but it doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses either.
Scoring was supposed to be a problem, but the team has averaged 4.42 goals per game since the Christmas break and, with 71, has only one fewer goal than the Badgers in conference play.
St. Cloud is fifth in the conference in both team offense and defense, and its seventh-ranked power play is balanced by its third-ranked penalty kill.
And while the Huskies’ WCHA goal differential (+9) may be only half of Wisconsin’s, they’re tied where it counts: in the standings.
One thing working against St. Cloud in this series is that the team will be missing some key contributors for at least the first game.
Forward Mike Doyle and defenseman Matt Gens are both out with shoulder injuries, and forward Peter Szabo will sit out Friday as he serves his suspension for a spearing major last Saturday against Bemidji State.
In addition, goaltender Adam Coole, whose .913 save percentage is tied for third-best in the conference, will miss Friday’s game and could be absent Saturday as well as he attends his grandmother’s funeral.
Still, Eaves said he doesn’t believe the Badgers have a significant edge in the series.
“I think there are a lot of similarities [between the two teams], and it’s going to come down to execution,” he said.
In particular, Eaves said he would like to see his team shore up its power play and penalty kill this weekend.
“We spent time in both areas this week, diligently trying to point some things out and get better,” he said.