After its first weekend road sweep since November, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team is riding high. The Badgers traveled into Anchorage this last weekend, taking two games from the struggling Seawolves, including a shutout on Friday night. The victories ensured that the Badgers cannot finish lower than third place, with a chance to overtake the second place University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs this weekend. In their final regular season series, the Badgers face off with the Bulldogs Friday and Saturday night in what will determine the seeding for the upcoming WCHA playoffs.
Head coach Mike Eaves said he was looking forward to this very important series against UMD, but beating the Bulldogs will be no cakewalk.
“Their defensive core is very much like North Dakota’s,” Eaves said. “[UMD coach] Scott Sandelin believes in a big, strong, tough, mobile defense. Their defense and goaltending is their strength but they also have a group of forwards up front that are dogs. They work hard, and they have some guys that are having a good year, especially Junior Lessard and the top line.”
The Bulldogs fell to second place in the WCHA after suffering a sweep at the hands of North Dakota last weekend. The Badgers would have to sweep the Bulldogs this weekend in order to take their position behind the Fighting Sioux, a difficult but manageable task, says Eaves.
Making a case for Brückler
Wisconsin junior goalie Bernd Brückler has had an outstanding season thus far. On his way to first place in the WCHA in both save percentage (.926) and goals against average (2.16), Brückler has gained attention as one the conference’s best defensive players, and is garnering support for the WCHA MVP award. Not surprisingly, Eaves is one of his biggest supporters.
“The best player in the league has to be Bernd,” he said. “You take a look at an MVP and what it stands for. It is about what he’s done for his team. He’s given us a chance to grow and be where we are. He hasn’t had to make as many unbelievable saves as he did earlier in the year, but I put him up in the category of [North Dakota forward] Zach Parise and players like that.”
With many league coaches settling on their top candidates, Eaves is making a case for his goaltender.
“I probably need to get on the bandwagon, if that’s what it takes, because he is the most deserving of the award.”
Friday night’s shutout against Alaska-Anchorage was Brückler’s second straight shutout and third of his career.
Season finale
The Ice Badgers will end the regular season this weekend against UMD, but instead of an opportunity for players to rest in preparation for the playoffs, the Badgers are headed into a playoff atmosphere in which one loss means the third seed, as opposed to the two seed, in the WCHA playoffs. Eaves is excited about the pressure of the upcoming games.
“It gets us in the frame of mind for the playoffs,” he said. “It just keeps us going. We’re on the same page. We don’t change our thinking and we come in prepared the same way, whether we’re playing a team that is very good or not. We’re still such a young team that every time we play is an opportunity to get better.”
The coach also says that his players will be up to the task.
“I think the guys have learned to elevate their emotions well,” Eaves said. “A lot of them are laid back. So sometimes you need to go in there and charge them up, and this weekend they will be charged up.”
The Badgers are focused on the task at hand, which is to win two games against the UMD Bulldogs and take over second place in the WCHA just in time for the playoffs to begin.
