[media-credit name=’Ben Smidt’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Last year, Wisconsin had one of the youngest groups of forwards in the country, but thanks in large to head coach Mike Eaves’ system and goaltender Bernd Brückler, was still able to rattle off a 22-13-8 record and come just an overtime goal short of making the Frozen Four a three-WCHA team affair.

This season, the Badgers will return nearly all those forwards but will be forced to play as many as five freshmen in their defensive ranks, making Eaves’ coaching and Brückler’s goaltending just as important if this team hopes to improve on last season’s success.

“I want to go all the way,” Brückler said. “And not stop one game short of the Frozen Four.”

A year ago Brückler had, statistically speaking, the best season a goaltender has ever had at Wisconsin with a 2.09 goals-against-average, .924 save percentage and marking four shutouts. That kind of play earned him plenty of recognition as he was named a first team All-American, but Brückler knows that personal accolades won’t get him a trip to the Frozen Four.

“I want to be consistent and put up good numbers again,” Brückler said. “Really importantly for us is to lead the young guys and get together as a team and find that mold.”

The coaches’ pre-season WCHA Player of the Year will have to be the rock for the Badgers’ defense to help alleviate the transition of the young defenders. Brückler’s teammates believe he’s capable of doing that.

“The defense starts with the goaltender and we have one of the best goaltenders in the country anchoring our defense,” team captain Adam Burish said. “We’re absolutely confident in what Bernd can do back there and if there is a mistake, by forward or defenseman, hey, Bernd can cover for us.”

Brückler will need to have the same kind of season he had last year to make up for the loss of four seniors to graduation and Ryan Suter to the NHL from the blueline. In their place will be a crop of freshmen eager to prove they belong in the WCHA. While the talent is there, young players generally make mistakes.

“[The freshmen defenders are] going to make mistakes because they’ve never played at this level before,” Eaves said. “Hopefully they’ll learn quickly from those mistakes and hopefully Bernd can cover up some of those mistakes.”

Among the defenders, only Tom Gilbert and Jeff Likens have significant playing time at the college level. Gilbert, an assistant captain this season, will play a crucial role in helping freshmen defenders like Kyle Klubertanz and Davis Drewiske develop quickly.

“I’m trying to guide them and be a leader on the D corps, because they have a lot to learn,” Gilbert said. “At the college level it’s a lot faster than any level you’ve played before, and a lot of it is systems for out team. That was the hardest part for me — learning when to jump into the play, or defensive coverage, because we have a lot of systems.”

While youngsters have plenty to learn, Gilbert still expects plenty of success out of them.

“We’ve got a lot of skilled freshmen so I assume they will do pretty well this year,” Gilbert said.

The other thing that will benefit the young defenders in their development is Eaves’ defensive system. According to Burish, the experienced players up front will provide plenty of support in the defensive zone, and that should alleviate a lot of the pressure on the defenders.

“The forwards come back and help defensively,” Burish said. “It’s a team defense and it takes all five guys.”

Outside the goal, Wisconsin’s other strength is in the front line, where they are as deep and talented as any team this side of Minnesota-Duluth. The Badgers will turn to returning scoring leader Ryan MacMurchy to replace departed Rene Bourque at the top of the scoring charts. The junior collected 15 goals and 13 assists last year, and, with another season under his belt, should provide even more offense. MacMurchy is part of a talented corps of forwards that has the Wisconsin players expecting big things this season.

“Part of the confidence we have in this team is that we have an experience group of forwards,” Burish said. “We’ve got guys we feel can get the job done.”

Beyond MacMurchy, three sophomores will be expected to improve on strong freshmen campaigns and continue to provide offense for Wisconsin.

Robbie “Hollywood” Earl (14-13-27) earned All-WCHA Rookie Team honors a season ago and became an instant fan favorite after his overtime goal against then No. 1 North Dakota completed his hat trick.

Andrew Joudrey (7-15-22) proved to be the kind of playmaker needed to set up the goal scorers. With a season under his belt, he should be poised to develop into one of the top assist-men in the WCHA.

Ross Carlson’s (6-11-17) numbers weren’t as impressive as some of the other returning players, but it should be noted that he only played during the second half of the season. Once he joined the team during the second semester, he added a needed jolt to the offense.

That trio, along with the other seven sophomores, forms what likely will emerge as Wisconsin’s most explosive class.

“I think all the returning guys that were freshmen last year all look like they have more confidence in who they are as hockey players,” Eaves said. “They have seemed to step up and have a different type of swagger about them around the rink.”

The Badgers overcame an inexperienced forward group last year, and there is an expectation that the inexperienced defense won’t hold this team back either. With Brückler and the veteran forwards, this team can contend for a WCHA championship and a national title but only if those young defenders grow up quickly.

“Hopefully we’ll get some fast development from them,” Eaves said.