The Wisconsin men’s hockey team (7-3-0 overall, 5-3-0 in WCHA) hits the road this weekend for the second time on the season, traveling for a series against Alaska-Anchorage (5-4-1 overall, 3-3-0 in WCHA). The Badgers will be looking to avenge last season’s WCHA playoff loss to the Seawolves, as well as record their first road win of the year.
Wisconsin enters the game fresh off a sweep of ninth-ranked North Dakota and will be looking to carry that momentum with them all the way to Anchorage.
“We want to take steps forward,” head coach Mike Eaves said. “Playing a team like North Dakota and performing the way we did was a good, healthy growth step for us.”
For the Badgers, traveling to Alaska has already shaken things up quite a bit. The team had to practice this past Sunday and left Wednesday.
“It’s just something that we have to adapt to,” junior left wing Nick Licari said of the trip. “I don’t think anybody really liked coming to practice [Sunday]. It’s strange. It wasn’t a hard practice, but we came out and loosened up. And Wednesday’s our day off, but it’s a little strange — we just travel, we don’t practice. So it might not really seem like a day off. But it’s something that we just have to get used to and play through. Come Friday we just have to be ready to play.”
Wisconsin will also need to adjust to the time change. Friday night’s contest will be played at 10:07 p.m. central time (7:07 Anchorage local time), and the team will face a short turnaround, with Saturday’s contest at 5:07 p.m. (2:07 Anchorage local time).
“Other than the game being Saturday afternoon, we’re going to try to keep the same schedule,” Eaves said. “It seemed to work last year when we went up there.”
A season ago, Wisconsin closed out its road schedule in Anchorage, outscoring the Seawolves by a combined score of 6-1 in a weekend sweep. However, the Badgers should have plenty of motivation after Anchorage won two of three contests in the Kohl Center to knock UW out of last season’s WCHA playoffs.
“For the guys returning, I think that there is something to be said about that,” Eaves said. “Last year, [Chris] King was their goaltender and he did a stand-up job. He stood on his head (for) quite a bit of that (playoff) series. We fired a lot of pucks, had a lot of scoring chances, but that’s the beauty of having a good goaltender … so that’s a little bit (of) a point of contention with us.”
Anchorage has already faced its fair share of adversity. Prior to the season, leading scorer Curtis Glencross left school with two years of eligibility remaining to sign with the NHL’s Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Then the team’s second leading scorer, Chris Fournier, was declared academically ineligible. Goaltender Chris King and third leading scorer Dallas Steward both graduated, leaving the Seawolves with a few more holes.
In mid-September, things went from bad to worse when senior defenseman and team captain Lee Green put sophomore forward Brett Arcand-Kootenay in the hospital, consequently being charged with assault.
Monday, head coach John Hill suspended Arcand-Kootenay, who has totaled seven points in just six games, and junior defenseman Daron Underwood for “conduct detrimental to the team.” Both players will miss the two games against the Badgers.
Despite all the adversity, the Seawolves have managed to post some solid results. Anchorage knocked off Minnesota prior to the start of WCHA play and swept preseason conference favorite Minnesota-Duluth two weekends ago. Even more impressive is the fact that Hill’s squad outscored Duluth 8-2 in the two victories.
The Seawolves have relied on a balanced scoring attack and freshman goaltender Nathan Lawson playing beyond his years in net. In seven appearances, Lawson has stopped 222 shots for a save percentage of .917.
“Actually, they’ve got another young lad up there now, this Mr. Lawson, who is playing very well for them and who could potentially do the same type of thing (as King),” Eaves said. “So we will be addressing those issues, making sure we don’t get caught with our pants down.”
As usual, the Seawolves have played well at home and sport a 4-1-1 record in the friendly confines of Sullivan Arena. However, Wisconsin has had success in Anchorage, posting a 12-5-5 record over the years.
“Alaska’s a tough place to play,” Licari said. “The travel, the distance to travel, the place, the rink, the crowd … it’s a very tough place to play. And they’re going to come out playing hard, and we’re going to have to match their intensity and bring more intensity than they’re bringing.”
