After dispatching the struggling Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team is riding a six-game WCHA winning streak, their longest since February 2000. Additionally, Wisconsin is off to a 12-4 start, which is their best since the Badgers started 13-3 in the 1999-2000 season. Wisconsin’s early-season success can be attributed to the Badgers’ strong defense and league-leading power play. Wisconsin is first in the WCHA in scoring defense (2.06 goals-against per game) and power-play percentage (21.2), while ranking second on the penalty kill (89.1).
The defense has relied on All-American senior goaltender Bernd Brückler, who has gotten back on track after a slow start to the season. Over his past six games, Brückler has shut down opponents, going 6-0-0 with a 1.37 goals-against-average and a .945 save percentage. Brückler’s performance over the past weekend earned him WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, his second such honor this season. Head coach Mike Eaves commented on how his goaltender had been so productive despite playing in so many games during his career.
“I think any good goaltender that has the longevity, ‘less is more’ in terms of how they play that position,” head coach Mike Eaves said. “It’s about position and not about being way out [from the net] and having to scramble back to the net to make a great save. If you are doing your job properly, you are very efficient in your movements and especially with a goaltender. So, less is more, and that’s one of Bernd’s strengths.”
Three-period game: After going 4-1-9 in 15 overtime games last season, the Badgers have yet to play an extra period as Wisconsin is 4-1 in one-goal games this season. The lack of experience playing the extra minutes to win a game doesn’t bother Eaves’ confidence that his team can get it done when the situation calls for it.
“Last year we went into the season not playing many overtime games the year before and we seemed to do well,” Eaves said. “It’s just the matter of the mentality and attitude of the kids going into overtime. I think if you take a look at how we have played in the third period — which, in many cases, the game comes down to the third period — we have played pretty well. So I would tend to think we would do well because of our mentality going into the third period, which is the period that you close the game down and win. So I think we’d be OK.”
New rankings: In the latest poll released by USCHO.com, the Badgers were ranked No. 2 in the nation, behind last week’s No. 1 Minnesota. However, with Minnesota splitting their series against Colorado College this past weekend, there was speculation prior to the poll’s release that Wisconsin would claim the No. 1 spot. If that would have been the case, it would mean that in three short seasons, Eaves and his team would have completed a remarkable turnaround from the 2002-03 season, where the Badgers finished 13-23-4 (7-17-4 in WCHA) and struggled to an eighth-place finish in conference. Eaves commented on what the No. 1 ranking would have meant at this stage in the season.
“It would be a great comment to make to where our program has come in the time we have been here with our coaching staff and our players,” Eaves commented. “It would be a statement to that, but no more than that. We know what really matters, and that’s the end of the year. We would want our guys to take a moment to pause for that … but we know we have a lot of work to do.”
