[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Badgers prepare for rematch with border rival

After having their long overdue bye week, the No. 3 Ice Badgers look to extend their season long six-game winning streak this weekend. During the streak, Wisconsin has allowed only five goals and recorded three shutout victories, including a pair of 2-0 victories against Notre Dame two weekends ago. Additionally, the Ice Badgers are one more win away from their 20th victory of the season. With the win, the current Badgers would tie for the fourth quickest squad to reach the 20-win plateau in school history. Standing in their way this weekend is the Badgers’ long-time rival, the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Wisconsin is 74-141-15 lifetime against the Gophers and Minnesota is the only team in the WCHA to have a winning record against the Badgers. Earlier this season, Minnesota swept Wisconsin in Minneapolis, winning 3-2 and 4-2. Despite their record against Minnesota over the past few years, UW head coach Mike Eaves knows playing Minnesota earlier in the year gave his team a great deal of maturity.

“When we went up to [Minnesota’s Mariucci Arena] for the first time this season, we had a lot of young kids who had never been there before and they were star struck,” Eaves said. “They stood around for a while until pretty much the game was out of reach. So, our kids have matured now and they have come together as a group. I think they believe in each other and I think that will be a factor for us being in our own barn … in the years that we have been here, we have gone [to Minnesota] and haven’t won but they came here last year and took three out of four points. I look at as just another really good team in the WCHA and it just so happens that there’s a tremendous rivalry that has historical background to it.”

The Gopher Attack

Since the two teams met in early November, the Badgers and Gophers have traveled different paths. Since being swept by Minnesota, Wisconsin has been on a tear throughout the WCHA season, winning 11 out of 12 conference contests while rising to the No. 3 rank in the country. Minnesota, on the other hand, has faltered, winning only 12 of 20 games (which includes a sweeping at the hands of WCHA cellar dweller Michigan Tech at home) and has fallen from the No. 1-ranked team in the country to No. 7. Despite the change in direction, Coach Eaves insists Minnesota is still a dangerous defensive- and offensive-minded team and has not changed since their last meeting.

“[Minnesota] has been doing the same thing all year long,” Eaves stated. “Their defensemen love to jump in the play, they love to move the puck around, and they have real fine skating abilities. We’re going to have to be smart in the number of penalties we take. They are primarily the same team [that we played in November]. They have primarily the same lineup and their goaltender has been solid for them all year. We have to go out there and perform very well and I am looking forward to that.”

Run for the MacNaughton Cup

With only 10 games remaining in the WCHA regular season, the Ice Badgers have put themselves in position to capture their first MacNaughton Cup since 2000. In their last 10 games of the season, the Ice Badgers will play the top five teams in the WCHA: Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota, North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth. Excluding Colorado College and Minnesota, six of the Badgers’ last 10 games are on the road. Coach Eaves talked about the excitement he has for his players because of the great opportunity in front of them.

“It’s in our hands and I think if you ask any athlete, they would like to have that opportunity on their hands instead of having to look at the scoreboard,” Eaves said. “[This series] just kicks off five straight weeks of some great hockey that we have. We have forged ourselves into a pretty good team with our record and now we have an opportunity to go from a good team to a great team based on how we performed the next five weekends … you only find out how good you are by playing the best and we have that opportunity this weekend and the weeks to come.”