[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The 2006-07 Wisconsin men's hockey team could really use a vacation. After being swept for the third time in four series against Border Battle rival Minnesota, the Badgers have now lost seven of their last eight games. Over that stretch, the Badgers have lit the lamp just 10 times for an average of 1.25 goals per game.

But when Thanksgiving weekend rolls around and UW students everywhere return home, the Badgers will host the College Hockey Showcase at the Kohl Center, where they will face off against two of the most elite teams in the country in No. 6 Michigan State (5-2-1, 3-2-1 CCHA) and No. 7 Michigan (9-3-0, 6-2-0 CCHA).

Despite a holiday break that is not much of a vacation, UW head coach Mike Eaves believes his team is up to the challenge.

"My feeling is that they are good teams and we want to do well against them," Eaves said of the daunting task. "It's another opportunity for us to get better, and that is the way we will look at it going into this week."

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association powerhouses feature two offensive juggernauts that are averaging 3.9 (Michigan State) and 4.75 (Michigan) goals per game. The Wolverines are currently riding a five-game winning streak while the Spartans are 2-2-1 over the same stretch.

Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin have participated in the Showcase since 1993, in an effort to highlight Big Ten rivalries in college hockey.

Black Jack

Throughout the course of the season, it seems everything has gone wrong for the Badgers. After losing five of their top six scorers from last year's championship team, Wisconsin saw its top two returning forwards go down in their home opening series against North Dakota.

Despite the emergence of freshmen forwards John Mitchell and Mike Davies and defenseman Jamie McBain, UW hasn't exactly been playing with a full deck.

"One of the great things about playing cards is that you have to deal with the hand you were dealt, and we are doing that right now," Eaves said in his weekly press conference. "When you're not getting the cards you want, what do you do? We have gone though a tough stretch here with various things going wrong, and we are dealing with the cards that we have and once again controlling the things that we can control."

With the plethora of injuries that has contributed to the Badgers' stagnant offense, Eaves relied more on his veterans to pick up the scoring slack. To start the season, senior forwards Jake Dowell and Andrew Joudrey carried the Badgers offensively, but lately the senior tandem has sputtered, scoring just four points combined in their last four games.

The veteran blueliners have also struggled as Jeff Likens and Kyle Klubertanz have combined for just one point on the year. Following Saturday's game against Denver, Eaves questioned his veterans' leadership and overall effort — and apparently, they got the message.

"After the game on Saturday, that was really the first time I said something in the paper about some of our older guys. And you don't do that very often, and I thought they responded very well," Eaves said of his upperclassmen. "We have relied heavily on our older guys, maybe to the point that Mr. Joudrey and Mr. Dowell ran out of gas a little bit. We're really cracking the whip on those guys. And they have responded pretty well, and we are getting an awful lot out of them."

Giving thanks

The Badgers may be playing hockey Thanksgiving weekend, but despite their recent struggles, Eaves has plenty to be thankful for.

"With this team, we have a great group of young men. Even going through this time you would think there is a tendency to turn apart, but they have done the opposite; they have turned inward," Eaves said of his team's unity. "That give us a great chance to eventually do the things we want to do as a team. So I'm thankful for that in terms of these young men."

More important than his team's internal bond, Eaves cites another personal relationship that helps to alleviate the stresses of constantly being in the spotlight.

"I am thankful for my dog," Eaves said jokingly. "Because we can lose all the games for the rest of the year, and I am still the best thing that walks through that house each night."