As friendly as the Kohl Center has been to the No. 19 Wisconsin hockey team the past nine seasons, some weekends it simply won't do.
In the world of college hockey, no two rinks are exactly the same: Rinks can either be Olympic-sized (100 feet wide), as the Kohl Center is, or NHL-sized (85 feet wide). With the Badgers' next two road series taking them to Michigan Tech and Minnesota-Duluth, both of which use 85-foot rinks, head coach Mike Eaves knows that practicing at the Kohl Center isn't adequate preparation for the two biggest series of the year.
That's why Eaves set up shop at the Shell this past weekend to get Wisconsin used to the smaller conditions.
"We've had good results in practicing here [at the Shell]," Eaves said. "We've shown ourselves by going in these environments and practicing, it really makes a difference. My first year when we didn't do that, it was awful and a lesson learned."
Considering Wisconsin's record the past two seasons on smaller ice, Eaves may want to rethink where his team plays its home games.
Over that span, the Badgers have compiled a 16-3-2 record, including winning the national championship at the Bradley Center last April. The differences in rink size are one of the oddities of college hockey, and it prompts teams to switch up the style of play.
"Offensively, we're going to have to make plays quicker, find guys quicker or protect the puck a lot more," assistant captain Jeff Likens said. "It's a style of play that we're going to have to adapt to. You're going to have to be on your toes.
"You can't always keep the guys to your outside because it's a legitimate scoring chance wherever you are on the ice."
Eaves also stressed quicker decisions and passes.
"The biggest thing, and every coach will tell you this, is with time and space," Eaves said of the smaller ice. "You have less time and space to deal. So you have to be able to know what you're going to do with the puck before you get it, and once you get it, you better be moving because you're going to get contact."
Even with their recent success, the Badgers will need to be prepared as they travel north to Houghton, Mich., to take on one of the most improved, and hardest-hitting, teams in the WCHA. The Huskies are having one of their best hockey seasons in a decade.
Currently sitting three points behind Wisconsin in conference, Michigan Tech is 5-2-3 in its last 10 games — the second best mark in conference during that stretch — and has earned at least one point in five of its last six conference series.
Compared to last season, the Huskies have improved on both offense and defense. They have the best penalty kill — 89.9 percent — in the league and have allowed only 18 third-period goals all season, good for second best in the nation.
According to captain Andrew Joudrey, however, one thing that hasn't changed about Tech is how physically and how hard they play.
"All four years I have played them, they work hard, and they battle," Joudrey said. "Watching them this week, they move the puck, they move their feet and they compete. Unless you are ready to play them and battle, you're going to be in for a long weekend."
Sitting two points behind fifth place in the conference and playing the seventh- and ninth-place teams in the final two weekends of the regular season, Wisconsin has the ability to make a statement in the conference. Just six points separate second and sixth place. So with some help, Wisconsin could finish as high as third place.
Even so, the Badgers aren't going to worry about the teams ahead of them. Instead, they'll focus on winning this weekend.
"We can't think about the other teams and what they are going to do," Likens said. "We just need to get the job done for us. If we don't do that, there's no chance anyways."
