The freshmen have seen their share of adversity this season, but they've both managed to become top-five scorers on this team on top of eluding that myth that freshman players will "hit a wall" in the spring, at the end of their first year of college hockey's intensity.
In fact, when Michael Davies was asked about "hitting the wall," he didn't even understand the question, proving it's not a factor to him or Jamie McBain.
"Now in the springtime, we're not freshmen anymore, and everyone's expecting more from us," Davies said. "Back in September and October, we're still learning [UW] coach [Mike] Eaves' systems and getting used to the fast pace here. Now comes the time where we're almost playing like juniors and seniors."
Davies has shown his scoring flair at different points of this season — he's tied for the team lead with seven multi-point games — but his contributions have come in bunches. After that inaugural two-goal game, Davies' next tally came eight games later at Alaska, and his rookie season has included a 10-game scoreless streak.
But hitting a wall? Hardly. The Chesterfield, Mo., native finished with seven points in eight February games and picked up a pair of points in three games this month.
"He's a really gifted offensive player, and he's put up pretty good numbers," sophomore forward Ben Street said. "His points have been up and down, all over the place, but I think his play has been fine — he's been contributing. If he's not getting points, he's usually making things happen anyway."
Eaves admitted he didn't totally know what to expect out of his young star before this season, especially since Davies was recruited more by assistant coaches Mark Osiecki and Kevin Patrick than he was by the fourth-year head coach.
"My expectations of Michael was he was an offensive guy — he's going to score," Eaves said. "Purely from that standpoint, I would say it's been a very solid year for him. But there's so many more areas that he can grow in. He's done things offensively, and he's starting to show his understanding of how he can get better, and that's the greater excitement."
What's ironic is that while most people within the Badger program say consistency is the area in which Davies can grow the most ("It's the case with any freshman," Eaves said), no Badger has been more consistent than Davies over the course of this long season. Davies is in a three-way tie for second place in scoring (10 goals, 11 assists for 21 points) and is the only Badger to have notched double digits in both goals and assists.
"He's got great potential, he's one of those guys that's got a natural knack for the net," McBain said. "He's a threat to score from anywhere, anytime he has the puck. His scoring's been a little up and down, but for the most part, he's definitely one of the go-to guys that we feel comfortable with."
While Davies' season can be described as a roller coaster, McBain's is more like the slow track that takes the car to the top of the roller coaster: slow and steady, but always heading upward.
The beginning of this season wasn't the best for McBain, who seemed to make more "freshman mistakes" than other first-year players like Davies, Aaron Bendickson and Blake Geoffrion among others. Granted, McBain is the only freshman (or sophomore) defenseman to have played more than one game this year, but he struggled early on with the challenge.
"It was a little bit about him testing the water," Eaves said, "and now he knows the temperature of the water, and he dives in with both feet now."
McBain's play has noticeably improved, week in and week out. The offensive-minded defenseman has started on the power play, like Davies, throughout most of this season with seniors Ross Carlson, Jake Dowell and Andrew Joudrey — and McBain has not disappointed, with 11 power-play points this year.
Since being scratched from the lineup against Minnesota State Jan. 26, McBain has scored six points in his last nine games and was named WCHA Rookie of the Week Feb. 12. Playing in just 29 games, the Faribault, Minn., native ranks fifth on the team (first among defensemen) with 16 points.
And perhaps the best indication of McBain's improved play: he's now on the penalty kill unit on a consistent basis.
"Jamie, the second half, has been right there," Eaves said. "His consistency level game in and game out has been there for us on a higher level."
McBain says he and the other freshmen are still going strong, with the rigors of college hockey setting in over the past six months.
"We all played juniors, with a 65-game schedule, so we're pretty used to playing a lot of games. Obviously, you get a lot more banged up here at this level, but overall we're all feeling pretty fresh."
When it comes to Davies and McBain, they haven't hit the wall. You could almost say they've smashed their way right through it, on their way to becoming two top players on the defending national champion.
"It's a big jump coming into this league, especially the WCHA," Street said. "You never really know what you're going to get [with freshmen], but I think both those guys have done a great job stepping in and contributing."