[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]With a roster laden with freshmen and sophomores, the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team took the ice for the first time this season last weekend. The Badgers opened up with offensive prowess, something the 2006-07 team struggled to attain and maintain. Wisconsin scored seven goals over the weekend, and according to a much-surprised UW head coach Mike Eaves, could have scored even more.

"Well, I think the surprise was sitting on the bench and seeing firewagon hockey," Eaves said during a press conference Monday. "We didn't see that much in our previous five seasons here, but we have people that can really get up and down the ice.

"Even the game that we lost, we had a chance realistically to win that game 6-5. The kids never quit playing, and if they did anything, they tried too hard."

Some of the younger freshman defensemen weren't ready for the pace of the game, though.

"We have to help the young people understand when the right moment is to get involved offensively — only experience and repetition in practice will solve that," Eaves said.

Although the players can get up the ice, put a lot of points on the board and have great puck handling skills, Eaves says the firewagon hockey style also presents some challenges; at times players would push too far forward in the offensive zone leading to man advantages going the other way.

"There was five guys below the tops of the circles in the offensive zone and two of those guys were our defensemen, so that's pretty unusual," Eaves said.

It is also a benefit.

"The fact is we've got people with giddy-up in our horse, and that's something that we can build on, and it goes back to when to make those decisions to go so that you have balance in your attack," Eaves said.

With a bye week coming up in two weeks prior to the start of conference play, Eaves will have extra practice time with his young players to straighten out the lack of balance in their attacks and some of the technical miscues.

"In all actuality it's probably a good schedule for us with having such a young team because we'll be able to set in stone even more so — because of the repetitions in practice — the way we want to play," Eaves said of this year's early bye week.

This weekend will be the first opportunity for Wisconsin fans to see the men's hockey team in action. Former Badger Ryan MacMurchy said that this year's team has a lot of talent, and Eaves believes the fans will be able to see that as well.

"They're going to see a team that can skate, pass the puck, has a bit more giddy-up in their step and makes some things happen offensively, so it's going to be a little bit of a different look," he said.

Opening year on road

Unlike in seasons past when the men's hockey team opened up the season at home against good nonconference teams, this year the Badgers traveled out to Dayton, Ohio, to play in the Lefty McFadden Tournament.

While playing for the first time as a team is always a good feeling, according to Eaves, the fact that Wisconsin started out on the road also offered it an opportunity to build some team unity.

"Well, going on this trip was a chance to have everybody come on the road," Eaves said. "There are no real distractions when everywhere you go you're together, and I think that can be a big benefit.

"I think just going on the road and being around each other was a B-12 shot for us."

Engel out of action

After scoring the first goal of his collegiate career in Friday night's win over No. 8 Notre Dame, senior defenseman Josh Engel was forced out of the Lefty McFadden Tournament with an undisclosed injury.

Eaves said that Andy Hrodey, the trainer, had not spoken with the doctors as of the Monday press conference so Engel's status remains unknown.

With 18 of the 27 players on the roster underclassmen, Engel's senior leadership would be missed should he miss any significant time.