[media-credit name=’JAKE NAUGHTON/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]

Looking down on the bench last Saturday night in East
Lansing, Mich., players were excited, attentive and — most importantly — in
charge.

According to UW head coach Mike Eaves, it was the first such
time this season that he hasn't needed to, let alone felt the urge to lecture
his team to get it together; they were doing it on their own.

"Our guys had the reins, they were in control on the bench,
they were holding each other accountable; it was like a team that was starting
to get it and come together," Eaves said.

Although the end result was a 4-4 tie with Michigan State,
extending Wisconsin's winless streak to five games, Eaves believes the sign of
maturation on the part of his players may be an indication of play to come.

"The guys are starting to take the team over in terms of it
being their team; it's how they held each other accountable that I think is a
healthy sign for the group," Eaves said. "After all, they have to win the game,
not the coaches."

No. 13 Wisconsin (5-6-1, 2-4 WCHA) will get its chance to
carry over the newfound energy from Saturday when it returns to the Kohl Center
and conference play Friday against No. 10 St. Cloud State (7-3-2, 3-2-1).

During the winless streak, the Badgers have faced an endless
barrage of talented opponents from then-No. 3 North Dakota to No. 2 Michigan.
That, and the fact that his team is so young, have contributed to UW's
struggles in the win column, according to Eaves.

"This year's winless streak is a little bit about our youth,
who we're playing — because it's an awful tough schedule — and us trying to put
the kids in the deep end in the early part of the season," he said.

UW forward Ben Street also gets the feeling that no matter
how close the team comes to turning the season around, something bad happens,
be it a bad rebound or a shot hitting pipe.

"It has just been one of those things where every mistake
we've made has cost us, and every chance we get, or a lot of chances we get, aren't
paying off for us," he said.

Scoring hasn't been a problem. The Badgers have recorded 43
goals through 12 games, 19 more than they had at this point in the season last
year.

No, the struggles have come from the defensive end — what
has been UW's strength over the past five seasons. In the last five games,
Wisconsin has allowed 20 goals.

Eaves attributes the tremendous acquisition of youth to the
anomaly.

"Who knew that when the schedule was given to us that we'd
be so young this year through graduation and guys turning pro?" said Eaves, who
is coaching a team where 13 underclassmen see significant playing time. "We're
as young as we've ever been."

Like Wisconsin, St. Cloud State is offense-oriented. It is
led by the trio of Ryan Lasch, Garrett Roe and Andreas Nodl. Lasch and Roe both
have 20 points this season, good for second in the nation. Add in Nodl, and the
first line forwards have scored 52 points in 12 games this season.

"They have guys that can move the puck and skate, and that's
what their strength is," Eaves said. "If those guys are going then they'll be
effective."

But the Badgers aren't worried about what the Huskies
players can do. Instead, they're focusing on improvement and sticking to their
guns.

"We've got to play our own game; we can't get caught playing
into what the other team is doing, which is kind of what we've done lately,"
Street said. "I think we've done some good things — we've got a lot of things
to learn as well — but we're making steps."

Turris tested

Wisconsin's top recruit and No. 3 overall pick in the 2007
NHL Entry Draft Kyle Turris started off the season the way everyone expected: He
scored five goals and led the nation with 12 points through Wisconsin's first
four games.

But as he soon found out, teams like Ohio State and Robert
Morris aren't of the same caliber as WCHA teams.

In the past eight games, he has been held scoreless and has
just three points.

"He got off to a really nice start his first weekend and
then against Robert Morris — he has all kinds of confidence that has been
gained because of his production — and then, all of a sudden, he gets hammered
(by the WCHA) and he's going, 'Where did this come from?'" Eaves said.
"Confidence drops and he has to work through it for the first time."

Turris isn't the only highly acclaimed hockey player at
Wisconsin to have undergone a time of many questions and few answers. Joe
Pavelski, now of the San Jose Sharks, felt the same way when he was a Badger.

"They all go through (a rough learning curve)," Eaves said.
"I mean guys at the next level, real good players, Jaromir Jagr, were [like] 'What's
going on?' They were looking for answers."

According to Eaves, if Turris can control the things in his
life that are controllable like eating right and practicing hard, it will come
with time.

"A lot of times how they work through that mentally is how
long they'll stay in that slump," he said.