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

The Badgers do things last-minute. They exchanged ?Secret
Santa? gifts following practice Wednesday ? just days shy of a month after the
Christmas holiday itself. They?ve won or tied five games this year when
trailing heading into the third period. And they?ve put together a nice stretch
of games in WCHA play ? more than two months after the conference slate began.

Of course, that?s just how they roll, says forward Kyle
Turris.

?I think it just shows the team character that we have. It
shows that we?re not going to give up,? Turris said. ?The game?s never over,
and we?re going to compete until the final buzzer sounds.?

While head coach Mike Eaves agrees it?s better late than
never, he also believes that isn?t always the best approach.

Despite the team?s uncanny ability to come from behind,
Eaves understands that the formula for winning doesn?t have to live up to the
team?s ?never say die? mantra. Instead, it?s about getting off to fast starts.

?All things taken equally, I?d rather have and establish the
lead early in the game,? Eaves said.

At 10-10-4 (6-8-2 WCHA), the Wisconsin men?s hockey team is
comfortably saddled right in the thick of the conference standings. But the
ramifications of leveling with WCHA-leading Colorado College hold much to be
desired.

Like Oliver Twist, the Badgers are hungry for more; they
want to be among the league?s elite.

If years past held any sway, Wisconsin would have gotten
that chance this weekend against Minnesota. Alas, the Gophers are having an
uncharacteristically down season (12-10-4) ? they were predicted to finish
second in the standings ? and are, in fact, tied with the Badgers.

Still, this first of two meetings between the two teams will
give the Badgers a chance to slingshot themselves up in the WCHA standings and
Pairwise rankings as the season heads to a close. Given Minnesota?s tendency to
give up leads in the third period ? the Gophers have allowed 24 third period
goals in WCHA play while scoring just seven times ? Wisconsin may also get a
few more opportunities to put its come-from-behind nature to the test.

?It?s a big opportunity for us; we can?t let it slip away,?
UW forward Ben Street said.

?Because of the position we?re in, every weekend represents
something significant,? Eaves added. ?It?s almost like every game will become
the most important game of the season because we don?t have a lot of wiggle
room, and we have to get points here in order to be where we want to be.?

Despite being riddled with inconsistencies throughout, both
Wisconsin and Minnesota are playing well of late. Minnesota is currently riding
a three-game unbeaten streak and has just one loss during the month of January,
going 3-1-2 over that time.

Meanwhile, the Badgers, thanks to a two-goal effort by
sophomore Michael Davies against Alaska-Anchorage last Saturday, capped a 2-1-1
road stretch ? their first road win this season ? and are riding a three game
unbeaten streak of their own.

?You can certainly be encouraged by the way that we played
and the points that we got in two tough environments,? Eaves said.

However, to Eaves, nothing signifies that his team is coming
together more than its performance over the past two weekends.

?The best team-building experience you can have is going on
the road and winning together,? he said. ?You can climb ropes courses or camp
out together, but winning on the road together brings you as close together as
anything that you can do.?

What?s more, the power play finally paid off with the
Badgers scoring three times in six opportunities after a 15-game stretch in
which the main advantage netted a mere three goals in 59 chances.

?We made a couple of adjustments and got a little more
freedom in what we can do, and I think that?s helped us a lot,? Street said.

But the team doesn?t want to get too comfortable. Turris is
approaching the series with the mentality that Wisconsin lost its last time
out.

?We don?t want to overdo ourselves so that we?re making
stupid plays,? he said. ?We need to play within our system.?

Contrary to the offensive-minded hockey both teams have
grown accustomed to playing ? Wisconsin this year and Minnesota historically ?
the games between these two border rivals have been low scoring. In their five
contests last year UW and Minnesota combined for a mere 17 goals ? meaning this
series could come down to goaltending.

Shane Connelly has been rocky at times in the net for
Wisconsin but nothing compared to Minnesota?s opening day starter Jeff Frazee
who, after allowing nearly three goals per game, was benched in favor of
freshman Alex Kangas.

In order for Wisconsin to continue its recent success, Eaves
stressed the importance of putting pressure on the young goalie.

?Like all young goaltenders it?s about
rebounds. It?s about getting used to the pace of the game,? he said. ?So one of
our tasks will be to get a lot of pucks on this young man and see how he
handles them.?