The Wisconsin men’s hockey team hasn’t had a lot to celebrate lately, but the Badgers know this weekend calls for a commemoration.
It’s senior weekend as Wisconsin (19-13-4, 11-12-3) hosts Colorado College (18-15-3, 12-12-2) for the final regular season series at the Kohl Center. The Badgers sit one point behind CC for sixth place in the WCHA standings and three points behind Minnesota for fifth place (the top six teams receive home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs).
The six-man senior class – comprised of goaltenders Scott Gudmandson and Brett Bennett, forwards Patrick Johnson, Sean Dolan and Podge Turnbull and defenseman Craig Johnson – will be honored alongside their parents in what is always a special weekend for the soon-to-be graduates.
The class of 2011 is a unique one for head coach Mike Eaves. Each of these seniors has had to fight for playing time regularly throughout their UW careers. It’s a class devoid of stars or prolific goal scorers. Instead, this class is filled with players who have waited for their time make an impact, players who have accepted their roles from year to year.
“It speaks to their perseverance and they get some reward for that hard work,” Eaves said.
When asked for their thoughts on senior weekend and what could potentially be their final games at the Kohl Center, several UW seniors were visibly emotional just thinking about it.
“It went by quick,” Craig Johnson said with a smile. “It means a lot to me, especially the guys who have stuck around here with me… It’s going to be something I’ll hold in my heart. Especially being a hometown boy from Wisconsin it’s going to be pretty special.”
“Its obviously a pretty harsh reality as a senior knowing this could be the last two games that you’ll ever play at the Kohl Center,” forward Podge Turnbull said. “We look back on it and every game you may have taken for granted and now it’s about to end and that inspires us.
“You never appreciate it until it’s gone. That’s something that has really started to hit me here in the last few weeks of our season.”
Turnbull has become a fixture in the UW lineup during his senior season, but during the Badgers’ Frozen Four run last year, he played in just 12 games. Despite that disappointment, Turnbull says he wouldn’t change a thing. In fact, it makes him more appreciative of his time at UW.
“If I could go back to day one and go through all the pain and everything, I would do it again in a heartbeat, just because it’s been so much fun,” Turnbull said.
Johnson started his UW career as a walk-on and it will end that way. He played in just three games last season before emerging as a regular defenseman for Eaves in his final year. But much like Turnbull, Johnson believes the opportunity to play at UW has been well worth the wait.
“The three years prior to this year I was fighting in and out of the lineup. Coming in here as a walk-on I knew I would have to earn my playing time,” Johnson said. “But I would never change it. I always wanted to be a Badger and I’m glad I got the opportunity… these two games just really mean a lot to me.”
These two games mean a whole lot to everyone in a Badger uniform.
In addition to the ongoing battle for home ice in the WCHA playoffs, the Badgers must earn some wins to stay in the hunt for a spot in the NCAA tournament.
The Badgers are winless in their last six and there isn’t much time left to turn the season around. Something drastic needed to happen. An hour-long team meeting, which took place after last Saturday’s loss to St. Cloud, has been well-documented.
As team captain, Dolan was admittedly vocal throughout the discussion.
“It was really emotional. I think I showed the most emotion out of anyone. I just tried to show my true colors, how I feel about this team and where I feel this team needs to go,” Dolan said. “I think we learned a lot about each other.”
Dolan and his teammates acknowledged the value of that discussion, but they know the improvement must show up on the ice.
The Tigers are a formidable foe and they’ve played well against the Badgers historically. But for UW, this weekend’s visitor may as well be a faceless opponent.
“If it was an NHL team coming in here, it wouldn’t be any different,” Dolan said. “We need these points.”
“We don’t want to take any credit away from Colorado College because they are a really good team,” Turnbull added. “But it doesn’t matter who we are playing, this is a playoff game for us.”
Combine senior weekend with the late season turmoil, and UW is left with one emotion-filled series at the Kohl Center.
Eaves is optimistic those emotions will propel the Badgers out of their slump.
“I hope that’s all good emotion and that we can use it as fuel to get the job done.”
