Fall is here and it certainly has gotten very chilly, very quickly for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team.
With a drop of the puck Saturday, the Badgers kicked off their season, skating to a 5-0 victory over the U.S. men’s U18 team at the Kohl Center.
What can give a Badger Hockey fan a warming comfort is that this team has plenty of talent returning. First period action saw a power play goal from last season’s leading scorer, junior forward Mark Zengerle. The final four goals on the night all involved upperclassmen, including two goals and another three assists.
The Badgers’ freshmen played well in the win, giving credence to head coach Mike Eaves’ quality over quantity approach to recruiting. Freshmen Kevin Schulze and Morgan Zulinick each notched a score with Zulinick’s break away score in the third period of the game serving as a highlight of the match.
However, some of the unknowns of the season are a bit chilling.
The first concern is who will become this team’s goalkeeper, and Eaves addressed this in his weekly press conference Monday.
“We spoke to both young goalies last week and that was the message. As good as Joel [Rumpel] played at the end of the year, he’s got to go [get] it again,” Eaves said. “And if he doesn’t do it again, he knows who is knocking at the door.”
At his press conference a week ago, Eaves talked of using competition as a catalyst in position fights for time on the ice. Early in the season and in a game against a U18 squad, evaluating who can do what is understandable. But the identification process of strengths and weaknesses may yield an alternating duo of sophomores in goal in Rumpel and Landon Peterson.
The teammates can only hope for success from each other to benefit the team, but as the season continues, consistent playing time may become vital. Familiarity with teammates and building confidence could add a difficult element to swapping players in and out of the game.
Leading off the press conference, head coach Mike Eaves quickly and briskly answered the question on every hockey fan’s mind after Friday night’s game surrounded freshman forward Nic Kerdiles and his disputed eligibility, which has been an issue since the beginning of this season.
“The Nic Kerdiles situation, we have a couple things we can speak about that we can share with you,” Eaves said. “First of all, the investigation by the NCAA is an amateur status issue. The NCAA has said that they’ve had holdings for a year. And that we’re appealing this decision immediately.”
It was surprising to many that the freshman was not included in the lineup because Kerdiles was projected as a first-line starter for Wisconsin. One of the top recruits in the nation, the option of Kerdiles flanking Zengerle could give the Badgers one of the most potent offenses on paper and undoubtedly helped them gain a No. 15 preseason ranking.
Eaves did not explicitly say that the investigation stemmed from the student-athlete’s social media usage, but did take a question as to his policy on social media for his athletes.
What is troubling is exactly when Eaves knew the team could be facing the absence of Kerdiles because of NCAA sanctions.
After the game Saturday Eaves said the NCAA launched the investigation and they, “Had been investigating this for a while.” UW’s head coach said missing a player of Kerdiles caliber is difficult to quantify because “he hasn’t been in a lot.” Whether that means the team knew of an impending suspension and planned to play without the freshman or that his lack of game action means there is nothing to evaluate could become clear in the coming weeks.
The Anaheim Ducks drafted Kerdiles in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft, and although he was initially a Badger, the Ducks may not let its investment miss an entire season of hockey.
Wisconsin will move on with the season, as Eaves noted that summer hockey took place a long time ago.
“Summer is over. We haven’t played since the end of March, beginning of April,” Eaves said. “So we’ve been playing pond hockey for the last few months.”
