When the Wisconsin men’s hockey team travels to Ann Arbor this weekend to take on Michigan, they will be aiming for better results than the last time they took on the Wolverines.
Wisconsin (4-20-4, 2-10-2-2, Big Ten) hosted Michigan (17-11-0, 9-5-0 Big Ten) just over month ago in a two-game series that the Wolverines swept convincingly with a 7-4 win in game one and a 6-0 victory the night after. This weekend the task of beating the co-Big Ten leading Wolverines will only be tougher, considering they will now be playing on Michigan’s ice.
After the Badgers beat Michigan State Friday night and had won two in a row, head coach Mike Eaves said it felt like his team was approaching the light at the end of the tunnel.
“It all falls in line with our second-half goals of wanting to play our best hockey in March.” Eaves said. “By getting a couple wins in a row, getting our first win in a row, those are all indicators that we’re moving in the right direction.”
Wisconsin got off track when they lost to the Spartans the following night, but this weekend against Michigan provides an opportunity to keep the general trend of the Badgers’ recent play pointing upward.
If the Badgers want to pull off a pair of upset wins on the road this weekend, they will need to rely on the play and leadership of their seniors, including defenseman and co-captain Chase Drake, who Eaves praised after Drake’s one-goal performance Friday night against Michigan State.
“Chase is one of the leaders of the senior class. I don’t think we can overstate what a good job they’ve done keeping the ship together,” Eaves said. “They’ve done an excellent job at practice and in the locker room.”
A couple of wins this weekend would also allow the Badgers locker room to continue to foster a more positive and upbeat environment, Drake said last Friday night on how big of an impact winning can have on team morale.
“When you win, it always makes everything better,” Drake said. “We’ve had a tough stretch there and we’re picking up momentum now. I think guys are excited to come to the rink.”
Saturday night’s loss made it 20 losses on the season for the Badgers, and while they hope they don’t pick up their 21st this weekend, Eaves said he hasn’t thought about the loss total.
“I guess I never thought about it. I don’t even look at that,” Eaves said. “What we look at when we go to our locker room is our short-term goals.”
With the Big Ten tournament less than a month away, both teams will be looking to gain much-needed momentum this weekend.
The 17th-ranked Wolverines have lost three of their last four and will be hoping to regain good form before the Big Ten Tournament, where they will need a strong showing to clinch an NCAA berth.
The puck will drop between the Badgers and Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena Friday night at 6:35 p.m. Game two of the series will get started at 4:00 p.m.
