After impressive wins against Alaska and honing in on their fundamentals, Wisconsin men’s hockey will return to the Kohl Center this weekend to host conference leader Michigan.

While the Wolverines have an impressive track record this season (17-4-4 overall, 8-2-2 conference) compared to the Badgers (6-12-6 overall, 1-7-2 conference), University of Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves isn’t expecting a blowout in either game and hopes to contain a talented Michigan team.

Practice this week was held at game speed, and every moment spent on the ice was directed at creating an environment the Badgers could expect against Michigan. But Eaves admitted it’s hard for UW to simulate the talent Michigan has with its speed and strength, though he believes this year’s squad handles the task better than last year’s.

“In terms of the pace and how we practiced we did some of those things this week and competed in a lot of one-puck drills so I think in terms of making it as close as we can to game simulation, we did a good job of that,” Eaves said.

The simulation reminded Eaves of the first time he met some of the players. Eaves said observing recruits allows him to see more than just the way they physically play the sport.

“When you watch young people play you can actually get an x-ray vision of their character — I believe that,” Eaves said.

He added that once he gets to know athlete’s families, he can start to get an idea of the type of person they will be on the team.

Sophomore Cameron Hughes’ recent surge, two goals and two assists in the Badgers’ last three games, was the first example to come to Eaves’ mind.

When Hughes moved to Wisconsin, his entire family came in an RV with him. Eaves and the Badgers were able to greet them.

“It was quite obvious that [Hughes’ family] talked about things at home,” Eaves said. “About being selfless, about looking out for your teammate, about making people around you better, so it starts at home. I’ve come to believe that firmly in the years that we have been doing this, and [Hughes] is of that same mold.”

This weekend’s matchup will be a testimony to the quality of leadership from not only Hughes, but the entire team. Eaves hopes to continue Wisconsin’s trend of high-scoring games against Michigan. In their last match-up, the Badgers scored 10 goals in the first series of the season.

But Eaves stressed that what really makes a difference is a strong defensive team.

“Offense wins games, but defense wins champions,” Eaves said. “And if we can tighten that up and continue to get better at that, that’s going to serve us well as we go down the stretch.”