Eager to bounce back from last weekend's disappointing draw with Wayne State, the UW men's hockey team is looking to challenge the fourth-ranked Fighting Sioux of North Dakota this weekend in its first Western College Hockey Association matchup of the year.
With their inconsistent play of last weekend still fresh in their minds, the Badgers are looking forward to playing on the road against the defending WCHA champs, who have started the season with a record of 3-2.
\I think the guys are looking forward to playing in a smaller rink [than the Kohl Center],"" Head Coach Jeff Sauer said.
On Oct. 29, UW squandered leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before losing 4-5 to the Warriors in a sloppy overall effort. The next night, however, UW shut out the visitors 5-0, behind a 25-save effort by freshman goalie Bernd Bruckler, who was playing in his first game.
Sauer was happy with the way the team responded to Friday's performance.
""Our defensive system did not break down because we never had the puck in the defensive zone,"" Sauer said. ""We had more individual breakdowns. Saturday night, we played much better defensively.""
In order to have a chance against a tough North Dakota squad, the Badgers need their forwards to continue to produce and, more importantly, they need to get more stability from their defense, because the graduation of defensemen Jeff Dessner and Alex Brooks has created a suddenly young defense.
Last Friday, the defense was shaky at best, and experienced a few complete breakdowns that led to goals. Although UND lost four of its top five point-producers to graduation and the NHL, they are still dangerous up front with junior Ryan Bayda, a 2001 All-WCHA selection, and sophomore David Lundbohm, who leads the team in points this year with seven.
The Badgers' offensive unit is no slouch either, as it proved by scoring nine goals in the first two games. Surprisingly, freshman forward Alex Leavitt has led the way for UW so far with three points, but the attack is spread out with forwards Kent Davyduke, Matt Murray and Brad Winchester contributing last weekend.
Also encouraging for the Badgers is their power play unit, which converted three out of three opportunities last Saturday in blowing the game open.
A huge key for both teams will be the goalie position. North Dakota graduated its All-American goalie Karl Goehring, but was fortunate enough to have a back-up'if you can call him that-'with experience. Senior Andy Kollar split time with Goehring last year and has a remarkable career record of 35-5-4.
Despite his past success, Kollar has struggled this year with a lofty 3.73 goals-against average and only one shutout, albeit a quality one against Colorado College.
Junior Scott Kabotoff started the opener for UW and allowed five goals, while Bruckler played brilliantly in his first start. Both will see action this weekend against UND.
In addition, playing in front of a sell-out crowd at North Dakota's brand new $100 million Ralph Engelstad Arena should get the Badgers' adrenaline flowing.
""I'm looking forward to playing in it,"" senior forward Andy Wheeler said. ""It's a treat to be able to play in arenas like that.\
