Men's hockey did not treat Madison well this year. The freshman fans of Wisconsin hockey received a poor initiation into the world of Badger sports, while the seniors could only console themselves with memories of Dany Heatley. Many of the faithful have lately been asking themselves how it has come to this.
When teams succeed, the leadership and skill of the seniors is often cited as the reason. With the Badgers, however, this luxury is not available. Wisconsin (4-15-3 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 10-19-3 overall) lost nine seniors last year, the most in almost a decade, and started the 2002-'03 campaign with only five. The lack of seniors is in no way offset by the bevy of freshmen. Nine freshmen donned Badger sweaters this year and many have received ample playing time. Without a strong core already in place, this year's version of Badger hockey barely resembled the one from last.
Adding to the transition complications was the implementation of a new system of play under new Head Coach Mike Eaves. Upperclassmen found the changes difficult, as it forced them to abandon things that had come natural to them in previous years.
\Its kinda hard when a new coaching staff comes in to get used to everything,"" sophomore center Alex Leavitt said. ""I think losing the seniors that we lost last year is obviously gonna hurt any hockey club, and we got seven or eight freshmen playing almost every game ... definitely one of the reasons why we probably haven't won as many games as we should.""
The difficulties in grasping the new system resulted in a prolonged learning curve for the skaters and shed light on another problem: the lack of a
marquee goal scorer to provide a consistent threat to the opposition.
After a loss in mid-January to Minnesota-Duluth, Eaves jokingly asked the assembled media if any of them could score some goals. Though Wisconsin's head coach is not about to recruit the press, there is clearly a lack of offensive firepower on the Badger lines. Even the most potent scorers, among them senior forward Brad Winchester and junior wing Rene Bourque, have suffered from pointless streaks at one time or another.
""The one thing that's held us back is the fact that we've had the inability to score goals at key moments and at key times,"" Eaves said. ""That's something that I hope comes to the forefront more so next year.""
Nowhere is the offenses' ineptitude more apparent than on the power play. The Badgers are among the worst in the country when on the man advantage, converting on only 15 of 150 chances. With 10 losses coming by two goals or less, a slightly better performance from Wisconsin's special teams may have been able to change the outcome of several games.
""I think that's been a major part of why we haven't been able to win the close games,"" Leavitt said. ""There are some games that you are gonna lose no matter what happens, but the closer games ... [the power play] was the difference.""
Adding to the Badgers frustrations is the fact that their schedule included some of the top teams in the country this season. Out of the 17 teams the Badgers have played this season, more than half are or have been ranked in the Top 15. The majority of the WCHA is performing above average and, in conjunction with a rigorous non-conference slate, has given UW little time to catch its breath from week to week.
One of the biggest problems for this year's Badger hockey team was their confidence. Though Wisconsin does not easily accept losing, and never gives in to intimidation, many have cited the team's tendency to deflate when things start going wrong.
""We haven't scored enough and because of that we haven't had a lot of positive feedback,"" Eaves said.
All is not dim on the horizon, however, as a number of Badger freshmen have stood out lately. After two multipoint performances against Alaska-Anchorage, forward Nick Licari received WCHA Freshman of the Week honors. With rookie teammates like forward Ryan MacMurchy and forward John Funk notching their fair share of goals, the Badger fanbase has things to look forward to.
""Next year most of the guys on the team are gonna know the system coming in at the beginning of the season,"" junior defender Dan Boeser said. ""We can jump right in to it rather than having sort of a transition period like we did this year.""
With 80 percent of the team returning intact next season, Wisconsin should not suffer from the transitional dilemma that plagued them this year. Though a WCHA championship is all but out of the question for now, a battle-hardened core and established coach have the potential to make next year's team one that none can afford to look past.
