In case you missed it, the Wisconsin men's hockey team (11-6-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 17-9-6 overall) completed a two-game series sweep against the top team in the country, the North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
The 4-3 and 5-2 victories were obviously big wins for the club, on the surface, but perhaps you did not know just how important the wins were.
\We took another step and we're really going toward the direction that we can be a championship team,"" junior goaltender Bernd Br??ckler said.
Heading into last weekend the Badgers were ranked 14th in the PairWise rankings, a system that attempts to mimic the method used by the NCAA Selection committee. With automatic NCAA tournament bids going to each team who wins their respective conference tournaments, 14th is not considered a comfortable spot to be in. But after the sweep, Wisconsin jumped to eighth place in this week's PairWise rankings.
""We are forging ourselves into a pretty good team. And if we focus on that we will get through the playoffs and to the WCHA Final Five. This weekend will look back as being a big part of that,"" Head Coach Mike Eaves said.
The four points that Wisconsin gained from the two wins this weekend could prove extremely valuable in the coming weeks. They pulled within two points of first place with the victories, now tied for third.
The points were big in terms of trying to gain home-ice advantage in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, but will also help determine their first round opponent.
Perhaps the most important change of the weekend was the resurgence of the Badger offense. With just 14 goals in the previous seven games, the Badgers needed to find a way to get the puck in the net. They found their offense in a big way, with nine goals on the weekend and four by freshman forward Robbie Earl.
Earl had the Kohl Center's first ever hat trick on Friday night, but he was not the only one who had a big weekend. Three other forwards snapped double-digit streaks without a goal. Freshman Andrew Joudrey scored Friday, ending his 11-game streak. Then on Saturday, sophomore Ryan MacMurchy and freshman Jake Dowell snapped 12- and 11-game streaks, respectively.
Wisconsin picked up some serious momentum with last weekend's series. If they can make the momentum last through this week's bye then they will be in good shape. The team is home for two of their last three series of the season, a statistic that bodes well considering the impact that the home fans had against North Dakota.
Nonetheless, the North Dakota series was one of the biggest in recent Wisconsin memory, solidifying themselves as a legitimate WCHA and NCAA tournament contender.
""We're for real; we're not a joke. We'd been looking forward to this series for a while and we proved ourselves tonight and last night,"" senior forward Rene Bourque said.
But Bourque and the Badgers are careful not to get ahead of themselves. When asked whether he thought Wisconsin could win the national title, Bourque responded, ""I don't want to go that far yet, but we're definitely a contender. But I don't want to shoot my head off. We'll be there in the end though. You can count on that.\
