Unfortunately for the 2004-'05 Wisconsin Badger men's hockey team, surprise is no longer an option. After a slow start to the 2003-'04 campaign, the Badgers picked up steam and rode into the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs and NCAA Tournament by finishing the year on a 5-1-2 tear.
But after an upsetting loss to Alaska-Anchorage in the first round of the 2004 WCHA playoffs the Badgers bowed out to eventual NCAA champion Maine in the East Regional final. Missing the Frozen Four by one goal left many Badger players hungry for more. Enter the clich??: There's always next year.
\I think last year it was not that, 'Oh great, we made it this far',"" sophomore forward Robbie Earl said. ""We got on a roll and we wanted to win a national championship and we came close, but we didn't get the job finished. I think for this year, our goal is a national championship and we have been working toward that. [We] worked all summer toward that.""
The national scene certainly took notice of the up-and-coming Badgers. Opening the year at No. 6, the Badgers started this year with their highest ranking since the 1999-2000 season. Wisconsin currently sits at No. 9 in the USCHO.com pool, a position Earl feels comfortable with.
""I feel it's a great honor and it feels exciting and I think that is what this town needs, is a little excitement,"" Earl said. ""I think we are going to bring that.""
Yet the 2004-'05 squad has some questions to answer. A host of senior leadership was lost to graduation as starters Rene Bourque, Dan Boeser, Andy Wozniewski and Ryan Suter are gone, leaving big skates to fill. Borque led the Badgers last season with 36 total points (16 goals, 20 assists) and with Suter off to potentially greener pastures in the NHL, Wisconsin returns only one of their top three scoring defenders, junior Tom Gilbert, from a season ago.
Thankfully Earl and junior forward Ryan MacMurchy return, contribute to the Badgers' depth at forward, which will prove crucial for success. MacMurchy has to sit out the first game due to a suspension stemming from a run-in with the law, but knows how important forward depth is for a young team.
""[Depth] is huge this year, especially with a young D core,"" MacMurchy said. ""We still got a lot of guys back, we even lost Rene, our leading scorer, but other than that we have got most of our points back from last year. Everyone has a year under their belt, I think guys will step up, I think we will be more mature.""
Earl agrees that the Badgers will be more mature on offense this year, especially due to his own maturation process.
""I was a young player, a freshman, being thrown in the fire so early, I think I got ahead of myself in some games,"" Earl said. ""I think my big goal is to be consistent throughout the year and help the team.""
While depth abounds at forward, the same cannot be said of the defense. With a wealth of youth among defensemen, senior goaltender Bernd Br??ckler, who set numerous Badger records last year, will be relied upon even more than last year to keep Wisconsin in close games.
Br??ckler, named WCHA preseason player of the year, is a veritable brick wall in the net. But with the departures of Boeser, Wozniewski and Suter, the Badgers have lost some of that chemistry from a year ago.
Chemistry is key, but Br??ckler knows that communication is just as important.
""Communication just has to be very, very good back there right now,"" Br??ckler said. ""For penalty killing reasons, just for reasons we are a young team as well. We have to mold together, it is going to take a little time, but we will be fine.""
Following the bitter end to last season, anything short of a Frozen Four appearance may seem like a let down for Head Coach Mike Eaves' squad.
""This year we know what our long-term goal is: definitely getting to the NCAAs,"" MacMurchy said. ""If it is anything less than that, we are definitely going to be very disappointed.\
