\Playoffs, you're kidding me, playoffs? I would be happy if we win another game!"" Ah, God bless your soul Jim Mora, but in all seriousness, the No. 8 Wisconsin men's hockey might actually be having that thought after two tough road weekends in the WCHA. At North Dakota and then last weekend at Minnesota-Duluth, the Badgers struggled, picking up only two points and allowing rival Minnesota to sneak up from behind and overtake them for third place.
This leaves the Badgers in a quandary. Wisconsin has fallen to fourth place, so if all of the first round series all play out according to seeds, the Badgers will be forced to play three games in three days in order to win the WCHA tournament. But that is the least of the problems right now for Wisconsin. With its 1-5-3 record in its last nine games, it is giving the NCAA committee plenty of excuses why the Badgers should be left out as an at-large team in the NCAAs. The knockout blow could be a repeat of last season, when the Badgers suffered a first-round home-series loss at the hands of the seventh-place Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.
""It was embarrassing last year, losing to them at home,"" junior forward Nick Licari said.
Much like last year, the Badgers will be heavily favored over the visiting Seawolves, but Anchorage should not be taken lightly. After a sluggish start, which included being swept by Wisconsin in lopsided fashion, Anchorage has righted the ship, and, like all of the other teams at the bottom half of the WCHA, the Seawolves have played much better hockey in the second half of the season. The high point of Alaska's improved play was taking three out of four points in Minnesota, while having their backup goaltender pressed into emergency duty for the series.
Goaltending is where everything starts for Alaska-Anchorage. After losing two great senior goaltenders to graduation, the biggest question mark heading into this year for the Seawolves was figuring out how to replace them. Freshman starter Nathan Lawson has greatly exceeded expectations, even if statistics do not show it. Lawson is 6-13-3 with a 3.48 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Backup goaltender and Ferris State transfer John DeCaro had not played much until the Minnesota road series, but has been hot ever since. His 5-4-3 record reflects his strong play, and he has been a catalyst for Anchorage's second-half resurgence.
""They have goaltenders that can come in and do the same things they did last year [in the playoff series], "" head coach Mike Eaves said. ""They play hard and do everything they can to give [the Seawolves] a chance.""
While goaltending is strong for the Seawolves, scoring is not. Anchorage features perhaps the most anemic offense in the WCHA. Not one player stands out on Alaska, and only two forwards-sophomore Justin Bourne and senior Martin Stuchlik-have scored 10 or more goals this season.
Finally, even though the dynamics this year are much different than they were just one year ago, Anchorage can play with the confidence that last year they shocked the country with a huge upset at Wisconsin, on the strength of a truly dominating 4-1 win in the series' third game. Payback will be on the minds of the Badgers this weekend.
""We definitely remember last year, and we will make sure the freshmen know about it,"" Licari said.
Last year, despite the first-round playoff series loss, Wisconsin got into the NCAA tournament as an at-large team. This year the Badgers know they may not have that luxury.
""We're definitely getting close to that point where we are one [loss] and done. The guys are pretty cognitive of that,"" Eaves said.
""We talk about desperation, and sometimes we don't play desperate, but this is one of the times where we have to,"" sophomore defenseman Jeff Likens said. ""If we don't get it done this weekend, our season could be over and that would be the ultimate disappointment.""
