It would be tough to find two hotter teams in NCAA hockey than the Wisconsin Badgers and the Colorado College Tigers. This weekend one team has to cool off, if just a little bit, when the two teams meet in Madison for the Western College Hockey Association Conference lead on the line.
It is a classic battle'the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Colorado's offense, so far, is practically transcendent. Averaging four goals per game in their first 10 games, the Tigers hardly celebrate after a goal anymore'almost. Senior forward Brett Sterling, senior center Marty Sertich and junior defenseman Brian Salcido make up Colorado's top point leaders. Sterling leads the team and WCHA in points and goals, while Salcido leads both groups in assists.
'[We need to] try to shut their top line down, [and] if we can do that we'll have a good chance this next weekend,' said UW junior goaltender Brian Elliott.
Meanwhile, the Badgers' standby over the past few seasons has been a stalwart defense. The Badgers are first in the WCHA in goals allowed with 1.50 per game and held a strong North Dakota squad to only three goals in two games. It is UW's offense, lately, that has opposing teams cringing. The Badgers have netted 19 goals in their last four games and have not lost in their last six games.
Considering the high level of play these two teams have been exhibiting over the past two weekends, the Tigers and the Badgers look incredibly similar in this early season.
Both teams have a tough defense, Colorado's offense is a juggernaut and Wisconsin is riding a wave at every level. The two teams are similar on both sides of the puck'even the goalies bear some similarity.
Elliott spent two seasons shadowing Bernd Br??ckler while Tigers junior goaltender Matt Zaba spent his first two years in the tutelage of Curtis McElhinney. Both Br??ckler and McElhinney were elite goalies in the WCHA, and Elliott and Zaba appear to be worthy successors of their respective reigns. Elliott and Zaba sit atop the WCHA in goals against average, ranked No. 1 and 2 respectively, and are ranked No. 1 and 3 respectively, in save percentage in the conference.
The record between these two teams has been back-and-forth for the past few years. In the past 10 meetings, Wisconsin is 2-4-4 against Colorado'a startling number of ties. Neither side wants to see a tie game this year.
'A lot of teams respect our top line, but it's going to be a battle of who wants it more,' said junior forward Robbie Earl. 'It's not just going to be those top lines, it's going to come down to a complete team and who has a better team as whole.'
Wisconsin is certainly a team with momentum and is primed to take down the No. 1 team in the nation. 'We know what we did last weekend against North Dakota, but we need to put that behind [us] now,' sophomore forward Joe Pavelski said. 'I mean, it was good but now it's over. Now we got CC coming in; they're second right now in the WCHA, right behind us.'
