'Hockey isn't an individual sport,' senior defensemen Tom Gilbert said, and that is a very good thing. Gilbert, an assistant captain for the No. 1 ranked team in the country, is the modest type. He rarely garners the attention as some other players on the Badgers like forwards Robbie Earl and Joe Pavelski or goalkeeper Brian Elliott, but that hardly means he is not worthy of attention. Gilbert is a behind-the-scenes type of guy but certainly deserves his fair share of credit in the nation's current longest unbeaten streak of 14.
Entering this weekend's match with Michigan Tech, Gilbert ranks fourth on the team in total points (10), tallying two goals and notching eight assists. Not bad for a defender on a team allowing a stifling 1.44 goals per game.
'I'm an offensive defensemen,' Gilbert said. 'I look for the plays where I can jump in and produce offensively. A lot of defensemen are so worried about playing defense, but I'm always looking to get in the offensive play.'
It cannot hurt that playing behind Gilbert and company is Brian Elliott, who was once again named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, an honor he has held four of the past five weeks.
'It's definitely a confidence booster for the defensemen,' Gilbert said of Elliott's play, 'because if you make a mistake, there's always a guy behind you who has stepped up this year incredibly, and he's made those plays in case we do mess up.'
Some of Elliott's success can be attributed to the defensive pair of Gilbert and sophomore Joe Piskula. The duo rank No. 1 and 2 on the teams' plus-minus chart with a plus 16 and 14 respectively.
'I take pride a lot in plus minus,' Gilbert said. 'I want to be up there, I want to be the top guy, I want to be on the ice when we score.'
Gilbert has taken on a bit of a mentoring role for Piskula, who occasionally has been called 'a younger Tom Gilbert.'
'He's a very good defenseman that I can model my play after,' Piksula said. 'He is someone that I can try to work towards.'
Gilbert mirrored that sentiment about the sophomore when he called Piksula 'a great skater.'
'He's got great size,' Gilbert said. 'He's quick, and he's producing. Joe's off to a great sophomore season.'
Gilbert has often been called 'one of the most underrated players in the WCHA,' but he is not affected by it.
'Our team is playing hard and winning and that's all I care about,' Gilbert said. 'I'm not too worried about if teams don't put me on their 'to-watch list.' As long as we shut them down defensively, it doesn't really matter to me.'
