Earlier in the 2005-'06 season, the question the No. 5 Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team now grapples with seemed unthinkable'what to do with a struggling Brian Elliott?
It is a reality the Badgers must now accept, as the junior goaltender has been reeling since his return 10 days ago from a left-knee injury.
'They're looking at Brian, and maybe they're not seeing the same young man that was there when we were 18-2,' head coach Mike Eaves said of his players at a weekly press conference Monday.
Elliott has started the last three games for the Badgers after missing eight straight. In those three appearances (0-2-1)'none of which came against prolific offensive groups'he has stopped just 53 of 68 shots (.779 save percentage). Before his injury, Elliott was a sterling 18-2-2 (.944 save percentage.).
Eaves told reporters that Elliott is, in fact, completely healthy and the only issue is confidence. 'It's not a physical thing,' Eaves said. 'His knee is fine. I think it's just mentally, believing and knowing that he can stop the puck. When you stop the puck it builds your confidence level up. That's what he's got to do this week in practice and then carry that into this upcoming weekend.'
To hear Eaves tell it, Elliott's absence and recent woes have had a profound effect on the players. Describing them as 'caught in between,' he said the players are still trying to adjust to Elliott's presence on the ice.
'When we became the 18-2-2 team that we were ... we had a young goaltender who developed himself into one of the top players in the country, and our team fed off that,' Eaves said. 'We played great systems around him. He gave us confidence to play in front of him.'
'With Brian getting hurt, that was a change for us. Now with Brian coming back, and maybe not being where he is, I see guys caught in between,' Eaves said.
Asked whether Elliott will start this weekend in the Badgers' final regular- season series against WCHA opponent St. Cloud State, Eaves said, 'I would suspect he would start.'
Talking about practice
In a players-only meeting after Saturday night's 7-3 loss to Minnesota State, it was suggested by at least one player that practices had lost their intensity from earlier in the season. Eaves called that notion 'absolutely wrong.'
'One of the things that [reporters] bring up to me is how hard we practice, and that hasn't changed,' Eaves said. 'I think the guys ... they're trying to find answers too. So they're looking at each other. Good for them that they had a team meeting. I would've been surprised if they didn't.'
'But at the same time, in listening to their comments and talking as a coaching staff, we just need to go back to some square-one things,' he said.
WCHA playoffs update
The Badgers, guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish in the WCHA standings, will have home-ice advantage in the first round of the league playoffs. The first round'a best-of-three series'will take place March 10, 11 and 12 (if necessary) at the Kohl Center.
