As far as priorities go for the No. 2 Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team (15-6-3 WCHA, 21-7-3 overall), the MacNaughton Cup'awarded to the top team in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association'is ranked somewhere in the middle.
That is, somewhere in the middle of the path the Badgers hope to travel as the season enters its deciding stages in the coming weeks.
'The MacNaughton Cup is an intermediate goal on our way to the top of the mountain,' head coach Mike Eaves said at a weekly press conference Monday afternoon.
UW currently sits in second place in the WCHA standings, two points removed from Minnesota. Denver, who was swept by Minnesota over the weekend, now is one point behind the Badgers in a conference picture that is sure to be in flux over the last two weekends of play.
'We've got to focus on the things that we can control,' Eaves said. 'If we do that, if we get back playing to the way we were... now we're getting back to where we want to be. It's still about pushing to the end of the year and playing our best hockey.'
If the Badgers are to claim their fourth MacNaughton Cup, they will have to overcome scheduling that appears to be in Minnesota's favor. The Gophers, who split four games with UW, will face the WCHA's bottom two teams to round out their season.
Road swing continues
A trip to Minnesota State this weekend will put the finishing touches on the Badgers' month-long span of seven consecutive games away from the Kohl Center.
Although UW has enjoyed recent success in their last five games (3-1-1), they are aware that the Mavericks (10-13-3 WCHA, 14-16-4 overall) are a high-effort group fresh off a sweep this past weekend.
'They do the one basic thing that allows them a chance to win games, and that's play very hard,' Eaves said. 'Their goaltending has been pretty good of late. They're working hard.'
Back in November, Eaves' team swept Minnesota State at the Kohl Center by a pair of one-goal margins, but the Mavericks are a different team in Mankato, where they have won or tied 11 of 16 games.
'Once again, we go back to the formula. Unless we're willing to play as hard as they do, then they give themselves a chance and we make it more difficult,' Eaves said. 'But, we feel that if we match their [playing] hard with our [playing] hard, and we do the other things, we'll be just fine.'
Back in goal, with a
goal in mind
The nation's top college hockey goaltender returned for the Badgers Saturday. But, without question, there will be an adjustment period for junior Brian Elliott after missing eight straight games with a left leg injury.
'Probably our main task is to get him back to where he was before he got injured,' Eaves said of Elliott, who heads statistical categories of wins (18), goals against average (1.51), and save percentage (.939).
