The selection committee rewarded the UW men's hockey team (26-10-3) for their late season run and an emphatic victory over Minnesota Saturday with the No. 1 overall seed for the NCAA tournament. The Badgers will make their second stop of the season in Green Bay Saturday to take on Bemidji State (20-13-3), the champion of the College Hockey America Conference, for the first time ever.
I know at the beginning of the year [Bemidji State] played a couple of teams in our conference and beat them,\ head coach Mike Eaves said at a press conference Sunday. ""From the thumbnail sketch I got, they're a gritty group and they play hard.""
After a tough loss to North Dakota on Friday, the Badgers came into the third-place game Saturday with something to prove. They certainly proved their mettle as their 4-0 thrashing of Minnesota in St. Paul knocked the Gophers down to a No. 2 seed and gained UW the coveted top spot.
""To bring this team back to a No. 1 overall seed in the country is pretty special,"" Burish said. ""From our freshman year being one of the worst teams to now being recognized as the top team going into the tournament is pretty special for us.""
""We have some great confidence right now coming off a huge win against a good team,"" senior Ryan MacMurchy said. ""We expected to be a No. 1 seed all year round, so we know we're deserving.""
Wisconsin is peaking at the right time, as they are almost completely healthy (the lone exception being sophomore defenseman Joe Piskula, who probably won't be able to return this weekend) and are clicking on all cylinders. Sophomore Joe Pavelski had a 12-game scoring streak going into Saturday's game, junior Andrew Joudrey had a goal in his second game back from injury and junior Andy Brandt got the second goal of his career in Friday's loss. Most importantly, junior goalie Brian Elliott has allowed a meager seven goals in his last six games and is completely recovered from injury.
""We're feeling good, we're glad it's in Green Bay,"" MacMurchy said. ""We have to go there and prove ourselves again in the tournament.""
The five seniors have a little extra motivation, as they are down to their last four games, if all goes well. After a 13-23-4 record their freshman year, they have turned the team into a top national contender during their reign and are looking forward to returning to Green Bay and possibly Milwaukee for the Frozen Four.
""It's been an incredible four years and we want to make it four wins,"" MacMurchy said. ""Our freshman year me and Adam [Burish] talked about how great it would be to go out like that.""
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