When the Wisconsin men's hockey team begins post season play this weekend, the benefit of a top-five finish in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association should immediately become loud and clear.
By virtue of finishing third in the conference, the Badgers have earned the right of home-ice advantage in their best-of-three, first-round series against Michigan Tech. It is a privilege head coach Mike Eaves does not want to be taken lightly at the Kohl Center.
I don't want earplugs in their ears,\ Eaves said at a weekly press conference Monday. ""I want them to relish [the volume]. You've got to be able to play at a higher level, and I don't think earplugs are going to do any good. I want our guys turning the volume up.""
The Badgers finished the season 11-6-1 at the Kohl Center, where there were seven sellouts. The attendance at home this year (13,647 avg.) broke, by nearly 1,500 fans per game, an NCAA record the Badgers set during the 1998-'99 season.
""They become a factor in the game,"" Eaves said of the crowds at home. ""We can feed off the energy that they give us.""
The Badgers lost four in a row at the Kohl Center earlier this year in sets against Denver and Minnesota; however, junior goaltender Brian Elliott was injured at the time and freshman Shane Connelly was seeing his first collegiate action.
After seven straight games away from Madison, the Badgers snapped the home skid with two wins over St. Cloud State this past weekend.
""I still think we're in the process of getting back that momentum,"" Eaves said of the team. ""We're still getting better. I think this weekend could be another step in us getting back to playing even closer to where we were before Brian's injury, having that confidence and feeling from within. So this is a big weekend for several reasons.""
The book on MTU
Taking two out of three games at the Kohl Center is tough on any team, but the Michigan Tech Huskies have already won in difficult circumstances at UW this season.
Three months ago, the Badgers had stretched an unbeaten streak to 14 games before Tech skated to a stunning 4-2 victory. At the time, the Badgers needed only one more win or tie to match the school record.
""They can be sneaky,"" Eaves said of the Huskies. ""They've got guys that will play hard. A lot of it will depend on their goaltending.""
UW won the season series against Tech, going 2-1-1. ""I think the fact that we gave up some points against them this year is an indicator that we better be ready to play, or else we're going to be caught again,"" Eaves said.
Senior winger Chris Conner led the Huskies with 29 points in the regular season, including 17 goals.
Injury Update
Junior center Andrew Joudrey is expected to miss another week with a left knee injury he sustained on Feb. 18. Sophomore defenseman Joe Piskula is expected to be out two to four weeks with a lower right leg injury suffered Friday night.
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