The Wisconsin men's hockey team enters this weekend's home opener against North Dakota as the No. 1 team in the nation, and while this is a great achievement on its own, there is something that makes it even more remarkable. The defending national champs are looking to repeat this season with an almost completely different team, yet the expectations are just as high, if not higher.
The most notable departures from the team are Joe Pavelski and Robbie Earl, who both left school early. Pavelski led the team in points with 56, and Earl was right behind him with 50. Overall, the Badgers lost their top five scorers from last year, and the team this year knows it will have to step up to fill the offensive holes.
""Last year we obviously had two leading goal scorers who were helping us out on that end. We also had Tom Gilbert and five seniors who were really good role players,"" sophomore forward Jack Skille said. ""This year we still have that same depth, but everyone is going to have to step up the responsibility and everyone is going to be a key factor in the goal scoring, not just one or two guys.""
The Badgers will look to many young faces to help fill the scoring void, and one of them is Skille. As a freshman last year, Skille had 13 goals along with eight assists. The home-grown Madison native is most known for his clutch play down the stretch last year, with the season highlight being a game-winning goal at 11:13 of the third overtime in Badgers' 1-0 NCAA Midwest Regional Final victory over Cornell last March. Skille's play earned him a spot on the 2006 NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team, and the Badgers are looking for Skille to continue his great play this year with such a young team.
Skille knows he is being counted on for scoring and team leadership, and he is not looking to disappoint.
""[I feel the responsibility] a lot. Personally I want to provide a lot for this team,"" the Badger forward said. ""It's a big role for me this year, and I wanted the same last year but I was a freshman coming in. This year obviously my responsibility is a lot higher and I feel it.""
Wisconsin will look to another sophomore, Ben Street, to also lead this year's team to another championship. Just like Skille, Street was an instant impact last season as a freshman. He accumulated ten goals and five assists, and was the only freshman to play in all 43 games last year. The Coquitlam, B.C., native was the only Badger regular to not have a single penalty last year, an impressive feat for any hockey player. Street is focused on building off of his success last year, but knows that he cannot do it alone.
""We lost a lot of our tops scorers, so we will have all new top scorers this year for sure,"" Street said. ""You can't replace the guys we lost; you have to fill it by committee. And that is what we are going to try to do, fill by committee.""
The fact that Wisconsin is such a young team does not help their new philosophy of scoring by committee. The Badgers have nine freshmen on this year's roster, and are expecting a good number of them to contribute this season, just like Skille and Street did last year.
""We have nine freshmen, and they can't just be freshmen this year,"" Skille said. ""We need everyone to step up and play their role. It is huge to have everyone on the same page.""
While the Badgers are young this season, if their freshman play anywhere close to as well as Skille and Street did last year, Wisconsin could once again be lifting up a National Championship Trophy.
