Even as they were faltering in a season-long six-game losing streak, the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team knew that its hard work was bound to pay off. Fortunately for the team, that funk ended just before the first lull in their schedule.
The Badgers did more than add two points to the winning side of the ledger with a 2-0 win Saturday night over a top-ten team in Michigan State. They gained a badly needed measure of confidence. As a result, the team will not be worrying about extending a severe slump.
""It's sure fun to come into these two weeks off having a win,"" head coach Mike Eaves said following a practice session Wednesday focusing on skills, competition and conditioning. ""We have been playing good hockey. We just had to find a way to win games, and we did that.
""You can do a lot of talking as a coach, and the players can say all the right things, but you need to have that concrete ‘W' go in that slot for you, and it just takes a lot of the weight off the kids' shoulders. So we come into this week with a little lighter jump in our step and looking forward to getting better.""
Senior forward Jake Dowell, who leads the Badgers with eight goals this year, said that the team had a lot to gain from Saturday night's victory.
""It was definitely huge for us to get that win,"" he said. ""We'd been waiting for so long, and we felt that we'd played good enough to win. For us to get that, and have a little momentum going into this week off ... is an awesome feeling. It's kind of a motivation for us to get back to work here.""
And to hear the players describe it, there is plenty of work to go around as the team strives to regain their early season stature. Yesterday's practice placed particular emphasis defending the odd-man rush. Today, the focus will be on situational plays, and Friday the team will again return to conditioning.
""This week will be good for us to work on some things, but also to catch up on some rest,"" senior captain Andrew Joudrey said. ""It's a good rest, but at the same time, we need to make sure that we stay focused.""
Next week, the Badgers will ratchet up the intensity and competitiveness in preparation for a series on the road against North Dakota. For now, the players and head coach maintain that the team's morale is positive.
""I think it's fine,"" Dowell said when asked about the team's confidence. ""I think guys are really starting to feel good. We're starting to see some positive things from our hard work. For us to get that win, I think the confidence definitely comes up.""
With an eye toward the second half of the season, Joudrey expressed reason to believe that Badger men's hockey is moving in the right direction. ""We realized that even with those losses, we're one goal away, or a play here, or a save here, or a shot here,"" he said.
""It's not enough to do that, but at the same time, we take solace in the fact that we are right there, and if we keep pushing this week and next week, then we can get over that edge and be successful more often.""
