The Western College Hockey Association has been the class of college hockey for the last half-decade and this season has so far proven no different. However, unlike the last few seasons, the Wisconsin Badgers do not figure prominently in the conference race.
Minnesota is currently leading the WCHA, which has produced the past five national champions and two of last season's Frozen Four participants. The Gophers are ranked No. 1 with a 13-2-3 league record.
Minnesota's success has come despite losing their top two scorers from last season, including Phil Kessel who is currently playing for the Boston Bruins. Alex Goligoski and Kyle Okposo are helping to fill the void by leading the team in assists and goals, respectively. Seven Gophers have logged over 20 points as part of the league's top offense.
The Gophers also boast the best defense in the WCHA with two of the top three goalies in the league. The only other team with a comparable pair of netminders is the Denver Pioneers with Peter Mannino and Glenn Fisher.
The Pioneers are third in the conference with a 10-6-2 record, although their offense has been anything but special. Denver has remained close by putting up a solid conference record despite outscoring their opponents by only four goals. Denver has already finished their games against Wisconsin with a 3-1 record, including a sweep at the Kohl Center.
The Badgers' season as reigning national champion has been quite a rocky one. Wisconsin now sits tied for sixth place in the WCHA with 15 points, 14 out of first, and a sub-.500 record. The Badgers' top scorers are Andrew Joudrey and Jake Dowell with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Only six Badgers have reached double figures in points. Five of the top Badger scorers from last season left Madison and it has shown. Wisconsin ranks dead last in the league in offense, scoring a paltry 2.21 goals per game.
Wisconsin senior goaltender Brian Elliott is having trouble matching his play from last season when he was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. Elliott's average goals against has risen from 1.55 last season to 2.22 this season, which ranks only seventh in the conference. That said, the Badgers are still tied for third in the WCHA in scoring defense.
With so much talent leaving Mike Eaves' squad, Elliott was being counted on for an encore performance, but has yet to play to that level.
The Badgers have had trouble maintaining momentum this season, splitting four series overall.After a 4-8-2 start, the Badgers went on a 4-2 run and seemed to have turned a corner. The last four games, however, have seen Wisconsin reverting back to old, inconsistent habits and a 2-2 record.
The top team chasing Minnesota is St. Cloud State, led by last season's coach of the year and SCSU grad Bob Motzko. The Huskies are 10-4-4 and five points out of first place.
The Huskies have the top two point scorers in the WCHA in forwards Andrew Gordon and Andreas Nodl. Their net is defended by senior Bobby Goepfert who has the fourth-best save percentage in the conference.
The worst WCHA team with a winning record is the Tigers of Colorado College. The Tigers' statistics don't jump off the page and their defense does not even rank in the top half of the league. CC did show that it could get its goals late, tying for the league lead in third period goals.
Goalie Matt Zaba is allowing over 2.5 goals per game but has a .676 winning percentage. Eleven Tigers have double digits in points and three, forward Jimmy Kilpatrick, wing Scott McCulloch and center/wing Chad Rau, each have 20 or more.
Right now the WCHA has five teams ranked in the top 15 of the USCHO top 25. North Dakota is No. 15 and Colorado College is No. 14. Denver and St. Cloud State come in at No. 4 and No. 5 while Minnesota sits at the top with 36 of 40 first place votes.
