The Badgers will look to continue their hot streak this weekend as the No. 4 St. Cloud State Huskies (12-5-5 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 18-5-5 overall) visit the Kohl Center in a marquee matchup that will have serious postseason implications.
Wisconsin (10-11-1 WCHA, 13-15-2 overall) was the only team in the WCHA last weekend to record a sweep, as the Badgers took care of the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves both Friday and Saturday nights, with 4-0 and 3-1 wins respectively. Those four points moved the Badgers into a tie for sixth in the WCHA with Michigan Tech and keeps them poised for a postseason run with 21 points in league play.
But, to keep up in the standings, the Badgers will need another strong performance this weekend against the Huskies, who currently sit second in the WCHA, and only four points behind league-leading Minnesota.
""We're not doing anything special specifically versus St. Cloud,"" senior forward Jake Dowell said. ""We're just trying to stay focused and do what we did last year as far as sweeping. We're trying to find a consistency here at the end, which has been a problem for us all year. If we can get back to back weekends with wins and feel good going into the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to get into the NCAA tournament, it'll be a success.""
The consistency the Badgers yearn for is mostly on the offensive end, where they have the least goals scored of any team in the WCHA during league play. They proved they can put it in the net, with seven total goals last weekend, but keeping up that type of production will be tough, especially against a proven goalie like SCSU's senior Bobby Goepfert. He boasts a 2.09 goals against average, and has been notoriously tough against the Badgers.
""The games have been very close, I think the last game was a 1-0 game here and we didn't score until the third period,"" head coach Mike Eaves said. ""It all starts with their goaltending. Goepfert is as good a goaltender as there is in the league, and he's having another strong year.""
However, the Huskies offense is also potent and should be a good test for goalie Brian Elliott and the Badger defense. Two talented forwards, Andreas Nodl and Andrew Gordon, head the offense for SCSU. But part of the momentum Wisconsin is carrying over from last weekend's sweep is improved play from freshman defenseman Jamie McBain, who was named WCHA rookie of the week, and played great on both the offensive and defensive ends of the ice. Getting solid play from all over the ice for the Badgers could be key in a series with such big implications for both teams.
""A big weekend like this you just need to go over the basics,"" senior forward Andrew Joudrey said. ""We're competing in practice and making it most game-like as we can so that come Friday we don't have to turn a switch to be ready to play.""
To further inspire the Badger players, this weekend's series will be the last of the regular season at home for seven seniors.
""It's kind of bittersweet,"" Dowell said. ""It's fun to remember the Kohl Center and how much fun it was, what a cool atmosphere it is to play there. It's tough to think that my time is almost done there and I won't be able to play there anymore so hopefully we can go out on a bang here.""
This sentiment is shared by most of the seniors, but the main focus is still on the opponent ahead.
""When you actually sit down and think about it, it's kind of crazy to think how fast four years have gone,"" Joudrey said. ""We'll deal with the games being the last ones when that happens, but for now we're just worried about the opponent and the challenge of St. Cloud.""
