Two notes of interest surrounded the freshman class of the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team before it opened play last year.
The one that probably generated the most buzz was the fact that three first-round picks from 2007 NHL Entry Draft would be on board for the upcoming Western Collegiate Hockey Association season.
The other was the unusually large size of the freshman group, an unprecedented nine players, making the Badgers the youngest team in the conference.
As the Badgers get set to take on Minnesota-Duluth this weekend in a series that will determine the rightful owner of fourth place, they can thank a contribution from the other freshmen,"" players who have not been as much the subject of attention this year but nonetheless have made their mark.
According to head coach Mike Eaves, the Badgers lesser-known freshmen have met his expectations, especially since the beginning of the second semester.
""I would say so,"" said Eaves, when asked if he was getting the production and improvement he needed out of freshmen like Patrick Johnson, Cody Goloubef, Sean Dolan and Podge Turnbull, all of whom have played at least 17 out of the 18 WCHA games this season.
""It was easy for us as coaches to say the first half is going to be tough, because we're just plain young. But they've come back, like most freshmen second semester, and have grown up a lot.""
During the team's hottest streak of the season - the Badgers are 3-0-2 over the last five games - the freshmen without the first-round pick cachet on the team have made an impact.
Johnson, Turnbull, Dolan and Goloubef all have points to their names during that five-game span, which has propelled the Badgers into a tie for fourth place. Just six games ago, UW was trying to stay upbeat in the WCHA's eighth spot.
The biggest contribution has come from Johnson, who has put together a run of six points over the five games. His effort in Saturday's game against Minnesota - in which he played a hand in both goals, allowing the Badgers to come back from a 2-0 deficit - brought him WCHA Rookie of the Week honors.
Johnson, fourth on the team in points and draft eligible, sounded like he did not expect to put up the numbers that he has.
""Coming into the season, you don't expect many goals, many points, not much ice time,"" he said after practice Wednesday.
Turnbull - who was benched for a game earlier in the season, getting a message from Eaves to, ""step it up a bit"" - has three points over the five games, including his only conference goal of the season. He framed his freshman year as a positive learning experience.
""I think performance-wise, it's tough as a freshman to come in and play a lot and do a lot of great things,"" Turnbull, a third-round pick, said. ""But it's a big learning experience, and I think so far we've done pretty well. The stuff we learned earlier is hopefully going to transfer over to the second half of the season and we can get a little more productive.""
Goloubef and Dolan have each assisted on goals during the unbeaten streak.
""I think we've all adapted and we've all pushed each other to be the best we can be right now,"" said Goloubef, who cited his own improvement in the defensive zone.
Despite playing behind the three first-round picks who are fellow freshmen, Goloubef said that the other first-year players don't feel overshadowed.
""We're all equal,"" he insisted. ""Everybody's treated equally here. It doesn't matter if you're a first-rounder or you're not drafted at all.""
