One weekend after losing control or their conference title destiny, the Badgers will try to regain their edge and move closer to a top-three finish in the WCHA standings.
Wisconsin's challenge this week: a trip west to Mankato to face off against the Minnesota State Mavericks. Although Minnesota State is sitting in eighth place right now, it has shown the ability to take down more highly regarded teams.
""They play a very aggressive style,"" UW head coach Mike Eaves said. ""They're going to take away time and space, and they're going to be strong on the puck, and they're going to battle.""
In Mankato, the Mavericks upset North Dakota in their WCHA opener and swept Minnesota a few weeks ago.
The Badger players emphasized the importance of Minnesota State's gritty nature, saying that matching their energy would be important.
Wisconsin has not historically fared well in Mankato, with a 4-6-2 record at the Alltel Center.
""It's a tough place to play ... That crowd, it reminds me of the junior hockey league,"" Eaves said. ""They get rowdy.""
Last weekend, the Badgers' prolific special teams were silenced as Denver's power play, which ranked eighth in the conference, scored four times against the vaunted Badger penalty kill. That unit will again be tested as Minnesota State converts on 21.2 percent of their power play, a mark that ranks second in the conference.
The player charged with stopping that Maverick offense is Wisconsin senior goaltender Shane Connelly, who is coming off a rough weekend. The Pennsylvania native was tagged with two goals in the final minute of last Saturday's game against Denver, then was pulled after giving up three first-period goals the next night.
The coaches pointed to keeping Connelly's confidence at a high level.
""He's worked hard, he feels good about himself,"" Eaves said. ""We talked Sunday night, got it on the table. What we wanted to map out this week was a kind of a plan to get back to being one of the best goaltenders in the league, feeling that way, feeling good about yourself, to have that confidence.""
Connelly is giving up the sixth-most goals per game of any goalie in the conference, 2.75 per game.
Despite last week's struggles, the players are not dwelling on past opportunities.
""The Denver series was a hard pill to swallow, it was just one of those weekends where we just couldn't find a way,"" freshman forward Derek Stepan said. ""When we got to the rink on Monday, the coaches just said, ‘Alright, it's happened now and now we've got to regroup' … We've got to figure out what we can do to be better.""
One unusual factor coming into the game is that Minnesota State played last Tuesday, earning a 2-2 tie with a non-conference foe in Nebraska-Omaha. Eaves, however, is unsure if the Mavericks' short week could help or hurt them.
""You can look at it in one of two ways. It gets them back into game mode or they're playing three games in six days, where OK, fatigue may become a factor,"" Eaves said. ""I don't know which one weighs the most.""
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. Friday night and 7 p.m. Saturday. Neither is televised, but both can be heard on WIBA-AM 1310.
