After a rough season-opening series, which saw a highly touted Wisconsin men's hockey team take just one point from Colorado College, the task of starting the 2009-'10 season well will not get any easier. The Badgers must now leave the friendly confines of the Kohl Center and head to the intimidating environment of Minnesota State's Verizon Wireless Center to take on the Mavericks Friday and Saturday.
Although Wisconsin swept Minnesota State at home in the WCHA playoffs last spring and leads the all-time series against the Mavericks 17-13-4, the Badgers are 4-9-3 in Mankato. However, head coach Mike Eaves said he is happy Wisconsin will play a tough team like Minnesota State, saying it can help the Badgers rebound from a difficult opening weekend.
""It's our type of game that we need to play to establish that we'll compete going into a tough environment,"" he said. ""I expect this group to play well and to bounce back.""
Eaves added that Wisconsin's younger players will have to keep their heads in the game and not let the crowd get to them. Freshman defenseman John Ramage, who scored his first college point with an assist in Saturday's tie with Colorado College, echoed that sentiment.
""You've just got to focus on your game, just kind of block out all of the noise,"" Ramage said. ""It really shouldn't affect you too much.""
The duel between junior goaltenders Scott Gudmandson and Brett Bennett will continue against the Mavericks this weekend.
Eaves split starts between the two players in the first series, with Bennett starting in Friday's loss and Gudmandson getting the nod for Saturday's tie. He said Bennett will start in the first game of the series against Minnesota State, but Eaves did not want to commit to splitting starts between goaltenders before seeing how Bennett performs Friday.
""We've always said we know who our goalie's going to be on Friday and we'll see on Saturday how we feel and go that way,"" Eaves said. ""You never want to paint yourself in a corner and say, ‘this is what we're going to do.'""
Providing goal support for the team's netminders will also be crucial if Wisconsin wants to leave Mankato with points, Eaves said. To avoid the third-period collapses that killed the Badgers down the stretch last season, he said they simply need to score more goals.
Despite eventually losing the game, Eaves added he was very happy with how the team played in its first game against Colorado College and was more frustrated with the 1-1 tie from the second game.
""We played really well Friday night,"" he said. ""I was more upset about Saturday night when we got a point.""
Senior forward Andy Bohmbach said the team can't lose its focus when playing with a lead.
""We've got to keep on playing through every period like we play the first period,"" he said. ""We can't stop once we get a lead.""
Bohmbach and senior forward Blake Geoffrion both had goals in the Badgers' 3-2 loss against Colorado College, but Geoffrion left the game in the first period with a concussion and did not return the next night. Despite that scare, Geoffrion has been practicing with the team and will play this weekend, according to Eaves.
