The mantle for Badger athletics is usually carried by football and basketball, two sports that have a certain style to them. Both have an aura of teams that boast less talent than top foes, but can hang with the best due to strong fundamentals, good coaching and a slow-paced, disciplined approach. Furthermore, neither sport was considered a powerhouse in any fashion before 1990, and since have been seen as spunky overachievers.
On the ice, however, consider the Badgers a powerhouse.
The Wisconsin hockey program is an outlier among its top three sports, as it is one of the strongest in the history of NCAA ice hockey competition. This is a team with history, prestige and a massive edge in getting top talent.
In fact, Badger hockey may be the equivalent of an Alabama or Miami in college football, or a Duke in college basketball.
Wisconsin ranks fourth in national titles all-time, and since the program started in 1963, no other team has won more NCAA crowns. Even though the state of Minnesota is considered the most hockey-crazed in the country, the Badgers hold a 6-5 lead in championships over the rival Gophers.
From 1973 to 1990, Wisconsin won it all five times (one every 3.4 seasons). Even in the 16-year gap between the 1990 and 2006 titles, the team went to the NCAA tournament 10 times, appeared in the title game once, won a MacNaughton Cup for a WCHA regular season championship, produced a Hobey Baker runner-up (Steve Reinprecht) and, just for good measure, an NHL star in Dany Heatley.
Two of Sports Illustrated's top-20 American hockey players donned the cardinal and white (Mike Richter and Chris Chelios). Alums Ryan Suter, Brian Rafalski, Heatley and even Joe Pavelski, who left campus just over three years ago, could find themselves representing their countries in the Olympics this winter.
That's probably not something most casual crease creatures were aware of.
But with this lofty history comes built-in recruiting advantages, which make the struggles of the last few seasons even more troubling.
The group of defensemen has been the most talented in the country for the last two years, and this season features seven players drafted by NHL clubs, three of them first-round picks. All together the team has 11 drafted players accounting for nearly half of the players who have seen ice time thus far.
The problem recently has been losing great talents before they get comfortable on the college level and produce. In the last three seasons, potentially special players like Kyle Turris and Jack Skille (both top-10 draft picks) left before they were juniors.
This season's team, however, is deep, talented and, for the first time since the 2005-'06 championship year, experienced. But with that, and the records over the last three seasons, the expectations and pressure also grow.
To maintain the standing and level of success the program has attained, this year must be different. It can't be another season when a talented UW squad finishes just within or just outside the 16-team NCAA tournament field.
The hockey team stands apart from basketball and football because of its history as a powerhouse and ability to bring top recruits to Madison. Now, even after a 1-2-1 start, the team needs to start playing up to the level of that historical caliber.
Still don't think the marquee hockey program compares to UW football or basketball? E-mail Ben at breiner@wisc.edu.
