Through the regular season and WCHA Tournament, Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves and his players often referenced ""intermediate goals,"" from hosting a first round playoff series to finishing in the top three of the WCHA to earning an extra day off in the Final Five. Now, with the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament looming, those intermediate goals have been replaced with immediate ones that the team must accomplish to fulfill the ultimate goal of bringing a national championship home to Madison.
The first order of business for the Badgers, who enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West regional, is a matchup with the Vermont Catamounts Friday night at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minn.
The venue is a familiar one, as Wisconsin played two games on the same sheet of ice last weekend and has been in the Twin Cites three of the last four weekends. Not as familiar, though, is the opponent. Wisconsin and Vermont, which hails from the Hockey East conference, have not played each other since the Catamounts beat UW 5-2 in Milwaukee in 1996.
""They've got big people,"" Eaves said. ""Their leading scorer is 6'5"", so they've got some big people, and it looks like they collapse pretty well in their own zone and try to take away a lot of second chances.""
That leading scorer is senior forward Brayden Irwin, who has tallied 34 points on 15 goals and 19 assists. For comparison's sake, that total would have been fifth for Wisconsin this season. The Catamounts, by the numbers, appear pedestrian at best, as they finished the season 17-14-7 and in eighth place in their conference. Eaves, though, pointed to a specific stat to close the perceived gap between the two teams.
""They've only got [four] more losses than we do,"" he said. ""At this point in the season, that's not a big difference.""
If Vermont closes that gap by one, the Badgers' season will be over. If Wisconsin manages to extend the difference to five, they move closer to the Frozen Four in Detroit. Such is life in the single-elimination world of the NCAA Tournament. While Wisconsin is loaded with experienced upperclassmen, the message is worth repeating.
""Just like the basketball tournament, it doesn't matter what seed you are,"" said junior forward Patrick Johnson, who played in the NCAA Tournament his freshman year. ""It's a one-game elimination, and you have to come out with your best.""
As they have all season, the Badgers will rely on a deep and talented corps, led by two Hobey Baker finalists in senior center Blake Geoffrion and junior defenseman Brendan Smith. Geoffrion scored twice last time the Badgers took the ice to run his season goal total to a team-best 25. Smith led the nation in scoring from the blue line with 15 goals and 45 points.
Each has carried the team for stretches this season, helping to reach those intermediate goals in the process. For Smith, the long grind of the regular season has been replaced with an excitement that only the prospect of a national championship run can produce.
""It's a breath of fresh air to know that we're finally here,"" he said. ""Now we get to compete.""
—Ben Breiner contributed to this report.
