The No. 15 Wisconsin Badgers (3-1-0) men's hockey team heads to Denver this weekend to open WCHA conference play against the No. 11 Denver Pioneers (1-2-1).
Last weekend against Alabama-Huntsville, the Badgers were able to find a lot of success on the power play. Against the Chargers, Wisconsin went 7-for-18 with a one-man advantage. Sophomore defenseman Justin Schultz and freshman forward Mark Zengerle played big parts in the power play's effectiveness. Both contributed two goals and two assists last weekend, and they talked about how the Badgers have clicked so well on the power play this season.
""We're all familiar with each other, which helps a lot,"" Schultz said. ""I think we're working hard, and the main thing is that we've been outworking the other team's penalty kill, and that is why we've been able to have success with the man advantage so far.""
""Justin Schultz and Jake Gardiner do a great job of running it up,"" Zengerle said. We just have to keep it simple, because right now everything is working.""
""The guys we have out there have been able to see the ice and know how to make the right play at the right time,"" head coach Mike Eaves said. ""It is important every weekend for your power play to be functioning and producing goals and scoring chances, so we have to continue doing that this weekend against Denver.""
Much like the Badgers, Denver is relying on young talent this season. The Pioneers lost a number of players this offseason from a team that finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country last year.
Those players are coming off a rough showing last weekend against the reigning national champion, Boston College. The Pioneers were swept at home, losing the two games by a combined score of 9-2.
Boston College returns a dynamic team and UW knows the Pioneers will be looking to rebound.
""We have to come out hard,"" Schultz said. ""They just got swept by Boston College, so they are going to be hungry for a couple wins especially on their home ice. It's going to be a tough series.""
""They are similar to us in that they want to come out and prove themselves,"" junior forward Jordy Murray said. ""This will be a huge series. WCHA games are always exciting, and every conference win counts. We hope to come out firing right away on Friday, get that first win, and keep it going into Saturday.""
Eaves talked about what it was going to take to beat the Pioneers this weekend, and he believes it won't take anything special, the Badgers just have to focus on the basics to come away with a couple of victories this weekend.
""We need to have great goaltending, the special teams have to play well and we have to take care of the puck at the blue line. Any coach will tell you that you need those three things to be successful,"" Eaves said. ""We're not quite sure what to expect from our young group, but we know the level we're playing at right now and, if we can continue and improve on that this weekend it will be a real positive.""
