In its last series of the regular season the Wisconsin men’s hockey team (10-14-2 WCHA, 15-15-2 overall) is looking to continue building on its current momentum as it travels west for a matchup with its bitter border rival No. 4 Minnesota (19-7-0, 23-11-1).
The Badgers are currently riding a three-game winning streak, tied for their longest of the season, after sweeping Bemdji State last weekend and thereby tripling their road win total for the year. As Wisconsin enters its final regular season weekend head coach Mike Eaves like the direction his team’s play is trending.
“We’ve got to keep banging the drum here and play the way that we are playing,” Eaves said. “We’ve got some work to do, no question. But the fact is that we made noise [against Bemidji], and we need to continue to make noise as we go along here.”
Eaves is hoping the momentum the Badgers have built during their modest winning streak is enough to carry the team to a deep postseason run. Wisconsin will begin the playoffs on the road in the first round of the WCHA playoffs next weekend, and will get a taste of what a road playoff atmosphere will feel like when it visits Minneapolis this weekend.
There are plenty of postseason implications on both sides of the St. Croix River in this series. Wisconsin—currently sitting in ninth place in the WCHA—can still finish anywhere from a tie for seventh place to 11th place in the conference based on this weekend’s results, and the Gophers can clinch the WCHA regular-season title with three points against the Badgers.
Wisconsin has the opportunity to spoil Minnesota’s hopes for its first MacNaughton Cup in four seasons, a role that the Badgers say they are eager to play.
“Anytime you go into Minnesota, you want to beat them, it’s a big rivalry and you never want to lose that one,” sophomore forward and Eagan, Minn. native Tyler Barnes said. “Being able to take their title hopes away would definitely be a pleasure.”
Adhering to the mantra of every opposing team this season, Minnesota head coach Don Lucia said this week his strategy against Wisconsin will be to try to shut down the Badgers’ dual offensive threat of sophomore forward Mark Zengerle and junior defenseman Justin Schultz.
Zengerle and Schultz have accounted for a huge chunk of Wisconsin’s offense this year, with 44 and 42 points respectively—far and away the two highest totals on the team—but the key for the Badgers’ success, both this weekend and beyond, will be to get secondary scoring contributions like they got in Bemidji.
Against the Beavers, Wisconsin’s fourth forward line recorded four points and sophomore forward Ryan Little scored his first career goal, but its second line has also held its weight offensively in recent games, especially sophomore forward Michael Mersch, who has six points in the Badgers’ last three games.
“It’s a huge bonus when you have guys chipping in on the third and fourth lines,” Mersch said. “I think if we can add onto the scoring that the first couple lines are producing, and have those third and fourth lines chip in to its going to help us win games.”
To Barnes, the importance of offensive depth moving forward is simple.
“Secondary scoring is what wins championships,” he said.
The face off in Minneapolis for the border battle on ice is 7 p.m. both Friday and Saturday.
