Tough early sked instant test for Badgers hockey
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Friday, October 10, 2008 1:05 AM CDT
MADISON (AP) — If Wisconsin had any designs on easing its way into the college hockey season, they went out the window when the schedule came out.
In the first eight games, the Badgers will play only teams ranked in the top 10 of the national polls. That stretch, starting Friday at No. 1 and defending national champion Boston College, will be a stiff test for a team that lost its top scorer and a pair of everyday defensemen.
Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said it was like jumping into the deep end of the pool. Now, he just hopes his players can swim.
“On one hand, it’s really exciting,’’ Eaves said. “In a perfect world, we probably wouldn’t have done it that way, but we had no control. The only one we had control over was our opening series, and we knew that was going to be there. But the rest of it unfolded into (where) we’re going up a pretty steep climb right away.’’
The 13th-ranked Badgers play at No. 7 New Hampshire on Saturday before two-game series at No. 6 Denver, at home against No. 10 Minnesota and at No. 5 North Dakota to close out the first four weeks of the season.
Wisconsin players aren’t complaining about the tough start.
“I think it’s great,’’ senior co-captain Ben Street said. “We’re going to find out what we’re made of early on.’’
On paper, they’re made of an experienced, senior goaltender behind a young-but-talented defensive corps. The offense, Eaves concedes, will have to take a scoring-by-committee approach without one designated goal scorer.
Shane Connelly is expected to be the mainstay in goal, although Eaves said he wants to get sophomore Scott Gudmandson more time to prepare him for his chance to be the starter next season.
Connelly had respectable statistics last season in a talent-rich Western Collegiate Hockey Association goaltending corps. His 2.44 goals against average and .913 save percentage ranked ninth in the league.
He said part of him wants to try to put the team on his shoulders during the challenging start, but he realized that wouldn’t be productive.
“As I’ve learned throughout my career, I don’t need to carry the team totally,’’ Connelly said. “I just need to be solid as a rock. These guys are going to take care of what they can take care of, and I think we have a good enough squad where we’ll be in the games as long as I take care of my end. I don’t have to be spectacular, but I can’t lose the game.’’
The Badgers have only one upperclassman on defense, junior Jamie McBain, but five of their eight players at that position are top-two-round NHL draft picks.
That includes first-round picks Ryan McDonagh (Montreal), Brendan Smith (Detroit) and Jake Gardiner (Anaheim).
“Because they’re picked so high, they have God-given abilities and so they have the potential to be able to do some real fun things,’’ Eaves said.
The offense, meanwhile, will be a question mark in the absence of leading scorer Kyle Turris, a first-round pick who signed with the Phoenix Coyotes after his freshman season at Wisconsin.
The Badgers return their next five top scorers from last season, led by Street and co-captain Blake Geoffrion, and that could lead to more balanced scoring.
“I can see us having three lines that can chip in offensively and be hard to play against,’’ Eaves said. “That’s where the hope lies, and that’s what’s exciting.’’
Wisconsin had its share of bumps in the road last season en route to becoming the first team to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament with a losing record.
Eaves foresees a similar path with another predominantly underclassman team.
“I would suspect, based on history, that we’ll have some of the same ups and downs that we had during the course of last year, this year,’’ Eaves said.
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