The No. 5 Badger men's hockey team has never beaten the No. 11 Denver Pioneers (2-0-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 3-2-0 overall) at the Kohl Center, and they aim to change that this weekend. Wisconsin, (2-0-0 WCHA, 4-0-0 overall), is confident going up against the defending national champions, especially because of their flawless start to the season.
\The confidence in the team ... we've got a lot of young players and when you have young, talented players, they feel confident if they win a couple games,"" sophomore goaltender Brian Elliott said. ""When you get on a roll like that, it kind of says, 'No one can beat us,' and I think Denver is going to have a tough time coming in here, but we've got to give it all we've got because they had a good weekend last weekend also.""
Wisconsin's early stability should continue to secure timely goals and a precise defense within a particularly young team.
The series will revolve around a pair of powerful defensive lineups. Denver sophomore defenseman Matt Carle was the WCHA Defensive Player of the Week last week, and he was a crucial component in the team's sweep of St. Cloud State last weekend.
Carle blocked three shots and supplied one goal and one assist, which put him in a tie for the overall scoring lead among defensemen. He also helped to limit the Huskies to three goals in the series, and ensured that St. Cloud State's efforts in 17 power plays were worthless.
Still, the Badger defense is equally obstinate with two shutouts, both built upon the work of Elliott. He believes the older defensemen to be extremely beneficial to their younger counterparts and is comfortable with the defensive dexterity in front of the net.
""Guys are blocking shots when normally you wouldn't,"" he said. ""If you're not ready-they're going to be there.""
Following last weekend's defensive effort that included 14 blocked shots and Michigan Tech 0-7 on power plays, the Badgers should be prepared to face another dominant offensive star in Denver senior forward Jon Foster, who leads his team with six goals. Foster is complemented by the consistent support of junior forward Gabe Gauthier, who has six points. Denver has proven to be exceptionally strong on the power play, and junior defenseman Tom Gilbert knows the Badgers will have to continue their defensive coordination in order to hold an edge.
""Our penalty killing is doing pretty good; we're working a lot on that too,"" Gilbert said. ""We struggle at times. We do really good at times. We just want to be more consistent. I know Denver's got a great power play. It's not doing so well this year, but they've got some talented guys on the offense, so we've just got to keep practicing.""
Nevertheless, the Badgers have a number of goal-producing players to counter the threat, such as freshman forward Joe Pavelski, who is tied for the WCHA lead in rookie scoring with eight points. But the Pioneers also boast a formidable rookie on their offense with freshman forward Ryan Dingle.
Yet, Wisconsin has been able to balance power and this display of depth will aid the Badgers against Denver's varied approach on offense.
