After another tough weekend at Mariucci Arena, life for the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (3-3-0 Western Collegiate Hockey Association, 5-3-0 overall) does not get much easier. They return home to the friendly confines of the Kohl Center to play another archrival, the No. 5 North Dakota Fighting Sioux (3-2-1 WCHA, 5-3-2 overall). Such is life in the WCHA, the nation's premier college hockey league.
Last year, it was this home series that was the defining moment in Wisconsin's return to national prominence in college hockey. Trailing 3-0 before many of the students got into the rink, Wisconsin staged another epic rally against then-top ranked North Dakota, finishing off the Sioux 4-3 in overtime on sophomore forward Robbie Earl's amazing hat trick, which sent the Kohl Center into a frenzy. The Badgers completed the sweep Saturday, cruising to a 5-2 win in front of another sold-out crowd.
Things this year are probably going to be much different. North Dakota is off to a relatively slow start. They have some big wins, which include a road sweep of the University of Maine, along with wins over Colorado College and Minnesota. However, North Dakota has some glaring blemishes on it's r??sum??, which include a 6-0 thrashing by Minnesota at home, a poor home series against Minnesota State-Mankato and the fact they have been out shot in most of the games they have played so far, something almost unheard of for the Sioux in previous years.
There are several things that can account for the slow start. First off, North Dakota lost one of college hockey's best head coaches at the end of last season, as Dean Blais decided to take the vacant assistant coaching position with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League.
For North Dakota, it was an end of an era. During coach Blais's 10-year run in Grand Forks, N.D., he compiled a 262-115-33 record (.679 winning percentage) and brought home two national championships.
New Head Coach Dave Hakstol is learning the same lesson Wisconsin Head Coach Mike Eaves learned two seasons ago: It is not easy to follow a legend.
Offensively, North Dakota is clearly not the same team it was a year ago. Two top-flight talents, forward Brandon Bochenski and little dynamo forward Zach Parise, have moved on, taking with them a combined 115 points from last season.
\You lose a Parise, a Bochenski, those are guys that make something out of nothing [they are very difficult to replace],"" Eaves said.
Two up-and-coming stars, sophomore forwards Brady Murray (46 points last season) and Drew Stafford (32 points) are left from last year's high-octane club. Two great freshmen, Travis Zajac (six goals, one assist, seven points) and Rastislav Spirko (three goals, seven assists, 10 points), have helped the Sioux reload on offense.
Instead of trying to outscore teams in shootouts like previous years, this North Dakota team relies more on defense.
""I think that's one of their strengths. They're big, strong, mobile, aggressive and that's the earmark of their team,"" Eaves said.
The Sioux return their entire defensive corps from last season and have three senior defensemen in Matt Jones, Quinn Fylling and Andy Schneider. The defense has been key in weathering the storm as North Dakota continues to try to find an identity on offense.
Goaltending, which has been brutal at times in recent years for North Dakota, was supposed to be much improved this season. However, each of the three goaltenders, senior Jake Brandt, sophomore Jordan Parise and freshman Philippe Lamoureux, have been plagued by inconsistent play so far this season. It is likely the Badgers will see at least two of them this weekend, as Hakstol continues to wait for one of the three to emerge as the go-to goalkeeper.
The Badgers will certainly be in for a fight with the Fighting Sioux this weekend, and it should be a terrific series between the two clubs.
