The No. 2 Wisconsin men's hockey team (18-4-2 overall, 13-3-2 WCHA) heads into the weekend series with Minnesota (16-6-4, 9-5-2) on their heels after being swept in last weekend's two-game series with Denver, 1-0 and 4-2. The Badgers have not dwelt on the loss, however, as the No. 4 Gophers are coming to Madison strong off of a weekend series sweep of No. 9 Colorado College.
The big match up this weekend is the Gophers' No. 1 offense in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, averaging four goals per game. Awaiting this potent offensive force is a Badger defense giving up a paltry 1.54 goals per game, also tops in the WCHA.
A big break for the Gophers came in the form of an injury to Wisconsin starting goaltender, junior Brian Elliott, due to injury. Elliott's backup, true freshman Shane Connelly, played admirably in his first game action ever against Denver while stepping in for the injured Elliott, and should be even more prepared for the bout against Minnesota.
'I've had two good days of practice and a lot more confidence after the weekend,' Connelly said. 'I'm just real excited for another chance at Minnesota.'
Connelly should have his hands full with as talented a set of forwards as the Badgers will face all season, starting with junior Ryan Potulny (19 goals, 15 assists) and freshman Phil Kessel (10 goals, 21 assists), both of whom are in the top 10 in the league in point scoring. Kessel leads all freshmen in scoring.
The Badger defensive front should be up to the task, starting with senior defenseman Tom Gilbert. The assistant captain was a third-team All-WCHA selection last season and has grown into one of the top all-around defensemen in the nation.
'It's awesome. I've never been on a team that you know is going to block a lot of shots and you're not going to see too many second or third shots,' Connelly said.
The Badger offense is looking to get back on track after being shut out in the first game against Denver and only mustering two goals in the second, both by junior forward Robbie Earl (13 goals, 17 assists). Senior forward and captain Adam Burish (6 goals, 10 assists) was disappointed last weekend.
'We ran into a hot goaltender, one of those weekends where we just couldn't find goals,' Burish said. 'We over exerted ourselves a little bit, we panicked a little bit.'
Earl and Burish, along with sophomore Joe Pavelski (14 goals, 19 assists) can shoot with the best in the league on any night. Pavelski especially has established himself as one of the best in the business and is fifth in the WCHA in points.
The Gophers are eager to prove that they are better than when they were swept by the Badgers earlier, and the Badgers are eager to prove that they are a team that can handle the pressure of playoff-like conditions. More importantly, this game is for bragging rights.
'This is as big of a rivalry as I have,' Burish said. 'As big as any of these guys have, really.'
