When the 2005-'06 NCAA men's hockey National Championship banner goes up before this Friday's game at the Kohl Center, the Badgers will have little time to relish in the moment, because the instant the puck drops a difficult task will be at hand.
That task will be defeating a very tough North Dakota Fighting Sioux squad in a two-game conference series.
UND (2-0-0) is coming off a lopsided sweep of Quinnipiac and is ranked No. 5 by USCHO.com behind the No. 2 Badgers (1-0-1). The series is the opener in the WCHA conference schedule for both teams.
""Last year we were national champions, so we have a huge target on our backs; we are expected to win,"" sophomore forward Jack Skille said. ""If we come in here cocky this weekend and think that we are going to beat North Dakota easy then we're going to lose, and that is unacceptable.""
Last season the Sioux won the WCHA Final Five conference tournament and carried that momentum all the way to the Frozen Four in Milwaukee, where they were barely upended by Boston College 6-5.
But, like the Badgers, the Sioux lost much of its talent from a year ago.
""They lost a lot of guys, but have a lot coming back,"" sophomore forward Ben Street said. ""We are going to be battling with them all year in the WCHA.""
Included in the departures for North Dakota are the top two leading scorers, Drew Stafford and Travis Zajac, and star goaltender Jordan Parise.
However, the next three leading scorers—sophomores TJ Oshie, Jonathan Toews and Ryan Duncan—are back this season.
The Badgers are coming off a successful weekend against Northern Michigan, collecting a 3-0 victory and a 3-3 tie.
Wisconsin faced a 3-1 deficit with less than three minutes to play on Saturday night but rallied back to tie the game at three, providing the team with momentum going into Friday's face-off with the Sioux.
""That set a tone for all year. We aren't going to give up all year,"" Street said.
With such a big conference series coming so early in the season, last weekend's game was important for the Badgers to work out some kinks.
""The thing that we do have going for us is that we got some of the young guys some experience and got the jitters out. And for us to get a win and come out of the first week with a win and a tie is huge for us,"" senior forward Jake Dowell said.
Freshman forward Michael Davies, who was only expecting to see a few shifts per game last weekend, scored two goals in Friday night's victory. Davies is preparing for his Kohl Center debut this weekend.
""It is going to be awesome; I've never played in front of 15,000 people,"" Davies said. ""And the student section I hear is nuts, I mean they wait outside like a week for tickets.""
Those 15,000 fans—capacity for hockey games at the Kohl Center is listed at 15,237—will have more to cheer about Friday night when a ceremony is held for the raising of the National Championship banner from last season.
""This is our barn, and as we always say no one comes into our state and beats us. We need to set the tone physically, offensively and defensively,"" Street said.
Dowell, who notched two power-play goals in last Saturday's game, knows the importance of coming to play against North Dakota.
""We know the type of team we are going to play; they are always a strong, physical team with a lot of skill, and a lot of skilled players. But if we stick to our guns and stick to our type of play, then I think we will be fine,"" Dowell said.
