With the Wisconsin men's hockey is winless in it's past six games and home ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs and a berth in the NCAA tournament slowly slipping between its fingers, it would be easy to get down on the team and focus on all of the negatives of what is happening.
However, head coach Mike Eaves and his team are looking at this situation as an opportunity to grow and come together as a team in order to get back on track in time for this weekend's crucial showdown with Colorado College.
Eaves said what the team is going through right now is part of a process that happens to every team at some point during a season. He used the 2006 Wisconsin hockey team that captured the national title as an example. During that season, the '06 Badgers went on a rough stretch losing seven of 11 games, which culminated in being swept on the road by Minnesota State-Mankato.
""We went through the same thing we are going through now with the '06 team,"" Eaves said after Saturday's 7-3 loss to St. Cloud. ""It's part of the process of a team coming together. I've lived through this. When you look at what happened in '06, if that didn't happen in Mankato, we don't win the national title. Guaranteed. Why? Because that team took the reins at that time. Something bad turned out real good for us.""
With this year's Badgers in a similar situation following a sweep at the hands of St. Cloud State this past weekend, Eaves hopes that his team can take the reins from here on out and use this adversity to grow and turn this ship around.
""It's how you handle it, it's what you get out of those moments and how you try to right your ship,"" Eaves said. ""It goes on with every team and part of the process of coming together and trying to maximize its ability to do something special together. This is a big opportunity for this team and this coaching staff to grow as a group.""
""Our hope is that by Friday we find our stride here, get our level of confidence back, work hard and regain that winning feeling again.""
Wisconsin took the first steps to getting back on track immediately following Saturday's loss. After the game the players held a closed-door meeting that lasted almost an hour, aiming to try and figure out what was wrong and how to correct it. After that, the captains met with the coaches and then the team came together as a group.
""When we met as a team, everyone has an opportunity to step up and say their piece and say what they felt needed to be said at that time,"" senior forward and team captain Sean Dolan said. ""It definitely brought us closer as a team and will only make us stronger in the end.""
""After a tough loss like Saturday's you kind of throw everything out onto the table, especially this late in the season,"" sophomore forward Craig Smith said. ""If there was anything that needed to be said, it was said Saturday night, and we're going to move on from that.""
The biggest thing that came out of the meeting was a list, created by the players, which addressed the things that this team has to do to get back on the right track. Eaves said the three main parts of the list were the players taking the reins, building their confidence back up and managing their on and off-ice routines.
""Having success comes from gaining confidence,"" senior forward Podge Turnbull said. ""We have to get back to what works for us: Having fun and taking care of the details on and off the ice and make sure when we're at the rink it's all business.""
With Colorado College on tap this weekend at the Kohl Center for the most crucial games of the season, the Badgers have had to come together in a hurry. Eaves and the rest of the team are hoping that this rejuvenated sense of camaradarie will help Wisconsin capture the three points it needs against the Tigers to clinch home ice advantage in the WCHA playoffs.
""Through this all it has helped us come together and work toward building that trust with each other again,"" Dolan said. ""For us to come together and still feel like we are a tight-knit family is something that is going to benefit us this weekend.""
