Men's Hockey: Wisconsin, Mavericks meet in Final Five

After facing off four times in the regular season, the No. 14 Wisconsin men’s hockey team will take on No. 8 Minnesota State one more time Thursday in St. Paul, Minn., in the first game of the WCHA Final Five.
The Mavericks (16-11-1 WCHA, 24-12-3 overall) swept the Badgers (13-8-7, 19-12-7) back in November, falling 4-2 in back-to-back nights. Wisconsin rebounded, however, taking down Minnesota State with consecutive overtime wins in the teams’ January series off goals by senior defenseman John Ramage.
“I think that definitely helps us going into the game, but we’ve been playing playoff hockey the last couple months and we’re just going to need to keep it the same,” junior center Jefferson Dahl said of their previous overtime wins. “There’s a lot of similarities between our team and their team. When we played them early on, we weren’t at our best, but we know it’s going to be a battle like any team in the conference is.”
While the game has obvious implications for the rest of the WCHA tournament, it also has further reaching consequences on a national scale. Both teams are fighting for a spot in the NCAA tournament, and while the Mavericks are currently sitting inside the bubble, the Badgers need to win to keep their hopes alive.
Wisconsin is coming off a two-game sweep of Minnesota-Duluth in the opening round of the conference playoffs last weekend, while Minnesota State was forced to go to three games before finally taking down Nebraska-Omaha. Despite the extra rest, head coach Mike Eaves is unsure of any advantage that may bring for UW.
“I’ve seen teams—when we coached in the American Hockey League—play three games in three nights in three different cities and play their best hockey on the third night,” Eaves said. “We’re not looking at that as ‘We have an advantage because they played three games.’ It’s just, we have to get there and play well.”
This will be the first taste of the Final Five for many of the Badgers, having not been since 2010. Despite a lack of experience, though, Eaves does not expect his players to get caught up in the hype of a win-or-go-home type game.
“I think there’s general excitement, and being on a big stage is what all athletes have dreamed about,” Eaves said. “This is our 12th-straight weekend [with games on the schedule] so we’ve been playing for awhile, so I think if there is an energy boost we get from being on this stage, that’s a welcome thing at this time.”
Minnesota State is led by sophomore forward Matt Leitner, who leads the team with 45 points, and senior forward Eriah Hayes, who has a team-high 19 goals.
The Mavericks also posses the No. 4 ranked power play in the country, but after keeping Duluth’s No. 5 power play unit off the score sheet last weekend, the Badgers know what they will be getting into.
“We just have to keep working hard,” Dahl said. “[Minnesota State] likes to go cross-ice just like [Duluth] does. Last weekend we did well blocking shots and taking away lanes for them.”
With a win, the Badgers would advance to play No. 1 seeded St. Cloud State in the second round Friday. If Wisconsin wants to continue its season past Thursday afternoon, it is going to have to do just that.
“I think it’s going to be a classic battle just because it’s two wins each, this is kind of like the rubber match on a big stage,” Eaves said. “Both teams are playing for a lot, so it should be one heck of a game.”
Senior center Derek Lee (knee) will travel with the team but will not play this week, and sophomore defenseman Jake McCabe (lower-body) is a game-time decision for Thursday.