Despite not having a season worth remembering, Wisconsin’s seniors will take the ice looking to come away with a win in their final home games.
“It’ll be a fun weekend for our seniors, it’ll be a memorable weekend for them, and that just gives us extra incentive to win for them to send them off on their last games at the Kohl on a positive note,” said junior defenseman Eddie Wittchow.
The Badgers (2-14-2 Big Ten, 4-24-4 overall) will play host to Ohio State (7-11-0, 12-18-2) in Madison this weekend. Last month, Wisconsin split the series with the Buckeyes in Columbus, and with the home crowd behind them, the Badgers certainly have a chance to compete.
In the previous series, UW senior goaltender Joel Rumpel was lights out. He allowed two goals in each game, which was crucial for the team’s success. While Rumpel has had rough patches, his play has kept Wisconsin in games that would’ve been blowouts if not for the way he carried the team.
Ohio State is a team with good speed, and Wittchow believes that pressuring them with the forecheck will even the playing field.
“When we’re on our forecheck, we’ve got to make sure we aren’t flying into our zone too fast before we recognize what the situation is,” Wittchow said.
For those who don’t know hockey jargon, the forecheck is pressure applied when one team is in their own offensive zone, but their opponent has the puck, generally after a turnover or missed shot. In other words, the key to a Badger victory is to make sure to get the puck near the Buckeyes’ net, and not let OSU fly past them if they get the puck.
The departing senior class has seen a great deal of success on the ice, winning 67 games and two conference tournament titles over their four years, with this season’s performance being an outlier. However, head coach Mike Eaves thinks there is more to them than just winning games.
“A big part of the legacy will be the fact that they have held this group together through some really tough stuff; stuff that would have torn other groups apart and has in the past in different sports,” Eaves said.
The senior class was the glue that held together the struggling Badgers this year, and as they take the ice at the Kohl Center one last time, they will fight to add another win to their tally.
