With the speed and physicality of college hockey, there are often games where both teams spend a considerable amount of time on the power play and on the penalty kill. Fortunately for the Badgers, they have had a lot of success on special teams this season, and it has been a big reason why they sit only one game back from the top of the Big Ten.
Going into the No. 19 Badgers’ (10-4-0-0 Big Ten, 17-10-1-0 overall) upcoming series against No. 4 Minnesota (11-3-0-0, 20-8-2-0), special teams will no doubt play a huge role in determining which team can pull out a victory.
“[Special teams are] important. It’s really really important. The games are so tight. A power play goal and a big kill here is probably going to win you a game, and that’s the way you have to look at it going into the game and going into this series,” head coach Tony Granato said. “They have great special teams, so it’s going to be a test for us for sure. There’s lots of parts to the game that are going to be important this weekend, but that will be a key factor.”
The Badgers' power play is currently ranked ninth in the nation. Still, despite their top ten ranking, they have recently struggled to break the puck into the offensive zone when they are up a man. The Badgers are susceptible to getting congested in the neutral zone, and have been turning the puck over when they attempt to enter their opponents zone.
“That’s something that we need to be sharper on. You go through stretches where the other team may do something a little different on the forecheck than we expected, or the other team is just doing a good job forechecking us,” Granato said. “But our entries have not been as good as they were earlier in the year, and we focused on that yesterday in practice.”
Going forward against Minnesota, the Badgers are looking to simplify their power play. Once they break the puck in, Wisconsin is simply looking to put pucks on goal and crash the net for in-tight rebound goals in front.
“We think we need to be more consistent [on the power play] and it starts with work. We just got to get out there, work, support each other, get pucks to the net, and the pretty plays will happen after we get some dirty pucks to the net,” sophomore forward Luke Kunin said. “If we just kind of simplify it and don’t try to do too much, then the skill will kind of take over.”
On the other side of the special teams, the Badgers' penalty kill, which is ranked fifth in the nation, has been dominant all season. Minnesota’s fourth ranked power play, however, will be a new test. Still, if Wisconsin can continue to do what they have done at this point in the year, and keep pucks to the outside and block shots when they come, they feel confident that they can continue to be successful even against a power play as opportunistic as Minnesota’s.
“First of all, you have to have good goaltending. Second of all you have to have guys that understand their role and the importance of being in that position. Third of all, you saw Luke Kunin, you saw Cameron Hughes, you saw Trent Frederic, you saw [Jake] Linhart, you saw [Peter] Tischke, you saw [Tim] Davison. They play goalie,” Granato said. “They don’t want the puck getting to our net. It’s been that way since day one, and it’s contagious. Everyone that’s on that PK, [Seamus] Malone, [Ryan] Wagner, all of the D, they are willing to hold shooting lanes, and they have taken big blocks.”
The penalty kill is all about making the little plays to keep the puck out of the net, and the Badgers have worked to perfect those little things all season.
“I think [the penalty kill is] a huge part of the game. Obviously you want to be reliable in the D zone and you want to do whatever you can to help your team win and be successful, and if that’s laying out and blocking a shot, then we’ve got to do it,” Kunin said.
“We take pride in the little things in the game like that. When guys realize on our team, and I think they have, that those little things are just as important as the big goals, then we are going to be a successful team. I think guys are starting to realize that, and we’re playing well.”
