MINNEAPOLIS—After losing 3-of-4 points to the Minnesota Golden Gophers this weekend, the No. 10 Wisconsin men’s hockey team has entered a state of desperation with only one weekend of play left before the postseason.
Usually a loss and a tie over a weekend series would not be too much cause for concern. But with the season finale series next weekend against St. Cloud State—a team that sits one point behind Wisconsin in fifth place—the need to gain points has never been greater.
“At this time of the year it’s about getting the points more than anything else,” head coach Mike Eaves said.
Getting points is something Wisconsin has not been able to accomplish lately when it has mattered most.
Against Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State—both series that featured Wisconsin tied for fourth place with the opposing team—the Badgers were unable to pull away, managing only a split against both teams.
“[Over the last two Fridays] there [was] just too much tension from the guys, we weren’t loose, we weren’t ready to go,” senior captain and defenseman Davis Drewiske said.
Wisconsin’s tense play finally boiled over against the Golden Gophers, as the Badgers (10-11-5 WCHA, 14-13-7 overall) came out flat on Friday night for the second straight weekend.
And with Friday’s 4-2 loss, the sense of desperation that Minnesota, as well as many other teams in the WCHA, has felt for a majority of the season has finally hit Wisconsin.
“We just have to come out like a desperate hockey [team], that’s what they were tonight,” junior forward Ben Street said after Friday’s loss. “We are not that far away from each other in the standings, and we have a lot to play for as well. We need to play like a desperate hockey team; we need to play our game.”
St. Cloud State, on the other hand, is coming off a sweep of Michigan Tech and seems poised to knock Wisconsin out of the top five in the WCHA, forcing the Badgers to be on the road in the first round of the WCHA Playoffs.
The Huskies have gotten hot at the right time and have won their last five games, averaging just over three goals per game during that span.
However, the Badgers feel that with more preparation and by focusing on themselves, they have just as good a chance to head into St. Cloud and emerge the victors.
“[It] seems like it has been like this for the last month,” Drewiske said after Saturday’s tie. “We have to control what we can, we have to go out and win our next game.”
With confidence there is always a shadow of doubt, and the Badgers are well aware that they cannot afford to come out soft next Friday against St. Cloud State.
“We have to find a way [to win], we can’t give teams the Friday night games,” junior goaltender Shane Connelly said. “We need points and we need them bad.”
“We just got to bear down here, it’s do-or-die now,” sophomore forward Aaron Bendickson said.
“It’s the end of the season. Everyone has to know that, and I think we do know that and we just have to come and play every game.”
