This is where the fun really begins as Wisconsin takes on Denver to open up the WCHA playoffs with the best of three series. The Badgers and Pioneers are in pretty familiar with each other as they played a series just three weeks ago. Wisconsin split that series against Denver, but this is playoff hockey and things are at a whole new level when that happens and it’s on the road to boot.
One thing that is for sure is that Wisconsin is fighting for it’s hockey lives as they need to win the WCHA tournament to make the NCAA tournament this year. Coming into this series as the 10th seed that should be a pretty clear statement.
The Badgers hockey team has really stepped up in it’s level of competition and in it’s own play over the past few series’ and it all started against Denver in early February where they surprised the Pioneers by taking a 5-2 victory in the series finale at the Kohl Center.
So, is there something to momentum going into the WCHA Playoffs? “We’ve been on the road here the last couple weekends. We’ve won three out of four,” said Badgers Head Coach Mike Eaves. “We were in a position to win four out of four. So I think, intrinsically, we understand what it takes, and we just get on that plane and head into Denver and continue what we’ve been doing. But I think it’s legitimate, what we’re feeling inside.”
Wisconsin is poised to get Derek Lee back this weekend after finally recovering from a nasty concussion that has kept him out for quite some time. However they won’t be fully healthy as Jason Clark will miss the series.
Denver isn’t exactly a picture of health themselves as they will be without sophomore forward Beau Bennett and sophomore defenseman David Makowsi most likely. Both have been decent contributors to the team, adding 8 and 10 assists respectively.
Any talk of the Pionners offensively has to start with forwards Drew Shore and Jason Zucker. Shore, a junior, leads the team in points with 47. He also leads in goals (21) and assists (26). Sophomore Jason Zucker isn’t far behind as he has 20 goals and 22 assists (42 points) to place 2nd on the team.
But don’t sleep on the WCHA Rookie of the Year, defender Joey LaLeggia, who is tied with Shore with 26 assists or on sophomore forward Nick Shore, who Badger fans should be very familiar with thanks to his performance in regular season series against Wisconsin.
One of the more interesting stories to watch for the Pioneers is who will be between the pipes. Sam Brittian returned in the 2nd half after suffering a knee injury and was playing well until the 5-2 loss to Wisconsin. Since then they’ve split the weekends between Brittian and freshman Juho Olkinuora.
Olkinuora has the better stats with a .926 save percentage and a 2.14 goals against avergage, but has just an 8-6-2 record on the year. Compare that to Brittians numbers of .921/2.68/5-3-0 and it’s a very interesting dillema as to which one gives you best chance any given night. With this being a best of 3 series I wouldn’t be surprised to see both play in the first two games.
On the other side of the coin the Badgers offense just got a whole lot more potent with Lee’s return as he’s one of the hardest working forwards out there and adding him to the likes of Frankie Simonelli could be very interesting to see.
Everyone should know about the prowess of Mark Zengerle, who was named all-WCHA 3rd team, and his 12 goals and 37 assists for a team best 49 points. His scoring is buoyed by WCHA Defensive Player of the Year Justin Schultz who has 42 points off of a team best 15 goals and 27 assists.
The biggest key to victory may not be up front though, it may be between the pipes. Joel Rumpel has been fairly steady in the 2nd half and the freshman netminder should be completely healed from a nasty cut that had to of bothered him over the past few weeks. He sports a .914 save percentage, a 2.59 goals against average, and is 11-10-2 on the season.
If Wisconsin wants to keep playing they need to win the special teams battle this weekend by staying out of the penalty box and taking shots when they have the power play in their favor, something they’ve struggled to do all season until lately.
Keeping up the feeling and attitude from the last few weekends should help the Badgers and I could see them very easily posting a victory and at the very least extending the weekend to Sunday.
Prediction: Denver wins the series 2 to 1 but wins back to back to do it as Wisconsin takes the opener tonight.
Tonights game takes place at 8:30pm Central and can be heard online or through your radio or mobile device by going to BadgerSportsNetwork.com or iHeartRadio app. You can also pay for the subscription for the video by going here, but be careful and make sure to cancel immediately after or you’ll be charged monthly. Saturday’s puck drop is set for an earlier time, so make note of that as well.
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