Badgers Find Frozen Four Favorite Forecast Fitting
April 5, 2006
Wisconsin hockey coach Mike Eaves would never say it, but it's time for his Badgers to do something for him. They need to beat Maine Thursday night, and then also beat the winner of the North Dakota-Boston College first game. That's all.
That would give Eaves and the Badgers the 2006 NCAA men's hockey championship, and it would create a unique clean sweep of NCAA hockey titles for Wisconsin, because the Badgers already won the NCAA Women's title. That's why the men's quest for...uh...equality has significance. The Badgers women are coached by Mark Johnson, and Eaves and Johnson go way back.
When things get a little tense for Wisconsin's hockey team, or the Badgers need a dose of inspiration, Eaves can summon up all sorts of stories from his rich hockey past, as a player and a coach. In fact, he did just that when the Badgers were embroiled in a scoreless West Region final at Green Bay against Cornell.
"Actually, the mood seemed to get lighter and lighter in the dressing room the longer the game went," said Eaves. "We tried to loosen things up by talking about some memorable overtime goals. Likethe one Pat LaFontaine scored in the sixth overtime when the Islanders beat Washington in a playoff game..."
Of all the teams in the tournament, Wisconsin might be the most veteran. Freshmen have filled large roles on all four finalists, while Wisconsin is paced by sophomore Joe Pavelski (23-30--53) and junior Robbie Earl (21-25--46). Then comes senior defenseman and captain Tom Gilbert (11-19--30), and senior forwards Adam Burish (8-21--29), Ryan MacMurchy (8-17--25), and junior Ross Carlson (10-11--21).
When it got to the third overtime in the region final, though, it didn't matter who came through.
"Really, it comes down to will at that point," said Eaves. "We still had energy, and we stayed focused. At this point, if you're going to have success, sometimes it's an underclassman who comes through. Jack Skille is only a freshman, but he's a horse. He has a great ability to skate, and he can go for long periods. Coach [Mark] Osiecki picked Jack to score the goal for us."
Eaves, in his fourth season, has all of his own recruits for the first time, and he knows that even when they play their best, goaltender Brian Elliott is the backbone.
"It always starts between the pipes," said Eaves. "Brian's play gave our defense confidence and our forwards confidence."
Elliott has a 25-5-3 record and leads the nation with a .938 save percentage, and a 1.55 goals-against average.
Eaves, of course, knows the other side of that coin. Wisconsin was the nation's No. 1 team through the first three months of the season, as the Badgers compiled a 19-2-2 record. Then Elliott got injured in practice, and the Badgers lost four straight and five of six to blow the WCHA title and the No. 1 national ranking, finishing the regular season with a staggering 3-7-1 slate before sweeping St. Cloud State in the final series.
That makes it truly a season of streaks for Wisconsin. After going 19-2-2, then 3-7-1, the Badgers are currently on a 7-1 charge. Elliott had his problems regaining his sharp edge, but after yielding an unusually high number of goals in a few games, he got things back in order. In their current 7-1 run, the Badgers have scored 21 goals, and Elliott has stifled the Badger foes by yielding only six goals in those eight games - including the 4-3 loss to North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five semifinals.
Elliott's other six starts in that stretch include a pair of one-goal yields and five shutouts, giving him a three-game shutout streak against Minnesota, Bemidji State and Cornell going into the Frozen Four.
When it comes to winning championships, Eaves again can draw on his personal experiences. That goes back to the days when Badger opponents remember Eaves, wearing No. 17, and Johnson, No. 10, as a virtually unstoppable duo on coach Bob Johnson's power play. Their records may never fall. No Badger has ever scored more goals than the 48 Johnson got in 42 games in 1977-78, or the 267 points Eaves recorded for his Wisconsin career. Eaves was captain for three years with the Badgers.
In 1976-77, Wisconsin won the WCHA title, the WCHA playoffs, and the NCAA championship, finishing 37-7-1, while Mike Eaves was named All-America, and teammate Mark Johnson was freshman of the year. In 1977-78, the Badgers finished second, and the WCHA scoring title was shared by Eaves (25-45--70), and Johnson (39-31--70), while Eaves was WCHA most valuable player, and both Eaves and Johnson made first team all-WCHA and both were first-team All America.
Both went on to NHL careers, Eaves playing eight years for the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames before his career was curtailed by recurring concussions, while Johnson played 11 seasons, mostly for Pittsburgh, Hartford and New Jersey.
Eaves got a head start in coaching, assisting at Calgary, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, then in Finland, at Hershey in the American Hockey League, and a year each as assistant at St. Cloud State and head coach at Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He also coached at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minn., but the thing that probably launched Eaves to the head spot at Wisconsin was that he spent two years coaching the U.S. Development team in Ann Arbor, Mich. That gave him the chance to coach the 2002 U.S. team that won the Under-18 world championship. He later coached the U.S. to the 2004 World Junior Championship.
One of his players on the National Development system and the Under-18 team was Greg Moore, currently a star at Maine, where he is captain and has scored 28 goals. "Maine plays hard, but also sprinkled in are somepretty good players," said Eaves. "Greg Moore has power, strength and speed. He's a player who goes to the tough places."
Back at Wisconsin, Mark Johnson was assistant to Jeff Sauer with the men's team, and when Sauer retired, the men's job came down to two men - Eaves and Johnson. Eaves got the job, which caused some dissension among boosters, some of whom had backed Johnson, the son of the late coach Bob Johnson.
Johnson, however, landed on his feet by taking the job with the Badger women's team. Like Eaves, Johnson led the Badger women on a steadily improving course over the last three years, and brought Wisconsin to a pinnacle with a 3-0 victory over two-time defending champion Minnesota two weeks ago.
At the same time, the Badgers were in Green Bay, as the top seed of the Midwest Regional, where they defeated Bemidji State 4-0, and then survived the incredible triple-overtime final with the 1-0 victory over Cornell.
Maine coach Tim Whitehead said he knows what the Black Bears are up against. "It's the fifth straight year we've been on the road in the NCAA," said Whitehead. "We know Milwaukee will have a great environment, and the fact that Wisconsin made it guarantees it will be a special moment. It will be very difficult, but we know you never have an easy game at this level. Wisconsin is tough whether you look at their goaltending, defense, or forwards. They've done a tremendous job of recruiting, because they're strong at all three positions."
If the Badgers win two more games this week in Milwaukee, Eaves can bring home the big plaque, and he and Mark Johnson can again stand side by side and share one of the more unique hockey sweeps imaginable.
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