On Wednesday, Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves was still talking about having Brendan Smith in the lineup as a forward when the Badgers play Denver on Saturday in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Today, Smith was dressed as a defenseman.

So it appears that the UW lineup will be the same as it was when the Badgers played St. Cloud State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs two weeks ago.

The Badgers were considering having Smith, a defensemen who used to play forward, play as a fourth-line winger to act as an insurance policy in case defenseman Kyle Klubertanz wasn't able to play quality minutes.