print story

Milewski: Badgers respond to Eaves' lineup changes, salvage split

Todd D. Milewski  —  11/05/2007 8:20 am

The lineup changes were intended to send a message to the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team before its series finale against Michigan Tech on Saturday.

Badgers coach Mike Eaves wanted hard work -- the element upon which everything in the team's game is built -- more prevalent than it was a night earlier. So he replaced two players and made changes to three of the four forward lines.

One trio didn't need to be touched, and that was an indication of how much it has been living up to expectations.

Center Sean Dolan and wingers John Mitchell and Matthew Ford played that way again Saturday night, and they made a big contribution toward the Badgers getting a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series split with a 4-2 victory.

They're the third line on the chart, the first sign that they're not going to be the flashiest forwards around. It would be a mistake, however, to take that to mean they don't have some offensive-zone panache.

It just doesn't come through fancy passes or slick moves. It shows up in turnovers created by hits, working to get to the net and challenging defenses by keeping the puck low in the zone.

All three players appear to be in complete acceptance that they're being asked to play that way.

"When it comes down to it, it's all about getting that win that night," said Ford, a senior. "And we're going to do our part. I'd like to score a couple more goals; who wouldn't? But you do the things you can."

After a 4-2 loss to the 13th-ranked Huskies on Friday, Eaves removed skilled forwards Michael Davies and Podge Turnbull from the lineup in favor of Zach Bearson and Andy Bohmbach, players that teammate Kyle Klubertanz described as "grinders."

That move left the impression that the Badgers needed more grit in their game for Saturday's rematch. They got it from Dolan's line.

Eaves said the reason that group wasn't changed was because they were good where others weren't in Friday's loss. The larger message to the other forwards was that they could take an example from Dolan, Mitchell and Ford.

"They don't try to get too fancy," Eaves said. "They get the puck in. 'Fordo' has just been a leader in terms of hits and getting there. And they've all kind of fed off of that and keep it simple."

Their reward Saturday was a tying goal in the second period. Mitchell, a sophomore, won the puck away from Huskies forward Tyler Shelast on the left-wing boards and drew two other Tech players toward him. He then got the puck to Ford in the left corner.

Ford threaded a pass to Dolan through a tight space between Huskies center Peter Rouleau and goaltender Michael-Lee Teslak, and Dolan tipped in the puck to answer a Michigan Tech goal after just 99 seconds.

Dolan has been a pleasant surprise to the Badgers coaches early this season. He was one of the last into the Badgers' recruiting class, but he has shown flashes of high skill through the first month.

On Saturday, he was able to read that Michigan Tech's defensive-zone coverage was concentrated in the corners, giving him an opportunity to jump in from the top of the zone and get to the net without taking too big of a chance at being caught deep.

That's how he scored his goal, and he had at least two other similar chances.

"You have more free rein to go where you like," Dolan said. "It makes it easier to get the puck and to drive it to the net."

It was only the second goal this season from the line; Dolan has scored both. Not that scoring is the main focus of the third line, but it's a nice bonus for the Badgers when it happens.

And when it happens, it's usually because that group is being effective low in the offensive zone.

"Being in the spot we are, we haven't put up much production so far, and we want to give our team a spark," Ford said. "So playing the body, keeping the puck in, working Michigan Tech low (were) our keys. I think we played to our strengths."

tmilewski@madison.com

Todd D. Milewski  —  11/05/2007 8:20 am