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UW men's hockey: Connelly backs up his motto

Michael Poppy  —  3/30/2008 9:48 pm

Shane Connelly jotted down a simple motto to abide by for his upcoming game. It was nothing new -- he has been scribbling similar notes since he started playing hockey.

But when the Badgers goaltender went to his paper and pad before the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team played Denver in a semifinal game of the Midwest Regional Saturday night, this saying stuck out just a little bit more than the previous ones.

Take Control. Make Them Believe.

After putting the blame on his shoulders for Wisconsin's loss to St. Cloud State in the WCHA playoffs two weeks ago, Connelly made it his top priority to take control of the Badgers' NCAA tournament game. With some help from UW volunteer goaltending coach Bill Howard, Connelly quickly adapted the new motto.

"Coach Howard said to me this week early on. He just said, 'Take control right now. Take control of practice. You're going to be OK,'" Connelly said. "I've just been saying that and even wrote it on my sticks.

"They're two simple words that could mean a ton, it could mean anything. It just centers me."

Connelly certainly took control as Wisconsin defeated

Denver 6-2 Saturday, and he did so right away. He made 12 of his 30 saves in the first period, helping the Badgers head into the second period with a 1-0 lead.

But Connelly didn't take control all by himself -- he had his help, too.

As UW only held a 2-1 lead going into the third period, the Badgers had to kill some power plays by the Pioneers to assure themselves of advancing to Sunday's regional final versus No. 1-seeded North Dakota. The defenders in front of Connelly did just that.

"(Connelly's) defense was playing well in front of him," said

Denver forward Tom May, who was one of two Pioneers to sneak a goal past Connelly. "Any time we did get a shot to the goal, their defense was there to clear away the rebound."

Wisconsin's defensemen made sure to keep the zone clear for Connelly. They figured if Connelly had to make only one save on each possession, it would be easier for him to take control, as he wanted.

"He made the saves he needed to make," UW defenseman Jamie McBain said. "Us as 'D,' we were trying to help him out and clear guys out in front. Hopefully make him only have to make that first save -- not make his job too hard. We wanted to make it easy for him."

Connelly also had a little help from the goal posts -- "his best friends," as UW coach Mike Eaves called them.

Denver clanked four shots off the post. It may have been more luck than taking control for Connelly, but he'll take it either way -- especially the way the bounces were going against him versus St. Cloud State when he gave up two soft goals to the Huskies.

"It's always good to be lucky. That's just the way the bounces were going," Connelly said. "It worked out for me -- sometimes the bounces don't go in that way ... luck was on my side."

Connelly hasn't decided yet whether or not he'll stick with the same motto for Sunday's game versus North Dakota. Either way, though, he's going to make sure to play within himself and still take control. After his performance Saturday, he now believes.

"I know now that I'm not going to do anything too crazy," Connelly said. "Just play within myself, take control of my game first and then I think it will translate to everyone else controlling their game.

"That's kind of what 'Take Control' meant to me."

Michael Poppy  —  3/30/2008 9:48 pm