HOUGHTON, Mich. -- Of course, Sean Dolan would like to do more for the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, but he has a great understanding of the situation.

The freshman center has found a niche skating between two sophomores, left winger John Mitchell and right winger Ben Grotting, on a line where scoring is not the top priority.

Their to-do list, in no particular order: 1) Be responsible defensively; 2) Provide energy with up-tempo shifts; 3) Put their collective size, skating ability and athleticism to the best possible use; 4) Keep it simple.

"We've all just bought into our role," Dolan said. "I think we'd all like to have more points and play on the power play and all that jazz, but it's something that every team needs.

"We have to bring it every night. We have to be those guys that will go out there and draw penalties, get a big hit, get the team going. Just get the (opposing) goalie aware that we're coming and we 're going to be in his face."

That task will be critical tonight and Saturday when 11th-ranked UW faces Michigan Tech in a Western Collegiate Hockey Association series at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

The fourth-place Badgers need to get a deeper toe-hold in the upper division, given they're tied with Minnesota-Duluth and are just four points ahead of eighth-place Tech with eight regular-season games remaining.

The setting here will be unique on two fronts: The Huskies are staging their annual Winter Carnival extravaganza and UW is playing just its fourth series of the regular season on a smaller NHL-sized ice sheet.

The Dolan unit figures to flourish in this environment because of its size -- Dolan is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds; Grotting is 6-1 and 202 and Mitchell is 6-5 and 216 -- and its track record.

All have a goal on smaller sheets this season -- Dolan in the Lefty McFadden Invitational against Notre Dame; Grotting at Denver; and Mitchell at Michigan State -- and the three seem to thrive in the tighter confines.

"We play pretty well together all the time, but we play real well on smaller sheets," Mitchell said.

That additional scoring threat will be vital for the Badgers, who appear to have identified two go-to lines: Freshman Kyle Turris between sophomore Blake Geoffrion and freshman Patrick Johnson; and junior and assistant captain Ben Street between sophomore Michael Davies and senior Matthew Ford.

"If we're hitting their (defensemen) all night long, they're going to be tired at the end of the game," Dolan said. "Then Streeter's line and Turris' line, they can skate around them. That's what we're there for."

You never know with UW coach Mike Eaves, who doesn't hesitate to change line combinations if a hunch strikes, but the Dolan unit has had a long shelf life. It dates back to a November series at Colorado College and its evolution has been based on them playing to their strengths.

"They're an energy line that we ask to chip in offensively," Eaves said. "They do that for us and they're getting better and better at it."