In a very literal sense, the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team has been down this road before.

This is the fourth consecutive season UW will play a majority of its stretch-run games in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association on the road.

"Because of our building, this has kind of been our life here in the six years I've been at Wisco," UW coach Mike Eaves said, referring to the fact WIAA events take over the Kohl Center this time of year. "Eventually to win you have to win on the road, so you get used to doing it."

The Badgers played their final four regular-season games on the road last season. They played six of their last eight on the road in 2004-05 and 2005-06.

Since Eaves took over in 2002-03, UW is 7-14-7 in regular-season WCHA road games during February and March. That includes a 1-1-2 mark this season.

A 2-3-1 mark in 2005-06 cost the Badgers at least a share of the MacNaughton Cup as regular-season champions, while a 1-4-1 record last season cost them a berth in the top five and home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs.

Similar stakes are on the line now.

After a weekend series at Minnesota -- which resulted in a 4-2 loss and a 4-4 overtime tie -- fourth-place UW will attempt to secure a berth in the upper division when it closes out the regular season Friday and Saturday at St. Cloud State.

The Badgers (14-13-7 overall, 10-11-5, 25 points in the WCHA) have little room for error. They lead Minnesota State-Mankato and St. Cloud by one point, Minnesota-Duluth by four and Minnesota by five.

Making things even more tenuous is the fact UW has two games remaining while everyone else in contention for the upper tier has four games left. Also, St. Cloud has suddenly won five straight.

Some silver linings: The Badgers are 10-0-3 against St. Cloud since 2003-04 and 3-2-3 on the road during the second half this season. UW also currently owns tiebreakers with St. Cloud (2-0 record head-to-head), Duluth (more WCHA wins) and Minnesota (more WCHA wins).

"I believe in the second half we've done some really fine things on the road," Eaves said.

One of the more notable developments for the Badgers against Minnesota is how their young players responded one night after appearing timid.

Freshmen right wingers Podge Turnbull and Patrick Johnson scored goals that tied the score at 3 and 4, respectively. In the process, they pushed the cumulative scoring total of the rookie class beyond the 100-point mark (37 goals, 64 assists, 101 points).

"The way our young guys responded (Saturday night) was big-time," UW senior defenseman and captain Davis Drewiske said.

The widespread strength of the WCHA can be seen in the fact eight teams are among the top 16 in the latest Pairwise rankings, which mimic the criteria for NCAA tournament qualification.

The volatility of the standings doesn't sit well with Minnesota coach Don Lucia, whose two-time defending league champions are teetering on the edge of the NCAA tournament.

"I liked the old days when the bottom was the bottom and the top was the top," he said. "You go back even five, six years in the league, the top teams, you won games (against) the bottom (teams) 5-1, 6-2. Now, every game, it doesn't matter who you play, they're tightly contested and anybody can beat anyone else."