In what has been the most critical stretch of the 2001-02 season for the UW men’s hockey team, the puck just simply hasn’t slid their way.

Well played, hard fought games against the nation’s top teams have resulted in late-game misfortunes and disappointing losses. A blown three-goal lead two weeks ago at Colorado College and a stunning Denver goal with seconds remaining in Saturday’s contest has left the irritated Badgers searching for answers.

“It’s frustrating,” commented UW head coach Jeff Sauer on Monday. “We haven’t had a lot of luck and the breaks just haven’t gone our way.”

Wisconsin (10-11-3, 12-16-4 overall) is now winless in its last five games and narrowly holds the fifth spot in the WCHA, clinging to a one-point lead over Minnesota State and a three-point advantage over both Alaska-Anchorage and North Dakota.

Despite the recent adversity characterizing the Badgers of late, Sauer remains confident in his team’s attitude heading into the final two weeks of the regular season.

“We’re not going to throw in the towel, there’s no question about that,” Sauer added. “We’ve got too much senior leadership to let something like that happen.”

Although the dissatisfying outcomes of the past three weeks have weakened the Badgers’ lock of home-ice advantage in the first round of the WCHA playoffs, UW still remains the front-runner as both Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage failed to capitalize on Wisconsin’s pointless weekend.

Causing some concern for UW as the playoffs roll around has been the resurgent play of always-dangerous North Dakota. After struggling early in the season, the Fighting Sioux have put together a late-season comeback and now sit only three points behind the struggling Badgers in the WCHA standings. UW owns the tiebreaker between the two teams, but a playoff meeting three weeks from now would certainly be an unwelcome event.

“The one team I don’t want to see in the first round in the playoffs is North Dakota,” commented Sauer. “They’re a tough team to play and they are playoff tested.”

Five points in the final two weeks of the season would guarantee the Badgers their much-desired playoff meeting in the Kohl Center, which means they must find a way to break out of their recent slump.

One factor that will prove imperative down the stretch is the play of UW’s goaltenders. The addition of Scott Kabatoff back into the line-up gave the Badgers some stability in Saturday night’s contest, as the junior netminder made 30 saves in his first appearance in net since Jan. 25.

“It’s nice to have Scott Kabatoff back,” noted Sauer. “He showed Saturday night that he needs to be there.”

Taking control of the team of late has been the play of senior Matt Murray, whose two goals over the weekend give him eight in the last eight games at the Kohl Center. Murray will look to continue his dominant play this weekend as the Badgers travel to Minnesota, where he has notched eight career goals in 13 meetings against the Gophers.

A road series at Minnesota and a home series against Minnesota-Duluth stand between UW and the first round of the playoffs. If the Badgers hope to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs, they must put behind them the last three weeks and hope the puck rolls their way in the final two.

“We’re still right in the middle of things,” commented Sauer. “We still have a successful season and other things (home ice) going for us.”