The success story of junior goaltender Brian Elliott is one that has exceeded all expectations.<\/p>\n
The coaching staff for the Wisconsin men’s hockey team, at the outset of the 2005-’06 season, spoke of a player that had the talent, but would need time before filling the skates of All-American Bernd Bruckler.<\/p>\n
Five months later, as the Badgers prep for postseason play this weekend — they host Michigan Tech in a best-of-three first-round WCHA series — Elliott serves as the team’s backbone and most important player.<\/p>\n
The Badgers have been at their best this season with Elliott in goal. His 1.76 goals against average and .931 save ratio led the WCHA. The team was 18-2-2 before Elliott injured his left knee in practice Jan. 18 and was forced to miss eight games. During that stretch, the Badgers went 3-5 and allowed more than 3.5 goals per game.<\/p>\n
Since Elliott’s return, however, the Badgers have been returning to the early-season form that caught national attention, including eight straight weeks as the No. 1 team in the country. With Elliott playing in only his second full series since returning, the Badgers posted two wins over St. Cloud State. It was the first four-point weekend for UW since Jan. 13-14, Elliott’s last series in goal before the injury.<\/p>\n
“It feels good,” said Elliott, who stopped 64 of 65 shots against St. Cloud State, including a career-high 37 Saturday night. “You’re not expecting to do anything really. Just go out there and play your best.”<\/p>\n
Elliott said the team is looking forward to the playoffs, and that the recent success has had an impact on practice.<\/p>\n
“It’s a different attitude when you come to the rink,” he said. “Guys are more excited to be here. When you win, you enjoy it, and when you enjoy it, you’re winning. I think that’s what a lot of guys are looking forward to.”<\/p>\n
To the extent that Elliott played well in the last series of the regular season, he now solidifies himself in serious consideration for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award — to be presented to college hockey’s top player at the Frozen Four in early April.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, Elliott joined elite Badger company, tying the UW record for shutouts in a season (four). Then, Saturday’s 3-1 victory made Elliott the first 20-game winner in the nation. Elliott’s performance also earned WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors.<\/p>\n
Fully recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him, Elliott said he is slowly regaining the confidence that both he and the team need for a successful run in the postseason.<\/p>\n
“It’s good to get out there and feel the same way I felt in the beginning of the year,” Elliott said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Brian Elliott’s year had been straight out of a storybook — until his injury. Now, the junior netminder appears set to lead Wisconsin back to its early-season form in the WCHA playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":140328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n