46 // VARSITY March 20, 2014
State at home and at Michigan ― and, by that time,
UW had run off 10 wins in the span of 11 games.
"I would have a really good game and you might
get pulled the next game," Rumpel said of sharing
goalie duties in his first two seasons. "It was kind of
hot and cold, which is to be expected when you're
young. But now I'm a lot more consistent and a lot
more confident every single night I go into the rink.
"You definitely just have that confidence and con-
sistency."
One thing the Badgers can be confident of is their
place in the NCAA tournament, regardless of what
happens in their Big Ten semifinal matchup with ei-
ther Michigan or Penn State. Unlike a year ago, when
the Badgers went into their last WCHA Final Five in
need of that league's automatic bid, their place in the
NCAA field is secure after racking up 22 wins and go-
ing 13-6-1 in the first season of Big Ten play.
But that doesn't mean they don't want to replicate
the result of their run to the Broadmoor Trophy by
taking a pair of games at the Xcel Energy Center in
St. Paul, a building in which the Badgers have won
six straight.
"We want to go into this tournament and we want
to win,' Rumpel said. "We won the last-ever WCHA,
or the last one we were in, and we want to win the
first Big Ten. That's what we are going there to do,
and that's what we have our goal set on."
"We had high expectations for this year, being
named preseason favorite, which we obviously
couldn't quite pull off," McCabe said. "But I think that
playoff (championship) is extra special, it means a
lot.
"And if we come out of that with a title, I think we'll
have a good chance at a number one seed."
So there is plenty to play for. That list includes a
championship, a chance at improved NCAA seeding
and, oh yeah, maybe a chance to break the regular-
season stalemate with arch rival Minnesota after the
teams split their first four meetings as Big Ten foes.
"Michigan and Penn State are great hockey teams
and I think it will be hard enough to get past them
before we look ahead to anything else, so we are just
focused on that right now," Rumpel said. "But obvi-
ously we would like another crack at the Gophers in
the final."
GREG
ANDERSON
