NCAA: Badgers Slip Without Elliott

Without injured star goalie Brian Elliott, the Wisconsin Badgers lost the No. 1 national ranking last weekend after being swept by the two-time defending champion Denver Pioneers. This past weekend wasn't any easier as Wisconsin dropped another pair, this time to arch-rivals Minnesota. We have performance reviews on five of the key drafted Badgers including Jack Skille (Chi) and Robbie Earl (Tor).

Jack Skille (Chi), RW

Turned in his best performance of the season .. criticized for his uninvolved play all season, yet showed tons of heart all weekend .. played role of agitator and was a brash physical presence, including a running feud with Gophers forward Kris Chucko .. used his prodigious frame to advantage, wreaking havoc in the corners on the forecheck .. especially effective in the first contest, scoring a critical goal to jumpstart a comeback attempt for the Badgers .. planting in front of the net, Skille took a nice pass and snapped a wristshot low glove side .. demonstrated this weekend that he can be a force when physically willing and competitive .. disrupted the Gophers' breakout numerous times and was virtually uncontainable on the cycle .. however, he's been maddeningly inconsistent this season, at times appearing to lack hockey sense and playmaking ability .. but he showed up to play against Kessel's Gophers and proved very impressive when motivated to be a bull in a china shop.

Robbie Earl (Tor), LW

This is the type of game the Badgers and Maple Leafs would like to see more often out of the offensively-empowered winger .. his speed and skating ability seemed to be on par (if not better) with Phil Kessel .. held to just one assist over the two-game series though was arguably the most dangerous offensive threat for the Badgers .. flew down the ice and showcased some nifty 1-on-1 moves to create scoring opportunities for himself .. assisted on the first goal of the game Saturday thanks to a beautiful pass through the slot from the corner which Tom Gilbert finished nicely .. surprisingly involved physically and showed a level of intensity that has often been absent this season .. showed impressive toughness on one play when a Gophers' defender had him lined up in the neutral zone, but he saw it coming, lowered his shoulder, and knocked the aggressor down with a show of force .. forechecked hard, utilizing his speed to gain possession down low in the offensive zone .. battled through checks and drove hard to the net .. still can be inconsistent from shift to shift however and, despite giving a strong offensive effort, seemed to be uninterested in his own zone .. didn't backcheck with much intensity at all, though has clearly improved on some of his deficiencies .. will require lots of patience though and still could pay off handsomely down the road.

Tom Gilbert (Edm), D

- A useful two-way defenseman who could go either way in terms of being able to play in the NHL .. scored the Badgers' lone goal Saturday when he snuck into the slot undetected and finished on a nice wrist shot from a pretty feed from Robbie Earl .. an effective offensive defenseman, though not a true power-play quarterback despite the strong numbers .. good at holding the zone and keeping the play going with safe puck movements, however he doesn't come across as the deadliest of blueline distributors .. does possess a hard shot that is often accurate, although a slow release leads to blocked shots .. was a tad late identifying a wide-open Adam Burrish on an outlet play .. eventually found him with a nice long stretch pass that few can duplicate at this level, but it ultimately late arriving and Burrish was quickly sealed off .. despite boasting a large frame, he could stand to develop a bigger physical edge to his game .. looked strong in 1-on-1 situations as he shows the quickness and agility to keep up with his man .. maintains good gaps and is always in safe defensive positions .. though still lacking defensive intensity, he is steadily progressing and showing some NHL upside, though likely more as a depth defenseman rather than a nightly producer.

Kyle Klubertanz (Ana), D

- Played hard though was mostly ineffective .. struggled to spark the second power play unit .. a mobile defenseman who is a bit undersized, Klubertanz has made a living this season by pinching in offensively and playing hard in his own zone .. held off the stat sheet and failed to create any offensive opportunities .. competed very hard defensively though and won his fair share of 1-on-1 battles .. keeps a tight gap with his man and was strong in front of his goaltender clearing out screens and rebounds .. his skating is a big asset .. though not a world-class skater, he is however an all-compass skater with no glaring holes .. played a solid outlet game without mistakes but conversely didn't make any big plays either .. never gave up all weekend, highlighted by a nice last-minute clear Friday, diving and deflecting the puck away to stop Ryan Stoa who a clear breakaway and a wide-open net .. similar in some regards to Alex Goligoski in that his strengths are skating and puck movement, although Klubertanz seems more advanced in his defensive play .. just not all that special offensively yet, but is only a sophomore and still has time to blossom.

Joe Pavelski (SJ), C

- The Badgers' leading scorer delivered an uncharacteristic performance during the series .. the lack of power behind his stride seems to be the glaring deficiency .. strong on his feet and can handle his own in traffic, however his first step is slow and his top-end speed isn't anything special .. does possess a keen sense and feel for the game though and gets himself in the right spot at the right time .. will pay the price and drove to the net hard all weekend .. missed on several in-close chances by mere inches .. heavy wristshot that is deadly accurate, albeit he needs to learn how to use it more often and more effectively .. quarterbacks the first powerplay unit .. a tremendous playmaker with exceptional vision .. one of the more crisp tape-to-tape passers in the league .. also kills penalties, though struggled defensively at times with to contain the more skilled of the Gopher forwards .. on the ice for quite a few goals against .. usually a bright spot for Wisconsin and is developing very well for a seventh round pick .. yet didn't come through for the Badgers this weekend as he was held pointless and failed to create much in the way of offense.