When the University of Wisconsin men’s hockey team prepared to play its first Western Collegiate Hockey Association games of the second half of the last two seasons, it did so without some key players. Those series coincided with the final days of the World Junior Championship, the top international under-20 competition and an event to which the Badgers often lose multiple skaters.
The weekends of the World Juniors are supposed to be clear of WCHA games, and Badgers coach Mike Eaves said the league has apologized for the scenarios over the last two seasons. There are no such worries in the 2008-09 schedule, which was released Tuesday.