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Wisconsin goaltender Joel Rumpel has missed the past four games after suffering an ankle injury in practice Oct. 15, but he appears ready to make his return to the lineup. Wisconsin travels to Oxford, Ohio, this weekend, where the Badgers will face off against 8th-ranked Miami.
"He's coming along good," head coach Mike Eaves said at his weekly press conference Monday. "If things would go accordingly, he would probably get a game this weekend -- If he has the type of week that I hope he has out there."
And what is he looking for out of Rumpel this week?
"It's all the little things,'' Eaves said. "It's handling the puck, it's controlling the rebounds, it's making the saves he should make.''
Landon Peterson, who started the season 1A and 1B with Rumpel for the starting goaltender job according to Eaves, has been inconsistent during Rumpel's absence. With Rumpel on the shelf, Peterson went 1-2-1 with a .821 save percentage and 4.95 goals-against average.
While Eaves might not be completely sold on his junior goaltender being ready this weekend, Rumpel made no bones about his readiness.
"I'm healthy and ready to go,'' Rumpel told the Wisconsin State Journal. "I feel ready and the ankle's feeling good.''
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