They're starting to see it.

Looking at how they've played in the last two weekends, Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey players have noticed the changes that have turned a team merely good enough to compete into one good enough to win.

Last Saturday at Minnesota-Duluth, it was an all-around contribution highlighted by stretches of near domination that gave UW a key road victory.

"If we can play like that every game, my job's going to be a hell of a lot easier," Badgers goaltender Shane Connelly said after a 4-1 victory. "There's less pressure on us and more pressure on the other goalie. I like what I see. If we can find a way to continue that for the rest of the season, game in, game out, period to period, we're going to be a really good team."

That "if" is a big one because inconsistency has been an all-too-frequent stopping point for Badgers successful stretches over the last few years.

With just three weeks left in the first half of the season, however, the Badgers have positioned themselves to go into the holiday break in decent position if Connelly's assessment is true.

While the teams that Wisconsin has amassed its five-game unbeaten streak are a combined 5-10-2 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play, not including the games against UW, the Badgers have improved noticeably in a number of key areas.

Start with team defense. After allowing 30 goals in the first six games of the season, the Badgers have allowed 11 in the last six.

Shots on goal against are down, especially over the last five games, when the highest total allowed (34 in a shutout of Michigan Tech on Nov. 8) was four less than the average of the first seven games.

The best combined special teams in the WCHA has played a big role in the last six games, outscoring opponents 13-5 in power play and shorthanded situations.

The concerns in 5-on-5 situations are decreasing, but coach Mike Eaves said his team still isn't creating enough in the offensive zone.

The Badgers are starting to find their identity, senior forward Tom Gorowsky said.

"I think in all aspects of the game we're getting better," he said. "It's still a process. You've got to wait until after Christmas to really see who you are, but we're getting better."

The overall record (4-6-2) is getting closer to even after an 0-6-1 start.

"If we continue to build wins, we'll start to slowly erase the six losses in our loss column from the start of the year," Connelly said. "We're starting to play more as a team. We have more trust. It just takes us some time. The schedule we played didn't help us out in adjusting to that period. But now we're starting to hit our stride."

Davies' challenge: 5-on-5

Michael Davies will have to show he can be effective in even-strength situations before he gets back in the lineup, Eaves said.