The first half of the 2008-09 season is now in the books.  Well, in terms of the calendar, half the season is in the rearview mirror.  Game-wise, however, 60% of the regular season is in the books, but the 'Jackets hope that they haven't yet reached the halfway point.

"We'd like to think that we have a lot more hockey to go.  In Division III, we can play a maximum of 33 games if we go all the way, so hopefully we aren't even halfway home yet," said Head Coach Dan Stauber.  "We may only have ten games left in the regular season, but there isn't an easy one in the bunch.  The tough part of our schedule is still ahead of us, and eight of the ten are conference games."

But let's take a moment to look back at the first 15 games and what the 'Jackets accomplished to date in 2008-09.

*A record of 13-1-1.  The 13 wins ties the number of wins the team had all of last season.

*A current 12-game unbeaten streak, which is tied for the third-longest such streak in school history.

*Four road wins in NCHA play.  Last season, they had just three wins in NCHA play away from Wessman Arena.

*A top-ranked offense.  The 'Jackets have the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the nation, averaging 4.87 goals per-game, scoring 73 goals in 15 games.  The 73 goals are just five goals shy of their total for all of last season.

*A top-ranked defense.  The 'Jackets have the third-ranked scoring defense in the nation, allowing an average of 1.60 goals -er game on 24 goals in 15 games.

*Top-ranked special teams.  The 'Jackets are seventh nationally in combined special teams.  The penalty kill is fifth in the country.  The power play, although it has faltered lately, has scored 17 goals, which is just two power play goals shy of their total from last year.

*Individual honors.  The 'Jackets had two players receive NCHA Player of the Week honors.  That hadn't happened since the 2004-05 season.

*Individual leaders.  Several players can be found at or near the top of the charts nationally in many different statistical categories.

There were wins over ranked opponents in St. Norbert, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, Stout and Hamline.  It seemed that every weekend brought a new test to the team, one that would validate that they were a true contender in the west.  Whether it was the road series win at Stout and River Falls, the win over St. Norbert, or the wins at Stevens Point and Eau Claire, the 'Jackets had to continually prove themselves in the first half; all tests were passed.  And as impressive as the aforementioned wins were, the most impressive may have been the come-from-behind win against Hamline.

"I think that may have been the turning point right there," Stauber said.  "In the past, that was the kind of game that we would have tied or lost.  But we learned in the first half how to win games like that and we came from behind more than once."

Trailing Hamline 3-1 with just under eight minutes to play, the 'Jackets scored twice in the final 6:31 to tie the game before Chris Wilson scored the game-winner 1:12 into overtime.

"That was a very big goal early in the year.  It gave us a gutty win and our guys came out of that game with a little swagger, and that's something we hadn't seen out of them in a while," Stauber said.  "It's important to have a little swagger, and since that night we've had it and we've played pretty well for the most part."

The numbers don't lie; the 'Jackets have had an incredible start to the season.  They played like world-beaters for October and most of November, but some of those games were against opponents that didn't pose much of a challenge.  And since their win over St. Norbert on November 22, they have not played their best hockey.  Although they are 4-0-1 in that stretch, only the win over Stevens Point resembled the games of earlier in the year, meaning the break could have come at just the right time.

"There's no doubt that we played some good hockey during the first half, no doubt about it.  But since we beat St. Norbert, for the most part we haven't had the same intensity and the result has been some ugly games," Stauber said.  "The Stevens Point game was the best of the last five, but in the other four, there was some ugly hockey.

"So some may think the break is coming at a time when we are on a roll and it could kill our momentum.  I look at it the other way.  The guys have been at it for a long time, with dryland and a lot of practices and games.  We haven't been sharp of late and the guys were a bit tired, so the break comes at a time when we need to recharge."

And recharge they will.  Following last Saturday's game at Finlandia and final exams this past week, the 'Jackets aren't due back in Superior until after the new year and will have had nearly a month off from game action.

"We're giving them a little more time off then in past years, and giving them the chance to spend both Christmas and New Year's at home with their friends and family," Stauber said.  "Hopefully then they can come back to Superior and be focused for three good months and make a strong run the second half."

The scene is set, and the 'Jackets are primed for a magical run in 2008-09, but it could all come crashing down as quickly as it was built.

"The guys are aware of it.  We made sure of that before they left," Stauber said.  "We put ourselves in a good position by taking care of our business every night.  If we do that the second half of the year, then we'll be playing hockey for a while.  But if we come back and aren't focused on our tasks at hand, then we could see ourselves dropping in the standings and in the NCAA rankings and the season could be over before we know it.

"That's happened the past couple of years and the guys in this room have had enough of that.  They're ready to have that long playoff run that they've watched others have.  They're ready to write their own chapter in the history of Yellowjacket Hockey and want people to remember them as one of those special teams this school has had.  But we'll need a good, solid stretch run to get us to that point."

The stretch run starts January 9.