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TORONTO – Jonathan Bernier had made a mere 54 starts in the NHL before he joined the Maple Leafs this past summer. "I played a lot in junior, played a lot in the AHL, but last three years I didnt play much, so I kind of forgot how to prepare myself," said Bernier in conversation with the Leaf Report. "I forgot how hard it is to be ready every night." He is rapidly rediscovering what it takes. Making his third straight start in a rare Sunday night affair, the 25-year-old stopped 41 shots as the Leafs picked up back-to-back wins for the first time in three weeks, topping the Hurricanes 5-2 at the ACC. Bernier has sizzled with a .949 save percentage in his last five games, settling into a groove in the Toronto crease. He appears firmly on track to start in Wednesdays Winter Classic. "Thats up to Randy," said Bernier with a smile, now ranked eighth in the NHL with a .930 save percentage this season. "Obviously, itd be a really nice experience, but like Ive said since the beginning, you cant control what Randy is going to decide. Thats up to him." Bernier spoke earlier in the year about the mental and physical preparation required to play near-nightly in an NHL crease. Having tended goal as the back-up to Jonathan Quick for years with the Kings, he had forgotten the formula it took for success. With 23 starts already as a Leaf, he is picking it up once more. "Youve got to learn when to push yourself in practice or when to rest yourself, all those little things; when to work in the gym, when not," he explained. "You dont want to overwork, but at the same time you need those good practices to get back in the game and feel good about yourself." He is admittedly better prepared for the workload, one that is considerably more taxing night to night than what he experienced in Los Angeles. Sunday marked the fifth time he faced at least 40 shots this season. Its just another step in the learning process. "Im sure Ill be a different goalie or different person in two years from now," he said. "I never really played that much in this league so far. Its all new for me." Five Points 1. Bozaks Impactful Return Playing his first game since Dec. 3, returning from an oblique injury, Tyler Bozak made a splash with three assists against Carolina. The 27-year-old had a hand in both Phil Kessel goals – Kessels team-leading 19th and 20th – adding his 10th assist this season on Paul Rangers second goal of the year. Bozak, who entered the night averaging upwards of 21 minutes a game, was held to 17-plus on Sunday night, his ice-time managed after more than three weeks on long-term injured reserve. That will change in the near future according to Carlyle, who relies on the fifth-year centre in all situations. "We think a lot of a player by the number of minutes he plays," said Carlyle. "Usually thats a good indication of how coaches feel about players." The Leafs coach spoke of Bozaks intangibles. "Hes a smart hockey player," Carlyle continued. "He does a lot of little things that dont get noticed on the score-sheet and he puts himself in a position to be the safety valve for the other two players hes playing with." Alongside Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, Bozak and the Toronto top line enjoyed a flurry of opportunities against the Hurricanes, including a handful of breakaways for Kessel, but also had their issues in the defensive zone, being outshot by the trio of Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin and Nathan Gerbe. Gerbe scored Carolinas first goal of the game with the line out on the ice. Prior to the game, van Riemsdyk spoke of Bozaks ability to impact the trio as a "safety valve" defensively. "Were usually going against other teams top offensive units and hes really good at competing with them down-low, getting the puck out of the zone," said van Riemsdyk. "When he does that…it gives all of us more energy to play offence. When youre not getting hemmed in as much and youre good defensively. you have more energy to expend on offence." Bozak now has eight points in the past five games hes played, also winning 14 of 26 draws on this night. 2. Face-off Work Carlyle stressed the need for increased competitiveness in the face-off circle prior to Sundays game and he got it. The Leafs won 60 per cent of their draws against the Hurricanes, led by Jay McClement, who emerged victorious on 15 of 24 face-offs. "If youre not having success against the individual, then Im about being competitive and I believe that our team has to become more competitive in those small areas," said Carlyle earlier in the day. "When theres a 50-50 opportunity to come up with the puck, I think we have to show more tenacity, more bite, and what it comes down to, its more competitive spirit." Jerred Smithson, reassigned to the Marlies on Saturday, recently offered a similar sentiment in conversation with the Leaf Report. "Its just wanting to win the battle more than that other guy," said Smithson, who held a 59 per cent mark in 17 games with the Leafs. "Thats the biggest thing for me, anyway. You know theres always different techniques, but just the will and the compete going into the circle and wanting it just that much more." Outside of Smithson and McClement, Toronto centres have all dipped under the 50 per cent mark. Even Bozak, long the teams best face-off man, has fallen to 46 per cent in 17 games this season. Centre Face-off Percentage Jerred Smithson 58.6 Jay McClement 54.9 Tyler Bozak 46.6 Trevor Smith 45.2 Peter Holland 45.2 Nazem Kadri 42.1 Dave Bolland 41.3 The Leafs, at 47.2 per cent this season, sit 25th overall on the draw. 3. Opposing Strategy Despite beating the Hurricanes handily, the Leafs did not play what could be considered a smooth game. Carlyle felt his team was "overmatched in a lot of areas" and were outshot 43-27 and out-attempted 75-49. The Leafs coach has identified the formula of opposing teams. "They got to the red-line and they dumped the puck in," he said of the Hurricanes. "That seems to be the mandate for teams coming in here: you try to force us to play as much defence [as possible] in our own zone." Carlyle said opponents have been intent on forcing his team to recover pucks down low and along the walls in the Toronto zone, pinching their defencemen where possible for added support. "Its no secret," he said. "We havent been able to hand that or manage the game properly in that area and weve got to get better at it." 4. Best Period as a Leaf? David Clarkson left the bench for the final 13 minutes of the second period. The 29-year-old required stitches for a gash on his elbow. He returned a different player for the final frame. "Probably the best period of hockey hes played for us," said Carlyle of Clarksons third period. Employed in checking line duties alongside McClement and Nik Kulemin for the past five games, Clarkson seems to be gradually finding a role with the Leafs. On Sunday, his units duties included a showdown with Eric Staal, Jeff Skinner and Tuomo Ruutu. And though they were outshot, the trio managed to keep Carolinas top line off the scoresheet. "We feel confident that we can put that line on the ice against any line weve played so far," Carlyle said. "So when you have that type of confidence in the group, the sum of the three, its a good sign for the coaching staff. We feel confident in those players. And if you notice their minutes, they get to play a lot." 5. Hollands Opportunity With Bozak back from a 12-game stint on injured reserve and a checking unit of Clarkson, Kulemin and McClement remaining intact, Peter Holland moved down the lineup Sunday into the fourth line centre position. The shift wasnt because of performance. Holland has made good use of an opportunity presented by the teams injury troubles. He entered the evening with eight points in the previous 10 games. "I thought Ive come in and Ive gotten stronger pretty much on a consistent basis, game in, game out," said the 22-year-old, shooting a blistering 23 per cent on six goals this season. "Whether Im playing five minutes or 15 minutes, I think Im just trying to do my best to earn the respect of my coaches and the rest of my teammates. Just do the little things right; winning battles; winning face-offs; being on the defensive side of pucks. I think when Ive done a good job of that the offence has come, so I just need to stick with that." Holland, who played only eight minutes against Carolina, is tied for third on the team in December scoring. Stats-Pack .949 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier over the past five games. 43-72 – Leafs in the face-off circle against the Hurricanes. 17:14 – Ice-time for Tyler Bozak in his return to the lineup against Carolina. 6 – Seasons with 20-plus goals for Phil Kessel. 8 – Points in the last five games for Bozak, who had three assists against the Hurricanes. 8 – Goals from the Toronto defence in the past 12 games. Along with Ranger, Dion Phaneuf scored his fourth marker of the season on Sunday. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2 Season: 22.3% (5th) PK: 1-2 Season: 77.5% (27th) Quote of the Night "I wasnt waving the pompoms to be involved with it to start with." -Randy Carlyle, on the upcoming Winter Classic. Up Next The Leafs face the Red Wings in Wednesdays Winter Classic. 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Cleveland released the troubled wide receiver on Wednesday, an expected ending after Bess was arrested in January for assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport and other bizarre behaviour.Madison, WI (SportsNetwork.com) - With a spot in the Big Ten Conference Championship Game on the line, the 22nd-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers and 14th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers meet in the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. The winner of his bout will play in the leagues title tilt as the West Divisions representative. East Division champion Ohio State has already secured its place. Minnesota has quietly made a name for itself this season, as coach Jerry Kills club sprinted out to an 8-3 record, and with its 5-2 league ledger, is just a game back of the Badgers, who come in at 9-2 overall and 6-1 in conference. With wins over Michigan, Northwestern and Purdue to open conference play, the Golden Gophers were high on the fact that they could actually challenge for the division title, but losses in their next three games raised some doubt. Fortunately, UM responded by battling back to knock off nationally-ranked Nebraska, on the road no less, last Saturday, 28-24, to set up this weeks showdown with Wisconsin. The Badgers have enjoyed another stellar campaign, but they put themselves in this precarious position after suffering a 20-14 loss at Northwestern back on Oct. 4. They bounced back to post six straight victories, with the latest being a 26-24 decision at Iowa last Saturday. With a win in this contest, Wisconsin will play in the Big Ten Championship Game for the third time since its inception in 2011. The Badgers won the first two in defeating Michigan State (42-39, 2011) and Nebraska (70-31, 2012), respectively. Minnesota leads the all-time series with Wisconsin, 59-56-8, but the Badgers have closed the gap by winning the last 10 meetings, including a 20-7 decision in Minneapolis last season. This game boasts a pair of punishing rushing attacks, although Wisconsins has certainly been more productive. Still, the Gophers have a talented back on which to rely, as David Cobb has picked up 1,430 yards while scoring 12 TDs in helping the team average 228.9 ypg on the ground. With Cobb handling much of the heavy lifting, QB Mitch Leidner (1,445 yards, 10 TDs, eight INTs) hasnt had to do a whole lot, other than run the offense as efficiently as possible. Maxx Williams is the leading receiver, but with only 28 grabs for 418 yards, although he has caught seven TD passes. As for the Minnesota defense, it has performed admirably in permitting just 22.5 ppg, which ties it with Ohio State for the fifth-lowest scoring yield on average in the Big Ten. The Gophers are among the league leaders in turnover margin (+11). Damien Wilson is the teams top tackler with 103, which is 35 more than his closest teammate. Leidner simply wouldnt led the Golden Gophers quit last weekend at Nebraska. Trailing 21-7 at halftime, the visitors stormed back to earn the thrilling victory, as UMs signal caller rushed for a game-high 111 yards and two TDs. His passing exploits (8-of-17, 135 yards, two sacks) left quite a bit to be desired, but with the ground game doing its thing, he didnt need to air it out much. Cobb generated 80 yards and a score on 15 carries before exiting with a hamstring injury, while Williams and KJ Maye combined for five catches and 95 yards. The Minnesota defense did a solid job of keeping NNebraskas Ameer Abdullah from single-handedly taking control of the game as it held the talented RB to 98 yards and a TD on 20 totes.ddddddddddddIn all, the Cornhuskers finished with 397 total yards, but lost a pair of fumbles, suffered four sacks and lost the time of possession battle by nearly 10 minutes. DeVondre Campbell paced the Gophers with 11 tackles. Coach Kill praised the attitude his team displayed as last weeks game wore on, and how it was a reflection of the spirit in which the Gophers have attacked the season. They are mentally tough, we talk about mental toughness throughout the season and to be physically tough. Today our kids were mentally tough and just hung in there and played hard. The nations leading rusher wears a Wisconsin uniform, as Melvin Gordon has enjoyed a record-setting campaign. Gordon, a bona fide Heisman contender, set the new FBS single-game rushing record on Nov. 15 against Nebraska with 408 yards, but that benchmark lasted all of one week, as Oklahoma freshman Samaje Perine topped it by 19 yards last Saturday against Kansas. While Gordon is disappointed to lose the record so soon, he wont let it deter him from the task at hand. In fact, he followed his record-setting performance with another outstanding effort in last Saturdays narrow win at Iowa, as he rushed for 200 yards and a pair of TDs to become the 17th player in FBS history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season. He reached the mark faster than anyone in FBS history, doing so on 241 carries, and his effort also tied former UW star Ron Daynes Big Ten single-season rushing record (2,109 yards). Wisconsin almost blew a 16-point lead to the Hawkeyes, but with Gordon towing the line, it held on for the narrow win. The yardage totals in the game were almost dead even (405 for UW, 412 for UI), but of course the rushing yards were skewed heavily in favor of the visitors (266-101). Joel Stave was efficient in hitting 11-of-14 passes for 139 yards, but he is rarely asked to do more than steer the ship, so to speak. The UW passing attack is an afterthought for the most part, as it accounts for only 141.7 ypg. Stave and Tanner McEvoy have taken the majority of the snaps, combining for just over 1,500 yards, 11 TDs and 10 INTs. Alex Erickson leads the receivers with 39 catches for 491 yards, and he has three TD receptions. With pass plays being few and far between, its no wonder Wisconsin leads the league in fewest sacks allowed (eight). The Badgers rank second nationally in scoring defense (16.1 ppg) and third in total defense (259.3 ypg). Their effort against the run yields fewer than 100 yards per contest, while they lead the Big Ten in pass defense (162.2 ypg). Michael Caputo heads the team in tackles with 81, and he recorded 11 stops, both forced and recovered a fumble, and broke up a pass against Iowa. Like Kill for Minnesota, Wisconsin head coach Gary Andersen heaped praise on his team for standing tall in the face of some adversity last weekend. Im so proud of these kids and the way they kept fighting. All three phases contributed which was great to see, but just the fight when things dont go your way you have a lead that you feel pretty good about and all of a sudden its right back in. ' ' '