7 Badgers make US Women's Hockey Olympic Team

Congratulations to Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, Jessie Vetter, Erika Lawler, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergej, Molly Engstrom, and Kerry Weiland!

Yesterday, USA Hockey announced the 21-player Olympic roster, cutting 2 skaters from the Qwest Tour roster. The above 7 Badgers made the final cut. Badger Angie Keseley was one of the 2 players missing the final cut. (I believe Rachel Drazan was the other.)

If you're able to road-trip this holiday season, head on over to the Excel Energy Center on Dec 30 (7 PM) to see Team USA take on Team Canada.

And don't forget to head on over to the Kohl Center on Tuesday, January 5 (7 PM) to see the Badger Women host Team USA.

Anchorman: The Legend of Adam Burish

In case anyone is wondering how Adam Burish is going to fill in his time while he's recovering from his ACL injury, here's something to chew on (props to uw14 on the USCHO forums for finding it):

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/m-hockey/spec-rel/121709aab.html

Big Ten Network to Debut Pre- and Post-Game Hockey Shows in January
Former Badger, current Blackhawk Adam Burish to rotate as analyst

Dec. 17, 2009

CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network is enhancing its live coverage of men’s ice hockey this season with the addition of pregame, intermission and post-game shows in conjunction with its Friday and Saturday telecasts in January, February and March.

Overall, the network is quadrupling its live men’s ice hockey coverage with the studio shows, nine telecasts and more than 20 live streamed games in 2009-10.

In addition, the network has added a pair of former WCHA stars to its lineup, including former University of Wisconsin captain and current Chicago Blackhawks winger Adam Burish and former Golden Gopher and retired NHL veteran Darby Hendrickson.

Burish and Hendrickson will rotate as studio analysts for the network’s pre- and post-game shows when they debut in January. Each will work alongside studio host Rick Pizzo, who played goaltender at the NCAA Division III level.

Burish, a native of Madison, Wis., captained the Badgers’ 2006 national championship team and assisted on both goals in the Badgers’ 2-1 victory in the national championship game against Boston College. A four-year NHL veteran, Burish is currently sidelined with a torn ACL in his knee and isn’t expected to rejoin the Blackhawks until April.

...

Now, we should probably all shout with joy. Not just for Burish (who, by the way, is PERFECTLY suited for this kind of gig), but because we're actually seeing a sign that the BTN might actually give a rip about hockey. This is the same network that in its first year of operation mysteriously cancelled its coverage of one game between the Badgers and the Gophers, then pre-empted an absurd amount of the other game in the series because of a press conference for when Indiana's basketball coach got fired. The BTN's coverage of college hockey has been lackluster at best. Despite the great quality of the Big Ten hockey programs themselves (ok... everyone but OSU), there hasn't exactly been a lot of coverage, much less quality coverage being thrown hockey's way.

Not that we shouldn't be taking this with an appropriate grain of salt (it is the BTN after all...), but you'd have to think that even just PROMOTING the games for a change would be a huge step forward. Seriously, when's the last time you saw a hockey promo on the BTN? Now, they're suddenly quadrupling the amount of games covered AND throwing together what looks to be an interesting pre and post game show? I love it. Even if it still ends up being not as good as the coverage the stupid goofs get from FSN-Mn, this is still a major improvement, and we have to appreciate that.

Recruiting: Stats Update

Updated the statistics for committed and uncommitted prospects for the Badger hockey program. You can check it out here. In addition, Wisconsin has been linked to Benilde-St. Margaret's (Minnesota) Forward Christian Horn and St. Thomas Academy (Minnesota) Defenseman Taylor Fleming.

Some brief snip-its on prospects who have been playing well lately:

Committed Players:

Tyler Lapic (Pictured)-After going scoreless in his first 5 games in the USHL, the New Prague product has recorded 7 points in his past 9 games, with 4 points in his past 4 times on the ice. Saturday night against Sioux Falls, Lapic had two assists and was a plus 4. Lapic most likely will join the Badger program next fall.

Jake McCabe-The most recent recruit to commit to the Badger program, McCabe had a productive weekend with two assists for the NTDP. The Eau Claire native doubled his point total for the season in a win and an overtime loss against Youngstown. McCabe will accelerate his studies to step onto the Wisconsin campus in 2011.

Jordan Schmaltz-The other committed 1993 born defenseman (McCabe being the other) had a nice weekend for the Chicago Mission. Schmaltz had a goal in all three games for the Mission. Schmaltz who will play for the Badgers in the fall of 2012 now has 23 points in 28 games this season for the Mission after a brief stint in the USHL with Sioux City.

Cody Strang-Last years Wisconsin Mr. Hockey award winner had a very productive weekend for Youngstown. After sitting out an entire month, Strang recorded his first three points of the season. His assist Friday night was on the game winner in overtime. Strang will come to Madison in either 2010 or 2011 depending on early departures.

Mark Zengerle-I don't think it even needs to be mentioned but I knew someone would bring him up if I didn't. Zengerle continues to absolutely dominate the BCHL. He's kept his 2.2 point per game average up so far over pretty much the whole season. The New York native now has 77 points in 35 games. He will be a welcomed addition to the Badgers lineup next fall.

Uncommitted Players:

Garrett Allen-The un-committed 1992 born forward from southern Wisconsin is having a very nice rookie season in the USHL. A surprise pick to make the Fargo roster, he has not disappointed. He chipped in another two points over the weekend to run his season line to 9-7-16 in 23 games for the Force. Allen has been linked to having strong interest in both Colorado College and Denver. Expect Wisconsin to make a push for his duties as they could use a few forwards from the 1992 born class.

Tim Davison-Davison is a very raw, young defenseman from Green Bay. He's a 94 born sophomore defenseman for Notre Dame Academy and definitely has D-1 potential. He had 6 points this weekend in two wins over teams ranked in the Wisconsin Prep Hockey Top 10. At 5 foot 11, and 160 pounds, he has time to grow into his frame and develop his game. Keep an eye out for him.

Matthew Fosdick-I've been wanting to bring this kid up for a while now. I saw him play for Team Wisconsin minor this fall and absolutely fell in love with him. Like Davison, Fosdick is a 1994 born sophomore defenseman. The major advantage he has over Davison is that as a sophomore he is already 6'1, 190 pounds, and has some very good skill. Through 5 games this winter, Fosdick leads his Brookfield team in points.

Tyler Lundey-The forward from Middleton had a slow start to the season but has come on strong. He's recorded 4 points in his past 3 games for Wichita Falls in the NAHL. Wisconsin doesn't usually dip into the NAHL for recruits but Lundey could be the exception. I expect him to move to the USHL next season and could be a target for the Badgers for 2011 where they could use a few forward recruits. Lundey, who will have been out of high school two years at that point could be a nice in-state recruit.

Max McCormick-McCormick, a senior and the second player from Green Bay Notre Dame to be featured in this post is having a break out season. It started in the fall when he led Team Wisconsin Majors in scoring in the Elite League and finished 10 overall in the league in scoring. He has continued his scoring into the winter with 19 points in his first 6 games.

chuckschwartz@live.com

MHKY G18: Badgers 4 - Sioux 3

“After the first period, we as a coaching staff addressed some issues that we felt were imperative and gave them some of our passion. They went out and played much better. In the third period, the leadership had ownership of the team at that point.” - Mike Eaves

“He's not going to crack under pressure, that's for sure. These last two nights have been some pretty high-pressure games and he's come up big and that's huge to show your teammates that.” - Ben Street, talking about Scott Gudmandson

“It's great for his confidence, great for our team's confidence in him. We always knew he had it in him, but it's good that he had to show that this early in the season.” - Blake Geoffrion, talking about Scott Gudmandson

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: UW edges UND, 4-3
- fightingsioux: Dominant first period not enough as Sioux fall to Badgers
- Baggot (WSJ): Gudmandson responds, helps Badgers dump Fightin Sioux
- Miller (USCHO): Gudmandson stops 31 as Wisconsin edges North Dakota
- Schlossman (GF Herald): Sioux men fall to Badgers
Blogs: Capobianco (uwbadgers), Schlossman (GF Herald blog)


Schlossman tells us that Sioux senior Darcy Zajac will miss the next 4-6 weeks due to an undisclosed injury.

I had to listen to the 1st period on the radio, but dang, the 1st period sounded brutal for the Badgers -- 3 SOG the whole period? 17 Sioux SOG? -- but hey, I'm willing to overlook that because Gudmandson was outstanding during the 5-on-3 PK and made a definite statement that the team can rely on him in net. Not that I think the team didn't feel that way before, Goody has played well all year, but I think his play during that 5-on-3 put a bit of an exclamation point on things, and that makes me happy.

Besides, it was also nice to see how the Badgers responded in the 2nd and 3rd after a less-than-stellar 1st period. Good stuff.

And it was nice to see the Badgers score 3 PP goals. It's one thing for the Badgers to hang a gazillion PP goals on Michigan Tech (whose PK is brutal), but it's something else entirely for the Badgers to go 3-for-7 on the PP v. North Dakota. Eidsness didn't play all that well last night, but nonetheless it was good to see the Badgers' PP clicking.

Oh, and being who I am, I can't neglect to post this excerpt from Baggot's game story:

They don't appear on the stat sheet, but the fourth line of senior left winger Andy Bohmbach, sophomore center Matt Thurber and junior right winger Patrick Johnson were major contributors. Their energy and effort in all three zones kept the Badgers in a rhythm all night.

"They gave us great minutes," UW coach Mike Eaves said after his club improved to 6-1-1 at The Ralph since 2005-06.

I suppose I may as well add that the officiating this weekend was terrible. You might think that it goes without saying, we've come to expect less-than-stellar officiating, but it seemed to me that Todd Anderson and Peter Friesema were especially inconsistent this weekend. I have pretty low standards -- officiating is never perfect, and there will be poor calls that your team just has to play past -- but wow . . .

MHKY G17: Badgers 3 - Sioux 3

"We were definitely fortunate and a little disappointed. At the same time, we're excited because we play again (tonight) and can redeem ourselves a little bit." - Michael Davies

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps: uwbadgers, fightingsioux, Baggot (WSJ), Miller (USCHO), Schlossman (GF Herald), Schlossman (GF Herald blog)
Game blogs: Capobianco (uwbadgers), Schlossman (GF Herald blog)

Well, I guess we can't reset the OT futility clock yet, but this is one situation I think in which I'll settle for the tie. UND's PP just looked too good, and so we might consider ourselves fortunate not to have lost this one during the overtime PK. (Although, dang, it would've been nice to not let them tie it up in the first place, I'll bet Gandalf is all fired-up.) I was a little bit in love with Scott Gudmandson last night (hey, it was FRIDAY, what do you expect?) -- he came up big a number of times in the 3rd/OT.

Your Badger goals were scored by Craig Smith (Geoffrion, Ramage), Blake Geoffrion (C Smith, Goloubef), and Andy Bohmbach (McDonagh, Thurber.) Brad Eidsness was pulled after the 3rd Badger goal, and the Sioux played much better in front of Aaron Dell.

As usual, Mike Eaves mixed up the Badger lines a bit during the 3rd period. I saw Bohmbach on a line with Aaron Bendickson and Ben Grotting -- not sure what the other lines were at that point. I gotta take another look.

CCRHC Jerseys

Not sure when this was decided, but evidently UW is wearing different alternate jerseys from what was worn during the College Hockey Showcase over Thanksgiving weekend. You can see the hideous College Hockey Showcase jerseys in the photo gallery on Michigan's website here. You can't find pictures of them anywhere on uwbadgers.com... probably because the hockey team doesn't play football or basketball. You know how Barry works. There are days when I doubt that he'd even seen a hockey game until 2006.

Back on track: if you get the UW Hockey Insider's e-mail from Paul Capobianco (which I highly recommend), you were informed that you can now buy the Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic jerseys at Bucky's Locker Room, or online. You can see them here.

Two alternate jerseys in a year? Someone wants to get more money from jersey sales...

Overall, I think the CCRHC jerseys are EASILY the best third jerseys we've had since the ones we used from about 2004-2006. Classic sort of look, with better looking shoulder patches instead of that childish looking "hockey logo" that the UW AD seems to prefer. The front of the jersey probably looks a little too much like our current road jerseys, with that fancy block font for the "BADGERS" instead of the usual "WISCONSIN" font, and the elbow stripes. But, it's not bad. And that's saying a lot, given our recent history with third jerseys.

It's Friday, And I Hate The Sue

Manifest Destiny!

It's Friday, I'm in Love

Saturday, wait
And Sunday always comes too late
But Friday, never hesitate...

BADGER MEN @ North Dakota: FRI 7:30 PM / SAT 7 PM

“The thing that can fall apart is our work ethic. Last week, we went into the week and we worked out hard and battled in practice because we were going to come in demanding two wins from ourselves, and given how many goals we scored, we need to be careful and make sure to do the same thing we did last week this week.” - John Mitchell

“We just want to prove that we’re [better] than what we are ranked. We think we’re a lot better — we want to prove that to everybody.” - Brendan Smith [Henson]

UW: 10-5-1 overall, 7-4-1 WCHA (last weekend 8-2 and 6-0 sweep of MTU)
UND: 9-5-2 overall, 6-5-1 WCHA (last weekend 4-2 win and 2-3 OT loss @ UMD)

Gameday Links
TV: Fox College Sports Central (both nights), NHL Network (Friday only)
Radio: WIBA 1310
Audio webstream: insideBADGERSPORTS ($9.95/mo), fightingsioux (free)
Video webstream: fightingsioux ($5.95/24-hour pass or $9.95/mo)
Live stats: fightingsioux
Live blog: Capobianco*, Worgull (BN)*

* I don't have the direct blog links, but they should be linked on the front page of their respective sites at game time.

Weekly Shooutout Winner
This week, BLAKE GEOFFRION won the shootout over Cody Goloubef. Geoffrion is the 1st repeat winner this year.

Here are the previous winners and how they did that weekend:
Wk 8: Brendan Smith (2-5-7, 8 SOG, +3)
Wk 7: Jordy Murray (0-1-1, E, 1 SOG, injured midway through 1st period on Sat)
Wk 6: Derek Stepan (0-1-1, E)
Wk 5: Jake Gardiner (0-0-0, +4, 3 SOG)
Wk 4: Blake Geoffrion (2-1-3, 10 SOG, +1)
Wk 3: Justin Schultz (0-0-0, E, 1 SOG, looked solid on D to me)
Wk 2: Mike Davies (0-2-0, 6 SOG, and sounds like he played really well)
Wk 1: Podge Turnbull (0-0-0, 5 SOG, and despite being held off the scoresheet I thought he looked really good)

Badger Lines
Mitchell - Geoffrion - C Smith
Lee - Street - Grotting
Bendickson - Stepan - Davies
Bohmbach - Thurber - P Johnson

McDonagh - Gardiner
B. Smith - Ramage
Goloubef - Schultz

Gudmandson
Thompson

The top 3 lines remain the same, as Jordy Murray is still out (shoulder). Sean Dolan is also out this weekend (foot), and so we'll get to see Matt Thurber for just the 2nd time this season. Looking forward to seeing Thurber on the ice. (Baggot had initially indicated on Wednesday that we'd see Podge Turnbull in the lineup and that Matt Thurber would be along as the extra skater, but that seems to have changed. Eric Springer is also along on the trip as an extra skater.)

The defensive pairings remain the same. As you might know, Brett Bennett is out (shoulder), so we'll see Scott Gudmandson both nights.

Sioux lines
Trupp- Malone - Toews
Gregoire - VandeVelde - Hextall
Lamoureux - Zajac - Kristo
Cichy - Knight - Bruneteau

LaPoint - Marto
Gleason - Fienhage
MacWilliam - Blood

Eidness

Baggot has VandeVelde listed in the lineup but also says that he's questionable. Genoway is out for the weekend (concussion).

Series Previews
uwbadgers: preview, game notes
fighting sioux: preview, game notes
Baggot (WSJ): UW Men's Hockey at North Dakota, Badgers have been thieves in Fighting Sioux palace
Baggot (WSJ blog): Health issues for UW, Fighting Sioux
Henson (Badger Herald): No. 3 UND up next for Wisconsin
Gabriel (Daily Cardinal): Road series with Sioux poses unique challenge
BN: No. 11 UW vs. No. 3 N. Dakota

Other Articles/Links
uwbadgers: Brendan Smith earns WCHA award
Baggot (WSJ blog): Five good minutes with Blake Geoffrion
Baggot (WSJ blog): Stat of the week
uwbadgers: Mike Eaves' weekly presser
fightingsioux: Hakstol's weekly presser

The Usual Suspects
CHN: Tale of the Tape
USCHO: This Week in the WCHA (Spisak), What I Think (Milewski), Tuesday Morning Quarterback (Milewski/Connelly, USCHO Extra)
INCH: First Shift (national notebook)
Goon's World: Weekend Match-ups (Sioux7)

HatchetJoe says . . .
"me'skwak msuguk gipkInage' mIshkode'kwe' neshnabe'k ......nishwik "........Potawatomi for "Red Badger beat bunch of Prairie Indians.....twice".


BADGER WOMEN @ Mankato: FRI 7 PM / SAT 3 PM

UW: 10-5-3 overall, 7-4-1 WCHA (last weekend 4-1 win and 2-2 tie (OT loss) v. UMD)
MSU: 4-6-4 overall, 2-6-4 WCHA (last weekend 4-4 tie (OT win) and 1-0 loss v. SCSU)

Gameday Links
TV: none
Radio: none
Audio webstream: msumavericks
Video webstream: none
Live stats: msumavericks
Live blog: Boscacci*

* I don't have the direct blog link, but it should be linked on the front page at game time.

Series Previews
uwbadgers: preview, game notes
msu mavericks: preview, game notes
Hughes (Badger Herald): Hockey looking for consistency with MSU next

Other Articles/Links
uwbadgers: Decker named WCHA Rookie of the Week

Bennett injured in practice

Baggot reports that Brett Bennett injured his shoulder during practice after a big collision during a drill.

At this time the severity is unknown, we'll update when more in known. It looks like Scott Gudmandson could be the go to guy for awhile, w/ Mitch Thompson suiting up as the back up.

MHKY G 16: Badgers 6 - Huskies 0

Hmm . . . the last time Gudmandson faced Tech, the Badgers shut 'em out 6-0, just like last night . . .

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: UW blanks Huskies, 6-0
- mtu: Badgers early lead too much for Huskies
- Milweski (USCHO): Red-hot Smith scores twice, Wisconsin thumps Michigan Tech again
- Baggot (WSJ): Badgers blank Tech in 2nd straight rout
- Wodon (CHN): Game-gab
Postgame: quotes (uwbadgers), press conference video (uwbadgers)
Video Highlights: uwbadgers

Subway Sub of the Game (per Cerniglia/Posick):
I'm having a bit of trouble accessing CBS College Sports tonight -- I'll try to add this in Monday.

3 Stars of the Game (per Cerniglia/Posick):
I'm having a bit of trouble accessing CBS College Sports tonight -- I'll try to add this in Monday.

It seems that Aaron Bendickson got banged up during the game, but to be honest, I don't know much about it. Anyone got any details?

MHKY G15: Badgers 8 - Huskies 2

Yeah, Gandalf's headline was better, and so I was going to just link things up for you at the end of his post, but I *really* wanted to use this picture that uwbadgers.com had on their men's hockey front page, as I think it really captures the tenor of much of the game last night . . .

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: Badgers too much for Michigan Tech
- Milewski (USCHO): Geoffrion's hat trick powers Badgers' rout of Michigan Tech
- Baggot (WSJ): Badgers rout huskies behind Geoffrion's first career hat trick
- Bleach (BN): Progressive production
- Worgull (BN): Hat's off! (premium content)
- Wodon (CHN): Friday game-gab
Blog: Bleach (BN)
Postgame quotes: uwbadgers

(Nice to see a game story from Todd, isn't it?)

Subway Sub of the Game (per Posick/Cerniglia): Sean Dolan (consistent play, 1 assist off a face-off)

3 Stars (per Posick/Cerniglia):
1. Blake Geoffrion (hat trick)
2. Brendan Smith (strong PP play, 4 assists)
3. entire 4th line - Bohmbach-Dolan-P Johnson (consistent play, 2G, 3A)

Since I picked a picture to capture the tenor of last night's game, I thought I might also pick some quotes that do the same. Blake Geoffrion worked hard, put himself in the right place at the right time, and showed his talent. And the Badgers, despite some sloppy lackadaisical play in the 1st period, clearly dominated the game - there were times where it almost seemed silly to keep playing. (To be fair to the Huskies, they've been bitten badly by the injury bug - I gotta hope that they'd have showed better if they were healthier.)

“Blake’s goals were right where he is supposed to be and he did some things and things happened for him. It kind of set the table for us.” - Mike Eaves

“Yes we had some puck luck in terms of Blake’s first goal going off his skate. Derek Lee’s goal kind of hit two skates and a stick before it went to him. But we scored some goals where we went to the hard areas and manufactured goals.” - Mike Eaves

“Our fourth line could not play tonight. They went out two times and got scored on two times.” - Tech Head Coach Jamie Russell

“[Josh Robinson] was awful. He did not have a good night.” - Tech Head Coach Jamie Russell

"Well, we walked into our locker room up 4-1 and the coaching staff has to be the level there. It didn't seem like we should have been up 4-1. I think sloppy is a good word: we didn't take care of the puck as well as we would have liked to. I thought we tightened things up in the second period and we did a much better job and that carried us through." - Mike Eaves

My favorite quote, though, is this (although I don't think Blake really needed any help from above):

"Paps came down and tapped my skates tonight." - Blake Geoffrion

You know, I haven't been following Tech hockey much this year, but I can't figure out what happened to Josh Robinson (I thought he was Tech's better goalie last year) or why Tech has continued to start him lately. When he was yanked after the 4th goal last night, I think it was the 3rd time in the last 4 games that he's been pulled. Mr 60 pointed out that both Tech goalies let in 4 goals apiece, but I subsequently pointed out that Genoe took 2 periods to do it, whereas Robinson did it in 1, and I thought overall Genoe looked much better than Robinson.

I gotta tell ya, though, I like Wisconsinite Brett Olson, a sophomore forward for the Huskies. He's definitely a bright spot for the Huskies.

Blake Geoffrion 3 Michigan Tech 2

5 other Badgers scored as well, including Derek Lee who notched his first goal as a Badger!

Brendan Smith had 4 assists.

While Brett Bennett didn't play bad, the best goaltending occurred during the 2nd intermission by the goalies of the SW Eagles youth hockey program, Josh Robinson of Tech was taking notes of the youngsters fine play.

Bring the brooms tomorrow!

It's Friday, I'm in Love

Monday you can fall apart
Tuesday, Wednesday break my heart
Oh, Thursday doesn't even start
It's Friday I'm in love

BADGER MEN v. Michigan Tech: FRI / SAT 7 PM (Kohl Center)

“You can ask all 28 guys in our locker room. We’re all excited to get back on the ice. We feel like we came up a little bit short against Michigan, and we’re chomping at the bit to get back into game action.” - Derek Stepan [Gabriel]

UW: 8-5-1 overall, 5-4-1 WCHA (last weekend won 7-3 @ MSU, lost 2-3 @ Michigan)
MTU: 3-9-0 overall, 2-8-0 WCHA (last weekend lost 2-5, 2-3 @ Mankato)

Tech's PP is even worse than ours (MTU 11.7%, UW 15.8%), and their PK is downright terrible (64.9%).

Featured on this week's tickets are a couple of players who have been "on the bubble" this year.

Junior forward Podge Turbull saw action in 6 of the first 8 games of the season, but we haven't seen him since. Which I think is a bit of a shame. I'll admit I wasn't a huge fan last year - I thought he could do better than he did. But in the games he's played this season, I think he's shown that he can. Despite registering just 1 point (1G @ Mankato), I though he was solid and provided a lot of energy on the ice whenever he played. And so it appears I'm on the Podge Turbull bandwagon this season, and I sure would like to see him get another shot in the lineup. Unfortunately, it won't be tonight.

Sophomore forward Sean Dolan played in 4 of the first 5 games of the season. He was slated to play last Saturday, but the Badgers opted to go with 11 F and 7 D. And so tonight will be the first time we'll have seen him play in a while, as he's slated to center the 4th line. Dolan has 2 pts this season (1G, 1A), both coming in the Saturday game v. UNH.

Prior to this season, Dolan had been a regular in the Badgers' lineup, playing in 35 game (4-7-11) as a sophomore and 40 games (4-4-8) as a freshman.

Gameday Links
TV:
- Live - Friday TVW, Charter Extra Channel 87, Time Warner; Saturday FSN North
- Tape delay - both nights on The Wisconsin Channel (10 PM game day and 6 PM next day)
Radio: Friday WIBA 1310; Saturday WTSO 1070
Audio webstream: insideBADGERSPORTS ($9.95/mo), WSUM (free), www.pasty.net (free)
Video webstream:
- Live - Saturday only - insideBADGERSPORTS ($9.95/mo)
- Tape delay - both nights - The Wisconsin Channel's live stream (10 PM game day and 6 PM next day)
Live stats: CBS gametracker - Friday, Saturday
Live blog: Worgull (BN)*

* I don't have the direct blog link, but it should be linked on BN's front page at game time.

Weekly Shooutout Winner
This week, BRENDAN SMITH won the shootout over Podge Turbull.

Here are the previous winners and how they did that weekend:
Wk 7: Jordy Murray (0-1-1, E, 1 SOG, injured midway through 1st period on Sat)
Wk 6: Derek Stepan (0-1-1, E)
Wk 5: Jake Gardiner (0-0-0, +4, 3 SOG)
Wk 4: Blake Geoffrion (2-1-3, 10 SOG, +1)
Wk 3: Justin Schultz (0-0-0, E, 1 SOG, looked solid on D to me)
Wk 2: Mike Davies (0-2-0, 6 SOG, and sounds like he played really well)
Wk 1: Podge Turnbull (0-0-0, 5 SOG, and despite being held off the scoresheet I thought he looked really good)

Badger Lines
Mitchell - Geoffrion - C Smith
Lee - Street - Grotting
Bendickson - Stepan - Davies
Bohmbach - Dolan - P Johnson

McDonagh - Gardiner
Smith - Ramage
Goloubef - Schultz

Bennett
Gudmandson

John Mitchell is back in the linuep, and he'll start tonight on the top line. Aaron Bendickson, who started Saturday on the top line, will be taking Jordy Murray's spot on the Stepan-Davies line, as Murray is out with a shoulder injury. Sean Dolan has worked his way back into the lineup to center the 4th line.

The defensive pairings remain the same. Brett Bennett gets the nod in goal on Friday. As usual, I expect Gudmandson on Saturday night but we'll have to wait until Saturday afternoon to hear.

Husky/Huskey lines
Gwilliam -Olson - MacLeod
Schooley- Pietlila - Dobson
Soley - Vlaisavljevich - Bunger
Brown - Witt - Reddick

Kivisto - Nielsen
Cousens- Seigo
Dorlott - Van Wagner

Robinson
Genoe


Or at least that's how Baggot had the lines listed. I'm a bit confused, though, because Dobson, Vlaisavljevich, and Bunger are all defensemen. *shrug*

(I can't remember who originally posted the above photo or which school it was from (not UW).)

Fellow Tech alum Imaginary Dave tells me nice things about Wisconsite Brett Olson, but he has neglected to tell me that Olson is currently leading the Huskies in scoring (6-8-14). D'OH!

We'll also get to see Wisconsite Seth Soley play tonight, but Imaginary Dave doesn't say much about him.

Captain Malcolm Gwilliam is in the lineup tonight after not skating Monday or Tuesday in practice. Gwilliam was granted a rare sixth year of eligibility after suffering a stroke last year caused by a blood clot originating in a small hole in his heart. You can read about it here and here. (Thanks to crazypotoatoes for the links.)

Bennett Royer and Jordan Baker are out due to injury, as is Milos Gordic, who suffered a season-ending injury.

Eric Kattelus is out indefinitely after being suspended by the team at the beginning of the season for violating team rules. I'm sure Imaginary Dave told me something about this, but I sure can't remember.

Series Previews
uwbadgers: preview, game notes
mtu: preview, game notes
Baggot (WSJ): UW Men's Hockey vs. Michigan Tech
Baggot (WSJ blog): Murray's injury prompts Eaves to make changes
Warvie (Mining Gazette): Injury bug is back for Huskies
Henson (Badger Herald): Hockey to take on Tech at Kohl Center
Gabriel (Daily Cardinal): Badgers return home with a chance to pick up points

Other Articles/Links
uwbadgers: Stepan and Smith earn WCHA laurels
uwbadgers: Stepan, Gardiner, Ramage on preliminary 2o10 US Junior Team roster
Baggot (WSJ): Stepan steps us his assertiveness
Baggot (WSJ blog): Five good minutes with Scott Gudmandson
Baggot (WSJ blog): Stat of the week
uwbadgers: Mike Eaves' weekly presser
Holt (Badger Herald): Wisconsin working on manufacturing goals
Savidge (Badger Herald): Wisconsin Hockey: Celebrating 40 years in the WCHA
Baggot (WSJ): The Weekend that Was in the WCHA

A couple of interesting quotes from the Holt article:

“As a matter of fact, we’ve played pretty well. The challenge has been for us to finish, to score goals,” Eaves said. “If we were to take that whole spectrum of boom or bust, I don’t think that’s an honest perspective of how we’ve played.”

“I look at the difference between some of the games where we scored seven goals, and some of the games where we only scored two and lost by a goal — I think the biggest difference was we were shooting a lot more from the outside in those [losses],” he said. “We’ll still be generating a lot of shots, but we’re making it a little bit easier on the goalies.

The Usual Suspects
CHN: Tale of the Tape
USCHO: This Week in the WCHA (Spisak), What I Think (Milewski), Tuesday Morning Quarterback (Milewski/Connelly, USCHO Extra)
INCH: Friday Four-cast (national notebook), First Shift (national notebook), Minnesota not fazed by Mariucci (WCHA notebook)
Goon's World: Weekend Match-ups (Sioux7)

HatchetJoe says . . .
"Numoshuk me'shak konkiwin e' shegtukwok nwepugna shishi".......Potawatomi for "Dog that come from Land of Large Lake with much snow on frozen ground gonna git ass kicked".


BADGER WOMEN v. Duluth Foreign Legion: FRI / SUN 2 PM (Kohl Center)

UW: 9-5-2 overall, 6-4-0 WCHA (last weekend 2-2, 4-1 @ Providence)
DFL: 12-6-0 overall, 8-4-0 WCHA (last weekend 3-0, 5-1 @ BC)

Gameday Links
TV: none
Radio: none
Audio webstream: WSUM (free) - no confirmation
Video webstream: bigtennetwork ($2.99/game)
Live stats: CBSSports gametracker - Friday, Sunday
Live blog: none (away games only)

Series Previews
uwbadgers: preview, game notes
umdbulldogs: preview
Erickson (Badger Herald): UMD welcome in Kohl Center


Other Articles/Links
uwbadgers: DeKeyser's weekly presser
Jakiel (uwbadgers blog): Rhode Island
Baggot (WSJ): Steady as she goes in air or on ice
Hager (Badger Herald): Ammerman playing steady during rocky season
umdbulldogs: Wilson nets her second WCHA Rookie of the Week honor

Last Weekend

Last weekend may have been the final College Hockey Showcase. We've alluded to it here, but I don't know that the college hockey saavy readers of this blog really view this as much of a secret. Thanksgiving weekend is an awkward draw (the Kohl Center atmosphere is never the same), and it's a poorly kept secret that the Big Ten would like to see some more developments in seeing the B10 schools play each other more. That means Ohio State gets to join the party. That means looking at new formats.

Fear not, oh loyal readers. This isn't the precursor for the dreaded BTHC. Among other issues, it can't happen with only five schools. It just means that the Big Ten schools are probably going to be re-evaluating how they use their non-conference games to play each other. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out on two fronts:

1) Will this cause more than 4,000 people to actually give a rip about OSU hockey?
2) What the heck do the hockey teams have to do to get some BTN exposure around here?

On that second note, let's take a look at this gem from Mike Eave's press conference before last weekend's games:

QUESTION #3: Could you tell us the future of this, I know you’ve spoken about this a little bit, but the future of the College Hockey Showcase and where it stands right now, Mike?

EAVES: Well, I think some changes are in the future. I think that, we’ve talked about this before, the evolution of the Big Ten Network has put things in a different perspective, and we’re looking out to different scenarios that might become part of that. The next revenue sport, once basketball and football are up and running, is hockey. And they need some airtime that could be filled by hockey, and so I think we’re taking a look at different scenarios. But I think there’s a metamorphosis that’s going on right now as to what it is or what it will become, it’s tough to say.

QUESTION #4: And yet neither one of the games this weekend are on the Big Ten Network.

EAVES: Well, that is out of my control.

Pretty amusing to read. I can only imagine how awkward it was for him to navigate around the ugly truth: the BTN wants more hockey games... they just don't want to actually have them on TV. Logical, right? There are a litany of games featuring Big Ten schools that can go on airwaves, yet we rarely see it. Fridays, like Eaves said, are a dead zone for them, so why not do it? Are we supposed to think that this is better than in 2007-08, when a game against Minnesota was pre-empted by a basketball press conference?

The ideal solution for the Big Ten schools is for the WCHA and CCHA to reduce the number of conference games to 20 or 22 (I know blockski has championed this for quite some time). That would free up more dates for non-conference dates with Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Not sure what the "smaller" schools would think of that, but I would imagine that the Big Televen schools have enough clout to make it happen if they wanted.

On another note:

When I was a Crease Creature ('03-'04 through '07-'08), I occassionally thought of new songs and cheers to try. 99% of them never caught on (you wouldn't believe me if I told you which one of my ideas did catch on). One idea I always had that I never tried was to sing this song when Tech came to town (to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It"):

If you want a sausage fest, go to Tech *clap*clap*
If you want a sausage fest, go to Tech *clap*clap*
Where the women aren't worth mention
Like a comic book convention
If you want a sausage fest, go to Tech *clap*clap*

Another lame cheer of mine that would have never caught on? Probably. But it amused me when I thought of it and now I'm kind of ticked that I never gave it a test run.

Three Badgers On Preliminary USA World Junior Roster

There were two familiar names and one surprise when looking at the recently released USA Hockey World Junior preliminary roster from a Badger prospective. The two names that you expect to show up on the 29 man roster, Derek Stepan and Jake Gardiner. The one you didn't expect to see, freshman defenseman John Ramage.

Ramage, a 6'0, 195 pounder out of St. Louis, MO has been a pleasant surprise for the Badger coaching staff this season. A late commitment, Ramage was expected to compete with Craig Johnson, Ryan Little, and Eric Springer for the last spot open in a loaded Badger defensive corps. So far all Ramage has done is suit up for all fourteen Badger games and chip in 5 points along with playing solid in his own end. I don't expect Ramage to make the final roster when they narrow the D-corps down from 11 to 7, but he's made great strides and has definitely exceeded my expectations so far this season.

Derek Stepan and Jake Gardiner appear to be virtual locks for the USA roster. Stepan is averaging a point per game so far this season and is starting to come into his own. He's a dynamic forward and there is no doubt he'll be in Saskatchewan when the tournament kicks off.

Gardiner has not put up the numbers this season that most expected, but he's taken a more proactive role in his own end. Being paired with Ryan McDonagh means that you're going to spend the majority of your time on the ice playing against top lines from opposing teams. Gardiner has taken to the challenge and should see some ice time when the US squad crosses the Canadian border.

McCabe Commits To Wisconsin

Wisconsin landed a big time prospect Tuesday night. Eau Claire native Jake McCabe has made a verbal commitment to attend the University of Wisconsin for the 2011-20012 season according to Andy Baggot.

McCabe, a sound defenseman who currently plays with the USA National Team Development Program U17 squad would have to accelerate his schooling to enroll in 2011 if Baggot's info is correct. McCabe is currently a sophomore in high school and normally would have to play a year in the USHL after aging out of the NTDP.

McCabe considered a number of schools not only in the Midwest but on the east coast as well. He was known to have made unofficial visits to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Notre Dame. He may have made others as well.

McCabe is the third 1993 born prospect with a verbal commitment to Wisconsin. The others are Verona native and Chicago Mission defenseman Jordan Schmaltz, and Taft Prep forward Corbin McGuire. All three are elite prospects who have been recognized by USA Hockey as being top players for their class.

McCabe, a 6'0, 170 pound defensman would be the second defenseman to commit for the 2011 season. Minnetonka senior Troy Hesketh is also slated for that season but could come to Wisconsin if there are an excessive amount of departures on the defensive side of the puck. Most likely, Hesketh will be a 2011.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saw this the other day on DPlayas blog but forgot about it. Wisconsin commit Gavin Hartzog who is still slated to come to Wisconsin next year has been sent to the NAHL. Hartzog burst onto the scene late in his senior season with a huge performance at the Chicago Showcase. I think it's safe to say at this point the Hartzog commitment has been a mistake.

Edit, re: Hartzog-After thinking about it, it's a bit early to call him a mistake. He's a big bodied kid who has some offensive skills. Once he fills into his body and puts things together he could be a similar story to John Mitchell.

chuckschwartz@live.com

Women Sign Four for next season

Been awhile since I posted, but I was catching up on the Women's team and realized they signed four top recruits for the 2010/11 season last week. It is a small class, but one of the best in country. I don't follow Women's recruiting much, but I'd guess that Alex Rigsby, Brittany Ammerman and Madison Packer are three of the top 10 recruits in the country. Rigsby, a goalie, could probably earn a scholarship for some DI Men's teams from what I read. Don't know much about Kelly Jaminski, but she is from Wisconsin Rapids, and I didn't know anything Stepanie McKeough either and she has been one of the best defenders as a frosh. Nice work Mark Johnson and company!

This is a worthy cut and paste from uwbaders.com.

Brittany Ammerman, a 5-6 forward out of River Vale, N.J., will join her older sister Brooke, a current sophomore standout for the Badgers. Brittany is currently a senior at the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) in Stowe, Vt. The senior captains the squad and is the current leading scorer for the NAHA White with 12 goals and 10 assists through 23 games. Most notably, she was a member of the 2009 U18 World Champion Team USA, which competed in Fussen, Germany. She scored the first goal in the gold medal game, leading her team to victory over Canada. From 2008-09, she was a member of the U-18 USA Select team that competed in a three-game series against Canada in Lake Placid (2008) and Calgary (2009).

As a junior, Ammerman was the leading scorer on the NAHA for the 2008-09 season, as well as an assistant captain. During her sophomore year, she was the youngest player on the team, ranking fifth on the team in points. This was also the first year she and her sister Brooke played together. Her team won the Junior Women’s Hockey League during her sophomore and junior years of high school. In Ammerman’s freshman year, she played on the U16 New Jersey Colonials team, where she was the leading scorer and, again, the youngest player on the team.

Ammerman is a four-time National Camp attendee. She made the all-star team and scored two goals at the 2009 edition of the camp. She was the leading scorer at the National Camp in 2008.

DeKeyser on Ammerman

"Brittany is a dynamic forward that brings great energy to the game and to those around her on the ice. Brittany should add another dimension to our offensive corps next season with her speed and playmaking ability."

----------

Alex Rigsby, a 5-7 goaltender from Delafield, Wis., joins the Badgers with an impressive resume. A member of the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals AAA Boys Midget Majors for the past three years, Rigsby was a member of the U18 Women’s National Team. She led the team to gold at the 2009 IIHF U18 Women’s World Championships where she won the Top Goaltender award after stopping 38 shots in the 3-2 gold-medal win over Canada and collecting a .947 save percentage and a 1.28 goals-against average. As a member of the national team, she also participated in the 2008 and 2009 USA Hockey Women’s National Festival, as well as the 2008 and 2009 USA U18 Women’s three-game series against Team Canada. Rigsby participated in the USA Hockey National Development Camps from 2006-09 and the 2009 Warren Strelow National Goaltending Camp.

In May 2009 she was drafted by the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL), becoming the first female ever drafted into the league. The USHL is one of the top Tier I junior leagues in North America. Its teams identify and select top teenage prospects from the U.S. and Canada, then set them on a developmental course for NCAA Division I programs and, in some cases, the NHL.

DeKeyser on Rigsby

"Playing for the Milwaukee Jr. Admirals in such a competitive hockey league, Alex should be well prepared for the college ranks next season. She is a gifted goaltender and we expect great things for Alex during her career at Wisconsin."

----------

Kelly Jaminski, a 6-foot defender from Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., will join the squad as one of two players from the Girls Under-19 AAA Little Caesars Hockey Team. Jaminski will spend the final duration of her senior year at Grosse Pointe North High School (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich.) and will serve as assistant captain of the Little Caesars team, alongside fellow Wisconsin signee Madison Packer.

Like Ammerman, Jaminski also attended the National Development Camp from 2006-2009. Before moving to Michigan to pursue her hockey career in 2007, Jaminski competed on the Boys Central WI AAA Hockey Team, Wisconsin Rapids Boys AAA Bantam Hockey team (where she was co-captain) and the Girls U-19 Madison Capitals AAA Hockey team.

DeKeyser on Jaminski

"We are excited to have yet another Wisconsinite join the Badger squad in Kelly Jaminski. Kelly has played the last two seasons with the Little Caesars organization alongside fellow incoming freshman Madison Packer. We expect Kelly to be a physical presence on the blue-line, while contributing offensively as well."

----------

Madison Packer is a 5-9 forward out of Birmingham, Mich., who brings a lot of experience to Wisconsin. In her final season with the Little Caesars U19 girls’ team (Mich.), Packer is the team captain with Jaminski, who serves as an assistant captain.

Packer was part of the first U.S. Women’s National Under-18 squad that won a gold medal in Calgary in 2008, tying for 11th in tournament scoring with nine points (5-4). She attended four USA Hockey Player Development Camps from 2005-08 and was a selection for the USA Hockey Women’s National Festival in Lake Placid, N.Y. Packer went on to help the U.S. pick up two wins in a three-game series against Canada in 2008. During the three-game series Packer notched a goal under head coach Mark Johnson while also skating with current Badgers Alev Kelter and Brianna Decker. UW signees Ammerman and Rigsby were both on the team as well. That same team went on to win gold in her second IIHF World Women’s U18 Championship. Serving as an alternate captain, she tallied 11 points in five games (6-5).


DeKeyser on Packer

"Madison has proven to be a powerful offensive threat, with notable puckhandling skills and a great vision for the game. She is a hard-working hockey player who should make a significant impact at the college level."

WHKY G16: Badgers 4 - Friars 1

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps: uwbadgers
Blog: Boscacci (uwbadgers)

(I'll finish adding links on Sunday)

Decker and Deluce each had 2 goals. Decker's 1st goal was assisted by Nash and Dronen, and her 2nd was assisted by Ammerman. Deluce's 1st goal was asssisted by Sanders and Giles, and her 2nd was unassisted. Wisconsin outshot Providence 40-10, with Alannah McCready making 9 saves for the win.

I forgot to mention this yesterday -- the Kelters are finally in the lineup. Looks like Alev played yesterday, and both played tonight.

MHKY G 14: Wolverines 3 - Badgers 2

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps: uwbadgers, Baggot (WSJ), mgoblue, Worgull (BN), USCHO, Wodon (CHN)
Blogs: Capobianco (uwbadgers), Worgull (BN), M-HockeyNet

(I'll add links in Sunday AM)

3 Stars (per Posick/Cerniglia)
1. Blake Geoffrion (1-0-1, 2 SOG, +1, scored the Badgers' 1st goal)
2. John Ramage (0-0-0, 0 SOG, +1, played hard, had a couple of nice blocked shots and some hard hits)
3. Brendan Smith (0-1-1, 2 SOG, E)

Subway Sub of the Game (per Posick/Cerniglia): Scott Gudmandson

In case you missed it:
The Badgers played most of the game with just 10 forwards, as they dressed only 11 forwards to start the game and Jordy Murray left the game midway through the 1st period. So players were double shifted and the lines were a bit mixed up during the rest of the game.

By the way, Eric Springer, who was dressed as a 7th defenseman, played only a few shifts the entire game. Of course, there was no way to predict ahead of time that both Gardiner and McDonagh would hold up and that Murray would be injured, so it's hard to fault Eaves for the decision.

Random Thoughts:
I think Michigan might be a bit better than their record had previously indicated. Camp Randall Classic should be fun, hey?

Saturday night lines

Per Baggot, Mike Eaves has made a number of lineup changes for tonight:

F
- John Mitchell is a healthy scratch. Patrick Johnson has been moved up to the 2nd line to take his spot.
- Aaron Bendickson has been moved up from centering the 4th line to taking the LW spot on the top line. Andy Bohmbach has been moved from the LW on the top line to LW on the 4th line.
- The Badgers are dressing only 11 forwards

D
- The Badgers dressed 7 defenseman, with Jake Gardinerand Ryan McDonagh (both of whom were dinged up last night) remaining in the lineup and Eric Springer being added to rotate in.

G
- As expected, Scott Gudmandson will be in net tonight.

Badger Lines
Aaron Bendickson - Blake Geoffrion - Craig Smith
Patrick Johnson - Ben Street - Derek Lee
Jordy Murray - Derek Stepan - Michael Davies
Andy Bohmbach - Sean Dolan - Ben Grotting

Brendan Smith - John Ramage
Cody Goloubef - Justin Schultz
Gardiner - Ryan McDonagh

Scott Gudmandson

Wolverine Lines
Carl Hagelin - Matt Rust - Chris Brown
David Wohlberg - Louie Caporusso - A.J. Treais
Ben Winnett - Luke Glendening - Kevin Lynch
Lindsay Sparks - Anthony Ciraulo - Scooter Vaughn

Chad Langlais - Chris Summers
Brandon Burlon - Greg Pateryn
Tristin Llewellyn - Steve Kampfer

Bryan Hogan

WHKY G15: Friars 2 - Badgers 2 (Friars win the SO)

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps: uwbadgers
Blogs: Boscacci

Badgers outshot Providence 36-15 but couldn't get the win.Your Badger goals were scored by Prough (Nash) and Deluce (Prévost). Becca Ruegsegger made 13 saves, including a save in the 1st on a penalty shot. Providence won the shootout 2-1, with only Steph McKeough scoring (Ammerman and Nash missed).

MHKY G13: Badgers 7 - Spartans 3

"We got it handed to us. They are a very good team. That’s probably the toughest game that we’ve had all year, as far as playing against speed." -- MSU head coach Rick Comley [Weston]

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: Badgers gobble up Spartans
- msuspartans: Spartans fall 7-3 to Badgers
- Baggot (WSJ): Badgers expect good return on investment
- Worgull (BN): An offensive showcase (premium content)
- Weston (USCHO): Stepan's five points, Smith's two tallies buoy Badgers in upset win
- Kopeke (Lansing Journal): Future Red Wing sparks Badgers
- Wodon (CHN): Friday Round-up
Blogs: Capobianco, Worgull
Photos: msuspartans

3 Stars (per Posick/Cerniglia):
1. Derek Stepan (1-4-5, 3 SOG, +2, didn't have to sacrifice a chicken)
2. Brendan Smith (2-1-3, 7 SOG, +1, scored the 1st 2 goals of the game)
3. Michael Davies (2-1-3, 4 SOG, +1, physical play, consistent play)

Subway Sub of the Game (per Posick/Cerniglia): Brett Bennett

In case you missed it:
The Badgers played most of the game with 5 D, as Jake Gardiner suffered an undisclosed injury in the 1st period. Andy Baggot reports that Eaves says he doesn't yet know if Gardiner would be available Saturday night. The entire roster made the trip this weekend, so if Gardiner is out, Eaves will have his pick of C Johnson/Springer/Little.

Mike Eaves also apparently shuffled the forward lines in the 3rd, which isn't all that surprising, as he seems to have had a tendency to do that quite a bit this season in the 3rd period based on who has been playing well during the 1st 2 periods. Unfortunately, I missed the new line combos. I think Davies was bumped up to the top line, but I'm not sure. If I figure it out, I'll come back and edit this.

Face-Offs W/L
Geoffrion - 13/13
Bohmback - 1/0
P Johnson - 0/1
Murray - 1/0
Stepan - 4/7
Street - 5/9
Bendickson - 6/9
(Team total 30/39)

I tried to watch the game on bigtennetwork, but the video feed kept freezing up. Not impressed. *shrug*

The impression I had of the game (take it for what it's worth) is that State had the momentum early in the 1st, but the Badgers took the momentum midway through the 1st and held on throughout most of the 2nd. State got a questionable goal at the end of the 2nd, picked up another goal to start the 3rd, and really had the momentum for the first 9 minutes or so of the 3rd. But the Badgers weathered the storm to hold the Spartans at 3 goals and then grabbed control of the game again when Geoffrion scored the Badgers' 6th goal.

You know what was fun? Seeing (and I use that term loosely, given the video feed issues, although I usually caught the replays) guys capitalize on opportunities rather than missing the net or shooting right into the goaltender. Good stuff! Nice to see Stepan finally score again, as he's been a bit snakebitten lately (he joked earlier to Posick that he was considering sacrificing a chicken), and nice to see Davies find the back of the net a couple of times. Aaron Bendickson had a nice hardworking goal, and Geoffrion had a really nice top-shelf goal. I missed both of B Smith's goals, but he definitely grabbed the momentum for the Badgers by scoring the 1st two goals.

It doesn't take all that much to make me happy, but I gotta tell ya, I'm pretty happy about beating MSU 7-3. State's a good team, so this is pretty nice win. It's also nice to have a 3-0-0 non-conference record. In comparison to past couple of years, it'll be nice to have a strong non-conf record (assuming the Badgers keep it up) when looking at the PWR later in the season.

Tomorrow, the Badgers take on the Wolverines, who by the way beat the gophers 6-0 tonight. Per CHN: "Michigan found the perfect cure for its ills -- a storied program doing even more poorly."

College Hockey Showcase Outlook

Is this the last season of the annual College Hockey Showcase? The event which was created in 1993 faces a very realistic possibility that this could be the end.

We had a weird off season news wise with the announcements of the Culvers Camp Randall game, Bemidji and Nebraska-Omaha entering the league, and talk of a Big Ten Hockey conference as well as talk that Wisconsin had internal talks about joining the CCHA. Lost in the shuffle was the news about the potential abortion of the CHS.

From an Andy Baggot update in late October, "UW is looking to incorporate CCHA member Ohio State, the fifth hockey-playing entity from the Big Ten, into the rotation. That could result in a series with the Buckeyes one year, followed by one with Michigan and Michigan State the next."

I know that the interest generated by the College Hockey Showcase has been down in recent years, but I still absolutely love the current format. In my opinion it would be an absolute travesty to only be able to play Michigan once every three seasons.

The hockey history that Ohio State brings to the table pales in comparison to the histories of Michigan and Michigan State. To tell you the truth, if Ohio State didn't have the Big Ten name legacy, their hockey program wouldn't have a pot to piss in. They play in a huge arena and get zero fan support. The last thing I want to do is skip a bi-annual trip to legendary facilities like Yost and Munn so that we can play in front 4,200 fans in a facility that seats 17,000? What a joke.


2009 College Hockey Showcase Predictions

Friday Night vs Michigan State

In my opinion Wisconsin is the best team in the showcase this year. If they are the best, State has to be second. I think that Wisconsin comes out and dominates from the beginning. The talent is too much to overcome for Michigan State.

Wisconsin 5, Michigan State 2

Saturday Night vs Michigan

Michigan is always a battle no matter what. They weren't predicted to finish as high as they were for no reason. With that said, I still think we're a much better team and should take care of business.

Wisconsin 3, Michigan 2


Photo by RedHeat15

It's Friday, I'm in Love

I don't care if Monday's blue
Tuesday's grey and Wednesday too
Thursday I don't care about you
It's Friday, I'm in love

BADGER MEN @ College Hockey Showcase: FRI 6 PM (MSU) / SAT 6:30 PM (UofM)

Gameday Links
TV: Saturday only - Comcast (Michigan)
Radio: WIBA 1310
Audio webstream: insideBADGERSPORTS ($9.95/mo)
Video webstream: Friday only - bigtennetwork ($2.99/game)
Live stats: CBS gametracker - Friday, Saturday
Live blog: Capobianco*, Worgull (BN)*

* I don't have the direct blog links, but they should be linked on the front page of their respective sites at game time.

Weekly Shooutout Winner
This week, JORDY MURRAY won the shootout over Ryan Little.

Here are the previous winners and how they did that weekend:
Wk 6: Derek Stepan (0-1-1, E)
Wk 5: Jake Gardiner (0-0-0, +4, 3 SOG)
Wk 4: Blake Geoffrion (2-1-3, 10 SOG, +1)
Wk 3: Justin Schultz (0-0-0, E, 1 SOG, looked solid on D to me)
Wk 2: Mike Davies (0-2-0, 6 SOG, and sounds like he played really well)
Wk 1: Podge Turnbull (0-0-0, 5 SOG, and despite being held off the scoresheet I thought he looked really good)

Badger Lines
Bohmbach - Geoffrion - C Smith
Mitchell - Street - Lee
Murray - Stepan - Davies
Grotting - Bendickson - P Johnson

McDonagh - Gardiner
Smith - Ramage
Goloubef - Schultz

Bennett
Gudmandson

The forward lines appear to be mostly the same as last weekend with a couple of minor changes. John Mitchell has been moved up to the 2nd line, moving Derek Lee over to the left side of that line and bumping Ben Grotting back down to the 4th line.

The defensive pairings remain the same. Brett Bennett gets the nod in goal on Friday. As usual we'll have to wait until Saturday to hear who will play Sat night, although in his Monday press conference, Eaves' implied that Gudmandson will start on Sat.

Series Previews
uwbadgers: game notes
msuspartans: preview, game notes
mgoblue: game notes
Baggot (WSJ): College Hockey Showcase
Baggot (WSJ blog): Badgers prepare for smaller ice sheets
Baggot (WSJ blog): Eaves, UW seek a signature victory


Other Articles/Links
Baggot (WSJ): Small package packs productive punches
Baggot (WSJ blog): Eaves inspired by his peers
Baggot (WSJ blog): Five good minutes with Cody Goloubef
uwbadgers: Mike Eaves' weekly presser

The Usual Suspects
CHN: Tale of the Tape - @ MSU, @ UofM
USCHO: This Week in the WCHA, Milewski's What I Think, Tuesday Morning Quarterback (Extra)
INCH: Friday Four-cast (national notebook), First Shift (national notebook), WCHA: Bulldogs succeed with scoring
Goon's World: Weekend Match-ups (Sioux7)

HatchetJoe says . . .
"oohgani nawgawah eechi pow-wow goomeh" ...Potawatomi for,"Are these BigTen Conference games?"


BADGER WOMEN @ Providence: Fri/Sat 6 PM

Gameday Links
TV: none
Radio: none
Audio webstream: Sat only - CBS College Sports (per Boscacci, but I don't see the event listed yet)
Video webstream: none
Live stats: CBS gametracker - Friday, Saturday
Live blog: Boscacci*

* I don't have the direct blog link, but it should be linked on the front page at game time.

Weekly Shootout Winner
Stephanie McKeough

Series Previews
uwbadgers: preview, game notes
friars: I don't see anything on their site

Other Articles/Links
Olivia Jakiel (uwbadgers blog): Thanksgiving weekend