Knight leads the United States to GOLD

No matter who scored in Monday afternoon's OT thriller at the IIHF Women's World Championship, multiple Badgers were coming home with gold medals. It just so happened that USA forward Hilary Knight, who still has one season of eligibility remaining at Wisconsin found the back of the net.

The United States squad who captured the gold medal featured five current or former Badgers. Knight and Brianna Decker (who has two seasons of eligibility remaining) are the current Badgers. Recent grad and Patty Kazmaier Award winner Meghan Duggan, defenseman Molly Engstrom, and goaltender Jessie Vetter all starred in the past for the Badgers.

Knight was the most impressive player in the tournament, and led all scorers with 14 points in 5 games (5 goals, 9 assists). She also tied for the tournament lead in plus/minus at a plus 11. For her efforts, Knight was named to the all tournament team by a media panel.

Decker finished the tournament second in scoring with 11 points (4 goals, 7 assists) and Meghan Duggan ended up fifth with 7 points (4 goals, 3 assists). Engstrom recorded two points from the blue line and was a +9. Jessie Vetter continued her brilliance in goal with a .952 save percentage and 1.28 GAA and saved her best in the gold medal game when she stopped 51 of 53 shots.

Two other former Badgers aren't going home empty handed. Team Canada defensemen Meghan Mikkelson and Bobbi Jo Slusar, both former University of Wisconsin stars played big roles for Team Canada. Slusar finished the tournament with a couple of points and was a +4 and Mikkelson's 3 goals and +10 rating in the tournament earned her the honor of being named the tournament's best defenseman.

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On to Lake Erie: Women Advance to Frozen Four

The Men’s season might be done, but the Women’s season still has much to cheer about.

On Saturday evening, in front of several thousand Badgers fans, the UW Women advanced to their 5th Frozen Four in the past six seasons with a 2-1 victory over the Duluth Foreign Legion (DFL). Overall, it was one hell of a good hockey game, even though there was no checking!

The first period was pretty even and the Badgers failed to capitalize on a few nice chances. The DFL was able to change the scoreboard first, w/ a goal late in the period. It came after a penalty ended for the Badgers and was one of those cases where they struggled to clear the puck and you just knew something bad was going to happen.

There was a lot of nervous tension in some of my friends heading into the second period. In case you weren’t aware, the DFL was the last team to beat the Badgers this season, way back in November 2010, and after the NCAA Committee decided that earning the #1 overall seed meant nothing, fans knew the DFL would be a tough out. Instead of getting Dartmouth the actual #8 seed, the Badgers were handed their old rival and defending NCAA champions.

The momentum quickly shifted back to the Badgers in the 2nd period, early on their second PP, Hilary Knight launched a shot from the point, which made it through traffic and past DFL goalie Comrade Kim Martin. Credit the players screening the goalie. Mark Johnson also shifted his lines late in the 1st or early in the 2nd, and put all three Patty Kaz finalists together, creating a dominate line of Knight, Meghan Duggan and Briana Decker. Those three created a lot of nice chances the rest of the game and were complimented well by the 2nd and 3rd lines which overall, the DFL worked hard to keep up with.

The Badgers controlled play through the 2nd and into the 3rd period, when 7:34 in Decker to Knight to Duggan for what would eventually be the game winner. The DFL mounted a late attack and pulled their sieve, but it was too little too late. The Badger Women cleaned up the defensive lapses they were having two weeks back in Verona, Alex Rigsby continues to play well in net, and while the score sheet doesn’t show it, forwards like Madison Packer, Mallory Deluce and Carolyne Prevost had great efforts.

One other event to point out, in the third period after a pileup in front of the DFL net, Comrade Jocelyne Larocque grabbed Knight’s facemask and ripped her helmet off. Not only did Comrade Larocque not get ejected, there wasn’t a single penalty called. I haven’t seen such a bogus officiating job since Randy Schmidt didn’t know how to run a video review at Magness arena costing Matt Ford a tying goal as time expired against Denver in 2008. Unacceptable.

Regardless, the Badger Women are headed back to the Frozen Four. There are A LOT of new faces since their last trip in 2009 where they blew out Mercyhurst, but some of the key kogs to that team are still around and I expect nothing less than #4 being brought home next Sunday. I’m bold enough to say that the Badgers might have faced their toughest game in the quarterfinals. The east coast teams might have nice records, but nothing compares to the top end of the WCHA, and UW is the best of the best. BC, BU and Cornell better be ready to get beat down in Lake Erie, because Duggan/Decker/Knight are ready for the big show.

Besides the games, Meghan Duggan should be in line to become the school’s third Patty Kaz, national player of the year, winner! She certainly has the resume. I won’t lie, I’m a little confused how Kelly Stack was a hat trick finalist instead of Hilary Knight. Knight has 9 more goals than the next closest player in NCAA hockey, and 20 more points than Stack. I know I’m biased on this one, but the stats don’t lie. Next season Knight needs to get her community service and charitable work in line, and should be the Badgers 4th Patty Kaz winner, but this year Duggan deserves all the accolades. She is truly the definition of an all around player, and a Badger Great. Duggan, Knight, Decker might not just be a nice line combo, but the next three Patty Kaz winners, if East Coast Bias doesn’t thwart the effort.

I’ll be enjoying the games in some form from my buddy’s condo in Honolulu, Hawaii. To those who are making the trip, enjoy the games and cheer hard for the Women to bring home #4!

Photos from life.com and hockeyjournal.com

Women's Hockey Wants (and Deserves) Your Help

I haven't been able to devote much time or effort to the Wisconsin men's team in the latter half of this season, but living in Columbus allowed me to see the lady Badgers in January and has put me within a four-hour drive of Erie, Pennsylvania, the site of this year's Women's Frozen Four. Unfortunately, this also means that I will not be able to get my loud, obnoxious self to the Kohl Center this Saturday for the women's national quarterfinal game against the Russian National Team University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. In my stead, I want to encourage each and every person who can possibly attend to do so.

If you're reading this, you probably already know the success that the women's team has had in recent years, and this year as well. Our #1 Badgers boast three of the top four scorers in the country in senior Meghan Duggan (2nd, 82 points), junior Hilary Knight, and sophomore Brianna Decker (T-3rd, 76 points each). Duggan is one of the three remaining candidates for the Patty Kazmaier award. The Badgers have a 2-1-1 record against the Bulldogs this year. And finally, our great fellow Wisconsin fans set the single-game women's hockey attendance record against the Gophers in January. This team wants your help, and they deserve it.

If you've never been to a women's hockey game before, you'll be impressed with what you see. One of these two teams has won the national championship each of the last five years, so there's no question that the level of play in this game will be astronomically high. There may not be any checking allowed, but that opens up the game for more skilled plays, with beautiful passing and excellent skating. And if you're not a hockey fan at all, first of all you've come to the wrong blog, but secondly you might never get another chance to see your team host an NCAA tournament game in any sport in your home arena.

So I beg of you: get to the Kohl Center any way you can on Saturday night. Walk. Drive. Bike. Take a cab. Even get one of those wacky bicycle-rickshaw things if you have to. Just go, be loud, and cheer the Badgers on to victory. Make this game a night to rememeber, and send our lady Badgers (and me) to Erie with the chance to win their fourth national championship. It's always a great day for hockey.

Knight, Duggan named Patty Kaz Finalists

Thursday Wisconsin forwards Meghan Duggan (pictured) and Hillary Knight were announced as top 10 finalists for the 2011 Patt Kazmaier Award.

According to the release, "This year marks the 14th annual presentation of the Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award, given annually to the top player in NCAA Division I women’s ice hockey. Selection criteria includes outstanding individual and team skills, sportsmanship, performance in the clutch, personal character, competitiveness and a love of hockey. Consideration is also given to academic achievement and civic involvement."

Duggan, a senior forward was also honored on Thursday by the WCHA as it's Player of the Year. Duggan, a member of last years USA Olympic team which picked up a silver medal in Vancouver led the WCHA in scoring with 61 points in 28 games for a 2.18 point per game clip. Duggan won the league scoring race by 10 points over teammate and line mate, Sophomore Brianna Decker. Duggan's 79 total points this season are tied for first nationally.

Knight, a junior forward is putting goals on the board at an insane rate this season. Her 46 goals this season are 11 more than the next highest goal scorer (Duggan). Knight's 46 goals this season are also more than 4 Division-1 women's teams scored the entire season. Knight was also honored by the WCHA on Thursday being announced as a first team All-WCHA forward. This is the second time Knight has been a finalist for the Patty Kaz.

According to UWBadgers.com, 10 UW women's players have been finalists for the award: Sara Bauer (2006, 2007), Duggan (2011), Molly Engstrom (2005), Meghan Hunter (2001), Knight (2009, 2011), Erika Lawler (2009), Carla MacLeod (2005), Meaghan Mikkelson (2007), Bobbi-Jo Slusar (2006) and Jessie Vetter (2009).

Sara Bauer won the award in 2006 and Jessie Vetter won the award in 2009.

Here are the Badges honored by the WCHA on Thursday at the League Awards:

Hilary Knight-First team forward
Meghan Duggan-First team forward
Brianna Decker-First team forward
Brittany Haverstock-Third team defenseman
Brittany Ammerman-All Rookie team forward
Alex Rigsby-All Rookie team goalie
Mark Johnson-Coach of the year

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101 and counting

To add to Chuck's last post about the Women's team taking home another WCHA regular season championship, over the weekend Hilary Knight (pictured) became the first player in UW Women's history to reach the 100 goal mark in her career.  She added an OT winner on saturday to get to 101, which is currently the UW career record as well, and growing.  As I've stated before, Knight is ONLY a junior, and there is a good chance she will also become the first Badger Woman to reach 150 goals before all is said and done.

Not to be out done is Meghan Duggan, who is having a Patty Kazmeier type season.  Duggan is chasing another Badger record held by former Badger great Sara Bauer.  Bauer scored 218 points in her Badger career, Duggan currently sits at 211 points.  Duggan also has 94 career goals and should become the 2nd Badger Woman to reach that milestone before her career ends this March.

This weekend's series w/ North Dakota is the last of the regular season, but won't be the last in Madison this year.  As a season ticket holder, I received a letter this weekend informing me that UW will host their 1st round WCHA playoff matchup Feb 25, 26 & 27 at the Eagle's Nest in Verona.  Tickets go on sale tomorrow, so check uwbadgers.com for more info.  In addition, at some point on the weekend of the March 11-13 they will also host a first round NCAA game at the Kohl Center.  The exact date and time is not know, but if possible I hope they attempt to schedule it in conjuction w/ the Men's team WCHA 1st round playoff series (being hopeful the Men finish the job in the next 8 games) and get a large crowd to cheer the Women's team on to Lake Erie.

Photo from ww.life.com

The Bowl was filled...and then some

Last night 10,668 Badger hockey fans filled the Kohl Center to watch Wisconsin defeat minnesota 3-1. 

Wow was that fun!  I've never been able to sit in the 2nd deck (my prefered place to sit) to watch the Women, but didn't have much of a choice getting there 20 minutes before the puck dropped.  It was amazing to grab a seat and already see 90% of the lower bowl filled, and then watch as the 2nd level filled and filled, while the KC had to even open the 3rd level.  This is no big deal for a Men's game, but after regularly watching a 1/3 full (at best) lower bowl at games, it was exciting to see so many people at a Women's game.

And those that came were treated to one heck of a game!  The Badgers came out firing early in the 1st period as Hilary Knight scored her 99th career goal (34th of the year) past the gopher's goalie Raty (one rodent knows another...) less than a minute in.  Great passing from Brittany Haverstock and Meghan Duggan.  Later in the first, WI native Brianna Decker took the puck shorthanded around the entire gohper team scoring a highlight reel goal to put Bucky up 2-0.

The Badgers controlled the 1st period, notching 22 SOG.  In the second, the gophers took some of the momentum back scoring a SH goal of their own on a Klubertanz like play on the blue line by the Badgers for a nearly uncontested breakaway.  The Badgers answered later in the 2nd on a nice goal by Carolyne Prevost, putting the Badgers up 3-1, and that was the way the game ended.

The Badgers did very well on the PK, the gophers went 0-6 on the man advantage.  The other star of the game for the Badgers was another WI native Alex Rigsby.  She made some big saves in net and it was easily one of her best games of the year.  A nice night for the freshman.

W/ a win and an shootout win (5 points total in WCHA Women's scoring) the Badgers have opened their conference lead to 16 pts over minnesota and 17 pts over North Dakota.  The Badgers only need one win in the next 6 games to finish the regular season as WCHA champs.  Looks tough for a team on a 14 game unbeaten streak...

The 10,668 fans in attendance set a new NCAA record for a Women's Hockey game.  The previous record from Camp Randall last season was 8,263 fans.  Immediately following the game at center ice, Becker Law Office presented Second Harvest w/ a check for $10,668, in addition to all the non-perishable goods fans had donated on their way into the KC.  Hats off to Becker Law Office for the generous donation.  I'm hoping UW does this again next year, it was the prefect storm to get fans in the KC.  Men's team on the road, and no television for those games, no football and no UW basketball in prime time.

While I've had fun at Men's games this season, this was the most fun I've had at the Kohl Center this year.  The Women's team gave the fans in attendance a very entertaining game, and for the "no checking = no hockey" crowd there was a lot of physical play on both sides.  Brooke Ammerman even ignited the crowd after leveling gopher post whistle.

While I don't expect to see big crowds every game for the Women, I hope those in attendance enjoyed the game, and make it a point to catch a few games yet this season, next season and beyond.  At $5, its the best deal in UW sports for the quality of the product on the ice.

I didn't include any pictures, but the links to uwbadgers and WSJ at the top have some nice photo galleries, check them out.

Knight raises the bar on scoring goals for UW Women

Last weekend Hilary Knight became the all time leading scorer in UW Women’s history, passing Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej who originally set the bar at 89 career goals at the end of the 2008 season. Knight currently has 91 goals, has the rest of this season (on a pace of 1.18 goals a game) and ALL OF NEXT SEASON to keep breaking her own record.

I know we have been pretty pathetic on Women’s Hockey coverage so far this season, so in case you forgot, Knight, teammate Meghan Duggan and coach Mark Johnson were all gone last season helping the United States to a silver medal in Women’s Hockey. As a 20 year old, Knight was one of the top scorers on the team and was taken under the wing of Women’s Hockey legend Jenny Potter during her year away from UW.

I’ve been following Knight since the first Women’s game I attended back in February 2008. 60 and another friend challenged me to attend a Women’s game, since like most Men’s fans I figured there wasn’t a good reason to waste my time watching them. Arriving after the game started, I sat down and then watched a UW player weave her way around three Mankato defenders, scoring a highlight reel goal to finish it off. That young lady was Hilary Knight. I was instantly hooked, these women have crazy talent, and w/ out all the clutching and grabbing (and checking) of the men’s game, they really get to show off their skills. My $30 for a season ticket has been well spent since then.

Andy Baggot wrote a great article about Knight today in the WSJ. I learned a lot more about Knight than I already knew. As Baggot describes in his article, the refs credited her w/ what would have been her 90th career and school record goal, but knowing she never touched the puck, made sure she didn’t get credit for it. In the second game of the series Knight scored two goals to set the record. Coach Johnson commented in the article:

"Most people are self-centered and want recognition and want to be on the front page of the paper," Johnson said. "It's nice to see athletes in today's environment do things the right way."

Exactly! Sports at the college and pro levels (and even high school in the major sports) has become such a circus, filled w/ kids and adults whose egos are often so big you’d wonder how the metrodome roof doesn’t explode every Sunday rather than collapse after a snowfall. Players celebrate making a tackle or a meaningless slam dunk, which the last time I looked, was their job to accomplish. The fact that scoring a record breaking goal is an afterthought to an athlete is so out of the normalcy and refreshing it’s hard to believe it’s true. UW has had its share of great players on the Women’s team, but in the end Hilary Knight might end up being the best ever, at least the best non-goalie ever. Jessie Vetter’s accomplishments are a Mount Rushmore all by themselves.

I like the way Baggot ended his article too:

"She wants to do the right things all the time," Johnson said of Knight.

 At her current pace Knight will hit the 100-goal plateau this season, something done only by a handful of juniors in the history of college women's hockey. For some perspective, Johnson had 125 goals in 125 games through three seasons en route to being the all-time leader for the UW men.

 About that goal Knight refused to own: It was at least the third time this season she did so. One came at the expense of a hat trick, which didn't bother Knight one bit.

 "No matter who's scoring," she said, "I'm celebrating the same way."

Hilary Knight is the kind of role model young kids should have growing up; too bad they are in such short supply.

The Women, who remain #1 in the country at 20-2, return home this weekend to take on the winless St Cloud Huskies. Friday night @ 7 PM, Sunday afternoon @ 2 PM. Come out the Kohl Center w/ the Men’s team in Duluth and see some great hockey, well at least out of the Badgers. No Packers excuse either, they’ll have already beat the Falcons on Saturday.

Skate w/ the Badgers follows sunday's women's game.  The Women skate first at 4:45 and the Men follow at 5:30.  Updated those, thanks to the anon for the correction.

Photo from USA Hockey

International Badgers

It's a huge week/end for international hockey. USA has teams in the U17 Four Nations Cup in Woodride, Il, the U18 Four Nations Cup in Sundsvall, Sweeden, the World Junior A Challenge in Penticton, British Columbia, and the Women's Four Nation Cup in St. John's N.L.

2012 Wisconsin recruit Nic Kerdiles (pictured) got the USA U17 team on the board Wednesday with a goal en route to a 6-1 victory over Switzerland. Kerdiles also notched a goal in the opening game, a 4-1 USA victory over Slovakia. The U17 team finishes up pool play on Friday night vs Russia.

2011 Wisconsin recruit Jake McCabe and the USA U18 team lost in an exhibition game to Sweden on Wednesday 3-1. McCabe did not record a point. The U18 team opens pool play Thursday morning against Finland at 8:30 AM CST.

There are no future Badgers on Team USA at the World Junior A challenge but there are four Wisconsinites playing for the red white and blue. Ohio State recruit Max McCormick (DePere), North Dakota recruit Jordan Schmaltz (Verona), Denver recruit Garrett Allen (Delafield), and Colorado College recruit Aaron Harstad (Stevens Point) are all in attendance. Team USA is 2-0 so far and will be playing in the Semi-Finals on Saturday.

At the Women's Four Nations Cup Team USA is off to a fast 2-0 start. The USA Women avenged a loss to Canada in the last Olympics with a 3-2 shootout victory to open the tournament. Badger senior forward Meghan Duggan had a goal and Badger Junior forward Hilary Knight scored the only goal in the shootout. Former Badger Jessie Vetter stopped 32 shots in the game plus all three shooters she saw during the shootout. Vetter was named the player of the game.

Meghan Duggan led the charge in game two vs Finland with two goals. Badger sophomore forward Brianna Decker had a goal and an assist and was named the player of the game for Team USA in the 4-0 victory. Hilary Knight chipped in an assist. The ladies are on the ice next on Friday vs Sweden. Former Badgers Molly Engstrom and Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej are also on the roster for Team USA.

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USA Takes On Canada For GOLD Tonight

I'll be the first one to admit that I do not get into women's hockey. I have however really enjoyed watching the United States women at this Olympic Games and it has really piqued my interest in the women's game. I am really excited to watch the USA women take on Canada tonight for the Gold Medal.

If you are not already aware, coverage for the game starts at 5:00 PM and the actual game starts at like 5:30 I think. The game can be found on MSNBC. Nicole from the Cute Sports Blog will once again be helping us out doing a live blog of the game. She should be starting the live blog by 5:15. If I'm feeling ok, I will also be helping out when I can.

There will be 9 current or former Badgers playing in the game and obviously the United States men's coach is Mark Johnson, no introduction needed. 6 of 7 United States players are pictured to the left. First Row L to R: Erika Lawler, Jessie Vetter. Second row L to R: Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej, and Molly Engstrom. Missing from the photo is Kerry Weiland. Canada also features some former lady Badgers. Defensemen Meaghan Mikkelson and Carla MacLeod.

Stats for the ladies Badgers so far:

USA
Hilary Knight: 4 GP, 1 G, 7 A, +8
Molly Engstrom: 4 GP, 3 G, 4 A, +13
Meghan Duggan: 4 GP, 4 G, 0 A, +5
Erika Lawler: 3 GP, 0 G, 2 A, +6
Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej: 4 GP, 0 G, 0A, +3
Kerry Weiland: 4 GP, 1 G, 1 A, +6
Jessie Vetter: 3 GP, 0.33 GAA, .976 Save %

Canada
Meaghan Mikkelson: 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, +10
Carla MacLeod: 4 GP, 2 G, 3 A, +13

Image Credit: David Stluka Photography (Awesome, awesome photo)

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Rafalski's Two Goals Seal US Win

Being one of only three previous Olympians on the United States men's hockey roster, Brian Rafalski was looked upon as a leader in this years games in Vancouver. Rafalski proved his on-ice leadership by blasting two third period goals behind Norwegian goaltender Pal Grotnes.

The United States got on the board early when Plover, Wisconsin native, and former Badger, Joe Pavelski found streaking Madison native Phil Kessel up the middle of the ice who would not be denied. Chris Drury would add a goal before the period was over.

In the second, Pat Kane would get his first of the tournament with an assist from North Dakota forward Zach Parise. After the US and Norway traded goals to make it 4-1, The USA put it away when Parise found Rafalski streaking to the net who burried the puck behind Grotnes. For good measure, Team USA made it 6-1 on a play that featured three badgers getting in on the scoring. Joe Pavelski won the offensive zone faceoff back to defensman Ryan Suter. Suter, made a nice crisp pass over to defensive parter Rafalski who blasted home a one timer in the upper corner to ice the game.
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The United States women's team had already clinched a spot in the semi-finals set for Monday before they even stepped on the ice for this afternoons tilt with Finland. What was on the line was the prospects of avoiding Canada in that semi-final game. Win and they get Sweden, lose, and they get the home team Canada.

The USA never gave it a thought winning the game 6-0. Former Badger goaltender Jessie Vetter was credited with her second shutout of the tournament, also her only two starts. Former Badger defenseman Molly Engstrom continued her stellar play on Thursday netting a goal and assist. Forward Hilary Knight, who has two seasons left of eligibility after the game are over recorded her first ever Olympic goal yesterday afternoon. Meghan Duggan, continued her hot pace with another goal for the United States.

One good piece of news for Team USA is that forward Erika Lawler was able to play after sitting out a game and a half with an ankle injury. She was able to skate 12 shifts for over 11 minutes of ice time. I'm assuming coach Johnson is easing her into it and she should be pretty close to full go on Monday vs Sweden.
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Dany Heatley and the Canadian men's team got a major scare on Thursday night from the Swiss team. I was away and couldn't see the game but from the sounds of it, it was epic. Heatley, the only former Badger on the Canadian team got things started for the home team with a goal in the first period, his third of this Olympic games. NHL teammate Patrick Marleau and former North Dakota star Jonathon Toews got assists on the play.

Heatley would return the favor to Marleau in the second period, assisting on Marleau's goal that gave Canada a 2-0 lead. But the Swiss team would battle back, scoring two second period goals to tie the game at 2-0 and eventually force overtime.

There was no scoring in the OT and the game went to a shoot-out. I don't think it take a genius to figure out who has the advantage in a shoot-out between Canada and Switzerland. Especially when international rules let Sidney Crosby go more than once in the contest. So Canada got the win in a SO and will play the United States on Sunday. Should be an epic match up.

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Big Day For Badgers In Vancouver

The Badger hockey Olympians stayed unbeaten as the US men's and women's teams won 3-1 and 13-0 respectively, and the Canadian men's team blanked Norway 8-0.

Former Badger forward Dany Heatley had a big night in front of the home Canadian crowd scoring two goals in the blowout victory.

Team Canada started slow, going into the first intermission tied 0-0, but came out in the second and built a strong 3-0 lead. Canada blew the game open in the third and never looked back. They will play Thursday at 7:00 PM vs Switzerland on CNBC.

The United States men started off the tournament on the right foot beating Switzerland 3-1. Joe Pavelski was centering the second line with Ryan Malone (St. Cloud State), and Phil Kessel (Minnesota) on his wings.

Pavelski was in front of the net screening Swiss goalie Johan Hiller when Malone scored his power play goal. Former Badger defenseman Ryan Suter assisted on the goal when his slap shot from the point bounced onto Malones stick before he put it away. The USA men's team next plays on Thursday afternoon at 2:00 PM vs Norway on the USA Network (HD).

The United States women got their second blowout victory of the tournament this afternoon. They demolished Russia 13-0. Former Badger Patty Kaz winner Jessie Vetter was peppered with a whopping 7 shots the whole game and turned all 7 aside in the shut-out.

Badger forward Hilary Knight, who will still have two years of eligibility left when she returns from the Olympics had four assists in the win. The only other Badger to score was defenseman Molly Engstrom.

The biggest news of the day was that coach Johnson held forward Erika Lawler out of the game today. She had injured her ankle in a pileup in a race for a loose puck on Sunday. From the sound of it, she could have played if they needed her but the smart thing to do was to rest it.

The USA women next play on Thursday at 4:30 PM vs Finland which can be found on MSNBC.

USA Women Open With 12-1 Victory

The United States women's hockey team opened up the 2010 Olympic Winter games with a 12-1 victory over China Sunday afternoon. Ironically, these two teams faced each other eight years ago to the day, and played to the exact same score, a 12-1 USA victory.

The United States is absolutely loaded with former and current Badger players. They were led on Sunday by forward Meghan Duggan (pictured left) who had two goals on four shots for the red, white, and blue. Duggan will have one year of eligibility left with the Badgers after she returns from Vancouver.

Other Badgers who figured into the scoring Sunday afternoon: Molly Engstrom had a goal and an assist. Hilary Knight, and Kerry Weiland both finished with one assist. Erika Lawler and Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej were held off the scoresheet. Jessie Vetter did not play.

Arguably the biggest news of the day was that forward Erika Lawler suffered an apparent ankle injury when she crashed into the boards racing for a loose puck. It happened during the second period and while she returned to the bench, she never returned to the ice. It didn't look like the injury was too serious and she was probably held out due to precautionary reasons more than anything. Keep an eye on this situation.

Team USA next plays on Tuesday vs Russia at 4:30 on MSNBC
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The Badgers are represented on Team Canada as well. Former Badger defensemen Carla MacLeod and Meaghan Mikkelson are suited up for Team Canada and they started off their tournament by taking on Slovakia Saturday night.

Team Canada absolutely smoked Slovakia and got an 18-0 victory. MacLoed was a star for the Canadians with two goals and two assists in the blowout. Mikkelson went scoreless.

Team Canada next plays on Monday vs Switzerland at 4:30 on MSNBC

Duggan photo courtesy of Getty Images

Olympic Preview: Team USA Women

The Olympics start soon, 2 weeks from now I'll be glued to the TV watching Team USA both the Men and Women. I'm a huge fan of biathlon for some reason too, but I digress. I'm going to start w/ the Women's team, because I'm A LOT more interested in them due to the numerous Badger ties. Yeah the Men's team has some too (included the beloved Joe Pavelski), but I'm really excited about the Ladies in Red, White & Blue. Hopefully get to the Men later in the week.

I've had the opportunity to see these fine women play 3 times in the past 2 months (twice in person, once on NHL Network). Thursday night on the NHL Network will be the last warm up, as Team USA takes on Finland, check it out at 8 PM.

Canada got the better of them during their pre-Olympic matches. Canada looks good, but I think Team USA has all the pieces to upset the lady canucks on their home soil. Team USA has 7 former/current Badger players and the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal winner Mark Johnson as their coach; 21 gold medals are waiting to be hung around these women's necks.

Team Canada needs to get some love as they feature former Badgers Meaghan Mikkelson and Carla MacLeod. Hope you are ok w/ silver.

NBC is once again our hosts for the Olympic games. Coverage is being supplemented by USA, MSNBC and CNBC. During the Olympics, MSNBC will likely get more viewers than in the rest of the year combined.

Below is the schedule for Team USA's and Team Canada's preliminary round games (all times CST):

Feb 13th: Canada vs Slovkia 7 PM (CNBC)
Feb 14th: USA vs China 2 PM (USA)
Feb 15th: Canada vs Switzerland 4:30 PM (MSNBC)
Feb 16th: USA vs Russia 4:30 PM (MSNBC)
Feb 17th: Canada vs Sweden 4:30 PM (MSNBC)
Feb 18th: USA vs Finland 4:30 PM (MSNBC)
Feb 22nd: Semis 2 PM (USA) & 7 PM (CNBC)
Feb 25th: Bronze 1 PM & Gold 5 PM both on MSNBC (DVR the latter, USA vs Canada, book it!)

NBC's Olympic website also has some nice profiles of all the Women's Team, I'd definitely check it out.

For easy reference the links to the Badgers:

Jessie Vetter
Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej
Hilary Knight
Erika Lawler
Meghan Duggan
Kerry Weiland
Molly Engstrom

Hilary Knight is the youngest player on the team, and IMHO the best. I'd love to see her lineup w/ Erika Lawler, they dominated last season. Come on Ladies, bring home the GOLD!!!

USA Women's Olympic Team @ KC Tomorrow 7 PM

Be there or be square?

Tomorrow night Mark Johnson and 7 former or current Badgers (along w/ 14 Olympic teammates) are coming to the Kohl Center. Five former Badgers include Erika Lawler, Jessie Vetter, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej, Kerry Weiland and Molly Engstrom. Two current Badgers are redshirting this season to play in the Olympics, and Hilary Knight and Meghan Duggan will rejoin the Badgers next season.


Both Duggan and Knight have blog posts at uwbadgers.com about the upcoming game. Both are very excited to be back in Madison, in front of the home crowd.

I tagged along to St. Paul last wednesday when the Olympic team played Canada at the Excel Energy Center. Canada was a 2-1 winner, but the US played better than they did earlier in the month in Denver. They have some work to do to gain Olympic gold, but they have the talent. Erika Lawler always give 100% (I don't buy into the 110% thing) and kept the puck alive in gaining an assist in USA's only goal. It was great to see Hilary Knight play again; I'm biased but I believe she is the greatest female hockey player in the world, and can't wait for her to light up the box scores in Vancouver. Jessie Vetter was not in net, but I'd guess she will be tomorrow.

If you aren't busy tomorrow, come to the Kohl Center, you can afford $5. If you are veteran, police officer, EMS or firefighter, you can get in for $1 as UW is celebrating local heroes. When will you get another chance to see an Olympic team play in Madison or Wisconsin no less? There is something special about seeing our fellow citizens in the Red, White and Blue representing our country.

For the Badgers, both Brooke Ammerman and Brianna Decker were invited to the evaluation camp this summer and will likely be Olympians themselves 4 years from now.

Lastly, in a day where sports role models are hard to find, 21 good ones will be on the ice tomorrow night. Bring your kids, have them watch 20 to 30 year olds who bust their ass, not for phat contracts following college, but for a chance to represent their country and reach their life long dreams.

Much needed Women's Update

The Badger Women open up their regular season this friday night against North Dakota at 7 PM at the Kohl Center. They will be raising the banner for NC #3 before the game.

The Women are picked to finish first in the league coaches poll, while collecting six of eight first place votes. In addition, two Badgers were picked for POY and ROY respectively. Sophomore Sensation Brooke Ammerman received 5 votes for POY, and freshman Brianna Decker received 6 votes for ROY.

Last night the Badger Women held their Red/White Scrimmage, w/ Team White winning 8-1. Brianna Decker had 5 goals for Team White.

Last friday, the USA Women's Select Team took on the WCHA All-Stars at the X in St. Paul, winning 6-1. Jessie Vetter was in net for Team USA. Of the Badgers playing on Team USA, Jinelle Zaugg, Kerry Weiland and Molly Engstrom all had goals, while Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler and Meghan Duggan each had an assist. Current Badgers Jasmine Giles, Mallory Deluce and Brooke Ammerman all played on the same line for the All-Stars, and according to our friend nubettle, who was at the game, they gave Team USA the most trouble, even if it didn't show up on the score sheet. Brittany Haverstock also was a defender for the All-Stars. Reminder that you can see Team USA at the Kohl Center on Tuesday January 5th at 7 PM when they face the Badger Women.

On saturday, Team USA played a game against the St. Cloud Women and crushed them 13-0. There were some pretty big stat lines for several Badgers playing on Team USA.

Hilary Knight: 3-4-7, +5
Jinelle Zaugg: 1-4-5, +5
Meghan Duggan: 2-0-2, 4 PIM, +2
Kerry Weiland: 0-3-2, +2
Angie Keseley: 1-0-1, +1

Zaugg and Knight played the wings on the 2nd line, while Keseley and Duggan played the wings on the 3rd line.

Honestly, they should just hand Hilary Knight the Patty Kaz awards for 2011 and 2012 now, there is no stopping her.

A few more US Women's National Team links

• MinnPost's article of the youth of the US Women's National Team has a nice mention of Jessie Vetter:

  Johnson said he wanted a young, energetic team. "Maybe we're a little younger that we anticipated, but on the positive side," he said. "The youngness is what really excites me."
  
  Vetter, one of the Wisconsin products, may be the key to success in Vancouver. The Patty Kazmaier Award winner as the top player in women's college hockey last year, Vetter helped Wisconsin win three NCAA titles in four years, and was the primary goalie for Team USA's back-to-back world titles.
  
  "You say Vetter is young, but for the last three years, she's all I've known," Darwitz said. "In my mind, she's one of the leaders and an integral part of our team. Just because they haven't been to the Olympics doesn't mean they don't have good international experience under their belt."

• The Fitchburg Sentinel and Enterprise has an article on Erika Lawler's making the roster:
  

  At the Women's Frozen Four in Boston over a week in March, Johnson spoke highly of Lawler, foreshadowing the possibility that she would receive a national team nod.
  
  "(Erika) does a lot of things well," Johnson said during a Frozen Four press conference in March. "Obviously, one of them is her ability to get around the ice. If you've seen her play, you've seen how competitive she is.
  
  "She's going to go and get the puck on any areas of the ice and usually wins the battles and gets control," added Johnson, who was one of the stars of the USA's legendary 1980 Miracle On Ice gold medal squad. "Her play-making comes from her being able to get into areas and get pucks to her linemates."

• I wish I could find an article about Angie Keseley. She's never been on a US team before, so her inclusion is pretty cool. In his interview w/ Posick today, Mark Johnson said that her play in the FF in Boston this year helped her catch the eye of USA Hockey and helped her earn an invite to the Festival camp.
  
  Since I don't have an article, instead I'll post a some quotes from her high school coach that I stumbled upon today on a site called mnpuck.
  

  St. Louis Park head coach Mike Peluso said:
  
  Angie is a smart player with good speed and rink sense.
  
  Angie is a smart, smart hockey player. I don't think she gets as much credit as she should for her defensive play.
  
  She's the best player in the state, at least one of the best, and she's an even better person. She is just a great kid to coach.

• I was also looking for an article on Molly Engstrom's making the team but didn't see anything. I did, however, stumble upon Engstrom's Women's Sports Foundation profile, so I thought I may as well link that.
  

• The Daily Cardinal has an article about the Badgers on the National Team.

• This teamUSA.org Jessie Vetter article is several months old, but I like it, and I honestly don't remember posting it before. So I figured I might as well post it now.

• I do remember our posting this hockeyjournal.com Hilary Knight article, but Hilary's The Bomb, and I like the article, so I'm posting it again. Who's gonna stop me?
  

  "She seems to be very happy, always has a smile on her face, and would (seem to me to be) a very good teammate. Very concerned and helpful with her peers, and seems to really enjoy life," said Badgers head coach Mark Johnson, who knows a thing or two about prime-time players.
  .
  .
  .
  "Every day that she comes to practice, and every game she competes in, you know what you're going to get. She works very hard at her game, and she's made great strides in the almost two years that she's been here,” Johnson praised. “She's had an opportunity to play at a higher level than the college game with the national program, and you're just happy to see someone who wants to be a good player, and works at becoming a good player gets those opportunities because of her hard work.”
  
  Johnson has played Knight (Hanover, N.H.) on a line with Angie Keseley and Erika Lawler (Fitchburg, Mass.) since the midpoint of last season, and the combination has been magical. The coach describes a shift against them as 45 seconds of defense, with the Badgers playing keep-away until they either light the lamp or go for a change.
  
  "They've got the puck all the time, and they're no fun to play against ... because unless you bring your own puck and take it on the ice, you're not going to see much of it," he laughed.

"The season is right around the corner!" & other random items

• Profiles have finally been added to the Badger Men's roster for incoming players. EDIT: Well, at least most of them, anyway. (This is what I get for initially just checking Justin Schultz.) Right now I see profiles for Schultz, Lee, Meuer, Thompson, and Ramage, with the others (Bennett, C. Smith) still "coming soon".

• It's fitting that the profiles were added yesterday, as yesterday appears to be the 1st day of the season for the hockey staff. Mike Cerniglia tells me his summer is over and "I hope you are looking forward to a great year!!", and Paul Capobianco says "We had our first staff meeting of the year in the hockey office this afternoon. The season is right around the corner!"

• I never noticed this before, but it's down in the very bottom left hand corner of the WCHA website and thus not noticeable when stopping by the site to scan for new articles, so I have no idea how long it may or may not have been there. It's a feature called "The WCHA Coaches Corner" in which WCHA coaches "present instructional information, philosophy, systems of play, and strategies of on-ice game situations. Many different subjects will be introduced in order to assist you in gaining a better understanding of how the game is played in the WCHA."
  
  2 of the first 3 entries are from Badger coaches. KP talks about stickwork, and Oz talks about shot blocking. The other entry, from OSU Women's head coach Jackie Barto, talks about practice plan preparation.

• I had already posted this NY Times Jessie Vetter feature (props to TM), but I had neglected to post a this USA Today feature (props to Boscacci). Both have some nice quotes from Mark Johnson, Team USA teammates, and Vetter.

• I know we posted this USA Today Hilary Knight feature back in June, but I stumbled upon it again while checking out the Vetter article, and I liked it so I thought I'd post it again.
  

• Over on the Blackhawks website, there's a live chat with Adam Burish today at 3 PM. (Props to aktick)

• The Omaha World-Herald has an interesting article about Dean Blais' approach to starting things out at UNO. (Props to Goon)
  

Sunday afternoon catch-up

Catching up with a number of items that have accumulated over the last week or so:

• Andy Baggot had a blog post listing candidates to play on the Badger Men's top line, and DPlaya weighs in with his thoughts.

• Lowetide has a post on Troy Hesketh: Tall Tree from Minnetonka. I think I've pretty much already posted most of the contained information, but it's worth a look to refresh your memory. Good stuff.

• Chris Walby has a post on his WSN Wiscohockey blog about future Badger Cody Strang. In the post he indicated that Strang has been "battling the decision to pursue golf instead of hockey despite being drafted by the USHL and committed to a scholarship with the UW hockey team", prompting me to ask "couldn't he do both?". I suppose the seasons do overlap, but the golf season isn't all that long, and none of the dates conflict. Before anyone gets too riled up, though, Strang did say, "Golf is always going to be there and I'm committed to hockey, to Youngstown and the Badgers".

• DPlaya has some links about potential recruit Barret Kaib, including a recent Bleacher Report feature and WCH's and USHR's reports from last year's Select 15 Festival.
  

• Hilary Knight recently did a photo shoot for Inside Wisconsin Sports, and Jacqueline Boscacci snapped a few pictures while at the photo shoot (1, 2, 3).

• I previously mentioned that Women's interim head coach Tracey DeKeyser was interviewed on 1070 Aug 4, but I don't think I mentioned that new assistant Peter Johnson was interviewed on 1070 the next day Aug 5. You can find all of the 1070 OnWisconsin podcasts here.

• Uwbadgers.com has a Fan Video Guide. I haven't watched it yet, but it says you can "[s]ee the men’s hockey locker room and office tour and take a tour of the inner depths of the Kohl Center" and "[c]heck out the practices of the national champion women’s hockey team and relive their 2009 title run highlights".

• A number of things don't make sense to me regarding the CCHA's rejection of UAH. But rather than tell you myself, I'll just refer you to Goon's World and the Ciskie Blog, as Goon is doing a bang-up job of covering the situation.

• Kurt Kleinendorst has been named head coach of the NTDP U18 team. Ron Rolston previously held that position, but this year he will be head coach of the NTDP U17 team, a position recently vacated by former Badger assistant John Hynes. Future Badgers Frankie Simonelli and Michael Mersch will play for the U18 team this year, and potential recruit and Wisconsinite Jake McCabe will play for the U17 team.

• Looks like there will be another outdoor double header besides the Camp Randall Classic. Sounds like BC/BU Men and Northeastern/UNH Women. It hasn't been officially announced, I don't think, as the official press conference is scheduled for Aug 20, but TSN is already reporting it.
  

Women's Hockey News

Hockey in Wisconsin has had a sister site (literally) for some time, Del Scanlon covers girl's/women's hockey in Wiscosnin. I hadn't taken a look at this site before, but today I strolled over there, take a look.

Del had a few links that I hadn't seen before about the Badger Women. Edit: Dplaya also contributes to the Women's hockey blog; I missed that and don't want to leave him out of proper credit.

Hilary Knight (aka da bomb, aka the best female forward in the nation) was interviewed by the USA Today about making the Olympic team. Definately a good read; she's a lock to wear the Red, White and Blue next February.

Also, I'd been wondering if the Kelter Twins were still going to be joining the Women's Hockey team. Well, Alev and Derya are both on scholarship to play for the Badger Women's Soccer team. Apparently Alev is all world at both soccer and hockey, and her sister isn't far behind. They will both take to the ice when the soccer season ends, which ends in early November. The twins will miss a good chunk of the 1st half of the season. W/ the likely loss of Knight and Duggan to the Olympics, I wonder if the Badgers won't be a little shorthanded until the Kelter's can join the team. Maybe the Women's team can borrow a few forwards from the Men's team (sarcasm).

Lastly, Beyond the Dashers has begun to compile the Women's schedule as other teams release their's. The Badgers are on the last page.

Badgers win WCHA Honors

WCHA awards were announced today, and 7 Badger players received honors, as did head coach Mark Johnson. Most notably, Hilary Knight was named WCHA Player of the Year! Hilary, she's the bomb. (You'll notice that Jessie Vetter did not win goaltender of the year; that honor went to freshman Alyssa Grogan from minnesota.)

Hilary Knight - Player of the Year, 1st-Team All-WCHA
Jessie Vetter - 1st-Team All-WCHA
Erika Lawler - 2nd-Team All-WCHA
Meghan Duggan - 3rd-Team All-WCHA
Alycia Matthews - 3rd-Team All-WCHA
Brooke Ammerman - 3rd-Team All-WCHA, All-Rookie Team
Brittany Haverstock - All-Rookie Team
Mark Johnson - WCHA Co-Coach of the Year (with minnesota's Brad Frost)

Congratulations, Badgers!

9 Badgers also were named to the WCHA All-Academic team: Rachel Bible, Mallory Deluce, Meghan Duggan, Maria Evans, Kayla Hagen, Angie Keseley, Erika Lawler, Alycia Matthews, and Jessie Vetter.

Nice work, ladies!

Here are the uwbadgers.com and wcha.com releases and a blurb in the WSJ. Also, one of the Fitchburg, MA papers had a nice feature on Erika Lawler.

Ya know, I'm not sure if I posted this yet, so I'm going to go ahead and post it here -- current Badger Jessie Vetter and past Badger players Molly Engstrom and Sara Bauer were named Top-10 players from the 1st 10 years of the Women's WCHA. Here are the uwbadgers.com and wcha.com releases.

Just a reminder that Vetter, Knight, and Lawler are all top-1o finalists for the Patty Kaz. The top-3 finalists will be named on March 10.