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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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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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
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

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.

Badger Women 3 - US Select Team 2

With a 3-2 victory, the Badger Women have become the 1st WCHA team to defeat the US Select Team this year. The Select Team had previously defeated Bemidji, Minnesota, UND, SCSU, Mankato, and Ohio State, as well as Mercyhurst. (For those of you who don't follow women's hockey all that closely, Mercyhurst is one of the top teams in college hockey, as is Wisconsin and Minnesota.) Congratulations, Badgers!

The Cap Times has the game story, with pictures!

Your Badger goals were scored by Brooke Ammerman (Rachel Bible), Maria Evans (Emily Kranz), and Hilary Knight (Angie Kesely, Erika Lawler).

I gotta tell ya, it was a lot of fun to see the Badger Women play a competive opponent, as those blowouts games tend to get a bit boring by the end of the 1st or 2nd period. This was some seriously good hockey. If you didn't get a chance to make the game this year, make sure you get to next year's game when Team USA again takes on the Badger Women.

The Select Team includes Jinelle Zaugg (who just joined the team after finishing her studies at the UW in December), Molly Engstrom, and Kerry Weiland (who played limited minutes as she's recovering from an injury). Composed of post-collegiate players participating in the Blaine Residency, the Select Team typically plays with a pretty short bench -- the USA website lists 9 forwards and 5 defenseman -- making for a lot of minutes for each player, especially on D as Weiland recovers from her injury. Two players were added to the roster for this weekend only to bring the total up to 16 skaters.

Badger Women odds & ends

• USA Hockey's latest Blaine Residency article features Badger alum Molly Engstrom:

  “If you were ever looking for a steady, solid player, she is it,” Osieki said. “She doesn’t look like she’s fancy or spectacular, but, boy, she really is. She never makes mistakes, never gets beat, never makes a bad pass. There are no weaknesses to her game.”
  

  Nice!


• Badger assistant captain Alycia Matthews is featured in the 2nd installment of the captains interviews on uwbadgers.com. (Includes video link.)


• You can become a Women's Hockey Insider by signing up for Buckymail and checking the box for women's hockey. (I don't know what you get on the women's side, but on the men's side Paul Capobianco sends out twice weekly emails.)


• Over on the USCHO fan forum, Hux has some awesome pictures of Badger recruits Brianna Decker and Alev Kelter. (Posted on 10/9 and 10/10.) Thanks for sharing, Hux!
  

Badgers sweep Syracuse, Blaine sweeps Mercyhurst

As you know, the Badger Women swept Syracuse this weekend. Here are box scores and recaps.

Friday: Badgers 3 - Syracuse 0 Box, uwbadgers recap, suathletics recap, WSJ recap
Saturday: Badgers 8 - Syracuse 0 Box, uwbadgers recap, suathletics recap, WSJ recap

A couple of brief notes:

• Carolyne Prévost had 13 SOG this weekend -- 7 on Friday and 6 on Saturday.
• Jessie Vetter recorded her 27 SO on Friday. Vetter and Alannah McCready combined to SO Syracuse on Saturday.
• Brooke Ammeman had a 5 goal weekend -- 1 on Friday and 4 on Saturday
  

Uwbadgers has a nice article about the Badgers' offensive depth, mostly focusing on Ammerman's 4 goals on Saturday. It has some nice quotes by Ammerman and Erika Lawler.

“I got lucky,” Ammerman said. “Sometimes it happens like that. I tried to pass it across and it ended up going in. I am really happy about the hat trick. It feels awesome. I can’t really explain it.”

“We have a great coaching staff, it’s a great school, the girls are great here and I couldn’t see it better anywhere else,” Ammerman said. “I really have to thank my teammates for making it so easy for me.”

“Last night I texted her and I was like, ‘Hey Brooke I just wanted to let you know that you are playing great,” Lawler said. “You’re play beyond your years,’ She doesn’t play like she’s a freshman. She’s very composed out there and very confident. She does her job very well and I think that she’s just a phenomenal player. She’s very knowledgeable about the game. I think she’s a standout and such an asset to this team. Her early success has been great and I am really confident that it will carry on throughout the season.”

The Blaine Residency Program swept Mercyhurst the weekend. Nothing is available on usahockey yet, but I do have recaps from the Mercyhurst website, as well as box scores:

Friday: USA 4 - Mercyhurst 1 Box, hurstathletics recap
Saturday: USA 4 - Mercyhurst 2 Box, hurstathletics recap

Molly Engstrom had 2 assists on Friday and 1 assist on Saturday. Kerry Weiland had 1 assist on Saturday. (Jinelle Zaugg will be joining the residency program in Dec/Jan.)


I already posted other Friday scores around the NCAA. Here are Saturday scores:

Saturday, October 4 - Women:
Syracuse           0 at Wisconsin          8 NC      Box       12:07 pm    
  Boston University  0 at Rensselaer         2 NC      Box        2:00 pm    
* Mercyhurst         2 vs Team USA           4 EX      Box        2:00 pm    
  North Dakota       7 at Maine              3 NC      Box        2:00 pm    
  Clarkson           0 at Boston College     2 NC      Box        2:00 pm    
  Bemidji State      1 at Wayne State        2 NC  OT  Box        2:00 pm    
  Connecticut        2 at Minnesota State    4 NC      Box        3:07 pm    
  Ohio State         3 at Providence         2 NC      Box        4:00 pm    
  Northeastern       6 at Union              0 NC      Box        4:00 pm    
  St. Cloud State    5 at Quinnipiac         3 NC      Box        4:00 pm    
  Minnesota Duluth   6 at Niagara            1 NC      Box        7:00 pm    
  Robert Morris      1 at Minnesota          7 NC      Box        7:07 pm    
* - Blaine, MN

• Minnesota must not have taken too kindly to being beaten by RMU on Friday, as they rebounded with a 7-1 victory last night.
• It's not often that you see North Dakota score 7 goals. I understand Maine might not be the strongest opponent, but still.
• Looks like the Bemidji program might be on it's way up. Last season, they won all of 4 games. But they defeated Wayne State on Friday and took them to OT on Saturday before losing in OT. Last season, Wayne State had a 22-9-3 record.
  

Blaine Badgers defeat Mercyhurst

The Blaine Residency team, including Badger Molly Engstrom and Kerry Weiland, defeated Mercyhurst 4-1 tonight in Blaine, MN. Engstrom had 1 assist and finished +2 for the evening. Weiland was held off the scoresheet and finished even.

During the course of the season, Team USA will play all of the WCHA women's teams. Here's the schedule. Don't forget -- they'll be in Madison playing the Badgers on Jan 3 and the Madison Capitols on Jan 4!

Edit: Just a reminder that Jinelle Zaugg be will joining the Blaine Residency later this season (Dec or Jan).

Blaine Badgers defeat Bemidji, Minnesota

The Blaine Residency program recently played the Bemidji women and the Minnesota women. Team USA defeated Bemidji 7-0 on Saturday, and they also defeated Minnesota 3-2 in overtime on Sunday. Usahockey.com has a nice article about Sunday's victory. The article mentions Team USA's short bench -- on Saturday they dressed 12 skaters, and on Sunday they dressed 13 skaters.

Molly Engstrom had 3 assists and Kerry Weiland had 1 assist in the victory over Bemidji. Engstrom had 1 assist and Weiland was held off the scoresheet in the victory over Minnesota.

During the course of the season, Team USA will play the rest of the WCHA women's teams. Here's the schedule. Don't forget -- they'll be in Madison playing the Badgers on Jan 3 and the Madison Capitols on Jan 4!

Edit: Just a reminder that Jinelle Zaugg be will joining the Blaine Residency later this season (Dec or Jan).

Some Badger Women News

Thanks to the kids in the uscho women's fan forums for the heads-up:

• The start of official practices will kick-off with a Red-White scrimmage on Saturday. Captains' practices ended earlier this week.
  


• USA Hockey has named the 2008 Women's Select Team that will compete in the Four Nations Cup November 4-9. The team includes 4 current Badgers - Jessie Vetter (G), Erika Lawler (F), Meghan Duggan (F), Hilary Knight (F); 2 Badger alumni - Molly Engstrom (D), Kerry Weiland (D); and 1 future Badger - Brianna Decker (F).
  

Thursday Evening Odds & Ends

• Hockey Canada has announced its September Evaluation Camp roster and schedule. The camp will take place Sept 17-21 in Calgary, AB. In February, 22 players will be selected to play for Team Canada in the 2009 IIHF World Women's Championships. In the summer of 2009, up to 30 players will move to Calgary as part of centralization to train and work toward the 2010 Winter Olympics.
  

Badgers at the September camp include defensemen Carla MacLeod (2001-05, Calgary, AB), Meaghan Mikkelson (2003-07, St. Albert, AB), and Bobbie Jo Slusar (2003-07, Swift Current, SK).

• Caitlyn Cahow posted a blog entry yesterday with a brief blurb about the beginning of the Blaine Residency. Badgers currently at the residency include Molly Engstrom and Kerry Weiland. Jinelle Zaugg will join the residency later this year.

• USA Hockey has a nice article about recent Badger commit Alev Kelter. Sounds like a great pick-up for the Badgers!!

• The Ottawa Citizen has a nice article about Brian Elliott.

• Todd Milewski has a bit of information regarding the Badger Men's TV schedule.
  

Your 2008-09 Blaine Badgers . . .

(From left to right: Molly Engstrom, Kerry Weiland, Jinelle Zaugg. Photos from usahockey.com)

The US Women's National Residency Program began yesterday in Blaine, MN. The residency program runs through March and consists of post-collegiate players who will be vying for team USA roster spots for the Team Four Nations Cup (Nov 4-9, 2008) and the World Women's Championships (Apr 4-12, 2009).

Badgers participating in the Blaine Residency are Molly Engstrom (D, Siren, WI, 2001-05), Kerry Weiland (D, Palmer, AK, 1999-03), and Jinelle Zaugg (F, Eagle River, WI, 2004-08), although Jinelle will not be joining the program until December.

Tom Osiecki, father of Badger Men's Assistant Mark Osiecki, will be coaching the program, and USA Hockey has a fantastic article about him.

The training schedule consists looks like this:
Mondays 8:30 am - weight training, 10:00-11:30 - on-ice practice
Tuesdays 10:00-11:30 - on-ice practice
Wednesdays 8:30 am - weight training
Thursdays 10:00-11:30 - on-ice practice
Fridays 8:30 am - weight training

The game schedule consists of playing the Minnesota Whitecaps (the professional women's team in MN), women's NCAA (each of the WCHA teams and Mercyhurst), local boys' teams, and local men's league teams. The men's league games will be on Wednesdays evenings, and the other games will be on Saturdays and Sundays.

You can see the team play the Badger Women on Sat, Jan 3 at 7pm and the Madison Capitals Minor Midget AAA on Sun, Jan 4 (time TBA). So, I'm going to to do my best to get to the Sunday game. The Saturday game presents a scheduling conflict, as the Badger Men are hosting Northern that night. I wonder where they'll play on Saturday (it won't be the Kohl), and I sure wish they'd consider changing to an afternoon time. Because I sure wouldn't mind being able to catch 4 games in 1 weekend.

Given that the residency just started yesterday, USA Hockey has quite a bit of content up already. I'm hoping that this trend continues! We'll do our best to keep you updated here on our blog, but you can find coverage at any time by visiting the Blaine Residency Program Homepage. Looks like Caitlyn Cahow will be continuing to write her blog (which she started in July and continued during the National Festival) throughout the program, and she mentions that other members of the team will make guest appearances on the blog. Hopefully we'll see some Badgers!

Badgers at the USA Women's National Festival

USA Hockey has announced the 64 players that will participate in the 2008 USA Women's National Festival in Lake Placid August 12-23. The Festival will include practices and intrasquad scrimmages - the full schedule is included in the linked announcement. The Hockey USA Website is having some glitches with its roster links, but luckily our friends at Beyond the Dashers are on the ball (no surprise!) and have posted the complete roster. BTD's roster is in Excel format, which is great, because you can sort it by player name or DOB, etc. (Thanks, BTD!)

* EDIT: the roster links in the official announcement (first link in this blog post) now work. (Thanks to Hux for the heads-up.) *

Team White will be comprised of the U22 Select Team that was previously announced. This team, of course, includes Badgers Meghan Duggan, Erika Lawler, and Hilary Knight. Team White will leave the Festival on August 18 to travel to Pierrefonds, Québec, where it will play a 3-game series against Canada's U22 team on Aug 20-23. (Canada's U22 team has not yet been named, but Badgers Brittany Haverstock, Mallory Deluce, Jasmine Giles, and Carolyne Prévost will competing for spots during the Selection Camp that runs August 12-19.)

* Speaking of Meghan Duggan, the today's Salem News has a great article on her. Props to DPlaya for finding this article. *

Team Blue will be comprised of the U18 Select Team which will be coached by Badger Mark Johnson. Hux was kind enough to post Team Blue's roster on the uscho fan forum. (Thanks, Hux!) Team Blue will face Canada's U18 team in a 3-game series in Lake Placid August 20-23.

Team Red will be comprised of over-22 players and players -- including 16 players from USA Hockey's Residency progam (post-collegiate players) and 3 collegiate players. I don't have a roster, but you can use BTD's full roster and sort by DOB. Of course, Badgers Jinelle Zaugg, Kerry Weiland, and Molly Engstrom were previously named to the residency progam. Looks like Zaugg will not be attending the Festival, which is not a huge surprise given that she is unable to join the residency until January. Badger Jessie Vetter is one of the 3 collegiate players who will be playing for Team Red. Team Red will continue to train in Lake Placid during the U18 series at the end of the Festival.

3 Badgers Selected to US Women's National Program's Residency

USA Hockey has selected 18 players to participate in their Residency Program, during which the players will train in Blaine, Minnesota from August 2008 through September 2009. The 18 players have all completed their collegiate careers. Kerry Weiland, Molly Engstrom, and Jinelle Zaugg will be representing the Badgers. Jinelle will join the program in-progress in December after she completes her studies at UW.

Milewski has a nice little description of the residency program.