Badgers bounce back, grab a point

Thought the team really battled on Saturday and probably deserved more than a point but that's hockey. Freshman Jefferson Dahl got his first career goal and many players had great games including Patrick Johnson. It's been a nice bounce back season for PJ.

WSJ (Baggot): Badgers salvage a tie against Minnesota
DailyCardinal.com (Evans): Badgers salvage a point from border battle series
BadgerHerald.com (Holt): Series feels familiar as Badgers earn 1 point
Star Tribune (Augustoviz): Badgers rally to salvage a tie with Gophers
UWBadgers.com: Badgers battle Gophers to a 3-3 tie
UWBadgers.com: Game Highlights
UWBadgers.com: Photos
UWBadgers.com: Post Game Quotes
UWBadgers.com: Post Game Presser
GopherSports.com: Gophers, Badgers skate to 3-3 tie
GopherPuckLive.com: Gophers earn tie, 3 point weekend
USCHO.com: Dahl's first collegiate goal helps Wisconsin tie Minnesota

BOX SCORE (Courtesy of USCHO.com)

First Period
Minnesota-1 Nate Condon (Nick Bjugstad, Aaron Ness) PPG 13:06
Wisconsin-1 Justin Schultz (Michael Mersch, Podge Turnbull) 13:23

Second Period
Wisconsin-2 Patrick Johnson (Jake Gardiner, Frankie Simonelli) 3:25
Minnesota-2 Jake Hansen (Jacob Cepis, Cade Fairchild) 12:37

Third Period
Minnesota-3 Jacob Cepis (Cade Fairchild) 0:44
Wisconsin-3 Jefferson Dahl (Mark Zengerle, John Ramage) 3:06

Goaltenders
Minnesota-1 Kent Patterson (65:00 T) 7 9 15 1 = 32 (3 GA)
Wisconsin-1 Brett Bennett (65:00 T) 3 15 10 0 = 28 (3 GA)

Scores from around the WCHA Saturday:

North Dakota 3, St. Cloud 2
Bemidji State 2, Colorado College 1
Denver 5, Michigan Tech 1
Minnesota-Duluth 6, Minnesota State 2
Nebraska-Omaha 4, Alaska-Anchorage 1

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Better effort leads to win, sweep over Michigan Tech

In what seemingly was a no win whatever happens weekend for Wisconsin, there were plenty of positives to take note of. Patrick Johnson had a huge game on Saturday with a goal and two assists as well as playing hard nosed hockey the entire weekend.

Mark Zengerle (19 games), Tyler Barnes (15), and Sean Dolan (14) all busted out of lengthy scoring droughts. Zengerle ended up scoring on back to back nights, don't be surprised if that trend continues. Justin Schultz had another ho-hum 3 point weekend and is still tied for fourth in the country in scoring.

Brett Bennett played well in goal on Saturday night. He's taken some (in my opinion) unwarranted criticism from fans this season. You go a month between every start and tell me how sharp you're going to be. So it was nice to see him play a solid 60 minutes.

The Badgers will get a well deserved weekend off before traveling to Nebraska-Omaha for Wisconsin's first ever conference games against the Mavericks.

WSJ (Baggot): Johnson leads Badgers in sweep of Michigan Tech
Daily Cardinal (Evans): No. 8 UW sweeps lowly Tech in weekend set
UWBadgers.com: Badgers complete the sweep, defeat Michigan Tech, 4-1
UWBadgers.com: Final Statistics
UWBadgers.com: Game Day Blog
UWBadgers.com: Photos
MichiganTechHuskies.com: Furne scores eight goal in Tech hockey loss
UppperMichiganSource.com: Wisconsin completes sweep of Tech hockey
USCHO.com: Johnson notches three points as Wisconsin tops Michigan Tech
USCHO.ocom: Box Score

BOX SCORE

First Period
Wisconsin-1-13:49-Mark Zengerle (Craig Smith, Patrick Johnson)

Second Period
Wisconsin-2-7:46-P. Johnson (unassisted)
Michigan Tech-1-8:44-Ryan Furne (Steven Seigo, Deron Cousens)

Third Period
Wisconsin-3-7:46-Sean Dolan (P. Johnson, John Ramage)
Wisconsin-4-12:21-Justin Scuhltz (Zengerle)

Goalies
Wisconsin-Bennett-22 shots, 21 saves
Michigan Tech-Genoe-30 shots, 26 saves

Scores from around the WCHA Saturday
North Dakota 6, Colorado College 0
Alaska-Anchorage 1, Minnesota 0
Minnesota State 6, St. Cloud State 2
Alabama-Huntsville 2, Nebraska-Omaha 1

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Badgers blanked at new Amsoil Arena

Some nights you just can't seem to catch a break. Friday night seemed to be one of those for the Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey team. Fifth ranked Minnesota-Duluth's two first period power play goals would hold up for a 2-0 WCHA victory.

Bulldogs goaltender Kenny Reiter (pictured), a junior from Pittsburgh got the shutout. Reiter also shut out the Badgers last season in Duluth at the old DECC. Reiter stopped all 22 Wisconsin shots on Friday night en route to the doughnut.

Wisconsin controlled play early in the game but Reiter came up with a few keys saves to weather the storm. Duluth would jump on the score sheet 13:17 in to the first period on the power play. Duluth forward Justin Fontaine, who was playing the point on the power play snuck in and found a loose puck in the slot and beat Gudmandson to give the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish.

Three and a half minutes later the Bulldogs would extend their lead, once again on the power play when Mike Connolly buried another power play goal.

The Badgers would regroup in the second period creating multiple scoring opportunities but were never able to find the twine.

Give credit to Duluth in the third period as they played smart, defensive hockey and shut down the Badgers. They worked the clock and limited the Badgers chances.

Reiter would finish the game with 22 saves. Wisconsin's Scott Gudmandson would finish with 25 saves on 27 shots.

An interesting note Friday night was the fact that Wisoconsin suited up 7 defenseman, inserting Joe Faust into the lineup. We found out why during the broadcast when it was brought to our attention by the UMD radio crew that the Badgers had been hit by the flu bug. Most notably, star sophomore Justin Schultz was feeling the affects of the virus. Schultz only played on the power play most of the first and second period and finally started to see a 5 on 5 shift late in the third period. No word on how many Badgers were affected.

The Badgers will be back in action on Saturday night to avenge the Friday night loss. I think it's safe to assume that senior backstop Scott Gudmandson will be back between the pipes for the Badgers.

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Badgers handle business, Sweep Minutemen

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. It wasn't pretty for the Badgers on Friday night in a 4-2 victory over the University of Massachusetts, but it was good enough to get the sweep. 3 of the 4 Wisconsin goals were scored on deflections off of UMass players.

The Friday night win is Wisconsin's fifth consecutive victory. The streak started on a Saturday night win at Alaska Anchorage. Senior center Podge Turnbull scored his eighth goal of the season and fifth goal in the past four games. Wisconsin is 7-0 in games that Turnbull scores a goal.

The Badgers got down early on a power play goal by Daniel Hobbs but the Badgers didn't stray from the game plan battling hard to match UMass's intensity. The Minutemen would take a 1-0 lead into the break and in a crazy situation, the UMass starting goalie Dainton, and Wisconsin forward Mark Zengerle would end up getting tossed from the game.

"The end of the first period was kind of a mess and we didn’t know what was going on until we came out of the locker room. We found out we lost one of our leading goal scorers and they lost their goaltender. It was a bizarre night," said Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves.

The Badgers would fight back to tie the game, and take the lead in the second period. Craig Smith and Podge Turnbull would score only :33 seconds apart to give the Badgers a 2-1 advantage. Freshman forward Michael Mersch would get credit for the primary assist on both goals.

Wisconsin would extend their lead in the third period with a goal by Jorday Murray mere minutes in to the period. The Badgers made it 4-1 later in the stanza on the penalty kill when Patrick Johnson found Ryan Little who deposited the puck in the net for a short handed goal.

Chase Langeraap would pull UMass within 2 late in the third period but it was a case of too little too late for the Minutemen.

Senior goalie Scott Gudmandson started once again in goal for Wisconsin and stopped 26 of 28 shots. Friday night was Gudmandson's seventh straight start. Gudmandson is 6-1 during that stretch with a 1.29 GAA and a .946 save percentage.

A few weeks ago when talking to the local scribes about Wisconsin's upcoming schedule of games head coach Mike Eaves talked about the need to bank some victories over some lesser opponents or as Eaves stated it, "put some hay in the barn." Wisconsin has done exactly that, going 5-1 against Alaska-Anchorage, Bemidji State, and UMass.

The Badgers will have an opportunity next weekend to stockpile that hay as well when Canisius rolls into town. Wisconsin forward Jordy Murray is excited for the Badgers last non conference series of the season. “We know these non-conference games are huge, especially later in the season with RPI and ratings. Coming into these two weekends we knew we wanted to go 4-0 and we got that good start. Now we have to refocus for tomorrow and then Canisius.”

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Badgers take Pacquiao like punch from Sioux

On a night where Manny Pacquiao made Antonio Margarito a human punching bag, the Badger hockey team seemingly took body punch after body punch from North Dakota as they finished off the sweep on Saturday night.

I guess this is why real team beat writers get paid the big bucks. It's a day after the Badgers just got swept by North Dakota and I still don't want to write this post, that's how frustrated I am.

Let's be honest, this weekend was ugly. The Badgers managed only 16 shots each night and flat out didn't look good. This weekends games should serve as great teaching points for the coaching staff.

As a positive it sounds as if Jordy Murray's injury isn't going to be too serious and that holding him out last night was more of a precaution than anything. In Baggot's game story Eaves said that he expects him to play next weekend.

John Ramage (pictured) and Justin Schultz had the Badger goals on Saturday night. Derek Lee, Patrick Johnson, Jake Gardiner and Michael Mersch picked up assists. Badger goaltender Scott Gudmandson stopped 39 of 43 shots suffering only his third loss at the Kohl Center in 20 career games.

It's going to be interesting to see how this Badger squad bounces back. Believe it or not, things actually get tougher next weekend as #2 ranked Minnesota-Duluth comes in to town after sweeping Michigan Tech.

Wisconsin State Journal (Baggot)-Badgers' inexperience shows in sweep by North Dakota
Grand Forks Herald (Schlossman)-Sioux sweep Wisconsin
UWBadgers.com-Badgers fall to North Dakota, 4-2
UWBadgers.com-Final Stats
UWBadgers.com-Highlights
UWBadgers.com($)-Post Game Press Conference
UWBadgers.com-Quotes
FightingSioux.com-Frattin, Knight lift Sioux to 4-2 win, series sweep
BadgerNation.com($)-Growing Pains
USCHO.com-North Dakota Sweeps Wisconsin

Photo courtesy of Melody Hasse

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Badgers sweep Huskies 5-2, 4-1

Before getting on to the recaps, let me say this: I love Sean Dolan, and you should too. If you didn't see his SH goal last night, let me tell you that it was a thing of beauty. Dolan has really stepped up his play this year, showing skill and consistency, and his goal put an exclamation point on a nice performance by the PK units this weekend.

(As a side note, I forgot to mention Sean Dolan's goal last week. IIRC, he had a nice defensive play in the Badgers' zone, lifting a Denver player's stick, and the subsequent play culminated with Dolan's goal. I think Sean Dolan's progress over the years is a great story, and it's stuff like this that makes me love Badger Hockey.)

Friday: BADGERS 5 - Huskies 2

We outshot them in the first period, but we made two really poor plays on them attacking our blue line and as a result we gave up two goals. But we were doing some decent things, we just made two big mistakes. And I think it was just our ability to hang in there with it, and stay on course and keep working hard and try to work smart. Its interesting to watch this young group because we'll play pretty smart for a while and we'll get away from things that make us play well and we do some real dumb things, and that's just part of our youth that we have on our team. But as the game kept going they stayed with it and their persistence paid off for the tonight. -- Mike Eaves

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: Badgers rally to defeat Michigan Tech 5-2
- michigantechhuskies: Wisconsin Rallies for 5-2 hockey win over Michigan Tech
- Baggot (WSJ): Rookies are key in Badgers' comeback
- Daily Mining Gazette: Badger Rally hands Tech first loss
- Bleach (USCHO): Wisconsin scores 5 straight goals, downs Michigan Tech
Photos: Schreiner (WSJ) - includes beautiful pics of one of Mersch's goals and PJ's goal
Game blogs: Capobianco (uwbadgers)
Postgame: press conference, quotes

The Badgers scored a lot of goals this weekend, and I can never remember them all. But I do remember that I liked PJ's goal -- his shots from further out don't seem to be as effective (he seems to like to shoot right into the goalie -- but he's a scrappy player and I like him closer to the net. I was also pretty impressed by Mike Mersch, and Craig Smith did a nice job skating by a couple of Huskies to get the empty-netter.

Saturday: BADGERS 4 - Huskies 1

Box: uwbadgers, collegehockeystats
Recaps:
- uwbadgers: Badgers sweep weekend series with Michigan Tech
- michigantechhuskies: Badgers post 4-1 win over Huskies
- Baggot (WSJ): Badgers sweep Michigan Tech
- Daily Mining Gazette:
- Worfull (USCHO): Wisconsin sweeps Michigan Tech
Photos: Steenberg (uwbadgers)
Game blogs: Capobianco (WSJ)
Highlights: uwbadgers
Postgame: press conference, quotes

I'm happy with this weekend; can't complain about a pair of wins. It's nice to see the Badgers be able to come from behind (Tech was up 2-0 on Fri and 1-0 on Sat) to get the wins, and it's nice to see the Badgers win against a big, physical team, as sometimes those teams are problematic for them (eg Mankato, I hate playing them). Going forward, it would be nice to see the Badgers score first and hold on to the lead, which is something they haven't done yet against a quality opponent.

As far as goaltending from this weekend - I like Scott Gudmandson, but his rebound control left quite a bit to be desired on Friday. I thought Bennett looked good on Saturday and played with confidence. I'm happy to see the goaltender rotation again, as I thought it might be a bit soon to pick just 1 guy.

Oh, and regarding the Badgers' D, it's good to know that the Badgers' top guys can play a ton of minutes, but it gives one pause to see the Badgers go mostly with just 4 D (Simonelli and Faust got limited minutes) this early in the season. I'd like to see Simonelli and Faust get more experience, and if there's a lack of confidence in their abilities to play against Michigan Tech, what does that mean for upcoming games against top teams like UMD, UND, etc? I also have a hard time believing we're not going to need these guys down the road, as injuries usually pop up at some point.

Badgers 5 - Chargers 0

Since Chuck was kind enough to post game updates last night, you already know the results of the game. Just thought I'd provide a few links to the game stories:

Box
uwbadgers: Badgers charge past UAH
Milewski (Icehouse): Gameday Blog
Milewski (TCT): Badger Men's Hockey: Identity comes into focus in victory
Baggot (WSJ): Connelly, UW overwhelm Alabama-Huntsville
Worgull (BN): No oxidation for Wisconsin
Stewart (Milwaukee JS): Junior forward helps UW take control

I was somewhat amused to see the title of good ol' Todd's article this morning. Todd probably won't believe me, but last night I was thinking to myself that this team seems to be jelling and appears to have found its identity. They're a complete team, and they can get scoring from all 4 lines. They seem to have found some resiliency and are able to respond to and overcome advesity -- as evidenced by their responses to recent injuries to Geoffrion, Gardiner, Grotting, P. Johnson, etc. And best of all -- last night I felt like they were playing 60 minutes, no alibis, no regrets . . .

If you're interested in the early game yesterday, here are the game stories:
Milewski (TCT): Lake Superior State continues Showdown semifinal Success
Baggot (WSJ): Lake Superior State cruises

Badgers 5 - Sioux 2

The Badgers shook up their line-up from Friday night, using the below lineup per Todd's blog:

11 Andy Bohmbach-5 Blake Geoffrion-15 Tom Gorowsky
10 Patrick Johnson-12 Matt Thurber-21 Derek Stepan
24 John Mitchell-16 Sean Dolan-18 Jordy Murray
9 Michael Davies-8 Podge Turnbull

17 Ryan McDonagh-2 Jamie McBain
19 Jake Gardiner-20 Ryan Little
7 Brendan Smith-27 Cody Goloubef
3 Craig Johnson

35 Shane Connelly
1 Scott Gudmandson

Regarding the change in the lineup, here's what Capobianco said in his game-day blog:

The Badgers have mixed up the lines a little bit tonight, with Blake Geoffrion centering Andy Bohmbach and Tom Gorowsky. The trio accounted for eight of the team's 22 shots last night and so were put together for the start of tonight's contest. It looks like Michael Davies and Podge Turnbull will skate with a random third forward throughout the game as the UW again dresses 11 forwards and seven defensemen. Sophomore defenseman Craig Johnson gets into the lineup for the first time this season, in place of freshman defenseman Eric Springer. Shane Connelly will be in goal.

In the 3rd period, in addition to playing on the top line, Gorowsky also got some double-shifts.

In his game-day blog, Milewski has some post-game thoughts, quotes from Eaves/Gorowksy/Geoffrion, and the 3 stars of the game in his. Here are the 3 stars:

No. 3 -- Brendan Smith, UW: We point out when things aren't going well, so it's only fair to give credit when he has a solid night.

No. 2 -- Blake Geoffrion, UW (2 goals): The captain scored his second redirection goal of the season.

No. 1 -- Tom Gorowsky, UW (2 goals): If you didn't know any better, you'd think he has been out there consistently all four years he's played for UW.

I kinda thought Shane Connelly deserved a star, too, because he kept the Badgers in the game -- with all the SOG by the Sioux in the 1st 2 periods, the Badgers might've been lucky to be down by only 2 goals. But hey, I guess there's only 3 stars to hand out, and I'm not going to argue against any of the above 3 players.

I promised to link up the game stories this morning, so here ya go:
Box
uwbadgers: Badgers return home with a win
fightingsioux: Sioux men's hockey team loses to Wisconsin 5-2
Milewski (TCT): A breakthrough for Gorowsky, Badgers
Baggot (WSJ): Victory at last with big third period
Schlossman (Grand Forks Herald): Wisconsin explodes past UND

From Milewski's article:

Down 2-0 after two periods and staring at a 0-7-1 start and the worst record in program history after six league games, UW coach Mike Eaves walked into the locker room and proved prophetic.

"Hey, if we have to come down from 2-0, gentlemen, wouldn't that be a great story?" he told the team.

In the article, Todd goes on to tell what a great story it was for Tom Gorowsky and Blake Geoffrion. It's a pretty good read, so take a look!

I also like Baggot's description of the Badger's first 3 goals:

It started with some luck: Stepan had a loose puck doink off his skate and past goaltender Brad Eidsness (27 saves).

Then came some grit: Geoffrion, stationed near the right hash mark, tipped a shot from the high slot by freshman defenseman Jake Gardiner past Eidsness.

Then came some beauty: Gorowsky and junior defenseman and co-captain Jamie McBain worked a nifty passing sequence during a 2-on-1 finished by Gorowsky.

Earlier in the article, Baggot also gives some love to Stepan/Geoffrion/Gorowsky, as well as Shane Connelly.

In Schlossman's article, Eaves talks about the jump the Badgers received from scoring those 3 goals:

“The energy level created by scoring those goals was (evident),” Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves said. “We rolled three lines in the third period and they played like it was the first period.”

Also from Schlossman's article:

Hakstol said he thought Wisconsin was the most complete team the Sioux have played this season.

Badger Women win in shootout

The Badger Women defeated the Bulldogs in a shootout earlier today, after finishing overtime with a 2-2 draw. So for conference purposes, the Badgers took all 4 points this weekend and now sit at the top of the WCHA with 15 points. (For NCAA pairwise purposes, it's a win yesterday and a tie today.)

The Badger goals today were scored by Angie Keseley and Brooke Ammerman. Kelly Nash scored the only shootout goal.

Erika Lawler was tossed from the game -- 5-min major for slew-footing and 10-min misconduct.

From the NCAA rulebook (thanks to dave on uscho):

Slew-footing
SECTION 48. Slew-footing is the act of a player or goalkeeper using the
leg or foot to knock or kick opponents’ feet from under them, or pushing
opponents’ upper body backward with an arm or elbow, and at the same time
with a forward motion of the leg, knocking or kicking opponents’ feet from
under them, causing the player to fall violently to the ice.
HR-84 RULE 6 / PLAYING RULES
PENALTY–Major and game misconduct or disqualification at discretion
of the referee.

If the Madison papers have any articles tomorrow, I'll link 'em up for you. If not, I'll at least catch the campus papers on Monday.

Badgers Win!

The Badger Men finally got their first win, and I'm pretty excited about it!!! They defeated the Fighting Sioux 5-2, with all Badger goals coming in the 3rd. Pretty impressive 3rd period for the Badgers, especially when they were outscored by a gazillion goals in the 3rd period in previous games. In the 3rd tonight, they actually outshot the Sioux 14-7 and scored on the 1st 3 shots of the period.

YOUR WISCONSIN GOALS:
Stepan (2) from McBain and Mitchell at :56 (pp)
Geoffrion (2) from Gardiner and Stepan at 1:48 (pp)
Gorowsky (1) from McBain and Dolan at 2:17
Gorowsky (2) unassisted at 13:42
Geoffrion (3) unassisted at 17:41 (ENG, SH)

I didn't see tonight's game (caught the last half of the game on the radio), but it sounds like Stepan and Gorowksy had great nights. I think Osiecki called Stepan the best forward for the weekend. He played well offensively (2 goals this weekend), and Osiecki said he played well defensively as well (very good back-checking, Oz said). I heard Gorowsky's name quite a bit in the 3rd, and he actually double-shifted some near the end of the game. In case you missed it, Gorowsky and Bohmbach started on the top line with Geoffrion tonight. By the way, during the broadcast Cerniglia said that Goro has the best wrist-shot on the team.

I'll link up the game stories tomorrow morning . . .

Badgers 2 - Bulldogs 1

The Badger Women defeated UMD 2-1 yesterday, with goals from Brooke Ammerman and Erika Lawler.

Box
uwbadgers
umdbulldogs

And just a reminder -- today's game has an early 11:07 AM start.

Sioux 3 - Badgers 2

Yeah, once again, the Badgers squander a lead and can't pull of the win. The Badgers were outshot throughout the game (allowing 45 SOG, ugh), had some bad turnovers, and less-than-stellar D.

Here's the box score, and here are the recaps and game stories:

uwbadgers
uscho
Milewski (TCT)
Baggot (WSJ)
Worgull (BadgerNation)

In his game-day blog, Milewski also has some post-game thoughts, 3 stars of the game, and some quotes that didn't make it into his game story.

Ben Street may be out indefinitely . . .

Sounds like we won't know anything for certain until later today or tomorrow, but Andy Baggot is reporting that Ben Street may have a torn ACL, confirming what Coach Osiecki said on the radio Saturday night. And if it's a torn ACL, he'll be out indefinitely . . .

Haven't heard anything yet regarding whether Bendickson will be back this weekend . . .

I've already posted most of the series recaps, but here are a few more from the campus papers for both the Badger Men and the Badger Women:

Badger Men
Daily Cardinal: Wisconsin men's hockey drops two games to Denver
Badger Herald: Lack of experience leads men's hockey to 0-4 start

Badger Women
Daily Cardinal: Lady Badgers cruise past Beavers, remain undefeated

Badger Women: Weekend Recaps and other NCAA scores

Jessie Vetter saved all 20 Bemidji SOG as she earned her 29th career shutout (4th this season) in the Badgers' 4-0 victory over Bemidji on Friday. The Wisconsin goals were scored by Hilary Knight, Erika Lawler, Alycia Matthews, and Brooke Ammerman. The Badgers had 51 SOG.

On Saturday, in the Inaugural USA Hockey Women's Hall of Fame Game, Jessie Vetter and Alannah McCready combined for the shutout as the Badgers defeated Bemidji 9-0. Vetter made 1o saves in the 1st 2 periods, and McCready made 6 saves in the 3rd. Eight different Badgers scored: Sanders twice, Knight, Keseley, Duggan, Giles, Nash, Prévost, and Ammerman. The Badgers had 48 SOG.

Here are your game recaps:
uwbadgers: No. 1 Badgers shut out Beavers 4-0, Badgers shut out Beavers 9-0 in Hall of Fame Game
TCT: Badgers shut out Bemidji State
bemidjistate: BSU dropped by No. 1 Badgers 4-0, Bemidji State falls in first Hall of Fame game

Uwbadgers also has a roadtrip blog: The best trip ever


Other scores around the NCAA:

Friday, October 17 - Women:
Minnesota Duluth   1 at St. Cloud State    1 WC  OT  Box        2:07 pm  
Niagara            1 at Colgate            3 NC      Box        3:00 pm  
Wayne State        1 at Union              1 NC  OT  Box        7:00 pm  
Stoney Creek       3 at Cornell            9 EX      Box        7:00 pm  
Sacred Heart       3 at Maine              2 NC      Box        7:00 pm  
Syracuse           2 at Quinnipiac         4 NC      Box        7:00 pm  
Bluewater Hawks    4 at Princeton          5 EX  OT             7:00 pm  
Rensselaer         1 at Mercyhurst         2 NC      Box        7:00 pm  
Ohio State         1 at Minnesota          8 WC      Box        7:07 pm  
Minnesota State    2 at North Dakota       2 WC  OT  Box        7:07 pm 
Wisconsin          4 at Bemidji State      0 WC      Box        7:07 pm  

Saturday, October 18 - Women:
Providence         0 at Northeastern       1 HE      Box        1:00 pm  
Sacred Heart       1 at Maine             11 NC      Box        2:00 pm 
Connecticut        2 at Vermont            1 HE      Box        2:00 pm  
Wayne State        6 at Union              2 NC      Box        2:00 pm  
Rensselaer         1 at Mercyhurst         4 NC      Box        2:00 pm  
Etobicoke          2 at Elmira             5 EX      Box        2:00 pm 
Minnesota State    5 at North Dakota       4 WC  OT  Box        2:07 pm  
St. Lawrence       2 at New Hampshire      3 NC      Box        3:00 pm  
Clarkson           1 at Boston University  2 NC      Box        3:00 pm  
Durham Lightning   1 at Cornell           12 EX      Box        3:00 pm  
Niagara            1 at Colgate            7 NC      Box        3:00 pm 
Syracuse           2 at Quinnipiac         0 NC      Box        4:00 pm  
Burlingt. Cougars  2 at Buffalo State      1 EX      Box        4:00 pm  
Ohio State         2 at Minnesota          8 WC      Box        4:07 pm  
Minnesota Duluth   2 at St. Cloud State    3 WC      Box        5:07 pm  
* Wisconsin          9 vs Bemidji State      0 WC      Box        6:07 pm  
Bluewater Hawks      at Holy Cross           EX                 8:00 pm  
* - US Hockey Hall of Fame Game (Eveleth, MN)

Here's something that will make nubeetle smile: On Friday, SCSU defeated UMD in the shootout (UMD loss for WCHA standings, a tie for Pairwise purposes), and on Saturday SCSU defeated UMD in regulation. I hear that we may owe some thanks to MostlyFrozen's Shannon Miller voodoo doll . . . ;-)

Other scores of interest to us -- Minnesota killed Ohio State 8-1 and 8-2. And just in case you forgot (how could you forget?), Minnesota will be our opponent this upcoming weekend.

Badger Men: Weekend Recaps and Random Thoughts

Not a good weekend for the boys, and by necessity I'll start with the depressing game recaps . . .

Of course, being who I am, it's a bit out of character for me to focus on the negatives, so despite the depressing nature of the recaps, my random thoughts will include some positives . . .


FRIDAY NIGHT: Denver 6 - Wisconsin 5 (Box)
What's going on here? Would that Badgers rather lose 8-7 than win 1-0? (And for that matter, would the gophers now rather win 1-0 than lose 8-7? The gophs aren't exactly scoring as many goals as they characteristically do.)

The 1st period was crazy -- Denver outshot the Badgers 25-4, and the Badgers looked completely out of their league. Yet somehow (thank you, Shane Connelly) the Badgers got out of that period tied 1-1. The Badgers then played much better in the second, going up 4-1, and ending the 2nd with a 4-2 lead. And then they blew it. Too many SOG on poor Shane, and he was just too tired. Despite the 6 goals allowed, and despite Eaves' accurate remarks that Connelly "could've been sharper at the end", Connelly wasn't the problem Friday night. With Cons having to face 52 SOG, including 22 from the quality scoring area, Eaves said, "Who can blame him?".

What WAS the problem Friday night? Andy Baggot does a pretty good job of cataloging the issues -- taking too many penalties, iffy special teams, excessive mistakes in transition, allowing too many SOG by our opponent, and poor defensive play on the blueline -- the last two were highlighted by Eaves. I've already shared his remarks about Connelly's situation; about the defensemen, Eaves said, "There's no hiding it. We have to get better."

Baggot also points out that the Badgers appeared to be out of their element in a run-and-gun, uptempo game.

In the uscho Friday recap, Eaves again remarks on Connelly's workload, as well as stick battles and speed on the ice: "A lot of it came down to stick battles. I think they won more stick battles, especially in the third period [and] they beat us up ice quite a bit tonight so those are a couple contributing factors. And, I think Shane got tired tonight."

In his Friday game-day blog, Todd Milewski also remarks, "You name it, and UW was probably guilty of it." He points out that the Badgers were called for their 3rd "too-many-men" penalty of the season in just their 3rd game, and it's starting to feel a bit like last year when the Badgers took way too many "too-many-men" penalties. In the same blog, he says, "Wisconsin simply can't continue to give away leads", and again, it's starting to feel a bit like last year, losing games that we could've won.

Last night, when I asked Todd how on earth the Badgers allowed a gazillion SOG, he said "a lot of running around in the defensive zone, as far as I can tell".

Here's Milewski's game story. A couple of excerpts -- About the poor defensive play, Jake Gardiner said, "That's supposed to be the strong point of our game. It starts with the defense. We're not playing up to our potential." And about the game, Shane Connelly said, "These are learning lessons, and I hope there's not many left. I understand we've got a young team, but at the same time, we've got a lot of returning guys. We know how to win, and we've just got to put it together. Everyone's got to believe that if we get that even a one-goal lead, that we're not going to back down."

Umm, yeah Shane, I hope there aren't many "learning lessons" left, either.

In my final Debbie Downer detail, during the radio postgame show, Posick/Cerniglia said that the Badgers "need to shore up some details in their transition game". Umm, yeah, no kidding.

Here are the other depressing recaps: uwbadgers, badgernation

Now I'm going to be a Positive Polly. I suppose it's possible that I'm delusional, but I'm really hoping that I'm not.

In the radio post-game show, Posick/Cerniglia remarked that scoring 5 goals against a WCHA team isn't easy to do, and that the PP got 2 goals, so there are reasons for us to be encouraged. I'd much rather be encouraged than discouraged, so I'm running with it.

Scoring 5 goals is a really good thing, especially given that scoring was a bit of a concern coming into the season. And the ability to score that many goals against a WCHA opponent is huge -- it's not like last season when we all got excited because the Badgers scored a ton against Robert Morris and then we were all let down when they couldn't score against anyone else.

And how nice is it to see our PP score? Not once, but twice! I gotta tell ya, our PP is looking much better. The passing on the PP is crisper, so the D doesn't have as much time to adjust while the player receiving the puck is getting a handle on the puck. And the passing seems to be smarter -- moving the puck around to get a better shot, rather than passing for passing's sake (which might not be accurate but it's sure what last year felt like). Not to mention that they're actually getting some shots on goal during the PP and sustaining some pressure.

Other positives . . .

After being outshot 24-5 in the 1st, the shots were close in the 2nd (13-11) and even in the 3rd (15-15).

Ryan McDonagh scored on a breakaway goal rather than shooting it into the goalie's chest (as it seems the Badgers characteristically do).

And let's not forget about Jake Gardiner's offensive talents. In Capobianco's Friday gameday blog, he remarked at one point, "Gardiner got the entire power play set up with his skating to start the rush from the UW end. He has shown great speed tonight on the rush. Reminds me a little of the way Robbie Earl used to sail through the neutral zone." Nice!


SATURDAY NIGHT: Denver 7 - Wisconsin 4 (Box)

Saturday night was painful. The best thing about Saturday night was Todd's live interactive blog, and as cool as the blog was, that's not exactly what I want to be saying after a game. Losing 7-4 really, really hurts.

After 3 soft goals (Goody called his game "awful" and said that he cost them the game), the Badger were losing 3-0. But they battled back to tie it up at 3. And then they handed the game right back to Denver.

According to Coach Osiecki on the radio postgame show, there was talk of replacing Gudmandson after the 2nd goal. But he said "Goody's got to work through it, he's got to become mentally strong, I guess. I don't know. He's gotta find a way to battle through it."

I wonder what Eaves' note to Gudmandson in the 2nd said. In his Saturday blog, Capobianco noted with 2:23 remaining, "At the last stoppage, Coach Eaves passed along a message to Scott Gudmandson via Sean Dolan. DU coach George Gwozdecky, and former UW teammate of Eaves, didn't like the pace of the stoppage the UW hanging by its bench a bit longer than usual."

You can read all about how bad Coach Eaves and the players thought they played in Milewski's game story. Eaves said, "We're not a very good team right now. For whatever reason, we've kind of hit rock bottom. And it's everyone." Blake Geoffrion said, "I don't think it can get any worse than we've been playing." And Jamie McBain said, "We're not being consistent enough. We're trying to jump (into the offense) a little too much. We've got to focus on our defense. We're making mistakes and they're capitalizing." No kidding, Jamie.

Milewski also catalogues the Badgers' issues in this game: giving up too many scoring chances, not getting the big save when they need it, turning the puck over far too often, veterans not producing as expected.

Oh, and in the live blog last night, Todd referred to the play of the Badgers' D as "the worst defensive showing for UW in a four-game stretch since the 1996-97 season". Great.

Speaking of the poor defensive showing and veterans not performing as expected, junior defenseman Jamie McBain was benched for the end of the 1st period for playing poorly. Wonderful.

If you're not depressed enough already, Andy Baggot points out that the Badgers are 0-4 for the first time since the 1932-33 season. Outstanding.

Here's another depressing recap: uwbadgers

But once again, it's time for me to be Positive Polly:

Despite being down 3-0 after the 1st, the Badgers outshot Denver 14-13 in the 1st period, with 9 shots coming from around the crease. And while the score didn't reflect it (don't look at the scoreboard!), the Badgers 1st period was much better Saturday than on Friday.

And in the 2nd period, the Badgers outshot Denver 21-12 and actually tied the game up at 3 before allowing Denver 2 more goals in that period. (Ignore the 2 Denver goals, focus on the # of Badgers' shots on goal and the Badgers' tying it up.)

And the Badgers had a total of 39 SOG during the game.

And despite giving up a shortie, the PP still looked pretty good. Like I said re the Friday game, the Badgers are moving the puck well on the PP, getting some shots on net, and actually maintaing some pressure on the PP.

And apparently Mark Osiecki is a bit of a Positive Polly like me. (Who'd have thought?) Oz's comments during the radio postgame show actually depart quite a bit from Eaves' "not very good" remarks. Oz emphasized how the Badgers battled back and played pretty well after giving up 3 soft goals. He also talked about intermediate goals that the team sets (if you meet those goals, you hope the game goes your way) and while not specifying the goals, he said that the team "saw improvement from last night" and "met all of them". Regarding the 0-4 start, Oz said that the games didn't go well with "us playing quite well, honestly".

Now, don't think that Oz is delusional. (You can think that I'm delusional, but don't think that Oz is.) I think Oz is trying to focus on the positives and build up from there. I was a stupid kid when Badger Bob coached, but I think that's what Bob tried to do, too. So as long as the team is still going to try to work on their deficiencies (and it seems Eaves is addressing that), I'm ok maintaing positivity.

Also during the radio postgame show, Posick/Cerniglia reminded us that our 24 goals allowed in our first 4 games came against BC, UNH, and Denver, and that those 3 teams are at the high end of offensive firepower in the NCAA.

Other positives:

Blake Geoffrion assures us that the team is talented: "We have a lot of talent in the room, we really do. We've just need to bring that talent together and play as a team." Ok, Blake, I'm with ya!

Brendan Smith looks quite a bit better than last year, and I noticed him making a couple of good defensive plays last night, including one 1st-period play that Capobianco remarked about in this Saturday blog: "Brendan Smith does a nice job breaking up a DU rush that looked dangerous at first. Smith leads with his stick and breaks up a pass. Gudmandson stops play with a nice glove save."

Gardiner is a really smooth skater and has the ability to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Here's another remark by Capobianco in the 1st: "Jake Gardiner is going to be very good, especially on the offensive end. He just made and end-to-end rush through lots of Pioneers and finished it off with a nice scoring chance from the right faceoff dot. He also got a chance at his own rebound."

And after Denver scored their 3rd goal, Capobianco said, "The Badgers seem to be playing better defense tonight, but the score doesn't indicate that," so at least for a while the D was looking better (again, let me remind you not to look at the scoreboard).

Also, Patrick Johnson owned somebody. I didn't see who it was, and apparently Todd was busy doing something and didn't see either, but PJ hit somebody near the end of the game. HUGE hit, levelled the other guy. Nice.

And ya gotta admire Matt Thurber. When the Badgers were down 7-3, he was still out there blocking shots. He blocked a shot on the PK, Badgers got the puck, and Badgers scored a shortie.

That's right, the Badgers scored a shorthanded goal and 2 PP goals, and only allowed 1 SH goal. Much better special teams last year.




A COUPLE MORE THINGS

Ben Street was elbowed into the boards during the 1st period. He didn't return to the game, and in the radio postgame show Oz indicated that it "might be an ACL" but that they wouldn't know until they got an MRI. Eaves declined to comment.

And not that it matters right now, but Capobianco had an interesting commentary on Denver's 5th goal: "I might as well start a little discussion here, but from the way the rules read in the NCAA rulebook, the last DU goal, which was reviewed, sure looks like it should not have counted. DU had a player in the crease when the puck went in. The official decided that the player didn't impede Gudmandson's ability to stop the puck, which is in the rules, however the replay clearly shows Gudmandson trying to see around the player, and when the shot comes, Gudmandson's stick hits the player in the skate."

Weekend Recaps: Badger Women

On Friday night, the Badger Women defeated OSU 7-4. Five different Badgers scored -- Hilary Knight and Carolyne Prévost had 2 goals apiece, and Jasmine Giles, Brooke Ammerman, and Kyla Sanders had 1 goal apiece. Jessie Vetter faced 30 shots, which seems like more than the Badgers usually allow on net, and she allowed more goals than what is characteristic for her, but the Badgers outshot (38-30) and outscored the Buckeyes, so it's all good.

Friday recaps:
uwbadgers: Badgers defeat Buckeyes 7-4 in scoring frenzy
ohiostatebuckeyes: No. 9 Ohio State falls to No. 2 Wisconsin, 7-4, in WCHA home opener
WSJ: Women skaters whip OSU



On Saturday night, Jessie Vetter recorded her 28th career shutout as the Badgers defeated OSU 4-0. The Badger goals were scored by Jasmine Giles, Hilary Knight, Brooke Ammerman, and Angie Keseley. The Badgers outshot the Buckeyes 36-17.

Saturday recaps:
uwbadgers: Badgers complete sweep at Ohio State with shutout, 4-0
ohiostatebuckeyes: No. 2 Wisconsin blanks No. 9 Buckeyes, 4-0
WSJ: Women's hockey sweeps up
TCT: Vetter, Badgers shutout Buckeyes

Weekend Recaps: Badger Men

My apologies for being a couple days late here . . .

On Friday night, the Badger Men lost 5-4 to BC. I didn't watch or listen to the game, but here's what I've heard:

• The Badgers showed some scoring ability. (4 goals!)
  
• the PP was terrible (ugh, no goals and 2 shorties)
  
• the PK was terrible (2 PP goals)
• McDonagh/McBain did not play well (per Oz on the post-game show)
• defense in general wasn't good (lots of breakaways)
• Shane Connelly played very well (made some huge saves on breakaways)
• Ben Street's goal was very nice -- nice passing by Stepan and Goloubef
• Goloubef missed the net on a play just like the play in MKE when TG scored the championship-winning goal v. BC. Dang.
• BC was extremely fast.
• In Badgers seem to be pretty good in 5-on-5 play, outscoring BC 4-1 during EV play.
  

Here are your Friday night recaps:
Milewski (Icehouse): Hockey Gameday: Eagles 5, Badgers 4
Milewski (TCT): Old habits die hard in Badgers' opening loss to BC
Porter (WSJ): Badgers hang with No. 1 BC but fall short
uwbadgers: Eagles top Badgers in season opener
bceagles: Top-ranked men's hockey defeats No. 14 Wisconsin, 5-4
uscho: Top-Ranked Eagles Edge No. 14 Badgers in Shootout
chn: Eagles raise banner, defeat Badgers


On Saturday night, the Badgers lost 5-1 to UNH. Again, I wasn't able to watch or listen to the game, but here's what I've heard:

• The PK was much better, per Oz on the post-game show. (Only 1 PP goal, and you can't kill them all -- UNH had 11 PPs.) Badgers need to stop taking so many penalties.
  
• The PP was still terrible (0-10). Oz said they need to work on it a lot in practice. (No kidding.)
• The defense was again less-than-stellar.
• Gudmandson was good overall but had some puck-handling mistakes.
  

Here are your Saturday night recaps:
Milewski (Icehouse): Hockey Gameday: Wildcats 5, Badgers 1
Milweski (TCT): Second-period swing sends Badgers to 0-2
Powalisz (WSJ): Pair of lessons learned
uwbadgers: UW falls to No. 7 UNH
unhwildcats: No. 7 men's hockey skates past No. 14 Wisconsin, 5-1
uscho: UNH crushes Wisconsin

And here's Eaves' Monday press conference, as well as some additional columns regarding the Badgers' play last weekend:
Milewski (Icehouse): Message in meeting: get better
Milewski (TCT): Badgers' defense doesn't meet goal
Milewski (TCT): Bendickson out at least a week with wrist injury
Baggot (WSJ blog): Special teams raise eyebrows
Baggot (WSJ blog): What's wrong with this picture
Mason (Badger Herald): Freshmen impress in opening games

Two more thoughts:

• Bummer about Bendickson.
• Sounds like our freshmen are performing well but our returning players are underperforming.

(Later today, I'll get a women's recap up, and today/tomorrow I'll play catch-up with Team Wisconsin and a bunch of odds&ends I've missed over the past several days.)

Monday evening linkorama

• A couple more articles on the Badger Women's sweep of Syracuse:
  Storlie (Daily Cardinal): Ammerman scores 5 goals as Badgers pitch two shutouts
  Donohue (Badger Herald): Women's hockey sweeps Syracuse
  


• The Badger Men are #14 in the USCHO/CSTV Preseason Poll. Todd Milewski ranked the Badgers 10th in his vote. If you remember, the Badgers ranked #13 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Preseaon Poll released 2 weeks ago.


• Mike Eaves gave a press conference today. The transcript isn't available yet, but here's the video.
  


• Hockey's Future has released #s 1-10 of its Top 50 Prospects, and Kyle Turris checks in at #3.
  

  3. Kyle Turris, C – Phoenix Coyotes
  
  As the Coyotes top prospect, big things are expected from first-year pivot Turris. A clear frontrunner in the Calder chase, the former 2007 Entry Draft pick is ready to take-on a top six role in the desert. The 19-year-old spent just one year at the University of Wisconsin before turning pro. Turris possesses good speed and great stick-handling abilities, which will be crucial on a team that wants its players to be light on their feet and ferocious on the puck. After getting a brief taste of the NHL last year and spending the summer in Phoenix, Turris should hit the ground running.
  

• Hockey's Future has released it's WCHA preview.


• The Chicago Blackhawks have cut 4 players, including Troy Brouwer, with whom Jack Skille was competing for a spot on the 3rd line. The press release indicates that the Hawks now have 15 forwards, but looking at the roster I count 14. Looks like the Hawks still need to cut a few defenseman and a goalie, but it looks like Skille has earned a forward spot on the opening day roster.


• Hockey's Future has released its preview of the AHL's Chicago Wolves. The Wolves are coached this season by Badger alumnus Don Granato. I can't find a 2008-09 roster for the Wolves, but last season Badger Brian Fahey played for them, and it looks like Badger Alex Brooks might be playing for them this season.
  

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.
  

Vetter, McCready shut out Syracuse, Badgers score a lot of goals

Jessie Vetter and Alannah McCready combined to shut out Syracuse this afternoon as the Badgers won 8-0. Vetter had 5 saves in the 1st 2 periods, and McCready had 4 saves in the 3rd.

Freshman forward Brooke Ammerman had 4 goals. Nice!

The other Badger goals were scored by Kelly Nash, who had 2 goals, and Jasmine Giles and Erika Lawler, who had 1 goal each.

*Live stats on uwbadgers.com originally had Ammerman with 3 goals and 1 assist and Giles with 2 goals, but the scoresheet was revised to give Ammerman 4 goals and Giles 1 goal and 1 assist.

Like last night, Hilary Knight sat out this afternoon. FWIW, uscho fan forum chatter indicates she has a sore back and will be back next week.

No recaps of today's game available yet, but today's WSJ has a recap of last night's game.