Updated Week 10 Bracketology

We already did our weekly Monday morning bracketology but with the update that the NCAA has tweaked the formula for at large bids I thought we better update the bracket to see how much it affected Wisconsin.

The Badgers dropped a spot in the PWR but in my opinion gained an advantage because with an easy switch we now have the Badgers in the Mid-West regional in Green Bay vs Boston College.

No bids were won or lost for the WCHA this week but Colorado College took a significant hit with after being swept by Alaska-Anchorage. CC dropped about 7 places in the PWR with the sweep. There are a few other WCHA teams currently lurking in the "Teams under consideration" area. Minnesota (21), Bemidji (22), CC (23), and Minnesota State (24) could all put themselves in tournament consideration with a few good weeks.

Step 1: Pick the 16 tournament teams

1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota-Duluth
4. Denver
5. Michigan
6. New Hampshire
7. Boston College
8. Notre Dame
9. Wisconsin
10. Merrimack
11. Western Michigan
12. Dartmouth
13. Union
14. Nebraska-Omaha
15. RPI
16. Atlantic Hockey Champion (RIT)

Bubble Teams (in order): Miami, Maine, Boston University, Alaska, Princeton

Step 2: Assign the seeds

No. 1 seeds: Yale, North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, Denver
No. 2 seeds: Michigan, UNH, BC, Notre Dame
No. 3 seeds: Wisconsin, Merrimack, Western Michigan, Dartmouth
No. 4 seeds: Union, Nebraska-Omaha, RPI, RIT

Step 3: Place host teams in regionals

Right now we have two host schools in the tournament. New Hampshire is hosting the Northeast Regional in Manchester, and Yale is hosting the East Regional in Bridgeport. Therefore, UNH is placed as the #3 seed in Manchester and Yale is the #1 seed in Bridgeport.

Step 4: Place number 1 seeds in regionals

Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.

No. 1 Yale (Host) is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis
No. 4 Denver is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester

Step 5: Place the other 12 teams avoiding intra-conference match ups if possible Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.

If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.

Number 2 seeds:

No. 8 Nore Dame is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
No. 7 Boston College is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 5 Michigan is placed in No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the West Regional
No. 6 UNH (Host) is placed in No. 4 Denver's Regional, the Northeast Regional

Number 3 seeds:

No. 9 Wisconsin is placed No. 8 Notre Dame's Regional, the East Regional
No. 10 Merrimack is placed in No. 7 Boston College's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 11 Western Michigan is placed in No. 6 UNH's Regional, The Northeast Regional
No. 12 Dartmouth is placed in No. 5 Michigan's Regional, the West Regional

Number 4 seeds:

No. 13 Union is placed in No. 4 Denver's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 14 UNO is placed in No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the West Regional
No. 15 RPI is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 16 RIT is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional

Our bracket as we have it set up:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 RIT
8. Notre Dame vs 9 Wisconsin


Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 RPI
7 Boston College vs 10 Merrimack

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Denver vs 13 Union
6 New Hampshire vs 11 Western Michigan

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Minnesota-Duluth vs 14 Nebraska-Omaha
5 Michigan vs 12 Dartmouth

Our first concern is to avoid intra-conference first round match ups. This week we have two, Boston College vs Merrimack and Minnesota-Duluth vs Nebraska-Omaha.

The Nebraska-Omaha flip is the easy one since we only have one option. Since UNO has to be a 4 seed, and they can't play first round games against 1 seeds North Dakota, Denver, or Minnesota-Duluth they MUST be flipped with RIT to the East Regional. As for BC/Merrimack, an easy switch of Merrimack and Wisconsin eliminates an intra-conference match up and boosts attendance by putting the Badgers in Green Bay.


Our bracket as we have it set up now:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 15 Nebraska-Omaha
8. Notre Dame vs 10 Merrimack

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 RPI
7 Boston College vs 9 Wisconsin

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Denver vs 13 Union
6 New Hampshire vs 11 Western Michigan

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Minnesota-Duluth vs 16 RIT
5 Michigan vs 12 Dartmouth

Attendance actually improved with the PWR tweak because an easy switch puts Wisconsin in Green Bay

Week by week Wisconsin tournament tracker:
Week 1: #12 overall seed vs Michigan in Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
Week 2: First team out of the tournament, #16 in the PWR
Week 3: Falling further away from the tournament, #24 in the PWR
Week 4: Stopped the bleeding, moved up to #18 in the PWR
Week 5: Still hovering in the bubble, dropped a spot to #19 in PWR
Week 6: Gaining some ground, moved up to #17 in the PWR
Week 7: Stalemate, still at #17 in the PWR on a bye week.
Week 8: Back in the game, #12 overall seed in Northeast Regional in Manchester
Week 9: Moving on up, to the east side. #9 overall seed in the East Regional.
Week 10: All the way up to the #8 overall seed vs Maine in the East Regional.
Week 10b: With the PWR tweak we drop a spot. Now playing BC in Green Bay.

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NCAA changes tournament criteria?

According to a report by College Hockey News, the NCAA has tweaked it's criteria in determining who gets into the NCAA tournament and who doesn't by adjusting the formula.

Basically they have tweaked the "TUC" or "Teams under consideration" category from the top 25 teams in the RPI to any team with a .500 record or better. So now 34 teams are considered TUC's instead of 25.

What this means for Wisconsin? For one we dropped from tied for 7th in the PWR to #9 overall.

Read the article from the CHN they do a much better job explaining it. It's also being discussed on the USCHO message boards. If you have a question leave a comment and I'll try and find you an answer if I can't answer it myself.

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Wisconsin Recruiting: Brad Navin has strained MCL

As Gandalf posted last night, Brad Navin (pictured left), a forward recruit from Waupaca injured his knee on Thursday in a game at Tomahawk.

The Sixty Minutes blog was able to speak with Navin on Monday afternoon to get the scoop on how bad it was. Navin told us that the doctor informed him that he has an MCL sprain. The good news is that no surgery is needed.

I'm told that these types of injuries aren't severe and that most likely one could expect to be full strength in 4-6 weeks. If the 4-6 weeks is true, that would have Navin coming back right around the first week of the WIAA playoffs.

Navin is committed to Wisconsin for either 2012 or 2013 depending on departures and his development so this doesn't effect his status with the Badgers one iota but it is sad because Navin is a prospective NHL draft pick and the less times he can be seen the more it's going to hurt him in that regard.

Also, there is zero question that he would have been named the Wisconsin Mr. Hockey this season. Personally I still think they should give Navin the award. He's by far the most impressive senior in the state and it's not close.

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Monday Morning Bracketology Week 10: 1/17/11

It's time once again for our weekly installment of Bracketology. This week finds the Badgers moving on up once again. For the third week in a row the Badgers are projected to be tournament bound. Last week Wisconsin checked in at #9, this week we're at #8 in the PWR following our road split at Minnesota-Duluth. Remember, we'd like to get to at least #13 or #14 to lock in an at large bid.

No bids were won or lost for the WCHA this week but Colorado College took a significant hit with after being swept by Alaska-Anchorage. CC dropped about 7 places in the PWR with the sweep. There are a few other WCHA teams currently lurking in the "Teams under consideration" area. Minnesota (21), Bemidji (22), CC (23), and Minnesota State (24) could all put themselves in tournament consideration with a few good weeks.

Step 1: Pick the 16 tournament teams

1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Denver
4. Minnesota-Duluth
5. Boston College
6. Michigan
7. Notre Dame
8. Wisconsin
9. New Hampshire
10. Maine
11. Dartmouth
12. Union
13. Boston University
14. Merrimack
15. Nebraska-Omaha
16. Atlantic Hockey Champion (RIT)

Bubble Teams (in order): Western Michigan, RPI, Miami, Alaska, Princeton

Step 2: Assign the seeds

No. 1 seeds: Yale, North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth
No. 2 seeds: Boston College, Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin
No. 3 seeds: New Hampshire, Maine, Dartmouth, Union
No. 4 seeds: BU, Merrimack, Nebraska-Omaha, RIT

Step 3: Place host teams in regionals

Right now we have two host schools in the tournament. New Hampshire is hosting the Northeast Regional in Manchester, and Yale is hosting the East Regional in Bridgeport. Therefore, UNH is placed as the #3 seed in Manchester and Yale is the #1 seed in Bridgeport.

Step 4: Place number 1 seeds in regionals

Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.

No. 1 Yale (Host) is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
No. 3 Denver is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis
No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester

Step 5: Place the other 12 teams avoiding intra-conference match ups if possible Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.

If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.

Number 2 seeds:

No. 8 Wisconsin is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
No. 7 Notre Dame is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 6 Michigan is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
No. 5 Boston College is placed in No. 4 UMD's Regional, the Northeast Regional

Number 3 seeds:

No. 9 UNH (Host) is placed No. 5 BC's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 10 Maine is placed in No. 8 Wisconsin's Regional, the East Regional
No. 11 Dartmouth is placed in No. 7 Notre Dame's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 12 Union is placed in No. 6 Michigan's Regional, the West Regional

Number 4 seeds:

No. 13 BU is placed in No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth's, the Northeast Regional
No. 14 Merrimack is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
No. 15 Nebraska-Omaha is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 16 RIT is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional

Our bracket as we have it set up:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 RIT
8. Wisconsin vs 10 Maine

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 Nebraska-Omaha
7 Notre Dame vs 11 Dartmouth

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Minnesota-Duluth vs 13 Boston University
5 Boston College vs 9 New Hampshire

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Denver vs 14 Merrimack
6 Michigan vs 12 Union

Our first concern is to avoid intra-conference first round match ups. This week we have two, Boston College vs New Hampshire and North Dakota vs Nebraska-Omaha. We're in a tricky situation here because we can only move teams between bands but New Hampshire must stay in Manchester since it's a host school.

The Nebraska-Omaha flip is the easy one since we only have one option. Since UNO has to be a 4 seed, and they can't play first round games against 1 seeds North Dakota, Denver, or Minnesota-Duluth they MUST be flipped with RIT to the East Regional. As for New Hampshire/BC, UNH MUST stay in Manchester so we'll flip Note Dame and BC. It hurts attendance taking BC out of the East but we didn't have a choice. Flipping BC and Wisconsin would cause another intra-conference matchup so this is the best route. It creates more bracket ingtegrity as well.

Our bracket as we have it set up now:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 15 Nebraska-Omaha

8. Wisconsin vs 10 Maine

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 16 RIT

5 Boston College vs 11 Dartmouth

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Minnesota-Duluth vs 13 Boston University
7 Notre Dame vs 9 New Hampshire

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Denver vs 14 Merrimack
6 Michigan vs 12 Union

It's not our best week attendance wise but it's certainly not our worst. Realistically there is nothing we can do to make it better either. So that's what we'll go with.

Week by week Wisconsin tournament tracker:
Week 1: #12 overall seed vs Michigan in Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
Week 2: First team out of the tournament, #16 in the PWR
Week 3: Falling further away from the tournament, #24 in the PWR
Week 4: Stopped the bleeding, moved up to #18 in the PWR
Week 5: Still hovering in the bubble, dropped a spot to #19 in PWR
Week 6: Gaining some ground, moved up to #17 in the PWR
Week 7: Stalemate, still at #17 in the PWR on a bye week.
Week 8: Back in the game, #12 overall seed in Northeast Regional in Manchester
Week 9: Moving on up, to the east side. #9 overall seed in the East Regional.

Week 10: All the way up to the #8 overall seeed vs Maine in the East Regional.

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HIW reports Navin injured

Hockey in Wisconsin is reporting that 2012 or 2013 forward recruit Brad Navin injured his knee on thursday night against Tomahawk and will have it looked at this week.  Navin plays for Waupaca HS.

Navin is the favorite for Wisconsin's Mr Hockey award, and currently leads the state w/ 52 pts.

Waupaca visited Waupan last night, and I was originally going to drive up for the game to watch Navin play, but the Packers changed my plans.  Thanks goes out to Aaron Rodgers for saving me the trip.

Hoping a speedy recovery to Navin and that he is back on the ice soon.

Badgers battle flu bug, pick up split in Duluth

Sorry, don't have time to do a game recap right now. Check out Madison.com, UWBadgers.com, and the Rink and Run blog for more coverage of Saturday night's 3-2 Wisconsin road victory over #5 Minnesota-Duluth.

Wisconsin is now tied for 7th in the all important PWR with Notre Dame.

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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Friday night lineups vs Minnesota-Duluth

Friday night lineups courtesy of Andy Baggot. Interesting note that freshman defenseman Joe Faust has been interested into the lineup as a fourth line winger. Baggot speculates that one of the top 6 defensemen may not be 100% and he's a back up play of sorts. Another note, Tyler Barnes who has a rumors "boxers fracture" in his hand is IN the lineup tonight and that's obviously great news.

WISCONSIN

Jordy Murray-Craig Smith-Mark Zengerle
Michael Mersch-Podge Turnbull-Tyler Barnes
Ryan Little-Sean Little-Patrick Johnson
Derek Lee-Jefferson Dahl-Joe Faust

Jake Gardiner-Justin Schultz
Craig Johnson-John Ramage
Frankie Simonelli-Eric Springer

Scott Gudmandson
Brett Bennett

MINNESOTA-DULUTH

Mike Connolly-Jack Connolly-David Grun
Justin Fontaine-Travis Oleksuk-J.T. Brown
Dan DeLisle-Keegan Flaherty-Mike Seidel
Max Tardy-Jake Hendrickson-Joe Basaraba

Justin Faulk-Mike Montgomery
Wade Bergman-Brady Lamb
Drew Olson-Trent Palm

Kenny Reiter
Aaron Crandall

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Bi6 Ten Hockey Conference to start in 2014?

The blog "College Hockey High Horse" which apparently covers Minnesota-Duluth hockey has an update this afternoon that his source at the NCAA winter meetings going on right now in San Antonio, TX is saying that a Bi6 Ten Hockey Conference is set to start in the fall of 2014.

A few things about this report. First of all, until today I've never heard of this blog. Not that it isn't credible, just simply stating, I've never heard of it until today.

Second of all, I think anyone could take a guess that 2014 would be the year the conference would start. Pretty much every article written about the formation of the new conference has conceded that 2014 is the target date for the conference.

So I'm not sure if we have any new information here really or not. We know that the leagues (WCHA and CCHA) as they are set up right now will not be the same in 2014. We know that most likely there will be a Bi6 Ten Hockey conference. And we know that there had already been a target date of 2014 for the new conferences to be set.

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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

How hurt is Tyler Barnes?

I woke up this morning and found an e-mail tip that Tyler Barnes had gotten hurt in practice. A quick check of Madison.com finds an article up from Andy Baggot about both Tyler Barnes and Sean Little being banged up and their statuses unclear for the trip to Duluth.

The information I was told is that Barnes may have broken his hand in practice after punching the glass. (Update: Latest I'm hearing is that its possibly a "boxing fracture" whatever the hell that is.)

However, in Baggots article he noted that Barnes practiced yesterday (albeit not on one of the top 4 lines), and usually if you have a broken hand you most likely aren't going to practice.

So just how hurt is Tyler Barnes? Hopefully not very. I'm praying the broken hand rumor is false and that he's just sore. Barnes has been one of the better surprises for us offensively this season and has shown flashes of brilliance at times this year.

Barnes has recently found a home on a line with winger Michael Mersch and centerman Podge Turnbull. The unit has been very solid during Wisconsin's current winning streak.

According to Baggot's article if Barnes and S. Little can't go this week then Derek Lee will take Barnes spot on the Mersh/Turnbull line, Ryan Little joins Patrick Johnson and Sean Dolan on the shut down line, and freshman Jefferson Dahl is back in the lineup centering Jason Clark and Gavin Hartzog. Obviously the Murray/Smith/Zengerle line is still intact.

I'll post more information as it comes to light.

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Minnesota-Duluth Week

Ok let's cut right to the chase. The nice 7 game winning streak Wisconsin is on right now is all fine and dandy but winning games against teams who could be confused with Minnesota Junior Hockey League teams isn't something to put your dancing shoes on for.

Wisconsin faces a serious test of how far they have come this season as they travel this weekend to the states northern border where they will take on the fifth ranked Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs who are playing their first full WCHA series in their new barn, Amsoil Arena.

Last weekend Wisconsin broke their ridiculous overtime drought which had spanned multiple seasons in their sweep over Atlantic Hockey foe Canisius.

Sophomore forward Craig Smith had himself a huge weekend for the Badgers en route to being named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week. The Madison native put together 3 goals and 3 assists including 4 points in the 6-5 OT thriller on Saturday night. With his huge weekend, Smith overtook the team scoring lead from defenseman Justin Schultz. Smith now had 31 points (13 goals) in 24 games for the Badgers.

Speaking of Schultz, it was his goal with eight seconds left in overtime on Saturday which ended the painful streak of not being able to win an overtime game. The goal was Schultz's 13th of the season which ties him for the team lead with Jordy Murray and Craig Smith. Schultz's 30 points currently lead the country in scoring for all defensmen. The next highest scoring defenseman has 26.

Badger goaltender Scott Gudmanson was up to his old tricks on Friday night stopping all 18 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season. Gudmandson is having an All-WCHA type season with a .933 save percentage and 1.77 GAA. Brett Bennett got the nod on Saturday night but I would venture to guess that we'll see Scotty both nights this weekend.

Minnesota-Duluth has been no stranger to the win column this season either. They are ranked #3 in the current PWR and are coming off a sweep at Clarkson and an exhibition win over the NTDP.

If you remember, and I'm sure you do, Duluth came into the Kohl Center earlier in the season and left with a full four points. Both games went to overtime and the Friday game ended on an extremely controversial no call when Jake Gardiner was clearly tripped leading to a game winning goal by the Bulldogs.

Since the last time we've seen the Bulldogs there has been some changes. The Connolly's and Fontaine are still great and trying to match the Dolan line up with them all weekend is going to be one of the keys to taking road points. The biggest change for Duluth has been the loss of Dylan Olsen who failed out of school and signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. Olsen was playing some great hockey for UMD and no doubt will be missed. Winger Kyle Schmidt will also be out for the series due to a broken hand. Sophomore defenseman Wade Bergman also reportedly missed some practice time this week.

I'm guessing we'll see both goaltenders for the Bulldogs this weekend, similar to when they were in town earlier in the year. Neither one has been playing spectacular hockey this season. It's kind of crazy looking at their stats because they are almost identical in every category from wins to save percentage.

Another interesting scenario could come up this weekend. If you remember correctly, there was an incident after the game when Duluth first came to town between Aaron Crandall (a former Wisconsin recruit) and Mike Eaves in the post game hand shake line. It will be interesting to hear how their interaction will be after this weekends series which should be a battle.

As always a key for this weekend is going to be the success of the special teams. The Badgers are second in the country in power play percentage with a 27.2% success rate and the Bulldogs are 12th with a 21.93% success rate. The Bulldogs have the slight advantage on the penalty kill where they are killing penalties at 83% to Wisconsin's 81%. Duluth is also one of the more dangerous teams in the country converting on short handed goals. They have five this season.

COVERAGE

There is no television this weekend that I'm aware of but the games are being webcast on B2Live.com for a fee.

POLLS

The Badges continue to climb the rankings and this week they are #9 in the USCHO.com poll and #11 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Minnesota Duluth is #5 in both polls.

INJURIES

Jeffeson Dahl sat out last weekend due to a leg injury and is supposed to be back this weekend. Captain Sean Dolan missed some practice time this week due to a lower leg injury but is also expected to go.

Update: New information has come to light Thursday morning. Apparently Sean Little and Tyler Barnes statuses are both up in the air. Rumors are that Barnes may have a broken hand.

PREDICTIONS

I have no doubt the Badgers are still salty about the way things turned out when Duluth stole 4 points at the Kohl Center earlier in the season. Behind a strong goaltending effort on Friday night I think the Badgers get the victory. Saturday night I see another hard fought game ending in a tie. 3 points should be within reason this weekend.

Friday Night: Wisconsin 4, Minnesota-Duluth 2
Saturday Night: Wisconsin 3, Minnesota-Duluth 3

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Stepan makes NHL Skills Comp; Smith AHL All-Star

Things just keep getting better for the kid. Former Badger Derek Stepan, in his first professional season has been named as one of 12 rookies who will participate in the Honda NHL SuperSkills® competition.

Stepan, a 20 year old center from Hastings, Minnesota surprised many when he signed with the New York Rangers in the off-season after only two years at Wisconsin.

Stepan has more than earned his keep for the blue shirt's so far this season. He's currently second on the club in scoring with 24 points (12 g, 12 a) in 44 games. Stepan is currently third in rookie scoring.
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Another former Badger who has made a swift transition to the pro game has been Brendan Smith. It was announced Tuesday that Smith has been named to the AHL All-Star game. Smith is the only player from the Grand Rapids Griffins to be named to the team.

Smith had a huge junior season for the Badgers in 09-10 which resulted in him being named a Hobey Baker finalist. Currently Smith has 8 goals and 13 assists in 36 games for the Griffins.

The 21 year old defenseman from Mimico, Ontario is making Griffins history. With his appearance in the AHL All-Star game, he will become the first rookie defenseman in Griffins history to appear in the game.

Craig Smith named WCHA Offensive POTW

Red Baron® WCHA
Offensive Player of the Week

Craig Smith - Sophomore, Forward
University of Wisconsin

Press Release from WCHA.com

University of Wisconsin center iceman Craig Smith, who led all league players with three goals and six points while helping the host Badgers to a two-game sweep over Canisius last weekend, has been named the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Jan. 11, 2011.

A 6-0, 196-pound sophomore from Madison, Wis., Smith posted six points, six shots on goal and was a +3 in the two wins vs Canisius, including a team season-high four points in last Saturday's (Jan. 8) 6-5 (ot) victory. In the series opener Friday (Jan. 7), Smith scored UW's second goal in a 3-0 victory at 9:43 of the third period. He then assisted on UW's final goal late in the third to seal the victory and finished with two shots and a +2 rating. Last Saturday, Smith tallied two goals and added two assists for four points to pace the Badgers to their seventh straight win. He scored his 12th of the season in highlight-reel fashion, stick-handling down the slot around three Canisius players to put UW up 3-0 just shy of the midpoint of the second. Then with his team trailing 5-4 with less than 4:00 remaining in the third, Smith scored to tie the game at 16:26 to force overtime and then assisted on the game-winner in the extra session.

A draftee of the NHL's Nashville Predators, Smith's six-point weekend elevated him into the Wisconsin scoring lead with 31 points. His 13 goals are tied for the team lead.

Also nominated this week: Matt Read, F, BSU; Corban Knight, F, UND; Drew LeBlanc, F, SCSU

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Tuesday Afternoon Bracketology Week 9: 1/11/11

It's time once again for our weekly installment of Bracketology. This week finds the Badgers moving on up once again. For the second week in a row the Badgers are projected to be tournament bound. Last week Wisconsin checked in at #12, this week we're at #9 in the PWR. Remember, we'd like to get to at least #13 or #14 to lock in an at large bid.

The WCHA dropped 1 bid this week with Colorado College dropping to #16 in the PWR. If the season ended today, the WCHA would have five teams in the tournament. The five currently in the tournament right now: North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Wisconsin. Colorado College, Minnesota State, and Minnesota are all within striking distance of an at large bid.

Step 1: Pick the 16 tournament teams

1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Minnesota-Duluth
4. Boston College
5. Denver
6. New Hampshire
7. Michigan
8. Notre Dame
9. Wisconsin
10. Nebraska-Omaha
11. RPI
12. Merrimack
13. Union
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Atlantic Hockey Champion (Robert Morris)

Bubble Teams (in order): Colorado College, Maine, Alakska, Dartmouth, Miami

Step 2: Assign the seeds

No. 1 seeds: Yale, North Dakota, Minnesota-Duluth, Boston College
No. 2 seeds: Denver, New Hampshire, Michigan, Notre Dame
No. 3 seeds: Wisconsin, Nebraska-Omaha, RPI, Merrimack
No. 4 seeds: Union, Western Michigan, Boston University, Robert Morris

Step 3: Place host teams in regionals

Right now we have two host schools in the tournament. New Hampshire is hosting the Northeast Regional in Manchester, and Yale is hosting the East Regional in Bridgeport. Therefore, UNH is placed as the #2 seed in Manchester and Yale is the #1 seed in Bridgeport.

Step 4: Place number 1 seeds in regionals
Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.

No. 1 Yale (Host) is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis
No. 4 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester

Step 5: Place the other 12 teams avoiding intra-conference match ups if possible Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.

If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.

Number 2 seeds:

No. 8 Notre Dame is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
No. 7 Michigan is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 6 UNH (host) is placed in No. 4 Boston College's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 5 Denver is placed in No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the West Regional

Number 3 seeds:

No. 9 Wisconsin is placed No. 8 Notre Dame's Regional, the East Regional
No. 10 Nebraska-Omaha is placed in No. 7 Michigan's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 11 RPI is placed in No. 6 New Hampshire's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 12 Merrimack is placed in No. 5 Denver's Regional, the West Regional

Number 4 seeds:

No. 13 Union is placed in No. 4 Boston College's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 14 Western Michigan is placed in No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth's Regional, the West Regional
No. 15 Boston University is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 16 Robert Morris is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional

Our bracket as we have it set up:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 Robert Morris
8 Notre Dame vs 9 Wisconsin

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 Boston University
7 Michigan vs 10 Nebraska-Omaha

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Boston College vs 13 Union
6 New Hampshire vs 11 RPI

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Minnesota-Duluth vs 14 Western Michigan
5 Denver vs 12 Merrimack

Our first concern is to avoid intra-conference first round match ups. This week we have none so we're good.

Attendance looks fairly strong across the board. There are a few changes we could make to make it better. One thing we could do would be to have Minnesota-Duluth in Green Bay instead of North Dakota. I could very well see the NCAA doing this. I'm guessing North Dakota will have to fly no matter if they go to Green Bay or St. Louis and Duluth can bus to Green Bay. It was a similar situation last season where the committee shipped Denver out East and had Wisconsin in St. Paul because Wisconsin could bus to St. Paul.

Another thing we could do is flip the match up between Norte Dame and Wisconsin to the Green Bay regional and flip the Michigan/Nebraska-Omaha match up out east. That would give the Green Bay attendance a significant boost.

I'm not confident in either move right now so I'm going to leave it as is.

Week by week Wisconsin tournament tracker:
Week 1: #12 overall seed vs Michigan in Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
Week 2: First team out of the tournament, #16 in the PWR
Week 3: Falling further away from the tournament, #24 in the PWR
Week 4: Stopped the bleeding, moved up to #18 in the PWR
Week 5: Still hovering in the bubble, dropped a spot to #19 in PWR

Week 6: Gaining some ground, moved up to #17 in the PWR
Week 7: Stalemate, still at #17 in the PWR on a bye week.
Week 8: Back in the game, #12 overall seed in Northeast Regional in Manchester
Week 9: Moving on up, to the east side. #9 overall seed in the East Regional.

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Hesketh no longer coming to Wisconsin

Sources familiar to the situation have informed the Sixty Mintues blog that defenseman Troy Hesketh, originally slated to be a 2011 Wisconsin recruit is no longer in the plans for the Badgers.

Hesketh, who hails from Minnetonka, Minnesota has been traded twice so far in this USHL season. He was set to start the year with Fargo but they traded him to Chicago just days before the season opener. Last week Hesketh was moved to Sioux City.

According to people with knowledge of the situation, Hesketh will not be admitted to the University academically. It's rumored that he doesn't currently posses an ACT score high enough for enrollment at the University of Wisconsin.

To say that Hesketh's USHL career has been a rocky one is an understatement. The former Edmonton Oiler draft pick has not yet registered a point in 22 USHL games, is a -12 in the plus/minus category, and has 30 penalty minutes.

Many people got suspicious when Wisconsin did not sign Hesketh in the early signing period this fall. When rumors of his ACT score being low started getting out late last week I knew it was only a matter of time before Wisconsin looked in another direction. That direction we found out late last night was Benilde-St. Margaret's defenseman Patick Daly.

Hesketh's WHL rights are owned by the Edmonton Oil Kings and I've been told that he's considering going that route. Hesketh was traded to Sioux City of the USHL early last week but didn't play for the Musketeers last weekend. I have no word on if he reported to Sioux City or not.

I'll keep you updated if any new information comes to light.
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Update: Andy Baggot is also hearing that Hesketh is out.

Update: Evans from the Daily Cardinal has an article up. He talked with someone close to the situation who talked about how Hesketh hasn't improved since his junior year of high school.

Update: Baggot has another piece out where he says he's hearing academics were an issue. Confirming what my sources said was the main issue.

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WCHA 2nd Half Strength of Schedule

W/ the series between St Cloud and Michigan Tech last weekend, every team in the WCHA has played 14 games, and have 14 games left over the next 8 weeks to decide the MacNaughton Cup. The current standings can be found here. North Dakota, Denver, Duluth and UNO are separated by 3 pts for 1st. Everyone else in w/ in 5 pts of home ice, except Tech who isn't even in the basement, they have taken refuge in a bomb shelter.

Looking at the 2nd half strength of schedule, I merely added together the points obtained by each team's seven opponents at the halfway point. About the only thing this doesn't account for is home/away, as we all realize the value of home ice (generally) in a WCHA series. What was the old saying, sweep at home and split on the road to win the WCHA. Something like that.

2nd half SOS (most difficult to easiest)

1) St Cloud - 114 pts
2) Nebraska Omaha - 110 pts
3) Michigan Tech - 109 pts
4) CC - 105 pts
5) UAA - 104 pts
6) Mankato - 100 pts
7) minnesota - 98 pts
8) Bemidji State - 97 pts
9) Wisconsin - 93 pts
10) Duluth - 87 pts
11) Denver - 83 pts
12) North Dakota - 82 pts

A few things, obviously this type of comparison lends the top teams having the "easiest" schedule because they can't play themselves, the same is true of Tech on the other extreme. Looking through the schedules, the one thing that jumped out to me, the front runners (DU, UND & UMD) do not play each other the rest of the way, so there will be no head to head between these teams down the stretch. So if North Dakota keeps winning, and I see no reason why this won't continue, DU and UMD can't afford to trip up if they want the MacNaughton, as they can't take out UND on the ice.

The other thing that jumps out at me, the three teams ahead or tied w/ the Badgers (UNO, CC & um) all have to play DU, UMD and UND down the stretch. UW only has this weekend's series at Duluth left, and as you can see UW has the 4th easiest schedule based on 1st half WCHA results. UW merely needs to play smart, 60 minute hockey, and getting some home ice shouldn't be a problem. Right now Playoff Status has UW w/ a 66% chance at home ice.

Also fun, is the WCHA calculator, I did this earlier today and had UW finished tied for 4th w/ UNO, playing St Cloud or Mankato at home in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. I'd take that result considering all the freshman and massive losses to pro hockey. Also, I think a 4th place finish and winning the 1st round series would get the Badgers into the NCAA tourney again, hopefully in Green Bay to save on my travel.

Badgers land Minnesota prep defenseman Patrick Daly

Editors Note: Bumped the Daly story back up to the top since it's the most important news of the day.

I started hinting around on twitter earlier in the week that Wisconsin may be looking for another defenseman for the 2011 class. Little did I know this gem was about to fall in our lap.

Thanks to Todd Milewski, we've learned that Wisconsin has landed the services of Benilde-St. Margaret's defenseman Patrick Daly for the 2011-12 season.

According to a press release sent from the school, Daly leads his club in plus/minus with a +27 in only 11 games so far this season. He has 3 goals and 15 points as well. In his career for BSM, Daly has 53 points and is a +112 in 73 games.

Daly sounds excited to join the Wisconsin program next season. “I felt the coach staff there is phenomenal and it’s a dream come true to playin the WCHA, especially for a program held in such high esteem." Daly said in a release.

The 6'0, 180 lb defenseman joins Jake McCabe and Troy Hesketh as committed defensemen in the 2011 class.

Accroding to an article from the Minnesota Hockey Hub, Daly turned down an offer from Nebraska-Omaha and was also receiving serious interest from Minnesota-Duluth.

Benilde-St. Margaret's head coach loves the way his senior captain gets up and down the ice. "Anyone who sees his game always comments on his skating,” Head coach Ken Pauly said. “He has such high-end skating ability that he really is a great prospect for the future."

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Wisconsin native Donnellan leaves Western Michigan

In somewhat of a surprising turn of events, Eau Claire, Wisconsin native David Donnellan has left Western Michigan and has joined the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League.

Donnellan, a 6'0, 185 pound defenseman, was a freshman defenseman for Western Michigan this season. Donnellan had only played in 5 games for the Broncos registering no points.

Donnellan got caught in an unusual set of circumstances. He had committed to Western under old coach Jim Culhan. Culhan was fired at the end of last season before Donnellan stepped on campus and new coach Jeff Blashil obviously doesn't like him as much as Culhan did.

Donnellan, who won a Wisconsin state championship with Eau Claire Memorial, has moved back to the USHL where he spent the past two seasons. Donnellan played in two games last weekend with Sioux City registering no points.

Donnellan could be an interesting player to keep an eye on as a transfer recruit for the 2012 season. This is his final year of eligibility in the USHL so wherever he goes next season he can only practice. Donnellan will have 3 seasons of eligibility starting in the fall of 2012.

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Cody Strang named USHL offensive POTW

Some, including myself have been frustrated by the lack of production of some of Wisconsin's 2011 recruiting class. One player who has given us something to be excited about is Madison native Cody Strang.

A big five point weekend out of Strang was good enough to net him USHL Offensive Player of the Week sponsored by CCM. It's the second time in Strang's USHL career that he's won the award. He also was honored late last January when he recorded a natural hat-trick against Team USA.

According to the release from the USHL website: Strang scored five points (3g, 2a) and posted a plus-four rating to help the Youngstown Phantoms earn five of a possible six points in the standings during the week. He scored the game-winning goal with under two minutes to play in the third period of Friday's 4-3 victory over Sioux City. The win snapped the six-game losing streak for the Phantoms. Strang tallied a shorthanded goal, added an assist, and registered a game high plus-three in Saturday's 4-3 win against Muskegon. The forward then completed the weekend with a two-point effort (1g, 1a), including his fifth straight game with a goal, in Sunday's 4-3 shootout loss to Team USA. The native of Madison, Wisconsin is second on the Phantoms in scoring with 21 points (9g, 12a) in 29 games during his second USHL season and he is tied for fifth overall in the League with a plus-15 rating.

Strang, who is an alternate captain for the Phantoms is second on the team in goals with 8, and second on the team in points with 21. Also of note, Green Bay native Ryan Belonger, who is uncommitted is fourth on the Phantoms in scoring with 18 points.

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Four Badgers on NHL Central Scouting Mid-Terms

NHL Central Scouting, an excellent resource for the NHL Draft has released it's annual mid-term rankings today. Two current and two future Badgers were fortunate enough to be recognized by Central Scouting.

The two current Badgers, forward Michael Mersch and defenseman Frankie Simonelli need no introduction. I think both players have exceeded expectations a bit this season at Wisconsin and both are looked upon as important players as the Badgers move forward in their season. Both players are expected to be drafted and their rankings by Central Scouting reflect as much.

Mersch, a 6'2, 198 pound winger is ranked as the #62 North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. Adding in European players and goalies, that's a third round projection for Mersch in this summers NHL Draft.

Simonelli, who is listed at 5'10.75, 190 pounds is ranked as the #92 North American skater by CS. When you add in Euro's and goalies, That's around the 4th of 5th round in this summers draft.

An interesting name to follow regarding the draft is Wisconsin recruit Brad Navin. The 6'3, 183 pound center from Waupaca high school is ranked as the #150 North American Skater by Central Scouting. That puts Navin right down towards the end of the draft. Many feel that he would have increased his draft stock by moving to the USHL this season when the opportunity presented itself. I think unquestionably that this is the case but I can see from his point of view why he decided to stay at Waupaca for his senior season.

The other Badger recruit on the list is 6'2.5, 190 pound winger Brendan Woods from Muskegon of the USHL. Last season Central Scouting had Woods listed as the #52 North American skater and he got passed by all 30 NHL teams in all 7 rounds of the draft. Woods isn't lighting up the score board in the USHL by any means so it will be interesting to see if any NHL team takes a shot on him in this draft. Also note that his father is an assistant coach for the Washington Capitals.

There are three other players with Wisconsin ties to be featured by Central Scouting. Stevens Point native and Colorado College recruit Aaron Harstad is ranked #149. Harstad, who plays for the Green Bay Gamblers was passed over in last years draft. Max McCormick, a DePere, WI native and Ohio State recruit is ranked #159. McCormick is having a great rookie year in the USHL with Sioux City. And finally at #190 checks in defenseman Joey Fiala from Verona. Fiala, a Western Michigan recruit is playing with the USA NTDP U18's this season.

Photo courtesy of Melody Hasse

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RIP OT FUTILITY

OT Futility was pronounced dead this evening, January 8, 2011 @ 9:37 PM.

Cause of death: Justin Schultz's hockey stick.

A brief memorial service was held in front of section 107 as the Badger players celebrated OT Futility's passing.

Badgers end OT drought, sweep Canisius!

Justin Schultz's OT winner with :08 seconds left ends the streak of win less overtimes games for Wisconsin that dated back to the 2007 Final Five.

The Badgers have now won seven consecutive games.

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Todd Koritzinsky goes Mike Legg on us

Check out this absolutely sick goal by Middleton forward Todd Koritzinsky. Very similar to the goal Mike Legg scored when he was at Michigan. Courtesy of Hockey In Wisconsin. Yes, Todd is a potential Wisconsin recruit.

Badger Women vs. aOSU

...as in "An" Ohio State University. In fact, as I learned yesterday on a drive to Toledo for business, there is at least one satellite OSU campus (further research shows that there are four). Which means that "the" Ohio State University is just one of many, and therefore has no right to use the word "The".

But I digress.

It's not that often that our beloved Badgers travel to Columbus, Ohio, especially for hockey. With the men's hockey teams in different conferences, I doubt that I'll see them make the 8-hour bus ride to my adopted neck of the woods in the near future. But the women's team is a different story, as they are in town this weekend to take on the Buckeye ladies. Maybe the word "ladies" is a little generous.

But I digress again.

This weekend, the Buckeyes will miss their top overall scorer (31 points), Laura McIntosh, and their leading goal-scorer (17), Natalie Spooner, this weekend. Both are playing for the Canadian U-22 team in Switzerland at the MLP Cup. Meanwhile, Wisconsin will be without four players, Stefanie McKeough and Brittany Haverstock on the blueline and Mallory Deluce and Carolyn Prevost at forward, all playing in the same tournament. Luckily for my viewing pleasure, the USA is not playing in this tournament, meaning Hilary Knight and leading scorer Meghan Duggan will both be with the team in Columbus. Also, if you can tell me what MLP stands for, you win a bonus life point, because I can't find it on my quick scan of the internets.

I'll be tweeting live from tonight's game starting at 7:00 Eastern, and hopefully at tomorrow's 4:00 faceoff as well, so keep your Twitter accounts locked to @TexWestern. It's a great day for hockey! ...Even if it is at the 1,000-seat OSU Ice Rink instead of the Kohl Center.

Canisius Week

This weeks preview finds the Wisconsin Badgers set to host their last non conference series of season. The Canisius Golden Griffins of the Atlantic Hockey conference roll into to Madison on a weekend Wisconsin honors 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Blake Geoffrion.

One of the biggest things holding the Badgers back this season has been the ability to net scoring from secondary players. We've talked about it on this site multiple times. Those secondary players stepped up for the Badgers last weekend. Podge Turnbull who looks like he's taken his game to the next level had a huge three goal weekend.

Derek Lee, a player who like Turnbull has had a tough time finding the consistency needed to be a productive player in the WCHA had a very strong weekend for the Badgers. Lee had three assists but besides the points played some hard nosed hockey and looked like he might have turned a corner.

Freshman defenseman Frankie Simonelli saw his role expanded last weekend with John Ramage gone for the World Junior Championships and seized the opportunity with a great weekend. There's no doubt that the experience Simonelli got playing college teams last season with the NTDP has carried over into his play this season. Simonelli's 4 points last weekend were a career high.

Scott Gudmandson has been playing very well this season but this weekend Brett Bennett absolutely needs to see some action. Bennett hasn't played since late November and is a very capable goaltender. I have no problem with Gudmandson carrying the majority of the play for the rest of the season but I hope Eaves doesn't let Bennett rot.

It's been thirteen games since freshman Mark Zengerle scored a goal for the Badgers. Obviously Zengerle's ability to find open teammates and set up goals is off the charts but there is no doubt he's starting to get frustrated at not finding the back of the net. I think Zengerle ends the drought this weekend.

Don't look now but Ryan Little is tied for sixth on the team in goals scored right now. When the rumors started to swirl about Little being moved to forward for this season I think most of us really questioned how effective he would be. It's safe to say he's exceeded expectations this season and has really made Eaves look like a genius.

Canisius is led up front by a trio of senior forwards in Cory Conacher, Vincent Scarsella, and Eric Rex. Conacher, no doubt their top player is averaging a point per game and had 53 points last season for the Golden Griffins.

For the most part this season Canisius has gone with go-to goaltender Dan Morrison. Morrison has very respectable numbers with a .916 save percentage and a 3.03 GAA. Morrison has played in 15 of the 18 games so far this year. I would expect to see Morrison both games this weekend.

As usual, one of the biggest keys for Canisius this weekend is to stay out of the box. The Badgers are second in the country in PP percentage at 27.7 percent. Canisius is 13th in the country at killing penalties with an 85% kill rate.

COVERAGE

There is no television this weekend but there is a web stream that you can purchase off bigtennetwork.com for a fee.

POLLS

Wisconsin has moved up from #15 to #13 in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/USA Today poll.

INJURIES

Updated: I forgot to note that Jefferson Dahl got banged up last weekend. According to Andy Baggot he will not play this weekend. Also, John Ramage gets the weekend off to rest after the WJC.

PREDICTIONS

Canisius is far from a push over but this is another weekend where Wisconsin needs to acquire victories. Wisconsin holds the superior lineup and I'm going with another sweep.

Friday night: Wisconsin 6, Canisius 2
Saturday night: Wisconsin 3, Canisus 1

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John Ramage World Junior Championship Evaluation

While his teammates were busy sweeping the University of Massachusets, over the past 2 weeks Wisconsin sophomore defenseman John Ramage has been in Buffalo representing his country as the captain of the United States World Junior team.

While Ramage and team USA didn't win the ultimate prize of a gold medal, they didn't leave New York without hardware. After a devastating loss against Canada in the semi-finals, Team USA bounced back and beat a good Sweden team for the Bronze.

Chris Peters, a fantastic writer who used to work exclusively for USA hockey has a great blog called "The United States of Hockey." Today Mr. Peters evaluates the play of all the defenseman for team USA during the WJC. Here is what he had to say about John Ramage.

"John Ramage — 6 GP, 0-0–0, 4 PIM, +2 — I think for most of this tournament, John Ramage was everything you wanted him to be and more. He was, by all accounts, a good captain. You can never, ever fault John Ramage for a lack of effort. I’ve never seen him get outworked and I didn’t see it during this tournament. He plays hard, smart hockey. I think he and Merrill struggled as a pair against Canada, but when the going got tough in that game, Ramage kept playing hard. I didn’t see any let down from him, despite the utter shock of how thoroughly outplayed the U.S. was. Ramage made some brilliant defensive plays throughout the tournament, especially that sliding break up of a 2-on-1 against Finland. He doesn’t have great foot speed, but he’s smart, he’s physical and he’s steady. I’m sure Ramage was crushed after the Canada game, but he and his team showed no signs of let down against Sweden. In games like that, you have to give some credit to the captain. He’ll have a few more years to sharpen at Wisconsin. I think he has a bright future."

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UW Recruiting: McGuire on loan to the EJHL

We have a couple of recruiting tidbits for you on this glorious Wednesday afternoon. 2012 forward recruit Corbin McGuire (pictured) who left his high school program at Taft Prep to spend his last two years of high school with Fargo of the USHL has been loaned to the Springfield Pics of the Eastern Junior Hockey League.

McGuire was recently on the 45 day IR with a concussion. In an e-mail last night McGuire told me that this is a bit of a tune up. "I'm on loan by Fargo so I can get back into game shape." There is no word on how long he will be in Springfield, but he mentioned it might not be long. "I can be called back to Fargo at any time if need be. "

McGuire had been out since November 12th with the concussion. He played in his first game last night for Springfield but was held off the score sheet. Springfield plays it's next game this afternoon against the Capital District Selects.
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Hesketh traded from Chicago to Sioux City

In another interesting move, 2011 defense recruit Troy Hesketh has been traded from the Chicago Steel to the Sioux City Musketeers. If you're counting at home, that's the second time this year that Hesketh has been traded. Just days before the season opener, Hesketh was traded from Fargo to Chicago.

It's hard to judge how a defenseman is playing just by looking at his statistics. Although through 22 games Hesketh had not recorded a point and was a -12.

Obviously Hesketh is still plenty talented and Sioux City thinks a change of scenery may be the best thing for Troy. According to Hockey In Wisconsin, Sioux City gave up a draft pick to acquire Hesketh.

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SCSU kicks Hepp, Mosey off team; Eddy likely suspended

Things have gone from bad to worse for the St. Cloud State hockey program. Rumors of improper conduct while the Huskies were in Florida this past week for the Florida College Classic started to swirl Tuesday afternoon.

The first shoe dropped when senior defenseman Chris Hepp (pictured), an alternate captain who has played in all 20 games for the Huskies this season signed a contract with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL.

88.1 FM KVSC in St. Cloud reported this afternoon that Hepp's locker had been cleared out and also that senior Tony Mosey, another player believed to be involved in the incident in Florida did not practice the past two days.

A third member believed to be involved is sophomore forward David Eddy. It looks as if Eddy, who missed the entire first semester due to being academically ineligible will only be suspended. KVSC reported this afternoon that Eddy was at practice wearing a green jersey. At St. Cloud, green jerseys are reserved for "extra players."

A fourth player, freshman forward Bryce Johnson has also left the program to go back to the USHL although he is not believed to be involved in the incident in Florida. Johnson has only played in 3 games this season for the Huskies.

None of the three players facing punishment from St. Cloud have squeaky clean backgrounds. Like already mentioned, Eddy was ineligible all first semester due to academics. Mosey was suspended the first two games of the season after an incident this fall where he was arrested for felony damage to property when he caused $3,500 worth of damage when he walked on a vehicle and caved in the roof. A look into Hepp's criminal record shows he was cited in September for possession of Marijuana. He was convicted of petty misdemeanor for marijuana possession and paid a $135 fine according to the Minnesota trial court public access data base.

So what we know is the following: Bryce Johnson has left the program to go back to the USHL. Chris Hepp, Tony Mosey, and David Eddy were involved in an incident in Florida. Chris Hepp left the program to sign an ECHL contract. Tony Mosey looks like he may also be on his way out of St. Cloud and David Eddy is most likely suspended for a series or two.

The departures of Johnson, Hepp, and most likely Mosey bring the WCHA mid-season departure number up to 5. Within the past week UMD defenseman Dylan Olsen failed out of school and immediately signed with the Chicago Blackhawks. Also Denver defenseman William Wrenn left the Pioneers to play in the Western Hockey League.

UPDATE Wednesday: KVSC is reporting that Mosey has been dismissed from the SCSU hockey team for violation of team rules. Still no official word on what the punishment is for David Eddy.

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Wisconsin to honor Blake Geoffrion Friday

Like the headline indicates, Friday night the University of Wisconsin and it's men's hockey program will honor 2010 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Blake Geoffrion.

There will be a poster giveaway on both Friday and Saturday night courtesy of Suttle Straus. Gates will open on Friday night at 6 PM and Blake will be signing autographs from 6 to 6:30 by section 111 in the Kohl Center concourse.

Geoffrion was the first Wisconsin player to ever win the award. The Brentwood, TN native finished the season with 28 goals and 50 points. A two year captain, Geoffrion capped his career at Wisconsin when he led the Badgers to the 2010 Frozen Four in Detroit.

A second round draft pick of his hometown Nashville Predators, Geoffrion is currently skating for their AHL affiliate in Milwaukee. Geoffrion currently has 13 points in 25 games for the Admirals. He missed about a month in November with a concussion but is back to full strength and has 7 points in his past 13 games.

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Tuesday Morning Bracketology Week 8: 1/4/11

It's time once again for our weekly installment of Bracketology. This week finds the Wisconsin Badgers in the tournament for the first time in the past 6 weeks. After a sweep of the UMass Minutemen, the Badgers jumped up five places from #17 to #12 in the PWR. Remember, we'd like to get to at least #13 or #14 to lock in an at large bid.

The WCHA gained two bids this week with Wisconsin and Colorado College playing themselves into the tournament. If the season ended today, the WCHA would have six teams in the tournament. Having half your league qualify as at large teams is impressive indeed. The six currently in the tournament right now: North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, Wisconsin, Colorado College.

Step 1: Pick the 16 tournament teams

1. Yale
2. North Dakota
3. Denver
4. Boston College
5. New Hampshire
6. Minnesota-Duluth
7. RPI
8. Michigan
9. Nebraska-Omaha
10. Miami
11. Notre Dame
12. Wisconsin
13. Alaska
14. Colorado College
15. Maine
16. Atlantic Hockey Champion (Robert Morris)

Bubble Teams (in order): Union, Merrimack, Princeton, Boston University, Dartmouth

Step 2: Assign the seeds

No. 1 seeds: Yale, North Dakota, Denver, Boston College
No. 2 seeds: New Hampshire, Minnesota-Duluth, RPI, Michigan
No. 3 seeds: Nebraska-Omaha, Miami, Notre Dame, Wisconsin
No. 4 seeds: Alaska, Colorado College, Maine, Robert Morris

Step 3: Place host teams in regionals

Right now we have two host schools in the tournament. New Hampshire is hosting the Northeast Regional in Manchester, and Yale is hosting the East Regional in Bridgeport. Therefore, UNH is placed as the #2 seed in Manchester and Yale is the #1 seed in Bridgeport.

Step 4: Place number 1 seeds in regionals
Number 1 seeds are placed based on proximity to regional site.

No. 1 Yale (Host) is placed in the East Regional in Bridgeport
No. 2 North Dakota is placed in the Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
No. 3 Denver is placed in the West Regional in St. Louis
No. 4 Boston College is placed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester

Step 5: Place the other 12 teams avoiding intra-conference match ups if possible Begin by filling in each bracket by banding groups. Remember that teams are not assigned to the regional closest to their campus sites by ranking order within the banding.

If this is the case, then the committee should seed so that the quarterfinals are seeded such that the four regional championships are played by No. 1 v. No. 8, No. 2 v. No. 7, No. 3 v. No. 6 and No. 4 v. No. 5.

Number 2 seeds:

No. 8 Michigan is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional
No. 7 RPI is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
No. 5 UNH (host) is placed in No. 4 Boston College's Regional, the Northeast Regional

Number 3 seeds:

No. 9 Nebraska-Omaha is placed No. 8 Michigan's Regional, the East Regional
No. 10 Miami is placed in No. 7 RPI's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 11 Notre Dame is placed in No. 6 UMD's Regional, the West Regional
No. 12 Wisconsin is placed in No. 5 New Hampshire's Regional, the Northeast Regional

Number 4 seeds:

No. 13 Alaska is placed in No. 4 Boston College's Regional, the Northeast Regional
No. 14 Colorado College is placed in No. 3 Denver's Regional, the West Regional
No. 15 Maine is placed in No. 2 North Dakota's Regional, the Mid-West Regional
No. 16 Robert Morris is placed in No. 1 Yale's Regional, the East Regional

Our bracket as we have it set up:

East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 Robert Morris
8 Michigan vs 9 Nebraska-Omaha

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 Maine
7 RPI vs 10 Miami

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Boston College vs 13 Alaska
5 New Hampshire vs 12 Wisconsin

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Denver vs 14 Colorado College
6 Minnesota-Duluth vs 11 Notre Dame

This week we only have one and it's an easy switch. We have Denver playing Colorado College. Keep in mind teams can only be moved within their own band. Therefore, we're going to flip #13 Alaska with #14 CC.

Our new tournament:
East Regional (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
1 Yale vs 16 Robert Morris
8 Michigan vs 9 Nebraska-Omaha

Mid-West Regional (Green Bay, Wisconsin)
2 North Dakota vs 15 Maine
7 RPI vs 10 Miami

Northeast Regional (Manchester, New Hampshire)
4 Boston College vs 14 Colorado College
5 New Hampshire vs 12 Wisconsin

West Regional (St. Louis, Missouri)
3 Denver vs 13 Alaska
6 Minnesota-Duluth vs 11 Notre Dame

Bracket integrity looks strong.

There are no swaps that jump out at me to improve attendance without creating an intra-conference match up or ruining bracket integrity. Attendance looks strong in most of the regionals which should make the NCAA happy.

So that's what we'll go with for this week.

Week by week Wisconsin tournament tracker:
Week 1: #12 overall seed vs Michigan in Mid-West Regional in Green Bay
Week 2: First team out of the tournament, #16 in the PWR
Week 3: Falling further away from the tournament, #24 in the PWR
Week 4: Stopped the bleeding, moved up to #18 in the PWR
Week 5: Still hovering in the bubble, dropped a spot to #19 in PWR

Week 6: Gaining some ground, moved up to #17 in the PWR
Week 7: Stalemate, still at #17 in the PWR on a bye week.
Week 8: Back in the game, #12 overall seed in Northeast Regional in Manchester

chuckschwartz@live.com
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Denver loses Wrenn to the WHL

Another WCHA defenseman has left school over winter break. According to a release by the school, Sophomore d-man William Wrenn has left the program to go play for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League.

Wrenn had played in 18 games for the Pioneers this season and registered 1 assist and was a minus seven. The 19 year old played with the USA National Team Development program before accepting a scholarship offer from Denver University.

Wrenn, who is from Anchorage, Alaska is a second round NHL draft selection of the San Jose Sharks.

From the release from DenverPioneers.com: "William has decided to leave our varsity hockey program and concentrate full-time on his hockey career," Gwozdecky said. "William feels he will have a better opportunity to play on a regular basis and contribute in a more important role at the junior hockey level. He was a good teammate and was well liked in our locker room. William will be missed by our program."

Reading into the comments from the "Let's Go DU" blog, it seems as if Wrenn wasn't satisfied with his role on the team. It sounds as if he wasn't getting much of an opportunity to play on special teams and when you've grown up your whole life being told by everyone how good you are and suddenly you're not playing big time minutes in big time spots, players get restless.

Giving up a free education to a school like Denver is a big life risk.

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Ryan McDonagh called up by New York Rangers

With the new year comes a new home for former Wisconsin defenseman Ryan McDonagh. A tweet from Rangers beat writer Larry Brooks indicates that McDonagh has been called up by the New York Rangers and will take the place of Michael Del Zotto who will be sent to the Rangers AHL affiliate.

McDonagh has spent the first half of this season with the Connecticut Whale of the AHL. Through 38 games, the stay at home defenseman has recorded one goal and seven assists and is a plus seven.

The Arden Hills, MN native decided to give up his final year of eligibility at Wisconsin to sign a pro contract with the Rangers this summer. McDonagh was a captain for Wisconsin last season and played an incredible amount of minutes helping lead the Badgers to the Frozen Four.

The 21 year old McDonagh has a cap hit of 1.3 million with the Rangers and he will make a pro rated portion of that salary in addition to his signing bonus and pro rated AHL salary. If McDonagh ends up finishing the season in New York I'm guessing he'll end up taking in somewhere around three quarter of a million dollars this season.

The Rangers are off for a few days and then will host Jamie McBain and the Carolina Hurricanes at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night. Although in his press conference today Rangers head coach John Tortorella said that McDonagh will not make his debut on Wednesday, instead opting to play former Hobey Baker winner Matt Gilroy. In fact, Tortorella mentioned that McDonagh might not play at all during his call up.

If McDonagh makes the blue shirts lineup, he will be the 19th former Badger to suit up for an NHL game this season.

chuckschwartz@live.com
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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.”

chuckschwartz@live.com
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