A few more Badger Men's notes

Hmmm, today Gandalf and I may have set a record for our blog in the most posts per day category. Nonetheless, I still have a few things that haven't yet made their way into a post, and so here they are now:

• Todd Milewski has a recruiting update, indicating that future Badgers Jefferson Dahl, Craig Smith, Derek Lee, Justin Schultz, and Matt Paape are all averaging over a point per game. Todd's blog post also has a link to his recruits stats report.


• Andy Baggot makes a case for the 1982-83 Badgers' National Championship Team being the most talented, most decorated team in Badger history. As you know, the 82-83 team is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its national title and will be recognized this weekend at the hockey and football games.


• Milewski has an interesting article on how the hockey (and other sports) teams have adjusted to try to stay within budget despite skyrocketing transportation costs.


• The transcript of Mike Eaves' Monday presser is finally available, for those of you who weren't inclined to watch the full video posted earlier.


• Badger blueliners Ryan McDonagh and Brendan Smith get mention in HF's 2008 system audits of the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens.
  

  Smith
  At the college level, both Smith and Rufenach will continue to pursue their development. Smith has been scouted as a potential top-four defenseman who has great skating ability and elite offensive skills.
  
  McDonagh
  Heading this heady list is 2007 first-round selection Ryan McDonagh. Combining solid size, an impressive shot, superlative skating abilities, and a two-way game that's mature for his age, McDonagh projects to a top-two blueliner in the not-too-distant future. In his rookie season, McDonagh totalled 12 points in 40 games with the University of Wisconsin. This year, in addition to taking on a greater leadership role, McDonagh is playing at a point-per-game pace in the first four games of the season. He is also expected to play a key role on Team USA at this year's World Junior Championships after being passed over last season.

  
  

Badger Women odds & ends

• Mark Johnson addressed the media today in his weekly press conference, talking about the upcoming series v. minnesota. He also had some nice things to say about Hilary Knight.


• Uwbadgers has a video interview with Meghan Duggan. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet, but you know I'll watch it soon, as she's one of my favs!


• The Badger Women hold the top spot in the USCHO and USA Today polls. I'll try to post the BTD poll after it comes out tomorrow.


• USA Hockey has a nice article about USA goaltender Chanda Gunn. Chanda played 1 season for the Badgers before leaving school due to poor control of her epilepsy. After her health care team got her epilepsy under control, she played 3 years for Northeastern, and now she is participating in the Blaine Residency. (Really too bad that Chanda was not able to return to the Badgers.)


• Mercyfan on the uscho fan forum has indicated that Breann Frykas has committed to the Badgers. I don't know much about her, but I'm sure she's a good one -- I'll try to get more info for you later.
  

Badger Men odds & ends

• Milewski has a nice article today about the Badgers' confidence.
  


• In the above article, Todd also mentions that the 1982-83 Title Team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of their national championship this weekend. The actual anniversary was over 6 months ago, but they're celebrating in conjunction with Homecoming, and team members will be introduced during the Friday night hockey game and the Saturday football game. I hope John Johannson is there.
  

• Mike Eaves had his weekly press conference today. The transcript isn't up yet, but you can find the video here. It's pretty interesting. Eaves backs off from his previous statement that the team isn't very good right now and points out things the team did well, including blocking 22 shots on Friday and 19 on Saturday. He also indicates that the team is excited for this weekend.


• DPlaya has some thoughts about the Badgers' 1st four games. Pointing out that the freshmen have played relatively well and the veterans have struggled, DPlaya argues against Mike Eaves' claim of youth as a reason for the 0-4 start. I'm with DPlaya on this one. To be honest, I was surprised that Eaves pointed to youth, especially given his praise of the freshmen after the BC/UNH games, indicating that they played well and were as good as anybody on the ice. And let's not forget that McBain/McDonagh were called out by Oz for playing poorly @ BC/UNH, and McBain was benched at the end of the 1st period on Saturday @ Denver for his poor play. (I'm not trying to pick on McB/McD, as McD was much better this weekend and I think McB got the message on Sat. I'm just trying to make a point regarding Eaves' assertion that youth was part of the reason for the 0-4 start.)
  


• The Badger Men have fallen out of the USCHO poll (nope, Todd didn't vote for them) and remain out of the USA Today poll. They also didn't make the INCH Power Rankings.