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View Full Version : So you wanted a Bedger Rant......


monstersfan
02-11-2006, 11:31 PM
The Badgers split with the Gophers. Two very different games.

Friday night I got there a little late, but even on the monitors in the hallways you could see the Badgers were having trouble passing. They seemed a step slow, but that could have been that the Gophers could keep up with them- sort of.

Minnesota has a spectacular goalie in Kim Hanlon. If she's only a freshman, there's some long years ahead for opponent scoring. She doesn't give up rebounds. Ever. It could be she had a great Friday night, but I suspect she's just that good.

Minnesota put the puck in three times.I sit behind the opponents goalie usually, so I don't see much of what goes on in the Badger's end. It looked like the two of the goals came on transitions where Minnesota got in behind Badger defenders.

The Badger struggled on offense. They couldn't get breakaways, usually because the Gopher defenders were obstructing, holding, hooking, and anything else they could get away with.

Rant mode on.

This weekend's zebra crew has consistantly been poor for years. They don't call a lot of stuff because they're poorly positioned, and when they are positioned, they call some stuff that probably shouldn't be called. They're consistantly inconsistant, and I suspect they got yelled at some by someone after Friday's game. There was also what looked like a goal - the puck was on the ice, looked like some of it crosse the ice when it hit the pipe and came off-very high angle shot, but the goal judge (who wasn't one of the regulars) didn't see it.

The one goal against Hanlon came on a Badger power play near the end of the game, when the Badgers also yanked a goalie. The Badgers did manage to get one in the net with two extra attackers to make at least close, but the Gophers put another one in immediately after to cruch any hope.

Saturday night, the zebra crew started calling some obstructions and interferences against Minnesota, and the results ended up being far different. A Badger goal was dissallowed- the puck went in, but it was waved off. No idea what happened, other than play may have been whistled dead and no one heard the whistle- which was a problem on at least one other occaision. I think they better start giving these guys inhalers or something.

Other than that, the Badgers started Jesse Vetter, much to my surprise. Jesse's still rated as a Freshman. The Badgers now have three goalies with win percentages above .800. So you start your third string goalie against the 5th ranked team in the nation. No one ever said Johnson didn't ahve guts.

The Badgers played well Saturday night and got the job done. Chartier didn't play badly, but did allow some rebounds (nothing she could have done about the third goal) and I definitly thing Hanlon is playing a level above. The Minnesota defenders were held to some more proper behavios, and clearly the Badgers had more energy tonight.

And the capper- tonight was Mark Johnson's 100th win. They had a short ceremony under the banner with the quote from his dad.

ARM
02-12-2006, 12:52 PM
Saturday night, the zebra crew started calling some obstructions and interferences against Minnesota, and the results ended up being far different.I think that there are always going to be calls that we'd like to see our team get. On Wisconsin's PP goal last night, Sharon Cole skated away from the puck and her attacking zone to pick off the Gopher forechecker and allow her team to gain the zone. A big non-call, because if the proper inteference call had been made, then the Badgers lose their advantage who knows when the critical first goal is scored.

A Badger goal was dissallowed- the puck went in, but it was waved off. No idea what happened, other than play may have been whistled dead and no one heard the whistle - which was a problem on at least one other occaision. I think they better start giving these guys inhalers or something.You could hear the whistle before the shot where I was sitting, quite clearly on the one where the Badgers knocked it in after the play was dead. The other case you mentioned, when Lawler spent at least another 5 seconds trying to get to the puck that Chartier was sitting atop, was quite funny. I agree -- the first whistle was very feeble on that play, and you could tell a laughing Lawler was telling her teammates that she couldn't hear it as she went to the bench.

Other than that, the Badgers started Jesse Vetter, much to my surprise. Jesse's still rated as a Freshman. The Badgers now have three goalies with win percentages above .800. So you start your third string goalie against the 5th ranked team in the nation. No one ever said Johnson didn't ahve guts.I got the sense that the Badgers are still looking for that one goalie to stand up and take charge of the position. Vetter wasn't tested much, but she did allow some rebounds on innocent-looking shots that the Gophers couldn't reach. From the little I've seen of your three goalies, Horras would still be the #1, although she didn't have a particularly strong game on Friday.

The Badgers played well Saturday night and got the job done.I think anyone who saw this weekend's action would agree that Wisconsin is the better team right now. I was happy to see the Gophers battle to the end last night.

ARM
02-12-2006, 03:59 PM
And congratulations to the Badgers on the WCHA championship, the first crown for a team that has been just around the corner for some time.