Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

One other thing, on Sunday, when a penalty ended, the PA guy was saying "Wisconsin (or Ohio State) at full strength" instead of "both teams at full strength" during the first 2 periods, which drove me nuts. Why would he suddenly change how it's been done forever? In the 3rd he reverted back to the way it's supposed to be. And they did not play the cool historical montage video that gave me chills. Very disappointing.

ARD's pads......I kept expecting to see her wearing the old Jason/Griswold style face shaped mask with those pads. I'm kinda of surprised I don't like them as much as I don't like them. I guess I'm used to the perfectly blended uni's.

[rangersrule]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I could care less what the PA guy says or what color ARD's goalie pads are! This is a special goalie and before her time is done at Wisconsin I think she will be considered at the same level as Vetter and Rigsby. My wife and I made the trip down to Madison this past weekend and attended both games against Ohio State. I for one was VERY impressed! This team is very deep and is a match up nightmare for any opponent. They have 3 forward lines that can all score and they have 2 very potent power play units. I was extremely pleased with the Freshman and the roles they serve on this team. We were able to see both Pankowski and Wellhausen score their first collegiate goals on Friday night. And Clarke was all over the ice in both games. Williams play was very steady on defense and it was great to see Rolfes finally in the line up. All 5 of them (frosh) are having an impact and a hand in the success of this team. The leadership from Turnbull, Ammerman, Sylvester, and the rest of the upperclassmen is visible. This team just has that "look". This weekend will be a tough test vs. the Gophers. And though each team wants to win, everyone remember that this season is a marathon not a sprint! Either way this series goes, both these teams will be there late March! As for me, I think this Badger team may be something special!!

One other thing, on Sunday, when a penalty ended, the PA guy was saying "Wisconsin (or Ohio State) at full strength" instead of "both teams at full strength" during the first 2 periods, which drove me nuts. Why would he suddenly change how it's been done forever? In the 3rd he reverted back to the way it's supposed to be. And they did not play the cool historical montage video that gave me chills. Very disappointing.

ARD's pads......I kept expecting to see her wearing the old Jason/Griswold style face shaped mask with those pads. I'm kinda of surprised I don't like them as much as I don't like them. I guess I'm used to the perfectly blended uni's.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I could care less what the PA guy says

So you aren't obsessed with saying the phrase "that's debatable!" every chance you get? That's ok, I know I'm a little kooky, but for me it detracted from the entertainment value. Not that I need a reason to scream/cheer, but others need to get involved and that is one way to do that.

I'm holding out calling this team special til we see how they play against the rodents this weekend. Unfortunately, they are the gold standard in my mind. The winning streak they have over UW has to end Friday and be replaced with a 2 game winning streak for UW. They are clearly more talented than the last 2 teams.

[rangersrule]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I agree that Minnesota will be a tough test.. That is why I am not putting everything on the line over this weekend. I don't know what it is ... I just think the Badgers have a great mix of players that will continue to do it all year. I think the Freshman will continue to get better as they adjust even more to the speed at this level. And I really like the leadership of the team. We will see! It should be fun this weekend!

So you aren't obsessed with saying the phrase "that's debatable!" every chance you get? That's ok, I know I'm a little kooky, but for me it detracted from the entertainment value. Not that I need a reason to scream/cheer, but others need to get involved and that is one way to do that.

I'm holding out calling this team special til we see how they play against the rodents this weekend. Unfortunately, they are the gold standard in my mind. The winning streak they have over UW has to end Friday and be replaced with a 2 game winning streak for UW. They are clearly more talented than the last 2 teams.

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I hope we get a good draw when it comes to the WCHA referees.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I hope we get a good draw when it comes to the WCHA referees.

That's funny, I don't recall seeing any good refs from the WCHA, but I'm sure they exist, kinda like a Sasquatch. The dudes from this last weekend weren't as bad a Langley and Wrazidlo, but they were not consistent either. It still looked random as to what they called and didn't call. If they call the games like they did the 3rd period Friday, the games themselves will be rather meaningless, no matter the outcome.

[D2D]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

If they call the games like they did the 3rd period Friday, the games themselves will be rather meaningless, no matter the outcome.

I think I know what you're trying to say, but just for the record how good (or bad) the officiating is, the result of each game will still go into the record books according to what the scoreboard says when time has expired. We all want fair and impartial officiating and do not want the result of any game to be decided by poor officiating. But in those rare instances when it is poor the game itself does not become meaningless. In fact when you're on the losing end of it the official result hurts even more, i.e. the old saying "we was robbed!" is actually a true statement.

[ARM]

I hope we get a good draw when it comes to the WCHA referees.

Langley (although the box score calls her Morrison now) and Gibbs have worked the Minnesota games each of the last two weekends, so I think we can rule them out. So far, I haven't noticed Wrazidlo or either of the Licks working WCHA games, and there are some new people serving as referees. Who are you hoping to see?

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I think I know what you're trying to say, but just for the record how good (or bad) the officiating is, the result of each game will still go into the record books according to what the scoreboard says when time has expired. We all want fair and impartial officiating and do not want the result of any game to be decided by poor officiating. But in those rare instances when it is poor the game itself does not become meaningless. In fact when you're on the losing end of it the official result hurts even more, i.e. the old saying "we was robbed!" is actually a true statement.

I simply don't want the games end up having 8 pp's for each team each game based on clueless and random penalty calls. I'm really exited to see a lot of 5 on 5 horse race hockey between these 2 teams, lots of creativity and speed out there.

[NMH]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I also have the feeling that this team could be something special - with the caveat that it's early and it's mostly just a feeling at this point. I'm looking at potential.
I don't only use Minnesota as the guidepost - the rivalry is too volatile and frankly would be a great series regardless of how up or down either or us were, so to me it's not a good overall measure of the team.

One of the reasons last year's team was so successful is because they had great chemistry - in the scheme of things they won't be remembered for being particularly good, but they played together very well.
This year they didn't lose many players and they added in a highly skilled freshman class who has their own great chemistry. A lot of last year's team got a lot of seasoning at various Nat'l Team camps. Put that all together and you're talking about an upgrade to a team that reached the national semi-final. It's hard not to get excited about the things they could do.

Also - ARD's pads are spectacular. They're classic and unfussy, which is a bit like her. She has a nonchalance to her that is slightly disconcerting - the puck off the boards on Sunday had me yanking my hair, but I think I'd rather her be unruffled than high strung. Coach mentioned her needing to work on that stuff in his post-game comments, so it's not like he's ok with some of the casualness and I imagine we'll see more discipline.

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

Langley (although the box score calls her Morrison now) and Gibbs have worked the Minnesota games each of the last two weekends, so I think we can rule them out. So far, I haven't noticed Wrazidlo or either of the Licks working WCHA games, and there are some new people serving as referees. Who are you hoping to see?

I simply don't want the games end up having 8 pp's for each team each game based on clueless and random penalty calls. I'm really exited to see a lot of 5 on 5 horse race hockey between these 2 teams, lots of creativity and speed out there.

The Langley/Wrazidlo pair was the worst last year. Imagine a referee at an end-zone faceoff dot. This referee is facing 2 players, one from each team. The puck is at their feet as they are in the corner. There is nobody obstructing the referee's view of these two players. One player then violently smashes her opponent's head into the boards. That referee is unable to raise an arm. I especially remember that play, stuff like that happened all game long for a few series last year. Those were the kinds of games where we'd complain when Badgers weren't called for obvious penalties. (Not loudly, of course.)

Whether it's terribly one-sided, or if they let everything go from both sides, it makes it much harder to watch. I've seen some good officiating in this league, so I know it's possible!

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

Was kind of hoping that Minnesota would come in #1 to ratchet up the hype even more, but for league standings purposes it was for the best to get a couple of points up on the Gophers.

While the Badgers are 6-0, the band is 0-2 so far in not showing up. Hopefully, there are pressures from both inside and outside the athletic department to get the band to at least one of the games this weekend. I went over to watch the start of the Wisconsin volleyball match on Sunday (before heading to LaBahn for the second/third periods) and the environment is significantly better with the band playing.

Simply put, the long losing streak to Minnesota must end this weekend by any means necessary. Only the seniors have had any success against them and that was in the fall of 2011. From what I saw over the weekend, they seem to have the talent and work ethic to get it done.

[WiscDC]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

Was kind of hoping that Minnesota would come in #1 to ratchet up the hype even more, but for league standings purposes it was for the best to get a couple of points up on the Gophers.

While the Badgers are 6-0, the band is 0-2 so far in not showing up. Hopefully, there are pressures from both inside and outside the athletic department to get the band to at least one of the games this weekend. I went over to watch the start of the Wisconsin volleyball match on Sunday (before heading to LaBahn for the second/third periods) and the environment is significantly better with the band playing.

Simply put, the long losing streak to Minnesota must end this weekend by any means necessary. Only the seniors have had any success against them and that was in the fall of 2011. From what I saw over the weekend, they seem to have the talent and work ethic to get it done.

There are students in the band putting some pressure on their higher-ups to make it happen. They're not scheduled for any regular season women's games as it stands now, so don't get your hopes up.

As for your first point...I feel like Wisconsin being #1 ratchets up the hype the most, but I've learned in my time here that I'm weird for going to sporting events to cheer for the Badgers, while most other people flip their **** at the opposing team's ranking/record.

I hope we don't get a repeat of the Friday game 2 seasons ago. That was a disgrace, and its contribution to the streak made it worse.

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

There are students in the band putting some pressure on their higher-ups to make it happen. They're not scheduled for any regular season women's games as it stands now, so don't get your hopes up.

As for your first point...I feel like Wisconsin being #1 ratchets up the hype the most, but I've learned in my time here that I'm weird for going to sporting events to cheer for the Badgers, while most other people flip their **** at the opposing team's ranking/record.

I hope we don't get a repeat of the Friday game 2 seasons ago. That was a disgrace, and its contribution to the streak made it worse.

I sent another email in pleading for the band to show up for any UW women's game. I was ignored all summer....

What happened at the Friday game 2 years ago? That was prior to me getting to a lot of these games.

[D2D]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2014-2015

I sent another email in pleading for the band to show up for any UW women's game. I was ignored all summer....

Maybe our band should make the trip down to liven the place up a little!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIWSkM5UHhM