Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Something about playing at Ridder...

You mean the Kohl Center Northwest!



Good to see Giles step up today and score 2 crucial goals.

McCready made some really good saves to keep it close as well.

Ammerman was the real leader for the badgers however and Player of the Game for her play both ways. Her and Prevy really made the difference down the stretch and without them this game could have ended alot different.

Despite the win it was a really sloppy game by both teams. For this juncture of the season there were wayy to many turnovers and odd man rushes surrendered. Both Tracey and Frosty have some work to do in Practice or risk Home Ice embarrassment next weekend...

Good video today by USCHO however I had to mute the audio as they quality was really poor for some reason.

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Penalties at bad times killed the game today. Up 2-1 in the third and we lose 3-2....

Badgers finish forth in the league for the first time in team history..

[WeWantMore]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Any reason we're playing the playoffs out at Eagle's Nest?

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Any reason we're playing the playoffs out at Eagle's Nest?

HS Wrestling at the Kohl Center.

Also if we somehow wind up hosting an NCAA Regional (I cant imagine how we could) it would be at Eagles Nest as well with the WIAA Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center that weekend...

Its sad that the girls get bumped for HS Tournaments but with the revenue they bring into the city vs. what the girls would bring in it makes more sense...

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Some, or a lot, of blame has to fall on the coaching staff.

Last week Snickers made a since-deleted post that spoke of your coaches in even more harsh terms. Others point fingers in different directions. Badger fans have to ask is the finger-pointing fair, or should any objective individual have expected many of the struggles that you've experienced.

What is the difference between winning and losing in the WCHA or all of D-I this season? Usually, not much. Minnesota entered February with only 3 losses, then dropped 4 out of 5 games with a tie in the middle. One can say that's because they were missing their #1 goalie, but we still had proven goalies available. By comparison, the Badgers started this season depending on a rookie and a goalie with 4 games of experience. For those used to watching Jessie Vetter, to expect anything close to the same performance is as unrealistic as expecting an interim, first-time head coach to keep the train rolling down the track just as Mark Johnson would.

Compounding your problems, the Badgers top 4 D yesterday were a sophomore, two frosh, and a third frosh who had missed almost half your games. It is obvious that there is a lot of talent there, but young D tend to make more mistakes no matter who is coaching them.

The strength of your team is up front. There is enough talent there to win, particularly in an Olympic year, but it isn't in the same realm as you had a year ago. Looking at the stats, I suspect there are a few people who don't bring quite the same level of effort every game that they display against the Gophers. But that too is common -- it is a rare player who can find their "A" game each weekend.

As for your coaches, I am not wise enough when it comes to the game of hockey to be much of a judge. But I can see that your team has improved a ton. When I saw you in October, I wasn't impressed -- not even a little. I thought those results were more about Minnesota's deficiencies than Badger strengths. This weekend, your team took away time and space against us better than anyone I've seen (I didn't see Harvard.) In terms of the play of the skaters, I thought that the Badgers were more dangerous this month than were the Bulldogs. The difference was that UMD got a better weekend in net and has more experience on the blue line.

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Not a bad weekend. As much as I would have loved to have seen a weekend sweep of the Gophers, Im OK with the Badgers splitting the weekend.
2 points is better than none, especially against a team as good as the Gophers.

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

As I sit here in Vancouver I was intrigued to see Interim Head Coach Tracey DeKeyser and First year assistant Jackie Friesen were here at the Olympics as opposed to being in Madison getting ready for a sure to be battle with Ohio State. It seems that instead of going back to Madison on Saturday night they stayed in Minneapolis and flew here to catch the Olympic semifinals. Peter Johnson will be running practices solo until the pair return on Wednesday.

[playthegameonthepond]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

That may be the best thing for the team, for Peter to really coach.

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

As I sit here in Vancouver I was intrigued to see Interim Head Coach Tracey DeKeyser and First year assistant Jackie Friesen were here at the Olympics as opposed to being in Madison getting ready for a sure to be battle with Ohio State. It seems that instead of going back to Madison on Saturday night they stayed in Minneapolis and flew here to catch the Olympic semifinals. Peter Johnson will be running practices solo until the pair return on Wednesday.

Wow, that is BS. Especially considering they need to prepare to face a quality team like Ohio State.
Sounds like its time to find some new coaching for the womens' team.
Id love to be in Vancouver too, but if it were me; getting the team ready for this week's games would come first.

[diddlypoo]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Wow, that is BS.

My sentiments exactly. It will be tough to make the NCAA tournament, but COME ON!

[Trillium]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Compounding your problems, the Badgers top 4 D yesterday were a sophomore, two frosh, and a third frosh who had missed almost half your games. It is obvious that there is a lot of talent there, but young D tend to make more mistakes no matter who is coaching them.
.

As usual, I agree with most of the points ARM makes. But I do find it interesting that a few teams including Wisconsin and Dartmouth among others which have not performed to pre-season hype, point a key finger of blame at a youthful blueline to explain the drop.

I have not watched Wisconsin play yet this season, so I can't comment specifically on reasons for their record. There is no doubt younger players at any position may be more likely to make mistakes. However, it is interesting to note that Cornell has made dramatic gains this season despite having all of it defense comprised of frosh and sophs--with it's two key D's being freshmen. Further, there was no new injection of talent at either forward or goal at Cornell to compensate.

While Cornell's 2 freshmen D were arguably the tops available in this year's recruiting class, it is still remarkable that they could ultimately lead the surge from 8th to 1st in one year--despite the loss of the team's top player in Johnston to the Olympics no less.

There are numerous other freshmen D at various schools performing very well also and showing remarkable poise and confidence too...so I think there would have to be more important factors other than relative inexperience at the D position which would need to be looked at to explain any slide.

[dave1381]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

There are numerous other freshmen D at various schools performing very well also and showing remarkable poise and confidence too...so I think there would have to be more important factors other than relative inexperience at the D position which would need to be looked at to explain any slide.

I find the argument that Wisconsin and Dartmouth's struggles were to due in large part to young D and goaltending to be more convincing than any other. If there are more important factors, what are they, and what's the evidence? While I agree it's not the only factor, I don't think there's anything wrong with singling it out as the most important.

I don't think the fact that there are some good freshmen D across the country is a good argument that youth is not the most important factor in these teams' decline. Yes, as you say, Cornell got the best freshmen D and turned out pretty well. Ideally you want young D mixed with veteran D, and that's probably true in a lot of places where young D have been successful, and not so true in Dartmouth and Wisconsin.

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-ho...022410aaj.html

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin enters the second season with the first round of the WCHA Playoffs after earning a series split against second-ranked Minnesota. Wisconsin finished the regular season with a fourth place finish in the WCHA, earning home ice for the first round against No. 5 seed Ohio State. The opening round is a best-of-three series from Feb. 26-27 and Feb. 28 if necessary. The matchup is a rematch of last year’s WCHA playoffs where Wisconsin advanced in two, with a 7-0 and 4-1 victory.

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-ho...022510aah.html

It was Team Canada who pulled off the 2-0 victory to claim the gold medal, but Wisconsin fans can be proud regardless.
Seven Badgers earned an Olympic medal for the first time, with only two former Badgers repeating as Olympians. Carla MacLeod is now a two-time gold medalist while Molly Engstrom can add a silver medal with her bronze from 2006.

While its great to see so many Badgers and former Badgers take home medals, I definetly dont share the offers view of it being OK that team USA didnt take home gold.

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season

Badgers enjoy friendly rivalry and cheer on teammates in 2010 Olympics


"I'm actually excited, when they (former and current teammates) get the puck I'm excited and want them to do well," said Sarnia, Ontario native, Carolyne Prevost. "I'm Canadian, so I'm going for Canada but every time they touch the puck I'm cheering for them and I want something good to happen..."

Video

Although Team Canada won, seven current and former Badgers earned an Olympic medal for the first time, with two former Badgers repeating as Olympians.