Badger Hockey

[brewcrewman17]

Last night's game was one of the best I've ever seen the Badgers play. And I'd like to think I had a pretty good vantage point... first row of the student section. The 6th goal was absolutely beautiful, it was a perfect set up on a really good pass. I have zero complaints about last nights game. So much better than the game I saw against CC.

[Jimbo]

Great game, great seats. Top row, 100 level, center red line from an ex-co-worker.

 

And yes, we enjoyed the free scoop.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Friday was great, Saturday was even better!

 

My seats are 3rd row behind center ice, bench side, on Friday nights. Great seats, horrible smell. (From the players gloves, which is pretty funny to see new fans who have never smelled rotten hockey gloves before!) I was offered tickets for Saturday, which were in section 201. I have an interesting discovery to share from 201.

 

Last season, season ticket holders were invited to a dinner reception with the players and a few guest speakers. Each table had its own player assigned to it. Our table had Podge Turnbull. He is a very cool guy. For whatever reason, they did not repeat this dinner this season.

 

Skip ahead to Saturday night. Section 201 is above where the home goalie defends in the first period. I noticed that Podge Turnbull was not in uniform, and in fact, was sitting in Section 201. Apparently, players not in uniform sit in 201 for home games. I always thought they would be in better seats than that, but then again, they were not bad. And I noticed that the players were taking notes during the game, but I didnt go to see on what.

 

I thought that was kind of interesting.

 

Hopefully the both teams can keep the momentum going next weekend, especially since the stinking golden rodents visit Madison next weekend!

[trwi7]

Seems if they're taking notes they have to do scouting of some kind which means those seats actually make sense. You can get a view of the whole rink and more of a bird's eye view that you wouldn't get in the 100 section and you wouldn't be way up in the nosebleed 300 section either and they put them on one end so they get the view of the whole rink instead of having to turn their heads to see some trailing behind the puck or a penalty that occured off the puck or something.

[PaulRigdon]

If Bucky doesnt sweep the Gophers I will be shocked. MN looks just terrible this year...

[NeedMoreFans]

Great game again last night, though I thought Minnesota was a bit more physical in the 3rd period. I have been amazed at how few shots on goal the Badgers are giving up over the past couple of weeks. Minnesota was held to less than 20 (including 5 in the 3rd period). This team has really looked good for a few games in a row now, and I'm hoping it continues.

[trwi7]

Saw the very end of the game on FS North. Man those Minnesota announcers are incredible homers. Recorded the whole game on MPTV, have yet to watch it.

 

Really wish the Badgers would still be on FS Wisconsin.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Saturday game was not good. Tons of great shots, tons of stops by Kangas. Several open net shots missed. Eaves said after the game that he knew his team would be having nightmares of all the quality shots they flat out missed. Uggh. Bennett gave up two "bad" goals, two he had very little chance of stopping. Then an empty netter. Very disappointing after a great Friday game.

 

Incredible goal in the middle of the third period by Ryan Mc-D ( Cant spell the last name, #17 ) if you have not seen the game. Hits a rebound out of mid air into the net for the Badgers second goal. Very cool indeed!

 

UW gives up a lot of odd man rushes this year.... (2 on 1's, 3 on 1's) and most teams now break out on our very aggressive and offensive- minded defensemen. Eaves needs to address this, as it has really hurt us this season. Minnesota looked to break out at every chance on Saturday.

 

But we fans should still be confident. It is a good team and they will improve. Having an average of 45+ shots a game is a good sign.....the big goal games will come. Bennett and Goody will also improve.

 

Go Bucky

[trwi7]

Watched parts of the game, but it was borderline unwatchable with the Goofer announcers, so I had it on mute. I think the first goal given up by Bennett was about as weak as it gets. When a guy is coming in on that angle and you have a defender back to seal off the backside, you can take a sharp angle to stop the guy with the puck. He didn't do that, stayed back and gave up what should have been an easy save.

 

Didn't see their second goal, I believe the third goal was a screen job that he had little chance of stopping and I don't remember the fourth goal either.

[danzig6767]

Eaves has recruited a lot of talent over his time, especially defenseman, but except for the year of winning it all, i think overall to often his teams have underachieved.

[NeedMoreFans]

He gets great talent...the problem is they all have been drafted by NHL teams by the time they get here, and all leave early. This is one of his most experienced teams he's ever had, the other being the national championship team. I agree, though, they always seem to underachieve, and I'm hoping they don' this year.

[tristarscoop]

Distinctly noticed the lack of the dump and follow on Saturday, however, we didn't seem to have the legs to keep it up. The guys all looked gassed by about 6 minutes left in each period.

[trwi7]

Badgers have looked fantastic so far tonight. Granted, they're playing UAA, but I've never seen them attack this much on offense. They just had a 2 on 1 break down two men and after the 5 on 3 expired they got another wide open break on a beautiful pass by Grotting I believe.

 

And as I type this the Badgers get another goal to make it 3-0.

[Buckylovesbeer]

5-1 Bucky Wins!

 

It was a great game. Bennett scored UAA's goal by kicking it in on himself. I have to agree, we completely dominated this game. It is kind of fun to see a 60 min. game with 63 mins. of penalties. Very scrappy game, lots of hits, cheap shots, but fun to watch.

 

If they play like that, they are a very good team. Can we do it 2 nights in a row, and a better question, can they do this against a good team?

[NeedMoreFans]

That was a beat down last night. We played half the night in the offensive zone...maybe more than half. Lots of penalties, however, something that wasn't good to see. UAA lost their composure, so they were chippy and fighty, and UW got tangled up in all of that. This team has the potential to be special...I hope they don't blow it.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Saturday nite update....win 6-2.....Once again, domination. They sure look good when the team plays together.

 

Very tough matchup against St. Cloud next weekend. Go Bucky!

[Buckylovesbeer]

Just an update -

 

For those of you that are Hockey fans......I am a friday night season ticket holder. I have yet to miss a saturday night game as well. So far, the Kohl Center has not sold out for games. It is a lot of fun to hit up a local bar for a few, then walk down and get a ticket for the Saturday game. And if you have never been to one, they are very fun. If your worried about traffic, park at Luckys or the Stadium bar and ride the bus for free. That is a good time too.

 

 

I also wanted to pose a question for the fans out there - Have any of you travelled to the away games in the WCHA and if so, do you care to share your experiances? NeedMoreFans, myself, and a few others are looking to travel at some point this season, and are wondering what place would be a great time for us...Minnesota would be fun, but I am curious to know if anyone has tried any of the smaller arenas in the WCHA.

 

Go Bucky

[stoutdude04]

I have been to Minnesota, St. Cloud, and Northern Michigan(not WCHA obviously). All have been fun. The smaller ones are neat because you really feel like the seats are rocking when the home crowd gets going. I should also mention, I have never seen the badgers play at those arenas.

[berniebrewer4life]

Just an update -

 

For those of you that are Hockey fans......I am a friday night season ticket holder. I have yet to miss a saturday night game as well. So far, the Kohl Center has not sold out for games. It is a lot of fun to hit up a local bar for a few, then walk down and get a ticket for the Saturday game. And if you have never been to one, they are very fun. If your worried about traffic, park at Luckys or the Stadium bar and ride the bus for free. That is a good time too.

Just got tickets for my first badger hockey game, UW vs Michigan Tech on December 5th. I can't wait. Quick question, i usually park around the capitol loop, will that be easy parking, or am i better off looking elsewhere.

[hawing]

The availability of parking near the square might depend on what else is going on in downtown Madison that night. At the Overture Center is the big holiday concert for the Madison Symphony Orchestra (link to events calendar).

Because we have bus passes we hardly ever park downtown, so I don't feel like an expert, but Buckylovesbeer's suggestion to park in the stadium area and take one of the aforementioned shuttle buses sounds not all bad.

[NeedMoreFans]

Parking normally isn't that bad before a game. We normally park in the Lake/Frances St. ramp...$4 pay-upon-entry. We also have sought out free street parking within a few blocks of the Kohl Center, and normally have luck (and have only a 10 minute walk). The earlier, the better, obviously, no matter where you park.

[thevaccinator27]

I've been to Mankato a couple times and a Border Battle at the Target Center back in the day.

 

Mankato was a decent stadium. A little smaller than the Dane County Colliseum. Can't beat how nice the scalpers are down there. I bought 2 $20 tickets that came with 4 free beer vouchers for $40. The game was completely sold out.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Tough loss tonight, 11/20 - 4 to 1.

 

Badgers were not on TV, however the radio guys made it sound like they missed several attempts at open shots and open nets. Once again, the Badgers dominate the stat sheet but do not convert.

 

They gave up two goals in the last minute (one empty net), so the game was much closer than the score.

 

Gotta get two points tomorrow night!

[danzig6767]

Tough loss tonight, 11/20 - 4 to 1.

 

Badgers were not on TV, however the radio guys made it sound like they missed several attempts at open shots and open nets. Once again, the Badgers dominate the stat sheet but do not convert.

 

They gave up two goals in the last minute (one empty net), so the game was much closer than the score.

 

Gotta get two points tomorrow night!

I don't know what's up with the Badgers under Eaves. He recruits well, but the team outside of winning it all has seemed to struggle consistently playing up to their talent levels.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Badgers bounce back and win 4-1. Good game all around. Killed off a 5 minute major penalty without damage.....thats the way this team can play. They do tend to let us down at times, because of the huge amount of talent on the roster. But when they play well, its fun to watch.

 

An interesting side note, charter in madison carried the st. cloud student broadcast on channel 83 tonight. Very cheesy between periods, but with the radio on and the tv muted, it was nice to watch the game.