Badger Hockey 2010-2011

[Buckylovesbeer]

Craig Smith could be one of the best players in America if #1 - he could win a faceoff and #2 - He was not such a hothead. (see post above, he was mad and tried to knock the NoDak goal into a player behind it, drawing a penalty, which they scored on)

 

He will probably lead the team in scoring when its all said and done, and probably also lead in penalties by a lot.

[trwi7]

Wish the broadcast would've had technical difficulties before the Badgers started to totally suck.

[danzig6767]

The MDU goal in OT was ridiculous. There was a blatant blatant tripping by a Duluth player right in front of a ref who was staring directly at this trip and he just swallowed his whistle. The puck then goes right to a Duluth player who then passes to a teammate standing in front of Bennett for a game winning goal with about 10 seconds left in OT.

 

Then ref then goes and spends a few minutes reviewing the goal which had no reason to be reviewed, i think the guy was just looking for any possible reason to wave off the goal because he clearly knew that his not calling the blatant tripping penalty was the sole reason the Badgers were going to lose the game. Unbelievably terrible job by the ref.

 

In general, i avoid blaming refs in any sports for a loss compared to many other sports fans, but in that situation, the ref tonight was completely responsible for the Badgers loss. I understand that hockey refs try to avoid calling more ticky tack type of penalties in OT, but a ref still has to do his job or players will have no fear of getting called. For that ref to swallow his whistle as a Duluth player blatantly trips a Badger who has the puck in our zone which lead to a turnover and easy game winning goal was ridiculous and he should be suspended for a few games.

[NeedMoreFans]

Yeah, that non-call was completely bogus. There was no doubt about it our guy got tripped. WCHA refs over the past few seasons have been absolutely terrible. Wisconsin has been the victim of some terrible, terrible calls, and those blown calls (or non-calls) have directly led to losses, just like last night. No wonder why Wisconsin already has one foot out the conference door. We can't wait until the Big Ten conference starts just so we can escape the WCHA. It's a complete joke. That ref won't have anything done to him.

[trwi7]

To be fair the refs also missed a blatant trip early in overtime which would've given Duluth a power play, so who knows if they would've scored on that power play?

[brewcrewman17]

That officiating crew (I'm assuming it was the same crew both nights, but I could be wrong) was utterly hopeless. The referees seemed to make a conscious decision to not call actual real penalties and only call non-penalties. Every time they called a penalty - on either team - it was a bogus call, but when there was actually a penalty committed, nothing. But what really stood out to me was the horrible job done by the linesmen of all people. How can you blow multiple icing calls, a play when the puck clearly hits the netting behind the goal, and multiple offsides calls all in one weekend? Linesmen make calls that are very binary, so to mess something up that has almost no grey area... just horrible. Wisconsin got hosed this weekend by the officials, pure and simple. And I'm usually an official apologist; usually when people are complaining about the officials I'm thinking in my head, "Oh, come on, they're usually right, they do a pretty good job." But not this weekend, no. Just awful.

[Buckylovesbeer]

Agree with your comments guys. The officials on the ice this weekend looked lost, confused, and called (and did not call) some very terrible penalties.

 

That being said.....UMD is pretty good. i dont think they are nearly as good as NoDak or BU (Who have both beat us too) but I felt like in both games Bucky had a good shot to win. Eaves discussed in his postgame interviews how the Badgers "are right there" with the top teams in the nation. They are young, and need to find a way to get over the top.

 

Another big concern....Badgers are 0-25 (in getting a win) in the last 25 overtime games. The exact record is 0-8-17, and the last overtime win was in 2007. IF this young team is going to work that hard to get the tie, then they have got to find a way to get one in OT.

 

The goaltending struggled this weekend, with both giving up some goals that many of us thought they should have made the stop. Guess that happens. Offense looked good, esp on Friday night, where 5 goals should get you a win (and ice cream). Saturday, in the first period, Bucky missed on at least 3 great scoring chances. All-in-all, I cant be mad with the offensive production.

 

UMD's goalie needs to get over his bad blood for UW. Your a Bulldog, not a Badger. Stop with the stupid stick taunting after both games......

 

One final thought.....I found out why Craig Smith threw the net off its moorings at the NoDak player last weekend. Apparently, he has bad-blood with that defensemen from Junior hockey. The defensemen was chirping at him the entire weekend, and had completed a few upper body checks on Smith. The entire Badger team was steamed about it, including the coaching staff.

Right before the "net-chucking," Smith had a 2 on 2 break and had beaten said defensmen. The D-man slashed Smith across the back of the knees (no penalty was called, see the about posts) and it actually drew blood behind both of Smith's legs. Smith took a shot, weakened from the slash, that was saved. The Defensmen then skated behing the net, chirping more, asking "how your legs" with a few female dogs thrown in for good measure. Smith lost it and hit the net at him. He wanted to drop the gloves, but in the NCAA thats an automatic suspension. The players can taunt and challenge, but until there is an acutal fight, there is no penalty.

[nodakfan17]

I am wondering if their chant of "And the home of the Souix" at the end of the national anthem is offensive to anyone on here?

They have a racist mascot, so I'm not surprised.

UND alum weighing in here -

 

I can see why the "home of the Sioux" chant raises some eyebrows. I was surprised the first time that I heard it. The National Anthem should unite opposing teams, not further divide them. I visited the Kohl Center for the first time on November 13th. The people and the atmosphere were great. My only complaint - I could not enjoy a beer with the game. At UND, alcohol was not allowed in the student section, but it was still available for sale in the concourse. That policy was a shock to me because as an undergrad at UWGB, I only attended basketball games that were held in conjunction with $1 beer and hot dog nights. Am I correct in assuming that Kohl Center's no alcohol policy has something to do with the facility being located on the UW campus?

[owbc]

Of course, "Home of the Chiefs" is a tradition in KC in the NFL. I don't see a problem.

 

Also, I got word that the students are chanting "Rose Bowl rejects" at the MSU-UW hockey game tonight. Awesome.

[brewcrewman17]

Also, I got word that the students are chanting "Rose Bowl rejects" at the MSU-UW hockey game tonight. Awesome.

 

I'll confirm this. After being at the football game this afternoon, probably one of my favorite hockey cheers of all time... and I've been to a lot of games.

[thevaccinator27]

Am I correct in assuming that Kohl Center's no alcohol policy has something to do with the facility being located on the UW campus?

I know it's a Big Ten rule that no alcohol can be sold at Big Ten events on campus. Not sure if that applies directly to hockey as that isn't a Big Ten event.

[hawing]

There are rules governing the use/consumption of alcohol in campus buildings (here's the policy statement I found on a quick search). I know that academic departments have run into problems serving alcohol after, say, a guest lecture (not a class). The Kohl Center permits alcohol consumption in its suites (as must Camp Randall), but I'll bet there are permits involved for those spaces.

 

When UW hockey's home ice was at the Coliseum back in the day, there was a beer garden to which many people flocked during each intermission, but at the time (pre-luxury suites), I believe that was the only sanctioned alcohol venue for any athletic department event.

 

Rose Bowl Rejects...ehh, I remember the year that UW had a great record and was bumped down to a middlin' bowl, but that's still kind of funny.

[hawing]

Really? No posts here since November? Sigh.

 

I just had fun listening to Brian Posick's call of the Badgers' way-too-close 6-5 OT victory over the Golden Griffins of Canisius. The winning goal was scored at 4:52 of overtime and Brian's game-ending call was pretty epic. I don't know if audio highlights become available for UW hockey, but this was a good one and I'm glad I had the radio on.

[Invader3K]

Went to the game Friday night and enjoyed seeing the Badgers beat Canisius 3-0.

 

No beer at the venue does indeed suck and will limit my future outings to games there, though. Just being honest.

[tristarscoop]

Badgers women just beat defending national champions Minnesota-Duluth to advance to the Frozen Four. They'll be playing four-seed Boston College Friday in Erie, PA

[logan82]

It is extremely depressing how far the coverage of Badgers hockey has fallen in the last 3 years. I used to watch the Badgers almost every weekend. I now feel kind of lucky they even cover the hockey team. Overtime WCHA tournament hockey and it isn't even on tv. Sorry that my vocabulary is so limited that I can't post my true feelings without being banned.

[trwi7]

I agree it's very annoying. It's also very annoying that whenever we play Minnesota we get Minnesota announcers. Now, they're not as bad and homerish as they could be but you still know they're cheering for Minnesota.

[logan82]

Things fell off pretty badly since the BTN started. I am not sure that is the cause but I am not sure it is just coincidence either. Oh yeah, we lost tonight.

[danzig6767]

It is extremely depressing how far the coverage of Badgers hockey has fallen in the last 3 years. I used to watch the Badgers almost every weekend. I now feel kind of lucky they even cover the hockey team. Overtime WCHA tournament hockey and it isn't even on tv. Sorry that my vocabulary is so limited that I can't post my true feelings without being banned.

Yea, it sucks when some Friday or Saturday night's the Bucks are off and instead of FSN televising the Badgers hockey game, they'll have on some random garbage that really would be of no interest to sports fans here in Wisconsin.

[tristarscoop]

And it looks like crucial game 3 tonight isn't on in Milwaukee, though FSN will be showing poker, so that's good

[hawing]

And it looks like crucial game 3 tonight isn't on in Milwaukee, though FSN will be showing poker, so that's good

I don't even see it on Charter in Madison. Brian Posick on WIBA just said it's 0-0 entering the second period.

[trwi7]

Posick said a very sparse crowd, maybe 3,000. Their arena holds 7,750 for hockey.

[trwi7]

CRAIG SMITH! 4 on 3 power play goal. 1-0 Badgers.

[trwi7]

CC takes a 2-1 lead on their second power play goal in the 3rd period. A little less than 7 minutes left.

[trwi7]

Badgers lose, their season is over.