Badgers take Game one from UAA 5-1

Once again, a goal in the first 30 seconds set the tone for the Badgers in a home series opener. Freshman Craig Smith opened the scoring 14 seconds into the game, sending the Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves a quick message that they were outmatched. The rest of the Badgers proved it to them the rest of the way in a dominating 5-1 victory.

Brett Bennett played much better in goal tonight than he did in last Saturday's game against Minnesota, giving up only one goal on 20 shots. The offense converted their chances early, taking a 3-0 lead into the locker room after the first period. After Michael Davies tallied his second goal of the season 12 minutes into the second, pandemonium soon broke out in front of the Badger goal. After covering a loose puck, Bennett started jawing with a nearby Seawolf player, and promptly punched him in the face, setting off a 5-minute brawl that ended with Brendan Smith tangled up and trading punches with an enemy--possibly Daniel Naslund. More skirmishes continued through the rest of the game, and practically the entire third period was played with a player from each team in the penalty box.

Other quick things worth mentioning include Aaron Bendickson's two-goal game (including one shorthanded tally), and 11 different Badgers recording points.

The Badgers look for the sweep tomorrow night at 7. Given last week's performance, I wouldn't be surprised to see Eaves go back to Scott Gudmandson in the goalie rotation again tomorrow, but Bennett played a very good game (despite taking a penalty for roughing for his punch). I'm not sure which route Eaves will take, but I won't be surprised by any decision unless Mitch Thompson plays.

Tex Gets Published!

I wrote an article for Winging It In Motown, a Detroit Red Wings blog, about Brendan Smith yesterday. Smith was the first pick of the Red Wings in 2007 (27th overall). Check out the blog at www.wingitinmotown.com.

Split with the Gophers

Mike Eaves decided to play one goaltender in both games of a series for the first time this year this weekend, and the move will be widely criticized because of the results. After a solid 4-2 win on Friday, Brett Bennett got the start again on Saturday and looked like a completely different netminder, giving up easy goals en route to a 5-2 Gopher victory. I would argue, however, that the Badgers as a team played much better than a 5-2 score would indicate.

Friday's game saw a terrific effort by the Badgers on both ends of the ice as the Badger captains rediscovered their scoring touch. Blake Geoffrion's two goals provided a spark, and Ben Street's great goal on a two-on-one rush with two minutes left turned a 3-2 lead to a 4-2 margin, putting the game out of reach. Geoffrion's first goal came less than 30 seconds in on a point shot from Ryan McDonagh, which deflected off the Boomer's skate and straight through Alex Kangas' five-hole. The only real glaring mistake in the game was a misplay by John Ramage on the Gophers' second goal. Once again, faced with an odd-man rush, Ramage got out of position and committed to the shooter instead of covering up the pass, leading to a one-time shot and goal. He needs to figure out his responsibilities on these plays if he is to continue as the 6th defenseman. Then again, maybe it's his partner on defense (Brendan Smith) who's leaving him out to dry.

Bennett looked rough on Saturday, though. Minnesota got on the board early in that game on a simple wrist shot by Tony Lucia that beat Bennett high. The Badger offense was challenging Kangas all night, but couldn't find the back of the net until the third period, when Bennett had already let in three goals. The third goal was particularly glaring, as Bennett was caught way out of position and Patrick White had a wide-open net to shoot at. All in all, however, the offense was there, but Kangas played an excellent game for the Gophers, erasing any hope of a sweep for the Badgers.

The best highlight of the weekend, though, was probably the Badgers' second goal on Saturday. After Andy Bohmbach's shot was saved by Kangas, the rebound bounced into the air towards Ryan McDonagh, who took a baseball swing at the puck at his waist, sending it just inside the pipe for a remarkable goal. After a review in the booth, the referees confirmed that Mac's stick was indeed below the crosssbar, and awarded the goal. That was easily one of the more impressive goals I've seen by a Badger lately.

Next week the Badgers host Alaska-Anchorage for their third home series in a row.

Gophers in Madison

Tonight, the Minnesota Golden Gophers come to Madison to try to steal a few wins at the Kohl Center. Each team will be missing a first-line player. The Gophers are without Jay Barriball, who was injured last weekend. The Badgers have put Patrick Johnson on the shelf for poor performance.

Personally, I'm in favor of this decision. It worked wonders for Mike Davies already this year. He was scratched for the opening series vs. CC and came back with a renewed work ethic and has put up three points in four games since. As Patty is the only Badger to play all six games without a point (despite playing on a line with Blake Geoffrion and Andy Bohmbach), I agree that it's time to let him sit back and watch for a few days.

A few people will be up in arms about Eaves' decision, saying we need the scrappiness that Patty brings to the ice. But frankly, I haven't been impressed with that part of his game this year either. And I'm confident that we have plenty of scrappy guys on the team, with Geoffrion, Ryan McDonagh, Cody Goloubef, and oh yeah, that Ben Grotting guy. Remember this?

Patrick White does.

UW Men Curb-Stomp UNH

That's the best verb I can come up with to describe last weekend's series between the Badger men and the New Hampshire Generic Nicknames. Over two games, the Badgers outshot the Wildcats 95-35 and outscored them 10-2. Both Badger goaltenders played very well and credited the defense in front of them for keeping the opposing shots on goal to a minimum. Let's break down the games.

Friday's game started out very up-tempo for the Badgers, as they came out with a clear emphasis on playing both physically and with great skill, a gameplan that they would finally execute for 120 minutes on the weekend. UNH goalie Brian Foster made several excellent saves to keep the game scoreless through the first 25 minutes until freshman D-man John Ramage scored his first goal as a Badger on a laser beam to the top shelf. John Mitchell potted a rebound goal with 12 minutes gone in the second for the eventual game winner, and sophomore Derek Stepan added a pair of goals in the third, the first on a deflection of a Jake Gardiner slap shot, and the second on a rebound. The only Wildcat goal of the night was scored on a shorthanded breakaway, which I'll address shortly. Brett Bennett faced only thirteen shots for the entire game, making twelve saves.

Game two followed a similar path through the first half of the game. Wisconsin peppered Foster with quality shots to no avail until a few minutes into the second, when the floodgates opened. Jordy Murray scored two goals in three minutes, with a Ben Grotting goal sandwiched in between. Ramage tallied his second goal early in the third, and goals by Sean Dolan and Michael Davies allowed me to finally get a picture of Phil holding up the "6" sign for this blog's header. UNH's garbage-time goal led to the Crease Creatures (led by my buddies and I in 117 near the tunnel) chanting "More than Purdue", referring to the football team's shutout of the Boilermakers earlier in the day.

My big impressions from the series: Brendan Smith showed his incredible offensive talent on Saturday, assisting on three Badger goals. The Grotting goal was only possible because Smith made a terrific defensive play at the defensive blue line to prevent UNH from gaining the zone, then sent a long pass ahead to Sean Dolan, whose shot on net rebounded to Grotto in the slot for an easy goal. However, Friday showed why he's not viewed as a top-line defense prospect, as he committed an inexcusable turnover at center ice on a power play, leading to the UNH breakaway goal. These are the mistakes that he must eliminate from his game if he wants to be playing professionally next season. If not for that play, he would have been one of my players of the week.

Again, the team's effort and execution of Mike Eaves' gameplan was terrific this weekend. My three stars of the week go to underclassmen John Ramage, Derek Stepan, and Jordy Murray. Ramage was excellent offensively with his first two career goals, but was equally impressive on the defensive end, breaking up a number of scoring opportunities and blocking shots. Stepan is quickly becoming the straw that stirs the drink for the Badger offense, and Murray is starting to show some of the goal-scoring touch that he was recruited for.

TeamUSA.org Profiles Knight

Hilary Knight was the subject of an extensive article on TeamUSA.org today. I knew she was highly recruited coming out of high school, but I wasn't aware that she had a scholarship offer from EVERY women's Division I school. This article also helps explain her improvement from her freshman to sophomore years.

Also, I just have to post this great picture of the eight former Badger women playing for Team USA.

(Image from TeamUSA.org)

Smith Out, Lee In for UNH

The status of two freshman forwards for the Badgers has been determined for this weekend. Craig Smith, who will sit out Friday because of his game disqualification last Saturday, will also be suspended for Saturday's game against UNH. Smith laid a brutal cross-check from behind on Maverick forward Geoff Irwin in the third period on Saturday, earning a major penalty and game misconduct.

Derek Lee, however, has finally been cleared to play by the NCAA. Apparently, they were satisfied that the transcript error that was keeping Lee ineligible has been sufficiently explained. If Eaves feels he's ready to play, Lee is likely to slip into the lineup in Craig Smith's spot on the wing with sophomores Jordy Murray and Derek Stepan. Otherwise, Matt Thurber would be the likely replacement for Smith if Lee isn't yet ready.