Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2022-2023

[Timothy A]

Did MJ have a press conference? Or did you give him a call and ask what his plans are for goalie assignments this week?

TDM might have tweeted it. Or maybe I'm MJ's barber.

[Patricio]

Some thoughts about the lines this season.

For the forward lines:

• SS, Compher, Curl. An experienced line with 3 quality players. Curl is an under rated defensive forward and has experience with SS. Playing SS with the other two may foster a return to her level of play of her first 3 years and, if SS does, this will be a productive group.
• Eden, O-B, and Wheeler. Three aggressive, speedy players, all of whom can score. I see this as a difficult group for any D to contain.

Configurations for the next two lines are complicated by the fact 3 of the remaining Fs are Y1s and Picard is essentially a Y1 given the injury last year that cost her all but 2 games. Picard looked promising, but how the injury may affect her play remains to be seen. Expectations for the 4 have been high, but whether they will be realized remains to be seen.

Woz had the misfortune of losing Picard as a linemate last season and was left playing on a weak third line and remnants of a 4^th. But she is another aggressive skater with some speed and a nice shot who should yield solid dividends on a line with any 2 of the Y1s. As for GS she too has been confined to playing on weak lines, especially last year. But I view GS as someone who may surprise once she is paired with solid linemates which will be the case this season. I also like the fact that she has demonstrated appreciation for the potential value of hanging out in front of the crease, something Bucky should do more of generally. Hopefully LE and others will join her this season.

So, the final two F trios:

• LE, Simms and Woz. Simms and LE have some experience together, and I think Woz can add spice to the line.
• Enright, Picard, GS. This is my hope for a “diamond in the rough” line. One solid enough to provide substantial rest for the other 3 and an occasional surprise to opponents whose Ds relax or grow tired.

As for the D lines, my only question is whether Harvey and Jungels are paired or split up in some fashion. The other 4 have years of experience together which has value. On the other hand, Harvey is considered a world class D, Jungels was highly regarded during her career in MN, and Potter and Murphy will be coming in at D next season. So, for me, pairing Harvey and Jungels sounds intriguing, but this one is MJ’s call.

[Timothy A]

Some thoughts about the lines this season.

For the forward lines:

• SS, Compher, Curl. An experienced line with 3 quality players. Curl is an under rated defensive forward and has experience with SS. Playing SS with the other two may foster a return to her level of play of her first 3 years and, if SS does, this will be a productive group.
• Eden, O-B, and Wheeler. Three aggressive, speedy players, all of whom can score. I see this as a difficult group for any D to contain.

Configurations for the next two lines are complicated by the fact 3 of the remaining Fs are Y1s and Picard is essentially a Y1 given the injury last year that cost her all but 2 games. Picard looked promising, but how the injury may affect her play remains to be seen. Expectations for the 4 have been high, but whether they will be realized remains to be seen.

Woz had the misfortune of losing Picard as a linemate last season and was left playing on a weak third line and remnants of a 4^th. But she is another aggressive skater with some speed and a nice shot who should yield solid dividends on a line with any 2 of the Y1s. As for GS she too has been confined to playing on weak lines, especially last year. But I view GS as someone who may surprise once she is paired with solid linemates which will be the case this season. I also like the fact that she has demonstrated appreciation for the potential value of hanging out in front of the crease, something Bucky should do more of generally. Hopefully LE and others will join her this season.

So, the final two F trios:

• LE, Simms and Woz. Simms and LE have some experience together, and I think Woz can add spice to the line.
• Enright, Picard, GS. This is my hope for a “diamond in the rough” line. One solid enough to provide substantial rest for the other 3 and an occasional surprise to opponents whose Ds relax or grow tired.

As for the D lines, my only question is whether Harvey and Jungels are paired or split up in some fashion. The other 4 have years of experience together which has value. On the other hand, Harvey is considered a world class D, Jungels was highly regarded during her career in MN, and Potter and Murphy will be coming in at D next season. So, for me, pairing Harvey and Jungels sounds intriguing, but this one is MJ’s call.

Wow, you are deep inside my head. Kinda scary LOL. He's gotta roll 4 lines. The talent is there. Just do it. DO IT.

On GS, I was really hoping that with all the playing time she had last year that she could break through on scoring, but she didn't. On the one hand yes if she played with more talent, she might break through, on the other hand with what we saw last year, is that the ceiling?

I would think KK and Jungels would not get paired together. It's not unheard of for 2 Fr D to get paired together at WI, but KK's offensive mind may require a partner who is a stay at home like a Buchbinder or an Edwards and Jungels is offensively minded as well. I would expect to see those 2 on the PP, KK on unit 1 and Jungels unit 2. I don't know if MJ would trust them to be on the same PP together. Edwards/Jungels KK/Buchbinder LaMantia/Kotlowski? I perhaps can envision them rolling 5 D with Kotlowski being spotted. She was forced to absorb a lot of ice time last year that was maybe above her paygrade.

The roster is up on the site. Picard is listed as a RS Fr, so she must have got a medical redshirt due to the injury last year. That is awesome.
Kronish is listed as a RS Sr. She also is eligible for the covid year and do the grad student thing, yes?

[Patricio]

I appreciate Timothy A’s reply to my last posting. All his comments provide reasonable alternatives to statements of mine. The PSU series should provide some answers on MJ’s thinking.

As for Badgers who are in grad school, the roster lists LaMantia and SS as Gs. As for Kronish, I remember a picture from last year of a group of Bucky grads in which she was included. She literally stood out because of her height. Ergo, Kronish probably could be listed as G as well. Compher too actually may be a G since she played 4 years at BU though it is not clear if she did finish a degree there.

[Timothy A]

WOW, a quality women's hockey article on jsonline. It's not just a fly by couple paragraphs. Nice to see the Milwaukee market give them some quality attention.

Yeah, Compher should be listed as a G on the roster.

Game day! Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Timothy A]

I just has ANOTHER jsonline pop up talking about golatending, newcomers, O-B, the wcha is loaded....what kind of parallel universe did I step into this am? Crazy.

[robertearle]

I just has ANOTHER jsonline pop up talking about golatending, newcomers, O-B, the wcha is loaded....what kind of parallel universe did I step into this am? Crazy.

The same writer has also been posting articles regularly on the UW women's volleyball team this fall. So far, he's been good for about one "no, that's not quite right" per article. I guess he's the "not football and not basketball" UW sports guy now.

[Lindsay]

I just has ANOTHER jsonline pop up talking about golatending, newcomers, O-B, the wcha is loaded....what kind of parallel universe did I step into this am? Crazy.

That is fantastic . The Wisco VB team that set the record for attendance the other day surely contributes to a mentality about consuming and covering women's sports. Awesome of Wisconsin as a whole to continue leading the way.

Excited to see Laila Edwards and Simms tonight. They dominated most of the U18 Worlds but Canada did find a way to at least manage the damage they could do in the final. So lots of potential and surely have bright futures but we’ll see how quickly they are impactful in the WCHA. Because of her size and reach in addition to skill it feels like Edwards might be able to make an immediate impact around the net.

I favor Wisco to get the win today but Penn State in the early years of Kampersal’s tenure there was possibly the hardest working team in the country (recall an win against a Muzzy coached OSU!). They couldn’t score much but they would not get out worked. I think they’ll have to summon that in this series….and with the added scoring touch from the likes of Zanon, Wallin and hopefully Janecke maybe they can shock some folks, who knows.

[Lindsay]

The same writer has also been posting articles regularly on the UW women's volleyball team this fall. So far, he's been good for about one "no, that's not quite right" per article. I guess he's the "not football and not basketball" UW sports guy now.

Lol, it’s definitely a process. Baby steps maybe. Cannot believe how popular VB is… my third grader has taken it up. I didn’t seek it out but a pal who already plays got her into it.

[robertearle]

They didn't do much of anything well tonight (other than Compher and faceoffs). They have some work to do...

(BTW: I thought #10 was going to be retired once Delaney Drake was done. Laila Edwards wearing #10.)

[Lindsay]

Medicare application 1, Wisconsin power play 0.

I kid. There were glimpses of scariness. At the end of the first I would have still bet Wisconsin would win.

[Bonzo]

Kind of surprised by the 4-1 loss. Barely outshot PSU. Would have expected a stronger offensive performance. Only 1 game, expect them to come out with more fire tomorrow

Does anyone know if the Badgers recruited Tessa Janecke? Played youth hockey in Monroe WI and has been very impressive both at U18 worlds and with 2 goals tonite. Really good freshman.

[robertearle]

Kind of surprised by the 4-1 loss. Barely outshot PSU. Would have expected a stronger offensive performance. Only 1 game, expect them to come out with more fire tomorrow

Does anyone know if the Badgers recruited Tessa Janecke? Played youth hockey in Monroe WI and has been very impressive both at U18 worlds and with 2 goals tonite. Really good freshman.

During the tournament in June in Madison, I ended up sitting near/in the 'team Janecke' section a couple times, and if I remember/overheard correctly, there were family members who were Penn State grads, and that factored into the decision.

[Patricio]

Very disappointing performance by the Badgers. They were outhustled all night and I fear a repeat tomorrow. PSU was hungrier and the Badgers had no answer for Janecke, by far both the best player and Y1 on the ice period.

PSU seemed better prepared than the UW, stifling the Badgers on offense and getting more quality chances for goals. PSU also did a superior job interrupting passing lanes and applying pressure on puck handlers, breaking up UW’s offensive rhythm.

As for UW’s recruiting class, I was not impressed. Harvey was the only one who managed any noticeable presence (though nothing compared to Janecke). The others barely were mentioned, the presence of LE and Simms little more than rumors.

The efforts of Compher and Curl were positives as was the overall play of O-B line. But, to me, MJ was totally outcoached losing to a better prepared and motivated opponent, likely resulting in an extended lower ranking. It may be a long, painful season.

[robertearle]

Very disappointing performance by the Badgers. They were outhustled all night and I fear a repeat tomorrow. PSU was hungrier and the Badgers had no answer for Janecke, by far both the best player and Y1 on the ice period.

PSU seemed better prepared than the UW, stifling the Badgers on offense and getting more quality chances for goals. PSU also did a superior job interrupting passing lanes and applying pressure on puck handlers, breaking up UW’s offensive rhythm.

As for UW’s recruiting class, I was not impressed. Harvey was the only one who managed any noticeable presence (though nothing compared to Janecke). The others barely were mentioned, the presence of LE and Simms little more than rumors.

The efforts of Compher and Curl were positives as was the overall play of O-B line. But, to me, MJ was totally outcoached losing to a better prepared and motivated opponent, likely resulting in an extended lower ranking. It may be a long, painful season.

Jeez, man! It was one game, in September!