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Wisconsin Hockey 25-26 Hastings Year 3 - Turning the Corner?

They swooned in the second half last year, and this third period they again have to come from behind. They need to find a way to rally in the third. An 0-3 start to the second half is going to stir up some bad memories from last year. If you got a buck you better put it on the tv set right now.
 
5 unanswered goals. The Badgers can't score 5 on 5. Fitzgerald hasn't scored sine the first Notre Dame game December 5. It's gonna get ugly again this year.
 
When the stakes get dialed up in the second half of the conference schedule the cream starts to rise and we sink. There is a real lack of offensive prowess on this team and it really shows up as the stakes get higher.
 
GoBucky18 said:
Clearly Hastings also has zero love loss for Tassy, who hasn't seen a second of ice time since his stupid penalty in the 2nd.
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As it turns out, he's been largely fools gold for this team since his arrival. His cohort from Mankato, Fitzgerald, will have a good game or two then absolutely disappear for a month.
 
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I can’t help but wonder if the players tune out Hastings half way through the year.

Injuries can’t explain the lack of grit and determination
 
I've never really seen much fire from Hastings, I guess it's not his way. We're teetering right now and maybe a little fire from the top might do some good. For whatever reason they look lost. It's like they collected up 18 guys from around Madison and threw them out on the ice. If I was on this team, whether my sweater has a letter or not, everyone stays, the coaches leave, and the doors get closed and we get into it.
 
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GoBucky18 said:
This team has zero fight. The wagon wheels have come off. We are at best a low seed tourney team.
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I don't agree they have zero fight. They kept coming at them, they didn't stop playing. They're missing their top center, their third line center, their best defenseman plus a guy who played sparingly but was impactful. That doesn't help at all. Kukkonen going from the extra player to the top line is tells you all you need to know. That all being said, however, I do believe they've got enough talent to win some of these games here. The margin is just super tight. They can still win with fundamentally good defense and have solid goaltending. They got neither last night.

I've been a big proponent of Hauser, but that was a terrible game. That fourth goal was horrendous. Why are you going down when the shot is from the farthest possible point in the zone. Just stand there and let it hit you or come way out angle down. If that doesn't go in, I think the game doesn't play out the way it did. Yes Mckenna is an elite shooter, but I think two of those he should have stopped. They were at least two plays where the defensive players did him no favors in tight. You've got to tie people up or deck them. He did have that tremendous save in the first period on the short-handed chance.

Phelan taking that penalty cross-checking on Fink was also horrendous on the PK. That was also at a crucial point in the game, it was 4-2 and you give them a five on three power play. Yeah Fink could have got embellishments on that but i don't blame him for doing what he did.

Let's go RED!!!
 
Several issues…

No doubt the injuries are huge. I noticed earlier this team just hasn’t played with the same intensity since Schulz went down. His loss I think is bigger than many have acknowledged. He’s not a scorer but a very solid dman and glue guy.

Then they lose Zelenov (who is an elite playmaker) on a similar play just 3 weeks later.

Add Morrisey and Brink (and I personally think Brink should be an every night player) and you have a recipe for .500 hockey.

adding to this you have defensive lapses and two goalies who let in soft goals fairly consistently. Bill Howard would break down Hauser and Pulver and build them back up into machines. I haven’t been impressed with the goaltending at UW since Howie was unceremoniously let go.

Also…And this goes for every team. You need your seniors to be leaders or scorers or both. Tassy and Fitzgerald have been absent from the score sheet far too many times. And who is the Burish or McDonagh on this team? Who is the on-ice leader holding others accountable??
 
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