Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

[2Bladedskates]

The Beavers are coming off a big weekend with North Dakota. They were able to manage 4 out of 6 points against a very good North Dakota team. Friday's game could have went either way. The Beavers lost in a shootout. During the shootout ND clanks a shot off the cross bar and in. Bemidji kid clanks it off of the cross bar and over the net. So close! Saturday was much the same. Two very good teams with outstanding goaltending. The Beavers were held scoreless until they pulled their goalie with two minutes left. They scored on a scrum in front then got a fortunate bounce in OT.

What will it take to upset the mighty Red team down South? My guess is a repeat of last year's 100 save weekend and a few bounces. You never know with this gritty team. Should be a fun one to watch.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

I think it's going to be a very tight series as usual and I am very excited to see the games. Goaltending and team D are a wash, UW has more scoring depth and has a lot of confidence right now, but will Bemiji be able to smother UW's O? Could be a repeat of the Sue weekend with very few goals scored. Could come down to special teams, PP is UW 21 Bemiji 9, PK is UW 95 Bemiji 89. SHG UW 5 Bemiji 0

Sarah Nurse did not play Saturday for UW, she is one of their top 3 forwards. No word from UW on why she didn't play, if she's injured that's a huge loss for UW, but that's a HUGE IF. Johnson is VERY tight lipped on injuries.

 

[2Bladedskates]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Nurse was out. That helps explain the 2-0 Saturday score. I seen her play last year. She is a difference maker. Definately a bummer for Wisconsin if she does not play. I agree with your special teams assessment. Maybe the difference. The Beavers have not found thier PP scoring yet.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Bemidji has proven to be relatively troublesome for the Badgers over the last couple of years. Beavers took one at LaBahn and all regular season games were decided by one goal. Unfortunately for BSU, by the time they met for the WCHA tournament title, Wisconsin was playing their best hockey of the season and rolled them 4-0.

Waiting to see the transcript of Coach Johnson's presser to see if Nurse's status even came up. With a light roster size, any injury can really throw a wrench into their lines.

 

[ne7minder]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Bemidji has proven to be relatively troublesome for [everyone] over the last couple of years.

Fixed that for you! I was really surprised at how little offense they were able to muster against UND last weekend. We were at the game on Friday and they just never seemed to get the chances that pop up with M or W. I don't know if they just get up more for those guys or if UND does something different. BSU did their usual fabulous job of blocking shots and clogging the lanes but never really got the sort of offensive push that generally produces a couple of goals against M and W.

 

[2Bladedskates]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Fixed that for you! I was really surprised at how little offense they were able to muster against UND last weekend. We were at the game on Friday and they just never seemed to get the chances that pop up with M or W. I don't know if they just get up more for those guys or if UND does something different. BSU did their usual fabulous job of blocking shots and clogging the lanes but never really got the sort of offensive push that generally produces a couple of goals against M and W.

Ne7minder you are pretty accurate with Bemidji's offense, however this is what we have come to expect. They will never flash you. Just work hard defensively, rely on great goaltending and wait for a mistake. The problem with ND is they never made THAT mistake. It will be interesting to see what happens this weekend with a Wisconsin team that is loaded offensively.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

http://www.uwbadgers.com/news/2015/10/22/WHOCKEY_1022154543.aspx

Pre-series notes via Wisconsin.

Home Sweet Home
At LaBahn Arena, the Badgers are tough to beat, as UW is 45-10-3 (.815) at the new barn.The Badgers have outscored their opponents 18577-60 at LaBahn Arena, and have posted 19 shutouts.

UW holds a 3-2-1 record all-time against Bemidji State at Labahn Arena.

I know the Badgers are really good at LaBahn, but I'm fairly sure they are not averaging over 320 goals per game at home.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Now been adjusted to 185....

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

For those going that don't yet have tickets or have tickets waiting at Will Call, I highly recommend allowing 10-15 extra minutes getting to LaBahn. While the staff tries their best, LaBahn is logistically not set up well for large walk-up crowds. Add in student night and it has the potential to be challenging trying to get people in the building in a timely manner.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Fun game wit the band there. UW dominated the first period, at the end of which I thought "Is UW THAT much better than Bemidji?" The answer was no, Bemidji played much better in the 2nd and 3rd periods. They are so good at blocking shots and playing D as a team in transition.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Fun game wit the band there. UW dominated the first period, at the end of which I thought "Is UW THAT much better than Bemidji?" The answer was no, Bemidji played much better in the 2nd and 3rd periods. They are so good at blocking shots and playing D as a team in transition.

Pretty much spot-on. UW came out with much more energy than Bemidji and scored on a nice re-direction from Jones and then Cogan got wide-open late in the period and buried a shot between Mowat's pads.

Rest of the game was pretty even with both teams having times of controlling the offensive zone. Desbiens came up with some nice saves when Bemidji was able to push the action.

Not a big surprise, but Bemidji really clamped down later in the game and block a ton of shots. I also expect another close game today. It's probably going to come down to a couple of key plays.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

Wisconsin dominated the entire game today except for a few shifts. After seeing 6 periods, there is definitely a gap between Bemidji and UW (and I didn't think there would be much of one). I just don't know in the 2 even periods if UW played down to them or did Bemidji play up to UW.

 

[2Bladedskates]

Re: Bemidji St. vs Wisconsin

I thought Wisconsin would be tough, but after watching them this weekend ......Wow! They are talented and IMO better then last year. The Beavers were a bit star struck on Friday night and stood around in the first period as the Badgers snapped the puck around. The 2nd and 3rd periods were a bit more competitive, but Bemidji never really sustained any pressure. Now Saturday was a different story. I thought Bemidji would settle in and adjust to the speed. It was the opposite. Nurse played which gave them two superior lines (story is Nurse has some sort of heart condition and needed to be cleared). The Wisconsin D were superior. Bemidji never threatened to score the entire game. There is definitely a division between the two teams and The Beavers need to find some scoring punch if they want to be taken serious this year.