Re: Wisconsin 2009-2010 Season
Some, or a lot, of blame has to fall on the coaching staff.
Last week Snickers made a since-deleted post that spoke of your coaches in even more harsh terms. Others point fingers in different directions. Badger fans have to ask is the finger-pointing fair, or should any objective individual have expected many of the struggles that you've experienced.
What is the difference between winning and losing in the WCHA or all of D-I this season? Usually, not much. Minnesota entered February with only 3 losses, then dropped 4 out of 5 games with a tie in the middle. One can say that's because they were missing their #1 goalie, but we still had proven goalies available. By comparison, the Badgers started this season depending on a rookie and a goalie with 4 games of experience. For those used to watching Jessie Vetter, to expect anything close to the same performance is as unrealistic as expecting an interim, first-time head coach to keep the train rolling down the track just as Mark Johnson would.
Compounding your problems, the Badgers top 4 D yesterday were a sophomore, two frosh, and a third frosh who had missed almost half your games. It is obvious that there is a lot of talent there, but young D tend to make more mistakes no matter who is coaching them.
The strength of your team is up front. There is enough talent there to win, particularly in an Olympic year, but it isn't in the same realm as you had a year ago. Looking at the stats, I suspect there are a few people who don't bring quite the same level of effort every game that they display against the Gophers. But that too is common -- it is a rare player who can find their "A" game each weekend.
As for your coaches, I am not wise enough when it comes to the game of hockey to be much of a judge. But I can see that your team has improved a ton. When I saw you in October, I wasn't impressed -- not even a little. I thought those results were more about Minnesota's deficiencies than Badger strengths. This weekend, your team took away time and space against us better than anyone I've seen (I didn't see Harvard.) In terms of the play of the skaters, I thought that the Badgers were more dangerous this month than were the Bulldogs. The difference was that UMD got a better weekend in net and has more experience on the blue line.
