Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Ok, let's see if we can get this thread back on track and not veer off into roller derby and which community is more progressive than the next. The bottom line is that Madison loves a successful UW team, for the most part no matter the sport. Actually, I think the area has been slow to embrace Badger women's hockey as they have been pretty good from Day 1 and have three national titles over the last five years. If women's basketball or volleyball were that good, there would be huge crowds at the Kohl and the Fieldhouse respectively.

Part of the issue might be that girls high school hockey gets virtually no coverage at all (boys don't get a lot more). So with no state pro team and high school hockey being way down on the general public's interest level, it just might take more time for people to embrace hockey in general and the UW womens team in particular.

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds. Minnesota is an established program with a great facility in a major metropolitan city. Hockey (at all levels) is much more engrained in that community than Madison yet crowd sizes are around 1,000. I've always thought that Ridder should be pushing a sell-out, especially when the likes of Wisconsin, UMD and now the Sioux come to town.

Even the WCHA Final Four doesn't pull great crowds and was surprised back in '06 when the Gophers/Badgers played at Mariucci for the national title, it didn't break 5,000.

Same question for Duluth. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mens and womens hockey teams are the only D-1 programs in town. On a Friday/Saturday night, what's preventing them from bigger crowds?

Look, this isn't meant to disparage those two programs. I know that the reality is that the crowds for the North Dakota series here in Madison will most likely go back to normal (2,000+, no band, few students). I'd like to think that those 10,000+ on Saturday now realize what kind of fun/level of success that a UW women's hockey game brings. Only time will tell.

 

[Happy]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Ok, let's see if we can get this thread back on track and not veer off into roller derby and which community is more progressive than the next. The bottom line is that Madison loves a successful UW team, for the most part no matter the sport. Actually, I think the area has been slow to embrace Badger women's hockey as they have been pretty good from Day 1 and have three national titles over the last five years. If women's basketball or volleyball were that good, there would be huge crowds at the Kohl and the Fieldhouse respectively.

Part of the issue might be that girls high school hockey gets virtually no coverage at all (boys don't get a lot more). So with no state pro team and high school hockey being way down on the general public's interest level, it just might take more time for people to embrace hockey in general and the UW womens team in particular.

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds. Minnesota is an established program with a great facility in a major metropolitan city. Hockey (at all levels) is much more engrained in that community than Madison yet crowd sizes are around 1,000. I've always thought that Ridder should be pushing a sell-out, especially when the likes of Wisconsin, UMD and now the Sioux come to town.

Even the WCHA Final Four doesn't pull great crowds and was surprised back in '06 when the Gophers/Badgers played at Mariucci for the national title, it didn't break 5,000.

Same question for Duluth. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mens and womens hockey teams are the only D-1 programs in town. On a Friday/Saturday night, what's preventing them from bigger crowds?

Look, this isn't meant to disparage those two programs. I know that the reality is that the crowds for the North Dakota series here in Madison will most likely go back to normal (2,000+, no band, few students). I'd like to think that those 10,000+ on Saturday now realize what kind of fun/level of success that a UW women's hockey game brings. Only time will tell.

There are a million more things to do in Minneapolis than there is in Madison, for one thing. Not the least being a lot more girls games at the amateur level at any given night. and, the traffic and parking sucks.

 

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Ok, let's see if we can get this thread back on track and not veer off into roller derby and which community is more progressive than the next. The bottom line is that Madison loves a successful UW team, for the most part no matter the sport. Actually, I think the area has been slow to embrace Badger women's hockey as they have been pretty good from Day 1 and have three national titles over the last five years. If women's basketball or volleyball were that good, there would be huge crowds at the Kohl and the Fieldhouse respectively.

Part of the issue might be that girls high school hockey gets virtually no coverage at all (boys don't get a lot more). So with no state pro team and high school hockey being way down on the general public's interest level, it just might take more time for people to embrace hockey in general and the UW womens team in particular.

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds. Minnesota is an established program with a great facility in a major metropolitan city. Hockey (at all levels) is much more engrained in that community than Madison yet crowd sizes are around 1,000. I've always thought that Ridder should be pushing a sell-out, especially when the likes of Wisconsin, UMD and now the Sioux come to town.

Even the WCHA Final Four doesn't pull great crowds and was surprised back in '06 when the Gophers/Badgers played at Mariucci for the national title, it didn't break 5,000.

Same question for Duluth. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mens and womens hockey teams are the only D-1 programs in town. On a Friday/Saturday night, what's preventing them from bigger crowds?

Look, this isn't meant to disparage those two programs. I know that the reality is that the crowds for the North Dakota series here in Madison will most likely go back to normal (2,000+, no band, few students). I'd like to think that those 10,000+ on Saturday now realize what kind of fun/level of success that a UW women's hockey game brings. Only time will tell.

Minnesota and UMD in past years would nearly match the badgers for home games with the same opposition. Not sure what changed and why they have both dropped off so much. I know on the Last trip to Ridder I made it seemed more like a neutral site series then a Minnesota home series.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Yeah maybe, but that doesn't explain why (similar to here in Madison) a below average Gopher women's basketball team draws a crowd 4-5 times bigger than Gopher womens hockey.

There are a million more things to do in Minneapolis than there is in Madison, for one thing. Not the least being a lot more girls games at the amateur level at any given night. and, the traffic and parking sucks.

 

[brookyone]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds. Minnesota is an established program with a great facility in a major metropolitan city. Hockey (at all levels) is much more engrained in that community than Madison yet crowd sizes are around 1,000. I've always thought that Ridder should be pushing a sell-out, especially when the likes of Wisconsin, UMD and now the Sioux come to town.

Even the WCHA Final Four doesn't pull great crowds and was surprised back in '06 when the Gophers/Badgers played at Mariucci for the national title, it didn't break 5,000.

You'll get no argument from me regarding the somewhat difficult to explain, or puzzling small crowds for the women at Ridder. They surely should be getting bigger crowds as a matter of routine. Last time I checked, women's hoops and volleyball at the U get bigger crowds than the hockey team. I can't figure that out at all...nothing against those sports...but in Minnesota, I'd assume hockey would do better, if I didn't already know that's not true. Girls' high school hockey in the Minneapolis metro does get some good crowds...which may present a conflict for a few who would otherwise consider attending a GWH game. There's always a lot of options available to sports fans when you include the pro-franchises...probably not many that attend those games would ever consider attending a game at Ridder anyway.

 

[Stick Boy]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

All the banter put aside as to the whys and hows etc, what a great thing for Women's College Hockey and Women's Hockey in general. Regardless of how much, free tickets and so on, to have 10000 plus watch is simply outstanding even if it is only every-so-often! I bet many of them will work their way back to watch again whether it be in Wisconsin, Minnesota, or elsewhere. It again raises the profile of the game and hopefully there will be more successes like it around the country. Well done!

 

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Promotion and the factor that the women's series and a track meet during the morning were the only UW sporting events in town.

... So with no state pro team and high school hockey being way down on the general public's interest level, it just might take more time for people to embrace hockey in general and the UW womens team in particular.

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds.

I think blogger's comment above is very important -- women's hockey is almost always overshadowed in Minneapolis. The day that the Gophers won their first NCAA title, it was the #3 sports story -- for University of Minnesota sports. Women's basketball won an NCAA game, the men's hockey team was eliminated in one, and so women's hockey gets third billing in sports reports just among Gopher teams. And because the Twin Cities has a franchise in each of the 4 major pro team sports, U of M sports are not the biggest deal in town to start with.

The popularity of high school hockey is both a blessing and a curse. Many of our potential fans attend HS games instead. Because we play mostly Friday/Saturday series, we are usually going head to head with HS games. We used to play more Sunday afternoon games, and IMO, those were better attended than the 6 p.m. Friday night contests that we now get instead. In the Twin Cities, rush hour on a Friday night is a pain, and a lot of people will just skip a game rather than trying to fight through it. Youth hockey players represent another key segment of our fan base, and many of them have games that conflict with our game times as well.

I used to think that it would take time for the crowds to get to a respectable size, but the trend is toward decreasing, not increasing attendance. There was a season where women's basketball had a number of crowds over ten thousand, so it is possible. Right now, we have a couple hundred hardcore fans who attend most games, the usual team family and friends, and the few hundred that attend one to a handful of games a year. Media covers the team less than they once did, and say they will cover it more if the popularity increases. Of course, that is unlikely without more coverage.

I see the same thing in Duluth. The Bulldogs used to have more fans at both home and road games. Hopefully the Badgers' huge crowd has a trickle-down effect, and other teams get an indirect boost in interest, because the sport could really use it.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Wouldn't one need to be equally familiar with other upper midwest metropolitan areas to make such a declaration?

Perhaps. You could just as easily write some of the posts in this thread off as sour grapes by Gopher fans who cant stand the fact that Wisconsin set a new womens' hockey attendance record and hate the fact that we support our women hockey players more than the do.

 

[skatefast]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Perhaps. You could just as easily write some of the posts in this thread off as sour grapes by Gopher fans who cant stand the fact that Wisconsin set a new womens' hockey attendance record and hate the fact that we support our women hockey players more than the do.

Well said. The bottom line is that no matter what the incentive, the UW Atheletic Department was smart enough to figure out a way to blow the top off the Kohl Center. And not only is that awesome for the team that deserves recognition and support, it's awesome for WCHA hockey and women's hockey across the nation. (All points made by Stickboy up above as well as others.)

There's equally a million things to do in Mad town, the parking is equally challenging, blah blah blah blah. Bottom line is UW and the community did something awesome and I refuse to make excuses as to why it's easier for them.

I, for one, plan on citing this amazing feat as often as possible to friends, the women's hockey nay-sayers, the UMD athletic department and our Chancellor. You've set a great example, and I only see it as a bar to be reached.

 

[brookyone]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Perhaps. You could just as easily write some of the posts in this thread off as sour grapes by Gopher fans who cant stand the fact that Wisconsin set a new womens' hockey attendance record and hate the fact that we support our women hockey players more than the do.

You could, but that would be a pretty convenient way to avoid providing any actual evidence of superiority in the areas of being progressive and open minded compared to other metropolitan areas in the upper midwest...other than the "proof" of having lived there for thirty years.

If you think I'm upset by the attendance record set in Madison you are mistaken. There's really nothing so sinister about my questioning of your initial claim. I just question the factual value, and that it's a viable explanation for said attendance record, and 10,000 + for the women at Kohl Center is a marvelous achievement, as it would be anywhere. I apologize for not blindly agreeing with you and wandering away from a discussion of hockey. It's really not that important.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Well, maybe we can move on from the how and why of attendence of Wisconsin vs. the rest of the WCHA..at least for now.

With the regular season title virtually wrapped up (as is playing St. Cloud in the first round of the playoffs), I wonder if the Badgers will rotate Rigsby/Ruegsegger for the last 6 games. Also, after playing with a relatively short bench (at least up front) the last couple of weekends, will the 4th line see much more ice-time?

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

You could, but that would be a pretty convenient way to avoid providing any actual evidence of superiority in the areas of being progressive and open minded compared to other metropolitan areas in the upper midwest...other than the "proof" of having lived there for thirty years.

If you think I'm upset by the attendance record set in Madison you are mistaken. There's really nothing so sinister about my questioning of your initial claim. I just question the factual value, and that it's a viable explanation for said attendance record, and 10,000 + for the women at Kohl Center is a marvelous achievement, as it would be anywhere. I apologize for not blindly agreeing with you and wandering away from a discussion of hockey. It's really not that important.

If its really not that important, why do you insist on trying to continue the argument and getting in the last word? I guess I'll be the growup here, bow out of the argument and just agree to disagree with you. Its really not that important.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/020211aab.html

Freshman goaltender Alex Rigsby (Delafield, Wis.) has been named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Rookie of the Week for Feb. 2 after making 50 saves in the Badgers’ undefeated weekend against then-No. 4 Minnesota last weekend.

Rigsby made 23 saves in Friday’s 2-2 overtime tie before stopping one Minnesota attempt to help give UW the 3-1 shootout win. She then made 27 saves en route to her 17th win of the season in Saturday’s 3-1 victory. With the 1-0-1-1 weekend, Rigsby is now unbeaten in her last 11 games.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

The Badgers clinched the WCHA championship last night with a 7-1 win over Bemidji. Congrads, ladies!

 

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Hope Iam wrong but I know a major injury when I see one. Looks like a major injury for Madison Packer near the end of the second today in Bemidji. Both trainers were out working on her for a few minutes before she was carried off the ice. Not good. Hope its all precautionary and she can come back soon..

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Belated congratulations to the team wrapping up the regular season title last weekend. Hopefully, there will be some carry-over from the Fill the Bowl promotion this weekend for their last regular season series against North Dakota. Sunday is both Senior Day and Local Hero day (with $1 admission for firefighters, police, EMS, etc.) so there could be a pretty good crowd (3,500-4,000?)

Any word on the extent of the Packer injury?

 

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Duggan is a force for the Badgers, on and off the ice

http://host.madison.com/sports/colu...cle_b6b445ec-3591-11e0-9d63-001cc4c002e0.html

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

After a surprisingly easy 5-0 win over the Sioux on Friday, Badgers go for the sweep today. Hard to argue that there's been a better tandem in Badger history that's wreaked the kind of havoc that Duggan and Knight do. Hope that they'll pull an even larger crowd today. Several promotions going on & Senior Day that should push the crowd towards the 4,000 (maybe 5,000) mark.

I fully expect North Dakota to play much better today. Too much talent plus a day off to fully stew on that loss.

Top 4 seeds are locked in though there could be some movement between 2-4. However, UMD clearly has the best path for 6 more points playing St. Cloud while Minnesota battles North Dakota next weekend. While there's still work to be done, I'm sure the WCHA is drooling over having Wisconsin, North Dakota, Minnesota and UMD in their Frozen Four in a couple of weeks.

 

[True North 3]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

It will be an emotional day for the seniors, particularly Duggan who gave so much and received so much from the program. I'm sad!

 

[dave1381]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

With that said (and I don't intend this to be mean-spirited), I don't understand why Minnesota and UMD don't draw better crowds. Minnesota is an established program with a great facility in a major metropolitan city. Hockey (at all levels) is much more engrained in that community than Madison yet crowd sizes are around 1,000. I've always thought that Ridder should be pushing a sell-out, especially when the likes of Wisconsin, UMD and now the Sioux come to town. Even the WCHA Final Four doesn't pull great crowds and was surprised back in '06 when the Gophers/Badgers played at Mariucci for the national title, it didn't break 5,000. Same question for Duluth. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the mens and womens hockey teams are the only D-1 programs in town. On a Friday/Saturday night, what's preventing them from bigger crowds?

I'm obviously late to this discussion, but I wanted to add the perspective of someone who has followed the game for over a decade and doesn't have any Minnesota connection.

This post irritated me. Look, all the credit in the world to Wisconsin. You have a bigger rink, and you utilized better promotion than Minnesota and UMD had at their peak level of interest to date. You have the two most exciting players in the country and I'm glad your city is supporting them.

But to ask, gee what's wrong Minnesota and UMD, why aren't they like us, is not recognizing the history. There are times in the history of the sport when Minnesota and UMD were certainly the leaders in promoting the sport well. The 5000-strong attendance at the UMD-hosted Frozen Four in 2003 was a milestone for the sport. Minnesota was certainly the NCAA leader in attendance in 2004 & 2005 when they had Wendell and Darwitz. Minnesota was certainly the first program to add a women's hockey program and support it. I'm glad Wisconsin has continued to build on the success that the Minnesota programs first proved was possible.

But I don't recall anyone asking "what's wrong with Wisconsin's attendance" in 2004&2005 when Wisconsin was winning as much as Minnesota and UMD are this season, and had about a similar level of individual talent.

I'd like to think that those 10,000+ on Saturday now realize what kind of fun/level of success that a UW women's hockey game brings. Only time will tell.

And that's the question. If Wisconsin can get better support than Minnesota & UMD right now, when Wisconsin is also a team in the middle of the top 10 without any superstar forwards, then I think you have a point. But I've become more pessimistic about sustained growth in attendance over the years, largely because I've watched various eastern teams get a spike in attendance when they first become nationally competitive, but not be able to build on that. And UMD and Minnesota haven't had as great attendance as they haven't had players who are as exciting as in their glory years, even though these teams remain championship contenders.