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Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

WHKY blogger said:
Talked to a couple of the workers last night and their impression is the new building may not be the salvation we are hoping for due to the aforementioned Wrestling. They may still play at the Nest due to the congestion and rescources needed for Hockey that will be taken up by the WIAA Wrestling event downtown.

I do have to say that the Nest, while crappy and barely able to support two teams, does have a nice atmosphere for playoff hockey.... (if theres anything good that comes from playing there)
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I find it kind of surprising and disappointing that high school wresting takes priority over womens' college hockey (especially when its a team as good as the Badgers). Hopefully someday that will change.
About the Nest, I go to public skate there from time to time (when Im not able to skate at Madison Ice Arena or the Janesville Ice Skating Center) and its a neat little rink. Its definetly a highschool hockey rink though, its sooooooo small! Its not as small as The Shell though!
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Timothy A said:
I don't mean to put the cart before the horse, but how much do the ncaa first round tickets cost? Is the KC the site?
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I believe in the past tickets were $10 adult/$5 student.

It looks like Kohl is open for the weekend, so it should be there.


BTW - Were the Verona Games actually sellouts? I thought the arena could hold more than 800. I was out of town this weekend, but I've seen a handful of the previous playoff games there, and I've always bought tickets at the door.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Wisconsin is almost certain to host a game next weekend at the Kohl Center. Word is that the start time will depend on whether or not the men's team will be hosting in the first round of their playoff series. If they go on the road, it paves the way for a 7:00 face-off, which I would like to see personally.

Those prices sound about right, which is still a pretty good deal for NCAA tournament hockey.

I can only vouch for Saturday night at the Eagles Nest, but by the time I got there around 6:30, they had a sold out sign on the doors and (obviously) weren't selling any more tickets. It was packed in pretty tight and I can only assume it was the same on Friday.

Nowheresville said:
I believe in the past tickets were $10 adult/$5 student.

It looks like Kohl is open for the weekend, so it should be there.


BTW - Were the Verona Games actually sellouts? I thought the arena could hold more than 800. I was out of town this weekend, but I've seen a handful of the previous playoff games there, and I've always bought tickets at the door.
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Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Penn State given permission to speak with Mark Johnson

http://host.madison.com/sports/college/hockey/article_dfb715ca-4494-11e0-9f0a-001cc4c03286.html

Penn State officials have received permission from UW athletic director Barry Alvarez to speak with Johnson about becoming the first coach of their NCAA Division I men's program.

Johnson said he's aware of Penn State's interest, but he's had no contact with any of its representatives.

"I'll deal with what we've got to deal with here in the next couple weeks and see what happens," he said after practice Tuesday.
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Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Nowheresville said:
I believe in the past tickets were $10 adult/$5 student.

It looks like Kohl is open for the weekend, so it should be there.
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Thanks. My sons and I are looking forward to attending our first ever NCAA hockey tourney game.

Mark Johnson.......He was interested in the UW men's job when Eaves got it, so there is a part of him that wanted to continue on the men's side. He has accomplihed a ton with the UW women (what more can he do?), and been a women's Olympic coach, so I could see him wanting to do his thing with Penn St. men's program. If I were him, I'd want to have a dynasty with the women's program and stay. I think, and this is purely conjecture, that the amount of time that would go into recruiting for men's is way more than womens, so I think it's less work for more glory if he stays.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

granddaddyscout said:
My sense is that he is not all that motivated by $$$, he has a pretty good set up in a place where his wife is happy, his kids are happy, and he has a very secure career situation. Personally I would be a little surprised if he left.
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On the other hand he may be the type of individual who loves taking on a new challenge, especially after having accomplished so much with the womens program at Wisconsin. The additional $$$ could be the icing on the cake - you know with Penn State's billionaire benefactor the job will pay huge $$$ that would be hard for anyone to ignore.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

D2D said:
On the other hand he may be the type of individual who loves taking on a new challenge, especially after having accomplished so much with the womens program at Wisconsin. The additional $$$ could be the icing on the cake - you know with Penn State's billionaire benefactor the job will pay huge $$$ that would be hard for anyone to ignore.
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I don't know Johnson at all. But if he is anything like most high achievers, it is the thrill of challenge and sense of ever higher levels of personal accomplishment that inspire and drive them. He's been an Olympic coach already. What more can he do at Wisconsin, having won multiple titles? Yes, it is comfortable and very successful year after year, but from a personal fulfillment standpoint it would eventually be bound to get a bit stale.

It probably isn't really about the money either, as tempting as that might be, since his family is happy and settled in Madison. So it doesn't surprise me that he may have turned down previous offers to coach men's teams.

However, this one is an entirely different proposition. This is that extremely rare opportunity to carve out your very own program from scratch and see if you can take it to the top, and how quickly. The ultimate test of your abilities to lead.

Pretty heady stuff. Given his talents, from a personal growth point of view, it would almost be a shame if he didn't take it.
 
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Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

It's too bad that this story had to come to light with (hopefully) three weeks left in the season. Ideally, the team can stay focused and take care of business starting this weekend up in Minneapolis.

I have to assume that this isn't the first time Coach Johnson been approached for another coaching position. Granted, I don't remember it getting this much (if any) press.

Even with zero inside information, I'm optimistic that he'll be back for next year and several years beyond. The Penn State position is definitely worth checking out and would love to see him leverage it into a pay raise. Barry Alvarez was a master of that whenever another school came around looking to interview him.

Seriously though, he has a dynasty in the making (it not already there), the best women's hockey fan base in the country, a new arena on the horizon, keeps his family (with two kids not yet graduated from high school) here in his hometown and would probably give him another shot at an Olympic Gold in 2014 if he wanted it. That's my logic, for what it's worth.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Wow what a great honor. I remember growing up in Madison - Mark's Dad built the Badger Men's program and from that built hockey in the State of Wisconsin. Mark would have much the same opportunity in PN. Penn State is a great school and beautiful - should be interesting to see this play out.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Oh yeah, way to crush the rodent's spirit with a big 3rd period comeback and OT win.

I assume I'll be able to buy tickets for Saturday @ uwbadgers tomorrow.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Timothy A said:
Oh yeah, way to crush the rodent's spirit with a big 3rd period comeback and OT win.
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I'm not sure the Gophers spirit is crushed by the loss, as disappointed as I'm sure they are. I bet they're ready to go in the NCAA q'final.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

A fantastic weekend for Wisconsin Women's Hockey over the weekend. The comeback win over the Gophers to win the title was one of the most exciting games I've been at in quite a while. Minnesota was more than game for two+ periods, but the Badgers were relentless in their offensive attack and it paid off in the end.

I was pleasantly surprised (if not shocked) when I saw the UW band at the game. It definitely added to the atmosphere of the game and I assume the players appreciated it as they skated over with the trophy to raise it up to the band after the awards ceremony.

I was disappointed with the crowd size which was barely over 1,000. However, the tournament pricing structure couldn't have helped as was getting gouged for nearby ramp parking. Lastly, they (whoever controls the issue) need to re-think the no re-entry policy. After the Wisconsin game on Friday, it would have been nice to go out and get a real dinner and then come back and watch the majority of the Gopher-Bulldog game. Instead, you have to kill at least an hour doing nothing waiting for the second game. By the end of two periods, I had spent enough time at Ridder and just left.

Anyway, I know that there's a lot of comments on the WCHA getting a raw deal in the NCAA pairings. I agree with most of it. The end result of the WCHA tourny was North Dakota getting left out, Minnesota hitting the road and Wisconsin having to host UMD. Not claiming a conspiracy, but it just seems that the NCAA is doing whatever they can do to minimize the number of WCHA teams in the Final Four. Hey, it's not our fault that we own your tournament.

As far as the Badgers having to play UMD, might as well be able to play them on home ice with all the advantages that go with it. At some point, to be the man (or woman), you have to beat the man.

Tickets are now available at $10/$5, which I think is quite reasonable for a NCAA tournament game. Hopefully, the community comes out en mass to support the team on Saturday night.
 
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Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

Badger Booster said:
Anyway, I know that there's a lot of comments on the WCHA getting a raw deal in the NCAA pairings. I agree with most of it. The end result of the WCHA tourny was North Dakota getting left out, Minnesota hitting the road and Wisconsin having to host UMD. Not claiming a conspiracy, but it just seems that the NCAA is doing whatever they can do to minimize the number of WCHA teams in the Final Four. Hey, it's not our fault that we own your tournament.

As far as the Badgers having to play UMD, might as well be able to play them on home ice with all the advantages that go with it. At some point, to be the man (or woman), you have to beat the man.
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Still, UW clearly deserved a better fate and bigger reward for the season they had.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

brookyone said:
Still, UW clearly deserved a better fate and bigger reward for the season they had.
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Still, this does cause a moral dilemma for you Gopher fans. Do you root for the "evil empire" or the team that you haven't beat since the first outing of the season :p
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

scrambledlegs said:
Still, this does cause a moral dilemma for you Gopher fans. Do you root for the "evil empire" or the team that you haven't beat since the first outing of the season :p
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I'm unable to root for either...although I do have my suspicions regarding an outcome. Right now I just hope the Gophers get to play one of them.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers '10-'11

brookyone said:
Still, UW clearly deserved a better fate and bigger reward for the season they had.
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There's no doubt that, as a fan, I'd rather see Wisconsin play Dartmouth than UMD. Similar to 2009, when Dartmouth came to town for a NCAA quarterfinal, I think the Badgers would overwhelm them with talent and the overall environment.

I heard the soundbite from Coach Johnson and he publically wasn't pleased with the pairing. As the overall #1 seed, they should get the lowest seeded team, which simply isn't UMD. Also, throw in the fact that all three WCHA teams are in one bracket, it looks like the NCAA feared another all-WCHA final.
 
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