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Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Badger Booster said:
I think if UW makes a sweet enough offer, the NCAA won't care about site equality.

I would like to tell you that the local fan base would show up in large numbers regardless of the Badgers making the Final Four...but I can't. There would be a radical attendence drop-off if Wisconsin didn't get in. Can't defend it, but that's the reality of it. The same problem happens when Kohl has hosted a men's hockey regional in the past.
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Sure. But if UW would have a shot at say, 9000 if the Badgers were there and it didn't happen to compete with anything important, but 3000 will still show up w/o the Badgers, that is good as Frozen Fours go. Unless you're saying nobody will show up if Wisconsin isn't there.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

No, you are right in that they would probably pull a crowd similar to recent Final Fours especially if a Minnesota, UMD or North Dakota was in. However, that kind of crowd in a 15,000 seat arena just doesn't look good, but what do you do?

Now if the Badgers are in, it's my opinion that they would pull a crowd of over 10,000 and would give women's hockey the best exposure outside of the Olympics, assuming/hoping somebody like ESPN, Versus or even Fox Sports North televised it.

Ultimately, there is no real major downside if Madison gets the bid and the upside is pretty big.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Hadn't seen that Baggot article - thanks for sharing it.

I would have to think that attendance would depend on what else is going on. They've managed to draw 10,000 for Fill the Bowl, so I think if the school really pushed it and ticket prices were still reasonable, folks would show up.

If the hockey office markets it correctly and approaches the girls teams in Southeastern Wisconsin and goes after groups, they can really get people there. Having it in driving distance of schools that are likely to be involved like us and Minnesota and UMD has to help.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Didn't shoot much of the girls in red tonight but a shot of Rigsby with the puck sailing up and over the net in the third period.. I guess the best part is the look on ref Jay Mendell's face. I do try to get a bit more shots of the visiting team the second day if I think about it though ;)
UMDWomenVsWisconsinTM28.jpg
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Great sweep for the women this weekend 5-1 is very good considering they've played the top of the WCHA the lst three weeks. Now let Minnesota/UMD/North Dakota beat up on each other over the next month or so. Not that BU won't be a tough series this weekend, but won't impact league standings.

Even with all the success that the team has had over the last 6-7 years, it was the Badgers first sweep up in Duluth since 2002. Hopefully, this won't be the last time they go up there this year and win a couple of games.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Badger Booster said:
Great sweep for the women this weekend 5-1 is very good considering they've played the top of the WCHA the lst three weeks. Now let Minnesota/UMD/North Dakota beat up on each other over the next month or so. Not that BU won't be a tough series this weekend, but won't impact league standings.

Even with all the success that the team has had over the last 6-7 years, it was the Badgers first sweep up in Duluth since 2002. Hopefully, this won't be the last time they go up there this year and win a couple of games.
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Can they win 4 more games in Duluth?
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Though it'll be a challenge if they have to play UMD in any of those games similar to the end of the '08 season. Must be nice not to have to leave town all the way through the WCHA and NCAA tournaments.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

I said this in the men's thread, but I wanted to bring the topic here, too.

With the women playing at 2 pm on Saturday, it's possible to do the hockey double-header at the Kohl. We drive in from Milwaukee and the two times don't often both play on Saturday, so we're excited at the opportunity to see both teams. It leaves us time to head to the Big 10 between games to get dinner and take the shuttle back for the men's game.

Should be a big series this weekend, with the NC rematch against Boston University and both teams ranked in the top 5.

Also, in case you didn't see it, Alex Rigsby was named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week for the second week in a row.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

With it being Kids Day (plus free admission for all) today and all the downtown activities tomorrow, hopefully there will be some good size crowds for the series against BU.

Should be a good series, though I see that Poulin is out until December. That has to be a big impact. To my knowledge, the Badgers are relatively healthy across the board, but I could be wrong.

Nice article earlier this week in the State Journal about Alex Rigsby and how she has battled through two hip labrum surgeries over the last year and a half, but sounded like she was back pretty much 100%. She hasn't lacked for action in goal the last three weeks and (as mentioned above) has been Defensive Player of the week a twice.

Let's get a couple of more wins to end this tough stretch of games.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Nice win for the Badgers today and Kids Day/free admission drew over 3,000 which I think was a fairly legitimate number. Brittany Ammerman's second goal was a sweet one-timer and Jaminski's came off some beautiful passing. There were a few other quality chances that they just failed to bury. I thought Wisconsin controlled the play for much of the game. BU definitely had some nice looks, but Rigsby was there to shut them down.

I'd like to see some more people (especially students) who are going to the men's game come out and check out the women play. That goes for the band also, but that's another conversation for another time.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

I was admittedly pretty nervous for the first two periods of Saturday's game. The Badgers just didn't seem to have their timing. They were half a second away on every pass or shot, just missing pucks and not being able to hook up for plays.

There was very little extended control by either team in the first two periods. The play constantly went up and down the ice.

The Badgers really pulled away in the third. I wonder if it was a conditioning thing, as they just seemed to take control and Boston U really fell off. The Badgers were finally settled in and BU was all over the place.

The third period really made it seem like there's eons between the Badgers and other top teams. I don't want to be cocky, but that 3rd period felt like when I saw UW play Lindenwood earlier in the season. There was just no comparison between the two teams on the ice at that time.

The Badgers are clearly in control of their fate. BU was 4/5 coming into this weekend and really never gave the Badgers more than they can handle.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

tristarscoop said:
I was admittedly pretty nervous for the first two periods of Saturday's game. The Badgers just didn't seem to have their timing. They were half a second away on every pass or shot, just missing pucks and not being able to hook up for plays.

There was very little extended control by either team in the first two periods. The play constantly went up and down the ice.

...

BU was 4/5 coming into this weekend and really never gave the Badgers more than they can handle.
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I guess I'm not understanding you. You describe the first the first two periods as being even enough to have you nervous. When half a team's shots go into the net as was the case for UW in the third, they can look more dominant than they actually were. As for BU, I doubt it is any secret that they aren't the same w/o Poulin, just like the Badgers aren't the same if they don't have Decker.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

I thought BU played better on Saturday for the first two periods and the score reflected it (just 2-1 Badgers). However, as Wisconsin does, they keep attacking relentlessly. It also looked like Sperry got shook-up early in the third, gave up a couple of goals, got the hook and her back-up gave up a couple more.

No doubt that not having Poulin made a difference, but a Badger sweep may still have been inevitable. Not that I want to see the theory tested, but I think Wisconsin could weather an injury to a forward, even a top-tier player like Decker, and not miss much of a beat.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

I was nervous because the Badgers weren't in control, which, frankly, is what we're used to seeing. I wanted the Badgers to pull away and they didn't until the third period.

I didn't take the third period as lucky, but as the better team buckling down and pulling away. It seemed like BU ran out of gas a bit and the Badgers had the better fitness level. That, to me, made them the better team. BU pushed themselves to hang with the Badgers for the first two periods, but couldn't sustain that level for the whole game.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Badger Booster said:
No doubt that not having Poulin made a difference, but a Badger sweep may still have been inevitable. Not that I want to see the theory tested, but I think Wisconsin could weather an injury to a forward, even a top-tier player like Decker, and not miss much of a beat.
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I totally agree that UW is better configured to handle an injury to a top forward than most teams -- although some teams don't have anyone of quite that caliber, so they'll have a lot of people of roughly the same level. Definitely, the Badgers w/o a Knight or Decker are better off than UM w/o Kessel or UMD w/o Irwin. Poulin is the rare player who can score totally on her own, like she did in the championship game. If she has a career game and does that four times, then you probably have to tip your cap to her.

tristarscoop said:
I was nervous because the Badgers weren't in control, which, frankly, is what we're used to seeing.
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The one game I've seen live from Wisco' this year, they didn't have control. On the scoreboard, yes, on the ice, not for most of the game. With Rigsby playing as well as she is this year, they can win even when that is the case. But overall I agree with you that in most of their games, there are two teams on the ice: the Badgers, and the team the Badgers are dominating.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Badger fans may be interested in my Unofficial 3 Stars Lists for this weekend's UW/OSU series. They can be found on the WCHA Thread III, at Posts #540 & #544. I do my best to be objective; be assured that several Badgers were recognized.
 
Re: Wisconsin Badgers 2011-12 - The Drive for Five

Keep checking back and this thread is just dead. Guess that's a testament to the women for being so steady. Not much to say when you're consistently on top, but I do wish we could see more games. I'd love to be more on top of how the ladies are doing.
 
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