Wisconsin Badgers 2020-2021

[Timothy A]

As a big Bemidji WH fan who watched our team struggle mightily this season, the men’s team’s performance is a great salve.

It honestly would be great to see the BSU women hack their way into the top 4. At the expense of MN, OSU and UMD of course. Does it just come down to getting better players? It's sad DeGeorge left for OSU. Every year I look at the top HS players in MN and so many end up in the EZAC. How does BSU fight that?

 

[Offsides Guy]

And OSU is getting quite the talent in Claire. Extremely talented and hardworking and dedicated to improving her game.

 

[ARM]

It honestly would be great to see the BSU women hack their way into the top 4. At the expense of MN, OSU and UMD of course. Does it just come down to getting better players?

When Bemidji has been a top-four team, it's been because it has had great goaltending. BSU has never had the depth of offensive talent to outscore people. For any of the teams trying to move from the bottom of the WCHA to the top, stealing points from the contenders isn't enough. They have to also avoid giving those points back to the rest of the bottom half.

St. Thomas is going to further complicate life for the bottom half of the WCHA. Much like when UND was in existence, it is more competition for the Minnesota HS players, making it harder to land a diamond in the rough from the in-state talent pool. If St. Thomas starts to have success, then it could negatively impact UMD's prospects, much like UND did.

And speaking of UMD and UND in the same sentence, that was a long game last night. The Gophers game started two hours later and was still done much sooner.

 

[robertearle]

And speaking of UMD and UND in the same sentence, that was a long game last night. The Gophers game started two hours later and was still done much sooner.

It also included an intentional and successful below-the-goal-line bank shot. Not as extreme an angle as Watts' goal, but still. And I still say pulling the goalie works way more often than it should. Insane game, really fun.

 

[ARM]

It also included an intentional and successful below-the-goal-line bank shot. Not as extreme an angle as Watts' goal, but still.

It was kind of a combination attempt at a bank and just throwing it at the goalie in the hope that he'll kick it into his own net. Oddly, still more pure than UND's other goal, where the guy whiffs on the SOG and it winds up being the perfectly-disguised pass.

And I still say pulling the goalie works way more often than it should.

It's odd how frequently there is an opportunity to score into the empty net just before the EA goal, and it's like the hockey gods are offended that the team with the lead has wasted the chance to cement the win. Maybe that should be the takeaway for teams preparing to finish games: defending against six skaters for a minute or more is hard, but when you have a shot at the 6 by 4 wide open, hit the darn thing.

Insane game, really fun.

Several of the players, mostly for UMD, didn't look like they were having all that much fun toward the end of the last couple of OTs. They'll need that extra week to get their legs back. It looked like a completely different game from regulation to the last 30 minutes or so.

 

[robertearle]

It's odd how frequently there is an opportunity to score into the empty net just before the EA goal, and it's like the hockey gods are offended that the team with the lead has wasted the chance to cement the win. Maybe that should be the takeaway for teams preparing to finish games: defending against six skaters for a minute or more is hard, but when you have a shot at the 6 by 4 wide open, hit the darn thing.

2014 Women's Olympics final.

 

[Steamboat]

2014 Women's Olympics final.

OOHHH!!!!! That hurts!

 

[gwhinwi]

I have updated the spreadsheet with the latest on the transfer portal, both incoming and outgoing. Still some spots to be filled and lots of questions about who is coming back for another year.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...9raNLdLnPawRfO1S63AG6PY0oE/edit#gid=645067474

 

[diddlypoo]

I have updated the spreadsheet with the latest on the transfer portal, both incoming and outgoing. Still some spots to be filled and lots of questions about who is coming back for another year.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...9raNLdLnPawRfO1S63AG6PY0oE/edit#gid=645067474

Christina Vote is not coming to Wisconsin (supposedly changed commitment to Boston University.)

Badgers women's hockey unveils 3-player signing class, but 2021-22 roster has unanswered questions | Wisconsin Badgers Hockey | madison.com

 

[Timothy A]

So Greig and Grant (OSU) are in the portal and Cornell D Nealy is heading to WI and will be a Sr.

On Grant, it was interesting that she played a decent amount as a Fr, but then the development of Kotlowski this year jumping from not playing last year to the to the top pair this year pushed her down the order. I also think this also points to the fact that one or even both Buchbinder and Bowlby are coming back. With the addition of Nealy, Grant would have been the 5th D ahead of Toft and then t he following year year she would have been a top 4 player.

Nealy is characterized as a stay at home D in the paper. I think most of WI's D would be characterized by that aside from Lamantia who likes to get involved in the rush and I would assume Harvey would be in that same boat as highly regarded as she is.

Grieg is a victim of the quality above her and it also I think points to the fact that Drake and Schneider are coming back as Pettet alluded to in an interview. Plus the Fr of Picard and Wozniewicz are not just depth players and Wheeler spot played @ F in the Frozen Four, so MJ likes her game.

DeVito left the program last year for the record.

I'm most curious if Blair would be back as Pettit hinted.

 

[Timothy A]

Apparently Greig landed at Colgate. We don't know the 3rd one in the portal yet. If Blair is coming back, I would guess Blesi might be in there. Or I was guessing maybe Grace Shirley if Drake, Schniender and Posick come back.

As of right now, however, there are only 10F on the roster, including Watts, Curl and Shirley who could all be gone for the Olympics. I would sleep better knowing if Drake, Schniender and Posick are coming back for sure. They could have between 7 and 13 forwards next year. Yikes.

 

[Sieve1]

If Blair stays you’d think a goalie would want to move on but with virtually no college stats how would any of them get interest? Maybe being one of 3 practice goalies at UW is enough? Heard Colgate goalie Dobchuck also transferring ...similar problem there: hasn’t played many games (none this year as their Freshman played all of them)
Tough situation even harder for goalies

 

[robertearle]

If Blair stays you’d think a goalie would want to move on but with virtually no college stats how would any of them get interest? Maybe being one of 3 practice goalies at UW is enough? Heard Colgate goalie Dobchuck also transferring ...similar problem there: hasn’t played many games (none this year as their Freshman played all of them)
Tough situation even harder for goalies

Campbell ended up at Wisconsin largely because Jackie Crum had recruited her out of high school, as I understand it. So maybe a goalie is sitting there thinking "I should have picked school A instead of school B when I had the chance" and now they have a second chance at that choice, and school A is familiar with them, etc. from the earlier recruitment attempt.

 

[ARM]

Campbell ended up at Wisconsin largely because Jackie Crum had recruited her out of high school, as I understand it.

Either her family being able to drive to watch her play was a big factor, or it doesn't speak that highly of Crum's recruiting to lose her to NoDak. Although to be fair, if she committed after the 2014-15 season, the gap between the two teams wasn't that big.

 

[Timothy A]

Either her family being able to drive to watch her play was a big factor, or it doesn't speak that highly of Crum's recruiting to lose her to NoDak. Although to be fair, if she committed after the 2014-15 season, the gap between the two teams wasn't that big.

I know it is shocking to think that UW loses out in recruiting wars to other schools. I can see wanting to go to the Sue if a large highly treed and heavily foliated metro city like Madison isn't your cup of tea at the time you want to make your decision and you prefer a flat moonscape of ND. If I was a recruited hockey player when I was 16-18 yrs old, Madison would have intimated me. Mentally I would have felt much more comfortable at a smaller school like St. Cloud or N. Mich or maybe MI Tech. Way back then Kato and BSU weren't D1.

 

[Sieve1]

Pure speculation since I have no idea of what the goalie lineups were back then but maybe there was more opportunity for a goalie to compete for playing time at ND. UW isn’t exactly known as a great destination for goalies...

 

[robertearle]

Either her family being able to drive to watch her play was a big factor, or it doesn't speak that highly of Crum's recruiting to lose her to NoDak. Although to be fair, if she committed after the 2014-15 season, the gap between the two teams wasn't that big.

File it under "all's well that ends well".

 

[Timothy A]

UW isn’t exactly known as a great destination for goalies...

In Watt way?

 

[Lindsay]

In a Gabriella Fundaro long piece a few years back, she reported that what Campbell liked about UND was they laid a plan out for her. She was a young freshman. Perhaps UND sold her on a plan whereas UW may have been more vague about future net time? Have to think UND would be a great draw to Manitobans as well, which I think Campbell is.

From Fundaro (written after the 2019 UW win):
“When Campbell begins her college career at the University of North Dakota, she opts to redshirt her first year. She’s coming into college as a 17-year-old, and it’ll give her more time to develop and get acclimated to the level of play in the NCAA.

“We were actually kind of shocked that she bought into that,” her coach at North Dakota, Brian Idalski, said. “She was a U18 goaltender [with Team Canada]. U18 goaltenders don’t come in and redshirt. But she bought into the plan. She was very structured, liked what we had to say, had no problems with the work ethic and doing things on her own, behind the scenes.””

“It hit her hard,” Idalski said. “It may have hit her as hard, if not more so than anybody on our team, just because she had bought in so heavily to the plan and to what was going on, what her role was, and then to not know.”

“Brian had that planned out for me, mapped out everything, so to have my plan just blown up and have nothing, that’s what blew me out of the water so far,” Campbell said.

 

[Sieve1]

In Watt way?

Just looking back the last few years...last 2 starting goalies have been transfers and the goalies that were recruited by UW have been red shirted and never play. Other schools seem to at least rotate a back up in every so often just to keep them involved. Would lead someone to think they don’t develop their recruited goalies, but just take a seasoned transfer as the starter. Doubt that’s going away anytime soon with the portal exploding.
It’s not necessarily “wrong” and anyone recruited to UW, UM or OSU (like when a 20-something freshman from Switzerland arrives in Columbus and displaces the recruited goalie?) or any other D1 program is lucky to have the opportunity. Goalies can get moved down the depth chart by younger goalies too (eg, Colgate) so there are no guarantees, ever. I could be wrong but not since ARD has UW had a regular starter that they recruited in as a freshman. Would think that Blesi, Crosnish, etc might be eyeing the portal if they want to play.