Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

[GoBucky36]

What, nobody is keeping up with what going on with the Badgers this summer? Shame!
For starters, DeKeyser has stepped down from being assisstant coach to be a mentor for freshmen student-athletes through the Fetzer Student-Athlete Academic Center.
I kind of have mixed emotions about this. One the one hand, she has played a pretty big part in making Badger womens' hockey as successful as it has been but on the other hand when Johnson took a hiatus last season to coach the womens' olympic team the Badgers were horrible and didnt even make the NCAA playoffs.
The fact that they went from missing the playoffs one season to dominating and winning the WCHA and NCAA championship the next year makes me question how much of a future DeKeyser has as a coach. Tough call.
Im just going to say that I appreciate all that she has done for Badger womens' hockey and wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.
You can read more about it here if you wish: http://www.uwbadgers.com/sports/w-hockey/spec-rel/062111aab.html
In other news, Mark Johnson was named Coach Of The Year by BTN and Meghan Duggan was named female athlete of the year by Wisconsin Athletics.
Also, construction of LaBahn Arena is ongoing and it looks like its going to be a beautiful facility. I look forward to it's grand opening!

 

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

One the one hand, she has played a pretty big part in making Badger womens' hockey as successful as it has been but on the other hand when Johnson took a hiatus last season to coach the womens' olympic team the Badgers were horrible and didnt even make the NCAA playoffs.
The fact that they went from missing the playoffs one season to dominating and winning the WCHA and NCAA championship the next year makes me question how much of a future DeKeyser has as a coach.

That's not an entirely fair analysis though, is it? I'd expect a coach with Johnson's resume to get more out of a team than an interim coach with no previous D-I head-coaching experience. And I doubt a) DeKeyser would have missed the NCAAs had she had Duggan, Knight, and Rigsby on her roster; b) the Badgers would have been as dominant in 2011 w/o those three.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

That's not an entirely fair analysis though, is it? I'd expect a coach with Johnson's resume to get more out of a team than an interim coach with no previous D-I head-coaching experience. And I doubt a) DeKeyser would have missed the NCAAs had she had Duggan, Knight, and Rigsby on her roster; b) the Badgers would have been as dominant in 2011 w/o those three.

You could make that arguement. I stand by my original statement though, Ive never been all that impressed with DeKeyser.

 

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Ive never been all that impressed with DeKeyser.

That's fair. Dismissing her future as a coach because 2011 > 2010 is what I found flawed.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

That's fair. Dismissing her future as a coach because 2011 > 2010 is what I found flawed.

Fair enough. I will be VERY surprised if she ever ends up anywhere as a head coach.

 

[D2D]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

If she left her assistant job voluntarily maybe she decided that a career as a hockey coach is not what she wants to do. On the other hand if she was asked to step down maybe she's hoping the mentoring job is just temporary and would be receptive to looking at other coaching opportunities.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

If she left her assistant job voluntarily maybe she decided that a career as a hockey coach is not what she wants to do. On the other hand if she was asked to step down maybe she's hoping the mentoring job is just temporary and would be receptive to looking at other coaching opportunities.

Thats a very good question and one that I cannot answer.

 

[BTW67]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

If she left her assistant job voluntarily maybe she decided that a career as a hockey coach is not what she wants to do. On the other hand if she was asked to step down maybe she's hoping the mentoring job is just temporary and would be receptive to looking at other coaching opportunities.

Or, maybe she left to focus on her family as was suggested in the coaching changes thread. Being a working mom is hard with a 9-5 job. I can't imagine what it's like when you're travelling with a team.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Or, maybe she left to focus on her family as was suggested in the coaching changes thread. Being a working mom is hard with a 9-5 job. I can't imagine what it's like when you're travelling with a team.

That would make a lot of sense, actually. As a mentor she will be home every night and have more time to devote to her kid. IMO, the hours wouldnt be as difficult as it would be having to work during the weekends when the team has games.
That kind of life doesnt exactly leave much time for family and personal relationships.
I wasnt aware that she is a working mom. I have a little more respect for her now that I know that...

 

[brookyone]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Also, construction of LaBahn Arena is ongoing and it looks like its going to be a beautiful facility. I look forward to it's grand opening!

What's the anticipated date for the Grand Opening? I wonder if this facility will allow for the avoidance of the two game-split over three day series...which I'm told Minnesota and Wisconsin will be playing again in Madison next season. Those Friday / Sunday series suck in my view...the view of a fan who likes to travel to Madison and watch two games, and be able to head back down I94 after game two...on Sat.

 

[WHKY blogger]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Those series will always be there if they are in the fall competing with football... I believe were playing Indiana this year...!

If you look at the schedule that is not the only weekend with a Friday-Sunday in Madison, so at the very least other teams are getting the same treatment. After football the only way you see a Friday-Sunday once there in Labahn is the rare mid-day home Men's basketball Saturday game..

http://www.uwbadgers.com/auto_pdf/p...ports/w-hockey/auto_pdf/110614_WHKY_schedule2

 

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

If you look at the schedule that is not the only weekend with a Friday-Sunday in Madison, so at the very least other teams are getting the same treatment.

The Gophers now have the same issue with football making Saturday home games for women's hockey impossible on certain weekends. The frustration with the splits in Madison is that this is the 3rd time in 4 years that our @UW series is Fri-Sun, while statistically it should happen at a rate more like 1 in 4. Not sure why, but there are patterns in the WCHA schedule that seem to happen more than an expected random sampling, such as UM playing in Grand Forks in December, or playing the first series of the home and home with UMD in Minneapolis and then having to later travel to Duluth 9 years out of 13. It is what it is.

At least this year it looks like it is a Friday night rather than a Friday afternoon in Madison, so a traveling fan doesn't have to try to figure out how to kill two evenings on the road w/o hockey.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

What's the anticipated date for the Grand Opening?

At this point all they are saying is that it will open in 2012.

I wonder if this facility will allow for the avoidance of the two game-split over three day series...which I'm told Minnesota and Wisconsin will be playing again in Madison next season. Those Friday / Sunday series suck in my view...the view of a fan who likes to travel to Madison and watch two games, and be able to head back down I94 after game two...on Sat.

Thats one of the major points to the contruction of LaBahn Arena: to avoid the hassle of scheduling when the mens' and womens' teams are home on the same weekend. Im not a fan of the Friday/Sunday split either but that should be a thing of the past when the arena is completed.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

The frustration with the splits in Madison is that this is the 3rd time in 4 years that our @UW series is Fri-Sun, while statistically it should happen at a rate more like 1 in 4. Not sure why, but there are patterns in the WCHA schedule that seem to happen more than an expected random sampling, such as UM playing in Grand Forks in December, or playing the first series of the home and home with UMD in Minneapolis and then having to later travel to Duluth 9 years out of 13. It is what it is.

Maybe thats because people actually show up for the games in Madison.

 

[ARM]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Maybe thats because people actually show up for the games in Madison.

While I won't argue with that, I think you needed a different setup or mind-altering substances for that punchline to make sense.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

I'm hoping that the opening of LaBahn will eliminate all Friday 2:00 starts and such a front-loaded schedule. They play 8 games prior to Halloween and then go on an 80+ day stretch where they play all of two home games. That's ridiculous.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

While I won't argue with that, I think you needed a different setup or mind-altering substances for that punchline to make sense.

Meh, I still couldnt resist throwing it out there. Im not going to pass up on the chance to take the state of hockey down a peg or 2.

 

[GoBucky36]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

I'm hoping that the opening of LaBahn will eliminate all Friday 2:00 starts and such a front-loaded schedule. They play 8 games prior to Halloween and then go on an 80+ day stretch where they play all of two home games. That's ridiculous.

Amen to that. Balance would be nice. Not to mention being on the road that much sucks for the team.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Any word on who the leading candidates are to replace Tracy? Probably not a shortage of qualified and motivated applicants.

 

[brookyone]

Re: Wisconsin Badgers Off-Season '11

Meh, I still couldnt resist throwing it out there. Im not going to pass up on the chance to take the state of hockey down a peg or 2.

Well...better luck with that endeavor in the future then.