WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

[VarsityWisconsin]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Hi guys, friendly Red Wings fan here ..... Just curious, how is Brendan Smith's defense looking this year? And what's your overall take on him at this point?

He's a great goal scorer and is a very offensive minded defensemen. His defense can be good, but he has mental lapses that has costed us goals and maybe games this year. His plus/minus was among the worst on the team a few weeks ago, but it has moved up to +3. He's been great at facilitating with 16 assists so far, but we'll see if he can stop the defensive mistakes. There has been suggestions in this thread that he could possibly move to forward when he ends up in the NHL, but that is just speculation. We take the good with the bad in Brendan Smith.

 

[bucky15]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Random thoughts

-UNH has turned their season around, which will only help UW's PWR
-Did anyone else think Tech quit playing in the 2nd period?
-To Tech’s credit…any other team in the WCHA down that much would have been “fighting” after every whistle
-Bendy is a one-man wrecking crew on the PK. His hard work over the last three years are finally paying off
-We have three strong PK lines
-This team has the role players that the title team had…Grotting, Bendy, Johnson, and Bomber…Ramage as well
-This is one of the fastest Badger teams in program history
-B Smith will not be a Badger next year..nor will Mcdon
-The Badger Hockey Showdown will feature four ranked teams….probably the first time in the history of the tourney
-Tonight’s game will be close, but I feel the Badgers will win 4-1
-What’s up with Minny?
-CC played hard against Denver last night. They are for real….same with UMD

 

[jaster]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

He's a great goal scorer and is a very offensive minded defensemen. His defense can be good, but he has mental lapses that has costed us goals and maybe games this year. His plus/minus was among the worst on the team a few weeks ago, but it has moved up to +3. He's been great at facilitating with 16 assists so far, but we'll see if he can stop the defensive mistakes. There has been suggestions in this thread that he could possibly move to forward when he ends up in the NHL, but that is just speculation. We take the good with the bad in Brendan Smith.

Thanks for the reply! I really hope he can clean up those defensive lapses too. Based on the murmurs that have come from the Wings brass, it doesn't sound like they have any plans to try to convert him to forward. The Wings absolutely covet offensive, puck-moving defensemen, and a guy can always learn defense (as opposed to offense). I'm excited to get to see him play tonight.

 

[blockski]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Smith can really move the puck, he's got the talent. He needs to improve his decision making and pick his spots better. Once he does that, he's got a whole lot of potential.

 

[brianvf]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

UNH has turned their season around, which will only help UW's PWR

UNH is a team that is setting themselves up really well for the Hockey East standings, but hosing themselves for the NCAA's.

They are 6-2-2 in HEA.
But they are 0-4-1 in OOC play.

Ouch.

 

[blockski]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

sieve99 over at buckyville has a great shot, taken from UWBadgers.com

Now that's great team defense.

 

[joeyv]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

UW needs to put back to back nights together. They have been unable to do this so far this season.

Good to see Lee scratch out his first goal. Is there any D in college hockey that is faster end to end than UW's crew? Smith, Gardiner, and Schultz are big time fast, and Smith is tearing it up this season. While he does have the occasional hiccup, he has improved by leaps and bounds.

Geoffrion is playing great hockey, and I think the lines are starting to even out just a bit.

Tech was just awful, but I think the boys have to be ready for a bit more of a tussle tonight. UW goes into UND with some momentum and starts getting on a roll...look out.

Watched Minny last night. I don't know what is going on there, but they look slow, overmatched, and lost out there. I have never seen a Minnesota team flail around like this one. Minnesota State is decent, but I'm just not sure what's going on in Dinkytown.

Also note that Derek Stepan is quietly getting points and starting to play like we all know he can. He's got to produce for this team to win, and he's doing just that.

Wisconsin Hockey: Back to Back

 

[badgerhawk]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

UW needs to put back to back nights together. They have been unable to do this so far this season.
Wisconsin Hockey: Back to Back

How was that for back to back nights. Now let's hope they can do it against a quality team.

 

[bucky15]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Tech is in for a long season.

How much fun was that 5 minute power play?!?

B Smith is putting up a lot of points.

 

[VarsityWisconsin]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I'm kind of hoping that Stepan, Gardiner, and Ramage don't make the World Juniors. We are really going to need them at the Showdown and it's unfortunate that they have to miss regular season time for a meaningless hockey tournament. Maybe that's just me being selfish, though.

 

[uwbadgers14]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Random thoughts

-UNH has turned their season around, which will only help UW's PWR
-Did anyone else think Tech quit playing in the 2nd period?
-To Tech’s credit…any other team in the WCHA down that much would have been “fighting” after every whistle
-Bendy is a one-man wrecking crew on the PK. His hard work over the last three years are finally paying off
-We have three strong PK lines
-This team has the role players that the title team had…Grotting, Bendy, Johnson, and Bomber…Ramage as well
-This is one of the fastest Badger teams in program history
-B Smith will not be a Badger next year..nor will Mcdon
-The Badger Hockey Showdown will feature four ranked teams….probably the first time in the history of the tourney
-Tonight’s game will be close, but I feel the Badgers will win 4-1
-What’s up with Minny?
-CC played hard against Denver last night. They are for real….same with UMD

Tech didn't stop playing they were just out of gas trying to keep up with the speed of UW on a big ice sheet. tech can keep it close playing d on a small rink but get them on a big sheet and they just don't have the talent or speed to hang in there.

I agree on B Smith and Mcd being gone next year. B Smith is in the Hobey discussion right now.

i'm excited for the showdown, hopefully they do a little more advertising this year for it. the fact its not right after christmas will help with attendance a little.

What up with Minny? There program is in shambles, they recruit a bunch of brats like Barriball and try to get them to play as a team, doesn't work and its finally catching up to them, i hope they finish in the seller and slap them back to reality.

 

[ansinator]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I'm kind of hoping that Stepan, Gardiner, and Ramage don't make the World Juniors. We are really going to need them at the Showdown and it's unfortunate that they have to miss regular season time for a meaningless hockey tournament. Maybe that's just me being selfish, though.

I'm not that worried. Obviously those guys are the ones we want on the ice, but it's not like we're losing Geoffrion, B. Smith, and McD. Little, Springer and C. Johnson will fill in for Gardiner and Ramage. I'd like to see Johnson play both nights with Little and Springer alternating if necessary. We have plenty of forwards that can fill in for Stepan. Our scoring is so balanced this year that we don't need the replacements to make a huge impact, just limit mistakes.

In the end, the experience those guys will get playing with and against some of the best in the world is well worth missing them for two games.

 

[uwbadgers14]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I'm kind of hoping that Stepan, Gardiner, and Ramage don't make the World Juniors. We are really going to need them at the Showdown and it's unfortunate that they have to miss regular season time for a meaningless hockey tournament. Maybe that's just me being selfish, though.

WOW meaningless tournament. The WJ's is one of the most exciting hockey tournaments in the world. Its a huge deal to represent your country. If you had ever been to one you would not have that attitude i promise you. This tournament is right up there with the olympics. Its a great recruiting tool for UW to say you always have players getting picked for the WJC. My advice to you is go to a bar or if you get the NHL network watch the games. Its a really big deal to all hockey fans

 

[uwbadgers14]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I see we jumped to 8 in the PWR, thats good, should be interesting to see the polls tomorrow, not that it matters much but i always try to figure out what these people are thinking. Last week we smoked Michigan state 7-3 and we drop in the polls on monday and mich st stays ahead of UW, its always kinda funny

 

[blockski]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I'm kind of hoping that Stepan, Gardiner, and Ramage don't make the World Juniors. We are really going to need them at the Showdown and it's unfortunate that they have to miss regular season time for a meaningless hockey tournament. Maybe that's just me being selfish, though.

Meaningless? Um, ok.

 

[GoDanGo]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I see we jumped to 8 in the PWR, thats good, should be interesting to see the polls tomorrow, not that it matters much but i always try to figure out what these people are thinking. Last week we smoked Michigan state 7-3 and we drop in the polls on monday and mich st stays ahead of UW, its always kinda funny

And we're right behind next weekend's opponent, North Dakota, who is sitting at #7. Naturally, the first three components of the PWR will change a lot before the end of the season, but a win or two against them this weekend in the head-to-head portion of the Pairwise would be awfully helpful in March.

 

[VarsityWisconsin]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Like I said, maybe I'm being selfish. I've never watched the World Juniors so I don't have much of an appreciation for it. Seems silly, though, to risk injury for our players and have them miss time for international play. The NHL stops their league for 2 weeks for the Olympics. Why can't college hockey do the same?

 

[WisconsinWildcard]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I'm kind of hoping that Stepan, Gardiner, and Ramage don't make the World Juniors. We are really going to need them at the Showdown and it's unfortunate that they have to miss regular season time for a meaningless hockey tournament. Maybe that's just me being selfish, though.

Like others have said...putting players in the World Juniors is a great recruiting tool for Wisconsin especially landing highly recruited players. This year we have as much depth as I have seen since 05-06. Because of this, I am not too worried.

Additionally, as much of a badger fan as I am, I always like to see badgers/former badgers get recognition in the hockey world. The opportunity to represent their country as well as UW in a world stage is invaluable. It also allows our players to get experience playing with and against some of the best young players in the world. Playing at the high level seen at the World Juniors will help Stepan, Gardiner and Ramage become better badgers, helping us out in the end.

I wish the best of luck to our guys!

 

[uwbadgers14]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

Like I said, maybe I'm being selfish. I've never watched the World Juniors so I don't have much of an appreciation for it. Seems silly, though, to risk injury for our players and have them miss time for international play. The NHL stops their league for 2 weeks for the Olympics. Why can't college hockey do the same?

First then you have to watch this year, specially USA vs Canada. Second you can't just stop college hockey for 2 weeks, more then college hockey is effected by this tournament, all jr. hockey would have to stop as well, it would cause a big scheduling mess. not just college kids play in this tournament. They are only going to miss a couple games and its in canada so there won't be travel problems or jet lag to worry about. If i had to pick a year to loose 3 players it would be this one because i think we need to get Johnson, Little, Springer, thurber some reps for next year besides they all have significant playing time in there careers so i think we will be ok.

 

[Almington]

Re: WISCONSIN HOCKEY 09-10 - Climbing The Mountain (7th Edition?)

I don't have any problem with Gardiner or Stephan making the team because I know that they will play every game. My worry is that Ramage would be the 7th Dman and spend most of the time in the stands. I have no problem if players miss a week or two for this tournament, but only if they are actually going to play and not just be on hand as an alternate.