Re: Wisconsin Hockey 2018-2019 Part 2: Still not time for the witty thread title.
I was as excited as the rest of you by the result of last night's game, what a fantastic finish. And I will also agree that the forwards looked good, and I think the coaches made a point of telling them to carry the puck into the offensive zone rather than dumping and chasing like we've seen so often this year. I bet if I watched the game again and kept track I could tally the dump ins on one hand. When you carry the puck in, you have more options and good things happen.
The defense looked OK, but my goodness we still had some terrible decisions and some just plain bad luck that kept Michigan in it. Tiscke played a very physical game, right on that razor's edge, he was effective without taking penalties. But it was also so disheartening to see the breakdowns and Michigan was so quick to exploit them. Freitag scores a fantastic goal, but before they can even announce it, Michigan scores on the other end.
I have to admit, I had no confidence that we would be able to pull out a win in regulation, and I was sure we were going to lose in overtime. And I hated that I felt that way, but I've seen it so often lately. But, the boys proved me wrong. I haven't heard it that loud at the Kohl for a long time, it was like everyone let out a collective roar of relief. And no one wanted to leave afterward, everyone hung around until after the handshake to see the team salute at center ice. Has it really been that long?
I'm still pessimistic about tonight, and about the Big Ten tourney, but it's that magic time of year when The Backdoor Badgers have traditionally made their appearance. On a good day, they can still play with any division 1 opponent. Wisko is right, Wisconsin wins big games. Let's Go Red!
