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Wisconsin Hockey 24-25 Improving With All Due Haste.

Prev Weekend: Won 4-0, Loss 3-2 OT at Michigan

Record: 7-10-1 overall (5-5-2-5); 4-2-1-5 19 pts, T-2[SUP]nd[/SUP] (2[SUP]nd[/SUP]) in Big7 (n/c)
NOTE still multigames more played – reality is they are 4[SUP]th[/SUP] to 5[SUP]th[/SUP]
USCHO Poll: 13 rec’g votes (24[SUP]th[/SUP]); 4 rec’g votes (T-31[SUP]st[/SUP]) (+7)
PWR: T-25[SUP]th[/SUP] of 64; T-31[SUP]st[/SUP] of 64 (+6)
RPI: 26 of 64; 32 of 64 (+6)
Scoring: 2.72 GPG (36[SUP]th[/SUP]); 2.69 GPG (37[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+1)
Defense: 2.50 GAPG (25[SUP]th[/SUP]); 2.62 GAPG (29[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+4)
Save %: .906 (T-29[SUP]th[/SUP]); .900 (T-38[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+9)
Power Play Rate: 23.08% (15 of 65) 17[SUP]th[/SUP]; 23.21% (13 of 56) T-16[SUP]th[/SUP] (-1)
Penalty Kill Rate: 75.00% (33 of 44) T-53[SUP]rd[/SUP]; 71.05% (27 of 38) 60[SUP]th[/SUP] (+7)
Penalty Min per Game (1st is worst): 6.56 (59[SUP]th[/SUP]); 5.56 (63[SUP]rd[/SUP]) (-4)
Penalty Min (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 118 (T-53[SUP]rd[/SUP]); 89 (62[SUP]nd[/SUP]) (-9)
Shorthanded Goals Scored; 1 (T-30[SUP]th[/SUP]); 0 (T-49[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+19)
Shorthanded Goals Allowed (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 1 (T-31[SUP]st[/SUP]); 1 (T-29[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+2)
Team Faceoff: 54.9% (4[SUP]th[/SUP]); 55.1% (4[SUP]th[/SUP]) (n/c)
SOG taken: 604 (2[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 548 (T-5[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+3)
Shooting %: 8.1% (T-52[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 7.8% (53[SUP]rd[/SUP]) (+1)
SOG allowed (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 480 (35[SUP]th[/SUP]); 421 (40[SUP]th[/SUP]) (-5)

Next Games: Off until Kwik Trip Holiday Face-off on 12/28 and 12/29 (Ferris St and UConn/Alaska)
After that: Thu 1/2/25 at MSU 5:30 PM BTN; 1/4/25 at Wrigley Field MSU 8 PM TV - TBD

Progress in many areas, but again unable to get the much-needed sweep. Still won another series.
Semester break - time for finals and getting the boys healthy for Milwaukee or at least for MSU.
Need 2 wins in Milwaukee and then 4 of 6 points against MSU.
 
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First half of the season is over. The finished the first half much improved over the first quarter of the season. Is there enough there to get home playoffs for Big7, get over .500 and make a push for the NCAA tourney? I hope so. They are so close to putting it all together.
 
WiscTJK said:
First half of the season is over. The finished the first half much improved over the first quarter of the season. Is there enough there to get home playoffs for Big7, get over .500 and make a push for the NCAA tourney? I hope so. They are so close to putting it all together.
Click to expand...

I think that the loses to Ohio State really hurt. I think they pretty much need to win conference tournament to get in at this point.
 
Woot! Wisconsin is going off tonight! Great for the confidence. If they can win tomorrow they should feel good about their chances vs MSU.

it will take almost a miracle to make the NCAA’s without a b10 tournament championship but it’s looking more and more like they have it in them to make a serious run.
 
First time seeing the Badgers live since they played Air Force and Northeastern in Milwaukee last year - what a game!!

Some thoughts:
  • Jack Horbach played great on D as the fill-in for Logan Hensler on the top pairing. He’s not a huge scoring threat at F but he’s an above average offensive threat when playing D with his puck handling at the top of the zone.
  • Wow, has Quinn Finley made a huge jump in season two. Every time he touched the puck tonight I got a feeling like he was going to do something great. The pop-up that he knocked down and controlled in the third period just past center ice that lead to a partial break away was really impressive.
  • The Finley-Morrissey-Mosley line has built some great chemistry and are really in sync.
  • The defense was really steady tonight and outside of one or two instances they played really well in front of Scarfone.
  • The passing and decision making from the D (and F when they were involved below the goal line) was mostly crisp - no panic. When I saw Bucky at this tournament last year I commented that they had hung McClellan out to dry quite a bit with their poor passing and decision making when trying to clear their zone and it seemed to only get worse the deeper they got into the season.
  • I was really cheering for Tassy to get a goal. He had some good looks but he seemed a step slow which is to be expected based on the time he’s missed. He had four tallies in this tournament last year and it would be nice to get him going for the second half - he has an edge to his game when he’s got confidence that is infectious.
  • Scarfone didn’t see many quality chances until the third period but was really locked in - he looks to be rolling into form.
  • Rylan Mosley is sneaky good - great instincts. Kyle Kukonen and Cody Laskosky are both heating up as well - Hastings hit home runs in the transfer portal with these three guys.
  • Mike Hastings has kept this group together and the improvement since the start of the season is astounding. I think he’s amongst the top 2-3 coaches in all of college hockey and am thrilled that he’s behind our bench.
  • Disappointed in the turnout - I’m guessing around 6000 in attendance?
Some may say “big deal, it’s only Ferris State” but they weren’t sharp against two similar foes in Air Force and Northeastern last year so I feel better about the second half of the season than I did last year. Now, they could go out tomorrow and crap the bed against UConn and it could change my perception but I think they will play well and get the W.

We have seats right at the glass tomorrow in section 107 - it’s the first time I’ve ever sat at the glass and am pretty excited.
 
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HighToTheGloveSide said:
First time seeing the Badgers live since they played Air Force and Northeastern in Milwaukee last year - what a game!!

Some thoughts:
  • Jack Horbach played great on D as the fill-in for Logan Hensler on the top pairing. He’s not a huge scoring threat at F but he’s an above average offensive threat when playing D with his puck handling at the top of the zone.
  • Wow, has Quinn Finley made a huge jump in season two. Every time he touched the puck tonight I got a feeling like he was going to do something great. The pop-up that he knocked down and controlled in the third period just past center ice that lead to a partial break away was really impressive.
  • The Finley-Morrissey-Mosley line has built some great chemistry and are really in sync.
  • The defense was really steady tonight and outside of one or two instances they played really well in front of Scarfone.
  • The passing and decision making from the D (and F when they were involved below the goal line) was mostly crisp - no panic. When I saw Bucky at this tournament last year I commented that they had hung McClellan out to dry quite a bit with their poor passing and decision making when trying to clear their zone and it seemed to only get worse the deeper they got into the season.
  • I was really cheering for Tassy to get a goal. He had some good looks but he seemed a step slow which is to be expected based on the time he’s missed. He had four tallies in this tournament last year and it would be nice to get him going for the second half - he has an edge to his game when he’s got confidence that is infectious.
  • Scarfone didn’t see many quality chances until the third period but was really locked in - he looks to be rolling into form.
  • Rylan Mosley is sneaky good - great instincts. Kyle Kukonen and Cody Laskosky are both heating up as well - Hastings hit home runs in the transfer portal with these three guys.
  • Mike Hastings has kept this group together and the improvement since the start of the season is astounding. I think he’s amongst the top 2-3 coaches in all of college hockey and am thrilled that he’s behind our bench.
  • Disappointed in the turnout - I’m guessing around 6000 in attendance?
Some may say “big deal, it’s only Ferris State” but they weren’t sharp against two similar foes in Air Force and Northeastern last year so I feel better about the second half of the season than I did last year. Now, they could go out tomorrow and crap the bed against UConn and it could change my perception but I think they will play well and get the W.

We have seats right at the glass tomorrow in section 107 - it’s the first time I’ve ever sat at the glass and am pretty excited.
Click to expand...

I was on the glass in 104...the view leaves much to be desired. Happy I went to the game but I ended up watching about 1/3 of it on the excellent jumbotron.

Great game and I am sure the arena is great for basketball, but not for hockey in my opinion. I was talking with an Admirals season ticket holder who felt the UW-MKE arena is better for hockey.
 
Been lurking all year so I apologize for my tardiness in finally commenting. Certainly glad they won and will be watching tonight. Tough draw to be up against the Packers/vikings game in the same slot in MKE.

Badgers MUST beat UCONN (15) and sweep Long Island (21) or only path to NCAA is Big10 tourney. Beating those in PWR non conf higher rated is critical. Doing that will leave the door open if Badgers play strong back half of the conf schedule.

Their performance over the past 10 has been remarkably better, more disciplined, and mlre physical. Time to hammer down!
 
Great win for the pairwise! Fairly certain the reason it was called a goal at the end without Wisconsin shooting it into the net is the "clear path on an empty net" ruling where if you have a path and they commit an infraction on you then it is awarded as a goal. Not really sure that our guy had a clear path to the net though...
 
That was a big win. Now, to be blunt, they must sweep Long Island, Notre Dame, and Penn St. And if they take 4 of 6 pts in their other series, I see a path.

I was dissappointed giving up a 2 goal lead, theh looked on their heels from 2-0 on. Gotta warch out flr that. And kinda hokey on the allowed goal, but hey if it's an empty net, as a defender, you better be sure. About time we got some puck luck after the bad luck in OTs this far!
 
Well, that was a pretty entertaining third period after pretty much being a snoozer for the first two. I’m glad Bucky got the win but the last 15 minutes are what we saw last year - not handling a hard forecheck and making bad decisions with the puck. After the Finley score to go up 2-0 Bucky relaxed and let UConn back in the game. I’ll take the weird goal for Laskosky at the end but I’ve seen defenders do worse and the offensive team not get that call.

The retaliation penalty by Horbach with about a minute and a half to play is just stupid and selfish. Should have been 5x5 hockey with the UConn goalie pulled but instead ended up being 5x4 in UConn’s favor - should have been a 4-2 game.

Really disappointed in the crowd - maybe 4500 or so? Good news is that I heard Posick on the post game say that the field for 2025 has already been set - Boston College, Western Michigan, and Lake Superior State. That’s by far the best field in the history of this tournament and should draw much better.

I’ll give UConn credit, they play hard and are no joke but man they like to goon it up.
 
HighToTheGloveSide said:
Well, that was a pretty entertaining third period after pretty much being a snoozer for the first two. I’m glad Bucky got the win but the last 15 minutes are what we saw last year - not handling a hard forecheck and making bad decisions with the puck. After the Finley score to go up 2-0 Bucky relaxed and let UConn back in the game. I’ll take the weird goal for Laskosky at the end but I’ve seen defenders do worse and the offensive team not get that call.

The retaliation penalty by Horbach with about a minute and a half to play is just stupid and selfish. Should have been 5x5 hockey with the UConn goalie pulled but instead ended up being 5x4 in UConn’s favor - should have been a 4-2 game.

Really disappointed in the crowd - maybe 4500 or so? Good news is that I heard Posick on the post game say that the field for 2025 has already been set - Boston College, Western Michigan, and Lake Superior State. That’s by far the best field in the history of this tournament and should draw much better.

I’ll give UConn credit, they play hard and are no joke but man they like to goon it up.
Click to expand...

This post is spot on. Horbach has to let that go. He was penalized by the UConn player in the net, but you just can't take the retaliation penalty there. Overall though he was fantastic all weekend, and I think he should just move to defense. UConn was not happy with the ref's and would be curious to see if the coach said anything. Also, the UConn guy that threw the punch with one second left should be suspended a game next week. Got missed in the review of the goal.

My concern is the ability to finish teams off the second game of a series. I am sticking to my belief they are overworked and get tired in the second game of the series. I want the Badgers to prove me wrong.

That field for next year is fire and we will attend for year 5. Have attended all four years. Fun seeing the Badgers playing in red last night. My tip on seats is get high. We have sat on the top row of the lower bowl each year and the seats are great there.
 
WiscTJK said:
This post is spot on. Horbach has to let that go. He was penalized by the UConn player in the net, but you just can't take the retaliation penalty there. Overall though he was fantastic all weekend, and I think he should just move to defense. UConn was not happy with the ref's and would be curious to see if the coach said anything. Also, the UConn guy that threw the punch with one second left should be suspended a game next week. Got missed in the review of the goal.

My concern is the ability to finish teams off the second game of a series. I am sticking to my belief they are overworked and get tired in the second game of the series. I want the Badgers to prove me wrong.

That field for next year is fire and we will attend for year 5. Have attended all four years. Fun seeing the Badgers playing in red last night. My tip on seats is get high. We have sat on the top row of the lower bowl each year and the seats are great there.
Click to expand...

Quick question because I also noticed the severe drop-off in the 3rd period as well. Is this a coaching decision to play prevent like Eaves used to do? Or are the guys really gassed? If it’s the latter is it conditioning or are they overworked in practice? If it’s the latter did the results differ in Mankato?
 
WiscTJK said:
This post is spot on. Horbach has to let that go. He was penalized by the UConn player in the net, but you just can't take the retaliation penalty there. Overall though he was fantastic all weekend, and I think he should just move to defense. UConn was not happy with the ref's and would be curious to see if the coach said anything. Also, the UConn guy that threw the punch with one second left should be suspended a game next week. Got missed in the review of the goal.

My concern is the ability to finish teams off the second game of a series. I am sticking to my belief they are overworked and get tired in the second game of the series. I want the Badgers to prove me wrong.
Click to expand...

Horbach is a great guy, but that penalty is deserving of missing a game. That mistake is inexcusable. The ONE thing they could not do, they did. The whole team must learn the line between W and L is razor thin and the rest of the season is basically playoff mode.

Coach Oliver said in the post game on the radio the boys got away from they did so well in the first 2 periods and gave the NZ away in the 3rd. He was not happy about that. It seems like it's in the player's heads a bit.
 
Prev Weekend: Won 8-0 over Ferris, Won 4-3 over UConn at Kwik Trip Holiday Faceoff in Milwaukee

Record: 9-10-1 overall (7-5-2-5); 4-2-1-5 19 pts, T-2[SUP]nd[/SUP] (2[SUP]nd[/SUP]) in Big7 (n/c)
NOTE still multigames more played – reality is they are 4[SUP]th[/SUP] to 5[SUP]th[/SUP]​
USCHO Poll: Rec’g votes (28) (23[SUP]rd[/SUP]); Rec’g votes (13) (24[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+1)
PWR: T-20[SUP]th[/SUP]of 64; T-25[SUP]th[/SUP] of 64 (+5)
RPI: 22 of 64; 26 of 64 (+4)
Scoring: 3.05 GPG (T-25[SUP]th[/SUP]); 2.72 GPG (36[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+11)
Defense: 2.40 GAPG (18[SUP]th[/SUP]); 2.50 GAPG (25[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+7)
Save %: .909 (28[SUP]th[/SUP]); .906 (T-29[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+1)
Power Play Rate: 23.61% (17 of 72) (16[SUP]th[/SUP]); 23.08% (15 of 65) (17[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+1)
Penalty Kill Rate: 76.60% (36 of 47) 48[SUP]th[/SUP]; 75.00% (33 of 44) T-53[SUP]rd[/SUP] (+5)
Penalty Min per Game (1st is worst): 6.30 (62[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 6.56 (59[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+3)
Penalty Min (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 126 (52[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 118 (T-53[SUP]rd[/SUP]) (-1)
Shorthanded Goals Scored; 2 (T-12[SUP]th[/SUP]); 1 (T-30[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+18)
Shorthanded Goals Allowed (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 1 (T-32[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 1 (T-31[SUP]st[/SUP]) (+1)
Team Faceoff: 55.2% (3[SUP]rd[/SUP]); 54.9% (4[SUP]th[/SUP]) (+1)
SOG taken: 696 (2[SUP]nd[/SUP]); 604 (2[SUP]nd[/SUP]) (n/c)
Shooting %: 8.8% (44[SUP]th[/SUP]); 8.1% (T-52[SUP]nd[/SUP]) (+8)
SOG allowed (1[SUP]st[/SUP] is worst): 528 (26[SUP]th[/SUP]); 480 (35[SUP]th[/SUP]) (-9)

This Week: Thu 1/2/25 at MSU 5:30 PM BTN; 1/4/25 at Wrigley Field MSU 8 PM BTN
Next Week: Bye
Next Games: 1/17/25 Long Island 7 PM B1G+, 1/18/25 Long Island 6 PM B1G+

Can they perform on the quick turn around?
 
solovsfett said:
Quick question because I also noticed the severe drop-off in the 3rd period as well. Is this a coaching decision to play prevent like Eaves used to do? Or are the guys really gassed? If it’s the latter is it conditioning or are they overworked in practice? If it’s the latter did the results differ in Mankato?
Click to expand...

Most teams play safe hockey when they have a lead in the 3rd period. A lot tougher to go through 4 or 5 players instead of 2 or 3.

3rd period they just had a lapse in their defensive structure for a stretch. Cost them a 2-0 lead. I expect that to get better.

Really doubt it is conditioning, but it’s certainly possible.
 
I saw the third jersey/uniforms, don't like the black breezers. The jersey is not compelling enough to make me go out and buy one.
 
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