Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

[NMH]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

Couple of things:

The "Make Noise" graphic only comes on at really ridiculous/inappropriate times. Like during TV time outs. I have yet to see when there is actual play happening. Cheering and screaming (and encouraging the fans to do so) when no one is actually playing might be the most asinine thing I've seen in the Kohl.

I'll mention this over in the women's thread, but we were at their game at 2 pm on Saturday and at Gate A (the main gate) they had one guy, with one turnstile, scanning tickets AND checking jackets and purses. The lines outside got pretty long and it was 11 degrees. I know the women don't get huge crowds, but having just one door/turnstile was absolutely ridiculous, and having that same guy also do "security" was ludicrous. Saturday afternoon games are going to get decent crowds. Plan appropriately.

We'll be coming in from Milwaukee for Fill the Bowl. We had hoped to get a group to come up, but so far no one took the bait - which is kind of sad.

 

[Badger Booster]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

Again, I recommend getting tickets in advance and for Fill the Bowl, they usually staff the Gate A entrances better than a regular game. Should be mulitple ticket takers and hopefully seperate security personnel to check belongings.

I also hope that they open at least double the concession areas for this Saturday. One or two stands for crowds over 2,000 doesn't cut it logistically and will be a nightmare for a crowd over 10,000.

 

[Badgers1]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

Neutral Location for the Big Ten tournament isn't dead yet.

http://host.madison.com/sports/coll...cle_6ac0e1ee-46fd-11e1-b8bd-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[UAA Seawolves Fan]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I know I'm a bit late getting around to this, but what the heck. I made my first trip down to Madison last weekend for the UAA games and I was really impressed. It was a great weekend, besides the game outcomes, but we nonetheless had a great time. Everybody was quite welcoming and very nice. Thanks for putting up a nice showing for visiting fans. For those of us that don't get to travel with the team very often it was a nice change compared to what we're used to when we go to Fairbanks.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I know I'm a bit late getting around to this, but what the heck. I made my first trip down to Madison last weekend for the UAA games and I was really impressed. It was a great weekend, besides the game outcomes, but we nonetheless had a great time. Everybody was quite welcoming and very nice. Thanks for putting up a nice showing for visiting fans. For those of us that don't get to travel with the team very often it was a nice change compared to what we're used to when we go to Fairbanks.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed yourself, now win the rest of your games, will ya? Go Seawolves!

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

jesus christ. I don't care if anyone here thinks I'm the Scooby of the UW fanbase...Here goes

so this team will be "special" soon?

I don't see any Pavelski's, Earl's, Zent's, Heatley's, Schier's, Fairchild's, Spencer's, Granato's, Mellanby's etc. on and on. The D is suspect as well.

if Kerdiles and Zulinick will turn this team around as Frosh I will concede to being overly pessimistic, but I just don't think their supporting cast is as good as touted.

This team needs 2 or 3 recruiting cycles to get back to the top.

that my friends, is not what this UW fan wants to see. Especially not 10 years into this

We are looking at a 16 win season if they split the last 4 series and that won't happen. The rats will kick UW's *** in MPLS and Denver? C'mon

time to get real. Eaves had better turn this ship around and immediately.

end of rant

 

[Almington]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

jesus christ. I don't care if anyone here thinks I'm the Scooby of the UW fanbase...Here goes

so this team will be "special" soon?

I don't see any Pavelski's, Earl's, Zent's, Heatley's, Schier's, Fairchild's, Spencer's, Granato's, Mellanby's etc. on and on. The D is suspect as well.

if Kerdiles and Zulinick will turn this team around as Frosh I will concede to being overly pessimistic, but I just don't think their supporting cast is as good as touted.

This team needs 2 or 3 recruiting cycles to get back to the top.

that my friends, is not what this UW fan wants to see. Especially not 10 years into this

We are looking at a 16 win season if they split the last 4 series and that won't happen. The rats will kick UW's *** in MPLS and Denver? C'mon

time to get real. Eaves had better turn this ship around and immediately.

end of rant

While I share your frustration, I think you are off the mark.

Individual talent isn't the problem, getting the whole team working as a single unit is the problem. To many mistakes in total, way to many repeated mistakes, and a general inconsistency from shift to shift. It's the inevitable result of bringing in non-elite players who have not received sufficient seasoning in juniors after high school. What this team needs is time to develop and game experience to grow from, next year will be better. The bigger issue is that role players are not balanced in the recruiting classes - they are concentrated in back to back classes, meaning that UW will continue to have a strong cycle of experence/inexperence when the role players graduate in large classes and are replaced by freshmen. Ideally UW would graduate 4 role players (3 forwards and a defenseman) every year.

Your point that Eaves is 10 years in just sounds like whining considering the 2006 NC and 2010 F4 title game, it isn't as if the program has zero accomplishments under Eaves. Your rant lost all credibility with that statement.

It's disappointing that the results this season have been poor and a little disheartening that the expected improvement hasn't been clearly apparent, but one has to hold onto the expectation that the struggles of this season are building a foundation for next year. If things are still bad next season, then I think that changes will be justified and warranted.

 

[Chuck Schwartz]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I find it comical that anyone take this year too serious. Anyone who follows this program with any bit of consistency knew that this was going to be a down year with next year looking towards the future.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I find it comical that anyone take this year too serious. Anyone who follows this program with any bit of consistency knew that this was going to be a down year with next year looking towards the future.

chuck, get serious. Please explain how magically 4 freshman next year will make the year "special". Kerdiles is the only one of the 4 who *might* be accorded high-level status.

Schultz will be gone as well so the D will be average.

also, as you know I've been following the program since 1983. So I've seen plenty of ups and downs. I didn't expect an NCAA title this year and you know that from my posts. But a 16-win maximum season is not what I expected either and that type of season now is just not palatable.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

While I share your frustration, I think you are off the mark.

Individual talent isn't the problem, getting the whole team working as a single unit is the problem. To many mistakes in total, way to many repeated mistakes, and a general inconsistency from shift to shift. It's the inevitable result of bringing in non-elite players who have not received sufficient seasoning in juniors after high school. What this team needs is time to develop and game experience to grow from, next year will be better. The bigger issue is that role players are not balanced in the recruiting classes - they are concentrated in back to back classes, meaning that UW will continue to have a strong cycle of experence/inexperence when the role players graduate in large classes and are replaced by freshmen. Ideally UW would graduate 4 role players (3 forwards and a defenseman) every year.

Your point that Eaves is 10 years in just sounds like whining considering the 2006 NC and 2010 F4 title game, it isn't as if the program has zero accomplishments under Eaves. Your rant lost all credibility with that statement.

It's disappointing that the results this season have been poor and a little disheartening that the expected improvement hasn't been clearly apparent, but one has to hold onto the expectation that the struggles of this season are building a foundation for next year. If things are still bad next season, then I think that changes will be justified and warranted.

The 10-year comment has everything to do with where this team and Eaves should be and it's about 5-6 wins better than they are now. How does that mean I have 0 credibility? I didn't hang onto Sauer's 83 and 90 championships (and 92 loss) post-95-96 and I won't give Eaves a pass now because of 06. I just won't.

UW has everything it needs to be the elite annually in terms of history (6 rings) and facilities, however the effing complete overhauls they have to do that don't compare to other elite schools have me questioning Eaves' recruiting now

 

[Dalangalang]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I find it comical that anyone take this year too serious. Anyone who follows this program with any bit of consistency knew that this was going to be a down year with next year looking towards the future.

Chuck-there is NO way a program like the University of Wisconsin should be struggling to get home ice in a 12 team conference! EVER! I mean, come on! Yes I'll give you that NCAA Championships shouldn't be the norm, but not finishing in the top 6 in our conference is ridiculous! Our peaks should be Championships (NCAA/WCHA/B1G), but our valleys should be no worst than 4th or 5th in conference (WCHA).

Things are only going to get more challenging when we are in the B1G. Sure we'll probably beat up PSU, but OSU, Mich, Mich St, and Minny are not pushovers.

 

[Gurtholfin]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I won't give Eaves a pass now because of 06. I just won't.

UW has everything it needs to be the elite annually in terms of history (6 rings) and facilities, however the effing complete overhauls they have to do that don't compare to other elite schools have me questioning Eaves' recruiting now

I don't agree with all of your points, but I wholeheartedly agree with the spirit of your argument.

We should have a competitive advantage in recruiting over at least 45 other programs based on our facilities, track record of development, academics and city. If that's the case, there's no excuse for the number of down years we've had under Eaves.

He's assembling talent, but he's failing at building teams.

 

[mariucci]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I don't agree with all of your points, but I wholeheartedly agree with the spirit of your argument.

We should have a competitive advantage in recruiting over at least 45 other programs based on our facilities, track record of development, academics and city. If that's the case, there's no excuse for the number of down years we've had under Eaves.

He's assembling talent, but he's failing at building teams.

Just a friendly observation:

I think UW is doing what it needs to do for the development of the sport in WI. Recruiting alot more in state is the right thing to do, it will take some time for it to reallyshow up but stay the course and it will.

WI has almost everything in place as mentioned above, a great program, great arena, solid achievements, if Eaves and Butters continue to recruit in state the HS programs will get better resulting in more homegrown Badgers.

Just have to be patient and let it happen. Down years suck, but I think UW is doing it right.

Edit: Not to flame, just an observation. I just think WI has ALOT more to offer the sport (outside the Badger sweater).

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

I don't agree with all of your points, but I wholeheartedly agree with the spirit of your argument.

We should have a competitive advantage in recruiting over at least 45 other programs based on our facilities, track record of development, academics and city. If that's the case, there's no excuse for the number of down years we've had under Eaves.

He's assembling talent, but he's failing at building teams.

I'm not terribly eloquent when it comes to offering these points I know but yeah, what you said re: UW>45 other programs should be the case based on the above. 16-win seasons and road playoff games for the conference should be anomaly's. What the poster below said is pretty spot on as well.

In the B10 conference these problems will be magnified if they don't recruit players to turn this around quickly. We could be looking at a 5th place team of 6 and that's no good.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

Just a friendly observation:

I think UW is doing what it needs to do for the development of the sport in WI. Recruiting alot more in state is the right thing to do, it will take some time for it to reallyshow up but stay the course and it will.

WI has almost everything in place as mentioned above, a great program, great arena, solid achievements, if Eaves and Butters continue to recruit in state the HS programs will get better resulting in more homegrown Badgers.

Just have to be patient and let it happen. Down years suck, but I think UW is doing it right.

Edit: Not to flame, just an observation. I just think WI has ALOT more to offer the sport (outside the Badger sweater).

I'm not sure after Bob Johnson, and 6 championships you can tell the fanbase, "hey remember those titles? well hold onto those memories, it's going to be 10-15 years or more while we build up local hockey"

that's a huge problem. if in fact that's what Butters and Eaves are trying to do

In order for Wisconsin to compete like Minnesota you'd need the Brookfield/Hartland/Whitefish Bay/Waukesha type schools competing at a high level (in other words southeast Wisconsin) and I can tell you hockey and high school hockey takes a back seat to mens/boys anything not named tennis in the media...
and w/parents apparently.

I know a guy who's son plays for Brookfield and here's the crux of what he's told me: they have a tough as hell time getting enough kids to form teams from age 5 all the way up. Brookfield doesn't even have 4 full lines of forwards and they're drawing from 2 schools (Central and East). I don't know how that gets rectified. But that's the type of problem that would need to be addressed in order to really build the sport as Hudson, Eau Claire, Northland Pines, Superior, Wausau can only produce a handful of D-1 players per year (if that).

 

[Go4PuckFan2.0]

Chuck-there is NO way a program like the University of Wisconsin should be struggling to get home ice in a 12 team conference! EVER! I mean, come on! Yes I'll give you that NCAA Championships shouldn't be the norm, but not finishing in the top 6 in our conference is ridiculous! Our peaks should be Championships (NCAA/WCHA/B1G), but our valleys should be no worst than 4th or 5th in conference (WCHA).

Things are only going to get more challenging when we are in the B1G. Sure we'll probably beat up PSU, but OSU, Mich, Mich St, and Minny are not pushovers.

Swap the words Wisconsin for Minnesota and this post could (and has been) published by a Gopher fan.

That both fan bases are going '***' over precipitous program drops speaks to an interesting development(s) in D1 hockey.

What those developments are, I'm not sure. But the future bodes well for the programs that figure that equation out.

 

[Almington]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

The 10-year comment has everything to do with where this team and Eaves should be and it's about 5-6 wins better than they are now. How does that mean I have 0 credibility? I didn't hang onto Sauer's 83 and 90 championships (and 92 loss) post-95-96 and I won't give Eaves a pass now because of 06. I just won't.

UW has everything it needs to be the elite annually in terms of history (6 rings) and facilities, however the effing complete overhauls they have to do that don't compare to other elite schools have me questioning Eaves' recruiting now

UW should be hitting at least 20 total wins every season, the fact that this is Eaves 10th season is irrelevant to that fact and makes your whole point come across as a whiny wannabe gopher fan. Add to that you didn't give an actual solution other than "improve recruiting" and demanded that the turn around be immediate and you are acting like a whiny little child who isn't getting what he wants as opposed to a rational adult who should recognize that all programs go in cycles. Yes, UW's cycles are currently extreme and these down periods are not enjoyable and not a good thing and no one likes losing. To point out the youth of this team isn't making an excuse but identifying the cause to allow for solutions to be found that will prevent this in the future. The recruiting issue has more to do with the distribution of the players among the classes, than any defect in the players themselves. UW should be turning over 4 forwards (3 of them seniors) and 2 Dmen (1 of them a senior) every season. As long as Eaves beings in unbalanced classes and classes with non-elite players at 18 with limited junior experience the cycle of extreme highs and lows will continue.

 

[JDUBBS1280]

Swap the words Wisconsin for Minnesota and this post could (and has been) published by a Gopher fan.

That both fan bases are going '***' over precipitous program drops speaks to an interesting development(s) in D1 hockey.

What those developments are, I'm not sure. But the future bodes well for the programs that figure that equation out.

True, but I think the overall pressure to win is greater at Minnesota.

 

[Almington]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

... have me questioning Eaves' recruiting now

...there's no excuse for the number of down years we've had under Eaves. He's assembling talent, but he's failing at building teams.

In the B10 conference these problems will be magnified if they don't recruit players to turn this around quickly. We could be looking at a 5th place team of 6 and that's no good.

Chuck-there is NO way a program like the University of Wisconsin should be struggling to get home ice in a 12 team conference! EVER! I mean, come on! Yes I'll give you that NCAA Championships shouldn't be the norm, but not finishing in the top 6 in our conference is ridiculous! Our peaks should be Championships (NCAA/WCHA/B1G), but our valleys should be no worst than 4th or 5th in conference (WCHA).

Things are only going to get more challenging when we are in the B1G. Sure we'll probably beat up PSU, but OSU, Mich, Mich St, and Minny are not pushovers.

Lets just fire Eaves and that will make everything better automatically.

 

[burd]

Re: Wisconsin Hockey: Vol. XX - Growth Through Experience

If it were simply a question of bringing in top talent, then Mariucci's comments would be more on point. But UW brings in as much talent as anyone. And the market is no longer a local one. It icludes places never before on the D1 map, like LA. The trick is in both recruiting well (which UW does) and builing a team concept once they are on campus that can win consistently and weather the inevitable injuries and early departures. That last part is tricky for schools like UMinn, UND, and UW, and while it's not a new problem, it is a much bigger one now. How do you join the recruitment fray and go after kids who are so young they barely shave and yet be confident they will buy into a system that requires them to do things they haven't been asked to do before? How can a University recruit a 16-yeart-old and then try to convince him to exercise patience and take the long view when contemplating a professional contract-a kid who has accelerated his development already with your assistance?

God, that sounds like Ososrojo. Just shoot me.