Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2021-2022

[ARM]

Much as you'd like to, you can't play just four D players.

You can play four D heavy minutes, but they have to be pretty solid D. I think Wisconsin has three, and then there is a noticeable drop.

 

[robertearle]

You can play four D heavy minutes, but they have to be pretty solid D. I think Wisconsin has three, and then there is a noticeable drop.

I'd say the drop from four to five and six is a lot bigger than the drop from three to four.

This problem gets a lot better in another half-hour or so. :-(

 

[robertearle]

It has always felt to me like Brett Pettet is 'under appreciated' in favor of others. If this is her last game, I'm glad she got a goal.

 

[Timothy A]

That looked like a weak goal allowed there.

She had a tip there...

 

[Timothy A]

Another dumb penalty by Wheeler wow

 

[Timothy A]

Eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrr!#%@%*&@!

 

[Timothy A]

And then Wheeler gets a break away and does not score...

 

[robertearle]

And then Wheeler gets a break away and does not score...

She's had an eventful weekend.

 

[Bonzo]

Oh well.... Wasn't meant to be this year. Lack of depth and uncharacteristically leaky defense did them in. However I'm excited about next year. Buchbinder, Curl and Eden will be back and the recruiting class might be their best ever with D help on the way.

Biggest question is who is in goal. Is it Kronish, or do the Badger go into the portal again. I'm kind of hoping Kronish gets a shot.

 

[robertearle]

Oh well.... Wasn't meant to be this year. Lack of depth and uncharacteristically leaky defense did them in. However I'm excited about next year. Buchbinder, Curl and Eden will be back and the recruiting class might be their best ever with D help on the way.

Biggest question is who is in goal. Is it Kronish, or do the Badger go into the portal again. I'm kind of hoping Kronish gets a shot.

I had not really thought of it in these terms until just now: but every year since 2006 except 2010 and these past two with Blair, the Badgers have had an Olympic quality goalie playing for them. And by that I mean a goalie who has actually gone on to play in the Olympics. That's pretty amazing. (And Blair was good enough to win a national championship, so that ain't that bad, either.)

 

[Patricio]

The impact of the Olympic tryouts on the women’s hockey team has led me to question the need for the Olympic team to pillage college rosters every 4 years. Had the Badgers not loss Buchbinder, Harvey, Curl, and Eden (ironically of which only one was “drafted”), they would have been able to configure both their O and D lines much differently. While it is true that MN lost Zumwinkle and Hughes, I think the outcome would have favored the Badgers had they remained on the Gophers.

The US National team already relies largely on players who have continued playing well after graduation. I find it difficult to believe they need to turn to active college rosters to fill any needs given the number of quality women players who finish their college careers every year. And there is an adequate number of international tournaments with which to integrate new players into the team’s culture and preferred style of play. Instead, college coaches have to try to anticipate how their rosters may be impacted every 4 years and the steps they may have to take to compensate for the outcome. And there are no guarantees that they will be will able to find solutions that adequately address their situations.

There also is the disruption in the progress of the players towards completing their degrees. Certainly, it is an honor to pay on an Olympic team. But those who get cut during the tryouts don’t get to enjoy the sense of achievement that goes with that. And, they may never have that experience when the process begins again 4 years later. So, why not them finish their courses of study first? Why not follow the approach of the national soccer teams which develop lengthier commitments that now include salaries to compensate for the time commitment?

The NCAA and coaches should develop a coordinated approach that will end this practice. Dealing with demands to develop and maintain a successful hockey program places enough stress and burdens on college coaches, particularly those of the most successful teams. The unnecessary and unreasonable demands and problems of this quadrennial event need to be replaced by a new approach.

 

[Timothy A]

Biggest question is who is in goal. Is it Kronish, or do the Badger go into the portal again. I'm kind of hoping Kronish gets a shot.

I am too. I felt bad for Cece and Blesi who were in the same spots that Kronish is in, but the end results are that UW won 2 Natties by goalies who beat them out for the starting spot. In 23 McNaughton arrives, who may be an Olympic caliber goalie, so the question is if they do portal a G, how many years will she have left to play? I think it sets up well that Kronish can play 2 more years, then McN can take over as a So. Perhaps Gervais will be a factor?

It's crazy to think that when Nealy was healthy UW had 1 loss and 1 tie (thanks to Robert for pointing this out). I've never seen the loss of a D play such a huge roll in the fortunes of a team. And on top of it she was a defensive d. Not only just playing great transitional and D zone D, but that first pass on the breakout is crucial. It was sad to see UW so many times just try to dump the puck to N zone to release pressure instead of passing it to a teammate.

I hope Picard can qualify for a medical redshirt.

As far as the Olympics go, the portal can be a big help, but it has to be one would think it has to be one dones due to scholarship money and they have to be THAT good. How many players in the portal are THAT good? Not many. MJ does have a good eye for talent there LOL. But the portal can also be a double edged sword. I wonder how the timing of Greig and Grant telling MJ they were leaving played an impact on how MJ used the portal. I think about this often....had the covid year not been granted, how was MJ going to field a team with minus the 5 5th year skaters?

I hope the Harvey situation (making the roster and then not really playing) shows team USA that they are better off keeping an older player for 1 more cycle than bringing in a player 1 cycle too soon. I don't know why USA can't have the selection camp in the summer and make all the final cuts in August so the cut players can hook back up with their college teams if they are still playing. It's like team USA is completely insensitive to the needs of these players from an emotional and scholastic standpoint. It's completely obvious when you read about Annie Pankowski's situation.

 

[Sieve1]

I am too. I felt bad for Cece and Blesi who were in the same spots that Kronish is in, but the end results are that UW won 2 Natties by goalies who beat them out for the starting spot. In 23 McNaughton arrives, who may be an Olympic caliber goalie, so the question is if they do portal a G, how many years will she have left to play? I think it sets up well that Kronish can play 2 more years, then McN can take over as a So. Perhaps Gervais will be a factor?

I don’t think there is any doubt that UW will attempt to bring in a transfer goalie- 5th year or otherwise. Why wouldn’t they? Look at what OSU was able to do with transfers this year. (St Lawrence has a talented goalie but she’s not graduating for a while) Blair was a mediocre goalie on a strong team. She’s not the caliber of goalie that can carry a team, like a Frankel or a Schroeder. UW didn’t need that caliber last year but they did this year. I don’t think they’re going to risk not having it next year. If Kronish or Gervais was that caliber one of them should have played. I’ve seen McNaughton play a bunch and she’s very big. Only time will tell if she can develop the skills to be an elite starting goalie in the WCHA, but that is a tall order as freshman. Smaller goalies like Frankel are sometimes overlooked by WCHA schools becuase they typically want size, until they realize that big goalies without technical skills and speed can be beaten. My guess is they have a transfer in mind or already lined up for next year. That’s the reality with the extra year of eligibility, and I don’t blame a coach or a player for using it.

 

[ARM]

While it is true that MN lost Zumwinkle and Hughes, I think the outcome would have favored the Badgers had they remained on the Gophers.

Murphy, not Hughes, for UM. UMD lost Bell. OSU lost Maltais. MSU lost Wilgren. The Olympic impacts were widespread, although not as deep as at Wisconsin.

My guess is they have a transfer in mind or already lined up for next year.

To line someone up as a transfer, it has to be someone in the portal. Otherwise, that person is still part of another roster, so it would be considered tampering and an NCAA violation.

 

[Sieve1]

Murphy, not Hughes, for UM. UMD lost Bell. OSU lost Maltais. MSU lost Wilgren. The Olympic impacts were widespread, although not as deep as at Wisconsin.

To line someone up as a transfer, it has to be someone in the portal. Otherwise, that person is still part of another roster, so it would be considered tampering and an NCAA violation.

Yes, I know how the portal works. One of my kids has been through it. It’s possible to communicate to a player if a coach has interest. So many of the players know each other.

 

[ARM]

It’s possible to communicate to a player if a coach has interest. So many of the players know each other.

Sure. But Mark Johnson can't ask his roster, "Does anyone know Lucy Morgan? Ask her if she'd like to come play here." I'm aware that goes on, particularly in other college sports. But everything that I've ever seen from Johnson tells me that he intends to run a clean program.

 

[Sieve1]

Sure. But Mark Johnson can't ask his roster, "Does anyone know Lucy Morgan? Ask her if she'd like to come play here." I'm aware that goes on, particularly in other college sports. But everything that I've ever seen from Johnson tells me that he intends to run a clean program.

Of course, they all do. I’m not saying that any flagrant rules are broken routinely but just like recruiting…there are loopholes that don’t break rules. In the past, college coaches weren’t allowed to call recruits directly. Loophole: college coach calls the youth/hs coach and asks the player to call them and then regular phone calls could be scheduled on that first call.
Then new recruiting rules banned all phone conversations until 6/15 entering jr year. Loophole: college coach calls the youth coach and tells the player to expect a call or text early in the am on 6/15 but in the meantime pls visit the campus with parents and take a tour. Get questions answered, etc. And please send the player’s most recent transcript, etc. This happened frequently leading up to 6/15. It’s not breaking the rules per se but it is definitely letting the player know the coach’s interest through a third party. I’m not sure if any rules would be broken if a coach expressed interest in a player as a grad transfer, but that’s likely new territory for the NCAA.
For example, since the Ivies don’t allow players to play a sport for a fifth year, many Ivy League players have an extra year of NCAA eligibility they could spend somewhere else after graduating. (The players from Yale, Harvard & Princeton who took a gap year are not eligible for this since they were not enrolled during 2020-21 season) So would it be illegal for UW or OSU to reach out to a player from, say, Brown or Dartmouth to see if they’d be interested in a grad year on their team? I’m not sure but probably not. (Not likely to happen anyway )

 

[Lindsay]

No sympathy from me re the rosters that get gutted in Olympic years. However I think it’s indicative of other issues in the women’s game. In some cases the College kids are better in a non Olympic year because they get real reps in a 40 game season whereas the post grads get...showcases? But then there is the extreme of putting players on the USA Hockey senior roster who haven’t played any college at all. That one is a head scratcher, unless it’s just a cost save which also should get figured out.

 

[robertearle]

As long as we're talking about Olympic years, I'll go to post-Olympic years:

2007 - Wisconsin national championship
2011 - Wisconsin national championship
2015 - no
2019 - Wisconsin national championship

... just sayin'

 

[Timothy A]

As long as we're talking about Olympic years, I'll go to post-Olympic years:

2007 - Wisconsin national championship
2011 - Wisconsin national championship
2015 - no
2019 - Wisconsin national championship

... just sayin'

So you are saying there is a chance....