Team Wisconsin Major Girls Get New Website

Looks like the Team Wisconsin Major Girls got a new website to match the updated site the Girls Team Wisconsin Minor launched a month or two ago.

Team Wisconsin Minor

Team Wisconsin Minor finished this past weekend 4-1, which was good for 2nd Place:

Tw U16 4 Duluth 2
TW U16 7 Mn6A/AA 5
TW U16 12 Madison Devils 0
TW U16 5 Wells Fargo 0
TW U16 1 Dakota Starz 3 (OT Shootout)

Their overall record is now 16 - 4 - 3 and their National Ranking is 4th. They are second in the Elite II Standings. Next Weekend they will compete in the Elite II Tourney in Stillwater, MN.

Thanks to Doonk for the info!

Upper Midwest High School Elite League Season and Tournament Recap

The league tournament for the Upper Midwest High School Elite League took place this past weekend, with Wisconsin finishing 0-3. The cumulative record for Team Wisconsin for the season and playoffs was 3-17-4, which put them in last place.

Justin Johnson finished the season tied for 12th in scoring with 9 goals and 17 assists totalling 26 points. UW recruit Ryan McDonagh finished tied for second in points for defensemen with 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points. UW recruit Chris Hickey ended up with 14 goals and 6 assists for 20 points. Here's the final statistics for Team Wisconsin:


# Name High School Team Pos Grade Goals Assists Total Pts

15 Johnson Justin Eau Claire North, WI F 12 9 17 26
17 Condon Nate Wausau West, WI F 11 14 9 23
11 Soley Seth Eau Claire North, WI F 11 10 7 17
18 Andrews Ian Sheyboygan, WI F 12 8 8 16
16 Lennon Mike Reedsburg, WI F 11 11 3 14
22 Erstad Travis Stevens Point, WI F 12 6 6 12
20 Falk Tedd Homestead, WI F 12 4 5 9
21 Kohn Zach WI 2 6 8
9 Van Kampen Alex Altoona, WI F 11 4 3 7
14 Bower Brett LaFollette, WI F 10 3 4 7
12 Burns Karl USM, WI F 12 3 3 6
6 Smith Tim Superior, WI D 11 2 4 6
4 Smet Ryan Fond du Lac, WI D 12 1 5 6
10 Hendry Nate Superior, WI F 12 1 5 6
23 Bennis Isaiah Eau Claire North, WI F 12 2 3 5
5 Kuypers Taylor Edgewood, WI D 10 2 2 4
2 Glover Chris Mcfarland, WI D 11 1 2 3
19 Haley WI 0 3 3
3 Krueger Tyler WI 1 1 2
7 Burke Jeff Somerset, WI D 11 0 2 2
30 Scheib Andy Sun Prairie, WI G 12 0 1 1
8 Roscoe Nick Eau Claire North, WI D 12 0 0 0
1 LeClaire Dustin Kettle Moriane, WI G 12 0 0 0

Craig Smith to UW Confirmed; Three Potential Recruits Visited in Last 3 Days

Todd Milewski has confirmed that Craig Smith has committed to play for UW beginning in either 2008 or 2009, depending on his development. I'd also guess it will depend on how many spots UW has to fill, as they seem "overbooked" at forward already for 2008, barring mass early defections to the NHL or elsewhere.

Andy Baggot has also confirmed the commitment from Craig Smith. He also mentions that center Jan-Mikael Juutilainen visited in the last three days, as did Joe Marciano, a 16-year old defenseman from the USNTDP and Steven Spinell, a 16-year old defenseman with Team Illinois. Juutilainen was in Green Bay over the weekend to play against the Green Bay Gamblers, so it would seem his recruiting visit tied in with that trip.

It is interesting to note that there is no indication that Brett Bruneteau, who plays with Jan-Mikael Juutilainen on the Omaha Lancers, made a visit to UW during his one trip to the state of Wisconsin this season.

Division III Watch: UW-Eau Claire over UW-River Falls

I just happened to notice that UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls played this past weekend. River Falls entered the season ranked #11 in the country, and Eau-Claire won two games last year. Nonetheless, Luke Strand has the turnaround well underway in Eau Claire, even with only one recruiting class under his belt at this point. UW Eau-Claire stunned UW-River Falls this weekend by a score of 3-2.

Turris Averages 3.5 Points Per Game Over the Weekend

Kyle Turris had a goal and an assist Saturday and was named the First Star of the Game in leading Burnaby to a 5-2 victory against Alberni Valley.

Sunday night he and his teammates outscored Michigan recruit Ben Winnett and the Salmon Arm Silverbacks in a 7-5 win. Turris was named Second Star of the Game with two goals and three Assists.

Turris' big weekend has catapulted him into a tie for sixth overall in scoring in the BCHL with 21 goals and 14 assists for 35 points in just 16 games. Most other players have played 18 to 20 games as Turris was suspended for a couple of games for fighting earlier in the year.

USHL Sunday Report

Sioux Falls defeated Ohio 4-1 last night behind goals from Sam Zabkowicz and Jacob Drewiske. David Solway had an assist on the Zabkowicz goal, while Patrick Tiesling had an assist on the Drewiske goal.

Wisconsin High School Elite League U16 Tournament

The Wisconsin High School Elite League U16 Tournament will be held this weekend at the Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point. It will consist of a five team round robin with the top 4 teams advancing to the Tier 2 State Tournament March 9-11 @ Capitol Ice Center in Middleton. Admission is free.

I'll post rosters later this week for the tournament. Here's the schedule:


WHSEL U16 Tournament @ Ice Hawks Arena

Saturday Nov. 4th
10:00am Region 3 vs. Region 6
12:00pm Region 4 vs. Region 2
2:00pm Region 3 vs. Region 5
4:00pm Region 6 vs. Region 4
6:00pm Region 2 vs. Region 5

Sunday Nov.5th
8:00am Region 5 vs. Region 6
10:00am Region 2 vs. Region 3
12:00pm Region 5 vs. Region 4
2:00pm Region 6 vs. Region 2
4:00pm Region 4 vs. Region 3

Craig Smith Reportedly Commits to UW for 2009

Sagissoor on the USCHO board is reporting that according to 2 sources, forward Craig Smith has committed to UW for 2009. Smith is currently a Junior in high school, and playing with the Waterloo Blackhawks. Last season he was Honorable Mention All-State as a Sophomore forward for Madison LaFollette.

Wisconsin Players in Division 1 Hockey

Wisconsin Prep Hockey has a nice post listing the Wisconsin players currently in Division 1 hockey. There are 27 players, with an even dozen playing for the Badgers.

Saturday USHL Happenings

Potential UW recruit Brett Bruneteau had a goal and an assist to lead Omaha past Green Bay 4-3. Derrick LaPoint had two goals and Justin Cseter had two assists in the losing effort. Scott Gudmandson did not play in this game, after not playing Friday night either.

Cedar Rapids outgunned Des Moines 8-3.

Waterloo squeaked past Chicago 2-1 behind a goal by Josh Turnbull. Keegan Meuer did play in this game for Waterloo....it looks like he is active for every other game at this point in the season.

Sioux City took out Indiana 3-2.

Lincoln downed Tri-City 6-4. Potential UW recruit Jason Gregoire had a goal and two assists for Lincoln, while Luke Lucyk had an assist for Tri-City.

Derrick LaPoint leads all defensemen and is eighth overall in scoring with 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in 7 games. Josh Turnbull is ninth overall in scoring in the USHL with 6 goals and 4 assists for 10 points in seven games. He is also +7 on the season. Potential UW recruit Jason Gregoire is tied for 15th in scoring with 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in just 4 games, and is +7 on the season.

Friday Night USHL Roundup

Omaha downed Green Bay 5-4. Derrick LaPoint had a goal for Green Bay, and potential UW recruit had a goal for Omaha. UW recruit Scott Gudmandson did not play in net for Omaha.

Waterloo moved their record to 4-0-2 by defeating Chicago 6-2. Wisconsin players were all over the stat sheet for Waterloo with Josh Turnbull recording the first goal of the game as well as recording an assist, and Blake Kessel scoring two goals and having an assist. Craig Smith also notched a goal, as did potential UW recruit Jan Mikael Juutilainen.

Des Moines beat Cedar Rapids 7-6.

Sioux City was a winner 3-2 over Indiana.

Lincoln won 3-1 against Tri-City.

Friday Night Badger Report

*The final score of the UW Men's game was BC 3, Wisconsin 0 including an empty netter for BC at the end.

*The Badger Men were disappointing last night, having no offensive spark, and giving up a goal while on a five on three power play. The players didn't look too sure of how to run a 5-3 power play, and it ended in disaster as a result.

*Was it my imagination, or did the second goal never go into the net? Even on the replays I could not see that it ever crossed the line....

*Has Ben Grotting spent more time on the ice, or in the penalty box? Why does someone who plays that little ALWAYS take a penalty?

*Blake Geoffrion last night looked like he was taking on the Nick Licari role of annoying the hell out of the other team. Every team's gotta have a guy like that, and it's nice to see someone stepping forward to do it. Hopefully it does not deter Blake from further offensive development, because he is one of the Freshmen that should have the ability to score goals.

*The Badgers won the faceoff battle last night, but just didn't do anything with the puck once they had it. Ben Street did particularly well on faceoffs, but ended the night -3.

*The Badger Women defeated North Dakota 8-1.

*Jinelle Zaugg had a goal and two assists, while Sara Bauer had a goal and four assists.

*Ashley Paulsen from Onalaska and Samantha Turner from Hudson are both Freshmen at North Dakota, and were both in the lineup for the Sioux Friday night. Paulsen finished -3 and Turner -2.

CSTV Broadband Coverage of Both UW-BC Games

Andrew from CSTV was nice enough to e-mail me the link to CSTV's broadband coverage of both UW-BC games this weekend: http://www.cstv.com/cstvppv/hockey/

7 PM UPDATE: Andrew forgot to mention CSTV is charging for the broadband coverage, which I just found out when I visited the link.....

UW Lineup for Tonight

Mike Eaves continues to tinker with his line combinations. Here are UW's lines for tonight's game, including the fact that Kyle Klubertanz will play:

Jake Dowell-Andrew Joudrey-Andy Brandt
John Mitchell-Tom Gorowsky-Matthew Ford
Blake Geoffrion-Ben Street-Mike Davies
Andy Bohmbach-Aaron Bendickson-Ben Grotting

Jeff Likens-Jamie McBain
Joe Piskula-Klubertanz
Davis Drewiske-Matt Olinger

On paper, the third line has some real offensive talent. Let's hope they can find the back of the net this weekend.

The line combos are compliments of the Capital Times.

Upper Midwest High School Elite League Playoffs & Nike Bauer High School Elite Tournament

The schedule for the Upper Midwest High School Elite League tournament this weekend, as well as the schedule for next weekend's Nike Bauer High School Elite Tournament are now posted at the UMHSEL website.

Hockey's Future on Skille

Hockey's Future has an new article on the Blackhawks top 20 prospects, with Jack Skille listed at number four. I found this quote from the blurb on Skille interesting, "Skille is a few years away from the NHL, but he will probably find himself rather quickly on a top six line with the Blackhawks." Although his current injury could set his progress back, I think most people believe he will likely leave Wisconsin after this season and would be likely to make the Blackhawks roster next season.

Who knows, maybe if Jack doesn't have the opportunity to progress as a player due to injury this season he'll be back as a Badger for another year.

Team Wisconsin Minor

TW Minors went 1-1-1 this past weekend. They now have an overall record of 12-3-3.

Team Wisconsin Major Goes 0-3

This past weekend was the final weekend of the regular season in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League. Team Wisconsin Major went 0-3 , bringing their record to 3-14-4. Next weekend is the League tournament, followed the next weekend by the Bauer National Tournament.

Justin Johnson finished the regular season tied for ninth in scoring with 8 goals and 16 assists for 24 points. UW defensive recruit Ryan McDonagh tied for second in scoring among defensemen with 6 goals and 9 assists for 15 points.

Wisconsin Team Rankings in the National Polls

The national polls for the week are out.

The UW women remain ranked first in Division 1. The UW men hold steady at #2 in Division 1, despite a shuffling of teams around them.

The Division 3 Men's poll is still the pre-season poll, with St. Norbert's #2, UW-Superior #10, and UW-River Falls #11. The Division 3 Women's pre-season poll has UW-Superior at #5 and UW-Stevens Point #6.

Kyle Turris is BCHL's Star Player of the Week

Future UW Center Kyle Turris was the BCHL's Star Player of the week (October 17-23). Turris scored four goals and four assists in his last three games. Unfortunately, the Burnaby Express only won one of those contests. Turris is currently eighth in scoring in the BCHL with 18 goals and 10 assists for 28 points in just 14 games.

USHL Sunday Scores

Chicago defeated Green Bay for the second time in two days by a score of 5-4. Justin Cseter lit the lamp for Green Bay, and Derrick LaPoint had a couple of assists to vault himself into a tie for the scoring lead among all defensemen in the USHL (2-6=8).

Sioux City took out Ohio by a score of 4-2 on Sunday, sweeping the weekend two-game series.

The DPlaya Family Just Got Bigger

Just when I thought my plate was already full, the DPlaya family grew by one yesterday with the birth of a baby daughter. Mom and baby are doing well, and dad is trying to keep it all together on the home front. For those of you keeping track at home, that means I'll have son in the class of 2022 and a daughter in the class of 2024. Hopefully Mike Eaves and Mark Johnson will be keeping track of my children's soon-to-begin hockey careers.....my son already has a wicked slapper and shows a propensity to like digging the puck out of the corners!

Badger Men & Women

The Badger men rolled past UMD Saturday night 5-2. Jake Dowell and Andrew Joudrey are doing a great job stepping up and leading the team.

The Wisconsin State Journal indicates that the injured trio of Badgers will be out for the following: winger Ross Carlson (leg) three to four weeks, winger Jack Skille (elbow) four to six weeks and defenseman Kyle Klubertanz (knee) "week to week".

The Badger women downed Minnesota Saturday night 3-1 and tied Minnesota 3-3 on Sunday. Their 19-game win streak has been snapped, but they still have a 20-game unbeaten streak intact.

Friday/Saturday USHL Report

Friday night Omaha lost to Tri-City 4-3. The game featured Matt Thurber with an assist for Omaha, Scott Gudmandson taking the loss for Omaha in net, and Kyle Ensign with an assist for Tri-City. Keegan Meuer did not play in this game.

Cedar Rapids downed Sioux Falls Friday night. Patrick Tiesling had a goal and David Solway an assist for Sioux Falls.

The all-Iowa tilt Friday night resulted in Des Moines over Waterloo in a shootout. Josh Turnbull scored the game tying goal for Waterloo, and both Turnbull and Juutilainen scored in the shootout, but it just wasn't enough.

Indiana defeated Lincoln 5-3 on Friday, with Brent Gwidt making his debut on a USHL scoresheet by scoring the first goal of the game. Ross Henry had an assist for Lincoln. Potential Badger recruit Jason Gregoire was not in the lineup.

Des Moines squeaked out another game this weekend with an overtime win Saturday against Sioux Falls.

Omaha continued their inconsistent ways Saturday while being blanked by Waterloo 4-0. Josh Turnbull had a goal and an assist in the game. Scott Gudmandson started in net for Omaha giving up all four goals on just sixteen shots and was pulled 3:17 into the third period after giving up the fourth goal. Keegan Meuer was in the lineup for Waterloo in this game.

It was Tri-City over Cedar Rapids on Saturday by a score of 5-3. Defenseman Kyle Ensign had an assist in the winning effort.

Chicago and Green Bay began a two-game home and home weekend series at the Resch Center Saturday night, with Chicago taking home the win 3-1. Derrick LaPoint had an assist for Green Bay.

Indiana won a see-saw back and forth battle with Lincoln Saturday night 6-5. Indiana took the lead 2-0, then Lincoln scored five straight goals, only to have Lincoln come back and score four straight goals for the victory. Potential UW recruit Jason Gregoire did not play in this game.

Sioux City beat Ohio 6-2 Saturday night.

Sunday night will feature Green Bay at Chicago and Sioux City at Ohio.

Josh Turnbull is tied for eighth in scoring with 4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 5 games. Derrick LaPoint is fourth in scoring for defenseman in the USHL with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points in just 4 games.

Badgers vs. Bulldogs Friday Recap

The Badgers controlled most of the Friday game against the Bulldogs, but just don't have enough guys that can finish around the net. It was in question whether they would have enough scorers when the season began, and with Klubertanz, Carlson and Skille out, the answer for now is that they certainly do not have enough offensive firepower. Elliott played pretty well, but I think (and I'm sure he thinks this as well) he could play better. He needs to stand up and stop that first goal, which came from a bad angle. On the second, he seemed to be screened...but I'm not sure he had his angle quite right.

The bottom line is there is little room for error with this team right now. No room for anything but great goals by the opponents, no room for letdowns in tempo in the third period, and no room for converting even less scoring opportunities than are being finished now.

Andrew Joudrey had a great game last night. It's nice to see him finish some opportunities. In previous years, he just did not finish enough of his opportunities. It will be important for the upperclassmen to keep stepping up until the Freshmen begin to chip in a bit more.

With missing on the recruitment of lots of forwards for next season-losing Gagner, missing on Winnett, Trupp, Kane, Malone, etc. I'm nervous about next year as well. Imagine this team permanently without Skille, Carlson, Dowell, Joudrey and Brandt. Finding more quality forwards to go with Turris next season is imperative.

Team Wisconsin Major/Minor National Rankings

Team Wisconsin Major is now ranked 4th in the country, and Team Wisconsin Minor continues to be ranked 3rd in the country. These teams have very few games played against other Major and Minor teams, since they are playing in the a before and after league with mainly other before and after teams. Once they play more games against full-time Midget teams, their true rank should be more accurately reflected according to the notes at the bottom of the website.

Line Combinations for the Badger Men Tonight

Todd Milewski is reporting these are the line combinations for tonight's game.

Ben Street-Andrew Joudrey-Jake Dowell
John Mitchell-Tom Gorowsky-Matthew Ford
Mike Davies-Blake Geoffrion-Andy Brandt
Zach Bearson-Andy Bohmbach-Aaron Bendickson

Joe Piskula-Jeff Likens
Davis Drewiske-Matt Olinger
Josh Engel-Jamie McBain

Brian Elliott
Shane Connelly

Line combinations will get really interesting once Skille and Carlson return...

Sam Gagner Video Clip...

Check out this Sam Gagner video clip...I don't know whether to laugh or cry since he spurned UW for the OHL.

Blurb on Brendan Smith from Red Line Report

The Red Line Report had this blurb today regarding Brendan Smith under the "Falling" category (in reference to his NHL Draft status):

Brendan Smith— The broken arm he suffered this past Summer looks to still be affecting his puckhandling and confidence level.

Scoring Leader for the Nation

Jinelle Zaugg still leads the nation in scoring for Division 1 Women's Hockey. The Badger Herald has a nice article on her. Thanks to 60 min. for digging it up.

Girls Team Wisconsin Major Report

The Team Wisconsin Major Girls went 1-2 last weekend. They lost 5-4 to Community Olympic Development Program 5-4 in their first game Saturday, and lost 4-0 to the Marquette Iron Rangers Saturday Night. On Sunday, Team Wisconsin fashioned a 4-1 win over Marquette.

Kyle Turris....BCHL Poster Child

Kyle Turris has become the poster child for the BCHL this season. They put out stories with his name on it weekly, just because he has such a following due to his success. Here's the latest story, complete with practice photo.

Badger Lines for the Weekend...

Thanks to Hockey Thoughts for pointing out the link to the new blog by Todd Milewski of The Capital Times. In his first post, Milewski mentions Elliott is back to practice, and the lines for this weekend are as follows:

Ben Street-Andrew Joudrey-Jake Dowell
John Mitchell-Tom Gorowsky-Matthew Ford
Mike Davies-Blake Geoffrion-Andy Brandt
Bohmbach at center & Bendickson, Bearson & Grotting fighting for 2 wing spots

Joe Piskula-Jeff Likens
Josh Engel-Jamie McBain
Davis Drewiske-Matt Olinger

He also mentions Bearson was sick last week, so Mike Eaves decided to make him the odd man out last weekend.

LaPoint USHL Defensive Player of the Week

Derrick LaPoint was named USHL Defensive Player of the Week for the Green Bay Gamblers. With 4 points over the weekend, LaPoint is now tied for the lead in scoring for defensemen in the USHL with 5 points in 3 games.

Notes on Badger Men

The Cap Times has an article today with the usual, "Freshman must step up" theme you'd expect with the injuries UW has. Near the end of the article is the stuff I found interesting. They talk about John Mitchell playing very well Saturday night and earning extra responsibilities. They also mention that on Saturday UW won more faceoffs than their opponent for the first time this season.

UW Women Entrenched at #1 in Polls

The UW Women's Hockey Team maintain their stranglehold on the #1 spot in the national polls this week with their 6-0 start.

Division III Men's Poll Out

The USCHO Division III Men's Hockey Poll is out, with three Wisconsin teams residing in the top 15. St. Norbert's is second, Superior is tenth and River Falls is eleventh.

Sam Lofquist Commitment to Minnesota

Sam Lofquist from Somerset, who currently plays for the U-17 USNTDP, has committed to the University of Minnesota for 2008-2009. Lofquist is currently a Sophmore, but plans to accelerate his studies.

Photo Op...

These great pictures were provided by a Hockey In Wisconsin reader (thanks JG!). They are from a Green Bay Gamblers/Indiana Ice game this season. The first shot is of Derrick LaPoint, Justin Cseter and their teammates celebrating a goal. The second shot is of Derrick LaPoint from Green Bay "keeping up relations" with Brent Gwidt of Indiana. By the looks of it, I'm guessing they were just talking about the good old times they had as teammates on Team Wisconsin Major last season!

Team Wisconsin Major Update-Week 7

Team Wisconsin Major finished week 7 of the Upper Midwest High School Elite League 0-2-1. Team Wisconsin tied the North team, and lost to Southwest and Southeast. Their overall record is 3-11-4.

Justin Johnson is tied for seventh overall in scoring with 8-14=22. UW recruit Ryan McDonagh is tied for fifth in scoring by defensemen with 4-7=11.

Elliott Has Leg Bruise-Injury Update

Brian Elliott suffered a leg bruise in the second period of the North Dakota game Saturday night, and did not practice Monday as a result. His status for the weekend is up in the air. Jack Skille, Ross Carlson and Kyle Klubertanz are all expected to miss the games this weekend vs. UND. Skille has a hyperextended elbow which should take several weeks to heal, Carlson has a leg injury...possiby even an LCL tear, and Klubertanz a leg bruise from what I have heard.

Tyler Gron a Possibility for Badgers?

Tyler Gron seems pretty set on playing college hockey. Gron is a forward and the best player available for next season from the AJHL. He will be scheduling trips to US colleges, and hopefully UW is on his visit list.

Team Wisconsin Minors Keep Rolling

Team Wisconsin Minor had another very good weekend, going 2-0-1. Thanks to Doonk on the Wisconsin Prep Hockey site for the scores.

TW Minor 5 Mn-6A 1
TW Minor 2 Shattuck 2
TW Minor 2 Mn-1A 1

TW Minor is now 11-2-2. Prior to this weekend's games they were ranked third in the nation for Midget Minor teams.

Sislo & LaPoint Lead Gamblers over Ice

Mike Sislo and Derrick LaPoint scored a goal and tallied an assist in Green Bay's 5-4 victory over Indiana yesterday. Ryan Little chipped in some fisticuffs in the second period as well, getting five minutes for fighting Indiana's Nick Bailen.

Badger Women Get it Done

The Badger Women won Friday by hanging on for a 3-2 win over Ohio State. Yesterday the women fell behind, but scored two third period goals to clinch the win and stay undefeated on the season.

I've Added My E-mail Address to My Profile

I've been meaning to create a generic e-mail address where people could reach me since I started this blog, and have finally done it. My e-mail address is dplayawi@hotmail.com. You can find it in my profile on this page as well. If you have info you'd like to share and have posted, just let me know. Your thoughts and comments on the site are also welcome.

Kyle Turris Update

Last Saturday UW recruit Kyle Turris scored a hat trick and had an assist against Prince George. As if that wasn't enough, he and his teammate Tyler McNeely got tossed out for fighting after a five minute checking from behind penalty was called on Prince George. The Prince George Citizen has some info on the game within a nice piece on Turris (it's about halfway down the page).

Following a two game suspension, Turris returned to the Express lineup on Friday and had an assist in a 3-1 loss to Nanaimo. Last night Turris and the Express were downed 4-1 by Cowichan Valley. Turris was named second star of the game and had the lone goal for the Express.

Friday/Saturday USHL Roundup

Potential UW recruit Brett Bruneteau had a couple of power play assists Friday night for Omaha against Sioux Falls. Sam Zabkowicz had an assist for Sioux Falls in the loss. UW recruit Scott Gudmandson stopped 18 of 20 shots in the win Friday.

Wisconsinite and UW recruit Josh Turnbull scored for Waterloo in their 4-0 shutout over Ohio. Blake Kessel also had an assist in the game.

Derrick LaPoint and Justin Cseter each had two assists as Green Bay topped Indiana 7-4. Brent Gwidt for Indiana has not yet been able to register on the scoresheet in Indiana's first two games.

There was a ton of scoring in the USHL this weekend, but not too much by Wisconsin players and UW recruits!
There is one game left on the USHL schedule for the weekend....Green Bay plays Indiana at 5 PM today.

Saturday Night Badger Thoughts....

The Badgers just finished off the Fighting Sioux 1-0 in an extremely gritty game. Quite an effort by UW without Skille, Carlson and Klubertanz.

I was impressed with Jake Dowell this weekend, especially tonight. He was really flying around the ice putting on hits and grinding. His garbage goal was a thing of beauty for those who love the muckers and their hard work.

In my opinion, John Mitchell is in the lineup to stay. I'm shocked to be saying this, but he was really noticeable on the ice tonight, and not just because he is 6'5". Well I guess it is partially because he's so tall...his wingspan allows him to make plays that other guys just cannot. Imagine what he could be like with 25 additional pounds of muscle and a few years of playing experience. I have to admit that I thought he would the 14th or 15th forward for the Badgers with not much chance to play, but I just can't see Bohmbach, Grotting or Bearson ahead of him from what I've seen at this point. Grotting showed nothing tonight that I saw, except for a penalty, nor did Bohmbach. Bohmbach does not skate as well as I thought he would. Bearson must have been the only healthy scratch at forward tonight, and he has only played in one game so far. He has been the biggest disappointment so far (I realize it's early) for the Freshman class. I guess that's in part because he was highly touted several years ago, and verballed three years ago. Some guys just take longer to adjust to the college game, and that may be the case with Bearson.

I didn't notice any defensive breakdowns by Davies tonight...good for him.

Brian Elliott played a great game...he makes every game a potential win for Wisconsin, regardless of how many of their other stars are on the shelf with injuries.

The defensemen redeemed themselves tonight after giving away too many chances last night. Jamie McBain is going to fit in very well. He sees the ice very well and makes some great passes. He also skates pretty well.

The thought of adding Brendan Smith, Cody Goloubef and Ryan McDonagh to UW's defensive core next year is unbelievable....now if the staff can just get a couple more mid/high forwards to add to Turris. They mentioned last night on the telecast that Mark Osiecki had recently spent two weeks in British Columbia recruiting. It's good to hear the staff is doing everything they can to build a pipeline from the BCHL to Wisconsin.

Plenty O' Badger Women's Hockey News

The Badger women shot out to a 3-0 lead on Ohio State last night behind goals from Erika Lawler, Kristen Witting and Jinelle Zaugg. Ohio State came roaring back behind two goals from Wisconsin native Mallory Peckels, but couldn't get the tying goal. Jinelle Zaugg now leads the nation in scoring with seven goals.

Undergraduate Assistant and former UW player Carla MacLeod has been named to the Canadian National Team for the 2006 Four Nations Cup.

Jinelle Zaugg and Erika Lawler have been named to the US roster for the 2006 Four Nations Cup, which will be coached by Mark Johnson. The event takes place Nov. 7-12 in Ontario. There will also be a training camp from October 29th through November 4th. The Badger women are slated to play Minnesota State November 3 & 4, but have the following weekend open.

National Midget Major and Midget Minor Rankings

The first boys National Midget Major and Midget Minor rankings have been released. On the Midget Major side, Team Wisconsin is ranked #12, the Madison Capitols #49, the Green Bay Junior Gamblers #67 and Phoenix Force #72.

Team Wisconsin Minor is ranked 3rd in the country, while the Madison Capitols Minors are #27, and Phoenix Force Minors are #84.

UW-UND Thoughts

Tonight I got my first chance to see the Badgers in action, albeit via television. Just a few thoughts on the Badgers:

*Mike Davies can really handle the puck, but there were a couple of shifts where he was a HUGE defensive liability. One of the shifts was with a minute left in regulation. He needs to figure out how to play defense or Coach Eaves needs to show him the bench for a night so he gets the message.

*The two guys UW would seem to be counting on for offense this year both left the game injured tonight....Ross Carlson and Jack Skille...god forbid both of those guys are out for any sort of extended time period as the Badgers have no margin for error with their offense.

*Jamie McBain fumbled the puck that led to UND's overtime goal. That stuff is going to happen with Freshmen, and UW is playing a lot of Freshman. You have to take the good with the bad when it comes to Freshmen-remember, McBain was the one who fired the great pass to Ford to send him in on the breakaway for the Badgers' first goal.

*John Mitchell is a big guy....even bigger than I remember him from his high school playing days...he seems to have made progress since joining the Badgers as a grey shirt in January last season....it will be interesting to follow his progress. I can honestly say I'm surprised that he's already played two out of three games.

*Man has Skille improved his speed. His acceleration is very impressive. Did I mention I hope he is not hurt badly?

USHL Players from Wisconsin Photos & More

Check out this link for some photos of several Wisconsinites in action in the USHL. The photos are of a game between the Waterloo Blackhawks and Green Bay Gamblers. The first picture in the top-left is of Ryan Little (16) and Derrick La Point (3) on defense for Green Bay. The picture to the right of that is Blake Kessel (20) handling the puck in open ice with teammate and potential UW recruit Jan-Mikeal Juutilanen (27) trailing. The picture in the middle column in the second row from the bottom is Josh Turnbull (8) tied up in front of the net. The bottom left hand picture is of Turnbull (8) also. The bottom middle photo has Ryan Little (16) in the background and it looks like he's chasing Jan-Mikeal Juutilanen (27). The bottom right hand picture is of Jan-Mikael Juutilanen (27).

On the second page of photos, the top right photo is of a Keegan Meuer (25) blast while teammate Anthony Schooley jumps (pretty high while on skates) over the shot. The second row photo on the left shows Mike Sislo (27) looking on as Waterloo scores. The second row middle photo has Keegan Meuer (25) in it.

A few other photos I found....here's one of Ryan Little communicating with teammates (presumably his goaltender behind him). This one is of Nick Graves making a sprawling save.

While looking through the USHL stats, it appears that after 2 games Josh Turnbull has taken 13 shots already....I didn't see anyone else in the league even in double digits besides Turnbull....now if he can just convert more than .077 of his shots to goals!

The Green Bay Gamblers got a much needed new website, which you can find here.

Turris & Smith Selected for World Junior A Challenge Roster

Forward Kyle Turris has been named to Team Canada West for the first-ever World Junior A Challenge, while Defenseman Brendan Smith has been named to Team Canada East. Turris' teammate Tyler McNeely has also made Team West, along with Ben Winnett whom the Badgers had pursued but ended up committing to Michigan. The challenge will take place November 6-12 in Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

Cole Holmes Released by Green Bay Gamblers

Former University School of Milwaukee forward Cole Holmes has been released by the Green Bay Gamblers. My guess would be that he will surface in the NAHL, likely with Marquette who had tendered him this season, and where he had participated in tryout camps.

Bad UW Faceoff Percentages from Opening Series

Here are the Badger Centers' faceoff numbers from the first series against Northern Michigan. They are pretty bad, to say the least:

Blake Geoffrion 18-18 (.500)
Tom Gorowsky was 12-13 (.480)
Andrew Joudrey was 14-27 (.341)
Andy Brandt was 5-12 (.294).

In the article linked above there's also information about Davis Drewiske's emergence on special teams that is interesting to read.

Girls Team Wisconsin Minor Drops a Pair of Games

Team Wisconsin Minor dropped a pair of games this weekend to Minnesota Community Olympic Development Program. The final score for both games was 8-2 with Lily Cranston scoring both goals in the first game, and Maxine Blahowiak scoring both goals in the second game.

Zaugg Named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week

Four goals and an assist in a weekend will get you noticed. Just ask UW Women's forward Jinelle Zaugg, who was named the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week due to her sizzling scoresheet stuffing last weekend.

Smith & Turris Ranked Top 30 for 2007 NHL Draft by ISS

International Scouting Services has two incoming Badger recruits rated in their Top 30 Prospects for the 2007 NHL draft. Forward Kyle Turris is rated number 21, while defenseman Brendan Smith is rated number 30. Red Line Report has Smith at number 24, and Turris at number 25.

WCHA Preview

Hockey's Future has a great WCHA Preview up. It breaks down the number of NHL prospects on each team's roster, which is pretty interesting to see illustrated. It definitely shows which teams are the "haves" and which teams are the "have nots" in the WCHA.

Upper Midwest High School Elite League Update

Team Wisconsin Major suffered another tough weekend, losing all three games. The scores were:

Great Plains 7 Team WI 3
North 4 Team WI 2
SW 8 Team WI 5

Team Wisconsin continues to occupy the seventh, and last position in the standings.

Justin Johnson is fifth overall in scoring with 8 goals and 11 assists in 12 games. Nate Condon is tied for ninth overall in scoring with 11 goals and 6 assists in 11 games. UW recruit Ryan McDonagh is tied for third in scoring for defensemen, wuth 4 goals and 7 assists in 12 games.

Brad Malone Chooses North Dakota over Wisconsin

Brad Malone, who had a scholarship offer from the Wisconsin Badgers, has instead accepted a scholarship offer from North Dakota according to an article in the Grand Forks Herald.

Brett Bruneteau did have a scholarship offer from the Sioux, along with Michigan and Denver. It is unclear if his offer from UND still exists with this commitment. It is likely Bruneteau will move up a notch on the Badger's forward recruiting radar along with Jan-Mikael Juutilainen. Brent Gwidt, Brennan Vargas and Ryan Schnell are other players the Badgers may have an interest in.

USHL Saturday & Sunday Update

Omaha and Scott Gudmandson got off to an 0-2 start when they lost to Tri-City Saturday night by a score of 3-2. Luke Lucyk had a goal for Tri-City with Sean Wiles assisting, and Brett Bruneteau had a goal assisted by Garrett Suter for Omaha.

Lincoln scored a touchdown on Sioux Falls, winning 7-2. No Wisconsin natives or UW recruits had points in this game. Ross Henry for Lincoln and Patrick Tiesling for Sioux Falls finished +1, while David Solway and Jacob Drewiske finished -1. Potential UW recruit Brad Malone finished -2 for Sioux Falls.

Green Bay got a 4-2 win over Cedar Rapids Saturday. Derrick La Point had a goal, and Mike Sislo had an assist for Green Bay.

Indiana defeated Chicago 2-1 Saturday, but both Nathan Lawrence and Brent Gwidt were scoreless and even in this game.

Ohio downed Waterloo Saturday 3-2 in overtime, while Waterloo returned the favor on Sunday 2-1 in regulation. Josh Turnbull started to find his stride Friday as he had 10 shots and scored a goal. Saturday, Turnbull had two assists as did Jan-Mikeal Juutilainen. It looks, based on the scoresheets, that Turnbull is on a line with Juutilainen....which should only help UW should it extend a scholarship offer to Juutilainen. Blake Kessel had a tough weekend finishing -3 for Waterloo. Keegan Meuer did not play in either game for Waterloo.

OT for Both Badger Teams

The Badger Men tied Northern Michigan Saturday night, while the women beat St. Cloud State in overtime. The men finish the weekend 1-0-1, and if I read all the reports correctly, everyone on the roster except Andy Bohmbach played in at least one game.

Jinelle Zaugg was huge again for the Badger women, getting the game-winner in overtime. The final score was 2-1.

New Website for Girls Team Wisconsin Minor

The Team Wisconsin Minor Girls have themselves a nice new website. They've got everything from a roster with pictures, to actual statistics to action photos of the team! It's pretty impressive, especially considering they are not a team that is together for the entire season. Congratulations to them on the nice site.

UW Men & Women Roll to Friday Night Wins

The UW Men's Hockey Team began their 2006-2007 in proper fashion with a 3-0 shutout of Northern Michigan at the Resch Center in Green Bay. The Badgers were powered by diminuitive newcomer Mike Davies who notched the first two goals of his career, Tom Gorowsky and Matt Ford who each had three assists, and a goal by Davis Drewiske. Brian Elliott was a stone wall in net stopping all 23 shots. It's good to see the third line get off to a great start, especially as none of UW's other lines could light the lamp. Tom Gorowsky had more points in this game than he did all of last season.

The UW Women advanced their record to 3-0 on the season with an 8-2 win over St. Cloud State. The women have now won 15 games in a row dating back to last season. Eagle River native Jinelle Zaugg had a hat trick and an assist in the game, while linemate Sara Bauer had two goals and a playmaker.

Wiles' Two Assists Trumps Drewiske's Goal

Tri-City downed Sioux Falls 3-1 last night with Wisconsin native Sean Wiles racking up two assist for Tri-City. Wisconsinite Jacob Drewiske had the lone goal for Sioux Falls.

Adam Hammerbeck Cut by Waterloo

Adam Hammerbeck, who was a late addition to the Waterloo Blackhawks 25-man roster, was released as the Blackhawks trimmed their roster to the league-madated 23 man limit. I'd guess he'lll resurface in the NAHL with Alexandria, where he played last season. Wisconsinites Keegan Meuer, Blake Kessel, Brett Olson, Josh Turnbull and Craig Smith have all made the Blackhawks roster.

Gudmandson & Omaha Rocked in USHL Opener

UW recruit Scott Gudmandson and his Omaha Lancers teammates surrendered 8 goals in their USHL debut Friday night, losing to the Lincoln Stars 8-1. Ross Henry is the lone Wisconsinite or UW recruit to record a point in the game, garnering an assist and finishing +3. UW recruits Garrett Suter and Matt Thurber, along with potential UW recruit Brett Bruneteau were all -2. Gudmandson let in the 8 goals on just 28 shots.

Special Teams Units & Recruiting for UW

The Wisconsin State Journal has an article today discussing some of the Freshmen on special teams units. The article also mentions UW is awaiting a decision from forward Brad Malone, who has visited both UW and North Dakota and is apparently deciding between the two. It also mentions that Brett Bruneteau has scholarship offers from North Dakota, Denver and Michigan, but still is trying to set up a visit to UW. Finally, the article mentions that two UW recruits for next season are currently in Red Line Reports' Top 25. Brendan Smith is number 24, while Kyle Turris is ranked 2oth.

Great Article on Kyle Turris

Hockey's Future has an in-depth article on Kyle Turris that is a very good read. The most interesting part to me was the number of minutes they have him playing. Thirty-five to thirty-seven minutes a game for a forward is crazy. Well, at least UW knows he doesn't lack conditioning.

Familiar Names Selected in USHL Futures Draft

There were some names Wisconsinites are very familiar with that were taken in the USHL Futures draft today. All players selected must be 16 or 17 years old currently.

Round 4
Waterloo-Forward Brock Montpetit from Somerset who is playing for Shattuck St. Mary's
Des Moines-Defenseman Nick Pryor who plays for the USNTDP and is committed to Wisconsin

Round 5
Lincoln-Forward Pat Johnson from the Madison Capitals

Round 7
Lincoln-Defenseman Taylor Kuypers from Madison Edgewood
Cedar Rapids-Defenseman Eric Springer from Green Bay Jr. Gamblers

Round 8
Chicago-Forward Ryan Schnell of the USNTDP, who is a potential UW recruit
Indiana-Forward Brennan Vargas of the USNTDP, who has been mentioned as a potential UW recruit

Round 11
Green Bay-Forward Seth Soley from Eau Claire Memorial High School

Badger Article with Line Combinations

The Wisconsin State Journal has an article that includes info on the Badgers starting line combinations. Here's how the lines are shaping up to start the season:

Dowell-Joudrey-Carlson
Street-Geoffrion-Skille
Ford-Gorowsky-Davies
Bearson-Brandt-Bendickson
Mitchell-Bohmbach-Grotting

Klubertanz-Likens
Piskula-Olinger
Engel-McBain
Williams-Drewiske

The first forward line would seem to not have much offensive firepower, while line two seems loaded with it.

On September 9th, I posted my picks for the Badgers line combinations. I missed on the first two lines, but hit lines 3 & 4 perfectly. Just remember, I tabbed the fourth line the "Killer B's" first....

WCHA Preview

Inside College Hockey has a preview of the WCHA up. They have the Badgers picked to finish third behind North Dakota and Minnesota.

Matt Thurber Article

I found a nice article on Beaver Dam native and UW recruit Matt Thurber I thought everyone would enjoy reading. He sounds like a great kid and hard worker.

UW Women's Team Video Interviews

I stumbled onto some pretty cool content on the uwbadgers.com website tonight of preseason interviews with Mark Johnson and several of the UW Women's players. Check it out here. The new uwbadgers.com website really has a ton of content...but you've really got to search around to find it all because there is so much!

Girls Team Wisconsin Major

The Girls Team Wisconsin Major split a two game series with Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) this weekend, winning the first game and losing the second.

Girls Team Wisconsin Minor

Here's a report on the Girls Team Wisconsin Minor someone was kind enough to pass along:

Team WI U16 girls had a rough time in the Point cup.

TW 7 Team Alaska 4
TW 0 Shattuck 6
TW 2 Capitols 12
TW 1 CYA 8
TW 1 Shattack 7
Madison Caps lose to CYA in the finals 6-4

Team Wisconsin Minors go 1-2 This Weekend

According to a post at Wisconsin Prep Hockey, Team Wisconsin Minor went 1-2 on the weekend, bringing their overall record to 9-2-1.

Tw 5 Mn 5A 4
Tw 3 Mn 1A 6
Tw 1 Shattuck 3

Buc Bowl Wrap Up

The final day of the Buc Bowl saw some Wisconsinites and UW recruits get on the stat sheet that had not yet been able to do so.

Tri-City was victorious over Ohio by a score of 3-2. No Wisconsinites made the scoresheet, but Kyle Ensign and Luke Lucyk were both +1.

Omaha downed Indiana 4 to 1, with Brett Bruneteau scoring a goal with an assist going to Garrett Suter. Bruneteau also had an assist in the game. Brett Gwidt, who is playing for Indiana was not able to get on the stat sheet at all during the Buc Bowl. Future Badger Scott Gudmandson stopped 23 of 24 shots for Omaha to record his first win in the USHL. Another note regarding Omaha....according to this article, Jan-Mikael Juutilainen is a potential UW recruit and was going to be playing with Omaha this season. At this point, he has not played for Omaha, making me wonder about his status, and thus his status as a UW recruit.

Waterloo defeated Des Moines 3 to 2 in a shootout. Craig Smith scored a goal for Waterloo. I noticed that Keegan Meuer was not on the scoresheet for this game for Waterloo, so I'm interested to find out why. Blake Kessel finished +2 as did Craig Smith. Adam Hammerbeck also finished +1. UW recruit Josh Turnbull still has not managed to crack the stat sheet yet for Waterloo.

Green Bay suffered a loss at the hands of Lincoln 5-2. Take the time to click through the link to look at this scoresheet. Not a single goal was scored 5 on 5. In fact, none were scored 5 on 4, or 4 on 4! Every single goal was scored 4 on 3 or 3 on 3! What is this, a summer 4 on 4 league? The penalties aren't even listed on the sheet, probably because the Poinstreak computer system couldn't count high enough....Ross Henry did have an assist for Lincoln in the game. Derrick LaPoint finished the game -1, while all the other Wisconsinites that play for Green Bay managed to finish even. Cole Holmes still has not been able make the stat sheet, nor has Ryan Little.

Sioux Falls handed Chicago their first loss of the season. Nathan Lawrence finished -1 for Chicago. Jake Drewiske had two assists for Sioux Falls and finished +2, while his Wisconsin teammates all finished even on the day. Potential UW recruit Brad Malone has been kept off the scoresheet and is minus -1 on the season.

Cedar Rapids beat Sioux City 5 to 3. There were no Wisconsinites or UW recruits playing in this game.

Badger Women Win 5-1

The Badger Women defeated Quinnipiac once again Saturday night 5-1.