Badgers at the World Championships

Team Canada lost their third game to Sweden 4-3. Kyle Turris had an assist in the game. Team Canada is now 2-1. Team USA has moved to 3-0. In game #2 they downed Switzerland 4-2 and in game #3 they got past Russia 3-2. Blake Geoffrion had an assist in the third game. Team USA has sealed a bye into the Semi-Final round, even though they have one game remaining in pool play.

Thursday Linkorama

Girls Hockey

Kasson-Mantorville, MN over Wausau 3-0


International Falls, MN over Fondy/Waupun 7-3 & this article


Point/Rapids over Marshall, MN 3-2

Bloomington Kennedy, MN over Menomonie 4-2

Fondy/Waupun over New Richmond 3-2 (no link yet...but was given this score for today's game)

Boys Hockey

Superior over Simley, MN 8-0

Fond du Lac over Monona Grove 5-2

Fond du Lac over Antigo 5-3

Eau Claire Memorial over Northland Pines 8-0


Badger Men's Hockey Team

Matt Ford to return article

Kyle Turris article & Turris article #2

Several Wisconsin football players are UW hockey fans

Special Teams work dominates practice

McDonagh has new motivation

Geoffrion Featured in USA Today

UW's Blake Geoffrion is under the spotlight in today's edition of the USA Today. Geoffrion is having a breakout season offensively for UW, but is known for his defense and penalty killing, which differs greatly from his family's hockey lineage.

Badgers at the World Junior Championships

Team USA and Team Canada remain undefeated at the 2008 IIHF World Championships. Team USA defeated Kazachstan 5-1 yesterday. Neither Jamie McBain nor Blake Geoffrion figured in the scoring. Team Canada defeated the Czech Republic 3-0 with Kyle Turris held off the score sheet. Today Turris made up for lost time scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over Slovakia.

Badger Showdown Primer

The Badger Showdown will take over the Kohl Center December 28th and 29th. In the first round, Wisconsin will face Colgate, while Bowling Green and Northeastern will also square off against one another.

Wisconsin's game notes indicate the Badger defensemen lead the nation in points, 3 ahead of Michigan State. Another interesting stat is that the Badgers are tied for second in the nation for goals scored in the third period with 27, showing the overall fitness level of the team is excellent. Three of the Badgers top five scorers are in Slovakia representing their country at the World Junior Championships. Kyle Turris is playing for Team Canada, while Blake Geoffrion and Jamie McBain are representing the United States. The Capital Times has the latest piece on what it means for these young men to represent their country in international play.

Looking at Colgate's (7-7-2; tied for last in the ECAC at 1-3-2) game notes from their last series, the only common opponents between the Raiders and the Badgers are Michigan State (6-3 & 2-1 losses for Colgate; a 4-4 tie for UW) and Robert Morris (4-3 & 5-0 wins for Colgate; 7-2 & 8-2 wins for UW). One of the "little things" the Badgers are going to need to do well is to win faceoffs. Colgate has won more faceoffs than their opponent in every game this season, while the Badgers are without their top two centers for the showdown as they are playing at the World Junior Championship.

Northeastern (7-4-2; Tied for first in Hockey East at 6-3-1) already has their game notes posted for the Badger Showdown and their first round matchup with Northeastern. Northeastern has very balanced scoring and Elliot Olshansky of CSTV is impressed with their goaltender, Brad Thiessen. Northeastern is currently #11 in the national rankings, two spots in front of UW. The only common opponent between the two teams is North Dakota (3-0 loss for Northeastern; 4-0 win & 3-1 loss for UW).

Bowling Green State University (8-6-0; 5-5-0 in the CCHA) returns 20 letterwinners and 78% of their points from last season according to their game notes for the series. The common opponents between UW & BGSU are Notre Dame (4-2 & 2-1 losses for BGSU; 4-1 win for UW) and Michigan (4-2 & 3-2 losses for BGSU; 3-2 loss for UW). Senior forward Derrick Whitmore leads the team in goals with 13, which is more than twice as many as the next leading goalscorer. Junior defenseman Derrick Schmidt is their leading playmaker with eleven assists. Bowling Green has two Freshmen that hail from Wisconsin in David Solway of Green Bay and Patrick Tiesling of Rhinelander.

College Hockey News has a preview of the Badger Showdown, as well as other holiday tournaments around the country.

Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago....the Rodney Dangerfield of High School Hockey?

Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago is playing the "no respect" card to motivate their players as they have jumped out to a 5-0 start. Bob Gosman has more in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Development

Patrick Reusse of the Minneapolis Star Tribune has a good column on college hockey and the development of players. In the article, Tom Curvers who is a former Hobey Baker winner and currently Player Personnel Director for the Phoenix Coyotes talks about Jack Skille's decision to leave college hockey.

Kyle Turris Named Athlete of the Year/UW's Recruiting Process

The Burnaby NOW and The Record have named UW forward Kyle Turris Athlete of the Year.

If you're interested in how UW's recruiting process works, find out here.

Eau Claire Memorial Downs Superior

#1 Eau Claire Memorial today defended it's position at the top of high school hockey defeating Superior in their own rink by a final score of 6-5. Here's a copy of the scoresheet. Here's a write up from WEAU in Eau Claire. The Superior Telegram indicates the game lived up to it's billing.

USHL Update

Wisconsin Forwards in the USHL

(+9) Matt Thurber-6 goals, 19 assists for 25 points in 24 games
(+5) Brock Montpetit-5 goals, 8 assists for 13 points in 20 games
(+9) Jake Hauswirth-8 goals and 4 assists for 12 points in 22 games
(+2) Brett Olson-3 goals and 9 assists for 12 points in 12 games
(-12)Travis Erstad-5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in 25 games
(+9) Brent Gwidt-7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points in 23 games
(-2) Jacob Drewiske-5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 23 games
(-2) Justin Cseter-2 goals and 7 assists for 9 points in 22 games
(+2) Seth Soley-4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in 15 games
(-8) Craig Smith-4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 22 games
(-1) Keegan Meuer-1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in 21 games
(-8) Scott Pavelski-2 goals and 1 assist for 3 points in 22 games

Wisconsin Defenseman in the USHL

(+2) Eric Springer-6 goals, 11 assists 17 points in 23 games
(-8) Blake Kessel-8 goals, 9 assists for 17 points in 22 games
(even) Sam Zabkowicz-2 goals, 13 assists for 15 points in 23 games
(-11) Ryan Little-1 goal, 6 assists for 7 points in 23 games
(-1) Kyle Ensign-1 goal, 4 assists for 5 points in 18 games
(+6) Aaron Schmit-0 goals, 4 assists for 4 points in 19 games
(+1) Ross Henry-0 goals, 1 assist for 1 point in 25 games
(-3) Taylor Kuypers-0 goals, 0 assists for 0 points in 2 games

UW Recruits in the USHL

(+9) Matt Thurber-6 goals, 19 assists for 25 points in 24 games
(+5) Brock Montpetit-5 goals, 8 assists for 13 points in 20 games
(-12) Travis Erstad-5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in 25 games
(-10) Chris Hickey-5 goals and 4 assists for 9 points in 18 games
(-11) Ryan Little-1 goal, 6 assists for 7 points in 23 games
(-8) Craig Smith-4 goals and 3 assists for 7 points in 22 games
(+2) Tyler Barnes-1 goal and 1 assist for 2 points in 1 game
Aaron Crandall 14 gp, 3.33 gaa and .888 save percentage

Friday Update

Brian Elliott is making steady improvement as a pro for the Senators.

Here's the press release on the Badger Hockey Showdown.

Newspapers are really slow to get articles out on games. After searching through a lot of papers for articles about games that took place last night, this is all I've been able to uncover so far:

Neenah over Sheboygan 1-0
Fondy over Waupun 4-2

Prep Links

The Green Bay Press Gazette has an article about the explosive growth of high school hockey in the Green Bay area.

I found some video from the Eau Claire Memorial-Eau Claire North game which Memorial won 7-2. In the game, Senior forward Jefferson Dahl needed one goal to claim the all-time scoring title in Eau Claire Memorial school history from Seth Soley. Dahl proceeded to score 4 goal and 3 assists. #1 Eau Claire Memorial will travel to #2 Superior on Saturday. There is also some video of the Chippewa Falls girls vs. Menomonie at the above link.

Late Night Linkorama

Both Jamie McBain and Blake Geoffrion have been playing well for Team USA during their exhibition schedule prior to the World Juniors.

USA Hockey is having a holiday camp for 56 of the best female players in the country. This link will take you to the story where there are links for the team rosters the players will be divided up into. The story includes the fact that Hilary Knight is a late addition to the camp while Meghan Duggan is a late subtraction from the camp.

Why does the Canadian press think anyone who plays NCAA hockey gets a full ride? Read this story on UW-stout's Jesse Pischlar and you'll see what I mean. My guess for why it happens is that the Junior teams in Canada put out press releases to that effect, since they want to look good to recruits, but maybe there's another reason someone can offer....

Here's some high school hockey articles on:

Superior Boys vs. Duluth Denfeld
Central Wisconsin Storm vs. Point-Rapids Girls
Wausau West Boys vs. Wisconsin Rapids
Chippewa Falls Girls vs. Menomonie Girls

Tuesday Updates

Kyle Turris scored twice in Team Canada's first tuneup for the World Juniors (look near the bottom of the piece).

Forward Badger Grace Hutchins has been playing in Russia.

Saturday in the USHL

Sioux City snuck past Tri-City 3-2. UW recruit Chris Hickey was even while Wisconsinite Kyle Ensign was -1 for Tri-City.

Waterloo edged Indiana in overtime 5-4. For Waterloo, Brett Olson had a goal and was even, earning him Third Star of the Game honors. Craig Smith also scored and was +1 while Keegan Meuer had an assist and was +1 for Waterloo. Waterloo's Blake Kessel had an assist and was even, while Scott Pavelski was -1 and Brock Montpetit was +1. For Indiana, Brent Gwidt was even for the game.

Green Bay blanked Des Moines 2-0. UW goaltender recruit Aaron Crandall stopped all 25 shots he faced and was named First Star of the Game. Gambler teammate Ryan Little was +1.

Sioux Falls outlasted Cedar Rapids 4-3 in overtime. Wisconsinite Sam Zabkowicz had an assist and was even for Sioux Falls, as was Eric Springer. Jake Drewiske was even for Sioux Falls.

Omaha put the smack down on Ohio 7-3. Lancer Matt Thurber was back from his one game fighting suspension and made up for lost time notching a goal and two assists, finishing +2. Teammate and fellow Wisconsinite Jake Hauswirth had a goal and an assist and finished +3. Seth Soley was even for Omaha. For Ohio Justin Cseter finished -1.

Lincoln shut out Chicago 2-0. All the Wisconsin players in the game finished even with no points. They include defenseman Aaron Schmit for Chicago, as well as defenseman Taylor Kuypers (playing on an emergency basis this weekend for Lincoln), defenseman Ross Henry and Forward Travis Erstad.

Think You Rule at Pond Hockey?

If you think you rule at pond hockey, you should probably sign up for the Third Annual Pond Hockey Championship in Eagle River. I'll even save you the trouble of figuring out how to apply...just click here.

Friday USHL Report

Omaha edged Indiana 4-3 in overtime. Brent Gwidt had a goal and an assist for Indiana, and finished +1. For Waterloo, Brock Montpetit had a goal and an assist and finished a game high +3. He was also named Second Star of the Game. Blake Kessel had two assists and finished even for Waterloo. Keegan Meuer and Scott Pavelski finished even, while Craig Smith was -1 and Brett Olson was -2 for Waterloo.

Cedar Rapids handled Green Bay 4-1. Ryan Little was even in the game for the Gamblers. His current Gambler teammate and future Badger teammate Aaron Crandall did not play in the game.

Tri-City doubled up Des Moines 4-2. UW recruit Chris Hickey had an assist and finished even while Wisconsinite Kyle Ensign was +1 on the night for Tri-City.

Omaha took out Ohio 5-2. Seth Soley was named First Star of the Game with two goals (one was an empty net) and a +2 in the game for Omaha. Teammate Jake Hauswirth was +1 in the game while Matt Thurber did not play for Omaha. For Ohio, Justin Cseter was -3.

Sioux City defeated Sioux Falls 6-4. Sam Zabkowicz had two assists but finished -1 for Sioux Falls while teammates Eric Springer and Jake Drewiske were even.

Chicago downed Lincoln 6-3. Aaron Schmit had an assist and was +1 for Chicago. For Lincoln, Ross Henry was +1 and Travis Erstad was -1. Lincoln also must have had a need for another defenseman as Taylor Kuypers was active in this game. Unfortunately he did not fare very will finishing -3. Kuypers has been playing with the Madison Capitols. I'll keep an eye out to see whether he remains with Lincoln, or if it was just an emergency situation where they needed another defenseman for a weekend.

Saturday Stuff

UW recruit Nick Pryor and his United States National Team Development Program teammates got their first victory against a WCHA team in the 11-year history of the program last night defeating Minnesota Duluth 2-1. Tonight the U-18's cross the border into Wisconsin where they will take on UW-Superior.

Adam Burish continues to demonstrate his leadership abilities in Chicago, and Head Coach Denis Savard loves it.

Wisconsinite Ross Henry is a player I have assumed for a while the Badgers are going to recruit. Here's why.

Badger Recruit Mega-Linkorama

I thought I'd dig up some links on two of the Badger's newer recruits since their Minnesota High School seasons are now underway: Jake Gardiner of Minnetonka and Tyler Barnes of Burnsville.

Jake Gardiner
Jake Gardiner is off to a great start this season with 4 goals and 5 assists in 5 games from his new position as a defenseman. Let's Play Hockey just put out a new article on Jake today.

His goals have often been timely, like notching a goal just 2:30 into the Skippers' game against Cloquet. Other timely goals include the game winner against #7 ranked Duluth East to win 3-2, and a goal in the waning moments of the third period against #2 Duluth Marshall to help Minnetonka to another 3-2 victory.

Tyler Barnes
Tyler Barnes has 6 goals and 5 assists in just 4 games so far this season for the Burnsville Blaze. He and his linemates Jake Hendrickson and Adam Perisic put up 169 points last season and lead the Blaze to their first State Tournament berth last season, so there are pretty high expectations for Tyler to live up to. Of that total, Barnes had 28 goals and 26 assists for 54 points last season leading the team in goals and finishing with the second highest point total.

The Blaze got the season off to an exciting start with a 5-4 overtime victory against Bloomington Jefferson.

As it turns out, the Head Coach at Burnsville played his high school and college hockey in Superior.

Following two wins against Lakeville North and Lakeville South, Barnes and the Blaze lost a 3-2 overtime heart-breaker to #2 Edina giving up a late third period goal and another early in overtime. Since then, the Blaze crushed Apple Valley 8-2 and was shutout 4-0 by Eagan.

Brendan Smith Cut From Team Canada

Brendan Smith was cut today from Canada's World Junior team, leaving Kyle Turris as the lone Badger representative for Team Canada. Blake Geoffrion and Jamie McBain will be representing Team USA at the event which begins December 26th in the Czech Republic.

More Odds and Ends

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article today about Waukesha CMH junior Jeff Costello. Costello was also featured last week in the Journal Sentinel's Preps Plus video. The latter interview is really nice, so check it out. (Thanks to Timster96 for the links!!) Costello will play for the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders next year and has verballed to Notre Dame for 2010.

Potential Badger recruit Patrick Wiercioch recently visited the University of Michigan. He is reportedly considering Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Denver, and New Hampshire. By the way, Wiercioch played last year for the BCJHL's Burnaby Express with current Badger Kyle Turris. (Props to Wojo for the heads-up on the article.)

USA Hockey has a nice article on Badger recruit Nick Pryor. Pryor is a defenseman for the USNTDP and has verballed to Wisconsin for 2009. (I stole this link from Todd Milewski; thanks Todd.)

Todd Milewski has updated stats for Badger alumni and recruits, as well as a brief update on Badgers Kyle Turris and Brendan Smith at Team Canada's WJC evaluation camp. Todd's trying to gauge reader interest in the WJC, so stop by his blog and leave him a note expressing your interest. The more coverage the better, right?

Badger alum and current Chicago Blackhawk Jake Dowell played 3 games on a broken foot (which, he said "kept swelling up and turning different colors") so that his parents could see him play in Chicago. He said, "I knew where they were sitting. As exciting as it was for them, it was twice as exciting for me to have them there."

Oilers blogger extraordinaire Lowetide profiles the Oilers' top prospects and gives some love to Badger alum Tom Gilbert.

And speaking of Tom Gilbert, this video is good for a laugh or two, as Gene Principe visits the house where Gilbert, Andrew Cogliano, and Sam Gagner live.

And finally, for those Badger fans who don't keep up with the rest of the WCHA as well as they'd like, Eric Levine has a nice little summary of the current state of the WCHA.

Oh, and I almost forgot (so much for my previous "finally"), I'd like to say "hi" to Brian and Linda Brandt, who I hear recently stumled upon (and apparently liked!) our humble blog. Their son Andy currently plays for the ECHL's Gwinnett Gladiators, where he has 10 pts (4G, 6A) and a +4 rating. (By the way, Mr. and Mrs. Brandt, if you have any updates or links regarding Andy that you'd like us to post, feel free to send them to me at sixtymin@iwon.com.)

Odds & Ends

There's a new article out on Superior native and current Waterloo Blackhawk Brett Olson.

Waterloo handled Chicago tonight in the USHL, winning 3-1. For Chicago, Aaron Schmit was -1. For Waterloo, Scott Pavelski had two assists and finished +2 and was voted Third Star of the Game. Blake Kessel had an assist and finished even for Waterloo. Teammates Craig Smith, Brett Olson and Brock Montpetit all finished even while Keegan Meuer was +1.

On Sunday, Tri-City got the best of Ohio 5-2 in the USHL. For Tri-City, Chris Hickey had an assist and finished even, while teammate Kyle Ensign also finished even. Justin Cseter was +1 in the game and drew a 10-minute abuse of officials penalty.

The Admirals are preparing to host the High School Hockey Showdown on December 27th and 28th at the Bradley Center featuring four Milwaukee area high school teams. Homestead, University School, Arrowhead and Kettle Moraine/Mukwonago will all be participating.

The Appleton Post Crescent has an article on Mark Johnson being the Guest Speaker for the USHL All-Star Banquet that will be held in Green Bay in conjunction with the USHL All-Star Game.

The only female (or male for that matter) Vietnamese hockey player I've ever heard of has aspirations to play for UW-Stevens Point.

The Superior Daily Telegram has a piece on both the Superior boys and Superior girls victories over New Richmond this past weekend.

Monday College Hockey Linkorama

Special teams caused the Badgers to drop their Friday night game 3-1 to Mankato. On Saturday, Mike Eaves shuffled the top three lines and Shane Connelly played pretty well, but the Badgers were only able to salvage a 1-1 tie.

The Badger Men's season so far has been consistenly inconsistent.

The Badger Women needed two late goals to defeat North Dakota Friday 3-2, while able to secure a shutout for the sweep on Saturday by a score of 3-2.

The Badger Women's Mallory Deluce has been named to the Canadian National Women's U-22 Team for the European Air Canada Cup in Germany January 2nd-6th.

The Badger Men fell in the polls today from 10th down to 13th, while the Badger Women remain at #7. In the Division III Men's Poll St. Norbert's is #1 (up from #3), River Falls #6 (down from #4) and Stout is #7 (down from #4). In the Division III Women's Poll Stevens Point is #2 (up from #3) and Superior remains at #9.

Nate Condon Pictorial

Condon accelerates, shoots, scores and celebrates against Antigo Thursday night.

Thanks to Ricky Bassman for his generosity in sharing these photos. Find Ricky's site here, and the page for the Antigo vs. Wausau West photos here.

Wausau West vs. Antigo Photo Highlights

Wausau West knocked off Antigo on Thursday night last week 5-3. As you can see there was plenty of physical play along the boards, but the difference in the game was Nate Condon who topped off his hat trick with an empty net goal at the end of the game (pictured) to score 4 of Wausau West's 5 goals.

Photos compliments of Ricky Bassman. Other game photos for this game can be found here.

Saturday in the USHL

Tri-City doubled up Ohio 4-2. Kyle Ensign was -1 for Tri-City while UW recruit Chris Hickey had an assist and was +1 for the Storm. For Ohio, Justin Cseter was -1.

Sioux City edged Sioux Falls 5-4 in a shootout. For Sioux Falls, Jake Drewiske had a goal and was even, while Eric Springer had an assist and was -1. Teammate Sam Zabkowicz finished even. Neither Springer nor Drewiske scored in the shootout.

Cedar Rapids put the smack down on Waterloo 6-2. For Waterloo, Brett Olson had an assist and finished even. Blake Kessel also finished even, while Keegan Meuer and Brock Montpetit were -1, and Craig Smith was -2.

Green Bay got past Des Moines 3-2 in regulation. Ryan Little had an assist and finished even for the Gamblers.

Omaha blanked Lincoln 2-0. Ross Henry and Travis Erstad finished even for the Stars, as did Jake Hauswirth, Matt Thurber and Seth Soley for the Lancers.

Indiana took out Chicago 5-3. Aaron Schmit finished even for Chicago while Brent Gwidt had an empty net goal and was even for Indiana.

Friday in the USHL

Indiana slid past Chicago 3-2. Aaron Schmit was -1 for Chicago while Brent Gwidt was even for Indiana.

Cedar Rapids handled Sioux Falls 5-2. Sam Zabkowicz had an assist for Sioux Falls and was -1. Jake Drewiske and Eric Springer were -2 for Sioux Falls.

Green Bay cruised past Des Moines 5-2. Ryan Little was -1 for Green Bay.

Lincoln took care of Waterloo 3-1. Travis Erstad was even in the game, while Stars teammate Ross Henry had an assist and was +1. For Waterloo, Brett Olson had an assist and was even, and Blake Kessel had a goal and was -1. Keegan Meuer, Scott Pavelski and Brock Montpetit were also even for the Blackhawks, while Craig Smith was -1.

Sioux City nipped Omaha 3-2 in overtime. Matt Thurber had two assists in the loss and finished even. Teammates Jake Hauswirth and Seth Soley finished -1.

Clash of the State Champions

2006 Girls State Champs Fond du Lac/Waupun squared off against 2007 Girls State Champs Appleton United yesterday in Neenah, with Fondy/Waupun securing a hard fought 1-0 victory. Fondy/Waupun improves to 3-1 on the season while Appleton remains winless at 0-3 on the season.

UW Men's Hockey Report

Todd Milewski reports the Badgers lines for the weekend will look as follows:

Street-Turris-Davies
Engel-Geoffrion-P. Johnson
Mitchell-Dolan-Grotting
Bohmbach-Bendickson-Turnbull

Smith-Klubertanz
Drewiske-Goloubef
McDonagh-McBain

Michael Davies jumps from the 4th line to the 1st line this weekend. Tom Gorowsky and Craig Johnson will also be on the trip.

Today there were a couple of nice articles put out on Shane Connelly and Blake Geoffrion.

Former Badgers Bob and Gary Suter are kind enough to be helping Dubuque, Iowa try to raise funds for a new hockey facility.

USHL Mid-Week Game Updates

Omaha edged Des Moines in a shootout 5-4 Tuesday. Wisconsinites and current Lancers Jake Hauswirth and Matt Thurber both finished +1. Hauswirth had a goal in the game, while Thurber had two assists. Neither one managed to score in the shootout, but Omaha won anyway!

Indiana took it to Ohio 5-1. Justin Cseter was held off the scoresheet for Ohio and was even, while Brent Gwidt finished +2 for Indiana.

Sioux Falls blanked Lincoln 2-0. For Sioux Falls, Sam Zabkowicz had an assist and finished even, while Jake Drewiske was +1 and Eric Springer was even. For Lincoln, both Ross Henry and Travis Erstad finished even.

Will the Real Neenah Please Stand Up?

Ahhhh, consistency. Coaches love it and high school age hockey teams rarely achieve it! This has definitely been the case with the Neenah boys hockey team this year.

Neenah began the season by defeating #10 Arrowhead 1-0, despite being outshot 38 to 17. Next up for the Rockets was Waupun. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, Neenah proceeded to give up 6 straight goals and lose by a final score of 6-3. Waupun outshot them in the game 29-20. Next on the docket was #2 Fond du Lac who crushed the Rockets 12-1 including 4 shorthanded goals. Neenah was outshot 59-6 in the contest. So what did the Rockets do next? Tonight they knocked off cross-town rival #7 Appleton United, despite being outshot 39-12.

So, Neenah has two wins against top 10 teams, but is 2-2. They are giving up an average of 5 goals per game so far, and scoring an average of 2 goals per game. The Rockets are averaging just 13.75 shots per game, while allowing 41.25 shots per game. I noticed there is not a picture of Head Coach Jeff Lindemann in Pointstreak, but I'm guessing if he did not have gray hair prior to the season starting, he has some now....

The Polls

The USCHO.com/CSTV polls are out, and here's how Wisconsin teams fared:

Division 1 Men-Wisconsin is up 3 spots to #10
Division 1 Women-Wisconsin fell 3 spots to #7
Division 3 Men-St. Norbert's moves up from #5 to #3
-River Falls drops from #1 to #4
-Stout rises from #8 to #5
Division 3 Women-Stevens Point stays at #3 despite being 7-0
-Superior remains #9

Note: The UW-Stevens Point Women will face the UW-Superior Women this weekend

McBain & Geoffrion Named to 2008 US National Junior Team

Blake Geoffrion and Jamie McBain have been named to the 2008 US National Junior Team, which will compete at the IIHF World Junior Championship in the Czech Republic December 26th, 2007 through January 5th, 2008. You can find the complete roster here.

Geoffrion, McDonagh Earn WCHA Honors

Blake Geoffrion and Ryan McDonagh earned WCHA Honors for their efforts this past weekend.

Geoffrion was named the Offensive Player of the Week. He had 1 goal on Friday (game-tying goal) and 3 assists on Saturday (including an assist on the game-winner). He was +3 on the weekend and had 8 SOG.

McDonagh was named the Rookie of the Week. He had 2 assists on Friday (on the game-tying and game-winning goals). He was +4 on the weekend and had 4 SOG. McDonagh leads the team with a +8 on the season.

Tuesday Morning Badger Links

In case you missed it, here's the link to Eaves' Monday presser.

I always look forward to Todd Milewski's articles, and this week he writes about Josh Engel and Ryan McDonagh. Good stuff.

Andy Baggot has a nice article on the depth of the Badgers at forward, specifically the lines of Mitchell-Dolan-Grotting and Engel-Geoffrion-Johnson.

The Badger Men are 10th in the USCHO/CSTV poll and 11th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. The WCHA has 8 teams in the top 20 of the USCHO poll and 6 teams in the top 15 of the USA Today poll.

The Daily Cardinal has another recap of the Badgers sweep over St. Cloud, calls the Badgers the "Comeback Kids", and discusses the Badgers' position in the WCHA. The Badger Herald covers the end of Kyle Turris' slump and also discusses the Badgers' position in the WCHA.

Not much coverage out there regarding the Badger Women, although the Daily Cardinal and the Badger Herald both have recaps of the sweep by the Bulldogs.

Turris & Smith Invited to Canada's World Junior Championship Selection Camp

Hockey Canada has announced the list of 37 players invited to Canada's National Junior Selection Camp. UW forward Kyle Turris and UW defenseman Brendan Smith are among those invitees, and the only players in college hockey that were invited. The camp will take place December 10th-14th in Calgary, while the tournament itself is December 26th-January 5th in the Czech Republic.

Team USA will be announced tomorrow night during the intermissions of the Red Wings-Canadiens game. Here's who Sports Illustrated thinks will make the team...including Blake Geoffrion, Jamie McBain and Ryan McDonagh.

Weekend Badger Report

Friday night the Badger Women suffered a 3-2 overtime loss against Minnesota-Duluth. Saturday must have seemed like the movie "Groundhog Day" as the Badger Women again lost to Minnesota-Duluth by a score of 3-2. This marks the first time the Women have been swept at home since 2003 and leaves the Badgers 10-6-2 overall, and 6-4-2 in the WCHA. They were ranked #4 last week, but that ranking will surely plunge when the new polls come out.

The Badger Men also lived through a weekend that must have seemed like the movie "Groundhog Day". Fortunately for the men, the plot of their movie was winning two games by coming from behind against St. Cloud State. Friday night was a 3-2 victory, while Saturday the win was by the margin of 4-3.

Another Friday night game article for the UW Men can be found here, and here's another for Saturday.

Saturday in the USHL

Des Moines edged Ohio in overtime. Wisconsinite Justin Cseter had an assist in the game and was +1.

Sioux City outgunned Tri-City 8-5. Wisconsinite Kyle Ensign was -1 while UW recruit Chris Hickey had a goal and was -3 for Tri-City.

Chicago handled Sioux Falls 4-1. Aaron Schmit was not active for Chicago. For Sioux Falls, Sam Zabkowicz had an assist and was even, Jake Drewiske was -1 and Eric Springer was -2.

Indiana got past Waterloo in a shootout 4-3. Wisconsinite Brent Gwidt was even for Indiana. For Waterloo, Brock Montpetit had a goal and an assist and was +2, Craig Smith had and assist and was even, while Brett Olson had two assists and finished +1. Also, Blake Kessel finished even, as did Scott Pavelski. Brett Olson scored in the shootout, while Pavelski and Montpetit did not convert. Montpetit was named Second Star of the Game.

Lincoln narrowly defeated Omaha 3-2. For Omaha, Jake Hauswirth had an assist and finished +1, while Matt Thurber and Seth Soley were both -1. For Lincoln, Ross Henry and Travis Erstad both ended up +1.

Green Bay and Cedar Rapids was postponed due to weather.

Friday in the USHL

Omaha edged Des Moines in regulation 2-1. Matt Thurber had an assist for Omaha, as did teammate Seth Soley. Soley and Jake Hauswirth finished even, while Thurber was +1 in the game.

Chicago was victorious over Lincoln 7-5. Wisconsinite Aaron Schmit had an assist and was +2 for Chicago, while for Lincoln Ross Henry was even and Travis Erstad was -1.

Indiana slipped past Green Bay 3-2. For Green Bay, Ryan Little was held off the scoresheet except for his 5-minute major for fighting Nick Bailen. Goaltender Aaron Crandall, who is a future Badger like Little, took the loss stopping 20 of 23 shots. For Indiana, Brent Gwidt was even.

Ohio got it done in a shootout, defeating Waterloo 3-2. For Waterloo, Brett Olson had a goal on 6 shots and was +1. He was named First Star of the Game for his efforts. Brock Montpetit had an assist and was +2 for Waterloo. As for the rest of their Wisconsinite teammates, Keegan Meuer was even on the game, Scott Pavelski was -1, and Blake Kessel was +1. For Ohio, Justin Cseter was +1. Cseter, Smith, Montpetit and Olson all were denied goals in the shootout.

Sioux City defeated Cedar Rapids 4-1.

Tri-City took care of Sioux Falls 4-3. For Tri-City, Wisconsinite Kyle Ensign had an assist and was even, and UW recruit Chris Hickey was also even. For Sioux Falls, Eric Springer had an assist and was even, while Jake Drewiske was -1 and Sam Zabkowicz was -2.