Here are my thoughts from watching the two Badger games this weekend on
TV.
 
Friday:
 
Wisconsin  3  1  2  -  6
W. Michigan2  1  0  -  3
 
Saves: Brown (WM) 23, Carey (UW) 27
 
A very disjointed game with little flow.  Part of this was by design, as
WM played its clutch-and-grab game and tried to disrupt Wisconsin's game.
Adding to this were two long stoppages: 20 minutes in the first period
when the lights switched to 'basketball' setting, illuminating center ice
only (wrong March Madness), and about 15 minutes in the second when the
glas along the boards cracked.  Compound this with Hockey East refs calling
everything in sight for the first two periods.  Neither team was particularly
favored by the refs' calls, but any flow was stopped by the constant
whistle-blowing.  The game only gained some flow in the third, when the
refs decided to let the players play.
 
On the whole, and ugly game.  Western kept it close, but I never felt that
they seriously threatened, even when they were down by only one.  The
Badgers ground out this win, showing some impressive hitting when the
skating game was being frustrated.  Carey wasn't stellar in net, but he
wasn't seeing many good shots, and the slow play seemed to throw him.
 
Attendance was somethinlike 1500.  Now tell me again -- the NC$$ went to
regional sites because of the additional revenue from higher ticket
sales?  Granted, I'm at a school with a massive arena (and the Great
Dane will hold next year's West Regional), but any home site would
likely sell out, and have a much better atmosphere for NC$$ playoff
hockey than the scrimmage-like game on Friday at the Knick.  The Joe
didn't do much better last year, I recall...
 
Saturday:
 
Boston Univ  1  2  1  -  4
Wisconsin    1  0  0  -  1
 
The Badgers were outskated, outhustled, and generally outplayed by a very
impressive-looking Terrier team.  The refs (ECAC) were much less intrusive
than in the Friday game, and the flow of the game was much improved.  Both
teams like to play skate-and-pass hockey, and BU showed its superior speed
and excellent passing.  Herlofsky was solid in net, but the stiff Terrier
D rarely let a shot get to him -- UW must have had about 15 shots at the
most for the entire game.  Once the Badgers got frustrated and tired,
they took some dumb penalties, and BU capitalized well on UW's mistakes.
 
I'm an ardent Badger fan, but it was one of those games where you sit
back and watch the better team beat you.  The Badgers didn't play their
best game, but BU would have been really tough to beat even if they had.
Some quotes from the WIBA-AM broadcast (I couldn't stand the Prime
commentators, so I watched with the sound off and the radio on):  "This
is the best team we've seen all year, and we've seen Minnesota,
Michigan, and Michigan State."  "BU should do very well in St. Paul.
Our big question is Harvard, who we're told handled BU in the Beanpot
the same way BU handled us today."
 
Best of luck to the Terriers.  The better team won.  Congrats to the
Badgers for a great season -- getting knocked off by the #1 team in the
country is not something to be ashamed of.  Thanks for the memories go
out to Moore, Shier, Zent, Katlaps, Buss, Tucker, Granato, and the rest
of the senior class.  It was a pleasure rooting for you guys!
 
-john r. nash