>         Here are my impressions of Friday's WI-UMD gamefrom sect 227 of the
> Great Dane.  First off, it was a night when things seemed to be
> "out-of-sorts" somehow.  The Wisconsin Band was in Ohio preparing for the
> football game, and the Madison East High School Band filled in by playing
> On Wisconsin with a _polka_ beat.  The Badgers came out flying, peppering
        My first NCAA game ever...I brought a friend w/ me who had never
        seen hockey of any sorts...and everything's out of kilter...including
        the band.  Ouch!  Honestly, the band wasn't too bad...I think they're
        overplaying of the chicken dance during the 2nd intermission was
        a bit much.  BTW...somehow I was in row 3 behind the UW bench.
        Not bad for buying tix 15 mins before the game.
> Lendzyk with shots in the first period, and looking pretty speedy on the
> ice.  They would set up some nice plays, but the last shot always would
> seem to go wide, or end up hitting a post.  At the end of one, it was 1-1,
> even though the Badgers had controlled play.  (The Bulldogs' goal was a
> short-handed opportunistic goal.)
        Being a Miami fan at a Wisconsin game, I was quite impartial, but
        despite the chants of the UW fans (I've been indoctrinated into
        the `sieve' tradition now), I think Lendzyk stood on his head,
        as did Daubenspeck.  Tremendous game played by the two guys
        between the pipes, as it was quite end-to-end.  Both teams had
        some pretty good chances...UMD seemed to try to counterattack more,
        like on the shorthanded goal, which was nothing more than a long
        lead pass leading to a breakaway & a top-shelf shot.
>         UMD's weathering of the storm took some of the wind out of
> Wisconsin's sails.  The Badgers still generated some really nice chances,
> but had a heck of a time finishing the plays.  Both teams' power plays
> sputtered in the face of aggressive penalty kills -- the points on both
> sides were attacked, and neither team made the adjustment to the "inside,
> lower" power play very well.  WI went 0-6 and UMD 0-7, I think.  With Buzzy
        Both power plays sucked...neither could get set up in the zone,
        and I remember both teams having extensive 5-on-3 chances.
        UW had a few chances, but they NEVER could get set up.  UMD killed
        all of their power plays by committing penalties of their own.
> Christiansen as one of the refs, there was some creative penalty calling,
> of course, but it didn't really favor one team over another in the final
> analysis, especially with the power-play troubles.
        I fully agree.  I looked at the guy next to me a number of times,
        going `that's a penalty??'.
>         In the third period, the Badgers had a 2-1 lead that you could just
> feel wouldn't hold up.  For about 2/3 of the period, they just looked flat,
> and Duluth was finally able to apply some pressure.  After the 'Dogs tied
        Actually, I thought both teams looked a bit flat, and was quite
        even.  Things did seem a bit tense in the building, but the Badgers
        really responded after the goal.
 
        Being from Indiana, I have yet to be indoctrinated into the
        true fun that real hockey fans have.  The crowd gave the novice
        observer an interesting sideshow, with the infamous sieve chant,
        and other yells (that's debatable, big deal).  I was a bit annoyed
        by the constant yells of 'drop the puck', but outside of that, I
        was really impressed with how nutty the fans were.  If only we
        could be that way at IU...we're using the sieve chant this weekend.
 
------------Go IU Hoosiers-----------------------Go Boston Bruins-------------
Andrew Smith                  Ph--812-857-1658            [log in to unmask]
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It's easier to try than to prove it can't be done            --The Moody Blues