Kyle D. Aumell writes
>          After the game coach Jeff Sauer of Wisconsin said the small ice was
>not a factor, I beg to differ. The Badgers looked confused out there and I'm
>assuming it was because they did not have as much room as they were accustomed
>to.
 
       A number of other Clarkson folks have mentioned the rink size as
a factor.  Regarding Friday night's game, the reports were that Wis. simply
lost their composure after the first period.  The Badgers did not cover well
defensively and took some dumb penalties.  I believe Clarkson had two 5-on-3
opportunites and scored on both.
       This year's Badger team won it's games based on a strong team defensive
effort.  It is not a particularly fast team.  It played a more clutch and grab
style than in previous year's.   Also, the Dane County Coliseum rink is not
Olympic size (200 by 100) like St. Cloud or Minn.  I believe the Wis rink is
185 by 85.  How much smaller is Walker Arena?  Before the series began the
the coach and players felt that the rink size would not be a factor.  Hey,
Clarkson fans, don't spend your time talking about your rink.  It's the players
not the rink, at least for this series.
 
       Saturday night's game ended up 5-4 Clarkson.  Wis played much better
but the home ice helped Clarkson.  The game was 4-3 Wis ahead going into the
third period.  Clarkson scored two goals to win it.  Last year's Badger team
was tough in the third period; this year's squad is not.  I'll let people who
saw the game do the rest of the postmortem.
       Well Wisconsin didn't get as far this year because they couldn't pick
up their game enough to beat the good teams like Minn, N Michigan and Clarkson.
Wisconsin was 0-10-1 against those three and 26-5-2 otherwise.  But Wis did
beat one team that made it to the NCAA quarterfinals: Alaska-Anchorage.  I think
Mike "the Greek" has  negative ESP this year.  I can't wait to hear some new
predictions so I can bet against them.
 
Clarkson, good luck with the Soo.
 
Mark "mow the" Grassl