Patrick Moore writes:
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As a loyal Badger fan,  I would have a tough time voting
for Sauer as WCHA coach of the year.  Why?
 
1)  He inherited one of the top programs in the country.  I expect
    no less than a top three finish in the WCHA every year.  This
    may seem unreasonable, but look at Wisconsin's history and note
    that Wisconsin is one of the few schools that doesn't have to
    recruit (in the real sense).  Top notch players are knocking down
    the doors to play at Wisconsin.
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Umm...er...Yes, he did inherit a great program...about 13 years ago!  How
long does he have to coach at WI before it becomes his program?
 
As far as players knocking down the door...Wisconsin suffers somewhat by not
having a great high school hockey base to recruit from.  Most high schoolers
in MN want to play for a Minnesota college.  The same for Mass. and Mich.
high schoolers too I'd imagine.  Look where Wisconsin gets it's talent.  Most
of the players come from Canada, MN, and the east where the competition for
these players is high.   How many players on the Badgers are from WI?  And
look at the talent that we've lost to other schools.  The Ferraro brothers
were considering WI, but they chose to go elsewhere.  Reggie Berg just signed
a letter with MN, but was considering WI.  And now the younger Kariya is
considering WI (I think).  But I don't see any doors being knocked down.
 
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2)  He has recruited the 'head cases' of the last few years.  Given,
    he may have learned how to coach these 'head cases' now, but that's
    still not enough for COTY honors.
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It's a little difficult to tell if a guy is going to be a "head case" when
he's 17 or 18.
 
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3)  Under Sauer, the Badgers have been one of the most inconsistent
    teams in past years.  With all the talent that has been at Wisconsin,
    it shouldn't be hard to be more consistent.  I do admire his
    ability to get the team up for the big games (I wouldn't want
    to coach or play against Wisconsin in the NCAA tournament).
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I wouldn't call 7 straight NC$$ tourny apearances inconsistant.
 
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4)  The Badgers have suffered from penalties throughout Sauer's career.
    In watching the games, almost every turning point in a major game
    that Wisconsin has lost has been due to penalties.  I think it
    is the coaches job to recruit, coach and play players who do not
    constantly sit in the penalty box.  Sauer seems to like to have
    goons on his teams.
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I think that this is true with just about any team.  Many games turn on a
crucial penalty, not just Wisconsin games.  And I think that you'll find
many teams have so called "goons" on their teams.  Usually these guys are
physical players and they play with intensity, but that doesn't make them
goons.  Some guys amass penalty minutes because opposing teams go after the
guy.  Look at Minnesota's Crowley.  He seems to have quite a few penalty
minutes as does Landon Wilson of NODak.  but these are big physical guys, and
I wouldn't label them as goons.  Hey, I was glad to see Zent, Moore, and
Shirer's penalty minutes gone this year, but I also miss their abilty to put
the puck in the net.
 
I'm not on the "Sauer for COTY" bandwagon, I just thought these remarks were
a bit critical.   End of speech.
 
Rob Holmes
UW-Madison
Meteorologist at large