You never feel good about a loss, and certainly not about being swept on the season series by a team that has never done that to you, but there were some positives at the Great Dane on Saturday night. This could have been the big turnaround game -- handing the #1 team in the country its first loss, starting the climb back to respectability.... but the Badgers fell just short. This was, in my opinion, the best game of the year for the Badgers, including the ones that they won (based on what I've seen, heard, and read). They came out to play, and worked hard all night long, something that has been very much lacking this year. The first period was very entertaining -- fast, hard hockey with few interruptions. The Badgers had apparently paid attention to the reports from the Air Force game -- clogging up the passing lanes seemed to frustrate the Tigers. The game was scoreless up until 11:20 or so of the third period. There were chances on both sides, but I would hazard to say that Wisconsin had more good ones. The Badgers did well to fix their failure to rotate on D, which had burned them on Friday night. With all of their offensive weapons, it is not surprising that CC's crucial first goal capitalized on one of the few breakdowns, which left Remackel wide open at the point for a blast to the net. This was followed by a dumb penalty, and a quick CC power play goal, and Bucky had suddenly let the game slip away. All in all, it was a surprisingly even game, which is interesting based on the two teams' records. CC is undefeated, but has had a very favorable schedule so far and did not dominate in the last three games against "weak" teams. Wisconsin, on the other hand, is finally getting on the same page. If they don't let themselves get discouraged by the sweep, this team can pour it on in the second half as in years past. It's a long road up against a tough league, but the team I saw on the ice on Saturday will not end up in the cellar if they play up to their ablilties. Bucky needs a confidence-boosting weekend against Northern next week, and I think they'll get it. This is not a great Wisconsin team, but once they remember how to win, they'll surprise some people. -==-John R. [log in to unmask] Chem. Dept-==- --- "When in doubt, roll!" --- HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.