At 08:47 PM 11/3/96 -0500, Steven R. Glazewski wrote:
>I've often been critical of Jeff Sauer as a head coach.  That has led to
>several private e-mail confrontations between other Badger fans and me.
> Here's a switch:  I'm impressed with his choice of Mark Johnson to take over
>the special teams coaching duties.
 
Here's my take on the power-play this season, from what I've seen so far.
It's better than last year when it shows up.  We still have a LOT of
problems getting the puck over blue, and when we do, it usually ends up on
the stick of the opponent.  But it is early in the season, and maybe Johnson
(who still looks way too young to be a coach in my opinion) has something up
his sleeve.
 
>And, unlike other years (and maybe because of the already mentioned dearth of
>posts to hockey-l), I haven't heard about the great individual talent on the
>team (that word, again, that doesn't have an "I").  Could it be that the head
>coach is being a head coach, surrounding himself with competent assistants,
>and recruiting players to fit the needs of the team, versus the best athletes
>(and egos) around?
 
Or, it could be that we don't have (with the obvious exception of
Daubenspeck) a real star on the team.  Erik Raygor, the captain, is the
leading scorer back from last year's low-scoring squad, and will have to
step up more in the near future.  Center Joe Bianchi looks like a possible
big scorer this year, and seems to know what he's doing on the power-play
more than anyone else.
 
 
>I see that Bill Howard is still goalie coach.  I really
>feared losing him when his son graduated.  But Jeff Sauer managed to keep the
>guy who is (in my opinion) the best goalie recruiter and college coach in the
>US in the Cardinal and White.
 
Yeah, but I miss his commentary on the tape delays on Wisconsin Public
Television.  Him and Paul Braun were always a pleasure to listen to (even
though they got a little annoying at times), and Michael Bahr and Rob
Andringa (the new announcers) don't seem to have that same flare.
 
>Dare I say that I'm optimistic about this year, and next year?
 
This year for sure, but Dauber's gone next year.  We will miss him a LOT.
 
>Now if only they could start playing twice on Friday, or Friday and
>Sunday....
 
We discussed this at the game Sat. night, too.  Is it possible that UW's
Saturday night troubles are due to burnout after Friday's game?  They have
really come out flat on Saturdays so far.
 
I think optimism is a good word for this team at this point of the season.
I don't want to make any major judgments about the team after only 3 weeks.
 
Todd D. Milewski        [log in to unmask]
 
"I don't think they did their homework.  We're not an eighth-place team."
                        -Jeff Sauer, on WCHA coaches picking the Badgers
                         to finish eighth in the conference.
 
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