The Ice House

On Wednesday, Mosinee defenseman Chase Drake was in Madison on a visit with the Wisconsin hockey team. On Thursday, he called to offer a verbal commitment to play for the Badgers, likely after two seasons with Green Bay of the USHL. Drake, 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, was one of eight finalists for the state prep player of the year award this season and is ranked 136th among North American skaters for the NHL draft by the league's Central Scouting Service. More to come over on the main site... READ MORE

Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick will head to Fairbanks, Alaska, on Wednesday to interview for the Alaska head coaching position, and that now is the only job he's up for. Patrick said he has withdrawn his name from consideration for the Green Bay Gamblers' head coaching position. It had been speculated that Patrick, St. Louis Bandits (NAHL) coach Jon Cooper and Houston Aeros (AHL) assistant coach Luke Strand were the top three choices in Green Bay, with Cooper heading the list. Asked whether dropping out of the Green Bay search was connected to his upcoming interview in Alaska, he said: "That's the job I want." Patrick is one of two finalists for the job in Fairbanks, where DeForest native Forrest Karr is the athletic director. The other finalist is Nanooks interim coach Dallas Ferguson. Ferguson has an interview and public forum scheduled... READ MORE

A few random thoughts on Wisconsin's 2008-09 schedule, which was released today: ** That's a tough start. At Boston College and New Hampshire, at Denver, home vs. Minnesota and at North Dakota? Playing five of the first seven series on the road? There's a challenge. ** The tough start may stand out first, but there's a more important element here: The Badgers don't play a conference game during the World Junior Championship. They host the Badger Hockey Showdown on Dec. 27 and 28, then host Northern Michigan in a nonconference series Jan. 2 and 3. The WJC -- you'd imagine that the Badgers could lose at least two defensemen, right? -- runs Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ottawa. Making sure they didn't have a WCHA series during that second weekend is a big... READ MORE