UW men's hockey: No more conflicts with World Juniors
When the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team prepared to play its first Western Collegiate Hockey Association games of the second half of the last two seasons, it did so without some key players.
Those series coincided with the final days of the World Junior Championship, the top international under-20 competition and an event to which the Badgers often lose multiple skaters.
The weekends of the World Juniors are supposed to be clear of WCHA games, and Badgers coach Mike Eaves said the league has apologized for the scenarios over the last two seasons.
There are no such worries in the 2008-09 schedule, which was released Tuesday. UW hosts the Badger Hockey Showdown on the first weekend and then hosts Northern Michigan for a nonconference series while the World Juniors are wrapping up in Ottawa.
The Badgers have some strong candidates for both the American and Canadian under-20 teams, so it's likely that they'll be missing players. But it's big news that they won't be missing players when league points are on the line.
"We talked about it again," Eaves said, alluding to discussions at league meetings. "If teams want to play nonconference games at that time, that's fine. But no league games are supposed to be done at that time."
The Badgers' 36-game schedule opens with a gauntlet in both quality of opponents -- the first eight games will be played against teams that reached the NCAA tournament this past season -- and time spent away from home.
The season opens Oct. 10 at defending national champion Boston College, with a game the next night at New Hampshire, the defending Hockey East champ.
Wisconsin then plays series at Denver, at home against Minnesota and at North Dakota to open WCHA play.
"You get right into the deep end," Eaves said. "You start off with some big games. Once again, we're in a strength of schedule position where that'll help us in the long run, we hope."
Five of the first seven series are away from the Kohl Center, and Eaves hopes that'll help unite the team early.
"Those can be real good things in terms of creating a little team chemistry and bonding together," he said. "You get on the road together and it's just you against the world, so that can be a good thing."
Other details about the schedule:
** Harvard, Alabama-Huntsville and Lake Superior State are the guests for the 20th Showdown. The first-round pairings have not been announced.
** A year after playing 10 straight weekends to close the regular season, the Badgers have two off weekends in the second half but none in the first half, when they play nine straight weekends.
Last season, the Badgers were idle on the final weekend of WCHA play and were passed for the final home playoff spot. The week off also cost them at the start of the playoffs, when they were rusty in an opening-game loss to St. Cloud State.
After their final bye weekend, the Badgers host Denver, play at Minnesota State and host North Dakota to close the regular season.
"The nice thing is that we have some games before we start a playoff series, so that'll be good for us," Eaves said.
** The Northern Michigan series at the Kohl Center is the return for a pair of games played at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon to start the 2006-07 season, when the Wildcats were the hosts.
The season-opening series with BC and UNH continues an agreement in which the Badgers hosted the Eagles in 2006, with the Wildcats coming to the Kohl Center in the 2009-10 season and another UW trip east in a future season.
Patrick focuses on Alaska: Meanwhile, Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick said Tuesday he had withdrawn his name from consideration for the head coach and general manager position with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League.
Patrick is a finalist for the head coaching job at Alaska of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and he leaves Wednesday for a Thursday interview and public forum in Fairbanks. Dallas Ferguson, the Nanooks' interim coach and the other finalist, has his meetings Wednesday.
Asked whether dropping out of the Green Bay search was connected to his pursuit of the Alaska job, Patrick said: "That's the job I want."
Patrick, who also was a finalist at Alaska last season, is seeking his first head coaching job.
Associated Press
Blake Geoffrion missed four Wisconsin games this past season while playing in the World Junior Championship.
