Monday, October 11, 2010

Stepan makes a splash with major league debut

Derek Stepan left Wisconsin after two years and there was some question as to whether he was NHL-ready, or if he'd spend time in the minors before joining the NY Rangers.

After leading his team in pre-season scoring, Stepan made the team out of camp and made a huge debut on Saturday.

He became just the fourth person ever to record a hat trick in his first NHL game.

The first goal came as a shot deflected off his stick into a defensive player and in to the net. The second and third goals came when Stepan scored twice 3:12 apart late in the second period to complete the hat trick and put the Rangers ahead 4-1.

Stepan was just the second Ranger to score three goals in his debut. Ron Murphy did it in 1955

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Doug Melvin squelches Brenly rumor

From Journal-Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt's Twitter:

"Brewers GM Doug Melvin just denied the report that Bob Brenly will be the next manger. Said he hasn't interviewed anybody. So false alarm."

"Melvin had this to say about Brenly rumor: 'Unless somebody else has been doing the hiring process, that's not true.'"

"'Just another rumor to squelch' Melvin said..."

Brewers looking at Brenly

Can't link Twitter from work, but 1250 AM's Doug Russell is reporting that a source says "Bob Brenly is close to agreeing to become the next Brewers Manager."

Brenly in the past has compared Miller Park to minor league stadiums and two seasons ago openly advocated a pitcher throwing at Ryan Braun.

When one of Macha's main problems was his inability to be close to Braun and Fielder, I'm thinking this is not a step in the right direction. While more fiery than Macha (who isn't?), this feels like another over-compensation. The pendulum swung from Yost to Macha (fiesty to asleep) and now it looks like Doug Melvin is letting it go way past center again.

Badger Hockey #13 in preseason polls

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's preseason poll

Sept. 27, 2010


Rank School (first-place votes) 2009-10 record Points Final 2009-10 ranking

1 Boston College (28) 29-10-3 504 1

2 Notre Dame (4) 25-13-5 462 7

3 Miami (Ohio) (2) 29-8-7 437 3

4 Michigan 26-18-1 383 8

5 Yale 21-10-3 334 6

6 St. Cloud State 24-14-5 308 5

7 Maine 19-17-3 281 NR

8 New Hampshire 18-14-7 206 11

9 Minnesota Duluth 22-17-1 195 NR

10 Cornell 21-9-4 162 9

11 Denver 27-10-4 146 4

12 Alaska 18-12-9 125 15

13 Wisconsin 28-11-14 115 2

14 Boston University 18-17-3 69 NR

15 Minnesota 18-19-2 50 NR


Others receiving votes: University of Notre Dame, 43; Rochester Institute of Technology, 38; Bemidji State University, 36; Ferris State University, 36; Union College, 34; University of Vermont, 28; Michigan State University, 21; Northern Michigan University, 18; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 16; Colorado College, 14; Northeastern University, 14; University of Nebraska at Omaha, 3; Merrimack College, 2.

***

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
October 4, 2010

Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston College (45) 29-10-3 993 3
2 North Dakota ( 3) 25-13-5 935 4
3 Miami ( 2) 29- 8-7 892 1
4 St. Cloud State 24-14-5 749 7
5 Michigan 26-18-1 741 11
6 Yale 21-10-3 719 8
7 Maine 19-17-3 639 18
8 Minnesota-Duluth 22-17-1 618 14
9 Denver 27-10-4 534 2
10 New Hampshire 18-14-7 510 12
11 Cornell 21- 9-4 509 6
12 Alaska 18-12-9 435 17
13 Wisconsin 28-11-4 295 5
14 Boston University 18-17-3 280 NR
15 Minnesota 18-19-2 271 NR
16 Michigan State 19-13-6 191 19
17 Notre Dame 13-17-8 156 NR
18 RIT 28-12-1 152 20
19 Union 21-12-6 136 16
20 Colorado College 19-17-3 127 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Vermont 105, Bemidji State 101, Northern Michigan 96, Ferris State 83, Nebraska-Omaha 49, Northeastern 39, Rensselaer 32, Mercyhurst 31, Quinnipiac 18, Merrimack 15, Ohio State 13, Colgate 9, St. Lawrence 5, Air Force 4, Mass.-Lowell 2, Robert Morris 1


Read more: http://www.uscho.com/rankings/?data=uscho1m&week=poll#ixzz11b3ByLVh

Former Badger Stepan Makes Rangers

Former Badger Derek Stepan made the NY Rangers final roster this week and will start the season in the NHL.

Stepan, 20, left Wisconsin early after his sophomore year.

Teammate Ryan McDonogh was left off the Rangers final roster and will start the season in the AHL.

Badger Hockey TV Schedule Released

(Dates and times subject to change)

DAY DATE OPPONENT All Times Central TV (Internet)


ICE BREAKER TOURNAMENT (St. Louis)

Friday Oct. 8 Boston University 8:30 p.m.

Sunday Oct. 10 Notre Dame/Holy Cross 3 p.m./Noon

FRIDAY OCT. 15 ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE 7 P.M. FSN/WC

SUNDAY OCT. 17 ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE 1 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

Friday Oct. 22 at Denver* 8:30 p.m. FSN

Saturday Oct. 23 at Denver* 8 p.m.

FRIDAY OCT. 29 MICHIGAN TECH* 7 P.M. (UWBadgers.com)

SATURDAY OCT. 30 MICHIGAN TECH* 7 P.M. WISC/Charter/TWar/WC

Friday Nov. 5 at Minnesota* 7 p.m. FSN

Saturday Nov. 6 at Minnesota* 7 p.m. BTN

FRIDAY NOV. 12 NORTH DAKOTA* 7 P.M. FSN/WC

SATURDAY NOV. 13 NORTH DAKOTA* 7 P.M. TVW/Charter/TWar/WC

FRIDAY NOV. 19 MINNESOTA DULUTH* 7 P.M. FSN/WC

SATURDAY NOV. 20 MINNESOTA DULUTH* 7 P.M. WISC/Charter/TWar/WC

COLLEGE HOCKEY SHOWCASE FRIDAY

NOV. 26 MICHIGAN 7 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

SATURDAY NOV. 27 MICHIGAN STATE 7 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

Friday Dec. 3 at Alaska Anchorage* 10 p.m.

Saturday Dec. 4 at Alaska Anchorage* 10 p.m.

FRIDAY DEC. 10 BEMIDJI STATE* 7 P.M. TVW/Charter/TWar/WPT

SATURDAY DEC. 11 BEMIDJI STATE* 7 P.M. FSN/WPT

THURSDAY DEC. 30 MASSACHUSETTS 7 P.M. FSN/WPT F

RIDAY DEC. 31 MASSACHUSETTS 7 P.M. FSN/WPT

FRIDAY JAN. 7 CANISIUS 7 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

SATURDAY JAN. 8 CANISIUS 7 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

Friday Jan. 14 at Minnesota Duluth* 7 p.m.

Saturday Jan. 15 at Minnesota Duluth* 7 p.m.

FRIDAY JAN. 21 MINNESOTA STATE* 7 P.M. (Bigtennetwork.com)

SATURDAY JAN. 22 MINNESOTA STATE* 7 P.M. WISC/Charter/TWar/WPT

Friday Jan. 28 at Michigan Tech* 6 p.m.

Saturday Jan. 29 at Michigan Tech* 6 p.m.

Friday Feb. 11 at Nebraska Omaha* 7:30 p.m.

Saturday Feb. 12 at Nebraska Omaha* 7 p.m.

FRIDAY FEB 18 MINNESOTA* 7 P.M. BTN

SATURDAY FEB. 19 MINNESOTA* 8 P.M. FSN

Friday Feb. 25 at St. Cloud State* 7 p.m. Charter

Saturday Feb. 26 at St. Cloud State* 7 p.m. Charter

FRIDAY MARCH 4 COLORADO COLLEGE* 7 P.M. TVW/Charter/TWar/WPT

SATURDAY MARCH 5 COLORADO COLLEGE* 7 P.M. FSN/WPT

Fri.-Sun. March 11-13 WCHA Playoffs (Campus Sites)

Thur.-Sat. March 17-19 WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, Minn.) FSN

Fri.-Sat. March 25-26 NCAA East and West Regionals (Bridgeport, Conn., and St Louis)

Sat.-Sun. March 26-27 NCAA Northeast and Midwest Regionals (Manchester, N.H., and Green Bay, Wis.)

Thur.-Sat. April 7-9 NCAA Frozen Four (St. Paul, Minn.)

* - WCHA league games Home games listed in BOLD CAPS. All times Central. FSN- Fox Sports Wisconsin; BTN - Big Ten Network; WISC - WISC-TV; TVW - TVW 14; Charter - Charter Extra; TWar - Time Warner Sports; WC - Wisconsin Channel (delayed); WPT - Wisconsin Public Television or Wisconsin Channel (delayed)

Geoffrion to start season with Admirals

AP writer Colin Fly noted on Twitter that the Predators sent Blake Geoffrion to Milwaukee and that he will be with the team when training camp opens.

Badger Hockey Facility

Plans for a dedicated hockey facility that had been on hold due to lack of donations are back on track.


The facility will be used for both men's and women's hockey practices and would be a dedicated facility to host women's home games.



From the Wisconsin State Journal:

"A plan to build a $27.8 million practice facility for the University of Wisconsin hockey programs has been revived.

Six months after shelving the project, saying he was uncomfortable with the lack of private donations, UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said Friday that a "very good'' surge of gift funds has put it back on track."



This facility would be a huge boon for the program. The women's team seems a little lost in the size of the Kohl Center and would benefit from having their own ice.