Tag Archives: Wisconsin
#3000
The University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team took on The Wisconsin Badgers this weekend in Madison. It was the 3000th game in the program’s history since 1921. The first intercollegiate hockey game was played in 1895 at the University of Minnesota, but the program gained varsity status in 1921.
Minnesota would sweep Wisconsin this past weekend. On Saturday, 15,359 fans watched Minnesota get the sweep, with a 7-1 win at the Kohl Center. Glad to see so many fans pack the Kohl to see Minnesota play #3000. It was also senior night for the Badgers.
Minnesota first played Wisconsin in 1922; Michigan in 1923; Notre Dame in 1925 and the rivalry with North Dakota started in 1930.
The Schott
Schottenstein Center
Columbus, Ohio
I returned to the site of the 2005 Frozen Four, the Value City Arena inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center, at The Ohio State University, in the middle of Columbus, Ohio. Whew! That’s a lot to plug in an opening sentence.
The OSU Pep Band was there to greet me as I came through the front door. Very considerate, as I had driven a long way to attend.
There is a lot of sports history at OSU, and all sports are represented on the banner that runs along both sides of the walkway around the rink, or court, depending on who is playing.
But, we are back to hockey, as the Wisconsin Badgers took on the Ohio State Buckeyes on the ice. The Schott is a nice venue, but I wouldn’t say it’s all that and a bag of chips for hockey. The first eight rows are temporary seating, where the rows rise slowly, putting everyone farther away from the action than should be. It’s a big venue, with over 17,000 seats for hockey, but the upper bowl is blocked off by black sheets, and even the seats at one end of the ice received the black sheet treatment. For all of Ohio State’s rich athletic history, hockey still remains an afterthought on campus.
The Badgers would draw first blood, but they should not have. Ohio State was on the power play, and had a flurry in front of the Wisconsin net, Jack Berry made several saves, but seemed to lose sight of the puck in the melee. Somehow, the Badgers gained control, and Luke Kunin (of course) scored a nice short handed goal at the other end with one second left on the power play.
Matthew Freytag would score before the period was over, only his second goal of the year, for a 2-0 Badger lead.
Ohio State scored the only goal of the second period, with an absolutely beautiful pass out of the corner by Mason Jobst to Matthew Weis, who was right in front of the net. 2-1 Badgers after two.
Ohio State did finally step things up in the third period, but Berry was up to the task and didn’t allow another puck to get past him.
A lot of bad blood out there between the two squads. From early in the first period, the two teams were throwing punches, and there were constant skirmishes, often away from the puck.
Ryan Wagner finished up the scoring with an empty net goal for Wisconsin, which was assisted by Kunin. Giving Kunin a two point night. Berry finished with 26 saves for Wisconsin, and Christian Frey had 22 for OSU.
Most schools have some amusing traditions for the outsider, and OSU was no exception. I did enjoy the rendition of “The Hockey Song” during the second intermission, with the band members leading the way. Nice job. “Do I play hockey?”
“The crane is wilderness incarnate”
The Wisconsin River near Baraboo has become a late season congregation point for the sandhill crane. As many as 10,000 cranes converge here to rest and stock up before heading to their wintering grounds. It’s an impressive wildlife resurgence.
The sandhill crane had all but disappeared from the upper Midwest by the early 1930’s. The last of the breeding populations were gone from Illinois in 1890, Iowa in 1905, South Dakota in 1910, Ohio in 1926, and Indiana in 1929. By the 1930’s, there were only a few dozen cranes left in the state of Wisconsin.
I have a thing for cranes. Their lonely bugle call from the swamps always stops me in my tracks. Their migration in and out of Alaska is a bi-annual highlight of living in Alaska. Luckily, the population has been growing since the 1980’s, and this section of the Wisconsin River has been vital for that to happen.
The Aldo Leopold Foundation offers viewing tours along the Wisconsin River, behind Leopold’s Shack in November and December.
“When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlies and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men.”
— Aldo Leopold
The Aldo Leopold Foundation offers viewing tours along the Wisconsin River, behind Leopold’s Shack in November and December.
The video and statistics come courtesy of The Aldo Leopold Foundation. The title quote is from Aldo Leopold’s “Marshland Elegy”
B1G Tournament
Back at The X,
Saint Paul, Minnesota
The Big Ten Hockey Tournament started on Thursday at The X in St Paul. Ohio State prevailed over Michigan State in OT, and Penn State beat Wisconsin 5-2 to advance to the semifinals.
Michigan takes on Penn State
In the Friday afternoon game, Michigan faced Penn State, and the Wolverines have lit the lamp against the Lions this season.
Michigan led 2-0 after one period on goals by Max Shuart and Alex Kile. In the third period, Kyle Connor scored three in a row for the pure hat trick. JT Compher assisted on all of Connor’s scores. Kevin Kerr finally put one behind Wolverine GT Steve Racine, which put the score at 5–1 after two.
Michigan would tally two more in the third, with one being from Connor, and PSU sandwiched a goal in there for a 7-2 Michigan win.
Kyle Connor, the B1G Freshman & Player of the Year, scored 4. Connor now leads the nation in scoring with 34 goals and 65 points.
Compher had 5 assists.
In their five games against PSU this season, Michigan has scored 33 goals, with ten of those being scored by the freshman Connor.
Minnesota and Ohio State during warm ups
In game two, the Minnesota Gophers faced The Ohio State Buckeyes. Minnesota had great tempo in the first, but OSU did a good job of boxing the Gophers to the outside. Still, the Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission on a goal by Kevin Miller.
The second period had some great defensive hockey, and the period was scoreless, although the natives were getting restless.
Tyler Sheehy opened the scoring for Minnesota on a great shot from the left circle to tie the game up, 1:36 into period three. Vinnie Lettieri, would score the go-ahead 4 minutes later and the small crowd at The X exploded. Taylor Cammarata would score two more for the Gophers, both assisted by Sheehy, and Minnesota would go on to win 4-2.
Minnesota had 45 SOG to OSU’s 29. Attendance was 5423.
They gave away hats! Notice anything odd about them though?
Minnesota will face Michigan on Saturday night for the B1G Championship, and the Gophers will have their hands full. Michigan is already in the national tourney, but Minnesota needs the win to get the automatic bid. The teams split 2-2 during the regular season.
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Congrats to the Minnesota Gopher Women’s Team in their overtime win over the Wisconsin Badgers. Minnesota will now face Boston College for the National Championship. It will be the Gopher Women’s fifth straight appearance in the title game.
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