Former Wisconsin men’s ice hockey senior defensemen Jon Krall and Andy Wozniewski joined the pool of Badgers in the professional ranks, making their minor league hockey debuts in the last week.

Dan Boeser, who was named to the All-Eastern Regional team weeks ago, also appeared in his first professional game.

After completing his season with Wisconsin, Krall joined on with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League. The former Badger made his debut on April 2 against the Alaska Aces in a 3-2 loss. He also played in the Wranglers’ season finale, a 4-1 victory over the Bakersfield Condors. Through two games, Krall is a plus-one with two shots on goal.

The Pacific Division’s runner-up, Las Vegas opens the ECHL’s best-of-five 2004 Kelly Cup playoffs tonight with a game against the Idaho Steelheads in the division semifinals. The Las Vegas Wranglers are a minor league affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames.

Wozniewski made his debut April 4 for the St. John’s Maple Leafs (in Newfoundland) of the American Hockey League. St. John’s, the “AAA” affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, skated to a 5-5 tie against the Manitoba Moose in Wozniewski’s first professional game. The former Badger posted a plus-one performance in the game. With four games remaining in the season, the Maple Leafs sit in last place in the AHL’s North Division with a 30-35-8-3 record and 71 points.

Boeser recently made his professional start for the ECHL’s Peoria Rivermen. He played April 2 in a game against the Dayton Bombers in the team’s season finale, an 8-5 victory for the North Division’s third-place squad. Boeser fired one shot and was minus-two in the contest. The former Badger is inactive as the Rivermen begin their playoff run this week.

-compiled from staff reports