After 21 years running, the Badger Hockey Showdown went out in style, as Wisconsin edged Yale 2-1 in a shootout following a 2-2 tie through overtime.
It was not the most well-attended game of the season for the Badgers, and it was not one in which they played at full strength, with three key players at the World Junior Championships. Nonetheless, UW gave fans plenty to cheer about, especially after senior tri-captain Blake Geoffrion put one away in the shootout for the win.
“Wasn’t this a great way to have it end?” head coach Mike Eaves said. “I mean, I’m nervous on the bench, I’m standing and I looked around and everybody’s standing. It’s kind of an exciting way for it to end, and a memorable one.”
While the Showdown will not continue in 2011, Eaves was not so sure Wisconsin would not host a similar tournament again in the future.
It’s unclear how long such an occurrence would take to materialize, but Eaves voiced a confidence in the fact a tournament similar in nature to the Showdown would be back.
“Now we put it to rest for a while,” Eaves said. “As the flow and ebb of these tournaments come and go, we’ll see when it comes back, because I’ve got a feeling that down the line somewhere that this tournament will come back in some shape or form.”
WJC impacts Badger Hockey Showdown
If you were wondering just how much the Wisconsin men’s hockey team was affected by the 2010 World Junior Championships and the loss of three players to the competition, all you had to do was watch the four UW players during the postgame press conference.
Whichever player was called on was respectfully attentive to those asking questions, but the remaining three could not resist the television to their right, watching intently to see what was happening in the USA-Sweden semifinal contest.
In fact, one reporter even let Geoffrion finish watching the highlights of a USA goal after noticing how the senior from Brentwood, Tenn., was so focused on the game.
According to fellow senior and tri-captain Ben Street, it was all about focusing on the basics with the absence of sophomore forward Derek Stepan, sophomore defenseman Jake Gardiner and freshman defenseman John Ramage.
UW forwards, goalie disagree on shootout advantage
With the Pettit Cup on the line Sunday night, the intense matchup between No. 7 Wisconsin and No. 8 Yale could not end in a tie. As a result, a rare shootout was seen at the Kohl Center, something that was thrilling for coaches, players and fans alike.
Wisconsin came out on top 2-1, thanks to scores from Geoffrion and senior Michael Davies, earning the Badgers their 11th title in the Badger Hockey Showdown.
Following the game, Davies was asked to explain whether the shooter or the goalie has the advantage in a shootout situation. The 5-foot-8, 175-pound senior was dumbfounded.
“I don’t know; I’m not in a shootout enough to know,” Davies said. “I think it’s kind of both ways there. I just came down and took what was given, and the goalie bit. I don’t really know who has the advantage. I guess you really never know.”
Davies continued by remarking that it depended on who was in goal.
“If I’m going against (NHL goaltender Martin) Brodeur, he has the advantage, but if I’m going against Guddy (Scott Gudmandson) here, I have the advantage.”
Davies’ opinion was not necessarily shared by his teammates, however.
Gudmandson, who made 40 saves on the night — including two in the shootout — jumped in with his opinion on who has the shootout advantage.
“I’m going to jump in here and say I think the goalie has the advantage all the time,” Gudmandson said.
Not to be outdone by his teammates, Geoffrion added his opinion.
“I’m going to jump in too and say that Mikey, with the mitts that he has, he has the advantage on every goaltender,” Geoffrion said. “Me, the goalie definitely has the advantage.”
Fortunately for Wisconsin, though, Geoffrion overcame that disadvantage for the game-winner Sunday night, flipping a shot past Yale’s Nick Maricic and sparking a celebration on the ice.
