I Love It When I'm Right (Which, FYI, is constantly)

I was really excited to post right away about the awesomeness of Saturday night (!), but then Air Bud was on, and I had to watch it. And record it on my DVR and watch it over and over again.

Okay, maybe not.

Business first: A big thanks to the 2 great folks who linked to me. When (if???) I get the new site up and running, I will have actual links, but for now, I'm just going to have to post them here.

Drop The Puck! is the latest news and analysis from way up there in Anchorage, Alaska. Except he calls snowmobiles, "snowmachines." HAH!

Full DECC sometimes talks about the Bulldogs, but he also discusses high school hockey and random other stuff. Plus, he recently got engaged! Mazel Tov!

Now back to your regularly scheduled hockey talk.
Bad news first: Friday night.

Friday night started out okay. I even got to listen to the game (w00t!), and I made some notes, but they seem to have disappeared amongst the rest of my mixed-up files. Okay, Gergy goes down with the old checking from behind b.s., not very happy about that (but I still love you!!!! I promise!!!!), oh crap, 5 minute major to kill off. But THEN, the BADGERS take a penalty and effectively kill off their power play. Maybe they scored on the 4X4, but that's okay. WE DIDN'T GIVE UP A POWER PLAY GOAL!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!! GO PENALTY KILL!!!!!!!! And then Sharpy scored less than 3 minutes later! Later on, after Robbie Earl-Louganis scored (the eventual game winner), Nick Kemp scored! Yeah! Timely goals! Nothing can keep us down! Woo! We left the 2nd period feeling like the game was within reach. And then the third period. The craziness, the weirdness, the scoring of two goals by Ben Street, Jim Jensen and Jack Skille dropping the gloves and not getting fighting majors, a bunch of crap. I thought, "Oh brother, was my prediction wrong? How can we salvage this weekend? Woe is me!"

Why would I ever doubt myself?

And now, the good news: Saturday night. Saturday night I was unable to listen until the postgame show, which UMDDogz turned at the party we were at. It didn't sound like we had won, so I went back to paying attention to the chocolate fountain (or something), and then all of a sudden, he says, "They won!" What? Won? A game? Against Wisconsin? WOO HOO! Of course the 'Dogs would come through for me, and get up for Wisconsin. WOOO HOOO!!!! THREE POWER PLAY GOALS!!!! Nick Kemp is on fire!!! Isaac Reichmuth even got a point! I am so excited!!! Why couldn't I have listened to the game??!!?!?! Curse you, Horrible Job!

Now, riddle me this? What do you get when you combine getting off work at 5 on Friday, and having Saturday off?

A bye weekend. I can actually listen to both games, and there are no games to listen to! And after that... well, 1 win does not a win streak make.

Bah. Time for laundry. And more Air Bud!

Been Down So Long, It Looks Like Up To Me

So, it's Bucky time again. My favorite time of year! Why? Because even when we're sucking harder than a black hole, we can gut it out against the Badgers. For example, last year, we were in a tailspin, and we still took 3 points from them on 4 & 5 March. Two years ago, we went to their house and secured ourselves as the #2 spot in the WCHA. Three years ago, we split, and four years ago... well, let's not go back that far. So I feel good about this weekend. I feel FANTASTIC about this weekend, actually, because I'll actually be able to listen to the game. Therefore, there had better not be any of this 7-1 crap this weekend. BRETT HULL is going to be there, 'Dogs. Don't look like jackasses in front of someone whose jersey the school is going to retire.

I don't wish any ill will toward Brian Elliott, I hope he recovers well and returns to form. However, I feel no shame in telling the 'Dogs to exploit the gift the Badgers are giving us (the gift being Shane Connelly) to the fullest extent. Kick 'em while they're down? Heck yeah! But we're down? So what? This is our chance, we can claw our way out of the basement on the backs of the Badgers. We can humiliate them! One of the top teams in the country being taken down by a team on the verge of a total breakdown? They would lose their collective jock. Shane Connelly can not stop shots the way a Bobby G. or a Tormey can (although we've let some pretty weak goaltenders get away with wins this season, so I guess I shouldn't talk), plus NO ONE has confidence in him (his team's actions when finding out Elliott was hurt spoke loud and clear, plus he's 0-4 for a team that only had 2 prior losses), so we could do this, people. I mean, these are the BADGERS we're talking about. The DIRTY, DIRTY Badgers! From Robbie Earl and his mentor to the Bush League play of Ryan "Boarding" MacMurchy, they are dirty. And did I mention they were dirty?

I have fond, fond memories of Wisconsin the last few years.
Two years ago, on the final weekend of the season, I drove from Champaign, IL up to Madison for the weekend, sat in the Madison student section, and screamed "Hobey F-ing Baker" every time Lucien, Jr. touched the puck. We of course tied (would have won, but a goal was waved off) and then won, and there were a lot of red fans unhappy with me. Oh, and then I ran my car into the ground on the way back, I ended up on the side of the road in I-39 with a dead transmission. That was fun!
Last year, I drove from here to Madison for the Saturday night game, and even though we lost, I did make a girl look stupid when we pulled our goalie during a delayed penalty. It's so easy to make Bucky fans look stupid, they don't know anything about hockey. Okay, maybe some of them do, but I have never met them. If you are a knowledgable Wisconsin hockey fan, please come see me, I'll shake your hand. Then I'll give you a short quiz.*

I'm losing steam here, so I would like to say, let's get a win this weekend! Even a split would be fine! Let's Go Dogs!!!!

*I'm using the definition of "short quiz" my plasma and fusion professor used. It turned out to be a long midterm. We were unprepared. So even this footnote is putting you in a better spot than we were. I hated that class.