How does one judge a season that features so much success, and disappoints with how tantalizingly close it came to being truly spectacular?
That is the question when looking back on the Badger men's hockey team's near seven-month odyssey over the 2009-'10 season. They came within 60 minutes of the program's seventh national title, falling 5-0 at the hands of Boston College.
From the season's outset the players and coaches had admitted their goal was a title, and in that sense they failed. In truth, they missed some of their biggest aims: five points from a league title, two games from a WCHA tournament trophy and one contest from winning it all.
Despite all of that, there were mostly positives to take away.
The Badgers won 28 games, returning to the upper echelon of college hockey after a trio of decent though uninspiring seasons. As the year began the rallying cry was that this squad was an upperclassman one, a veteran team for the first time since 2006. These experienced players went out and delivered on their exceptional talent.
Junior defenseman Ryan McDonagh developed into the one of the best blueliners in the nation. His hard-hitting and steady presence led the top defensive core in college hockey and he was always on the ice to control the opponents' top line.
Should he return next season, and not heed the call of the NHL, he will be team captain, as the team stands to lose at least seven contributors (and perhaps more) from its line chart.
Two players known for their proficiency in putting up numbers but who faltered when delivering in other parts of the game, senior forward Michael Davies and junior defenseman Brendan Smith, also came into their own. Davies got better without the puck and that spurred his scoring, which culminated in 52 points, 20 goals and an expert role pivoting in the corner of the power play.
Smith's journey began with a benching for losing defensive focus in the team's second game, but he settled down and produced. The Ontario native was a finalist for the Hobey Baker and voted an All-American after scoring more goals and assists than any other blueliner in the country (his 37 assists were just one less than the next highest defenseman's total points).
But the biggest jump belonged to senior forward and tri-captain Blake Geoffrion. He finished with 28 goals and 50 points, but that only begins to tell the story.
Geoffrion played at a high level on both offense and defense, filled the role of leader, anchored both the power play and penalty-kill and, for good measure, was the team's top face-off man. He could have left for the professional ranks last summer, but returned and closed his four years in red with the school's first Hobey Baker Award, the top individual honor in college hockey.
The team as a whole featured four 50-point scorers, scored at a better rate than all but two teams and ran through its schedule without ever losing two games in a row.
But what this group should be remembered for most is delivering on its considerable talent and promise. For three seasons it seemed like they were a group of young players with potential that could just never get it together.
This year they did, and the results were a Frozen Four, a title game appearance and a thrilling season Badger fans will not soon forget.
Player of the Year: Blake Geoffrion
One indication of how good Blake Geoffrion was this season is the fact that, on a team with as many high-scoring, impressive players as the Badgers had this year, he was clearly the most valuable. Geoffrion was all over the ice during his senior year, taking key roles on the Badger special teams units and willing to put in the dirty work to get the ugly goals.
His season total of 50 points was good for the fourth-highest on the team, while his 28 goals led the Badgers. The tri-captain picked up a fair amount of hardware for his efforts as Geoffrion led his team to the national title game, earned a spot on the top All-American team and left Detroit with college hockey's highest individual honor, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.
