The calendar may only read September, but hockey is in the air in Madison. Men’s hockey head coach Mike Eaves named his team’s captains for the upcoming season on Wednesday, and to the surprise of no one, some familiar faces will be wearing the “C” and “As” on their sweater this winter.
For the second straight season, senior defenseman John Ramage will serve as the team’s captain. A native of St. Louis, Mo., Ramage had an up-and-down season in 2011-’12. While he had a career high in goals (three) and delivered one of the most memorable moments of the season with his bone-crunching hit on St. Cloud’s Nick Oliver, he also had a career low in points (10) and committed multiple mental errors that cost his team.
Ramage becomes the first Badger to wear the “C” for consecutive seasons since Adam Burish in 2004-’05 and 2005-’06.
The primary assistant captain to Ramage will be fellow senior Ryan Little. The forward was also an assistant captain last season, when he put up 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 31 games. The biggest highlight for Little in 2012 was his game-winning goal on the road against Minnesota March 2.
While it was up to Eaves to name the primary captain and assistant, it was up to the players to vote on who would fill the final assistant captain role. Senior center Derek Lee and junior defenseman Frankie Simonelli received the most votes and will split the final “A” for the season.
Lee, the team’s No. 2 center, was limited to just 17 games last year in a season that was marred by injuries. On October 28, Lee was cut by the blade of a skate against Nebraska-Omaha and didn’t play again until January 6. Later that month, the injury bug struck again, as Lee suffered a concussion against North Dakota.
Frankie Simonelli, on the other hand, enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign in 2011-’12, setting career-highs in goals (five), assists (14) and points (19). He was the team’s second-highest-scoring defenseman behind the now departed Justin Schultz.
Lee will wear the “A” for home games, while Simonelli will wear it on the road. It is also the first time since the 2006 National Championship team that the Badgers will use one captain and three assistants.
The Badgers’ season gets underway in just over a month, as they host the U.S. Under-18 team in a scrimmage on October 6 before opening the year in Green Bay in a series against Northern Michigan October 12-13.
