Women’s Hockey
The Badgers (2-0) had a very successful opening weekend in San Jose, Calif. both on and off the ice.
The team played Providence (0-2) twice, beating it 5-1 in the opener and 8-1 in the second game.
Head coach Mark Johnson was both impressed and surprised at his team’s ability to score in bunches throughout the weekend.
“It’s still a work in progress, but it’s enjoyable to watch it happen,” Johnson said.
Still, Johnson knows that the team will have to keep improving to have success in its next game against Ohio State this weekend.
Even though Johnson is already looking forward to helping his team improve over the course of the season, he remained excited about the exposure this weekend created for women’s hockey as a whole.
“For a lot of people it was the first time that they’ve seen college hockey at the women’s level,” Johnson said. “I think a lot of them were impressed.”
Johnson even said that the Badger bus driver was taken aback by the competitiveness of the game.
“He had this expectation of what women’s hockey was about, and he was blown away,” Johnson said.
The Badgers did not only make an impact on the fans, but also held a clinic for 150 youth hockey players.
“There might be five, six, eight or 10 kids that we touched yesterday,” Johnson said. “That might set in the back of their mind that someday they want to play college hockey as well.”
Football
After a close loss at home to Iowa (1-0 Big Ten, 5-0 overall) in their Big Ten opener, the Badgers (0-1, 3-2) look to respond against Nebraska (0-1, 2-3) in the team’s first road game since its season opener.
Head coach Paul Chryst understands the challenge of playing in Lincoln, especially when the roster remains saturated with injuries. Junior running back Corey Clement will not play, and redshirt senior tight end Austin Traylor is likely out as well.
Still, despite the injuries and the recent loss, Chryst is confident in his players’ work ethic and talent.
“I enjoy and appreciate them,” Chryst said. “I like the way the guys are.”
Specifically, Chryst was impressed with his outside linebacker tandem of senior Joe Shobert and redshirt junior Vince Biegel.
“I think they’re good players, and I think they love playing the game,” Chryst said. “They’re both who they are, and I love getting to know them.”
Moreover, Chryst was most impressed with the team’s ability to stay in the game.
“We talk about giving yourself a chance to have a chance,” Chryst said.
Volleyball
Head coach Kelly Sheffield expressed his satisfaction with his team’s improvement over the weekend when the Badgers (2-2 Big Ten, 10-4 overall) took down Big Ten opponents Illinois (2-2, 11-4) and Northwestern (2-2, 10-5).
“Coming out of the weekend felt like probably our two best matches as far as our serve-receive goes,” Sheffield said. Looking ahead at the schedule, Wisconsin will travel to Rutgers and then Maryland for the first time as a program. Without a midweek game the Badgers will have solitude in preparing for the weekend ahead.
“Just us and our gym,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield referred to the venue in Maryland as a “party on a volleyball court,” stating, “I’m excited to see how that is and how our team responds to that.”
Sheffield expressed his pleasure in his team’s newfound resilience in the face of adversity.
“I’m seeing a team that’s starting to come together and embracing challenges. I’m not sure we were great at that as kind of a unified group,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield feels his team has the spark and resilience to put everything together, though.
“The great ones have something a little bit psychotic that just clicks that says ‘alright, bring it,’ and they get excited about that,” Sheffield said. “I see a little bit of that spark coming out from some of our players, and so there’s no better way to fine-tune that than spending a lot of time on the road.”
Men's Hockey
After a dismal showing last season, head coach Mike Eaves is placing his focus squarely on the future. When asked about the building enthusiasm surrounding the start of the season, Eaves showed noticeable excitement in discussing the first day of practice.
“We had like an old time fashioned training camp for our guys on Saturday. We were on the ice for two hours in the morning with a break in between… then they came back at night. They loved it,” Eaves said.
Although Eaves seemed pleased with the initial gusto going into the long hockey season, the goalie position appears to be surrounded by uncertainty, with freshman Gabe Grunwald, redshirt freshman Matt Jurusik and senior Adam Miller vying for the spot.
Eaves was pleased with what he saw from each of the prospective goalies in their progression but claimed it would be a “cumulative effect” in regards to who gets the starting job going into the season. When asked about the specifics surrounding the goaltender battle, Eaves refused to elaborate.
“Like so many decisions that are made in sports or in life you have to make a gut call and we’ll make that call Thursday after practice,” Eaves said.
