Wisconsin Team Capsule

Location: Madison, WI
Record: 28-10-3 (17-8-3 in WCHA tied for second)
Qualified: At-Large (#1 seed in entire tournament)
Frozen Four Apperances: 10 (Last in 1992)
National Championships: 5 (1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990)
Head Coach: Mike Eaves

Key Players:

Joe Pavelski SO. F (23 g, 30 a, 53 p)
Robbie Earl JR. F (21 g, 25 a, 46 p)
Tom Gilbert SR. D (11 g, 19 a, 30 p)
Brian Elliott JR. G (25-5-3 1.55 gaa, .938 save pct)

The Badgers come in as the number one team in the tournament and they have the advantage of staying in the state of Wisconsin for possibly all four games (played two in the Midwest regional in Green Bay). That means the Badgers have a home ice advantage once again. But the Badgers have earned it.

When Brian Elliott was hurt in January, the team went down a little bit as well. But now that he is back the Badgers are back and maybe the stronger than they were earlier in the year when they were ranked #1 for eight straight weeks.

Now Elliott is playing better than ever. He has shutouts in three consecutive games making 81 saves during that stretch which included victories over Cornell and Minnesota.

But Elliott is not the backbone of this team by any means. The offense is pretty solid with Robbie Earl and Joe Pavelski. Defensmen Tom Gilbert is a great two way player and can be very dangerous with the puck.

The game against Maine should be a good one as no one knows what to expect from both teams. It could be a defensive struggle but there could be a lot of scoring knowing both of these teams. Wisconsin however has the advantage with many of the Badger fans don't have to travel far to Milwaukee to support the Badgers.

I expect this game to be very physical and it might come down to the goaltenders. It could be a game of who can top this. If that is that way I expect the Badgers to win since Maine is more of an offensive team. This should be a good one.

Coming later this afternoon I will make predictions. Tommorrow after the games there will be game reports of each semi-final game. Enjoy Tommorrow should be exciting.