Much news was made last week about the NCAA men's hockey tournament, mainly about the Wisconsin Badgers playing at their home rink in the Midwest Regional at the Kohl Center.
Some critics thought it was unfair for the Badgers - the No. 3 seed - to play in front of their home crowd. Others thought it wouldn't matter, citing Wisconsin's 15-16-7 record and three-game losing streak entering the tournament. But most of the Wisconsin faithful were just excited to see their beloved Badgers at least once more this season.
That excitement showed Saturday in Wisconsin's 6-2 victory over the No. 2 seed Denver Pioneers, as Badger fans dominated the Kohl Center, much to the chagrin of the NCAA.
There is no doubt that Saturday's win was a home game for Wisconsin, even with the changes made to the Kohl Center for the regional. The Wisconsin logo at the center face-off circle was replaced with the NCAA Ice Hockey Championship logo; the advertisements on the boards were replaced with the team names of the four schools in the regional and NCAA logos. Even the zambonis received a makeover, donning the NCAA Frozen Four logo to be held in Denver, Col.
As the lower seed, the Badgers were also thrown a changeup, having to wear their red road sweaters instead of their usual white home attire.
However, all of these changes seemed miniscule once the Badgers took to the ice, as the crowd erupted in their favor. The NCAA should receive a nice pat on the back for the solid attempt made at creating a neutral ice rink at the Kohl Center, but the modifications made to the rink hardly did anything to quiet the Badger crowd.
From the beginning of the game it was apparent that the Badgers were the home team, and that higher-seeded Denver was the visiting team.
I really thought that we had at least somewhat of an edge going into the game, because you get into a routine in six-and-a-half months of playing for at least almost every weekend,"" Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. ""I felt going into the game that we would have some kind of an edge. Obviously, [on] the other end of things - they've got maybe, arguably, the best fans that make the best noise and a band that was terrific.""
Gwozdecky's comment after the game spoke volumes about Wisconsin fans. Denver had played the prior weekend, winning the WCHA Playoff Championship, probably playing its best hockey of the season. Many fans and critics believed Denver would emerge victorious from the Midwest Regional but the home crowd of Wisconsin proved to be the deciding factor and made the noise unbearable once Wisconsin took the lead.
""[The crowd] was unbelievable. It just gives us a boost. We talked about that before the game. Every time we play a home game we try to get the crowd into it, and we did that,"" junior goaltender Shane Connelly said. ""We had an awesome start. It gives them something to cheer about and gives us momentum. It might not affect the other team, but it certainly helps our team a ton.""
The Kohl Center truly became the seventh man on the ice for Wisconsin Saturday night. Several big hits early in the contest delivered by sophomore forward Aaron Bendickson - one of the last Badgers expected to be an enforcer - and senior forward Matthew Ford energized the crowd and kept it involved. Once the Badgers took the lead after sophomore forward Michael Davies put back a rebound, the crowd was in full swing and would not back down.
In the end, the neutrality that the NCAA worked so hard at achieving was not accomplished. It seems like a major failure when looking at the effect that the crowd had on the outcome. Whether the noise affected the Pioneers will never be known, but the home crowd definitely benefited the Badgers.
If you'd like to reminisce about the Badgers tournament run and think about what this season could have been, e-mail Nate at ncarey@dailycardinal.com
