Few figures in the history of the Wisconsin men’s hockey program stand as tall as former head coach “Badger” Bob Johnson.
Johnson, known for his famous utterance “It’s a great day for hockey!” was the man responsible for transforming the Badgers from its state as a small-time, fledging program when he took over as head coach in 1966 into its current status as one of the nation’s premier programs. He led Wisconsin to national championships in 1973, 1977 and 1981 during his 15 seasons behind the bench for the Badgers.
The UW Athletic Department honored Johnson Monday, naming the ice sheet at the Kohl Center after the legendary Badger coach.
The ice the Badgers skate on will now bear his name as the “Bob Johnson Rink,” came to fruition thanks to the donations of 22 former Wisconsin hockey players. The decision comes as the Badgers will no longer hold practices at the Bob Johnson Hockey Facility with La Bahn Arena opening up this fall.
“I think the rink being named after him is apropos,” Wisconsin head coach Mike Eaves—who played for Johnson from 1974-78—said. “I think it’s what Bob has done, starting a program from nothing and now we’re at this pinnacle where we’re going to have a practice facility and our playing facility and the rink is going to be named after him. It is very exciting.”
Eaves says that he tries to embody Johnson’s “passion and enthusiasm for the game” in his coaching style, and said there was no better man, for Wisconsin hockey, to come to Madison when he did, than Johnson.
“I think Bob was the perfect personality and perfect person to come to Madison at that time,” Eaves said. “To kind of take hockey from where it was and his passion at the time is exactly what was needed in this city to get it going and jump start it…he was the perfect guy because of his energy and his passion for the game.”
Preparing for Bemidji
Fresh off of a split with now-No. 9 Denver, Eaves and the Badgers (8-14-2 WCHA, 13-15-2 overall) head on the road to face Bemidji State (9-12-3, 15-14-3) and hope to reverse their struggles away from home this season as Wisconsin looks to build momentum heading into the WCHA playoffs which begin March. 9.
Points may be hard to come by for Wisconsin this weekend. The Badgers have a dismal 1-8-1 record on the road this year and are facing a Beavers team that has found the most success this season inside the confines of the Sanford Center where it has a 11-4-1 record.
"We just need to play like we played on Saturday [against Denver],” Eaves said of his team’s upcoming matchup with Bemidji. “I look forward to it. I know they play well at home, but the way we played [against Denver], the guys have a real sense of the way we need to go. We have to be playoff ready now, there is no reason to look at it any other way.”
The Badgers are hopeful that a few key players can make their way back to the lineup against the Beavers after missing time with injuries. Freshman goaltender Joel Rumpel had to leave in the third period Friday after suffering a cut on his leg after a collision with sophomore forward Tyler Barnes, and junior forward Derek Lee and sophomore forward Jefferson Dahl missed the series with concussions.
“Joel Rumpel is going to skate [Monday] without equipment,” Eaves said. “His flexibility is decent so [Assistant Athletic Trainer] Andy [Hrodey] has given the clearance and the other two boys will skate as well.”
“We’re having a light day [Monday], so they’ll be on the ice doing skill things,” Eaves added. “If they can get through [Monday] without any symptoms then hopefully they can join us in practice [Tuesday].”
