NHL in Milwaukee?

This article is also posted here on the Bleacher Report.

Milwaukee showed an incredible interest in the USA vs. Canada gold medal game in the Vancouver Olympics. Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Minneapolis were the only cities with higher ratings during the gold medal game.

You'll notice those top four cities currently have NHL teams.

In 1990 Milwaukee withdrew a bid for an NHL team. Can Milwaukee host an NHL team today? Several factors contribute to the decision.

The Bradley Center:
One of the main issues with the Bradley Center is its age.

Opened in 1988, it is currently the 4th oldest NBA stadium in use today, behind Madison Square Gardens (renovating this year), the Oracle Arena (recently renovated), and the Izod Center (soon to be replaced).

With this old age comes problems, including outdated video boards, sound/light systems, and heating/cooling/ventilation systems. The Bradley Center also lacks club seating and has poor parking availability.

When set for hockey the Bradley Center can hold almost 18,000 fans, which is similar to other NHL franchises. The lack of club seating, however, differs from the majority of stadiums in use today.

Last year Governor Doyle included a provision in the capitol budget that sought $5 million to renovate the Bradley Center. The BC's board of directors estimated a need of $23 million, and agreed to raise the remaining $18 million on their own.

The Bradley Center is currently home to The Milwaukee Bucks, The Marquette Golden Eagles, and the Milwaukee Admirals. Adding another team could cause many more scheduling issues, especially with the addition of a second hockey team.


The Milwaukee Admirals:
The Admirals (the AHL affiliate team of the Nashville Predators) currently calls Milwaukee home. Should an NHL team be added, the Admirals would likely need to move. As I said before, scheduling conflicts could become an issue.




Personally, I think an NHL team would easily be as successful in Milwaukee as in a city such as Tampa Bay, which currently is home to the Lightning.

Anyone else want a rubber match?

This was probably one of the most exciting hockey games I have ever seen, despite being upset with the finish. If you didn't know, Canada beat Team U.S.A 3-2 when Sidney Crosby scored 7 minutes and 40 seconds into O.T. The goal came from Jerome Iginla who was being pushed to the ice when he slid the puck past an out stretched Brian Rafalski. Sid then rifled it through the legs of the U.S. goaltender, Ryan Miller.

The game started off looking as if Canada would run away with the gold after going up 2-0 early in the second period. Canada started things off in the first period with a US turnover just to the left of Ryan Miller. There was a shot and then a rebound which landed right on the stick of the Chicago Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews, who shot just over the pad of an out stretched Miller; virtually a wide open net. Canada's Corey Perry then scored yet another rebound goal 6 minutes and 46 seconds into the second period, one second after Eric Staal stepped out of the penalty box.

But with 7 minutes and 16 seconds left to go in the period Ryan Kessler deflected a Patrick Kane shot past Roberto Luongo. The intensity of the game ratcheted up exponentially after the Kessler goal, energizing Team U.S.A. Also shifting momentum to the U.S. was when Canada missed a great chance to put a so called, "Wayne Larrivee dagger" in the U.S. back when Dan Boyle’s brilliant pass sent Eric Staal in alone with 53 seconds left in the period, but Stahl’s shot went high and wide. The shots were nearly even, with Canada holding a 25-23 advantage after two.

The third period started with Canada hitting back to back pipes, keeping Team USA in the game. The rest of the period would be a stand off between Miller and Luongo shutting down shot after shot. With two minutes to go Sidney Crosby grabbed a US turnover and shot the other way on a clear breakaway, only to have an amazing effort of a backchecking Patrick Kane to catch up to him and lodge the puck from Crosby's stick. Just 30 seconds later Team U.S.A pulled Miller and sent on an extra attacker. With 24 seconds left in regulation Kane picked up the puck just to left of Luongo and fired a turnaround shot on goal when New Jersey Devil's forward Zach Parise put in the rebound to tie the game!

Canada would go into the locker room with their heads down while Team U.S.A was on cloud 9. Kane would say after the game, I thought it was over, I thought we were going to win for sure, we had all the momentum. This game would be decided with a 20 minute overtime period and then a shootout if the game remained tied.

Sidney Crosby would then go on to score 7 minutes and 40 seconds into O.T. The goal came from Jerome Iginla who was being pushed to the ice when he slid the puck past Brian Rafalski. Sid then rifled it through the legs of the U.S. goaltender, Ryan Miller. Canada out shot the U.S 7-4 in Overtime and it proved costly. Both goaltenders played amazing and it was a shame that one of them had to lose.

Side note: Interesting to me was that throughout OT I hoped that it would turn out like the World Junior Gold Medal game when Team U.S.A beat Canada 6-5 in overtime on Canadian soil, right after Canada tied it up with just over a minute to play. Guess we'll just have to wait 4 years for some more Olympic hockey action...

Olympic Roundup

With the Olympics now over, here is the final medal count.

USA - 37 total
9 Gold, 15 Silver, 13 Bronze

The 37 total medals is a new Winter Olympic record.

Germany - 30 total
10 Gold, 13 Silver, 7 Bronze

Canada - 26 total
14 Gold, 7 Silver, 5 Bronze

Canada led all countries with 14 gold medals.

The Suter Legacy at the Olympics...

Here is what USA Today has to say about the Suter's and their strong history at the Olympics. Below is a video interview with Ryan Suter and his thoughts from USA Hockey Magazine.

Medal Count Update

Germany has significantly closed the large gap the U.S. had in the medal count. Currently the U.S. sits in first with 25 medals, with Germany at second with 21. Norway, in third, has 14. The U.S. is tied with Germany for the most gold medals (7), second in silver medals (8 to Germany's 9), and first in bronze medals (10).

Some recent gold medal winners include Bode Miller in the men's Super G, Evan Lysachek in men's figure skating, and Shani Davis in the men's 1500 meter speed skating.

On tap:
Today medals will be given in several events, including men's Giant Slalom, women's Ski Cross, and the Men's 10,000 meter speed skating

Former Badgers Continuing to Rock Olympic Hockey

If you've been living under a rock for the past 48 hours, then you haven't heard that Team USA upset Team Canada last night in the group stage of the Olympic Hockey Tournament. Despite the fact that this game occurred early in the competition, this was a huge victory for the United States. Yes, Canada is still in the tournament, but Team USA gained an exponential amount of confidence going forward from this point. Although the Americans were clearly the younger and more inexperienced squad, they played the game of their lives last evening and socked the Canadians in the mouth. Oh, and did I mention that this game took place in Canada? Vancouver must have been a very quiet city yesterday evening.

Regardless of how both the American and Canadian hockey teams finish the Olympic tournament, one thing is for certain - UW alumni have continued to shine. 41 seconds into the game, Brian Rafalski (former Badger and all-star defenseman) netted the first goal of the conflict, giving Team USA the lead and an abundance of confidence. Ryan Suter, another former Badger hockey standout (pictured above & currently employed by the Nashville Predators) assisted Rafalski on the goal. Rafalski went on to score 9 minutes later to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead and momentum going into the 1st intermission.

Three minutes into the 2nd, another former UW hockey player (this time a Canadian), Dany Heatley tied the game 2-2. Later, 7 minutes into the third, Jamie Langenbrunner drove in the dagger and put the United States up 4-2. He was assisted by both Rafalski and Suter. Of the 8 goals scored by both sides in this game, a former University of Wisconsin Hockey player was involved in 4 of them. This is a huge testament to how strong of a hockey program we have here. Word up to all current and former Badger hockey players for making us proud.

Contraversial Picture Sends Snowboarder Home

TMZ released a photo of bronze medalist, Scotty Lago having girls do "suggestive poses" to him with his medal. Because of these photo becoming public, Lago and the USA decided he should go home to avoid any further controversy.

Here are the photos....

Olympic Sized Failures

Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote an article about all of the failures that Vancouver has experienced during these games. The interesting part about this article is that it isn't because the lack of facilities but the organization of Vancouver and the Olympic committee for these games. This story may lead to a greater interest in other factors of hosting the games.

Although it is not their fault the fact that the Vancouver's climate is warm during February was one error that should have been avoided.

Despite all of these errors I have enjoyed the American success during these games.