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NHL opens season tonight
The NHL season starts tonight with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens dropping the puck at 6 p.m. CT. Former UW defenseman Jake Gardiner is in the lineup for the Leafs, while Rene Bourque will be suiting up for the Habs. Davis Drewiske is also with Montreal this season, but is out of the lineup for an extended period with a shoulder injury.
Second year pro Justin Schultz will also be in action tonight, as the former Badger laces up the skates for Edmonton when they take on the Winnipeg Jets at 9 p.m. CT.
In total, 17 former Badgers made NHL rosters on opening night. Not surprisingly, UW leads all of college hockey in that department. Wisconsin is followed by Michigan (15), Boston College (14) and Michigan State (14). According to College Hockey, Inc., more than 71% of the alums on opening-night rosters played at least three seasons in college.
Badgers in the NHL
| Player | Pos | Team | Salary | Games | G | A | Pts |
| Rene Bourque | F | Montreal Canadiens | $4,000,000 | ||||
| Adam Burish | F | San Jose Sharks | $1,850,000 | ||||
| Davis Drewiske | D | Montreal Canadiens | $625,000 | ||||
| Jake Gardiner | D | Toronto Maple Leafs | $875,000 ($65,000 AHL) - $87,500 signing bonus | ||||
| Tom Gilbert | D | Florida Panthers | $900,000 + $1,000,000 buyout (MN Wild) | ||||
| Dany Heatley | F | Minnesota Wild | $5,000,000 | ||||
| Jamie McBain | D | Buffalo Sabres | $1,900,000 | ||||
| Ryan McDonagh | D | New York Rangers | $4,000,000 | ||||
| Joe Pavelski | F | San Jose Sharks | $6,000,000 | ||||
| Justin Schultz | D | Edmonton Oilers | $925,000 ($70,000 AHL) - $92,500 signing bonus | ||||
| Brendan Smith | D | Detroit Red Wings | $1,250,000 | ||||
| Craig Smith | F | Nashville Predators | $2,000,000 | ||||
| Derek Stepan | F | New York Rangers | $2,300,000 | ||||
| Ben Street |
F | Calgary Flames |
$700,000 | ||||
| Ryan Suter | D | Minnesota Wild | $12,000,000 - $10,000,000 signing bonus | ||||
| Kyle Turris | F | Ottawa Senators | $2,500,000 |
Badgers in the NHL - Goaltender
| Player | Pos | Team | Salary | Games | Record | Sv % | GAA |
| Brian Elliott | G | St. Louis Blues | $1,900,000 |
Red/White Scrimmage Saturday in Eau Claire
Don't forget that the Badgers will be hosting an intrasquad scrimmage this upcoming Saturday, Oct. 5, at 1 p.m. in Eau Claire at Hobbs Ice Center. Wisconsin will have a short half hour practice before facing off in a scrimmage. It will count as the Badgers' first official practice of the season.
Tickets are still available for pre-sale. They can be purchased for $15 through the UW-Eau Claire Service Center in the Davies Center or over the phone at 715-836-3727 or online at http://www.uwec.edu/Servicecenter/tickets/index.htm. I was told as of Tuesday afternoon there are 700 tickets left.
All proceeds from the event will go to the UW-Eau Claire men's hockey program. The Blugolds won the Division 3 national championship last season, and feature Andrew McCabe, the older brother of Badgers' defenseman Jake.
The McCabe brothers are both from Eau Claire, as is Wisconsin senior alternate captain Jefferson Dahl.
Hockey Student Shootout for free tickets
Thursday, Oct. 3, students can test their skills with the Badger men’s hockey team on the Kohl Center ice for the chance to win free season tickets
Doors for the Men’s Hockey Student Shootout open at 7 p.m. at Gate A the Kohl Center and the net will be open until 8:30 p.m. Admission is free. The men's hockey team will be on the ice and current UW students can take their turn at an accuracy shooting contest on the ice. Students can bring their skates or closed-toe shoes and sticks and pucks will be provided. Free pizza will be available after students take their shot on the ice. Other activities include your chance to win Wisconsin Hockey gear and other door prizes including signed pucks and an autographed helmet.
The Athletics Ticket Office will also be set-up at the Kohl Center and all UW students who have purchased season tickets for 2013-14 men’s hockey can pick up their vouchers at the event. The ticket office will also have additional information and order forms for season tickets. If any UW student has purchased 2013-14 season tickets and wins a free season ticket at the event, the original cost will be reimbursed.
USCHO Poll
The Badgers have been ranked fairly high by almost every publication so far in the preseason, and USCHO was no exception. Wisconsin checks in at No. 3 in the USCHO poll, behind only UMass-Lowell and Miami. The Badgers were also ranked No. 3 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll that came out last week, as well as the College Hockey news poll.
Wisconsin was one of six schools to receive a first place vote (2) in the poll. Fellow Big Ten members Minnesota (5) and Michigan (11) were also ranked by USCHO.com, while Michigan State was receiving votes.
| 1 | Massachusetts-Lowell | (19) | 0- 0-0 | 844 | NR |
| 2 | Miami | (14) | 0- 0-0 | 837 | NR |
| 3 | Wisconsin | ( 2) | 0- 0-0 | 740 | NR |
| 4 | Boston College | 0- 0-0 | 728 | NR | |
| 5 | Minnesota | ( 1) | 0- 0-0 | 660 | NR |
| 6 | Yale | ( 8) | 0- 0-0 | 644 | NR |
| 7 | North Dakota | 0- 0-0 | 636 | NR | |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 0- 0-0 | 575 | NR | |
| 9 | St. Cloud State | 0- 0-0 | 513 | NR | |
| 10 | Quinnipiac | ( 1) | 0- 0-0 | 419 | NR |
| 11 | Michigan | 0- 0-0 | 417 | NR | |
| 11 | Minnesota State | 0- 0-0 | 417 | NR | |
| 13 | New Hampshire | 0- 0-0 | 354 | NR | |
| 14 | Providence | 0- 0-0 | 271 | NR | |
| 15 | Rensselaer | 0- 0-0 | 266 | NR | |
| 16 | Union | 0- 0-0 | 258 | NR | |
| 17 | Denver | 0- 0-0 | 241 | NR | |
| 18 | Western Michigan | 0- 0-0 | 117 | NR | |
| 19 | Boston University | 0- 0-0 | 113 | NR | |
| 20 | Niagara | 0- 0-0 | 94 | NR | |
| Others receiving votes: Cornell 80, Ferris State 67, Harvard 18, Minnesota-Duluth 18, Nebraska-Omaha 16, Air Force 14, Michigan Tech 14, Canisius 12, Colorado College 11, Ohio State 11, Alaska 10, Mercyhurst 10, Michigan State 6, Rochester Institute of Technology 5, Bowling Green 4, Brown 4, Dartmouth 2, Merrimack 2, Robert Morris 2. | |||||
College Hockey News' 2013-14 Preseason All-CHN Team
College Hockey News released its preseason All-CHN Team on Tuesday, and two Badgers are featured. Forward Michael Mersch is on the first team, while Jake McCabe finds himself on the second. Mersch was fourth in the country and led the Badgers in goals last season. McCabe's game continued to grow last year after captaining Team U.S.A. to a gold medal at the World Junior Championships in Russia.
First Team
F John Gaudreau, Jr., Boston College
F Austin Czarnik, Jr., Miami
F Michael Mersch, Sr., Wisconsin
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Jr., Union
D Michael Matheson, Soph., Boston College
G Jon Gillies, Soph., Providence
Second Team
F Kyle Rau, Jr., Minnesota
F Greg Carey, Sr., St. Lawrence
F Ryan Walters, Sr., Nebraska-Omaha
F Matt Leitner, Jr., Minnesota State
D Dillon Simpson, Sr., North Dakota
D Jake McCabe, Jr., Wisconsin
G Connor Hellebuyck, Soph., Massachusetts-Lowell
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