World Best Sports

Wisconsin (6-3-1, 4-3-1 WCHA) looks to carry over its momentum from a 5-1-0 home stand when it visits St. Cloud State (4-4-2, 3-2-1 WCHA) for games on Friday and Saturday.

The Badgers enter the weekend after earning a home sweep over Alaska Anchorage. The UW offense got contributions from nearly everybody in 5-1 and 6-2 victories. Leading the way were senior forwards Aaron Bendickson and Ben Street, who each posted two-goal games last Friday and Saturday, respectively.

It is a new week, however, and the Badgers return to the National Hockey Center, where they split a series with the Huskies during the 2008-09 campaign. The Badgers dropped a 6-2 contest to SCSU almost exactly a year ago, before winning 1-0 to salvage a split.

The National Hockey Center has been a familiar place for the Badgers in recent years as each of the previous three series between the Badgers and Huskies have been played in the building. The Badgers have gone 2-4-0 in those contests. continue reading…

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The Vancouver Olympics are still more than two months away, but USA Hockey defenseman Caitlin Cahow feels like they’re nearly here.

The American women’s team will play a series of exhibitions across North America before Olympic competition begins against China on Feb. 14.

“I’m getting more excited and ready every day now, it feels like we’ve turned a corner and the Olympics are in our vision,” said Cahow. “We’re working very hard every day to be as ready as possible. Getting to the Games and to play for the gold is the reward for everything we’ve all put into this for so long.”

The U.S. roster stands at 23 players, and will be cut to 21 by Christmas. Coach Mark Johnson has the tough task of cutting those two players for the final Olympic team.

Team USA won bronze at the 2006 Turin Games after being upset in the semifinals by Sweden, something that still doesn’t sit well with the players.

“We have much higher goals for ourselves,” said Cahow, who was on the 2006 Olympic team. “We’re setting our sights for the gold and are driving for that. We know we’re going to have to play the best hockey ever because the competition is so tough. I know the cuts are going to be hard because we’re so close as a team. But it has to happen to get down to the roster limit.”

Johnson said he’s pushing the team hard right now in tough practices at its Blaine, Minn. training camp. His goal is to turn the team into a cohesive unit, both on and off the ice.

“You have to know how far to push the players to get them out of their comfort zones and into a new level of being a better hockey player and team,” said Johnson, who also coaches the University of Wisconsin women’s team. “That’s what we are doing right now, working on ways to take these women to the next level. We want to be firing on all cylinders when we step off that plane in Vancouver, ready to play our best hockey of the year. We don’t want to peak now, we’re building to peak in February.”

The U.S. team lost, 5-2, to arch-rival Canada in the final of the Four Nations Cup in Finland Nov. 7, something that doesn’t bug Cahow much. The Americans defeated Canada, 3-2, in an earlier round of the tournament.

“We played well three of the four games, just had a bad game in the final, it happens,” Cahow said. “The main thing is, we’re getting sharper in every way every time out. That’s the goal.”

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Perhaps more than ever, parity is the name of the game in the National Hockey League.

Look no further than the Ottawa Senators, who have seen 11 of their first 16 games this season decided by two goals or less. Still, it’s hard not to sit up and take extra notice when this team scans the list of teams that will visit Scotiabank Place during a crucial five-game homestand.

Start with the New York Rangers, who supply Saturday afternoon’s opposition (2 p.m., CBC, Team 1200), then follow it up with the provincial rival Toronto Maple Leafs (Nov. 17), Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins (Nov. 19) and the Buffalo Sabres (Nov. 21), before finishing it off with an appearance by Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (Nov. 23).

For the 8-6-2 Senators, who are still in the process of trying to figure out exactly what type of team they’ve got, it can be seen as an early-season measuring stick, indeed.

“It’s definitely a challenge for us, with the teams that are coming in,” Senators defenceman Chris Campoli said after the team’s practice earlier today at Scotiabank Place. “But it doesn’t really change how you prepare. There’s so much parity in the league these days and no matter who it is, you pretty much have to be on the ball at all times. continue reading…

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