17th Annual Badger Hockey Showdown Commences Tonight
December 30, 2005 | Men's Hockey
The No. 1 Wisconsin men's hockey team plays host to the 17th annual Badger Hockey Showdown this Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center. The Badgers welcome tournament veteran Northern Michigan to the field, as well as first-time participants Western Michigan and Wayne State.
The Badgers begin the second chapter of their season with the Showdown after a dominant first 18 games. Wisconsin went 14-2-2 to capture the nation 's No. 1 ranking. The first 18 games included a 14-game unbeaten streak (12-0-2), road sweeps at North Dakota and Minnesota, a perfect 2-0-0 mark in the College Hockey Showcase at Michigan State and Michigan and a 7-0-1 mark against ranked opponents. The Badgers also went 11-1-2 in WCHA play for 24 points and a five-point lead in the standings.
Individually, junior goaltender Brian Elliott (Newmarket, Ontario) was a four-time WCHA Defensive Player of the Week, was named the CSTV/Hockey Commissioners ' Association National Player of November, currently ranks second in the nation with a .833 winning percentage (14-2-2), third in the nation with a 1.43 goals-against average and .943 save percentage and is one of the top candidates for the Hobey Baker Award.
Wisconsin hopes to continue where it left off, and capture its ninth Badger Hockey Showdown title this weekend. The Badgers open with Western Michigan on Friday at 7 p.m. Northern Michigan and Wayne State meet in the early game at 4 p.m. The Badgers will play again Saturday at 7 p.m., in what they hope will be the Showdown championship contest.
This will mark the third season for the Showdown at the Kohl Center after 14 years at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The Badgers hope to make it their first crown in Madison. The Badgers last won the event in 2002, taking a 3-1 victory in the title game against Northern Michigan.
The Badgers are 20-10-2 all-time in the event, while Northern Michigan is 3-3-0, participating as both a member of the WCHA and the CCHA. Both Western Michigan and Wayne State make its first appearance at the event, with WMU becoming the ninth member of the CCHA to take part and Wayne State giving College Hockey American its first tourney appearance. The Badgers last skated against WMU in in a 6-3 victory in the 1994 NCAA tournament, and hold a 9-4-1 mark over the Broncos all-time. Against Wayne State, the Badgers are 1-1-0, splitting a season-opening series in October of 2001. The Badgers are 42-22-5 against Northern Michigan.
The teams will be competing for the Pettit Cup, named after two of the State of Wisconsin's best friends of hockey. The trophy is named after Lloyd Pettit and Jane Bradley Pettit, hockey enthusiasts and philanthropists from Milwaukee.
Lloyd Pettit is best known for his career as a broadcaster for the Chicago Blackhawks. He started as an analyst there in 1961 and began doing play-by-play in 1963. He won an Emmy Award in 1966 for his coverage of the Blackhawks on the road during the 1965-66 season. He continued to do play-by-play through the 1974-75 season. In 1986 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and also received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award which is presented `in recognition of members of the radio and television industry who made outstanding contributions to their profession and the game during their career in hockey broadcasting.'
Jane Bradley Pettit, whose father Harry L. Bradley was a co-founder and chairman of the Allen-Bradley Company, shared her gifts with the Milwaukee area. She married Lloyd in 1969 and the couple bought the Milwaukee Admirals in 1976. In 1985 Jane and her husband announced that they would donate a multi-million dollar sports complex to the city of Milwaukee in honor of her late father. The Bradley Center was completed in 1988 and hosted an exhibition between the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers as the inaugural game at the complex. One year later it became the site of the first Badger Hockey Showdown and went on to host 13 more before the tournament moved to the Kohl Center last season. Pettit also contributed to the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School and the Pettit National Ice Center.
Both Jane and Lloyd were inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. Their charitable donations to both the athletic and artistic scenes of Milwaukee gained them great respect in the community. Jane lost her battle with lung cancer Sept. 9, 2001 and Lloyd died of natural causes on Nov. 11, 2003.
