Final Badger Hockey Showdown takes place this weekend
January 01, 2010 | Men's Hockey
Jan. 1, 2010
MADISON, Wis. - One of the longest-running college hockey holiday tournaments comes to a close this weekend when the Badger Hockey Showdown takes place at the Kohl Center. The tournament goes out in style as this year's stacked field sends off the 21-year-old event.
The schedule begins on Saturday with an NCAA regional feel as No. 8/9 Yale (7-3-2) meets No. 11 Ferris State (13-3-2) at 4 p.m., before No. 7 Wisconsin (11-5-2) takes on Merrimack (7-8-0) at 7 p.m. Sunday, Merrimack plays at 4 p.m. and the Badgers play at 7 p.m. If the Badgers win on Saturday, Sunday's 7 p.m. contest will serve as the title game. If Merrimack wins on Saturday, Wisconsin will skate in the third-place game on Sunday at 7 p.m.
The brainchild of former Badger head coach Jeff Sauer, the Showdown began in 1989 and has featured defending NCAA champions, Hobey Baker Award finalists and winners and numerous future NHL stars. Over 524,000 spectators have taken in the action over the years, watching Wisconsin capture 10 of the 20 previous titles.
Ferris State put itself in elite company during its back-to-back visits to the Kohl Center in 2003 and 2004. The Bulldogs won consecutive Showdown titles, becoming the only school other the Wisconsin to take back-to-back championships. Only Wisconsin, Ferris State, Boston University and New Hampshire own more than one Showdown title.
Yale makes its fourth Showdown appearance, searching for its first tournament title. The Bulldogs of Yale played in the 1998 finals, defeating the Badgers in the first round that season, before falling to Bowling Green. In its most recent appearance in 2004, Yale posted a 1-1 tie against Wisconsin, but fell in a shootout with a chance to reach a second Showdown final.
For Merrimack, not only is this its first trip to the Badger Hockey Showdown, but its first meeting against Wisconsin.
With three teams ranked among the nation's top 11 in the polls, fans can expect exceptional hockey. Fans can also expect to see lots of scoring as four of the country's top-12 offenses take the ice. Yale leads the nation with a 4.33 goals-per-game mark and Wisconsin sits second at 4.06 goals-per-game, while Merrimack's 3.47 goals-per-game average ranks 11th and Ferris State's 3.44 goals-per-game put them in a tie for the 12th highest-scoring offense.
To the winner of the Showdown goes the Pettit Cup. The trophy is named after the late husband and wife team of 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. In 1986, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
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. One year later it became the site of the first Badger Hockey Showdown.
The first 14 years of the Showdown took place at the Bradley Center, but the tournament was moved to Madison for the 2003-04 season and has been in the Capital City ever since.
To catch this year's action, a ticket will get you in the building. There is no television coverage of the event this year however both Wisconsin games can be viewed via live stream at Bigtennetwork.com for $2.99 per game. The Wisconsin Radio Network, including WIBA-AM 1310 in Madison, carries the action live on the radio, while an audio stream is available for a fee at UWBadgers.com. All four games will also be available via live stats at UWBadgers.com.
