Nothing was gauranteed to Matt Walsh, a member of the Badgers 1983 national championship team, but after going through the official process he had the iterim tag removed and became an official assistant coach on Mike Eaves' hockey staff for the 2013-14 season. 

“I think having Matt with us since November, we were able to see first-hand how he interacts with college students and the work that he does on the ice,” said Head Coach Mike Eaves in a statement. “It became clear as time went on, that he was very capable of doing the job here.

“We also got to know him as a man, we got to know his family and it all matches up really well.

“We went through due diligence in the process,” explained Eaves. “We had many people apply. I talked to a handful of people who I thought might be serious candidates and chatted with them, but in the end it all came back to Matt and what he did for us this year.”

Walsh will continue his focus on the Wisconsin defesemen, a unit that reall propelled the Badgers to the NCAA tournament and the Broadmoor Trophy this past season. It didn't 

Is it just us or is it still weird saying the words Big - Ten - Hockey? Alas we are getting closer and closer to that reality as earlier today the Big Ten conference offices announced the full schedule for the inaugural season of Big Ten hockey. 

Each team will play a 20 game conference schedule with most games taking place on Friday or Saturday and a few on other dates. That means each team will play the other five teams in two game series' both home and away. 

Things will open with a bang for the Badgers and they get to take on rival Minnesota in Minneapolis on November 29th and 30th. UW will open their Big Ten home slate the next weekend as they take on Penn State on Dec. 6th and 7th. 

Other highlights include a January 10th and 11th home series against perennial national power Michigan and then back-to-back series' against the Wolverines (Jan. 31st - Feb. 1st) and Minnesota (Feb. 6th or 8th and Feb. 7th). 

Wisconsin hockey had it's annual awards banquet earlier tonight and don't worry, we'll get to the team awards in a bit, but first the biggest piece of news coming out of the ceremony was head coach Mike Eaves announcing his captain and assistant captains for the upcoming season. 

Leading the Badgers into a new era of Big Ten hockey will be upcoming senior defenseman Frankie Simonelli. He'll be assisted by a pair of Eau Claire, Wisc. natives in upcoming senior forward Jefferson Dahl and junior defenseman Jake McCabe. Simonelli isn't a stranger to leadership on this team, serving as an assistant captain this past season. 

However, that wasn't what the night was about, it was a chance to wrap up a season, their final in the WCHA, that saw them make it back to the NCAA tournament thanks to winning the WCHA playoffs and thus the Broadmoor Trophy. Wisconsin dolled out a number of team awards and they went like this: 

- Michael Mersch won the Spike Carlson Most Valuable Player award from his teammates. He led the team in goals (23) and points (36). 

Wisconsin has produced countless champions, whether they've won McNaughton Cups, Broadmoor Trophies, NCAA Championships, or at the highest of levels in the NHL - it's safe to say Wisconsin hockey just knows how to win. In that vein their will be two former Badgers, Jamie McBain and Craig Smith representing Team USA in May at the IIHF World Championships.

They'll be competing at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden from May 3-19. 

McBain, a former WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and Hobey Baker award finalist (also a two-time world junior championship participant) got the call for his first World Championship team at the senior level. He earned it by playing in 38 games (so far) for the Carolina Hurricanes, with the defenseman scoring one goal and adding six assists. 

John Ramage, the two year captain of the Wisconsin Badgers hockey program was a draft pick of the Calgary Flames back in 2010 (4th round, 103rd overall) but, instead of leaving then or a year early he stayed and finished his eligibility as a Badger. Today his NHL journey begins as the Flames announced the signing of Ramage. 

According to the release Ramage will be on a two year entry level contract with a base salary of $600,000 in each season (2013-14 and 2014-15) and an AAV of $900,000 (including entry level performance bonuses).

Ramage had 20 points this past season on 8 goals and 12 assists and finished his career with 53 points on 14 goals and 39 assists. His 2012-13 numbers were career highs for him, besting previous highs of 12 points, 3 goals, and 10 assists. 

Chalk this one up in the surprise category as sophomore center Brendan Woods is forgoing the rest of his collegiate eligiblity to sign his contract with the Carolina Hurricanes. Just how surprising? Well, let's just say head coach Mike Eaves is less than pleased with the decision. 

Eaves told the Wisconsin State Journal's Andy Baggot the following: 

"I don't agree with the decision for many reasons,'' Eaves told Woods, "but if this is a decision that it feels right in your gut and your heart, then you have to go with that.''

Woods ended the 2012-13 season with 12 points on 5 goals and 7 assists - topping his freshman total of 10 points. He did the best of his work down the final 16 game stretch of the season, recording 9 of the 12 points in that timeframe. 

Overall, the Badgers have lost an underclassman to the NHL for the eight consecutive season and clearly this is becoming something that is bothersome to coach Eaves. 

Woods was a 5th round selection of the Hurricanes in this past year's draft and according to reports had flown to Carolina over the weekend to meet with team officials and his father, Bob, who's an assistant with the Anahiem Ducks. That's where the Hurricanes told them of their wish for him to be in their system. 

So, off is Woods - property of the Carolina Hurricanes - and now a member of the Charlotte Checkers, the Carolina Hurricanes affiliate in the AHL. He'll be with that team for the rest of the year on an ATO contract.

There was no doubt that the Wisconsin men’s hockey team was one of the hottest teams in the nation entering the NCAA tournament. Unfortunately for the Badgers, they ran into a UMass-Lowell squad that was even hotter.

UW’s miraculous run that saw them go 21-5-5 after a 1-7-2 start and claim the 2013 WCHA playoff championship ended in the semifinals of the Northeast regional on Friday afternoon.  

The Riverhawks flexed their collective muscles and proved to be the superior team in almost every facet of the game in which they emerged victorious by the decisive margin of 6-1.

UML struck first and never looked back. Joseph Pendenza lit the lamp for Lowell at the 7:11 mark of the first. That proved to be the only goal of the period.