As your resident Badger hockey expert, I can tell you guys that Brendan Smith is finally coming into his own. His four assists on the weekend showed his raw offensive ability, but he finally stood out on the defensive end, making several excellent plays.

However, he also had one bone-headed play that led to a shorthanded goal for UNH, giving away the puck at center-ice for a breakaway. I’d chalk it up to a lack of discipline, as he just looked a little lazy on a pass attempt.

The takeaway from Smith’s weekend for me is that Smith is really becoming an effective point man on the power play and is growing defensively, but is still prone to lapses in concentration. We’ll see how this goes, and I’ll keep commenting and keeping everyone up to date on Smith’s progress.

Thanks for letting us know about Smith. I remember him talking about the importance of this year for him so I’m happy to hear that it looks like he’s finally coming into his own.