Beware the Badger

He does not have the panache of his fellow defensemen on Team USA, 1st round hockey heartthrobs like Seth Jones, Jacob Trouba or Connor Murphy, yet, it is Jake McCabe who wears the "C".  His name is right out of a Hardy Boys serial, an axe wielding woodsman from the north woods.  And that's not far from the truth.  The burgh of Eau Claire, Wisconsin claims him as their own, as does the entire hockey-mad state of Wisconsin.  McCabe has embodied that Bunyanesque image for Team USA, standing up to Canada's intimidation tactics in front of his own net in their semifinal 5-1 pasting of the gold favorites, a practice sorely missing from last year's dismal squad. That was in addition to his two first-period goals.  It was a game for the ages for McCabe, one he simply took in stride.
"Gotta keep doing what we're doing, we've been scoring a lot of goals, gotta keep doing that and being solid in our back end."

McCabe Snipe and Celly

For USA hockey fans, the fact that their captain is a Wisconsin Badger is a good thing, a very good thing. Three of the last four USA World Junior Captains have been Wisconsin Badgers, including their last two medal wining teams.  NHL Rangers stalwart Derek Stepan captained the 2010 World Junior Gold Medalists, and he paid a visit to this year's club while they trained in Tarrytown, NY before Christmas.  Bucky the Badger passing the torch.

Derek Stepan leading Team USA to Gold in 2010 

When you look back at other Golden Moments in USA Hockey, Badgers are always playing important roles: Ryan Suter playing McCabe's role in the 2004 Golden Moment in Helsinki World Juniors, and who can forget Mark Johnson's offensive heroics during the Lake Placid Miracle.  This all bodes well for Saturday morning's gold medal tilt versus Sweden.

They are opening Dooley's Pub in Eau Claire at 6:45 AM for the community to gather and watch their native son protect his net and fire pucks with his powerful lumber, as Bucky's incarnation, Jake McCabe, carries this club on it's golden quest.  In the words of the immortal Badger Bob Johnson, it IS a great day for hockey. Indeed.