Five student-athletes signed national letters of intent to join the Wisconsin men's hockey team.

Four forwards and one defensemen are set to come to Madison beginning in the fall of 2009. Derek Lee from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Justin Schultz of Westbank, British Columbia, Verona native Keegan Meuer, Madison native Craig Smith and Tyler Barnes of Eagan, Minn. all expressed their intent to play for Mike Eaves and the Badgers.

"We are really excited about this class," Eaves said in a statement. "There is a mix of ingredients that are really important when you are trying to put together a championship team. From the hard, the skill, the vision of the ice and competitiveness, this class has a nice package of all those things."

It will be interesting to see how much time this group of recruits will see next year. Wisconsin currently has two senior forwards in Ben Street and Tom Gorowsky, but Street may seek a medical redshirt after suffering a knee injury this year, meaning he would return next season. With only the void by Gorowsky left, that means four guys for one spot.

Schultz, the lone defenseman and lone NHL Draft pick (second round by Anaheim), may have trouble breaking into the lineup as well. UW has no seniors on defense, and currently rotates a pair of freshmen in Eric Spring and Ryan Little on the third line.

Ryan Evans, a 6-foot-6 freshman on the UW men’s basketball team, will redshirt this season. The decision came before Wisconsin’s first regular-season game against Long Beach State. Evans saw time in both of the Badgers’ exhibition games, and won the team’s slam dunk contest at the Night of the Grateful Red. Evans will still practice with the team and attend games, but will wait until next year before he hits the court in a game. “It’s no secret that I’m a late-bloomer when it comes to basketball,” Evans said. “I feel like it will be good for my development to use this year to mature and learn the game even better. I’m really excited to contribute in practice and help this team any way I can this year. This was entirely my decision and I think it will really help me be ready to contribute to the team during games next season.”

The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that Minnesota wide receiver Erik Decker will miss Saturday’s game at Camp Randall against the Badgers due to an ankle injury.

Decker and quarterback Adam Weber have combined to form one of the most dangerous passing threats in the Big Ten. Decker has 74 receptions for 892 yards and six touchdowns this season. By comparison, the top UW receiver, tight end Garrett Graham, has just 35 catches for 467 yards and four touchdowns.

Last season in Minneapolis, Decker torched the Wisconsin secondary for 125 yards on six catches, two of which went for scores. Not having him in the lineup makes Minnesota’s offense a bit more manageable for the UW secondary.

It didn’t take Mick Byrne long to find success at Wisconsin. The former Iona head coach took over the men’s cross country program at UW this season and coached his team to its 10th straight Big Ten title. Sophomore Landon Peacock led the way for the Badgers, finishing second overall with a time of 24:35. Wisconsin won the meet by more than 17 total points over the Michigan Wolverines. “Peacock really helped with breaking the race open,” Byrne said. “At our team meeting the night before the race, we gave Landon the green light to break it open at the end of the race. It was remarkable to see him take the bull by the horns and step up in such an important race.” Senior Christian Wagner finished close behind Peacock, taking fourth overall. Sophomore Jack Bolas was the next Badger to cross the finish line, finishing in seventh. On the women’s side, Wisconsin took home second, finishing just four points behind Minnesota. Senior Gwen Jorgensen placed the second-fastest time of the meet, pacing the Badgers to their strong finish. “We were really excited about how well we raced as a team today,” Wisconsin head coach Jim Stintzi said after the race. “When the scores were announced we were a little down but we were still proud of the fact that we raced well. We beat some really good teams which were all ranked in the top 10. It was a really solid day for us.”

It took eight games, but the Wisconsin men’s hockey team eventually won one. The Badgers had seen numerous third-period leads slip away during their first seven contests—including Friday night’s 3-2 loss to North Dakota. But Saturday, they scored five third-period goals to top the Fighting Sioux 5-2 in Grand Forks. The seldom-used senior forward Tom Gorowsky scored two goals for UW in the win, including the eventual game-winner. Junior captain Blake Geoffrion also contributed a pair of goals, while freshman Derek Stepan found the net for the second time of his collegiate career. Wisconsin (1-6-1, 1-4-1 WCHA) returns home to the Kohl Center this weekend to host Michigan Tech Friday and Saturday.