Earl and the Badgers on the tube

[Oilers Chick]

Ok Leafs fans, here you go.

For those of you that have been itching to see Robbie Earl in action will finally get your chance this coming Friday, Jan. 21st. Earl and his UW mates will be facing off against Wes O'Neill and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame in a non-conference showdown on CSTV (College Sports Television). If you have the NHL Channel on your cable or satellite system, you'll be able to watch this game. Game time is 8pm EST/5pm PST

So set those VCRs if you can't watch the game.

Enjoy.

[It Kills Me]

umm, okay then!. what number does Earl wear?

[Johnny Danger]

10?

[Oilers Chick]

Yes, Earl wears #10. You'll also know when he's out there (barring any penalties or injuries) when you see his linemates Joe Pavelski (#8) and Adam Burish (#16 and the one wearing the "C") out there.

BTW, if anyone is wondering what number O'Neill wears for Notre Dame, he wears #19. You can't miss him, he's one of the biggest guys on the Notre Dame team.

[Dar]

Do we get CSTV up here? I've got every channel available on expressvu but don't remember ever seeing it.

edit. When you say NHL channel, are you referring to The NHL Network?

edit (P.2, again) Yup, 8pm Eastern - 2004-2005 NCAA Hockey - Wisonsin at Notre Dame

[Oilers Chick]

Sorry Dar, yes that's what I meant. Down here in the States (at least here on the left coast anyway), we don't get the NHL Network and every time I watch CSTV, they always call the NHL Network, the NHL Channel.

[Mess]

Reminder

8:00 Eastern .. Wisconsin verses Notre Dame ...

ROBBIE EARL IS ON TV ........

[think-blue-]

Just scored a nice goal - one on one rush using the dman as a screen.

He's definately showed some flash this game.

[Leaf Army]

Originally Posted by think/blue

Just scored a nice goal - one on one rush using the dman as a screen.

He's definately showed some flash this game.

Yeah that was a nice one. I understand why people call him an exciting player to watch.

[Mess]

Originally Posted by Leaf Army

Yeah that was a nice one. I understand why people call him an exciting player to watch.

Robbie " HOLLYWOOD" Earl ..

[leafaholix*]

Mess, hopefully you can update me later on.

I don't have that digital cable for now.

[Leaf Army]

I felt Earl was everything as advertised after seeing him play for the first time.

His skating and puck skills might have been even better than I imagined. He's a highlight reel every time he touches the puck. Explosive is the best way to describe him. He can totally dominate with his skill.

On the downside, many of the negative things I've read about him showed up too. He doesn't play on the PK so that really cuts into his icetime. Especially last night when the ref called a ton of penalties. I don't think Earl even saw the ice for the first half of the second period.

He needs to work on his strength. On certain occasions you could tell that Notre Dame would go at him physically to try and take him off his game. He has the fiestiness to fight back a bit, but it would really help him if he got a bit stronger. He did throw a couple nice hits though.

He also had a couple of Sergei Berezin-style solo dashes that don't end up amounting to much. And a couple of times he would rush up ice a little prematurely looking for a breakaway pass. I guess Mogilny does that too though sometimes.

His cockiness showed up a little bit in a second period interview as well. They asked him how he felt he was better this year. He replied that he was using his teammates better than he has in the past. He attributed that to playing with Joe Pavelski. He said in the past that he hadn't been playing with "linemates of my calibre."

But his skill is amazing. I have a lot of faith that he'll play in the NHL. If he can round out his game, he could be a star. No question. If he doesn't round out his game, I picture him being the kind of guy who makes a bit of noise when he first comes into the league, but has his shine wear off quickly.

Anybody else watch the game? What did you think?