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Wisconsin Badgers Hockey: The All-Time team

By Mike Wendlandt

ST PAUL, MN - MARCH 21: The helmets for the Wisconsin Badgers sit on the bench before the semifinal game of the Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Championship between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Penn State Nittany Lions on March 21, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
ST PAUL, MN - MARCH 21: The helmets for the Wisconsin Badgers sit on the bench before the semifinal game of the Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Championship between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Penn State Nittany Lions on March 21, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Wisconsin Badgers
Goalie Brian Elliott of Wisconsin makes a save on Keenan Hopson of Maine during 2nd-period action in the semi-finals of the NCAA frozen four at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 6, 2006. Wisconsin won 5-2 to advance to the championship. (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images) /

Starter Curtis Joseph

Finding a trio in net this strong is a tall task for any other school in the NCAA, and it’s part of what has made the Badger program so good over the years. As a starter, it doesn’t get much better than the goaltender affectionately named “Cujo.”

As a starter for most of his 19-year career in the NHL, Curtis Joseph is the second-winningest goaltender to have never won the Stanley Cup, behind only Roberto Luongo. Consistently up to the task in between the pipes, Joseph three times led the league in saves and performed at his best under the brightest lights and in the biggest markets in Toronto and Detroit. Clutch, reliable, and an affable personality on and off the ice, Cujo is the perfect goaltender for this all-time team.

NHL Stats: 454 Wins, .906 Save %, 2.79 Goals Allowed Average, 51 Shutouts in 943 Games
Badger Stats: 21 Wins, .919 Save %, 2.49 Goals Allowed Average, 1 Shutout (1988-89)
3 Time All-Star, 2000 King Clancy Memorial Trophy, 1998, 2002 Winter Olympics (Canada)
2nd Team All-American (1989)

Backup Mike Richter

Backing up Joseph is another decorated netminder in Hall of Famer Mike Richter. After two seasons in Madison, Richter would make his way to Madison Square Garden and man the blue paint for fourteen seasons with the Rangers, including helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 1994 for the first time in 54 years. An acrobatic and intensely focused goaltender, Richter was at his best in the biggest moments, recording nine shutouts in 76 playoff games. Richter retired as the all-time wins leader in Rangers history (since surpassed), and his number sits in the rafters at Madison Square Garden and his name is etched in history in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, which he entered with longtime teammate Mike Leetch.

NHL Stats: 301 Wins, .904 Save %, 2.89 Goals Against Average, 24 Shutouts in 666 Games
Badger Stats: 33 Wins, .901 Save %, 3.63 Goals Against Average (1985-87)
US Hockey Hall of Fame (2008), Stanley Cup (1994), #35 Jersey Retired by the Rangers
1998 and 2002 Olympics (United States), 3-Time All-Star

Backup Brian Elliott

Finally, as our third goaltender, we get the anchor of the 2006 National Champions, Brian Elliott. A success story at every stop he’s been, Elliott has climbed from a backup role in his early Badger years to an All-Star in the NHL and now a veteran leader in Philadelphia. A finalist for the Hobey Baker Award his senior season in Madison, Elliott eventually made his way to the NHL in 2008 with Ottawa, but broke out in St. Louis teaming with Jaroslav Halak to form one of the best duos in the NHL until he was traded in 2016. Leading the league twice in save percentage and once in goals against average, Elliott has carved out quite the career after being a ninth-round pick.

NHL Stats: 225 Wins, .912 Save %, 2.48 Goals Against Average, 38 Shutouts in 441 Games
Badger Stats: 51 Wins, .931 Save %, 1.78 Goals Against Average, 16 Shutouts in 84 Games (2003-2007)
William Jennings Trophy (2012), 2-Time All-Star
2006 National Championship, 1st Team All-American (2006)

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