Showing posts with label Corban Knight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Corban Knight. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 09, 2013

UND fans don't forget to vote for Corban Knight for Hobey Baker



Click on this link to vote for Corban Knight.

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Tuesday, January 08, 2013

The Hobey Baker Fan vote count so far.


While it's fun to vote in the fan vote for the Hobey Baker Memorial. The fan vote only counts for 1 percent of the vote total in each phase. That being said, UND fans don't forget to vote for Corban Knight.


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Corban Knight named Red Baron WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

MADISON, Wis. – Forwards Josh Archibald of the University of Nebraska Omaha, who scored four goals in a league sweep over Colorado College last weekend, and Corban Knight of the University of North Dakota, who produced six scoring points in a pair of victories over Holy Cross, have been named Red Baron® WCHA co-Offensive Players of the Week for January 8. Knight also earned the weekly award on Dec. 18.
 Archibald, a 5-10, 170-pound sophomore center from Brainerd, Minn., powered the host Mavericks (13-8-1) to back-to-back conference wins over visiting Colorado College on Jan. 4-5 at CenturyLink Center Omaha and into first place in the WCHA race. He notched a three-goal hat trick, the first of his collegiate career, and was the First Star of the Game in UNO’s 8-4 triumph last Friday night, scoring in each period at even-strength, on the power-play and while shorthanded. The following night (Saturday), he scored his fourth goal of the series in the third period, giving him four goals on four shots, as the Mavericks completed the sweep over the Tigers with a 3-1 win. In the two games, he had four goals, four shots on goal and a +4 plus/minus rating.
A draftee of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Archibald is third in team scoring this season with 21 points (11g, 10a).
 Knight, a 6-2, 200-pound senior center from High River, Alberta, put together his second straight six-point weekend and figured in on both game-winning goals as host North Dakota (12-5-3) collected its second sweep in a row with 5-2 and 3-2 non-conference wins over No. 20-ranked Holy Cross at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. Named the game’s No. 1 star last Friday and the No. 2 star on Saturday, Knight also extended his point-scoring streak to 15 games, UND’s longest since All-American Brandon Bochenski had a 17-game streak in 2002-03. He had two goals, including the game-winner, and two assists on Jan. 4 and then had two more assists on Jan. 5, both in the third period and on the power-play, setting up Michael Parks’ game-tying goal and Danny Kristo’s game-winning goal as UND rallied from a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 win. Knight also won 21-of-24 (87.5%) face-offs on Saturday and 31-of-40 (77.5%) in the series.
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Tuesday Link around… information over-load


The biggest news of the day, besides the lockout being over, is the defection of UNO goalie Anthony Stolarz to the London Knights of the OHL.

This comes on the heels of the Denver defenseman Dakota Mermis leaving the Pioneers, to play for the London Knight’s as well.
I admit that the Mermis defection to London is also puzzling as well. Mermis was in the Denver lineup and playing on a regular basis with the Pioneers (1g-3a—4pts) in 19 games.
Stolarz defecting to the OHL is kind of a head scratcher for me and many other college hockey fans. Stolarz is a second round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers and wanted to go the college route and develop his game.
Obviously, Stolarz is probably a little disappointed with his start with the Mavericks (2-5-0, 2.56 GAA, .898 save percentage) but playing time is earned in division I college hockey. I am not sure how it’s going to get any better with the London Knights who are currently stacked at the goalie position with Jake Patterson (16-1-1-1, 2.20 GAA, .924 %), Kevin Bailie (18-4-0-1, 2.50 GAA, .921 save %).
I also imagine, that you have to earn you playing time on a team lead by former NHL forward Mark Hunter as well.
Of course right away people are going to wonder what Mermis and Stolarz were offered by the London Knights?
Also, the Knights have a two headed monster in goal; Jake Patterson and Kevin Bailie are both ranked in the top six for OHL goalies with the likes of Franky Palazzese, Malcolm Subban, Jordan Binnington and John Gibson.  
The part that is the most puzzling to me is how “some” of today’s athletes have such a small sense of commitment. It’s like they feel there’re owed something.
It’s this entitlement attitude, that I am entitled to top six minutes, top four defensive pairing or the majority of the starts in net. It doesn’t work that way in life. If things don’t go their way, they’ll just transfer to another team or league. What makes them think they’re going to play more at their next team? Whatever happened to working harder in practice?
Back in the day, if you weren’t playing as much as thought you deserved. Said player, might go visit with the coach. The conversation with the head coach would go something like this. Coach, ‘I am not playing as much as I would like.’ Coach would probably say something like this, ‘then practice harder.’ The conversation most likely would end with the player in question thanking the coach for his time and returning to practice.
Links of interest
Roman Augustoviz has a pretty good article on his blog today on the Hobey Baker Candidates in the WCHA. [click to view]
UND Hobey Baker Memorial Award Candidate Corban Knight is leading the Florida Panthers NCAA prospects in points. Knight currently has 10 more points than Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad. [click to view]
With the NHL Lockout finally being over, Michael Russo is actually going to be covering NHL hockey again and not the Minnesota Gophers. I am sure that some Gopher Hockey fans will be unhappy because Russo is one of the best in the business.
There is some good news as well. Pierre-Marc Bouchard is now symptom free and will be in training camp. Yay!  It also looks like Wild Defenseman Matt Dumba will be in training camp when the Wild start training camp. [click to view]
NHL fans are asking for cheaper NHL ticket prices. Yeah, good luck with that. [click to view]
Now that the NHL is back on… One of the questions that Eric Duhatschek ask is this it for Jarome Iginla in Calgary? [click to view]


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Saturday, January 05, 2013

Knight’s four points leads UND past Holy Cross 5-2


Grand Forks, ND – The last time the Holy Cross Crusaders came to town, they knocked off the top ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers in the 2006 NCAA West Regional.
Tonight, history did not repeat itself as the Holy Cross Crusaders found the host team to be less than hospitable. UND handily beat the Crusader 5-2, in the opening game, of an important two game, nonconference series.
Coming into the weekend – fresh off being named National College Hockey Player of the Month – Corban Knight was sizzling, in fact he’s smoking hot right now. That hot streak would continue tonight.
How hot is Corban Knight?
The senior forward entered tonight’s game, against the Holy Cross Crusaders, riding a 13 game scoring streak. When the night was over, Knight would leave the building riding a torrid fourteen game scoring streak.  Breaking it down further, Knight has scored 10 points in the last three games (5g-5a—10pts) and has scored four points in two of the last three games that he has played in. Knight also has seven multi point games so far this season.
The Green and White much like the sizzling Knight, came out of the gates like a team possessed. UND would rush to a 3-0 in the first period, led by Knight’s two markers.  UND would out-shoot the Crusaders 18-4 in the first period.
I don’t’ think we can downplay Knight’s accomplishments; 14 game scoring streaks don’t happen very often in college hockey – per the UND Sports Information Director Jayson Hajdu; Corban Knight’s 14-game point streak is the longest in a decade for a UND hockey player.
After the game, Knight attempted to downplay his accomplishments and his current offensive streak.
“I have been on the good end of a lot of nice plays – by my line mates and other teammates,” Knight said. “It’s not just me, I think our whole team is playing well and I have been getting on the good end of some good plays.”
The senior forward Knight also thought that the focus on his hot streak might have been blown a bit out proportion, and it was more of his teammates also playing well. UND head coach Dave Hakstol had this to say about his senior forward’s modesty.
“Corban’s a humble person,” Hakstol said.  “That’s one of the great qualities, that’s what makes him a great leader, such a presence in our looker room.”
Knight on the fast start to the game for UND… “Yeah, I think that’s what our plan was,” Knight said. “Coming out after break, I think it’s important to try and get as much rust off as we could.  I think with the start we had – I think we’re all pretty happy with it – we came out and we were changing quick and getting everyone involved. “
UND head coach Dave Hakstol was also impressed with his team’s start to the game.
“It was the right start for us to get a couple of power play goals,” Hakstol said. “It was probably the ideal start for us. I thought a workman like 60 minutes.”
UND would continue the trashing in the second period, as they put two more goals behind the Holy Cross goaltender Matt Ginn to make the score 5-0.  UND outshot Holy Cross 10-6 in the second period.
The Crusaders would get two goals from Mike MaNamara and Castan Sommer in the third period to make the final score 5-2, but the game wasn't as close at the score would indicate. UND absolutely dominated the Crusaders through two and a half periods of hockey and might have let up a bit at the end of the game.
Tonight marked the return of sophomore forward Michael Parks. Parks had missed all but one period of hockey this season, due to a lower body injury.  Parks seemed relieved to play his first complete game, 19 games into the season.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling to me to finally be back,” Parks said. “The first 15 to 20 minutes felt kind of slow and rusty. As I thought I would. I think I got back into by the second period.”
Parks played on a line with Danny Kristo and Knight and he enjoyed playing on that line.
“It’s a privilege to play with those two guys,” Parks said.  “I mean they’re pretty special players. With my first game back it made my job a lot easier, playing with guys like that. So definitely, I like playing with those guys.”
Tonight, was also the debut of junior forward Mitch MacMillan, who had to sit out for a year after transferring from Saint Cloud State. MacMillan played on a line with his brother Mark and Brendan O’Donnell. While Mitch didn't figure in on the score sheet, his speed and offensive prowess was noticeable.
Cross posted at The Hockey Writers - Combine...
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Saturday, December 22, 2012

A few things two Knights before Christmas

I like numbers and stats and I was perusing a few today. First, while I realize that the Pairwise Rankings mean nothing until selection Sunday in March after the Conference tourneys, the current numbers can give a snap shot of where the various teams in the WCHA stand right now.

As far as strength of Schedule goes, UND has played the 5th toughest schedule to date. Their Schedule during the second half isn’t easy either. UND has to travel to Minnesota, Nebraska Omaha and Denver. UND also still has a few tough series at home against C.C. and SCSU.

8 North Dakota .5631 10-5-3 .6389 14t SOS .5378 5
12 Minnesota .5560 11-3-3 .7353 6 SOS .4962 39
14 St. Cloud State .5437* 11-7-0 .6111 18t SOS .5170 17
16 Denver .5296 9-6-3 .5833 20 SOS .5117 23
17 Nebraska-Omaha .5293* 11-6-1 .6389 14t SOS .4907 45
20 Minnesota State .5232* 10-6-2 .6111 18t SOS .4928 44
26 Colorado College .5019 8-10-2 .4500 32 SOS .5192 14
28 Minnesota-Duluth .4995 7-8-3 .4722 28 SOS .5085 27
40 Bemidji State .4757 5-8-3 .4062 42t SOS .4989 34
45 Wisconsin .4685 4-7-5 .4062 42t SOS .4892 46
49 Alaska-Anchorage .4583 3-9-4 .3125 55 SOS .5069 29
51 Michigan Tech .4548 4-10-3 .3235 54 SOS .4985 35

Faceoff Lost
N= number faceoffs
252
178
430
581
409
990
469
314
783
73
53
126
1375
954
2329


During his three and a half seasons at UND, center Corban Knight a been a beast in the faceoff circle. Knight has won (.590) of his faceoffs that he has taken during his three and a half seasons at UND.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Why not Corban Knight for the Hobey Baker?

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo
Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t think it’s too early to start this post – half of the college hockey season is over already – soon the second half of the season will be upon us. It won’t be long until the hockey pundits will be talking about the end of the season awards that go along with the culmination of the NCAA hockey season.
That means that the Hobey Baker Memorial fan voting will be upon us very soon.
While I have no say in the process, I do believe that UND senior forward Corban Knight should be a legitimate candidate for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and I believe that it will be very hard for the voters to overlook him.
Breaking it down further, Knight is a complete player, both on an off of the ice, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be one of the Hobey Hat Trick (finalists) when it’s all said and done.
Through 16 games this season, Knight is leading the Green and White in scoring and has amassed an impressive (8g-15s—23pts). Knight is ranked eighth nationally in the NCAA for points per game 1.35. Knight is also tied for first over-all with Drew LeBlanc of Saint Cloud State in the WCHA for points in conference games.
Knight is currently on a 13 game scoring streaking racking up (6g-15a-21pts).
In the locker room, on or off the ice, Knight has the respect of his teammates and is very well liked. Recently, this is what fellow teammate Carter Rowney had to say about his fellow assistant caption.
“He’s a good guy,” Rowney said.  “He lives in the same building as me and everything. Great team player, everyone gets along with him – easy to get along with. Always positive, no matter what’s going on. He’s never down on himself, never down on anyone else, just a positive guy.”
When UND head coach Dave Hakstol was asked about Corban Knight, the  head coach was very complimentary.
“He’s a mature young man in every way,” Haksol said. “That’s one of the benefits of being a junior and a senior and taking the extra time to develop at this level before you step to the pro level; is being able to have that year where physically you’re maybe a little bit ahead of the opponents that you’re playing against. Certainly, mentally he’s as toughest there is. Very quiet in the way he goes about it – but mentally as tough as anybody.”
The head coach went on to say, “Corban is just a complete hockey player. “He’s good in all three zones. There’s a lot of element to his game that bring a lot of value to a team. I think one that he gets a lot of credit for is his ability in the faceoff dot. But there are a lot of areas of his game that are quietly similar to what he does in the faceoff dot. He’s a very solid, reliable two way player that consistently puts out real good solid offensive numbers – we’re seeing that again this year. He’s flown under the radar with it – he’s got a nice point scoring streak going. More importantly, I think his play is probably indicative of our team’s play. He’s very consistent player.”
Knight also does many good things off the ice as well. Recently, this is what the head coach Dave Hakstol had to say about his senior forward’s off ice activities.
“What you see is what you get,” Hakstol said. “He’s a great young man, always got a positive perspective. He always pays attention to how he treats people around him. He’s very cognizant of that. He’s always being a leader – not just in our locker room but in the community. He does an awful lot of things in the community that go unnoticed. He doesn’t do it with any fanfare – but he’s always willing to help out.”
  • Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice.
  • Candidates must contribute to the integrity of the team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.
  • Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
  • Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules: be full time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; and complete 50% or more of the season.
I do believe that Corban Knight would meet all of these criteria, to be eligible for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Corban Knight Red Baron WCHA Offensive Player of the Week

MADISON, Wis. – University of North Dakota forward Corban Knight, who led all conference players with six scoring points as his team fashioned a two-game road sweep over league rival Michigan Tech last weekend, is the Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Dec. 18.
         
 A 6-2, 200-pound senior center from High River, Alberta, Knight had three goals and three assists for six points, factored in on both game-winning goals, put seven shots on goal and earned a +5 plus/minus rating as UND improved to 10-5-3 overall and moved into a second place tie in the WCHA. In last Friday’s (Dec. 14) 6-1 victory over the Huskies, Knight scored twice on two shots, including the game-winning goal, and added two assists for the first four-point game of his collegiate career. He also went 8-of-13 (61.9%) in the face-off circle. In Saturday’s (Dec. 15) 4-1 win, he scored his third goal of the weekend, assisted on teammate Danny Kristo’s game-winner, blocked three shots, and went 12-of-18 (60%) on face-offs.
         
 Knight tops North Dakota and is third in scoring among WCHA players this season with 23 points (8g, 15a). He is in the midst of a career-long 13-game point-scoring streak with 6-15=21 and a career-long five-game goal-scoring streak. It is UND’s longest point streak since Danny Kristo’s 13-gamer in 2009-10.

Also nominated: Jeff Jubinville, F, BSU; Tony Cameranesi, F, UMD; Matt White, F, UNO; Drew LeBlanc, F, SCSU.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

UND forward Corban Knight's attitude; infectious on and off the ice

If you have watched the University of North Dakota hockey senior forward Corban Knight play over the last three and a half seasons you’ll have noticed the senior from High River, Alberta never stop smiling.
If you think I am kidding, just watch him.
As part of the credentialed blogosphere, I would have to say that Corban Knight is one of the nicest athletes that I have ever met; he’s polite, engaging and well spoken.
During his three and a half seasons at UND; Knight a center, has been a clutch in the faceoff circle. This season, Knight is (237/409 .584).
On the score sheet, Knight is leading the team in p-points (5g-12—17pts). This season Knight surpassed the 100 point mark (41g-73a—114pts) for his career. Knight has been a stalwart in the UND lineup since he arrived at UND.
Last season, Knight played most of the second half of the season with a broken hand as well.
Knight’s infectious personality rubs off on his teammates as well. Carter Rowney had this this to say about his fellow assistant caption Knight.
“He’s a good guy,” Rowney said.  “He lives in the same building as me and everything. Great team player, everyone gets along with him – easy to get along with. Always positive, no matter what’s going on. He’s never down on himself, never down on anyone else, just a positive guy.”
According to Rowney; where ever he’s at, Knight never stops smiling.
“He always has a little grin on his face,” Rowney said. “Which is always a good thing to see in the locker room – no matter what it is – he’s always going to brighten your day. Just to talk to him or be around him and stuff. He’s just a positive guy.”
Since coming to UND, Knight has had a reputation of being a hard worker and this has not gone unnoticed by his teammates or his head coach.
“I like his consistency, day in, day out,” Rowney said. “Whether it’s him coming to the rink in the morning and getting better – in the gym and the weight room. Just coming every day, he’s coming to work. I think that consistently he’s just professional just willing to get better every day. Consistently he does it day in, day out.”
UND head coach Dave Hakstol agreed and was also very complimentary of his senior forward.
“He’s a mature young man in every way,” Haksol said. “That’s one of the benefits of being a junior and a senior and taking the extra time to develop at this level before you step to the pro level; is being able to have that year where physically you’re maybe a little bit ahead of the opponents that you’re playing against. Certainly, mentally he’s as toughest there is. Very quiet in the way he goes about it – but mentally as tough as anybody.”
The head coach went on to say, “Corban is just a complete hockey player. “He’s good in all three zones. There’s a lot of element to his game that bring a lot of value to a team. I think one that he gets a lot of credit for is his ability in the faceoff dot. But there are a lot of areas of his game that are quietly similar to what he does in the faceoff dot. He’s a very solid, reliable two way player that consistently puts out real good solid offensive numbers – we’re seeing that again this year. He’s flown under the radar with it – he’s got a nice point scoring streak going. More importantly, I think his play is probably indicative of our team’s play. He’s very consistent player.”
The upside for this UND hockey team this season is pretty big and I expect that senior forward Corban Knight will have a big impact both on the ice and off before this season is over at UND.
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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Through These Doors - 208 - Knight & Game Day



You have to think after watching this video, players that are thinking about going to UND; this might serve as a pretty good recruiting tool. I am also glad to know that Corban Knight is a safe driver.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

UND Hockey Twitter 2012-13


Someone asked me if I would compile a list of UND Hockey Players that Twitter there are three that I can’t find. Some are more active than others.
Andrew MacWilliam  – No Twitter Account
Nick Mattson – No Twitter Account
Connor Gaarder – http://twitter.com/Gordini27
Michael Parks –  http://twitter.com/mike_parks92
Mark MacMillan – http://twitter.com/EasyMac_16
Colten St. Clair – http://twitter.com/cstclair17
Dillon Simpson –  http://twitter.com/Simmer18
Brendan O'Donnell – http://twitter.com/bodonnell21
Andrew Panzarella – No Twitter Account
Mitch MacMillan – http://twitter.com/MitchMac25
Bryn Chyzyk – http://twitter.com/chyz21
  





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