Do fans have unrealistic expectations?

I was reading Brad Schlossman’s blog the other day when I found a couple of posts from fans that I found to be; well interesting... Having been to numerous media days and press scrums, I was wondering what do the fans think that that media should members should ask the head coach? I mean seriously? There is a level of decorum and what is expected of the members of the media as well. Just because a question is asked, doesn't mean the coach would have to answer the question either.

Lastly, I live in this town too, and I am not seeing a big grown swell of dissatisfied UND hockey fans that want the head coach run out of town. Sure fans are upset with UND’s early exit from the NCAA tourney, but the UND's not going to win the NCAA tourney every season. It's just not possible. Or realistic. That’s life.

I am not sure what Brad or Tom Miller could ask Hakstol on the subject that would satisfy some of the fans that are unhappy with head coach Dave Hakstol. Whatever Dave does, he’s going to have his distractors. It’s also very easy to sit behind a computer screen and snipe at people, however, it much more different to stand or sit, in front of that person and face them and question their actions. That’s a fact of life.

UND Hockey: End of season party lands five players in trouble with police

It would appear that history has repeated itself, once again for the UND hockey team. This past fall, before the season began; the UND hockey team had the team party that lead to numerous players getting cited for Possession Consumption of Alcohol by a Person under 21.

All four captains and numerous other players of the UND Hockey team, were suspended for at least one game, over the course of the opening weekend of the season. In addition, senior forward Danny Kristo sat out both games of the nonconference tourney that first weekend.

This week charges by Grand Forks County prosecutors were filed against four freshmen players cited for underage drinking, a Class B misdemeanor: Jordan Schmaltz, 18; Bryn Chyzyk, 19; Zane Gothberg, 20 and Drake Caggiula, 18. [Bismarck Tribune]

 

So, fast forward to March 31, 2013, after the 2012-13 season is over… Once again, we have UND hockey players cited for underage drinking. It would appear that two of these players didn’t learn their lesson, because they were cited earlier this season, for the same thing. 

Brad Elliot Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald – UND men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol is taking scholarship money away from players after they received citations following the season.

Three freshman players — Zane Gothberg, 20, Colten St. Clair, 20, and Bryn Chyzyk, 20 — received citations for underage drinking, while sophomore Stephane Pattyn, 22, received a noise citation.

Gothberg’s minor occurred March 31 after the team returned home from the West Regional in Grand Rapids, Mich. The other players received their citations over the weekend.

“This is going to cost some people significant scholarship dollars and trigger other internal actions,” Hakstol said.

According to court records, Gothberg has already pled guilty to Possession/Consumption of Alcohol by a Person under 21. Gothberg will be required to pay a 325.00 fine.

UND Hockey: Knight and Kristo are All-Americans

Congratulations to our own Danny Kristo (1st team) and Corban Knight (2nd), who have both been named 2012-13 CCM All-Americans. @undmhockey
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) April 12, 2013

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota senior linemates Danny Kristo and Corban Knight have been named 2012-13 CCM Division I All-Americans by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA). The announcement was made today at the NCAA Frozen Four in Pittsburgh.

Kristo was named to the All-America West First Team, while Knight garnered All-American West Second Team honors.

A native of Eden Prairie, Minn., Kristo was named a Hobey Baker Memorial Award Top 10 finalist and the College Hockey News Player of the Year in 2012-13 after leading the WCHA in goals (26) and ranking second nationally in points (52). Both totals were career highs, as was his team-leading +17 plus/minus rating. He also matched his career high in assists (26), becoming UND’s first player since Jeff Panzer (1997-2001) to record 20-plus assists in each of his four seasons.

Kristo was also named to the All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) First Team and the NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team, earned his second straight UND Virg Foss 3-Star Award, was a two-time WCHA Player of the Week, and was a national player of the month honorable mention in February.

Knight, a native of High River, Alberta, was also named a Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist after achieving career highs in points (49), goals (16) and assists (33). His 33 assists, which rank third nationally, made him UND’s first player to put together back-to-back 30-assist seasons since current Minnesota Wild star Zach Parise (2002-04).

Knight also earned All-WCHA Second Team honors and was named to the NCAA West Region All-Tournament Team. He led the nation with a career-high 623 assists, 120 more than any other player and second-most in UND single-season history. A two-time WCHA Offensive Player of the Week and the national player of the month in December, Knight put together a 19-game point streak that was UND’s longest in 25 years.

Kristo and Knight are the 70^th and 71^st All-Americans in UND men’s hockey history and the ninth and 10^th under current head coach Dave Hakstol. It also marks the 19^th different year in which UND has had multiple All-Americans in the same season.

(Video) DU downs UND 5-4

I don't think anyone is very happy with tonight's results, but it's also not time to panic either. UND has lost 4 games in the last 18 so, I don't think it's time to pull the pin yet. After the game, UND head coach Dave Hakstol didn't seem all that pleased with his team's effort. Basically he said they played a sloppy game.

" I thought we were a very sloppy hockey team tonight. It cost us an opportunity at points," said Hakstol. "You have to be able to sustain that push. You can't just come out with a one or two shift burst. We didn't sustain a whole lot through the entire night."

If there is a positive note with tonight's loss, UND remained 6th in the Pairwise rankings.

Putting the final touches on this past weekend.

I never said UND wasn't good. I said they were wrong. That still stands.
— Brandon Veale (@redveale) December 16, 2012

During the summer of 2011 the college hockey world blew up with announcement of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, this was a response to the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference.  These new leagues will begin play in the 2013-14 season.

There are a lot of fans that are unhappy with what has transpired.

This is the last season, before the CCHA disbands and teams leave for the Big Ten Hockey Conference and the NCHC. I expect, as the season winds down that there will be more articles like “Last Minute of hate in this period/The Red Line” which was written by Brandon Veale Sports Editor of the Mining Gazette.

In retrospect, I wonder if Veale regrets writing that article or not. I think all he did was fire up the UND hockey team even more. In the post-game of last night’s game head coach Dave Hakstol said that the team was aware of the article and some of the chatter on twitter as well.

I understand why the fans of the Anchorage, Michigan Tech, Bemidji State, Northern Michigan, Lake State, Bowling Green State University, Mankato State and Fairbanks are mad. I think they have every right to be mad.

I attended BSU for two years before I transferred to UND; I even have a BSU Beaver tattooed to my right calf. So I feel a lot of empathy towards that school.

I wasn’t a big fan of splitting up existing leagues, I would have rather seen PSU join the CCHA and everything would have been alright.

Or would it?  Some of these money issues probably existed before the realignment issue came to bear.

I also think that some of this anger is misdirected. Someone was chirping me on twitter for the realignment, the first thing I said was don’t blame the fans of the various teams that are moving on, blame the school’s athletic directors.

Some teams in the WCHA saw an opportunity to start an old league and break away from the WCHA and it’s leadership.

What I do think is funny; is that DU and UND are the ones that are getting the majority of the blame in this matter; they’re seen by many fans as the two schools that blew up college hockey. PSU and the B1G schools get no blame what-so- ever. I don’t see Veale writing articles slamming Michigan or Michigan State, maybe he will later.

More power to PSU for starting a Division I college hockey team. Maybe just maybe, this will get the ball rolling so other schools will throw their hats in the ring and start college hockey teams. I am all for letting the CIS schools join the NCAA Division I ranks.

If you really think about it, the B1G and the NCHC schools are no different, they’re doing the same thing, but only one conference is getting the majority of the flak. While the other is getting a free pass. We can argue to were blue in the face but this is all about trying to make a buck, it's the American way.

College hockey is not immune to the issues that have driven realignment in division I basketball and football. I just hope the nWCHA doesn't end up being college hockey's Big East.

I think it’s going to be an interesting to see what transpires moving forward. I am not convinced that all of the realignment is totally finished. A lot can happen in 5-10 years.

@redveale How that your team was beaten 6-1 and 4-1 do you regret writing that drive by hit piece?
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) December 16, 2012

Kristo Dive?

If you haven't seen this, UND's Danny Kristo was assessed a 2 minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for diving at the 19:52 mark of the second period of Saturday night's game against the SCSU Huskies. Also receiving a two minute minor penalty, was SCSU Husky forward David Morley. After the period was over, UND head coach Dave Hakstol was given a two minute penalty after giving the on ice officials an ear full. As you can see by the video, coach Hakstol was less than pleased.

Also, if you listen to the announcers, you can see what they thought of the call as well. Former SCSU Husky forward Mark Parish was also a professional hockey player in the NHL so definitely knows the game of hockey.

Related articles

• Shifting through the debris on Monday morning... (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Dave Shyiak's post game comments

Here is what UAA Head coach Dave Shyiak had to say following Saturday's game between the University of North Dakota and the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves that ended in a 3-3 tie.

Putting the finishing touches on last night‘s game… UAA vs UND

Good Sunday Morning to you. I hope all is well with you today.

Last night’s game was very exciting and UAA gave UND one heck of a fight. After the game UAA head coach Dave Shyiak was pleased with his team’s effort and thought it was their best game of the season.

“It was probably our best 65 minutes of the year,” Anchorage coach Dave Shyiak said. “It was a hard-earned tie. It was a great hockey game. What we learned as a hockey team tonight is how we have to play. I thought we pressured the puck. I thought we got good goaltending. And I thought we got contributions from everybody.

“I’m proud of the way we played for 65 minutes against one of the best teams in the country. The lesson is that we have to continue to do that no matter who we’re playing. If we even that out the rest of the year, we’re going to win more games than we lose.”

UND head Coach Dave Hakstol thought his team took a while to get into the game…

“I thought it took us 20 to 30 minutes to work our way in,” Hakstol said. “It wasn’t pretty – we we did work our way in – the were tenacious I thought, throughout the 60 minutes and we gave the lead away in the third period – which put us in a pretty tough spot and we found a way to come back and salvage a point. That’s a positive.”

Corban Knight (36g-63a—99pts) is sitting one point away from surpassing the 100 point mark for his career. Knight has two goals this season.

Every time that Rocco Grimaldi touched the puck last night the crowd was on the edge of their seat and when he broke in on the UAA goal half way through the O.T. period, there wasn’t a fan that wasn’t on their feet. The Ralph was loud, electric and full of positive energy.

In my opinion, Rocco Grimlaldi is one of the most dynamic and probably one of the fastest forwards that I have seen play for UND for a very long time. Rocco is the real deal, a game changer and he is going to turn a lot of heads this season. Grimaldi may be one of the fastest players – maybe – since the Smurfs of the Dean Blais era.

I still think we need a name for the flashy forward Rocco Grimaldi… I have seen a few people refer to him as Holy Rocco, on twitter and in the chats. Personally, I still like the Minister of Offense… I especially liked his version of the Tebow after he scored his goal last night. I like most fans, hope I see that a lot this season.

Here are some of the stories of interest today.

Here is what I had to say about the game. [click to view]

Here is the gamer from the Grand Forks Herald. [click to view]

UND Sports’ view of the game. [click to view]

USCHO and their take on the game. [click to view]

Cross post at the Hockey Writers - Combine...

UND and UAA battle to a tie.

Grand Forks, ND – Last night, UND head coach Dave Hakstol had this to say about the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.

“This was a team we expected to face,” Hakstol said. Highly competitive – good players – guys that battle hard together.”

That’s exactly the team that the University of North Dakota Hockey team faced tonight in the second game of their WCHA series.

The Seawolves came out at the start of the game and were a miserable team to play against as they got into the shooting lanes and forechecked UND hard. UND had a Seawolves forechecker on them all night long.

Sweeps in the WCHA are hard to get and it didn’t matter that UND had beaten UAA by a grand total of 9-1 in two previous games.

UAA proved to be a very difficult team to play against and they gave UND fits, UND also appeared to come out a bit flat to start the game. UND head coach Dave Hakstol agreed.

“I thought it took us 20 to 30 minutes to work our way in,” Hakstol said. “It wasn’t pretty – we  we did work our way in – the were tenacious I thought, throughout the 60 minutes and we gave the lead away in the third period – which put us in a pretty tough spot and we found a way to come back and salvage a point.   That’s a positive.”

The Seawolves took an early lead in the first period as a result of their hard work as sophomore  forward Scott Allen gave his team the lead as he scored his fourth goal of the season at the 04:05 mark of the first period, assisting on Allen’s goal were Seawolves Austin Sevalrud and Alex Gellert.

Ironically, that was the first goal that UND had given up in the first period this season, albeit it’s only three games into the season. It also didn’t hurt that UND came into the game as the second rated defensive unit in the country.

UND would get on the board and even the score at 1-1 with goal from Corban Knight at the 13:39 mark of the first period.

UND would get the go ahead goal at the 12:55 mark of the third period and it appeared that UND was taking control of the game.

Not so fast, UAA scored on a shorthanded goal by senior Tyler Currier at the 10:25 mark of the third period, UND freshman Jordan Schmaltz lost control of the puck at the  blue line. Currier pounced on the puck - raced in on the UND net and shot the it through the five hole of UND junior goalie Clarke Saunders for the game tying goal, that was the fourth goal of Currier’s career.

UAA would take the lead as they cashed in again at the 10:25 mark of the third period, with a goal from senior forward Jordan Kwas.  UND would answer tie the game at the 18:25 mark of the third period and after a lengthy review, Derek Forbort was given credit for the goal.

After the game Forbort wasn’t even sure that he should have been credited with the game tying goal.
“Got a rolling puck and just threw it to the net,” Forbort said.   “I think it went off Corbin Knight, I don’t even think that I scored.”

The two teams would go to over time and trade opportunities – but would settle nothing.

Midway through the overtime period, UND freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi brought everyone in the building with a great opportunity but was denied by UAA junior goalie Rob Gunderson.

After the game, Grimaldi described his glorious opportunity after the game.

“I thought I had him beat there,” Grimaldi said.  “So I just tried to turn the jets on and beat him wide, and drive it into the net, whether it’s through the goalie or whatever, probably had a little more time than I thought, I could have pulled it a little wider and maybe tried to get it up but I just tried to jam it and he was there, he [Gunderson ] played really well tonight I got to give their goalie credit.”

After the game UAA head coach Dave Shyiak was pleased with his team’s effort tonight.

“I think that was probably our best 60 minutes of the year,” Shyiak said. “ It was a hard earned tied It was a great hockey game. What we learned as a hockey team tonight is how we have to play. I thought we pressured the puck well, I thought we executed our game plan, we got good goaltending and we got contributions from everyone tonight.”

If UAA keeps playing like they did tonight, they’re going to give a lot of teams fits.

UND Men's Hockey Media Day

Orginally Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

Today, I attended the UND Hockey media luncheon and press event that followed. I was able to interview a few of the UND’s players today and get some great quotes.

There is a lot of energy and enthusiasm surrounding this season’s UND hockey team, based on who is returning from last season’s squad and with who is coming in this season.

Head coach Dave Hakstol was asked about his team’s goaltending situation.

“I expect it to be highly competitive,” Hakstol said.

“Clarke Saunders has the most experience under his belt he has played a lot of minutes at this level but I expect it to be a very competitive position for us and we’ll let that competition play out in different levels the first ten days will tell us something – but also, throughout the season there will be a high level of competition at that position.”

Coach Hakstol was asked about what position defenseman/forward Joe Gleason will play this season.
“He’s is going to be a defenseman,” Hakstol said. “I expect him to be a defenseman solely a defenseman and I expect him to be a guy that gives us real quality minutes back there.”

Here is what coach Hakstol had to say about second year freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi’s health.
“I think he is very close to approaching that level of being 100 percent healthy, Hakstol said. “I don’t think he is there yet – I think it’s something he is going to have to play his way into during the early part of the season to this point everything has been going well.”

I was able to get a chance to interview Clarke Saunders individually. Saunder is a  junior goalie; who transferred from University of Alabama Huntsville to North Dakota during the off-season.
I asked Saunders about his expectations coming into this season.

“My expectations are, obviously if I play; to play well,” Saunders said. “If not to be the best teammate that I can… obviously we have a pretty good team this year – whatever my role might be – to do the best as I can.”

Clarke Saunders was asked what he thought about Ralph Englestad Arena.

“It is absolutely beautiful,” Saunders said. “I almost have to pinch myself every time I walk in here. All of us are truly grateful to be a part of this program and the Ralph is a specular piece of a long historic program that UND has.”

I asked Saunders about his style of play – in other words – what kind of a goaltender is he.

“I am a butterfly goalie,” Saunders said. “I feel I am decently strong positionally but also I have a bit of athleticism as well.”

Saunders was asked about his fellow goaltenders Zane Gothberg and Tate Maris.

“Zane’s a great kid, he works really hard and pushes me every day and not to forget Tate as well he an awesome guy; an older guy like me, he [Maris] brings a lot of maturity to the room I really, really get along well with both of the goalie partners and I think we have a really good group some of the guys poke fun at how close we are so that complements how well we work together.”

Senior Forward Danny Kristo was asked about his decision to come back for his senior year.
“It was a long process, it was stressful there for a while… it was kind of a different process than some kids have had to go through,” Kristo said.

“Montreal where I got drafted was going through a different time – they fired their general manager during the midst of my decision – which made it a lot harder – with the thoughts of an NHL lockout; obviously I think I would rather be playing, if I could be playing AHL or playing college, I would much rather be playing college with my friends, which I still feel like with our coaching staff and with our team this year I can still get better in practice and get better in games. I can still do that stuff ultimately that is what your goal is year-by-year is to get better and if I can still do that here, I don’t see… why not come back for a great senior year and hopefully go on a run at the end of the season to put up a banner. “


Here is Danny Kristo’s comments on UND’s scoring depth this season.

“This year is going to be different that last year,” Kristo said. “Last year we had a lot of scoring on our first line but I think if you look at how deep we are this year we’re going to have three scoring lines that are going to be able to score night in and night out and a really solid fourth line that can grind it out down low, so it’s going to be different that last year I think.”

I asked Danny Kristo if he had some unfinished business coming into the season.

“Definitely a sour taste in my mouth,” Kristo Said. “ I definitely didn’t want my last college hockey game… to be a loss against Minnesota, so I think a little bit sour taste but I think that year is over with it’s a new year were just looking forward to start the season off right, starting the season off with the excitement a lot energy on the ice, we got a healthy line up compared to the end of last year, so I think that everyone is excited to get out there.

Danny Kristo had this to say about the prospects of having a full roster.

“I think we have more competition in the locker room,” Kristo said. “I think that might be a little bit of a challenge for our team – at the end of last year we didn’t have a choice – the guys that were healthy – were the guys that were playing, there’s going to be a good battle for guys – they’re going to be battling for spots. I think that practice is going to be more competitive, cause if you’re not working hard in practice someone is going to take your spot.”

Rocco Grimaldi was asked what he thought about Danny Kristo not signing with the Montreal Canadians and coming back for his senior season.

I was excited I wasn’t sure if he was going to come back or not. I was excited obviously he made a good choice … not sure what’s going on with the lockout and everything. I think he is happy about the decision and it should be a good year for him.

Rocco Grimaldi on whether he will be playing this weekend.

Yeah I will be playing this weekend, Grimaldi said. I am feeling a lot better and that’s a good thing.
Rocco Grimaldi was asked if he is a little rusty after missing most of last season with a knee injury.
“I hope not,” Grimaldi said. I got a little bit of the rust out in preseason here with the practices and everything but I am feeling a lot better just about my game in general and getting my smarts back so it will be good to test it [knee] out in a game and get another game under my belt.

Rocco Grimaldi was asked, if he is going to play wing or center.

“We will see,” Grimaldi said. “I am not sure, I am not sure where I will be playing this weekend. Will see, I can do either it doesn’t matter.”

Related articles

• UND third in CHN's Preseason Top 10 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Eight men out - UND players to miss some time... (realclearsports.com)
• Rocco Grimaldi on the Pipeline show (mvn.com)
• Rocco Grimaldi on the Pipeline show (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

EDIT: More comes out about UND Hockey party

More and more information is beginning to come out about the suspension of the four UND Hockey captains - the suspension are a result of a team party that took place this past weekend in Grand Forks, ND. It would appear that the University of North Dakota is being proactive and sending a message to it's players that this type of behavior will not be tolerated.

I have seen suggestions from some fans that this party from this past weekend resembles what some classify as hazing which the NCAA takes seriously - personally I am going to wait for more information to come out before I jump to that conclusion.

Here is what UND Sports Information Director Jayson Hajdu had to say on the matter, when asked by the UND Hockey beat writer Brad Elliot Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, asked him if this might be a case of hazing.

“UND is continuing to gather information. If hazing has been involved, the university will take strong action.”

Kristo confirm that he got cut in an initiation party that involved -21 yrs old players. That's why he and 3 teammates are suspended. #habs
— Jonathan Bernier (@JoBern) September 19, 2012

Obviously, Kristo was caught and not cut from the team and which the writer later corrected himself.

Of course, Kristo got caught and not cut. Sorry.
— Jonathan Bernier (@JoBern) September 19, 2012

Here is a press release on the incident from CBC Radio - I translated the article with Google translate.

Hope Canadian Danny Kristo is suspended by the University of North Dakota for the first game of the season.

The team made ​​the announcement Tuesday.

Kristo and three other teammates were suspended for "unacceptable conduct" during a team party Saturday, said Brian Faison, director of sports programs at the school.

"The behavior of our players is not the role model they should play in the community, said the head coach of the team, Dave Hakstol. We rely on several players of character, but they must be accountable for their actions. '

Kristo is assistant captain this season. The other three players are also suspended two other assistants (Corban Knight, hope the Panthers, and Carter Rowney, undrafted) and the captain, Andrew MacWilliam, 7th round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008.

In addition to the suspension, the players of the team should lend itself to such workshops weekly alcohol education. Any future violation of team rules lead to other consequences, ranging from reducing scholarships to expulsion from the hockey program.

Kristo, second-round pick of the Canadiens in 2008, will play in his fourth and final 2012-2013 academic year.

The team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux will begin its season Oct. 19 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Tuesday Links - Discipline and TV Schedule addition

Senkbeil, Parks punished for minors bit.ly/RQhQ4X
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) September 11, 2012

There might be four people that hasn't heard about this yet. As we know word travels fast in Grand Forks, ND. UND hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman, is reporting that two UND hockey players were cited for Minor in Possession. Unlike the "other school" to the south coach Hakstol deals swiftly with these types of matters swiftly before they get out of hand.

Two UND players have been punished for receiving minors in possession/consumption of alcohol.

Dan Senkbeil, who was cited for a minor and for failure to halt on Aug. 31, was suspended from all team activities for two weeks. He has not yet been cleared by coach Dave Hakstol to play in games. Senkbeil received his minor one week before turning 21.

Michael Parks was cited for a minor and his punishment is being handled internally. Parks is 20.

Apparently, the NDSU head football coach Craig Bohl is finally, going to start giving their players some sort of punishment - no matter how minor it might seem - Sophomore outside lineback Travis Beck will now be given a minor slap on the wrist after he recieved his second Minor in Possession of alcohol.

#NDSU HC Craig Bohl tells me Travis Beck will be disciplined internally by team for charge of MIP
— Dom Izzo (@DomIzzoWDAY) September 11, 2012

NBCSN released it's 2012-13 college hockey schedule today and UND hockey fans will get to see at least two road games on the NBCSN.

Ice Breaker Tournament

Fri., Oct. 12 Notre Dame vs. #12 Maine 7 p.m.
Army vs. Nebraska TBD
Sat., Oct. 13 Final (Teams TBD) 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 16 Harvard at #13 Cornell 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 30 #1 Boston College at #11 Boston University 7:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at #8 Denver 10 p.m.
Dec. 1 #11 Boston University at #1 Boston College 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 7 Michigan State at Notre Dame 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 4 Colorado College at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 11 #3 Union at Princeton 7:30 p.m.
Nebraska-Omaha at Denver 10 p.m.
Jan. 18 Harvard at Yale 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 25 Yale at #13 Cornell 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 Dartmouth at #3 Union 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 8 #6 North Dakota at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 15 #11 Boston University at #12 Maine 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 22 Yale at Quinnipiac 7:30 p.m.
#6 North Dakota at #8 Denver 10 p.m.
March 1 Wisconsin at Nebraska-Omaha 7:30 p.m.
March 8 #12 Maine at New Hampshire 7:30 p.m.

Hockey East Tournament

March 15 Quarterfinals 7 p.m.
March 22 Semifinals 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.
March 23 Final 7 p.m.

Enter caption for this picture....

I found this picture on line today and I thought I would share it with you to get you into the mood. Since this is the last season of the WCHA as well we will take a little time to look back at some of the buffoonery that we have seen from the strips. 

Seriously, I would like to have heard what coach Dave Hakstol told Derek Shepherd during this conversation. I am sure that Hak wasn't asking Derek where he was going to go after the game so the two could discuss the game over a few drinks. 

Related articles

• Hakstol, 'Joe Gleason the epitome of a great teammate'
• UW and UND to continue series after both teams leave the WCHA
• UND's Andrew MacWilliam and Nate Ewell on the Pipeline show
• WCHA Unveils All-New Mobile Website

Hakstol, 'Joe Gleason the epitome of a great teammate'

I don't know how any of us can think about hockey right now, when it's been this hot. I saw this video over on Brad Schlossman's blog and it got me thinking about Joe Gleason and his style of play - I call him the utility player because he does whatever is asked of him and has played every position but goal for the Fighting Sioux.

Recently, Gleason was at the Chicago Blackhawks prospects camp.

This is what UND head coach Dave Hakstol had to say when he was asked about Joe Gleason last season when asked about the junior forward's selfless play.

“Joe Gleason the epitome of a great teammate.”

“Joe is a proud guy and he obviously wants to play, he was recruited here as a defenseman, and both night this weekend he played defense, he played center and he played right wing. I guess I would describe it as invaluable in a team setting. He is doing whatever the teams needs, he not just going out and doing it, but going out and doing it well.”

UW and UND to continue series after both teams leave the WCHA

There is some really good news to pass along. According to the beat writer for the Wisconsin Badgers Andy Baggot – UND and Wisconsin will continue their historic and heated rivalry after both teams leave the WCHA for the B1G and the NCHA after next season.

2014-15 -- UW has tentative agreements to host North Dakota.

2015-16 -- UW has tentative agreements to play a series at North Dakota.

2016-17 -- UW has tentative agreements to host a series North Dakota.

2017-18 -- UW has a tentative agreement to play a series at North Dakota.

This is good news for Badger and Fighting Sioux hockey fans, the Wisconsin and UND series is one of the most heated rivalries in all of college hockey. Both programs also have a lot of respect for each other.

During his career at UND, head coach Dave Hakstol has a 12-14-2 record against the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is one of two WCHA teams that Dave Hakstol does not have a winning record against, the other team is Denver 12-15-1. During his tenure at UND Hakstol has also compiled a 3-1 record against Wisconsin in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs.

Kristo, MacMillian and Dell day two Habs development camp

Dan's Daily Dose

Three current and one former UND Fighting Sioux players are participating in the the Montreal Canadians development camp this week. Dan Kramer from All Habs has a really good run down of what has transpired over the course of this week.

GOALTENDERS

Aaron Dell: My favourite of the goalies on day one. I expect him to be offered a contract, be it a two-way deal or an AHL agreement with the Bulldogs. He’s a little slow-moving, but he’s a scrambler, battling for pucks and not giving up.

Based on all that we have heard around here during the offseason – we probably won’t be seeing Aaron Dell in a UND uniform next season. The last word that I had heard, from a pretty good source it’s about 99% that Dell isn’t coming back to UND - so I guess we shouldn't be shocked if to see Aaron Dell sign a professional contract.

Kramer also explains Dell's style to a "T" - Dell is positionally a very sound goaltender and there isn’t a lot of wasted movement.

FORWARDS

Former Fighting Sioux - Mike Cichy: Cichy is very small and skinny. He had to sit out a year of hockey for switching Universities, and doesn’t seem to have spent much of it in the weight room. His legs stand out as being remarkably thin (at one point I quipped that he almost looks like a kid wearing his father’s equipment), not something you want in a professional hockey player for reasons of balance, skating, and strength, so at this point, he doesn’t seem to have much of a future as a prospect.

Danny Kristo: I came away from day one thinking that Kristo looked very small. He is very quick, despite short strides (which can hamper a player). For example, despite both being undersized, his style is almost the opposite of Gallagher’s, who has longer stride but isn’t as fast, which is a testament to Kristo’s footwork. He also has good hands, though he didn’t seem particularly engaged when it was his turn to charge in on net. As such, he wasn’t remarkable. One the size issues, I felt he looked bigger on day two, so I’ll attribute my initial impression in part to his being grouped mainly with the defensemen on Wednesday, all of whom are 6’1″ or taller. Hopefully he commits fully to training with his final year in college, and adds some strength. Tended to only interact with players he was familiar with in Leblanc and MacMillan.

Mark MacMillan: I’ll call MacMillan a pet prospect of mine. He’s filling out slowly, now generously listed at 183 lbs after being drafted at 150, but he does look bigger than in the past. He’s a skilled guy with interesting offensive tools, but had some trouble with a few skating drills (he looked alright at times as well, but it’s an area for him to focus on). A longer-term project, he may be a go-to player at UND next season, so that’s perhaps the only reason to be happy that Kristo will be returning there for another season.

Here is what All-Habs had to say about a few of our forwards as well as about former Fighting Sioux forward Mike Cichy. Kramer kind of confirms what Sioux fans already knew about Cichy – during his time at UND.  During Cichy's short time at UND,  there were rumblings that Cichy wasn’t the most dedicated or hardest of workers on the ice or in the weight room.

This was basically confirmed after his first season, when Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol confirmed that Cichy had come into his first camp with the Fighting Sioux out of shape.  Looks like this might have worked out best for the Fighting Sioux in the end.

UND’s Brad Eidsness Named Recipients of WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarships for 2012-13

MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today (June 13, 2012) announced that seniors Brittany Toor of St. Cloud State University, Montana Vichorek of Bemidji State University, and Brad Eidsness of the University of North Dakota are the recipients of annual WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarships for 2012-13.

               

“We are both exceedingly pleased and tremendously proud to announce our latest WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners in Brittany Toor, Montana Vichorek and Brad Eidsness,” said Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod and Associate Commissioner Sara R. Martin in a joint statement. “Representative of the best of collegiate athletics, these three outstanding student-athletes add another distinguished chapter to the league’s long-standing tradition of recognizing and honoring it’s players both on and off the ice.

               

“The WCHA has been blessed  to have had Montana, Brittany and Brad competing in the league on the ice at the highest levels the past four seasons as well as making their mark in the classroom and setting the stage for future success. Today we salute their tremendous accomplishments and on behalf of the entire Association, we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

               

Eidsness, a senior goaltender at North Dakota who hails from Chestermere, Alberta, competed in 104 collegiate games and 5,871 minutes between the pipes while compiling an impressive 58-27-10 record, a 2.41 goals-against average, a .906 saves percentage and five shutouts. In his final campaign in 2011-12, he was 8-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA and .919 SV%. His 58 career victories rank third all-time at UND and he is fourth all-time in career games played by a goaltender, fifth in career goals-against average, sixth in career saves percentage and tied for fifth in shutouts. He was a member of North Dakota’s WCHA regular season championship teams in both 2008-09 and 2010-11 and of UND’s record three consecutive WCHA Final Five championship clubs in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, earning all-tournament team honors as a junior.

               

Over his four seasons, Eidsness has earned numerous honors, including the prestigious WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award as a senior. (The WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year Award is determined from nominations made by the member institutions and the nominee must be a senior student-athlete, must consistently display outstanding sportsmanship on and off the ice, must be a good student making satisfactory progress toward a degree; and must be a good hockey player who has performed consistently as a regular member of the team.) He is also a three-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete, a three-time member of the All-WCHA Academic Team, was a 2011-12 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award nominee, was a 2011 NCAA Elite 88 Award recipient, was UND’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2011-12, earned All-WCHA Second Team honors in 2009-10, both All-WCHA Third Team and All-WCHA Rookie Team honors in 2008-09, and was UND’s Rookie Athlete of the Year (male) in 2008-09.

               

Over the course of his four years at UND, he not only stayed on track with progress towards a degree but also completed both a Bachelor of Business Administration degree and a Master of Business Administration degree. Eidsness graduated Magna Cum Laude with a 3.779 cumulative GPA in undergraduate work and has a 3.625 cumulative GPA in graduate school. His leadership activities included the UND Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) from 2008-12 and the UND Master of Business Administration Student Association (MBASA).

               

“Brad is an outstanding young man who has become a leader, not only on his team but also across our campus,” said head coach Dave Hakstol. “His athletic performance and abilities are second to none and his dedication to his sport, his team, and his academics is that of a unique and first class character.

               

“He is a very talented young man, with his strongest qualities involving his work ethic, focus and drive to achieve success in all areas of his life. I have been fortunate enough to be a part of this young man’s life … to watch as he has evolved as a man by growing through both daunting adversity and great success. He is committed to doing his best and doing it the right way, with honor. He has been an incredible leader for our team and a teammate that other players think very highly of.”

               

In addition to his stellar work on the ice and in the classroom, Eidsness has also been active on campus as a team representative to SAAC and has been routinely involved in community service. His contributions include the Sioux Kids Club events, the Northland Rescue Mission – Pucks for Plates, annual food drives, the National Honor Society, fan fests, and speaking engagements at a number of different area events.

               

“Brad has applied for admission to law schools at both the University of Calgary and the University of Victoria and hopes to combine his love of hockey with his business acumen,” said UND Faculty Athletic Representative Sue Jeno, who nominated him for the WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarship. “The life lessons learned from participation in collegiate sports have provided him with the ability to work effectively with different types of people, to get along well with people from many varied backgrounds and beliefs, and to recognize when attention needs to be given to different individuals and to relationships. He has also learned that adversity can be as valuable as success in maintaining focus on a goal.”

                 

                 

Brad Berry returns to UND

~Official Press Release~

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota head men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol announced today that Brad Berry has been hired as an assistant coach. Berry’s primary responsibilities will include coaching and developing the team’s defensemen.

It will be the second stint on the UND coaching staff for Berry, who previously served as the program’s associate head coach from 2004-06 and assistant coach from 2000-04. He was also a defenseman at UND from 1983-86. Berry returns to Grand Forks from the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, with whom he spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach.

“I’m very happy to bring Brad aboard as part of our coaching staff. He’s an outstanding coach and person, and will be a tremendous resource for the development of our players,” said Hakstol.

While with the Blue Jackets, Berry coached the team’s defensemen and managed both the power-play and penalty kill. Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Berry doubled as the director of The Hockey Academy in Grand Forks and as a part-time scout with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks. He was an assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose from 2006-08.

Before embarking on his professional coaching career, Berry spent six seasons on the UND coaching staff, including his last two as associate head coach under Hakstol. Overseeing the team’s defensemen and penalty kill, Berry helped guide UND to NCAA Frozen Four appearances in 2001, 2005 and 2008, Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) regular season titles in 2001 and 2004 and a WCHA playoff championship in 2006.

“I’m excited to come back and work with Dave and (assistant coach) Dane (Jackson), and once again be a part of UND Athletics,” said Berry.

Berry was a standout defenseman at UND from 1983-86, collecting 74 points (12 goals, 62 assists) in 112 collegiate games. He also represented Canada at the 1985 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Junior Hockey Championship. A second-round draft pick (29^th overall) of the Winnipeg Jets in 1983, Berry went on to play in 241 NHL games over eight years, including stints with Winnipeg, Minnesota and Dallas. His professional playing career also included stints in the Swedish Elite League and the International Hockey League. While with the IHL’s Michigan K-Wings, Berry was a three-time IHL All-Star and was named the K-Wings’ Defenseman of the Year three times.

After his playing career ended, Berry was a professional scout with the 1999-00 Dallas Stars team that won the Stanley Cup.

A native of Bashaw, Alberta, Berry’s family includes his wife, Suzanne, daughters, Brianna and Brooke, and son, Bauer.

UND Athletic Coaches Discuss N.D. Measure 4 With KFGO's Joel Heitkamp

The video is 9:00 minutes long, I didn't know that Joel Heitkamp was a UND Fighting Sioux fan.

Who are you going to believe?

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athletic logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Listen to the clip on the Fan 740AM. [click to listen]

The question is who are you going to believe - the coaches Dave Hakstol, Brian Idalski or Chris Mussman that are already dealing with the NCAA sanctions on a day-to-day basis or some political blogger that is just trying to stir up the masses so he can hits on his blog and or some lawyer who doesn't even know what college former athletic director Terry Wanless is currently at.

 Just for clarification purposes - former UND athletic director Terry Wanless is at is Sacramento State not SDSU... Swing and a miss, you're wrong again Reed.

Reed Soderstrom

"The Athletic Director, Faison, was telling everybody that the Big Sky Conference is really worried about the Fighting Sioux thing," said Soderstrom. "We found out later through a former UND athletic director, who is now at San Diego State, that that`s not true. It wasn`t even brought up."

More Reed Soderstrom

Soderstrom suggested Hakstol’s stance in particular was related to his contract, which was renewed a few months after Hakstol first came out in favor of retiring the nickname. Hakstol has denied a connection.