Showing posts with label Denver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Denver. Show all posts

Saturday, March 09, 2013

(Scenarios) Crazy for just another day; WCHA race going down to the wire



This Week in the WCHA

Results of Friday, March 8: Colorado College 0 at Michigan Tech 2 (WCHA); St. Cloud State 4 at Wisconsin 2 (WCHA); Nebraska Omaha 4 at Minnesota Duluth 5 (WCHA); Minnesota 4 at Bemidji State 3 (WCHA); North Dakota 4 at Minnesota State 3 (WCHA); Alaska Anchorage 1 at Denver 7 (WCHA).

Games for Saturday, March 9: Colorado College at Michigan Tech (WCHA), 7:07 pm ET; Minnesota at Bemidji State (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT; North Dakota at Minnesota State (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT; St. Cloud State at Wisconsin (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT; Nebraska Omaha at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA), 7:07 pm CT.

Games for Sunday, March 10: Alaska Anchorage at Denver (WCHA), 11:07 am MT.

It looks like North Dakota is either going to play the Bemidji State Beavers or the Michigan Tech Huskies in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. 

North Dakota (35 points, at Minnesota State):
- Seeded 2nd with a win and a Minnesota tie or loss.
- Seeded 2nd with a tie and a Minnesota loss.
- Seeded 3rd with a win and a Minnesota win.
- Seeded 3rd with a tie and a Minnesota win or tie.
- Seeded 3rd with a loss.

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Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Dusting off an old post going into the last week of the season


This tweet, caused me to look at this blog pre-season poll... How wrong does it appear might have been, at least as far as standings?

I participated in the 3rd Annual WCHA Blogger & Website Preseason Poll put on by A Tradition of Excellence and this how the pollsters think the WCHA will shake out this season. 

Team (1st Place Votes) Points
1. Minnesota (15)199
2. North Dakota (2)187
3. Denver (1)162
4. Wisconsin142
5. Minnesota-Duluth126
6. St. Cloud State119
7. Nebraska-Omaha97
8. Colorado College94.5
9. Michigan Tech78.5
10. Minnesota State-Mankato58
11. Bemidji State44
12. Alaska-Anchorage19

Player of the Year (17 Voters)
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (9)

Others receiving multiple votes:
Mark Zengerle, Wisconsin (4)
Erik Haula, Minnesota (2)

Rookie of the Year (17 Voters)
Rocco Grimaldi, North Dakota (6)
Others receiving multiple votes:

Nic Kerdiles, Wisconsin (4)
Andy Welinski, Minnesota-Duluth (2)
Austin Farley, Minnesota-Duluth (2)

Defenseman of the Year (17 Voters)
Joey LaLeggia, Denver (9)

Others receiving multiple votes:
Nick Jensen, St. Cloud State (3)
Nate Schmidt, Minnesota (2)

Breakout Player of the Year (17 Voters)
Caleb Herbert, Minnesota-Duluth (2)
Andrej Sustr, Nebraska-Omaha (2)

13 others received a single vote.

The following bloggers  took part in this poll:
Timothy Boger, Kelly Green & White (North Dakota)

Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time (St. Cloud State)

Nathan Wells/@gopherstate, SB Nation MN/College Hockey News/SBNation (Minnesota/WCHA)

Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide (Michigan Tech)

Andrew Craig, College Hockey High Horse (Minnesota-Duluth)

Matt Christians/@Bulldog_Country, Bulldog Country (Minnesota-Duluth)

South Tex Gopher, Gopher Puck Live (Minnesota)

Steve Fetch/@fetch9, The Checking Line

Zack Friedli, Hockey State of Mind/College Hockey News (Minnesota-Duluth)

Eric Burton (Goon), Goon's World/The Hockey Writers (North Dakota)

GopherGuy33, Gopher Puck Live (Minnesota)

Andy Johnson, Bucky's 5th Quarter (Wisconsin)

Jeff Baker/@UNOMavMania, Mav Mania (Nebraska-Omaha)

Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey (Colorado College)

gmf1a, CC Tiger Hockey Forum (Colorado College)

Donn Schuschke (Sioux 7), Goon's World (North Dakota)

Matthew Semisch, USCHO

Chad, A Tradition of Excellence (North Dakota)

This was how I think the WCHA will shake out this season.

1. University of Minnesota
2. University of North Dakota
3. University of Wisconsin
4. Denver University
5. University of Minnesota Duluth
6. Colorado College
6. Michigan Tech University
8. University of Nebraska Omaha
9. Saint Cloud State University
10. Bemidji State University
11. Minnesota State University Mankato
12. University of Anchorage Alaska 

So look who's sitting in third place... Now my vote doesn't look too bad, at least there. 


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Thursday, February 21, 2013

UND vs. Denver; College Hockey’s Hatfield-McCoy feud

Fighting Sioux (University of North Dakota) vs...
Fighting Sioux (University of North Dakota) vs. Denver Pioneers (University of Denver, #14 Tom May), WCHA Final FIVE 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This season, since the NHL lockout has been over, NBC Sports Network has been doing a weekly rivalry game on Wednesdays nights between the various NHL teams.
This Friday night, there will be another rivalry game on NBC Sports Network between college hockey’s versions of the historicHatfield-McCoy feud.
Actually, both games will be on television this weekend, when the University of North Dakota (16-8-6, 11-5-6 WCHA) travels to Denver, Colorado to play their heated rival the Denver Pioneers (15-9-5, 10-7-5 WCHA) in a pivotal two game series, this series will go a long way in determining seeding for the WCHA playoffs.
As I mentioned earlier, Friday’s game will be on NBC Sports Network at 9:00 PM (CT) and Saturday’s game will be on Root Sports at 8:00 (CT).
Also at stake this weekend, is the all-important Pairwise rankings. A couple of wins would solidify either team’s standings for the NCAA playoffs and a couple of losses could knock you down a place or two.
Over the course of the last ten seasons North Dakota and Denver have had some entertaining games.
If you go on Youtube.com and conduct a search, you would literally find hours of videos of goals, scrums and dustups between Denver and North Dakota.  I can only imagine that we will be able to add a few more videos to that collection when this weekend is over.
North Dakota and Denver have a history in the playoffs and the Green and White have beaten DU in the final game of the last two WCHA Final Fives. North Dakota also has a 7-2-0 record the last 10 games against Denver.
One could say that it’s gut check time, but it’s also crunch time as well.
Freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi, who has played in a series against the Denver Pioneers earlier in the season at the Ralph Engelstad Arena, was asked why he thought the games between the Denver Pioneers and North Dakota were so intense.
“I think both teams are extremely competitive and well coached,” Grimaldi said. “Overall good teams offensively and defensively, the better the games are the more you build a rivalry with that team, I guess. When you have good games all the time, when you play someone, eventually rivalries are built.”
Senior forward Danny Kristo was more to the point when asked about the rivalry between the two teams.
“I think Mac [Andrew MacWilliam] hates these guys the most,” Kristo said. “I don’t need to beat around the bush but I don’t think our coaching staffs like each other too much, either. Obviously, both teams have a lot of respect for each other because both teams are always there at the end of the year.”
During an earlier series between the two teams, sophomore forward Steph Pattyn had this to say about playing against the Denver Pioneers.
“It’s kind of a personal rivalry for a couple of our guys,” Pattyn said.  “I know that Mac [Andrew MacWilliam] just really doesn’t like these guys.”
This is a series that gets everyone’s blood boiling. The fans of both teams love these games. The coaches and players involved in this rivalry love the games as well. You can bet that all of the body-checks will be finished, when these two teams meet this weekend. Emotions will run high, and you can also count on a few dust-ups and scrums happening between the two teams.
When it’s all said and done, the team that plays with the most discipline will probably prevail this weekend.
Denver is leading the WCHA in penalty minutes with 496 and that total could be a lot higher when the weekend is over. North Dakota is sitting in number three spot with 475.
Let the feud, err, I mean rivalry begin.


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Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Weekend Ahead: (2/22-2/23)

Seal of the University of North Dakota
Seal of the University of North Dakota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota travels to Denver, Colorado to play the Denver Pioneers in an important two game WCHA series at Magness Arena February 22-23, 2013.
Matchup: North Dakota (16-8-6, 11-5-6 WCHA) #6 versus #10 Denver Pioneers (15-9-5, 10-7-5 WCHA).
Dates: February 22-23, 2013
Times: February 22: 9:10 p.m. (CT); February 23: 8:07 p.m. (CT)
Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.
TV Friday: NBC Sports Network, channel 220 DirecTV
TV Saturday: Root Sports, channel 683 DirecTV
Webcast: (NONE)
SERIES HISTORY: UND leads the All-time series 136-116-9 (.538). UND leads the series 81-42-6 (.651) in Grand Forks. UND trails the series 50-67-3 (.429) in Denver. Neutral sites, UND trails 5-7-0 (.417). In the last 10 games against DU, UND leads 7-2-1 (.750).
Players to Watch:

North Dakota
Forwards: Corbin Knight (13g-27a—40pts), Danny Kristo (18g-21a—39pts), Rocco Grimaldi (10g-14a—24pts), Mark MacMillan (9g-9a—18pts), Carter Rowney (6g-12a—18pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-6a—12pts).  Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-15a—17pts), Derek Forbort (4g-8a—12pts), Joe Gleason (4g-9a—13pts) Jordan Schmaltz (2g-7a—9pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-7a—8pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 10-5-4, 2.34 GAA, .914 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 6-3-2, 2.42 GAA, .918 save percentage.
Denver Pioneers: Nick Shore (11g-15a—26pts), Chris Knowlton (12g-12a—24pts), Shawn Ostrow (10g-10a—20pts), Daniel Doremus (8g-9a—17pts), Defense: Joey LaLeggia (10g-14a—24pts) David Makowski (6g-16a—22pts) Nolan Zajac (5g-16a—21pts). Goalies: Juho Olkinuora 9-3-5, 2.11 GAA, .935 save percentage, Adam Murray 2-1-0, 3.00 GAA, .902 save percentage, Sam Brittain 4-5-0 3.03 GAA, .902 save percentage.
Cross posted at the Hockey Writers Combine... 

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Monday, February 04, 2013

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 17

Each week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.
The Minnesota Gophers are the #1 team in this week’s WCHA Web Media Poll, garnering seven of 12 votes. Second in this week’s poll, are the Saint Cloud State Huskies, as they picked up five of 12 first place votes.  Coming in third is the University of North Dakota.
The only teams that actually moved in this week’s poll were Denver and Nebraska Omaha, those two teams switched places. The remaining six through 12 spots remained the same as last week.
Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 17:
PtsPreviousRecordHighLow
1.Minnesota (7)139118-4-412
2St. Cloud State (5)137215-10-112
3.North Dakota116313-8-535
4.Denver104513-8-435
5.Nebraska Omaha102415-9-236
6.Wisconsin80611-8-557
7.Minnesota State78716-9-357
8.Minnesota Duluth54810-11-3810
9.Colorado College46910-14-2810
10.Michigan Tech43107-12-4811
11.Bemidji State25115-14-51011
12.Alaska Anchorage12123-16-51212

Representing  Name Publication Twitter
Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB5Q


Cross posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine...
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Tuesday, January 22, 2013

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 15

Each week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.

The Minnesota Gophers are this week’s unanimous #1 team. The Gophers received all 12 first place votes this week’s poll.  North Dakota, Denver and Omaha all fell one place in this week’s poll.  Places Six through 12 remained unchanged.

Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 15:

PlaceTeamPtsPrevRecordHigh
1)Minnesota (12)143117-3-411
2)St. Cloud State126514-10-023
3)North Dakota125213-7-424
4)Denver102313-8-446
5)Nebraska-Omaha101413-9-236
6)Minnesota State77615-8-358
7)Wisconsin7179-8-568
8) Minnesota Duluth69810-11-359
9)Colorado College47910-14-2810
10)Michigan Tech37107-12-4911
11)Bemidji State25115-12-51011
12)Alaska Anchorage13123-13-41212


Representing  Name Publication Twitter

Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB

Cross Posted at the Hockey - Writers Combine.
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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 14


Wcha_newlogo_menEach week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.
There was some movement in this week’s poll. Minnesota and North Dakota remain at the number one and number two spots. Denver moves up one spot to three. Nebraska-Omaha moves down one spot, from three to four. Saint Cloud State moves up one spot, from sixth to fifth. Minnesota State moves down one spot, from fifth to sixth. Wisconsin moves up one spot, from eighth to seventh. Minnesota Duluth falls one spot from seventh to eighth.

TeamPtsPreviousRecordHighLow
1)Minnesota (11)143116-3-312
2)North Dakota128213-6-323
3)Denver (1)122413-6-415
4)Nebraska-Omaha108313-9-335
5)Saint Cloud Sate98614-8-236
6)Minnesota State74512-10-068
7)Wisconsin7188-7-5510
8) Minnesota Duluth6479-10-3610
9)Colorado College5599-13-2711
10)Michigan Tech33106-122-3911
11)Bemidji State27115-11-41012
12)Alaska Anchorage13123-13-41212

Representing  Name Publication Twitter
Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB5Q

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