Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Here we are the last weekend in the inaugural NCHC season.  The race for the Penrose Cup will be decided this weekend.  We know for sure is both SCSU and UND will be at home for the first round of the playoffs, oh and they are the top contenders for the inaugural league title.  I’m not sure on how all the tie breakers work, but we might have to find out come Sunday!

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T-SW………Points

North Dakota……………..14-8-0-0…..…….….42
St. Cloud St……………….13-6-3-0…………...42
Nebraska-Omaha………..12-8-2-1…..………..39
Minnesota-Duluth………..10-10-2-2….….……34
Western Michigan………..10-10-2-2…….……34
Denver………………………9-10-3-2……….…32
Colorado College……….. ..6-11-5-1…….….…24
Miami………………………..5-16-1-1….…….….17

NCHC Games

Nebraska-Omaha @ #17 Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Bulldogs swept Miami (5-4, 1-0) in Oxford and the Mavericks swept the Tigers (6-0, 2-1ot) in Omaha.

The Mavericks have almost secured home ice, and with at least a tie this weekend, they will secure a home spot.  The Bulldogs need to win, since they are tied with WMU for the last home ice spot and DU is only two points behind.  Both UMD and UNO beat up on the two bottom teams in the standings, so they both should have some confidence going into the weekend.  UNO is even stevens this year, 6-6-0 on the road and 9-9-0 at home, the Bulldogs are 4-7-3 at home and 10-6-0 on the road.  Perhaps UMD is better of throwing these games, so they are on the road the first round?  SPLIT

Miami @ Denver

Last weekend the RedHawks were swept by the Bulldogs (5-4, 1-0) in Duluth and the Pioneers split with the Broncos (4-2W, 3-1L) in Kalamazoo.

I’m guessing the season can’t end fast enough in Oxford, ugh.  MU has just two wins in 2014, and thus has lost seven of their last eight games.  The Pioneers still have a shot at home ice but they need some help; they need to pass up UMD and WMU.  The RedHawks are 4-9-2 on the road, and they did split with DU earlier this season.  The Pioneers are 9-6-1 in Denver this year.  They will need at least one win this weekend and lots of help or two wins and some help, to host games next weekend.  PIONEERS SWEEP

#3 SCSU @ Colorado College

Last weekend the Huskies split with NoDak (5-2L, 3-1W) in St. Cloud and the Tigers were swept by the Mavericks (6-0, 2-1ot) in Omaha.

This match-up could happen again next weekend too, but with SCSU hosting the games.  The teams meet way back about thanksgiving with the teams tying Friday (CC won shoot out) and SCSU winning the Saturday game.  With the cup on the line, I think SCSU will bring its “A” game to Colorado Springs.  Unless the Huskies are affected by thee, ahem, “haze”, at CC, they should leave a couple of wins.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#21 Western Michigan @ #9 North Dakota

Last weekend the Broncos split with the Pioneers (4-2L, 3-1W) in Kalamazoo and NoDak split with the Huskies (5-2W, 3-1L) in St. Cloud.

These teams met the first week of December in Kalamazoo, with NoDak sweeping the series by identical 3-2 scores.  NoDak is 11-5-1 at home in The Ralph this season and the Broncos are 5-5-3 on the road.  As far as I can recall this will be WMU first ever trip to Grand Forks (correct me if I’m wrong).  The Broncos are in a precarious spot, sitting in a tie for fourth place and the last home ice spot.  And playing on the road at the top team in the conferences barn doesn’t help their cause any.  NoDak has been hot the second half, like usual, and I don’t see them slowing down this weekend at home, with home crowd advantage cheering them on.  NODAK SWEEP

Related articles

• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Weekend Match-Ups (By Donn) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Is this the NCHC Playoff Champion's Trophy?

Apparently, this is picture on the tickets that fans are getting for the Frozen Face-off. Kind of looks like trophy a team might be awarded for winning the NCHC playoff championship.

Breaking down the last week in the NCHC

With one week remaining, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference standings are very tight. We probably won’t know the seeding’s for the NCHC playoffs until after all of the games have been played on Saturday night.

University of North Dakota (19-10-3, 14-8-0 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 9. This weekend: North Dakota entertains the Western Michigan University Broncos (16-13-5, 10-10-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking T-21. Season series: UND went 2-0-0 against WMU (3-2, 3-2 North Dakota). North Dakota is closing in on securing an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. More than likely, if UND makes the NCHC tourney they’re in the NCAA tournament. WMU will probably need to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney.

Saint Cloud State University Huskies (19-8-5, 13-6-3 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 4. This weekend: the Huskies travel to Colorado Springs to take on the Colorado College Tigers (6-20-6, 6-11-5 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 48. Season series: the Huskies went 1-0-1 against the Tigers this season (2-2 Tie and 6-2 SCSU). Saint Cloud State is a lock to make the NCAA tourney. Colorado College will have to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney.

Nebraska-Omaha (15-15-2, 12-8-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 28. This Weekend: Nebraska-Omaha travels to Minnesota Duluth (15-13-4, 10-10-2 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 17. Season series: UMD 2-0-0 record against UNO (3-1, 3-2 Minnesota Duluth).  Both teams are going to need help making the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid.

University of Denver (15-13-6, 9-10-3 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 26. This weekend: Denver entertains Miami University (11-18-3, 5-16-1 NCHC) – Pairwise Ranking 41. Season series: The two teams split their season series so far (3-1 Miami and 4-2 Denver). From looking at the Pairwise, it appears that Denver needs to win the NCHC tourney to make the NCAA tourney. Same for Miami there’s no other way Miami can make the NCAA tournament. 

Related articles

• Bowling Green Unhappy with Travel in NCHC? (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Updated standing (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

NCHC Hockey: Connor Gaarder checks in with the fifth best goal of the week

North Dakota junior forward Connor Gaarder's scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season on Friday night, leading UND past Saint Cloud State 5-2. For his efforts, Gaarder checks in this week with the fifth best goal in the NCHC.  Gaarder has (5g-7a—12pts) in 32 games this season. Gaarder’s five goals is a career high for the junior from Edina, Minnesota.   

Eric Classen's Photo goes Viral on the Internet

Hi @drakecaggiula. pic.twitter.com/l8YZEZ8WqG
— Eric Classen (@eric_classen) March 1, 2014

If you're one of the five people that hasn't seen the picture yet. Here's the photo that Eric Classen of UND's "Through These Doors" took last night during the UND and SCSU game. The picture in question has gone viral on the Internet.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Conference Title up for Grabs in Saint Cloud (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Women's Hockey: Making an Impact on the 2014 Sochi Games (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Colorado College Defenseman Gustav Olofsson not Bolting for the WHL (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) UND 5 - SCSU 2

Coming into the game against Saint Cloud State University, the UND hockey team talked about having a bad taste in their mouth after being swept by the SCSU Huskies back in November. UND scored five goals during the second period and cruised past SCSU 5-2.

Junior forward Brendan O'Donnell had a solid night tonight, scoring (0g-3a—3pts) and junior forward Connor Gaarder chipped in (2g-0a—2pts). Junior forward Mark MacMillan also had a strong night (1g-1a—2pts). It was a solid effort and a good road win for the UND hockey team. UND also improved to 15-2-1 since starting the season 4-7-2.

UND is in first place with 42 points with three games to go. They will go for the series sweep tomorrow night. If they get the sweep that would be their sixth sweep of the season. Last year, UND had two.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Conference Title up for Grabs in Saint Cloud (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) UND no goal against Huskies (2/28/2014)

UND forward Colton St. Claire thought he had scored a goal against SCSU Husky goalie Ryan Faragher. Thoughts? Watch at the end of the video, Faragher kicks his pad out, where do you think the puck is?

No goal after video review. Still scoreless 5:22 into the game.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 1, 2014

UND Hockey: This week's Inside the NCHC (Video)

The NCHC does a good job promoting their member schools. This is a really nice video. Enjoy.

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: Colorado College Defenseman Gustav Olofsson not Bolting for the WHL (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: No Second Thoughts or Regrets (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Current NCHC Television Deal is Unacceptable (thehockeywriters.com)

NHL & College Hockey: Monday Links

ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun interview executive director of the NHL Players' Association. There’s some interesting things in this interview that are worth looking at. (Click to read)

LeBrun: All 700-plus NHL players are not here in the Olympics. What's always intrigued me is the idea of how rank-and-file players who never get to play in the Olympics really feel about shutting down the game for the Olympics and whether their input is heeded.

Fehr: We do, we do [ask them]. It's no secret, there are three things that go on: There are players who play; there are players who, even if they're not playing, hope that in the future they will, or players who did in the past and think it's a good opportunity for current ones to have. The second thing is, guys like the time off; they like to see their families; they like to do that. And the third thing is, there's at least the opportunity for some nagging injuries to heal. That's not so bad. But to answer your question more directly, as far as the players' association is concerned, this decision will be made by all 720 to 750 players -- it's not made by a small group.

Apparently, David Backes and T.J. Oshie have adopted some stray dogs from Russia.

More on the Niklas Bäckström doping case... ESPN: Backstrom victim of testing debacle

Scott Burnside, ESPN.COM – He's an innocent victim of circumstances," added Dr. Mark Aubry, the IIHF's chief medical officer. "There is no doping in this instance."

Well, technically it is doping, though, isn't it? The acceptable level for the substance pseudoephedrine in an athlete's body for in-competition testing is 150 micrograms per milliliter, and officials said Sunday that Backstrom's level was around 190. But there is a precedent for players being allowed a test again if that threshold is breached

Check out this gamer from the new beat writer for the UMD Bulldogs Rick Weegman. (click to view)

The trophy, awarded to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference regular-season champion, is making a tour of all the conference home sites.

After North Dakota’s 6-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth tonight, it’s undoubtedly the last time that the trophy will show up in Duluth this season.

It may find an out-of-season home in Grand Forks, N.D., however.

According to Michael Russo, Wild winger Jason Zucker will miss the upcoming road trip to Edmonton and Vancouver.

Next time you're drinking a Tim Horton's coffee, think of this article by Andrew Forbes from the Hockey Writers: A Common Ground: Where Hockey Meets Coffee

UND Hockey: Another Circle of Sticks and More Inner Geek

With the sweep against Minnesota Duluth, UND now has five series sweeps for the 2013-14 season. Last year, UND had three series sweeps (Holy Cross, Michigan Tech and Nebraska-Omaha).

That’s definitely an improvement. UND (18-9-3, 13-7-0 NCHC) is tied for first place in the NCHC with Saint Cloud State University. Breaking down UND’s record, they’re 11-5-1 at home and 7-4-2 on the road. With the win last night, UND clinches home ice for the NCHC playoffs. That’s the 12th season in a row that UND has qualified for home ice for the playoffs.

UND is smoking hot right now, they’re currently on a 14-2-1 (.853) run. It all started on November 29, 2013. UND had just lost 5-2 to St. Lawrence University, and owned a subpar 4-7-2 record. It was gloom and doom in the UND Nation.  After a closed door players meeting, UND would win 3-2 on Saturday night and start the current hot streak. After the Saturday night's 3-2 win against SLU, alternate captain Stephane Pattyn explained.

“Yesterday was kind of just an open floor,” Pattyn said. “Everyone talked, and gave their thoughts about what we needed to do. We had some great conversations. We definitely grew up as a team last night, and I think today’s (win) helped, too.”

Since November 30, 2013, UND has been a very good hockey team. Pattyn was right; they’ve grown up as a hockey team. During the current run, UND has scored 61 goals (3.67 GPG), and only given up 35 goals against (2.07 GA). UND has a goal differential of +26 during the hot streak. UND’s last four games have been better. The past two weekends UND has scored an eye popping 21 goals (5.25 GPG) and given up a stingy 6 goals against (1.50 GA). That’s a goal differential of +15. Talk about playing your best hockey at the end of the season.

Who’s Hot for UND

Sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi has scored (2g-5a—7pts) his last three games.

Junior forward Michael Parks is smoking hot, and has scored (7g-10a—17pts) in the last 14 games.

Since his return from injury, junior forward Mark MacMillan has scored (5g-8a—13pts).

Senior defenseman Dillon Simpson (7g-13a—20pts) has scored 14 of his 20 points since November 30, 2013.

Sophomore defenseman Jordan Schmaltz has scored at least a point in seven of the last nine games (2g-6a—8pts).

Sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg is having a great second half. How hot is Gothberg? He’s unbeaten (10-0-1) in his last 11 games. He also owns a 1.66 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Yeah, that’s pretty good.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Another Circle of Sticks and More Inner Geek (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND Hockey: Discovering your "Inner Geek" (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND Pounds Miami (insidehockey.com)
• UND vs UND: Series preview (hockeywilderness.com)
• UND Takes Bite OUt of Bulldogs (insidehockey.com)
• North Dakota Slips Past St. Lawrence (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)

UND pounds Miami 9-2 in Grand Forks

Grand Forks, ND – The first shot on net by the University of North Dakota went into the Miami net. Unfortunately for UND, the referee ruled that junior forward Mark MacMillan interfered with the Miami goalie Ryan McKay. Video replay confirmed that MacMillan caught the McKay with a forearm, in the head, knocking his goalie mask off– you can’t do that.

The next shot by sophomore defenseman Jordan Schmaltz went in the net, this time it counted. UND would have another goal waved off in the first period, but it didn’t seem to faze UND all that much.

“It didn’t seem to matter,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “We were ready to play. We had a great start. Couple of disallowed goals through the first period, but it really didn’t matter.  We were ready to play the next shift. Everybody was ready to play.”

UND would push the lead to 2-0, when sophomore forward Colton St. Clair scored his second goal of the season to make it 2-0. That was St. Clair’s first goal since October 19, 2013, when he scored against Miami.

Rocco Grimaldi and Keaton Thompson scored four minutes apart to push the lead to 4-0 after one period of hockey, and the route was on.

UND would score four more goals in the second period, and add a single goal on the power-play in the closing seconds of the third period. Yeah, you heard that right, UND scored two power-play goals on Saturday night. On Saturday night, UND was 2-5 on the much maligned power-play. After coming to the series going 3-for-38 on the power-play, UND was 3-11 (27.3%) for the weekend on the man advantage.

North Dakota had two goals waved off in the first period, but it didn’t seem to matter, as UND took Miami to the proverbial woodshed, winning 9-2. That was most goals that UND had scored at the Ralph Engelstad Arena since December 31, 2011, when UND beat Havard 7-3.

“I thought we had great jump from the start. all the way through the first period,” Rocco Grimaldi said. “I thought that every line was building momentum, every time they were on the ice. The power-play was clicking. Things were just going our way. It was a total team effort.”

While Grimaldi led UND with a goal and three assists, he was quick to credit his fellow teammates who played a sold 60-minute game.

“It was total team effort, every guy did his part,” Grimaldi said. “Every guy played his heart out, and was just motivated to get the three points. Especially looking at last weekend, we had Omaha on the ropes on Saturday night, and let it slip away and let them score five unanswered (goals). It was a message that was preached a lot.”

There were a lot of positives for UND tonight and the head coach seemed pleased with his team’s effort, 14 players recorded at least a point, and five players record two or more points.

“I thought our third period, other than probably two or three shifts where I thought we were happy to play defense in our own zone," Hakstol said. "We played on our toes. Guys were having fun.  Again, nobody stepped outside the box. They just went out and played well, played hard."

Sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg returned from injury, and continued his torrid streak. Over his last 10 starts, Gothberg is 9-0-1 with a 1.79 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

UND now has two of its three remaining series on the road. Next weekend, UND travels to Minnesota Duluth, to play the Bulldogs in an important two-game NCHC series. With the win, UND improves to (16-9-3 and 10-7 NCHC).

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Completes Comeback Against Vermont (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)

Video evidence that UND was on side for Rocco Grimaldi's goal

Rico Blasi was livid after Rocco Grimaldi's goal, apparently he thought the UND was offsides at the blueline. After reviewing the video, you can see it was a good goal.

Related articles

• UND pounds Miami 9-2 in Grand Forks (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

(Video) UND 3 Miami 2

Kudos to CBS Sports Network, when they cover the games, their broadcasts are second to none. Here's something to chew on, during the 11-2-1 run, UND has won five games by a score of 3-2. Breaking it down further, UND is 15-2-1 when they score three or more goals. UND is 0-7-2 when they score two or less.

.@benholdenpxp & @DStarmanHockey lifting the @TheNCHC PenRose Cup for the @UNDMHockey game live on @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/VHsIAooG6t
— Andy Parr (@AndyTParr) February 15, 2014

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: 10 Must Follow Twitter Accounts (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Age is Just a Number (thehockeywriters.com)

The Penrose Trophy Makes an Appearance at the Ralph.

The Penrose Trophy (2/14/2014)

Hey there, Penny! #NCHC #PenroseCup Cc: @TheNCHC #beauty http://t.co/4FJbpSXhOk
— Jackie (@JDeMolee) February 15, 2014

Tonight at @TheREA @UNDMHockey Fans gawk at the #PenroseCup, the reg season trophy for @TheNCHC on it's tour of conf pic.twitter.com/53PBH6nPDO
— Kyle Doperalski (@Kyle_Doperalski) February 15, 2014

@TheNCHC That #PenroseCup is much larger than I thought pic.twitter.com/DSWumkCDYR
— Trent Homard (@siouxpanther) February 15, 2014

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: 10 Must Follow Twitter Accounts (thehockeywriters.com)

UND vs. UMD - Tickets still Available

Get your tickets at umdbulldogs.com... It's worth the trip if you can swing it.

Rocco Grimaldi checks in at number two - NCHC Top 5 Goals of the Week - 1/28/14

UND sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi checks in at number two this week.

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers at the Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND's Comeback Sinks Northern Michigan (insidehockey.com)

(Picture) North Star College Cup

I hate to say this, but we want the NCHC teams in the North Star Cup to win this weekend. So, this weekend we should cheer for the Huskies and the Bulldogs. Shall we say that the tourney has gone to the dogs.

Session 1

Friday, Jan. 24
Game #1: Minnesota State-Mankato vs. Minnesota Duluth - 4 p.m.
Game #2: St. Cloud State vs. Minnesota - 7 p.m.

Session 2

Saturday, Jan. 25
Game #3: Consolation Game - 4 p.m.
Game #4: Championship Game - 7 p.m.

Related articles

• Some NCHC Stats (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: No Second Thoughts or Regrets (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Hockey: Zane Gothberg out for a couple of weeks with injury

The University of North Dakota will face some more adversity this weekend against the University of Denver.  Sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg was injured in practice yesterday and is out indefinitely.

Gothberg has been pretty solid this season and has racked up some decent numbers during the nine-game unbeaten streak. From Schlossman, "Goaltender Zane Gothberg, who has started all of the games in the streak, has a 1.76 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage."

For the season, Gothberg has a line of (10-5-3, 2.20 GAA and a .916 save percentage). The sophomore goalie is third in the NCHC in wins, fourth in the NCHC in save percentage, and third in the NCHC in goals against average.

UND will be without Gothberg, at minimum, for a couple weeks. He has started every game in UND's 9-game unbeaten streak.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) January 22, 2014

Gothberg out indefinitely w lower body injury
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) January 22, 2014

Sophomore G Zane Gothberg is out indefinitely with a lower body injury sustained yesterday during practice. @UNDMHockey
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) January 22, 2014

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND and BSU Tie in Bemidji (insidehockey.com)
• UND Beats BSU in Grand Forks (insidehockey.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) Derek Rodwell makes the top-five goals of the week in the NCHC

UND senior forward Derek Rodwell scores the third best goal of the week in NCHC play.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: No Second Thoughts or Regrets (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Derek Rodwell Making an Impact for North Dakota (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)

(Video) NCHC Frozen Faceoff 30 Second Spot

Nice video, I really like the way the NCHC is marketing the league.

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: No Second Thoughts or Regrets (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: There Has to Be a Better Way (thehockeywriters.com)