Showing posts with label North Dakota. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Dakota. Show all posts

Saturday, August 09, 2014

Grand Forks Herald, UND may play NDSU in football in Fargo, without return game

I would have to say that this is an interesting turn of events. I do find it odd that NDSU will schedule a home-and-home game with a Big Sky Conference foe, but not with UND. Seems kind of petty to me. Again, obviously, NDSU is a very good FCS team, but UND is already playing and beating NDSU in every other sport that they have.
Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald --- UND athletic director Brian Faison may be willing to sign a contract to renew the UND-North Dakota State football rivalry without any guarantee of a game in Grand Forks.

Faison, who previously held firm asking for a home-and-home series, indicated Friday that he would even consider playing two games in Fargo for a monetary guarantee just to get the dormant rivalry started again.

“There’s a strong sentiment from a certain part of our fan base that, whatever we have to do, let’s do it,” Faison told the Herald. “If that means one game or two games. . . at least it gets it to being started again. I’ve been working to get a home-and-home, but that doesn’t appear to be in the mix.”

The teams, who haven’t competed against each other in football since 2003, could play as soon as next season.


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

My Early Preseason NCAA Men's Hockey Favorite

Ok, I know that the season is still two months away, but I just can't get over how this one ended, and not just for North Dakota either. In general, this past season saw a lot of  parody and I expect this season to be just the same. We saw a team with just one NHL draft pick win it all, a team beat another in .6 seconds to go to the national title game, but lose and lose badly. The end of an era in NCAA Men's Hockey with the end of one conference, and the addition to two new ones. Surprising blow-outs and spectacular overtime thrillers. Most of this could be seen within the North Dakota club alone.

Looking ahead to the season upon us, one must look at who left early, and from where, and who has the best incoming freshman. You have your usual suspects as one might imagine, with Boston College, Minnesota, and North Dakota probably being in the top 10 all season long, barring the typical first half North Dakota funk they always seem to have. Union, the defending national champs, is a team that I don't know what to think about. They proved that if you have a good core of players, and believe in your coach/team, great things can happen.

Michigan looks like they are back on the upswing once again, but their usual Big 10 football rival,
Ohio State, they too look as if they could become a team to look at when it comes to tourney time. The Buckeyes are off of a Big 10 tournament runner-up finish, losing an overtime heartbreaker to Wisconsin.

One also has to wonder about Boston University and if they will crawl back up the rankings again, or if they will stay out of the tournament picture like last season. Only time will tell.

Once again, the NCHC looks to be the powerhouse conference, with the possibility of sending at least five teams to the tournament once again. Miami has their top players returning this season, and are once again among the favorites to win the conference in preseason polls. However, they said that last season too and you saw how that ended up.

Minnesota, the College Hockey News number one team coming into this coming season in their very preseason poll release, looks to gain revenge after their national title game flop against Union. The always tough Golden Gophers
should be in the top five of the rankings for much of, if not the entire season. Being lead by goalie Adam Wilcox, and Kyle Rau, Minnesota is looking for banner number six to hang up in their barn once the season is over.

Finally, a team I know much more about, North Dakota. With three of five incoming freshman being drafted at this years NHL Draft, they return a line-up that has a lot of options.
If you thought last year's freshman class was impressive, wait until you see this one. You have a stud goalie, a first round draft pick, and good core team guys leaving a game day spot hard to come by this year. Between Minnesota and North Dakota this year, you don't find much deeper line-ups in the entire country, and I know UND is looking for revenge after how their, dare I say Cinderella, season ended.

If you asked me to pick a national champion right now, I'd have to flip a coin between North Dakota and Minnesota, but the season is very long and a lot can happen. Ask me this question at the start of the second half and I might have a different answer for you.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

NCHC Players Drafted in the 2014 NHL Draft


North Dakota freshman forward Nick Schmaltz was the highest incoming NCHC player drafted in the 2014 NHL Entry Level Draft.  There were no incoming NCHC players taken in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota had the most players taken in this years draft.



Monday, June 23, 2014

UND Hockey LOI's



It's getting closer to the college hockey opener. In a 103 days, UND will be back on the ice again. For those keeping track at home, that's just under 3 1/2 months away. So, it's never very long until hockey season.









UND Hockey: Semi-Committed recruits (Ryan Mantha)

Semi-committed recruits, I am going to give a s/t to my buddy Mafia Man for this one. If I was the coaching staff, obviously I am not, I would consider pulling this kids scholarship offer. Frankly I am bored reading his various quotes about how he's going to wait and see.

Does this kid not realize that 31 percent of the NHL is a former college hockey player, that's only going to increase in the future. If this doesn't think he's going to develop at UND, he's crazy. Dave Hakstol and his staff are highly regarded by the NHL coaches and General Managers.

Nate Sager, Buzzing the Net -- (Ryan) Mantha's next port of call could be contingent on which NHL organization takes a chance on him at the NHL draft this weekend in Philadelphia. The big defender is uncommitted to a NCAA school for this season. The Muskegon Lumberjacks have his USHL rights, while the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara IceDogs recently traded two priority selection picks for his rights."

"North Dakota has eight D returning," Mantha says. "I don't want to sit, I want to continue to develop. I'm keeping my options open right now. They haven't told me to go back. That's something I have to decide over the summer.

"I think they're going to decide," he says of a NHL franchise having influence on the decision of where to play as an 18-year-old. "Some teams say they won't but I think if someone has input on what is best for me, I'll really consider it."
If you don't believe me, all you have to do is watch some of the great UND hockey players currently playing in the NHL. The last three Stanley Cups have a former UND hockey players' name on it. After watching what happened with Adam Tambellini last season, I would walk away from anyone that isn't 100 percent all in. Playing time at the University of North Dakota is earned. I have watched enough practices to know that.

Sunday, June 22, 2014

UND recruit Ryan Mantha on the Pipeline show



UND recruit defensmen Ryan Mantha, at least for now, was on the Pipeline show with Guy Flamming. You can listen to the show by clicking on this link. Doesn't sound like he's all in, at least when it comes to going to UND. Where's Mantha going (UND or OHL), it will depend on what team drafts him. He'll decide where he's going after the 2014 NHL Entry Level Draft.




Tuesday, May 27, 2014

UND could end up losing recruit Ryan Mantha, depending on who drafts him

As a fan of the University of North Dakota, none of us are shocked by these revelations. We have seen it numerous times. We will see it again, probably sooner rather than later. 

[From the Hockey WritersRyan Mantha, Sioux City USHL, University of North Dakota, Elite Prospects Page


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Wednesday, May 14, 2014

(Video Highlights) University of North Dakota athletics 2013-14



Check out this sweet video from the University of North Dakota. It's a pretty good video montage.There's some good memories from the past season for UND sports. I like the one with Brewster dancing with the UND first lady. That's classic.
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Thursday, May 08, 2014

Grimaldi Takes Talents to South Beach



Ok, I know I am a day late on this on, but I needed to figure out how I wanted to word this post. As it was announced yesterday, UND Junior forward, Rocco Grimaldi signed with the Florida Panthers yesterday. The California native would sign a three year entry level deal worth around $3.2 million. Rocco was drafted 32nd overall, which is the second pick of the second round, in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in St. Paul, Minnesota.

I myself have some memories in the two full seasons I was able to see him skate at UND, but my favorite memory is probably when he scored his first goal against Minnesota back in November of 2011. It was a game I was fortunate to be attending while back home for a weekend my freshman year, but what made it most memorable was his celebration. Replicating his idol, Tim Tebow, it possibly was the best celebration in college hockey that season. However, Rocco would miss most of this season due to a knee injury, and was forced to take a medical red shirt for the remainder of the 2011-2012 season.

Rocco was by far the fan favorite in his time at North Dakota, and with good reason. He was fast, and would dazzle the crowd with his great hands. However, his likeness to pull the flashy moves would cost UND at times where taking the shot would be the better option. However, when they did work they were all highlight reel goals that would leave the entire crowd speechless.

Grimaldi would lead UND in points this year with 37 and would make a statement in the NCAA tournament as well. His presence was well felt on the ice greatest in the Wisconsin game when he would earn his first collegiate hat trick, leading UND to a 5-2 victory.

It is hard for me to say if Rocco will have success in the NHL, or even make it into the NHL, but we wish him the best of the luck in whatever his career has in store for him.
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Z is for Zane (Gothberg)



What a really nice story by WDAZ's Dan Corey on UND sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg. I think this really shows how the younger kids look up to the UND hockey players as well.


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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Three UND Hockey Players Cited for Underage Drinking


Three University of North Dakota hockey players have been cited for Possession/Consumption Of Alcohol By Person Under 21. It would appear that the offenses in question happened on April 12, 2014, after the Frozen Four was over.

The three players that were cited are freshman forwards Wade Murphy and Lucas Johnson, aka Luke Johnson and freshman defenseman Keaton Thompson. In addition, Thompson and Murphy were also cited for Failing to Halt.

All charges are Class B Misdemeanors. Checking the court records, no other players have any charges pending at this time. You can search the records using this search engine.


From theGrand Forks Herald. "We are aware of the situation and it has been dealt with internally," UND athletic director Brian Faison said.


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Thursday, April 10, 2014

UND Season over.... Much to be thankful for

Seal of the University of North Dakota
Seal of the University of North Dakota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
One of my friend on facebook posted this... I think this sums it up best. 
I'm so proud of University of North Dakota Men's Hockey. For how the season was going by Christmas break, did **ANY** UND fan think they'd even make the big tourney? Or even the 2nd round of the NCHCs? No way. Nobody saw this coming. I'll forever be as big of a fan as I've ever been. To the four Seniors, thank you so much. Clarke Saunders, Mitch Mac, Derek Rodwell, and Dillon Simpson... Thank you so, so much, and I wish you the best of luck in your future careers off and on ice careers. To the coaches and the rest of the team, thank you for being such great student athletes. I wish I could shake every single one of your hands.

Man... it's going to be a long 5 months and 3 weeks without Tim Hennessy and Steve Olsen echoing through my house. SIOUX FOREVER.
All in all, it was a good season, and I don't think we should hang our heads about this. #rolltribe and go UNION...
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Blast from the past: UND vs UMN



Who can forget this goal. Rastislav Spirko shorthanded goal against the Gophers.
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Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Frozen Four: A few tweets from Philly








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Saturday, April 05, 2014

Couple of NCAA tweets




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Thursday, April 03, 2014

Blast from the Past: UND 4 UMN 4



UND had a 3-1 lead  in this game and let it slip away. The Minnesota Golden Gophers would charge back and score two unanswered goals to get the tie. This was the last series that UND played against the Gophers. One of those games that was fun to watch.
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Monday, March 31, 2014

UMN vs. UND (throwing out a few numbers)

The University of North Dakota (25-13-3) meets the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-6-6) in the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four semifinal game.

Date: April 10 2014, at 7:30 p.m.


Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, Pa.

Breaking down the historic series: The two teams haven’t met on the ice this season. Minnesota had a 1-0-1 record against North Dakota last season.  Minnesota is 6-3-1 in the last 10 games against North Dakota. In his 10 seasons, UND head coach Dave Hakstol has a 17-14-4 record against Don Lucia’s Golden Gophers. All-time playoff record against Minnesota: UND has a 22-19 record against Minnesota in the NCAA and WCHA playoffs.


Common opponents: UND (6-4-1), UMN (7-3-0)

UND vs. Bemidji State 1-0-1, Minnesota-Duluth 3-1-0, SCSU 1-3-0, Wisconsin 1-0-0

UMN vs. Bemidji State 2-0-0, Minnesota-Duluth 1-1-0, SCSU 2-0-0, Wisconsin 2-2-0

There is some discrepancy in the records

According the Minnesota: Minnesota leads the all-time series 145-130-15

According to North Dakota: Minnesota leads the all-time series 130-138-15

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