Things are Looking Much Better

Three weeks ago, the University of North Dakota was swept by the Denver Pioneers (6-4 W, 4-1). There were a few in the Fighting Hawks nation that were a little worried. I said, no need to panic. I guess, I was right. After sweeping (4-1 W, 4-2 W) the Red Mavs. UND is now a two-time Penrose Champion. Since January, UND is 10-3-1. With the road win, UND is 13-3-1 (.794).

College Hockey TV schedule +

Looking at this weekend college hockey television schedule, if you have DirecTV, you’re in luck, there’s a lot of hockey on television this weekend.

Vermont vs. Merrimack	Feb. 26	8:35 ET	(NESN+) DirecTV 628.1
Boston University vs. Notre Dame	Feb. 26	7:35 ET	NBCSN Station Stream
Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Cloud State	Feb. 26	8:07 CT	CBSN DirecTV 220
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State	Feb. 26	6:35 ET	BTN DirecTV 610
Michigan vs. Minnesota	Feb. 26	8:05 CT	BTN DirecTV 610
Yale vs. Quinnipiac	Feb. 27	7:00 ET	SNY DirecTV 639
Boston University vs. Notre Dame	Feb. 27	7:05 ET	NBCSN Station Stream
Boston College vs. Mass.-Lowell	Feb. 27	7:00 ET	NESN DirecTV 628
Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Cloud State	Feb. 27	7:07 CT	FCS 608 DirecTV
North Dakota vs. Nebraska-Omaha	Feb. 27	7:07 CT	ASN Altitude 681 DirecTV

UND Drops to 4th in USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

February 15, 2016

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Quinnipiac	(32)	22- 2-6	973	1
2	Boston College	(14)	21- 4-5	943	3
3	St. Cloud State	( 4)	23- 6-1	901	4
4	North Dakota		22- 5-3	837	2
5	Providence		21- 5-4	818	5
6	Michigan		18- 4-5	734	6
7	Notre Dame		18- 5-7	679	8
8	Yale		16- 5-4	614	10
9	Boston University		17- 9-4	599	7
10	Denver		15- 8-5	561	13
11	Massachusetts-Lowell		18- 7-5	505	11
12	Nebraska-Omaha		18- 9-1	482	12
13	Harvard		14- 8-3	423	9
14	Michigan Tech		16- 7-5	333	14
15	Penn State		18- 8-4	278	16
16	Cornell		12- 8-5	169	15
17	Rensselaer		15-11-6	141	18
18	St. Lawrence		16-11-3	130	NR
19	Minnesota State		15-10-7	114	17
20	Clarkson		16-11-3	106	20
Others receiving votes: Minnesota 56, Bowling Green 39, Robert Morris 25, Dartmouth 24, Miami 10, Northeastern 6.

 

Looking at this week’s USCHO Poll, I am surprised that UND didn’t drop further. I suppose we will see grumbling from the fans of other teams. Now, let’s have some perspective. In the only poll that matters, UND is no. 3 in the Pairwise Rankings, and they’re tied with SCSU for first in the NCHC standings. UND still controls their destination.  I do expect that Coach Berry and his staff will right the ship.

(A Look Back) NCHC Hockey: All Jammed up with Three Weeks to Go

Exactly on year ago today, I wrote this post. Surprisingly, the numbers are very similar. We all now how last season ended. UND actually has 6 more points and a couple of more wins.

Looking at the standing, it couldn't get any tighter than it is right now. Three teams are tied for first place with three weeks to go in the regular season.

Denver 6, North Dakota 4 (Video)

When  it's was all said and done, UND's sloppy play in their own end was one of the major reasons they lost Friday's game against Denver. That being said, it was definitely an exciting game.

Defensively, the pairing of Paul LaDue and Keaton Thompson had very rough night. I would imagine that the coaching staff will have a chat with them tomorrow at the morning skate.

Credit to Denver for playing a good game, too. They played a good 200-foot game and capitalized off of the turnovers.

Tonight, it was a poor team effort all the way around. The forward play of a few lines was not very good at all. Not the end of the world. The mistakes that were made tonight are minor. However, these numbers below should concern us all.

Bryn Chyzyk	0	0	0	-3	4	0
Luke Johnson	0	0	0	-4	3	0
Paul LaDue	0	0	0	-2	4	0
Austin Poganski	0	1	1	-3	2	2
Tucker Poolman	0	1	1	-2	4	0
Keaton Thompson	0	0	0	-2	1	0

Hatfields and Mccoys Round Two - Lines (UND vs. DU)

Some lineup changes from last game. Senior forward Coltyn Sanderson and Chris Wilkie, and Hayden Shaw are out of the lineup. For UND. There's some good new, Todd Anderson will NOT be reffing tonight's game. :-)

Game 1: UND vs. WMU (UND Missing 2-of-3 CBS Line)

Tonight, UND will be without Rhett Gardner, Nick Schmaltz, Drake Caggiula and Chris Wilkie. Three of UND's top goal scorers are out of the game tonight. Tonight, UND gets DShep and Timm "Quick Whistle" Walsh.

Looking Ahead: UND vs. WMU https://t.co/wTLCGMKTlu #THW

— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) January 29, 2016

Donald Bruce Beard: UND will move on with nickname

Wow. This letter to the editor was in the Inform.com today. The letter is from Donald Bruce Beard, who wrote a letter earlier this winter about the nickname issue. Funny, I believe he's one of the few to bring up the new REA and not winning any titles.

Unfortunately, die-hard supporters of UND’s previous nickname boo when their Fighting Hawks are announced at hockey games, behavior the Forum decries as “boorish.”

This conduct is the latest bad-foot forward in a march of missteps, the most egregious being the Ralph’s appropriation of Sitting Bull, a medicine chief who despised wasicu/whites (“all liars”), and placing Indian heads adorned with sacred eagle feathers in arena entrances, there to be trampled by thousands; North Dakota’s highest officials dissing a settlement agreement allowing the Standing Rock Sioux to reclaim their own name, then by law permanently assigning that name to UND and backing down only when faced with NCAA sanctions; and supporters wearing Fighting Sioux garb and ending the national anthem with “… home of the Sioux,” thus misidentifying UND teams and disrespecting the Standing Rock Tribe.

Interim President Schafer assures us, “We’re moving forward, we have chosen a new nickname and we’re going to make value to that name.”

Doubtless, he’s right. After all, since the advent of the Ralph, neither have our skaters garnered a single national championship, nor has boorishness rendered us deserving.

For those that don't know who Beard is, he's wrote 100's of letters to the editor against the Fighting Sioux nickname. 

UND Hockey: What Will the Lines Look Like?

Here's the lineup card from last Saturday Night. It looks like UND will be missing two or three major cogs in their lineup this weekend.

The three player that could be missing this weekend: Chris Wilkie, Drake Caggiula and possibly Nick Schmaltz who suffered a lower-body injury this weekend. Who knows what the lines will look like this weekend? Some guys will be expected to step up and score this weekend.

Coach Berry liked the play of Bryn Chyzyk - Rhett Gardner - Luke Johnson line, but the coaching staff might have to break up some players.

I would also imagine that Mike Gornall - Coltyn Sanderson - Trevor Olson will make up the fourth line.

Insert D/F Christian Wolanin, and Colten St. Clair somewhere in the lineup.

Who's the Best Player in College Hockey?

Eric Sorenson of ESPN has his mid-season rundown of college hockey. First I realize that ESPN is stationed in Bristol, Connecticut and they have a hard time seeing past Michigan when it comes to college hockey.

Second, I want to be clear,  Michael Garteig is a great goaltender, but is he really the best player in the NCAA?

Best player: Michael Garteig, G, Quinnipiac

Garteig has been a block of granite for the Bobcats in their 17-1-3 start. The senior broke QU records for career wins (62) and longest shutout streak (194 minutes, 49 seconds) so far this season. His goals-against average is 1.35, which is within striking distance of the D-I record of 1.19, held by Maine's Jimmy Howard in 2004.

For comparison sake: Michael Garteig is ranked fifth in the NCAA, Cam Johnson is first overall. Yes, you read that correctly. Johnson leads the nation in goals-against average and save percentage.

Johnson is currently the top ranked goalie in division I college hockey (9-0-1, 1.07 GAA and .957 save percentage). Since returning from injury, Johnson is (8-0-0, 0.50 goals-against average, .981 save percentage).

Yesterday, Johnson was also named the NCHC Player of the Month for December. Today, Johnson was named the Hockey Commissioners’ Association (HCA) National Division I Player of the Month for December.

All things aside, who's the best player in college hockey?

No. 1/2 QU Men's Ice Hockey Featured On https://t.co/SJEjWyJhZx https://t.co/xufAZSy5NJ

— Quinnipiac Athletics (@QUAthletics) January 6, 2016

UND NO. 1 In USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

January 04, 2016

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	North Dakota	(36)	18- 2-2	976	2
2	Quinnipiac	(14)	17- 1-3	958	3
3	Providence		13- 2-3	866	1
4	St. Cloud State		16- 4-0	825	5
5	Harvard		8- 1-3	789	7
6	Nebraska-Omaha		14- 3-1	786	6
7	Boston College		13- 4-1	697	4
8	Michigan		11- 3-3	623	10
9	Cornell		9- 2-2	568	9
10	Massachusetts-Lowell		11- 4-4	562	8
11	Boston University		9- 6-3	482	11
12	Yale		6- 4-2	412	13
13	St. Lawrence		10- 5-2	348	15
14	Penn State		12- 3-3	336	14
15	Notre Dame		9- 4-6	319	16
16	Bowling Green		12- 5-5	301	12
17	Denver		7- 7-4	195	17
18	Minnesota State		10- 6-4	156	18
19	Minnesota-Duluth		7- 7-3	87	19
20	Rensselaer		11- 7-3	81	NR
Others receiving votes: Robert Morris 49, Michigan Tech 33, Holy Cross 22, Union 21, Merrimack 8.

The University of North Dakota is the number one team this week. This is the first time that they will do so under the new nickname. UND will now have the target on their back.