USCHO:Keaton Thompson Picked as one of 10 Impact Defensemen for 2014-15

Check it out.

Keaton Thompson, North Dakota sophomore

Thompson got off to a slow start as a freshman, sitting out as a healthy scratch for all but one of North Dakota’s first 10 tilts. Once he got his chance, however, he made the most of it, racking up an impressive plus-14 rating and showing signs of developing into the shutdown defenseman that prompted Anaheim to make him a third-round pick in 2013.

His offensive production was modest (3-8–11) but respectable considering that he didn’t really see the ice until after Christmas.

UND 9th in Latest USCHO Poll

Tweaking the Pairwise and other NCAA Hockey issues

Todd Milewski Executive Editor of USCHO has a couple of interesting blog posts that are posted up on USCHO and think there are a couple of points that are worth addressing… They are as follows.

Minor discussions on rules

The rules committee is in the middle of a two-year rule book cycle, so no changes can be made this offseason. There were some small discussions, however, on giving on-ice officials the ability to use video to review major penalties and ways to increase offense.

Anastos, the rules committee chair, said the most prominent idea presented to increase scoring opportunities was to not allow players to intentionally leave a skating position (i.e., kneel or lay down) to block shots.

First off, shot blocking is part of the game of hockey and any talk of taking shot blocking out of hockey should immediately be dismissed and discredited. I can't see that going anywhere and any talk of this needs to stop. This would be a good way for college hockey to lose the top blue chip recruits to the CHL immediately.

To quote BSU head coach Tom Serratore, shot blocking is part of the game of hockey. “You got to block shots,” Serratore said. “That’s hockey; that’s not a key, that’s automatic, that’s non-negotiable, that’s part of being a hockey player, that’s sacrifice.

As far as tweaking the criteria for the Pairwise Ranking for road wins. I am all for it. Bravo! Let’s do it. There are teams that for whatever reason, that refuse to travel, that’s a fact. The teams that travel for nonconference games should be rewarded for their travel; it’s harder to play in another team’s rink. That team should get a bump in the pairwise, especially when they get a quality win against a top-ten opponent.

I still think that there is going to be a movement by some to get the NCAA regionals back to campus. Starting in September 2013, UND Athletic Director Brian Faison is going to be part of the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules committee, so there will be an advocate of moving the NCAA Division I Hockey regionals back to campus.

Earlier this month, the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee heard ideas from coaches on changes to improve the regional atmosphere, but there was no consensus. The movement to return NCAA games to campus sites has its supporters but there also has been a good amount of pushback. [USCHO]

I am interested in seeing what others think about some of these issues. I would love to see what schools actually pushed back against bringing the NCAA regionals back on campus. I have not heard yet, but I have my suspicions.

UND Hockey: Three Recruits in Central Scouting Final Rankings

The Central Scouting Final Fankings are out, UND has three incoming recruits in the top 100 of for North American Skaters, for this year’s 2013 NHL Draft. Here is the list of College Hockey player’s s/t to USCHO.

Rank Player's Name Position 2012-13 Team NCAA Commitment

24 Ian McCoshen, D Waterloo (USHL), Boston College

29 John Hayden, F U.S. NTDP, Yale

34 J.T. Compher, F U.S. NTDP, Michigan

35 Michael McCarron, F U.S. NTDP, Western Michigan

40 Brett Pesce, D, New Hampshire

42 Adam Tambellini, F Surrey (BCHL), North Dakota

44 Tommy Vannelli, D U.S. NTDP, Minnesota

45 Connor Hurley, F Muskegon (USHL), Notre Dame

47 Steven Santini, D U.S. NTDP, Boston College

49 Michael Downing, D Dubuque (USHL), Michigan

51 Gustav Olofsson, D Green Bay (USHL), Colorado College

53 Keaton Thompson, D U.S. NTDP North Dakota

56 Ryan Fitzgerald, F Valley (EJHL), Boston College

60 Zach Sanford, F Middlesex (EJHL), Boston College

62 Sean Malone, F U.S. NTDP, Harvard

64 Teemu Kivihalme, D Fargo (USHL), Colorado College

67 David Pope, F West Kelowna (BCHL), Nebraska-Omaha

68 Alex Coulombe, D Stanstead College (Quebec), Vermont

70 Hudson Fasching, F U.S. NTDP, Minnesota

75 Anthony Florentino, D South Kent School, Providence

80 Jake Guentzel, F Sioux City (USHL), Nebraska-Omaha

81 Blake Heinrich, D Sioux City (USHL), Minnesota-Duluth

84 Tyler Motte, F U.S. NTDP, Michigan

86 Luke Ripley, D Powell River (BCHL), Notre Dame

87 Will Butcher, D U.S. NTDP, Denver

88 Connor Clifton, D U.S. NTDP, Quinnipiac

93 Brendan Harms, F Fargo (USHL), Bemidji State

96 Luke Johnson, F Lincoln (USHL), North Dakota

97 Jason Salvaggio, F Indiana (USHL), Connecticut

104 Wiley Sherman, D Hotchkiss School, Harvard

106 Grant Besse, F Omaha (USHL), Wisconsin

108 Aidan Muir, F Victory Honda 18U, Western Michigan

109 Brian Pinho, F St. John's Prep, Providence

111 Nolan DeJong, D Victoria (BCHL), Michigan

119 Troy Josephs F St. Michael's (OJHL) Clarkson

121 Dane Birks, D Merritt (BCHL), Michigan Tech

122 Blaine Byron, F Smiths Falls (CCHL), Maine

129 Carson Soucy, D Spruce Grove (AJHL), Minnesota-Duluth

130 Peter Quenneville, F Dubuque (USHL), Quinnipiac

132 Jonny Brodzinski, F St., Cloud State

136 Alex Kile F Green Bay (USHL) Michigan

138 Miles Wood, F Nobles & Greenough, Brown

140 Parker Reno, D Lincoln (USHL), Rensselaer

141 Neal Pionk, D Sioux City (USHL), Minnesota-Duluth

142 Andrew Copp, F, Michigan

143 Alex Iafallo F Fargo (USHL) Minnesota-Duluth

157 Evan Allen F U.S. NTDP Michigan

160 Zach Glienke F Eagan High School Maine

162 Kevin Guiltinan D Prince George (BCHL) Harvard

169 Ryan Segalla D Salisbury Prep Connecticut

170 Jake Jackson F Waterloo (USHL) Michigan Tech

176 Adam Johnson F Indiana (USHL) Minnesota-Duluth

177 Ryan Lomberg F Maine

178 Willie Raskob D Shattuck-St. Mary's Minnesota-Duluth

181 Clint Lewis D U.S. NTDP Cornell

182 John Stevens F Dubuque (USHL) Northeastern

183 Mike Williamson D Spruce Grove (AJHL) Penn State

184 Josh Healey D Sherwood Park (AJHL) Ohio State

186 Ross Olsson F Cedar Rapids (USHL) Northeastern

191 Anthony Louis F U.S. NTDP Miami

192 Trevor Moore F Tri-City (USHL) Denver

193 Taylor Cammarata F Waterloo (USHL) Minnesota

198 Quin Pompi D Berkshire Prep Princeton

201 Thomas Aldworth F Tri-City (USHL) Providence

202 Keifer Sherwood F Youngstown (USHL) Miami

203 Justin Kloos F Waterloo (USHL) Minnesota

204 Paul Stoykewych D Winnipeg (MJHL) Western Michigan

208 Gabe Guertler F Fargo (USHL) Minnesota

209 Vinni Lettieri F Lincoln (USHL) Minnesota

210 Frank DiChiara F Dubuque (USHL) Yale

Poll Monday; UND 8th in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll

December 10, 2012

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Boston College	(35)	11- 2-1	981	2
2	New Hampshire	( 9)	11- 2-2	921	1
3	Notre Dame	( 3)	13- 4-0	902	5
4	Minnesota	( 3)	11- 3-3	815	4
5	Miami		10- 3-3	775	3
6	Boston University		10- 5-0	727	7
7	Western Michigan		10- 3-1	723	7
8	North Dakota		8- 5-3	630	9
9	Quinnipiac		12- 3-2	541	13
10	Dartmouth		7- 2-2	529	10
11	Denver		9- 5-2	519	6
12	Cornell		6- 3-2	438	11
13	Nebraska-Omaha		10- 5-1	389	14
14	Union		8- 3-4	385	12
15	Yale		6- 3-2	246	15
16	Niagara		10- 2-3	239	18
17	St. Cloud State		9- 7-0	234	17
18	Harvard		4- 3-1	126	20
19	Ferris State		7- 6-3	116	16
20	Minnesota State		9- 5-2	96	NR
Others receiving votes: Colorado College 63, Colgate 35, Providence 32, Holy Cross 19, Ohio State 14, Robert Morris 5.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll

Rk.      School (1st place)                      Record           Pts.         PR

1.         Boston College (22)                       11-2-1            496            2

2.         New Hampshire (9)                         11-2-2            472            1

3.         Notre Dame (1)                               13-4-0            420            4

4.         Minnesota (3)                                  11-3-3            405            5

5.         Miami                                               10-3-3            362            3

6.         Boston University                           10-5-0            325            7

7.         Western Michigan                           10-3-1            312            8

8.         North Dakota                                8-5-3           259            9

9.         Quinnipiac                                        12-3-2            224          11

10.       Denver                                               9-5-2            216            6

11.       Dartmouth                                         7-2-2            212          10

12.       Cornell                                               6-3-2            134          13

13.       Union                                                 8-3-4            100          12

14.       Nebraska Omaha                            10-5-1              67          14

15.       Yale                                                    6-3-2              31          15

 Others Receiving Votes: Niagara 14, St. Cloud State 12, Harvard 9, Providence 5, Colorado College 2, Minnesota State 2, Ferris State 1.

UND 4th in first USCHO Poll

The first USCHO Poll is out and the Boston College Eagles are the number one pick. I know that some Gopher fans will be upset with the slight but according to Todd Milewski of USCHO, only one team since the 1997-98 season – the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2002-03 – has went on to win an NCAA title. So being the number one team in the first USCHO poll of the preseason really doesn't matter all that much.

Did he really say that?

sctimes photo

I was reading UCHO.COM and in Tim Boger's gamer I noticed this little news nugget. Take a look at this puzzling statement by Ryan Faragher.

“That definitely helps to get the first couple of shots out of the way,” he said. “I think the way the guys played allowed me to see the puck when I needed to. Bad penalties aside, I think we really outplayed them.”

Since Faraghers team was badly outshot 44-23 and out played that's not a very accurate statement. Let’s not forget to give credit where credit is due, Faragher had a very good night but that game could have been 8 or 9-3 in favor of the Fighting Sioux. The Sioux were all over the Huskies and couldn't get anything past the freshman goalie. If I was one of the leaders on the team that statement would be on the blackboard in the Fighting Sioux locker room.

You might want to check the YouTube videos... (Frattin)

I wonder what would have happened if UND had got their feet moving earlier in that game? We might not be having the discussions we are having today. I was reading USCHO WCHA blog this morning and there was something that caught my eye in Tyler Buckentine’s post. I am going to preface this by saying I don’t know Tyler from Adam or what team he cheers for and I don’t have anything against him at all, I am not trying to attack him, also notice, that I am not making him the buffoon of the week. I save those blog posts for people that do moronic things. None the less, Tyler was reviewing the WCHA and the first half of the season and how the league play has evolved.

USCHO.COM --- College hockey is at the midpoint of its season and the WCHA has four teams in the nation’s top eight teams and two in the top four.

The consensus WCHA favorite, UND, (13–5–2) is the top WCHA team in the USCHO.com D-I Poll and sits in first place in the league standings with 22 points after a pair of sweeps against SCSU and Minnesota State.

Who would’ve thought Matt Frattin, the nation’s leading goal scorer, would have 17 goals at the break when the Sioux’s goals leader when the 2009-10 season ended was Jason Gregoire with 20.

Frattin, who scored 11 goals a year ago, has 25 points, which matches his personal best for points in a season he set as a sophomore.

Frattin has the ability to create his own chances to make quality shots. He beat MSU goaltender Phil Cook glove side far post on Friday and danced his way around two Mavericks defenders on his way to a goal Sunday.

Frattin is on a five-game goal-scoring streak.

Aaron Dell has been a surprise in the crease after UND’s original No. 1 goalie, Brad Eidsness, was benched after just five games because of his nightmare of a start to the season (4.12 GAA, .805 SV%).

The sophomore Dell is 12–4–1 with a 2.22 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

The scary thing is UND’s record now and the schedule that lies ahead for the Sioux. UND faces only two teams in the current top 10-ranked teams on the schedule until the Final Five rolls around.

Here is what I take issue with, “Who would’ve thought Matt Frattin, the nation’s leading goal scorer.” You’re kidding right? You can’t be series? Cliché alert: It would be an understatement to say that Matt Frattin has looked like a man among boys and has played this season Frattin like a man possessed. The Toronto Maple Leafs who are starved for offense must be drooling at the prospects of having Matt Frattin wearing a Maple Leaf on the front of his jersey.

If you are covering the WCHA and you have had a chance to watch Matt Frattin play at all last season you would have noticed a player that was on the verge of breaking out and would have thought a torrid season might be in the cards. Rewinding back to last season when Matt Frattin returned from his suspension; Fratting took fire during the second half of the season and caught fire during the second game of the SCSU series has been hot as a pistol since and scored a bundle of goals.

So how hot has Frattin been, Matt has scored 11 goals in 13 games last season from Feburary 12th to March 27. Fast forward to this season Frattin has continued that torrid pace scoring 17 goals in 20 games, so if my math is right (I am a sociology major), that is roughly 28 goals in 33 games.