WCHA News breaking this afternoon at 4:30

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is a big WCHA news conference this afternoon at 4:30 and you can watch it live from this web link. Word has it that there is announcement about the Minnesota Cup, the World Junior Coach and the WCHA’s conference tourney next year. 

What: Joint Press Conference featuring Special Announcements from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, USA Hockey, Inc., and University of Minnesota

and  Bruce McLeod, WCHA Commissioner, Richard MacKeigan, Regional General Manager, DeVos Place & Van Andel Arena, Katy Tigchelaar, Events Manager, West Michigan Sports Commissioner, Jack Larson, Vice-President & General Manager, Xcel Energy Center, Jake Spano, Marketing Director, City of Saint Paul Jennifer Heppel, Associate Commissioner, Big 10 Conference, Dave Fischer, Senior Director of Communications, USA Hockey, Inc. Tom McGinnis, Associate Athletic Director, University of Minnesota.

Saturday, March 23 4:30 pm CT

Press Interview Room, Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, MN

Video Stream link:

http://www.foxsportsnorth.com/livestream

Johnny McInnis goal that was waved off... MSU-M vs. UMN

The Mavericks were down 3-0 when the Mavericks score their first goal of the night by Zach Lehrk at the 12:59 mark of third period. The Mavericks appear to get their second goal of the game 27 second later when forward Johnny McInnis appears to have scored off a great pass from Matt Leitner, but the goal was waved off after the WCHA officials Brad Shepherd, C.J. Beaurline reviewed the goal and ruled that the puck was punched in.

Did the Minnesota and North Dakota series become more tame?

Ralph Engelstad Arena 

The Minnesota and North Dakota hockey series is one of the best rivalries in college hockey.

Unfortunately, this past weekend was the final regular season WCHA series between the University of Minnesota and The University of North Dakota. There will be no more of these regular season battles.

The Rivalry has been likened by some as the modern day version of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud.

All a person has to do is go on YouTube.comand search for Sioux and Gophers and there are literally hours of video of scrums, dustups and fights.

From a historical perspective, last weekend’s series between there UND and UMN was rather tame.  There were no major dust-ups or line brawls. Both teams were whistled for a combined miniscule total of 64 minutes in penalties over the course of a two game series.

What’s even more shocking, there were no major penalties called against either team all weekend long, not a single one.

I thought UND was a bunch of knuckle dragging Neanderthal goons? Looking at the numbers it’s safe to assume that North Dakota is not anymore.

This weekend’s penalty minutes were tame compared to last season’s series at the Ralph Engelstad Arenabetween UND and UMN on

English: Logo for the University of Minnesota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

January 13-14, 2012. Minnesota and North Dakota amassed 105 minutes in penalties. There were also two major penalties called during that weekend series, with each team garnering a five minute major penalty.

In years past, there were single periods that surpassed that penalty minute total of 64 minutes.

North Dakota Senior Defenseman MacWillam was asked about this past weekend’s games and if they were as tame as they appeared on the television.

“It has been in the past,” MacWillam said. “I think that hockey is changing a little bit. You can’t have the big hits anymore. So I think that might have contributed to some of it. It’s still heated between the whistles. It’s a little different than playing I assume. But that bitter rivalry is still there.”

UND Junior Defenseman Dillon Simpson who has played in the series for three seasons, had this to say about this past weekend’s series as well.

UND forward Mitch MacMillan
Eric Classen, UND Sports

“On the ice there is a lot of stuff on the ice going on,” Simpson said. “Maybe not as much open to the fans as you can see. But it’s always heated when we play those guys, and it was rough, a lot of big hits but nothing out of control. I think for us we were more focused, we needed to two wins big time. We were trying to stay out of the box and try to make it a game. It was still rough and still a tough series but at the same time nothing outrageous happened.”

One could make the argument that the players do adjust to the way the game is being called.

When Simpson was asked about his thoughts on not playing the Minnesota Gophers next season, he went on to say.

“It sucks, this is the biggest rivalry I think in college hockey”, Simpson said. “This is the most fun that I have playing on the weekends. It kind of sucks! Who knows if we will see them down the line this year, but it’s not fun not being able to play them next year.”

 Originally Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine...

Related articles

• Breaking down the Minnesota vs. North Dakota Rivalry (thehockeywriters.com)
• One step back, before we move forward (UND vs. UMN) (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND: The Weekend Ahead (1/25-1/26) (thehockeywriters.com)

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One step back, before we move forward (UND vs. UMN)

Goldy Gopher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mascot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is the big story that is making it’s way around Twitter this afternoon. From the looks of it, Minnesota Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz must have listened to Gophers head coach Don Lucia on WCCO radio last night. So, after a great weekend of hockey and after being asked about the rivalry probably hundreds of times, I guess he’s tired of being asked about the rivalry.

Roman Empire — Gophers coach Don Lucia used his weekly radio show on Monday to defend himself from critics complaining that North Dakota won’t be on the U’s schedule the next three seasons.

“We have a rule at the University of Minnesota — not put in by me — but by the regents that we can not play a team with an Indian nickname,” Lucia said. “And for years, this controversy with North Dakota and the nickname has been going on. And it has been fought in the courts and everything else.

“And it did not get settled until this summer. Well — if you want to put the blame on me for not waiting to find out whether it was going to get settled or not, then so be it. I can accept that fact.

“I wasn’t going to wait. When the conferences all broke up a couple of years ago. And we were heading into all these new conferences, it was kind of a frenzy and free-for-all for scheduling nonconference games. And when we had the opportunity to schedule some good opponents — I could have waited, but I chose not to wait. But I wanted to ensure we had a good schedule for our fans and our team.”

Whether you believe their company line or not, that’s up to you. It is what it is. This is what the Gophers head coach is saying, and he’s sticking to it. Hey whatever, we could discuss this till we are blue in the face if we want, but Lucia isn’t giving in. That being said, I can tell you that many in the UND fan-base are cynical. If you read some of the newspaper articles and hockey sites from this past weekend, you will see that not everyone was buying into this either. [click to view] and [click to view]

But I digress.

I have to admit that I am sad that this past weekend was the last regular season conference match-up between the two teams, maybe for some time. Such is life. Life is full of disappointments. I do think some fans are a bit delusional if they think that they can just replace the historic UND vs. UMN series with another random series against another hockey team and get the same intensity that this historic series has.

While there are currently no future games scheduled between the two teams, at least in the immediate future, there’s a very good chance that the two teams could meet again in the NCAA Playoffs. History tells us that there is a very good chance the two teams will see each other again, probably in the next year or two. Both teams have a history, and have met three times in the last eight years in the NCAA tourney, with UND holding a 2-1 edge.

It’s also a shame that a once great hockey conference is going to be a shell of it’s former self starting next season, but that is really something we can no longer control as well. These types of decisions are made by the folks that are paid big money to make these kinds of decisions, and they don’t always do what the fans want.

Finally, I also think that the players are going to miss this historic series as well. If  you don’t believe me, all you have to do is look at the comments from Gopher forward Nate Condon who was named WCHA Offensive Player of the week after he had a five point (2g-3a—5pts) weekend against UND.

Condon on his wknd: "It's good...especially since it's against (UND). If I can score that against them every time it would make my year."
— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) January 22, 2013

I guess for now, the series will have to wait, and all we can do is hope that cooler heads prevail. I think eventually the rivalry will resume play, sooner rather than later.

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

Breaking down the Minnesota vs. North Dakota Rivalry

Fighting Sioux (Photo credit: twodolla)

This weekend, is the last regular season WCHA conference matchup between the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and the University of North Dakota.

After this season, both teams will go their separate ways due to re-alignment, and it looks like it could be four years before the two teams play again in a regular season series.

General consensus is that North Dakota versus Minnesota series is one of the most storied rivalries in all of college hockey. Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this could be the last meeting for a while, unless, the two teams meet again in this year’s WCHA playoff and or NCAA playoffs in the future.

That could happen, based on recent history.

A lot of people that I have talked to aren’t very happy with the rivalry going dormant for a while. Personally, I don’t believe the spin coming out of the University of Minnesota why the University of Minnesota isn’t playing North Dakota. It’s a shame the two teams won’t be playing after this weekend for at least for four years.

If you ask the players from the two teams they will tell you that they like playing in this rivalry.

UND senior forward Danny Kristo who is originally from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, had this to say on playing against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

“It’s such a great rivalry for college hockey,” Kristo said. “I think I am confident enough to say that both schools are power houses for college hockey. I think everyone looks forward to that game every single year and those series every single year. Fans included. I just think it’s kind of a downer. Over the next four years – I feel bad for some of the young guys that are committed here and guys that are committed at Minnesota that aren’t going to get to take part in that rivalry. Which is unfortunate, you know, leagues are changing, times are changing, so we really can’t do anything about it. Hopefully, four years from now, all the fans will still be involved in the rivalry. So hopefully, it will still be going strong.”

The Gopher players feel strongly about the rivalry as well. This is what Gopher forward Zach Budish had to say about playing against UND.

“I think there is always a little extra emotion when you’re playing North Dakota just because of the rivalry,” Budish said. “Most of the guys on our team grew up watching the Gophers and North Dakota play every year. It’s been a lot of back and forth, it’s been pretty even. In my three years here, I think we’re pretty much .500 against them and we’ve played them 15 times or so over the last three seasons. It will definitely be intense and we’ll expect two hard fought games.”

The fans will also miss the rivalry was well. I posed the question to a few of the Gophers fans that I converse with on a regular basis and this is some of the things that they like about the storied rivalry.

Billy Pederson, my neighbor that is a Gopher hockey fan had this to say. “I like the intensity this series brings on and off the ice. There is no other series that keeps me at the edge of my seat from the drop of the puck. For me, it’s because the hockey played between these two is remarkable and rivalry is so important to people in this area. “Gopher-Sioux” week has always been anticipated from the beginning of each season. Good natured ribbing on both sides lasts the whole season, and when it comes to game time, we all want bragging rights.”

Peterson also said, “I have huge respect for both programs. There have been great players on both sides of the ice for as far back as I can remember and that means a lot to us who live in this hockey-crazed area. To have this go away for however long it is, I know I won’t be the only person upset that this rivalry is “taking a break”. I don’t like it at all.”

Keith Westerhoff, a Gopher hockey fan that I come to know from going to the Final Five, had this to say about the rivalry, ”What I like: I mark this series down on the calendar as soon as the schedule comes out, it’s the one series of the year that I get the most pumped up for. I like that one team could be doing very well and the other not so well, but come the games it does not matter, any team can win on any given night. Despite the “incidents” that have happened over the years it just adds to the excitement, you always wait for something to top it. The trash talking between fan bases on the boards the week of is always entertaining as well.”

Keith went on to say, “What I’ll miss: The history obviously, you look at the games and battles these two teams have had over the years and it’s a shame that it will be coming to an end. So many great players have donned the jersey for both teams over the years, guys that grew up together and played together as kids and now battling against each other! This is easily in my mind the biggest rivalry in all of college hockey, but yet I see so many Gopher fans that are glad this rivalry is coming to an end, I just have to shake my head in disgust. I think most of all I’ll just miss the WCHA Final Five…….because most of the time it was Gopher fans and Sioux fans that always filled the place up, the trash talking walking to and from the arenas and just taking a lap around the concourse was always pretty awesome.

Jerred Kline, Minnesota Gophers fan. “Both teams go balls to the wall no matter where they are ranking in the polls and WCHA. Fan base trash talk to see how far in the past each fan base will go back in history. It is the Best Rivalry in college hockey hands down. BC vs. BU not even a close second.

The players: they are probably best buds off the ice and off season, but when they are on the ice it is on and they can’t stand each other. Not even in the handshake line (Well Ben Blood and Finley/Wheeler at least)

Here is what one of my Twitter followers @scofarr , a UND fan, had to say about the rivalry.

I’m going to miss the banter back and forth with Gopher friends, a jacked up REA on a Friday night during introductions, [Jeff] Dubay ripping UND, the intense action on the ice, the shenanigans and scrums, and the endless argument about the which program is better. It’s really a shame that this is ending. Especially when alums on both sides think it should continue every year, including UM godfather of hockey, Lou Nanne.

This is what former Golden Gophers forward/defenseman Andy Brink had to say about the UND versus UMN series taking a break and whether he thought it was a bad decision to not continue the rivalry?

It’s hard to imagine UND and the Gophers not playing. It’s been such a good rivalry and very even. Being only 5 hours away from each other and both programs always being so good, obviously, it’s not good that they are not playing a series every year.”

Yesterday, during media day, this is what UND head coach Dave Hakstol had to say about the historic rivalry between the two teams.

“I love the series,” Hakstol said. “It brings the very best out of everybody.  It’s challenges everybody to be at their best. It brings a ton of passion on both sides. For sure that carries over to the fans on both sides. That’s what it should be all about in a rivalry series.”

This is what UND defenseman Joe Gleason formerly of Edina, Minnesota had to say on the rivalry between the Minnesota and the North Dakota.

“I wouldn’t have been a fan of North Dakota if they didn’t have come to Minnesota,” Gleason said. “As a kid growing up, that’s how I got to know who North Dakota was. That’s when I really started loving North Dakota. That was when my dad first brought me to a game; he said you have to watch this team play. It’s an unbelievable rivalry. It’s really cool to see. That’s when I really kind of fell in love with North Dakota as a kid, when they came to Mariucci [Arena]. So, I think that’s really unfortunate, for not just the guys here, but the kids coming up through the game that are still peewees, bantams and high schoolers. It’s a great game to watch. So, hopefully they can figure this out.”

Lastly, the Minnesota and North Dakota rivalry will always be a passionate and an emotional series for both sides involved.  When I see fans on either side say, ‘I won’t miss watching my team playing them’ I question whether these fans “truly” understand this series.

When these two team play, records and national rankings mean nothing – I have seen the Gophers ride into town on very long unbeaten streaks – only to watch them leave town with their tails between their legs. I can also remember UND being the better team, only to have Minnesota sweep them. This is the perfect series where stuff happens.

It’s a shame that this historic and heated rivalry can’t go forward at least for the next four years. However, there are many memories from games past that will have to keep the flame lit until these two teams meet again in the future.

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

Related articles

• Sioux nickname reason UND's not playing UMN (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND: The Weekend Ahead (1/18-1/19) (thehockeywriters.com)

WHKY: The only way to a National Championship is through Minnesota

This past weekend North Dakota’s women’s hockey team traveled to Ridder Arena to faceoff against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The weekend would be a test to see how close North Dakota is to challenging the Gophers in the potential post-season run.

It might be a little early to talk about the post-season, but after the weekend the Gophers remain an unbelievable 22-0-0. To add to that impressive stat, the last time Minnesota lost a game was February 17, 2012 (in overtime, against UND) – you read that correctly, nearly a year ago. If you were going to bet on who will win the NCAA Division I women’s hockey national championship, the easy bet would be the Gophers.

But enough about a team that doesn’t need anyone else tooting their own horn. Despite the 6-3 loss and being swept, the women in Green and White played one of their strongest games on Saturday afternoon.

North Dakota was able to hold a one-goal lead against the top-ranked team in the country for the first frame and lead or tied during the first 42 minutes of the game. The Gophers have held the lead against every team they’ve played this season except UND. Minnesota, in the same fashion they’ve shown all season, turned on the heat in the third period scoring three goals (one empty net).

If North Dakota (8-8-0) is going to play into the post-season they’re going to need to start winning games and the schedule isn’t going to lighten up playing in the WCHA. The Green and White will need their world-class offensive players to score and they will need secondary scoring with strong defense. The team has these components; Brian Idalski, head coach, just needs to figure out how to get the stars to align.

Although some North Dakota players might have walked away from Ridder Arena this weekend feeling the burn, they should take pride in the fact that they have what it takes to compete. If they play the way they did against Minnesota on Saturday afternoon, they should finish off the season strong.

North Dakota goes head-to-head with Wisconsin at home (7:07 p.m. Friday and Saturday) this weekend. If you’re not headed to Mariucci for the men’s series and you don’t plan to be glued to your television, I suggest you head to The Ralph. What I’m certain you’ll see is a finesse game with world-class athletes. I would also guess that during intermission The Ralph might show the men’s game as they have in the past. 

Parise tight lipped about where he's going

This is one of those stories that aren’t going to go away, until we know where former Fighting Sioux All-American forward Zach Parise is headed. Zach Parise hasn’t tipped his hat where he is going either, only to say that he wants to re-sign with the New Jersey Devils. You can rest assured that Parise and his agent are going to get a bunch of offers from a lot of teams.

Joan Niesen, FSN.COM --- Parise said he treats his impending free agency as something he can take advantage of, but it would seem that balancing his sanity with the desire to get the most out of this summer is something he's grappling with daily. Talk to Parise for five minutes and who knows how many times he'll say he wants to minimize the stress of the process. However, coming home to Minneapolis this offseason, though a natural move, is unlikely to mitigate the constant scrutiny.

Parise grew up in Bloomington, Minn. His father, J.P., played for the North Stars, and Parise still keeps a house in the Twin Cities, which he returned to last Friday from New Jersey. That's why he made an appearance Wednesday at the Defending the Blue Line game on the University of Minnesota campus, where he signed autographs and watched from the bench. As an unsigned player, Parise did not compete with the local hockey stars who took the ice. Instead, he subjected himself to the barrage of questions he's mostly unable to answer.

On Tuesday morning Paul Allen had Michael Russo beat writer of the Minnesota Wild from the Minneapolis Star and Tribune on the KFAN 100.3 and the two of them discussed the Parise free agency story and where they think that Zach might go. Russo seems to think that if the Wild get Parise that they might have a good chance to get Predators’ defenseman Ryan Sutter. You can listen to P.A.’s interview of Russo from the podcast that is embedded below in the blog post.

2011-12 AHCA/CCM Hockey Men’s Division 1

Here are the 2011-12 East and West All Americans teams.

All-American Teams

All-American West First Team

Goalie: Taylor Nelson, Sr., Ferris State University (Regina, SK)

Defense: Torey Krug, Jr., Michigan State University (Livonia, MI)

Defense: Justin Schultz, Jr., University of Wisconsin* (West Kelowna, BC)

Forward: Jack Connolly, Sr., University of Minnesota Duluth*# (Duluth, MN)

Forward: Jaden Schwartz, So., Colorado College (Wilcox, SK)

Forward: Reilly Smith, Jr., Miami University (Mimico, ON)

All-American East First Team

Goalie: Troy Grosenick, So., Union College (Brookfield, WI)

Defense: Danny Biega, Jr., Harvard University (Montreal, QC)

Defense: Brian Dumoulin, Jr., Boston College* (Biddeford, ME)

Forward: Spencer Abbott, Sr., University of Maine (Hamilton, ON)

Forward: Alex Killorn, Sr., Harvard University (Montreal, QC)

Forward: Austin Smith, Sr., Colgate University (Dallas, TX)

All-American West Second Team

Goalie: Kent Patterson, Sr., University of Minnesota (Plymouth, MN)

Defense: Chad Billins, Sr., Ferris State University (Marysville, MI)

Defense: Dan DeKeyser, So., Western Michigan University (Clay Township, MI)

Forward: Nick Bjugstad, So., University of Minnesota (Blaine, MN)

Forward: J.T. Brown, So., University of Minnesota Duluth (Burnsville, MN)

Forward: Jason Zucker, So., University of Denver (Las Vegas, NV)

All-American East Second Team

Goalie: Joe Cannata, Sr., Merrimack College (Wakefield, MA)

Defense: Mat Bodie, So., Union College (East St. Paul, MB)

Defense: Tim Kirby, Sr., U.S. Air Force Academy (Austin, MN)

Forward: Barry Almeida, Sr., Boston College (Springfield, MA)

Forward: Brian O’Neill, Sr., Yale University (Yardley, PA)

Forward: Jeremy Welsh, Jr., Union College (Bayfield, ON)

* First Team in 2010-11; # Second Team in 2009-10

University of Denver defenseman Joey LaLeggia was named the sixth annual HCA National Division I Rookie of the Year award.

Related articles

• Frozen Four Match-Ups (by Sioux 7) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Home Field advantage?

Goldy Gopher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mascot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I figure we can start a debate on Tuesday afternoon with nothing going on today.

Recently, we have heard from Gopher fans how the Xcel Energy Center is not a home game for the Minnesota Gophers. that is false since the Xcel Energy Center is eight miles from the University of Minnesota campus.

Check out this stat, it's pretty telling, the Minnesota Gophers have hosted a regional championship, both at the Xcel Center and Marucci Arena (2003, 2005) five times since 2003 and made the Frozen Four three times.

Also, the three seasons the Gophers missed the making the Frozen Four when they were the host team, was when they failed to qualify for the NCAA tourney (2009, 2010 and 2011). 

B.C. Interuption --- Since the tournament expanded to 16 programs for the 2002-3 season, the University of Minnesota has hosted the West Regional on five separate occasions (2003, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2012). In three of those years, the Gophers were able to advance to the Frozen Four. Still don't think there's an advantage to playing closer to home come tournament time?

Granted many times the NCAA Regionals are hosted by schools that won't even sniff an NCAA Tournament bid in any given year. Teams like Holy Cross, Fairfield and Michigan Tech rarely make an NCAA Tournament appearance but continue to host a regional every few years. Other college hockey heavyweights -- like New Hampshire, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin -- are regular hosts for either the Regional round or the Frozen Four.

So to claim by Gopher fans and others that the Xcel Energy Center is not like home ice for the Golden Gophers is disingenuous and short sighted.

Congrats to the Minnesota Golden Gophers for making the NCAA tourney and we see how your team matches up with the high flying Boston College Eagles. [Goon's Prediction]

Related articles

• A quick look at the regionals... Goon's Pontifications.... (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• My prediction for the Frozen Four (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND's tentative 2012-13 Schedule (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCAA West Regional Capsules (insidehockey.com)

WCHA Issues One-Game Suspension to Minnesota’s Rau

Official Press Release - February 11, 2012/For Immediate Release

MADISON, Wis. – The men’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association today announced a onegame suspension to University of Minnesota hockey player Kyle Rau for his actions in the February 10 game vs the University of Denver.

Rau’s suspension was determined after a review of the incident under the WCHA’s
Supplementary Discipline Policy and Procedures. At the time of the incident, he was assessed a 5:00-major penalty for boarding and a 10:00-game misconduct.
Rau will be required to serve this one-game suspension in his team’s next regularly scheduled game on Saturday, February 11 vs the University of Denver.
– WCHA –


My take on the WCHA suspension - I applaud the WCHA for taking this action, lets hope that other players around the league take notice; but lets also hope that these types of hits will no longer be tolerated. This was a dangerous play, Rau was late hitting Zucker and he was in a vulnerable position. These are the types of hits that need to be eliminated from Amateur hockey.

Goon's Picks for 11/11 - 11/12

UAA at UMD – UMD sweep
SCSU at MSU-M –SCSU Sweep
UNO at BSU – Split
UMN at UW – Split
C.C. at DU (Saturday Only) CC win

Record last week: 6-6 Record for the season 24-26

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Jake Hanson, Minnesota is supposed to be the premier program

Image via WikipediaMinnesota Gophers forward Jake Hanson has stirred some discussion with his comments that he made in the Pioneer Press. If I was a head hockey coach I am not that I would want to hear that coming out of one of my players mouth. What do you think?

Ray Richardson, Pioneer Press --- The Bulldogs' title has magnified the questionable stature of the Gophers' program. For Gophers players, it's unsettling to know the NCAA championship trophy is only three hours north of the Twin Cities.

"For a lot of years, we have been the dominant program over Duluth," said defenseman Jake Hansen, one of only seven seniors on the Gophers' roster. "They have the crown now...that's a little strange. The University of Minnesota is supposed to be the premier program. That's what we're trying to get back to this year."

While I don't think historically Hansen is wrong, however, you don't want to wake up a sleeping giant. You let sleeping dogs lie. If I was the Bulldog head coach I would take these comments put them on the bulletin board and use these comments to my team's advantage. That being said, this should prove to be a great college hockey series and should be an early measuring for both the Bulldogs and Gophers. 

Waiting to Exhale, the WCHA is Back

This season I will be writing for Inside Hockey with a big blog from out east run by Tim Rosenthal… I will be one of the WCHA writers this season. Here was the first article that I submitted.

The whirl wind summer that saw a bunch of realignment in college hockey has finally come to an end and now college hockey fans can worry about... watching college hockey games as the hockey season is once again upon us. Most college hockey teams have already started their captain’s practices and college hockey coaches are allowed by NCAA rules to practice for two hours each week with their teams until October 1st 2011.

The college hockey season will officially kick off their exhibition games during the first weekend of October. The following weekend all 12 WCHA teams WCHA teams will kick off their non-conference and preseason tourney games. Here is the link composite WCHA schedule for the 2011-12 season. [Link to the composite WCHA schedule]

Re-alignment almost set?

As mentioned in the preceding paragraph; this past summer has been a whirl wind for college hockey fans of the WCHA with the defections of teams to the B1G (Wisconsin, Minnesota) and the defections of teams to the newly formed and National Collegiate Hockey Conference (Colorado College, Denver University, University of Minnesota Duluth, University of Nebraska Omaha and University of North Dakota), the WCHA in its present form will change after the 2012-13 season.

Starting in 2013-14 the WCHA will consist of the following teams, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Bemidji State University, Ferris State University, Lake Superior State University, Michigan Tech University, Minnesota State University Mankato, Northern Michigan University, and Saint Cloud State University. Two other schools have been given invitations to join the WCHA from the CCHA, Western Michigan University and Bowling Green State University have been given invitations to join the WCHA but neither school has accepted or declined the invitation at this point. The WCHA would like to add WMU and BGSU as members to the WCHA because without either school, none of the schools in the WCHA are Division I in any other sport besides hockey.

Teams bolting for super conferences:

We already have an idea what the new WCHA will look like; there may be an addition or subtraction in the future. Based on the moves that have taken place this summer, it also appears that there will no longer be a CCHA. While re-alignment is almost over for the WCHA there are still a few moves yet to be played out. While holding up the show for most of the summer, Notre Dame has yet to pick a home for its college hockey team; there have been rumblings that the Fighting Irish are close to selecting a conference. Stay with me now; there are three or four scenarios in play for them right now, Notre Dame could join the NCHC, Hockey East, go independent or join the Big Ten. The later scenario has surfaced in the last week or so.

Big Ten driving re-alignment:

Due to a very generous donation from PSU alumnus Terry Pegula; Penn State University will now have a college hockey team to start the 2012-13 college hockey season. Peulla opened his rather large wallet and wrote Penn State a check for 88 million to help the Nittany Lions build Pegula Ice arena. That donation rocked the college hockey world, now that the Big Ten “will have” six teams that play college hockey, they are required by conference rules to have a B1G hockey conference. The addition of one college hockey team set the ball in motion for a very chaotic summer. The Big Ten Schools that used to be in both the WCHA and the CCHA are now going to form the Big Ten Hockey Conference.

Not to be out done and in response to the Big Ten hockey conference formation; Miami University from the CCHA decided to join North Dakota, Denver University, Colorado College University Nebraska Omaha to form the NCHC. The NCHC schools have been trying to lure Notre Dame to become a member of the six team super conference. WMU is also said to be very interested in joining the NCHC, and they have spent the summer trying to convince the NCHC that they would be a worthy suitor in the NCHC. If WMU is unable to join the NCHC they will probably join the WCHA. BGSU has yet to make decision but are leaning towards joining the WCHA.
There have been rumblings that if Notre Dames doesn’t join the NCHC that SCSU “might” get an invite to the NCHC but at this time they are still on the outside looking in. This move would stink with hypocrisy especially after Saint Cloud State University President Dr Earl H. Potter III said he wouldn’t join the NCHC even if his school was offered a spot in the conference. Potter has since backed off this statement.

How will things shake out?

While I don’t get a vote in the WCHA media pre-season poll, this is how I think the standings will shake out for the 2011-12 season. The top six – seven teams in the WCHA are pretty equal and could finish anywhere from first to seventh. Like last season, we could see one or both B1G schools failing to make the Final Five once again. I believe Denver, Colorado College and North Dakota are cream of the crop in the WCHA this season. In the future I will break down the teams to watch in the WCHA.

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

More on the Joel Vienneau story

Image via WikipediaApparently there is more to the Joel Vienneau story, sounds like a kid that was running out of options.

Mlive.COM ---- Vienneau posted a 15-18-4 record last season with a 3.70 goals-against-average. Vienneau and Paul Berrafato were the Jacks' goaltenders a year ago and both were expected to return this season after earning roster spots in the team's June training camp.

"There's no young man I wanted to succeed more than Joel, but we have an organizational credo here, one that requires our players to work as hard off the ice as on it," Lumberjacks owner Josh Mervis said.

Vienneau came to Muskegon with a commitment to the University of Minnesota, but that commitment was pulled back by the university earlier this year.

"In a word, it's disappointing," Mervis said. "The young man has talent, but that isn't nearly enough to succeed here or at the next level. We wish him the best in his endeavors."

Another WCHA breakup imminent blog post :)

WCHA

Roman Augustoviz beat writer for the Star Trib (Formerly Goal Gophers) has a blog post that talks about the possible impending doom facing the WCHA/CCHA, there has been about a 100 of them as of late... Looking at this blog post does anyone see anything that sticks out or makes them scratch their head?

When the Big Ten Conference announced it was going to form its own hockey league last March, rumblings started about what the aftershocks might be.

The BTC will start play in 2013-14, with the Gophers and Wisconsin leaving the WCHA and Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State leaving the CCHA to join newcomer Penn State in a six-team league.

At the time, WCHA commission Bruce McLeod said his 10-team league would be fine if everybody stuck together. He is probably looking for some super glue right about now.

North Dakota, UMD and Nebraska Omaha are all hinting they are looking for what is best for them. Notre Dame and Miami (Ohio) of the CCHA also could be looking for a stronger league to be part of when the Big Ten Conference starts up.

Those five schools, plus maybe Denver and Colorado College of the WCHA, and maybe Western Michigan of the CCHA, are the teams most often mentioned for a new "super conference".

This could be a summer of big changes in college hockey if it happens.

Doh! Or is it Duh?!? Wow!!! Looking at some of the puzzling comments that have come out of Bruce McLeod’s mouth as of late; make me want to scratch my head and wonder what the hell is going on in this guy’s mind right now? I have to ask other college hockey fans if McLeod’s comments as of late give you a any reason to believe that maybe the is the wrong person to be sitting in the WCHA Commissioner’s chair? I do! It's time to strike while the iron it hot and get rid of this clown.

It's official John Hill out at UMN

Here is the official announcement. The word on the streets in the Twin Cities newspapers is that former Gophers assistant coach Mike Guentzel will take over for the now departed John Hill. Mike Guentzel was the assistant coach under Dean Blais for the UNO Mavericks last season. From looking at this from the outside this move smacks of desperation of a man trying to save his job, looks like Hill was the fall guy in this scenario.

Official Courtesy: University of Minnesota ----- University of Minnesota men's hockey coach Don Lucia announced today that assistant coach John Hill will not return for the 2011-12 season.
"I appreciate all the hard work John gave to Gopher Hockey," said Lucia. "I wish John nothing but success in the future and thank him for his commitment to Gopher Hockey."

Hill was a member of the Gopher coaching staff since 2005. He was also an assistant coach at Minnesota from 1999-2001 before serving as the head coach at his alma mater Alaska Anchorage from 2001-05.

A search for Hill's replacement will begin immediately.

While I am not really going out on a limb here, you can almost bet there will be more personnel changes in Rodenville if the not so Golden Gophers don’t make the NCAA tourney and Final Five… The unlikable John Hill was probably a scape goat.

College Hockey scores from 11/26/2010

Friday, November 26

Alaska 3 at Ohio State 3 OT
Boston College 3 at Merrimack 5
Alab-Huntsville 1 vs Bowling Green 5
Clarkson 1 vs Air Force 2
Connecticut 5 at Rensselaer 6
Dartmouth 8 at Harvard 2
Minnesota State 8 at UMass Lowell 3
American Int'l 5 at Mercyhurst 2
Niagara 4 at Army 1
Northeastern 2 at Vermont 2 OT
Sacred Heart 1 at RIT 6
Michigan 4 at Wisconsin 4 OT
Michigan State 5 at Minnesota 2
Miami 2 at Western Michigan 5
Lake Superior 3 at Denver 6
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Colorado College 3 OT
Notre Dame 3 at North Dakota 6
Northern Michigan 4 at Bemidji State 0

Analysis – The WCHA went 2-2-1 in non conference play against the CCHA last night.

Northern Michigan University 4 Bemidji State University 0 – NMU goalie Reid Ellingson stopped 37 shots in a shutout win against the home standing BSU Beavers. It was the first shutout of the season for the junior goalie. [BSU Beat Writer Blog]

North Dakota 6 Notre Dame 3 – Junior forward Jason Gregoire had two goals and an assist, to pace the Sioux to an impressive 6-3 non conference win. Also noteworthy; sophomore forward Corbin Knight had a strong night chipping in a goal and an assist. Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell probably solidified his grasp on the starting position as he continued his solid play between the pipes. The sophomore goalie stopped 24 of 27 shots and also stoned Notre Dame forward Ben Ryan on a breakaway in the second period. With the win Aaron Dell improved his record to 8-4-0 on the season. [UND beat writer blog]- [South Bend Tribune]

Alaska Anchorage 4 Colorado College 3 OT – Alaska Anchorage forward Tommy Grant scored his fourth goal of the season at the 3:50 mark of overtime to pace the Seawolves to a conference win against the Colorado College Tigers in the Colorado Springs. With the win the Seawolves vaulted into a tie with the SCSU Tigers for 7th place in the WCHA.

Denver University 6 Lake Superior State University 3 – The Denver Pioneers won their 5th game in a row in front of a half empty building as the Denver University students are out on Christmas break until after the first of the year. Sophomore center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist to pace the Pioneers to the win against the CCHA foe. Check out this work from the Denver Post. If I was the coach of the Denver Pioneers I would call the Denver Post and ask that Terry Frei not cover the Pioneers again. Check it out.

With the University of Denver students out of school until after the New Year, Magness Arena on Friday was perhaps half-filled for the first night of the Denver Cup Classic and much more subdued than usual for Pioneer hockey.

Amid the relatively quiet atmosphere, center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist and much-touted freshman winger Beau Bennett had a goal and an assist as the Pioneers stretched their winning streak to five games with a lackluster 6-3 victory over Lake Superior State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. [read the whole article here]

Michigan State 5 Minnesota 2 – The Minnesota not so Golden Gophers were unimpressive in their final College Hockey Show Case game against Michigan State University. With the win the Michigan State University Spartans broke an unimpressive 0-4-5 skid against the Gophers in the College Hockey Show Case. Kent Patterson started in net for the Gophers gave up three goals and then he was replaced by senior goalie Alex Kangas. The Gophers play the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday night. The game will be on BTN. [Goal Gophers] - [Gopher Puck Live]

Michigan 4 Wisconsin 4 OT – The Wisconsin Badgers come from behind to tie the Michigan Wolverines 4-4 in the Kohl Center. With the Tie the Badgers stop a 0-4-0 streak. With the tie last night the Wisconsin Badgers have not won a game in overtime since 2007, breaking it down further that means that the Wisconsin Badgers are now 0-8-18 in extra hockey since 2007. Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets has covered this subject extensively. Badgers goalie Brett Bennett stopped 28 shots in net securing the tie for the Badgers. The Wisconsin Badgers have been 9-6-1 in the college hockey show case under Mike Eaves. The Badgers opted out of the college hockey show case to play more non conference games against Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. [Wisconsin beat writer] - [Game Story]