Showing posts with label Wisconsin Badgers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wisconsin Badgers. Show all posts

Saturday, March 02, 2013

UND Women’s Hockey; Lamoureux twins leave UND program in good hands

Eric Classen / UND Athletics

On February 27, 2011, with about just over four minutes left in the first overtime,  taking the puck from goaltender Fighting Sioux goalie Stephanie Ney,  sophomore forward Monique Lamouruex calmly starts the rush up ice, literally skating through the Beaver defenders like they were standing still. It was like a scene straight out of a Hollywood movie. There was a faked shot at the blue line; then the patented toe drag around two Bemidji State defenders, before Monique deposited the puck behind the Beaver’s all-world goalieZuzana Tomcikova.

Game over!!! The UND womens hockey team flew off of the bench and mobbed Monique.
With the 3-2 win in overtime, the UND women were heading to the Final Face-Off for the first time in their program’s short history.

Even though their season would end the next weekend in Minneapolis, Minnesota at Ridder Arena with a 3-0 loss to Wisconsin Badgers, the UND women had made great progress that season.

Actually, the Women set seasons records in wins in each of the last three seasons; winning 20, 22 and 23 respectively.

Eric Classen / UND Athletics
It’s no mystery that during the last three seasons, Jocelyn and Monique Lamoureux have been the corner stones of the UND women’s hockey team, and this year’s senior class.

Both players have also been the face of UND head coach Brian Idahlski’s (91-102-21 UND, 198-122-32 career) team and where they’re trying to move the UND’s woman’s program.

The Lamoureux twins are world class players and 2010 Olympians Jocelyne Lamoureux (123g-154a—277pts) and Monique Lamoureux (108g-152a—260pts). Both players rank one and two and UND’s all-time scoring list. With each game, Jocelyne extends the all-time record at UND.

For the second year in a row, Jocelyne Lamoureux was named a top-10 finalist for the Patty Kaz award.

After a game earlier this season, UND woman’s head coach Brian Idalski said, “We talked about what our vision is here and being the pinnacle of woman’s hockey and making this our woman’s NHL.”

I do think coach Idalski is onto something. College hockey for women is basically their NHL outside of playing in international competition; there aren’t a lot of options for them. Women’s college hockey is stacked with world class athletes and Olympians.

Eric Classen / UND Athletics
That’s what’s been happening at UND, the Lamoureux twins have set a very high bar for future UND woman’s players that are starting to emerge at UND. Michelle Karvinen is an example of the type of player you will probably see in the future, world class talent that plays for their country during the winter Olympics and international competitions.

Freshman forward Meghan Dufault is one of the new up and coming stars for UND and this is what she had to say about playing for with the Lamouruex twins.

“It’s definitely an honor to play with them,” Dufault said. “You learn so much from them every day, just their mentality and their skills you can take everything from what they do in practice and try make yourself more like them and learn of them. It’s a really good experience playing with them.”

So as the Lamoureux twins’ time at UND comes to an end, a few of the younger players will take on bigger roles for UND in the future. One them is all-world junior forward Michelle Karvinen, who helped team Finland win the bronze medal at the 2011 IIHF World Championship. This is what Megan Dufauflt has this to say on playing with the crafty junior forward.

“I think Karvinen is awesome to play with,” Dufauflt said. “She’s such a dynamic player and obviously she was in the Olympics too, so she highly skilled and you learn so much from her as well, she’s just like playing with the twins [Lamoureux’s]. I think they’re all great players that bring so much to the team that everyone can build off.

North Dakota isn’t ready to send this year’s senior class off just yet. There is still work to be done. With the win against the Minnesota State Mavericks (24-11-0, 18-10-0 WCHA), UND will try for the sweep tomorrow night at 2:07 pm against the Mavericks at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

I don’t really know if people will fully appreciate what Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux have brought to the UND woman’s team until after they’re gone, they have set the bar very high and have given young women role models that they can be proud of.

Players of this caliber don’t come along every day and it’s hard to quantify or put into words what they did for the UND women’s team. Maybe we can just appreciate the memories they left us with and be thankful that we had an opportunity to watch them play.

- See more at: http://insidehockey.com 
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Thursday, February 28, 2013

EDIT... This weekend’s NCAA Division one television schedule (3/01 -3/03)

English: Logo for DirecTV
English: Logo for DirecTV (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is this weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. There is a full slate of college hockey on television
again this weekend. Check your television guide for times in your local area. As with any schedules, channels will change and have in the past.
Even with the NHL ending it’s lockout and making it back to our television dials, there has is still been a lot of watchable college hockey on television.  Last Sunday alone, there were two games.  Boston College beat Merrimack College in overtime, to wrestle first in place in Hockey East away from the Warriors.
In the night cap, the Wisconsin Badgers beat  the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Kohl Center 5-0 as the Badgers continued their torrid pace going 13-4-5 since they started the season 1-7-3.   So you’re kind of getting college hockey version of March Madness.
This weekend, there will also be three college hockey games that will be available in Canada, so, for college hockey fans north of the border, you should check your local television guides as well.
Fri.Mar. 1Wisconsin at Nebraska-OmahaNBC Sports Net.6:30 p.m.220 / 159
Fri.Mar. 1Ferris State at MichiganCBS Sports Net.6:30 p.m.613 / 158 (C)
Fri.Mar. 1Bemidji State at UNDFCS/Midco7:37pm626
Fri.Mar. 1Denver at MinnesotaBTN7:00 p.m.610 / 439 (C)
Sat.Mar. 2Providence at Boston CollegeNESN3:00 p.m.628 / 434
Sat.Mar. 2Mass. at New HampshireFCS6:00 p.m.TBD
Sat.Mar. 2Ferris State at MichiganFS Detroit7:30 p.m.663 / 430
Sat.Mar. 2Denver at MinnesotaFS North7:00 p.m.668 / 436
Sun.Mar. 3UMass Lowell at MerrimackCBS Sports Net.3:00 p.m.613 / 158 (C)
*NESN = New England Sports Network, FCS = Fox College Sports, FSN+ = Fox Sports North-Plus, NBCSN = NBC Sports Network, DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks, (C) Denotes games available in Canada. All times are Central Standard Time.






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Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Wisconsin Badgers falling on tough times at the gate

English: Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey pr...
English: Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey pregame huddle in a game against Boston University on October 8, 2010 at the 2010 Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In years past, the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team have been the pace setter for attendance numbers in division I college hockey and in the WCHA.
They have the biggest building and they’ve packed it to the roof with rabid screaming fans. The Kohl Center used to be one of the most intimidating places to play in all of college hockey.
Now the Kohl center has become friendlier for the opposition teams.
This season, the Kohl season has been known more for the dwindling crowds and unimpressive showings by the home team. Currently, the Badgers have a 7-7-3 record on home ice.
The Badgers didn’t win a game at home until the December 13, 2012, when they beat lowly Huntsville 5-0.
On the road the Badgers have an impressive 6-2-4 record.
That reign as the national attendance leaders will come to an end this season, North Dakota leads the nation in attendance with 187,397 through 16 dates for an average of 11,712 per game.
If you have noticed, the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team is experiencing a decline in attendance numbers for couple of years now.  Andy Johnson from Bucky’s Fifth Quarter wrote an article about this recently.
If you watched the Badgers last two games on television, you would have noticed a lot of fans posing as empty red seats.  The Badgers aren’t packing them in like they used to.
Each year, since the 2009-10 season, the Wisconsin Badgers have been the leaders in attendance for Division I college hockey.  Since the 2010-11 season, those numbers have been in decline. There are some in the Wisconsin fan base that are already starting to point the finger. Some of the blame is landing on the shoulders of head coach Mike Eaves.
There could be some factors that are playing into this? You have to wonder, if the Badgers last series being on Sunday-Monday also figured into the poor showing, at least for this past week.  There was also a series against Huntsville earlier this season that only drew 17,011 for two games when the arena seats 15,209 for a hockey game according to the Kohl Center web site.
According to Andy Baggot of the Madison.com, there are going to be more of these odd ball non-traditional series on Sunday-Monday, but they’re certainly not going to be the norm.
Who is to blame for not the Badgers not filling the Kohl Center?
I suppose you “could” blame the economy, let’s face facts we are in an economic decline as a nation. People don’t have as much disposable income as they used to.
Barring a heroic late season run through the WCHA playoffs, culminating with a Broadmoor Trophy, the Wisconsin Badgers are probably going to miss the NCAA playoffs for the third season in a row and the fifth time in the last seven seasons. The Badgers put themselves in a tough spot starting the season off going 1-7-3 before going on an amazing run of 13-4-4.
Then there is the elephant sitting it the room. Maybe it’s the fact that no one really wants to watch the product on the ice. Not with that style of play.
But let’s be frank, who really wants to watch the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team play hockey? The casual hockey fan might not.
While I am not a fan of the team per-see, I am hardly a casual hockey fan, I tried to watch the Badgers play the other night and I found the product on the ice to be unwatchable. Honestly, I couldn’t watch them play; it was an absolutely brutal hockey game. I literally turned the game off and rented the movie Skyfall on DirecTV instead of watching college hockey. I have to admit, that doesn’t happen very often at my house. Hockey is on from the first week in October to the last face off of the Stanley Cup Finals.
I know some in Badger nation are going to be mad at me, but I am going to call it like it is.
If you want to watch a hockey team that is sound defensively, that is bookended by two great goaltenders the Wisconsin Badgers are your team.
Don’t count on the Badgers to score a lot of goals. This isn’t the 2005-06 team that won the National Championship that had two forwards with 50 or more points and two players that scored 20 or more goals. This is a team that is starved for offense, that’s going to try to slow things down and clog up the neutral zone.
The Badgers are ranked 50 out of 59 teams for offense nationally. In their 11 loses they have scored 17 goals that’s an average of 1.54 goals per game. In my opinion, the best way to beat the Badgers is to get an early lead because they’re offensively challenged.
Mike Eaves has been the Badgers head coach since the 2000-03 season and he has compiled a respectable record of 223-167-51 (.563) in eleven seasons at Wisconsin. But after eleven seasons, there are some in the Wisconsin fan base that would like to see Eaves shown the door.
During Eave’s tenure, Wisconsin hasn’t won a Broadmoor Trophy (1997- 1998) or a McNaughton Cup (1999-2000).  However, Eaves’ teams have done well in the national tourney, when they have gotten there, as the Badgers won an NCAA title in 2005-06 and were the Runner up in 2009-10.
If the Badgers don’t win some game next year, make the NCAA tourney and start playing a more exciting brand of hockey they’re going to risk alienating their fan base. That being said, I am thankful that I am not their audience, because If I had to watch their on ice product on a regular basis I would be frustrated and bored with it. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the future.
Here are the Badgers Attendance numbers for the last six seasons, incase you wanted to see the numbers.
17 games — 2012-13   171,966—10,116
20 games — 2011-12   235,458—11,773
22 games — 2010-11   290,970—13,226
21 games — 2009-10   316,014—15,048
22 games — 2008-09   303,261—13,785
18 games — 2007-08    242,184—13,455

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Monday, February 18, 2013

My Impressions of the Hockey City Classic


Sunday, I was able to take in both games of the Hockey City Classic that was played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois from my living room.

I have to say that I was highly impressed and entertained by the event and thoroughly enjoyed both games. So, I am going to give the Hockey City Classic props.

In my opinion, the Hockey City Classic appears to have gone off without a hitch.

Obviously, I didn’t have any dog in the fight, as my favorite team was on a bye week, but it was a good way to pass the time.  I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, watching college hockey from the comfort of my living room with my DVR Recorder at the ready.

Did I mention, the best way to watch an outdoor hockey game, is from the comfort of your living-room. There are no poor sight lines and you’re never very far from the action. You also have the benefit of a replay and you can re-watch whatever you want to watch.

Normally, I am not a big fan of the outdoor games, and I think that we have been over saturated with them the last four or five years. I also think that they’re a bit of a gimmick, but if both teams agree to them, I am all for it. Even if it's for league points during a championship run.

I think that maybe the outdoor games need to be played during the month of December and January and not during the month of February.

Outdoor games can also be very unpredictable, because we can’t control the weather, mother nature has us at her mercy. But like any good traffic accident or train wreck, we all have to take a look, even though we shouldn't.

I have seen where some have said, that they thought the ice was worse in Chicago, than it was in Omaha. I don’t think that is a very accurate statement, seriously, it was 28 degrees in Chicago and a balmy 40-plus all day long in Omaha. I don’t know if the temperature got below 40 degrees during the course of the game.

Let’s not forget that the start to the UND versus Nebraska-Omaha game had to be delayed for two-plus hours, so the ice could freeze back up and be hard enough to play on, after the sun had melted it, making the ice unacceptable to play hockey on.

Historically, I think that the Frozen Fenway games have been the best college hockey outdoor games, but I am partial to the city of Boston and Fenway Park is a historical gem.

That being said, I was genuinely impressed with what I saw yesterday.

While I have seen a lot of grumbling from Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey fans on Twitter and on the fan message boards, I think we can call the event a huge success as 52,051 people showed up to watch the two game event and many more probably watched it at home on their televisions as well. I am sure if the Minnesota Gophers had won their game, their fans would've had a different view of the Hockey City Classic.

Obviously, Soldier Field is much better for a football game but I think yesterday’s event turned into a pretty good made for TV event.

If I had one complaint, it would be the team’s uniforms; I was not a fan of any of them.

Let's give credit where credit is due

There are a couple of things that I have seen that I find troublesome. First off, Gopher fans should give the Wisconsin Badgers a little credit; I see their fans blaming the ice surface for the reason their team lost the game yesterday.

The reason, the Minnesota Gophers lost the hockey game was that the Wisconsin Badgers scored one more goal than the Gophers. Both teams played on the same ice surface. I have seen moronic comments along the lines on how if the Gophers had played in the Kohl Center they would have been guaranteed a victory. We don't know that.

I mean seriously, you have to give credit where credit is due, the Badgers are well coached hockey team and Mike Eaves is a very good hockey coach and his teams always play a solid team defensive scheme and yesterday they cashed in on the Gophers mistakes. That’s hockey, and the best team doesn’t always win. Just ask Brendan Morrison. You need to give your opponent some respect.

I also think that the Golden Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz said it best.
Those knuckleheads ripping Don Lucia for agreeing to play outdoors have their head buried in the sand. It was not the Gophers giving up a home game, it was Wisconsin.
So the Gophers lost. What do you expect? They have swept ONE series in the WCHA all season. And that was against last-place Alaska-Anchorage. As Lucia said recently, it is amazing his team is in the conference race at all.
Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine 
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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Badger goal by that was waved off



It looks like the on ice Officials made the right call on the play, we have to give them credit when they make the right call on the ice. I do find it funny and puzzling, that Brad Shepherd is reffing such a high profile game for the WCHA. From looking at the video, it's pretty obvious that the stick of Badger forward Joseph LaBate is above the cross bar when he touches the puck.



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Monday, February 04, 2013

(Video) Marvelous North Dakota Hockey



This is a nice video that was taken by Marv Leier, during last weekend's game between Wisconsin and North Dakota. Leier films the game footage for Midco from his perch between the players benches. I bet he could tell us a story or two about some of the things that he has seen and heard.
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Wisconsin's Michael Mersch will not be suspended





I just got off of the phone with Greg Shepherd the head of WCHA officials and this is what I know. According to Shepherd, Badgers forward Michael Mersch came off of the bench on a line change and he would've had to enter the altercation in question to be suspended. In other words, Mersch will not be suspended by the WCHA.

So, after reading that, if you're still in disbelief like I am, you’re not alone. If Mersch had jumped off of the Wisconsin player’s bench and then entered the altercation in the Wisconsin end, Mersch would've then been suspended.

This doesn’t pass the smell test, even if you were in altered state of mind.

So, if you’re confused, you’re not alone. I guess the fact that Mersch jumped off of the bench challenged UND forward Steph Pattyn to a fight, while he was being escorted off of the ice by one of the officials.  In addition, it’s obvious by the video that Mersch came off of the Wisconsin players bench, while the previous play had been whistled dead; then took off his helmet. Apparently, this is not relevant in this case.

I don’t know many coaches that allow their hockey players to change lines during an altercation, take off their helmet, and then challenge an opponent to a fight, while said play is stopped. Usually they wait until the puck is dropped, and then challenge someone to a fight.

You’re not supposed to change lines during an altercation. I have to give the WCHA credit; they’re easy to get clarification from on incidents.
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Sunday, February 03, 2013

UW and UND scrum .59 seconds left



The Badgers and UND exchange pleasantries at the end of the last night's game. I don't think these two teams were asking each other where they were going to meet after the game. Badger forward Michael Mersch needs to be suspended, and I expect that he will be suspended ,when the WCHA reviews this film. There is no way to defend Mersch's actions, that's not acceptable in any league. There is conclusive video evidence that Mersch came off of the bench to engage Steph Pattyn. Lucky for Mersch, the refs saved him from a beat down.
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Saturday, February 02, 2013

North Dakota stomps Wisconsin 4-1


Grand Forks, ND – The Wisconsin Badgers came into tonight’s game smoking hot, the Badgers had one loss (Miami) since November 24, 2012. During that same time frame, the Badgers had an impressive record of 10-1-4 (.800).
Coming into the game, North Dakota was a team going the other direction. The Green and White hadn’t won in five games (0-2-3), and they were looking for their first win since January 12, 2012.
Historically, North Dakota is known for their impressive second half records after the first of the year.  So far during the second half of this season, UND’s record is a mediocre 3-3-2.
With the win tonight, that streak would improve to 4-3-3. Also, with the win, UND was also able to stop a five game winless streak (0-2-3).
Tonight, North Dakota wasted no time getting on the board as freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi drew a penalty 30 second into the game.
UND would cash in on the power-play with a goal from Mark MacMillan 15 seconds later. That was MacMillan’s ninth goal of the season.  Assisting on MacMillan’s goal was Rocco Grimaldi and Jordan Schmaltz.
Twelve minutes later, North Dakota would push the lead to 2-0 with another power-play goal by Joe Gleason. Drawing the assists on Gleason’s goal were Danny Kristo and Corban Knight.  With the assist, Kristo scored his 144th point of his career tying him with former fighting Sioux forward Jay Panzer, Jim Archibald and Jeff McLean.
After the game, UND Head coach Dave Hakstol talked about the importance of getting those two power play goals early in the game.
“I thought the first power play goal was key,” Hakstol said. “The second one was nice to get at as well. But bigger than that for me was the penalty kill that we had right back-to-back with our first power play goal.”
UND would push the score to 4-0, with two even strength goals, eight minutes apart from Sophomore Michael Parks.
After the game, Michael Parks’ line mate Carter Rowney, who assisted on both of Park’s goals, was excited to see him bury a few goals.
“I was really excited for Parks to get a couple few goals tonight,” Rowney said.  “Since we have been playing with each other we’ve been a little snake bitten. We’ve had our opportunities, but it wasn’t coming, but I think we tried to stick with it and tried to stay loose around the net. It was lucky enough to come in today.”
One Michael Parks’ goals came on a wraparound goal. This is what the sophomore forward had to say about his highlight goal.
“Oh finally,” Parks said. “A bit of a relief I think if anything – good play by Rowney – put it off the pad and it was really easy with the goalie being on the other side of the net.”
UW would great the shutout with a goal from Wisconsin junior forward Mark Zengerle at the 13:30 mark of the third period.
That was all of the scoring the rest of the way.
UND was strong defensively all weekend long, as the UND back end only give up two goals all weekend long. UND has only give up
“I would give us defensively, I would give us a B-plus,” Hakstol said. “I thought we were pretty responsible. Last night we created some of our own problems. On two or three occasions in a tight game like that, two or three opportunities against is a big deal. I thought we did little things well. I thought it was a weekend where we blocked shots well, which is something that we have been working to be better at. I liked that area of our game. I liked our over-all commitment to the defensive side“
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North Dakota and Wisconsin solve nothing in Grand Forks


Grand Forks, ND – All good things must come to an end. The Wisconsin Badgers and the University of North Dakota are going their separate ways after this season. The Wisconsin Badgers are going to the Big Ten, and UND is going to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The two teams will not play next season, and will take a one year break before renewing the historic rivalry during the 2014-15 season.

Earlier this week, Badgers head coach Mike Eaves said that it was a priority that the two teams have a nonconference scheduling agreement in the future.

Whenever North Dakota and Wisconsin get together, it’s usually an entertaining, and intense affair.  Tonight was no different. Wisconsin Badgers head coach Mike Eaves thought tonight’s game was entertaining.

“We talk about solving riddles, that was a wild one,” Eaves said. “I don’t know how that riddle was going to be solved tonight. There was great energy in the building, lots of wild and crazy things going on, on the ice, entertaining game for the fans.”

North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol also thought tonight’s game was a hard fought game. “From start to finish it was a hard played 65 Minutes,” Hakstol said.

While there was more than enough action on the ice tonight to keep the fans interested, there was little in the way of goal scoring.

During the first period neither team would score, and both teams would each put seven shots on their opponent’s net.

The game would get more exciting in the second period. North Dakota would score at the 00:25 mark of the second period on power play with a goal from senior forward Danny Kristo. Wisconsin would score 13 second later at the 0:38 mark of the second period, with a goal from junior forward Michael Mersch.
Unfortunately, that was all of the scoring in the game, and UND would outshoot Wisconsin 11-9 in the second period.

The second period would end with a scrum. Players from both teams’ would end up paired off on the ice with UND’s Andrew MacWilliam and Jake McCabe locked in a heated battle that landed them both in the box with double minors for roughing and each were given a 10 minute misconduct as well.  When it was all sorted out, both teams were assessed 20 minutes in penalties.

In the third period, UND would get into penalty trouble as freshman Drake Caggiula was assessed a five minute major for checking from behind. Fortunately, UND would kill the major penalty, and Wisconsin wasn’t really able to generate any chances because of North Dakota’s tenacious penalty kill.

UND and Wisconsin would go to overtime where nothing was settled, and the game would end in a 2-2 tie.
From the fun fact department; for three overtimes periods in a row, UND has had a scoring chance to win the game, and hit the post. Breaking it down further, senior forward Danny Kristo has hit the pipe in overtime in two consecutive games, during the overtime period.

After the game, this is how Kristo saw it.

“Corban [Knight] made a great pass and the goalie was kind out of position," Kristo said. "I shot it a little too hard, and It might have hit the crossbar. It’s one that wish I had it back. I think I we hit three pipes tonight, that’s just the way it was."

UND did themselves no favors in the overtime period,  sophomore forward Mitch MacMillan took an untimely roughing penalty in front of the Badgers bench at the 01:23 mark of the overtime period. UND would kill that penalty and get a power play themselves at the 03:19 mark, but were unable to get anything past Wisconsin Badgers sophomore goalie Landon Peterson.

Having to kill the five minute major in the third period and the minor penalty in the overtime period put UND in a difficult position and Coach Hakstol agreed.

“That’s putting ourselves in a tough position,” Hakstol said. “The five minute major,  I saw it, it was a fast play. So, I don’t have an evaluation on that. Once you get to overtime you don’t need an extra push in there.  Get to the bench, and let your teammate go out there and get back in the play.”

North Dakota needs two points tomorrow night, if they want to secure an upper division for the WCHA playoffs.  The Green and White are winless in the last five games going 0-2-3.

The same two teams play again Saturday at 7:07 p.m. at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Cross posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine... 

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Badgers hockey: North Dakota in future scheduling mix — if it drops 'Fighting Sioux' nickname

This is an article that I found on Madison.com that was written by Andy Baggot. Baggot is the beat writer that covers the Wisconsin Badgers hockey team and in my opinion is one of the better beat writers in college hockey.
Andy Baggot, Madison.com --- The schools have a tentative four-year scheduling agreement that could begin as early as 2014-15. It's all predicated on the status of North Dakota's nickname and if complies with a UW policy that prohibits scheduling non-conference opponents with Native American monikers deemed offensive by the NCAA.

The North Dakota Board of Education ordered the "Fighting Sioux'' nickname dropped last summer after eight years of wrangling with the NCAA over its determination that the moniker and its imagery were offensive. The NCAA requires unanimous support of local tribal leaders to approve a Native American nickname and that was not the case here.

North Dakota has been ordered by the state Legislature not to adopt a new nickname for three years.

As long as North Dakota is deemed compliant with the UW policy on Native American nicknames the teams will start playing in 2014-15.
So when I see this article, I am a little disappointed – the Fighting Sioux nickname issue is over. The Fighting Sioux nickname is gone; the University of North Dakota no longer refers to itself as the Fighting Sioux. Unless I missed something, I personally don’t see the Fighting Sioux nickname coming back. The University of North Dakota has moved on. I don’t see any reason that UND wouldn’t be compliant during the 2014-15 season.

Monday, December 31, 2012

WCHA Power Rankings 12/31/2012

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo
Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Here are this week’s WCHA Power Rankings. This season, I will be doing the WCHA Power Rankings with Taylor Seibel who is a contributor of College Hockey Weekly.

1. Minnesota Gophers – (13-3-3, WCHA 6-3-3) – This past weekend, the Minnesota Gophers beat (4-0 W, 8-1 W) Air Force Academy and Boston College in their annual Mariucci Classic. The Gophers are off till January 8th when they play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a single nonconference game.

2. University of North Dakota – (10-5-3, WCHA 7-2-3) – The Green and White have been off during the Christmas break and return to action this weekend against Holy Cross at Ralph Englestad Arena.

3. Denver University – (10-6-3, WCHA 7-4-3) – This past weekend, the Denver Pioneers beat (6-0 W) the Boston University Terriers in the Hall of Fame Game in Denver. The Pioneers snapped a horrid streak and now have a single win in their last nine games (1-5-3). This weekend, the Pioneers entertain ECAC Foe Cornell in an important two game series in Magness Arena.

4. Minnesota State Mankato – (12-6-2, WCHA 8-6-0) – This past weekend, the Mavericks won (3-1 W – 3-1 W) the UConn Hockey Classic in Storrs, Connecticut. This weekend, The Mavericks entertain Hockey East Foe Providence at the Verizon Wireless Center, in Mankato. While the Mavericks schedule might not be all that impressive on paper – they’re 43rd in SOS – they have won nine of 10 games and would be a bubble team for the NCAA tourney if it was selection Sunday. It will be interesting to see how the second half of their season shakes out. The Mavericks toughest games during the second half of the season are against Minnesota and North Dakota and only play 7 out of the next 16 games away from the Verizon Wireless Center.

5. Saint Cloud State – (12-8-0, WCHA 9-5-0) – This past weekend, the Huskies had an unimpressive split (3-4 L – 2-1 w) ECAC foe Rensselaer at the National Hockey Center. This weekend, the Huskies entertain CCHA foe Northern Michigan.

6. Nebraska Omaha – (11-8-1, WCHA 7-4-1) – This past weekend, the Mavericks were swept (4-5 L – 1-3 L) by the Quinnipiac Bobcats. This weekend, the Mavericks entertain the Colorado College Tigers in a pivotal two game WCHA series, at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

7. Colorado College – (8-10-2, WCHA 5-6-1) – The Colorado College have been off during the Christmas break. This weekend, the Tigers travel to Omaha, Nebraska to play the Mavericks in an important two game WCHA series.

8. Michigan Tech – (6-10-3, WCHA 3-8-3) – This past weekend, the Huskies won (4-0 W – 4-0 W) the Great Lakes Invitational in Detroit Michigan. The Huskies snapped a seven game winless streak. This weekend, the Huskies are off.

9.  Wisconsin – (4-7-5, WCHA 2-5-5) – The Wisconsin Badgers have been off during the Christmas Break, This weekend, the Badgers travel to Anchorage, Alaska to play the UAA Seawolves.

10. Minnesota Duluth – (7-10-3, WCHA 5-6-3) – This past weekend, the UMD Bulldogs took fourth place  (0-1 L – 2-6 L)  in the Florida College losing to Maine and Ferris State. With their title this weekend, Maine has won the Florida College Classic seven times since 2000. This weekend, the Bulldogs are off.

11. Bemidji State – (5-9-3, WCHA 4-7-3) – Last night, the Bemidji State Beavers lost (3-4) to Massachusetts in the first round of the Ledyard Bank Classic in Hanover, NH. Tonight, the Beavers play New Hampshire in the third place game of the Ledyard Bank Classic. This Weekend, the Beavers play a nonconference series against CCHA foe Western Michigan.

12. Alaska Anchorage – (3-9-4, WCHA 1-8-3) – The Seawolves have been off during the Christmas Break. This weekend, the Seawolves entertain the Wisconsin Badgers at the Sullivan Arena. The Seawolves have won one game in the last 12 games (1-8-3).

Taylor Seibel's WCHA Power Rankings

1. North Dakota – (10-5-3, 7-2-3 WCHA) – North Dakota has had several weeks off since their last game action, but going into the break, nobody was playing better hockey than UND.  Next week, Holy Cross comes to the Ralph to take on North Dakota in Non-Conference play.

2. Minnesota – (13-3-3, 6-3-3 WCHA) – Minnesota came up big in the Mariucci Classic this weekend, knocking off Air Force before destroying #1 Boston College 8-1.  The Gophers have gradually improved throughout the season, and appear to be on the verge of becoming the offensive juggernaut that many thought they would be at the beginning of the season.  Minnesota takes on Notre Dame next Tuesday in a key non-conference game.

3. St. Cloud State – (12-8-0, 9-5-0 WCHA) – The Huskies had some struggles against RPI this weekend in a split at home.  St. Cloud State should be in the mix for the MacNaughton in February and March, and they look to get back on track next weekend against Northern Michigan.

4. Denver – (10-6-3, 7-4-3 WCHA) – DU had been struggling mightily before Christmas, but they responded in a big way this weekend in a 6-0 trouncing of BU.  Juho Olkinuora has been on an impressive streak of late, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Denver finds their way back into the spotlight under Olkinuora’s guidance.  Next weekend, DU hosts Cornell in a critical non-conference series.

5. Minnesota State – (12-6-2, 8-6-0 WCHA) – Mankato was able to win the UConn Hockey Classic this weekend, beating both Brown and UConn by 3-1 scores.  The Mavs have won 9 of their last 10, and while their schedule has not been very impressive, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to show that they are for real in the second half of the season.  Providence comes to Mankato next weekend in non-conference action.

6. Nebraska Omaha – (11-8-1, 7-4-1 WCHA) – The Mavericks of Omaha had a disappointing weekend, getting swept at Quinnipiac.  Omaha has the talent to be a top 4 or 5 team in the WCHA, but they need to work on their consistency.  Next weekend, UNO hosts Colorado College in WCHA action.

7. Colorado College – (8-10-2, 5-6-1 WCHA) – The Tigers have not played since getting swept in St. Cloud a few weeks ago.  CC has a potent offense, but their goalie play and defense will need to improve if CC wants to be host a playoff series this season.  The Tigers travel to Omaha to take on the Mavs.

8. Michigan Tech – (6-10-3, 3-8-3 WCHA) – The Huskies completed a very impressive weekend of play in keeping both of their opponents off the scoreboard en route to winning their first Great Lakes Invitational since 1981.  Tech struggled in the first half of the season, but have a reasonable schedule to make a second half run and content for home ice.  Next weekend, Tech is off.

9. Minnesota Duluth – (7-10-3, 5-6-3 WCHA) – The Bulldogs struggled in their holiday performance, losing games to Maine and Ferris State, scoring only 2 goals on the weekend.  Duluth will need to get their offense going in the second half if they want to have a shot for home ice.  Next weekend, Duluth is off.

10. Wisconsin – (4-7-5, 2-5-5 WCHA) – Wisconsin did not play during the holidays.  Wisconsin had been playing significantly better hockey heading into the holidays.  If they can continue that play, they may be able to salvage the season.  Next weekend, the Badgers make the trek up to Anchorage to take on the Seawolves in WCHA play.

11. Bemidji State – (5-9-3, 4-7-3 WCHA) – The Beavers are currently playing in the Ledyard Bank 3rd place game against UNH as I write this, but it does not appear that they will walk away from the weekend with a victory.  Next weekend, BSU squares off against Western Michigan.

12. Alaska Anchorage – (3-9-4, 1-8-3 WCHA) – The Seawolves did not play during the holidays.  UAA has shown flashes of greatness, but have not been able to consistently outplay their opponents.  Next weekend, UAA hosts Wisconsin in WCHA action.

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