B1G Hockey Conference Trophy

A peak at the new Big 10 hockey conference trophy twitter.com/GopherPuckStat…
— Gopher Hockey Stats (@GopherPuckStats) March 7, 2013

There it is, the new Big 10 hockey conference trophy, what do you think? I think it looks like something you put on the end of an arrow...

Related articles

• Lamoureux Sisters Lasso Mavericks (insidehockey.com)

UND Women’s Hockey; Lamoureux sisters Lasso Mavericks 8-1

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Forks, ND – All good things must come to an end.

Last night, I came home after the men’s game between UND and BSU and told my wife that I couldn’t miss today’s game between the UND women and Minnesota State Mavericks.

The reason I wanted to go to the game today – this was going to be a historic event – this was going to be an end of an era, sort of.

It was the last chance for me and 1259 in attendance to watch Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux play hockey at Ralph Engelstad Arena, ever, barring an unforeseen meltdown and the UND hockey team would send their fans home with something to cheer about.

That meltdown did not happen, as the UND women ran around and through the Minnesota State Mavericks out of the Ralph Engelstad Arena 8-1.

During their time in the green and white the Lamoureux twins have racked up a lot of goals and gave goalies around the WCHA fits.

The twins paced UND with 10 points among them, leaving the sister tandem ranked 1-2 all-time in the WCHA for points Jocelyne Lamoureux (125g-158a—284pts) and Monique Lamoureux (112g-152a—264Pts).  Today, with her (2g-4a—6pts) Monique also passed former Wisconsin Badgers forward Hillary Knight (143g-119a—262pts).  That’s no small accomplishment since Monique is a defenseman and Hillary Knight is a forward.

If you haven’t watched them play, the twins are worth the price of admission. They’re electric, dynamic and they’re world class players that are part of an exciting line-up that comes to work every day and gives their best effort.

Like yesterday, the UND women came out with a bit of an edge and it appeared as if they had something to prove and pushed the lead to 5-1 after one period of hockey outshooting the Minnesota State Mavericks 23-10.

And of course, UND chased Mavericks goalie Erin Krichiver at the 15:40 mark of the first period, after putting four goals past her, Deanielle Butters replaced her in the Maverick net  and she received roughly the same treatment from a UND hockey team as well, as she let in four goals as well.

After the game, Jocelyne Lamoureux came out to the postgame press conference still wearing her game jersey, and you could tell that the senior forward was taken back by the moment.

“It’s pretty sad you know,” Jocelyne said. “We took the last lap as seniors together. It’s sad that it’s over, we found our parents in the crowd, gave them a wave.  It’s hard to believe that it’s over, here, at the Ralph. I haven’t taken my white jersey off yet, we’re going blacks (jerseys) the rest of the way, were going to be away for the rest of the season. Hopefully we can make some good things happen, but right now we’re going to take it all in and appreciate everything that I got here, while I’ve got it.”

Jocelyne’s sister Monique came to the press conference after and she was also affected by the moment as well.

“You can probably see that I was crying 10 minutes ago,” Monique said. “I am usually the first one out of the locker room. There were three or four of us that just sat there in our equipment for a little bit. It’s sad that it’s over here, but hopefully we have five more games left [NCAA Playoffs].”

The irony is, UND is known for taking penalties and at times playing undisciplined hockey and having a parade to the penalty box. Today, UND had one minor penalty called against them, after the game, UND head coach Brian Idalski was asked if he ever thought that he would see his team only get called for one minor penalty.

“No, honestly, what do we average 14 minutes a game,” Idalski said. “You talk about Jocelyn and Monique and I think they get a bad rap, but they’ve been great and very disciplined here down the stretch and penalty free. A solid effort, that discipline goes a long way.

UND will now travel to the Minneapolis to play in the Final Face-Off next weekend at Ridder Arena.  With the win, UND remains in the eighth position of the pairwise ranking of the pairwise rankings

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 

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

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. 1		Wisconsin at Nebraska-Omaha	NBC Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Mar. 1		Ferris State at Michigan	CBS Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Fri.	Mar. 1		Bemidji State at UND	FCS/Midco	7:37pm	626
Fri.	Mar. 1		Denver at Minnesota	BTN	7:00 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Sat.	Mar. 2		Providence at Boston College	NESN	3:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Sat.	Mar. 2		Mass. at New Hampshire	FCS	6:00 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Mar. 2		Ferris State at Michigan	FS Detroit	7:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Mar. 2		Denver at Minnesota	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sun.	Mar. 3		UMass Lowell at Merrimack	CBS 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.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

Friday's game will be on DirecTV channel 626. No DirecTV Saturday. Both games on FOX College Sports Central.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 28, 2013

Related articles

• UND vs. Denver; College Hockey's Hatfield-McCoy feud (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Jeff Dubay of 1500ESPN answers a few questons (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Corban Knight for Hobey Baker? (insidehockey.com)
• Breaking down the Minnesota vs. North Dakota Rivalry (thehockeywriters.com)

Wisconsin Badgers falling on tough times at the gate

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

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

Related articles

• This weekend's NCAA Division one television schedule (3/01 -3/02) (thehockeywriters.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 20 (thehockeywriters.com)

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.

The good news is that Gopher fans will have a full period to get their whines about how this was a stupid idea ready.
— Chris Dilks (@ChrisDilks) February 17, 2013

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 

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 19 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 18 (insidehockey.com)

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.

Referees confirm no-goal after reviewing the play. LaBate with the high stick.
— Andy Johnson (@AndyJohnsonB5Q) February 17, 2013

Remember. MN would have needed to established possession in order negate the high stick. Bouncing off is not possession.
— GPL (@GopherPuckLive) February 17, 2013

Related articles

• UND vs. UW goals and Jefferson Dahl dive (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

(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.

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.

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.

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 144^th 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“

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine... 

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...