UND WHKY: Border battle

Grand Forks, N.D. -- Rewind to Nov. 21 of last year and the North Dakota women's hockey was on a eight-game winless skid. The team was swept by the Minnesota Gopher powerhouse and the newly revitalized Bemidji State program. They had a loss and a tie against Wisconsin.

Nothing seemed to be going right at that point in the season. But since Dec. 12, the team has gone 8-1-1. Most recently tallying back-to-back sweeps of Ohio State and BSU. Last weekend North Dakota was able to pull off a in and tie against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

The games that North Dakota has won as of late haven't been high scoring or glamorous, but the program has done enough of the right things to claw themselves back from sixth place in the WCHA to fourth.

The keys to UND's success have been the defense and being backstopped by junior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie. Amsley-Benzie has allowed only four goals in the last six games and has three shutouts against nationally ranked opponents. She has also been named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week twice since the beginning of 2015.

Currently North Dakota trails Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA standings by three points and is ranked 10th in the Pairwise with only six games remaining in the regular season.

This weekend North Dakota will face rival Minnesota on Friday at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday at 4:07 p.m.. The Gophers are 17-1-4 with the lone loss to Bemidji in Nov. of last year. If UND plans to be successful this weekend against the Gophers they will need carry momentum from the past three weeks and have exceptional goaltending and defense.

UND is hoping to pack The Ralph and break last year's attendance record. Attendees will receive one of these ridiculously fun(ny) foam stick hats. Tickets are available for $1 at The Ralph box office.

College Hockey: Friday Morning Reading, Putting on the Links

The NCHC Blog has their weekly predictions - I disagree that WMU is going to get a split this weekend. I would be very shocked if that happened. (USCHO)

College Hockey: Division III Atmospheres that Rival Division I (The Hockey Writers)

UND vs. Niagara (The Hockey Writers)

Getting to know UND goalie Cam Johnson (The Hockey Writers)

Friday Morning Reading (University of North Dakota Hockey)

The NCHC Power Rankings (Inside Hockey)

The Sioux Football Insider has a list of Visitors for the weekend. (Sioux Football Insider)

The College Hockey News is fawning all over the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs this week. Duluth Defense Partner Swaps Key Recent Run (College Hockey News)

The NCHC has had a strong year: the Pairwise Rankings are as follows, UMD 2, UNO 4, UND 6, MU 7, Denver 17. (Pairwise Rankings)

WHKY: North Dakota splits with Syracuse

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota came out of winter break in non-convference action against Syracuse University. By the final buzzer on Sunday afternoon UND earned a split on the weekend.

It took the first 20 minutes of Saturdays's game for North Dakota to work out the rust from break. With tired 'Cuse players on the ice, Gracen Hirshy scored the first goal of the game.

During the second period UND was able to hold the Orange to four shots on goal. North Dakota maintained the lead and dictate the majority of play for the remainder of the game.

Former Warroad Warriors teammates Layla Marvin and Kayla Gardner both found the scoresheet. This included a two-goal game for Marvin who potted an empty net goal with under a minute remaining in the game.

North Dakota got off to a strong start on Sunday, but ended the first period with a one-goal deficit when The Orange scored on the power play at the 6:42 mark. There were no shortage of chances in the form of odd-player rushes and open nets, but UND was never able to capitalize.

The lone goal for North Dakota came after they were able to tire Syracuse after a power play in the second. As time dwindled on the clock during the third period the pressure mounted. "Kids started gripping their sticks and it was brutal," head coach Brian Idalski said.

North Dakota will resume WCHA conference play when they meet with the WCHA third-ranked, Ohio State Buckeyes this coming weekend. OSU left the weekend with a sweep over the St. Cloud State Huskies.

WHKY Weekend Preview: Green & White meets Orange

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- UND women's hockey returns to play against Syracuse this weekend at the Ralph Engelstad Arena for an afternoon Saturday-Sunday series. The non-conference series will be the first time the teams have met in program history.

UND heads into second-half action after a road sweep of RIT.  "We finished stronger than we started. Hopefully we can carry that and be stronger when the play-offs come around," Andrea Dalen said.

This weekend they will focus on containing Syracuse Orange's leading scorers Stephanie Grossi and, fellow freshman, Alysha Burriss. Prior to Saturday's series opener, the Orange are coming off of a 2-0 loss to Colgate.

Look for North Dakota to attempt to carry some momentum and building blocks from the first half of the season. "We want to see a lot more wins, obviously," head coach Brian Idalski said. "I think structurally we're much better. Talent wise, development of some of our younger kids being comfortable within their role."

North Dakota gets underway tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.. Live audio can be heard (free) at UND Sports Tickets are available at the REA box office: adults $7, youth $5 and UND students free with student ID.

He Said What? Comparing the CHL and the NCAA

Recently, I wrote Comparing BU’s Jack Eichel to Other College Hockey Greats for the Hockey Writers and apparently one of my comments in a post caught the eye of a CHL fan.

Since McDavid plays in the OHL and Eichel plays in college, it’s almost impossible to compare the two players’ stats. First, Eichel is playing against older players in college hockey. Second, McDavid is racking up points against younger players in the OHL. This is not a slam on either league. Both college and Major Juniors are good routes for development and both players are great talents.

However, we can compare their WJHC numbers. In his first five games for team Canada, McDavid scored (2g-5a—7pts). On the flip side, in five games Eichel scored (1g-3a—4pts). For the sake of comparison, Dylan Larkin who scored (5g-2a—7pts) was the top player on team USA.

Comparing Eichel to the other first round draft choices on the USA WJC team, Alex Tuch scored (1g-1a—2pts), Sonny Milano (2g-2a—4pts).

One of the questions that I wanted to explore was how does Eichel compare to other college hockey greats? Since Eichel has only played 16 games, I am not sure how much of a comparison we can make. In my opinion, the only statistic that we can use to compare him to the others college hockey greats is points per game. (read the rest of the post)

Nevertheless, college hockey players are playing against older, stronger players in college hockey. The players in the CHL are playing against younger players, there's statistics to back this up.

I found this article and it does a good job of explaining it. Most college hockey fans know this as well. The person in question, didn't

“The game is more intense,” Gadowsky said. “I think that makes it more difficult to put up a lot of points. The rosters in college dictate that every player that’s on the ice, is going to be at a very high level.”

The disparity in size and ability between a 16 and 20-year-old is much different than that of a 21 and 25-year-old, he said.

Though there is no fighting in college hockey as there is in major junior hockey, older college-aged players will be more equally developed in strength and stature than their younger counterparts in the CHL. (Matt Nestor, the Daily Collegian) 

 The fact remains, the CHL and the NCAA are both great routes for development. There's no debating this. The CHL is a great route to the NHL if you're a high draft pick. If you're a late bloomer, the NCAA route is probably better.

Jack Eichel: "I'm Spending More Time in the Weight Room"

View image | gettyimages.com

Josh Cooper from Yahoo's Puck Daddy interviewed Boston University freshman Jack Eichel. I found the comment below to be interesting.

Why the NCAA route? What about college enticed you? It had to be more than just taking classes?

I grew up in Boston and watching Hockey East and the Beanpot, so it was always my dream to play at a school like BC or BU. I never dreamed of going to Quebec and playing for a team there, so I guess that’s first and foremost is this is my dream to go here. And then looking at the pros, a lot of people say it’s a disadvantage that I’m not playing as many games.

But I can look at it as an advantage of I’m spending more time in the weight room. There’s a lot more emphasis on each game. Everything is a lot more detailed if you’re playing 40 games in comparison to playing 80 to 100. That’s one thing. And I just thought the college game was better for me. I had played a few years of junior and I didn’t think another year of junior was the best route. I felt I needed to go challenge myself again against older, bigger and stronger competition, where it would challenge me night-in, night-out more than I believe the CHL would. I think on top of all that I was able to get the experience of going to college. Living in Boston. This is everything I’ve wanted, so it was kind of a no-brainer.

One of the benefits of playing college hockey over Major Juniors is you get more time to develop physically and get bigger. There's a lot of weight room time. You're not playing a full 75-80 game schedule.   One of the things that I have noticed since I started covering UND hockey is how a player transforms in four years of hockey.

WHKY: UND sweeps the Huskies under the rug and heads to Madison

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota women's hockey team picked up their first home sweep of the season over St. Cloud on Sunday.

The sweep didn't come easy. Although UND held the lead for the entire game, the Huskies outperformed themselves from their Saturday afternoon showing. UND was able to hold onto a 3-1 lead to cap off the weekend before heading to Madison, Wisconsin .

North Dakota goes into their Friday and Sunday series against WCHA top-ranked Wisconsin with a three-game unbeaten streak. In their first meeting this season UND settled for a tie and a loss.

The team hopes to ride their recent momentum into this weekend. "I think we have to score early and keep the lead, and play smart like we have been," jr., forward Becca Kohler said. "Now that we have a few games under our belt we're feeling more confident."

Head coach Brian Idalski said that he anticipates a high pace, high intensity series against the Badgers. North Dakota hopes to snap Wisconsin's 10 game unbeaten streak and five game shutout streak.

North Dakota will play Wisconsin Friday at 3:07 p.m. and Sunday at 2:07 p.m.. Web audio streaming can be heard here. For more information and game day notes visit UNDSports.com.

WHKY: North Dakota takes advantage of St. Cloud's woes

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- St. Cloud State University's Lexi Slattery scored late in the third ending the longest scoreless streak in program history. It was too late. North Dakota put up five goals before the shutout ended and tacked on another 21 seconds after Slattery's goal.

Gracen Hirschy, who had two goals on the night, started the scoring around six minutes into the first on an even strength goal. "[We] wanted to play with a lead. That's been very important to us; to get a bit of a cushion and have teams have to open up," head coach Brian Idalski said.

During the second Jakobsen ended her own 11-game scoreless streak by scoring a pair of goals before the game ended. "That's someone that we needed to produce and we're looking for to carry us a little bit," Idalski said. "Getting her to shoot the puck and have her playing with confidence is huge for us going forward."

UND finished yesterday with a dominating 6-1 win, holding St. Cloud to three shots on goal during the first and five in the second. UND carried most of the play throughout the entire game keeping the Huskies in defensive territory.

"I think winning gives you confidence and a lot of things are clicking for us. Systems wise and execution wise we're really doing what we need to do," sophomore defense Halli Krzyaniak said.

North Dakota hopes to carry that momentum into today's game while looking for its first home sweep of the season. UND will host the Huskies in the series finale today at 2:00 p.m. at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Eight UND games on FOX College Sports TV schedule

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) announced today that 11 NCHC games have been added to the league’s national television schedule on FOX College Sports (FCS) in 2014-15, including seven involving the University of North Dakota.

The five home games, produced in high-definition by Midco Sports Network (MidcoSN), include games against Miami (Nov. 15), Omaha (Nov. 29), Colorado College (Jan. 24), Denver (Feb. 14) and St. Cloud State (Feb. 28).

Dan Hammer is his third season as the play-by-play voice for UND Athletics while former UND forward Scott Koberinski returns as color analyst. Veteran broadcaster Katie Hale also returns as the ice-level intermission reporter.

UND will also have two road games air nationally on FCS: the Jan. 31 game at Omaha, produced by PBS affiliate Nebraska Educational Telecommunications (NET1), and the March 7 game at Miami, produced by Time Warner Cable Sports Channel in Ohio.

Today’s announcement increased the number of regular-season UND men’s hockey national broadcasts in 2014-15 to 13, up from seven in 2013-14. This year’s national broadcast schedule also includes six previously-announced games on CBS Sports Network (CBSSN): vs. Minnesota Duluth (Jan. 10), vs. Colorado College (Jan. 23), at Omaha (Jan. 30), at Western Michigan (Feb. 20), vs. St. Cloud State (Feb. 27) and at Miami (March 6).

UND Men’s Hockey National TV Schedule

Date Opponent Network
Nov. 15 Miami FOX College Sports
Nov. 21 SCSU FOX College Sports
Nov. 29 Omaha FOX College Sports
Jan. 10 at Minnesota Duluth CBS Sports Network
Jan. 23 Colorado College CBS Sports Network
Jan. 24 Colorado College FOX College Sports
Jan. 30 at Omaha CBS Sports Network
Jan. 31 at Omaha FOX College Sports
Feb. 14 Denver FOX College Sports
Feb. 20 at Western Michigan CBS Sports Network
Feb. 27 St. Cloud State CBS Sports Network
Feb. 28 St. Cloud State FOX College Sports
March 6 at Miami CBS Sports Network
March 7 at Miami FOX College Sports

Men's Division I Hockey Inter-Conference Records: 2014-2015

So far so good. To date, the NCHC has the best non-conference record in division I college hockey. Last season, the NCHC had a mediocre out of conference record and it ended up costing the league in the end.

Men's Division I Hockey Inter-Conference Records: 2014-2015

Men's Division I Hockey Inter-Conference Records:2014-2015

vs.	Atlantic Hockey	Big Ten	ECAC	Hockey East	NCHC	WCHA	OOC Record
Atlantic Hockey	—	0-1-0 (.000)	3-7-0 (.300)	1-6-0 (.143)	1-1-0 (.500)	2-2-0 (.500)	7-17-0 (.292)
Big Ten	1-0-0 (1.000)	—	1-0-0 (1.000)	5-6-1 (.458)	1-2-0 (.333)	2-6-1 (.278)	10-14-2 (.423)
ECAC	7-3-0 (.700)	0-1-0 (.000)	—	6-4-1 (.591)	3-5-0 (.375)	1-2-1 (.375)	17-15-2 (.529)
Hockey East	6-1-0 (.857)	6-5-1 (.542)	4-6-1 (.409)	—	2-2-1 (.500)	3-2-1 (.583)	21-16-4 (.561)
NCHC	1-1-0 (.500)	2-1-0 (.667)	5-3-0 (.625)	2-2-1 (.500)	—	7-5-0 (.583)	17-12-1 (.583)
WCHA	2-2-0 (.500)	6-2-1 (.722)	2-1-1 (.625)	2-3-1 (.417)	5-7-0 (.417)	—	17-15-3 (.529)

 

One of the concerns last season was the NCHC’s non-conference record. As you can see, so far, the NCHC has the best non-conference record. Obviously, that could change.

Providence Journal: Highly ranked PC hockey should be Frozen Four participant

Here's an interesting article by Providence College hockey beat writer Mark Divver. UND plays Providence College in a high profile series at the Ralph this weekend.

Mark Divver, Providence Journal -- On Friday night at Ohio State, Providence College drops the puck on what has the potential to be a season for the ages.

Coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 years, the Friars were ranked third behind perennial powerhouses Minnesota and North Dakota in both preseason national polls. Hockey East coaches picked PC — which returns 19 players from last season — to win the league title.

With the NCAA East Regional scheduled for the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence next March, followed by the Frozen Four at the TD Garden in Boston in April, the Friars have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a magical season.

Coach Nate Leaman is pleased but not satisfied with the progress that’s been made since he came to PC in 2011 from Union College — where he helped build the program that won the national championship last April.

“That’s what (PC) hired me to do. They hired me to get the program moving in the right direction,” he said.

College Hockey News: Northeastern Placed on 3 Years Probation

According to College Hockey News, Northeastern was placed on three years of probation. Per the blog post by CHN, "The NCAA action does not include a post-season ban for any teams; it does not require the university to vacate any records; and it does not place a restriction on competition or student-athlete participation."

Basically, this is a slap on the wrist for Northeastern. If Northeastern had lost a scholarship or two, this probation might have mattered.

College Hockey News -- The NCAA's Committee on Infractions has imposed a penalty of three years probation to the Northeastern athletic department, in part due to actions that took place during the tenure of previous head coach Greg Cronin.

Cronin and then-assistant coach Albie O'Connell were suspended in February 2011 when the school discovered improper telephone and text message contacts with recruits.

They were reinstated one month later.

Northeastern, which was on probation at the time for infractions by its men's basketball team, self-reported the incident to the NCAA. In June of that year, Cronin stepped down and took a position as assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He's now an assistant with the New York Islanders.

Violations also included track & field - probation is for the athletic dept. not specfiically the current hockey program
— College Hockey News (@chnews) October 9, 2014

Northeastern Placed on 3 Years Probation ... Violations Go Back to 2009 Under Greg Cronin - http://t.co/tk9a71O0U3 @Northeastern MHKY
— College Hockey News (@chnews) October 9, 2014

UND Third in CHN Preseason Poll

Apparently, Providence is the team to beat in Hockey East. (Link to the Poll)
1. MINNESOTA
2. PROVIDENCE
3. NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota returns all but five players that suffered a heart-breaking Frozen Four loss last season — count that as plenty of motivation for a team that went 15-2-1 down the stretch run. With Clarke Saunders gone, junior Zane McIntyre (formerly Gothberg) takes over the net full time and is set up for even more success with a deep veteran defense in front of him. Senior Nick Mattson and junior Jordan Schmaltz headline a crew of blueliners that do everything well and should see sophomore Paul LaDue have an increased role. Up front, Austin Poganski and Nick Schmaltz will fit right in with North Dakota's forwards who can win with goals, physicality, or speed. Expect Drake Caggiula to take a big leap in his third year of collegiate play.

4. BOSTON COLLEGE
5. COLGATE
6. MINNESOTA STATE
7. MIAMI
8. MICHIGAN
9. ST. CLOUD STATE
10. FERRIS STATE

Zach Parise not a fan of the Dump and Chase

#488511295 / gettyimages.com

s/t to Chris Peters. Former UND All-American Zach Parise isn’t a fan of the dump and chase. I know a few UND hockey fans that will agree with Zach’s opinion. This has been a topic of much debate on Sioux Sports.


Me personally, I know why you see the dump and chase in college hockey. I have seen UND run it from time-to-time. College hockey teams tend to lineup at the blue line and it’s tougher to just skate across the blue line. If they refs aren't calling the obstruction closely, and they're letting the players "play the game", sometimes teams will have no choice but to dump and chase the puck in to the offensive zone.   It is what it is. The NHL is a much different game than college hockey, and I don't see the dump and chase going away anytime soon.

Michael Russo, Star Tribune -- “I read a study this summer that showed shots generated off carrying the puck in as opposed to dumping it in, and it's like 4-to-1. It's not even close,” said Parise, who is set to make his preseason debut with linemates Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville against the Penguins on Thursday night. “I just found it so interesting because everyone's like, ‘Forecheck, forecheck, forecheck.'

Personally, I am not a big fan of the advanced stats either. In a nut shell, the stat that matters the most is wins and losses. Also, goals and assists are what drive a hockey player's salary. Ugly wins count just as much in the standings as pretty blow out wins.

Related articles

• Two Ex-UND Hockey Players in Top-10 for Playoff Scoring

UND Hockey: 25 Former UND hockey Players on NHL Training Camp Rosters

The list has been updated, there were a few omissions.

Arizona Coyotes: Matt Smaby, Buffalo Sabres: Drew Stafford (A); Calgary Flames: Corban Knight; Carolina Hurricanes: Brad Malone; Chicago Blackhawks: Jonathan Toews (C); Edmonton Oilers: Dillon Simpson; Florida Panthers: Rocco Grimaldi; Los Angeles Kings: Derek Forbort, Matt Greene (A); Minnesota Wild: Zach Parise (A); Montreal Canadiens: Joe Finley; Nashville Bredators: Brian Lee; New Jersey Devils Darcy Zajac, Travis Zajac (A); New York Rangers: Danny Kristo; Philadelphia Flyers: Brett Hextall, Chris Vande Velde; Pittsburgh Penguins: Taylor Chorney; San Jose Sharks: Aaron Dell, Evan Trupp; St. Louis Blues: T.J. Oshie (A); Chris Porter; Toronto Maple Leafs: Matt Frattin, Andrew MacWilliam.

Currently, UND has six players wearing letters.

Some have mentioned that Adam Tambellini is in camp with the New York Rangers. Personally, I could care less. Tambo left the team and his teammates halfway through his first season to go to the WHL, so in my opinion, he’s a Calgary Hitman. It is what it is.

John Buccigross : UND Second in Pre-Season Twitter Poll

#484640483 / gettyimages.com

John Buccigross (@Buccigross) tweeted his college hockey top 10.

1-Minnesota
2-N.Dakota
3-Colgate
4-BC
5-Providence
6-Miami
7-St Cloud
8-Michigan
9-Ferris St
10-N'Eastern

I never put must stock in pre-season polls or prediction, but they're fun to look at and talk about. Life is a crap shoot, nothing ever shakes out the way the pundits predict anyways.

Last season, Miami University was the odds on favorite to win the Penrose Cup and they finished last in the NCHC. The RedHawks ended up knocking off SCSU in the first round of the NCHC playoffs, and fell one game short of making the NCAA tourney. Four NCHC teams in the Buccigross top ten.

Calgary Herald: Scouts’ subterfuge played big role in Flames snaring Johnny Gaudreau at 2011 NHL draft

#485119909 / gettyimages.com

Interesting story about former Boston College Eagles Johnny Gaudreau. Reading the article, I am sure that you will see a few familiar names thrown out in this article. Gaudrea is one of the most prolific players to play college hockey in some time. It will be interesting to see how he does with the Calgary Flames this season.

Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald — They liked him. They liked him a lot.

So they wanted to avoid tipping their hand. No easy thing in a world as small as hockey’s.

To keep their degree of admiration hidden, they didn’t approach the player — not even once — leading up to the 2011 National Hockey League draft. And they took secrecy one step further by not talking to the boy’s junior coach, either.

Why? Because they knew that Peter Chiarelli, general manager of the Boston Bruins, had an ownership stake in the USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints and, should they pick the brain of skipper Jim Montgomery, word of their interest could trickle back to Beantown.

But the Calgary Flames, with stealth, did their homework on Johnny Gaudreau.

Repeated viewings, of course. Also casual discussions with opposing coaches. These chats, by design, were kept lighthearted.

MY NCHC Predictions

I posted my predictions for the NCHC season at the Hockey Writers.

League Champion (Playoffs)

Before I get accused of being a homer, hear me out. I predict the University of North Dakota will be the NCHC playoff champion. Here’s why. During his 10 seasons at UND, head coach Dave Hakstol’s teams have a (.583) winning percentage before Christmas and (.697) winning percentage after the Christmas break.  Hakstol’s teams typically peak during the second half of the season, so a playoff championship isn’t out of the question.  UND returns one of the top defensive corps in the NCHC, and also one of the top goaltenders.


I think my top three will probably go like this, as of right now. Thoughts.
1. Miami
2 UND
3. SCSU

Badgers Blog: Mike Eaves believes Big Ten hockey will grow within next 10 years

Hey, the more the merrier. Right? I think it's a great idea. I think there's a lot of room for expansion in college hockey.

Jeff Potrykus, Journal Sentinel Madison – Mike Eaves believes the first season of the Big Ten men’s hockey conference was a success.

“What we saw from our students, they identified with the Penn States, the Ohio States and the Michigan States,” UW's veteran coach Eaves told the UW athletic board on Friday. “So even if they didn’t know much about hockey, they knew those schools and they would tend to come to our games.”

Eaves went on to say that he believes the Big Ten will expand from its current base of six teams sometime within the next five to 10 years.

The six teams are UW, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota and Penn State.

“I know that Indiana and Illinois have great club (programs),” Eaves said. “Northwestern has had a group get together looking at the (possibility), which makes a lot of sense because Chicago has great hockey.”

According to Eaves, former UW defenseman Chris Chelios is involved in the group studying the feasibility of adding men’s hockey at Northwestern.