ALSO there is talk that WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod will be in Omaha this week to talk with Nebraska-Omaha officials about joining the league. At the same time, Omaha's new athletic director, Trev Alberts, is in the midst of a search for a hockey coach, to replace Mike Kemp. The most recent rumor is that Dean Blais is the coaching front-runner, while UMD assistant Steve Rohlik is a former Omaha assistant.
Give us your ideas for a new UND nickname
What is the perfect nickname for the University of North Dakota? Alumni,
fans and regular readers have been passionate about the nickname issue.
Now that the Fighting Sioux name is likely on its way out, it's your
turn to suggest a new nickname. Post your ideas below as a comment.
Our normal commenting guidelines apply - nothing offensive.
– Had a nice conversation with freshman defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, the gifted NHL-bound Canadian, about his looming decision to stay at DU or sign with the Ottawa Senators. Wiercioch previously said he intends to stay, but he probably hasn’t heard Ottawa’s best pitch yet. One thing that could help keep him around is the chance to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. If he stays at DU, he almost certainly will have the opportunity to play in the WJC, but if he signs and is a regular for Ottawa, he almost certainly wont. Patrick noted that there were eight NHL rookies last December _ TB’s Stamkos and LA’s Doughty, to name two _ that could have played for Team Canada, but none were released from their NHL teams. In my humble opinion, Wiercioch is better than Ottawa’s Brian Lee, who would have been a senior at North Dakota last season, so signing with the Sens could quickly end Wiercioch’s dream of playing in the WJC. Of course, DU would love to let him go in December, and possibly be a WJC teammate with Pioneers classmate Joe Colborne. The publicity of having two Team Canada guys in the WJC would be enormous.
On Friday, as news spread out of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy hearing that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated that if the team had to be relocated in Canada, the league would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton -- the reaction, as always, was cautionary.
First, we stressed that Bettman's "alleged" comments came in the form of an affidavit quoting a third party, Coyotes' lawyer Earl Scudder.
Second, we stressed that Bettman qualified the statement, that "if the Coyotes had to be relocated to Canada," the NHL would prefer Winnipeg over Hamilton.
Well, turns out there's no need to stress anymore. According to documents filed in court, the Globe and Mail reported Monday that Bettman e-mailed deputy commissioner Bill Daly on April 4, after talking to Scudder, and wrote: "I told (Scudder) that at some point, if we don't have an alternative, I will have to start looking at the moving (of the Coyotes) option."
When Scudder asked about Southern Ontario and Hamilton, Bettman said, "I responded that it's a league opportunity, the building (Copps Coliseum) is too old etc. and, frankly, if this team had to move it should first be offered to Winnipeg."
Note that Bettman did not qualify the latter statement with a "if we have to move to Canada." He said if the Coyotes had to be relocated, they should be offered to Winnipeg. Period.
It really makes you wonder what the folks at True North Sports and Entertainment aren't telling us. Do you think the NHL -- which has several (probably more than we know) financially troubled franchises other than Phoenix -- hasn't lined up a list of potential locations in a worst-case scenario?
Do you think Bettman or Daly haven't called Chipman or a True North representative, or even met with them, to say, "Hey, remember when you guys (Chipman and TNSE president and CEO Jim Ludlow) flew to New York 18 months ago to pitch Winnipeg as an NHL city to our board of governors? Just wondering, are you still interested? Do you have the financial wherewithal to afford an NHL team?"
(Read the rest of the article here)
NHL decides not to suspend Penguins winger Cooke
Pittsburgh--- Penguins left winger Matt Cooke will not be suspended for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina forward Erik Cole during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final Monday at Mellon Arena.
It was not immediately known if Cooke will be fined by the National Hockey League office.
Cole was injured on the hit, which occurred during the third period, and played sparingly after that.
Neither he nor teammate Tuomo Ruutu, who also was injured Monday, participated in Carolina's practice today. Hurricanes Coach Paul Maurice said their status for Game 2tomorrow night has not been determined.
Dave from the illegal curve had this posted up. I must say that I am bored with watching the Redwings play hockey. It's like I am watching a team from the Finnish or Swedish elite league play. I am holding out hope that the Chicago Blackhawks will rebound and win two games in Chicago and turn this series around.
The Fighting Sioux name in North Dakota will soon be no more. The university’s controversial moniker is getting an update, thus appeasing the NCAA as well as actual Sioux nation members from two of the state’s three tribes, who would both need to change stances and endorse the name in order to keep it (the third is already on board).
Over the years there has been much debate over the topic; fans insist their love of the name and logo stems from pride and respect. Charges of racism are often quite wounding to UND supporters, though the hockey team’s greatest benefactor never really helped matters.
Ralph Engelstad, whose name graces the Fighting Sioux’s sparkling arena (which hosted the world juniors in 2005), was criticized for throwing parties in a Nazi-themed secret room at his Imperial Casino in Las Vegas on Hitler’s birthday in the 1980s. His $100 million donation to UND for the arena was contingent on the university keeping the Fighting Sioux name. Engelstad died of cancer in 2002.
But the name is likely a moot point now. The fans can regard themselves as Sioux Nation as long as they want, but the sweaters and pennants will have to be changed. The school that gave us Ed Belfour, Zach Parise and T.J. Oshie will still churn out excellent players, so what should the team be named?
Coming up with a new tag for a school so identified with the old one is tricky. And since the most obvious name for a team from North Dakota – the Bison – is already being used by North Dakota State, UND will have to get creative.
One way to keep the theme of the Fighting Sioux without the inflammatory bits, would be to call the team the Warriors. It’s a little plain, but it’s also vague enough to not be offensive. After all, a warrior can be anyone from a Sioux combatant to Peter Forsberg. Animal names are also very good. Unfortunately, North Dakota doesn’t have a very intimidating menagerie.
The state bird is the western meadowlark and North Dakota is sometimes known as the ‘Flickertail State’ because of a local squirrel. Taking to the ice as the North Dakota Flickertails would provide a little too much ammo for the Badgers and Bulldogs of the WCHA.
The state horse is the nakota, which is a cool-sounding name if you don’t mind the tongue-twister of saying “North Dakota Nakotas.” The Utah Utes have survived, after all.
David Krejci and Phil Kessel, two of the Bruins' best young forwards, are slated to undergo surgery this offseason. Both are questionable to be ready for the start of the regular season according to general manager Peter Chiarelli.
Defenseman Andrew Ference will undergo groin surgery next month, and forward Chuck Kobasew confirmed he played against the Canes with two broken ribs.
"There's a variety of injuries we had throughout the course of the playoffs," said Chiarelli this afternoon. "Every team has injuries. But we seemed to have a few more than other teams. I have to hand it to the players for playing through those injuries."
Krejci, 23, will have hip surgery next month. He is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp.
Kessel, 21, will have shoulder surgery on Thursday to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Kessel is also not expected to be ready for camp.
(Links to the story) (Link to David Krejci Injury)
Other Bruins who played through injuries included Mark Recchi (kidney stone), Marc Savard (knee), Milan Lucic (toe), and Zdeno Chara (shoulder, knee, and groin). Chara will not require surgery on any of his injuries. Savard noted that his knee problem probably would have kept him out for two weeks during the regular season.
Hockey assistant staying :
Gophers assistant hockey coach Mike Hastings said he is flattered to be mentioned as a candidate to be head coach at Nebraska-Omaha, but he is not pursuing the job. 'I am focused right now on doing everything I can for the University of Minnesota,' said Hastings, who coached the Omaha Lancers of the USHL for 14 years before joining the U staff in 2008-09. Mike Kemp resigned as UNO coach Thursday to become the school's associate athletic director."
If UND had to drop the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo and the privately-owned Ralph Engelstad Arena wanted to host NCAA post-season games, it would have to remove many of the 2,400 logos it now contains.
What would stay and what would have to go?
The legal settlement between the state and the NCAA, which opposes Indian nicknames, says “images commonly associated with Native American culture” are not allowed, except these:
- Images of historical significance: These include championship banners, photos, trophies and statues, such as the Sitting Bull statue in front.
- Images that would be cost prohibitive to remove, namely the logos in the granite floor.
- Images the arena may replace over time: These include carpeting, turf, wood flooring, medallions on the seats and railings, lighted logos outside and etched glass door. Each item has a timetable for replacement from the end of 2011 to the end of 2015. (read the article here)
On Friday we asked for a reaction from Jody Hodgson, the arena’s general manager and a representative of the Engelstad Family Foundation.
He said, among other things, that the arena’s preference, no matter the outcome, is to avoid any changes, such as removal of the logos. If changes were needed, he said, the arena won’t pay the more than $1 million cost.
The legal settlement between the state and the NCAA, which opposes Indian nicknames and imagery, requires the removal of many Sioux logos in the arena before UND can host a post-season game there. The settlement origi-nally set a Nov. 30, 2010 deadline to get tribal approval to use the name.
(read the article here)
Statement from the Engelstad Family Foundation – May 15, 2009
In response to the resolution passed by the State Board of Higher Education the following statement is being released by the Engelstad Family Foundation.
"My father was immensely proud as a student-athlete to be identified with the Fighting Sioux and its proud and honored heritage," commented Kris Engelstad McGarry, daughter of Ralph Engelstad. "We stand with the 67% of tribal members at Spirit Lake who believe the identification with a fine university is a relationship which would have continued to bring benefit and opportunities to the Sioux citizens.
"I am deeply disappointed that the State Board and President Kelly are not committed to retaining the Fighting Sioux name and logo, however I can't say that I'm surprised by their lack of conviction. This is a sad day for North Dakota.
"We remain steadfast in our dedication to the students, the alumni, and the traditions established at UND.
"I feel it necessary to once again answer the question of why this issue is so important to us. As my father has stated, "Tradition is that gentle fabric woven through time and experience which generates meaning, character and identity to one and all. The Fighting Sioux logo, the Fighting Sioux tradition and the spirit of being a Fighting Sioux are of lasting value and immeasurable significance to our past, present and future."
Fighting Sioux nickname resolution adopted by North Dakota State Board of Higher Education on May 14, 2009
Consistent with the terms and conditions of the October 26, 2007, Settlement Agreement entered into with the NCAA, the Board directs UND officials to retire the “Sioux” nickname and logo, effective October 1, 2009. Full retirement of the nickname and logo shall be completed no later than August 1, 2010. In the event a new nickname and logo are adopted by UND, they shall not violate the NCAA policy regarding Native American nicknames, mascots and imagery.
UND is further directed to undertake actions consistent with the Settlement Agreement to protect its intellectual property rights in the “Fighting Sioux” nickname and mark.
UND is further directed to address the imagery at Ralph Engelstad Arena and other venues pursuant to the terms, conditions and timelines set forth in the Settlement Agreement.
This directive shall be suspended, if, prior to October 1, 2009, the following should happen:
1. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe give namesake approval consistent with the terms of the Settlement Agreement; and
2. The namesake approval be binding upon the tribes for a period not less than thirty (30) years.
Neither Quinn nor Hastings returned phone calls Thursday night.
Kemp will serve on the committee to find the new coach, along with Alberts, Assistant Athletic Director Don Leahy, women's basketball coach Patty Patton Shearer, faculty athletic representative Bill Wakefield, hockey captain Mark Bernier and a member of the community.
Other names generating a buzz in coaching circles are former Lancers coach Mike Guentzel, an assistant at Colorado College who was a finalist at UNO when Kemp was hired; former North Dakota coach Dean Blais, who won two national championships with the Fighting Sioux and is now coaching Fargo of the USHL; New Hampshire assistant David Lassonde; and Miami (Ohio) assistant Chris Bergeron, who helped put together a Frozen Four team. (read the whole story here)
*Word on the street is there are several people pushing for Dean Blais as the next head coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers
*Former Gopher assistant coach Mike Guentzel will compete with current assistant Mike Hastings but Hastings is favorite for job at UNO.
*QuickFacts expects Golden Gopher freshman phenom Jordan Schroeder to sign an NHL professional contract following NHL Entry Draft in June.
*UNO Hockey called press conference for "Major announcement" at 4pm. Mike Hastings is favorite to take over as head coach of Mavericks.
Dickenson, ND --- The North Dakota State Higher Board of Education voted unanimously to retire the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname effective Oct. 1, 2009. The decision was made at its regular meeting held Thursday at Dickinson State University.
The retirement takes effect except in the event that stipulations in the original agreement with the NCAA to retain the nickname are met by both the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes to approve the nickname.
The NCAA previously required approval of the nickname by both tribes for the university to retain use the nickname.
"The playoffs are to the regular season what cream filling is to the Twinkie. It's a smaller portion of the whole, but it's the tastiest part."Anaheim Ducks Enforcer and Princeton graduate George Parros on the NHL playoffs in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated
Summit League 'intervening issue'
Tu-Uyen Tran and Wayne Nelson ------- Grand Forks, ND
UND’s chances of entering the Summit League athletic conference may require the state to resolve the controversy over the university’s Fighting Sioux nickname sooner than expected, according to the chairman of a state committee working on the issue.
“I look at the Summit League as an intervening issue,” said Grant Shaft, who will report to the State Board of Higher Education today. “It might lead the board to move our timeline up.”
Under a timeline established earlier this year, the committee has until the end of the year to gather information about the nickname and how it affects the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux reservations and the UND community.
The state board will need the approval of both the state’s Sioux tribes for UND to keep the nickname under an agreement with the NCAA. The board has until the end of November 2010 to get that approval, although to make time for a transition period, approval has to be in place by February.
After speaking with Summit League and UND officials, Shaft said the board may not have the luxury of time.
Last month, Spirit Lake tribal members voted 764-371 to keep the nickname, although formal approval by the Tribal Council is needed to satisfy the NCAA agreement.
Some Standing Rock tribal members are gathering signatures to put the nickname on the ballot there either in July or September. The Standing Rock Tribal Council also has to give formal approval.
However, the time frame of the tribal approval process may conflict with the Summit League’s plans for expansion, according to Shaft. He said he’ll ask the state board to weigh both in its decision, which he does not expect today.
Rather, Shaft said, he’ll ask board members to mull it over until possibly the next monthly board meeting June 18.
Why is timing important for entry into the Summit League or any conference for that matter?
UND views the Summit as an attractive home for the majority of its Division I athletic programs.
The 10-team league is viewed as a good fit geographically for UND. In addition, a number of Summit schools — including North Dakota State and South Dakota State — have similar academic missions.
The Summit recently accepted South Dakota as a new member. Like UND, South Dakota also completed its first season as a Division I athletic program.
Ward: 'It's a joke' --- Aaron Ward, who is sporting a purple bruise under his left eye, spoke this morning for the first time since taking a punch from Scott Walker in the third period of Game 5.
"It's a joke. It's honestly a joke," Ward said of the situation.
Ward, who will play tonight, said he was tussling with Matt Cullen prior to Walker's punch. According to Ward, Cullen had slashed him across the legs. Ward was telling Cullen he didn't like the slash when Walker came in with a punch. Ward said he didn't see Walker and never exchanged any words with him.
"I don't remember a single word being said," Ward said of the exchange between he and Walker. "I was looking at Matt Cullen. The moment I saw his right hand was when it was about a foot away from my face."
Ward said a team doctor saw "something" on an X-ray and advised him to wear a shield.
"I haven't worn one in 16 years," Ward said. "I'm not going to start now."
Ward said he never spoke with Colin Campbell about the incident.
Report: Ward will play in Game 6
James Murphy --- May 11, 2009
Thankfully for the Boston Bruins, defenseman Aaron Ward is OK and will play in game 6.
TSN and NBC analyst Pierre McGuire reported on “Melnick In the Afternoon” on the Team 990 in Montreal on Monday that Ward’s injury is not “as serious as they thought” and that he will be ready to go for Game 6.
It is unknown if the Bruins will still call up another defenseman from Providence as insurance.
The NHL rescinded the automatic suspension that Scott Walker received as a result of the instigator penalty assessed to him with 2:47 remaining in the third period of Sunday’s game.
“We respectfully disagree with the NHL’s ruling to rescind the automatic suspension to Scott Walker, but we will abide by the league’s ruling,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said in a statement.
While the Bruins took the high road in regard to the NHL’s decision, they surely aren’t happy about what transpired.
“I don’t care what people say [that] Ward should’ve protected himself,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “He had no intention of getting involved. We asked our guys to stay composed and not fall into that trap, and he just did that. A guy with Walker’s experience should know better than to sucker punch a guy, and again, this is an area that I don’t deal with. I deal with my team and let other people deal with the situation.”
NHL head disciplinarian Colin Campbell deemed Walker’s actions did not warrant the mandatory one-game suspension, and Walker and the Hurricanes agreed with Campbell.
BOSTON --- Scott Walker has been fined $2,500 for his incident with Aaron Ward at 17:13 of last night's third period. Walker will not be suspended for Game 6.
"We are satisfied with the league's ruling," said president and GM Jim Rutherford in a statement. "After our team received several punches throughout the series leading up to Game 5, it was a matter of time before one was going to be thrown back."
According to Claude Julien, the Bruins are awaiting results on Ward's left eye.
"I accept the league's decision," Walker said in a statement. "Based on what was said on the ice as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation."
According to Claude Julien, Aaron Ward might have suffered a broken orbital bone when he was sucker-punched by Scott Walker at 17:13 of the third period.
Ward will be re-evaluated tomorrow.
Former UND goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux has tied the ECHL record with 12 shutouts including record 8 in the regular season for Alaska Aces
There have been better times during his rookie NHL season for Boston Bruins winger Blake Wheeler.
Among the league’s top rookie scorers and overall leaders in plus/minus all season while skating for one of the top teams in the overall standings during the 2008-09 regular season, Wheeler suddenly finds himself with a goose egg on the stats sheet for a team on the verge of getting eliminated in the second round.
But he continues to flaunt maturity beyond his years even with the Bruins down 3-1 heading into tomorrow night’s Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Carolina.
“There’s two sides of any sport. Any time adversity comes, you have to react in a positive way and let it make you a better player and a better person,” he told TheBruinsBlog.net today after what might have been the Bruins’ last practice of the season in Wilmington, Mass. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself, you can’t walk around with your tail between your legs, you have to kind of embrace it, learn from it and just try to get better from it. And when you come out of it, you feel a lot better about yourself.
(read the rest of the article here)
Questionable officiating
The Canucks probably had reason to complain about the officiating in Game 5 Saturday night. There were a few questionable calls, including an extra two minutes called on Shane O’Brien after a scrap with Matt Walker.
The Blackhawks scored on that man advantage as Dustin Byfuglien converted his second goal of the game, squeezing in a Brian Campbell rebound between the legs of Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.
After the game, O’Brien expressed some frustration with the call. He was originally tied up with Byfuglien, who skated away before an altercation. O’Brien says Walker then challenged him and they dropped the gloves, but the officials called the Canucks defenceman for an extra two minutes for roughing.
Vancouver also took two penalties late in the game. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa hit Patrick Sharp along the boards and high-sticked him in the process. That led to the winning goal by Dave Bolland, his fourth of the post-season.
“That’s happened to us three times in this series…what are you going to do.” said Luongo after the game.
The game was pretty much decided with Ryan Kesler’s final penalty of the game at 16:07. Kesler was called for holding Chicago defenceman Brian Campbell, who seemed to embellish. But Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said the “two penalties at the end of the game were deserved. We got in penalty trouble and they made us pay.”
No local TV for either team
Versus will carry Game 5, meaning NESN (Bruins) and FSCarolinas (Hurricanes) will not have the broadcasts at the Garden Monday. Carolina play-by-play announcer John Forslund and Boston analyst Andy Brickley will be the Versus broadcast team for Game 5.
Pens' Gonchar possibly out for tonight's game, Goligoski called up
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Penguins have recalled defenseman Alex Goligoski from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, and he is expected to be in the lineup for Game 5 of their second-round playoff series against Washington tonight at 7:08 at the Verizon Center.
He would replace defenseman Sergei Gonchar, whose right knee was injured on a hit by Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin during the first period of the Penguins' 5-3 victory in Game 4 at Mellon Arena last night.
Coach Dan Bylsma said this afternoon that Gonchar has not been ruled out of tonight's game, and that Goligoski was recalled as "insurance."
Ovechkin was assessed only a two-minute tripping minor for the hit on Gonchar, and Washington officials said that as of late this morning he had not had a hearing with league officials.
The extent of Gonchar's injury has not been announced, but he accompanied the team here last night. He was wearing a large black support on his right knee at the team hotel today.
Gonchar has not spoken with reporters since he was injured.
PITTSBURGH -- Matt Cooke knows what the verdict would be if it were him on the stand today facing what passes for NHL justice.
"If I did what he did, I wouldn't be on the ice," the Penguins forward said last night in the bittersweet aftermath of a critical 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals.
Matt Cooke is not Alex Ovechkin, however, which is the challenge NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell faces in making a ruling prior to tonight's Game 5 of the riveting best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal that is now tied at 2-2.
Ovechkin's knee-on-knee hit on Sergei Gonchar in the first period had the star defenceman writhing on the Mellon Arena ice and potentially gone for the remainder of the Penguins' playoff run.
And it had the Pens seething and fiercely seeking justice despite having just put the series back on equal terms.
"He goes out there to hurt players," Pens defenceman Brooks Orpik said of the flamboyant Russian star. "That's three games in a row against us. Just watch the way the guy hits. He leaves his feet and takes countless strides at guys. There's a line you can't cross and he does it.
"We're not in charge of suspending guys, but it looks pretty obvious to us."
In what was an all-around wasted night for Ovechkin, who was held to just two shots on net and one assist, what the league decides today may carry as much weight on how the remainder of the series plays out.
Tonight's contest, as with all Game 5s, has massive implications for the series, so too then does the manner in which the NHL handles it.
Campbell must decide if, as the Caps claim, Ovechkin led with his shoulder and then couldn't move quick enough to avoid contact. And depending on the level of guilt, there is a matter of weighing on a team's superstar being taken down by another.
*Claude Julien confirmed that Andrew Ference will not play tonight. Shane Hnidy, a healthy scratch for the first three games, will be making his series debut tonight.
* Blake Wheeler will play tonight. Wheeler skated with David Krejci and Michael Ryder during the morning skate.
No update on Ference, Wheeler
Julien declined to disclose whether Andrew Ference or Blake Wheeler will be available tomorrow.
Ference looked like he aggravated a lower-body injury in the second period when he was checked into the boards by Scott Walker. Ference skated only three shifts in the second period and didn't play in the third period or overtime.
Wheeler was hurt while blocking a shot in the second period. Wheeler underwent X-rays after the game... Julien said the flu-like symptoms that held Chuck Kobasew out of practice on Tuesday have not spread throughout the dressing room...Last week, Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron were under the weather but didn't miss any time.
Now that these players are in the league, they’re not so sure they like being on the other end of one of those hits. “Guys have families, livelihoods,” mused Canucks bruising defenceman Shane O’Brien. “There is so much coverage now, and hits to the head have become such a topic of conversation.”
Rypien, who complained about a hit from Ben Eager in Game 1 of the Chicago-Vancouver series, made $522,000 this season. He has not yet celebrated his 25th birthday.
Hudler, who was crushed on a perfectly legal check from Anaheim’s Mike Brown, pulled in $1.15 million. At age 25 and with his skill level, he could accumulate between $10-20 million more dollars in NHL salary before his career is complete.
The risk of providing for the next two generations of your family and never having to hold another job after age 35 however, is that one day a guy like Darcy Hordichuk might catch Hudler admiring another pass. And whether or not Hordichuk senses vulnerability, well, it won’t matter to him.
“No, not at all,” Hordichuk said. “A guy like Hudler, if you catch him in Game 1 he might not be playing with a full deck of cards for the rest of the series. And the other [Red Wings] too. They’ll be aware.
“I honestly don’t think the [Brown hit] was a penalty. It was Hudler’s fault — the puck was literally right there. With Ripper, the puck was long gone.”
Well, longer gone anyhow. Which, we’ll argue, left Rypien more time to get off the train tracks.
The referees threw Brown out of Game 1 for a hit that was deemed not worthy of suspension. Eager got two minutes for his hit on Rypien. Again, no suspension.
Of course guys like Henrik Zetterberg and the Sedin brothers want those hits out of the game. They are always going to be the fly, never the windshield. We get that.
But even in a game as tough as hockey, weathered, experienced hockey men — including a few reporters and TV types we all know — whined and cried for Colin Campbell to take action when Brown caught Hudler with that text book, elbow-tucked-in, body check.
Detroit’s Mike Babcock is an excellent coach, and seems like one tough S.O.B. But in the culture that is forming in today’s NHL, even he couldn’t accept a hard hit on one of his players, without labeling it “a vicious, dirty hit.”
This is what makes North American hockey more compelling than European hockey:
All in all, that had to be how Boston coach Claude Julien felt after watching his misguided wanderers flub and stumble their way to a 3-2 overtime loss last night to the hard-charging Hurricanes.
"Probably one of our worst games in I don't know how long," said a composed but clearly disappointed Julien following the defeat, which left the Bruins in a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. "We turned pucks over. We lacked execution. We lost battles. It was a very uncharacteristic game for us."
Three games into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Bruins have yet to play a good game against Team Tobacco Road. They walked to a win in Game 1, mostly because the Canes were still in a daze after going to the last seconds of Game 7 to rub out the Devils. Two nights later, the Canes blanked them in the Garden, 3-0, the Bruins mistakenly thinking they could win with the same Gentleman's 'C' effort they put forth in Game 1.
(read the whole article)
Scott Niedermayer's power-play goal 8:16 into the second period proved to be the winner as the Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"He is a difference maker," Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood said. "If we're not watching him, he is going to burn us like he has in past series."
Detroit's Marian Hossa looked to have forced overtime with 65 seconds remaining, but a hasty whistle negated the tying goal.
"We were lucky there," Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller said. "You're always going to get good calls or bad calls against you, but I always say, 'To be lucky you have to fight for it' and tonight we fought for 60 minutes — that is why we deserved to be lucky at the end."
Parked behind the net, Pavel Datsyuk poked the puck into the crease, where it sat next to Hiller's right pad until Hossa swept it into the open net.
But referee Brad Watson ruled that he lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead.
(read the rest of the article)
In fact, in the past three drafts, Minnesota has selected just one native son – center Chris Hickey of St. Paul, taken with the Wild’s final pick in 2006, 192nd overall. And the amount of Minnesotans on the roster right now? Zero.
Perhaps a GM change can reverse this trend, because otherwise the Wild is losing out on a natural advantage.
One name being floated around for Doug Risebrough’s old job is player agent Neil Sheehy, who grew up in International Falls, Minn., and boasts a client-roster heavy on NHLers from the Gopher State.
Now don’t expect Sheehy to bring Zach Parise, Kyle Okposo or Matt Niskanen along with him if he gets the job, but considering the young talent Sheehy has mined (add Jack Hillen, Chris Porter and Ryan Carter to that list, too) already, it’s not hard to see what top-end talent has been untapped as of yet by the Wild.
Case in point: the 2008 draft, where the Wild took Quebec-born defender Marco Scandella with the 55th selection. The next pick? Edina, Minn., speedster Danny Kristo, who played for Team USA in this year’s world juniors. If the Wild was drafting by position, they could have gone for Eastview High’s Corey Fienhage, who fell to Buffalo in the third round (81st overall) and was the exact same size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) as Scandella when the two were selected.
In the first round, Minnesota was skunked by Anaheim when the Ducks took Minnetonka defenseman Jake Gardiner before the Wild had a shot, but it wouldn’t have been a stretch to go for Roseau blueliner Aaron Ness instead of Tyler Cuma of the Ottawa 67’s. Instead, Ness went to the Isles early in the second round.
Perhaps the Wild brass felt a little snakebitten when its 2004 first-rounder, A.J. Thelen, didn’t pan out. Drafted 12th overall and ahead of players such as Drew Stafford (Wisconsin born and a Sheehy client), Alexander Radulov and Travis Zajac, Thelen was a homegrown golden boy who crashed out, getting jettisoned from the Michigan State Spartans and eventually ending up unsigned by the Wild and playing in the ECHL. (Read the whole article here)
In Tuesday's shuffling of the lines, with right wing Scott Walker out for six weeks, Chad LaRose moved into Matt Cullen's line with Ryan Bayda during practice.
Coach Peter Laviolette said Walker is hard to replace.
Gopher Hockey and FSN Reach Broadcast Agreement
Courtesy: University of Minnesota 05/01/2009
One of the nation’s most unparalleled college hockey television contracts will continue in an agreement between Fox Sports North and the University of Minnesota.
The regional television network and the university have reached a contract that features a minimum of 28 exclusive regular season Gopher hockey telecasts per season. In addition, the contract provides coverage of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association first round playoffs and continued half-hour pre-game and post-game shows adjacent to each broadcast.
“We’re very excited about continuing this great relationship with Fox Sports North,” said Tom Wistrcill, Minnesota’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations. “We believe our storied hockey program and the professional quality of Fox Sports North’s broadcasts make a great partnership. This is exciting news for loyal fans of Gopher hockey to be able to continue to see the vast majority of our games.”
Fox Sports North reaches nearly two million homes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota. It is also available on most satellite television packages.
“We are very proud of our continuing partnership with the University of Minnesota,” said Fox Sports North Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Dimond. “Together, we’ve built a tradition of Gopher hockey and this new agreement allows us to continue that tradition on our network for years to come.”
"I'm sure they're going to say it was dirty, but this is a game that's played and physical contact is allowed," Carlyle said. "We timed the hit. From the time he passed the puck until Mike Brown made contact with him, there wasn't a second that went off the clock. It was at 8:36, and the clock did not move by the time he made contact. He didn't hit him with his elbow, he hit him with his shoulder. Hudler was admiring his pass.
"They can talk all they want about a dirty hit. That's not a dirty hit in hockey. You're allowed to take the body in this game."
VandeVelde will stay at UND for senior season
Brad Elliott Schlossman --- Grand Forks Herald
The power forward from Moorhead confirmed today that he will return to UND for his senior season, meaning the Sioux are unlikely to lose anyone early.
It has been 10 years since the UND men’s hockey team didn’t lose anyone early to the pros, and this offseason is starting to look eerily similar to 1999.
Back then, a MacNaughton Cup champion team with eight seniors fell short of making the NCAA Frozen Four and watched its leading scorer, among others, graduate.
The most likely candidate to leave school early that summer was 6-foot-3, 205-pound power forward Lee Goren. He decided to return to school and UND went on to win the national championship. Goren was the most outstanding player of the Frozen Four.
Chris VandeVelde can only hope that history will repeat itself.
UND again had a MacNaughton Cup champion team with eight seniors fall short of making the Frozen Four, and it had to say goodbye to its leading scorer, among others.
The most likely candidate to leave was VandeVelde – a 6-foot-2, 205-pound power forward. But today, VandeVelde announced he’s returning to UND for his senior year.
That means UND expects to have all of its underclassmen back for the first time since 1999-00 – which also marks UND’s last national title.
