Steve Ott is at it again

First off, Dallas Stars hack Steve Ott is a jerk and if he never played another game in the NHL, it wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit. Second, there was no reason for Steve Ott to engage or say anything to Peter Laviolette, so what he walking down the tunnel to the locker room. If you look at the video you will see that Laviolette isn't wearing a uniform there is no reason for Ott to engage the coach of the Flyers.

After the end of the first period on Wednesday night, the Versus telecast showed Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette having some words with Dallas Stars center Steve Ott in the entrance to the tunnel. After Ott appeared to have blocked the coach's path back to the dressing room, wanting the coach to allow the Stars to go off first, Lavy gave Ott a bit of a shove to get out of his way. [The700Level]

To top it all off, during the second period of tonight's game Steve Ott continued to the be the jerk that he is. Ott was running his big mouth and chirping the whole Philadelphia Flyers bench. I mean, no one should be shocked by this, it's his modus operandi. Then when the bill came due, Ott was challenged to a fight in the second period by the Flyers defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon, and of course Ott turtled and wouldn't fight Bourdon.

Evander Kane runs over Al Montoya

This happened in last night's game. Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane ran over Islanders starting goalie Al Montoya, Montoya would leave the game with an apparent upper body injury. If I had to guess if there was a suspension coming to Evander Kane. I would say I have no clue. 

Deryk Engelland will get a call from Shanny

This is why I like the NHL; a player dishes out what I would classify as a dirty bush league check on an opposing player. His teammate who happens to be trailing the play takes issue with the questionable hit and challenges the offending player to a fight.

In this case Blackhawks heavy weight John Scott, reacted appropriately to the questionable hit; Scott came to his teammates aid and immediately challenged the perpetrator Deryk Engelland's to a Fight. per the hockey code, Engelland immediately paid for his dirty check on Markus Kruger by getting the tar beat out of him. 

After watching this display, the Pittsburgh Pengiuns have no room to complain about head shots, while most of us know that the league's top player in on the shelf  with a concussion, one of his teammates is out there hitting other players in the head with a dirty checks like this, which in my opinion is definitely a violation of rule 48.

Per NHL.COM  Pittsburgh's Deryk Engelland faces a supplemental discipline hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Thursday morning. In my opinion you can expect a 2-4 game suspension would be the proper call.

Related articles

• Watch: Penguins' Deryk Engelland goes high on Blackhawks' Marcus Kruger (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Deryk Engelland delivers questionable hit, pays the price (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Blackhawks recall C Pirri, place Carcillo on IR (espn.go.com)

UAH Fundraiser Webpage

The University of Alabama Huntsville is running a campaign to raise funds for the UAH Chargers and if you want to donate money to their program you can go to this webpage and click on this link.

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• With the UAH hockey program threatened, their fans and students try to save it again (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
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The NHL watching the Bruins because they play too rough

Gunning Sports

This is what hockey is starting to become; we now have the National Hockey League watching the Bruins because they play “too rough” for some. When the Boston Bruins are affective they are taking it to their opponents. The Bruins will beat you up on the ice and on the scoreboard as well.

Doug Flynn; NESN.COM --- Playing by the rules has been difficult for the Bruins this season, or at least playing by the rules as they have been applied to Boston's games. The Bruins may have avoided a few suspensions prior to Lucic's one-game ban on Monday, but they have certainly picked up more than their fair share of penalties this year. Boston has been called for 505 total penalty minutes, an average of 15.8 a game. Only Philadelphia (529, 16.5 a game) has spent more time in the sin bin.

Some of that has been accounted for by the Bruins' willingness to drop the gloves. They're tied for the league lead in major penalties with 25, with 23 of those being matching majors for fighting. But Boston also leads the NHL with eight misconduct penalties and is one of just three teams with multiple game misconducts so far this season, as referees have shown they have a very short leash for the Bruins' aggressive tactics.

The Bruins don't have any individual players in the top 10 for penalty minutes, but four Bruins are in the top 25 with Lucic 11th (63 PIMs), Marchand tied for 15th (58), Shawn Thornton 22nd (49) and Chara tied for 25th (47).

The Bruins haven't been officially warned to curb their style of play, but the numbers show there is definitely a crackdown on teams trying to playing an intimidating, physical style like that employed by the Bruins.

I had a feeling that Milan Lucic would be suspended for his hit on Zac Rinaldo, while the hit wasn’t as egregious as many that had gone unpunished this season, Brendan Shanahan NHL Senior Vice President Player Safety had to suspend him to placate the black helicopter fans that think the NHL is in bed with the Boston Bruins.

Brad Marchand has a nose for the net

This is a perfect example of what happens when your team plays a solid, relentless fore check in the offensive zone, the Boston Bruins are a very good team on the fore check in the offensive zone. Nice goal by Bruins forward Brad Marchand but you can't discount the effort from Tyler Seguin and Patrice Bergeron

Related articles

• Bruins Vs. Canadiens Final Score: Boston Skates Past Montreal, 3-2 (boston.sbnation.com)
• Bruins Rewind: Week In Review (Part Four) (insidehockey.com)
• Five Observations: Bruins vs Flyers (insidehockey.com)
• Bruins Beat Canadiens 3-2 in Boston [PHOTOS] (wzlx.radio.com)

NHL Network to host WJC till 2018

Image via WikipediaHere is the official announcement.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- USA Hockey and the NHL Network U.S. have agreed to a long-term extension of their broadcast deal that will keep NHL Network as the exclusive home for the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship in the United States through the 2018 event.

NHL Network will provide exclusive live broadcasts and NHL.com will provide live streams of all U.S. National Junior Team games at the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship taking place Dec. 26 - Jan. 5 in Alberta, Canada. NHL Network will also televise all medal-round games and five additional preliminary-round match-ups, airing a total of 15 games in high definition.

"We're extremely pleased to extend our partnership with the NHL Network," said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. "They're passionate about televising the World Junior Championship and fans will notice continued enhancements in their coverage of Team USA and the tournament overall."

“The IIHF World Junior Championship is not only a preeminent international hockey tournament, it has become known as the place to view future NHL stars," said Bob Chesterman, NHL Network vice president of programming. “Viewers will see a high level of skill and talent and intense match-ups between rival countries. The World Junior Championship is an excellent complement to our NHL programming.”

All Team USA games will be NHL Network original broadcasts. "NHL On the Fly," NHL Network’s signature highlight show, and NHL Live will provide intermission coverage and nightly analysis of the tournament.

The U.S. National Junior Team is coming off back-to-back medals in the IIHF World Junior Championship for the first time ever, having earned a bronze medal in last year's event in Buffalo, N.Y., and a gold medal at the 2010 World Junior Championship in Saskatoon, Sask.

The tournament's popularity stems from its reputation as a showcase for the game's best up-and-coming young players from around the world. Many current American-born NHL stars have played in the tournament, including Patrick Kane, Jack Johnson, Zach Parise and Bobby Ryan, to name a few.

The U.S. National Junior Team will begin preliminary-round play against Denmark on Dec. 26 at 8 p.m. EST. A full Team USA and NHL Network television schedule is below.

2012 IIHF World Junior Championship
NHL Network (U.S.) Television Schedule

Date	Matchup	City *	Time (EST)
Dec. 26	Canada vs. Finland	Edmonton, Alta.	3:30 p.m.
	USA vs. Denmark	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Dec. 27	Denmark vs. Czech Republic	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Dec. 28	Finland vs. USA	Edmonton, Alta.	3:30 p.m.
	Czech Republic vs. Canada	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Dec. 29	Canada vs. Denmark	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Dec. 30	Czech Republic vs. USA	Edmonton, Alta.	3:30 p.m.
	Finland vs. Denmark	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Dec. 31	USA vs. Canada	Edmonton, Alta.	8 p.m.
Jan. 2	Quarterfinal #1	Calgary, Alta.	5 p.m.
	Quarterfinal #2	Calgary, Alta.	9 p.m.
Jan. 3	Semifinal #1	Calgary, Alta.	5 p.m.
	Semifinal #2	Calgary, Alta.	9 p.m.
Jan. 5	Bronze-Medal Game	Calgary, Alta.	3:30 p.m.
	Gold-Medal Game	Calgary, Alta.	8:00 p.m.

Jordan Schmaltz re-confirms commitment to UND

USHL.COM

Doesn’t sound like UND hockey fans don’t have to worry about losing Jordan Schmaltz to the Major Junior ranks as he states that he is committed to playing for UND.

Kevin Baumer; Hockey Prospect ---Schmaltz is set on honoring his new commitment to the University of North Dakota, which has produced NHL stars Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews in recent years, despite being at the center of a tug-of-war between the Canadian junior leagues and collegiate hockey.

In October the Windsor Spitfires went public with their recruitment of the heralded prospect. Schmaltz can't help being in high demand, but all he's worried about is fulfilling a life-long dream of attending college and following his family's legacy.


“I've always wanted to go to college,” he says. “My Dad went to North Dakota, my two uncles, they all played football there. They're actually all from there too. I think it's a no-brainer to go to North Dakota. I still want to go the college route and I think ultimately it will make me the best player I can be.”

Brad Malone's first NHL point.

That was the first point of his NHL career for former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone as he picked up the assist on TJ Galiardi's goal.The Colorado Avalanche won the game 3-2 in a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers. 

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Matt Frattin's fourth goal of the year....

As with most of former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin's goals; they all seem to be of the highlight variety. That goal by Frattin tied the game for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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• Frattin talks about playing college hockey... (mvn.com)
• Nazem Kadri: What Is His Current Value to the Toronto Maple Leafs? (bleacherreport.com)
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Former Badger Rene Bourque Suspended by the NHL

Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque became the second player to be suspended by the NHL today.I think the NHL's Senior Vice President of Player Safety made the right decision in this case, because Bourque hit Seabrook with a check that the league is trying to eliminate from the game.

Checking Bourque's player profile from TSN, it would appear that this is the first time that Bourque has been suspended by the NHL. In other words this isn't Matt Cooke we are talking about.

NEW YORK -- Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque has been suspended, without pay, for two games for checking Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook from behind during NHL Game #479 in Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 18, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Bourque will forfeit $36,036.04. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 15:25 of the first period. A major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct was assessed on the play.

Bourque will miss games Dec. 20 vs. Minnesota and Dec. 22 vs. Detroit. He will be eligible to return Dec. 23 at Vancouver.

Poll Monday - UND 18th in USCHO Poll

The Fighting Sioux stay at 18th place in the USCHO.COM on line poll.

Martin Havlat injured on line change

Former Wild and current San Jose Shark forward Martin Havlat has been known as being a soft player that get injured a lot, but this is just a freak accident. Havlat was traded to San Jose in the trade that brought Dany Heatley to the Wild. We hope that Havlat isn't hurt too bad.

Habs spared the wrath of Lucic, Lucic suspended for one game

After watching the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan and his ruling today I have come to the conclusion that there is no consistency in his ruling. Milan Lucic was suspended today for boarding Flyer goon Zac Rinaldo. Rinaldo didn't even think the hit deserved a penalty on the play.
Lucic drew a five-minute major and game misconduct, yet Rinaldo doesn’t feel that was warranted.

“It’s hockey, you hit and go into the boards, I don’t think it was dirty at all,” Rinaldo said. “Shoulder-to-shoulder and just momentum. He’s big guy, maybe double my weight. His momentum carried him into the boards awkwardly. I don’t think it was dirty at all.”

He added: “Should–to-shoulder, that’s fine, that’s cool. I don’t mind it at all.”

Then why, after a scrum developed, did Rinaldo leave the pile trading punches with Nathan Horton?

“I don’t know, I got up and he was first one in front of my face,” Rinaldo said. “I knew I was Lucic [who hit me].” [CSNPhilly]

After watching the NHL fail to suspend Dion Phaneuf's for his hit on Zach Kassian, which was more egregious in my opinion, you would have thought that Lucic would get off without a suspension. So go forward, the fans have no clue what is going to get a players suspended and what is not.

Related articles

• Milan Lucic hit on Zac RInaldo (mvn.com)
• Will Lucic be suspended? (mvn.com)

Time; NCAA Blunder: Changing North Dakota's Tribal Nickname

Image via WikipediaThis is a pretty good read if you haven't seen it yet. It's also time that some one stood up to the NCAA. They are an out of control organization.

Sean Gregory; Time --- The uniform of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey
For years, college and pro sports teams have taken heat for caricaturing Native Americans with their nicknames and mascots. Sometimes, teams do the right thing. In 1994, for example, St. John's University changed its name from the Redmen to the Red Storm. At other times, they've acted irresponsibly. We still have the Washington Redskins, and the Cleveland Indians haven't scrubbed Chief Wahoo — a cartoonish representation of Native Americans — off their hats. And in other instances, a tribe's backing has allowed a team to keep its nickname, as happened with the Florida State Seminoles and Utah Utes.

And then there's the puzzling, quite unique case of North Dakota. In 1930, the University of North Dakota (UND) adopted "Sioux" as its nickname for its sports teams. UND became the "Fighting Sioux" in the 1960s. The Sioux reservation closest to the University of North Dakota's campus in Grand Forks, Spirit Lake, overwhelmingly backs the name. The tribe argues, and evidence seems to support the case, that Spirit Lake and another local Sioux reservation, Standing Rock, actually gave the UND its blessing to use the nickname in a religious ceremony over 40 years ago. [Time.com]

The NCAA is out of touch... I wish this action would have happened a couple of years ago. Think of the irony of this, the NCAA is being sued in federal court by the very Native Americans they are claiming to speak for but also help. Does anyone see how silly this really is? The  NCAA is being sued by a bunch of white people they are being sued by one of the Tribes that voted to allow UND to use the name.

Video: Rene Bourque boards Brent Seabrook.

Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque received a five minute major for checking from behind and a game misconduct for driving Brent Seabrook through the boards in tonight's game. Seabrook did not return to the game and suffered an upper-body injury. Former Fighting Sioux and current Blackhawk forward Jonathan Toews was less than impressed with Bourgue's hit on Seabrook.

“It comes down to respect,” Jonathan Toews said. “You hit guys when it’s a clean situation. Head shots and head injuries aren’t going anywhere if we’re going to keep making plays like that. And that goes for everybody around the entire league.”

If I was a betting man, I would say that you can expect that Rene Bourque will be receiving a phone call from the NHL Senior Vice President of Player Safety and Hockey Operations Brendan Shanahan for his hit on Brent Seabrook, I would also predict a suspension for the hit as well.

Related articles

• Blackhawks D Seabrook out vs. Flames with injury (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Video: Bourque tossed for boarding Seabrook (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Seabrook knocked out of game with upper body injury (tsn.ca)
• Blackhawks' Seabrook leaves after hit to head (espn.go.com)
• Flames' misery continues in Windy City (sports.nationalpost.com)

Will Lucic be suspended?

Bruins forward Milan Lucic has a hearing Monday for his hit on Flyers forward Zac Rinaldo, the big question is, will Lucic be suspended for his hit on Rinaldo. I would have to say, based on what I saw in a recent ruling by Brendan Shanahan; comparing Dion Phaneuf's hit on Zach Kassian and Milan Lucic's hit on Zac Rinaldo, I would say no, this hit was not as bad as that hit.

Related articles

• Milan Lucic hit on Zac RInaldo (mvn.com)
• Dion Phaneuf not suspened for hit on Zach Kassian (mvn.com)
• Dion Phaneuf plants Zack Kassian into the boards. (mvn.com)

Bobby Clarke weighs in on the head injuries.

Greatest Hockey Legends

Former NHL great Bob Clarke weighs in on the concussion issue. I have to agree with some of the things that he says in this article.

“They told the players they had to ‘take the hit,” Clarke said. “The players could no longer get their elbow up or their stick up, they were just supposed to take the hit. At that time, the players could protect each other. They could block, they could hook, they were expected to protect each other.

“But then I think the two-referee system that Bettman brought in, I don’t think it was brought in to help the game. They were brought in to take away the ability of players to get even with each other. That leads to more reckless hitting and stuff. Because if you do that, the league becomes the judge, jury and executioner.’’

Then came more moves, not all of them favorable to players’ health.

“When the lockout was over, the red line came out and the things the players could do — if you saw someone coming you could hold him up, make him break his stride, that was all taken out of the game,’’ Clarke said.

So what you had was something akin to pond hockey abandon, only with boards and glass to mitigate that feeling of open ice. [Phillyburbs.com]

Now-a-days when someone clobbers their fellow competitor head first into the boards, or knees them or hits someone with a questionable hit; if there is a whistle on the play, the refs almost immediately surround the offending players giving the players on the ice little chance to police the act themselves. Then you have to hope that the league will look at the play in question and make the proper decision based on what they feel is an appropriate punishment.