The game tying goal wasn't without controversy. Apparently, the puck left the ice surface before the game tying goal was scored. Coach Hakstol made mention of this in his post game comments and I am sure the league office will get an ear full this week. Not to make excuses about the officiating but the officials have to be better. Having the puck hit the screen above the glass and not blowing the puck dead is a critical mistake and can’t be allowed to happen.
The Sioux (9-5-2, 6-5-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) left Duluth steaming — not only because of the loss — but also because they believe there should have been a whistle right before the tying goal was scored.I am disappointed but I also think Derrick LaPoint made a boned headed mistake by pinning the puck along the end boards to eat up time; in that situation I think LaPoint should have chipped the puck out of the zone. It’s almost as bad as the head coach calling time out in the final seconds of the UNH game from last season.
Sioux forward Jason Gregoire attempted to clear the puck out of the zone in the final minute. It hit a Duluth player’s stick, flew into the air and off the netting above the glass. When it came down, defenseman Derrick LaPoint pinned the puck along the end wall waiting for a whistle that never came.
Instead, a Duluth forward poked the puck loose and got it to the point, where Jack Connolly ripped a shot that hit Oleksuk standing right next to the post. He easily tucked the rebound behind UND goalie Brad Eidsness, who came out to play the puck. The DECC erupted and Gregoire immediately asked the referee if the play was reviewable.
“That’s a big-time call, because the puck went off of white and the faceoff would have been out of our zone with 40 seconds left in the game,” Gregoire said. “That’s a huge advantage, rather than five seconds later having the puck in the back of the net, the game is tied, and they are still on the power play.” [Grand Forks Herald]
I don’t know if this is irony or what but after 12 games in the WCHA play last season the Fighting Sioux were 6-5-1. Fast forward to this year and the Fighting Sioux hockey team has the same record after 12 games. The good news is that the Fighting Sioux aren’t sitting in seventh place, they are in sixth place. [2008-2009 schedule]
In checking the pairwise rankings there are six teams in the WCHA that are sitting in the top fourteen positions of the rankings. That tells me that the WCHA is back and competitive again. Every weekend is going to be a dog fight, no pun intended.
[Box Score]
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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK-1 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Interference) MND 0x1 1:32
MND-1 Jordan Fulton (2-Boarding) NDK 0x1 4:46
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Brad Malone (4) (Evan Trupp, Andrew MacWilliam) 14:54
NDK (+): 22,19,2,24,7,G31 MND (-): 17,7,20,28,2,G30
NDK-2 Danny Kristo (2-Interference) 19:25
MND-2 Mike Montgomery (2-Roughing) 19:25
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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK 2 - 0 5x5 Brett Hextall (4) (Jason Gregoire) 0:37
NDK (+): 26,17,27,2,G31 MND (-): 8,12,22,6,G30
NDK-3 Brad Malone (2-Holding) MND 0x2 17:59
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3rd Period (20:00)
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MND 1 - 2 6x6 Kyle Schmidt (6) (Rob Bordson, Travis Oleksuk) 1:15
MND (+): 11,19,21,28,2,G30 NDK (-): 17,26,2,27,24,G31
MND-3 Scott Kishel (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 9:58
NDK-4 Ben Blood (2-Tripping) MND 0x3 16:17
MND-4 Rob Bordson (2-Interference) NDK 0x3 17:29
NDK-5 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Interference) MND 1x4 18:17
Timeout - Minnesota Duluth 18:17
MND 2 - 2 5x5 EA Travis Oleksuk (3) (Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly) 19:27
MND (+): 21,12,22,37,2 NDK (-): 17,24,3,9,G31
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Overtime (0:12)
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MND 3 - 2 6x5 PP GW LL Justin Fontaine (12) (Jack Connolly, Dylan Olsen) 0:12
MND: 37,12,4,24,22,G30 NDK: 9,24,25,11,G31
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End of Game
I talked to a friend that was at this game and he said it was the best Bulldog win all season. He also did say that it was quite obvious that the puck flipped up and bounced off the netting late in the third, even though the refs didn't call it for some reason. Tough loss for the the Sioux goon, but a road split at the #12 ranked team in the country is pretty good. And yes, the WCHA is starting to make its mark again with 6 teams in the top 14 of the pairwise (along with another future to be at #1).
ReplyDeleteWCHAdominates, I apologize for the classless hack troll that is posting under my dead mother’s name on my blog I will be calling his internet provider on Monday and giving them his IP address, I got it and the jig is going to be up. The guy is an internet stalker and a big time loser. I would put him in the piece of s#!t category.
ReplyDeleteFrom my seats directly behind the net (above the band) I can say that four of us unquestionably saw that the puck did hit the net. However, my Dad talked to someone at his church who was only 1 section over from us and they didn't see it happen, so it certainly could have been one that was tough to see, depending on the angle you were at.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, the players have to keep playing until they do hear a whistle. It's just like you see all the time in soccer; players stop playing expecting an offside call and end up giving up a goal when they might not have given it up if they kept playing.
It's kind of two opposite forces colliding, that's the third time in four games where UMD came back from two goals down to win (did this twice at UMTC).
I was in section 21 which is on the side of the goal and that puck definitely hit the net nearly 5 or 6 feet above the glass. I couldnt believe that the refs didn't blow it dead...needless to say i was even more shocked when about 8 seconds later the dogs tied it up. Big time B.S. but in all honesty the dogs outplayed us from the drop of the puck in the 3rd period so we kind of have it coming but we did not deserve to lose it on a complete non-call. Guess we just have to keep working hard and create our own luck further down the road
ReplyDeleteNo worries goon. Keep posting so I can keep commenting!
ReplyDelete