Ok, Ok, a harsh title, but the Sioux absolutely destroyed MTU today 11-2.
The Sioux scored on all but one, maybe two powerplays and even scored a shortie. Jason Gregoire had a hat trick while Frattin, Nelson, and Hextall each had 2 goals each. It got brutal RIGHT AWAY. The Sioux scored 2 within the first minute. It was 2-1 UND only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the first period!
MTU Starting Goaltender Josh Robinson's glove must have been weighted down because he looked ridiculously awful when UND shot glove side. No matter as he was gone with about 4.5 minutes left to go in the first period. Genoe relieved him and lasted until the 3rd period only giving up a paltry 5 goals. Third Stringer Corson Cramer, MTU announcers proclaimed him the first Colorado-born player on MTU to play, actually looked decent... by MTU standards only giving up 2 goals. After looking at one of the two goals, there was nothing Cramer could do about it. Both goals were redirected shots.
How Embarrassing and Shameful!
You'd think with the horrid officiating that took place today, I'd be lighting up the officials with this header but no. I'm talking about whoever the idiots were who ran the cameras and production area for MTU. They missed 2 goals entirely and for about a minute, perhaps more, did nothing more than focus on the goaltenders and forgot completely about the puck and the hockey going on. Hextall's second goal was missed entirely because of their idiotic idea to blow up and show the jumbotron time stamp!
Who are these guys? I will never throw stones at grainy pictures or poor graphic quality because sometimes such things just aren't able to be afforded, but the minimum qualification for running cameras at a sporting event is to record what the EFFING H-BOMB is going on!
Ok, I get the fact that no one likes to watch their team get utterly destroyed and I recognize how hard it must have been for MTU faithful watching this game but... wait a minute... I guess nobody but those present got to watch at certain points in time.
MTU's Radio Commentators
Believe it or not, I'm going to give props to them. They didn't come close to the homerisms I thought I'd experience and they definitely gave props to both sides when deserving. They did correctly call a few times when UND forwards (Hextall or Malone... I can't remember) did a bit of diving. Unfortunately, MTU's first penalty came off of a dive as well. They called it good play by Johnstone. Oh well.
Regardless, they are my MTU second stars of the game. It wasn't bad to listen to at all.
The Officiating
I have often wondered what it would be like if the officials completely ignored UND and called the other guys like they often called UND... well, tonight we saw it. UND did play the majority of the game clean, but there were several instances where we SHOULD have been called and weren't. I'm not talking about gray areas either. A UND point man prevented a short handed break away by taking down an MTU player in what can only be described as "ILLEGAL." Only it wasn't. Hextall shot the puck after the whistle at an MTU player too. Those were only two.
The CFB on Dorriott was borderline major. There was no head contact and the force in which Marto was hit was not out of control. Now, I know those two factors aren't considered by officials when making the call... even when it takes them a few seconds to suddenly decide that it was an illegal check. They could have given Dorriott a minor for boarding and it probably would have been ok.
Sportsmanship
MTU announcers lauded both teams over sportsmanship entirely forgetting the fact that Ryan Furne (commentators made it seem like his name was Burn) was absolutely beyond retarded. I expect that everyone expects the chirping like I'm sure Hextall and Lamoreaux were doing all game long, but Furne, a first line winger no less, mouthed off to the officials on the way into the box for his second penalty (a tripping call) and then left the box mouthing off to the officials, who apparently called a 10 minute misconduct and then Furne apparently mouthed off AGAIN and recieved the rest of the night off. Looks like he has a learning disability. Hey.... next time you get a warning for conduct to the officials, LISTEN THE EFF UP! They gave him the misconduct after the SECOND time he mouthed off in that whole scenario (he may have mouthed off after his first penalty but it wasn't apparent from the webcast or the commentators)!
That being said, it was very nicely played. The coaches were cordial and even the intermission entertainment wasn't too rough to watch... though I'd be pissed if I were the guy who got the RC truck with the bad batteries or controller.
What's Next?
We see if the rest of the MTU team learns anything from this weekend: Go to the Box, get out of the box before 2 minutes is up. Pretty easy. UND's powerplay is ok, but not great.... and MTU made it look like we're unstoppable up a man.
UND cannot party it up even though we play the next series against MTU as well in Grand Forks. MTU did play us very well in Period 1 on Friday and they could do so again if we play like we're playing a cupcake like MTU and not a team that has nothing to lose.
The Three Stars:
1st Star: Jason Gregoire (3g 1a 4pt)
2nd Star: Matt Frattin (2g 2a 4pt)
3rd Star*: Brett Hextall (2g 1a 3pt)
* - I could give it to Brock Nelson or Corbin Knight as well. All three had 3 point nights.
