College Hockey scores from 10/22/2010

Friday, October 22

Bentley 1 at Clarkson 5
Boston University 4 at Massachusetts 3
Niagara 1 at Union 6
Providence 4 at UMass Lowell 5 OT
RIT 1 at Rensselaer 4
Western Michigan 3 at St. Lawrence 1
American Int'l 5 at Air Force 3
Alaska 1 at Michigan State 1 OT
Alab-Huntsville 4 at Bowling Green 5
Colgate 1 at Lake Superior 2
Canisius 4 at Sacred Heart 1
Ohio State 1 at Ferris State 2
Alaska Anchorage 2 at Minnesota Duluth 3 OT
St. Cloud State 5 at Minnesota 2
North Dakota 3 at Maine 7
New Hampshire 2 at Northeastern 2 OT
Northern Michigan 0 at Miami 4
Nebraska-Omaha 4 at Michigan 2
Colorado College 4 at Minnesota State 5
Wisconsin 2 at Denver 4

Analysis - Pontifications

I Blame Roman!

UND at Maine: Split ... NoDak sweeps in Bangor, Orono or wherever Maine is. Sioux's Matt Frattin is hotter than hot.

How about them UNO Maviericks? The Mavericks roll into Ann Arbor, Michigan and beat the Wolverines 4-2. I don’t think anyone is going to be over looking the Mavericks now.

The big, slow, lumbering team from UAA losses in Overtime to the Speedy Bulldogs. I expect the UAA Seawolves to bounce back tonight as they always play the Dogs tough in Duluth.

Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week - Matt Frattin

It would be an understatement to say that Fighting Sioux senior forward Matt Frattin was a big factor in the Sioux sweep of the BSU Beavers, this past weekend... All you have to do is go back and watch the video highlights from Friday's game to see that Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin (5- 1- 6) was on fire and for his awesome performance last weekend Frattin was rewarded with the WCHA Player Of the Week.

Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Matt Frattin - Sr., F, North Dakota

photoUniversity of North Dakota right winger Matt Frattin, who sparkled offensively in his team's WCHA-opening series sweep at Bemidji State last weekend, is the men's Red Baron® WCHA Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 19, 2010.

A 6-0, 206-pound senior from Toronto, Ont., Frattin scored a three-goal hat trick last Friday (Oct. 15) and then followed up with another goal and an assist last Saturday (Oct. 16) for a five-point series to lead the second-ranked Sioux to a pair of 5-2 conference road wins over host Bemidji State. In Friday's win, Frattin scored a goal in each period with power-play tallies in each of the first two periods, and an empty-netter late in the third. He also had seven shots on goal. On Saturday, Frattin assisted on Evan Trupp's eventual game-winner, then scored with 1:47 left to put UND up 4-2 and clinch the sweep. He was also a +2 in the plus/minus category.

Frattin, who leads the WCHA and ranks second in the NCAA with five goals, now has scored 15 goals in his last 17 games dating back to last Feb. 13. He is a draft choice of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs.

Also nominated this week were: Jordan George, F, BSU; Eric Kattelus, F, MTU; Jay Barriball, F, UM; Jack Connolly, F, UMD; Rich Purslow, F, UNO; and Jordy Murray, F, UW.

College hockey's landscape is changing, but is there room for UAH?

I know this is a little old but If you haven't seen this article it's worth a look.

The Huntsville Times --- Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez told Madison.com he expects the creation of Big Ten ice hockey to be at the top of the agenda at this month's conference meeting.

"I don't know the logistics - how long it takes to get out of a league, all of that - but I sense that we will move in that direction," he said.

The Chargers, meanwhile, continue to demonstrate patience. Athletic director Jim Harris has paid close attention to the developing situation in college hockey and hopes to keep UAH in a position to reach a conference agreement.

"We're prepared to visit or talk with any conference, and we'd certainly welcome the opportunity to be in this new landscape," Harris said. "We'd hope that if there is pow-wow of these major conferences, they'd at least include us in the talk to understand that we're still ready and still very viable."

The conference most likely to be affected by this forecasted seismic shift would be the CCHA, which currently claims Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State as members. Commissioner Tom Anastos recognized losing three of the conference's top teams is a possibility but isn't scrambling to make changes until he hears something definitive.

"I'd say it's way too early to really speculate on it," Anastos said. "I'm reading all the speculation, but I really don't want to engage in it because it's simply speculation."

Anastos said the CCHA is completing new organizational structures that will continue to evaluate any potential landscape changes, but stopped short of saying what schools it would take into consideration.

"(Our evaluations) aren't triggered because of any particular reason," Anastos said. "We just think it's good business to be constantly evaluating your structure.

Weekend in review

I will include these pictures from this past weekend again. Also, Eric Stromgren from the Bemidji Pioneer has some really nice photos on his blog as well as in the Bemidji Pioneer.

This past weekend I was one of the lucky ones that was able to take in the historic first ever WCHA hockey series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux at the “new” BREC in Bemidji. My first impression of the BREC is 100% positive and you can mark me down as being impressed with the layout of the building and the grounds. Bemidji gets an “A” for their new building.

From what I can see in my first viewing of the BREC; its an amazing and impressive facility that will even the playing field for the BSU Beavers hockey team as far as recruitment goes, it’s definitely an up grade from the John S Glas Field House.

In walking around in the bowels of the arena I was impressed with the player’s area, the BREC has something like 4 locker rooms; an impressive weight room, that unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the weight room, none the less, the weight room had equipment that was top of the line. In today’s recruiting environment, those amenities are important features when recruiting players in the WCHA.

BREC fan friendly

While The BREC has a lot of amenities and will give BSU the edge when going for prized recruits in the future; there are also a lot of nice fan friendly amenities that will make the BREC an attractive option for future road trips and improve the hockey viewing experience for the college hockey fan. Like I said before this is not your daddy’s John S Glas Field House college hockey experience anymore, the two arenas don’t compare 46,000,000.00 > 970,000.00.

Based on what I saw last weekend the BREC has room for about 4373 fans (even though I have read somewhere that it seats 4,700) people and it’s the perfect size for a town like Bemidji that has a population that is roughly about 10,000 people. From what I saw the BREC has good site lines and I didn’t hear any complaints from fans about not being able to see the game.

One thing that caught my eye was that the Student section is positioned right behind the visiting goalie for two of the three periods and with their seating configuration allows the BSU student section to stand for the whole game if they would like, because they are not blocking the view of anyone behind them. In other words, they didn’t build luxury suites behind the student section. So that eliminates one problem there.

I was down by the Zamboni door where the Sioux players were leaving the ice surface after the pregame warm ups and it was interesting to see the BSU student section giving the Sioux players the business as they left the ice. The language coming from the stands was probably PG-13 and probably not as coarse as I thought it would be. The Sioux players seemed to enjoy it and smile as they walked off the ice. I have to admit that it was fun to watch the exchange.

The club seating and suite area is really nice and has a few amenities that really stood out to me as well. The club seating area seat approximately 200 fans in seat in the west end of the arena, that area is finished off with a nice bar, which incidentally serves more than Miller Beer products. One person that I know told me that the loneliest person was the Miller Lite beer stand in the lobby out side of the lower bowl of the arena. There is also leather couches in the club seating area to sit on between periods. The rest room facilities in the Club/Suite level area were nice and not crowded at all.

Bemidiji Regional Event Center

Over the weekend many people twittered me and sent me text messages asking me what I thought about the new BREC. Personally, I am excited about the new facility and I will reiterate what I said earlier, the Bemidji Regional Event Center is an improved high end version of the of the United Plains Center or what will now be called the Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND. The city of Bemidji did the BREC right and didn’t do it on the cheap, and they also laid the ground work for some nice expansion in the future.

Eventually, there is going to be a Holiday Inn Express built that will be connected to the BREC. So a person will be able to attend a hockey game and stay right there on the Grounds of the Bemidji Regional Events Center. That would be a plus in the winter when the weather turns bad.

As I mentioned in a paragraph above, one of the amenities from the BREC that I think the fans appreciated was that there is a bigger selection of adult beverages in the lobby of the lower bowl of the arena. Seriously, if you’re a fan that like to consume a beer or two there are more options than Miller Beer products. Also, you can get a mixed drink if you so chose without having to go to an arena bar. The one issue I saw with the mixed drink stand was there appeared to be only one mixed drink stand on the lower level causing long lines to purchase said mixed drink. It’s a minor issue and not a deal breaker. I was also able to purchase a Dunn Brother’s Coffee in the lobby of the BREC. I thought that was a really nice touch.

BSU a first class organization

First, I want to preface this last paragraph to say that I would like to thank the Bemidji Sports Information Director Brad Folkestad for his hospitality and thank him for giving me press credentials and an opportunity to report on the historic first WCHA series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux.

It was a pleasure to be a part of what transpired this past weekend, BSU is a first class organization that does everything with class and has a lot of pride as an organization. I attended BSU in the early 1990’s before I transferred to UND and BSU is definitely one of my favorite teams and a town that I still consider home, I also graduate from BHS in 1985. I will always fondly remember the campus and town of Bemidji. I will always remember this weekend positively as long as I live.

Poll Monday - Sioux second in both polls.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[October 18, 2010]
1 Boston College (49) 3-0-0 999 1
2 North Dakota ( 1) 3-0-1 941 2
3 Miami 2-1-1 872 4
4 Michigan 2-0-2 848 3
5 Yale 0-0-0 758 5
6 Minnesota-Duluth 3-0-1 730 7
7 New Hampshire 1-1-1 617 9
8 Boston University 2-0-1 543 10
9 Alaska 3-1-0 514 14
10 Nebraska-Omaha 4-0-0 467 17
11 Denver 1-2-1 443 6
12 Maine 1-1-2 429 8
13 Cornell 0-0-0 406 12
14 St. Cloud State 1-2-1 368 11
15 Wisconsin 3-1-0 341 15
16 Michigan State 1-0-1 267 20
17 Notre Dame 3-1-0 242 19
18 Union 3-1-0 236 16
19 Colorado College 2-1-1 126 18
20 Minnesota 2-2-0 118 13
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan Tech 61, Robert Morris 42, Ferris State 27, Rensselaer 27, Colgate 25, Vermont 19, Bemidji State 12, Rochester Institute of Technology 10, Merrimack 8, Quinnipiac 2, Massachusetts-Lowell 1, Western Michigan 1

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[October 18, 2010]
1 Boston College 510 (34) 1 3-0-0
2 University of North Dakota 473 2 3-0-1
3 University of Michigan 413 3 2-0-2
4 Miami University 409 4 2-1-1
5 University of Minnesota Duluth 333 7 3-0-1
6 Yale University 324 5 0-0-0
7 University of New Hampshire 250 9 1-1-1
8 Boston University 236 T-10 2-0-1
9 University of Alaska 172 14 3-1-0
10 University of Nebraska Omaha 164 NR 4-0-0
11 University of Maine 134 6 1-1-2
12 Cornell University 113 12 0-0-0
13 University of Denver 107 8 1-2-1
14 University of Wisconsin 102 15 3-1-0
15 St. Cloud State University 71 T-10 1-2-1
Others receiving votes: Union College 63, University of Minnesota 59, Michigan State University 53, University of Notre Dame 38, Michigan Tech University 27, Colorado College 16, Robert Morris University 7, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 4, Ferris State University 1, Rochester Institute of Technology 1.

Sioux 5 Beavers 2 (Video)

Thanks to RedFrogND for loading the video of courtesy of Lake Land Public Television.

Scores from 10-16-2010

Saturday, October 16

Union 4 vs Alaska Anchorage 3
Bentley 0 at Rensselaer 3
Bowling Green 3 at Clarkson 0
Michigan 3 at New Hampshire 3 OT
Massachusetts 2 at Boston University 2 OT
Connecticut 1 at Merrimack 7
Elliott Lake 2 at Finlandia 8
Bradford Rattlers 0 at Oswego 17
Colorado College 1 at Alaska 2
St. Lawrence 0 at Ferris State 3
UMass Lowell 4 at RIT 4 OT
Western Michigan 1 at Mercyhurst 0
North Dakota 5 at Bemidji State 2
Boston College 3 at Denver 0

Minnesota State 5 at Michigan Tech 5 OT
Providence 1 at Minnesota Duluth 7
Nebraska-Omaha 4 at Minnesota 2
Miami 1 at St. Cloud State 1 OT
Brock 2 at Colgate 3

Analysis

Gophers and Pioneers both were swept by their opponents this weekend, the Gophers didn't look impressive at all in losing to the UNO Mavericks on home ice. The fans in Minnesota are now in full fire Don Lucia mode. Miami took a win and a tie against the SCSU Huskies. Alaska Anchorage was swept twice this weekend in the Alaskan Goal Rush tourney.

Sioux 5 Beavers 2

Here are a few links from last night's game. I plan on putting something up at the end of the weekend, as I posted yesterday I had a laptop malfuction and I my computer is in route back from the Best Buy geek squad and I didn't have access to anything but the blackberry. I will be back up in the press box for tonight game at the BREC and will be posting some pictures when I get home that I took from the weekend. The BREC is a nice building and here are some of the pictures that I took with my blackberry.

UND rallies, dominates Beavers in BREC opener - Bemidji Pioneer.

Pioneer beat writer Eric Stromgren has some photos.

Green and white landscape greets Beaver hockey opener - Bemidji Pioneer

Brad Schlossman's blog has the story line as well.

Frattin foils arena opening - Grand Forks Herald


Official Box score for the game [Box Score].

Goon's three stars of the game

1. Matt Frattin 3g-0a-3pts 7/E
2. Jason Gregoire 2g-0a-2pts 3/+2
3. Derek Forbort 0-2-2 0/+2

Thanks to RedFrogND for down loading the video Courtesy of Lake Land Public Television.

Bemidji State vs. North Dakota

This is what the BSU Beavers had to say about playing the UND Fighting Sioux, s/t to Bemidji Pioneer sports writer Eric Stromgren. I would not be surprised if this weekend series ended up being a split. I have seen where some think that the Sioux are going to blow out the Beavers this weekend. I would caution Sioux fans about taking the Beavers lightly and expect this weekend's games to be close hard fought games. In the last eight games UND has played the Beavers; while they have won all eight of the games they have played against the Beavers, five of these games have been won by a goal. The last game between UND and BSU went to overtime.

Recent Scores
01/03/2009 Bemidji State 3 North Dakota 4 (ot)
01/02/2009 North Dakota 4 Bemidji State 3
02/24/2008 Bemidji State 0 North Dakota 1
02/23/2008 Bemidji State 1 North Dakota 5
01/20/2007 Bemidji State 3 North Dakota 6
01/19/2007 North Dakota 3 Bemidji State 2
12/17/2005 Bemidji State 1 North Dakota 5
12/16/2005 North Dakota 2 Bemidji State 1

UND's Chay Genoway a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in hockey

I just saw this on the WDAZ evening news. This is a pretty nice honor for Chay Genoway. There were three other WCHA players as well that were nominated: Jay Barriball, Forward, Minnesota, Kyle Ostrow, Forward, Denver and Matt Read, Forward, Bemidji State. Former Grand Forks native Jacques Lamoureux, Forward, Air Force was selected as well.

OVERLAND PARK, KS – Twenty NCAA® men’s ice hockey student-athletes who excel both on and off the ice were selected as candidates today for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in hockey. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.


2010-11 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Hockey Candidates

Name, Position, School
Jay Barriball, Forward, Minnesota
Chris Barton, Forward, Merrimack
Stephane Boileau, Forward, Union (New York)
Carter Camper, Forward, Miami (Ohio)
Cory Conacher, Forward, Canisius
Paul Dainton, Goaltender, Massachusetts
Jeff Dimmen, Defense, Maine
Chay Genoway, Defense, North Dakota
Carl Hagelin, Forward, Michigan
Tanner House, Forward, Maine
Chris Kushneriuk, Forward, Robert Morris
Jacques Lamoureux, Forward, Air Force
Broc Little, Forward, Yale
Bryant Molle, Defense, Alaska Fairbanks
Kyle Ostrow, Forward, Denver
Chase Polacek, Forward, Rensselaer
Matt Read, Forward, Bemidji State
Zach Redmond, Defense, Ferris State
Calle Ridderwall, Left Wing, Notre Dame
Evan Stephens, Defense, Dartmouth

Just for the Record.

While some blogger(s) may want to say that Fighting Sioux head hockey coach Dave Hakstol is classless hack, lacked sportsmanship, was discourteous and of course rude. I just got word that he will be attending the Beaver Pride Luncheon on Friday at the New BREC.

Friday begins with Beaver Pride Lunch with both squad's Coaches & WCHA Commissioner McLeod, Friday from 11:30am to 1pm at the BREC

Seriously! I think Dave Hakstol is a class act and a gracious host and has gone out of his way to travel to other programs on the east coast when other programs in the WCHA would have stayed home and played a home game instead. If Hakstol said he wanted to practice in stead of going to the luncheon I would not fault him one bit. While UND did in fact benefit from the trip to Alaska and will be able to schedule two more games because of it, I am sure that UAA probably did benefit from UND being in their tourney.

Where is the Beef?

The Golden Gophers had better expect to be hit and hit often this weekend when they play the UNO Mavericks in the WCHA season opener. UNO is the biggest team in Division 1 hockey and I don’t know if the Gophers will fair will if they attempt to get into a physical game. The Gopher coach Don Lucia tends to recruit more of the finesse type players.

Goal Gophers --- "We got off to a a good start last weekend, but now it is WCHA play so the intensity goes up a little more," Budish said.

UNO is the nation's biggest Division I team. The Mavericks average slightly over 6-1 in height and 199 pounds, one inch and 11 pounds more per man than the Gophers.

"We got a lot of guys who can play the body," said Budish, a former Division I prospect at linebacker when he played football at Edina. "We've got some big forwards. We've got a couple big D back there. We can play physical and match teams like North Dakota and Nebraska Omaha that have bigger guys.

"Even little guys on our team play the body. You don't have to be 6-foot to play the body. Little guys like [5-8 Jacob] Cepis and guys like that play physical and they finish their checks. We've got to get it from every guy in the line-up."

The Gophers coaches have stressed that, especially this week.

INCH Preview.

Dan Meyers from CHN has written his preseason preview for the WCHA.
WCHA Preview 2010-11, Part II: WCHA Preview, 2010-11.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
2009-10 Record: 25-13-5 overall, 15-10-3 WCHA, (4th)

Who's Back: Jr. F Jason Gregoire (20-17—37), So. F Danny Kristo (15-21—36), Sr. F Evan Trupp (8-26—34), Jr. F Brett Hextall (14-12—26), Sr. F Brad Malone (11-14—25), Sr. D Chay Genoway (4-6—10), Jr. G Brad Eidsness (24-10-4, 2.11, .914).

2010-11 Outlook: North Dakota loses just one of its top eight scorers and regains the services of perhaps the best college hockey player in the land in Chay Genoway. The loss of Chris VendeVelde isn't a small one — he led the Fighting Sioux in scoring last season (16-25—41) — but his loss should be covered by returning forwards Jason Gregoire, Danny Kristo, Evan Trupp and others, along with a full season of senior Matt Frattin, who returned for the second half last season and scored 19 points in 24 games. If that's not enough, sophomore Corban Knight looks primed for a breakout sophomore campaign and freshman Brock Nelson could make an immediate impact. On the blueline, Genoway is back after a horrific concussion cost him most of last season. He is joined by fellow senior co-captains Jake Marto and Derrick LaPoint, junior Ben Blood and freshman phenom Derek Forbot to form perhaps the best defensive corps in the country. And oh yeah, UND also has one of the best goaltenders in the country in Brad Eidsness, a junior who was among the conference leaders in just about every category last season.

"Instead of looking at the predictions and the polls, our goal is to get our team back to the level they were playing at at the end of last season," said Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol. "We found that we could be a tough team to play against if we had everyone playing within their role and at a very high intensity level."

Prediction: North Dakota is the preseason favorite of the league's coaches and media for a reason — it's loaded at every position. There really appears nothing that can slow them down, especially if UND can avoid its traditional slow starts. Look for the Fighting Sioux to challenge for the MacNaughton Cup, the Broadmoor Trophy and the National Championship this season.

In Case you haven't seen it. Delusion of Grandeur is whining about UND Fighting Sioux Hockey Coach Dave Hakstol not attending the coaches luncheon. I am sure the UND athletic director isn't going to care if Hakstol goes to the luncheon, Hak's reason he didn't attend seems legit to me. While I don’t need to give Delusions of Grandeur any extra hits to his blog, I do find his pontifications and his ranting and raving to be amusing. I can guarantee I am not Anon @838…

No, I say let's never invite them again because Dave Hakstol is discourteous. First, he doesn't show up for the coaches luncheon and passes along the excuse that it was the only time his team could schedule ice. Um ... the team wasn't invited to the luncheon ... Dave, you were. Apparently, Hakstol's two assistants are completely incapable of running a game day skate? He HAD to be there ya know? Weak sauce, Dave.

Here's the deal, the WCHA Coaches Luncheon's are a pretty frequent event across the WCHA realm. But there is one coach who really hates them. He's been openly negative about going to them. Donnie Lucia. He's elaborated his reasons and I won't get into them too deeply here. Suffice to say that tDon has lots of requests for his time from fans and media ... and the coaches luncheon is one place he thinks he shouldn't have to be if he doesn't want to go. Especially, on the road.

So Dave Hakstol thinks he's Donnie Lucia? Well, not exactly ... but in this case he's all about riding Donnie's anti-luncheon coattails. Gee, Dave. Do something original ... be your own man. Why you gotta try to act like tDon?

Here's the thing. It's a fucking tournament, not some regularly scheduled league game. Your team is going to get to schedule two home games and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue from it's participation here by cashing in the exemptions it gets from playing here. Doubtless that along with the invitation, UAA paid some of your team's airfare here. So you get all that benefit from the trip and you're discourteous enough to not show up to the luncheon?

Did I mention how they apparently had to get to the airport to leave and didn't stick around to collect their championship booty? Weird, cause I saw them in the building late in the 3rd period last night.

Let's never waste another tournament invitation on UND eh? This is what happens when you invite trailer-trash ... they act like trailer-trash. It's ZERO skin off UAA's nose if they are never invited again.

And oh yeah Coach Hakstol, you wouldn't have been the only coach in Frank Serratore's speaking shadow. Why are you so skerred of Serratore? Does your wife like his brother Tom or something?

Brian Faison is the UND Athletic Director. His email address is brianfaison@mail.und.edu. Let him know how you feel about the lack of sportsmanship and discourtesy of his premier program's head coach. I'll give away a pair of passes (good to any regular season game) to any fan that actually get's Faison to reply and let's us know what he said.

Poll Monday (on Tuesday)

I would have put this up yesterday but I was out of town hunting ducks in Devils Lake and there is no internet at my hunting shack. Sioux stay at number two in both polls.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[October 11, 2010]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston College (48) 1-0-0 998 1
2 North Dakota ( 2) 1-0-1 916 2
3 Michigan 2-0-1 833 5
4 Miami 1-1-0 827 3
5 Yale 0-0-0 751 6
6 Denver 1-0-1 636 9
7 Minnesota-Duluth 1-0-1 608 8
8 Maine 1-0-1 601 7
9 New Hampshire 1-1-0 571 10
10 Boston University 2-0-0 546 14
11 St. Cloud State 1-1-0 545 4
12 Cornell 0-0-0 453 11
13 Minnesota 2-0-0 422 15
14 Alaska 1-1-0 353 12
15 Wisconsin 1-1-0 268 13
16 Union 2-0-0 255 19
17 Nebraska-Omaha 2-0-0 187 NR
18 Colorado College 1-0-1 169 20
19 Notre Dame 1-1-0 167 17
20 Michigan State 0-0-0 135 16
Others Receiving Votes: Vermont 57, Bemidji State 42, RIT 37, Colgate 21, Alaska-Anchorage 13, Michigan Tech 13, Rensselaer 13, Mercyhurst 12, Ferris State 11, Robert Morris 11, Canisius 10, Merrimack 6, Northern Michigan 4, Ohio State 4, St. Lawrence 3, Quinnipiac 2

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
October 11, 2010
Team Points (First Place Votes) Last Poll Record
1 Boston College 507 (31) 1 1-0-0
2 University of North Dakota 467 (3) 2 1-0-1
3 University of Michigan 427 4 2-0-1
4 Miami University 392 3 1-1-0
5 Yale University 345 5 0-0-0
6 University of Maine 300 7 1-0-1
7 University of Minnesota Duluth 299 9 1-0-1
8 University of Denver 241 11 1-0-1
9 University of New Hampshire 226 8 1-1-0
12 Cornell University 137 10 0-0-0
13 University of Minnesota 129 15 2-0-0
14 University of Alaska 71 12 1-1-0
15 University of Wisconsin 46 13 1-1-0
T10 Boston University 218 14 2-0-0 2 T10 St. Cloud State University 218 6 1-1-0 2 Others receiving votes: Union College 45, University of Nebraska Omaha 19, University of Notre Dame 11, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9, Colorado College 7, Michigan State University 4, University of Vermont 4, Merrimack College 2, Colgate University 1, Michigan Tech University 1, Robert Morris University 1.


Read more:

It was inevitable (RW77)

We've now played 3 games with Eidsness and Dell sharing the duties and already there are people calling for Dell to play over Eidsness.

Here's why that's ridiculously stupid:

1. Eidsness was on the All WCHA team last year and was among the best goaltenders in the country last year. You don't get that by sucking.

2. I'd like to see Dell do as good as Eidsness did on Friday with just as much (meant as sarcasm) Team D in front of him. Something tells me, UAA would still have tied the game or won.

3. Eidsness is the man according to Hakstol.

It's still unfortunate that people seem to think that the only good goaltender is the one that can steal the game for you. My perspective is this: If you need a goaltender to steal a game for you, even if it is once in a while, then you're only saying that because you don't want to come to the realization that the team in front of the goaltender is prone to sucking. Ok, ok, there is value to a game stealing goaltender (Devils and Brodeur, Canadiens and Halak, etc.) but there are just as many examples of great teams with goaltenders that did what was asked of them but wasn't flashy or stole games (like Leighton/Boucher for the Flyers or Marc-Andre Fleury - who is good, but not flashy).

The point is this: if your dominance depends solely on the play of one player, regardless of position, then your team will eventually fail. That is, unless your sport is focused upon individual performances in a team setting (such as the Olympics, the Ryder Cup in golf, etc.).

Hockey is a sport that requires solid play in all areas of gameplay or your team will struggle, from the obvious loss to squeaking by with the win.

How about a non-hockey point to beat the dead horse? Yesterday, Alabama lost to South Carolina in football. Though this delighted me to no end (as did LSU's win over Florida... suck it ESPN), it displays my point exactly. Alabama should NEVER have lost to USC. But their defense let them down and game over. What we're doing with the Eidsness issue, in this context is, had the middle linebacker played better, Alabama would have won. Ahm... Nope.

Saturday we saw great team defense. Fairbanks tested Dell..... twice according to Brad the entire game. One of those two times, Fairbanks scored. It took a 5 on 3 powerplay to generate that chance. See how important Team Defense is? It took Fairbanks 10 minutes to get their first shot on goal (made while on the powerplay) and another 7 minutes on top of that to get their first even strength shot on goal! I think Tate Maris could have looked better than Eidsness with this kind of Team D in front of him.

So what do we take from this weekend? Two things:

1. If we play good on Team D, it doesn't matter who is in net.

2. We may have what could be a solid tandem in net. Dell just needs to be tested a bit more.

Eidsness is still the #1 goaltender on the Sioux. Sioux fans will just have to come to grips with the fact that Eidsness isn't going to be a game stealer. And as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather he not be expected to be so.

They Said... most thrilling rallies in tournament history ...

I was thinking that it was one of the more painful and something you would want to wipe from your memory, I was thinking that It would be more of a historic collapse.

ANCHORAGE – Senior winger Tommy Grant had a goal and an assist Friday as Alaska Anchorage stormed back from a four-goal deficit to register a 5-5 tie against 2nd-ranked North Dakota in Game 2 of the Kendall Hockey Classic at Sullivan Arena.

After trailing 5-1 midway through the second period, freshman right wing Brett Cameron capped one of the most thrilling rallies in tournament history when he knocked a shot slap shot past Brad Eidsness early in the third period.

Another Seawolf freshman, goalie Chris Kamal (25 saves), made the lead hold up by stopping the Fighting Sioux the rest of the way, including eight total saves in the third period and overtime.

Following the overtime period, North Dakota prevailed in a shootout, 2-1, which would go toward breaking a potential tie to determine the tournament champion. The game, however, goes in the official books as a tie in what was the season-opener for both teams.

Scores from other games.

You can get all of the scores on College Hockey INC and College Hockey News
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Non-Conference
Ferris State 4 at Alabama-Huntsville 1

Friday, October 8, 2010

CCHA
Michigan 4 at Bowling Green 1

Hockey East

Northeastern 2 at Providence 3
Mass.-Lowell 2 at Maine 8

Non-Conference

Ohio State 1 at Quinnipiac 2
Rensselaer 1 at Colorado College 2
Ferris State 2 at Alabama-Huntsville 4
St. Lawrence 5 at Minnesota State 5 ot
Sacred Heart 0 at Union 9
Denver 5 at Vermont 3
New Hampshire 3 at Miami 6
Canisius 5 at Western Michigan 3
Massachusetts 3 at Minnesota 5

IceBreaker

Holy Cross 3 vs. Notre Dame 6
Boston University 4 vs. Wisconsin 3

Maverick Stampede
RIT 1 vs. St. Cloud State 3
Clarkson 0 at Nebraska-Omaha 8

Superior Showcase

Michigan Tech 4 at Northern Michigan 3 ot
Minnesota-Duluth 6 at Lake Superior 6 ot

Kendall Hockey Classic

Air Force 2 vs. Alaska 5
North Dakota 5 at Alaska-Anchorage 5 ot

Exhibition

Western Ontario 5 at Michigan State 3

Annnnnnnnnd We're off!

The season is 25 hours and change away when we start the season with the OTHER Bison skating to (hopefully) defeat in the Ralph.

Thus begins the last season as the Fighting Sioux and the following as whatever lame toothless name the idiots on the SBoHE and the UND Administration pigeonhole us into.

But I digress, HOCKEY!

Manitoba boasts a ton of "talent" with again being the team to actually bring a bunch of 25 year old Canadians back to Grand Forks. So, once again, this is the one time a season where Minnesota fans can point at Grand Forks and say that there is a hockey team playing there full of 25 year old Canadians and be right.

Manitoba is a classy program even if the CIAU (or whatever they now call it) is truly a third tier hockey league. To be honest, I'd love to see a USHL team, a DIII team, and a MJ team play a CIAU team and see who would win. I think a USHL team could give them a run for their money and both the DIII and MJ teams have a very good chance at winning.

Anyways, Manitoba brings back 2 former 7th rounders and 2 former 6th round draft picks. A few of their players have actually played pro hockey, in either the AHL or overseas. Their starting goaltender will undoubtedly be Steve Christie, though their backup was, at one time, the Brandon Wheat Kings' rookie of the year before his performance slowly faded into fail.

Once again, Manitoba brings to Grand Forks a washed out ex-NCAA player. The first time it was some former NMU defenseman whose name I don't care too much to remember or even look up. This time it is former Bemidji State University defenseman Joey Moggach.

Just once, I'd like to bring in that team in Alberta that Graeme Harrington transferred to or perhaps U Alberta or U British Columbia to see what they can do. But who cares really. And then there's real news.

We start things off with a little backwards movement: UND Forward and reigning WCHA Rookie of the Year Danny Kristo did something stupid and got caught. Unlike Finley, Kristo wasn't able to do something unique in getting caught doing something stupid, but it was stupid nonetheless. So, he starts the season when UND heads to Alaska.

I'll take flak for this but.... I think Kristo should sit a regular season game in addition to the exhibition. I know that there is some power to sitting him tomorrow because the Sioux start the regular season on the road facing hapless UAA and less hapless UAF and being on the ice when the Sioux skate out with the Broadmoor would be special, but... No.

I think Kristo sitting against UAA would send the message double time without Hakstol hurting the team any more than is absolutely necessary. I think we could bench half our forwards and still win against UAA though.

Speaking of UAA....

They lose Kane LaFranchise for a semester because he actually found something to do other than go to classes last Spring or Summer! Maybe it was the endless sunlight or temps over the freezing point of water that distracted him? I dunno. In any case, UAA goes into the season without much in the way of scoring, nothing in the way of proven goaltending (even MTU has that!) and now, almost nothing in the way of defense.

Looks like my prediction of picking UAA dead last (while Goon and the rest of the media world went with MTU and even MSUM finishing behind UAA!) may become reality. Don't worry, folks, I'll be sure to taunt Goon mercilessly on his blog over this should a Redwing77 Prediction actually come true. Why? Because, to my knowledge, this would be the first time one of my predictions even remotely came true!

Blais on the BTHC

I have to agree with Dean Blais on this one, what does Barry Alvarez really know about hockey? I think the Big Ten should concentrate on things that they do well;  like Basketball and Football championships. These athletic directors are messing with college hockey that is already successful and there is a delicate balance that they could upset if they get greedy.

Q: What's your take on the Big Ten possibly starting a hockey league?

A: I don't know what's going to happen for sure. I hear Penn State is starting a program and building an arena. It's hard, hard to get into a conference. They are talking about it. There's got to be a lot of thought that goes into it if the Big Ten schools are going to get together at the expense of hurting college hockey. If you have 55 (58) schools playing hockey and five fold because of that, you better know what you're doing.

(Five programs would fold? Blais said it could happen in the CCHA if it loses three teams to the Big Ten. He had some strong words for the Big Ten schools in the WCHA. “Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin athletic director, has been pushing this. He's a football guy. Does he know anything about hockey? This could really hurt the sport. Minnesota and Wisconsin have to think about the backlash in future schedules. What's keeping everyone from blackballing them and making them look east?”)

Great Expectations - UND first in Media and Herald Polls...

94X WCHA MEDIA POLL
1. North Dakota (28 first-place votes) 347 points
2. Minnesota Duluth 300
3. St. Cloud State (1) 295
4. Denver 242
5. Wisconsin 218
6. Minnesota 203
7. Colorado College 182
8. Bemidji State 156
9. Nebraska-Omaha 125
10. Minnesota State 97
11. Alaska-Anchorage 51
12. Michigan Tech 46

Grand Forks Herald Coaches Poll
1. UND (10) 120
2. St. Cloud State (2) 105
3. Minnesota-Duluth 100
4. Denver 88
5. Minnesota 82
6. Colorado College 67
7. Wisconsin 64
8. Nebraska-Omaha 55
9. Bemidji State 46
10. MSU-Mankato 41
11. Alaska-Anchorage 19
12. Michigan Tech 15

Goon's Preseason poll
1. UND
2. SCSU
3. UMD
4. DU
5. UW
6. UMN
7. UNO
8. BSU
9. CC
10. MSU
11. UAA
12. MTU

Poll Monday

USA Today-USA Hockey Division I Men

1 Boston College
2 North Dakota
3 Miami of Ohio
4 Michigan
5 Yale
6 St. Cloud State
7 Maine
8 New Hampshire
9 Minnesota Duluth
10 Cornell
11 Denver
12 Alaska Fairbanks
13 Wisconsin
14 Boston University
15 Minnesota

Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame, Rochester Institute of Technology, Bemidji State, Ferris State, Union, Vermont, Michigan State, Northern Michigan, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Colorado College, Northeastern, Nebraska-Omaha, Merrimack.

Wow! Yale must be a world beater sitting they're sitting at number 5 in the country. Personally, I would put SCSU ahead of them in the pre-season poll. Time will tell and this is why we play the game. Again two ECAC teams in the top ten.