Thursday Links – Where is Spring?

The Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty incident has really blown up on the Internet and the blogsphere, now the Montreal police department wants to conduct a criminal investigation on the hit. I don’t think that this warrants a criminal investigation. If there is a hockey player(s) that deserve to be in jail it’s Matt Cooke and Todd Bertuzzi, Zdeno Chara isn't a dirty player contrary to public belief. Zdeno Chara didn't have a history of being a dirty player after 13 years of hockey, however, Chara made a bad decision with his hit on Max Pacioretty and Chara is going to have to live with that hit for a very long time.

Don’t get me wrong I am not excusing this hit; it was an unfortunate hockey play that went poorly and ended up ending a player’s season. This latest dustup will only further strain the Habs and Bruins on ice feud and could possibly make the next game in this series a blood bath. There is a strong possibility that the Bruins and the Habs could end up seeing each other in the playoffs as well.

I was watching the game as it happened in time, no one ever wants to see a player get hurt on the ice, never. That being said, hockey is also a physical sport and people are going to get hurt, unfortunately a player was hurt in this situation. Was this a penalty, you betcha, it was called a five minute major on the ice, it was a classic definition of interference; Pacioretty was no where near the puck when he was driven into a metal stanchion. There has been an on going debate on whether Chara meant to do that, short of giving him a polygraph; I don’t know how we will ever figure out if Chara meant to do it or not.

We have learned nothing in the last week

So here we are a week after the Trevor Gillies hit on Cal Clutterbuck and we are right back at square one again, another horrific incident and another player out with another concussion. Sometime in the future, tonight, tomorrow or next week there will be another hit like this that will make its way onto YouTube.Com and the fans and the media will pick the hit apart and the various NHL fan bases will spar over the hit in question.

So what does the NHL do going forward? In this specific instance should Chara pulled up and not followed through on the hit, yeah probably, the puck was already by him, Chara didn’t pull up and Pacioretty was hurt on the play and carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. I would be willing to bet that Chara feels bad about the hit that he put on Max Pacioretty, I don’t think that there are that many players in the NHL that intentionally want to hurt people. I have also seen where some pundits have said that Pacioretty put himself into that situation by instigating and stirring the pot with Chara over the course of the season and that Chara had enough.I wonder if the league took that into consideration when they made their ruling?

In conclusion; I think that the NHL has pinned themselves into a corner with their past decisions and at times I question whether they really have a clue what they are doing? There is evidence by some of the NHL's recent decisions involving on ice incidents that the front office has no clue what they are doing. That being said, NHL hockey is a physical game and short of taking hitting out of the game, injuries and questionable hits are going to be part of hockey. The way the NHL responds to these hits going forward is going to make a difference on how often we see these types of hits. I also believe that as long as we have a certain player out patrolling the ice conducting acts of thuggery we will continue to have this discussion.

The Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice needs and has to be more consistent going forward, if not the NHL will never improve it’s player safety. While I think that the NHL "probably" made the right decision in this case under their current guidelines and rules it does seem like the only acceptable response to some fans and the talking heads and a percentage of NHL players would’ve been to give Chara a game or two suspension for his hit. I don’t know if the NHL is at that point yet in the discussion but I wonder if that isn’t on the horizon in the future? To be continued.

Links to the Story...

NHL Misses Opportunity to Send Message of Safety by Not Suspending Zdeno Chara [NESN.COM]

Montreal Police Launch Criminal Investigation for Zdeno Chara's Hit on Max Pacioretty [NESN.COM]

Chara: 'It was just a hockey play'[Sabres Edge] Here is what Zdeno Chara had to say on the matter.

"I totally understand. He's in the hospital so he's got the right to be emotional so I respect that," Chara said. "I obviously feel bad he got hurt. As a hockey player we all feel bad when something like that happens. ... I'm wishing him to a fast recovery and hopefully he'll be back on the ice soon. That's all we love to do. We love to be hockey. When we go out there, we take risks and sometimes we do get hurt. But it's just very unfortunate."

Air Canada threatens NHL over headshots [Toronto Sun]

That’s hockey?! NHL still whistling after Zdeno Chara’s rub-out of Max Pacioretty [The Vancouver Sun]

Poking the bear [Sportsnet.ca]

Personally, I see Pacioretty as a player who poked the bear for three straight games, then was foolish enough to put himself in a position where the big Bruin could exact payback.

We're not saying the payback was legal. It wasn't -- the puck was nowhere near.

But we are saying that if you expect Chara to know that turnbuckle was there, then you have to grant that Pacioretty did too. He also knew Chara was after him, since Pacioretty had antagonized Chara off and on for most of three games.

The Habs forward rolled the dice and lost. He could have hit the brakes, he could have gone inside. He chose instead to attempt to squeeze past Chara down the boards, and it was a bad decision.

McKenzie; Pacioretty not happy with Chara or League Decision [TSN.COM]

Bettman say Pacioretty hit horrific, but part of the game. [TSN.COM]

WCHA without UNO or BSU? (by Sioux 7)

Here are the final standings for the 2010-2011 season. But, what would the standing look like IF the league didn’t expand, and BSU and UNO were not in the league?

WCHA 2010-11 FINAL standings (28-games played)

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota…....…….21-6-1…43
2. Denver……..…....………17-8-3…37
3. Nebraska-Omaha..…..17-9-2…36
4. Minnesota-Duluth......15-8-5…35
5. Minnesota……..…......13-10-5…31
6. Colorado College...….13-13-2…28
7. Wisconsin……….....….12-13-3…27
8. Alaska-Anchorage….12-14-2…26
8. St. Cloud State….......11-13-4…26
10. Bemidji State…….….8-15-5…21
10. Minnesota State..….8-16-4…20
12. Michigan Tech…..……2-24-2…6

WCHA standings WITHOUT BSU and UNO figured in.

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts---GP
1. North Dakota…....…….15-4-1…31---20
1. Denver……..………....…14-7-3…31---24
3. Minnesota-Duluth......13-7-4…30---24
4. Minnesota……..…........12-8-4…28---24
5. Colorado College...….12-11-1…25---24
6. Wisconsin………....….10-11-3…23---24
7. Alaska-Anchorage…10-12-2…22---24
8. St. Cloud State.….......8-10-4…20---22
9. Minnesota State…..….7-13-4…18---24
10. Michigan Tech…..……2-21-1…5---24

You notice in this version, that UND has only 20 games played and SCSU only has 22 played where everyone else has 24 games played. With that in mind it would make sense to say UND would still have won the league, but SCSU could have finished up a few spots. Just something to ponder about…

How did we do? - Inaugural Blogger Poll Standings

At the beginning of the season I participated in the Inaugural WCHA Website/Blogger Preseason Poll and here is how the vote played out.
1. North Dakota (12) 177
2. St. Cloud (2) 158
3. Duluth (1) 154
4. Denver 125
5. Minnesota 117
6. Wisconsin 113
7. Nebraska-Omaha 81
8. Colorado College 77
9. Bemidji State 73
10. Minnesota State 39
11. Michigan Tech 30
12. Alaska-Anchorage 26

WCHA Player of the Year:

Jack Connolly-Duluth (6)
Garrett Roe-St. Cloud (5)
Jacob Cepis-Minnesota (1)
Chay Genoway-North Dakota (1)
Jason Gregoire North Dakota (1)
Matt Read-Bemidji (1)

WCHA Rookie of the Year:

Jaden Schwartz-Colorado College (6)
Beau Bennett-Denver (2)
Derek Forbort-North Dakota (2)
Nick Bjugstad-Minnesota (1)
Erik Haula-Minnesota (1)
Matt White-Nebraska Omaha (1)
Mark Zengerle-Wisconsin (1)
Sam Rendle-Bemidji (1)

Voters:

Goon-Goons World (North Dakota)
RWD-Runnin' With The Dogs (Duluth)
Brandon-Sioux Yeah Yeah! (North Dakota)
Chuck Schwartz-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Exile on Dayton Street-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Gandalf The Red-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Hammy-Gopher Hockey Blog (Minnesota)
Dirty-Dirty's Diatribe (North Dakota)
Jeremy-Husky Hockey Blog (St. Cloud)
USAFA Bulldog-The DECC is Stacked (Duluth)
Jon-Mav Puck (Nebraska-Omaha)
Fade to black and gold-Michigan Tech Hockey Blog (Michigan Tech)
Exiled One-College Hockey Recruit Exchange & DaHuskies.com (St. Cloud)
Donald - Delusions of Grandeur (Anchorage)
Millsy-The Beaver Pond (Bemidji)

Here How I voted in the first WCHA Website/Blogger 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

Poy Chay Genoway-UND
ROY Jaden Schwartz-Colorado College

Here is now the league ended.
1.)UND - 43
2.)DU - 37
3.)UNO - 36
4.)UMD - 35
5.)UMN - 31
6.)C.C. - 38
7.)UW - 27
8.)SCSU - 26
9.)UAA - 26
10.)BSU - 21
11.)MSUM - 20
12.)MTU - 6

Here is what I predicted in my only attempt at the "What-If"
Team GP Pts
1. UND 28 48
2. Denver 28 42
3. UMD 28 39
4. UNO 28 34
5. UW 28 32
6. C.C. 28 29
7. UMN 28 28
8. Mankato 28 21
8. SCSU 28 21
10. AA 28 18
10. BSU 28 18
12. MTech 28 6

College Hockey Scores from 3/5/2011

Atlantic Hockey Association
Sacred Heart 6 at Bentley 3
American Int'l 6 at Army 3
Mercyhurst 5 at Robert Morris 1
Canisius 6 at Niagara 3

CCHA
Bowling Green 2 at Northern Michigan 0
Ohio State 2 at Lake Superior 3
Michigan State 3 at Alaska 4 2OT

ECAC
Brown 0 at Quinnipiac 4
Harvard 6 at Clarkson 4
Colgate 5 at Rensselaer 2

Hockey East
Boston College 4 at New Hampshire 3
Merrimack 3 at Providence 5
Maine 4 at Massachusetts 4 OT
Northeastern 4 at Boston University 3
UMass Lowell 2 at Vermont 4

WCHA
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Minnesota State 1 [Box Score]
Colorado College 1 at Wisconsin 3 [Box Score]
Minnesota 3 at Bemidji State 2 OT [Box Score]
St. Cloud State 2 at Denver 3 [Box Score]
Nebraska-Omaha 5 at Minnesota Duluth 2 [Box Score]
North Dakota 11 at Michigan Tech 2 [Box Score]

WCHA First Round Match ups
(1) North Dakota
(12) Michigan Tech

(4) Minnesota-Duluth
(9) St. Cloud State

(8) Alaska-Anchorage
(5) Minnesota

(6) Colorado College
(7) Wisconsin

(3) Nebraska-Omaha
(10) Bemidji State

(11) Minnesota State
(2) Denver

Pens’ Thug Matt Cooke checked into the boards by Matt Bradley no one cares…

There is an old saying in hockey you live by the sword you die by the sword; well that sword sliced Matt Cooke in the posterior last night. I was watching the game between Washington and Pittsburgh on Versus last night and during his second game back from his most recent suspension for being a putz on the ice: probably to many fans amusement; the despicable and unlikable Matt Cooke was checked face first into the boards by Capitals winger Matt Bradley, what I find even more amusing that no one is upset about it Cooke getting check head long into the boards.

I spent most of the last hour combing through the major NHL Hockey blogs (Puck Daddy, Kukla’s Korner) and there is no outrage what-so-ever. I even checked a prominent Pittsburg Penguins fan blog and showed little if any empathy or outrage for the Bradley hit on Pens hack Matt Cooke. I think that is a telling story of just how people feel about Matt Cooke.

I think eventually all of the transgressions that Matt Cooke has done on the ice are going to catch up with him, some day someone is going to catch him with his head down and some is going to blast him and he isn’t going to get up. My next question is will anyone but some Penguins fans care?

Fighting in Hockey

Recently, in the last couple of day there has been much discussion about the role of fighting in hockey and whether it should be banned or punished more severely. A research group did a poll that said a majority of Canadians want fighting banned from hockey, I highly doubt it was a poll made up entirely by hockey fans. I would actually like to see the break down of who their flawed poll actually surveyed. I am sure there are a fair number of these people that were surveyed that don’t have a clue what a hockey puck is for and when they see a fight in hockey they are probably clueless to what purpose fighting actually serves in hockey.

Fighting in hockey serves a purpose and keep the players that play by the hockey code honest. If there wasn’t fighting in hockey I would be willing to bet you would see more "guttless pukes" like Matt Cooke or insert your favorite player ___________ skating up and down the ice taking liberties with other teams skilled players because they know they wouldn’t have to fight, they could hide behind the refs and yap because they know they wouldn't have to fight anymore. Basically, I see it all of the time in college hockey now a days where players know they can do bush leagues things because they know that they rarely have to fight. I also think that you would see more questionable checks in retribution for these bush league tactics from players like Cooke.

Scores from Saturday, February 12

ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
American Int'l 5 at Bentley 1
Army 0 at Holy Cross 6
Niagara 5 at Air Force 4 OT
Robert Morris 4 at Mercyhurst 4 OT

CCHA
Northern Michigan 6 at Michigan State 5
Alaska 2 at Lake Superior 4
Bowling Green 1 at Notre Dame 5
Western Michigan 1 at Miami 3
Ohio State 1 at Michigan 2

ECAC
Cornell 3 at Rensselaer 2 OT
Princeton 1 at Dartmouth 4
Brown 5 at St. Lawrence 1
Colgate 3 at Union 6
Yale 6 at Clarkson 3

HOCKEY EAST
Providence 3 at Massachusetts 3 OT
New Hampshire 2 at Merrimack 3 OT
Vermont 2 at Maine 4

WCHA
Bemidji State 1 at Michigan Tech 0
Denver 3 at Minnesota 7
Alaska Anchorage 1 at North Dakota 3
Minnesota State 1 at Colorado College 2
St. Cloud State 3 at Minnesota Duluth 3 OT
Wisconsin 3 at Nebraska-Omaha 4

NON CONFERENCE
Alab-Huntsville 1 at Ferris State 5

Analysis – It was another interesting night of hockey in the WCHA, the race for home ice is starting to shake out. With three weeks to go in the season before the WCHA playoffs start, the UND Fighting Sioux lead the WCHA with 32 points, Denver is second with 31 points and UMD is tied with the UNO Mavericks for third place with 30 points.

Bemidji State 1 - Michigan Tech 0 – The BSU Beavers won the Winter Carnival Crown in Houghton Michigan against the hapless MTU Huskies. BSU Sophomore Jordan George’s breakaway goal with 93 seconds left in regulation lifted the Bemidji State Beavers to a 1-0 win over Michigan Tech. The loss by the Huskies increased their winless streak to 26 games but with the tie on Friday night the MTU Huskies stopped a 18 game losing streak. The MTU Huskies have not won a hockey game since October 15, 2010. [Up North Sports]

Denver 3 – Minnesota 7 – The Minnesota Gophers beat the DU Pioneers who coming into this series had dominated the Minnesota “not so Golden Gophers” 10-1-1 in the last 12 games, so you kind of figured that something had to give and it did as the flood gates opened for the Gophers as they hung a “7” spot on the Denver’s sieves goaltenders. The Gophers chased DU starter Sam 33 seconds into the second period. There was “gasp” a fight in the game as well as John Ryder and Jake Hanson dropped the gloves and fought; or that’s how it was scored on the box score... From what I heard the fight in question was mostly two guys swinging at each other while by being separated by the WCHA buffoons officials. Note to WCHA refs and league office, if you’re going to award a player a game disqualification and a five minute major for fighting, let the players fight. [Goal Gophers], [Denver Post]

Alaska Anchorage 1 – North Dakota 3 – The UND Fighting Sioux secured home ice by sweeping the UAA Seawolves. The Sioux outscored the UAA Seawolves 9-2 and proved that the trap can be broken with speed and crisp passes. The Sioux blew by the big slow lumbering team from UAA all weekend long exploiting their lack of foot speed. The UAA goaltenders actually kept their team in the games all weekend long and if they hadn’t gotten good goaltending it would have been more lop sided. I thought that UAA goaltenders Rob Gunderson and Chris Kamal both played well in net for the Seawolves and they will only get better with experience. The Sioux with the win now sit at the top of the WCHA standings with 32 points. [Woody, ADN], [Grand Forks Herald]

Minnesota State 1 – Colorado College 2 - The Purple Mavericks and the Colorado College Tigers split a weekend series in Colorado Springs, Co. C.C. Tigers forward Tyler Johnson scored the game winning goal at the 10:40 mark of the third period to secure the split for the Tigers. [Mankato Free Press], [Colorado Springs Gazette]

St. Cloud State 3 – Minnesota Duluth 3 OT – The UMD Bulldogs came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game and earn a point in their weekend series with the SCSU Huskies at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, MN. With the tie the Huskies are sitting in ninth place of the WCHA standings and host the UND Fighting Sioux next weekend in Saint Cloud. [Saint Cloud Times], [Rink and Run]

Wisconsin 3 – Nebraska-Omaha 4 – The Wisconsin Badgers were swept by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha, Nebraska. The Wisconsin Badgers now own an unimpressive 1-9-2 record against ranked teams. The loss also dropped the Badgers to 15th over all in the Pair Wise Rankings. With the win the UNO Mavericks are sitting in third place two points out of first in the WCHA Standings. While I have had Badger fans remind me that while UW is 1-9-2 against rank teams, a fair number of these games have been in overtime or one goal losses; [4-3 BU, 4-2 DU, 1-0 UND, 4-2 UND, 6-5 UMD O.T., 3-2 UMD O.T., 2-0 UMD, 4-1 UNO, 4-3 UNO], a loss is a loss and it counts the same in the standings whether its by 1 goal or 5 goals. Just for the record, I am not trying to bag on the Wisconsin Badgers, personally, I have a lot of respect for the Wisconsin Badgers hockey program and their coach, the fact remains is that the Badgers have struggled against team above them in the standings. The Badgers are a good young team and if they aren’t raided by the NHL next season could be one of the top teams in the WCHA next season. [Madison.com], [Omaha.com]

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look. No big surprises this week.

INCH Power Rankings
[February 6, 2011]
1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. Minnesota Duluth
4. North Dakota — The series between the Fighting Sioux and Alaska Anchorage, this weekend’s opponent, has been surprisingly close in recent years. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, NoDak owns a 7-4-2 edge on the Seawolves.
19-8-2 (14-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage
5. Denver
6. New Hampshire
7. Union
8.Rensselaer
9. Merrimack
10. Miami
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. Notre Dame
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Dartmouth
18. Colorado College
19. RIT
20. Maine
Dropped out: Princeton
Bubble-licious: Cornell, Princeton, Robert Morris

Hockey Night in Canada - Coach's Corner: Feb 5

Interesting Coach's Corner. Don Cherry discusses the Andrew Ference comments on Daniel Paille's hit on Stars forward Raymond Sawada, in a way I agree with Don Cherry, go up to your teammate in the locker room and tell him you thought the hit was dirty . Don Cherry also addresses the Tim Gleason hit on the Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin after he hit him twice in the face. Below is the transcript of what Grapes said about Ference.

NESN.COM --- "You do not, I don't care if your teammate is an axe murderer, what you got to say to the guy is you [go to him] in the dressing room and tell him that it was a dirty hit," Cherry said during the segment. "But you wouldn't do that anyhow.

"I'd hate to be in that dressing room right now. You see what happened [Saturday], 2-0 [Bruins loss to San Jose]. That brings your dressing room down. When you have a guy in the dressing room talking about your own players and know he's going to get suspended."

Volatility on the edge of TUC

This article was silly and probably not worth a mention but I couldn’t resist. Yep, the Pairwise Rankings are volatile and unpredictable, I think that is why the Pairwise Rankings were made to look at after all of the games have been played, to include the conference playoffs. It doesn't hurt to take a look, but they will change.

USCHO.COM --- Robert Morris’ loss Thursday night to Canisius had a big effect on North Dakota’s PairWise ranking. The Colonials dropped as a Team Under Consideration (TUC) when their RPI fell below .500 in the 5–4 defeat. That cost the Fighting Sioux two wins against TUC (causing them to lose that comparison against Denver) and a few decimal points in RPI (causing them to lose the RPI comparison vs. Boston College), moving North Dakota to fifth in the PairWise and out of an NCAA regional No. 1 seed.

Why does this matter now? Because it has implications for the final few games of the season. Robert Morris is likely to stay right around .500 in the RPI as it battles for its first AHA title. The Colonials could return as a TUC with a decent regular-season finish and a successful Atlantic Hockey playoff run.

North Dakota fans may find themselves keeping tabs on Atlantic Hockey playoff results to see whether those two wins against RoMo at the Ralph in January will help the Sioux or not.

I think that I can predict that Sioux fans probably won’t be watching Robert Morris University or the AHA playoffs. It would probably be like watching paint dry. Yeah the Fighting Sioux are on a bye week and with the loss of Robert Morris on Thursday night The Sioux did drop to 5th in the Pairwise Rankings but the next night they moved back up to second in the pairwise rankings. If you want good analysis on the Pairwise Ranking check out Jim Dahl of Sioux Sports, Jim is the PWR master.

Poll Monday Sioux 5th in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
January 31, 2011
1. Boston College (41) 18-6-0 988 2
2. Denver ( 6) 16-5-5 922 3
3. Yale ( 2) 17-4-0 881 1
4. Minnesota-Duluth ( 1) 17-5-3 840 5
5. North Dakota 19-8-2 813 4
6. New Hampshire 15-5-4 745 7
7. Wisconsin 19-8-3 670 8
8. Michigan 17-7-4 629 6
9. Rensselaer 17-6-3 594 10
10. Notre Dame 16-9-5 549 9
11. Union 18-7-3 507 13
12. Merrimack 15-5-4 436 14
13. Miami 14-9-5 427 11
14. Boston University 12-7-7 314 16
15. Maine 11-7-6 289 12
16. Western Michigan 14-6-8 274 17
17. Dartmouth 12-6-3 177 18
18. Nebraska-Omaha 14-10-2 161 15
19. Princeton 14-6-1 157 19
20. Colorado College 15-12-1 80 20
Others Receiving Votes: Alaska 10, Providence 10, Robert Morris 7, Minnesota 4, Northeastern 4, Ferris State 3, Ohio State 3, Minnesota State 2, Rochester Institute of Technology 2, Niagara 1, Quinnipiac 1
_____________________________________________
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
Jan. 31, 2010
1. Boston College (26)18-6-0 497 2
2. Yale (3) 17-4-0 448 1
3. Denver (2) 16-5-5 445 3
4. Minnesota Duluth (3) 17-5-3 407 4
5. North Dakota 19-8-2 393 5
6. New Hamsphire 15-5-4 325 8
7. Wisconsin 19-8-3 272 7
8. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 17-6-3 259 10
9. Michigan 17-7-4 258 6
10. Notre Dame 16-9-5 197 9
11. Union 18-7-3 189 12
12. Merrimack 15-5-4 147 14
13. Miami (Ohio) 14-9-5 95 13
14. Boston University 12-7-7 41 NR
15. Maine 11-7-6 39 11
Others receiving votes: Western Michigan 37; Dartmouth 16; Princeton 10; Nebraska Omaha, 4; Robert Morris 1.

They said what?

Check this out, this is from Roman’s blog on Goal Gophers.

THE DON ON RADIO

Tuned in on Monday evening to hear coach Don Lucia on his weekly radio show. Trouble was, there was not a program this week. He was on KFAN on Tuesday morning for a while. Some highlights:

* On recruiting: He drove 1,000 miles the past couple days recruiting. He still wants to recruit the high-end talend but believes the one-and-done players probably hurt you more than they help. He said he is trying to get a blend, including players who will stay four years.

* On Friday's 3-2 victory: "We answered the ball physically. ... Even on Saturday it was a one-goal game in the third period."

* On unbalanced schedule: Nine of the past 11 games against North Dakota have been at the Ralph in Grand Forks. Partly explaining that is three-game first-round playoff series there last March.

* On special teams: He is not worried so much about the Gophers' power play even though it was 0-for-6 on Saturday. The penalty kill is the biggest area which needs fixing. North Dakota only scored two five-on-five goals.

* On a bye week so soon after the holiday break: Ideally the Gophers would have had their next bye week in early February.

* On skating legs of Erik Haula and Nick Bjugstad, freshmen forwards who played in the World Juniors: Their legs are fine.

They said what?

The “halos” are out in Minnesota this morning. I guess the Sioux didn’t get the memo that you’re not allowed to go down when you’re cross checked. Lol!

"Then the penalties came," Lucia said.

Most notably, senior Jay Barriball took an inexplicable penalty, cross-checking Ben Blood from behind in the neutral zone. Blood flew to the ice like he'd been shot out of a cannon.

"I tapped him in the back, and I didn't think I did it too hard, and he kind of flailed his arms out and dove forward," Barriball said. "That was the first penalty." With the referee's arm up, Barriball then knocked down Chay Genoway and drew a second penalty for tripping, resulting in a four-minute stay in the box. On the ensuing kill, Aaron Ness was called for cross-checking when Brett Hextall went down like a ton of bricks in the crease. [Read the whole article]

Yeah! I have to admit that I saw the replay last night at home of the play where Blood got cross checked by Jay Barriball, yeah I admit that Blood might have sold it a bit, one could/might say that Blood took a dive… So what? It was the first time I have seen him embellish in three years of hockey. It would have been a penalty either way because Barriball hit him with a cross check from behind. Roe and Cepis embellish on a weekly basis... On the flip side of that argument, as a player, Barriball and Ness have to know better, just because your team is down two men doesn’t mean that you have a free pass to start hacking and cross checking people and the Gopher paid for it last night. The Sioux cashed in on that power play. I have seen the Sioux get called for the same thing.

Jacob Cepis up to no good.



Photo by MissSioux85

This is the reason I don’t like the “no fight rule” in NCAA/college hockey. There is no way that Jacob Cepis would do this if he had to face Andrew MacWilliam like a man. This is a very dangerous move.

Extra security on tap for Sioux-Gopher hockey series

There will be extra law enforcement and security guards for this weekend's WCHA series between the Sioux and the Gophers. Last season there was a major incident between two fans that ended up sending a guy to the hospital with a head trauma. That incident sparked this blog post - Fan Behavior.

Grand Forks Herald --- In the shadow of a scuffle that left a hockey fan seriously injured last season, UND police and Ralph Engelstad Arena officials are beefing up security for the Sioux-Gopher games set for Friday and Saturday.

At both games, UND police will have three uniformed officers and two plainclothes officers in the arena. That’s three more officers than usual, Lt. Tracy Meidinger said.

“In the past, we’ve had a few problems,” he said. “This time, we’re trying to be a little more proactive and a little more visible.”

Meidinger said the additional officers come at the request of arena officials. “They’re interested in making sure this is safe, too,” he said.

Arena spokesman Chris Semrau said The Ralph typically has more than 20 of its own security officers at men’s hockey games. For this series, the arena will have four to six extra officers on duty.

“There’s a little greater attention paid to this weekend, but no major shift in approach,” Semrau said. “For the most part, fans behave very appropriately. There’s always a handful that may step out of line.”

After the UND-Minnesota hockey game Oct. 16, 2009, two fights broke out simultaneously on opposite sides of the arena, Meidinger said.

Feeling Minnesota

Tomorrow is the start of the “Rivalry” series with our heated conference opponent the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This series usually is a pair of very contested games where the penalty minutes can rack up into the historic levels. I would compare this rivalry to the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. The Sioux players don't like the Gophers and the Gopher players don't like the Sioux.

Now, while I think that this series could go either way and the series have historically, I do believe the Fighting Sioux are hands down the better of the two teams. None the less, I don’t know how to read this weekend’s tilt, the Gophers haven’t been very good as of late, they sport an unimpressive and mediocre record of 9-8-3, The Gophers unimpressive record includes losses to EZAC team Union and CCHA cellar dweller Michigan State and they were also swept by a mediocre MSU-M team. Fighting Sioux hockey head coach Dave Hakstol has owned the Gophers during his tenure and has a record of 14-8-3 against the Gophers. This weekend, I predict UND gets three points against the Gophers.

Last season of the Fighting Sioux and Gophers

This series is historic because it will be the last time the Sioux will play the Gophers. Next season the Fighting Sioux we will probably become just the University of North Dakota. So in a sense it’s bitter sweet in my opinion.

The legislative action to attempt to keep the Fighting Sioux name is nothing more than grand standing, in my humble opinion and nothing will change what is already taking place, if anything I would ask the leaders of the great state of North Dakota where were you a few years back, it’s a little too late now, the ball is already rolling and don’t know how you could stop it accept by a law suit against the NCAA. Next season the Fighting Sioux will become the University of North Dakota.

Links

Dan Hammer and Chay Genoway [Click to listen]

Here is what Jacob C-Piss had to say about the rivalry. [Click to listen]

Alex Kangas talks about his upcoming surgery, his recovery will take four months. [Click to listen]

Coach Luica on the series between the Sioux and Gophers [click to listen]

PA and Cardinal discuss the Gophers and Sioux [Click to listen]

The latest INCH podcast [click to listen]

FanHouse's Top 10
1. North Dakota (16-5-2)
2. Yale (14-1)
3. New Hampshire (12-3-4)
4. Boston College (15-5)
5. Minnesota Duluth (14-4-3)
6. Denver (13-5-4)
7. Wisconsin (14-7-3)
8. Michigan (13-6-4)
9. Notre Dame (14-7-3)
10. Nebraska-Omaha (12

Keith Ballad hit on Drew Miller

Since it's Gopher vs Sioux week I thought I would include a check by former Golden Gopher Keith Ballard as he give former MSU Spartan Drew Miller a ride with a marvelous hip check. Unfortunately for the Gophers none of the current Gopher defensemen or forwards can hit like this.

College Hockey scores from 11/26/2010

Friday, November 26

Alaska 3 at Ohio State 3 OT
Boston College 3 at Merrimack 5
Alab-Huntsville 1 vs Bowling Green 5
Clarkson 1 vs Air Force 2
Connecticut 5 at Rensselaer 6
Dartmouth 8 at Harvard 2
Minnesota State 8 at UMass Lowell 3
American Int'l 5 at Mercyhurst 2
Niagara 4 at Army 1
Northeastern 2 at Vermont 2 OT
Sacred Heart 1 at RIT 6
Michigan 4 at Wisconsin 4 OT
Michigan State 5 at Minnesota 2
Miami 2 at Western Michigan 5
Lake Superior 3 at Denver 6
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Colorado College 3 OT
Notre Dame 3 at North Dakota 6
Northern Michigan 4 at Bemidji State 0

Analysis – The WCHA went 2-2-1 in non conference play against the CCHA last night.

Northern Michigan University 4 Bemidji State University 0 – NMU goalie Reid Ellingson stopped 37 shots in a shutout win against the home standing BSU Beavers. It was the first shutout of the season for the junior goalie. [BSU Beat Writer Blog]

North Dakota 6 Notre Dame 3 – Junior forward Jason Gregoire had two goals and an assist, to pace the Sioux to an impressive 6-3 non conference win. Also noteworthy; sophomore forward Corbin Knight had a strong night chipping in a goal and an assist. Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell probably solidified his grasp on the starting position as he continued his solid play between the pipes. The sophomore goalie stopped 24 of 27 shots and also stoned Notre Dame forward Ben Ryan on a breakaway in the second period. With the win Aaron Dell improved his record to 8-4-0 on the season. [UND beat writer blog]- [South Bend Tribune]

Alaska Anchorage 4 Colorado College 3 OT – Alaska Anchorage forward Tommy Grant scored his fourth goal of the season at the 3:50 mark of overtime to pace the Seawolves to a conference win against the Colorado College Tigers in the Colorado Springs. With the win the Seawolves vaulted into a tie with the SCSU Tigers for 7th place in the WCHA.

Denver University 6 Lake Superior State University 3 – The Denver Pioneers won their 5th game in a row in front of a half empty building as the Denver University students are out on Christmas break until after the first of the year. Sophomore center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist to pace the Pioneers to the win against the CCHA foe. Check out this work from the Denver Post. If I was the coach of the Denver Pioneers I would call the Denver Post and ask that Terry Frei not cover the Pioneers again. Check it out.

With the University of Denver students out of school until after the New Year, Magness Arena on Friday was perhaps half-filled for the first night of the Denver Cup Classic and much more subdued than usual for Pioneer hockey.

Amid the relatively quiet atmosphere, center Drew Shore had three goals and an assist and much-touted freshman winger Beau Bennett had a goal and an assist as the Pioneers stretched their winning streak to five games with a lackluster 6-3 victory over Lake Superior State of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association. [read the whole article here]

Michigan State 5 Minnesota 2 – The Minnesota not so Golden Gophers were unimpressive in their final College Hockey Show Case game against Michigan State University. With the win the Michigan State University Spartans broke an unimpressive 0-4-5 skid against the Gophers in the College Hockey Show Case. Kent Patterson started in net for the Gophers gave up three goals and then he was replaced by senior goalie Alex Kangas. The Gophers play the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday night. The game will be on BTN. [Goal Gophers] - [Gopher Puck Live]

Michigan 4 Wisconsin 4 OT – The Wisconsin Badgers come from behind to tie the Michigan Wolverines 4-4 in the Kohl Center. With the Tie the Badgers stop a 0-4-0 streak. With the tie last night the Wisconsin Badgers have not won a game in overtime since 2007, breaking it down further that means that the Wisconsin Badgers are now 0-8-18 in extra hockey since 2007. Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets has covered this subject extensively. Badgers goalie Brett Bennett stopped 28 shots in net securing the tie for the Badgers. The Wisconsin Badgers have been 9-6-1 in the college hockey show case under Mike Eaves. The Badgers opted out of the college hockey show case to play more non conference games against Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. [Wisconsin beat writer] - [Game Story]

What about an NCC Cup?

With the talk of the Big Ten Hockey Conference I thought I would add some satire of my own. Since there are now five former members of the now defunct North Central Conference in the WCHA, I think these five WCHA teams (UMD, SCSU, UND, UNO and Mankato)should have a NCC cup like the now defunctDQ Cup.

Maybe we can poach/pursue a team like BSU and start our own hockey league that would be known as the NCC hockey league. Probably not, however, maybe when the almighty BTHC comes into fruition we could divide the WCHA into two division we could have the NCC schools together in one division and the other schools in another division. It would look like this...

NCC Division

UMD
UND
MSUM
UNO
SCSU

Others

C.C.
DU
UAA
MTU
BSU

102 million dollar fail - Kovy shoot out fail

I added this one for Sioux7 as he is a unapologetic New Jersey Devils fan. Check out this Ilya Kovalchuk's horrid attempt on the shootout tonight, I think we can classify this one as an #epic fail.

Would this work in Hockey?

Here is a question; you have a hit that might appear to be questionable say like the Joe Tornton hit on David Perron last week. Why not have a replay official to review the play. This is what some are suggesting for the game of football, would this work for hockey? Comments...

Jason Whitlock Fox Sports ----- Goodell is correctly trying to change the needlessly violent culture of the NFL. I get that. I’m for that. But let’s do it the right way.

Quarterbacks don’t get injured when hands accidentally hit the back of their helmets. The play Coleman and Mikell made on Austin Collie cannot and should not be eliminated from the game.

Collie was not defenseless. The helmet-to-helmet contact was just as much Collie’s fault as it was the Philly defensive back. The contact was unintentional.

You could see all of that watching the replay. The ref on the field did not have the benefit of replay, and he should have.

Use the cameras! The NFL is a reality TV show. There are cameras seemingly everywhere. Use them!

Add a seventh referee who calls the game from the replay booth. Give him a microphone, put a camera on him and make him a part of the game. Let him arbitrate judgment calls such as unnecessary-roughness penalties.