The Weekend in Review; slugging through the snow in the north country (Sanford Center)

This past weekend, I went to Bemidji to watch the Bemidji State Beavers and the Minnesota Gophers play in a two game series at the Sanford Center. This was the last time the Beavers and the Gophers would play as members of the WCHA.

Obviously, most of us are aware of the upcoming realignment so we won’t review that again.

With UND out of town and in Mankato, it was an opportunity to go to another WCHA series within driving distant, that didn’t involve UND.

I also hadn’t seen the Gophers live this season, so I wanted to take a look, if you know what I mean.

I thought about driving to Mankato and watching UND and MSU, but after looking at the road conditions on the internet, it appears that was a good decision not to go. 

The Sanford Center experienced its biggest crowd ever on Saturday night, 4,415 fans showed up to watch UMN and BSU, and there were a lot of Gophers jersey’s in the crowd.

Next season, UND fans are going to have to help the BSU fans pack that place on January 17, 2014 when UND comes to town to play the BSU Beavers in a non-conference tilt, to break that record. 

I think this is what the City of Bemidji had in mind when they built the Sanford Center, I was down town getting gas on Saturday and even with all of the fresh snow, the downtown was hopping.

For me, this is the third series that I have been to at the Sanford Center and in comparing some of the other rinks around the WCHA that I have been to, the place is a nice facility. 

While the Sanford Center might not have the “bells and whistles” of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, not many places do, the Sanford Center is an awesome facility and probably one of the best in the new WCHA going forward.

Head coach Tom Serratore should be able to use the Sanford Center to his advantage to land some good recruiting classes.

In 2010, I got take a tour of the facility and it’s got a lot of things recruits look for when they look at hockey programs. I was very impressed with the weight room.

I would say that the Sanford Center is definitely a destination for college hockey fans. For those that are wondering, they serve beer and Dunn Brother’s Coffee.

While no one will ever accuse me of being Marilyn Hagerty, the Sanford Center’s   cheese burgers are phenomenal, and simply awesome and roughly about the same price as the ones at the Ralph. Size wise, their burgers are actually bigger in my opinion.

The bag of popcorn was reasonably priced and too big to consume in one sitting, I actually threw away about a third of it.

In comparing the Sanford Center to other arenas I have been to, it’s better than the National Hockey Center pre-renovations and it’s better than the old DECC or Amsoil Arena, in my opinion, to quote our favorite radio announcer Bruce Ciskie, “apologies to those arenas.”

I am sure there will be those fans that disagree with me on this, but hey, that’s just how I feel on the matter.

Related articles

• Gophers Get Past Beavers in Bemidji (insidehockey.com)
• Gophers Ruin Beavers' Senior Night (insidehockey.com)

UND vs. BSU game two lines

UND’s Forward lines

19 Rocco Grimaldi –10 Corban Knight (A) – 7 Danny Kristo (A)

9 Drake Caggiula– 27 Carter Rowney (A) –15 Michael Parks

25 Mitch MacMilliam – 16 Mark MacMillan – 13 Connor Gaarder

11 Derek Rodwell – 28 Steph Pattyn –17 Colten St. Clair

UND Defense Parings

2 Andrew MacWilliam (C) – 18 Dillon Simpson

4 Derek Forbort – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

Nick Mattson –20 Joe Gleason

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg

33 Clarke Saunders

35 Tate Maris

Not in lineup:  29 Bryn Chyzyk , 21 Brendan O’Donnell, 8 Dan Senkbeil , 26 Coltyn Sanderson, 22 Andrew Panzarella

Bemidji State Beaver Forward lines

7 Brance Orban–12 Jeff Jubinville–4 David Boehm
28 Jordan George–14 Aaron McLeod (A) –9 Ben Kinne (C)
18 Radoslav Illo–13 Cory Ward–16 Danny Mattson
23 Markus Gerbrandt–27 Mitch Cain–29 Phil Brewer

Bemidji State Defense Pairings

8 Jake Areshenko (A)–25 Brady Wacker
22 Matt Prapavessis (A) –5 Matt Carlson
20 Sam Rendle–15 Sam Windle

Beaver Goalies

30 Andrew Walsh
35 Mathieu Dugas

Referees: Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd. Linesmen: Andy Dokken, Justin Hills.

UND vs. BSU game one lines

UND’s Forward lines

19 Rocco Grimaldi –10 Corban Knight (A) – 7 Danny Kristo (A)

9 Drake Caggiula– 27 Carter Rowney (A) –15 Michael Parks

25 Mitch MacMilliam – 16 Mark MacMillan – 13 Connor Gaarder

11 Derek Rodwell – 28 Steph Pattyn –17 Colten St. Clair

UND Defense Parings

2 Andrew MacWilliam (C) – 18 Dillon Simpson

4 Derek Forbort – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

Nick Mattson –20 Joe Gleason

UND Goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

35 Tate Maris

Not in lineup:  29 Bryn Chyzyk , 21 Brendan O’Donnell, 8 Dan Senkbeil , 26 Coltyn Sanderson, 22 Andrew Panzarella

Bemidji State Beaver Forward lines

7 Brance Orban–12 Jeff Jubinville–4 David Boehm
28 Jordan George–14 Aaron McLeod (A) –9 Ben Kinne (C)
18 Radoslav Illo–13 Cory Ward–16 Danny Mattson
23 Markus Gerbrandt–27 Mitch Cain–29 Phil Brewer

Bemidji State Defense Pairings

8 Jake Areshenko (A)–25 Brady Wacker
22 Matt Prapavessis (A) –11 Graeme McCormack
20 Sam Rendle–15 Sam Windle

Beaver Goalies

30 Andrew Walsh
35 Mathieu Dugas

Referees: Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd. Linesmen: Andy Dokken, Justin Hills.

What's wrong with this picture?

Looking at this screen shot, what's wrong with this picture? The WCHA's nonconference record is unimpressive this year against the other conferences.

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: 12/09/12 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings: 12/16/12 (insidehockey.com)

The nWCHA playoff format - I am not kidding

The nWCHA's held their meetings in Detroit Michigan this past week and one of the things they came up with was their league's new playoff format.

While the press release from the WCHA didn't include the new playoff format, it didn't take long for the new format to hit the Twitter-verse and this is what the new playoff format is going to look like. The top team in the nWCHA is going to get a first round bye and the rest of the eight teams in the league are going to play in the first round but that's not all of it.

Right out of the gate, the new format is a bit of a buzz kill, or at least what I would just call it a ill conceived idea - the first round of the playoffs is a potential money maker for the program that hosts the first round event.

There is also another great twist - per the beat writer of the Bemidji Pioneer Jack Hittinger - the Alaska Schools are going to play each other each season in the nWCHA playoffs unless one of them is the number one seed - number one seed in the nWCHA will get a first round bye. When I first saw this tweet on Twitter.com I thought it was a joke, but here is the confirmation of this.

The 1st Annual Northland Hockey Academy 4-Day Skills & Drills FULL DAY CAMP

The Northland Hockey Group presents…

The 1^st Annual Northland Hockey Academy 4-Day Skills & Drills FULL DAY CAMP

June 25-28, 2012 at the Sanford Center in Bemidji, Minnesota.

For boys and girls born from 1995-2005

MAIN INSTRUCTOR: Jeff Carlson and his staff

Director of Storm Hockey School (formerly Top Gun Hockey Camp since 2003, as well as other professional positions as a hockey instructor for summer camps, day camps, skills clinics and training schools since 1990.

Regional Coordinator/Instructor for Northern Edge Elite Hockey Schools since 2005.

President of Stonebriar Ice Hockey Association from 2003-2010, coaching several team from Mites thru Bantams, AA to house league levels. From 1995-2003, Head Coach/Asst Coach of several teams from Midget AA to Mite house league in New York City and Los Angeles metro areas.

GOALIE INSTRUCTOR: Scotty Buchholz

Former North Dakota All State Goalie!!!

The Academy will have a low instructor/player ratio!!!

LOCATION: SANFORD CENTER in BEMIDJI, MN (Home of the D1 Hockey Bemidji State Beavers)

Sanford Center - Bemidji

1111 Event Center Drive

Bemidji, MN 56601

INCLUDES: Many reasons to attend in 2012

12 hours of detailed on ice and 10+ hours of detailed Off-Ice instruction.

Four days of skating in the state of the art Sanford Center in Bemidji

Northland Hockey Academy Jersey

Lunch

Fun Galore

More

FEE: Low Price

Only $295 per player, Goalies are only $195 (Mail your check before June 15^th)

LIMITED: Be sure to register before June 18^th!!!

Each Camp Group is limited to 30 skaters and 4 goalies. We will have many instructors, plus goalie instructor for all On-Ice sessions.

FULL DAY CAMP: (Example only - Group 1)

8:00AM - Drop off

9:00-10:30AM – On-Ice

10:45-11:30PM – Plyometrics & Off-Ice Skills (stick handling, quick fee etc.)

11:30-12:00PM – Lunch (Provided by local vender - INCLUDED)

12:00-12:30PM – Instructional Video & Classroom Hockey Education

1:00- 2:30PM – On-Ice (Individual Skills: Stick Handling, Shooting, Passing, Checking)

2:45- 4:00PM – Plyometrics & Off-Ice Skills (stick handling, quick feet etc.)

4:00PM – Pick up

DORM STAY AVAILABLE: Need to travel we can help you out!!!

Available for only $22 per night or a tad more if you want breakfast and supper included. Lunch is provided by the Northland Hockey Academy.

HOW TO REGISTER: Register at www.northlandhockeygroup.com

HOW TO PAY: Mail a check by June 15^th so we receive it by June 18^th.

Mail to…

Northland Hockey Group

P.O. Box 490324

Blaine, Mn 55449

QUESTIONS?: Let us know.

We are confident that your child will love this camp!!!

Sioux7's picks for this week.

Denver vs MTU - DU Sweep
Bemidji vs UMD - Split
St. Cloud State vs UND - Sweep UND
UNO vs Wisconsin - Split
Minnesota and Alaska Anchorage - Split
C.C. vs RPI - Sweep Tigers

Donn has been really busy so I took the liberty of posting his picks for the week. 

Goon's picks for the October 21-22

Image via WikipediaHere are my picks for the week of October 21-22, 2011. Last week I went 7-9 if my math is right. I managed to jinx the defending National Champions, I predicted a split and they were swept by the Gophers.

My competitor Alex from Mankato went 5-11 in his picks. Sioux7 was at a wedding in North Carolina last week went 0-0.

WCHA

Minnesota State at Denver - Denver Sweep
Alaska-Anchorage at Nebraska-Omaha - Split
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State - Bemidji Sweep
North Dakota at Wisconsin - Sioux Sweep

Non-Conference

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State - UNH Sweep
Vermont at Minnesota - Minnesota Sweep
Minnesota-Duluth at Providence - Split

Sioux7 is currently on vacation in Sin City and here is his picks...

WCHA

Minnesota State at Denver - DU Sweep
Alaska-Anchorage at Nebraska-Omaha - Split
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State - Split
North Dakota at Wisconsin - UND Sweep.

Non-Conference

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State - UNH three points.
Vermont at Minnesota - Gopher Sweep
Minnesota-Duluth at Providence – Split

HOCKEY: ‘A real, living Paul Bunyan’

Image via WikipediaFighting Sioux beat writer Brad Schlossman has an awesome article on former Bemidji Lumber Jack star George Pelawa. I had the pleasure of meeting George when I moved to Bemidji, Minnesota in 1984.

I transferred my senior year of high school from International Falls, Minnesota to Bemidji, Minnesota, where I met George Pelawa who was also playing football for the Bemidji Lumber Jacks. I can tell you everything that they said about George Pelawa was true, George was an amazing athlete, and an awesome person, I don't think that you could meet a nicer guy and I can't ever remember anyone ever saying anything negative about him.

Brad Elliott Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald --- George Pelawa was 6 feet, 4 inches and about 240 pounds.

“The biggest hockey player I ever saw,” UND associate coach Cary Eades said. “He was a real, living Paul Bunyan.”

He could skate, puck-handle, shoot and hit, too.

The rare skill set made the Bemidji native one of the most coveted players that northern Minnesota has ever seen.

Eades recalls rejoicing in the Sioux hockey office 25 years ago when Pelawa committed to UND, then watching the power forward dominate at the 1986 state hockey tournament.

Three months later, the Calgary Flames selected Pelawa in the first round with the No. 16 overall pick. At the time, no Minnesota-born forward had ever been drafted higher.

“He had the total package,” said Eades, an assistant coach who helped recruit Pelawa. “The sky was the limit for him. There was an unbelievable amount of potential for him. . . just never realized.”

A week after moving into the dorms at UND, Pelawa was killed in a car accident just north of Bemidji.

An estimated 2,000 people attended the funeral at the high school auditorium.

Among those in attendance: UND head coach Gino Gasparini, U.S. Olympic head coach Dave Peterson, Miracle on Ice coach Herb Brooks and Calgary Flames general manager Cliff Fletcher, whose son Chuck will make the home state team’s draft pick Friday night in Xcel Energy Center as the general manager of the Minnesota Wild.

Pelawa’s parents, Frank and Winnie, are considering making the trip to St. Paul for the event. It will certainly conjure up many memories of the guy who was affectionately known as “Big George.”