WCHA unveils questionable marketing strategy

Yesterday, I attended the WCHA press conference that was held in the basement of the Xcel Energy Center before the Broadmoor Championship game, and one of the interesting participants at the press conference was Jennifer Heppel, Associate Commissioner, Big Ten Conference.

I am not sure if I am the only one I found it odd that she would be in attendance at the WCHA press conference. Apparently, WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod and Ms. Heppel are pushing a partnership between the Big Ten Hockey Conference, and the WCHA. Which I found odd, since two of the Big Ten Schools are leaving the WCHA for another conference.  Why would you invite them to your press conference?

What you’re going to find odder, is their brilliant new marketing strategy.

You have to give Rachel Blount beat writer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune a lot of credit, when they opened the press conference up for questions, the first thing  MS. Blount did was ask a great follow up question of Jennifer Heppel of the Big Ten. In what I would classify as an awkward moment, it went kind of like this.

Rachel Blount asked, “Can you explain exactly how the Big Ten and the WCHA will be working together and what kinds of things you will be working together on and how you will be partnered?”

Jennifer Heppel responded back with this, “What we have done so far is again the WCHA and the Xcel Energy Center since the time the facility has opened has really built a tradition with the fan base here. We recognize the support the fans in this area have given to college hockey. We have for the last month made available the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance for those fans in this area that supported the WCHA tournament. Tickets for the general public go on sale on Monday. We wanted to extend that opportunity. We worked out some initial joint marketing efforts and we will continue to do that. Again, this community has a lot of fans of specific schools, but you also have just incredible support for hockey and college hockey.  The WCHA and the Big Ten want it to be a seamless transition from year-to-year for those that support college hockey and the “X” has been on that same page, and they don’t want there to be any drop-off in the tradition that has been created.”

So after Jennifer Heppel gave us her canned answer, WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod jumped in and said this.

“Rachel… we set a record this year in our packages [tickets]. We sold pre-tournament wise, I would have to check, almost 13,000 [tickets]. I think. That was a record for us. All of those ticket bases; those email addresses have been shared with the Big Ten people, and hopefully as Jen said the end result is, everyone benefits.  We’re working on the same, you know, kind of the same [fan] base, and sharing all of those names, and I think the basic idea of what Jen says if we can provide, I don’t know what you’re going to call it eventually, the collegiate hockey weekend, or something like that. One year it’s the Big Ten Hockey weekend, the next year it’s the WCHA. The more we can get that across, the better off we’re going to be.”

You got that? Those people that bought tickets to the Red Baron Final Five will get a first crack at next year’s Big Ten Hockey tourney.  So the Big Ten is hoping that you will decide to not go to the WCHA conference tourney in Grand Rapids and instead go the Xcel next season.

That’s absolutely brilliant.

First off, shouldn't the WCHA be marketing it’s conference tourney in Grand Rapids, Michigan next season? The Big Ten will be in better shape than the WCHA and they really don’t need the WCHA to share it’s email addresses and names with the Big Ten.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

Related articles

• WCHA Hockey: What are we doing here? (getrealhockey.com)
• WCHA Hockey: What are we doing here? (thehockeywriters.com)

WCHA Hockey: What are we doing here?

Saint Paul, Minnesota – Recently, I was listening to a weekly podcast of College Hockey Tonight, and the host Scott Williams and Moose Richards were talking about the break of and reformation of the WCHA.

Shameless plug department. First, if you’re not listening to the College Hockey Tonight on KBUN, I highly recommend that you give them a listen. They both know the game of hockey very well and their podcast sound very good, quality wise. You can listen to their podcast by going to KBUN.COM  and all of their podcast from this season are archived on the site.

You can also listen to the podcasts on you smart phone. I listen to most of their podcasts when I work out at the gym or in the car on longer trips.

The gist of the conversation during the podcast in question, “what are we doing here,” host Moose Richards said.

Come to think of it, that is a really good question.

I mean we can go on and on about the B1G and the NCHC and point fingers, but that discussion is probably counter-productive. I understand that the by-laws of the Big Ten require that Minnesota and Wisconsin join their league once they had a sixth hockey team. I just wish there was a way to preserve what we have now.

It’s like having a relationship with someone that works and dumping them and going off with some unknown less attractive option.

The WCHA in its current form is hands down the best league in Division I college hockey. Top to bottom, there is no better league in my opinion. We have a great league here and that’s basically blowing up after this season.

Obviously, none of us can control that, so let’s enjoy the moment.

Last night, I was having a discussion on this subject with person that is fan and media member of a team that’s not moving to another league, his team is staying in the new WCHA. Our conclusion was that they will never be able to replicate what we have currently with the WCHA Final Five, never, not in Detroit with the Big Ten hockey conference tourney, not at the Target Center for the NCHC conference tourney, or even at the Xcel Center for the New WCHA tourney or for the Big Ten hockey conference tourney. I also don’t think that I am going out on a limb by saying, definitely not for the new WCHA tournament in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s not going to happen.

For good or bad, college hockey landscape will change, as we know it.

Speaking of change, the WCHA is also changing the format of their tourney next season as well; the top eight teams in the WCHA make the playoffs, the bottom two teams will not make the playoffs.

Four teams will advance from the first round of the WCHA playoffs and they will play two semifinal games on Friday night and they have a championship game on Saturday. There will be no more Final Five.

The first WCHA tourney will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan starting in 2015. The Xcel Energy Center will host the 2016 WCHA conference tourney. They will rotate between the two sites, for least the foreseeable future.

Former Fighting Sioux and current Wild forward Zach Parise was asked about his thoughts on the changes the WCHA will go through after the season is over.

“I think it’s brutal, if you ask me,” Parise said. “I don’t like it. I was a big fan of that league, and the rivals that were developed in that league; I think it’s a bad idea.”

When asked who he though would win tonight’s Red Baron WCHA Final Five Broadmoor Championship game between Wisconsin and Colorado College. Parise said, “I would say Wisconsin, but I won’t be watching because North Dakota’s not playing.”

So, one more night of one of the best college hockey tourneys and then we all go our separate ways. No UND and Minnesota aren’t playing tonight, but really, does it matter. There no place I would rather be than right here.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine

College Hockey’s March Madness: This weekend’s NCAA Division one television schedule (3/21 – 3/24)

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is this weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. There is a full slate of college hockey on television again this weekend. It’s conference tournament time, college hockey’s version of March Madness.

In my opinion, this is most wonderful time of the year.

Check your television guide for times in your local area. As with any schedule, channels will change and have in the past. There may also be games on in your local area that may not be on nationally.

Even with the NHL ending it’s lockout and making it back to our television dials, there has is still been a lot of watchable college hockey on television. Some fans actually prefer College hockey to the NHL.

This weekend, the CCHA Championship game will be on television in Canada, and that game will be on The Score.

Day		Game	Channel	Time	DTV/DISH
Thu.	Mar. 21	WCHA Quarterfinal	FS North	2:00 p.m.	668/ 436
Thu.	Mar. 21	WCHA Quarterfinal	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Fri.	Mar. 22	WCHA Semifinal	FS North	2:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Fri.	Mar. 22	ECAC Hockey Semifinal	FOX College	3:00 p.m.	TBD
Fri.	Mar. 22	Hockey East Semifinal	NBC Sports Net.	3:00 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Mar. 22	Hockey East Semifinal	NBC Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Mar. 22	ECAC Hockey Semifinal	FOX College	6:30 p.m.	TBD
Fri.	Mar. 22	WCHA Semifinal	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sat.	Mar. 23	CCHA Semifinal	FS Detroit	12:00 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Mar. 23	CCHA Semifinal	FS Detroit	3:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Mar. 23	ECAC Hockey Champ.	FOX College	6:00 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Mar. 23	Hockey East Championship	NBC Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	220 / 159
Sat.	Mar. 23	WCHA Championship	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sun.	Mar. 24	CCHA Championship	FS Detroit	12:00 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Mar. 24	NCAA Selection Show (C)	ESPNU	8:00 p.m.	208 / 141

*NESN = New England Sports Network, FCS = Fox College Sports, FSN+ = Fox Sports North-Plus, NBCSN = NBC Sports Network, DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks. All times are Central Standard Time.

UNO's Andrej Sustr to leave UNO

No surprise, but Andrej Sustr, 6-foot-8 Univ of Nebraska-Omaha junior dman (UFA), has officially decided to leave school/field NHL offers.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 18, 2013

This probably really isn't really a shock to anyone, Andrej Sustr is a free agent that will probably get a lot of offers from teams looking to add a defenseman.

Sustr kind of reminds me of a raw version of Zdeno Chara and from what I saw, he isn't too bad with the puck and didn't make a lot of mistakes.

Apparently, the Flyers are after him.

This is a toughest part of the college hockey season, the end of the year. Fans have to worry if their favorite players are a fight risks to leave early. Obviously, there will be other players that will begin to start weighing their options as their seasons end.

UNO's college season ended on the weekend. Sustr will weigh his options, and he has many, this week. No rush or timetable on a decision.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 18, 2013

College Hockey: On ice officials have to be better

Match penalty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some college hockey officials incorrectly assume that if a college hockey player is a heavy hitter and dishes out “legal” heavy hits, he is somehow a dirty player and worthy of a major penalty even when it was a legal hit.

Hence, said player is incorrectly called for a major penalty.

It’s almost like the onus is on the player instead of the referee. I don’t understand this flawed line of thinking.

If anything the on ice officials need to do a better job calling the game of hockey.

Hockey like football is a physical sport – this is not up for debate – physicality is part of the game. This is a fact, there’s going to be injuries as a result of legal checks.

If I am not mistaken, one NHL player hurt himself eating a stack of pancakes last season.

If you could develop a light set of pads that was 100% able to prevent injuries you could make millions of dollars. There is no such thing.

Unfortunately, with college hockey, they’re forced to use part time officials; the product on the ice is suffering because of this. In the WCHA, the officiating has gotten worse the last couple of years and the league has shown no interest in improving the quality of their on ice officials. In my opinion, transparency is at an all-time low.

Often times, the wrong call is being made on the ice, under the guise of not wanting to be that ref that made a wrong call, when it comes to hard and often legal hits. This problem would be easy to fix, with the aid of video review.  s/t Bruce Ciskie 

If the referee on the ice is calling a major penalty, why not allow that referee to step into scorer’s table to allow him to take a quick look to confirm that he’s not making an incorrect call.

In NCAA hockey, penalties can be increased but never decreased. That rules is one that never seemed to make much sense to me.  If anything that rule is incoherent and the NCAA Ice Hockey Rules Committee should take a look at changing it, next time they meet.  Even the NHL can rescind a match penalty.

The game of hockey like football is fast and sometimes the officials get the calls on the ice wrong, the refs are human and will make mistakes. Some refs in some leagues seems to make more mistakes than others.

Lately, legal shoulder-to-shoulder hits have been called hits to the head resulting in major penalties and a game misconduct to the player dishing legal checks. This is unacceptable in my opinion and could be easily fixed if the ref was allowed to step into the scorer table to review the hit.

The on ice officials already review numerous legit goals to confirm that they were legal. One must ask, can they really slow down the game anymore?

I mean think about it, it’s not like they couldn’t review the few major penalties that college hockey has already. So why not review a questionable hit before the ref incorrectly throws a player out of a game for legal hit? Does that not seem fair? Wouldn’t that be better than taking legal hits out of the game of hockey? Why not change the refs behavior instead of expecting a player to change the way he plays the game of hockey.

UND senior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam is 6’2” 230 pounds and he plays a physical game and he is UND’s best penalty killer and he plays against all of the opposition’s best players.  MacWilliam is a hard checker, but not a dirty player and he has been incorrectly thrown out of two games this season for legal hits, one against BU’s Ahti Oksanen and one against MTU for hitting David Johnstone last Friday Night.

Both hits were legal shoulder-to-shoulder hits and shouldn’t have resulted in a penalty at all. In both instances, the same referee Marco Hunt made the wrong call and MacWilliam was given a five minute Major and a game misconduct, next time MacWilliam is given a game misconduct, he will also have to sit out a game due to a suspension for three game misconducts.

Last season, MacWIlliam was also given a five minute major and a game misconduct in game against theDenver Pioneers freshman forward Matt Tabrum as well, for this hit.

Do you see a pattern here? The officials need to learn the difference between a legal hit and an illegal hit. Hockey is a physical game and the players and the fans deserve better. The level of officiating does not match the level of play on the ice and it hasn’t for some time now.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

This weekend’s NCAA Division one television schedule (3/15 – 3/17)

2004-2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is this weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. There is a full slate of college hockey on television again this weekend.

Check your television guide for times in your local area. As with any schedule, channels will change and have in the past. There may also be games on in your local area that may not be on nationally.

Even with the NHL ending it’s lockout and making it back to our television dials, there has is still been a lot of watchable college hockey on television.

This weekend, there will not be any college hockey games that will be available on television in Canada.

Also, the Hockey East Quarter Final game on Sunday, March 17, 2013, is showing up in the queue as TBD at this time.

Fri.	Mar. 15		Vermont vs. Boston College	NBC Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	603 / 159
Fri.	May 15		Bemidji State vs. Minnesota	FSN	7:00 p.m.	668/436
Fri.	Mar 15		Michigan Tech vs. UND	FCS/Midco	7:37pm	local listings
Fri.	Mar. 15		Michigan vs. Western Michigan	FS Detroit	7 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Mar. 15		Michigan Tech vs. UND	FCS/Midco	7:07pm	628
Sat.	Mar. 16		New Hampshire vs. Providence	NESN	3:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Sun.	Mar. 17		Hockey East Quarterfinal	NESN	3:30 p.m.	628 / 434

*NESN = New England Sports Network, FCS = Fox College Sports, FSN+ = Fox Sports North-Plus, NBCSN = NBC Sports Network, DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks.All times are Central Standard Time.

DirecTV will not be able to pick up Friday's game. Still awaiting word on Saturday and Sunday (if necessary).
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 13, 2013

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine...

Last weekend in the WCHA; All is jacked-up...

This has to be one of the most messed up standings we have seen in some time. By that I mean, no one really knows where anyone is going yet. We do know that UAA is going to finish last place, but we have known that for some time. But after that, it's a crap shoot at best. Five teams have a chance at winning the MacNaughton Cup.

This Week in the WCHA. 

College Hockey Tonight. 

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: Week 21 (thehockeywriters.com)
• WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 21 (thehockeywriters.com)

EDIT... This weekend’s NCAA Division one television schedule (3/01 -3/03)

English: Logo for DirecTV (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is this weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. There is a full slate of college hockey on television

again this weekend. Check your television guide for times in your local area. As with any schedules, channels will change and have in the past.

Even with the NHL ending it’s lockout and making it back to our television dials, there has is still been a lot of watchable college hockey on television.  Last Sunday alone, there were two games.  Boston College beat Merrimack College in overtime, to wrestle first in place in Hockey East away from the Warriors.

In the night cap, the Wisconsin Badgers beat  the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Kohl Center 5-0 as the Badgers continued their torrid pace going 13-4-5 since they started the season 1-7-3.   So you’re kind of getting college hockey version of March Madness.

This weekend, there will also be three college hockey games that will be available in Canada, so, for college hockey fans north of the border, you should check your local television guides as well.

Fri.	Mar. 1		Wisconsin at Nebraska-Omaha	NBC Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Mar. 1		Ferris State at Michigan	CBS Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Fri.	Mar. 1		Bemidji State at UND	FCS/Midco	7:37pm	626
Fri.	Mar. 1		Denver at Minnesota	BTN	7:00 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Sat.	Mar. 2		Providence at Boston College	NESN	3:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Sat.	Mar. 2		Mass. at New Hampshire	FCS	6:00 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Mar. 2		Ferris State at Michigan	FS Detroit	7:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Mar. 2		Denver at Minnesota	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sun.	Mar. 3		UMass Lowell at Merrimack	CBS Sports Net.	3:00 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)

*NESN = New England Sports Network, FCS = Fox College Sports, FSN+ = Fox Sports North-Plus, NBCSN = NBC Sports Network, DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks, (C) Denotes games available in Canada. All times are Central Standard Time.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine. 

Friday's game will be on DirecTV channel 626. No DirecTV Saturday. Both games on FOX College Sports Central.
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) February 28, 2013

Related articles

• UND vs. Denver; College Hockey's Hatfield-McCoy feud (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Jeff Dubay of 1500ESPN answers a few questons (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Corban Knight for Hobey Baker? (insidehockey.com)
• Breaking down the Minnesota vs. North Dakota Rivalry (thehockeywriters.com)

Mike Voran hit from behind on Taylor Richart

Watch this hit by Notre Dame forward Mike Voran as he hits Miami defensman Taylor Richart from behind.  This hit is unacceptable and you have to applaud the on ice official for giving Voran a five minute major and a game disqualification.

It would also be disappointing, to be thrown out of such an awesome, high profile event such as the Hockey City Classic for a needless, unnecessary and illegal hit from behind.

There is no way that you can defend this hit. If you watch the video you will see that Richart hit Voran earlier in the shift, but still, there is no reason for Voran to hit Richart while his back is turned to the play.

These are these are the types of hits that the powers that be are trying to eliminate from college hockey. I would be happy if we eliminated them from all levels of hockey.

This weekend’s NCAA Division one television schedule (2/15 – 2/17)

Big Ten Network (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ere is this weekend’s National College Hockey television schedule. There is a full slate of college hockey on television again this weekend. Check your television guide for times in your local area. As with any schedules, channels will change and have in the past.

This weekend, there will also be three college hockey games that will be available in Canada, so, for college hockey fans north of the border, you should check your local television guides as well.

For college hockey fans that are looking for college hockey to watch on television this weekend, because their favorite team is on a bye week, there are many games to choose from, again this weekend.

This weekend, there will also be two more outdoor hockey games on Sunday, at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. This will be a double header, and it’s being billed as the Hockey City Classic. If you have you have the sports pack on DirecTV, you can watch the game between Miami and Notre Dame at 1:00 p.m. CT and then at 3:30 p.m. CT you can watch the Badgers and the Gophers on the Big Ten Network, which is on most premium sports cable television packages.

Fri.	Feb. 15		Northern Michigan at Michigan State	BTN	6:30 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Fri.	Feb. 15		Boston University at Maine	NBC Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	603 / 159
Fri.	Feb. 15		Notre Dame at Miami	CBS Sports Net.	6:30 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Fri.	Feb. 15		Minnesota at Wisconsin	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668/669 / 436
Sat.	Feb. 16		Bowling Green at Ferris State	FS Detroit	6:00 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Feb. 16		Boston University at Maine	NESN	6:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Sat.	Feb. 16		Northern Michigan at Michigan State	FS Detroit	6:00 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Feb. 17		Notre Dame vs. Miami (Soldier Field)	FS Detroit	12:00 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Sun.	Feb. 17		Minnesota vs Wisconsin (Soldier Field)	BTN	3:30 p.m.	663 / 430

*NESN = New England Sports Network, FCS = Fox College Sports, FSN+ = Fox Sports North-Plus, NBCSN = NBC Sports Network, DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks, (C) Denotes games available in Canada. All times are Central Standard Time.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine... 

UND vs. UW goals and Jefferson Dahl dive

Here is the video from UND's four goals last night. All of UND's last night were a direct result of them going to the net hard and beating the Badgers to the puck. UND took the Badgers to the woodshed last night, I thought defensively, North Dakota gave the Bagers little.

I thought UND was the better team for most of the weekend. I would give Badgers goalie Landon Peterson some credit, he's definitely a shut down goaltender, with the Badgers defensive systems they are going to be hard to get pucks past.

I included video of the Dan Senkbeil and Jefferson Dahl, if you watch Dahl he crumples up like he has been shot. I am not saying that it didn't hurt, but really... Senkbeil didn't hit him that hard. Ryan Kessler would be proud of Dahl.

All weekend long, the Badgers were doing their best Vancouver Canucks impersonation. I included the video where you see Andrew MacWillam show his disgust with the Badger player that dove to the ice.

Grimaldi actually grabbed onto Schulze's stick and twisted and flopped. UW could have been called for a dive a few minutes ago as well.
— Andy Johnson (@AndyJohnsonB5Q) February 2, 2013

*In no way am I saying UND players have never dove, I am not saying they don't on occasion, but I have rarely seen it happen this year. I know Andy Johnson thought Rocco Grimaldi embellished during the overtime period of Friday's game but unfortunately, I don't have any video to go back and look at.

I can think of two instances last year where Ben Blood embellished to draw a penalty. I am saying that embellishment and diving is way out of hand in the WCHA and college hockey right now. I think it's poor sportsmanship.

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 16

Each week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.

The Minnesota Gophers are still the #1 team. The Gophers received 9 first place votes this week’s poll after splitting with the Mavericks of Minnesota State.  The Saint Cloud State Huskies are this week’s number two team; the Huskies also received 3 first place votes. North Dakota, remains at number three. Denver and Omaha traded places and well as Wisconsin and Minnesota State. Places eight through 12 remained unchanged.

Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 16:

Place	Team	Pts	Prev	Record	High
1)	Minnesota (9)	141	1	17-3-4	1	2
2)	St. Cloud State (3)	135	2	15-10-1	1	2
3)	North Dakota	117	3	13-8-5	3	4
4)	Nebraska-Omaha	106	5	15-9-2	3	7
5)	Denver	91	4	13-8-4	3	7
6)	Wisconsin	84	7	11-8-5	4	7
7)	Minnesota State	81	6	16-9-3	7	9
8)	Minnesota Duluth	60	8	10-11-3	7	9
9)	Colorado College	47	9	10-14-2	8	10
10)	Michigan Tech	37	10	7-12-4	9	11
11)	Bemidji State	25	11	5-12-5	10	11
12)	Alaska Anchorage	13	12	3-13-4	12	12

Representing  Name Publication Twitter

Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB5Q

Cross Posted the Hockey Writers - Combine

Lets keep the Corban Knight Jihad going.

Let's keep her going, and keep Corban Knight in the lead in fan voting for the Hobey Baker. Click to vote.

Related articles

• Making the case for Corban Knight for Hobey Baker (thehockeywriters.com)
• Why not Corban Knight for the Hobey Baker? (thehockeywriters.com)

Making the case for Corban Knight for Hobey Baker

Eric Classen / UND Athletics

If you’re a fan of college hockey, you will know that nominations for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award went out this week. You can find the initial list of names on the Hobeybakeraward.com website.

Like any other college hockey fan, I went to the Hobey Baker site to see the names that were listed in the fan voting. Perusing the names, I found a familiar name of a player that I have had the privilege of covering on a weekly basis, over the last year and a half; Corban Knight, Senior, Forward, North Dakota.

As I said in another article, I believe that Knight is a complete player, both on and off of the ice, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be one of the Hobey Hat Trick (finalists) when it’s all said and done.

I stand by those comments. I am not the only one that is saying these things either.

Knight is an assistant captain for the University of North Dakota and he is a well-liked and respected on and off the ice, by his teammates and the coaching staff.  To a “T” when you ask his teammates – what they think about think him – they all give the same answers.

Corban Knight scores a goal during a recent game… Peter Bottini, UND Athletics

Recently Carter Rowney had to say about his fellow assistant caption.

“He’s a good guy,” Rowney said.  “He lives in the same building as me and everything. Great team player, everyone gets along with him – easy to get along with. Always positive, no matter what’s going on. He’s never down on himself, never down on anyone else, just a positive guy.”

Fellow senior, UND defenseman and Captain Andrew MacWilliams had this to say about Knight being nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

“That’s awesome,” MacWIlliam said.  “I mean he’s [Knight] a hell of a player and he’s a great guy.  I didn’t really know till yesterday, late yesterday. So, that was good to see. I mean, he’s had a great start to the season, I hope that he can keep that up.”

Corban Knight had this to say about him being nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

“It’s an honor just to be mentioned in the running for that,” Knight said. “But I mean, I don’t know personally, I don’t think I should be up for that. I think there are a couple of other guys a little more deserving than I am. But, like I said, it’s an honor to be up for it, but it’s a long way off, so I try not to get caught up in it too much.”

Corban Knight scores a goal during a recent game… Peter Bottini, UND Athletics

Knight was asked if the media is media blowing his hot streak and the Hobey nomination out of proportion.

“I have been saying it all along,” Knight said.  “I think that you guys are blowing everything out of proportion.  Like myself. But, I mean, I think the credit goes to our whole team as a whole. I think the last month and half, everybody on our team, all the way through has been playing exceptionally well. Like I said before, I think that I have been on the receiving end of a lot great plays by my line mates and by the rest of the team and I have been making some plays. My line mates have been burying a lot of really nice plays. So, I think it’s over blown, but that’s just my personal opinion.”

If you have been around Corban Knight for any amount of time, you will figure out that he seldom takes any credit for his accomplishments. Knight is the ultimate teammate and he’s very quick to give credit to his teammates for his personal success. UND head coach Dave Hakstol agrees.

“Corban’s a humble person,” Hakstol said.  “That’s one of the great qualities, that’s what makes him a great leader, such a presence in our looker room.”

Corban Knight in action against Holy Cross
Photo by Eric Classen / UND Athletics

Knight also does many good things off the ice as well. Recently, this is what the head coach Dave Hakstol had to say about his senior forward’s off ice activities.

“What you see is what you get,” Hakstol said. “He’s a great young man, always got a positive perspective. He always pays attention to how he treats people around him. He’s very cognizant of that. He’s always being a leader – not just in our locker room but in the community. He does an awful lot of things in the community that go unnoticed. He doesn’t do it with any fanfare – but he’s always willing to help out.”

While Corban Knight is a pretty solid guy off the ice, he’s one of the top players in the NCAA on the ice as well. Currently, Corban Knight is sitting third nationally in points per game as well as over-all points. During his career, UND is 34-2-2 when he scores a goal. Knight has eight multiple point this season and has scored two or more points in five straight games in a row.

Lastly, Corban Knight’s infectious personality rubs off on others and he does everything with a smile on his face. While winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award would be a nice finish to an illustrious career, he’d probably trade it all in for UND’s eight NCAA title.

Cross posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.