Merry Christmas from Goon's World

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and thanks for reading. Recently, Goon's World went over seven million page views. So thank you to all the folks who clicked the link and read over the years. Recently, I bought a new lens for my camera, so you will see an improvement in the photos on the blog. You can check out my first photos with the new lens from the first game of the Omaha-UND series. 

I usually take pictures on the Friday night of a home series. You can look at those by clicking the pages listed above. 

What a difference a year makes. Since November first, UND is 10-1-0 in its last 11 games and 14-4-0 (.777) overall. Last year at this time, the UND hockey team was 11-7-1 (.605) and had already been swept twice in the first 19 games (Denver and Cornell). Yes, the schedule gets harder in the second half of the season, but I don't think anyone expected UND to be in first place in the NCHC standings after 10 games. 

I look forward to more coverage of the UND hockey team. You can also see my work on Inside Hockey. Here's hoping that the UND hockey team makes a run in the second half of the season and goes deep into the NCAA playoffs.  

It will be interesting to see how Jake Livanavage and Abram Wiebe do in the Spengler Cup during the holiday break.  

Jake Livanavage and Abram Wiebe are eager for an opportunity to compete against professionals at the Spengler Cup. Story and a rundown of some other players who will be in Davos: https://t.co/Ir8jQESIig

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) December 25, 2025

 

Good luck to the two UND Hockey players, EJ Emery and Will Zellers, and goalie recruit Caleb Heil for making the USA U-20 WJC hockey team.      

Say hello to the 2026 #WorldJuniors roster 🇺🇸

Roster details: https://t.co/GZVa6amhMO pic.twitter.com/JKp0ztkTen

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 24, 2025

Finally, good luck to Keaton Verhoeff and Cole Reschny, and 2026-27 commit, Ethan Mackenzie, for making the Canadian U-20 WJC team.   Here's hoping that Team Canada and Team USA play in the World Junior Championship finals. Yes, that's four current and two future UND players in the 2026 World Junior Championship. 

Check out the 2⃣5⃣ to get us started on Boxing Day! 🇨🇦

Et voici les 2⃣5⃣ joueurs qui donneront le coup d’envoi pour le Canada au lendemain de Noël! 🇨🇦#WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior pic.twitter.com/XASYo43ODY

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) December 25, 2025

NCHC Suspends Denver’s Buium, North Dakota’s Emery One Game -- Thoughts

As the game clock clicked to zero on Saturday, things got heated between Denver and North Dakota. It was not surprising; it had been a hard-fought series. After beating UND 4-0 the night before, the Fighting Hawks showed they still had some fight. As the final seconds ticked off of the clock, UND had won game two 3-1; all the players on the ice, minus Denver's goalie, participated in a post-game melee. While the players were locked up, Denver's all-American D-man Zeev Buium and UND D-man EJ Emery engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Yes, it was a fight; both players had dropped the gloves, lost the helmets, and threw punches. After Saturday's game, the box score had posted this.

Old time hockey coach. That is an impressive box score. From the end of the UND vs. DU game. pic.twitter.com/E5iVtj8gBF

— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) February 16, 2025

You had to know this incident would be reviewed by the league. The NCAA doesn't allow fighting, and they had to address this incident. It doesn't reflect well on the NCHC if they had let this one go. Below is the release by the NCHC. 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO - The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has issued a one-game suspension to both Denver sophomore defenseman Zeev Buium and North Dakota freshman defenseman EJ Emery, in accordance with the conference’s supplemental discipline policy, the NCHC announced on Monday, Feb. 17. The suspensions stem from an altercation between the two on the ice following the Pioneers and Fighting Hawks game last Saturday night, Feb. 15 at Magness Arena in Denver. At the conclusion of Saturday night’s game, Buium and Emery were each assessed a roughing minor and given a 10-minute misconduct penalty at 20:00 of the third period. Buium and Emery will be required to serve their one-game suspension during their team’s next game. Buium will be suspended for Denver’s game at Miami this Friday, Feb. 21, while Emery will miss UND’s series opener against Minnesota Duluth this coming Friday. Both are eligible to return for their team’s series finale on Saturday, Feb. 22. 

 Here it is for the two people who haven't seen the video. Stick Tap, @ElFrijolBlanco.

Two NHL first rounders, UND's Emery (NYR) & Denver's Buium (MIN) suspended one game for scrap at the end of Saturdays game. pic.twitter.com/25b80Hwa8k

— 𝗘𝗙𝗕 (@ElFrijolBlanco) February 17, 2025

Finally, it was good to see Emery sticking up for a teammate; he showed Buium and his teammates that he wouldn't accept opposing players' cheap shooting or taking runs from his teammates.