Spirit Lake Sioux to sue the NCAA.

Image via WikipediaImage via WikipediaIt appears that the Spirit Lake Sioux is going to sue the NCAA. s/t to the SayAnythingBlog.com. I have no idea where this is going to go, but do you see the irony in this? The NCAA has said that the Fighting Sioux nickname is hostile and abusive and is now going to be sued by the same people that they are supposed to be protecting.

FORT TOTTEN, ND – Speaking at the tribal headquarters of the Spirit Lake Sioux Nation, attorney Reed Soderstrom announced a lawsuit against the NCAA alleging copyright infringement and civil rights violations. The Sioux tribe supports the University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” nickname and logo, but the NCAA has deemed them to be “hostile and abusive.”

“Today, the Spirit Lake Tribe of Indians, by and through its Committee of Understanding and Respect, and Archie Fool Bear, individually, and as Representative of more than 1004 Petitioners of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association in direct response to their attempt to take away and prevent the North Dakota Sioux Indians from giving their name forever to the University of North Dakota,” said Soderstrom in prepared remarks.

Soderstrom alleges that the NCAA has violated “the religious and first amendment rights of the Dakota Sioux tribes.” He also alleged a double standard in the application of the NCAA’s policy against the use of Native American names and imagery.

The first charge we are going to hear from the Anti-Fighting Sioux nickname foes is that Englestad Arena is behind this action and financing it. I have yet to see any evidence to back this up to date.



20111101 Lawsuit Fact Sheet Final

Related articles

• Spirit Lake Tribe To Make Announcement About Fighting Sioux Logo (cao2.wordpress.com)
• Native American Tribe Defends Fighting Sioux Logo (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Fight Over 'Fighting Sioux' Still Rages (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)
• Native American Students File Suit to Prevent Use of Fighting Sioux (indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com)

Poll Monday - Sioux drop to 15 in both polls

Spirit Lake Tribe To Make “Major Announcement” on Fighting Sioux nickname

Sounds like something big coming down the pike from the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe, I am guessing that the NCAA, UND and or the Big Sky is going to be party to a law suit. SayAnythingBlog.com and Plains Daily also has picked up on the story as well. I have no idea where this is going.

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald ---- Fighting Sioux nickname champions at Spirit Lake say they will make “a major announcement” Tuesday in their campaign to thwart retirement of the name and logo.

Members of the Committee for Understanding and Respect, acting with the blessing of the Spirit Lake Tribal Council, have scheduled a news conference at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Spirit Lake Tribal Headquarters in Fort Totten, N.D.

Frank Black Cloud, the designated spokesman for the committee, said today that members of the committee, their attorneys and perhaps a Tribal Council representative would make statements, but he could not comment on the nature of the announcement. A news release issued today by the group provided no other details.

Eunice Davidson, a leader of the effort to preserve the Fighting Sioux name at UND, also declined to comment.

In a statement released Oct. 13, the committee denounced remarks by UND President Robert Kelley and Grant Shaft, president of the State Board of Higher Education, both of whom have urged repeal of a state law ordering UND to retain the nickname.

Something to get you in the mood, Sioux vs Gophers

It's Sioux and Gophers week again and I would compare this historic rivalry to the Hatfield’s and McCoy feud. All you have to do is watch the videos to figure out that these two teams just that don't like each other very much. Some of it’s due to the fact that UND has quite a few players from the Metro area that like to play against the Gophers and beat them. I am expecting an awesome effort from Danny Kristo, Ben Blood, Nick Mattson, Joe Gleason, Brock Nelson, Derek Forbort.


Nothing like a big hit by one of the Sioux’s forward to fire the team up and then start a Donny Brook.I found this gem on Gopher Puck Live...

Why do Sioux fans continue to manufacture reasons to fuel the rivalry? There's this phantom incident, Wheeler insulting Finley's sister, the never seen Lucia spear and they also accused Bickel of "hiding behind a ref" a few years ago. I figure in a few years some idiot will recycle the spear and sister insult. Just embrace your goonery and stop trying to justify it.

As you just read above, we will hear from Gopher fans how the Fighting Sioux are a bunch of classless Goons. If you believe the hype, it's almost like the Sioux are a bunch of knuckle dragging Neanderthals straight out of the movie Slap Shot.

Me personally, I like to refer to the Gophers as being "Minnesota's Pansies on Ice". You know the team that won’t go head to head with your favorite team, but will stand behind the referee and yap (i.e., Stu Bickel, Seth Helgeson, Tony Lucia) and when they are called out beg for the ref to save them.



Just a reminder to folks, remember it’s just a game folks, we don’t need anyone getting into a fight outside the arena or in the bars on either side of the ice. When it’s all said and done hope everyone has a fun time and no one gets hurt or arrested. Back in 2009 I wrote a blog post on fan behavior at the Illegal Curve.


Here is the video of the after math of "the never seen Lucia spear," of course there wasn't going to ever be a video proving that there was a Lucia spear. FSN isn't going to come forward with a spear that showed on of their golden boys in a bad light.

Related articles

• Will the Gophers want to duck the Sioux? (mvn.com)
• Fighting Sioux men's hockey tickets on sale tomorrow! (mvn.com)
• Huskies Take a Bite Out of the Sioux (insidehockey.com)
• Gophers want to play state teams (mvn.com)
• New York Daily News covers Sioux nickname issue (mvn.com)

MacMillan's goal against SCSU

s/t BadgersSioux... There were three defensemen on the ice for the Fighting Sioux on the ice for this goal, Blood was playing the wing on this play as Simpson and Forbort were the Defensemen on this goal.

Sioux beat Huskies 3-1

Cross Posted at Inside Hockey. 
Grand Forks, ND – With the 4-0 loss the night before, the Fighting Sioux are off to their worst start since the 1989-90 season. The Fighting Sioux came into the game looking to right the ship, and get their first conference win of the season in the WCHA. No Fighting Sioux hockey team has ever started out the season 0-4 in WCHA play, and that statistic was not broken tonight as the they ended a three-game losing streak by beating the Saint Cloud State University Huskies.

After last night’s game, it would be an understatement to say that the Sioux was an unhappy group. Fighting Sioux forward Danny Kristo said, “I think everyone’s frustrated starting from the goalies on out, all the way to the coaching staff.” Tonight the Fighting Sioux took out some of those frustrations on the Saint Cloud State Huskies. The Fighting Sioux “finally” buried their offensive chances and got back on the winning track by beating the Huskies in a gutsy 3-1 win, to earn a split on the weekend with the Huskies.

With the win tonight, the Fighting Sioux improved their overall season record to 3-4-1, and a league record of 1-3-0. Fighting Sioux forward Corbin Knight lead the Sioux with a two-point night (1-1-2). After the game Corbin Knight had this to say about the win; “We knew were playing good hockey and we knew if we stuck with it, it would come sooner or later, we were lucky it came tonight.”

The game wasn’t much different from last night. Tonight’s contest started out as a tight checking affair. There weren’t a lot of offensive chances for either team, as the Sioux and the Huskies played to a 0-0 tie in the first period. The Fighting Sioux outshot the Huskies 10-3 in this period.

The Sioux finally broke through in the second period, with Husky forward Nic Dowd in the box for slashing. Mark MacMilllan put the Fighting Sioux on the board at the 1:13 mark of the second period. Blood took a shot on net from the top of the faceoff circle that MacMillan re-directed past Husky goalie Ryan Faragher, breaking an 80+ minute goalless streak by the Fighting Sioux.

The Sioux took a 2-0 lead with a nice goal from Corbin Knight at the 11:12 mark of the second period. Knight took a feed from Kristo and ripped a hard low shot off the right inside post.

The Huskies continued their undisciplined play, as defenseman Nick Jenson was sent off for tripping Ben Blood. The Fighting Sioux didn't waste time, making the Huskies pay when Brock Nelson scored a power play goal at the 12:40 mark of the second period. Assisting on Nelson’s power play goal was Roco Grimaldi and Corbin Knight. This was the first career point for the highly touted freshman Grimaldi.

The Huskies didn’t go away quietly into the night, as they cut the lead to two goals at the 19:24 mark of the Second period with a goal from Husky forward Ben Hanowski, his third of the season. Picking up assists on Hanowski’s goal were Nic Dowd and Kevin Gravel. That was all the scoring for the game, as Aaron Dell shut the door on the Huskies in the third period. The Sioux outshot the Huskies 26-21 for the game.

After the game, Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol was asked if this was on his team’s better defensive efforts of the year. To this he replied, “I think it was our most consistent sixty minute defensive effort. Part of what we did pretty well was remain...continue possession in the offensive zone.”

Box Score

Related articles

• Huskies Take a Bite Out of the Sioux (insidehockey.com)

Huskies take a bite out of the Sioux 4-0

Image via Wikipedia
CROSSPOSTED AT INSIDE HOCKEY.
Grand Forks, ND --- Going into the weekend series between the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and the Saint Cloud State University Huskies, there were many story lines. Early in the afternoon on Friday, news broke that Huskies starting goalie Mike Lee was injured this week in practice and wouldn't make the trip to Grand Forks. The extent of Lee’s injury won’t be known until he is evaluated next week.

In Lee’s absence, Husky freshman goalie Ryan Faragher was named the starter and was solid in his second start of his college career. Faragher’s night ended with a shutout, as he stopped all 44 shots he faced.

The second story line of the night was the battle of the MacMillan brothers. Fighting Sioux freshman forward Mark MacMillan played with his older brother, Mitch, when they were in juniors together in the Alberni Valley of the BCHL. The MacMillan brothers had never gotten a chance to play against each other until last night. Mitch’s team, the Huskies, got the best of the Fighting Sioux in that period, as they shutout the Fighting Sioux 4-0.

The highly talented Fighting Sioux freshman forward Roco Grimaldi finally played after being out of the lineup for five of first six games of the season. Grimaldi proved to be an electrifying player, but it wasn’t enough to put the Sioux over the top, as Grimaldi like his teammates, were held off of the score sheet tonight.

The Fighting Sioux, for a second game in a row, put 42 shots on net and outshot their opponent two to one, only to lose both games. The Sioux have outshot their last two opponents by a combined total of 86-38 and yet have nothing to show for their efforts.

With the loss tonight, the Fighting Sioux start the season with a 0-3 record in the WCHA play. This is the worst start for the Fighting Sioux since the 1989-90 season.

The Huskies were given two five minute majors (Nick Oliver checking from behind, and Ben Hanowskit hit to the head) and the Fighting Sioux were unable to cash in on either of the two power plays.

Neither team had any success on the power plays tonight, as the Huskies went 0-2 and the Sioux were unable to cash in on seven total power plays.

The Saint Cloud State University Huskies drew first blood when they scored at the 07:16 mark of the first period,when Jared Festler took a Drew LeBlanc feed and shot the puck past the Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell, who was unable to get across the crease to stop the puck. That was the only goal of the first period. The Sioux outshot the Huskies 15-8 in the opening period.
There was no scoring during the second period, as the Fighting Sioux outshot the Huskies 24-8 and spent most of their time on the power play in the Huskies end, but couldn’t break the Faragher wall.

The Huskies buried the Sioux in the third period with three more goals. Andrew Prochno got the Huskies on the board with an even-strength goal at the 02:54 mark. Huskies defenseman Sam Zabkowicz put the final nail in the coffin when he blasted a shot from the point past Aaron Dell. Travis Novak finished the scoring with an empty net goal for the Huskies.

Overall a good effort by the Sioux, but it takes more than 'effort' to win league games. Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol said, "that they are going to have to start putting the puck in the four foot by six foot space."

Sioux and Huskies Facts and Info

USCHO Photo

RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • WEBCAST: Fighting Sioux.com
TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network, Fox College Sports Central, DirecTV 617, Midco SN3

Special teams key

So far this season, the Fighting Sioux have been pretty good on the power play, going 6-for-28 (21.4 percent). On the penalty kill, the Fighting Sioux have struggled at times killing 20 of 27 penalties (74.1 percent). Last season during the run to the Frozen Four the penalty kill was a strength for the Fighting Sioux.

Lee no fan of the Sioux?

Saint Cloud State University junior goalie Mike Lee has a 0-5-1 record in six starts against the Fighting Sioux. Lee has not played well against the Sioux he has given up 25 goals during his career against the Fighting Sioux. EDIT According to Brad Schlossman’s blog, SCSU junior goalie Mike Lee did not make the trip to Grand Forks for the series because of an injury. Word is that the injury could be season ending.

Fighting Sioux have success against the Huskies...

Since the 2008-09 season the Fighting Sioux have a 9-3-1 record against the SCSU Huskies including a win in the Final Five Championship game two seasons ago .

CHN Power Rankings...College Hockey News posted their WCHA power rankings and The Fighting Sioux are ranked 6th. This is what Dan Meyers had to say about this weekend's up coming weekend between the Huskies and the Fighting Sioux.

St. Cloud State at North Dakota
The Fighting Sioux broke with history last season by starting the year red-hot — and pretty much carrying that momentum all the way to the Frozen Four. UND is back to its old tricks this season, but with questionable play in net combined with missed man games from Rocco Grimaldi, climbing out of this hole will be significantly harder than in years past. UND can’t win the MacNaughton Cup in October, but they’ll certainly able to lose it. SCSU is the only team without a conference game played, so any points this weekend will be points in hand on everyone else.

Goon's WCHA Power Rankings

Image via Wikipedia

Starting this week going forward, Zack Friedli and I will be submitting WCHA rankings every Monday to Inside Hockey. 



1.  Denver – The Pioneers 3-1-0 swept the depleted MSU-M Mavericks (10-2, 4-2) this past weekend. The Pioneers play this upcoming weekend at Michigan Tech 4-2-0.  

2.  Colorado College – The Tigers 2-0-0 were idle this past weekend. The Tigers play at RPI (1-4-0) this up coming weekend.

3.  Minnesota – The Gophers 5-1-1 are red hot after a split with the Vermont Catamounts this past weekend (6-0, 4-5).  The Minnesota Gophers will be looking for revenge as they head to Anchorage, Alaska to play the upstart UAA Seawolves (3-2-1). The UAA Seawolves are the team that swept the Gophers out of the WCHA playoffs last spring.

4.  Wisconsin – The Badgers swept the Fighting Sioux in Madison (5-3, 5-4). The Badgers entertain the UNO Mavericks in Madison this upcoming weekend. 

5.  UMD – The tDogs took three of four points from the Providence Friars of Hockey East and will entertain the BSU Beavers 3-3-0 at Amsoil Arena.  

6.  North Dakota – The Fighting Sioux were swept by the Badgers in Madison (5-3, 5-4). The Fighting Sioux return home in a foul mood, to play the SCSU Huskies.

7.  Bemidji – The BSU Beavers 3-3-0 swept the Tech Huskies this past weekend in Bemidji (6-5, 3-1). The Beavers travel to Duluth to play the Bulldog in Amsoil Arena. 

8. Nebraska-Omaha – The Mavericks swept the UAA Seawovles in Omaha after losing the week before the Seawolves in the Alaska Goal Rush tourney. This week also marked the return Alex Hudson from his four game suspension.  Hudson was held off the score sheet in both games by the Seawolves. 

9. Michigan Tech – The Huskies 4-2-0 were swept in Bemidji by the Beavers (6-5, 3-1), this is after sweeping the Badgers the week prior in Houghton, Michigan. The Huskies play the Denver Pioneers at home this weekend.

10.  Alaska-Anchorage – Swept by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha . Head home to play the Minnesota Gophers 5-1-0

11.  St. Cloud State – A win and a tie against Hockey East team UNH (7-5, 3-3). Travel to REA to play the Fighting Sioux 2-3-1 who were swept by the Badgers.

12.  Minnesota State – The Mavericks have been bit by the injury bug and were swept by the Denver Pioneers last weekend (10-2, 4-2). Off this weekend.

Finding the "Silver Lining" After Being Swept by the Badgers.

Image via WikipediaThe Grand Forks Police department rushed to shut down the bridges that connect East Grand Forks and Grand Forks shortly after the Sioux were swept by the Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin. There were fears that Fighting Sioux hockey fans en mass would jump off of the bridges after watching their team get swept at the hand of the Wisconsin Badgers.

I couldn’t resist that one it's probably more funny on twitter and of course I am kidding… For a second time this season, the Fighting Sioux chat also blew up as a result of the Sioux being on the losing end of a game. It's a long season and there will be more loses. My offer to be a ticket broker for the Sioux fans that want to sell their season tickets is still on the table.

While I am not happy with the Fighting Sioux being swept this past weekend, let’s not forget that the Sioux did lose a “very big chunk” of their scoring prowess from last season's squad. Jason Gregoire 25g-18a—43 pts, Matt Frattin 36g-24a—60 pts, Chay Genoway 6g-31a—37 pts, Brad Malone 16g-24a—40 pts, Evan Trupp 17g-24a—41 pst, Brett Hextall 13g-16a—29pts. If my math is correct that is 270 points from last year’s squad that went 30-7-2.

Rant of the night – Why is it that the bigger schools like the Wisconsin Badgers; that are going to be going to the almighty Big Ten; so they can maximize their schools exposure and bank all kinds of money from their share of the BTN revenue, can’t have "all" of their home games on television so fans of other programs can watch their games when our team plays theirs? Seriously, I think it's a legitimate question. Also, this helps make the case for college hockey having a hockey television package like the NHL’s Center Ice.

On the flip side of that argument, why is it that a relatively small school like UND has all of its home games and a few of their away games on Fox College Sports, so anyone that has the sports packages on Direct TV can watch their games.

While I realized that college hockey is a niche sport, I am sure that there are many fans like me that would spend an extra $10.00-20.00 dollars a month to watch their favorite teams when they're away from home. After watching Friday's game on FSN Wisconsin, I had to spend $9.95 to purchase Saturday’s game from the University of Wisconsin so I could watch the Badgers and Sioux debacle part II. Let me say that I would rather watch a hockey game on my Toshiba flat screen, as opposed to watching it on my lap top that's four and a half to five years old. 

Rare Sweep?

The Fighting Sioux do not get swept very often had not been swept to start a WCHA season opener since the 1994-95 season, when the Fighting Sioux went 18-18-3, incidentally that was also the first year under head coach Dean Blais.

The Good

The Fighting Sioux outshot the Badgers 42-15…

Aaron Dell stopped the Badgers forward Joseph LaBate on a penalty shot to keep the game at 5-3. Dell then stopped the Badgers forward Jefferson Dahl on a break away a short time later during the waning moments of the third period to keep the Sioux in the game.

It would be an understatement to say that junior forward Danny Kristo is on fire, this past weekend Kristo had a 4-point weekend (2-2-4). According to Jayson Hajdu of the UND Sports Information Department, Kristo has scored 20 points in his last 23 games. That’s an impressive clip for the junior forward; I would imagine the Montreal Canadians are also impressed with Kristo’s play so far

Freshman Defenseman Nick Mattson had a two point game and a three point weekend for the Fighting Sioux. After starting off the season without any points, Mattson has 5 points in three games (2-3-5).

Sophomore defenseman Derek Forbort had a better night defensively for the Fighting Sioux on Saturday night as he was only on the ice for one of the five goals that the Badgers scored on the Fighting Sioux.

The Bad

Despite outshooting the Badgers the Fighting Sioux were swept and out scored by the Badgers 10-7.

The Fighting Sioux lost for the first time 2007 when they donned the black jerseys against the Boston College Eagles during the Frozen Four.

Aaron Dell last year All-WCHA and All American goalie ahs a save percentage of .813 and a goals against average of 4.05.

This was probably the last time the Fighting Sioux will play a WCHA conference game in Madison, Wisconsin. The Sioux and the Badgers will be in separate leagues to begin the 2013-14 season and the Badgers only come to Grand Forks, ND next year.

Sophomore Defenseman Derek Forbort had another rough night on Friday as he was on the ice for three of the five goals the Badgers scored.

Badgers Skate Past Sioux 5-3

Image via Wikipedia

Cross posted at Inside Hockey.

Coming into this series, the Fighting Sioux had won five of the last six games against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Badgers fortunes changed for them tonight as five different Badgers scored goals.  They got two points each from Justin Schultz (1-1-2) and Tyler Barnes (0-2-2) to lead the Badgers past the Fighting Sioux 5-3.   

The Wisconsin Badgers got off to a fast start as they opened the scoring at the 08:45 mark of the first period with a goal from Badger forward Mark Zengerle, who took a nice drop-pass from Tyler Barnes and blasted the puck past Fighting Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness, who was screened on the play by Fighting Sioux defenseman Ben Blood. 

The Sioux rang the bell 27 seconds later at the 09:12 mark of the first period with a beautiful goal by Fighting Sioux freshman forward Mark MacMillan.  The Fighting Sioux forward blew past the Wisconsin defense and shot the puck over Badger goalie Landon Peterson’s left shoulder.  That was the first career goal for Fighting Sioux forward Mark MacMillan.  

The Fighting Sioux got into penalty trouble at the 18:06 mark of the first period when Mark MacMillan took a two minute penalty for roughing.  Corban Knight followed suit and joined MacMillan in the penalty box nine seconds later for tripping.  The Badgers wasted little time on the power play and scored twenty seconds later at the 18:45 mark on a beautiful goal by Badger defenseman Justin Schultz. 

The Fighting Sioux weren’t done taking unnecessary penalties in this period, as Sioux defenseman Ben Blood continued the Fighting Sioux march to the penalty box when he took an unnecessary penalty for slashing at the 19:25 mark, to put the Fighting Sioux down two men once again, for the second time during the first period.

The Second period didn’t start well for the Fighting Sioux, as Wisconsin Badger Michael Mersch scored on the ensuing power play at the 01:16 mark of the second period.

The Badgers increased their lead when they scored again less than five minutes later, when Badger forward Matt Paape picked up a Ben Blood turnover at the top of the circle and smartly passed the puck to Derek Lee, who shot the puck past an oblivious Brad Eidsness who was caught napping on the play.  That goal ended the night for Eidsness who was relieved by Aaron Dell. 

The Fighting Sioux responded to the Badger goal 23 seconds later with an unassisted goal by Fighting Sioux defenseman Nick Mattson. The Sioux defenseman took a shot from the point that bounced off of  Badger defenseman John Ramage and into the net past Wisconsin goalie Landon Peterson. 

The Fighting Sioux got another goal on the power play at the 9:33 mark of the second period.  With Badger forward Brendan Woods off the ice for a high sticking penalty, Carter Rowney took a feed from Danny Kristo and shot the puck past the Badger goalie Peterson. 

Badgers forward Brendan Woods made up for this mistake when he put the Badgers up by two goals by blowing by Ben Blood and Derek Forbort for the goal. 

The Badgers outshot the Fighting Sioux 11-10 during the second period. 

There was no scoring by either team in the third period and Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol ended up pulling his goalie with two minutes left in third period. Sioux were unable to muster any more real threats as the Badgers collapsed about their net and made it impossible for the Sioux to get any more grade “A” scoring chances. 

Box Score

TV for this weekend's games.

Image via WikipediaHere is the information on this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the Wisconsin Badgers. Only Friday's game against the Badgers will be on TV.

MEDIA COVERAGE: All Fighting Sioux men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy is in his 31st season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux. He is joined during home games by color analyst Steve Olson.

Friday night's game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North Wisconsin and Fox College Sports Atlantic. (Fox Sports Wisconsin Direct TV 669) Saturday's game will not be available outside of Wisconsin.

Video webcasts for each game can be purchased at www.uwbadgers.com. Free (delayed) video streaming of both games will also be available at 10 p.m. each night at Wisconsin Public TV.

Tim Mathern has bill to repeal UND Fighting Sioux nickname law

Image via WikipediaDemocratic senator Tim Mathern from Fargo, ND has a bill that he is going to introduce to repeal the Fighting Sioux nickname law. For those who don't know who Mathern is, he is the Democratic Senator that ran against and lost to then North Dakota Governor John Hoeven in the 2008 election.

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald ---- Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said today that he has a bill ready for the November special session of the Legislature that would repeal the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname law adopted earlier this year.

"No muss, no fuss - just overturn what we did in the past legislative session," he said. "It would be the cleanest, simplest way to get back to the process that was already decided upon and in place wherein the Board of Higher Education and the University of North Dakota had made some decisions."

Repeal would take effect on Dec. 1, according to the bill draft filed with the Legislative Council. Mathern, who was first elected to the Senate in 1986 and was the Democrats' candidate for governor in 2008, said repeal would remove "the question of constitutionality that came with the Legislature intervening

Get your Fighting SIoux Hockey Media Guides Today...

I case anyone is looking for the new Fighting Sioux media guide you can buy one for 25.00 by clicking on the link below. You can also download the media guide for free by clicking on this link.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Fans of Fighting Sioux men’s hockey can now order their own printed copy of the 2011-12 Fighting Sioux men’s hockey media guide.

The media guides serve as the ultimate season preview and historical document for every Sioux fan, containing student-athlete and coach bios, detailed roster information, opponent capsules, season outlooks, season recaps, statistical breakdowns, record books, university and facility information and much, much more.

Fans can purchase their media guides by visiting www.fightingsioux.ondemandmediaguides.com.

Cost of the 196-page media guide is $25.00, which includes shipping and handling. Please allow a minimum of 7-10 days for delivery.

Production of printed UND Athletics media guides was halted in 2010-11 due to cost-saving measures, but has been revived in 2011-12 due to popular demand.

Printed media guides for women’s hockey, football, volleyball and soccer are also currently available. Media guides for additional fall and spring sports will become available at a later date.

Nickname retirement may cost $750,000

Here is the latest on the Fighting Sioux nickname, $750,000.00 that's a lot of money and that isn't including "the costs" of removing the logos from the REA. My next question is, who is going to pay for this?

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- UND officials have estimated the cost of retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo at nearly $750,000, not counting the cost of changes that may occur at the privately-held Ralph Engelstad Arena.

University President Robert Kelley sent the estimates last week to a budget analyst and auditor with the North Dakota Legislative Council, in response to a request made by Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England.

Schatz, who has declared that he will not support an attempt in next month’s special legislative session to clear the way for retirement of the name and logo, said he asked for the cost information so he could attach a fiscal note to any bill contemplating that action.

“I wanted all the legislators to know the figures that the president estimated it would cost,” Schatz said Tuesday. “I think that’s been left out of the conversation so far.”

Spirit Lake nickname foes 'embarrassed' by 'threats'

Color me surprised!!! You just knew it was just a matter of time before this story came to the forefront of the Fighting Sioux nickname issue. I am not sure if I am the only one that sees this, but it always seems to be the same people that are being consulted on the anti-Fighting Sioux nickname issue. At times I have also wondered why the anti-Fighting Sioux nickname crowd seems to get the lion’s share of the press when it comes to people that are against the Fighting Sioux nickname?

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- Several Fighting Sioux nickname opponents at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe have written an open letter to Grant Shaft, president of the state Board of Higher Education, saying they are “embarrassed by the threats our fellow tribal members are making on behalf of the Spirit Lake Nation” over efforts to retire the name and logo.

Late last week, the pro-nickname Committee for Understanding and Respect warned the state board, UND and others looking to drop the symbols that they should expect consequences “far more severe than any sanctions UND claims will exist by keeping the name.”

The committee’s efforts to preserve the Fighting Sioux name and logo at UND have been endorsed by the tribal council, which adopted a resolution authorizing the group to speak for the tribe. That followed a 2009 referendum in which a substantial majority of tribal members approved UND’s continued use of the name.

But Erich Longie, a longtime advocate for UND dropping the nickname and logo, and 10 others told Shaft that they speak for the minority of more than 300 tribal members who voted “no” in that referendum.

Sioux tie Black Bears 3-3

Cross Posted at Inside Hockey.
Image via WikipediaGrand Forks, ND — The Fighting Sioux hockey players that played on last season’s squad, have been looking forward to a rematch with the Maine Black Bears for some time. Last Season the Fighting Sioux left Orono, Maine with a bad taste in their mouth. After they were swept handedly by the Black Bears on October 23, 2010, the Fighting Sioux hoped they would get one more crack at the Black Bears during the NCAA tourney. That didn’t happen. The Fighting Sioux went on to the Frozen Four and the Black Bears went home after they lost in the first round of the Hockey East playoffs. Fast forward to this season. This weekend’s theme has been about looking for a little revenge against the Black Bears.

The Black Bears took over where they left off from last night’s game and again proved to be a miserable team to play against. The first break went to the Black Bears, as they went on the power play at the 3:05 mark of the first period.

Brock Nelson took a minor penalty for interference and the Maine Black Bears scored less than a minute later at the 4:02 mark of the second period on a power play goal by Black Bears forward Bryan Flynn. Assisting on the goal was Will O’Neal and Spencer Abbott.

The Black Bears outshot the Fighting Sioux 7-9 and did a good job getting in the passing lanes and taking away the Fighting Sioux’s time and space.

The second period proved to be a wild one as the Maine Black Bears came out on fire and wasted little time as they scored 46 seconds into the period. The goal was a thing of beauty, as Maine Defenseman Will O’Neil took a nice pass from Kyle Beatie and shot the puck into the net, as Fighting Sioux goalie as Aaron Dell was trying to get over and cover the post.

The Fighting Sioux fortunes changed at 3:32 mark of the second period. The Fighting Sioux got a much needed break, as Black Bears forward Kyle Beattie was penalized (boarding), and defenseman Mark Nemec (high sticking) were sent to the penalty box, giving the Fighting Sioux a two-man advantage. Fighting Sioux defenseman Nick Mattson wasted little time making the Black Bears pay when he scored a powerplay goal from the left point just 43 seconds later.

The Maine Black Bears took another untimely penalty at the 5:17 mark of the second period, when Ryan Hegarty was penalized for hooking. The Sioux wasted little time again making the Black Bears pay, as Danny Kristo scored a power play goal just 10 seconds later at the 5:27 mark, with a howitzer from the left point to tie the game.

The Fighting Sioux got another goal on the power play at the 17:25 mark of the second period with a goal from Kristo, as he blasted another hard shot from the left point through traffic. That was the third point of the third period for Kristo and the third power play goal for the Fighting Sioux.

Things got more interesting for the Sioux during the third period. Fighting Sioux defenseman Andrew MacWilliam was called for interference. On the power play, the Black Bears tied the game with a goal at the 12:18 mark of the third period. Ryan Hegarty deflected a pass from Spencer Abbott past Aaron Dell through the five hole. The Fighting Sioux outshot the Black Bears during the third period 8-6.

The game was tied at the end of regulation and went to overtime. The Sioux outshot the Black Bears 3-1 in overtime, and Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell had to come up with a huge save at the end of the game on a breakaway by Spencer Abbott to preserve the tie for the Fighting Sioux.

There were a lot of bright spots for the Fighting Sioux on the weekend, junior forward Corbin Knight went an impressive 37-11 in face-offs for the weekend. While the Fighting Sioux were outshot 31 to 21 on Friday night, the Sioux managed to close the game as they were only outshot 28-27 by the Black Bears on Saturday. The Fighting power play who went 0-6 on the power play on Friday night went impressive 3-5 for five on the power play on Saturday. Fighting Sioux junior forward Danny Kristo has four points on the weekend (2g-2a-4pts).

Box Score

Doug Fullerton Interview.

Image via WikipediaThis is an interview that someone posted over on Sioux Sports and it's worth a look; its a Sacramento State Sports Question and Answer session with Big Sky Commissioner Doug Fullerton. [click to read the whole article]

There has been a lot of controversy surround one of the new members, North Dakota. Some of it has involved you. What do you think about North Dakota’s logo controversy?

That’s a tough one because they didn’t have the controversy when we got them in the league. They already had signed on. I think our presidents have a real concern about the action taken by the (North Dakota) legislature (to keep the Fighting Sioux logo). We did not and will not get into the fight. I know they tried to get us into the fight. Whether or not the logo is appropriate or inappropriate – what we worry about is the NCAA had a deal with them and now they were forced to back out of that deal. If they are in violation and the NCAA sanctions remain in place, we’re afraid of what the outcome of those sanctions will create at the University of North Dakota in two ways. No. 1, the pure NCAA sanctions of not being able to host a postseason event will really hurt their ability to be successful in football. That’s one of the things that we really think is important. But more important, as long as the NCAA has those sanctions, we’re starting to see a grass roots protest against the University of North Dakota. We know that they’ve lost scheduled games. We know there have been mini demonstrations when they travel. If those kind of things grow, then their use to us as a solid Division I program in the Big Sky begins to diminish. At that point in time, then it could affect if we want them as members. People try to drag us into this fight whether the Sioux nickname is appropriate or not appropriate. That’s the not where our presidents are. They are engaged in the second part of that conversation.

Fighting Sioux Stop Black Bears 3-1

Cross Posted at Inside Hockey.
Image via WikipediaGrand Forks, ND — Going into this series the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux had lost four games in a row to the Maine Black Bears and they were swept last October in Orono, Maine by a score of 7-3 and 4-2. This week one could describe the theme for the Fighting Sioux as looking for a little revenge against the Black Bears.

On the other side of the ice the Maine Black Bears knew that the Fighting Sioux were going to be looking to even the score and wouldn’t be looking past the Black Bears, especially after last season results.  Tonight the Fighting Sioux’s fortunes changed against the Black Bears, the Fighting Sioux lead by Corbin Knight and Ben Blood (a goal and an assist each); combined with a goaltending gem by Brad Eidsness gutted out a hard fought 3-1 win.

The First period started out slow for the Fighting Sioux as they had to kill two Maine power plays in the early going. After killing the two Black Bears power plays the Fighting Sioux had trouble getting on track as the Black Bears did a good job of limiting the Fighting Sioux’s time and space. The Fighting Sioux were out shot by the Black Bears 11-6 in the first period.

Goaltending coming into the week was one of the major question marks for the Fighting Sioux. Last year’s first team All WCHA first team goalie Aaron Dell was shaky last weekend in two games during the Ice Breaker Tourney against Air Force Academy Boston College. Dell was pulled in the second period against the Boston College Eagles and senior goalie Brad Eidsness relieved Dell in the second period and stopped the bleeding for the Fighting Sioux. Eidsness looked sharp against the Eagles stopping seven of eight shots, after the game against the B.C. Eagles some questioned if there was a goaltending battle brewing in Grand Forks.

After tonight it appears that some of those goaltending questions have been answered as Brad Eidsness stopped 30 of 31 shots, many of those shots were close in from the slot as the Maine Black Bears were all over the Fighting Sioux through two periods of hockey.

I don’t think it would be inaccurate to say that Brad Eidsness stopped at least five very difficult shots from close in during the first period and second periods keeping the Fighting Sioux in the game, if Eidsness had not been sharp the game could have gotten out of hand. In retrospect, this was probably one of Eidsness’ best game in a Fighting Sioux uniform.

The game was a scoreless tie until Fighting Sioux freshman winger Michael Parks was called for interference penalty at the 01:58 mark of the Second period. The Maine Black Bears didn’t take long to capitalize on the power play as they scored five second later on a goal by Maine forward Spencer Abbot took a shot from the point that blew past Eidsness. That’s all the Black Bears would get past Eidsness who stoned the Black Bears the rest of the way.

The Fighting Sioux evened the score about three minutes later when Parks made up for his miscue and scored his first goal of his Fighting Sioux career at the 5:01 mark of the second period to tie the game.
The Sioux went into the third period being out shot 26 – 14 by the Black Bears, did manage to out shot the Black Bears 7-5 during he third period. Fighting Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness continued to stand tall in the early minutes of the third when he stopped Maine forward Abbott close in to keep the game at 1-1, that save by Eidsness would prove to be a game saver for the Fighting Sioux.

The Sioux finally started getting the better of the Black Bears and in the third period and took the game over. Black Bear forward Joey Diamond took three ill advised penalties in the third period and at the 14:32 mark planted Fighting Sioux defenseman Ben Blood into the boards.

Blood enjoyed the best revenge three seconds later when  he took the feed from Corbin Knight off the face off and blasted the puck past Maine Goalie Martin Ouellette.  After the game Black Bears head coach Tim Whitehead said that Diamond would be watching tomorrow night’s game from the stands after taking three penalties in the third period.

The Fighting Sioux closed out the scoring at the 18:35 mark when Blood returned the favor and fed Corbin Knight a nice pass who was standing at the goal mouth and shot the puck past Ouellette who was out of position. The Sioux and the Black Bears play game two Saturday night at 7:07 pm.

Box Score

Sioux Prepping to Battle Black Bears

Cross posted at Inside Hockey. Yesterday I attended the Wednesday Fighting Sioux Hockey press conference at Ralph Englestad Arena and this is what I took away from the press conference. The Fighting Sioux took second place in the Ice Breaker Tourney last weekend beating Air Force Academy 4-3 before losing to the Boston College Eagles 6-2.

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol talked about last weekend’s Ice Breaker Tournament and also talked about this weekend’s opponent the University of Maine Black Bears. Last October the Maine Black Bears swept the Fighting Sioux in Orno, Maine 7-3 and 4-2, so the Fighting Sioux are going to be looking for some revenge.

Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol was asked about his two goaltenders and if is there a goaltending battle taking in practice?

“I think there has been a pretty good battle going on in the first, what are were now, we are just over a couple of two weeks in I guess. Ah yeah I think there is a good battle there, you know. I think Aaron [Dell] is still our number one, but that being said, there has been some good competition and some pretty good level of play from both guys in practice. Brad [Eidsness] went in on Saturday and did a good job, he plugged the dam, when we were leaking a little bit in the second period; he did a good job holding the fort. He [Eidsness] has earned himself some more playing time, so he has to keep practicing hard and I will make the decision who starts on Friday. “

Coach Hasktol was asked, what he learned about his team during the last two games?

“We had the chance to learn from good on Friday and we got the chance to learn from some bad on Saturday. That’s the bottom line; I thought Friday we created some of our own problems and we dug ourselves out and made some plays and we were able to come out with a good win. Saturday, I thought we created a lot of our troubles that came back to haunt us later in the game. We took some penalties at the end of the first period and early in the second, that really affected our energy levels and I thought had a great deal to do with leading to some low energy levels and some real sloppy defensive play that over a four minute period that took us absolutely out of the hockey game. So we have got to fix some things, we have to fix those things, we have got to really challenge ourselves to play a complete sixty minute and we have yet to do that in the first two games.”

Coach Hakstol was asked if Maine is similar to last season’s team.

“Yeah. They [Maine] are a veteran team, every key position is occupied by a veteran on their hockey team and by the looks of it they play a very similar style to what they did last year, they have very good team speed and they have good depth and their top line is a very dynamic line, a good line that produces for them, the power play is efficient and is effective. So, I think they are probably similar in the way they play, to the way they were last year, you know and beyond that you probably have to ask their coaching staff that one.”

Were you surprised that Maine didn’t make the NCAA tourney last season?

“Are you trying to get me in trouble here? Let me figure out how to answer that one. Based off of the way that they played there? Yeah, absolutely, I guess I would answer it bluntly, yeah, I am, they’re a good team. I don’t know what they went through injury wise, different things throughout the season, a lot of things come into play, but they sure played well there, they play a great team game, they play with speed, they made plays. Their specialty teams were good, I thought they were a real good hockey team and the factors that went into them not being in the national tournament at the end of the day just speaks to how darn hard it is to get into the national tournament.