Are the Fighting Sioux getting ready for a second half run?

Here is a breakdown of Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol’s record before and after the Christmas break for every year that he has been at the University of North Dakota. 

Year            Before                   After
2004-05    13-7-2 (.636)      12-8-3 (.587)
2005-06   12-7-1 (.625)        17-9-0 (.654)
2006-07   7-10-1 (.417)        17-4-4 (.760)
2007-08   8-6-1 (.567)          20-5-3 (.768)
2008-09   9-8-1 (.528)          15-7-3 (.660)
2009-10   9-6-3 (.583)          16-7-2 (.680)
2010-11   13-5-2 (.700)        19-4-1 (.813)
2011-12    3-6-1 (.389) ? --
Totals 74-55-12 (.567) ---  116-44-16 (.705)

I was listening to the Gopher Puck Live podcast tonight while I was out walking the dog and the Gopher Puck Live hosts were looking at this weeks match up between the Fighting Sioux and Bemidji State University Beavers; Ryan Cardinal said, “you can’t win a league tile in the first half but you can lose it.”   That is very true, no one has hung a banner based on their play during the first two months of the season. However, championship teams tend to stay in the hunt during the early part of the season.

In looking at the numbers courtesy of Jayson Hajdu of the UND SID office, I am wondering if the Fighting Sioux are getting set for another patented second half run. If the Fighting Sioux don't start winning game fast they might have to play for a bid to the Final Five on the road. That being said, there is a lot of hockey left to play this season.

Sioux and Beavers Series Preview

 Cross Posted at Inside Hockey. The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux resume play this weekend when they travel to Bemidji, Minnesota to play the Bemidji State University Beavers in a WCHA series Saturday 7:07 PM CT and Sunday 7:07 PM CT.
Image via Wikipedia

If you were to look at the WCHA standings you will see that the Beavers are currently ninth in the WCHA standings three points ahead of the Fighting Sioux.  The Sioux currently occupy 11^th place in the WCHA standings.

Since the 2002-03 season the Fighting Sioux have an almost perfect 14-0-1 record against the BSU Beavers.

The games will be on Lakeland Public Television  Bemidji, Minnesota. Play-by-play announcer Scott Williams and color commentator former BSU Beaver Eric Monsrud call the games for the Beavers.

Radio: The games can be heard at 96.1 the Fox.

Internet: Americaone [click to view]

 Records and Rankings:

UND – 3-6-1 overall, 1-5-0 WCHA; unranked in both polls. The Fighting Sioux were idle last week.
BSU – 4-7-1 overall, 2-5-1 WCHA; unranked in both polls. The Beavers tied 3-3 and lost 5-1 to the UNO Mavericks.

Players to Watch:  

For the Fighting Sioux junior forward Danny Kristo 4g-8a—12pts is the leading scorer. On the other side of the ice senior defenseman Brady Hunt 2g-9a—10 pts is the leading scorer or the Beavers.

Junior goalie Aaron Dell is the top goaltender for the Fighting Sioux. Dell has a 2-5-1 record with a 3.20 goals against average and a .875 save percentage.

Senior goalie Dan Bakala is the top goaltender for the Beavers. Bakala has a 2-4-1 record with a .302 goals against average with a .898 save percentage.

Key Numbers:

3 – The Beavers are ranked third in the WCHA on the penalty kill in the WCHA; the Beavers have killed 43/52 of their opponent’s power plays.

4 – The Fighting Sioux are ranked fourth on the penalty kill in the WCHA; the Fighting Sioux have killed 38/46 of their opponent’s power plays.

7 – The Fighting Sioux are ranked seventh in the WCHA in penalty minutes.

8 – The Fighting Sioux power play is ranked eighth in the WCHA going 9/51

9 – The Beavers power play is ranked ninth in the WCHA going 7/40

9 – The Beavers are ranked ninth in the WCHA in scoring.

10 – The Beavers are ranked 10^th in the WCHA in penalty minutes.

10 – The Fighting Sioux are ranked 10^th in the WCHA in scoring.

12 – The Fighting Sioux have scored 12 goals in six WCHA games.

14 – Aaron Dell is ranked 14^th in goals against average in the WCHA.

16 – Aaron Dell is ranked 16^th in save percentage in the WCHA.

Other games in the WCHA: Nebraska Omaha at Denver; Minnesota at Saint Cloud on Friday, Saint Cloud at Minnesota on Saturday; Michigan Tech at Alaska-Anchorage; Wisconsin at Colorado College; Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth.

Virg Foss Nails it.

Image via WikipediaIn case you haven’t seen it former Fighting Sioux hockey beat writer Virg Foss absolutely nailed it with this article on the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Virg Foss, Grand Forks Herald --- By marching on without a nickname might be the ultimate show of respect to the Sioux name as we say goodbye to it.

I suspect that for as long as I live, fans will wear their Fighting Sioux jerseys to UND games. Sioux cheers will erupt from the crowds.

Taking away the name won’t change that. Neither will forcing a new nickname upon us.

A few years ago, I watched the movie “We Are Marshall” and felt chills go through me listening to the fans chant the school name in a slow cadence.

I watched Penn State students turn out to protest the firing of football legend Joe Paterno earlier this week and heard the chants of “We Are . . . Penn State” rise from their throats.

When the next school year begins at UND, we’ll no longer see the logos or Sioux name on UND uniforms.

UND will press on and in time bitter feelings and wounded hearts will begin to heal.

There’s no need to rush to a new nickname, if one is ever needed.

While there are some pointy headed P.C. hand wringers that want UND to select a new nickname right away because they claim that the no-nickname approach is a way for UND to remain a sort of de Facto Fighting Sioux. Realistically, you’re going to have a hard time totally getting rid of the Fighting Sioux nickname, it’s been part of UND storied history for a very long time, The Fighting Sioux nickname is engrained in our culture and is part of our schools rich history.

I am going to continue to wear my Fighting Sioux sweaters, hoodies and hats with pride until they fall off and disintegrate. Lastly, I also agree with Foss, I like the no-nickname approach and why not simply remain just “North Dakota” wouldn't that be an awesome name? No need for a ridiculous replacement nickname that few will get behind and that no one will like, UND sports teams could just be plain "North Dakota".

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Classic Dean Blais

Check out these quotes by former Fighting Sioux head coach Dean Blais. You have to love guys like Blais who tells it like it is. I don't think I would classify this as bulletin board material because that's the way that BSU plays, I would bet that BSU will come out flying tonight. These comments kind of remind me of the Tampa Bay Lightning as well.

Rob White, WORLD-HERALD --- Unlike last weekend's wide-open series with Colorado College, in which the Mavs earned a split with the team that had been ranked No. 2 in the country, UNO knows things are going to look different this weekend.

"We thought we'd match up well with CC because that's a skating team," Blais said. "They were both great games. (But) these aren't going to be great games. It's going to take a lot of patience. At times there will be boredom because of the way they play."

[Dan] Bakala is 2-3 this season with a 2.87 goals-against average but a save percentage of only .886. He's split time with two others thus far for a Beavers team that is 4-6 and 2-4.

But this weekend, UNO comes to town.

"They are disciplined in everything they do, and you have to give their coaches credit for that," Blais said. "They don't take chances offensively. Defensively they play a real compact defensive-zone coverage. They'll give you shots from the outside knowing their goaltender is good."

The sky is falling; not yet...

This is the second addition of the “sky is falling” that the Whistler wrote on Saturday after the Sioux were swept by the Golden Gophers in Mariucci Arena.

The Sioux have dug a pretty deep hole, but there is still a lot of season left. In my opinion, there is no reason to panic yet or start a movement to have Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol fired as the coach of the Fighting Sioux.

Even if the Fighting Sioux fail to make the Final Five and the NCAA tourney Dave Hakstol will still be the head coach of the Fighting Sioux when the season is over.

I think it’s safe to predict that the Fighting Sioux will not repeat as champs in the WCHA, however, they can still salvage the season by making a solid run in the second half of the season and making the NCAA playoffs. Last season UMD proved that the fourth best team in the WCHA can still win the NCAA title.

The Fighting Sioux with the 3-2 loss on Saturday night dropped to an unimpressive record of 3-5-1 overall and 1-5-0 in WCHA action. That is the worst start for the Fighting Sioux since the 1974-75 season when the Fighting Sioux started the season 1-9-0.

I was out hunting in the Devils Lake area and I was able to listen to both games on the radio and it would appear that Aaron Dell was great in net all weekend, any time you can limit a team like the Gophers to five goals against for the weekend; that’s an impressive feat. I also believe that the Fighting Sioux wasted two nice goaltending efforts by Dell. Dell stopped 39 of 42 shots on Saturday night and that is the most saves Dell has had in a games since last year's WCHA Final Five championship game against Denver University. Dell also stopped 30 of 32 shots in Friday night’s game. For the weekend Dell stopped 69/74 shots for a .932 save percentage.

The Fighting Sioux penalty kill has started to put up impressive numbers. The Fighting Sioux held the Gophers vaunted power play to one goal all weekend long, The Fighting Sioux killed 14 of 15 Gopher power plays and now have only given up one goal in the last 22 power plays, killing 21 of the last 22 opponent power plays.

This goal by Roco Grimaldi gives me reason to be optimistic.

Gopher fans like to talk about how the Fighting Sioux are a bunch of goons. Under no circumstances will Minnesota's Pansies on Ice drop the gloves.

Aaron Dell was in the zone against the Gophers and here is an example of this as Dell makes a nice save against Minnesota

Delay Proposed To Replace Fighting Sioux Nickname

I have been out of the loop for about five days and I am beginning to wade through mounds of newspaper articles about the Fighting Sioux nickname repeal law and I think this is the best option that I have read so far. There is no logical reason to rush Willy Nilly to get a new nickname in place. Also, I like the option of just being “North Dakota” and hope that option gains some traction, forever. I always liked the slogan, 'We are One. We are North Dakota.' 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota lawmakers say the University of North Dakota should wait three years before replacing its Fighting Sioux athletics nickname.

The North Dakota House and Senate education committees have endorsed allowing UND to retire the Fighting Sioux nickname and American Indian head logo.

The full House and Senate still have to approve the bill before it becomes law.

Grand Forks Rep. Stacey Dahl says the measure prevents UND from adopting a new nickname and logo until January 2015. She calls it a "cooling-off" period.

Board of Higher Education president Grant Shaft says the board supports the idea.

The committees voted Tuesday to endorse the proposal. Now it goes to the Senate for its first vote. The vote hasn't been scheduled.

Mark Levin talks about the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Check it out, Mark Levin a top conservative talk show host on XM Radio 125 the Patriot talked about the Fighting Sioux nickname during his show yesterday. s/t to Rob Port at SayAnythingBlog.com...

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Behind Enemy Lines - Wally Shaver's Gophers-UND Preview

The boys over at Gopher Puck Live had this in their twitter feed today so I thought I would share it with you. Wally Shaver does the Gopher hockey radio broadcasts along with Frank Mazzocco. Should be a good series between the Fighting Sioux and the Minnesota Gophers.

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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

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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.

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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

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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.