More Frattin.

There has already been some speculation on who the Sioux will bring in to fill the roster spot void left by Matt Frattin being kicked off the Fighting Sioux hockey team for his DUI arrest earlier this morning.

On early Wednesday morning, he was stopped by a campus police officer on North Columbia Road for speeding, UND police captain Don Rasmuson said. The officer smelled alcohol and a subsequent test put Frattin’s blood-alcohol level at .12 percent, Rasmuson said. The legal limit is .08 percent.

UND Fighting Sioux hockey team beat writer Brad Schlossman seems to think it will be Corbin Knight, which would make sense after the eye popping numbers he put up in juniors. Corban Knight is one kid I am really excited about seeing in a UND Fighting Sioux uniform. Unfortunately this isn't the way I thought it would happen.

I'd expect that Corban Knight will get the call, though. Here are a few reasons:

*NHL draft status isn't much of a factor. But for what it's worth, Knight is the highest-drafted, committed forward in juniors. The Florida Panthers took him in the fifth round in June.

Knight played against a high level of competition last season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and was outstanding. He was the leading rookie scorer in the league and the seventh overall scorer in the AJHL. All six guys who had more points than him -- including UND's Carter Rowney -- will be in college in 2009-10.

Knight is physically ready. His testing results at the NHL Combine prove that. He ranked second in pushups, third in endurance, fourth in upper-body power and ninth in pull strength among the top 100-plus draft-eligible players.

Being a human being in a way I can kind of feel some empathy for this kid, however, the other part of me says you’re an adult and when you make bad choices you pay the consequences for these horrible decisions. That life and human are imperfect and make bad decision, well all do, but how many chances does a person need?

The University of North Dakota did the right thing by kicking Frattin off of the team and will move on from this incident. I hope this sends a message to the other players that might be thinking about making bad life choices. Nothing good happens late at night. It’s also not a birth right to play for the Fighting Sioux it’s a privilege and the University doesn’t need anymore bad press. If you screw up you might lose that privilege.

Let’s face facts; UND is a high profile hockey program and playing for UND can open up many life opportunities for the hockey players that do what it takes to get to the next level, it takes hard work and dedication. If your screwing around late at night you might want to question your dedication.

I understand these are young college students but you’re twenty one years old is considered an adult age, in Canada and the USA you can vote and you can serve in your countries military, most of us would pay severe consequences if we had done the same thing Mr. Frattin did this summer. I know I would lose my job. Like coach Hakstol said after the first incident earlier this summer, ‘most of our guys are working hard for the upcoming season.’

Brian Lee back with the Senators.

Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Brian Lee is being sent back to the Ottawa Senators after being sent down to Binghamton at the end of February. It will be interesting to see if Brian Lee can spend the rest of the season with the Senators. The Ottawa Senators are in 12th place and will miss the NHL playoffs this season so I can imagine that Lee will be rejoining the Binghamton Senators for the AHL playoffs.

Ottawa ---- The Ottawa Senators today recalled defenseman Brian Lee on an emergency basis from the club's American Hockey League affiliate, the Binghamton Senators.

Lee has two goals, nine assists and 14 penalty minutes over 36 games with the NHL club this season, while averaging 19:09 minutes of time-on-ice. This will be Lee's fourth appearance with the Senators this season, after most recently playing 28 games before being assigned to Binghamton on Feb. 27.

In 27 AHL games with Binghamton this season, the 21-year-old has two goals, 10 assists and 41 penalty minutes.

The Senators next see action tomorrow night, when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30 p.m.

Two former Sioux score in the same game.

Last night two former Fighting Sioux hockey players scored in the same game. Here is the goal that Columbus Blue Jacket Mike Commodore scored on the Blues.

Not to be out done, former Fighting Sioux star T.J. Oshie scored his third goal of the season against Steve Mason. T.J. Oshie has points in all three of his games since returning from a leg injury.

The Blues won the game 5-2.

OUCH, Toews hurt in a game against the Canucks.

Here is a vicious hit by former Denver Pioneer Matt Pettinger on Former Sioux forward Jonathan Toews in the March 2nd game between the Chicago Black Hawks and the Vancover Canucks. The result of the questionable hit on Toews? Oh about 45-50 stitches to his upper lip. Matt Pettinger was then challenged by Cam Barker to a fight.

Here is what Toews had to say about his injury.

Matt Greene Activated from IR

Good to see that Former Sioux Matt Greene will be back soon and playing in the NHL after recovering from a broken leg he suffered in a game on October 30th.

The Edmonton Oilers have activated defenceman Matt Greene from the NHL Injured Reserve list and assigned him to the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment.

Greene has missed the Oilers last 34 games (November 2nd to January 15th) after suffering a fractured left fibula and ligament damage in his left ankle on October 30th in a game versus the Detroit Red Wings at Rexall Place. The 6'3", 223 pound defenceman had scored one assist with 11 penalty minutes in 13 games for the Oilers this season prior to the injury.

Fomer WCHA players Stuart and Commodore toss them

Fomer C.C. Tiger Mark Stuart took on former Fighting Sioux Mike Commodore after he smoked P.J. Axelson with a big hit. Here is the hit as Mike Commodore Smokes P.J. Axelson. Ouch

Parise Goes Bruin Hunting.

I am sitting in my living room last night watching the Bruins and Devils game and when the Bruins went up 3-0, I decided to call Sioux_7 and B.J. to rub it in. I figured there was no way the Bruins would choke away a three goal lead in the Claude Julian defensive system. Boy was I wrong. It was Parise that took the Devils on his back and went to work. When it was all said and done Zach Parise was 2-2-4 and a +3 for the night. Seems Julian forgot to have his Bruins check Parise.

Bruins Starter Tim Thomas Hurt

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY -- Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas left Wednesday's game against the New Jersey Devils with 1:10 remaining in the third period with an apparent ankle injury. Rookie Tuukka Rask replaced Thomas with the game tied at 3-3.

Bruins acquire G Auld from Coyotes

BOSTON-- In desperate need of help between the pipes, the Boston Bruins on Thursday acquired goaltender Alex Auld from the Phoenix Coyotes for right wing Nate DiCasmirro and a 2009 fifth-round draft pick.

In my opinion, the Boston Bruins got the short end of this deal. I can't believe the general manager for the Bruins would make this deal. The Bruins lose a 5 round draft choice for a proven second rate goalie. Nice! I have a hard time believing that Alex Auld is the best option out there.

Bochenski in the Bruins Dog House

It would appear that former UND Fighting Sioux forward Brandon Bochenski might be looking for a new home soon. After missing the last two games as a healthy scratch it appears that Bochenski's welcome in Boston is coming to and end. Bochenski has given Julian little reason to keep him in the line up; Bo has 0 goals and 4 assists in 15 games. For what ever reason Bochenski has become Claude Julian's whipping boy in Boston. Since Bochenski isn't scoring any goals or beating anyone up ala Milan Lucic, Bochenski is sitting.

Interesting Perspective:

Here is an interesting perspctive that I found on Collegehockey News.

WCHA Evening Out After Years of Player Exodus
by Brad Salmen/CHN Reporter

The 2005 collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the players' union that ended the 2004 lockout might have an unintended consequence — leveling the playing field in the WCHA.

For a period of 10 years or so, beginning in the mid-1990s, the WCHA seemed to be split into three tiers — call them the "haves", the "have-somes," and the "have-nots." Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota, which indisputably have the biggest and most lavish facilities, were invariably in the top five of the league, while Colorado College, Denver and St. Cloud St. battled for the last two home-ice first-round WCHA playoff spots. Lesser-funded Minnesota St., Alaska-Anchorage, Michigan Tech and Minnesota-Duluth, meanwhile, occasionally crept into that top tier, but a simple season-by-season analysis shows that more often than not, they finished in the bottom half of the league.

Then came the 2004 NHL lockout, and the new collective bargaining agreement between the league and the players' union.

The agreement, which established a salary cap and capped the rookie maximum salary, also contained an important provision linking players' salaries to overall league revenues. As a result, the focus for both sides became increasing those revenues, which in turn put more pressure than ever on franchises to field competitive teams.

The result of this pressure trickled down to the American Hockey League (AHL), the premier minor league for the NHL. Instead of suiting some older, former NHL players as they had in the past, most of the AHL teams began courting more younger players to groom for the NHL.

There was another effect: Instead of the reduced rookie maximum making it less enticing for players to leave, it actually made it less risky for NHL teams to pursue them, so they went after college players more aggressively, and college players have not shown any reluctance to go.

Therein lies the rub, especially for the WCHA. While all six NCAA Division I hockey leagues saw an increase in underclassmen leaving before their senior year, a record 12 WCHA underclassmen signed pro contracts after last season, more than the rest of Division I combined.

It's no coincidence that the majority of those players — nine of the 12 — were from the aforementioned "haves" and "have somes." And the result of that mass exodus has led to a 2007-08 season that just might be the most competitive WCHA season in years.

"It used to be, there were two divisions, or three tiers (in the WCHA)," said St. Cloud St. coach Bob Motzko. "But in the last few years, it keeps melting more and more. There are no 'surprises' in the league anymore."

Consider: Colorado College (8-2-0 in the WCHA) was not one of the teams to lose an underclassman to early signing, and has raced to the top of the division after being picked seventh in the preseason Grand Forks Herald WCHA Coaches' poll. Ditto Michigan Tech (currently fourth place in the WCHA) and Alaska-Anchorage, who in a rare occurrence split at Minnesota two weekends ago. But Wisconsin, North Dakota and Minnesota, those three top-tier teams, all lost two players pre-graduation, and this season all three have struggled.

It's not pandemic; as always in hockey, there are X-factors. Denver, back-to-back NCAA champions in 2004-05, has not missed a beat without Geoff Paukovich and Ryan Dingle, and currently reside in second place. And Minnesota-Duluth lost two underclassmen as well (Mason Raymond and Matt Niskanen), but behind the surprising goaltending of Alex Stalock is in third.

Nevertheless, the increased loss of underclassmen prompted WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod and three other NCAA Division I League commissioners to write a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman regarding the matter earlier this year.

Their concern, said McLeod, was not the impact on the league standings; on the contrary, he said, having more parity only helps the league overall. Instead, he said, the concern stems from having more players leave without graduating, which is not only bad for the athletes who may or may not have a career in the NHL, but also might affect graduation rates, a factor in NCAA scholarship administration.

"Since the bargaining agreement, (the WCHA) has had an influx of high-end players, which is great for the league — we enjoy having them when they do come here," said McLeod. However, he said, "it's a good news-bad new situation. Teams that recruit these top-end players find themselves struggling to fill their positions when they leave early, and teams that don't are able to get leadership from their senior players."

Ultimately, he said, the league's interests lie with the players. While McLeod said the dialogue with Bettman did not result in any concrete solutions, just starting that conversation is a good step forward.

"The goal is to graduate as many players as we can," said McLeod. "We have to be careful. I'm not sure we want to institute rules like they have in football (where a player cannot leave until after his junior year). But a number of coaches have expressed their concerns, and we're sympathetic to that."

The Departed

Twelve WCHA players signed NHL contracts last spring and summer rather than return for their final seasons of college hockey. Here's the list:

Denver: F-Geoff Paukovich (Edmonton Oilers), F-Ryan Dingle* (Anaheim Ducks).

Minnesota: D-Alex Goligoski (Pittsburgh Penguins), D-Erik Johnson (St. Louis Blues).

Minnesota Duluth: D-Matt Niskanen (Dallas Stars), F-Mason Raymond (Vancouver Canucks).

Minnesota State: D-Steve Wagner* (St. Louis Blues).

North Dakota: F-Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), D-Brian Lee (Ottawa Senators).

St. Cloud State: F-Andrew Gordon (Washington Capitals).

Wisconsin: D-Joe Piskula* (Los Angeles Kings), F-Jack Skille (Chicago Blackhawks).

I am not so sure I would call DU, C.C. and SCSU the have some because all three team play in relatively nice new top of the line hockey arenas and all three teams pick up just as many of the high profile recruits as the so called top tier teams. If anything I would call them the Have more light. Look at the players that Denver University has right now, Denver's sophomore class is as good if not better than any one class in the country. Same with SCSU the Huskies always have players that rank up near if not the top of the league in points. I do agree with the have-nots part of this article.

Zajac and Parise score for the Devils

I thought we would move on from the Wisconsin series, while there was lots to talk about, there is also nothing like beating a dead horse. That dog won't hunt anymore.

The other night I was watching the game between the Pens and the Devils and the NCAA/WCHA was well represented in this game. Zajac had the first New Jersey goal a beauty and Zach Parise chipped in with a goal and an assist. Parise is leading the Devils through 17 games with 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points.

This is my definition of a brawl

I have seen some refer to what happened at the end of Fridays game as being a brawl. Not even close. The water bottle incident is my text book definition of a brawl, funny how Sioux assistant coach Carey Eades was right in the middle of it. Listen to the Wisconsin announcers, "Eades has done it again".

NHL "U"

UND in the NHL posed a question over on Siouxsports (or whine about everything as some gopher fans call it) and UND in the NHL is looking at adding a new sig line to his posts on Siouxsports. I think this is a no brainer, but the picture sums up UND hockey accurately. NHL "U" My other suggestion is if you want to work on the farm you go to NDSU if you want to play in the NHL you go to UND.

One could make the argument that UND is the gateway to the NHL, or NHL U because of all the great NHL players that UND has produced over the years. The current crop of NHL playing in the NHL is pretty impressive. To a take a plug from an NCAA ad on CSTV 314 Sioux hockey players get jobs in a hockey while others are going pro in something else.

David Hale CAL
Brandon Bochenski BOS
Travis Zajac NJ
Zach Parise NJ
Ryan Johnson STL
Jason Blake TOR
Matt Smayby TAM
Matt Greene EMD
Jonathon Toews CHI
Mike Commodore CAR
Drew Stafford BUF

A clip of the Green injury.

This video is not for the faint of heart. I hurt after watching this video. I must add that when I saw it the first time it didn't look as bad as it does in slow motion. I wish Matt Greene a speedy recovery.

Matt Greene out for Three months with a broken Ankle.

This is not good news for Matt Greene

Rash of injuries to defence corps testing Oilers early in the season
Canadian Press Oct 31, 2007, 7:33 PM EDT

EDMONTON - The talk when training camp began was that depth on the blue line might be the Edmonton Oilers' ace-in-the-hole this season.

That's a card the Oilers are going to have to play now as they've lost third-year rearguard Matt Greene to a broken left ankle that will keep him out of the line-up as long as three months.

Greene, injured in the second period of a 2-1 loss to Detroit Tuesday, will need surgery. He joins Sheldon Souray, out since Oct. 10 with a sprained left shoulder, and Joni Pitkanen, out another month after surgery to repair damaged knee cartilage, on the shelf.

With all of that, coach Craig MacTavish summoned his best poker face Wednesday.

"These (comments) could come back to haunt me and I don't normally throw these out there, but I'm not all that worried about the injuries on the back end," MacTavish said.

"From what I've seen, with (who) we have healthy, we're going to be able to overcome it."

Kessel and Toews light the lamp.

Boston and Chicago game was one of those must watch games and what a game it was. Both Kessel and Toews were on fire for this game and provided most of their teams offense. I am blessed to have NHL center ice and glad that I had the chance to watch this game because it turned out to be one of the best of the year. I think it would be safe to say that It appears Phil Kessel and John Toews are going score a lot of goals this season, Kessel already has 5 goals and 2 assists and 7 points (which is good for 2nd on the Bruins in total points). Kessels point total isn't bad because Boston is a team that is still searching to find offense. On the other side of the ice Jonathan Toews is fourth in scoring for the Black Hawks with 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points and averaging a point per game.

Kessel's two goals were of the spectacular variety and it appears that Phil is making great strives in stepping up his game during his second season, I would probably expect Kessel to score 50+ points this season.

Also during the game Toews 4th goal of the season was a thing of beauty as well, while it wasn't quite as good as his highlite real against the av's it did leave Boston's Bruins goalie looking for answers...

For the Four people that haven't seen this goal.

Wow, I actually just watched that goal again for like the second time. Seems like the more you watch the play the more you think: Wow, that is one hell of an awesome move. When Toews first announced that he was going to the NHL I thought ok, he will probably be on the third line and play 10-15 minutes a game. After after watching a few of the Black Hawks games, I believe that JT and Pat Kane are the face and future of the Chicago Black Hawk's. That being said I don't think the Hawks make the playoff this season, the west is too loaded, but the future looks bright.

Tale of the Tape for the Young Rookies

Pat Kane 8gp 1g - 8a for 9 points leads the team.
Jon Toews 6gp 2g -4a for 6 points fourth on the team.

Bochenski not cracking the line up in Boston

As a Bruins fan I can not understand why recycled coach Claude Julian isn't playing Former Sioux Brandon Bochenski. Boston Bruins Blogger Gerry Bourdeau weighs in on the matter as well.

As a side note, I am upset that Dennis Wideman and Brandon Bochenski were not in the line-up. I understand there isn’t room for everyone on the roster but I would’ve sat Allen and Kobasew in favour of Bochenski and Wideman. We’re talking potential and offense here. I’m sure coach Julien has his reasons for his decisions and I am anxious to see what the next game’s line-up will look like.

I have to say that I am anxious as well to see if Brandon Bochenski cracks the line up soon or what if anything are the Bruins going to do with the young Bochenski, Brandon is due to make 600,000.00 and that is a lot of cash to be sitting in the press box. The Bruins have played 5 games and he has been a healthy scratch in each game. This is Bochenski's third NHL team and it appears that he has already worn out his welcome in Boston.

The Media Experts Predictions on Bochenski and Kessel

I found this on Hockey Buzz a few weeks back and apparently the Ultimate Pool Guide making some predictions about former Fighting Sioux forward Brandon Bochenski might have a off year.



The Hockey News Ultimate Pool Guide 2007-08:

The increase in points for Phil Kessel is the second highest increase projected by the magazine (the first being Scott Gomez). The magazine lists Brandon Bochenski as a candidate to crash and burn this year (the piece is warning poolies about this).

Player projections: (for Kessel and Bochenski)
Kessel, 54 pts, 20 goals (+ 25 pts from last year)
Bochenski, 40 pts, 18 goals (+16 pts from last year)

I think that Bochenski is going to turn some heads with his play for the Bruins this season. I believe All It's going to take is Brandon getting a decent amount of playing time on a line with talented line mates. Last year on the right line Bochenski proved that he could score timely goals.

Classic Commodore fights

This afternoon I was on line and I came across a bunch of Mike Commodore fights that are posted on You Tube. This first video is a pretty good fight between Brendan Witt and Commie. As I think to the days of Mike Commodore I will never forget the fight that Commie had with Alex Brooks, now that was a pretty one sided fight. Commie ended up re-arranging Brooks nose.

Commodore and Eager

Commie works Hollweg

I can't stand Janssen

Thorburn vs Commodore (great fight)

Commie Smokes Cheecho train

Commie can score too

Rick Jeanerette describes Commie's goal against Buffalo

Commie smacks Ovechkin

Former Fighting Sioux player Andy Schneider invited to Ducks Rookie camp

I found this on line and haven't seen a lot written about it. Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Andy Schneider used to be part of the Pittsburgh but was hurt last season didn't play and is now looking for a team to call home. Goon's world wishes Andy good luck and hopefully he can be the next Fighting Sioux hockey player to make the NHL.

Link to the Roster

The Ducks will host Rookie Games versus the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. at Anaheim ICE. The two-game weekend set at the Ducks practice facility will highlight top prospects from both National Hockey League (NHL) clubs.

Featured players on Anaheim’s roster include 2007 NHL Entry Draft first-round selection Logan MacMillan (19th overall), 2005 NHL Entry Draft first-round selection Bobby Ryan (second overall), as well as Drew Miller and Ryan Carter, who both appeared with the Ducks in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. A 17-year-old (7/5/89) center from Charlottetown, PEI, MacMillan appeared in appeared in 68 games with Halifax (QMJHL), collecting 20-35=55 points. Ryan recorded 43-59=102 points with Owen Sound (OHL), finishing eighth overall in OHL scoring. After making their professional hockey debuts with Portland (AHL) this season, both Miller and Carter joined Anaheim for the postseason, making their NHL debuts during the club’s Stanley Cup championship run

Updated UFA list.

The List of Fighting Sioux UFA's

Matt Jones Phoenix Coyotes
Jason Blake NY Islanders Signed with Toronto
Matt Greene Resigned with the Edmonton Oilers
Zach Parise New Jersey Devils
David Hale Resigned with the Calgary Flames
Brandon Bochenski Resigned with the Boston Bruins