Linkorama: a couple of things

Former team president Bruins Harry Sinden had a few interesting things to say the other day and apparently Harry doesn't see to be a big fan of Marc Savard. Kind of funny since Savard is the top star on the Bruins. Maybe Sinden should concentrate on retirement.

Marc Savard

Marc Savard, who scored the overtime goal in Game 3: "I'm not a fan of his. He's one of these guys who has batting average but no runs batted in. You know what I mean? He gets a lot of points. He's a good player, I'm just not a fan."

Former Gopher and second year player Phil Kessel was a healthy scratch for game three and four and could be in the stands for game five when the Habs and Bruins play tonight.

*Julien also said there has been no determination on whether Phil Kessel will re-enter the lineup. Kessel was one of 15 Bruins to practice this morning.

*Julien also said there has been no determination on whether Phil Kessel will re-enter the lineup. Kessel was one of 15 Bruins to practice this morning.

* Kessel is the other wild card. If you put him in, who do you take out? Glen Murray is struggling, but he is willing to stand in front of the net on the power play, meaning the Canadiens must respect his presence. Julien could put Kessel on the second line and drop P.J. Axelsson down, which would give you a greater offensive threat, but hurt you defensively. The third line has arguably been the best unit, so you don't touch that. Julien could swap out Jeremy Reich for Kessel for better offensive touch, but then he'd be down a penalty-killer. I say Kessel remains out and lineup stays as the following:

Former Sioux Brandon Bochenski with his third team on the season and there seems to be a reoccurring theme; Bochenski was a healthy scratch with the Predators for games 3 and game 4

Bruins make the playoffs on Phil Kessel's goal.

Former Gophers star Phil Kessel scored a big goal that helped the Boston Bruins clinch their first Stanley Cup playoff berth since 2004. The Boston Bruins were predicted by many of the so called hockey experts to finish as low as 15th in the eastern conference.

OTTAWA (AP) — The Boston Bruins took the front door into the Stanley Cup playoffs while the Ottawa Senators backed their way in as both teams clinched postseason berths, with a little outside help and plenty of scoreboard watching.

Tim Thomas came within 8:14 of recording his third straight shutout against Ottawa and Zdeno Chara scored against his former team, leading Boston to a 2-1 win over the Senators on Friday night.

Phil Kessel also scored for the Bruins, who also drew even with Ottawa for sixth overall in the Eastern Conference with 94 points.


"We knew what was at stake and we approached it that way," Chara said. "We just played every shift very, very hard and it was a great team effort."

The Senators completed their regular-season schedule, clinching a playoff spot midway through the third period — despite trailing 2-0 against the Bruins — when Florida beat Carolina 4-3.

"There was just kind of chatter on the bench and we could hear a few guys talking about it," Ottawa center Jason Spezza said.

The result out of Raleigh was also good news on the Bruins bench.

"Halfway through the third we found out that we were in if we won the game or at least got a point," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "It was good to know and obviously gave us a bit of breathing room and helped us finish the game on a strong note."

The sold-out Scotiabank Place crowd was advised that the Senators had clinched their playoff spot during a stoppage in play with 1:35 remaining, drawing a huge cheer.

"We didn't want to be sitting in front of the T.V. (Saturday) and Sunday," Spezza said. (read the rest of the story)

Adam Burish vs David Backes...

Apparently the David Backes and Adam Burrish fight is a result of this fight that happened on 3/23/2008. You have got love the Mavericks and the Badgers getting it on.

Silly season continues: Michael-Lee Teslak gone at MTU

MeanEgirl wasn't lying when she said that Teslak was as good as gone at MTU over on Siouxsports.com. Today we find out that Michael-Lee Teslak will forgo his senior season with Michigan Tech to sign a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyer's.

This is bad for the MTU Huskies and in a way it is bad for the WCHA because they will lose another top player. Not bad for the Sioux because they won't have to face him anymore. Goon's world wishes Michael-Lee Teslak the very best at the next level. It is not unfathomable to think that Teslak should get a chance to play in Philly because they have gotten some really poor goaltending as of late. I should know because I had Biron as my goaltender in fantasy hockey.

It also appears that the story on College Hockey News about Teslak's facebook entry had some truth to it as well...

While we are talking about early departures

Here is an interesting story that I found on line. I think the NCAA has to be careful because if they push this too far with the NHL they risk pushing away some of the top recruits that would have gone the college route.

NCAA to look at Hockey Departures

In today’s Portland Press Herald, Jenn Menendez writes about the recent departures in college hockey. It begin with the uproar over Kyle Okposo leaving the University of Minnesota for the New York Islanders in December. I find it ironic that this was released on Ojposo’s debut. The NCAA wants to build a partnership with the NHL so departures like this don’t happen again. The NCAA is going after the wrong organization. Excluding underclassman that leave after their NCAA season is over, Okposo is the only player in recent memory to leave for the NHL mid season. The up roar of the signing went through the roof in Minnesota. The signing had one sports talk host in Minneapolis (Puffy)to call in sick and in tears. I found this so funny. First I had no sympathy for the Golden Gophers for losing Okposo. This loss won’t affect Minnesota in the long run. I don’t agree with Okposo’s decision but Minnesota has other talent. They are a five star program and hasn’t lost there recruits. Sure there season was a middle of the road but are still in the playoffs.

Who should the NCAA make a partnership with? The Canadian Hockey League. There are more mid season departures to the CHL then the NHL/AHL. The CHL lures college talent to cross the border for more playing time. Like I said above I don’t have sympathy for the five star programs because they are all set for the next three years with top notch recruits. I do have sympathy for the mid major teams. Bowling Green had a five star goalie recruit in Josh Unice. In August before school starts he signs with the Memorial Cup hosts, the Kitchener Rangers. Where’ was the uproar there? The Rangers new all the long they wanted Steve Mason who was with the London Knights at the beginning of the year. They finally got him in a trade in January. Unice is now the back up. They stole Unice from Bowling Green. The only only player that I know of that departed for major juniors this season was Ryan Hayes who signed with the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. He started the year with Boston College. Last season there were a few more.
-------snip-------
If the NCAA wants to have an agreement with the NHL to have kids stay longer, you can kiss all the top players good bye. The agreement wouldn’t work because current players will jump to the CHL. Some NHL teams will tell their draft picks to go that route to. It will hurt development of the US development system. The National Team Development Program could suffer where players would jump to the CHL at 16 instead of waiting a year or two if they haven’t decided if they would play college hockey or junior hockey. The United States Hockey League would lose their top players and maybe join the Canadian Hockey League to retain their top players. If that happens the North American Hockey League would be stronger though because the players who haven’t gotten drafted in the NHL would play there until they head to college. The NCAA and the NHL shouldn’t have an NBA rule and force kids to stay in college against their will. Because it will destroy hockey development in the United States.

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.

Two seconds in...

Two seconds into the game Former Badger's forward Adam Burish takes on Canucks tough guy Byron Ritchie. That was a great fight and an exciting way to open a game. Check out Burish's other fight this week. I would have to admit that I like the way Burish plays the game.

Former SCSU Husky Tim Conboy drops the mits.

Former SCSU Husky Tim Conboy gets in a fight with Colorado Av's tough guy Scott Parker in his first NHL game.

Former Maverick David Backes and Ladislav Smid go toe to toe.

Apparently David Backes doesn't just get into fights Keith Ballard, here is Former MSU-M Star David Backes fighting Ladislav Smid during the Oilers and Blues game on Jan 2, 2008. In my opinion the decision goes to David Backes, but I am biased because I am a WCHA guy.

Kessel score 10th goal of the season: Sophmore slump?

This year there has been a lot of discussion about Phil Kessel being a bust and not playing that well. I am not sure what or whos standards we are messuring him by. some have actually suggested that the 20 year old is having a sophmore slump. Today Kessel actually scored his 11th goal of the season equaling last season goal total in 38 games.

Kessel on his way out in Boston

I have been following this story for some time now and it appears that Bruins fans are losing patience with former Gopher Phil Kessel after only 1 1/2 seasons. Oh the irony. I have read where there the fans say that Phil is having a sophomore slump. I believe this observation is silly since I believe that Phil has made some improvement over last season, he will finish with more points as well.

It is pretty much the same complaints we have all heard in the past; Phil is selfish with the puck, Phil runs into team mates in the offensive zone. I have also heard more complaints along the lines of Phil's doesn't work that hard and that he's lazy. Some of these complaints may or may not be true but I have a hard time believing that Boston would just trade away their first round draft choice.

This is not the half of it, it seems that Kessel could be on his way out in Boston because his team the Bruins is suffering through a scoring outage and a tough patch were they have lost a lot of man games to injury. This was a interesting article that I found while reading a Boston Bruins fan message board.

Ultimately, it may come down to kids, and how willing the Bruins are to give up future promise for present production. There will be bidders for Phil Kessel, who was benched after two periods Sunday, his game noticeably lacking edge and dimension in this, his second NHL season. Goalie prospect Tuukka Rask and improving blue liner Mark Stuart also will bring bids, but they likely would be more difficult to sacrifice than Kessel, whose speed, though alluring, in some ways is holding him back from discovering what else he can do out there. Julien, like Dave Lewis last season, is beginning to realize it.

Kessel was the No. 5 pick in the 2006 draft. Five years earlier, Stanislav Chistov was taken fifth overall by the Anaheim Ducks, who dealt him last year to the Bruins. He wasn't totally useless, but he wasn't much more. Today, Chistov is back in Russia, another once-prime prospect gone bust. Kessel has more to offer, because of his speed and a knack around the net during shootouts. But he must show the coaching staff that he's willing to be smarter and work harder, especially in the dirtier areas of the ice.

Former Gopher Keith Ballard fights Colby Armstrong

Seems that the former Lake of the Woods Bear and former Golden Gopher Keith Ballard has a nose for trouble, or he seems to be around where the action is happening. Ballard has also gotten in a quite few high energy fights the last couple of seasons, in fact there is a whole bunch of them on You Tube. I have to admit that I like his style of play. While he can be an agitator he isn't afraid to drop the gloves and fight. While Ballard is not a very big player, he is tough.

I also found this Keith Ballard Montageon You Tube.

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.

Canucks Re-Assign Mason Raymond

I saw this article over on Waiting for Stanley It looks as if Mason Raymond will be playing a few games with the Manitoba Moose. Sounds as if Raymond has made an impression on Vancover fans.

Former Bull Dog Mason Raymond sent down.

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks Senior Vice President and General Manager Dave Nonis announced today that left wing Mason Raymond has been re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.

Raymond, 22, has played in nine games for the Canucks in 2007-08, recording his first NHL point (0-1-1) on October 5, 2007 versus San Jose. He has played in one game for the Moose and recorded two assists.

The Calgary, Alberta native spent the 2006-07 season with the University of Minnesota-Duluth and the Manitoba Moose. He registered 46 points (14-32-46) in 39 games with Minnesota and four points (2-2-4) in 11 games with Manitoba. In the post-season, Raymond recorded one assist in 13 AHL playoff games.

The 6’0”, 182-pound forward was originally drafted by the Canucks in the 2005 Entry Draft, 51st overall.

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

The Chickens finally come home to roost

For Sioux fans this day took a long time in coming.
This has been covered a bit on the college Hockey Blog sphere and when I first saw it, the incident kind of sounded like an urban legend, it was almost like it was too good to be true. Sioux fans and other hockey fans are already asking; where do we get the You Tube Video of this incident? We want proof for closure. As a rabid Sioux fan, of course I was hoping it was true because I felt it was a long time in coming. Now finally this incident can be put to bed as justice has finally been served.

It took a couple of seasons but Matt Greene finally got a shot at Oilers prospect Geoff Paukovich and made the most of it.

Here's the deal, back in 2004-05 in the WCHA Final Five, Paukovich playing for the Denver Pioneers crushed Greene's teammate Robbie Bina of North Dakota with an ugly hit that broke Bina's neck. (Bina has since returned to play). Greene, the Fighting Sioux's captain, exchanged words with Paukovich telling him their would be a day of reckoning at a later date. (Note:this would be the politically correct translation of what was said!).

As you all know you can't fight in College hockey but you can in a conditioning camp.
Paukovich now an Oilers prospect showed up at Clare Drake Arena the other day for the U. of A. Conditioning Camp, and Greene of course is an Oilers regular. Greene was late for a session, and the two were slated to be on the same team, when he saw Paukovich in a drill. Greene immediately skated over to Paukovich and told him the day of reckoning had arrived and proceeded to according to onlookers..make short work of Paukovich. The one-sided tilt lasted 15-20 seconds. The two shook hands after the fight. Classic!

Bob Stauffer
Team 1260

For college hockey fans that aren't very familiar with the incident in question this link kind of put the whole incident in perspective from more of a journalistic point of view.

This article put it all in perspective as well...

The incident
The moment came early in the second period with Denver controlling the puck while the referee had his arm in the air ready to blow the play dead as soon as North Dakota touched the puck. It’s a scene played out in rinks around the globe often, but on this afternoon in the heat of the battle, something went wrong.
As the puck came free along the boards, sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina reached to touch it thus triggering the whistle and stopping the play. But when the 5’8 180 lb Bina played the puck, he was simultaneously hit from behind by Paukovich, crashing heavily into the boards.

“It was a delayed penalty touch up and Bina got hit from behind, that’s it,” Greene bluntly stated, clearly still bothered by the memory. “He was two feet off the boards and got hit from behind and it was a delayed penalty call, so as soon as Robbie touches the puck, which he did, the whistle blows and that’s it. I don’t want to point fingers or anything, but from where I was sitting, it didn’t look like it needed to happen.”

Bina lay motionless for a period of time before being carried off the ice, the extent of his injuries not immediately known. Oiler VP of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast, who was in attendance that night, wasn’t aware of the severity of the injury until it came up in casual conversation with Hockey’s Future a day or two later back in Edmonton.

“The way he went into the boards, his stick slammed so loudly that I thought it sounded worse than it was,” said Prendergast. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

The result to Bina was a broken neck and possibly the end of his playing career. On the other hand, for the momentary lapse of judgment, Paukovich was given a one-game suspension by the NCAA and another from his coach. However, it should be pointed out that at the time of the incident, the only penalty given to the Denver forward was a two-minute minor for boarding. Whether it was the blown call by the ref, the hit itself or something else, North Dakota’s captain reacted immediately.

“It’s tough, you know, you’ve got your buddy lying on the ice and you can’t do anything about it,” Greene said with frustration in his voice. “If I would have done anything about it I would have had three minutes more in penalties than Paukovich had for breaking the kid’s neck plus a game misconduct and it was at a time when we were dealing with single elimination games for the rest of the year.”

“It was tough to swallow, Robbie’s one of my best friends on the team but regardless of being a teammate or not, you never want to get too personal with things. But when you see a guy every day in classes and then you see him take a hit like that, it kind of messes with your mind,” he added. “I was frustrated, but there wasn’t much you could do about it in that game.”

Paukovich, who was genuinely and deeply regretful for his actions, says his memory of the incident is still largely a blur but clearly recalls Greene’s reaction.

“I was kind of in a daze but… he was pissed” the rookie described. “He and I had some words and that kind of set the stage for the National Championship game. He wasn’t a very big fan of mine after that, that’s for sure.”

Bina missed the rest of the tournament schedule, but was in attendance providing emotional support for his team all the way to the NCAA finals held in Columbus. The prognosis for the diminutive forward is still unclear and at last contact Bina was still wearing both a neck brace and a never fading smile, a trait Greene admires immensely.

“His personality through the whole thing has been unbelievable, a guy that had every reason to be down with just the fact that we were playing in the National Championship game and he was in the stands wearing a neck brace where he would have been playing,” praised Greene. “He never lost the smile off his face, he always came around happy and was always cracking jokes and even now when I go for lunch with him, he’s a great guy.”

Paukovich struggled emotionally after the hit and although he played his way through to the end of the year, some say he was clearly not the same player on the ice.

“That really bothered Geoff in a big way, it’s going to take him some time to recover emotionally,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said during an Edmonton radio interview on the TEAM 1260 in April. “He was able to play for us in the Frozen Four and played pretty well but you could tell he was being very careful.”

“It wasn’t a deliberate thing, he’s a very physical player but he’s not a dirty player,” defended Prendergast. “The incident was unfortunate but he didn’t mean to injure him. We talked to him after the game and you could see it in his eyes that it had rattled him, when you see a kid taken off the ice on a stretcher it affects you.”

The Goon's perspective on the incident

This is what I wrote on Siouxsports.com

The Hit on Robbie Bina was right across the ice from my seat in the club level, I saw the whole incident as it unfolded, and it was by far one of the dirtiest plays that I have ever seen in all of my days of watching college hockey. I have witnessed a few incidents like this in the NHL but not in the college game. The fact the Don Adam only called a two minute penalty should have been the end of that refs career as an on the ice official. Also if you watched the film of the hit you will see Pauko smirking in the box.

The fact that it took so long for a wrong to be righted is puzzling to me, Paukovich should have been challenged the minute he stepped out of the penalty box at the Final Five. I look at Paukovich as being just as bad as Todd Bertuzzi, Ulfie Sammuelson or a Claude Lemieux. They are disgusting players and all will get or got what was coming to them. Live by the sword and die by the sword.

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