UND finds tough sledding against Tech

“It was a hard fought playoff game and we came up one goal short,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. Well two if you believe the video replay that was shown on television monitors the Ralph Engelstad Arena press box.

We only got one look at “shot” in question and then it was gone from the screen, for some reason we didn’t get a second look at the no-goal in question.

USCHO Blogger Timothy Boger has a gif on his blog that proves otherwise, I guess that is up to you to decide.

We can discuss whether or not Michigan Tech (13-19-4) scored a goal on their first power play of the night, the fact remains that the officiating was equally poor all weekend long for both teams and wasn’t a factor in the game.

Both teams will have to play through it tomorrow night, obviously, and one teams is going to advance to the Final Five next week.

The crowd was barely seated when the Tech Huskies were able to dent the twine first at the 00:20 mark of the second period, with a goal from Tanner Kero.

UND came into the game with a 9-4-5 record when the opposition scores first, you can make that 9-5-5 with the 2-1 loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies.

This was UND’s first loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies since January 28, 2008, when UND lost 2-1 to Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational.

The game was a carbon copy of the Bemidji State series from a couple of weeks ago. The Huskies collapsed around their net and played a defensive style brand of hockey and made it tough for UND (20-11-7) to generate any offense whatsoever.

Finally, senior forward Danny Kristo was able to break through and got the equalizer at the 14:57 mark on a nice shot. “It was just a good play,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “He came up with the puck; he got a quick shot to the net. I don’t know where it went in, it found a hole. We didn’t find a lot of holes on him [Phoenix Copley] tonight.”

As always, the electrifying, but recently snake bitten Rocco Grimaldi, had a breakaway and a glorious opportunity to take a lead in the game, but was hooked at the last second by a Tech defender, causing him to miss a glorious opportunity.

Michigan Tech Huskies turned a UND turnover into the game winning goal at the 17:58 mark of the third period when C.J. Eick scored the game winning goal sending the fans to the exits and spoiling the UND fans plans for Sunday evening.

Tonight’s game was summed up best by this frank statement. “Its playoff hockey and if you don’t bring your best you won’t like the outcome, senior defenseman Andrew MacWilliam said. We kind of lulled there in the second period and it came back to bite us. We have to regroup and be ready to play tomorrow.”

“It was a hard fought game,” senior defenseman Joe Gleason said. “We kind of shot ourselves in the foot in the second period; we didn’t have a very good period. We had a great response in the third period. Definitely our best period of the night, if we can play like that for 60 minutes tomorrow it should be a good outcome for us tomorrow night.”

Nonetheless, UND ended up losing a heart breaker to pesky Michigan Tech Huskies and pushed the series to a game three. The same two teams will face-off tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. central, at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Slugs out win against Tech (thehockeywriters.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

What a start to the second half of the season, not a single spilt to be had; the closest series to a split was BSU-WMU, with a win/tie result.  We also have a new leader atop the WCHA; UNO grabbed the top spot from SCSU, so UNO in now numero uno J

Almost every team has played half (14-games) the league schedule, except UM and UND which have played 12 games.

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. Nebraska-Omaha………9-4-1……........19
2. St. Cloud St………….…9-5-0………….18
3. North Dakota.………..…7-2-3…..……...17
3. Denver…………..……..7-4-3………......17
5. Minnesota State……….8-6-0.…...…….16
6. Minnesota………………6-3-3………….15
7. Minnesota-Duluth….…..5-6-3………….13
7. Wisconsin…....…………4-5-5……….....13
9. Bemidji State……..…….4-7-3..……......11
9. Colorado College ……..5-8-1..….…….11
11. Michigan Tech………..3-8-3……….….9
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....1-8-3…...….….5

WCHA Games

Nebraska-Omaha @ Denver

Last weekend the Mavericks swept the CC Tigers (8-4, 3-1) in Omaha and the Pioneers swept the Big Red of Cornell (5-1, 2-1) in Denver.

The Pioneers are just two points behind the Mavericks in the standings. It would appear that DU has righted their ship after a dismal eight game winless streak, they are now on a three game winning stretch.  Looking at the second half schedule UNO has the third easiest in the league, while DU has the third toughest.  DU would like to sweep this series to vault them into first and have some room for error.  After this weekend DU plays five of the next six on the road.  If DU plays stingy, like the past three games, only giving up two goals, they can sent the Mavericks packing with no points.  PIONEERS SWEEP

Wisconsin @ Minnesota State

Last weekend the Badgers swept the Seawolves (5-3, 1-0) in Anchorage and the Mavericks swept the Friars of Providence (4-3ot, 4-0) in Mankato.

The Badgers are winners of four in a row and unbeaten in their last eight games, 5-0-3.  They beat/tied DU, tied MTU twice, and swept UAH and UAA.  I hate to say it, but other than the DU games, they haven’t exactly beat top teams.  The Badgers did however put some goals up in their last four games, so they have to have some scoring optimism/confidence now.  The Mavericks are winners of four in a row, have won 11 of their last 12, going 11-0-1.  That includes the sweep of UW back at Thanksgiving, which started this run.  I like MSUM’s chances go taking all four games from UW this season.  MAVERICKS SWEEP

Michigan Tech @ Minnesota-Duluth

Last weekend the Huskies were on a hockey free New Year’s weekend as were the Bulldogs.  The Bulldogs last action was a pair of losses, to Maine and Ferris State at the Florida College Classic, the end of December.  The Huskies last games were wins over Michigan and Western Michigan to win the Great Lakes Invitational, also at the end of December.

The Huskies are 2-4-2 away from Houghton this season, and the Bulldogs are 3-4-1 at home in the Amsoil Arena.  The Bulldogs could get their heads above water this weekend with a sweep and keep in the hunt for home ice in March.  The Huskies have the fourth easiest schedule in the second half, so they still have a chance for home ice as well.  But they need to make their move and fast, to keep that hope alive.  SPLIT

Alaska-Anchorage @ Minnesota

Last weekend the Seawolves were swept (5-3, 1-0) by the Badgers in Anchorage and the Gophers beat Notre Dame (4-1) on a rare Tuesday evening game in Minneapolis.

The Seawolves have yet to win a game (0-4-2 away) at an opponent’s home rink (they are 1-1-0 at neutral sites this season).  UAA is currently on a six game losing stretch, and have only won once in Nov/Dec/Jan.  The Gophers are 9-1-1 at home this season.  This weekend could be a trap weekend for the Gophers if they are reliving their recent wins and looking ahead to next week against UND.  But the UofM has a couple of advantages, one UAA will most likely be rusty, since they haven’t played in about a month and two, they have more talent up and down their bench than UAA has.  GOPHERS SWEEP

Colorado College @ North Dakota

Last weekend the Tigers were swept (8-4, 3-1) by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha and NoDak swept Holy Cross (5-2, 3-2) in Grand Forks.

These teams meet Nov-30 and Dec-1 in Colorado Springs with each team getting a win, CC that Friday 5-3 and UND on Saturday 3-2 in overtime.  UND is 6-1-3 at home in the Engelstad Arena this year and the Tigers are 3-7-0 away from Colorado Springs.  NoDak is on a seven game unbeaten streak, winning their last five games.  The Tigers are on a seven game winless streak, losing six and tying once.  CC’s last win was against UND, and what was their only win in their last 12 games.  It appears as if the Tigers season is slipping away from them, which is surprising, given all the offensive talent they have.  You almost have to believe that CC will throw everything they got, including the kitchen sink, at UND this weekend, being backed into a corner.  UND got back a couple of players over the break, and with the break and some fresh legs, look to UND to be too deep for CC to keep up.  NODAK SWEEP

BYE WEEK

Bemidji St.
St. Could St. 

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings: 01/01/2013 (insidehockey.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Here we are the start of a new year, 2013, and the start of the second half of the WCHA season.  I hope everyone enjoyed Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa and the New Year Holiday, I know I did J

WCHA STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

1. St. Cloud St………….…9-5-0………….18
2. North Dakota.………..…7-2-3…..……...17
2. Denver…………..………7-4-3………....17
4. Minnesota State……….8-6-0.…...…….16
5. Minnesota………………6-3-3………….15
5. Nebraska-Omaha………7-4-1……........15
7. Minnesota-Duluth….…..5-6-3…………..13
8. Colorado College ……..5-6-1..….……..11
8. Bemidji State……..…….4-7-3..…….......11
10. Wisconsin…....…………2-5-5………......9
10. Michigan Tech………….3-8-3……….….9
12. Alaska-Anchorage…......1-8-3…...….…..5

WCHA

Wisconsin @ Alaska-Anchorage

Last weekend both the Badgers and Seawolves were off for the holidays.

After this series these teams will be halfway through the league schedule and will be in the lower half still.  The funny thing is this is the first of two series these teams play against each other this month.  They meet again in Madison the 25^th and 26^th of January too.  The Badgers with a sweep could almost even their record, almost. The Seawolves need some wins and momentum if they want to climb their way up the ladder.  This series will likely be the last time the Badgers visit Anchorage in a long time, given the upcoming conference changes.  I’m going with the upset special to start the year.  SEAWOLVES SWEEP

Colorado College @ #16 Nebraska-Omaha

Last weekend, the Tigers were off and the Mavericks were swept by the Quinnipiac Bobcats.

The Tigers appear to be on a vegetarian diet as of late, they haven’t feed the win column in the last 5 games.  CC has only one win in its last ten games.  The Mavericks have also fallen on hard times with only one win in their last five games.  The Tigers are a respectable 3-5-0 on the road and the Mavericks are 6-3-1 in Omaha this year.  I’m taking the easy prediction here.  SPLIT

Non Conference Games

#10 Western Michigan @ Bemidji St.

Last weekend, the Broncos tied Michigan St. (1-1) and lost to MTU (4-0) at the Great Lakes Invitational tournament.  The Beavers lost to UMass (4-3) and New Hampshire (3-2 ot) in the Ledyard Bank Classic.

The Broncos are 3-3-1 away from Kalamazoo this year and the Beavers are 3-3-2 at home in Bemidji this year.  The Beavers have been play well the last month and I don’t see them getting swept at home to start 2013.  SPLIT

#12 Cornell @ #11 Denver
The Pioneers defeated Boston U (6-0) over the holiday weekend, to end an eight game winless streak.  The Big Red beat Ferris State (5-3) and lost to Maine (6-4) in the Florida College Classic last weekend.

Cornell has played only three away games this season and are 1-2-0 in those contests.  The Pioneers are 7-4-1 at home in Magnus Arena this season.  It’s hard to say if DU is off their slide after their win.  And if the pollsters are accurate, this should be a very even series with eleven versus twelve.  SPLIT

Providence @ #14 Minnesota State

The Friars were off over the holidays and the Mavericks beat Brown (3-1) and Connecticut (3-1) in the UConn Hockey Classic.

The Mavericks are still red purple hot, only losing once in their last nine games, going 8-1-0 over that span.  The Friars are on a three game winless skid going 0-1-2, and are currently sitting in fourth place in Hockey East.  I have to go with the hot hand in this series.  MAVERICKS SWEEP

Northern Michigan @ #15 St. Could St.

The Wildcats were off over the holidays and the Huskies split a series with RPI (4-3L, 2-1W) in St. Cloud.

The Wildcats have one win (over MTU) in their last six games, and the Huskies have won three of their last four games.  SCSU will be looking to build some momentum this weekend before mushing into the WCHA schedule the rest of the year.  HUSKIES SWEEP

#20 Holy Cross @ #7 North Dakota

Last weekend, the Crusaders beat Yale 5-4 and NoDak enjoying the Christmas and New Years weekends off.

The last time the Crusaders were in Grand Forks was March 24-25, 2006, for the NCAA west regional.  I’m sure many of you remember those games. HC beat the Gophers 4-3 in overtime, in the opening game, which many called the greatest upset in NCAA history of hockey.  UND beat Michigan in their first round game, and then beat HC in the regional final 5-2.  This time around I don’t think Holy Cross will leave Grand Forks with a win.  NODAK SWEEP

#3 Notre Dame @ #1 Minnesota (Tuesday)

The Irish have been off since mid-December and the Gophers beat Air Force (4-0) and Boston College (8-1) in the Mariucci Classic last weekend.

The Irish are on a 6 game winning streak (their last loss was to UND on 11-23-12) and the Gophers are on a 5 game unbeaten streak.  I’m going to say rust is going to be on the Irish and the Gophers will jump to an early lead and hold on to win.

BYE WEEK

Minnesota-Duluth
Michigan Tech

Edit: WJC and NCAA Hockey television schedule

You have options, when it comes to watchable hockey. As I have mentioned in a couple of posts in the past, there has been a huge void left by the NHL Lockout and hockey fans have been looking for other options to fill that void left by the NHL Lockout. As the lockout motors towards day 100, College hockey has taken center stage for hockey fans in the USA.

This fall, I have been keeping a national television schedule of NCAA Hockey games. With the U20 World Junior Championship going on in Ufa, Russia starting on the 26^th of December, 2012 there will be more hockey viewing options for the holiday season. Here is the updated hockey schedule.

All times are central standard time. *DTV = DirecTV. *Dish = Dish TV.

s/t to one of the readers for bringing up a correction, it was an over sight on my part. The Great Lakes Invitational is the 29-30th of December, 2012.

Originally, the 2012 Great Lakes Invitational was scheduled to take place at Comerica Park in Detroit, MI on December 27-28. The NHL Lockout and the subsequent cancellation of the 2013 NHL Winter Classic meant the GLI would not be played at Comerica Park, therefore the GLI was moved back into Joe Louis Arena where the tourney played on a yearly basis. So the even was also rescheduled.

Thur.	Dec. 27		WJC USA vs. German	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Fri.	Dec. 28		WJC Slovakia vs. Canada	NHL Net	3:30 a.m.	215/157
Fri.	Dec. 28		WJC USA vs. Russia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 29		WJC Russia vs. Germany	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 29		Air Force at Minnesota	FS North+	7:05 p.m.	657/444
Sat.	Dec. 29		Boston University at Denver	ROOT Sports	8:00 p.m.	683 / 414
Sun.	Dec.30		WJC USA vs. Canada	NHL Net	3:30 a.m.	215/157
Sun.	Dec. 30		WJC Germany vs. Slovakia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157
Sat.	Dec. 30		Michigan State vs. WMichigan	FS Detroit	2:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sat.	Dec. 30		Michigan vs. Michigan Tech	FS Detroit	6:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Dec. 30		Boston College at Minnesota	FS North+	7:05 p.m.	657/444
Sun.	Dec. 30		GLI Third-Place Game	FS Detroit	2:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Sun.	Dec. 30		GLI Championship Game	FS Detroit	6:30 p.m.	663 / 430
Mon.	Dec. 31		WJC USA vs. Slovakia	NHL Net	4:00 a.m.	215/157
Mon.	Dec. 31		WJC Canada vs. Russia	NHL Net	8:00 a.m.	215/157

Originally Posted at the Hockey Writers Combine

Related articles

• WJC and NCAA Hockey television schedule (thehockeywriters.com)

It's official – NHL cancels the Winter Festival and the Winter Classic

National Hockey League Players' Association (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This just got real…

Katie Strang and Craig Custance, ESPN.com --- The NHL also canceled all of the Winter Festival events scheduled for Dec. 16-31 at Comerica Park in Detroit.

The league was tasked with a unique challenge this year in building two rinks -- one at "The Big House" and one at Comerica Park -- and has a contract with the former that requires the NHL to pay for any expenses occurred by the university if the event was canceled later than Nov. 2. The NHL also owed $250,000 of the $3 million rental fee on Nov. 2.

This is not believed to be the biggest deal-breaker, however.

The league did not want to host such an event without the usual bells and whistles -- HBO's "24/7"show documenting the event would've been virtually impossible to pull off -- and it did not want the pageantry of the event tainted by the work stoppage.

"That's one of those things that you were really looking forward to this year," said Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall. "Everyone here, not only the players but the fans. Everyone would be bummed out."

Can you imagine being one of the college hockey teams that was going to play outdoors in the winter classic for the Great Lakes Invitational? Actually, it would be a major downer to be one of those teams (Western Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech) that was set to play in Comercia Park on December 28-29, 2012. Now since the NHLPA and the NHL Owners can’t settle their differences this will be all for not. Of course, they moved the tourney indoors but it won’t be the same.