Grand Forks Herald: UND to pay some student athletes cost of attendance and some living expenses

For now, UND hockey (and 18 female athletes from a sport to be determined) will be the only UND sport that is going to give grant-in-aid to their student athletes. The NCHC schools are going to be giving  out money and UND is following suit.

Anna Burleson , Grand Forks Herald -- Athletic Director Brian Faison said concrete numbers will be available "soon," but the school is working to figure out how much it will cost to pay students with what they're calling "full amended grant-in-aid."

This will include tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, books, and personal expenses like transportation and it’s a trend Faison thinks all National Collegiate Hockey Conference schools will follow.

"We know we'll have it for the fall, we just don't exactly know what the dollar amounts are going to be yet,” he said.

UND and the Big Sky schools aren't going to give grant-in-aid to their other sports team, not yet at least. If the Big Sky decided to follow suit, that would require some series fun raising for UND and the member schools.

For now, Faison said the school has no intention to provide amended grant-in-aid to other sports because it isn’t necessary to be competitive with other schools.

“At this point nobody in our conference (Big Sky Conference) has indicated an interest in pursuing that at this juncture,” he said. “That doesn't mean they won't and we'll have to monitor that.”

WHKY: North Dakota splits with Syracuse

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- North Dakota came out of winter break in non-convference action against Syracuse University. By the final buzzer on Sunday afternoon UND earned a split on the weekend.

It took the first 20 minutes of Saturdays's game for North Dakota to work out the rust from break. With tired 'Cuse players on the ice, Gracen Hirshy scored the first goal of the game.

During the second period UND was able to hold the Orange to four shots on goal. North Dakota maintained the lead and dictate the majority of play for the remainder of the game.

Former Warroad Warriors teammates Layla Marvin and Kayla Gardner both found the scoresheet. This included a two-goal game for Marvin who potted an empty net goal with under a minute remaining in the game.

North Dakota got off to a strong start on Sunday, but ended the first period with a one-goal deficit when The Orange scored on the power play at the 6:42 mark. There were no shortage of chances in the form of odd-player rushes and open nets, but UND was never able to capitalize.

The lone goal for North Dakota came after they were able to tire Syracuse after a power play in the second. As time dwindled on the clock during the third period the pressure mounted. "Kids started gripping their sticks and it was brutal," head coach Brian Idalski said.

North Dakota will resume WCHA conference play when they meet with the WCHA third-ranked, Ohio State Buckeyes this coming weekend. OSU left the weekend with a sweep over the St. Cloud State Huskies.

WHKY: North Dakota takes advantage of St. Cloud's woes

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- St. Cloud State University's Lexi Slattery scored late in the third ending the longest scoreless streak in program history. It was too late. North Dakota put up five goals before the shutout ended and tacked on another 21 seconds after Slattery's goal.

Gracen Hirschy, who had two goals on the night, started the scoring around six minutes into the first on an even strength goal. "[We] wanted to play with a lead. That's been very important to us; to get a bit of a cushion and have teams have to open up," head coach Brian Idalski said.

During the second Jakobsen ended her own 11-game scoreless streak by scoring a pair of goals before the game ended. "That's someone that we needed to produce and we're looking for to carry us a little bit," Idalski said. "Getting her to shoot the puck and have her playing with confidence is huge for us going forward."

UND finished yesterday with a dominating 6-1 win, holding St. Cloud to three shots on goal during the first and five in the second. UND carried most of the play throughout the entire game keeping the Huskies in defensive territory.

"I think winning gives you confidence and a lot of things are clicking for us. Systems wise and execution wise we're really doing what we need to do," sophomore defense Halli Krzyaniak said.

North Dakota hopes to carry that momentum into today's game while looking for its first home sweep of the season. UND will host the Huskies in the series finale today at 2:00 p.m. at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The Breakdown of the Hockey Rink

2013/14 breakdown of an NHL ice rink: pic.twitter.com/olU6tph8g7
— The Canadian Game (@ItsCanadasGame) June 26, 2014

This one is kind of funny, the break down of the NHL Hockey Rink. I would like to have one for college with the Wehr's Corner.

Updated Vegas Odds for Division I hockey tournament

SBN College Hockey has the updated odds for the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament. Five Dimes is supplying the odds.

UND Women's Hockey's impact on the Sochi Games

Yesterday, I sat down with UND Women's coach yesterday and he has some interesting things to say. Lets just say, the coach is excited for the stretch run when his Olympic players return from Sochi... Also very proud of his current and former players that are participating in the Olympics. This weekend, the UND women play the MSU-M Mavericks in their final home series at the Ralph this season.

Women's Olympic Hockey: Missing You http://t.co/qGQakXKBZS
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) February 13, 2014

UND Women’s Hockey: Making an Impact on the 2014 Sochi Games - http://t.co/0vA1jrDjLq #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/yBqPMQHq5n
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) February 13, 2014

NCHC Hockey: Non-Conference Record Should Cause Some Concern for the NCHC.

The NCHC's non-conference record against the Hockey East 5-9-4 and the ECAC 4-7-3 is not very good. This means that the NCHC isn't going to get many teams in the NCAA tourney. UND has a 4-2-2 non-conference record and has two more non-conference games against BSU to improve that non-conference record. 

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: No Second Thoughts or Regrets (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Is it Time for Neutral Officials for Non-conference Match-ups? (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: There Has to Be a Better Way (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: Breaking Down the Numbers at the Half Way Point (thehockeywriters.com)

USA Hockey: Are we forgetting someone.

Hey @usahockey, you might be forgetting someone for your Olympic team... pic.twitter.com/yygVMmMaUV
— The Hockey Gods (@HockeyGods) January 6, 2014

It would appear that leaving Bobby Ryan off of the Olympic hockey team might be a huge mistake.

Related articles

• Fantasy Hockey: Ranking the USA's Olympic Snubs (thehockeywriters.com)
• Americans Shouldn't Worry About Team USA Omissions (thehockeywriters.com)
• Okposo Gets The Short End of the Olympic Stick (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Hockey: If the season ended today, and it doesn't end today... But....

As I have said before, there's a lot of college hockey season left and when some were panicking, I wasn't. If season ended today and it doesn't,  UND would make the NCAA tourney. With the five-game win streak, the 4-2-2 non-conference things look "okay" for UND. Now, I am not going to make any bracketology blog posts or anything like that, but I am just putting things into perspective.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Scoring from Defense Corps Tops in Conference (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: UND to Host 2015 West Regional at Scheels Arena (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Is it Time for Neutral Officials for Non-conference Match-ups? (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Time to Do Away With the Fly-By Bench Celebrations (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Hockey: There Has to Be a Better Way (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Third Line Making an Impact (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Age is Just a Number (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)

The most wonderful time of the year.......

Team USA: pic.twitter.com/lGkjGgFMHM
— Hockey Locker Rooms (@NHLLockerRooms) December 25, 2013

So it begins... Team USA 2014 WJC defends the gold.

Related articles

• Team USA Olympic Goaltending Options (thehockeywriters.com)
• 2014 WJC: Riley Barber Named Team USA's Captain (unitedstatesofhockey.com)
• 5 Team USA Players to Watch For at World Junior Championships (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Hockey: Will UND get to Host a Regional?

Will the UND Men and Women's hockey team(s) get to host a NCAA regional championship? We will find out today. I will have an update this afternoon when I find out.

Cross your fingers, @UNDsports fans; we will find out at 12:30 today if we'll host a future NCAA Women's Frozen Four and/or men's regional.
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) December 11, 2013

College Hockey on Twitter

Official Team Accounts Official NCAA team accounts feed and list

Hockey East feed and list

Atlantic Hockey feed and list

Big Ten feed and list

Boston University Men's Hockey: @TerrierHockey

Boston University Women's Hockey: @BUwhockey

Merrimack College Men's Hockey: @MC_MHockey

Merrimack College Women's Hockey: @MerrimackWHKY

Harvard Men's Hockey: @Harvard_Hockey

Harvard Women's Hockey: @HarvardWHockey

Alabama Huntsville Hockey: @UAHHockey

North Dakota Men's Hockey:‏ @UNDMHockey

North Dakota Women's Hockey: @UNDWHockey

Nebraska Omaha Men's Hockey: @UNO_Hockey

UMass Lowell Men's Hockey: @RiverHawkHockey

Minnesota Duluth Men's Hockey:‏ @UMDHockey

Miami-Ohio Ice Hockey: @MiamiOH_Hockey

Dartmouth Men's Hockey: @Dartmouth_MIH

Dartmouth Women's Hockey: @dartmouthhockey

Clarkson Women's Hockey: @CUknights

Robert Morris Men's Hockey:‏ @RMUHockey

Robert Morris Women's Hockey: @RMUWHockey

Quinnipiac Women's Hockey: @QU_WomensIceHky

Princeton Women's Hockey: @PWIH

AIC Hockey: @AIC_Hockey

Niagara Hockey: @NiagaraUHockey

Mercyhurst Men's Hockey: @HurstMensHockey

RPI Women's Hockey: @RPIWomensHockey

University of Denver Hockey: @DU_Hockey

UMass Hockey: @UMassHockey

Maine Men's Ice Hockey: @MaineIceHockey

Ohio State Men's Hockey: @OhioState_MHKY

Ohio University Men's Hockey (probably one of the next D1 teams): @BobcatsHockey

Ohio State Women's Hockey: @OhioState_WHKY

Northern Michigan University Hockey: @NMUHockey

Wisconsin Men's Ice Hockey:‏ @BadgerMHockey

Wisconsin Women's Hockey: @BadgerWHockey

Northeastern Men's Hockey:‏ @GoNUmhockey

Northeastern Women's Hockey:@GoNUwhockey

Yale Women's Hockey: @YaleWhockey

Colgate Men's Hockey:‏ @Colgate_Hockey

Colgate Women's Hockey: @gatewhockey

Boston College Ice Hockey: @BCHockeyNews

Union College Men's Hockey: @UnionHockey

Union Women's Hockey: @UnionWHockey

Michigan State Hockey:@MSU_Hockey

RIT Men's Hockey:‏ @RITMHKY

RIT Women's Hockey: @RITWHKY

Providence College Men's Hockey:‏ @FriarsHockey

Providence College Women's Hockey: @PCWHockey

Notre Dame Hockey: @NDHockey

UConn Men's Hockey: @UConnMHOC

UConn Women's Hockey: @UConnWHOC

Bemidji State University Men's Hockey: @BSUMHockey

Vermont Men's Hockey: @UVMmhockey

Vermont Women's Hockey: @UVMwhockey

UNH Men's Hockey: @UNHHockey

UNH Women's Hockey: @UNHWomensHockey

Penn State Men's Ice Hockey: @PennStateMHKY

Penn State Women's Ice Hockey: @PennStateWHKY

Princeton Hockey:‏ @puhockey

Michigan Tech Hockey:‏ @mtuhky

Western Michigan Men's Ice Hockey: @WMUHockey

St. Cloud State Men's Hockey: @SCSUHUSKIES_MH

Holy Cross Ice Hockey:‏ @HCHockey

Canisius Ice Hockey: @GriffsHockey

Army Ice Hockey: @army_hockey

Cornell Men's Ice Hockey: @CUBigRedHockey

Cornell Women's Hockey: @CornellWHockey

Sacred Heart Men's Hockey: @SHUHockey

Brown Men's Hockey:‏ @BrownMensHockey

Brown Women's Hockey: @BrownWHockey

University of Michigan Hockey:‏ @umichhockey

Ferris State Hockey:‏ @FerrisHockey

Minnesota Men's Hockey: @GopherHockey

Minnesota Women's Hockey:‏ @MNWomensHockey

Official League/Conference Accounts Official NCAA conferences list and feed

NCAA Ice Hockey: @NCAAIceHockey

Big Ten Hockey: @B1GHockey

CCHA (sadface):‏ @CCHAhockey

The NCHC:‏ @TheNCHC

ECAC: @ECACHOCKEYMWD1

WCHA Hockey: @wchahockey

Atlantic Hockey: @Atlantic_Hockey

Hockey East: @hockey_east

Reporters, News, Blogs and Interesting Accounts

College Hockey News: @chnews

USCHO.com: @USCHO

College Hockey, Inc: @collegehockey

Quinnipiac Ice Hockey Podcast: @HamdenHkyNight

D3 NESCAC account: @nescachockey

Independant Alabama Huntsville twitter: @WeLoveUAHHockey

Wisconsin State Journal UW Hockey Reporter: @AndyBaggotWSJ

BU sports blog (run by my dear friends) "Bloggin' On Babcock": @blogginbabcock

Everything University of Michigan Hockey: @MichiganHockey

ESPN anchor and college hockey proponent John Buccigross: @buccigross

Another Michigan hockey blog: @YostBuilt

UMass hockey blog "Fight Mass" @FightMass

Penn State Hockey coverage by The Daily Collegian: @TDC_MHockey

University of Minnesota Duluth Hockey Blog: @UMDHockeyBlog

Boston College blog "Around The Res": @AroundTheRes

Former BU hockey reporter, still tweets a lot about college hockey, Scott McLaughlin: ‏ @smclaughlin9

College hockey television analyst Dave Starman: @DStarmanHockey

Voice of Bowling Green hockey Kevin Meyers: @KevinMeyersBG

Bowling Green hockey correspondent Evan Pivnick: @EvanPivnickBG

College Hockey News writer Joe Meloni: @JoeMeloni

CHN and Merrimack writer Mike McMahon: @MikeMcMahonCHN

Cornell Men and Women's hockey blog "Big Red Faceoff": @BigRedFaceoff

SCSUHockey.com fansite: @scsuhockey

BU centric blog (without the blog):‏ @BurntBoats

NCAA Hockey's Future coverage:‏ @DJPowersHF

UMass blog "Fear The Triangle":‏ @FearTheTriangle

Quinnipiac University Hockey Blog: @QUHockeyBlog

ECAC Hockey Blogs:‏ @ECACHockeyBlog

Clarkson Hockey Blog: @ClarksonHockey

Union Hockey Blog: @UnionHockeyBlog

Nanooks Hockey Blog: @NanookHockey

BU Hockey Blog:‏ @TheBUHockeyBlog

Boston University Terrier Hockey Fan Blog: @thfblog

College Hockey News reporter Josh Seguin: @JoshSeguin24

SB Nation College Hockey: @SBNCollegePuck

UMD Bulldog commentary: @runwiththedogs

In-Game Updates for St. Lawrence Hockey: @SLUhockeylive

St. Lawrence Hockey Blog: @sluhockeyblog

Union Hockey News: @unionhockeynews

ECAC College Hockey News and QU hockey reporter Bryan Lipiner: @Bryan_Lipiner

Very biased BU blog "BayState RoadSports": @bsrs_blog

Yale and Quinnipiac hockey reporter Chip Malafronte: @ChipMalafronte

NCAA, NCHC, College Hockey, thehockeywriters: @goon48

North Dakota hockey for the Grand Forks Herald:‏ @SchlossmanGF

Rensselaer Hockey news: @rpihockeydotnet

Northeastern hockey blog "Husky Hockey News":‏ @HuskyHockeyNews

Cornell men and women's hockey blog "Where Angels Fear to Tread": ‏ @CornellWAFT

NBC Sports Network college hockey announcer Dave Goucher: @DavidCGoucher

Over the Boards, college hockey recruiting news: @OTBPuckWatch

UMaine twitter, good guy John Forsyth: @blackbear93

Union and RPI writer for the Albany Times Union Ken Schott: @slapschotts

Maine student sports radio: @SportsWMEB

Lowell fan, CHN contributor, and sarcastic hockey pundit Ryan Lambert: @twolinepass

Northeastern's Ryan Lambert and "good fan" Sean Hathaway: @seanphathaway

Boston University Terrier Hockey Pictures: @BUTerrierPics

USCHO writer Pat Bradley:‏ @PatBradleyUSCHO

USCHO writer Alex Faust: @alex_faust

USCHO writer and RIT commentator Chris Lerch:‏ @chrislerch

USCHO writer Jimmy Connelly: @jimmyconnelly

USCHO writer Paula Weston: @paulacweston

USCHO Hockey East writer Dave Hendrickson: @HendricksnUSCHO

USCHO writer and tech Ed Trefzger: @EdTrefzgerUSCHO

USCHO ECAC writer Brian Sullivan:‏ @SullivanHockey

All things Michigan Tech hockey: @TechHockeyGuide

Boston University's Boston Hockey Blog: @BOShockeyblog

Wisconsin Ice Hockey reporter Andy Johnson: @AndyJohnsonB5Q

St. Cloud hockey blog "Center Ice": @CenterIceClub

UND hockey blog "Sioux Tradition" ‏ @SiouxTradition

Princeton hockey blog "Eye On The Tigers": @PUHockeyBlog

Minnesota Gophers Hockey stats: @GopherPuckStats

CHN/SBCollegePuck and Minnesota writer Nate Wells: @gopherstate

Minnesota Duluth radio guy and blog writer Bruce Ciskie: @BruceCiskie

RIT Mens Hockey live updates:‏ @RITMHLive

College Hockey News writer Adam Wodon: @CHN_AdamWodon

UMaine hockey reporter Matt Booth:‏ @Mainely_Hockey

St. Cloud men and women's hockey news:‏ @KVSCHockey

UMD and NCHC reporter Andrew Craig: @CollegeHockeyHH

Everything Minnesota hockey (High school, college, NHL):‏ @MNState0fHockey

North Dakota Hockey and Minnesota writer @SchlossmanGF

Wisconsin fan, but ECAC reporter Jason Klump: @Jason_Klump

Providence hockey reporter Mark Divver: @MarkDivver

Gopher Puck Live: @GopherPuckLive

Clarkson hockey reporter Cap Carey: @CapCareyWDT

UMD hockey writer Matt Christians: @Matt_Christians

BU hockey blog "Bleed Scarlet": @BleedScarletBU

Student-run Quinnipiac hockey twitter: @QUBobcatHockey

UMass Lowell hockey news "Hawk Squawk"‏: @UMLHawkSquawk

Unofficial Bowling Green hockey twitter: @BGSU_Hockey

Miami hockey blog "Blog of Brotherhood": @MiamiHockeyBlog

Hockey East blog "The Puck Drop": @HockeyEastblog

Hockey East/Atlantic Hockey/ECAC radio show "Hockey on Campus": @HockeyonCampus

Bentley Falcons hockey blog "JAR Pride": @JARpride

RPI hockey blog "Without a Peer":‏ @without_a_peer

BU's unofficial mascot Sasquatch: ‏ @busasquatch

"Cawlidge Hawkey Organization":‏ @CawlidgeHawkeyO

College hockey (among other things) writer Joshua Kummins: @JoshuaKummins

CollegeHockey.info, a larger directory of current and former players:‏ @USCollegeHockey

UML hockey blog "View From 123":‏ @VIEWFROM123

Student Sections/Fan Groups

Michigan's Children of Yost: @ChildrenOfYost

Wisconsin's Crease Creatures: @CreaseCreatures

Minnesota Duluth's Penalty Box: @umdpb

Ohio State's Knucklebucks: @OSUKnucklebucks

Union College's Messa Faithful: @MessaFaithful

New Hampshire's Cat Pack: @UNHCatPack

Boston University's Dog Pound: @BUDogPound

Cornell's Lynah Faithful: ‏@LynahFaithful

Bowling Green's Falcon Fanatics:‏ @FalconFanatics1

Ohio University's Gang Green: @GangGreen14

Michigan Tech's Mitch's Misfits: @mitchsmisfits

Northeastern's DogHouse: ‏@NUDoghouse

Bowling Green's Bleacher Creatures:‏ @bg_creatures

RIT's Corner Crew:‏ @ritcornercrew

North Dakota's NoDak Nation: @NoDak_Nation

Providence College's Friar Faithful: @PCFriarFaithful

RPI's First Church of RPI: @FirstChurchRPI

Nebraska Omaha's The Red Army: @RedArmyUNO

UMass Lowell's RiverHawk Nation: @RiverHawkNation

Penn State's Roar Zone: @TheRoarZone

Minnesota Duluth's Hockey Cheerleaders: @UMD_HockeyCheer

Official Arena Accounts

Union College's Messa Rink: @MessaRink

North Dakota's Ralph Englestad Arena: @TheREA

Boston University's Agganis Arena: @AgganisArena

UMass Amherst's Mullins Center: @MullinsCenter

UMass Lowell's Tsongas Center: @TsongasCenter

Bentley's Ryan Arena: @RyanArena

Coaches

Providence College Head Coach Nate Leaman:‏ @CoachLeaman

Michigan State Head Coach Tom Anastos: @TomAnastos

Princeton Head Coach Bob Prier:‏ @coachbobprier

St. Lawrence Head Coach Greg Carvel: @SkatingSaints

Army Head Coach Brian Riley: @Coach_BRiley

Merrimack Head Coach Mark Dennehy: @MarkD4224

Miami Head Coach Rico Blasi: @CoachBlasi

RPI Head Coach Seth Appert: @SethAppert

UMass Head Coach John Micheletto: @CoachMicheletto

Ohio State Associate Head Coach Brett Larson: @BrettLarson18

Dartmouth Associate Head Coach Dave Peters: @AcademicHockey

Princeton Assistant Coach Greg Gardner: @coachgards

Wisconsin Assistant Coach Gary Shuchuk: @gshuchuk

Boston University Assistant Coach Steve Greeley:‏ @SGreeley8

Cornell Volunteer Assistant Coach Matthew Michno: @MMichno30

Quinnipiac Assistant Coach Bill Riga:‏ @BillRiga

Quinnipiac Assistant Coach Reid Cashman: @ReidCashman

Northeastern Assistant Coach Jerry Keefe: @KeeferJ_

Miami-Ohio Assistant Coach Nick Petraglia: @NickPetraglia

UMass Amherst Assistant Coach Ryan Miller: @rkmillertime

Michigan State Assistant Coach Tom Newton:‏ @CoachNewtonMSU

St. Lawrence Assistant Coach Kristofer Mayotte: @Mayotte_K

UConn Assistant Coach Joe Pereira: @JoePereira91

S/T to @BartRhett for supplying the list. Any omission should be addressed to him. 

Related articles

• NCAA Women's Hockey Morning Skate: December 6th, 2013 (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Sub-Par Faceoff Numbers Plague Team (thehockeywriters.com)

Highlights from Saturday's game between UND and BU

s/t to Hockey East online. Really nice job on the video.

Related articles

• A New Drinking Game for UND Hockey (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• (Video) Brendan O'Donnel Slashing Penalty (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UMD Slaps UND 6-3 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND hockey: Wednesday Links - It's cold and flu season (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND Hockey: Dynamic Duo Bright Spot for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey a bunch of heathens because they bus to and from away games. (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCAA Women's Hockey Morning Skate: November 15th, 2013 (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND ties Boston University 3-3 (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Mark me down for no! (Canada's Jersey)

Yeah... pic.twitter.com/DkiCb2KBV3
— The Canadian Game (@ItsCanadasGame) November 21, 2013

Mark me down as not being a fan of the jersey.

Check out @UNDSID's tweet.

I think this tweet is well said. Hockey players are a special breed. I just hope we don't have a bunch of sick and banged up hockey players this week when the rested UMD Bull Dogs come to town.

Overnight bus ride, players vomiting, ice packs everywhere, text books out. Keep this in mind when you question their commitment. #NDproud
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) November 11, 2013

@goon48 the ninja doesn't take holidays off.
— Chris Wassel (@ChrisWasselTHW) November 11, 2013

Goalies Ray Emery and Braden Holtby fight (Video)

While the game between SCSU and UND was on going on last night, my twitter feed blew up with this game and incident. Nothing beats a good ole fashion Donnybrook in my opinion.That being said, Emery might be getting a call from the department of player safety for this one.

This is one thing about the sport of hockey, when the score gets out of hand you had better tighten the chin strap and keep you head on a swivel. Some say that Flyers goalie Ray Emery had no business skating down the ice and challenging Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to a fight. They’re probably right.

Minnesota Wild: Revisiting the Justin Fontaine Question: Oh yeah! He's scores again (Video)

Nothing beats the taste of sweet vindication. I wish I had made some bets on this one. Former Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Justin Fontaine is giving the Minnesota Wild reasons to keep him in the line up. Fontaine has played in 10 games so far and has scored (2g-0a—2pts) so far this season and he’s a plus +5. Last Summer, I wrote this.

Hockey Wilderness -- Based on what I had seen over the years, Justin Fontaine is a very skilled, crafty, offensive-minded forward with a knack for the net. Fontaine has above average speed and is a very good skater. He is a forward that you can't leave alone unchecked in the slot, and is dangerous on the power-play.

The knock on Fontaine according to Hockey's Future, "He is a little undersized for the NHL level." This shouldn't matter in today's NHL based the new rules that focus on the obstruction and protecting the puck carrier.

So, many college hockey fans in the State of Hockey want to know, will this be the year that Justin Fontaine finally makes the Minnesota Wild and dons the Wild sweater?

My question is, why not? Why is it that every time someone is called up to the Minnesota Wild, Fontaine is over looked? In his two season with the Houston Aeros, he has finished second and first in scoring, two seasons in a row, respectively. I guess only time will tell, if Justin Fontaine makes the Minnesota Wild roster.

ahem, http://t.co/8OjEp4C6RH
— Eric J. Burton (@goon48) October 23, 2013

Please feel free to tell me where I am wrong. I love a good debate.  Got to love those ex-college hockey players.

DU Hockey: Student Season Ticket Campout Underway

http://t.co/3B1cu3jhwq - DU Hockey Student Season Ticket Campout Underway #PioNation http://t.co/NHBJBoLjG2
— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) October 4, 2013

All fifty of DU's student section is camping out, to get in-line for their season hockey tickets. They shouldn't take long to distribute. :)

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Both games of the UND vs. DU Hockey Series will be on DirecTV (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Focus on Obstruction and Checking from Behind (hockeywilderness.com)
• UND Hockey: UND set in net (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

Gophers Release their Big Ten Television Schedule

The Minnesota Gophers Men's hockey team released their B1G Television Schedule. You can see the rest of the schedule by clicking on this link.

How I'd Fix College Hockey and the NCHC Specifically (RW77)

Original NHL logo, used until 2005. A version of the logo features it in the shape of a hockey puck. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ok, to lead off, I wish I could claim credit for any of these ideas, but I can't.  FULL Credit actually goes to Sean McIndoe (otherwise known as @DownGoesBrown) for his blog post on Grantland entitled "How We'd Fix the NHL".  The reason why I come on out and say it is that, with the exception of the obvious rule differences between the NHL and NCAA DI Hockey, the fixes would actually cross over really easily.  Let me break down the fixes:

1.  Fix the Standings and Kill the Loser Point

In McIndoe's article, he speaks to the fact that shootouts render the loser point to be detrimental to the game stating it actually rewards a team for playing for overtime.  It inflates records and confuses all but the ardent fan (and sometimes them too).

I agree.  Why do we need 15 columns in the Standings section of the newspaper or website?  Keep it simple.  Wins, Losses, and that's it.  If you want a point in the standings for the "loser" then the only real solution is to eliminate shootouts and bring back ties as a possibility.  DI Hockey is not like the NHL yet with regards to ties, but it is readily apparent that they want to be.  So, this argument is apt.

2.  Longer OT, fewer shootouts*

In his article, McIndoe makes the point simple:  Make OT's 10 minutes long and keep it sudden death.  It isn't about reducing the number of players on the ice because it ends up being just as gimmicky as the shootout.

However, with no loser point and a 10 minute OT, it will more than likely reduce the number of shootouts we would see.  It doesn't eliminate shootouts, which will make the casual fan happy, but it won't promote them, which will be an adequate compromise for us strident hockey traditionalists.

It's at this point in McIndoe's article that he speaks to several NHL-specific problems that the NCAA has, so I'll speak to some NCAA problems that the NHL doesn't have.

3.  Change the rules regarding helmets.  Mandate visors, recommend cages.

The NCAA will never allow the freedom the NHL has at the moment regarding helmets and visor styles, but we can go a little more the way of flexibility.  The USHL requires all players wear half-shields or visors.  The NCAA right now requires full cages.  I say we go the way of the USHL and require the player to choose between the half shield/visor and the full cage.  It does not matter which the player chooses as long as one is present at all times.

This has to do with perceived security and cheap shots to the head.  Right now, the cage is pretty protective all in all so high sticking is more of a judgment call as to whether the stick actually hit the cage.  Judgment calls means the opportunity to make a situational call or non-call.  That usually exacerbates the mediocrity inherent in the NCAA Officiating Corps. 

Safety is a huge issue but much of being safe is playing safe.  I do not think the players are playing as safely as they should.  They've become too reliant upon their equipment (especially goaltenders) to bail them out.  Educate and allow them the choice.

Sadly, the best effect of visors over cages cannot be achieved in NCAA hockey as fighting is not allowed.


4.  Fix the Diving Problem

McIndoe again hits the nail right on the head.  Every team has divers on it.  Every team does it.  Why?  Because it works.  Much of the time, officials defend it by semantics (embellishment is still diving, but it's a less negative word than diving).  The best way to eliminate diving is to develop players who naturally do not dive.  However, as McIndoe again correctly states, you cannot change player psychology.  If you do, the other guy isn't, and you will be spending a lot of time on special teams.

Right now, the biggest flaw with diving is that it is RARELY called as a penalty without it being offsetting.  McIndoe suggests several fixes and I'll add one of my own:

a.  No more coincidentals.  Yup.  If a guy cross checks you and you flop to the ice like you've been shot congrats.  You're going for diving and the cross check goes uncalled.  There have been several times where a team will send a 3rd or 4th liner or bottom pairing defenseman out there to bait the other team's star.  The star runs into them, they flop.  Both go.  Who loses in that case?  Not the flopper.
b.  Rep counts.  This is a contraversial one on McIndoe's part, but in the NCAA we've already seen that the officials already practice this.  I've seen many times where Matt Greene was called simply for skating too close to the other guy.  Joe Finley got called for a high elbows and we all know (haters and likers alike) that Finley is absolutely NOT a physical player.  However, if the guy has a rep of being a diver, then call it if he does.  You make the bed, you sleep in it.
c.  The TV gloves come off.  McIndoe says to call it like it is, and I agree.  If the guy dives, then the commentator should cite Louganis.  Heck, cut to the commentators and they can hold up numbers grading the dive!  The NFL commentators already do it, so let's hear our guys do it too.
d.  Here's my add-in.  The truth is, the game happens too fast for officials to track it all.  If diving is a problem, perhaps replays of the play in question can be sent to the head of officials for review.  If it was clearly a dive and there was no call, then the offending player can sit out a period in his next game.  It doesn't do any justice for the game in which it occurs, but perhaps the guy won't dive if he knows that doing so will only cause his team to go short handed if he's caught or he won't play for an entire period if he isn't.

These changes will cause the player who dives no end of issues, but it will come with some false penalties.  That's life.  It wouldn't be the first bad call the officials make and it would never be the last.  However, diving would truly cease... assuming that the conference head of officials is consistent.

5.  Standardization between conferences in how officiating is run and the rule book interpretted

DI Hockey will never go under the umbrella of a single head of officiating for the entire DI Hockey world, but they should at least have standardized policies and procedures across the entire DI Hockey world.  In other words, if I am an official in the NCHC and I take a weekend series officiating in Hockey East, there should be no difference in how I call the game and the fans shouldn't notice it either.

I know what you're thinking:  "This rule is already in place!  They all use the same rulebook and it is the same game!"  However, I've watched so many officials from every conference officiate non-conference games and notice how different it is from the conference I am used to watching.  However, when you watch in-conference games, the games are largely officiated the same way.  This needs to be eliminated.

How?  I'm not sure how to make this work without compromising the autonomy of the existing Head of Officiating norm.  Maybe they can work as a committee to come up with a standardized Standards of Operating Procedures (SOP) Handbook?  Maybe they can have a standardized job description for officials and ARs.  I'm open for suggestions.

It seems like the most obvious solution to this:  Having a generalized pool of officials that will officiate games regardless of conference instead of the conference-specific hired officials seems to not be feasible.

6.  Accountability is more than something held against player and coaching performances.  It's held on officials and head of officials too.

Officials aren't perfect.  And Don Adam's system is great on paper.  His officiating corps, however, makes it suspect.  So, if Don Adam's system is to be taken seriously, accountability must be in place.  The HEA seems to have such an accountability program in place as far as what the fans can tell because, though the HEA has a dud or two, I've yet to see whole threads dedicated on message boards to how big of an issue officiating is (that isn't just one fanbase venting) like I've seen in other conferences.

I'm not saying that Adam come out the day after an on-ice officiating debacle and announce that he's cleaned house, but I am saying that Adam not make the same mistake McLeod and Shepherd have done year after year by announcing that the officiating isn't a problem because the ADs and coaches told them it wasn't a few months after the season has concluded.  It seems that accountability only matters during that month to those two clowns.  And those meetings are held to address far more significant issues than to think back 4 or 5 months to those two games in January or December.  If Adam and Fenton want to do this style of accountability, then they'll have to convince the ADs and coaches that an early January meeting will have to be held as well as the post season conference and the primary topic would be operations and officiating.  I don't see that happening.

7.  Make the nets bigger.

I'm not (and neither is McIndoe) suggesting drastic changes like some of the nets we've seen in the past, but I suggest 3 alternatives to the existing net:  Make the net 1 inch taller but keep the width the same, Make the net 1 inch wider but keep the height the same, make the height and width 1 inch bigger.  One inch doesn't seem like much but it was amazing last year to watch how many shots clanged off the crossbar and stayed out.  1 more inch and that puck is in the back of the net.  With goaltender equipment and the goaltenders themselves being bigger (especially since the rules are less strict in the NCAA compared to the NHL), this would give the shooter more to shoot at.

8.  Redefine late hits. 

Late hits aren't as big of a problem in NCAA as it is in the NHL, but it is still an issue.  There is nothing in the NHL rulebook (I don't know if it is stated in the NCAA rulebook either) regarding how many seconds after the player gets rid of the puck would a hit be considered late, or how many seconds after the whistle would a hit be considered late, but it should be better defined.  McIndoe asks a GREAT question:  Why is it that a hit, delivered seconds too early, is considered an illegal hit but a hit delivered seconds after the puck is gone, considered a legal hit?

McIndoe's rule rewriting is dead on.  He states:  "Any hit that is initiated after the puck is gone is a late hit. And "initiating" a hit will mean actually starting to throw it, not just gliding toward a guy who's watching his pass."  The onus will be on the guy who is setting up to hit a guy to try at all costs to avoid contact late.  I also think this may eliminate much of the cheap shots if the officials would be willing to be consistent in its calling.

Summary

Not all of my suggestions have the greatest solutions and not all of Sean McIndoe's suggestions cross over, but his article is an absolutely SPOT ON MUST READ for those who are passionate about NHL Hockey and improving the product on the ice.  Normally he's full of tongue in cheek humor, but in this case, he's spot on.  Kudos to you Mr. McIndoe.

I'd LOVE to hear solutions to the issues addressed above in the comment section.  Again, I'm not an expert and I fully acknowledge Sean McIndoe's role in the creation of this post.  If you want to speak to an expert, talk to Sean.

How We’d Fix It: The NHL. (Aug. 8, 2013). Grantland.com. Retrieved August 17, 2013, from http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9538380/how-fix-nhl