Make or Break Time for J.T. Miller?

#493840147 / gettyimages.com

I found this article on T.J. Miller to be interesting, maybe because he was committed to UND for a minute, before he bolted for the greener pastures of the OHL. I still think college hockey would have done this kid some good.

SNYRangers.com -- Jeff Gorton says that the Rangers organization has “made it clear” to JT Miller what kind of opportunity he has in front of him this season. (Tal Pinchevsky)

Glen Sather said at the draft that they expect Miller to “come to play” this year. Sather said that Miller is “young, fits into the price range and will develop into a very good hockey player.” He adds that Miller showed a lot of growth this past season.

It’s been said before that the Rangers are counting on Miller to take a step this coming season.

Miller is “more than ready” to be an NHLer and should be able to beat out Chris Bourque or Chris Mueller for a roster spot. (The Hockey News)

TSN, Subban Seeks $8.5M in Arbitration, Habs Offer $5.25M

#494499967 / gettyimages.com

I have been following this story with great interest, I actually can't believe that Subban is locked up with a long term deal, already. I think it’s insulting that the Habs want to play their former Norris Trophy winner 5.25 million a year. Talk about being low balled. In my opinion, Subban is definitely worth 8 million a year, if not 10 million a year.

TSN.CA -- With both sides scheduled for their hearing on Friday, the Montreal Canadiens and restricted free agent P.K. Subban have set up their respective asking prices in salary arbitration.

According to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News, the Canadiens submitted an offer of $5.25 million on a one-year contract, while Subban - represented by agent Don Meehan of Newport - is asking for $8.5 million.

The one-year offer from both sides would still make Subban a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer.

Subban, who signed a two-year deal worth an average annual value of $2.875 million contract prior to the 2012-2013 season, scored 10 goals and added 43 assists in 82 games with the Canadiens in 2013-14.

He also added five goals and 14 points in 17 playoff games and was part of the Canadian men's Olympic team that won gold in Sochi in February.

If Subban was an UFA, it would be interesting to see what other teams would be willing to offer him in the way of a contract. But Subban has stated that he wants to remain a Hab.

Tuesday Morning: A couple of Links

Reiterating the Case for Thomas Vanek to the Wild http://t.co/25Mok6mB84
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) August 10, 2013

NCAA Hockey: Is Expansion around the Corner? http://t.co/iNGfoc5GpR #hockey
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 12, 2013

NCAA Women’s Hockey: One-on-One with North Dakota’s Brian Idalski http://t.co/B1lPi1uE7S #hockey
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) August 12, 2013

Where does bodychecking fit in minor hockey? That's the focus of @THNKenCampbell's latest column. Read it here: http://t.co/oUVK0MfpRv
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) August 12, 2013

Big Ten says it won't say/confirm names of its officials per league policy.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) August 12, 2013

Reminder that single game @UNDMHockey go on sale this Thurs at 10 am. Direct link to purchase here http://t.co/klAjNDA039
— Dexter Albrecht (@dexteralbrecht) August 12, 2013

Related articles

• NCAA Hockey: Is Expansion around the Corner? (thehockeywriters.com)

No escape from the anti-fighting cabal

English: Hockey fight between the Sudbury Wolves and the Ottawa 67's, around 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So, there’s an article in the Hockey News about hockey Canada not allowing body checking until their youth players hit the Bantam age, that’s fine. USA Hockey did the same thing. I don’t agree with the move, oh well, we move on and accept it right? However, The Hockey News just can’t help themselves, The Hockey News has to use this as an opportunity to go on an anti-fighting rant. Why?

Ken Campbell, the Hockey News --- The problem is, there’s something about our game that often brings out the worst in us, whether that’s as players or coaches. If all the hits in hockey were clean, hard and done properly and with respect, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now. There would be hitting at all levels of hockey and with the exception of the occasional unfortunate incident, everyone would probably be able to live with that. But the “hit to hurt” mentality has filtered down from the highest levels of hockey to the lowest and, as a result, you have far too many situations where body contact is used as a tactic to intimidate, even at the youth hockey level, and that results in too many hits to the head that are leaving vulnerable brains like Matthew Kostuch’s scrambled for years after they are injured.

It’s kind of like fighting. If all NHL fights were the result of two players, who can actually play the game, settling a score in a highly emotional affair, that would be one thing. But once you condone – and promote – fighting, it leaves it open to be used as a tactic, or at the very least, a sideshow.

That then leads to the evolution of enforcers and goons, who have one purpose. And that purpose is to keep the skilled players safe, often from the goons and enforcers who are supposed to be keeping everyone safe out there. It creates a vicious cycle from which there is no escape.

Related articles

• Hockey News: Sidney Crosby Controversy; QMJHL Tragedy. (thehockeywriters.com)
• Hockey News: Kovalchuk Retirement; Fixing the NHL (thehockeywriters.com)
• Wilderness Walk 8-11-2013 (hockeywilderness.com)

Shore removes the doubt...

Although I appreciate the inquiry, I am excited to be with the pioneers and getting ready for North Dakota this weekend, hear arena is sick!
— Quentin Shore (@QShore27) December 5, 2012

Yesterday, Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News started quite a buzz on twitter as he tweeted, "Quentin Shore may be leaving NCAA Pioneers for #WHL Portland." Apparently, that rumor isn't true and Shore is staying with the Pioneers and will be in Grand Forks, ND for this weekends series against UND.

Quentin Shore not leaving Denver just yet - controversy surrounding Portland a factor
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) December 5, 2012

Friday Links and College Hockey to take center stage.

Seawolf (Photo credit: Travis S.)

The dog days of summer are finally over and for UND Hockey fans the season couldn't come fast enough - especially with all of the news that has happened off of the ice, during the preseason.

Once UND gets past the team imposed suspensions and the self created adversity - UND should end up having a pretty good season based on the personnel that UND has coming back and the new recruits coming in.

With a sigh of relief, the exhibition season will finally begin a week from this Saturday as the UND Fighting Sioux Hockey team will take on the Manitoba Bison at 7:05 pm on the 6th of October at Ralph Englestad Arena.

Ironically, the UND Hockey team was suppose to see former UND forward Taylor Dicken who was reported to have transferred to the home town Manitoba Bison - looking at the Manitoba roster I was unable to find Dicken's name.

UAA Seawolves might need a temporary home away from home

If there ever was a case for UAA Seawolves to get a their own arena on their campus - that time is right now - the Seawolves have some arena issues right now that might not get solved before the Seawolves play their first home game.

I also think that it's time that UAA athletic department look into the possibility that they might need to get a new on campus arena for the Seawolves. The Seawolves share an arena with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL... UAA is going to get a new 109 million dollar basketball arena on their campus, but the new building will not have an ice surface for hockey. This also doesn't sit well with Seawolves fans either.

Its the opinion of some UAA fans that I have chatted with, that the UAA Athletic Department isn't as committed to UAA hockey as the University should be and UAA Seawolves fans aren't real happy with the UAA Athletic Director Steve Cobb.

According to Doyle Woody of the Anchorage Daily News the Seawolves might not have their arena to play in when the season begins. Chris Dilks of the new revamped SBN, does a pretty good job of breaking down the options that the Seawolves have if their arena isn't fixed in time for their first home game.

Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey --- Anchorage athletic director Steve Cobb has begun making preparations in case the repairs can't be made in time, or in case the repairs don't hold through the season. The Seawolves' practice facility, the 750-person capacity Wells Fargo Sports Complex, is being given a press box, and being set-up to accommodate television broadcasts and video review.

With it being Alaska, there aren't many other viable options if ice can't be made at Sullivan Arena. The Menard Center in Wasilla, roughly 45 minutes from campus, can seat 1500 people. The Kenai River Brown Bears' home in Soldotna can seat 2000, but at nearly three hours drive away, it's likely not much of an option. There aren't any other arenas in the area with a capacity over 1000 people.

A new on-campus arena has been discussed for Alaska-Anchorage for a few years now. Perhaps these issues at Sullivan Arena could help add some momentum to the project.

President Barack Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney are kicking the Denver Pioneers out of their own hockey arena so the two candidates can have their first presidential debate.

"Homeless" DU hockey team picked third in its final season in the WCHA; Air Force top pick in AHA | The Denver Post blogs.denverpost.com/colleges/2012/…
— Mike Chambers (@MChambersDP) September 26, 2012

Yesterday, Brad Elliot Schlossman beat writer for the Grand Forks Herald released his preseason UND hockey preview - that preview is now available for all to read on line. Good stuff there. [Click to view]

Former Central Knight's and Future UND defenseman Paul LaDue was named the assistant captain for the Lincoln Stars.

RT @rehockeyacademy: Congrats to @pdue54 on being named an Assistant Captain for this year's @lincolnstars squad
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) September 26, 2012

UND's now infamous hockey part actually made The Hockey News as well - you can read the story by clicking on this link to a story that Ryan Kennedy wrote.

Why the latest college hockey drinking incident drives me nuts: bit.ly/PG7SBh
— Ryan Kennedy (@THNRyanKennedy) September 26, 2012

Tuesday Morning Links

Julie Robenhymer from Hockey Buzz has her Hobey hopefuls in August 26th, blog post and she has UND senior Danny Kristo as a Hobey Favorite.

Danny Kristo - Senior, F, North Dakota, MTL: Kristo has always been a notable player as a product of the USNTDP and gold medalist at the 2010 World Junior Championship, but it took a severe case of frostbite on his toes in his sophomore season that nearly resulted in amputation and the thought of life without hockey to push his game to another level. Decimated by injuries last year, the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux, struggled throughout the season, but Kristo still managed to be a point per game player with 45 points in 42 games. North Dakota will have a very young, yet very talented team this season and Kristo will be a big part of their success. He brings leadership, versatility and an unquenchable desire to bring a national championship to Grand Forks.

It was announced yesterday, that Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin has an agreement to play for Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL when if there is a lockout in the NHL next month.

In the never ending Phoenix Coyotes saga, Glendale, NHL extend Phoenix Coyotes arena agreement for fourth time [AZcentral.com]

Former Vermont star and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Marty St. Louis said, that he'll play in Europe in event of NHL lockout. [TampaBay.com]

Check out the offseason diet that Montreal Canadians diver defenseman P.K. Subban enjoys – sounds as if Subban eats a lot of protein and red meat.

Dan Rosen, NHL.com Senior Writer --- Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban reads off his breakfast menu without a single change in his facial expression. For him, barbecuing a steak at 7 a.m. and pairing it with freshly blended vegetable juice, fish oils, Vitamin C and various other multivitamins is absolutely normal.

No eggs. No toast. No potatoes.

"I eat a lot of protein -- steak in the morning, steak in the afternoon, fish, chicken," Subban told NHL.com during a recent trip to his training facility. "At the start of the summer I order a whole cow from a grain-fed farm. I have it at my parents' house and my mom will season [the butchered meat], and I'll pick them up to have steaks for the week."

Jokes aside, Subban actually does eat the whole cow he orders each summer.

Today, the NHL's collective bargaining talks are set to resume in New York City.

TSN.CA --- The biggest issue holding up talks is finding agreement on how the league's revenues should be split up. Players received 57 per cent under the expiring CBA and the league wants to see that number reduced considerably.

The NHL's initial offer involved cutting the amount to 43 per cent, although it has indicated a willingness to negotiate off that number.

Based on last season's revenues, every percentage point lost would cost the players $33 million. After capitulating in the last round of negotiations and hiring Fehr to lead them in this one, that group appears ready to fight against significant givebacks.

Former Chicago Blackhawks, Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks goalie Antero Niittymaki has signed a contract to go back and play hockey in his native Finland. [TSN.CA]

In an ugly story - three Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, were arrested and charged with sexual assault this past Saturday. The players involved in the sexual assault Nick Cousins, Andrew Fritsch and Mark Petaccio. [CBC.CA] and [Philly.com]

Greyhounds player Mark Petaccio gets released on bail following a bail hearing for an sexual assault charge. [Toronto Sun]

 The Toronto Sun compares the CBA’s of the Major Sports in North America; Breaking down the deals the four major sports leagues are working under.

The Hockey News has the Boston Bruins finishing second in the Eastern Division and facing off in the first round of the NHL playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres.

In the same article the Hockey News had the Minnesota Wild finishing fifth and facing off against the Chicago Blackhawks. I will take the Wild in six games.

Shattuck Saint Mary’s defenseman and current Fargo Force defenseman Charlie Pelnik is in the latest Hot List in the Hockey News. [Hockey News]

Charlie Pelnik, D – Shattuck St. Mary’s Sabres (Minn. HS) Easily the most talked-about prospect ever from North Carolina, Pelnik will suit up for the USHL’s Fargo Force this season after a great run with Shattucks. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound blueliner from the Jr. Hurricanes system is committed to the University of North Dakota, where he’ll bring a Pronger-esque nasty streak – though Plymouth owns his OHL rights. Draft eligible in 2013.

Chay Genoway leading the on-line fan Hobey voting.

Sioux fans don't forget to keep stuffing the ballot box for Chay Genoway over on the Hobey baker site. If you check out the results section Chay is the leading vote getter. I know it is only 1% but it doesn't hurt to help Chay get some recognition.

5842: Chay Genoway - North Dakota - Jr - D
3815: Mark Magnowski - Princeton - Jr - F
3748: Ted Cook - Niagara - Sr - F
3195: Jacques Lamoureux - Air Force - So - F
1544: Greg Flynn - Air Force - Sr - D
1310: Brock McBride - St. Lawrence - Sr - F
1272: Chad Rau - Colorado College - Sr - F

Update on Nate Hagemo...

I was wondering what had happened to Nate Hagemo after getting an invite to a rookie camp in Carolina this summer. Here is an update on Former Minnesota Gopher hockey star Nate Hagemo. Hagemo in in camp with the Florida Everblades on a two week tryout. Also, on the team is former
Michigan State A.J. Thelen is also on the team. I really hope that this works out for Hagemo...

After battling addiction, prospective Blades defenseman happy to be back on ice.
By ANGELA BUSCH

ESTERO — Many of the players in Florida Everblades training camp have experienced ebbs and flows of stardom — from notoriety to anonymity — from the first round of the NHL draft to a long bus ride in hockey purgatory.

They’ve all been up and down. But it’s hard to find a Blades player who has been much higher, or lower, than Nate Hagemo.
----------snip----------
Truth is, Hagemo’s not even a Blade yet. He’s trying out over the next two weeks, trying to earn a roster spot by proving himself on the ice.

He just wants on the team. Three years after being selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the NHL draft — less than four months removed from his latest arrest — Hagemo, 21, doesn’t really care about the headlines or the stardom anymore.

He just wants to play hockey again.
The Edina, Minn., native was once a part of a proud tradition of gopher state hockey. He won a high school state championship with the Academy of Holy Angels as a sophomore in 2002, then spent the next two seasons at the U.S. National Under-18 Team development site in Ann Arbor, Mich., with Blades defenseman A.J. Thelen, who’s also from Minnesota.

“We’ve been skating and playing against each other since we were 10, 11 years old,” Thelen said of Hagemo. “Especially that year in Ann Arbor, we were always going against each other. We could relate to each other.”

“Whenever we played together, it made me pick up my game,” Hagemo said. “I always looked at (Thelen), and he made me want to get better.”

In 2004, the Minnesota Wild made Thelen the 12th overall selection in the NHL draft. A year later, Hagemo was picked 58th overall by Carolina.

Thelen headed to powerhouse Michigan State, while Hagemo picked perennial Frozen Four contender Minnesota. The hometown hockey heroes were on their way.
----------snip----------
The January arrest was Hagemo’s third run-in with the police since quitting Gophers hockey in 2006 due to complications from his shoulder injury and the addiction that was starting to interfere with his life.

That same year, he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to burglarize a house. In 2007, he was ticketed for refusing to take a blood-alcohol test after a traffic accident and for careless driving, with a revoked license.

Looking at Hagemo now, quiet with his teammates at Germain Arena, you’d never guess his past troubles. He’s one of the youngest players at Blades training camp and could almost be everyone else’s kid brother.

But Hagemo’s not just a wide-eyed hockey recruit anymore. Through his addiction, Hagemo saw places — including jail — he never thought he’d go. He knew he had to get help.

After his arrest in January, Hagemo enrolled in a 30-day treatment program in Minnesota. He says he has been sober since then and has just been focusing on getting back to hockey.

<- Read the whole article here ->

CHN's WCHA Season Preview

The College Hockey News has released its WCHA season preview in two parts. (1) & (2) Not a lot of change from the other polls around the college hockey media. Personally I do not have a problem with this poll. Like I have mentioned in the past, these polls mean nothing once the puck drops. If anything it could fire the teams up to play better and show they are better than a _______ ranking.

1. Denver
2. Colorado College
3. Minnesota State Mavericks
4. North Dakota Fighting Sioux
5. Minnesota
6. St. Cloud State
7. Wisconsin Badgers
8. Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
9. Michigan Tech Huskies
10. Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves

Here is what Dan Myers of the CHN Staff had to say about the Unversity of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The biggest question for the Sioux is who is going to be the starting goaltender? I believe that question is going to be answered in a few weeks. I am predicting Freshman Brad Eidsness is going to be the man between the pipes.

North Dakota Fighting Sioux
Coach: Dave Hakstol
Last season: 28-11-4 overall, 18-7-3 WCHA

How they finished: North Dakota won the Midwest Regional and lost to eventual national champion Boston College in the national semifinals. UND was one of the nation’s top teams down the stretch, going unbeaten during an 18-game stretch from the beginning of January through mid-March, which has been a trend in recent years.

Changes: North Dakota lost two of their best players early to the NHL in forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman Taylor Chorney. Oshie and Chorney were arguably the two best players in the entire WCHA. They also lost senior goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux to graduation and will try to replace him with any number of untested options.

Strengths: Despite losing quality talent in all areas, North Dakota will bring in a number of blue-chip recruits to replace them. Chorney will be a tough loss, but the Sioux have a ton of talent at defense, which will be led by Joe Finley -- a towering force who stands at 6-foot-7. Chay Genoway is one of the conference’s most underrated talents. Freshmen Ben Blood and Corey Fienhage should step in and contribute immediately.

Weaknesses: Who is going to start in net? The favorite seems to be senior Aaron Walski -- who despite his advanced age, has played in only three games. Freshman Brad Eidsness and Graeme Harrington will also see plenty of time in net. The battle for the No. 1 job has not been decided. Is it because all three are playing well? Or is it because none of the three have stepped up? Only Hakstol knows the answer to that.

Outlook: Unlike years past, one can imagine North Dakota not finishing among the top two or three in the WCHA. They still might -- plenty of talent returns to the fold in Grand Forks, including oft-forgotten former Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan. But UND has no proven goaltender and in a conference like the WCHA, that could be a problem. Of course, they said the same thing about Colorado College last season.

Projected Finish: 4th

DU is happy to be in Madison

This should answer Kevin Gorg's question on wether DU is unhappy or happy to be playing in Madison. The DU Pioneers have owned the Badgers as of late in Madison and I think that DU is going to make short work of the Badgers this weekend.

It's not likely you'll hear Denver coach George Gwozdecky offering much in the way of complaints this weekend. He said he had no issue whatsoever with being sent to play Wisconsin at the Kohl Center in the first round.

"You like to play in venues that you know and that you're comfortable with," Gwozdecky said.

The best evidence of the Pioneers' comfort in playing at the Kohl Center: They're (DU) 11-1-2 here since the building opened for hockey in 1998, including five straight victories.

Wisconsin hopes it has a bigger advantage on Saturday. It doesn't have to travel. It has a familiar locker room. It has a familiar ice surface.

"To me, it's more exciting to be here playing in the NCAA tournament," Badgers senior defenseman Josh Engel said. "Obviously, everyone's excited to be in the tournament. But there's something about being at home when you're in the tournament that's special."

Olshansky on T.J. Oshie being a Hobey Baker Candidate

Seems as if our friend Elliot Olshansky is a little shocked about Oshie being selected for the Hobey Baker. While I do think Oshie is a good candidates I think the Hobey Baker committee has no intentions of giving the award to a North Dakota player this season. It wouldn't matter if Oshie had 50 goals or Jean-Philippe Lamoureux had 10 shut outs the award is going to go to a player from the CCHA or Hockey East.

T.J. Oshie, North Dakota: Is anyone else amused that after all the hand-wringing over whether Nathan Gerbe should be considered for the award after his one-game suspension in the fall for an on-ice incident, he’s joined among the finalists by a player who was arrested this season? There’s no denying that Oshie is a great player, but if I’m a Michigan fan, I am livid right now, because this looks - shall we say, “interesting?” - in the wake of last season’s T.J. Hensick saga, not to mention the fact that Oshie beat out a very worthy Chad Kolarik, among others, for this spot. Is anyone else amused that after all the hand-wringing over whether Nathan Gerbe should be considered for the award after his one-game suspension in the fall for an on-ice incident, he’s joined among the finalists by a player who was arrested this season? There’s no denying that Oshie is a great player, but if I’m a Michigan fan, I am livid right now, because this looks - shall we say, “interesting?” - in the wake of last season’s T.J. Hensick saga, not to mention the fact that Oshie beat out a very worthy Chad Kolarik, among others, for this spot.

OK, enough of the controversy, although I maintain that I’m very surprised by the pick. Oshie is a great player at both ends of the ice, a player whose worth isn’t truly captured by his healthy numbers, and one of the biggest reasons that the Fighting Sioux are where they are right now. Not only that, he was part of the celebrated pact in the offseason that brought Oshie, 2007 Hobey winner Ryan Duncan, Joe Finley and Taylor Chorney back to Grand Forks. In this era of widespread early NHL signings, the sort of commitment that those players showed and the follow-through that Oshie and his mates have delivered deserve to be rewarded.

12.7 second left.

Here is the goal that put the Gophers in the semis.

Get Well Tom Pohl (HeidiSioux62)

Get Well Tom
On Sunday night a horrible accident occurred in the Minnesota/Mankato playoff game. An accident that brought back horrific memories to Sioux fans of Robbie Bina crumpling to the ice after breaking his neck during a game.
Tom Pohl of Minnesota was checked into the boards, his helmet came off and he hit his unprotected head on the boards and ice and suffered a very severe skull fracture. This was an incident that terrifies all hockey parents, family, friends, coaches and fans. Hockey is a very rough sport and all of us who have someone we care about playing the game has the fear tucked into the back of our minds that something like this may happen. Fortunately, these accidents are rare, but when they do happen, it causes us to pause and say “but for the Grace of God …”.

Tom,

I just wanted to let you know that I, along with many, many others are praying for you and wishing you a speedy recovery. This Sioux fan has been thinking of you often and I was very encouraged to read this morning that your condition has been upgraded and you have been moved out of ICU. It doesn’t matter that you may play for an arch rival’s team because if you play hockey, you are “one of the family.” Get well soon.
HeidiSioux

While most of the attention has rightfully been directed towards Tom, his family and his injury, someone that may be overlooked in this incident is Jason Wiley. Jason is the player who checked Tom. From what I could see watching the play, the hit was not malicious or done with the intent to injure (unlike the hit that occurred previously in a similar instance). From all accounts, Jason appears to be sincerely remorseful and extremely shaken up by the hit (again, unlike the player involved in the previous incident). This shows great compassion and heart, and I would like to encourage Jason to seek out all the help and support he can find from his family, friends, coaches and teammates to assist him in dealing with this situation. I would also like Jason to know that this Sioux fan is not only thinking of and praying for Tom Pohl, but also for him.

All the more reason for a shoot out.

Ankur Dholakia--APChris from Western College Hockey had this posted up and it is worth a read Lots of Free Hockey

Make that lots of free hockey without a winner. Here is a perfect story backing up my theory on why hockey should add the shootout on all levels, if after numerous overtimes move on to a shootout. If the shootout is good enough for the NHL it is good enough for the amateur ranks as well. Championship are made to determine who is the champion of that league, conference or state.

8 OTs fail to decide hockey final

Co-champs declared in Michigan's longest prep hockey game

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


PLYMOUTH -- When Tim Hooker scored the tying goal late in the third period of the Division I state high school championship game, little did the Orchard Lake St. Mary's forward realize he was setting the stage for the longest prep hockey game in Michigan history.

Hooker's goal with 1:32 left in regulation Saturday night at Compuware Sports Arena tied the score 1-1 in the title game against Marquette. After three 15-minute periods, the game remained tied, sending it into sudden death overtime.

Each overtime period was eight minutes long. But after eight overtime periods and still a 1-1 tie, Michigan High School Athletic Association officials opted to call the game and declare St. Mary's and Marquette co-state champions. The game ended 4 hours, 15 minutes after it started.

"We were so tired that we were feeling like ordering out some pizzas or something like that," Hooker joked. "We knew how the other team felt. Whoever wanted it more would win. I guess we both wanted it so much."

It was only the fifth overtime state finals game since the MHSAA started hockey state playoffs in 1975. Three of the previous games were in single overtime and only one went into double overtime.

When the game ended after 45 minutes of regulation and eight 8-minute overtimes for 1:49, MHSAA officials reported that it was the longest hockey contest in state history surpassing a recent Sault Ste. Marie-Petoskey game in regional action that lasted 1:32:34, with Sault Ste. Marie winning 2-1.

The MHSAA also said available records indicate that it could be considered the second longest game in national high school hockey history, trailing only an 11-overtime game in 1955 that Minneapolis South won over Thief River Falls, Minn., 3-2.

"I thought it was the best high school hockey game I've seen in my entire life," said Marquette coach Joe Papin, who said he had "mixed feelings" about the MHSAA's decision to stop the game. "But I understand the state's decision in not wanting to see anyone get hurt."

Orchard Lake St. Mary's had defeated Marquette 4-2 in last season's title game. St. Mary's ended the game with a 15-12-3 record while Marquette was 20-5-4. Those records, as posted by MHSAA, included Saturday's game as a tie, although Papin said he considers his team to have had a 21-win season.

"My first instinct would have been to play it out," said St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow. "But the decision was made and it wasn't up for debate. I look at it as a moment in hockey history that my kids and Marquette's kids were a part of."

Marquette, whose lone goal came in the second period from Mike Peterson had a 59-34 shots advantage. Ryan Morley-Stockton had 58 saves for St. Mary's while Jon Nezich had 33 for Marquette.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's was also a part of the longest football game in Michigan state finals history last November losing 46-39 in five overtimes to East Grand Rapids in the Division 3 title game at Ford Field.

Forward Shane Halass was on the football team.

"I rather it go into a shoot-out, but in the end, it's all good," Halaas told the Detroit Free Press. "It's better than if we lost. Everyone goes out a winner. It was different, but we're champions and we get rings."

Marquette had knocked Traverse City West out of the tournament with a 6-2 win in the regional finals at Sault Ste. Marie.

Traverse City Central lost to Division 2 runner-up Midland in the regional finals at Alpena 5-4. That game went four overtimes.

The Poll Results: Where the Gopher will finish?

Position the Gopher's finish in the WCHA standings?

A.) 4th 10 (2%)
B.) 5th 23 (5%)
C.) 6th 71 (17%)
D.) 7th 176 (44%)
E.) 8th 60 (15%)
F.) 9th 56 (14%)

Gophers finish the regular season in 7th place.
Final Standings

1.) C.C. 43
2.) UND 39
3.) DU 33
4.) MSU-M 28
5.) SCSU 28
6.) Wisconsin 27
7.) Minnesota 25
8.) UMD 23
9.) MTU 22
10.) UAA 12

Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road for their WCHA first round series.

Another sister kissing: UND 2 SCSU 2

The Sioux are going to have to play better than this if they are going to win an NCAA title. UND keeps the streak alive as they have gone 17 games without a loss. Referee Todd Anderson had another horrible night as he let a lot of stuff go on both sides of the ice. Time for the league to look into the state of officals in the off season.

Goals Scoring/Penalties Time

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
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NDK-1 Matt Frattin (2-Tripping) STC 0x1 4:30
STC-1 Tony Mosey (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x1 8:05
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brad Miller (4) (Ryan Martens, Joe Finley) 8:23
NDK: 14,2,8,25,10,G1 STC: 26,13,24,4,G33
STC-2 Aaron Marvin (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x2 8:50

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2nd Period (20:00)
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STC 1 - 1 6x6 Brent Borgen (3) (Aaron Brocklehurst, Ryan Peckskamp) 4:23
NDK (-): 4,28,29,17,20,G1
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 Matt Watkins (8) (Derrick LaPoint, Joe Finley) 18:52
NDK (+): 20,3,2,29,17,G1 STC (-): 19,27,4,7,13,G33

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK-2 Andrew Kozek (2-Hooking) STC 1x2 16:11
STC 2 - 2 6x5 PP GT Ryan Lasch (23) (Aaron Brocklehurst, Andreas Nodl) 17:21
STC: 19,21,12,26,13,G33 NDK: 2,4,29,20,G1

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Overtime (5:00)
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End of Game

Linkorama SCSU series.

Check out what SCSU Huskie beat writer Kevin Allenspach had to say about this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the SCSU Huskies.

North Dakota has strung together five consecutive post-Christmas hot streaks, the last four of those coming under Dave Hakstol -- who doesn't know any other way to finish than to ramp up for the playoffs. The Sioux went 19-6-3 after the holiday in 2003-04, 12-8-3 in 2004-05, 17-9-0 in 2005-06, and 17-4-4 last season - each run ending at the Frozen Four. Since they're 15-2-1 since Christmas this season, what's the deal? I talked to Hakstol, who said he expects a "playoff-type intensity," and junior defenseman Taylor Chorney to find out.

"There's not a lot different now that we've been winning," downplayed Hakstol, whose team is 14-0-1 since its last meeting with St. Cloud State and has a chance to win at least a share of the MacNaughton Cup if first-place Colorado College drops one of its last two games against Denver this weekend. "We've had a consistent mentality all along where we've focused on the near future. The (winning) streak and a lot of that other stuff, that's all in the past. Offensively, we've been consistently in that 2-, 3-, 4-goal range all along. The real key is that we've been getting some different players to chip in at the right times."

A couple of those are likely out of action this weekend against the Huskies at Engelstad Arena. Freshman forward Evan Trupp, who has eight goals and 13 points, suffered a broken leg Saturday at Duluth. Sophomore defenseman Chay Genoway left the DECC with his arm in a sling, courtesy of a hit from behind by Michael Gergen on Sunday, and is doubtful. Genoway entered last weekend as the top WCHA defenseman in points per game.

But sophomore forward Chris VandeVelde always seems to light up SCSU (he's got 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in six career games against the Huskies). And junior forward Andrew Kozek leads the Sioux with 15 goals -- many of them (Surprise!) coming since he was put on the top line with T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan. And J-P Lamoureux, one of four seniors who will be honored by the Sioux on Saturday, leads the WCHA in overall goals-against average (1.68).

The more things change the more they stay the same. I was wondering when this subject was going to come up? I think this article is just a nicer way of saying; UND is a bunch of Goons, UND is the most penalized team in the league. Everytime there is an incident UND is right in the middle of it. Check it out Taylor Chorney is interviewed about UND's Style of play.

Allenspach column: Us vs. them mentality serves the Sioux well

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — You can argue how much the controversy is warranted, but there's no question the North Dakota men's hockey team has thrived — despite or because of it.

The top-ranked Sioux enter the last series of the regular season 14-0-1 — best in the nation — since their last defeat. That came 3-2 on Jan. 4 at St. Cloud State, and also was the last time they played without leading scorer T.J. Oshie, arrested the weekend before for disorderly conduct.

After his one-game suspension, the Sioux stormed back to win the rematch 6-2 and Oshie contributed a goal and an assist.

Following a home sweep against Michigan Tech, UND captain Rylan Kaip fought Minnesota State-Mankato's Trevor Bruess in a 2-1 road win Jan. 18.

After a home sweep of Alaska Anchorage, Darcy Zajac fought Minnesota's Tony Lucia during a 1-1 tie Feb. 2 at Minnesota. That night, TV cameras captured Sioux coach Dave Hakstol making an obscene gesture at referee Don Adam. Hakstol apologized but was suspended two games, so he wasn't behind the bench Feb. 16 when Kyle Radke fought Denver's Brandon Vossberg in a 4-1 win.

"It's been a learning process," said Taylor Chorney, chuckling at the recollection of fellow junior defenseman Joe Finley slashing the Wisconsin mascot during a series last November at Madison. "Maybe we did some dumb things, but some of the times I don't think it was all our fault, either. We were in situations where we had to have our teammates' backs. We've learned to walk a fine line."

The Sioux have taken more penalty minutes than their opponent once in the last eight games, indicating they're ready to play whatever style necessary this weekend against the Huskies, who rank 56th of 59 Division I teams in PIM and fourth on the power play.

"St. Cloud's a team that looks for those opportunities, so we've got to be smart," said Chorney, a second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, who is from Hastings and played at Shattuck-St. Mary's. "We'll kill aggressive penalties — like a charge or boarding — but we don't want to take any hooking or tripping (calls)."

It's unlikely the Sioux will throw down with the playoffs next week. But they will try to, as they like to say, run the Huskies through the Zamboni doors.

"I think we've put it in the backs of teams' minds that we're going to be physical," Chorney said. "Hockey's a tough sport. We've made a couple of bad decisions, but we're at our best when we're pushing the line.

"Maybe it's easier for us because we're up here in Grand Forks and you're not going to do a whole lot but go to the rink every day and focus on hockey. There's that sort of feeling where the only thing that matters is the other guys."

Sometimes it's calmest in the eye of the storm.

Sioux Success by the Numbers

By Heidi Sioux62
Sioux Success by the Numbers

With all the talk about what goons the Sioux are, I thought I would talk a little about the positives and how the Sioux have gotten to where they are – 14 game unbeaten streak (13-0-1), tied for 1st in the pairwise, 1st in both national polls, 2nd in the WCHA - looking for 1st in the WCHA with a little help from Denver (although they are keen to take one or two from CC they may not be overjoyed that their winning will also help UND).

While I know that what happens on the ice can be very different from what is on paper, I like numbers and so will tell the story with stats. My numbers are vs WCHA teams (which I found on the WCHA website and on the UND FightinSioux.com website) as I was unable to find team stats vs country (gotta admit they are there if I want to do the digging and comparing, but I really didn’t have the time to do that).

Let’s start with the offence:

UND is 2nd in goals per game at 3.15. The scoring per period is: 1st period, 38 goals (tied for 1st with St. Cloud), 2nd period, 28 (7th in league – hope the boys can up that number in the remaining games), 3rd period, 36 (3rd in league) and overall is 2nd in league with 105 total goals. The power play is 3rd in the league in overall games played at 18.3%.

Individually the point totals at the top are not surprising. TJ with 35, Ryan with 33and Vandy with 28 (which are 5, 6 and tied for 13th respectively overall in the WCHA and 4,5 and tied for 7th respectively in WCHA league play only). The fun surprise is the next 3 top scorers – Robbie (23), Chay (22) and Taylor (20) – way to go defense, chipping in on offense, gotta love the two way play of these guys. The top scorers are then complimented with 5 guys with 13 or more points (including Joe Finley who most people would not think of as an offensive threat).
Shooting percentage is also an interesting stat, with some players having top numbers that most people wouldn’t suspect:
Vandy - 21. 5% on 65 shots (SHOOT, SHOOT and SHOOT some more Chris)
Kozek – 18.8% on 80 shots
TJ – 17.9% on 78 shots

Then there are several players that shoot between 10% and 12% (including Big Joe at 10.3% and Kyle Radke at 10% - who would have “thunk” it from those two). UND holds a shots per game advantage with 985 shots to 821 shots for an average of 29.85 shots per game. And then there are the faceoffs (this is a very underrated stat as it can be critical for scoring chances or preventing scoring chances for opponents). The Sioux have a team percentage in faceoffs won of 52.6% and you will never guess who leads the team – Zach Jones with a perfect record of 100% faceoffs won (granted he’s only taken one faceoff, but he won it). There are 8 players (including Zach) who have won 50% or more of their faceoffs, led by Kozek (after Jones of course) with 63.9% of faceoffs won.

The +/- is a stat that indicates both offen se and defense, but is primarily used as a stat to assist in evaluating defensive play. The team is awesome in this stat, having 16 players with a plus rating. Joe Finley leads the team with a +24 followed by Chay (+20), Ryan (+19) and TJ (+13).

Let’s move on to the defense.

While offense gets most of the “press”, the defensive play of this team is the real “meat and potatoes” of this team’s success.

The defense of course “starts between the pipes” with Phil. He has a nation leading GAA of 1.6776 and is tied for 1st in save % at .934. He is also tied for 2nd nationally in shutouts with 5. At the beginning of the year all the “experts” said that goaltending was going to be the week link for the Sioux. Guess Phil put that “rumor” to rest.

As spectacular as Phil has been, the defensive success of the team has been a real TEAM effort. This team has only allowed 59 total goals (10 in the 1st period, 23 in the 2nd period and 26 in the 3rd period). The next closest team in the WCHA is CC with 73 goals against. The Sioux have allowed 3 or more goals in only 8 games.

I wish I could find the shot attempts and shots blocked for opponents because from watching the games this year I think the stats would be impressive. Since I don’t have those stats I’ll just go with the shots on goal against. The Sioux have limited opponents to under 20 shots in 10 games and have limited opponents to 20-25 shots in 9 games. That’s 19 games where they’ve allowed 25 or fewer shots by the opponent. The average shots per game by an opponent is 24.88.

I guess I can’t really do a full review of the season by the numbers without including penalties. It will surprise many that it is not as lopsided as everyone seems to think. I’ll start with the penalty kill that is 89.3% and is on track to be the best penalty kill percentage in UND history.

Regarding individual penalties/penalty minutes it might surprise a lot of people that Big Joe does NOT lead the team in either category. The winner here is Rylan Kaip with 27 penalties for 73 minutes. Joe comes in 2nd with 23/65 and here’s one probably no one would expect – TJ comes in 4th on the team with 16/51.

Now lets move on to game comparisons of UND vs Opponents:

UND 268 penalties – Opponents 270 penalties
UND 685 penalty minutes – Opponents 694 penalty minutes
UND 8.1 average penalties per game – Opponents 8.2 average penalties per game
UND 20.8 average penalty minutes per game – Opponents 21 average penalty minutes per game
UND 7 major penalties – Opponents 6 major penalties
UND 9 10 minute penalties – Opponent 10 10 minute penalties
UND 7 game misconducts – Opponent 7 game misconducts

The numbers clearly don’t indicate that the Sioux are the “thugs” of college hockey that everyone seems to enjoy accusing them of. In actuality, the Sioux trail (if only by a small margin) in all categories except Major penalties where they lead by 1.I will end this story by the numbers with a salute to the fans. I wish I knew the numbers of Sioux fans at out of town games (both those who travel and those who live in the areas) because there always appears to be an amazing amount of Sioux fans at all those games. The numbers I do have is for home games and they are impressive. The home attendance for the 17 games played averages 11,725 people per game which is basically 100% capacity of the Ralph. I know the players are extremely grateful for the support both home and away and truly consider the fans the “extra man” on the ice

Rivalry week; SCSU and UND

A person could burn up a ton of clichés describing the importance of this week’s matchup between the SCSU Huskies and the UND Fighting Sioux. The Huskies and Sioux are natural rivals as determined by the league a few years back. What does this mean? It means the Sioux and the Huskies are going to play 4 times a year every year. I have not heard a lot of people grumble about this and I am fine with it.

The UND Fighting Sioux and SCSU Huskies usually play exciting games and this year has been no different. Under Coach Bob Motzko the Huskies have gotten away from the ever boring trap and now play a more exciting brand of up tempo hockey. Back to the Clichés; did I mention that this weekend is crunch time? With the final week of the season there is a lot at stake. A WCHA regular season title (possible if DU co-operates and UND sweeps) and seeding for the WCHA tourney. This weekend’s series also has national implications as well, because the Sioux want to keep winning so they can secure a number one seed. If the Huskies get swept this weekend they probably go on the road for the First round of the WCHA playoffs and run the risk of not making the NCAA tourney.





SCSU Huskies 17-14-3 -- 12-12-2 5th place in the WCHA
Leading scorers
R. Lasch 22-24-46
G. Roe 18-22-40
A. Nodl 17-23-40
N. Dey 10-10-20
M. Hartman 7-12-19
Goaltenders
J. Weslosky 14-11-0 2.20
D. Dunn 3-2-2 2.63
B. O'Brien 0-1-1 3.54







Fighting Sioux 23-8-2 -- 18-7-1 2nd place in the WCHA
Leading scorers
T. Oshie 14-21-35
R. Duncan 13-20-33
C. VandeVelde 14-14-28
R. Bina 2-21-23
C. Genoway 6-16-22
Goaltenders
A. Walski 1-0-0 0.00
J. Lamoureux 22-8-2 1.68

UND is 14-5-4 the last 24 games against SCSU.

This post isn't going to make Husky fans very happy.

Jim Connelly said; We’ve reached the first full week of March with only one regular season league championship still up for grabs. The WCHA will come down to the final weekend of play, with North Dakota sitting just two points behind league-leader Colorado College.

The Tigers may have the tougher opponent this weekend then they’ll face in-state rival Denver, while North Dakota squares off against St. Cloud State. SCSU did prove a problem for Wisconsin over the weekend, earning a split, but they’ll be traveling to Grand Forks for this final weekend which gives the edge to the Sioux.

Here is another interesting perspective from this blog post.

WCHA Dominance in the PairWise

If the NCAA Tournament Selection Show were taking place today, the WCHA would have a 50/50 chance of winning this year’s national championship based on the field itself (WCHA fans, I’m sure, will argue that the league’s “superiority” would give them better than a 50/50 shot, but to that I digress).

Currently, eight of the ten WCHA teams rank in the top 14 of the PairWise rankings. That was made possibly when Minnesota crept from the 15th spot to the 12th position over the weekend, while a skidding Minnesota-Duluth club held on for dear life to the 14th and final PWR rank.

I don’t have the math brain to say what the chances are the through the playoffs that eight WCHA teams will maintain their PWR. Obviously, the lower the seeds that advance to the Final Five the better the chance that we’ll see seven or eight WCHA teams.