One last dance with an old friend.

There has been a lot of discussion about this weekend's series between the Gophers and the Fighting Sioux/UND Hockey team. This was the last regular season series at the REA between UND and UMN. It's only fitting that the series would end in split and a near line brawl between the two teams.

The arena was really electric this weekend and it was very loud at the Ralph on Friday night, especially during the third period.

After Friday's game the Ralph Englestad Arena lobby was still buzzing at about 10:30 pm and as I left the arena after the post game press conference, I thought this is what we are going to miss. One of the best rivalries in college hockey.

I can't see OSU vs. UMN or PSU vs. UMN matching this series in intensity, there is no way. Sure Michigan and Minnesota will be a good rivalry game and I am sure that Miami and UND will have some epic battles, but this is where it's at.

So in a season and a half we are going to no longer be able to see this historic series at the Ralph Englestad Arena again. FireHelmetGuy#26 post on Gopher Puck Live nails it.

As for Ben Blood going nuts this weekend, I would be willing to bet that he probably regrets that move today as he looks back on that incident.  Not the smartest move on Blood's part and it didn't portray him in a very positive light. We are all human beings and we all make mistakes. The near brawl at the end of the game also put a damper on an other wise great series. Here is the quote from head coach Dave Hakstol from Brad's gamer.

The last time UND and Minnesota skated off the Ralph Engelstad Arena ice as Western Collegiate Hockey Association rivals, they were unable to make it through the handshake line without a scuffle breaking out.

UND coach Dave Hakstol said he didn’t like that, nor did he like his team’s energy during a 6-2 loss to the rival Gophers in front of 11,964 in Ralph Engelstad Arena. [Grand Forks Herald]

That being said, I am not going to throw Ben Blood under the bus, what good would it do? Blood screwed up and broke a rule and violated tradition. Blood pulled someone out of the hand shake line after the game was over.

I got the impression that some wanted me to eviscerate Blood on my blog because he made a bad decision, he did. I don't think we are going to see Ben Blood do that again, and I am sure most of us would not like to see that again. Finally, there is an old saying, Let Him Who is Without Sin Cast the First Stone.

s/t to Puck Daddy for the Link today as Blood's post game reaction when viral around the hockey world.

Related articles

• UMN runs past UND 6-2 (mvn.com)
• College Hockey fan behavior. (mvn.com)
• A battle between two states; Minnesota vs. North Dakota? (mvn.com)
• North Dakota edges Minnesota (insidehockey.com)
• Fighting Sioux 1930-2012 R.I.P. (mvn.com)
• UND vs. UMN series notes (mvn.com)
• North Dakota vs. Minnesota Series Notes (insidehockey.com)
• Minnesota pastes North Dakota (insidehockey.com)

Pray For Jack Jablonski

It's truly a tragic thing event. You have to feel for the parents of Jack. Never met the kid, don't know him but I couldn't make it through the video without getting tears in my eyes. According to the Star Tribune the prognosis for Jack Jablonski is not very good.

The neurosurgeon who operated on Jack Jablonski, the Benilde-St. Margaret's High School hockey player paralyzed from a hit last week during a game, outlined a somber long-term prognosis Thursday for the 16-year-old sophomore and said "we can't expect much recovery."

Along with no use of his legs, Dr. Walter Galicich said in a news briefing that it's "very unlikely" that Jablonski will regain the use of his arms from the elbows down.

Related articles

• Benilde-St. Margaret's Jack Jablonski hurt by dangerous check (mvn.com)
• High School Hockey Player Jack Jablonski Paralyzed After Collision on the Ice (bleacherreport.com)
• High-School Hockey Player Suffers Severed Spinal Cord After Accidental Check [Horrific Injuries] (deadspin.com)
• Minn. prep hockey player paralyzed during game (mysanantonio.com)

The Big Red goal that wasn't

s/t to the BU Hockey Blog. This was the non-goal that others have been talking about from this past weekend of college hockey. It appears that the on ice officials made the correct call, the refs lost sight of the puck; the announcers said that the puck went into the netting behind the goal, ref blew the whistle and waved off the goal and the puck went into the net after the whistle.

I know that some Cornell hockey fans are going to be upset, but the right call was made in this situation. I am puzzled why the on iced officials took so long to make that call?

This is why I complain about the WCHA officials...

First off, I am not a Golden Gopher hockey apologist by any stretch of the imagination but after watching this video replay of this penalty call about five times; forget who the team is that just got called for a minor penalty, this is a horse bleep call.

This is why fans of WCHA teams complain about the on ice referees in the WCHA. Seriously, what did Ben Marshal do to get the gate? In my opinion, that is a horrible call and this is the reason I hack on the officials in the WCHA. I also pray that the NCHC doesn't use WCHA officials or hire Greg Shepherd to be the head of officials for the NCHC.

Goon - the Movie

This looks like a movie that I am going to have to see. Here is the review from the IMDb on the movie.

But what sets it apart from the other Canadian hockey films is its glorification of violence and carnage on ice. Glatt's main objective is to destroy and take out the other players, and everyone around him is constantly stressing that. While we get to witness the struggle he has trying to understand if there will ever be anything more for him, the film still paints him in the corner of always needing to fight, which leads to some horrifically bloody battles. Dowse does not shy away from how violent the sport can be; instead he makes it incredibly gratuitous and takes it dangerously close to the limits of decency. I laughed at how silly the violence became, but I was surprised at just how gory it was in many instances. It will no doubt cause a minor controversy, and I would not be surprised if a lot of people ignore the fact that the film is one of the few to actually deal with the topic head-on.

MacMillan's goal against SCSU

s/t BadgersSioux... There were three defensemen on the ice for the Fighting Sioux on the ice for this goal, Blood was playing the wing on this play as Simpson and Forbort were the Defensemen on this goal.

Something stinks in Huntsville...

After reading this newspaper article it also appears that there is an out of control university administrator running the UAH.

Also, university president Dr. Malcolm Portera, had no other intentions but to kill the UAH Chargers and there was no other plan. If I was a fan of UAH hockey program I would be very upset.

Shanon Lampton; Madison County Record --- Portera said that the hockey team, which has been independent since the CHA conference folded, cannot continue to exist as without a conference affiliation. According Portera, he was told that it would cost $1.5 million to join a conference and this is money the university just doesn’t have.

Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Bruce McLeod, disagrees. He said that the conference has no minimum budgetary requirements, and none were given to Portera. Portera also shared a concern that because of the distance from other conference schools UAH would be required to subsidize other teams’ travel expenses. McCleod again disagreed. He says Portera asked him about it and was told it was not a requirement.

Nathan Bowen, who played hockey at UAH from 1996-2000, and coached at the school, wants to know how the numbers break down, and why offers of help were turned away. “We haven’t been given a lot of information. Just give us the breakdown of the figures.” He and other hockey alums and supporters pledged almost $600,000 in funding to be disbursed over the next three years. He knows it is not enough but thinks, given time, they could get there. “I think we could ramp up to the figures we need.”

People wonder why some have so little respect for the people that run institutions of higher education, these highly educated people seem to lack reality or are so out of touch with the "real world". Some of these people  have never had a real job in their life and yet have the power to affect so many people with their decisions.

My heart goes out to the people that are fans of the UAH hockey program.  There has been a group of people working their tails off to save their favorite hockey program and this administrator disregarded the will of the people. Also, it appears that the president lied about the WCHA having budgetary requirements and Bruce McLeod even refuted that claim.  

Related articles

• Alabama-Huntsville Dropping Men's Ice Hockey as NCAA Sport (bleacherreport.com)
• Save - UAH Hockey (mvn.com)
• Save UAH Hockey - a program on the "brink" (mvn.com)
• Effort to Save UAH underway... (mvn.com)

Stefan Matteau on the Pipeline Show

Dean Millard and Guy Flaming from the Pipeline Show on 1260 A.M. out of Edmonton, Alberta do a really good job promoting the game of hockey on all levels from the NHL, CHL and NCAA., last night the Dean and Guy had Fighting Sioux recruit Stephan Matteau.

Coming Down the Pipe --- Our 2012 draft prospect will be Stefan Matteau of the U.S. National development program. The budding power forward is another in the growing list of sons of NHLers. His dad Stephane is a Stanley Cup Champion.

Click to listen to the interview on the Pipeline Show. [Click to listen]

Get your Fighting SIoux Hockey Media Guides Today...

I case anyone is looking for the new Fighting Sioux media guide you can buy one for 25.00 by clicking on the link below. You can also download the media guide for free by clicking on this link.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Fans of Fighting Sioux men’s hockey can now order their own printed copy of the 2011-12 Fighting Sioux men’s hockey media guide.

The media guides serve as the ultimate season preview and historical document for every Sioux fan, containing student-athlete and coach bios, detailed roster information, opponent capsules, season outlooks, season recaps, statistical breakdowns, record books, university and facility information and much, much more.

Fans can purchase their media guides by visiting www.fightingsioux.ondemandmediaguides.com.

Cost of the 196-page media guide is $25.00, which includes shipping and handling. Please allow a minimum of 7-10 days for delivery.

Production of printed UND Athletics media guides was halted in 2010-11 due to cost-saving measures, but has been revived in 2011-12 due to popular demand.

Printed media guides for women’s hockey, football, volleyball and soccer are also currently available. Media guides for additional fall and spring sports will become available at a later date.

My new gig

This season I will be writing for Inside Hockey as one of the WCHA writers. You can find my articles at this link [Inside Hockey]. I look forward to the challenge.

Related articles

• Waiting to Exhale, the WCHA is Back (mvn.com)
• WCHA to expand... (mvn.com)
• University of Alaska Fairbanks to the WCHA? (mvn.com)
• Hump Day Links... (mvn.com)
• LSSU, FSU and UAF join the WCHA for the 2013-2014 season. (mvn.com)

Wild Trade Martin Havlat for Ex-Badger Dany Heatley

Image via WikipediaWe don't need no stinking Badgers... I have to say that I am still in a state of shock, the Minnesota Wild pull off their second major block buster trade of the offseason in less than two weeks. Just 9 days ago the Minnesota Wild traded defenseman Brent Burns to the Sharks for forward Devin Setoguchi.

The Minnesota Wild have traded for ex-Wisconsin Badgers star and San Jose Shark Dany Heatley in exchange the Sharks get much injured and soft Martin Havlat. This could be a great trade because the Wild get their much need offensive threat after losing Marian Gaborik to the New York Rangers.

Carly Peters - Digital Media Coordinator “We are excited to add Dany Heatley, one of the top goal scorers in the NHL, to our team,” said Fletcher. “He is a quality player who has averaged more than a point a game in his nine-year career.”

Heatley recorded 64 points (26-38=64) in 80 games last season with the Sharks. The 30-year-old native of Freiburg, Germany ranked tied for 12th in the NHL with 11 power-play goals and added five game-winning goals. Heatley added nine points (3-6=9) in 18 playoff games. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound winger ranks first in the NHL in power-play goals (128) and game-winning goals (58), third in goals and fifth in points since he entered the league in 2001. He has has collected 689 points (325-364=689) in 669 career contests in nine seasons with Atlanta, Ottawa and San Jose. He was the winner of the 2002 Calder Memorial Trophy, named to the 2006 NHL Second All-Star Team, the 2007 First All-Star Team and has been named to the NHL All-Star Game four times.

Heatley is familiar with the midwest, having played two seasons (1999-2001) at the University of Wisconsin, where he notched 113 points (52-61=113) in 77 games and was named the 2000 WCHA Rookie of the Year and to the 2001 NCAA West First All-American Team. He was originally selected by the Thrashers with the second overall pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

Havlat tallied 116 points (40-76=116) in 151 games in two seasons with Minnesota. The 30-year-old has recorded 512 points (209-303=512) in 621 career NHL games with Ottawa, Chicago and the Wild.

You have to wonder if the Wild are done making moves? This could turn out being a very exciting summer. The Wild have some exciting young talent waiting in the wings as well in Zucker, Larsson, and Granlund.

Alex Burrows takes a bite out of the Bruins.

The Boston Bruins lost a game after leading 2-1 going into the third period. The Boston Bruins had won about 88% of their games when they lead after two periods during the regular season and had been perfect in the Stanley Cup playoffs to date, all good things must come to and end.

So fast forward to overtime; this was a textbook example on how not to play hockey, if you want to win the game, turnovers and players being out of position will kill a hockey team every time. But lets not forget that the bad effort started in the third period as the Boston Bruins tried to sit on a lead instead of attacking and they never really tried to stretch the lead. I believe in this instance that the Boston Bruins went to the well one too many times and it might have cost them a Stanley Cup.

Is this Karma? 

Hollywood couldn't have scripted this ending any better for the home town Vancouver Canucks, forward Alex Burrows, who could have been suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron in game one, scored two of the games three goals including the game winning goal just 11 seconds into overtime. The game ending play was a comedy of errors starting with a brutal turner over by Andrew Ference at the blue line, followed up a non challenge of Burrows behind the Bruins net by Zedano Chara and finally bad positioning by Tim Thomas who was grossly out of position. If Thomas stays in the net there is a good chance that Tim Thomas stops the shot by Alex Burrows.

Related articles

• 2011 Stanley Cup Finals: Alex Burrows Not Suspended for Bergeron Bite (bleacherreport.com)
• Boston Media Compares Alex Burrows Bite To Matt Cooke (Yes, Seriously) (sbnation.com)
• NHL won't fine or suspend Alex Burrows for his bite on Patrice Bergeron (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Alex Burrows Escapes Suspension After Biting Patrice Bergeron In Game 1 (sbnation.com)

Rocco Grimaldi: A 'huge' threat for Team USA

Here is a great article about future Fighting Sioux forward Rocco Grimaldi; seems that while small in stature Rocco is making a big impact at the combines this spring.

Mike G. Morreale - NHL.com Staff Writer --- After having just completed his fourth of 12 team interviews in his initial day at the NHL Scouting Combine, had a satisfied look on his face.

Despite being listed as the smallest player invited to the Combine at 5-foot-6, 163 pounds, Grimaldi has certainly earned the reputation as a big-game performer. Why else would all 30 NHL teams request an interview with the leading scorer for the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2010-11.

"It's great to always be the underdog and have people doubt you," Grimaldi told NHL.com. "But I think I could also be a role model for kids my size, not even in hockey, but in general. I could be a really good example for them on how I go about my business, not caring about what people say, and how I live my life. I'm always thinking about the next generation under me and trying to help them out as well."

Grimaldi was asked if those scouts from the Tampa Bay Lightning referred to Martin St. Louis at some point during their discussion.

"They said one of their best players is St. Louis, he's the leader of that group and we don't care about size," Grimaldi said. "Our best player is the smallest guy on the ice and we love small guys and that was a cool thing to hear. That motivates me because playing in the NHL has always been my dream. So whatever it takes to achieve it ..."

Grimaldi is certainly on that path after striking for a team-leading 34 goals, 62 points, 13 power-play goals, and five game-winners in 50 games for the USNTDP this season.

"He's definitely a character kid and great guy," USNTDP goalie John Gibson said. "He's small, but probably has the biggest heart on the team."

"He was a dynamic guy, an outstanding skater, quick and around the puck all the time," Central Scouting's Chris Edwards told NHL.com. "He wasn't scared to get involved in battles and go to the net."

Grimaldi played a big part of the gold medal-winning Team USA in the 2010 Under-18 World Championship in Belarus, tying for the team lead with 10 points in seven games. He'd connect for 2 goals, 8 points and a plus-5 rating in another gold-medal winning effort at the 2011 U-18 World Championship in Germany.

Related articles

• NHL Draft: Prospects update (cbc.ca)
• "2011 Final NHL Central Scouting Draft Rankings" and related posts (westerncollegehockeyblog.com)
• Usa Olympic Hockey Team 2010 (mademan.com)
• Bryan Adams and Alicia Grimaldi Welcome Daughter! (thehollywoodgossip.com)
• Olympic Hockey Rosters 2010 (mademan.com)

Mikael Granlund postage stamp in Finland

 

S/T Hockey Wilderness... Wild Prospect Mikael Granlund now has his own stamp in his native country of Finland. Granlund became even more famous after his impressive lacross style goal against Russia in the World Hockey Championship earlier this month.

Related articles

• Mikael Granlund Goal: Sick Lacrosse Move Lifts Finland Over Russia In World Championships (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
• Granlund's lacrosse goal gets him a postage stamp in Finland (tsn.ca)
• Finland's Mikael Granlund scores highlight-reel goal at world championships (aol.sportingnews.com)
• Mikael Granlund Goes Top Shelf For A Goal At The World Championship (thebiglead.com)

Recchi smokes Ohlund...

Check out this monster hit by Boston Bruin's forward Mark Recchi on Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Mattias Ohlund. Just for the record, Recchi is 43 years old and still able to play the game of hockey at a high level of play.

Again; why was Bruin's rookie Tyler Seguin not playing in the first two rounds?

Boston Bruins rookie Tyler Seguin missed the first 11 games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs because he was said to be a defensive liability, but made up for the absence tonight with two goals and two assists during the second period of Tuesday's 6-5 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. The four points in the second period by Tyler Seguin tied a Boston Bruin’s/NHL playoff record for points in a period.

USA Today --- Seguin's four points in a period tied the NHL playoff record held by many players, including three other Bruins. Barry Pederson did it in 1982 against the Buffalo Sabres, followed by Peter McNab in 1982 against Buffalo and by Ken Linseman against the Montreal Canadiens in 1985.

In two games that Tyler Seguin has played in, Seguin has amassed (3g-3a-6pts) that's one more point than first line winger and the Boston Bruins regular season leading goal scorer Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic (2g-3a-5pts) again, why wasn't this kid playing in the first two rounds. The $64,000.00 question is who are the Bruins going to sit when Patrice Bergeron returns from his mild concussion? I would say that Daniel Paille, Shawn Thornton or Greg Campbell will be sitting for the Bruins all have basically been useless during the playoffs so far for the Boston Bruins.

Sean O'Donnell vs Nathan Horton

You don’t see as many fights during NHL Stanley Cup as you do during the regular season because of the instigator rule, but down by a few goals and trying to spark his team Sean O'Donnell started a fight with Nathan Horton. If you look at this way, it was a smart move by the veteran Sean O'Donnell because he takes a more skilled player off the ice with him.

Announcing the Bemidji Pond Hockey Classic.

Coming February 26th - 28th the Bemidji Pond Hockey Classic.