Nick Mattson and Johnny Simonson are Bruisers

Someone has posted this on Sioux Sports today, actually I find it hilarious and worth sharing with ya'll. Apparently, Nick Mattson and Johnny Simonson are now considered bruisers.


Actually, in my opinion, Steph Pattyn and Andrew Andrew Panzarella are more of the bruiser type. This is the problem when you someone that doesn't cover hockey on a regular basis get relegated to the press box. With the termination of Adrian Dater, I am sure that the Denver Post had Mike Chambers covering the Avs game last night.

Nick Groke, Denver Post -- Bad blood boiled over even before the puck dropped Saturday night in the University of Denver's 3-1 loss to North Dakota. DU and UND don't have to try hard to dislike each other.

After Denver's 4-1, runaway victory the night before, North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol inserted some muscle into his lineup, perhaps hoping to push the Pioneers around. He added 185-pound defenseman Nick Mattson and freshman lefty Johnny Simonson.

But while No. 11 Denver and No. 1 North Dakota traded ill will early on, matching retribution penalties, the two new bruisers from Grand Forks put North Dakota out front.

Mattson's slap shot goal off two posts, after Simonson won the puck in the corner, set North Dakota on its way to a victory over the Pioneers at Magness Arena.

UND Hockey: Six recruits join men’s hockey program for the 2014-15 Season

The University of North Dakota released it's 2014-15 freshman class today.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota head men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol announced today that six incoming freshmen have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the program for the 2014-15 season.

Name: Cam Johnson             
Pos: Goalie     
Ht: 6-1   
Wt: 199     
Hometown: Troy, Mich.                          
Previous Team: Waterloo (USHL)   

Draft eligible in 2014 ... Split the 2013-14 season between the Fargo Force and the Waterloo Blackhawks of the United States Hockey League (USHL) … Was traded to Waterloo mid-season and went 11-1-1 with a 1.86 and .939 save percentage … Made a combined 35 starts with Fargo and Waterloo and went 13-15-4 with a 2.68 GAA and .920 save percentage … Spent the entire 2012-13 season with Fargo, going 14-8-6 in 28 appearances with a 3.07 GAA and a .909 save percentage … Appeared in eight playoff games that season and backstopped the Force to the USHL’s 2013 Clark Cup Finals … Went 4-3 in the playoffs with a 2.40 GAA and .931 save percentage.

Name: Trevor Olson                   
Pos: Forward
Ht: 6-2   
Wt: 188     
Hometown: Duluth, Minn.                      
Previous Team: Sioux City (USHL)  

Appeared in 21 games during an injury-shortened 2013-14 season with Sioux City and registered nine goals and 12 assists with a plus-10 rating … Split the 2012-13 season between Sioux City and Green Bay, collecting 17 goals and 33 assists for 50 points in 63 games … Was a plus-17 … Played for Duluth East High School from 2009-10 to 2011-12 and amassed 32 goals and 57 assists in 61 games … Joined Green Bay for the final seven games of the season and was a member of the Gamblers’ Clark Cup championship team.

Name: Austin Poganski              
Pos: Forward
Ht: 6-1   
Wt: 198       
Hometown: St. Cloud, Minn.                  
Previous Team: Tri-City (USHL)       

Draft eligible in 2014 and is ranked 100th among North American skaters by Central Scouting … Collected 19 goals and 12 assists in 55 games with Tri-City (USHL) in 2013-14, ranking second on the team in goals … Tied for fourth in the USHL with a team-leading 11 power-play goals … Also led the team in short-handed goals (3) and ranked second in shooting percentage (.153) … Named the 2012-13 St. Cloud Times All-Area Boys Hockey Player of the Year after racking up 35 goals and 31 assists in 23 games for St. Cloud Cathedral High School … Finished his prep career with 156 points in three years … Helped lead the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2013 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he scored seven goals in 11 games … Played for the USA Hockey Under-18 Select team in the Ivan Hlinka Cup in August 2013 … In August 2012 was the leading goal-scorer on USA Hockey’s Select Under-17 team that went undefeated in winning the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament.

Name: Tucker Poolman               
Pos: Defense
Ht: 6-3   
Wt: 200     
Hometown: East Grand Forks, Minn.    
Previous Team: Omaha (USHL)       

Drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in the fifth round (127th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft … Named 2013-14 USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year … Served as team captain of the Omaha Lancers (USHL) in 2013-14 and tallied 15 goals and 26 assists with a plus-20 rating in 58 games … Led all USHL blueliners in goals (15) and power-play goals (10) and ranked third in points (41) … Also named to All-USHL First Team … Scored 29 career goals with the Lancers, the most in franchise history by a defenseman … Also played for Omaha in 2012-13, recording 14 goals and 14 assists in 64 games as a rookie … Spent the 2011-12 season with the Wichita Falls (TX) Wildcats of the North American Hockey League (NAHL) … Scored seven goals and 22 assists in 59 games … Father, Mark, lettered in football at UND from 1987-89 and currently serves as the athletic trainer and strength conditioning coach for the UND men’s hockey program.

Name: Nick Schmaltz                  
Pos: Forward
Ht: 6-0   
Wt: 172     
Hometown: Verona, Wis.                       
Previous Team: Green Bay (USHL)  

Draft eligible in 2014 and ranked 19th among North American skaters by Central Scouting … Younger brother of UND junior defenseman Jordan Schmaltz … Was named to the 2014 U.S. National Junior Evaluation Camp Roster last week … Helped lead the U.S. to a gold medal at the 2013-14 World Junior A Challenge … Collected 18 goals and 45 assists in 55 games with Green Bay (USHL) in 2013-14 and competed in the USHL All-Star Game … Led Green Bay in points and assists … Was named to the 2012-13 USHL All-Rookie Team after picking up 18 goals and 34 assists in 64 games … Led the U.S. in scoring at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Tournament … His nine points paced Team USA to a silver medal … Made his USHL debut in 2011-12, appearing in 11 games and scoring one goal and three assists for Green Bay’s USHL Clark Cup championship team … Father, Mike, lettered in football at UND from 1988 to 1990 … Uncles, Marc Schmaltz (1988-91) and Monte Schmaltz (1992-93), also lettered in football at UND.

Name: Johnny Simonson            
Pos: Forward
Ht: 5-10
Wt: 170    
Hometown: Grand Forks, N.D.              
Previous Team: Lincoln (USHL)       

Spent the 2013-14 season with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, appearing in 58 games and leading the team in points (59), goals (28), assists (31), power-play goals (9), power-play points (18), shots on goal (229) and plus/minus (plus-7) … Tied for sixth in the USHL goal-scoring race and 12th in the league’s scoring race … Played with the Austin Bruins of the NAHL in each of the previous two seasons … Collected 27 goals and 30 assists in 59 games in 2012-13 and scored 18 goals and 20 assists in 59 games in 2011-12 … A 2011 graduate of Central High School in Grand Forks … Played for Central from 2008-09 to 2010-11 and was an all-state selection … Had 31 goals and 19 assists in 26 games as a senior … Older brother, Alex, played collegiate hockey at the University of Nebraska Omaha.

UND will open the 2013-14 season with an exhibition game against the University of Manitoba on Oct. 5 at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The regular season gets underway Oct. 10-11 with a non-conference, home-and-home series with Bemidji State University.