Overhead picture of Michael Parks Goal

Can you see the puck? It's right next to the goalies glove.

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• UND Takes Bite OUt of Bulldogs (insidehockey.com)

UND takes bite out of Bulldogs 4-2

English: Ralph Engelstadt Arena at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota. *Personally photographed by the undersigned May 8, 2007. Elcajonfarms 03:46, 3 July 2007 (UTC) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Forks, ND – Coming into tonight’s game against the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of North Dakota had lost two home games in a row and was looking to right the ship and get their first conference win at home.  In the last three games at home, UND was winless and held a 0-2-1 record.

With tonight’s 4-2 win, make that 1-2-1.

So far this season, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference games have been a war. Six teams are currently separated by three points. With each game, the league standings shift and teams move up and down depending whether they win or lose.

Tonight’s game between UND and UMD is probably what the founding members’ envisioned when they first decided to embark on the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference.  Let’s just say, the game was an exciting 60-minute dog fight. No pun intended.

“Pretty exciting hockey game I would imagine for the fans,” head coach Dave Hakstol said.

UND would jump to a 2-0 lead with goals by Rocco Grimaldi and Michael Parks. Then the momentum swing in the Bulldogs favor.

UMD would come racing back to tie the game on a couple of UND miscues in a 20-second stretch during the third period. UMD would score its first goal of the game at the 06:37 mark of the third period on a goal by forward Alex Iafallo. It appeared that UND goalie Clarke Saunders thought the ref was going to blow the whistle on the delayed penalty, but the ref didn't, and the puck ended up in back of the UND net. UMD would score again 20-seconds later on the power play with a goal by Adam Krause.  Tie game 2-2.

“Everyone is human and I went oh crap for about 10 seconds,” UND goalie Clarke Saunders. “Delayed penalty, I don’t know if that’s defined as possession or not. I thought so. The puck was there and I went for it.”

On the second UND goal, initially, the goal had been waved off after referees Derek Shepherd and CJ Beaurline had reviewed the goal. Upon talking to the UND bench, the officials returned to the penalty box area and reviewed the play again and then awarded UND the goal. The replay in the press box was obvious, it was a good goal. For some reason, the second review of  the goal by the officials took a long time. When head coach Dave Hakstol was asked if he had asked the refs to take another look at the goal.

“Yeah, I did,” Hakstol said. “They don’t come and ask coaches what they should do. They go and make calls on their own. I thought they did a real good job.”

UND goalie Clarke Saunders was under attack all night long and he stopped 34 of 36 shots. After the game coach Hakstol was very complimentary of his starting goaltender.

“Clarke did a real good job tonight,” Hakstol said. “I think that Clarke has been excellent his last two outings.”

Sophomore defenseman Jordan Schmaltz would get the game winner on the power play at the 10:05 mark of the third period and junior forward Stephane Pattyn would ice the game with an empty net goal at the 19:04 mark to round out the scoring for UND.

UND will go for its first conference home sweep tomorrow night 07:07 p.m. when they play the Bulldogs in game two at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. With the win UND improves to (4-4-1, 3-4-0 NCHC) on the season. UND is now tied for the lead in the NCHC, but has played three more games than Nebraska-Omaha and Saint Cloud State.

[Box Score]

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• UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (11/15 -11/16) (insidehockey.com)

UND Hockey vs. UMD Bulldogs Lines

UND forward Lines

29 Bryn Chyzyk – 9 Drake Caggiula – 19 Rocco Grimaldi

16 Mark MacMillan –27 Luke Johnson – 15 Michael Parks (A)

28 Stephan Pattyn (A) – 13 Connor Gaarder – 11 Derek Rodwell

25 Mitch MacMillan – 10 Adam Tambellini – 7 Wade Murphy

UND Defense Pairing

18 Dillon Simpson © - 24 Jordan Schmaltz

5 Nick Mattson – 6 Paul LaDue

2 Troy Stecher – 22 Andrew Panzerella

UND goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

Scratches: 17 Colton S. Clair, 20 Gage Ausmus, 21 Brendan O’Donnell, 26 Coltyn Sanderson, 30 Matt Hrynkiw.

UMD Bulldogs

UMD Forward Lines

11 Austin Farley–13 Tony Cameranesi–26 Adam Krause
14 Alex Iafallo–17 Dominic Toninato–18 Joe Basaraba
8 Kyle Osterberg–21 Caleb Herbert–25 Justin Crandall
24 Charlie Sampair–27 Cal Decowski–19 Max Tardy

UMD Defense Pairings

4 Carson Soucy–7 Andy Welinski
16 Tim Smith–15 Willie Raskob
5 Willie Corrin–6 Derik Johnson

UMD Goalies

1 Aaron Crandall

36 Matt McNeely

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• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
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• Check out @UNDSID's tweet. (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND hockey: Wednesday Links - It's cold and flu season (ndgoon.blogspot.com)

UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (11/01-10/02)

The front entrance to Ralph Englested Arena in Grand Forks, ND. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains Saint Cloud State University Huskies at the Ralph Engelstad Arena. This is the first NCHC home series for UND, this is also the first ever series NCHC for the SCSU Huskies.

Matchup: UND (2-1-1, 1-1-0 NCHC) vs. SCSU (3-0-1, 0-0-0 NCHC)

Date: November 1-2, 2013.

Time: 7:37 p.m. Friday / Saturday 7:07 p.m. Central.

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox, Saturday Night: 100.3 Cat Country.

Webcast: undsports.com.

TV: Midco Sports Net (HD channel 622, SD channels 27 & 322).

Series History: UND leads the all-time series 60-33-12 (.629). In Grand Forks, ND UND leads the series 30-14-6 (.660). In St. Cloud, MN UND leads the series 24-18-6 (.563). At Neutral sites UND leads the series 6-1-0 (.857). Last 10-games UND leads the series 5-4-1 (.550). Last year SCSU went 2-1-1 against UND, including a 1-0-1 record at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Players to watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Rocco Grimaldi (2g-3a—5pts), Brendan O’Donnell (3g-1a—4pts), Drake Caggiula (2g-2a—4pts), Michael Parks (1g-3a—4pts), Luke Johnson (0g-3a—3pts), Mark MacMillan (1g-1a—2pts). Defense:  Nick Mattson (1g-1a—2pts), Gage Ausmus (1g0a—1pts),Jordan Schmaltz (0g-1a—1pts), Dillon Simpson (0g-1a—1pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 0-0-0, GAA 5.06 and .881 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 2-1-1, 2.60 GAA and .917 save percentage.

Huskies Forwards: Nic Dowd (3g-1a—4pts), Jonny Brodzinski (1g-3a—4pts) Kalle Kossila (1g-2a—3pts). Defense: Niklas Nevalainen (1g-2a—3pts), Ethan Prow (0g-3a—3pts), Kevin Gravel (1g-1a—2pts). Goaltenders: Ryan Faragher 3-0-0, 2.33 GAA, .912 save percentage, Charlie Lindgren 1-0-0, 1.86 GAA, .905 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

Saint Cloud State University Web Page

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• Hump Day Links: UND versus SCSU (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
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• NCHC Hockey: North Dakota and Miami Split Inaugural Weekend (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCHC Hockey: UND's beats Miami in Inaugural Game (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Versus U-18 Team Lines

UND Forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell– 16 Mark MacMillan– 15 Michael Parks (A)
10 Adam Tambellini– 9 Drake Caggiula– 19 Rocco Grimaldi
25 Mitch MacMillan– 27 Luke Johnson– 17 Colten St. Clair
26 Coltyn Sanderson– 28 Stephane Pattyn (A) – 11 Derek Rodwell
13 Connor Gaarder

UND Defense Pairings

18 Dillon Simpson ©– 24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson– 6 Paul LaDue
20 Gage Ausmus– 2 Troy Stecher
5 Nick Mattson

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders
30 Matt Hrynkiw

Scratches: 22vAndrew Panzarella, 10 Wade Murphy, 29 Bryn Chyzyk

U-18 Forward Lines

21 Ryan Hitchcock – 19 Dylan Larkin – 7 Anders Bjork

27 Sonny Milano – 11 Jack Eichel – 17 Alex Tuch

9 Shane Gersich – 13 Ryan Wagner – 14 Dylan Pavelek

10 Joe Wegwerth – 18 Nolan Stevens – 15 Styler Sheehy

U-18 Defense Pairings

4 Ryan Bliss – 16 Johnathan MacLeod

24 Louie Belpedio – 8 Jack Glover

5 Brandon Fortunato – Jack Dougherty

28 Nathan Billitier – 6 Ryan Collins

U-18 Goalies

29 Edwin Minney

30 Jake Kielly

Scratches: Jared Fiegl, Blake Weyrick

Via @TheREA press release, REA and UND have reached an arrangement to reinstate @UNDMHockey shuttle bus services beginning Nov. 1 vs. SCSU.
— Jayson Hajdu (@UNDSID) October 25, 2013

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• NCHC Hockey: UND's beats Miami in Inaugural Game (thehockeywriters.com)

UND versus Miami game one

North Dakota Forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks
10 Adam Tambellini–9 Drake Caggiula–19 Rocco Grimaldi
29 Bryn Chyzyk–27 Luke Johnson–7 Wade Murphy
13 Connor Gaarder–28 Stephane Pattyn–17 Colten St. Clair

UND Dense Pairings

18 Dillon Simpson–24 Jordan Schmaltz
5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
20 Gage Ausmus–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders 

Miami’s RedHawk Forward Lines

19 Max Cook–7 Austin Czarnik–11 Riley Barber
95 Anthony Louis–9 Sean Kuraly–10 Alex Wideman
14 Cody Murphy–25 Blake Coleman–20 Jimmy Mullin
22 Kevin Morris–26 Justin Greenberg–12 Alex Gacek

Miami Defense Pairing

5 Chris Joyaux–8 Matthew Caito

6 Michael Mooney–2 Taylor Richart
55 Trevor Hamilton–28 Ben Paulides

Miami Goalies

1 Jay Williams
35 Ryan McKay

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UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (10/18-10/19)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota travels to Oxford, Ohio to take on the NCHC foe Miami University RedHawks in the inaugural weekend of NCHC hockey. The top-ranked Miami entertains UND in a two-game conference matchup at Googin Ice Center (Steve Cady Rink).

Matchup: UND (1-0-1, 0-0-0 NCHC) vs. Miami (2-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC)

Date: October 18-19, 2013.

Time: 6:07 p.m. Friday / Saturday 6:07 p.m. Central.

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: undsports.com and Miami University on Saturday.

TV: Midco Sports Net (HD channel 622, SD channels 27 & 322), 221 DirecTV, 158 HD Dish Network (Friday).

Series History: All-time: UND leads the series against the RedHawks 2-0-1. UND is 0-0-1 against the RedHawks in Grand Forks, ND. UND is 2-0-0 against the RedHawks at neutral sites.

Fun Stat: Miami University has been red hot at home, losing just three its last 29 home games. The University of North Dakota has lost just four of its last 31 home games.

Players to watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Rocco Grimaldi (2g-3a—5pts), Drake Caggiula (2g-2a—4pts), Mark MacMillan (1g-1a—2pts). Defense:  Nick Mattson (0g-1a—1pts), Jordan Schmaltz (0g-1a—1pts), Dillon Simpson (0g-a—0pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 0-0-0, GAA 7.22 and .824 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 1-0-1, 1.21 GAA and .955 save percentage.

Miami Forwards: Riley Barber (4g-3a—7pts), Austin Czarnik (2g-3a—5pts) Sean Kuraly (1g-3a—4pts). Defense: Trevor Hamilton (0g-3a—3pts), Ben Paulides (1g-1a—2pts), Mathew Caito (0g-2a—2pts). Goaltender: Jay Williams 1-0-0, 2.01 GAA, .929 save percentage, Ryan McKay 1-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .927 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

Miami University Web Page

Both of those quotes about @UNDMHockey came from this preview piece by @DStarmanHockey: http://t.co/t9SagNHOVb
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) October 18, 2013

Big matchup this weekend: @goon48 and I jointly preview first-ever @TheNCHC game btwn @MiamiOH_Hockey & @UNDMHockey http://t.co/saP7XiwYCk
— Douglas Cutler (@DougCutlerTHW) October 17, 2013

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UND Hockey vs. Vermont Catamounts Lines game two

UND forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell – 27 Luke Johnson – 15 Michael Parks (A)

10 Adam Tambellini – 9 Drake Caggiula – 19 Rocco Grimaldi

28 Stephan Pattyn (A) – 13 Connor Gaarder – 17 Colton S. Clair

25 Mitch MacMillan –16 Mark MacMillan – 7 Wade Murphy

UND Defense Pairing

18 Dillon Simpson © – 24 Jordan Schmaltz

5 Nick Mattson – 6 Paul LaDue

4 Keaton Thompson – 2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

Scratches for UND:, 11 Derek Rodwell,  20 Gage Ausmus , 22 Andrew Panzerella,

26 Coltyn Sanderson, 29 Bryn Chyzyk, 30 Matt Hrynkiw  UND goalies

Vermont Forward Lines 

20 Brendan Bradley – 17 Jake Fallon – 3 Chris McCarthy

23 Connor Brickley – 11 H.T. Lenz © - 6 Colin Markison

22 Brady Shaw –19 Matt White – 7 Tom Forgione

8 Jonathan Turk – 18 Robert Polesello – 29 Malcolm McKinney

Vermont Defense Pairings

26 Caylen Walls – 2 Michael Paliotta

5 Rob Hamilton – 4 Nick Bruneteau

24 Chris Muscoby – 15 Yvan Pattyn

Vermont Goalies

1 Mike Santaguida

30 Pat Feeley

NCAA Hockey: Lucia Wants to Revisit the Gentleman’s Agreement http://t.co/wos7sycby6
— Hockey Wilderness (@hockeywildernes) October 12, 2013

NCHC Hockey: 10 Must Follow Twitter Accounts http://t.co/CWMirIpUjl #hockey
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) October 11, 2013

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• UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (10/11-10/12) (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Slips Past Manitoba (insidehockey.com)
• UND Completes Comeback Against Vermont (insidehockey.com)

UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (10/11-10/12)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains the Vermont University Catamounts in an non-conference series at the Ralph Engelstad Arena on October 11-12, 2013.

Matchup: UND (0-0-0, 0-0-0 NCHC) vs. Vermont (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Hockey East)

Date: October 11-12, 2013.

Time: 7:37 p.m. Friday / Saturday 7:07 p.m. Central.

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: undsports.com

TV: Midco Sports Net (HD channel 622, SD channels 27 & 322)

Series History: All-time: UND leads the series against the Catamounts 2-0-0 (1.00). UND vs. UVM in Grand Forks: None.  UVM vs. UND in Burlington, VT: None.

Players to watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Rocco Grimaldi (13g-23a—36pts), Mark MacMillan (13g-12a—25pts), Drake Caggiula (8g-8a—16pts). Defense: Dillon Simpson (5g-19a—24pts), Nick Mattson (3g-12a—15pts), Jordan Schmaltz (3g-9a—12pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 13-9-4, GAA 2.30 and .917 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 9-4-3, 2.46 GAA and .920 save percentage.

Vermont Forwards: Chris McCarthy (13g-18a—31pts), Jake Fallon (9g-13a—22pts), Matt While (6g-11a—17pts). Defense: Nick Luukko  (3g-7a—10pts), Michael Paliotta (1g-9a—10pts), Yvan Pattyn (3g-4a—7pts), Caylen Walls 2g-5a—7pts). Goaltender: Michael Santaguida 29-10-3, 2,28 GAA, .933 save percentage (Surrey Eagles, BCHL).

Vermont Injuries: Forward Kyle Reynolds (9g-11a—20pts) (out for the year injury), Goaltender Brody Hoffman 11-9-6, 2.86 GAA and .904 save percentage (injured did not make trip).

Fun fact: UND freshman forward Adam Tambellini played with Vermont goalie Michael Santaguida when they played for the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League.

UND Official Web Page

University of Vermont Web Page

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Two Headed Monster in Net for UND (thehockeywriters.com)

UND vs. Manitoba Lines

Forward Lines

Drake Caggiula – 9 - Mark MacMillan – 16 -  Rocco Grimaldi – 19

Adam Tambellini – 10 - Luke Johnson – 27 - Michael Parks – 15 (A)

Bryn Chyzyk – 29 - Stephane Pattyn – 28 (A)-  Colten St. Clair – 17

Brendan O’Donnell – 21 -  Connor Gaarder – 13 - Wade Murphy – 7

Defense Paring

Dillon Simpson – 18 ( C )- Jordan Schmaltz – 24

Nick Mattson – 5 - Paul LaDue – 6

Gage Ausmus – 20 - Troy Stecher – 2

Keaton Thompson – 4 - Andre Panzarella – 22

UND Goalies

33 Clarke Saunders

31 Zane Gothberg

Wednesday Links

College Hockey: Providence Goalie Giles making impression on the Flames. [Herald Hockey]

Thieves make off with Roberto Luongo’s tires, leave him with useless tire pump [Pass it to Bulis]

From the soon to be Brooklyn Islanders… Islanders' run of fan torture is unparalleled [The Sporting News]

Penguins Star Evgeni Malkin has a year left on his contract with the Penguins.. The Stars deny tampering with Penguins' Evgeni Malkin [CBC.CA]

Vikings News: Key stadium decisions put on hold until stadium authority reviews Wilf lawsuits and finances [Star and Tribune]

30 Teams, 30 days…. UND’s Jordan Schmaltz is ranked sixth for Blues prospects. [NHL.COM]

CHL president David Branch: Eliminating import players ‘never been discussed’ [Buzzing the Net]

UND recruit Christian Evers drafted by the London Knights

With the 99th overall pick, the London Knights are pleased to select Christian Evers in the 5th Round of the 2013 #OHLDraft!
— The London Knights (@GoLondonKnights) April 6, 2013

Being a high profile program, the University of North Dakota Hockey team has had some of their highly sought recruits decommit and go a different route.

It’s been highly documented as of late.

In August, right before the 2011-12 season, J.T. Miller decommitted from UND, and signed a signed with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Miller’s decommit put UND in a precarious situation. Without Miller, UND immediately became a different type of team.

In 61 games with the Plymouth Whalers, Miller scored (25g-37a—62). After his season with the Whalers was over, Miller played in eight games during the Calder Cup playoffs for the Connecticut Whale of the AHL.

This season, Miller was called up to the New York Rangers and scored two goals, leading the Rangers to a 4-1 victory.

Last January, USDT U18 recruit Stefan Matteau, who had originally committed to play at the University of North Dakota, decommitted from UND, and decided to play for the Blainville-Boisbraind Armada of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Matteau had a strong start to the season with the Armada (18g-10a—28pts) in 35 games and was invited to the New Jersey Devils camp once the NHL lockout was settled.

Matteau ended up playing in the Devils first five games of the season before being a healthy scratch for the next four games in a row.

The New Jersey Devils could have sent Matteau back to Blainville-Boisbraind, but instead he remained with the New Jersey Devils and last night he was skating on a line with former Fighting Sioux forward Travis Zajac and Ilya Kovalchuk to start the game.

Matteau has played 17 games with the New Jersey Devils this season, scoring (1g-2a—3pts). On the March 17, 2013, Matteau was returned to his junior team Blainville-Boisbraind Armada and has scored (1g-4a—5pts) in 6 QMJHL playoff games.

In April of 2012, Miles Koules announced that he had decommitted from the University of North Dakota and was going to be a member of the Medicine Hat Tigers of the WHL. In his first season with Medicine Hat, Koules recorded (19g-21a—40pts) in 69 games for the Tigers.

This past November, Brendan Lemieux, son of former NHL pest Claude Lemieux, left the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, decomitted from the University of North Dakota, and decided to play with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. In 42 games with the Colts, Lemieux scored an unimpressive (6g-8a—14pts).

We’re not done yet!

UND has two other recruits that have been drafted by the OHL clubs. Nick Schmaltz brother of current defenseman Jordan Schmaltz was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires last spring. Nick has not ruled out going to the Spitfires.

Also, today, UND recruit Christian Evers was drafted in the 5th round by the London Knights in the OHL Draft. Lets just say, UND fans are a little worried, based on past experience, if Evers will ever make it to UND. Evers is an impressive kid who is 6’4” and 200 pounds who will turn 16 on May 25, 2013. So you have to think, that the London Knights, will be hard after Christian Evers, to sign with them.

Evers had an impressive year with the Omaha AAA Hockey Club 16U team, scoring (17g-42—59pts) in 67 games. Evers tweeted this on his twitter account today.  So, only time will tell.

Can't wait to be apart of UND in a few years. That's what I mean when I said "Can't wait for things to play out." #SorryForTheConfusion
— Christian Evers (@CEvers97) April 6, 2013

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

Related articles

• UND recruit Christian Evers drafted by the London Knights (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Recruit Evers Drafted by Knights (insidehockey.com)