UPDATED: Mark MacMillan to have surgery

Per Brad Schlossman, via UND sports chat and twitter today. Not very good new, but it was kind of expected.

UND announces Mark MacMillan will have surgery tomorrow and is "out indefinitely." UND not ruling him out for the year yet.

So you're saying there's a chance... UPDATE: Here's the official word from UND.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol announced today that senior forward and assistant captain Mark MacMillan will undergo surgery on Wednesday, March 4, to repair a lower body injury and will be out indefinitely. MacMillan suffered the injury during North Dakota’s 3-1 victory over St. Cloud State last Saturday in Grand Forks. The Penticton, British Columbia, native leads top-ranked UND with a career-high 16 goals in 29 games this season and ranks third on the team in scoring with 25 points. He also leads UND in faceoff percentage (57.2) and his 13 goals during conference play lead the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

A fourth-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, MacMillan leads all active North Dakota skaters with 99 points (46 goals, 53 assists) in 151 career games. He is a finalist for both the 2015 Hockey Humanitarian Award and the 2015 Senior CLASS Award.

North Dakota closes out the regular season on Friday and Saturday at Miami in Oxford, Ohio. UND clinched at least a share of the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champion last Saturday and can claim the Cup outright with one point in the series against the RedHawks.

(Video) Andrew Panzarella Rocks Ty Loney and Mark MacMillan Ejected for Check from Behind

Check out the hit that UND defenseman Andrew Panzarella puts on Denver forward Ty Loney, he get absolutely rocked.

I don't know if I agree with this call or not. You do have to be careful when you're hitting another player along the wall. I think the Denver players sold it. That being said, Brad Shepherd and his reffing partner were brutal in the first period.

Mark MacMillan out indefinitely following wrist surgery

The UND hockey team received some bad news today. 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota head men’s hockey coach Dave Hakstol announced today that senior forward Mark MacMillan will be out indefinitely after undergoing wrist surgery on Saturday morning in Grand Forks.

MacMillan, a native of Penticton, British Columbia, was injured late in the second period of Friday’s game against Providence when a skate blade came into contact with his left arm causing a laceration to the wrist.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2010, MacMillan leads UND with five goals in five games and is tied for the team scoring lead with seven points. He has appeared in 127 career games and leads all active UND skaters in goals (35), assists (46) and points (81).

Related articles

• UND Must Move Past Frozen Four Loss

Mark MacMillan goal - GIF

As always s/t to @CJZERO 

Edit: UND 5 UW 2 (Video)

Tonight, UND beat a very good Wisconsin team 5-2. Wisconsin came into tonight's game with nine seniors on their roster. UND played tonight's game with two seniors in their lineup captain Dillon Simpson and Derek Rodwell. Senior goalie Clark Saunders was the backup goalie and Mitch MacMillan was a healthy scratch. To put it in perspective, UND beat a very good veteran team. The Badgers were built to go deep into the NCAA playoffs and their season was cut short. 

This past week, I read a lot of blog posts and newspaper articles, and no one gave UND much of a chance of winning this game. Big night for UND sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi, who scored (3g-0a—3pts). According to UNDSID Jayson Hajdu, Grimaldi had played in 83 games and never scored two goals in a game. Looks like he saved his best effort for one of the most important games of his UND hockey career.

The following players also had a big night for UND, junior forwards Mike Parks (1g-1a—2pts), Mark MacMillan (1g-2a—3pts). UND will play Ferris State tomorrow night for a chance to go to the Frozen Four.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Parks and Wreck Making an Impact for North Dakota

(Video) Mark MacMillan and North Dakota Strong

This was on last night's broadcast that was on CBSSN... Mark MacMillan has done some great community service.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• North Dakota Comes Back to Beat Colorado College (insidehockey.com)

UND vs BSU Game Two Lines

UND Forward Lines

21 Brendan O’Donnell–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)
28 Stephane Pattyn (A)–13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell

9 Drake Caggiula–19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair– 22 Andrew Panzarella

UND Defense Pairings

18 Dillon Simpson ©–24 Jordan Schmaltz
5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue

4 Keaton Thompson –  2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

30 Matt Hrynkiw

Scratches: 7 – Wade Murphy, 20 Gage Ausmus, 25 – Mitch MacMillan, 26 - Coltyn Sanderson.

Bemidji State Beavers Forward Lines

23 Markus Gerbrandt–13 Cory Ward –28 Brendan Harms

18 Radoslav Illo–12 Jeff Jubinville –16 Danny Mattson
29 Phil Brewer–27 Mitch Cain–22 Charlie O’Connor
9 Phillip Marinccio –6 Nate Arentz – 26 Bob Kinne

Tigers Defense Parings

14 D.J Joes –4 Sam Windle
25 Ruslan Pedan –7 Matt Prapavessis ©

3 James Hansen–11Graeme McCormack

Beaver Goalies

30 Andrew Walsh
33 Reid Mimmack

On-Ice Officials: 13 – Nick Krebsbach, 8 – Tom Sterns Linesmen: 70 – Andy Dokken, 49 – Mike Eslinger

Related articles

• UND Hockey: The Weekend in Review (thehockeywriters.com)
• North Dakota beats Northern Michigan (insidehockey.com)

UND Hockey: Derek Rodwell Making an Impact for North Dakota - http://t.co/8YoqKc0TDj #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/QMiWqlpJcV
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) January 17, 2014

NCHC Hockey: Colorado College Defenseman Gustav Olofsson not Bolting for ... - http://t.co/EP3mrhCBuN #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/d7yI7y5rjs
— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) January 16, 2014

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

My Ballot for the 1st Annual NCHC Blog/Web Media Preseason Poll

Here is the ballot that I submitted for the 1st Annual NCHC Blog/Web Media Preseason Poll. Feel free to tell me what you think.

Predicted Order of Finish:

Miami University - 1

University of North Dakota - 2

Denver University - 3

St Cloud State - 4

Minnesota-Duluth - 5

Nebraska-Omaha   - 6

Western Michigan - 7

Colorado College - 8

All-Conference Team

F- Jonny Brodzinski – SCSU

F- Mark MacMillan – UND

F- Alexander Krushelnysky – C.C.

D- Dillon Simpson – UND

D- Joey LaLeggia – DU

G- Frank Slubowski – Western Michigan

Player of the Year   - Ryan Walters UNO

Rookie of the Year    - Adam Tambellini – UND

Defenseman of the Year - Joey LaLeggia – DU

Breakout Player of the Year - Zane Gothberg – UND 

Related articles

• NCHC Hockey: Top Stories Surrounding New League (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: The Weekend Ahead (10/05/2013) (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• UND Hockey: Remembering the 'Old Ralph' Engelstad Arena (thehockeywriters.com)
• College Hockey: Tallying up the College Hockey Outdoor Games (thehockeywriters.com)

UND and ND highlights from Saturday's game

Here are some of the highlights from Saturday's game between UND and Notre Dame. Obviously,  UND lost the game  5-2 and I  am sure that Zane Gothberg would like to have a few of those shots back, especially the two that were from the top of the faceoff circle, but UND did manage to play some pretty good hockey in the third period.

Also, Mark MacMillan's goal in the second period was a thing of beauty. Notice after goal Notre Dame Defenseman Stephen Johns trips up Mark MacMillan who ends up falling into the end boards after he has already scored the goal. Then for good measure the ND defenseman crosschecks Danny Kristo in the face when he comes to confront Johns about the questionable play.

Kristo, MacMillian and Dell day two Habs development camp

Dan's Daily Dose

Three current and one former UND Fighting Sioux players are participating in the the Montreal Canadians development camp this week. Dan Kramer from All Habs has a really good run down of what has transpired over the course of this week.

GOALTENDERS

Aaron Dell: My favourite of the goalies on day one. I expect him to be offered a contract, be it a two-way deal or an AHL agreement with the Bulldogs. He’s a little slow-moving, but he’s a scrambler, battling for pucks and not giving up.

Based on all that we have heard around here during the offseason – we probably won’t be seeing Aaron Dell in a UND uniform next season. The last word that I had heard, from a pretty good source it’s about 99% that Dell isn’t coming back to UND - so I guess we shouldn't be shocked if to see Aaron Dell sign a professional contract.

Kramer also explains Dell's style to a "T" - Dell is positionally a very sound goaltender and there isn’t a lot of wasted movement.

FORWARDS

Former Fighting Sioux - Mike Cichy: Cichy is very small and skinny. He had to sit out a year of hockey for switching Universities, and doesn’t seem to have spent much of it in the weight room. His legs stand out as being remarkably thin (at one point I quipped that he almost looks like a kid wearing his father’s equipment), not something you want in a professional hockey player for reasons of balance, skating, and strength, so at this point, he doesn’t seem to have much of a future as a prospect.

Danny Kristo: I came away from day one thinking that Kristo looked very small. He is very quick, despite short strides (which can hamper a player). For example, despite both being undersized, his style is almost the opposite of Gallagher’s, who has longer stride but isn’t as fast, which is a testament to Kristo’s footwork. He also has good hands, though he didn’t seem particularly engaged when it was his turn to charge in on net. As such, he wasn’t remarkable. One the size issues, I felt he looked bigger on day two, so I’ll attribute my initial impression in part to his being grouped mainly with the defensemen on Wednesday, all of whom are 6’1″ or taller. Hopefully he commits fully to training with his final year in college, and adds some strength. Tended to only interact with players he was familiar with in Leblanc and MacMillan.

Mark MacMillan: I’ll call MacMillan a pet prospect of mine. He’s filling out slowly, now generously listed at 183 lbs after being drafted at 150, but he does look bigger than in the past. He’s a skilled guy with interesting offensive tools, but had some trouble with a few skating drills (he looked alright at times as well, but it’s an area for him to focus on). A longer-term project, he may be a go-to player at UND next season, so that’s perhaps the only reason to be happy that Kristo will be returning there for another season.

Here is what All-Habs had to say about a few of our forwards as well as about former Fighting Sioux forward Mike Cichy. Kramer kind of confirms what Sioux fans already knew about Cichy – during his time at UND.  During Cichy's short time at UND,  there were rumblings that Cichy wasn’t the most dedicated or hardest of workers on the ice or in the weight room.

This was basically confirmed after his first season, when Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol confirmed that Cichy had come into his first camp with the Fighting Sioux out of shape.  Looks like this might have worked out best for the Fighting Sioux in the end.