Post game press scrum photo - classic...

This is perfect. "@StatsOnCrack: Cannot stop laughing!!!! RT @UNDSID: #schlossman #nomnom #robblerobble pic.twitter.com/W6RJfDBFmB”
— Tom Miller (@tommillergf) December 1, 2013

St. Lawrence Pastes North Dakota

Grand Forks, ND – The mood was very somber after last night’s non-conference game between the University of North Dakota and St. Lawrence. The players held a closed door meeting after the game. UND caption Dillon Simpson wouldn’t say what they talked about during the meeting.

“We’ll keep that in the room,” Simpson said. “But guys are upset in there.”

UND head coach Dave Hakstol was not very happy with the over-all performance of his hockey team.

But why would he?

UND had just suffered a lackluster 5-2 loss in the first game of the Subway Holiday Classic.
“Not a very good performance by our team,” head coach Dave Haskstol.

The head coach continued. “Not a very good performance over-all by our team,”Hakstol said. “We didn’t do very much in the first two periods. We tried to mount a little push in the third period, but it wasn’t enough.”

All around, it was a rough night for the UND hockey team, as they found themselves flatfooted, and on their heels most of the night. Credit the St. Lawrence Saints; they were the better team all night long. The Saints went 3-for-6 (.500) on the power play. The Saints also outshot UND 25-23.

Special teams were a difference in last night’s game.  UND went 1-for9 on the power play, and again took undisciplined penalties at key times in the game.

“It’s frustrating,” Simpson said. “Something we’re going to study a lot (game film) tomorrow morning I am sure. We got to have a good night if we want to win games, our power play has to be good, and our “PK” has to be even better.”

One of the turning points in the game was in the third period. UND had a five-on-three power play for 44 second, but Saints were able to kill it off. If the head coach didn’t have his team’s attention before last night’s game, he probably does now. It was obvious that the loss didn’t sit well with the players.

“Disappointing, didn’t come out the way we wanted to,” Simpson said. “We didn’t play the first forty the way we wanted to. Got to have a better effort tomorrow night.”

The UND head coach was asked if there would be changes to the lineup for tonight’s game.

“You’ll see some changes, Hakstol said. We’ll likely make a change or two.”

Rough patch for UND

UND has gone 2-7-1 in its last 10 games and is winless in four games. According to UND SID Jayson Hajdu, this is UND’s worst 10-game stretch under head coach Dave Hakstol. This is also the worst stretch for UND, since the second half of the 2002-03 season, when UND went 1-7-2.

 

Notes of interest

Coming into the game, UND had gone an impressive 6-0-2 record in the last eight games of the Subway Holiday Classic.

With four points in last night’s game, forward Greg Carey of St. Lawrence , is now the leading the nation (10g-18a—28pts) in scoring.

UND is (1-2-2) in non-conference play this season. UND is (1-1-1) against the ECAC.
In the last six games, UND’s penalty kill is 25-for-36 (69.4).

UND has another chance to right the ship tonight at 7:05 p.m. central at Ralph Engelstad Arena

[Box Score]

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

NCHC STANDINGS 2013-2014

Team………………………W-L-T………Points

Denver…………………..…3-2-1…………..11
Nebraska-Omaha…………3-1-0…………..9
St. Could St……………….3-1-0…………...9
North Dakota………………3-5-0……….….9
Miami……………………….2-2-0……….….6
Minnesota-Duluth…………2-2-0……….….6
Western Michigan………..2-2-0…………...6 
Colorado College………...1-4-1…….….….4

NCHC Games

Colorado College @ # St. Cloud State.

Last weekend the Huskies swept the hapless UAH Chargers in Huntsville (10-0, 4-3) and the Tigers lost to the Falcons (3-1) on Tuesday evening in Colorado Springs.

The Tigers will look to move out of the NCHC basement this weekend with a trip to St. Cloud.  But they will have a tough go of it, against a high caliber Huskies team.  The Huskies will have it a little harder than last weekend’s games in Huntsville.  Still, SCSU has the better team.  HUSKIES SWEEP

# Miami @ Nebraska-Omaha

Last weekend the RedHawks split (2-0W, 3-2L) with the UW Badgers in Oxford and the Mavericks split with Michigan (3-2W, 4-3L) in Omaha.

This is series for Omaha is the end of their gauntlet stretch (NoDak, UMich, UMiami) in November.  If the Mavericks can get another split they will be well deserving of a BIG thanksgiving dinner.  The RedHawks have also split their last two series as well.  I say they both continue on their splitting streaks.  SPLIT

Non-Conference Games

# Minnesota-Duluth @ #1 Minnesota (Fri/Sun)

Last weekend the Bulldogs split (4-2L, 6-3W) with NoDak in Grand Forks and the Gophers swept the Minnesota State Mavericks (4-1, 3-0) in Minneapolis.

The Bulldogs travel south down I-35 for this weekend tilts with in-state foe the Gophers.

This will be UMD’s third weekend in a row on the road; the Bulldogs have split their last four series.  The Gophers have played a couple of quality series (BC, ND) this season, but didn’t sweep those series.  Now after this weekend the number one team in the country has a fairly soft schedule the rest of the season.  I think the Bulldogs will have another split on their record come Sunday evening.  SPLIT

# North Dakota @ Boston University

Last weekend NoDak split the Bulldogs (4-2W, 6-3L) in Grand Forks and the Terriers lost at Maine (7-0) and won at home against Connecticut (4-1).

A year ago the Terries made the trip to Grand Forks and this year NoDak travels to BU for the return games.  If they could this would be a good rivalry to keep going into the future.  Both teams are still trying to find their ways this season, winning some and losing some.  I think it continues on for both in Boston.  SPLIT

Michigan State vs Western Michigan

Last weekend the Broncos were swept by the Pioneers (5-3, 1-0) in Denver, and the Spartans were swept by Michigan Tech (3-0, 3-2ot) in Houghton.

The Broncos are on four game winless streak and will be looking to right the ship this weekend against an in-state foe.  The Spartans are winless on the road, so this home and home series might be what the doctor ordered.  I’m taking the home team, teams.  SPLIT

Air Force vs Denver

Last weekend the Falcons beat the CC Tigers (3-1) and the Pioneers swept the WMU Broncos (5-3, 1-0) in Denver. 

The Pioneer have won three in a row and are undefeated in four games.  Now they start playing a lot more road games, six out of the next seven are away from Magness Arena.

NCHC Special teams - Team Stats

NCHC Goaltending Stats

Poll Monday UND drops to 10th and 11th

SCSU Huskies: Huskies Join the Minnesota Spelling Bee

Oh boy! Saint Cloud State University can't be serious with this? Comments on this one? Another Minnesota school that has joined the spelling bee.

NCHC at a Glance

NCHC Hockey: Comparing the Preseason Polls

I put up both of the polls (NCHC media Poll and the 1st Annual NCHC Blog/Media Preseason Poll). If you look at the two polls, you will see that both preseason polls kind of mirror each other, for the most part, at least for the first four spots. Also, both polls have UNO in eighth place.  Finally, if you compare both polls, there’s an agreement on which teams are in the upper tier and which teams are the lower tier of the NCHC.

NCHC media preseason poll

Team (first-place votes) Pts

 1. Miami (7) 115

 2. North Dakota (5) 109

 3. St. Cloud State (4) 99

 4. Denver 66

 5. Western Michigan 61

 6. Minnesota-Duluth 43

 7. Colorado College 42

 8. Nebraska-Omaha 41

 
1st Annual NCHC Blog/Media Preseason Poll

Team (first-place votes) Pts

1. Miami (11) 123 2. North Dakota (2) 103 3. St. Cloud State 100 4. Denver 71 5. Minnesota Duluth 57 6. Colorado College 45 6. Western Michigan 45 8. Nebraska-Omaha 32

UND Hockey: Both games of the UND vs. DU Hockey Series will be on DirecTV

There is some very good news for UND hockey fans. Today, while I was reading the Let’s Go DU fan blog, I came to the revelation that both hockey games will be on DirecTV when UND travels to DU on January 24 and 25, 2014. The same thing happened last season when the two teams played in Denver last February.

Game one of the two game series, between UND and DU will be on CBS Sports Network. Game two of the series, will be on ROOT Sports, Rocky Mountain.

So, if you get DirecTV and the sports pack, you will be able to watch both games. ROOT Sports Rocky Mountain HD is on DirecTV 683. Also, CBSSN is on DirecTV 221. You don’t need the sports pack to get CBSSN.

DENVER – The University of Denver Division of Athletics and Recreation and ROOT SPORTSTM announced today that the network will broadcast six regular season Denver hockey games, six men's basketball games and one women's basketball game this season. This marks the 13th consecutive year, and 20th season overall, that the network has been the official television partner of the Pioneers.

Pioneer hockey coverage begins Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. MT, when DU hosts Western Michigan. The Pioneers' television schedule also includes matchups against Air Force (Nov. 23), Brown (Jan. 3), St. Cloud State (Jan. 10), North Dakota (Jan. 25) and Miami (March 7).

This is good for UND hockey fans that aren’t able to travel to the games.

NCHC's Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup; How Big is It?

Here’s an example of how big the NCHC’s trophy the Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup is... You can see that it's a very big trophy and going to be fun watching the players lift it up and pass it around. s/t Matt Christians. Also, thanks to Matt for letting me use this picture.

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference Preseason Media Poll

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference released its preseason poll and this is how the members of the media voted.

1. Miami (7) 115

2. North Dakota (5) 109

3. Saint Cloud State (4) 99

4. Denver  66

5. Western Michigan 61

6. Minnesota Duluth 43

7. Colorado College 42

8. Nebraska-Omaha  41

CC fans don’t’ have to purchase three game packages

English: Denver Pioneers logo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I was reading Joe Paisley’s blog yesterday and I got to thinking. I am also wondering if anyone else is thinking the same thing as well. I would imagine that you can probably expect other schools to do the same thing to the UND fans as well. So, do other NCHC schools expect UND to carry their water for them? Is DU taking advantage of a fan base, knowing that they will buy tickets and fill their arena? One must ask the question, is DU having trouble filling their arena? Maybe REA and UND should do the same thing to school that do these kinds of questionable things UND’s fans. Turnabout is fair play. Right?

Joe Paisley, Colorado Springs Gazette -- Denver single-game tickets go on sale at 9 am. Friday and the Pioneers are now requiring only North Dakota fans to purchase three games. CC fans are not required to do so, according to the ticket office.

North Dakota fans, who already pay $10 more for the premium game (CC is $8 more), will be required to buy two tickets to one of the following seven games: the Merrimack series, Nebraska-Omaha series, Western Michigan series and the single game against Brown.

Do you think that UND should make Denver fans that want to buy tickets to UND's games pay extra or buy tickets to other games? I mean seriously, this seems like a petty policy. I guess Denver also sees UND as a bigger rival than Colorado College as well.

NCHC Hockey: Total of the Early Departures

With the hockey season approaching, I would think that the NCHC is done with its early departures.

Colorado College (0)

None

Denver (3)

Scott Mayfield So. D NY Islanders (NHL), April 5
Juho Olkinoura So. G Winnipeg (NHL), April 7 (FA)
Nick Shore Jr. F Los Angeles (NHL), April 12

Miami (0)

None

Minnesota Duluth (1)

Chris Casto So. D Boston (NHL), March 26 (FA)

Nebraska-Omaha (2)

Andrej Sustr Jr. D Tampa Bay (NHL), March 21 (FA)
Tony Turgeon Jr. D San Antonio (AHL), July 18 (FA)

North Dakota (1)

Derek Forbort Jr. D Los Angeles (NHL), April 5

St. Cloud State (1)

Nick Jensen Jr. D Detroit (NHL), May 2

Western Michigan (1)

Danny DeKeyser Jr. D Detroit (NHL), March 29 (FA)

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Minnesota Wild: Tuesday at the Links

The NHL and college hockey season is right around the corner.

Via Puck Daddy

Minnesota Wild: If he hits UFA status, should the Wild try to acquire Phil Kessel? Oh I don't know he's probably one of the world's premier goalscoring right wings so I guess they probably shouldn't because who likes guys who can score goals not me and definitely not Toronto and definitely definitely not Minnesota.

Russo's Rants: Pominville extension talks going "back and forth"

Globe and Mail: Contract talks with Sedin brothers could be complicated

Russo's Rants: Wild unveils new white road jersey

Hockey Wilderness: Feeling Minnesota: Why not Phil Kessel?

NCHC Hockey: Top Stories Surrounding New League

Globe and Mail: Campaign against bear hunt catches NHL blueliner in graphic film

National Collegiate Hockey Conference Commissioner Josh Fenton on the Fan 1390

Commissioner Fenton on 1390 The Fan now http://t.co/9J7tPntBaE
— The NCHC (@TheNCHC) August 22, 2013

The Commissioner Josh Fenton of the NCHC was on the Fan 1390 out of Saint Cloud, Minnesota two days ago and you can listen to the interview at [this link]. At the 6:20 mark of the interview there is a discussion about UND fans not being happy about the national television situation. Nothing real controversial, but the radio host did mention it.

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• Should the NHL ditch their "loser point" system? (hockeywilderness.com)
• NCAA Hockey: Current NCHC Television Deal is Unacceptable (thehockeywriters.com)
• Nchc Announces Inaugural Television Schedule (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• New Hockey Conference NCHC Approves Use Of Shootouts (denver.cbslocal.com)
• Most Anticipated NCHC Game: North Dakota vs. Miami (thehockeywriters.com)

UND Hockey: Rocco Grimaldi is Returning to Win a NCAA Title

Headed back to forks. Looking forward to a great year on and off the ice. 1 goal in mind #Sioux pic.twitter.com/yJH5dmAXFg
— Rocco Grimaldi (@RGrimaldi23) August 23, 2013

This tweet by sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi caused a bit of a stir on the Twitter-verse today. I am sure that UND fans like his attitude...

Defending NCHC Overtime Rules

I know there’s a few fans that are unhappy with the NCHC new overtime rules. Why do I know, because quite a few people have told me they don’t like the new rules. If you go back and read this again, you’ll see the genius in this. There will be no loser points.

Each conference game will be worth three points. Three points will be awarded to any team that wins a game in regulation or within the five-minute sudden-death overtime period. One point will be awarded to each team in a game that remains tied at the conclusion of the overtime period. One additional point will be awarded to the team who wins the shootout, giving that team two points total for winning the game in a shootout. A team that loses in regulation or during the five-minute overtime period will receive zero points.

So, I am going to go on record and say that I am big fan of the NCHC’s new overtime rule. Think about this, there will be “0” points for a loss during the five-minute overtime period, in other words, the losing team receives, nothing, nada, nix, nine, nay, zilch. The losing team will receive zero loser points in the standing for losing in overtime, but why should they? I understand that once the game goes to a shootout that both teams deserve a point, but why reward a team losing during overtime with a point? I think the NCHC got it right and I have to give them credit. Bravo!

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UNO Hockey: Three Maverick Hockey Players in Trouble

English: UNO Hockey vs. Michigan at the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kevin Cole of the Omaha World Herald is reporting that three Nebraska-Omaha hockey players are in trouble for incident that took place at a downtown bar in Omaha, Nebraska on August 3, 2013. One of the players involved is former Red River and Central hockey player Alex Simonson. It will be interesting to see how this plays out with Maverick head coach Dean Blais. Story Developing.

Kevin Cole, World-Herald -- Three UNO hockey players face disorderly conduct allegations after they allegedly spouted racial slurs and got into a fight in the Old Market.

Matt White, 25, Alex Simonson, 23, and Preston Hodge, 21, all members of the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey team, were each ticketed Aug. 3 on suspicion of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.

Lamar Triplett, 26, of Omaha, who got into a confrontation with the players, was ticketed on suspicion of misdemeanor assault.

“I don't know why I got a citation because I was just trying to defend myself that night,” Triplett said in an interview. “It was a crazy situation. It was the most random situation I have ever been in.”

City Prosecutor David Smallheiser said the men have not been formally charged and have court appearances scheduled in September.

Omaha police were called to a parking lot at 10th and Harney Streets about 2 a.m. to investigate a disturbance.

Witnesses told police that the hockey players had been harassing a small group of African-Americans with racial slurs and epithets.

NCHC Hockey: Conference to Use Shootouts in Regular Season Games

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has announced it will use shootouts to award an extra point within conference standings. The NCHC Board of Directors unanimously approved the use of a shootout to decide games after the NCAA standard five-minute, sudden-death overtime period has expired.

“The conference office and our member institutions are committed to engaging our fans in ways that provide them excitement in our home venues,” said NCHC Commissioner Josh Fenton. “The use of a shootout at the conclusion of our standard overtime to determine an extra point within conference standings will make for an exciting race to determine the NCHC regular season champion. We are confident our passionate fans will enjoy this aspect of the game in similar ways to how it is embraced in the National Hockey League.”

All NCHC regular-season conference match-ups will feature a shootout should the game end in a tie at the conclusion of a five-minute overtime period. Any game that uses a shootout will be officially recorded as a tie within the overall record of each team. The Pairwise ranking will be calculated knowing the game was officially recorded as a tie.

The shootout will feature three shooters pre-selected by each team following the conclusion of overtime. The team that scores the most goals among the three shooters will be declared the winner. Should the shootout be tied at the conclusion of the initial three shooters, a sudden- death round with one shooter from each team will commence until a winner is declared. Goaltenders will remain on the same ends of the ice for the shootout as they were for the five-minute overtime period.

Each conference game will be worth three points. Three points will be awarded to any team that wins a game in regulation or within the five-minute sudden-death overtime period. One point will be awarded to each team in a game that remains tied at the conclusion of the overtime period. One additional point will be awarded to the team who wins the shootout, giving that team two points total for winning the game in a shootout. A team that loses in regulation or during the five-minute overtime period will receive zero points.

Non-conference games held in NCHC venues will also feature a shootout with mutual agreement from the visiting institutions. NCHC Tournament games will not feature shootouts but rather 20-minute sudden death overtime periods will be played until a winner is declared.

(Exception: The third-place game of the NCHC Championship will use a five-minute sudden death overtime followed by the standard protocol for a shootout).

At the end of the regular season, the team with the most points in the standings will be declared the NCHC regular season champion. If two or more teams are tied for the championship, they shall be considered co-champions. For NCHC Tournament seeding, any ties within the conference standings will be broken based upon the following set of rules. No shootout results will be used to break ties in the standings. Games decided in a shootout will be considered a tie when deciding final seeding for the NCHC Tournament.

1. The team with the greater number of NCHC regular-season wins shall be the higher seed.

2. Head-to-head competition: The team with the best NCHC regular-season winning percentage against the other teams tied in the standings

3. Goal Differential: The comparison of total goals for and against each team in contests between (among) the other teams tied in the standings in NCHC regular-season play

4. Winning percentage of the teams tied in the standings against the remaining NCHC teams, starting at the top of the standings and working toward the bottom until the tie is broken.

5. Should the teams still remain tied in the standings, the seeding will be decided by a coin flip.

The NCHC Championship will be held on March 21 and 22, 2014 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. To learn more about the NCHC Championship Tournament, purchasing tickets and reserving a hotel room, please visit the NCHC website at NCHCHockey.com.

The NCHC, which includes member institutions Colorado College, Denver, Miami, Minnesota Duluth, Nebraska Omaha, North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan, begins its inaugural season on October 18, 2013, with a double-header featuring North Dakota at Miami and Colorado College hosting Minnesota Duluth. Games times are to be announced.