SCSU Assistant Coach R.J. Enga Airs Grievances Following Series with UND

SCSU Player Talks to the Refs During a Break in the Action

When I was a freshman at Upper Iowa University, our football coach told our team, following a painful loss, that we won class and we lost with class. Apparently, St. Cloud assistant coach R.J. Enga hasn't heard those words of advice. 

AUDIO: The Brett Larson Show from last night (12/16) from the @GreenMill

With Huskies assistant coach RJ Enga.

Next show will be Jan. 13. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all Huskies fans. https://t.co/MtmN5P0Dcf

— Jim Erickson (@SCSU_hockey_pbp) December 17, 2024

 

Coach Enga filled in for head coach Brent Larson on the Brent Larson Show with Huskies play-by-play radio announcer Jim Erickson. (You can listen to the whole show, linked in the tweet above.)  If you haven't heard it, check it out. It's interesting. 

Larson wasn't available because he had already left town to be an assistant coach with Team USA for the U20 World Junior Tourney. It was an interesting 40+ minutes. Enga aired his grievances about this past weekend's series. He attacked the linesmen, saying they dropped the pucks closer to the UND centermen, giving them an unfair advantage. The faceoff numbers were tied on Friday night 29-29; on Saturday, UND had the advantage 36-29. 

Whatever.

Enga attacked T.J. Semptimphelter, saying that he showed the ref up for taking his helmet off after being elbowed in the head on Friday night and taking off his helmet during Saturday's game after being elbowed in the head. Granted, the SCSU player was cross-checked into the UND goalie. He also attacked the ref for not making the right call. It sounds like sour grapes. 

After Friday's game, head coach Brad Berry got into a heated conversation with Larson. The video replay showed both coaches shouting obscenities at each other (you could read both men's lips). In the post-game press conference, coach Berry wasn't very pleased with what had transpired on the ice. 

"I'm not happy right now," Berry said. "I'm not going to get myself into trouble here, but that wasn't a great hockey play by them. For it to be a two-minute minor, that's a five-minute major and a game misconduct." 

Here's Enga's quote from the show, referring to Friday's dirty play that 

"If you watch the video, the young man that plays goalie for them, he threw his helmet off, tapping his head and stuff," Enga said on the radio show. "I'm not really sure what was going on with the guy. But when you watch it, it's like a split second, and I thought maybe a skate came up. We've seen some terrible incidents. I thought maybe that was the way he reacted. And then when I kind of saw it, definitely when I saw the video, I'm like, 'What is going on?'

"To me, don't make a mockery of the referees. Don't put them in those situations. Just play an honest, hard game and let's see who comes out on top. That's my opinion."

As I heard Enga's comment, I wondered; are you kidding me? Do we need to review the play in question again? Without beating a dead horse, It was a dirty play by Gavyn Thoreson. How did he expect the UND hockey team to react to Thoreson's antics? 

Here's the hit on T.J. Semptimphelter that irked UND coach Brad Berry tonight. pic.twitter.com/sXhGpKKQag

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) December 14, 2024

Finally, Enga made a snide comment about Brad Schlossman, who referenced Thoreson's style of play when he was in the USHL. His remarks show that Enga had read Schlossman's Friday Gamer. 

"Thoreson was known as a skilled player and agitator T.J. Semptimphelter the United States Hockey League last year, where he had 87 penalty minutes for the Waterloo Black Hawks, " Schlossman wrote.

I don't see anything wrong with bringing that point up. For those keeping track at home, Thoreson had 103 PIMs in 85 USHL games. It's not out of line to bring that up, especially after he had just run over the opposition's goalie in an attempt to rally his team or take out their goalie. If you don't like it, don't read the opposition's beat writer's analysis. 

Finally, the league could come down on Enga. He could get suspended for making comments about the on-ice officials; he attacked their credibility and integrity. However, it's unlikely based on who the commissioner is. The two teams play in St. Cloud on January 31 and February 1, 2025. This could be an interesting rematch. 

UND Hockey: Dirty Play to End Friday's Game May Have Inspired Team Saturday

Late in Friday's game, at the 15:48 mark of the third period, Huskies forward Gavyn Thoreson cut across in front of the UND net and tried to dislodge the puck frozen in T.J. Semptimphelter's glove. In the process, he blatantly ran over the UND goalie, making contact with his head. It was a dirty play; there is no justification for that play other than an intent to injure a goalie currently holding a shutout. There was no defending that play. Video by Brad E. Schlossman.

Here's the hit on T.J. Semptimphelter that irked UND coach Brad Berry tonight. pic.twitter.com/sXhGpKKQag

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) December 14, 2024

For his troubles, Thoreson should have been assessed a five-minute major and game misconduct. It wasn't an accident but a deliberate play. Yes, the officials have a lot of leeway in this instance and have decided not to call a major penalty. 

In the post-game press conference, UND head coach Brad Berry was visibly upset with the play and exchanged pleasantries with SCSU head coach Brent Larson on the player's bench at the end of the game. 

"I'm not happy right now," Berry said. "I'm not going to get myself into trouble here, but that wasn't a great hockey play by them. For it to be a two-minute minor, that's a five-minute major and a game misconduct." 

In the game's waning seconds, UND defenseman Caleb MacDonald viciously cross-checked Thoreson in the back. We can only speculate about the move, but it appears MacDonald was sticking up for his teammate. Yes, yes, yes, I know; Husky fans will say that MacDonald's cross-check wasn't necessary and a dirty play. Maybe, but a message was sent to the Huskies that our team won't be pushed around. 

Caleb MacDonald's retaliation cross-checks on Gavyn Thoreson. Appears MacDonald also said something to Thoreson. pic.twitter.com/zgmhDsJw05

— Brad Elliott Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) December 14, 2024

Following UND's 4-3 OT win tonight, in the post-game press conference, one of the television media members asked Berry what was said on the bench between the two coaches. 

"Just like we talked about our team in the locker room, I think I'd rather not say," Berry said. He continued. "You find out a lot of things about a lot of people, and you try to take the high road and keep moving on to the next year."

You have to commend Berry for taking the high road. If you follow the hockey code, what's said on the ice stays on the ice. Looking from the outside in, last night's game probably hardened the UND hockey team and helped inspire tonight's gutsy come-from-behind win. The Huskies took the lead three times only to have UND tie the game. UND never gave up. 

Earlier in the season, UND had trouble closing out close games. Over the past two weekends, UND has been tied or behind in two games entering the third period and has found ways to win. That's progress in the right direction. In the final period, UND wore down the Huskies and outshot them 14-9. UND found a way to win in the OT. 

The Hawks close out the first half of the season with an 11-7-1 record. UND has won four in a row and are 6-1-1 in the last eight games. Currently, UND is sitting in second place in the NCHC standings, two points out of first place, with 17 points. 

Goon’s Takeaways: UND Takes 4 of 6 Points From SCSU With 3-3 Tie

On Saturday, the University of North Dakota hockey team took four of six points against St. Cloud State to vault them to the top of the NCHC standings. In the upcoming weeks, UND has an excellent opportunity to solidify its spot at the top of the NCHC standings. It starts this weekend against the Denver Pioneers. 

UND is on an impressive run; this was another weekend without a regulation loss. UND hasn't lost in regulation since November 3, 2023, at Boston University. That's a 17-game streak. Yes, UND is 2-4-2 in overtime, but the team is working on getting better in the 3-on-3 overtime. Last night, UND possessed the puck for most of the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime. 

"We're the only NCHC team that hasn't lost in regulation," UND head coach Brad Berry said. "We haven't lost in regulation since early November. That tells me a lot." 

 It's still a work in progress, but UND is focused on closing out games in regulation. 

"We've got to do a better job of closing the game in 60 minutes to win games," Berry said. "When we're trailing in games, we find a way to get points. That's a huge deal, coming out of here with the series win, knowing we don't play them again until the playoffs. It's the resiliency of our group." 

A few weeks ago, I told Virg foss that freshman forward Jayden Perron is about to break out. After making this bold prediction, Perron went pointless in four games. Perron ended his four-game pointless streak on Saturday by recording two assists for his first-ever multi-point game. 

Saturday, SCSU outshot UND 35-27; this was the first time this season that UND has been outshot in both games in a series. Speaking of shots. Against the Huskies, UND goalie Ludvig Persson was on top of his game. In both games combined, he stopped 66 of 72 shots for a .916 save percentage. On Saturday, Persson finished with 32 saves and improved his record to 13-6-2 (2.40 GAA and a .905 save percentage).  

What can we say about sophomore forward Jackson Blake? He continued his magical season with another solid weekend and extended his point streak to six games with his goal in the first period. He's scored (4g-4a--8pts) during that six-game streak. Blake has (15g-15a--30pts) for the season, and he's a plus-four.

Goon's Takeaways: UND Beats SCSU, 5-3

Last season, the University of North Dakota hockey team didn't do very well against the St. Cloud State Huskies. In five games against UND, the Huskies dominated the Hawks 3-1-1 and ended their season. UND looked to right the ship on Friday against SCSU. Revenge was on the UND player's minds. 

This week in practice, the UND players kept that in the back of their minds as they traveled to St. Cloud to take on the Huskies. 

"I didn't have to talk about it during the week," head coach Brad Berry said. "I mentioned it once, and it kept coming back in conversations as a group. That's always a tough pill to swallow; when your season gets ended by the team you're playing, there's a little revenge there. The biggest thing for us, we got to stay hungry. We won a game tonight. There can't be any complacency. We got to make sure we're hungry, and we come out hard, just like we did this evening." 

"The first period gave us momentum throughout the game," Blake said. "There will be ups and downs, but we stayed with it and played well tonight."

The players know the importance of this series. It's the only regular season series between the two teams, and the importance of getting a good start and winning in regulation wasn't lost on the UND players. UND would race to a 2-0 lead in the first period with goals from Jackson Blake and Garrett Pyke.

SCSU and UND would exchange goals in the second period. In the back of their minds, UND fans had to wonder if the Hawks could hang on to the lead. In the third period, UND and SCSU scored two more goals, and when the final horn sounded, UND ended the night on top, winning the game 5-3. 

With the win, UND vaulted into first place in the NCHC standings. 

 "You want to be up there -- you don't want to be chasing," Jake Livanavage said. "Now we're in first place. We've earned it. We had a good first half. We just got to keep it rolling."

Embed below are the highlights from last night's game. It was one of the better games of the 2023-24 season. 

Here are some things that stuck out for me during Friday's game. 

UND goalie Ludvig Persson finished with a season-high 34 saves to improve to 13-6-1. After not being 100 percent a week prior, in game one against the Huskies, Persson was on top of his game, making 14 saves on 15 shots in the second period. In 20 games this season, Ludvig has a 2.38 GAA and a .904 save percentage. He also has three shutouts.

"Ludvig (Persson) was outstanding tonight," Berry said. "When he was called upon, he made some huge saves for us." 

Sophomore forward Jackson Blake had another multi-point game, his seventh of the season. That was also his sixth three-point game of the season. Blake has hit the 30-goal threshold for his career with his two-goal game. 

With his two-point game (two assists), sophomore forward Owen McLaughlin extended his point streak to five straight games. McLaughlin has scored four goals and six assists for 10 points in those five games. In 22 games, he's scored (8g-17a--25pts), and he's also plus-six. 

Junior forward Cameron Berg continued his torrid pace. He has points in 12 of his last 15 games, including 10 goals. Last night, Berg scored his 11th goal of the season, a career-high. In 23 games, Berg has scored (11g-11a--22pts), and he's also a plus-10.

Saint Cloud State releases secondary logo

s/t tap to Drunk Hockey Guy. If you're unhappy with picture, you can troll his twitter feed by clicking on the link about. Feel free to give him your thoughts. DHG does have a point though.  Anyone see a similarity? I sure do. Looks very similar.

Miami vs. SCSU; so you say there's a chance? Not hardly...

Immediately after SCSU won the Penrose Trophy, my twitter feed had a few tweets from fellow UND fans saying SCSU is going to get beat by Miami.

Personally, I don’t see it happening. There’s a reason they only won 12 games this season, they're not very good. No offense to Miami, this season has been a train wreck. Breaking it down even further, I don't see the RedHawks beating SCSU again this season. Miami is 3-12-1 since January 10, 2014.

Mick Hatten, Saint Cloud Times -- On Feb. 21-22, the RedHawks beat the Huskies 4-3 in the first game before St. Cloud State earned the split with a 3-0 win in Ohio.

“They’re a really good team, well-coached,” Huskies co-captain Nic Dowd said. “They beat us two games (this season) and they know what they have to do to get back to where they want to be.”

(snip)

In the four games against St. Cloud State, sophomore Sean Kuraly and junior Austin Czarnik had one goal and two assists apiece, Riley Barber had a goal and an assist and junior Blake Coleman had two goals for the RedHawks.)

Sophomore goalies Ryan McKay and Jay Williams split the four games against St. Cloud State. McKay earned the split at the Brooks Center, stopping 64 of 66 shots (.969 save percentage) and had a shutout in the series. McKay played both games over the weekend at Denver. Williams earned the split in Ohio, stopping 50 of 56 shots (.893).

For St. Cloud State, David Morley had two goals, Jimmy Murray had a goal and two assists and Jonny Brodzinski had a goal and three assists against the RedHawks.

Since returning from injury on February 21, 2014, Miami junior forward Blake Coleman is smoking hot. In the last six games, Blake Coleman has scored (8g-0a—8tps). Last weekend, the Plano, Texas product scored (4g-0a-4—pts) against the Denver Pioneers. Coleman scored both of Miami’s goals as the RedHawks beat the University of Denver 2-1.

Nook version of the "SCSU Hockey's 2012-13 Shooting Star Season"

Nook version of the "SCSU Hockey's 2012-13 Shooting Star Season" is available from Barnes & Noble #scsuhockey http://t.co/Y6GzU7a8ht
— Mick Hatten (@MickHatten) December 23, 2013

SCSU Husky fans you can get this eBook at the Barnes and Noble webpage for only $6.99, I just bought mine. Maybe I will review it and give my take on the book.

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.

Potter: Senior SCSU hockey players 'crossed the line'

Now we know the rest of the story. Sounds like there was a big party down in Florida after the SCSU Huskies won their holiday tourney the Florida College Classic and the president of SCSU doesn't blame the coaches for the incident in Florida. Porter says he is proud of them. Apparently the beat writer for the Florida Everblades Naples News Woody Wommack saw the SCSU Huskies loading up the team vans with beer. I am not an expert with NCAA rules but I can't imagine the NCAA looking to fondly at this incident.

Potter also told the paper that he's "proud of my coaches. I'm proud of my athletic director. We had a couple young men, who are seniors and should have known better, and they crossed the line."

This is where things get interesting for me. Following the tournament's championship game, I finished my work and was headed home. I stopped for gas at the new Race Trac gas station near the intersection of Daniels and I-75. Also there were three 15-passenger vans carrying the entire St. Cloud State team.

As I filled my car up with gas, I watched player after player leave the store with beer and get into the vans. I figured the team was celebrating the tournament victory, but I also wondered how team officials, who were driving the vans, could allow players to buy large amounts of beer and bring them on the team van.

Normally, I would keep this information to myself, the team won the tournament and they wanted to blow off some steam. But for the St. Cloud State president to put all the blame on the players and say his staff was innocent is a little irresponsible.

What do you think? Are you happy the Everblades signed Mosey or do you think they should stay away from players with sketchy backgrounds?

What about an NCC Cup?

With the talk of the Big Ten Hockey Conference I thought I would add some satire of my own. Since there are now five former members of the now defunct North Central Conference in the WCHA, I think these five WCHA teams (UMD, SCSU, UND, UNO and Mankato)should have a NCC cup like the now defunctDQ Cup.

Maybe we can poach/pursue a team like BSU and start our own hockey league that would be known as the NCC hockey league. Probably not, however, maybe when the almighty BTHC comes into fruition we could divide the WCHA into two division we could have the NCC schools together in one division and the other schools in another division. It would look like this...

NCC Division

UMD
UND
MSUM
UNO
SCSU

Others

C.C.
DU
UAA
MTU
BSU

WCHA Preview Final Part

Alright. It's the part that one or two of you have been anxiously waiting for: The top 3 preseason previews of the WCHA teams and their predicted finishes. Ok, enough of self-inflating my ego. The final three teams will be the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, the Huskies of St. Cloud, and the Sioux of Grand Forks, ND.

(the) University of Minnesota at Duluth Bulldogs
2009-2010 Overall Record: 22-17-1 WCHA Record: 16-11-1 (6-5-0 NC Record)

Key Losses: Brady Hjelle, Rob Bordson, Drew Akins
Key Returners: Jack and Mike Connelly, Justin Fontaine, Kenny Reiter, Brady Lamb, Travis Oleksuk, Mike Montgomery, and Dylan Olsen
Key Recruits: Justin Faulk, Joe Basaraba...

It's kindof telling when you are looking through the key losses and you find that, except for Bordson and Hjelle, the rest either were quiet or flat out played so little you had to double check the stat sheet to see who they even were.

What this means is that Minnesota Duluth returns a team with dynamic scoring and experience. Though there is dynamic scoring present, they're not all that flashy. This means they are a solid team up and down the ice and are assuredly cohesive. Though this doesn't necessarily guarantee good results, it rarely results in a trip to the cellar.

tUMD will not run away with the league or anything like that. They did really well last year but their record would show a different story. However, this season should be a fine one for the Bulldogs. Only one player, Bordson, bolted early for the pros. Brady Hjelle, the biggest head scratcher since Isaac Reichmuth in net, left for the juniors. I say head scratcher because he was scary good in juniors and showed tendencies that this would continue in the WCHA. Hjelle didn't exactly have a poor year in Duluth, but he didn't exactly take the town by storm either. In fact, he had a "freshman goaltender" type year. But instead of focusing on the problems and pushing surprise #1 goaltender Kenny Reiter, Hjelle bolted for the USHL. It's too bad. I guess it is for the better.

tUMD is similar to SCSU but for different reasons. tUMD could finish lower than where I predict them rather easily. I definitely cannot see them finishing higher than where I predict them though. I'm a big fan of Sandelin and excited to see Duluth finally get a new facility. Things should be interesting on Lake Superior this season.

Predicted Finish: 3rd

St. Cloud State University Huskies
2009-2010 Overall Record: 24-14-5 WCHA Record: 15-9-4 (9-5-1 NC Record)

Key Losses: Ryan Lasch, Garrett Raboin
Key Returners: Garret Roe, Mike Lee, Dan Dunn, Tony Mosey, Drew LeBlanc, Jared Festler, David Eddy*, Olivier Lauridsen, Chris Hepp
Key Recruits: Kevin Gravel, Mitch MacMillan

The Huskies are a scary team. They return probably the best tandem of goaltenders outside of Oxford, OH (Miami's duo is better). They return the reigning 2009-10 Robbie Earl Memorial Trophy (Best diving over the course of a season) winner Garrett Roe. They only lose their leading scorer and their leading scoring defenseman but return everyone else.

They gain a bunch of recruits that I've not heard of and one that has had a rocky junior career (Ravndalen... big hype, got cut to the NAHL for a season before returning to the USHL this past season). This isn't much of note because I doubt the freshmen will have key roles on this veteran team.

This team SHOULD be very very good. They have a lot of talent and scoring up front. They've got grit in Hepp and Marvin (despite his rather bad season last year). They even ended up winning an NCAA playoff game! Things are on the up and up in St. Cloud.... but then again, things have been looking up since Saigo retired.

The only question mark lies in depth defensively. However, depth will not be tested unless the proven players struggle or get injured. This means that, on paper, the Huskies will be tight on North Dakota's heels most (if not all) of the season. The reason why I bring this up is that Coach Motzko very much emulates Minnesota defensively in terms of game play style. However, they've been able to keep to their game plan and have successfully started including physical grit into their playbooks and the results were pretty obvious. They've also added former UND player Steve Johnson as an assistant.

I don't think SCSU's bottom dwelling days will be returning to them any time soon.

Predicted Finish: 2nd...barely

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (for now)
2009-2010 Overall Record: 25-13-5 WCHA Overall Record: 15-10-3 (10-3-2 NC Record)

Key Losses: Chris Vandevelde, Darcy Zajac, Corey Fienhage, David Toews
Key Returners: Chay Genoway, Jason Gregoire, Ben Blood, Danny Kristo, Andrew MacWilliam, Brett Hextall, Evan Trupp, Brad Malone, Derrick LaPoint
Key Recruits: Derek Forbort, Dillon Simpson, Brock Nelson

This team may be "my" team, but even the most ardent detractors of UND will have to admit that who the Sioux lost and who they return simply make UND hands down the best team in the WCHA on paper going into the season. UND fans take it one step further: they, of course, expect UND to show it on the ice.

The biggest news for UND was the return of Chay Genoway. Last year's Senior Captain was hit from behind by SCSU's Aaron Marvin and had his hockey career placed in jeopardy because of it at one point. Luckily, though the concussion was indeed severe, it wasn't as bad as originally thought. So Genoway only lost the entire season instead of the rest of whatever hockey career he has waiting for him after he graduates. Nevertheless, he medically redshirted and now he returns. He was Captain last year and I doubt things will change this year either.

They're extremely solid on defense and now they got two more recruits in 2010 1st Rounder Derek Forbort and 2011 Draft Eligible Dillon Simpson. This provides UND with depth...and controversy...sorta. Who plays and who doesn't? None of the defensemen that are returning have played particularly poorly over the season and yet we have 8 dedicated defensemen (and 1 converted one in Davidson...who has since, I'm told, reverted back to forward) and can dress only 6. When you are talking about high profile players like Simpson and Forbort, it's hard to say they'd sit. Yet to have them play means benching players who don't deserve it (despite no fan support) like LaPoint or players who won't be benched (including fan favorites) like Blood, MacWilliam, and especially Genoway.

They also return a solid goaltender in Bradley Eidsness. Now, I say solid and seemingly the rest of the Sioux faithful argue against it. I just see it like this: If you are relying upon your goaltender to carry the team or steal games for you, then your team is doomed to fail. Eidsness won't steal any games. He won't carry the team. But he shouldn't have to.

As with all teams, there are what ifs... What if Eidsness gets injured? What if we stop playing solidly across all four lines? What if we continue to have penalty problems?

That being said, I believe we're in line to do very well this year. It's not out of the question to think of winning it all. However, we're a ways away from that. Let's just hope the ride there is one filled with fun, excitement, and not a whole lot of players being thrown under the bus.

Predicted Finish: 1st

SCSU's Eddy Ineligible To Compete This Fall

When I saw this the first question out of my mouth was, "how in the hell can you become ineligible taking freshman classes?" Come on! SCSU isn't Harvard or Cornell. As a College athlete you have one job; go to school, workout, study a couple of hours a night and play hockey. Not that tough people. They should put Eddy's picture in the front window of the SCSU athletic department with the title moron of the semester.

KVSC Radio 88.1 FM has learned that sophomore forward David Eddy is ineligible to compete in athletic competition this fall. This was confirmed by St. Cloud State Athletic Media Relations.

Eddy scored 12 goals and added 13 assists in 35 games last season. The Woodbury native found a home playing on a line with Garrett Roe and Tony Mosey, and had one of his biggest games when he scored two goals for St. Cloud State in the WCHA Final Five Championship game on March 20th.

No further information on Eddy’s status is available at this time. St. Cloud State’s official team roster is expected to be released sometime in the next week and KVSC will follow this story as it continue to progress.

I mean Seriously folks, it's hard to become ineligible in college sports, unless you're going to an Ivy League school or taking rocket science. You can get a "C" by reading the assignments from the professors, attending lectures and taking the tests. WOW!