Hockey East Suspends BC Eagles D-Man Aram Minnetian One Game

It's not just the NHL's Department of Player Safety; now Hockey East appears to go lightly on a player. Why? I've been doing some digging. There are a few possible factors in this decision. 

Saturday, at the 1:35 mark of the second period, Boston College freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian was assessed a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for cross-checking. Call it what you want; it was a dangerous play. 

Today, Minnetian was given a one-game suspension for his actions. Looking at the video, it would appear to be a light suspension. 

AMESBURY, Mass. – Hockey East announced today that Boston College freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) has been suspended for one game stemming from an incident at 1:25 of the second period on Saturday, December 9 against Providence. Minnetian is ineligible to play Friday, January 12, against the Friars and is able to return to the Eagles' lineup on Saturday, January 13, at Providence.

Having seen the one angle that the broadcast showed, that might be light https://t.co/H3WVoLb2th pic.twitter.com/XbOk8Pd9yR

— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) December 11, 2023

There's a twist to this: Minnetian has a chance to make Team USA and play in the World Junior Championship. Because of his suspension, he might have to sit a game if he makes the team. Did Hockey East go lightly on him because of the possibility that he might be on Team USA? From the sounds, he has a good chance of making the team. 

Minnetian is a candidate for Team USA at the World Juniors. Notably, BC does not play any games between now and the WJC. If Minnetian makes USA, likely has to sit a game. An OHL suspension once cost Stefan Noesen a spot on Team USA, though that was a 10-gamer. https://t.co/Utd1tLcjWe pic.twitter.com/gxsfdNTcr4

— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) December 11, 2023

Here's what happened through the eyes of a BC hockey blog.

From BC Interupted: The second period opened with BC taking a major penalty of their own, with Aram Minnetian getting five minutes and a game misconduct for a taking a pretty nasty looking swing at a Providence player after a whistle behind the Friars’s net.

I am open to hearing why he was only given a one-game suspension. 

U18 Worlds: Why Didn't More People Attend?

The big joke for the last 10 days has been the attendance numbers for the IIHF Under-18 World Championships. Let's say, the event wasn't well attended. In other words, the U18's looked more like a Big Ten Hockey Championship tourney. Very few hockey fans showed up to watch some of the best 17-year-old hockey players in the World.

Today, people are asking why didn't more fans attend IIHF U18 World Championships at the Ralph Englestad Arena? There are a number of reasons for this.

First, in my opinion, the ticket prices were too high. Especially in today's economy. Also, there was a long playoff run by the home team. I can imagine that the fans spent a lot of money on the Midwest Regionals and the Frozen Four. I wonder if the fans are saving their money and looking forward to summer and other things. Don't forget, UND hockey season ticket renewals come out very soon, those aren't cheap either.

Second, the food prices were way too high. In the Lamp Lighter Lounge, I saw extreme nachos for $10.00. That's three dollars too much. I took a look at their buffet and there's no way it was worth $10.00.

Think about it, there was a single UND recruit in the tourney, Tyson Jost, who set team Canada's record for points, was amazing during the tourney.  UND is lucky to be getting him. From talking to other fans, I don't think they were interested in watching other team's recruits.

As for the Canadians not attending the U18's, there are probably a couple of reasons. I have a theory. The World Juniors is their measuring stick games. A lot of Team Canada's best players are playing in the CHL playoffs, so this might not be the best Canadian U18 team. I've heard this argument before, and I think there's some merit to it.  Maybe, Canadians just aren't into the U18 World Championship. Something to consider.

To add on that point, why should they come to Grand Forks, all of the games are on TSN. They don't need to travel to watch the games. The exchange rate is a bit low, too. The same could apply to the low attendance numbers by USA fans. All of the games were on the NHL Network. Most of us get that channel.

It's my opinion, that if they had lowered the ticket prices from the start, maybe more people would have come to the games. It's just a thought.

Why Canada’s world junior loss to U.S. should not come as a shock

Here is a good read that I found in the National Post, a major newspaper from Canada. I would have to say that contrary to public belief, the Canadians aren’t going to win a WJC every year. It’s just not possible. I also don’t think that it’s realistic to expect them to win a medal every year either. There are good hockey players all-over the world. The USA has closed the gap between us and the Canadians. Both countries develop good hockey players. That’s a fact.

Cam Cole, National Post --- So Canada’s under-20 national team won’t be playing for the gold medal, after getting clocked 5-1 by the United States Thursday at the world junior championship in Ufa, Russia.

So this means … what? A colossal failure? Cause for a royal commission? A closing of the borders so that those dastardly foreigners — all two of them, per team — can’t play in our major junior leagues, take spots away from our own kids, and then turn around and use what they’ve learned here to beat us over there?

Or is it simply one more chapter in the ongoing story of a sport that now belongs to the elite players of a half-dozen or more nations, not just one or two. To Americans and Swedes, to Russians and Canadians, to Finns and Swiss and Czechs.

This is also a fact that makes me very happy.

Nearly one in four NHLers is an American. And the NHL footprint has greatly increased the number of states that now produce elite junior players.

I have been reading some of the pundits break down the Canadians 4th place finish and you would think that with their line-up that the Canadians had, this would have been their year. But as we know, talent doesn’t always equal victory.

While it’s easy to bag on the Canadians for them not winning the gold. I believe that the Canadians play the game the right way. You don’t see the Canadians flailing all-over ice diving like a bunch of ballerinas. I am pointing my finger at a few of the European teams.

Lastly, going forward in the future, if the USA can’t win the gold, I would much rather see the team wearing Maple Leaf standing at their blue ling singing their national anthem than the Russians or the Swedes any day.

UND’s Rocco Grimaldi leads Team USA to gold over Sweden

Rocco Grimaldi (UND/FLA) in Team USA doghouse big time. Hasn't played a shift today. Sounds as if it's performance/attitude related.
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) December 31, 2012

After being in the doghouse for what was characterized as an attitude problem, it’s nice to see USA forward Rocco Grimaldi get some sweet vindication after being the 13th forward on Monday during team USA’s win against Slovakia. This morning, Grimaldi was named the player of the game and lead Team USA with two goals, as USA beat Sweden 3-1 in the championship game of the U20 IIHF WJC. Grimaldi was two posts away from scoring a hat trick as well, but the puck never crossed the goal line.

Here is the video Grimaldi two goals, [this is the one snuck past the Swedish goalie] and [a deflection off a shot from the point]

Team USA defenseman Jacob Trouba's game tying goal against Russia

Here is the game tying goal by Michigan and team USA defenseman Jacob Trouba with the game tying at the 13:20 mark of the second period. Trouba has been one of the USA's best players so far during the WJC.

2012 United States Men’s National Team Roster

Here is the roster for the 2012 United States Men’s National Team Roster – IIHF Men’s World Championship [Click to view] You can see that there is a good representation of U.S. College Hockey players on the US roster.

The World Championships are on NBC Sports Network and they are going to televise 13 games from the World Championship from May 4-20, in Helsinki, Finland, and Stockholm, Sweden. All of the American games will be seen on NBCSN as well.

 GOALTENDERS (3)

31 Richard Bachman 5-10 (178) 175 (79) 7/25/87 L Salt Lake City, Utah Dallas Stars (NHL)Colorado College 36 John Curry 5-11 (180)185 (84)6/5/85 L Shorewood, Minn. Hamburg Freezers (DEL)Boston University
35 Jimmy Howard 6-0 (183) 218 (98) 3/26/84 L Ogdensburg, N.Y. Detroit Red Wings (NHL) University of Maine

DEFENSEMEN (6)

34 Chris Butler 6-1 (185) 196 (89) 10/27/86 L St. Louis, Mo. Calgary Flames (NHL) University of Denver
 27 Justin Faulk 6-0 (183)205 (93) 3/20/92 R South St. Paul, Minn. Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)University of Minnesota-Duluth
4 Cam Fowler 6-1 (185) 196 (89) 12/5/91 L Farmington Hills, Mich. Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
7 Alex Goligoski 5-11 (180)181 (82) 7/30/85 L Grand Rapids, Minn. Dallas Stars (NHL)University of Minnesota
3 Jack Johnson 6-1 (185)231 (105)1/13/87 L Ann Arbor, Mich. Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)University of Michigan
2 Jeff Petry 6-3 (191) 196 (89) 12/9/87 R Ann Arbor, Mich. Edmonton Oilers (NHL) Michigan State University

FORWARDS (12)

18 Justin Abdelkader 6-1 (185) 219 (98) 2/25/87 L Muskegon, Mich. Detroit Red Wings (NHL) Michigan State University
13 Cam Atkinson 5-7 (170)172 (78) 6/5/89 R Riverside, Conn. Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL) Boston College
23 J.T. Brown 5-10 (178) 170 (77) 7/2/90 R Burnsville, Minn. Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) University of Minnesota-Duluth
15 Joey Crabb 6-1 (185) 190 (86) 4/3/83 R Anchorage, Alaska Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) Colorado College 39 Patrick Dwyer 5-11 (180) 175 (79)6/22/83 R Spokane, Wash. Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)Western Michigan University
11 Ryan Lasch 5-9 (175) 176 (80) 1/22/87 R Lake Forest, Calif. Lahti Pelicans (SM-LIIGA)St. Cloud State University
21 Kyle Okposo 6-0 (183) 205 (93) 4/16/88 R St. Paul, Minn. New York Islanders (NHL)University of Minnesota
67 Max Pacioretty 6-2 (188)196 (89)11/20/88 L New Canaan, Conn. Montreal Canadiens (NHL)University of Michigan
9 Bobby Ryan 6-2 (188) 209 (95)3/17/87 R Cherry Hill, N.J. Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
19 Jim Slater 6-0 (183) 200 (91) 12/9/82 L Lapeer, Mich. Winnipeg Jets (NHL) Michigan State University
26 Paul Stastny 6-0 (183)205 (93) 12/27/85 L St. Louis, Mo. Colorado Avalanche (NHL) University of Denver 44 Nate Thompson 6-0 (183) 210 (95) 10/5/84 L Anchorage, Alaska Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL)