Herald; NCAA should consider altering hockey playoff format

Brad Schlossman has an awesome article in today's Grand Forks Herald title; the NCAA should consider altering hockey playoff format. I couldn't agree more with the premise and I hope the NCAA goes that route. One snag that could keep the Fighting Sioux from hosting a best two out of three series is the Fighting Sioux nickname if the NCAA doesn't change it's policy.

Grand Forks Herald --- This afternoon, Division I hockey coaches and administrators will meet in Naples, Fla., to discuss the NCAA tournament, and they should consider a new format that was proposed at last year’s meetings.

At that time, they discussed changing the first round of the tournament to a best-of-three series in the home building of the higher seed. Then, there would be two super regionals at neutral sites (two games at each site) to determine which teams make the Frozen Four.

This is better than the current format for several reasons: It rewards teams for having good regular seasons, the games will be played in better environments and it will be more profitable for the NCAA.

Lines for Sioux and Mavs

In a previous blog post by Redwing77, we discussed this weekend’s Fighting Sioux line up; as Fighting Sioux Hockey coach Dave Hakstol had mentioned during the Wednesday Fighting Sioux Coaches Show that the line up would be the same as last weekend. That's the line up that the Sioux coaches have posted for tonight's game... I suppose this is the line up we will see for this weekend's games barring any unforeseen injuries... Genoway and Nelson are in the line up and like last weekend Brett Hextall and Jason Gregiore are out of the line up again tonight. Here is the line up card as posted by Brad Schlossman.

UND’s lines

19 Evan Trupp–22 Brad Malone–21 Matt Frattin
25 Jake Marto–10 Corban Knight–7 Danny Kristo
15 Brent Davidson–9 Mario Lamoureux–27 Carter Rowney
8 Mike Cichy–29 Brock Nelson–11 Derek Rodwell

24 Ben Blood–5 Chay Genoway
2 Andrew MacWilliam–4 Derek Forbort
3 Derrick LaPoint–18 Dillon Simpson

32 Aaron Dell
31 Brad Eidsness

MSU-Mankato’s lines

23 Michael Dorr–21 Andrew Sackrison–25 Eriah Hayes
20 Chase Grant–12 Rylan Galiardi–9 Mike Louwerse
15 J.P. Burkemper–29 Eli Zuck–14 Justin Jokinen
24 Adam Mueller–26 Joe Schiller–11 Corey Leivermann

16 Tyler Elbrecht–5 Ben Youds
28 Channing Boe–22 Kurt Davis
3 Cameron Cooper–2 Josh Nelson

30 Phil Cook
1 Austin Lee
35 Evan Karambelas

Hakstol and Frattin speak out.

I think at the press conference Coach Hakstol and Matt Frattin do a lot of speaking around the issues but it appears that Matt went back to Canada and worked on some personal issues and accomplished some bench marks that the coaching staff set for Frattin.

I have to admit that I am excited about the prospects of adding an experienced offensive player to a lineup that is starving for goals. Let’s hope that the young man can get his act together and realize that it’s a privilege to wear the Fighting Sioux uniform. I like the fact that he is very contrite.

Call to Sioux fans get out the vote.

Fighting Sioux hockey fans the storied UND Fighting Sioux hockey jersey is tied with the hideous Calgary Flames. Don't let our awesome hockey jersey get beat out by that hideous thing.

You can vote here for the UND Fighting Sioux Hockey Jersey in the Hockey News Jersey Tourney. Currently, the Fighting Sioux are competing with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Stockton Thunder, Minnesota Wild, San Antonio Rampage, Calgary Flames, Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, Seattle Thunderbirds, Quad City Mallards, Vancouver Giants. The Fighting Sioux are currently Tied with the Calgary Flames.

Frattin out, Corbin Knight in.

One person's loss is another person's gain, Frattin was dismissed from the team and Knight was asked to come this season instead of next, so the Fighting Sioux will bring in the highly touted and was drafted in the fifth round by the Florida Panthers in this summer's draft.

Pack your bags, Corban Knight, you’re moving away to college in less than 24 hours.

That’s the message that the UND men’s hockey recruit received on Friday morning after he quickly made it through the admissions process and was finalized as the replacement for dismissed forward Matt Frattin.

Knight, a High River, Alta., native, planned to spend the 2009-10 season with the Okotoks Oilers in the Alberta Junior Hockey League, but was informed on Wednesday night that plans might be changing.

UND was left with 13 forwards after Frattin was arrested for driving under the influence early Wednesday morning — his second criminal charge in two months. He won’t play for the Sioux this season.

Instead, the Sioux will look to an 18-year-old who committed in January and graduated from high school this spring.

“I’m definitely very excited,” Knight said. “I definitely think I’m ready. I came up to North Dakota about a month ago and got to meet a lot of the guys and be around the campus. I feel like I’ve become a lot stronger and I’ve matured mentally and physically over the summer. I have no doubt I’ll be able to take the step.”

Knight said that after last season — one in which he piled up 72 points in 61 games and was named AJHL rookie of the year — he hoped that he would be headed to UND. It was decided, at that time, that he would go back to Okotoks for one more year though. [Grand Forks Herald]

Frattin kicked off the team.

This is not good. I can only hope that Frattin turns his act around and gets it right. I also think that coach Hakstol made the right decision. This is Frattins second alcohol related incident of the summer.

UND forward Matt Frattin has been dismissed from the team following an arrest for driving under the influence.

"This decision was made with the best interests of our program in mind, specifically the responsibilities to the program and what is expected of the members of our team," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "But we also care about Matt Frattin and would like to put him in position to be able to live a healthy lifestyle and resume his hockey career."

Hakstol said that Frattin's status with the team may be revisited prior to next season. [UND Hockey Blog]