Badgers Skate Past Sioux 5-3

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Cross posted at Inside Hockey.

Coming into this series, the Fighting Sioux had won five of the last six games against the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, Wisconsin.  The Badgers fortunes changed for them tonight as five different Badgers scored goals.  They got two points each from Justin Schultz (1-1-2) and Tyler Barnes (0-2-2) to lead the Badgers past the Fighting Sioux 5-3.   

The Wisconsin Badgers got off to a fast start as they opened the scoring at the 08:45 mark of the first period with a goal from Badger forward Mark Zengerle, who took a nice drop-pass from Tyler Barnes and blasted the puck past Fighting Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness, who was screened on the play by Fighting Sioux defenseman Ben Blood. 

The Sioux rang the bell 27 seconds later at the 09:12 mark of the first period with a beautiful goal by Fighting Sioux freshman forward Mark MacMillan.  The Fighting Sioux forward blew past the Wisconsin defense and shot the puck over Badger goalie Landon Peterson’s left shoulder.  That was the first career goal for Fighting Sioux forward Mark MacMillan.  

The Fighting Sioux got into penalty trouble at the 18:06 mark of the first period when Mark MacMillan took a two minute penalty for roughing.  Corban Knight followed suit and joined MacMillan in the penalty box nine seconds later for tripping.  The Badgers wasted little time on the power play and scored twenty seconds later at the 18:45 mark on a beautiful goal by Badger defenseman Justin Schultz. 

The Fighting Sioux weren’t done taking unnecessary penalties in this period, as Sioux defenseman Ben Blood continued the Fighting Sioux march to the penalty box when he took an unnecessary penalty for slashing at the 19:25 mark, to put the Fighting Sioux down two men once again, for the second time during the first period.

The Second period didn’t start well for the Fighting Sioux, as Wisconsin Badger Michael Mersch scored on the ensuing power play at the 01:16 mark of the second period.

The Badgers increased their lead when they scored again less than five minutes later, when Badger forward Matt Paape picked up a Ben Blood turnover at the top of the circle and smartly passed the puck to Derek Lee, who shot the puck past an oblivious Brad Eidsness who was caught napping on the play.  That goal ended the night for Eidsness who was relieved by Aaron Dell. 

The Fighting Sioux responded to the Badger goal 23 seconds later with an unassisted goal by Fighting Sioux defenseman Nick Mattson. The Sioux defenseman took a shot from the point that bounced off of  Badger defenseman John Ramage and into the net past Wisconsin goalie Landon Peterson. 

The Fighting Sioux got another goal on the power play at the 9:33 mark of the second period.  With Badger forward Brendan Woods off the ice for a high sticking penalty, Carter Rowney took a feed from Danny Kristo and shot the puck past the Badger goalie Peterson. 

Badgers forward Brendan Woods made up for this mistake when he put the Badgers up by two goals by blowing by Ben Blood and Derek Forbort for the goal. 

The Badgers outshot the Fighting Sioux 11-10 during the second period. 

There was no scoring by either team in the third period and Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol ended up pulling his goalie with two minutes left in third period. Sioux were unable to muster any more real threats as the Badgers collapsed about their net and made it impossible for the Sioux to get any more grade “A” scoring chances. 

Box Score

The tale of two periods.

If you look at the shots charts from last Saturday’s game between the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and the University of Maine Black Bears you will see that the Fighting Sioux gave up a lot of quality shots from the slot in the second period.

In the third period, the Fighting Sioux limited the Black Bears to three quality shots in the slot but unfortunately gave up a power play goal by Maine defenseman Ryan Hegarty.

So far this season the second period has been unkind to the Fighting Sioux as they have been out scored 5-8 in the middle frame.

College Hockey Scores from Saturday; March 12, 2011

AHA
Mercyhurst 3 at Connecticut 4 OT
Canisius 3 at Holy Cross 2 OT
Sacred Heart 0 at Air Force 4
American Int'l 1 at RIT 5

CCHA
Bowling Green 1 at Michigan 4
Ferris State 1 at Western Michigan 3
Alaska 1 at Miami 4
Lake Superior 4 at Notre Dame 3

ECAC
Quinnipiac 1 at Cornell 0
Harvard 1 at Dartmouth 2 OT
St. Lawrence 2 at Yale 5
Colgate 4 at Union 2

Hockey East
Vermont 3 at New Hampshire 4
Massachusetts 2 at Boston College 4
Maine 2 at Merrimack 6

WCHA
St. Cloud State 2 at Minnesota Duluth 3 3OT [Box Scores]
Bemidji State 3 at Nebraska-Omaha 2 [Box Scores]
Minnesota State 2 at Denver 3 OT [Box Scores]
Michigan Tech 1 at North Dakota 3 [Box Scores]
Wisconsin 3 at Colorado College 4 OT [Box Scores]
Alaska Anchorage 2 at Minnesota 0 [Box Scores]

Analysis - There were some amazing story lines emerging from last night’s college hockey games. Three games went to overtime... The Minnesota Golden Gophers, MTU Huskies, SCSU Huskies, MSUM Mavericks all had their season ended and will not play in the Final Five or the NCAA tourney. UNO after losing to the "pesky Beavers" is on the “bubble” of making the NCAA tourney, however, I think the UNO Mavericks will make the NCAA tourney baring some unforeseen wild finishes in the other leagues, like a 11 or 12 seed winning a conference tourney.

St. Cloud State 2 vs. Minnesota Duluth 3 3OT – I really expected this series to go another way, The Huskies owned an impressive 4-0-2 the last six games against UMD and after the SCSU Huskies had beaten the UMD Bulldogs 8-2 I really though that the SCSU Huskies would push the Bulldogs to the "brink" in this series. Nope! That result didn't happen. The win didn't come easy as the UMD Bulldogs needed three overtimes to beat the SCSU Huskies as Mike Connolly scored at the 1:13 mark of the third overtime to send the UMD Bulldogs to the Final Five. [Rink and Run], [SCSU Times]

Bemidji State 3 vs. Nebraska-Omaha 2 – The UNO Mavericks out shot the BSU Beavers 91-37 on the weekend but still ended up losing the series in two games. In talking to someone that watched the game in Omaha, BSU goalie Dan Bakala was nothing short of amazing this weekend and the difference in both games. Maverick fans will be watching the score board and the PWR/RPI this next week after the series loss to the BSU Beavers. The Mavericks are currently sitting in 12th of the PWR and should make the NCAA playoffs baring an unforeseen meltdown.

To quote a sports cliché this is why we play the games folks, there are no sure things in life and there are no give me’s in college hockey. Also, the games aren’t played on paper, the higher seed doesn’t always win the series. That’s life! That's WCHA hockey. I know there are some people in Omaha that are upset by the Beavers winning the series against the Mavericks but if you know anything about the BSU Beavers (I have followed them for years), they are team known for beating teams with better records, just ask Notre Dame and Cornell, shall we call the BSU Beavers giant killers?

The Beavers have been known to build their team from the goaltender out and add skilled smallish forwards with speed that play a high energy game and as the fans in Omaha found out Beaver goalie Dan Bakala is an awesome goaltender add the Beavers forward line of Matt Read, Ian Lowe and Jordan George and the BSU Beavers are a pretty good hockey team.

Seriously!!! I watched the Miami RedHawks outshoot the Beavers last season at the Ralph only to watch the Beavers win the game, the Beavers are intimidated by no one and the RedHawks were highly favored in this game. You have to play 60 minutes of hockey. I also believe that you have to give credit where credit is due; Beavers head coach Tom Serratore is a good hockey coach and gets the most out of his players. The Beavers resemble their coach they are small, they are intense and they're a hard working team. UNO went 0-5-1 against the Beavers and they were the only team that the Mavericks didn’t beat this season. [Up North Sports], [Omaha.com]

Minnesota State 2 vs. Denver 3 OT – The MSUM Mavericks blew another lead and lost another game in the third period after leading to the DU Pioneers. Actually, the MSU-M Mavericks have led the DU Pioneers in the last four games they played against the Pioneers, only to watch the Pioneers beat the Mavericks, talk about "ground hog day." I am sure the coaching staff has to be scratching their heads after watching their team go 0-3-1 in aforementioned games. Jason Zucker scored at the 1:29 mark of the first overtime to send the DU Pioneers to the Final Five in St. Paul, Minnesota. [Puckato], [Denver Post]

Michigan Tech 1 vs. North Dakota 3 – The Fighting Sioux won the game 3-1 in an uneventful, listless and relatively boring (insert your adjective) hockey game, that lacked any emotion. Hobey Baker hopeful Matt Frattin scored his 33 goal of the year on an empty net at the 19:54 mark of the third period to seal the game for the Fighting Sioux. Last night’s game was the first time that MTU had led in a game against the Fighting Sioux this season as MTU forward Ryan Furne scored at the 6:15 mark of the first period. UND Fighting Sioux junior forward Brett Hextall scored the equalizer at the 3:33 mark of the second period, new comer Fighting Sioux freshman forward Tyler Dicken scored his first career goal 2:01 minutes later and the Fighting Sioux never looked back.

The goal in the waning moments of the third period by Frattin brought everyone that wasn’t standing to their feet. After the game the Fighting Sioux were presented the MacNaughton Cup at center ice for winning the regular season championship, the celebration was very subdued as the team didn’t even want to touch the MacNaughton Cup. The guys didn't actually touch the cup from what I can see and they looked like they didn’t even want to be around the historic MacNaughton cup. Incidentally, the last three teams to win the cup have lost their first round game in the NCAA tourney. [Fighting Sioux], [USCHO], [UND Hockey Blog], [Grand Forks Herald]

Wisconsin 3 vs. Colorado College 4 OT – The C.C. Tigers need a goal from Scott Winkler at the 16:31 mark of the third period to force overtime and then got a goal from super freshman Jaden Schwartz at the 5:48 mark of the third period to extend the Tigers season. Game three is this evening at 8:07 pm central. [Madison.com], [Eye of the Tigers]

Alaska Anchorage 2 vs. Minnesota 0 – Gopher Fans are already marching on the campus of the University of Minnesota with rakes and pitchforks after their team failed to make the Final Five for a second consecutive season in a row, I don’t think even Doug Woog managed to miss the WCHA Final Five two season in a row.

This will be the third consecutive season in a row that the Gophers have missed the NCAA tourney as well… Gopher fans known for their sense of entitlement are fed up with head coach Don Lucia, a man that Gopher fans once praised not so long ago as being the second coming of Jesus Christ after Lucia’s team had won back to back NCAA titles in 2001-2002 and 2002 –2003.

My how the mighty have fallen, the Gophers have gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in eight short years, Gopher Nation has officially turned on their head hockey coach and they are jumping off Lucia’s bandwagon. Grab a bag of popcorn and a soda and watch Gopher fans are now in full meltdown mode on Gopher Puck Live, Star Tribune and USCHO, it’s almost comedic. Gopher fans are angry and they want blood and they want it now!!! Minneapolis and Saint Paul Police are patrolling the bridges in the Metro area and Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has signed an executive order making it a criminal offense to be caught walking on a bridges this week because of fears that distraught Gopher fans will jump off.

Now it’s not tough to put this into perspective, I come from a fan base that wants to fire the head coach of a team that has never had a losing season in his seven years as coach. Mind you, this is the same head coach that has led his teams to the Frozen Four, albeit and they lost in all four (finshing second in one and third three times) and after an 8-4 loss to the UNO Mavericks which are led by former Fighting Sioux head coach Dean Blais; some Sioux fans wanted Dave Hakstol fired. But I digress…

I get it and I can see why the Gopher fans are upset with the way things are, the Minnesota Gophers hockey program has had a relatively successful division one college hockey program that was looked at in the 1980-1990’s and early 2000’s as being the bench mark of college hockey in the WCHA and the college hockey world. None-the-less, I also don’t think it’s an understatement to say that the University of Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team has all the advantages that the other four division one teams in the state of Minnesota don’t have (BSU, UMD, MSU-M, SCSU), they have an awesome television package with FSN, the Gophers for the most part have a fawning/adoring metro media and the Golden Gophers have all of the advantages afforded to them because they're Big Ten school to boot, these advantages include the Minnesota Rule at the Final Five. That "Minnesota Rule" means jack today. The Gophers also get the first pick of the best blue chip Minnesota hockey players that play on the USDT team in Ann Arbor, Michigan before any other team in Minnesota gets a look.

Here's the problem, the Gopher hockey program never had any respect for their opponent this past weekend, and the Gophers showed it when their players make clueless comments like this, "We knew we had to get in the dirty areas. We knew that we are a better team than they are and we didn't take advantage of it [Friday]." Really! The Gophers are the better team? I wonder how Jake Hansen surmised that. It doesn’t appear to be a true statement. I doubt that the UAA Seawolves were impressed with the Gophers 19 NHL draft choices or the fact that half of their team was made up of blue chip athletes the Gopher coach staff got the first pick of. Who's smiling now?

It’s also comments like this from the beat writers that breath contempt from the opposing fan bases, check it out, “Mickey Spencer, a fourth-line winger for Alaska Anchorage, broke a scoreless tie with a breakaway goal early in the third period. And that's all the Seawolves and Chris Kamal, their freshman goalie, really needed.” Who cares what line Spencer plays on?

The fact remains that the Gophers got beat by a hungrier team that wanted it more. Its teams that play strong fundamental hockey that win college hockey games. The Seawolves got good goaltending from a Chris Camel and blocked 24 shots and the Gophers didn’t score. Season over. [Star Tribune], [Kare 11], [Delusions of Grandeur]

Extra security on tap for Sioux-Gopher hockey series

There will be extra law enforcement and security guards for this weekend's WCHA series between the Sioux and the Gophers. Last season there was a major incident between two fans that ended up sending a guy to the hospital with a head trauma. That incident sparked this blog post - Fan Behavior.

Grand Forks Herald --- In the shadow of a scuffle that left a hockey fan seriously injured last season, UND police and Ralph Engelstad Arena officials are beefing up security for the Sioux-Gopher games set for Friday and Saturday.

At both games, UND police will have three uniformed officers and two plainclothes officers in the arena. That’s three more officers than usual, Lt. Tracy Meidinger said.

“In the past, we’ve had a few problems,” he said. “This time, we’re trying to be a little more proactive and a little more visible.”

Meidinger said the additional officers come at the request of arena officials. “They’re interested in making sure this is safe, too,” he said.

Arena spokesman Chris Semrau said The Ralph typically has more than 20 of its own security officers at men’s hockey games. For this series, the arena will have four to six extra officers on duty.

“There’s a little greater attention paid to this weekend, but no major shift in approach,” Semrau said. “For the most part, fans behave very appropriately. There’s always a handful that may step out of line.”

After the UND-Minnesota hockey game Oct. 16, 2009, two fights broke out simultaneously on opposite sides of the arena, Meidinger said.

You might want to check the YouTube videos... (Frattin)

I wonder what would have happened if UND had got their feet moving earlier in that game? We might not be having the discussions we are having today. I was reading USCHO WCHA blog this morning and there was something that caught my eye in Tyler Buckentine’s post. I am going to preface this by saying I don’t know Tyler from Adam or what team he cheers for and I don’t have anything against him at all, I am not trying to attack him, also notice, that I am not making him the buffoon of the week. I save those blog posts for people that do moronic things. None the less, Tyler was reviewing the WCHA and the first half of the season and how the league play has evolved.

USCHO.COM --- College hockey is at the midpoint of its season and the WCHA has four teams in the nation’s top eight teams and two in the top four.

The consensus WCHA favorite, UND, (13–5–2) is the top WCHA team in the USCHO.com D-I Poll and sits in first place in the league standings with 22 points after a pair of sweeps against SCSU and Minnesota State.

Who would’ve thought Matt Frattin, the nation’s leading goal scorer, would have 17 goals at the break when the Sioux’s goals leader when the 2009-10 season ended was Jason Gregoire with 20.

Frattin, who scored 11 goals a year ago, has 25 points, which matches his personal best for points in a season he set as a sophomore.

Frattin has the ability to create his own chances to make quality shots. He beat MSU goaltender Phil Cook glove side far post on Friday and danced his way around two Mavericks defenders on his way to a goal Sunday.

Frattin is on a five-game goal-scoring streak.

Aaron Dell has been a surprise in the crease after UND’s original No. 1 goalie, Brad Eidsness, was benched after just five games because of his nightmare of a start to the season (4.12 GAA, .805 SV%).

The sophomore Dell is 12–4–1 with a 2.22 goals against average and .904 save percentage.

The scary thing is UND’s record now and the schedule that lies ahead for the Sioux. UND faces only two teams in the current top 10-ranked teams on the schedule until the Final Five rolls around.

Here is what I take issue with, “Who would’ve thought Matt Frattin, the nation’s leading goal scorer.” You’re kidding right? You can’t be series? Cliché alert: It would be an understatement to say that Matt Frattin has looked like a man among boys and has played this season Frattin like a man possessed. The Toronto Maple Leafs who are starved for offense must be drooling at the prospects of having Matt Frattin wearing a Maple Leaf on the front of his jersey.

If you are covering the WCHA and you have had a chance to watch Matt Frattin play at all last season you would have noticed a player that was on the verge of breaking out and would have thought a torrid season might be in the cards. Rewinding back to last season when Matt Frattin returned from his suspension; Fratting took fire during the second half of the season and caught fire during the second game of the SCSU series has been hot as a pistol since and scored a bundle of goals.

So how hot has Frattin been, Matt has scored 11 goals in 13 games last season from Feburary 12th to March 27. Fast forward to this season Frattin has continued that torrid pace scoring 17 goals in 20 games, so if my math is right (I am a sociology major), that is roughly 28 goals in 33 games.

College Hockey Scores 12/04/2010 - Sunday morning pontifications.



Photo courtesy of John Stennes, Grand Forks Herald

 AHA Hockey

RIT 2 at American Int'l 6
Bentley 1 at Robert Morris 5
Connecticut 8 at Niagara 5
Holy Cross 6 at Air Force 7
Mercyhurst 2 at Sacred Heart 3

CCHA

ECAC
Rensselaer 6 at Brown 2
Clarkson 5 at Quinnipiac 3
Bowling Green 1 at Lake Superior 1 OT
Ferris State 1 at Michigan State 0 OT
Michigan 2 at Ohio State 1
Notre Dame 2 at Miami 5
Western Michigan 4 at Northern Michigan 4 OT

Hockey East

UMass Lowell 2 at Massachusetts 5
Maine 5 at Providence 0
Northeastern 2 at Merrimack 1
Boston University 2 at Boston College 5
UMass Lowell 2 at Massachusetts 5

WCHA

Colorado College 5 at Michigan Tech 0
Denver 1 at Minnesota Duluth 2
Minnesota 1 at Minnesota State 2
St. Cloud State 2 at North Dakota 6
Nebraska-Omaha 1 at Bemidji State 3
Wisconsin 3 at Alaska Anchorage 1

NON-Conference

Alab-Huntsville 2 at Cornell 2 OT
Colgate 3 at Army 0

Links to the Sioux and Huskies Series

My favorite Pseudo USCHO reporter [USCHO]

Sioux flatten Huskies [Saint Cloud Times]

WCHA in depth: Face shields gain support [Saint Cloud Times]


Men's hockey: Black sweater sweep [Grand Forks Herald]


North Dakota 6, St. Cloud State 2 [Saint Cloud Times]

Analysis – Wow! What a character win for the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team. With the sweep last night the Fighting Sioux get their first home sweep for the 2010-2011 season, their first at home since last March 5th and 6th against the Michigan Tech Huskies. What’s more impressive is the fact the Sioux were playing minus two key first line players, Brett Hextall and Jason Gregoire, both are key top flight players that play on the power play and penalty kill. Maybe that’s why the power play looked a little disjointed this weekend.

Since being swept by the Maine Black Bears in Orono, Maine the UND Fighting Sioux Hockey team has gone a respectable 8-3-1. Albeit, playing the toughest strength of schedule in college hockey to date. The Sioux have played series/games against nationally ranked opponents; Alaska 14th, (1-0-0), Maine 9th, (0-2-0), UMD 1st, (1-1-0), DU 10th, (1-1-0), Wisconsin 15th, (2-0-0), UNO 4th,  (1-1-0), Notre Dame 12th, (1-0-1), compiling a 7-5-1 record. The Fighting Sioux have an awesome record on Friday night’s 7-1-1 (only loss was against Maine 7-3) and the Sioux wanted to get a sweep at home for the first time this season. Mission accomplished, with the win on Saturday night the Fighting Sioux evened their record to 4-4-1.

Stats - UND Fighting Sioux senior forward Matt Frattin is tied with Paul Zanette of Niagara for the national goal scoring lead with 15...  Frattin is also second behind Jason Zucker for the WCHA goal scoring title... The Denver Pioneers fans better enjoy their young player Jason Zucker because with the Wild struggling on offense and not having much of anything in the cupboard I could see Zucker getting signed by the Minnesota Wild after a couple of seasons. 

Aaron Dell is quickly becoming a very dependable starter between the pipes for the Fighting Sioux… Dell is leading the WCHA with a 1.82 goals against average. Some of that is a direct reflection of the Fighting Sioux being the top defensive team in the WCHA.   

          

Fighting Sioux are no goons

Contrary to public opinion, the Fighting Sioux not a bunch of blood thirsty knuckle dragging goons – currently the Fighting Sioux are the seventh penalized team in the WCHA only taking 12.8 minutes a game. The Sioux are also the top penalty killing team in the WCHA killing penalties at a rate of  90.7… On the other hand their power play is not so good ranked 7^th in the WCHA scoring on 16.7 % of the power play opportunities.  

Updated - WCHA Standings

1. Minnesota-Duluth 9-2-1 - 12-2-2 19 PTS
2. North Dakota 9-3-0 - 11-5-2 18 PTS
3. Denver 8-3-1 - 11-5-2 17 PTS
4. Nebraska-Omaha 6-3-1 - 9-4-1 13 PTS
5. Minnesota 12 5-6-1 11 39-39 16 8-7-1 54-52
6. Colorado College 5-5-0 - 8-7-1 10 PTS
Minnesota State 4-6-2 - 6-6-4 10 PTS
Wisconsin 4-6-2 - 8-7-3 10 PTS
9. Alaska-Anchorage 4-7-1 - 5-9-2 9 PTS
Bemidji State 4-7-1 - 5-8-1 9 PTS
11. St. Cloud State 3-6-1 - 5-9-2 7 PTS
12. Michigan Tech 1-8-1 - 3-8-2 3 PTS

Sioux 6 - Huskies 2

This goal should drive the SCSU fans nuts, the fourth line center went (1g-1a-2pts) on the evening… The Fighting Sioux put a six goals past the SCSU Huskies at the Ralph Englestad Arena tonight to sweep the SCSU Huskies... The Fighting Sioux were all business as they donned the Black jerseys, a rarity at home, according to Brad Schlossman this was only the second time they did this, the other time was 2002 in honor of the Fighting Sioux alum Ralph Englestad. The record wearing the black jersey is 22-1-2.

This game wasn’t very close at all; the Sioux had four goals before the 13:00 minute mark of the first period, and kind of cruised the rest of the way. The Sioux have won four straight games against the Huskies (8-1, 5-4, 3-1, 6-2).

The Sioux took the Huskies off of their game because they were worried about all the extra stuff that didn’t happen this weekend, score a mental victory for the Sioux. The Huskies looked disinterested and they were looking over their shoulders all weekend long.

Goon's Three Stars of the game

1.) Matt Frattin, UND (1g-2a-3pts)
2.) Mario Lamoureux UND (1g-1a-2pts)
3.) Danny Kristo (0g-2a-2pts)


[Box Score]
____________________________
1st Period (20:00)
____________________________
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 LL Evan Trupp (5) (Matt Frattin, Brad Malone) 5:57
NDK (+): 19,21,22,24,5,G32 STC (-): 12,14,18,13,10,G41
NDK 2 - 0 6x6 Derrick LaPoint (1) (Derek Rodwell, Michael Cichy) 6:24
NDK (+): 3,11,8,29,18,G32 STC (-): 28,6,21,10,7,G41
NDK 3 - 0 6x6 GW Brent Davidson (1) (Chay Genoway, Mario Lamoureux) 8:24
NDK (+): 15,5,2,27,9,G32 STC (-): 6,12,7,17,13,G41
STC-1 Oliver Lauridsen (2-Roughing) 9:19
NDK-1 Derek Rodwell (2-Slashing) 9:19
NDK 4 - 0 5x5 Matt Frattin (15) (Jake Marto, Aaron Dell) 10:50
NDK (+): 21,25,4,19,G32 STC (-): 6,12,19,7,G30
NDK 5 - 0 6x6 Corban Knight (9) (Danny Kristo) 16:21
NDK (+): 10,7,5,25,24,G32 STC (-): 11,6,9,7,27,G30
STC-2 Oliver Lauridsen (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x1 17:03
____________________________
2nd Period (20:00)
____________________________
STC-3 Garrett Roe (2-Roughing) 0:05
NDK-2 Corban Knight (2-Roughing) 0:05
NDK-3 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Interference) STC 0x1 1:04
NDK-4 Jake Marto (2-Hooking) STC 0x2 5:36
STC-4 Cam Reid (2-Slashing) NDK 0x2 9:54
NDK-5 Corban Knight (2-Holding) STC 0x3 11:00
STC-5 Taylor Johnson (2-Slashing) NDK 0x3 13:53
NDK-6 Jake Marto (2-Boarding) STC 0x4 17:37
____________________________
3rd Period (20:00)
____________________________

STC 1 - 5 6x6 Mitch MacMillan (2) (Brian Volpei, Nick Jensen) 3:58
STC (+): 28,21,14,18,10,G41 NDK (-): 7,25,3,18,10,G32
STC-6 Travis Novak (2-High-Sticking) NDK 0x4 4:43
STC-7 Taylor Johnson (2-Hooking) NDK 0x5 4:43
STC-8 Taylor Johnson (2-Interference) NDK 0x6 7:41
NDK 6 - 1 6x6 Mario Lamoureux (1) (Matt Frattin, Danny Kristo) 9:41
NDK (+): 9,21,7,24,19,G32
STC 2 - 6 6x6 Travis Novak (3) (Taylor Johnson, Oliver Lauridsen) 12:35
STC (+): 12,4,25,13,17,G41 NDK (-): 4,27,19,22,2,G32
NDK-7 Mario Lamoureux (2-Slashing) STC 0x5 16:07
____________________________
End of Game

WCHA statement on the ND tying goal

The Boards Room blog wrote the WCHA a letter to get their clarification on why the game tying goal by Notre Dame counted last Saturday night. I wrote the WCHA as well and this is the line the WCHA is going with... You have to give them credit at least they are consistent.

The only view that the officials have for replay is the overhead view, and talking to the on-ice officials live they thought the North Dakota player caused the Notre Dame player to go into the goalie by the use of his stick, and from the overhead view there was nothing to overturn that. If we had other angles it could have been different.

Even after this statement and reviewing the goal numerous by Notre Dames Sam Calabrese there is no reason in my opinion that the goal should have counted. This was a blown call by the WCHA and the fact that they are still making the argument in their favor is mind blowing. This is the WCHA and they just make S#!t as they go.

A little historical review of the UND and SCSU hockey series...

This weekend is a rivalry game between two teams that don’t like each other, I think it might be safe to say that both teams hate each other, a lot. The elephant in the room that no one has mentioned very much or at all this week; will there be a repeat of the series that took place last February between the Sioux and the Huskies. This is also the first game that Chay Genoway will be on the same sheet of ice as Aaron Marvin the player that took him out with an illegal and dirty hit.

I don’t think UND is going to try and seek revenge, unless someone from the SCSU hockey team takes a run at one of UND’s players, or if the game gets out of hand either way, then the players on the ice start looking for a pound of flesh. All I can say is set your DVR, just in case… I also wonder if SCSU hockey coach Moztko will keep Marvin on the SCSU players bench if things get rough.

In case you forgot...

Ben Blood hits Aaron Marvin. [Click to view video]

This video proves that you can get a suspension for thinking about a fight. [click to view video]

Sioux 6 UNO 5

If you had a heart condition you might not want to watch tomorrow night’s game. Tonight’s game was up and down the ice, classic race horse hockey. Personally, I would much rather watch a game like this than a trap feast any day.

As far as the Sioux goaltending goes, I don’t know what happened to junior goalie Brad Eidsness over the summer but he appears to have a serious confidence problem right now, at times it looks like he can't stop a beach ball. I would say that Brad Eidsness would probably like to have the first goal, second goal and third goals back, because those weren't good goals and an Brad Eidsness on his game would have probably would have saved two out of three of those shots. The fourth Maverick goal was a case of the trailing forward picking up the loose change with the defender all over him, it's crashing the net. What do you do? I suppose the goaltender could control the rebound better; I don't know it looks easier from the couch than it does on the ice.

I am sure that Aaron Dell would like to have the fifth Maverick goal back as well as it went through the five hole but it didn't cost the Sioux the game because Dell came up big during the third period.

Road Warriors

The Sioux have won three straight games on the road. The Sioux have a 5-2-1 record on the road and a 2-2 record at home. Of those five wins on the road the Sioux have given up 2 or less goals. During the two losses on the road the Sioux have given four or more goals. This is only the fourth time that UND had given up four or more goals and they have a 1-2-1 record in those games.

Goon's three stars of the game
1.) Matt Frattin 2-1-3
2.) Chay Genoway 1-1-2
3.) Derek Forbort 0-2-2


[Official Box Score]
Period 1
UNO 0 - 1 Rich Purslow Eric Olimb / Joey Martin 02:37 EV
UNO 0 - 2 Joey Martin Matt White / Michael Young 14:43 EV
Period 2
UND 1 - 2 Matt Frattin Evan Trupp / Chay Genoway 01:38 SH
UND 2 - 2 Jake Marto Evan Trupp / Matt Frattin 06:50 EV
UNO 2 - 3 Brock Montpetit 11:24 EV
UND 3 - 3 Mike Cichy Brad Malone / Derek Forbort 17:18 PP
UNO 3 - 4 Terry Broadhurst Alex Hudson / Eric Olimb 18:32 EV
Period 3
UND 4 - 4 Matt Frattin Derek Forbort 07:10 EV
UND 5 - 4 Chay Genoway Brad Malone 13:52 EV
UND 6 - 4 Danny Kristo Derek Rodwell / Brad Malone 14:26 EV
UNO 6 - 5 Alex Hudson Terry Broadhurst / Matt Ambroz 16:56 EV

UND and UNO lines (MacWilliam back tonight)

The lines have been posted for the gameby Brad. First it looks like no additional discipline for Hextall and or Joe Gleason. Brad Eidsness is back in net for the Sioux. Sophomore defenseman Andrew MacWilliam is back after missing 4 games with a illness that was believed to be mono.

Sioux lines

17 Jason Gregoire (4g-6a-10pts)10 Corban Knight (7g-6a-13pts) 26 Brett Hextall (2g-4a-6pts)
11 Derek Rodwell(3g–0a-3pts) 22 Brad Malone(2g-3a-5tps) 7 Danny Kristo (0g-3a-3pts)
19 Evan Trupp (3g-6a-9pts)29 Brock Nelson (1g-3a-4pts) 21 Matt Frattin (10g-2a-12pts)
8 Mike Cichy (1g-1a-2pts)9 Mario Lamoureux (0g-3a-3pts) 20 Joe Gleason (0g-0a-0pts)

Defense

24 Ben Blood (1-0-1) 5 Chay Genoway (1g-8a-9pts)
3 Derrick LaPoint (0g-3a-3pts) 25 Jake Marto (1g-1a-2pts)
2 Andrew MacWilliam (0g-0a-0tps) 4 Derek Forbort (0g-5a-5tps)

Goalies

Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell
[Sioux Stats]

Omaha’s lines

9 Rich Purslow(4g-10a-14pts)14 Joey Martin (2g-9a-11pts) 21 Matt White (6g-5a-11pts)
17 Terry Broad Hurst(4g-7a-11pts)26 Alex Hudson (4g-7a-11pts) 27 Matt Ambroz (7g-4a-11pts)
19 Ryan Walters (4g-3a-7pts)12 Brock Montpetit (2g-4a-6pts)13Zahn Raubenheimer (4g-3a-7pts)
16 Johnnie Searfoss (4g-1a-5pts) 20 Brandon Richardson(0g-1a-1pts)–25 Brent Gwidt (1g-2a-3pts)

Defense

6 Pasko Skarica (0g-3a-3pts) 3 Andrej Sustr (1g-4a-5pts)
7 Mike Young (0-g3a-3pts) 23 Eric Olimbn 0g-8a-8pts)
2 Matt Smith (0g-1a-2pts) 24 Bryce Aneloski (1g-4a-5pts)

Goalies

30 John Faulkner
34 Mike Taffe
35 Fredrik Bergman
[Mavericks' Stats]

A couple of things.

This weekends Fighting Sioux hockey games are not FCS/FSSN. The only way you will be able to watch the games is to purchase the web cast from B2tv.com. [Click link to purchase]

For the life of me I can’t understand why these games can't be picked up by FSSN? All they would have to do is broadcast the B2 broadcast over the FSSN. That being said, not all is lost though, just log on to the link provided above and you can hook up an s-video cord from computer to your TV. During October, I watched the Maine Black Bears slaughter/debacle game that way and it worked out pretty well.

Blais not going to Minnesota

Those who like to speculate that Dean Blais is going to be the next coach of the Golden Rodents when Lucia gets fired, you might want to re-think that assessment. Brad Schlossman had this little nugget in his Wednesday update.

Blais again said he plans to coach at Omaha for five years. Then, he said he wants to retire and spend more time with his grandchildren.

“I pretty much have had the best college job in the country already,” he said.

Moving forward; Fighting Sioux vs Mavericks

This weekend’s WCHA series will feature the once beaten University of Omaha Nebraska Mavericks aka “The Red Cows” versus the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. This match up will be special to Sioux fans because it will be former Fighting Sioux head hockey coach Dean Blais’ first match up against his former team.

Sioux fans will probably always have strong feeling of affection for Dean Blais because of what he accomplished while he was the head coach at UND. Dean Blais led the Fighting Sioux to five MacNaughton Cups, two Broadmoor Trophys, two (2X) national titles in 1997 and 2000 and a runners up finish in 2001 before moving on to coach in the NHL after the 2004 season.

Can I quote you on that one?

Blais is also famous for interesting quotes and zingers. One of Blais’ more famous quotes was, ‘if a players isn’t playing well, he will be sitting on the bench next to the coach or in the stands in a suit.’ Last week Blais made this comment after he was asked by the Omaha media if the Mavericks were adjusting to the teams in the WCHA?

World-Herald --- On Saturday night, following No. 6 UNO’s wild 4-4 tie at St. Cloud State, Blais was asked whether the game was an example of his Mavs learning and adjusting to life in the WCHA.

Blais agreed, then broke out a sly smile.

“These other teams,” he said, “they’re going to have to learn and adjust to us, too.”

I think no matter how the four games go between the Fighting Sioux and the University of Omaha Mavericks, Sioux fans will have found memories and an affection for Dean Blais, because he was one of us.

Chad PurcellWorld-Herald Staff Writer --- Blais knows that UND's coaches, players and fans will want to sweep this series, too. But there's an interesting dynamic that still exists between Blais and those who live and die for Sioux hockey. And that's not likely to change, even if the Mavs enjoy big success this weekend.

“He's a major, major celebrity up there,” said Nick Fohr, UNO's director of hockey operations who grew up in Grand Forks rooting for UND. “Sioux hockey is just as big up there as Husker football is down here, and Dean is obviously a very big part of that program.”

Virg Foss can verify that fact.

Foss, a columnist for the Grand Forks Herald, formerly served as the newspaper's UND hockey beat writer. He covered the program for 35 seasons, longer than any other WCHA writer, including all 19 years of Blais' tenure.

“I think Dean will always have a warm place in everybody's heart here in North Dakota,” Foss said.

Blais grew up along the Canadian border in International Falls, Minn., and he played college hockey at the University of Minnesota. But his hockey identity in large part is defined by what he did at North Dakota.

He worked as an assistant under former UND coach Gino Gasparini in the 1980s. During that nine-year stint, Blais was one of the key recruiters and tacticians as the Sioux went 239-130-11 and won NCAA titles in 1982 and 1987.

Brad Malone checks Jesse Martin

After looking at the hit numerous times I don’t know? I still think it looks like a shoulder to shoulder check, but the video isn’t that good to tell definitely and FSSN isn’t in HD either. There is no question that it was a violent check, but hockey is a contact sport, and there are legal and illegal violent checks in the game of hockey and in football. I am sure the league will review this hit and determine if further punishment in the way of game(s) are warranted. I also want to stress that the injury put a negative spin on the game; nobody wants to see anyone get hurt. I hope that Jesse Martin makes a full recovery and can resume playing hockey again.

Sioux fall to 8th in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[October 25, 2010]
1 Miami (28) 4-1-1 975 3
2 Boston College (19) 3-1-0 952 1
3 Minnesota-Duluth ( 1) 5-0-1 854 6
4 Michigan 3-1-2 769 4
5 Yale 0-0-0 733 5
6 Boston University ( 2) 4-0-1 726 8
7 Maine 3-1-2 710 12
8 North Dakota 3-2-1 679 2
9 Nebraska-Omaha 5-1-0 572 10
10 New Hampshire 1-1-2 513 7
11 Michigan State 2-0-2 427 16
12 Denver 2-2-2 400 11
13 Notre Dame 4-1-0 391 17
14 Cornell 0-0-0 366 13
15 Alaska 3-2-1 340 9
16 Union 5-1-0 339 18
17 St. Cloud State 2-3-1 224 14
18 Wisconsin 3-2-1 166 15
19 Colorado College 3-2-1 69 19
20 Minnesota 3-3-0 57 20
20 Rensselaer 3-1-2 57 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Robert Morris 51, Michigan Tech 47, Western Michigan 26, Ferris State 19, Bemidji State 10, Quinnipiac 10, Merrimack 6, Vermont 5, Canisius 3, Northeastern 3, Massachusetts-Lowell 1


USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[October 25, 2010]
1 Miami University 493 (18) 4 4-1-1
2 Boston College 481 (14) 1 3-1-0
3 University of Minnesota Duluth 415 (1) 5 5-0-1
4 University of Michigan 365 3 3-1-2
5 Boston University 349 (1) 8 4-0-1
6 University of Maine 324 11 3-1-2
7 Yale University 319 6 0-0-0
8 University of North Dakota 278 2 3-2-1
9 University of Nebraska Omaha 219 10 5-1-0
10 University of New Hampshire 171 7 1-1-2
11 University of Notre Dame 143 NR 4-1-0
12 University of Denver 126 13 2-2-2
13 Union College 105 NR 5-1-0
14 Michigan State University 104 NR 2-0-2
15 Cornell University 77 12 0-0-0
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska 47, St. Cloud State University 29, University of Wisconsin 13, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6, Robert Morris University 6, University of Minnesota 5, Michigan Tech University 4, Ferris State University 1.


Read more: http://www.uscho.com/rankings/national-polls/#ixzz13QThp3xo

Weekend in review

I will include these pictures from this past weekend again. Also, Eric Stromgren from the Bemidji Pioneer has some really nice photos on his blog as well as in the Bemidji Pioneer.

This past weekend I was one of the lucky ones that was able to take in the historic first ever WCHA hockey series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux at the “new” BREC in Bemidji. My first impression of the BREC is 100% positive and you can mark me down as being impressed with the layout of the building and the grounds. Bemidji gets an “A” for their new building.

From what I can see in my first viewing of the BREC; its an amazing and impressive facility that will even the playing field for the BSU Beavers hockey team as far as recruitment goes, it’s definitely an up grade from the John S Glas Field House.

In walking around in the bowels of the arena I was impressed with the player’s area, the BREC has something like 4 locker rooms; an impressive weight room, that unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of the weight room, none the less, the weight room had equipment that was top of the line. In today’s recruiting environment, those amenities are important features when recruiting players in the WCHA.

BREC fan friendly

While The BREC has a lot of amenities and will give BSU the edge when going for prized recruits in the future; there are also a lot of nice fan friendly amenities that will make the BREC an attractive option for future road trips and improve the hockey viewing experience for the college hockey fan. Like I said before this is not your daddy’s John S Glas Field House college hockey experience anymore, the two arenas don’t compare 46,000,000.00 > 970,000.00.

Based on what I saw last weekend the BREC has room for about 4373 fans (even though I have read somewhere that it seats 4,700) people and it’s the perfect size for a town like Bemidji that has a population that is roughly about 10,000 people. From what I saw the BREC has good site lines and I didn’t hear any complaints from fans about not being able to see the game.

One thing that caught my eye was that the Student section is positioned right behind the visiting goalie for two of the three periods and with their seating configuration allows the BSU student section to stand for the whole game if they would like, because they are not blocking the view of anyone behind them. In other words, they didn’t build luxury suites behind the student section. So that eliminates one problem there.

I was down by the Zamboni door where the Sioux players were leaving the ice surface after the pregame warm ups and it was interesting to see the BSU student section giving the Sioux players the business as they left the ice. The language coming from the stands was probably PG-13 and probably not as coarse as I thought it would be. The Sioux players seemed to enjoy it and smile as they walked off the ice. I have to admit that it was fun to watch the exchange.

The club seating and suite area is really nice and has a few amenities that really stood out to me as well. The club seating area seat approximately 200 fans in seat in the west end of the arena, that area is finished off with a nice bar, which incidentally serves more than Miller Beer products. One person that I know told me that the loneliest person was the Miller Lite beer stand in the lobby out side of the lower bowl of the arena. There is also leather couches in the club seating area to sit on between periods. The rest room facilities in the Club/Suite level area were nice and not crowded at all.

Bemidiji Regional Event Center

Over the weekend many people twittered me and sent me text messages asking me what I thought about the new BREC. Personally, I am excited about the new facility and I will reiterate what I said earlier, the Bemidji Regional Event Center is an improved high end version of the of the United Plains Center or what will now be called the Scheels Arena in Fargo, ND. The city of Bemidji did the BREC right and didn’t do it on the cheap, and they also laid the ground work for some nice expansion in the future.

Eventually, there is going to be a Holiday Inn Express built that will be connected to the BREC. So a person will be able to attend a hockey game and stay right there on the Grounds of the Bemidji Regional Events Center. That would be a plus in the winter when the weather turns bad.

As I mentioned in a paragraph above, one of the amenities from the BREC that I think the fans appreciated was that there is a bigger selection of adult beverages in the lobby of the lower bowl of the arena. Seriously, if you’re a fan that like to consume a beer or two there are more options than Miller Beer products. Also, you can get a mixed drink if you so chose without having to go to an arena bar. The one issue I saw with the mixed drink stand was there appeared to be only one mixed drink stand on the lower level causing long lines to purchase said mixed drink. It’s a minor issue and not a deal breaker. I was also able to purchase a Dunn Brother’s Coffee in the lobby of the BREC. I thought that was a really nice touch.

BSU a first class organization

First, I want to preface this last paragraph to say that I would like to thank the Bemidji Sports Information Director Brad Folkestad for his hospitality and thank him for giving me press credentials and an opportunity to report on the historic first WCHA series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux.

It was a pleasure to be a part of what transpired this past weekend, BSU is a first class organization that does everything with class and has a lot of pride as an organization. I attended BSU in the early 1990’s before I transferred to UND and BSU is definitely one of my favorite teams and a town that I still consider home, I also graduate from BHS in 1985. I will always fondly remember the campus and town of Bemidji. I will always remember this weekend positively as long as I live.

One Super University

If you haven't seen this, there is the new fringe element/movement to get the other school Moo U and UND to merge into one super university. When I first read about it I thought it was a joke. I guess they aren't kidding. This idea seems like it was dreamed up in the back room of a bar somewhere between Fargo and Grand Forks. [Click to read the article]

The D-1 hockey at UND compares impressively with any collegiate hockey program in North America.

1. We (the Great State of North Dakota) can’t afford or need another one.
2. We don’t need duplication of other sports on a D-1 level either.
3. The Great State of North Dakota has ample resources to do this D-1 thing right once.
4. An athletic arms race will not be accepted by rank and file, hard working, common sense approach North Dakotans.
5. The University of North Dakota State Fighting Bison or the State University of North Dakota Fighting Bison, take-your-pick.
6. Two world class campuses, one super university.
7. Being a shark patrolling the National Beach or two walleye swimming in Devils Lake that is really our choice here.
8. This ultimately becomes a merger of two athletic departments and the consolidation of two offices of the presidency, cost savings immediately.
9. For openers; Hockey remains in Grand Forks, Football in Fargo, their historical championships would warrant that. Exhibition games or certain specialty games could be played in Grand Forks or Fargo. Any expansion or remodeling of the FargoDome would allow games to be played in Grand Forks during the transmission. State High School Football Finals could be scheduled annually in Grand Forks.
10. The next given would be wrestling in Fargo, swimming and diving in Grand Forks, both no-brainers as the other school doesn’t have the respective sport.
11. Men’s and Women’s Basketball could ultimately play in multiple home locations, precedent for that would be UCONN they play in both Hartford and their home campus facilities.
12. Baseball and softball play most of their games elsewhere because of the weather, but Fargo has baseball’s answer to the Ralph.
13. Track & Field and soccer could play in both, volleyball in both, tennis could play in both and golf could play in both, I hope you get the point.
14. Add an Equestrian team to deal with issues of Title IX when we go to 85 scholarship football. The equestrian approach would open vast new fundraising opportunities currently not being tapped.
15. The Fighting Bison solves the logo flap.

UND ranks as top school where students study least

I saw this article at the Fargo Fishwrapper and I thought I would pass it along so you can read it. Noticed NDSU isn't mentioned in this article.

GRAND FORKS – The University of North Dakota just can’t seem to catch a break from the Princeton Review.

The university isn’t on the list of top party schools or top liquor-swilling schools this year as it was last year.

But now it’s moved up on the list of schools with students who study the least – actually, it’s No. 1 – and landed a spot on the list of schools with least-accessible professors.

To be fair, UND is still among the nation’s top universities, which is how it got into Princeton Review’s list of “The Best 373 Colleges” in North America. It was the only one in North Dakota listed, though several state universities did make it into a separate list of top Midwestern colleges.

Princeton Review arrived at its rankings through a survey of 122,000 students at the 373 colleges, asking questions such as how widely liquor is used on campus.

Other than the rankings for specific categories, such as least studious students, the 373 are not ranked together because the company thinks it’d be comparing apples and oranges. Different universities fit different kinds of students, it said.

So, here’s a quick recap: In 2009 UND was No. 5 among those with students who study the least, No. 15 for students who down the most liquor and No. 18 among party schools.

This year, UND is No. 1 among those with students who study the least and No. 19 among those with professors who are least accessible.

The Princeton Review based those on answers to these questions: “How many out-of-class hours do you spend studying each day?” and “How accessible are your instructors outside the classroom?”

In response to questions about its students’ studiousness, UND released a study by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, that compared UND students with those at two peer universities, whose names were not revealed.

UND seniors in the 2008-09 year said they studied, on average, 5.48 hours a week. At one peer, seniors said they studied an average of 5.54 hours and, at the other peer, 5.37 hours.

UND freshmen said they studied an average of 5.48 hours while their peers studied 5.65 and 5.48.

Among those with least studious students, the top five are UND, followed by the University of Central Florida in Orlando, the University of Mississippi in Oxford, the University at Albany (N.Y.) and West Virginia University in Morgantown.

El Rocco coming to UND Campus in 2011 and Random Notes (RW77)

Rocco Grimaldi Commits to Sioux

US NTDP standout forward Rocco Grimaldi committed to UND according to UND blogger and Herald Sports Writer Brad Schlossman.

He was deciding between Notre Dame and Denver before selecting UND as his final destination before the pros.

Right away, the guy reminds me of someone.... Ah yes. Ryan Duncan. Why? Because he's 5'6" and 160 pounds, which, IIRC, is right about Duncan's size. However, what he also does is remind people about a certain BC standout that had UND's goat...ahm... Nathan Gerbe anyone?

Rocco's hometown is listed in Michigan but he's actually from California. He has done well for himself everywhere he's been at, winning the championship for his midget team (Little Caesar's AAA Midget), winning the U-17 tourney, and the U-18 tourney.

He had 20 points in 32 games with the NTDP this year, including a team high six goals on the powerplay. He was also the top scorer in the U17 Challenge.

He served as Team Captain as well, which is another standup quality for the young man.

Here's the USHL link

Random College Notes:

-- UND's roster will be finalized this month. Most of the pontifications on this blog and the Siouxsports.com forums have pretty much nailed what's expected already so no surprises are expected.

-- Four Frozen Four Sites have been announced. 2011 is Minnesota's home ice advantage XCel Energy Center, 2012 is Tampa (whooo! That's going to be as packed as that sell out was in Anaheim a few years back!), 2013 in Pittsburgh and 2014 in Philly. Boston snubbed again. The good news is maybe ESPN can entice Sidney Crosby to come to the show in Pittsburgh so they can find something OTHER than college hockey to talk about (aka Edwards and Moriarty with Doug Flutie in 2000)

-- Chay Genoway is working out but not yet cleared medically to play... to the knowledge of Brad Schlossman (who I believe will be the first person outside of UND's Athletic Department, UND's players and coaches, Chay's friends and family to be notified)

NHL News and Notes:

-- HEY GUESS WHAT! A Canadian news agency proposed to televise the Ilya Kovalchuk "decision" in, yup, an hour long special. No, I'm not being cynical or making this crap up. Thank you LeBron. I hope you get burned big time.

-- Philly re-signed thug cave-man intellectual equal Danny Carcillo today. I don't know how much he was paid, but whatever it was, even if it was one penny above league minimum, it was too much.

-- Modano may not end up in Detroit after all. Looks like bygones will be bygones and the Wild may sign him. It's nice to know that Modano can turn the other page after Risebrough gave him the middle finger when Modano all but volunteered to play for the Wild after the lockout and Risebrough said no.

-- Niemi's arbitration date has been set. He's looking about somewhere around $3 million+ a season thanks to STL and Halak. It will be very interesting to see what the Hawks do.

Holy Cow!?!

Apparently the fans over on belligerentville.com are all up in arms because Fighting Sioux football head coach Chris Mussman said go Cyclones at the end of his interview with Dan Hammer. For all of the people getting excited about this; just for the record Chris Mussman played his college football at ISU from 1987-1990 so maybe it's time to remove your panties from the crack of your ass and settle down. I mean seriously, Mussman didn't say, 'you can't have suck with out SU.' Maybe he should have. Mussman simply said, "go Cyclones." Not everyone in Fargo is a Bison fans. [listen to the clip here]