Saint Cloud takes a bite out of UND.

Seal of the University of North Dakota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Grand Forks, ND – Fresh off getting only a single point in their weekend series against the Minnesota Gophers last weekend, you would’ve thought that the University of North Dakota Hockey team would come out of the gates with a lot of fire and playing with a purpose.

Tonight, that was not the case. In fact, nothing went right for the University of North Dakota hockey team.

Tonight’s opponents, the Saint Cloud State Huskies were the ones that looked like they were the fifth ranked team in the nation, as they came out of the gates with a purpose, and raced to a 2-0 lead with goals from forwards Johnny Brodzinski and Ben Hanowski.  Not only was UND outplayed, but UND was also out shoot 7-3 in the first period as well.

Coming into tonight’s game, UND had a record of 5-3-3 when the opposition scores the first goal. Make that 5-4-3 with the 3-1 loss to the Saint Cloud State Huskies tonight.

The Second period didn’t start out well for North Dakota either, as they continued to stand around and watch the Huskies make plays. It’s not a stretch to say that UND was beaten to the puck for two and half periods of hockey. The Huskies would out shoot UND 11-5 during the second period.

The game just didn’t get much better in the third period as they would watch the Huskies extend the lead to 3-0 with another goal from the talented freshman Johnny Brodzinski’s.

After the game, Saint Cloud State Husky head coach Bob Moztko was impressed with the play of his freshman forward Brodzinski.

“I am not sure how many shots that he had tonight,” Motzko said. “I didn’t see, but he had eight or nine shots on goal. When he [Brodzinski] shoots the puck people are going to start see that it’s a big league shot, and it’s just deadly – he’s a big strong kid – he gets open, he reminds me of a kid [Matt Frattin] they had here a couple of years ago – a kid that shot every time he had the puck.”

North Dakota would break Husky goalie Ryan Faragher’s shutout bid at the 13:49 mark of the third period with a power play goal from freshman forward Rocco Grimaldi. That was all of the closer UND would get as the Huskies would hang on for the win with UND pressing in the waning minutes of the third, but they were unable to get anything past Faragher.

While Rocco Grimaldi was the only UND hockey player to get a puck past the rangy Husky goalie Faragher, Grimaldi didn’t spend much time relishing his ninth goal of the season.

“It just wasn’t our game,” Grimaldi said. “I can’t even put a finger on it what we did wrong. Just no one starting with myself, no one was inspired to play the game. That can’t happen; we just have to forget now that it’s over and done with and move on tomorrow we need those two points tomorrow.”

The game was rather clean as both team combined for a grand total of five minor penalties for 10 minutes in penalties.  UND was 1/1 on the power play and the Huskies were unable to cash in on their two power play opportunities.

After the game, Saint Cloud State Husky coach Bob Motzko seemed rather pleased with his team’s effort.

“Our guys blocked a lot of shots tonight,” Motzko said. “You’ve got to give yourself a chance here to play good defense,” “Ryan [Faragher] made a few key saves when he had to.”

Tonight, Corban Knight’s 19 game point streak came to an end. This was only the third game in the last 24 that Knight didn’t at least have a point. Breaking it down further, this was also the first time all season long that Knight and Kristo didn’t have a single point.

There really is no way to sugar coat tonight’s game. It was not a good effort at all for the North Dakota Hockey team, and the head coach Dave Hakstol was not pleased with his team’s effort. “We didn’t play very well tonight,” Hakstol said. “ We got our tails kicked in our own building.”

North Dakota is known for it's second half surges, currently has a 3-3-1 record in it's last seven games.

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

Related articles

• UND: The Weekend Ahead (1/25-1/26) (thehockeywriters.com)

One step back, before we move forward (UND vs. UMN)

Goldy Gopher, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities mascot. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is the big story that is making it’s way around Twitter this afternoon. From the looks of it, Minnesota Gophers beat writer Roman Augustoviz must have listened to Gophers head coach Don Lucia on WCCO radio last night. So, after a great weekend of hockey and after being asked about the rivalry probably hundreds of times, I guess he’s tired of being asked about the rivalry.

Roman Empire — Gophers coach Don Lucia used his weekly radio show on Monday to defend himself from critics complaining that North Dakota won’t be on the U’s schedule the next three seasons.

“We have a rule at the University of Minnesota — not put in by me — but by the regents that we can not play a team with an Indian nickname,” Lucia said. “And for years, this controversy with North Dakota and the nickname has been going on. And it has been fought in the courts and everything else.

“And it did not get settled until this summer. Well — if you want to put the blame on me for not waiting to find out whether it was going to get settled or not, then so be it. I can accept that fact.

“I wasn’t going to wait. When the conferences all broke up a couple of years ago. And we were heading into all these new conferences, it was kind of a frenzy and free-for-all for scheduling nonconference games. And when we had the opportunity to schedule some good opponents — I could have waited, but I chose not to wait. But I wanted to ensure we had a good schedule for our fans and our team.”

Whether you believe their company line or not, that’s up to you. It is what it is. This is what the Gophers head coach is saying, and he’s sticking to it. Hey whatever, we could discuss this till we are blue in the face if we want, but Lucia isn’t giving in. That being said, I can tell you that many in the UND fan-base are cynical. If you read some of the newspaper articles and hockey sites from this past weekend, you will see that not everyone was buying into this either. [click to view] and [click to view]

But I digress.

I have to admit that I am sad that this past weekend was the last regular season conference match-up between the two teams, maybe for some time. Such is life. Life is full of disappointments. I do think some fans are a bit delusional if they think that they can just replace the historic UND vs. UMN series with another random series against another hockey team and get the same intensity that this historic series has.

While there are currently no future games scheduled between the two teams, at least in the immediate future, there’s a very good chance that the two teams could meet again in the NCAA Playoffs. History tells us that there is a very good chance the two teams will see each other again, probably in the next year or two. Both teams have a history, and have met three times in the last eight years in the NCAA tourney, with UND holding a 2-1 edge.

It’s also a shame that a once great hockey conference is going to be a shell of it’s former self starting next season, but that is really something we can no longer control as well. These types of decisions are made by the folks that are paid big money to make these kinds of decisions, and they don’t always do what the fans want.

Finally, I also think that the players are going to miss this historic series as well. If  you don’t believe me, all you have to do is look at the comments from Gopher forward Nate Condon who was named WCHA Offensive Player of the week after he had a five point (2g-3a—5pts) weekend against UND.

Condon on his wknd: "It's good...especially since it's against (UND). If I can score that against them every time it would make my year."
— Nate Wells (@gopherstate) January 22, 2013

I guess for now, the series will have to wait, and all we can do is hope that cooler heads prevail. I think eventually the rivalry will resume play, sooner rather than later.

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

A few things... UMN vs. UND

For whatever reason, there is a lot of negative energy this week, perusing Sioux Sports, that sight has become toxic, you'd think that UND has no chance of taking any points. You would also think that UND is a bunch of talentless, good for nothing, hacks. I don't get it, you'd think that UND is also having a horrible and sub par season, and that is just not the case.

UND is currently tied for 6th in the Pairwise, they've played the 4th toughest schedule to date and lost one game in the previous eight games and are 8-2-0 the last 10 games. UND's offense is 6th in the nation and their defense is 20th over-all.

What gives?

Let's not forget that UND is 1 point out of first in the WCHA and has two games in hand.

Here's the UND vs. UMN tail of the tape.

Finally, UND's record against the Gophers during the last 15 games; 6-7-2. Since taking over as coach of UND, Coach Hakstol has a 17-13 record against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Related articles

• Walk-on's goal leads UND to victory over C.C. (thehockeywriters.com)
• Knight's Four Points Leads UND Past Holy Cross (insidehockey.com)
• Corban Knight for Hobey Baker? (insidehockey.com)
• Brutal call against UND's Andrew MacWilliam (ndgoon.blogspot.com)
• Tigers take a bite out of UND 4-3. (thehockeywriters.com)

Video from UND and CC

Tonight, was not a good night for the boys in Green and White. Also, the men in stripes had a very bad night, I know, I know, it's Brad Shepherd and Todd Anderson. What do I expect? I expect the refs to be professional and not yelling obscenities at the playes on the ice. That being said, the refs didn't cost UND the game, UND did it to themselves.

I do think that the hit by Mike Boivin on Drake Caggiula was a dangerous and senseless hit, I think that Boivin needs to be suspended for this hit, it this was the AHA, Boivin would not be playing tomorrow night. I said on the chat that I think this hit is as bad as the Marvin hit on Chay Genoway that knocked him out for the rest of the 2009-2010 season.

Related articles

• Tigers take a bite out of UND 4-3. (thehockeywriters.com)

Updated National College Hockey Television Schedule

Here is the updated National College Hockey television schedule for the next two weekends.  With the NHL lockout being over – NHL hockey will once again be on the television. Some hockey fans will chose not to watch the NHL; once the games are “finally” back on television again.

Keeping with the theme, that hockey fans have options, you can see that there are quite a few college hockey games, this week starting on Tuesday night, there are two high profile games.   Check your local cable listing, if you have DirecTV, you will need to have a package that includes the sports package.

On this schedule all time are Central Standard Time.

Tue.	Jan. 8		Bowling Green at Michigan	BTN	6:30 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Tue.	Jan. 8		Notre Dame at Minnesota	FS North +	7:00 p.m.	657
Wed.	Jan. 9		Harvard at BU	NBC Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Jan. 11		Colorado College at UND	FCS/Midco	7:37 p.m.	TBD
Fri.	Jan. 11		New Hampshire at Boston College	NESN	6:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Fri.	Jan. 11		Union at Princeton	NBC Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Jan. 11		Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota	BTN	7:00 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Fri.	Jan. 11		Nebraska-Omaha at Denver	NBC Sports Net.	8:37 p.m.	220 / 159
Sat.	Jan. 12		Army at Air Force	CBS Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Sat.	Jan. 12		Colorado College at UND	FCS/Midco	7:07 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Jan. 12		Alaska at Michigan	FS Detroit +	6:30 p.m.	664 / TBD
Sat.	Jan. 12		Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota	FS North	7:07 p.m.	668 / 436
Sat.	Jan. 12		Nebraska-Omaha at Denver	ROOT Sports	8:00 p.m.	683 / 414
Fri.	Jan. 18		Northeastern at Boston University	NESN	6:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Fri.	Jan. 18		Miami at Wisconsin	BTN	7:00 p.m.	610/  439
Fri.	Jan. 18		Harvard at Yale	NBC Sports Net.	7:30 p.m.	220 / 159
Fri.	Jan. 18		Ferris State at Michigan State	FS Detroit	6:00 p.m.	663 / 430
Fri.	Jan. 18		North Dakota at Minnesota	FS North	7:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sat.	Jan. 19		North Dakota at Minnesota	FS North	5:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sat.	Jan. 19		Alaska at Notre Dame	CBS Sports Net	6:05 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine. 

UND completes the sweep with late goal from Danny Kristo

Grand Forks, ND – Last night UND had a 2-0 lead before Holy Cross had their first shot on UND’s net. Tonight, the start to the game was very different. UND came out of the gates and didn't have the energy that they had the night before.

Last night, where there was time and space to move around, tonight’s game was more of a grind it out game. Michael Parks agreed. “It was definitely tighter checking tonight,” Parks said. It was pretty evident in the first two periods. I don’t think we were expecting that and we came out a little light. We listened to the coach and changed the game plan a little bit in the second intermission and picked it up.”

You have to also give credit where credit is due – the Crusaders came out in the first period and were on top of the Green and White – they were hard to play against and clogged things up. The Crusaders also were getting in the shooting lanes and taking away UND’s time and space and it looked like Holy Cross was going pull another big upset in the Ralph Engelstad arena.

The Crusaders beat UND at their own game for most of the first period.

That energy carried the Crusaders for the first 14-15 minutes of the period, as they raced to an early 2-0 lead with an power play and and even strength goal from forwards Brandon Nunn and Rob Linsmayer.

During the latter part of the first period, the momentum started to turn in UND’s favor. UND found their legs and they started making plays and generating chances and started to take the game away from Holy Cross.

That’s kind of the way that the head coach Dave Hakstol saw it as well. “We had to work our way into this game," Hakstol said. “Last night, I thought we came out on our toes at the drop of the puck. But tonight we had to work our way into it. That took 10 minutes. The fact that we ended up down 2-0 by that point in time, we had to jolt ourselves into the game.”

Then in the waning minutes of the first period, the energy line of Dan Senkbeil, Steph Pattyn and Colten St. Clair had a great shift and generated a great cycle in the Holy Cross end. That shift set the tone and UND would score at the 19:00 minute mark with a hardworking, ugly goal from sophomore forward Conner Gaaarder.

There was no scoring in the second period, but UND did generate a lot of scoring opportunities down low and spent most of the second period in the Holy Cross end of the rink. However, UND was unable to cash in on numerous grade “A” opportunities. UND outshot the Crusaders 13-2 in the second period.

At the 04:15 mark of the third period, UND would tie the game at 2-2 with a goal by Michael Parks on the power play. Assisting on the Parks power play goal was Corban Knight who extended his point’s streak to 15 games.

Danny Kristo would score the game winning goal for UND on a power play at the 14:37 mark of the third period. 3-2 UND. Assisting on the Kristo goal was Corban Knight and Joe Gleason. UND would outshoot the Crusaders 14-10 in the third period.

With the two assists tonight, Knight now has (10g-19a—29pts). Tonight, Knight also continues his torrid streak in the faceoff circle – where he was an impressive 21-3. Knight was also 31-9 in the faceoff circles for the series. Per UND Sports Information Director Jayson Hajdu, Knight now sits at 60.2% on the season, on pace to break his school record of 59.9%.

UND senior forward Danny Kristo had another strong game and seemed to take the team on his back as the game wore on. Kristo disagreed.

“Personally, I think our line was very below average for the game,” Kristo said. “I thought that all three of us were below average and didn’t play very well. But I guess we scored two big goals in the third period to help us contribute to the win. So that’s a positive you know. Big time players like that got to step up and be better in a 60 minute period so.”

With tonight's win UND completes it's first home sweep of the season. 

With a full line up, UND is going to have some decisions to make with their lineup. There are going to be good players that might not get to play.

“I guess think I know enough not look too far down the road,” Hakstol said. "We’ll worry about practice on Monday and Tuesday and evaluate our lineup and trying to put together what we feel is a lineup that can be successful against Colorado College. We’re not going to look too far down the road and worry about difficult lineup decisions; we will have some, going into Monday and Tuesday’s practices. We will take it one step at a time dealing with those lineup decisions.”

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine. 

Related articles

• Knight's four points leads UND past Holy Cross 5-2 (thehockeywriters.com)
• Knight's Four Points Leads UND Past Holy Cross (insidehockey.com)

National College Hockey Television Schedule (01/04 – 1/12)

As the NHL and the NHLPA continue with their endless lockout and squabble over billions of dollars, Hockey Related Revenue and other issues, there is actually watchable hockey that is being played tonight… In other words, you have options if you have cable  television or a satellite dish.

 Coming up this weekend, there are some nice national matchups. This weekend, the Cornell Big Red travel to Denver, Colorado for an important two-game nonconference series against the Denver Pioneers. This series has huge national implications in the Pairwise Rankings.  Tuesday night, Notre Dame travels to Minnesota to take on the Gophers in a crucial one game nonconference matchup.

*NESN = New England Sports Network. FCS= Fox College Sports. NBCSN = NBC Sports Network. DirecTV requires the “Sports Pack” to view the Regional sports Networks.

Fri.	Jan. 4		Dartmouth v. Quinnipiac	NESN	6:00 p.m.	683/414
Fr.	Jan. 4		Holy Cross at UND	FCS/Midco	7:37 p.m.	623
Fri.	Jan. 4		Colorado College at Nebraska-Omaha	NBC Sports Net.	7:30 p.m.	603 / 159
Fri.	Jan. 4		Robert Morris at Army	CBS Sports Net.	7:30 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Fri.	Jan. 4		Cornell at Denver	ROOT Sports	9:30 p.m.	683 / 414
Sat.	Jan. 5		Holy Cross at UND	FCS/Midco	7:07 p.m.	626
Sat.	Jan. 5		Merrimack at Vermont	CBS Sports Net.	7:30 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Tue.	Jan. 8		Bowling Green at Michigan	Big Ten Net.	7:30 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Tue.	Jan. 8		Notre Dame at Minnesota	FS North +	8:00 p.m.	657/444
Fri.	Jan. 11		Colorado College at UND	FCS/Midco	7:37pm	623
Fri.	Jan. 11		New Hampshire at Boston College	NESN	7:00 p.m.	628 / 434
Fri.	Jan. 11		Union at Princeton	NBCSN	7:30 p.m.	603 / 159
Fri.	Jan. 11		Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota	BTN	9:00 p.m.	610 / 439 (C)
Fri.	Jan. 11		Nebraska-Omaha at Denver	NBCSN	10:00 p.m.	603 / 159
Sat.	Jan. 12		Army at Air Force	CBS Sports Net.	6:00 p.m.	613 / 158 (C)
Sat.	Jan. 12		Colorado College at UND	FCS/Midco	7:07 p.m.	TBD
Sat.	Jan. 12		Alaska at Michigan	FS Detroit +	7:30 p.m.	664 / TBD
Sat.	Jan. 12		Alaska Anchorage at Minnesota	FS North	8:00 p.m.	668 / 436
Sat.	Jan. 12		Nebraska-Omaha at Denver	ROOT Sports	9:00 p.m.	683 /414

UND: The Weekend Ahead (01/04-01/05)

Seal of the University of North Dakota (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The University of North Dakota entertains Holy Cross in an important two game nonconference series at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D. This weekend, is also the 11^th annual Subway Holiday Classic.

Dates: January 4-5, 2013North Dakota (10-5-3, 7-2-3 WCHA) #7 USCHO and #7 USA Today Polls versus #20 Holy Cross (10-4-2, 6-3-2 Atlantic Hockey)

Times: Jan. 4: 7:30 p.m. (CT); Jan. 5: 7:00 p.m. (CT)

Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

TV: Midco Sports Network, FCS Central (Friday), FCS Pacific (Saturday), DirecTV

Live Video & Audio: www.UNDSports.com

Series History: UND has only played Holy Cross twice during UND’s hockey history. UND leads series 2-0 (home 1-0 neutral site 1-0). UND defeated the Crusaders 5-2 in the now famous 2006 NCAA West Region final that was held at Ralph Engelstad Arena. UND also blanked the Crusaders 3-0 in the 2004 NCAA West Region semifinal in Colorado Springs.

The University of North Dakota is 13-5-2 (.700) all-time at the Subway Holiday Classic.

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Danny Kristo (8g-13a—21pts), *Rocco Grimaldi (7g-9a—16pts), Mark MacMillan (7g-8a—15pts), Corbin Knight (8g-15a—23pts), Drake Caggiula (5g-6a—11pts). Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-6a—8pts), Andrew MacWilliam (1g-5a—6pts), Derek Forbort (4g-6a—10pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 8-3-3, 2.19 GAA, .925 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 2-2-0, 2.97 GAA, .902 save percentage.

Holy Cross Crusaders: Forwards: Kyle Fletcher (7g-9a—16pts), Adam Schmidt (9g-5—14pts), Rob Linsmayer 4g-10a—14pts), Brandon Nunn (7g-5a—12pts), Defense: Evan Zych 0g-12—12pts) Nilan Nagy (1g-5a—6pts). Goalies: Matt Ginn 9-3-2, 2.90 GAA, .909 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

Holy Cross Official Web Page

*Attending 2013 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship


Originally Posted at The Hockey Writers – Combine 

Book Review: One Goal, From a UND Hockey Fan's Perspective

Coach Hakstol addresses his team after a game
One Goal, Allison Davis O’Keefe

This Christmas my wife gave me the book “One Goal” by Allison Davis O’Keefe.  If this book was not under your Christmas tree and you are thinking of purchasing it, do it.

I was told that they’re flying off of the shelves at the Sioux Shop. “One Goal” is on sale for $45.23 at the Ralph Engelstad Arena Sioux Shop. According to the Sioux Shop webpage, the book is still in stock.

In my opinion, this is a great gift idea for that person that loves UND hockey. I am glad that I found this book under my Christmas tree, and I am thankful for receiving it. Of course, this is coming from a guy that makes no apologies for his love of UND hockey. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, because I believe that the book’s audience is UND hockey fans.

If you’re a Fighting Sioux hockey fan and you followed the team during the 2010-11 season – you lived the memories that are well-documented in this book – “One Goal” will also bring back emotions that you experienced during the season.

I know the name changed for good on June 12, 2012 but for the purposes of this review, the team is referred to as Fighting Sioux, because that was the team’s name at the time.

“One Goal” is an emotional, thoughtful and personal look into the 2010-11 UND Fighting Sioux hockeyseason. “One Goal” also gives UND hockey fans a chance at closure, seeing their favorite team lose in the semifinals of the 2011 Frozen Four. This was a very painful experience for the team, the community and the fans.

“One Goal” also does a good job humanizing UND head hockey coach Dave Hakstol as well.

Coach Hakstol with his wife Erin after a game.
One Goal, Allison Davis O’Keefe

Being credentialed by UND for the last year and a half has allowed me to get a closer look at a man that many fans might not totally understand. In my opinion, Hakstol at times, has been unfairly bagged on by some in the UND fan base.

From the “front stage” perspective, Hakstol comes off a bit stiff, but also very serious and businesslike. One of my friends once asked me “when Hakstol was going to take the hanger out of his suit coat.”  If anything, this book gives the readers a chance to get a different look at the man that many fans have not seen.

From the “front stage” Hakstol at times also comes off as being a “bit” intimidating, if not standoffish.

Coach Hakstol is a very passionate person when it comes to UND Hockey and that emanates from the book as well.

“One Goal” gives a glimpse into the “back stage” version of Dave Hakstol, but also the 2010-11 Fighting Sioux Hockey team as well. You see a guy that’s a family man.

“One Goal” really does a good job giving the fans a closer look at the senior class of 2011, especially seniors Matt Frattin and Chay Genoway, two of the bigger stars in a very star-studded line up.

While Frattin was known for his bone-crushing hits and timely goals on the ice, you see a different side of a young man off the ice. You see a reflective Frattin stopping to collect his thoughts before a big game.

The 2010-11 version of UND hockey was probably one of UND’s best teams during the Dave Hakstol era that made it to the Frozen Four; in my opinion that team should have hung a banner, but in the end could not seal the deal and bring home the hardware. That is  also illustrated in the book.

“One Goal” also illustrates that it’s more than just being about hockey, it’s about comradeship and being there for your teammates.

UND not winning the NCAA title in 2010-11 left a void in the hearts of Fighting Sioux hockey fans all across the Fighting Sioux fan base. You can see from the pictures in the book, that the loss also affected the players as well.

There are few if any written words in this book, but the pictures tell the story about a hockey season that did not quite end the way most of us would have wanted.

You see the cold reality of losing and also the cold barren winter prairie that comes alive when Fighting Sioux Hockey is in town playing at the Ralph.

Historically, the 2010-11 Fighting Sioux hockey team was also the last “full” season of UND being called the Fighting Sioux.

There is a bit of irony in the book, the Fighting Sioux nickname is supposed to be “hostile and abusive” or at least that’s what we’re led to believe based on what the NCAA has said in the past.  Yet there is a picture of Fighting Sioux fans of Native American descent at the Midwest Regional wearing jerseys sporting the Fighting Sioux logo. How could that be?

The Fighting Sioux came into the Frozen Four on a 15-game unbeaten streak (14-0-1) and won theMacNaughton Cup by six points over second-place Denver.

UND also won the Broadmoor Trophy in impressive fashion beating DU 3-2 in the championship game in two over times, but the team didn’t touch either trophy when it was presented to them at center ice. UND would then travel to Green Bay, Wisconsin and roll through the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal beating RPI 6-0 and DU 6-1 in impressive fashion.

The 2010-11 team was built to win a national title and was by far the best team in the WCHA during the regular season and first three rounds of the playoffs, but as we have learned in the past, the best team doesn’t always win. Just ask Brendan Morrison from Michigan.

Matt Frattin after the Frozen Four loss against Michigan
One Goal, Allison Davis O’Keefe

The 2010-11 Fighting Sioux Hockey team had higher aspirations, but it appeared from a bystander and the book illustrates that the Fighting Sioux hockey team didn’t really stop long enough to enjoy the moment.

Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol made mention of this to the author of the book a year and a half later. From the afterword of One Goal; “he [Hakstol] wished he had allowed the team to relish their wins – that perhaps the pressure of “destiny” prevented them from appreciating their accomplishments.”

There are a few examples of this in the book. You can see the lonely Broadmoor Trophy and a MacNaughton Cup sitting at center ice just begging to be picked up and paraded around the Ralph and the Xcel Energy Center. Some of the college hockey media people seem almost taken back by that, I think the author might have been as well. None-the-less, the author gives you the opportunity to ponder that for yourself.

I have now read the book “One Goal” about ten times and I find something new each time that I re-read the book, the first time I read it I got tears in my eyes. I highly recommend picking up a copy so you can relive the memories of the UND Fighting Sioux’s 2010-11 season. It’s like you can feel the memories coming out in the pictures of the book.

It would be interesting to see the pictures that didn’t make the book.

Originally posted at the Hockey Writers Combine... 

Why not Corban Knight for the Hobey Baker?

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I don’t think it’s too early to start this post – half of the college hockey season is over already – soon the second half of the season will be upon us. It won’t be long until the hockey pundits will be talking about the end of the season awards that go along with the culmination of the NCAA hockey season.

That means that the Hobey Baker Memorial fan voting will be upon us very soon.

While I have no say in the process, I do believe that UND senior forward Corban Knight should be a legitimate candidate for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award and I believe that it will be very hard for the voters to overlook him.

Breaking it down further, Knight is a complete player, both on an off of the ice, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t be one of the Hobey Hat Trick (finalists) when it’s all said and done.

Through 16 games this season, Knight is leading the Green and White in scoring and has amassed an impressive (8g-15s—23pts). Knight is ranked eighth nationally in the NCAA for points per game 1.35. Knight is also tied for first over-all with Drew LeBlanc of Saint Cloud State in the WCHA for points in conference games.

Knight is currently on a 13 game scoring streaking racking up (6g-15a-21pts).

In the locker room, on or off the ice, Knight has the respect of his teammates and is very well liked. Recently, this is what fellow teammate Carter Rowney had to say about his fellow assistant caption.

“He’s a good guy,” Rowney said.  “He lives in the same building as me and everything. Great team player, everyone gets along with him – easy to get along with. Always positive, no matter what’s going on. He’s never down on himself, never down on anyone else, just a positive guy.”

When UND head coach Dave Hakstol was asked about Corban Knight, the  head coach was very complimentary.

“He’s a mature young man in every way,” Haksol said. “That’s one of the benefits of being a junior and a senior and taking the extra time to develop at this level before you step to the pro level; is being able to have that year where physically you’re maybe a little bit ahead of the opponents that you’re playing against. Certainly, mentally he’s as toughest there is. Very quiet in the way he goes about it – but mentally as tough as anybody.”

The head coach went on to say, “Corban is just a complete hockey player. “He’s good in all three zones. There’s a lot of element to his game that bring a lot of value to a team. I think one that he gets a lot of credit for is his ability in the faceoff dot. But there are a lot of areas of his game that are quietly similar to what he does in the faceoff dot. He’s a very solid, reliable two way player that consistently puts out real good solid offensive numbers – we’re seeing that again this year. He’s flown under the radar with it – he’s got a nice point scoring streak going. More importantly, I think his play is probably indicative of our team’s play. He’s very consistent player.”

Knight also does many good things off the ice as well. Recently, this is what the head coach Dave Hakstol had to say about his senior forward’s off ice activities.

“What you see is what you get,” Hakstol said. “He’s a great young man, always got a positive perspective. He always pays attention to how he treats people around him. He’s very cognizant of that. He’s always being a leader – not just in our locker room but in the community. He does an awful lot of things in the community that go unnoticed. He doesn’t do it with any fanfare – but he’s always willing to help out.”

Here’s the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Criteria.

• Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice.
• Candidates must contribute to the integrity of the team and display outstanding skills in all phases of the game.
• Consideration should be given to scholastic achievement and sportsmanship.
• Candidates must comply with all NCAA rules: be full time students in an accredited NCAA college or university; and complete 50% or more of the season.

I do believe that Corban Knight would meet all of these criteria, to be eligible for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Related articles

• UND forward Corban Knight's attitude; infectious on and off the ice (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND skates past DU 6-3 (thehockeywriters.com)
• Notes from the Wednesday's UND Men's Hockey press conference (thehockeywriters.com)