Wisconsin's Michael Mersch will not be suspended

I just got off of the phone with Greg Shepherd the head of WCHA officials and this is what I know. According to Shepherd, Badgers forward Michael Mersch came off of the bench on a line change and he would've had to enter the altercation in question to be suspended. In other words, Mersch will not be suspended by the WCHA.

So, after reading that, if you're still in disbelief like I am, you’re not alone. If Mersch had jumped off of the Wisconsin player’s bench and then entered the altercation in the Wisconsin end, Mersch would've then been suspended.

This doesn’t pass the smell test, even if you were in altered state of mind.

So, if you’re confused, you’re not alone. I guess the fact that Mersch jumped off of the bench challenged UND forward Steph Pattyn to a fight, while he was being escorted off of the ice by one of the officials.  In addition, it’s obvious by the video that Mersch came off of the Wisconsin players bench, while the previous play had been whistled dead; then took off his helmet. Apparently, this is not relevant in this case.

I don’t know many coaches that allow their hockey players to change lines during an altercation, take off their helmet, and then challenge an opponent to a fight, while said play is stopped. Usually they wait until the puck is dropped, and then challenge someone to a fight.

You’re not supposed to change lines during an altercation. I have to give the WCHA credit; they’re easy to get clarification from on incidents.

UND: The Weekend Ahead (2/1-2/2)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains the University of Wisconsin Badgers in a crucial two game WCHA series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Matchup: North Dakota (13-8-5, 8-5-5 WCHA) #7 versus #19 Wisconsin (11-8-5, 8-5-5 WCHA).

Dates: February 1-2, 2013

Times: February 1: 7:37p.m. (CT); February 2: 7:07 p.m. (CT)

Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

TV: Midco Sports Network, FOX College Sports Central, DirecTV

Webcast: UNDSports.com

SERIES HISTORY: All-Time: UND trails the Wisconsin Badgers 64-86-11 (.432)
In Grand Forks, UND trails the Badgers 32-36-8 (.474), In Madison, UND trails 27-46-3 (.375), At Neutral sites, UND leads the series 5-4-0 (.556). UND holds a 4-5-1 (.450) in the last 10 games and a 4-2 record the last six games (.666) against the Wisconsin Badgers.
UND is 7-3-4 in the last 15 games it’s played at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Danny Kristo (15g-18a—33pts), Rocco Grimaldi (9g-11a—20pts), Mark MacMillan (8g-9a—17pts), Corbin Knight (12g-23a—35pts), Carter Rowney (6g-8a—14pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-6a—12pts). Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-12a—14pts), Derek Forbort (4g-8a—12pts), Joe Gleason (3g-8a—11pts) Jordan Schmaltz (1g-6a—7pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-5a—6pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 10-5-4, 2.34 GAA, .914 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 3-3-1, 3.11 GAA, .897 save percentage.

Wisconsin Badgers: Forwards: Michael Mersch (15g-6a—21pts), Derek Lee (3g-16a—19pts), Tyler Barnes (6g-7a—21pts), Joseph Labate (4g-6a—10pts), Nic Kerdiles (3g-7a—10pts), Defense:  Jake McCabe (2g-8a—10pts) John Ramage (4g-3a—7pts). Goalies: Landon Peterson 5—2-2, 1.83 GAA, .934 save percentage, Joel Rumpel 6-6-3, 1.85 GAA, .930 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

Wisconsin Official Web Page

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine...

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 16

Each week, I participate in a WCHA Web Media Poll that is put on by the Tech Hockey Guide with 11 other people that represent both the print media as well as the hockey blogosphere.

The Minnesota Gophers are still the #1 team. The Gophers received 9 first place votes this week’s poll after splitting with the Mavericks of Minnesota State.  The Saint Cloud State Huskies are this week’s number two team; the Huskies also received 3 first place votes. North Dakota, remains at number three. Denver and Omaha traded places and well as Wisconsin and Minnesota State. Places eight through 12 remained unchanged.

Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 16:

Place	Team	Pts	Prev	Record	High
1)	Minnesota (9)	141	1	17-3-4	1	2
2)	St. Cloud State (3)	135	2	15-10-1	1	2
3)	North Dakota	117	3	13-8-5	3	4
4)	Nebraska-Omaha	106	5	15-9-2	3	7
5)	Denver	91	4	13-8-4	3	7
6)	Wisconsin	84	7	11-8-5	4	7
7)	Minnesota State	81	6	16-9-3	7	9
8)	Minnesota Duluth	60	8	10-11-3	7	9
9)	Colorado College	47	9	10-14-2	8	10
10)	Michigan Tech	37	10	7-12-4	9	11
11)	Bemidji State	25	11	5-12-5	10	11
12)	Alaska Anchorage	13	12	3-13-4	12	12

Representing  Name Publication Twitter

Alaska-Anchorage, Taylor Hall College Hockey News @thall907
Bemidji State, Troy Mills The Beaver Pond
Colorado College, Joe Paisley, Paisley Hockey @Paisleyhockey
Denver, Mike Chambers, Denver Post @MChambersDP
Michigan Tech, Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide @TBraunTHG
Minnesota, Dan Myers, Minnesota Hockey Magazine @1DanMyers
Minnesota Duluth, Bruce Ciskie, The Ciskie Blog @BruceCiskie
Minnesota State, Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey @ChrisDilks
Nebraska-Omaha, Matt Semisch, Radio Free Omaha @matthewsemisch
North Dakota, Eric Burton The Hockey Writers Combine and Goon’s World @goon48
St. Cloud State, Jeremy Larson, Husky Hockey Time @jclarson02
Wisconsin, Andy Johnson, Bucky’s 5th Quarter @andyjohnsonB5Q

Cross Posted the Hockey Writers - Combine

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll; UND drops to 7

January 28, 2013

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Minnesota	(28)	18- 4-4	975	1
2	Quinnipiac	(22)	18- 3-3	967	2
3	New Hampshire		15- 6-2	871	4
4	Miami		15- 6-5	835	6
5	Boston College		14- 7-2	771	3
6	Western Michigan		16- 6-4	723	9
7	North Dakota		13- 8-5	633	5
8	Yale		12- 5-3	605	8
9	Notre Dame		16-10-0	564	7
10	Denver		13- 8-4	506	10
11	Boston University		13- 9-1	479	11
12	St. Cloud State		15-10-1	446	16
13	Massachusetts-Lowell		14- 7-2	416	15
14	Nebraska-Omaha		15- 9-2	406	13
15	Minnesota State		16- 9-3	393	14
16	Dartmouth		11- 7-2	302	12
17	Niagara		15- 4-5	180	17
18	Union		13- 8-4	151	19
19	Wisconsin		11- 8-5	127	20
20	Alaska		12- 8-4	69	NR
Others receiving votes: Ferris State 42, Colgate 19, Providence 11, Cornell 5, Holy Cross 2, Merrimack 1, Northern Michigan 1.

Monday Afternoon pontifications

My impression on the weekend … On Friday, UND came out flat against a very good team and they got beat, there is no other way to sugar coat this.  I don’t think that anybody in UND’s locker room was happy with the results. Neither were the fans.

After the game the head coach was physically upset and didn’t say much in the postgame press conference. You can see his comments here if you haven’t seen them yet.

I think on Saturday that the guys in green and white did a very good job flushing Friday’s subpar effort and they were the better of the two teams on the ice all game long. North Dakota doubled up the Huskies in shots, but they were still unable to get anything past Ryan Faragher, who was rock solid all weekend long.

On Saturday night after the game, I told Mick Hatten beat writer from the Saint Cloud Times that I think SCSU is one of the better teams that I have seen in person this season. I truly believe that, the Huskies are pretty solid defensively and through the forward lines. They Huskies also have a good fore check and generate a lot of opportunities off of their opponent’s turnovers.

Perusing the messages boards and twitter, I see fans post that say that that losing to SCSU is unacceptable and that the Huskies are not a very good hockey team. Personally, I think those comments are short sighted, and I am going to disagree with that opinion. The Huskies are the first team since the 2008 season to sweep the Denver Pioneers in a weekend series.

While I don’t like watching UND lose to the Huskies, I do think we need to give credit where credit is due, the Huskies are not a bunch of talentless hacks and will be a force at the end of the season, baring injuries to key players.

 If UND doesn’t play the Huskies again this season, I won’t be disappointed.

While this isn’t earth shattering news, I do think that SCSU is probably going to win the WCHA this year, unless they have a total collapse, and baring a bunch of serious injuries. I am also admit, that it pains me to say that.  At the beginning of the season, I had UND winning the league in the Blogger Poll run by A Tradition of Excellence.

Saint Cloud State is a very good hockey team and if you don’t come and play well against them, they will bury you. You can’t take a shift off against a good team like the Huskies. During the game on Friday, UND took all but six minutes off.

The Huskies also have a pretty good freshman class that has paid dividends on the ice for the Huskies.

On the freshman that stuck out last weekend was freshman forward Jonny Brodzinski. The Huskies rookie Brodzinski scored (2g-1a—3pts) on the weekend and was the difference in Friday’s game. SCSU head coach Bob Motzko thinks very highly of his young forward and even compared him to former Sioux power forward Matt Frattin.

What is really interesting is that Brodzinski scored (11g-13a—24pts) in 64 games with the Fargo Force last year now is now tied for third with UND  forward  Rocco Grimaldi (9g-11a—20pts) for 20^th overall in WCHA rookie scoring for all games with (11g-9a—20pts).

Fire Hakstol!!!

I have seen a few people that are dissatisfied with the status of the UND coaching staff. Last season, people were unhappy with Carey Eades, and wanted Brad Berry Back. Now that assistant coach Brad barry is back, I see fans that want coach Eades back.

I do get the anger, no one in the UND fan base likes seeing what transpired over the past two weekends,  but that’s hockey, even the Boston Bruins that won the Stanley Cup, had a short period where they lost  a couple of untimely games and had losing streaks.

Even the 2010-11 team, that went to the Frozen Four, and finished third over-all had a rough stretch where they lost three out of four games during the month of October. The Fighting Sioux also went 5-3 during the month of January as well during the 2010-11 season.

I also think that we need to put thing in perspective. UND isn’t going to fire Dave Hakstol, that’s a fact.  Last spring, coach Hakstol signed an extension for six years and he currently has five years left on his deal.

I will also, predict that UND isn’t going to buy coach Hakstol out at $300,000.00 a year. Honestly, I can’t imagine that UND has 1.5 million dollars just laying around to buy him out. Let’s just say that UND fired him, who would they replace him with. That would also set the program back 2-4 seasons; they would also lose a fair number of the recruits that are already committed to UND.  

Like it or not, Hakstol isn’t going anywhere, I can assure you that.

Personally, I am a fan of Dave Hakstol and I think that sooner rather than later UND is going to win another title. Just a gut feeling.

UND vs. SCSU links

This weekend is a pivotal WCHA matchup between the SCSU Huskies and North Dakota. I know, I know… it’s tough not to refer to our team as the Fighting Sioux.

Jayson Hajdu has the pre-Christmas and post-Christmas records for the University of North Dakota under UND head coach Dave Hakstol. The question remains, will there be another second half run for the UND hockey team or will they keep their current pace of sub .700? Currently, they are playing at a .625 clip.

Year Before Xmas After Xmas

2004-05 13-7-2 (.636) 12-8-3 (.587)

2005-06 12-7-1 (.625) 17-9-0 (.654)

2006-07 7-10-1 (.417) 17-4-4 (.760)

2007-08 8-6-1 (.567) 20-5-3 (.768)

2008-09 9-8-1 (.528) 15-7-3 (.660)

2009-10 9-6-3 (.583) 16-7-2 (.680)

2010-11 13-5-2 (.700) 19-4-1 (.813)

2011-12 9-8-1 (.528) 17-5-2 (.750)

2012-13 10-5-3 (.639) 3-2-1 (.583)

Totals 91-62-15 (.586) 135-51-19 (.705)

North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol has a 22-10-6 (.657) record against the SCSU Huskies.

Senior Forward Corban Knight has had at least a point a game (7g-11a—18pts) against the Huskies during his career at UND.

Mick Hatton beat writer for the Saint Cloud Times has his pre-series articles up today and you can read them by clicking on these links. [Click to view], [click to view] and [click to view].

The Huskies have had a long 10 game home stretch and now they will go on the road for eight of their next 12 games.

Here are a few articles that might pique your interest. [Click to view], [my series notes]

Brad Elliot Schlossman has his breakdown of the WCHA race.

Brad also has a gem about how the NCHC is keeping an eye on possible officials for next season. I can tell you that I have talked to many college hockey fans would like to have/see a Shepherd free NCHC. Enough is enough.

The men play the Huskies in Grand Forks and the women are in St. Cloud to play the Huskies in a crucial WCHA series, to date, the women have kind of underperformed or failed to meet pre-season expectations. Now it appears that a starting goalie is beginning to emerge for the women's team.

	WCHA Games								Overall
	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA		W	L	T	GF	GA
Minnesota	16	9	3	4	22	56	39		17	3	4	93	45
St. Cloud State	16	11	5	0	22	55	36		14	10	0	80	61
Nebraska Omaha	16	9	5	2	20	59	49		13	9	2	88	67
North Dakota	16	8	4	4	20	57	46		13	7	4	81	64
Denver	18	8	6	4	20	57	54		13	8	4	85	67
Minnesota Duluth	18	8	7	3	19	50	51		10	11	3	64	68
Minnesota State	18	9	8	1	19	55	46		15	8	3	82	60
Wisconsin	16	6	5	5	17	35	36		9	8	5	49	45
Colorado College	18	7	10	1	15	60	66		10	14	2	88	94
Bemidji State	16	4	8	4	12	36	49		5	12	5	48	66
Michigan Tech	18	4	10	4	12	44	61		7	12	4	63	71
Alaska Anchorage	18	1	13	4	6	31	62		3	14	5	42	73

(Video) UAH Press Conference, Jan. 24, 2013

Here is the video of the UAH press conference. It will be interesting going forward to see what happens to the UAH Chargers hockey program going forward. I don't see a reason why they can't compete in the new nWCHA.

Mitch MacMillan on Roe comments

Some people are pretenders and just run from adversity. Especially guys who flake and transfer schools midseason. #bestofluck #kidding
— Garrett Roe (@theroeboat13) January 11, 2012

This is what North Dakota forward Mitch MacMillan had to say on Garrett Roe’s tweet from last year.

“I don’t know, some guys supported me,” MacMillan said. “And some guys … I mean, I didn’t even… that’s was the first time I’ve heard of Garrett Roe saying anything. I don’t know, but each person has their own opinion. I did what I had to do for me, to further my hockey career, whether they didn’t like that or not that’s their own thing to deal with.”

Garrett Roe's comments were directed at Mitch MacMillan after he transferred to UND during the Christmas break of last season.

UND: The Weekend Ahead (1/25-1/26)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains Saint Cloud State University Huskies in an important two game WCHA series at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Matchup: North Dakota (13-7-4, 8-4-4 WCHA) #5 versus #16 Saint Cloud State (14-10-3, 11-5-0 WCHA).

Dates: January 25-26, 2013

Times: Jan. 25: 7:37p.m. (CT); Jan. 26: 7:07 p.m. (CT)

Radio:  UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

TV: Midco Sports Network, FOX College Sports Central, DirecTV 623

Webcast: UNDSports.com

SERIES HISTORY: The University of North Dakota leads the all-time series against the Saint Cloud State Huskies 60-32-11 record (.636). North Dakota holds an impressive 30-13-5 (.677) record against the Huskies in Grand Forks, ND. North Dakota split their series (3-0 W – 2-5 L) with the Huskies on November 9 and 10, 2012, at the National Hockey center.  UND holds a 6-3-1 record against the Huskies during the last 10 games.

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Danny Kristo (14g-17a—31pts), Rocco Grimaldi (8g-11a—19pts), Mark MacMillan (8g-9a—17pts), Corbin Knight (11g-22a—33pts), Drake Caggiula (6g-6a—12pts). Defense:  Dillon Simpson (2g-12a—14pts), Derek Forbort (4g-8a—12pts), Joe Gleason (3g-8a—11pts) Jordan Schmaltz (1g-6a—7pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-5a—6pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 10-5-3, 2.37 GAA, .915 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 3-2-1, 3.11 GAA, .895 save percentage.

Saint Cloud State Huskies: Forwards: Drew LeBlanc (7g-27a—34pts), Nic Dowd (11g-15a—26pts), Kalle Kossila (11g-10a—21pts), Ben Hanowski (7g-12a—19pts), Defense:  Nick Jensen (3g-16a—19pts) Andrew Prochno (2g-12a—14pts). Goalies: Ryan Faragher 13-8-0, 2.29 GAA, .911 save percentage, Joe Phillippi 1-0-0, 3.00 GAA, .842 save percentage, Rasmus Reijola 0-2-0, 5.14 GAA, .804 save percentage.

UND Official Web Page

SCSU Official Web Page

 

Cross Posted at the Hockey Writers - Combine.

How some of us voted- Week 15

Troy Mills, The Beaver Pond.

1. Minnesota

2. St. Cloud

3. North Dakota

4. Denver

5. Nebraska-Omaha

6. Mankato

7.  Minnesota Duluth

8. Wisconsin

9. Colorado College

10. Michigan Tech

11. Bemidji State

12. Alaska Anchorage

Andy Johnson, Bucky’s Fifth Quarter

1. UMTC

2. North Dakota

3. St. Cloud State

4. Nebraska-Omaha

5. Denver

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota Duluth

8. Mankato

9. Colorado College

10. Michigan Tech

11. Bemidji State

12. Alaska Anchorage

Tim Braun, Tech Hockey Guide

1. Minnesota

2. North Dakota

3. St. Cloud State

4. Denver

5. Nebraska-Omaha

6. Minnesota State

7. Minnesota Duluth

8. Wisconsin

9. Michigan Tech

10. Colorado College

11. Bemdiji State

12 Alaska Anchorage

Eric Burton, Goon’s World

1. Minnesota

2. North Dakota

3. St. Cloud State

4. Nebraska-Omaha

5. Denver

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota State

8. Minnesota Duluth

9. Colorado College

10. Michigan Tech

11. Bemidji State

12. Alaska Anchorage

Matthew Semisch, Radio Free Omaha

1. Minnesota

2. St. Cloud State

3. North Dakota

4. Denver

5. Nebraska-Omaha

6. Wisconsin

7. Minnesota State

8. Minnesota Duluth

9. Colorado College

10. Michigan Tech

11. Bemidji State

12. Alaska Anchorage

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll; UND up to 5th

January 21, 2013

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Minnesota	(48)	17- 3-4	998	1
2	Quinnipiac	( 2)	17- 3-3	920	4
3	Boston College		14- 5-2	913	2
4	New Hampshire		14- 5-2	857	3
5	North Dakota		13- 7-4	746	6
6	Miami		13- 6-5	700	8
7	Notre Dame		15- 9-0	640	5
8	Yale		11- 4-3	619	12
9	Western Michigan		14- 6-4	577	10
10	Denver		13- 8-4	545	7
11	Boston University		12- 9-0	479	9
12	Dartmouth		10- 6-2	456	11
13	Nebraska-Omaha		13- 9-2	358	13
14	Minnesota State		15- 8-3	356	14
15	Massachusetts-Lowell		13- 7-1	346	18
16	St. Cloud State		14-10-0	336	19
17	Niagara		14- 4-4	183	15
18	Cornell		8- 7-2	154	16
19	Union		11- 8-4	120	17
20	Wisconsin		9- 8-5	66	NR
Others receiving votes: Ferris State 39, Alaska 27, Providence 24, Northern Michigan 22, Holy Cross 10, Colgate 6, Robert Morris 3.