Goon's World: Western Collegiate Hockey Association

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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Results of the 2012-13 Blogger/Website All-WCHA Awards

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

s/t to A Tradition of Excellence for putting on the Second Annual Blogger/Website All-WCHA Awards. This is how the vote shook out.

* Asterik denotes a unanimous selection

All-WCHA First Team:
F - Ryan Walters, Nebraska-Omaha
F - Erik Haula, Minnesota
F - Danny Kristo, North Dakota
D - Nate Schmidt, Minnesota
D - Nick Jensen, St. Cloud State
G - Stephon Williams, Minnesota State

All-WCHA Second Team:
F - Drew LeBlanc, St. Cloud State
F - Corban Knight, North Dakota
F - Rylan Schwartz, Colorado College
D - Mike Boivin, Colorado College
D - Joey LaLeggia, Denver
G - Adam Wilcox, Minnesota

All-WCHA Third Team:
F - Matt Leitner, Minnesota State
F - Josh Archibald, Nebraska-Omaha
F - Eriah Hayes, Minnesota State
D - Andrew Prochno, St. Cloud State
D - Andrej Sustr, Nebraska-Omaha
G - Juho Olkinuora, Denver

WCHA All-Rookie Team:
F - Alex Petan, Michigan Tech
F - Tony Cameranesi, Minnesota-Duluth
F - Jonny Brodzinski, St. Cloud State
D - Nolan Zajac, Denver *
D - Andy Welinski, Minnesota-Duluth
G - Stephon Williams, Minnesota State

WCHA Player of the Year: Ryan Walters, Nebraska-Omaha

WCHA Defenseman of the Year: Nate Schmidt, Minnesota

WCHA Rookie of the Year: Stephon Williams, Minnesota State

WCHA Coach of the Year: Mike Hastings, Minnesota State

Here's the rundown of the voters.

Ryan, Gopher Puck Live
Matt, Bulldog Country
Joe, Colorado Springs Gazette
Travis, @nodakhockey/Fighting Sioux Hockey Facebook Fan Page
Emily, Beyond the Pond
Taylor, The Hockey Writers Combine
Eric, Goon's World/The Hockey Writers Combine
Tim, Tech Hockey Guide
Matthew, USCHO
Nate, College Hockey News/SB Nation Team Minnesota
Donn, Goon's World
Andy, Bucky's 5th Quarter
Andrew, College Hockey High Horse
Jeff, Mav Mania
Dave, Sioux Sports
Chad, A Tradition of Excellence

Weekend Match-Ups (by Donn)

Here we are the middle of March and the playoffs have arrived in St. Could, Minneapolis, Grand Forks, Mankato, Madison, and Denver. Congratulations to all those teams on a top half finish in the WCHA’s last season as we know it. This is the first MacNaughton Cup title for SCSU, who are sharing it with UM (their 11^th).

I have included my preseason predicted finish number behind the points, I did okay on a few teams and completely missed on other…

WCHA FINAL STANDINGS 2012-2013

Team………………………W-L-T………Points…..Prediction

1. St. Cloud St……………18-9-1.……….37----------5
2. Minnesota……………...16-7-2……..…37----------3
3. North Dakota.………….14-7-7………..35----------2
4. Minnesota State………16-11-1....…….33---------11
4. Wisconsin…....………..13-8-7………...33----------8
4. Denver…………..……..14-9-5..….......33-----------1
7. Nebraska-Omaha…......14-12-2…....…30----------7
8. Colorado College …….11-13-4..….….26----------6
9. Minnesota-Duluth….….10-13-5……….25----------4
10. Michigan Tech………..8-16-4…..…..20-----------9
11. Bemidji State……..…..6-15-7......…..17-----------10
12. Alaska-Anchorage…....2-19-6.....…..10-----------12

The # numbers below are current PAIRWISE rankings.

1st Round of WCHA Games - Best of 3 Series

Alaska-Anchorage @ #10 St. Could St.

Last weekend the Seawolves were swept by the Pioneers (7-1, 6-1) in Denver with the Huskies split with the Badgers (4-2W, 3-2L) in Madison.

2012-13 series – tied 1-1-0

These teams clashed back on Nov30-Dec1 in Anchorage, with the Huskies prevailing in the opener 4-3 in overtime, and the Seawolves extracting revenge the next night with a 3-1 win. I don’t remember if or when the top seed has ever lost in the first round and I don’t see it happening this year. SCSU has too much talent and depth for UAA to keep up in a three game series, if it even goes three games. HUSKIES SWEEP

Bemidji St. @ #2 Minnesota

Last weekend the Gophers swept the Beavers in Bemidji (4-3, 5-1).

2012-13 series – UM wins 2-0-0

This is interesting, since these two teams just played each other last weekend in Bemidji. I don’t care what level of hockey it is, it is hard to beat anybody four games in a row. The downside for the Gophers is, does playing the same team two weekends in a row cause a problem in the next round for them? The pressure is on the Gophers to dispose of the Beavers in two games. The Beavers would like to gnaw on the Gophers this weekend in Minneapolis and stay there for play next weekend in St. Paul. Remember when BSU made the Final 2011, by beating UNO on the road, and then beating UMD in a play-in game before losing to DU in a semifinal? Well, I don’t think they are going to be making that trip. GOPHERS SWEEP

Michigan Tech @ #5 North Dakota

Last weekend NoDak split with MSUM (4-3W, 2-1Lot) in Mankato and the Huskies split (2-0W, 4-3L) with the CC Tigers in Houghton.

2012-13 series – UND wins 2-0-0

These two longtime foes played in Houghton in mid-December with NoDak sweeping by scores of 6-1 and 4-1. If I’ve looked up the numbers right the last time MTU beat UND it was December 28, 2008 at the Great Lakes Invitational Tournament. This could also be the last time these teams play for years to come with the new conference changes coming next season. The Huskies have been playing much better the second half of this season, but they don’t have what it takes to knock off a top tier team in a best of three series. NORTH DAKOTA SWEEP

Colorado College @ #5 Denver

Last weekend the Tigers split with the MTU Huskies (2-0L, 4-3W) in Houghton and the Pioneers swept (7-1, 6-1) the Seawolves in Denver.

2012-13 series – DU wins 2-1-1

The Pioneers swept the Tigers back in November and in February the Tigers won and tied DU. This being a rivalry and playoff series at once should be a humdinger to watch, almost makes me wish I was in Colorado. I think this will be a three game series with the home team prevailing, but I’ve been wrong before. PIONEERS IN 3

Nebraska-Omaha @ #9 Minnesota State

Last weekend the UNO Mavericks were swept by Bulldogs (5-4, 6-0) in Duluth and the MSUM Mavericks split with NoDak (4-3L, 2-1Wot) in Mankato.

2012-13 series – tied 1-1-0

The red and purple Mavericks locked horns back in mid-December in Omaha, Mankato won the opener 6-3 and Omaha won the closer 5-1. Omaha has fallen hard the last two months, they have lost 7 of their last 9 games (8 of 10 if count the exhibition against the U-18 USA team) and their two wins are against UAA. Before February rolled around, Omaha looked to be a top half finisher, and now they just look finished. MINNESOTA STATE SWEEP

Minnesota-Duluth @ #18 Wisconsin

Last weekend the Bulldogs swept the UNO Mavericks (5-4, 6-0) in Duluth and the Badgers split (4-2L, 3-2W) with the SCSU Huskies in Madison.

2012-13 series – UW wins 1-0-1

It has been a while since these teams shared the ice, it was back in late October they played with the Badgers blanking the Bulldogs 2-0 and then they tied the following evening 2-2. UMD is on their longest winning streak of the year at 4 in a row, sweeping UNO and UAH, and they tied the UM before to have a 5 game unbeaten stretch now. UW has been one of the hotter teams in 2013 and have been playing good hockey as of late. This is going to come down to which team wants it more and neither team is going to back down in these tilts. I’m giving the nod to the home team, but just slightly. BADGERS IN 3

2012-13 Blogger All-WCHA Awards Poll (by Donn)

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Here is how I voted on my ballot.

2012-13 Blogger All-WCHA Awards Poll

All-WCHA First Team
F – Danny Kristo (UND)
F – Erik Haula (UM)
F – Drew LeBlanc (SCSU)
D – Nate Schmidt (UM)
D – Joey LaLeggia (DU)
G – Adam Wilcox (UM)

All-WCHA Second Team

F – Corban Knight (UND)
F – Rylan Schwartz (CC)
F – Ryan Walters (UNO)
D – Nick Jensen (SCSU)
D – Mike Boivin (CC)
G – Joe Rumpel (UW)

All-WCHA Third Team

F – Matt Leitner (MSUM)
F – Ben Hanowski (SCSU)
F – Alex Petan (MTU)
D – Jake McCabe (UW)
D – Dillon Simpson (UND)
G – Zane Gothberg (UND)

All-WCHA Rookie Team

F – Rocco Grimaldi (UND)
F – Nic Kerdiles (UW)
F – Blake Tatchell (UAA)
D – Jordan Schmaltz (UND)
D – Nolan Zajac (DU)
G – Stephon Williams (MSUM)

WCHA Player of the Year – Danny Kristo (UND)

WCHA Defensive Player of the Year – Joey LaLeggia (DU)
WCHA Rookie of the Year – Rocco Grimaldi (UND)
WCHA Coach of the Year – Mike Hastings (MSUM)
*WCHA Goaltender of the Year will be the First Team Goaltender

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Updated: Goon's 2012-13 Blogger All-WCHA Awards Poll

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Tradition of Excellence Blog, a hockey blog dedicated to UND hockey, distributed a ballot for the Second Annual 2012-13 Blogger/Website All-WCHA Awards Poll to the various fan bloggers and fan message boards from around the WCHA.

The voters were asked to pick the first, second, third and rookie teams just like the WCHA voters from the media. We also picked the player of the year, rookie of the year, defensive player of the year and coach of the year.

The ballots had to be back by today (3/14/2013).

This is the ballot that I submitted, I stand by this ballot. Your critique is appreciated and welcome; however, if your sole purpose is to attack me, you might want to think twice before posting.

You’re also welcome to include your ballot as well if you want.

Everyone sees the game of hockey a little differently and through a different scope/lens.

First off, this was a tough year, there are so many good players that could have been selected to be on this year’s ballot and I know from posting this ballot on my blog; in some fans’ opinion, I have slighted their favorite player(s).

To those people, I apologize.

For the most part, I have been able to watch most if not all of the players in the WCHA this season. This past weekend, I was able to get a closer look at the Minnesota Gophers live in Bemidji, Minnesota.

In my opinion, Nate Schmidt (8g-22a—30tps) is the best defenseman in the WCHA, if I was a Gophers fan I would be worried, the free agent is going to get offers from professional hockey teams in the offseason. Schmidt is the real deal.

I also think that Ryan Walters (21g-29a—50tps) is the hands down favorite for Players of the Year in the WCHA. Ryan Walters is also the real deal and will garner free agent offers from professional hockey teams in the offseason as well.

My pick for Rookie of the year is Jonny Brodzinski (19g-11a—30pts), this is the same kid that only scored (10g-12a—22pts) in 58 games with the Fargo Force of the USHL the year before. Brodzinski, the undrafted 6’1’ 200 pound forward from Ham Lake Minnesota is becoming an unstoppable force on the ice and the Huskies are 17-6-1 when he scores at least a point.

Bob Moztko had this to say about his rookie forward after a series earlier this season, 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.”

Coach of the year, I thought Mike Hastings earned the award with his team’s finish, especially after finishing 11^th, the year before. I can see an argument for Bob Motzko from Saint Cloud State as well, but they had a lot of returning players, so the Huskies winning the league title this season wasn’t really a shock to anyone.

All-WCHA First Team

F – Corban Knight, UND

F – Ryan Walters, UNO

F – Erik Haula, UMN

D – Nate Schmidt, UMN

D – Joey LaLeggia, DU

G – Stephon Williams, MSU

All-WCHA Second Team

F – Drew LeBlanc, SCSU

F – Danny Kristo, UND

F – Rylan Schwartz, C.C.

D – Mike Bovin C.C.

D – Nick Jensen, SCSU

G – Adam Wilcox, UMN

All-WCHA Third Team

F – Matt Leitner, MSU

F – Alexander Krushelnyski, C.C.

F – Nic Dowd, SCSU

D – Andrew Prochno, SCSU

D – Dillon Simpson, UND

G – Joel Rumpel, UW

All-WCHA Rookie Team

F – Rocco Grimaldi, UND

F – Alex Petan, MTU

F – Jonny Brodzinski, SCSU

D – Nolan Zajac, DU

D – Jordan Schmaltz, UND

G – Zane Gothberg, UND

WCHA Player of the Year – Ryan Walters, UNO

WCHA Defensive Player of the Year – Nate Schmidt, UMN

WCHA Rookie of the Year – Jonny Brodzinski, SCSU

WCHA Coach of the Year – Mike Hastings, MSU

*WCHA Goaltender of the Year will be the First Team Goaltender

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

UND: The Weekend Ahead (3/15-3/17)

This weekend, the University of North Dakota entertains the Michigan Tech Huskies in the first round of the WCHA playoffs at Ralph Engelstad Arena, March 15-17, 2013.

Historically, this is also the last WCHA playoff home series before UND moves to the NCHC next season.

Matchup: North Dakota (19-10-7, 14-7-7 WCHA) #4 versus #Unranked Michigan Tech (12-18-4, 8-16-4 WCHA).

Dates: March 15-17, 2013

Times: March 15: 7:37 p.m. (CT); March 16: 7:07 p.m. (CT), March 17: 7:07 p.m. (If Necessary)

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: undsports.com

TV: Midco/FCS

Live Stats: wcha.com

Series History: All-Time: UND leads the series against the Huskies 147-93-10 (.608). UND leads the series against the Huskies in Grand Forks, North Dakota 82-33-5 (.704). UND leads the series in Houghton, Michigan 63-55-5 (.533). At Neutral sites, MTU Leads 2-5-0 (.286) Last 10 games against the Huskies, UND leads 9-0-1 (.950). This season; UND leads the series 2-0 (1.000).

Players to Watch:

North Dakota: Forwards: Corbin Knight (14g-31a—45pts), Danny Kristo (21g-24a—45pts), Rocco Grimaldi (13g-18a—31pts), Mark MacMillan (13g-12a—25pts), Carter Rowney (9g-15a—24pts). Defense: Dillon Simpson (3g-18a—21pts), Joe Gleason (5g-11a—16pts), Joe Gleason (5g-11a—16pts), Nick Mattson (3g-12a—15pts), Derek Forbort (4g-9a—13pts), Jordan Schmaltz (3g-9a—12pts) Andrew MacWilliam (1g-9a—10pts). Goaltenders: Clarke Saunders 12-6-4, 2.30 GAA, .915 save percentage, Zane Gothberg 7-4-3, 2.52 GAA, .918 save percentage.

Michigan Tech Huskies: Forwards Alex Petan (15g-18a—33pts), David Johnstone (10g-19a—29pts), Jujhar Khaira (6g-18a—24pts), Blake Pietila (14g-9a—23pts), Tanner Kerio (10g-13a—23pts) Defense: Steven Seigo (6g-11a—17pts) Riley Sweeney (1g-11a—12pts), Brad Stebner (1g-8a—9pts). Goalies: Phoenix Copley 7-14-1, 3.19 GAA, .899 save percentage, Kevin Genoe 2-3-3, 3.09 GAA, .908 save percentage.

UND Officials Web Page

Michigan Tech Web Page

DirecTV will not be able to pick up Friday's game. Still awaiting word on Saturday and Sunday (if necessary).
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) March 13, 2013

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

UND’s Zane Gothberg name Red Baron Co-Defensive player of the week

Western Collegiate Hockey Association logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Third time is a charm for UND's Freshman goalie Zane Gothberg

MADISON, Wis. – A pair of goaltenders who both totalled more than 70 saves in league competition last weekend, Colorado College’s Joe Howe and University of North Dakota’s Zane Gothberg, have been named Red Baron® WCHA Men’s co-Defensive Players of the Week for March 12.

Howe, a 6-0, 195-pound senior from Plymouth, Minn., turned aside 31 shots on goal last Friday (March 8) in a 2-0 setback at Michigan Tech before coming back with 46 stops to lead the visiting Tigers to a 4-3 road victory over the Huskies last Saturday (March 9). He posted 77 total saves in the series, with double-digit stop totals in all six periods and 20 in the second stanza of game two, and helped his team kill off seven of eight MTU power-plays.

Gothberg, a 6-2, 198-pound freshman from Thief River Falls, Minn., had a hot hand throughout visiting North Dakota’s WCHA series split at Minnesota State, stopping 72 shots – the most in a two-game series by a UND goalie this season. In last Friday’s 4-3 UND win, Gothberg made a career-high 37 saves, including 14 in the third period. The following night, he added another 35 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss in the regular season finale, which ended his personal six-game unbeaten streak.

Gothberg, who is 4-1-2 with a .937 save percentage since Feb. 1, led the WCHA in winning percentage during league play (.708) and finished fourth in save percentage.

Also nominated: Matt Prapavessis, D, BSU; Joey LaLeggia, D, DU; Steven Seigo, D, MTU; Andrew Prochno, D, SCSU.

Per the UND Athletic Web Page

UND's WCHA Players of the Week

Nov. 20: Danny Kristo (Offensive)

Dec. 11: Carter Rowney (Offensive)

Dec. 11: Rocco Grimaldi (co-Rookie)

Dec. 18: Corban Knight (Offensive)

Jan. 8: Corban Knight (co-Offensive)

Feb. 5: Zane Gothberg (Rookie)

Feb. 12: Zane Gothberg (Defensive)
Feb. 27: Danny Kristo (co-Offensive)

Mar. 12: Zane Gothberg (co-Defensive)

Monday, March 11, 2013

WCHA Web Media Poll: Week 22

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. This is the final WCHA Web Media Poll.

This week, again, positions 1 – 3 remain the same, as well as 7 – 12; the middle of the poll is again, all mixed up. Minnesota State after splitting with North Dakota dropped from fourth-to-sixth place. Wisconsin stayed at fifth place and Denver moved up to fourth place from sixth place.

Here’s a look at the results the Tech Hockey Guide WCHA Web Media Poll for Week 22:

Place	Team	pts	Previous	Record	High	Low
1.	Minnesota (6)	138	1	24-7-5	1	2
2.	St. Cloud State (6)	136	2	21-14-1	1	4
3.	North Dakota	120	3	19-10-7	3	3
4.	Denver	99	6	19-11-5	4	6
5.	Wisconsin	98	5	17-12-7	4	6
6.	Minnesota State	93	4	22-11-3	2	6
7.	Nebraska Omaha	60	7	18-16-2	7	10
8.	Colorado College	59	8	14-17-5	7	10
9.	Minnesota Duluth	57	9	14-17-5	7	9
10.	Michigan Tech	39	10	12-18-4	8	11
11.	Bemidji State	25	11	6-20-8	10	11
12.	Alaska Anchorage	12	12	4-23-7	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 at the Hockey Writes Combine.

Tom Serratore the heart and soul of the Beavers

Having attended college at both BSU and UND, I have a fondness for the Bemidji State Beavershockey program.

Over the years, I have not found a lot of fans that dislike the Bemidji State Beavers. Sure you have a few.

I was there in the stands when the Beavers won the Division II National Title in 1993 against the Mercy Hurst Lakers, so I still have a few fond memories of the John S. Glas Fieldhouse on the BSU campus as well.

I also have a great respect for the Beavers head coach Tom Serratore, 12th year, 201–184–49, I think he brings a lot of energy to the room and if you run into him at Galen Nagel golf tourney at the Bemidji Town and Country, or see him at the postgame press conference, he’s the same person. Tom’s usually fired up.

Coach Serratore is what I classify as a high energy guy that brings a lot of enthusiasm to life and to the game of hockey. The Beavers play on the ice resembles the man behind the bench, tenacious, fiery, hardworking and up-tempo.

I also think that he’s a very good hockey coach, his teams are hard to play against and they play a high pressure fore-check that is incorrectly mistaken for the neutral zone trap.

This high pressure fore-check, if played to perfection, can lead to turn overs going the other way. This was the case on Friday night, as the Beaver’s and Gophers treated the fans to a great game of up and down the ice action.

Saturday night, not so much, the Gophers pretty much had their way with the Beavers and the Gophers never really gave the fans much doubt.

If you want to see what kind of coach Serratore is, go back and re-watch the 2009 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Beavers had the Irish on their heels by scoring early and they forced the Irish to change their game plan. The Beavers would win the game 5-1, shocking the college hockey world.

The next night, the Beavers put the college hockey world into a coma by beating the Cornell Big Red 4-1 to send them to the Frozen Four in Washington D.C. at the Verizon Center, where their magical season would end two weeks later to the eventual runner up Miami.

This season, it’s been a rough year for the Beavers, but there will be better years ahead for the BSU hockey team. I don’t think any hockey program is going to be immune from it. The Minnesota Gophers just suffered through three rough seasons.

I love to go to the postgame press conferences and listen to Tom Serratore speak, last night he seemed very emotional in talking about his senior class. This was the last class to play in the John Glas Fieldhouse and then play at the new Sanford Center. This was also the senior class that made the move from the now defunct CHA to the WCHA.

“They’ve accomplished a lot here,” Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore said when discussing his senior class. “We have five years seniors, four year seniors and three year seniors. Some of them helped us go to a Frozen Four in 09. They were part of a team in 2010 that was a number two seed in the NCAA tournament. We received an at-large-bid and went to Fort Wayne, Indiana for the Midwest Regionals. They were a big part of team that advanced to the WCHA Final Five as we transitioned into the WCHA that first year. Again, last year, we were basically a game from home ice in the WCHA, last year. You know what; they’ve done a lot of good things for this program. It’s tough to see those guys go. You can’t take away from their accomplishments.”

It’s no doubt that this class has had some big-time moments in BSU’s historic program and you can bet, it won’t be long before Bemidji is again standing in the lime light of another great run, thanks to its energetic head coach.

Cross-posted at the Hockey Writers Combine.

Sunday, March 10, 2013

The Weekend in Review; slugging through the snow in the north country (Sanford Center)

Bemidji State Beavers women's ice hockey

This past weekend, I went to Bemidji to watch the Bemidji State Beavers and the Minnesota Gophers play in a two game series at the Sanford Center. This was the last time the Beavers and the Gophers would play as members of the WCHA.

Obviously, most of us are aware of the upcoming realignment so we won’t review that again.

With UND out of town and in Mankato, it was an opportunity to go to another WCHA series within driving distant, that didn’t involve UND.

I also hadn’t seen the Gophers live this season, so I wanted to take a look, if you know what I mean.

I thought about driving to Mankato and watching UND and MSU, but after looking at the road conditions on the internet, it appears that was a good decision not to go.

The Sanford Center experienced its biggest crowd ever on Saturday night, 4,415 fans showed up to watch UMN and BSU, and there were a lot of Gophers jersey’s in the crowd.

Next season, UND fans are going to have to help the BSU fans pack that place on January 17, 2014 when UND comes to town to play the BSU Beavers in a non-conference tilt, to break that record.

I think this is what the City of Bemidji had in mind when they built the Sanford Center, I was down town getting gas on Saturday and even with all of the fresh snow, the downtown was hopping.

For me, this is the third series that I have been to at the Sanford Center and in comparing some of the other rinks around the WCHA that I have been to, the place is a nice facility.

While the Sanford Center might not have the “bells and whistles” of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, not many places do, the Sanford Center is an awesome facility and probably one of the best in the new WCHA going forward.

Head coach Tom Serratore should be able to use the Sanford Center to his advantage to land some good recruiting classes.

In 2010, I got take a tour of the facility and it’s got a lot of things recruits look for when they look at hockey programs. I was very impressed with the weight room.

I would say that the Sanford Center is definitely a destination for college hockey fans. For those that are wondering, they serve beer and Dunn Brother’s Coffee.

While no one will ever accuse me of being Marilyn Hagerty, the Sanford Center’s cheese burgers are phenomenal, and simply awesome and roughly about the same price as the ones at the Ralph. Size wise, their burgers are actually bigger in my opinion.

The bag of popcorn was reasonably priced and too big to consume in one sitting, I actually threw away about a third of it.

In comparing the Sanford Center to other arenas I have been to, it’s better than the National Hockey Center pre-renovations and it’s better than the old DECC or Amsoil Arena, in my opinion, to quote our favorite radio announcer Bruce Ciskie, “apologies to those arenas.”

I am sure there will be those fans that disagree with me on this, but hey, that’s just how I feel on the matter.

Goon's World Extras

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