The first step in the right direction

This have become a hot topic on the various hockey fan message boards. I have heard a lot of fans saying that BSU wouldn't add anything to the WCHA. First off that is silly in my opinion, first off they become a natural rival with UND, UMD, MSU-M and SCSU right away. All four team have played or play BSU on regular basis already. Lets not forget the fact the teams are a very short 2-3 hour drive away, well, Mankato is a little further away from Bemidji.

In this instance I applaud the WCHA for stepping up and helping a fellow hockey team out. I think it is the right thing to do. It also give BSU some time to get its arena all sowed up and ready to go.

WCHA to help Beavers

Bruce McLeod, Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner, told me Sunday night that the league and Bemidji State have an agreement in place that will help the Beavers with their future men's hockey scheduling.

Bemidji State's request to the league at the NCAA Convention in Nashville on Sunday is because College Hockey America is shrinking. If nothing changes, it will have only four teams next season -- Bemidij State, Alabama-Huntsville, Niagara and Robert Morris.

The WCHA was reportedly considering a four-year unbalanced schedule that would ensure Bemidji State had 12 games vs. WCHA teams each season, six home, six away. But a particular number of games might not be in the agreement. A source also said BSU was told it needs to get a new arena built if the alliance is going to work.

"We do have an agreement, but we're just kind of working out the final details," McLeod said in a telephone interview Sunday night.

The 10-team WCHA has had a moratorium on expansion since Minnesota State Mankato was admitted in 1996-97.

Jon Quistgaard, BSU president, said a statement will be released Monday.

"I think it was a positive meeting," Quistgaard said in a telephone interview. "We really appreciated the opportunity to be able to talk about our situation and what our goals are and our vision. ... I think we all came away from the meting better informed."

WOW, Barch and May

This was a great hockey fight. It is no mystery why the Ducks are the top penalized team in the NHL. One could make the argument that the Ducks are the west coast version of the Broad Street Bullies.

I have been watching the Ducks more since Brandon Bochenski got traded from Bruins to the Ducks, it is amazing the amount of college players that are on the Ducks; Drew Miller Michigan State, Brandon Bochenski North Dakota, Ryan Carter Mankato, Chris Kunitz Ferris State, George Parros Princeton, Dough Weight Lake State. That is is an impressive list of college hockey all stars folks.

Wisconsin files an appeal with the WCHA.

Here is an article written by Andy Baggot: The University of Wisconsin has filed a formal appeal with the WCHA

We've not heard the last about that controversial loss the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team suffered over the weekend.

The school took the unusual step of filing an official appeal with the Western Collegiate Hockey Association late Monday afternoon, seeking, at minimum, a review of the procedures and circumstances surrounding a 3-2 loss Friday at Denver.

"I think we have to go through the due process," UW coach Mike Eaves said Monday afternoon during his weekly press conference. "We would not be diligent in not doing that."

UW senior associate athletic director Shawn Eichorst, who accompanied the Badgers on the trip to Denver; UW associate AD Sean Frazier, who oversees men's hockey; UW associate AD Steve Waterfield, who oversees rules compliance; and Linda Baumann, the UW Athletic Board representative to the WCHA, are involved in the process.

According to WCHA bylaws, the school had 48 hours from the end of the series to file an appeal. The league has 36 hours to respond to it.

Here is a response from the WCHA that I find troubling.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod has not returned multiple phone calls since issuing a three-paragraph statement Saturday acknowledging that a mistake had been made.

Doug Spencer, the WCHA associate director for public relations, said Monday that McLeod was traveling between Nashville, Tenn. — where McLeod was attending the NCAA convention — and his home in Denver. Spencer has worked with the league for 22 years and couldn't recall a step like this being taken by a school.

"We acknowledged our error," he said. "Everybody regrets what happened, but we move forward."

I say we move forward with terminations and letters of reprimand. I think more schools should take this approach, it is the only way that the league will ever fix the problems it has. The WCHA is a first class league with second or third rate on ice officials. This is where I encourage fans to start sending letter to the WCHA League office. Am I the only one that finds this tone and attitude troubling, these problems need to be address then fixed. The league after recognizing that their official has made a mistake should suspended him indefinitely pending an investigation. After that investigation has been conducted, they should force Schmidt to write a formal letter of apology and tender his resignation. Lastly, I hope UND would have the same response if they had a colossal event like this happen to the Fighting Sioux.

Lets Go Mav's makes an appearance on Goon's world

This has become a yearly tradition; well ok, two years in a row. Here is what the Lets Go Mav's hockey blogger had to say.

Why do you hate the Fighting Sioux and Sioux fans so much?

Because I have never met one in person that is decent. They tend to come to our arena with a huge chip on our shoulder and smart off that the Mavs don't belong in the WCHA and that our arena sucks and so on. It's annoying and rude! Most opposing fans come to Mankato and think it's a good time because our fans are pretty friendly and they can enjoy adult beverages at the game. The other fans figure out we're fun but the Sioux fans are too stuck on themselves and are busy knocking us to have a good time. Also, their obsession with "everyone being jealous of us" gets old. As does the 7>5 thing and their overall arrogance.

Can’t we all just get along and be friends?

No, we can't!! :) Not until I see more respect. You know how most people like people until they do something to make them dislike them? Well, LGM is the opposite. I dislike people until they earn my liking. I'm just weird like that...so don't go looking for free friendships out of this girl!!

Name your Favorite Mankato State hockey memory?
Back to back weekend sweeps of SCSU and Wisconsin a couple of years ago. No! Wait...I take it back. I say the game that the Mavs won for the 1st time at the NHC when Clarky was in goal. Best time EVER!! I was sick of going to that arena and watching SCSU pound us. That game was SWEET and for me, started the Clarky obsession:)

Who is your favorite current MSU-M player?

Well, I can't go with just one! My top two are my boys Berge and Kalinski. Love them both! Closely followed by Zacharias, Kilburg, and Hot RJ.

Who is your Favorite Former MSU-M player?

Again, I have to go with two of them. Overall favorite would be Chris Clark. Love that kid. He is one of the greatest guys you'll ever meet. So nice, friendly, and a good role model for the kids. Second would be David Backes. All American Golden Boy, smarty pants (held a 4.0 all through college), and overall good guy. He's also doing awesome in the NHL, so that's great too. Plus, I did sort of spill some beer on his mom way back in the day and promised to cheer for him "as long as he played hockey" so I'm upholding my end of the deal. Good thing he's a good guy or that would be a hard promise to keep!

Why do you think Jutting is such a bad coach?

Ugg. Loaded question. Do you really have that much time?!? I'll just state a few. First off, he treats everyone like dirt basically. Has no respect for players, parents, fans, other coaches, his peers....the list goes on and on. He's SO narcissistic it makes me want to puke. He's a total embarrassment to MSU.
Second, he runs crappy plays over and over (such as his stupid power play) and never realizes that maybe it's HIS way that sucks but instead blames the players year after year. Third, he always slams our players some way in the media. Even when he's trying to give a compliment, he ends up slamming someone. Drives me NUTS!!

Who is your Favorite NHL team(s)?

I'm not really into the NHL. I'll go with the Wild.

Who is your Favorite NHL player?

Steve Wagner. HA!!! Kidding. David Backes of course!!

What is your favorite NHL Jersey?

I like the Flyer's jerseys. I can't wait for Kalinski and Nodl to play for the Flyer's so Heather and I can get matching jerseys of our boys!! It'll be the first time ever for us to agree on hockey!

Who is a bigger hack Matt Demarci or Stu Bickel?

Stu Bickel. Wouldn't you be a hack too if you had all that pent up aggression from having that name?!?

Which Arena do you like the best MSU-M Midwest wireless center or REA?

I've never been to REA...next year!!! That's my plan at least. For the record it's the ALLTEL Center now!! The Alltel is ok but I really do wish we had a "real" hockey arena. Maybe some day!

What are your predictions for this weekend Series?

Well, my boys let me down a bit last weekend. No clue what was up with them but they were just off. I'm thinking positively this weekend and I say a split. Mavs win Friday, Sioux win Saturday.

Where do the Mav’s finish in this seasons standings?

7th. I wish higher, because home ice would be awesome but with our lack of points as of now and looking at what's ahead it could be tough. Who knows though...the WCHA is so screwy this year!

Why don’t you think Racing is a sport?

Because if you're sitting your ass in a car it's not physical enough to be a sport. I'm from small town MN where everyone goes to "the races" 2 nights of a weekend in the summer and live and die by NASCAR and I think they're all hicks. They're like "hockey? What's hockey? Bring on Jeff Gordon!" A friend of mine went to Bristol the other year and was excited about it. I ripped on her forever about it!! Racing is not a sport. Never was. Never will be.

Is hunting a sport?

I think hunting is a "different" sport. Since there's strategy and the person is out in the woods moving around and stuff to kill some animal, I can see how it's a form of a sport, but not something I would traditionally call a sport.

What is your favorite Breed of Dog?

Honestly, I'm not much of an dog gal. Cripes, I'm not much of an animal gal to be truthful. They're dirty, smell, and are just a pain. Plus, most animals are unpredictable. That would explain why I'm petrified of cows!!
If I had to choose a dog though, it would be a Shih tzu. They're so cute and cuddly! I like the little lap dogs that you can carry around in your purse:) Not that I would do that. Oh, well maybe to my brother's new dog though. They just got a Min-Pin and he would kick my ass for putting it in a girly purse...so that would be worth it! Ha ha! Maybe I'll put a little tu-tu on Stanley and carry him around in my purse just to annoy my brother.

Would you rather own a Lab or Bull Dog?

Oh my god! Are you psychic that these are the two breeds I hate the most?!? I have two college friends that have one of each. God...when I go to the one's house and see Gunner (stupid slobbering lab that eyes me up like I'm a pheasant or something) coming at me I freak. Then again, when I go to the others and fat, ugly, slobbery, annoying Romeo (the Bulldog) come at me I freak too. I'll go with hating the Bulldog more because the last time I saw that stupid dog he was drooling on my foot and sneezed on my leg. YUCK! So...I guess the lab wins...but barely.

Short but sweet: Ed Jovanovski vs Aaron Voros

While this fight didn't last very long Ed Jovanovski and Aaron Voros threw some big hay makers. Notice both men landed some really good shots.

It's no mystery that former Univesity of Alaska-Fairbanks Nanook Aaron Voros has been a welcome addition to the Minnesota Wild since he was picked up in the last season from New Jersey Devils organization.
Voros Hockey Data Base Numbers

Former SCSU Husky Tim Conboy drops the mits.

Former SCSU Husky Tim Conboy gets in a fight with Colorado Av's tough guy Scott Parker in his first NHL game.

Its better to be the hammer than the nail

Don Cherry would be happy with this hit because it is a sweet hit that is worthy of being in a rock em sock em hockey videos. This is the type of hockey UND needs to play to be successful in the playoffs. Nice to see T.J. Oshie getting after it, I think he bounced back nicely after his screw up a couple of weeks back. This is the little things a team has to do to be successful. I can't wait for this weekends games against the Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks, its going to be more of the same type of play.

How Sweep it is... Sioux take game two 4-1...

Finally; the Fighting Sioux seal the deal and finally get a sweep for the weekend. It only took the Fighting Sioux 21 games into the season before they finally got a two game sweep and they did it in impressive style holding MTU to 2 goals on the weekend and under 20 shots both nights.

Unfortunately, I didn't see the first period and a half because I was at Altru health in urgent care with my daughter who is suffering from the croop. Sioux7 was nice enough to give me an update while I was sitting in the hospital.

I got home from the hospital just in time to turn on the television and see Chris VandeVelde score a pretty goal. Wow; did that kid have a good series or what? There were a few players that really stepped up this weekend: Chris VandeVelde had 1 goal and 2 assists for 3 points. Also, Taylor Chorney chipped in 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points, Freshman Evan Trupp who is starting to emerge as an impact player we read about had two points on the weekend as well.

MTU is a good team that will be heard from before the season is over, I would not want to have to play them in the WCHA playoffs.

Box Score
First Period

North Dakota-1 Kyle Radke (Taylor Chorney, Robbie Bina) 7:21
North Dakota-2 Chay Genoway (Jean-Philippe Lamoureux) GWG PPG 14:11

Second Period

North Dakota-3 Chris VandeVelde (Evan Trupp) 15:04

Third Period

Michigan Tech-1 Drew Dobson (John Schwarz, Jordan Baker) 2:49
North Dakota-4 Taylor Chorney (T.J. Oshie, Ryan Duncan) PPG 9:28
Goaltender Saves
Michigan Tech-1 Rob Nolan (59:56 L) 5 8 4 17 (4 GA)
North Dakota-1 Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (60:00 W) 6 5 6 17 (1 GA)

Referee(s): Jon Campion
Asst. Referee(s): Nathan Freeman, Kile Bergren

~UND is 2nd in Goals for in the WCHA, C.C. has more and they have played two more games.

~UND is 3rd in the WCHA in goals against.

~UND is 6th in the Pairwise.

WCHA ADMITS ERROR IN WISCONSIN GOAL DISPUTE

This seems to be a reoccuring theme in the WCHA this season and it seems to be involving the same on ice officials.

by Adam Wodon/Managing Editor

The WCHA has officially admitted error by its officiating crew in disallowing a Wisconsin goal that would have tied Friday's game against Denver as time expired.

It marks the second time this year that the WCHA has apologized for an error by its officials — and both times the referee was Randy Schmidt.

The next statement the WCHA should issue is Randy Schmidt has been relieved from his reffing duties in the WCHA and will no longer be allowed to ref games in the WCHA ever again. The WCHA should not and can no longer tolerate this kind of incompetence by its on the ice officials.

The league could have made this right, the proper response should have been to have a 5 minute period of overtime before this evenings game. I think short of firing Schmidt that is the only way they could saved face in this incident. While I don't blame DU, hey they got the win they do have two tainted wins.

Hey Schmidt get off your knees your blowing the game

I want to hear why this is not a goal, I want to hear something other than an apology. If I was the Badgers coach Mike Eaves I would be calling the league office and demanding that the WCHA league office review this goal and then give the Badgers coach a reason why it wasn't called a goal. There should have been an overtime in this game. Then the Greg Sheppard and Bruce McCloud should fire Randy Schmidt because he has no business reffing games in the WCHA or pee wees.

Sioux beat MTU 4-1

Tonight the Fighting Sioux played well and got the win against a hard working hockey team. MTU is a big skilled team back stopped by two great goaltenderss that plays a strong defensive game I think they are the best in the WCHA. For the half of the game this was a boring hockey game and picked up the second half of the game.

The Sioux beat the MTU Huskies to the puck all night and did the things they have to do to be successful, go into the dirty areas and get the puck. The Sioux played with that edge that I saw against Wisconsin Badgers and the Fighting Sioxu also played great team defense limiting the Huskies to 15 shots. One could say that they took a page out of MTU's book. I look forward to reading how UND is a bunch of hacks that, to me that means the Fighting Sioux played their game tonight.

Goon's three stars of the game
1.) Evan Trupp
2.) Chris VandeVelde
3.) Big Joe Finley

Box Score

First Period

North Dakota-1 Evan Trupp (Matt Frattin, Jake Marto) 17:10

Second Period

Michigan Tech-1 Peter Rouleau (Deron Cousens, Drew Dobson) 0:46
North Dakota-2 Joe Finley (Chay Genoway, Chris VandeVelde) GWG 10:53
North Dakota-3 Matt Watkins (Taylor Chorney, Chris VandeVelde) 11:50

Third Period

North Dakota-4 Taylor Chorney (T.J. Oshie, Ryan Duncan) PPG 1:24
Goaltender Saves
Michigan Tech-1 Rob Nolan (60:00 L) 9 3 11 23 (4 GA)
North Dakota-1 Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (59:46 W) 6 1 7 14 (1 GA)

Referee(s): Jon Campion (wouldn't you know it)
Asst. Referee(s): Nathan Freeman, Kile Bergren

Links for the Series

Mining Gazette

Tech Hockey Blog

Boosh Factor

David Clarkson vs Mike Commodore

This was a really short fight between New Jersey Tough Guy David Clarkson and former Fighting Sioux Mike Commodore, hey Mike it is easier to fight when you stay on your feet. According to hockeyfights.com Mike's fight record this season is 2-2-1.

MTU and UND

I found this video on youtube, reminded me of old time hockey and Eddie Shore. This weekend UND plays MTU in an important WCHA match up, there are no weekends off in this league, and this isn't the CCHA. It's time for the Sioux to show some heart and sweep this series. One could say that this is a make or break weekend. While I don't like cliché’s it is time to find out if my team is a contender or a pretender. If the Sioux are going to win this series they are going to have to play with an edge and be ready to do the things that MTU does. The Sioux must play like they did when they played the Badgers in Madison in November. Hit the skilled forwards and counter attack. The Sioux need to be miserable to play against. We used to say when I was in football that it's beter to be the hammer than it is to be the nail.

MTU is not afraid to do the things that they need to do to win the games. MTU has one of the best goalie tandems in the WCHA, one could call it a two headed monster and it doesn't matter which one is in the net as Rob Nolan is 5-5-0 with a 2.50 gaa and a .903 save % and Michael-Lee Teslak is 4-4-2 with a 1.71 GAA and a .934 save %.
UND will have to move their feet against MTU or run the risk of getting run out of the building. I am hoping the Fighting Sioux remember the bitter pill they had to swallow after being swept by MTU in our building last season.

Haven't we seen this prediction before?

Bethlyn: UND 9-0, UND 7-0. The Sioux will walk all over the WCHA “perennial doormats.” Print this out and hang it in the locker room, Coach Russell.

Hum, I don't think this is going to work this season.

Is Sean Avery a Jerk?

I think this is a interesting article that I found on line. I also found a clip on this incident as well. This is the type of guy that Sean Avery is. Honestly, this guy is a piece of work, first he about start a brawl in the warm up attacking Darcy Tucker and insulting Jason Blake. What a class act. Here is what Sean Averyhad to say, this is some classic stuff. With friends like Avery you don't need enemies.

“I never enjoy playing in Toronto really,” Avery said after the Rangers practiced Thursday in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Center. “Why? I don’t enjoy hockey-obsessed Canadians. The exchange rate is not very good right now. And it’s going to cost me a lot of money for tickets for people I don’t even like. How’s that for a list?”

Avery laughed, but he was serious about most of his list. Maple Leafs fans are sure to share his animosity. The last time the Rangers visited Toronto, in mid-November, Avery started yelling at one of his favorite targets, forward Darcy Tucker, during warm-ups, when no officials were on the ice. The trash-talking nearly set off a brawl — for which Avery, Tucker and both teams were fined. Speculation later circulated that Avery had started the altercation by making a derogatory remark about Toronto forward Jason Blake’s bout with cancer.

Avery denied it. Blake said he did not hear Avery say anything about cancer. And when those rumors made it into a radio broadcast and several newspapers, Avery said he was suing the radio reporter, Howard Berger, and the station FAN 590, for libel. The station retracted the report, but Avery said the papers for the lawsuit were served this week.

“I’m sure they’ll be fired up,” Avery said. “I’m just planning to play the same game I always do. I don’t think I’ll do anything different. I feel like I’ve got my legs back, and I’m just going to go in there and play a Sean Avery-type game.”

That game usually involves mayhem. In Wednesday night’s 4-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, he fought with forward Andrew Ladd despite being held back by an official.

This Picture is for Boosh

Some one sent me this picture and I didn't want this picture to go to waste. So... Since it was MTU playing UND in hockey this week I couldn't resist this post, if you read Boosh's blog you would know that he is a big Mike Commodore fans, he, he, he...

Gabby and Lemaire dust up?

I was listening to Dan Barreiro's show on pod cast today; Barreiro was talking about the dust up between Wild Star Marian Gaborik and Hall of Fame Coach Jacques Lemaire. In this week’s Minneapolis Star and Tribune Wild Coach Jacques Lemaire called Gabby out challenging him to work harder. I think it is about time Lemaire called out more of his star players. In fact it is long over due. While it is no doubt that Marian Gaborik is a dynamic offensive hockey player I believe Gaborik needs to take his play up a notch in the defensive zone, especially playing for the defensive minded Jacques Lemaire.

After watching the Wild’s horrible effort the last couple of games it would appear that the Wild are going to struggle to make the playoffs this season unless something changes. The Minnesota Wild can not be the good teams in the Western Conference. I might argue that if the Wild manage to make the NHL playoffs it will be another one and done playoff series, like last year when they were beat by a bigger and tougher team the Ducks.

That being said; I also believe that Gaborik’s play isn’t the only problem the Wild are facing. There are other issues on this team that need to be addressed as well. Contrary to the belief of some the Minnesota Wild Management the Minnesota Wild are not a very deep and talented team. The Wild lack top line players need to get over the top, after Gaborik, Demtra and Rolston there is a huge drop off in talent especially with one of their top forwards being hurt. It is no mystery that the Wild are hurting offensively from the absence of forward Mikko Koivu who has missed 22 games due to the broken leg. I believe the Wild are in need of a shake up. They Wild just aren’t getting it done

DALLAS - This is becoming an almost daily occurrence. Monday morning, before the Wild played the Dallas Stars and two days after Marian Gaborik was a minus-3 in Nashville, coach Jacques Lemaire implored him to "work harder."

"The skilled players, sometimes they want to use only their skills," Lemaire said. "But in today's game, the guys are too good, they work too hard. It's not only your skill that's important. You have to work with that skill. And work and work and work harder.

"Gabby's working, but it's not hard enough -- plain and simple. It's got to be harder. He does that, you add his talent, he's going to have a better chance of success."

Before Monday, in the seven games since Gaborik's five-goal game against the Rangers, he scored three goals, three assists and was a minus-8. In three of the past six games, Gaborik's ice time had been reduced -- 15 minutes, 39 seconds at Dallas, 14:28 against San Jose and 14:39 in Nashville. Lemaire said he played less than that.

"He played less than the other two because I wasn't satisfied the way he played," Lemaire said.

Friction is clearly building between Lemaire and Gaborik. Asked about Lemaire's assertion that his work ethic must improve, Gaborik said: "You want to play more than you're playing. It's up to them. I try to go out and play my best games. Sometimes, it just doesn't work. There's 82 games. Sometimes you don't feel as good. Sometimes, of course, there can be a little more effort.

This weeks picks

The second half of the season is under way and now it is cruch time for all the teams in the WCHA, there is a lot of team fighting for the top five positions. One could make the argument that each point is very important and there are no longer any throw away games. It will be interesting to see how this race shakes up.

FRIDAY:

Alaska-Anchorage at Colorado College
Minnesota State at Minnesota-Duluth
Wisconsin at Denver
St. Cloud State at Minnesota
Michigan Tech at North Dakota

SATURDAY:

Alaska-Anchorage at Colorado College
Minnesota State at Minnesota-Duluth
Wisconsin at Denver
Minnesota at St. Cloud State
Michigan Tech at North Dakota

Last week 8-2
For the year 67-47

Steve Downie will not be suspended for Suckering Blake

I think that Steve Downie is becoming one of the biggest hacks in the NHL. The kid has played a grand total of four games in the NHL and has already been suspened for 25 games. This is the same clown that beat up his own team mate in the OHL Check out the video of this incident; there is no doubt in my mind that Steve Downie sucker punched Jason Blake. If Steve Downie had sucker punched Sidney Crosby it would have been a 5-10 game suspension for his gutless act.

PHILADELPHIA - Steve Downie has received a stern talking to from the league and his coach but the Philadelphia Flyers forward will not be suspended for sucker-punching Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Blake.

Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said he and Downie spoke to NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell after the incident in Philadelphia's 3-2 win at the Air Canada Centre last Saturday night.

"We had a conversation with Mr. Campbell and that's it. The rest will be between the league, the Flyers and Steve," Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It was a good talk.

"It's Steve's (fourth) NHL game. He's walking a fine line there, which is basically what he was told. My conversation with Steve was a little harsher than Colin Campbell's."

Downie, who scored his first NHL goal in the game, punched Blake in the face while the veteran forward was being held by a linesman. Downie's double minor came in the third period and the Leafs scored on the power play to get back in the game.

"I took a penalty that hurt the team and I can't do that," Downie told the Inquirer, admitting he has again been put on notice by the league. "There's a fine line you've got to follow and I crossed it again. I got to learn."

Downie was suspended for 20 games earlier this season after a pre-season hit on Dean McAmmond in Ottawa. Blake's eye was swollen after the punch but he was not expected to miss any action.

These pictures should erase all doubt

Super Fighting Sioux fan Sioux-Cia (name changed to protect the innocent) from Siouxsports.com sent me these very funny pictures. Most Fighting Sioux fan will think that these pictures are very funny especially after watching last years UND and Minnesota series. One does have to wonder if WCHA ref Jon Campion had a Gopher jersey under his ref uniform. I am sure there were other Sioux fans that wondered the same thing. Although I am sure most Gopher fans won't see the humor, they never do you have to admit that this is funny. If your not laughing you should be...

On Frozen Blog; Mean Joe Finley — Even Meaner?

I found this article at the ON FROZEN BLOG I know it is a little late but we might as well enjoy big Joe now because he is going to be gone at the end of the season.

The Wisconsin State Journal this week has a detailed account of the mayhem the North Dakota Fighting Sioux directed at freshman phenom Kyle Turris of the Wisconsin Badgers this past weekend. Turris, the third overall pick of the 2007 draft by Phoenix, is an understandable target of old-time attention one month into the college hockey season: he’s been perhaps the most impressive and dominant first-year performer, piling up 14 points in 8 games thus far. He’s third in the nation in scoring, behind a pair of St. Cloud State teammates: Ryan Lasch and Vienna, Va.’s Garrett Roe, also a freshman. They have 17 points in 10 games.

The Fighting Sioux have their share of dominating forwards, including last year’s Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan. Nonetheless, they made like their namesakes last weekend, as the Journal notes:

“In the first period of the series opener Friday, won 4-0 by UW, Turris was walloped at the offensive blue line by Fighting Sioux junior defenseman Joe Finley, a fellow NHL first-rounder (Washington) who is listed at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds . . .

“Things escalated in the second game . . . Finley literally tackled Turris along the right boards . . .”

Not content to make life miserable for skilled Badgers on the ice, Big Joe apparently got rough off it, too:

“. . . a UW official confirmed that Finley allegedly used his stick to smack Bucky Badger in the leg when the two passed one another on the runway to the dressing rooms Saturday night.”

He can’t get to D.C. fast enough for me.

Here are a few pictures that Win-Twins sent me.
Here are a couple of pictures of Joe Finley that were sent to me. While a lot of fans of opposition teams think Finley is a gutless thug or a tireless hack. I think that honor has been earned by Stu Bickle. Personally I think Finley is a great defenseman that has done nothing but get better since his arrival at UND... The fact that fans complain about him means he is affective and giving them reason to grumble, fans used to say the same things about Matt Greene. Joe has also cut down on the stupid penalties this season and has been a effective penalty killer since his arrival at UND.

Sioux get another Split

There is two ways you can look at this past weekend's series. One can look at this weekends results with negativity or one can look at this weekend's series and see the silver lining. SCSU while 7th in the standing of the WCHA has a lot of talent and can beat any team on any given day. UND after the split this weekend is sitting third in the league with the third most wins.

~UND has not swept an opponent this season.

~UND has not been swept by an opponent this season. By this time last season UND has been swept by three opponents.

~UND is still 9th in the Power Rankings after the weekend split.

Can someone step up?

I got this picture from The WinTwins blog and this picture really kind of explains the whole team effort of the Fighitng Sioux in the third period; out of place and standing around watching.

If SCSU is the seventh place team in the WCHA the Sioux might be in touble this season, because SCSU really kicked it in during the third period and the Sioux lost another game they were leading in the third period, UNACCEPTABLE...

~Someone needs to take some leadership on this team.

~I am tired of watching veteran players making rookie mistakes.

~I am tired of watching UND loose.

~I am revamping my predictions for this season. Nohthing good is going to happen this season, I just don't see another run to the Frozen Four, cause they suck this season. The Fighting Sioux are a veteran team that looks disinterested in doing anything or playing 60 minutes of hockey. Wear that uniform with pride or go home. If The Fighting Sioux coaching staff can't get their players to beat the league teams how are they going to qualify for the NCAA tourney.

Adam Burish and Keith Ballard

A person from Sioux sports game me a heads up on couple of great fights. First one is Adam Burish as he comes to the aid of former and current teammate Jack Skille, you have got to love it a Badger kicking the snot out of a Gopher, I would have paid money to watch that one. All I can say to Ballard you live by the sword you die by the sword, Ballard got his ass kicked.

Here is a great fight between James Wisniewski and Jordin Tootoo I have to say that I enjoyed watching Tootoo getting his ass kicked.

Four seconds into the game Ryan Hollweg vs Mike Brown

The sky is falling.

I have been reading the Siouxsports.com this week or WHINEABOUTEVERYTHING.COM as the Gophers fans call it and its getting really silly. Some of the stuff I have read this week is really over the top. I think some of these people forget about their days in college. Hell when I was in the military we could have gotten charged with disorderly conduct every weekend.

Lets look at this folks T.J. Oshie was charged with a misdemeaner not a felony and lets not forget that T.J. is innocent until proven guilty. One thing that I think everyone forgot there is actually going to be a game tonight which is on CSTV tonight.

I answered some questions over on the Win Twins blog there were a few minor additions to my answers but it was fun answering the questions.

Former Maverick David Backes and Ladislav Smid go toe to toe.

Apparently David Backes doesn't just get into fights Keith Ballard, here is Former MSU-M Star David Backes fighting Ladislav Smid during the Oilers and Blues game on Jan 2, 2008. In my opinion the decision goes to David Backes, but I am biased because I am a WCHA guy.

Links to the Oshie and Radja incident

I figured that I would put something that is positive on here before we get to the more negative story. Folks, lets also not lose perspective, while Oshie screwed up it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. T.J. Oshie is a great hockey player and I am sure that T.J. and his Fighting Sioux team mates will stay out of trouble the rest of the hockey season. Listening to coach Dave Hakstol the other night on the Fighting Sioux coaches show; lets just say that the Coach was less than happy with the play in the third period Saturday night but also unhappy about what transpired this past weekend after the Saturday night game. Myself, I would not want to be the next person that makes an knuckle headed move like getting arrested.

Links to the Story

Here are some of the links to this story, it seems that T.J. might gotten off a little easier than the UNH player Radja, who also seems to have a history of disciplinary problems.

DURHAM – The University of New Hampshire hockey team will be without leading goal scorer Mike Radja for its two games this weekend, after coach Dick Umile suspended him following his arrest early Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D.

Radja, who had two goals and three assists in UNH's 7-4 win over North Dakota Saturday night – one that salvaged a weekend split – was arrested hours later for disorderly conduct, along with a North Dakota player. He leads the Wildcats with 10 goals.

Umile said Radja, a senior, told him later Sunday of his arrest, which followed a fight between the two players in an elevator on campus.

"That's all I needed to hear and that's enough for me to do what I did," Umile said on Wednesday. "Right now (the suspension) is for at least this weekend."

Radja's suspension will be indefinite; I wonder if the local media will make anything of this little tid bit?

DURHAM - Mike Radja, the University of New Hampshire hockey team's leading goal scorer and one of its assistant captains, has been indefinitely suspended by Coach Dick Umile following his arrest for disorderly conduct early Sunday morning in Grand Forks, N.D.

Just hours after the most productive game of his career - a two-goal, five-point effort in a 7-4 Wildcat win over the University of North Dakota - Radja and Sioux forward TJ Oshie were both arrested by the Grand Forks police. The arrests were made at 2:28 a.m., at a building that lists law offices and accountants among its occupants, but the police would provide no additional details because the case has yet to go to court.

A spokesperson for Grand Forks Municipal Court said an appearance date has been set for Jan. 16. In the meantime, Radja will miss UNH's two games this weekend before Umile reevaluates the situation for the future. Oshie has been handed a one-game suspension by UND.

Naturally, the leftist rag the Red Star and Sickle had to chime in with their own article on this story. Don't get me wrong this is a news story when one of their top rivals top players gets into trouble. I suppose they probably welcome this story because it does take some of the focus off their troubled program that seems to be in disarray themselves.

UND's T.J. Oshie, pride of Warroad hockey, suspended after arrest
West Virginia surprises Oklahoma in Fiesta Bowl
One of the top Minnesota high school hockey players to come out of the state in recent years is in trouble with the law again.

T.J. Oshie, who led Warroad to state titles in 2003 and 2005 and is a first-round draft pick of the St. Louis Blues, has been suspended for the University of North Dakota's next game after being arrested early Sunday, the school announced Wednesday.

According to the Grand Forks Herald, Oshie was arrested for disorderly conduct at 2:28 a.m. Sunday in Grand Forks. A Grand Forks County jailer said Oshie listed the same address as his home, the newspaper said.

Even ESPNU had a piece on this subject:

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota has suspended the leading scorer on its men's hockey team after he was arrested over the weekend for disorderly conduct.

Junior forward T.J. Oshie, of Warroad, Minn., will miss Friday's game at St. Cloud State for violating team rules, head coach Dave Hakstol announced Wednesday.

"Right now, it's a one-game suspension," Hakstol said. "I can't get into the whole situation ... I'm disappointed right now.

" Obviously, this will be a public issue," Hakstol said.

Oshie was arrested at 2:28 a.m. on Sunday, Grand Forks police said. The Sioux, ranked No. 8 in the nation, wrapped up a two-game series with visiting New Hampshire on Saturday night. Michael Radja, a New Hampshire player, also was arrested for disorderly conduct, police said.

Radja, the leading scorer for No. 7 New Hampshire, will be suspended for at least two games, coach Dick Umile said.

No details were released by UND.

It's the second time Oshie has been arrested since joining UND. He and former Sioux teammate Jonathan Toews, now with the Chicago Blackhawks, pleaded guilty last year to being minors in a bar. Both were placed on probation and ordered to perform community service.

Oshie, a 6-foot, 192-pound forward leads the Sioux with nine goals. He's tied with two other players for the team lead in points with 16.

The Sioux (9-7-1, 6-6 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) will conclude a two-game series with the Huskies on Saturday.

In the end this story will blow over and be a bad memory, lets just hope that Oshie and the guys don't have anymore eruptions the rest of the way from here.

Oshie suspended for one game.

I heard about this story through the rumor mill this moring but this is the first official announcement that I have actually read of this incident. I would imagine that Mike McFeely down in Fargo is going to have a field day with this incident and we are probably going to see more silly articles about how UND is a program out of control and that the UND hockey players are a bunch of criminals. I am sure we will hear how that Hakstol didn't punish T.J. Oshie enough and let him off easy. I think that a one game suspension is more than enough. Lets just hope that Oshie can come back strong and score some goals on Saturday night.

UND forward T.J. Oshie has been suspended for one game following an arrest early Sunday morning.

According to a Grand Forks police report, Oshie was arrested for disorderly conduct at 2:28 a.m. Sunday at 100 N. 3rd Street in Grand Forks.

New Hampshire senior forward Mike Radja also was arrested for the same offense at the same address. Radja, 22, had five points in New Hampshire's 7-4 win over UND on Saturday night.

UND announced the suspension Wednesday afternoon, saying that Oshie, 21, would miss Friday's game against St. Cloud State for violating team rules. No further details were given in the release.

Oshie, a junior from Warroad, Minn., is the team's leading scorer nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 17 games.

He also was arrested last January for being a minor in a bar. Oshie entered a guilty plea on that charge and was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation and ordered to pay about $225 in fines and fees.

Fomer WCHA players Stuart and Commodore toss them

Fomer C.C. Tiger Mark Stuart took on former Fighting Sioux Mike Commodore after he smoked P.J. Axelson with a big hit. Here is the hit as Mike Commodore Smokes P.J. Axelson. Ouch

Photos from the UNH series

Here are some pictures from this past weekends series the UNH Wild Cats. Go ahead and use them if you like, there will be no copy right violation and they are not professional done. If you look closely at this picture you will see Kyle Radke on the ice. I don't know if my eyes are playing tricks on me or did Radke put on a bunch of muscle in the off season? I don't know but Radke does looks a hell of a lot bigger than he did last season.

A friend of ours that sits in the seats next to us had extra seats in the lower bowl for Friday night game so I was lucky to sit in a seat that was a lot closer to ice. While the seats in the lower bowl are good for taking pictures and are a lot closer to the ice, I still like sitting in the upper deck better. You can see the ice better from the upper deck. I did find a great beer stand in the section behind the student seats.
I you look at the pictures it kind of captures how defensive mined UNH played against the Fighting Sioux this past weekend. UNH is probably one of the better defensive teams I can remember seeing this season. I would put them up there with the Wisconsin or Denver teams when they won the NCAA title. UNH clogs up the neutral zone and gets in the shooting lanes. UNH was also one of the cleanser teams I have seen come to the REA. Of coruse we don't play them every year either.
Here is a picture of Lets Go Mav's favorite goaltender.

Kessel score 10th goal of the season: Sophmore slump?

This year there has been a lot of discussion about Phil Kessel being a bust and not playing that well. I am not sure what or whos standards we are messuring him by. some have actually suggested that the 20 year old is having a sophmore slump. Today Kessel actually scored his 11th goal of the season equaling last season goal total in 38 games.

This weeks picks: Misc Ramblings/Rants

Games this week in the WCHA

01/04/08

Colorado College at Wisconsin
North Dakota at St. Cloud State
Michigan Tech at Mercyhurst
Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
Wayne State at Minnesota

01/06/08

Colorado College at Wisconsin
North Dakota at St. Cloud State
Michigan Tech at Mercyhurst
Minnesota Duluth at Bemidji State
Wayne State at Minnesota

Last week 9-9-0
Year 59-45

WCHA does well in Holiday Tourneys

The WCHA proved once against that it is a top notch league by going 10-5-3 overall in the recent holiday tourney play. I think this record speaks volumes about the type of league that the WCHA is. I am sick and tired of fans from other leagues disrespecting the WCHA. If you look the power rankings and the KRACH you will see that the Strength of Schedule of the WCHA speaks for itself our league leaders are not lining up against and beating up on a bunch of weak sisters of the poor cup cakes. The WCHA is playing top notch competition and beating them. While the CCHA’s top teams are probably deserving of their rankings they are not playing a lot of tough teams.
This is the stupidest thing I have read all week: USCHO

IMO the WCHA is overrated and the only reason they have 7 teams in the top 20 is because of what the conference has done the past 5 years. To be frank they have 4 really good teams and a handful of mediocre teams that are ranked because they beat up on each other and the conference is overrated. SCSU is a solid team, but they lost some high power players last year. DU, CC, and ND are excellent teams but after that, Minnesota and Wisconsin are mediocre and in the top 20 because of their name. Facts are facts; it will all play out in the end. SCSU does pose some threats because of their team speed, wish I could make it up there for the tourney.

First off if the WCHA is such a overrated league why has the WCHA won 5 of the last 7 NCAA titles. Also if the WCHA is so week why did it take (2) overtimes for Michigan to beat MTU and Miami (1) overtime to beat SCSU. If you use the logic above Michigan and Miami should have run both of those WCHA patsies out of the building.

Wild Cats snarl and fight their way to victory

Saturday night the Sioux had another chance to sweep a series. True to form the Sioux found another way to lose again. This time the Fighting Sioux had the lead and that they took the lead deep into the third period before finding another yet another way to lose in impressive form. The third period meltdown was another classic comedy of errors as Fighting Sioux as they handed the veteran Wild Cats a 7-4victory.

Take nothing away from the Wild Cats they were a good team that played a disciplined defensive minded style of hockey. This weekend the UNH Wild Cats played a tight checking and a collapsing defensive game making it hard for the Sioux forwards to get to their net. UNH also did a good job of clogging up the shooting lanes makeing it almost impossible to get the puck to the Sioux forward in front of the net. UNH also pounced on the when the Fighting Sioux when ever they made a mistake. On Saturday night there were a lot of defensive lapses and a few of our defensemen looked like pylons. If one was only allowed to use one word to describe the Fighting Sioux’s defensive effort on Saturday night it would be unacceptable.

UNH’s goaltender Senior Kevin Regan was solid all weekend as he turned aside 40 shots and set a new UNH career record for saves with 2,608 as the Wildcats scored five goals in the third period to earn a 7-4 win over North Dakota last night.

In addition to making a lot of untimely defensive mistakes, our diving champion took another selfish untimely penalty after he leapt to the ice after being tapped by UNH forward Greg Collins. WCHA ref Don Adam not buying the dive gave Phil and Collins each a penalty killing what momentum the Fighting Sioux had left. Someone on this coaching staff needs to have a heart to heart discussion with Phil, and discuss the antics we have witnessed in the Fighting Sioux net this season. This heart to heart talk needs to be the one that results in a conversation that is very one sided; a conversation where the Coach does all of the talking and player listens while he nods his head. I mean seriously; Phil has to know that Adam is going to make that call after the display the night before.

Make no mistake about it, there is no doubt that Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux has played good this season, the numbers speak for themselves 1.88 GAA and a .932 save % but I am getting tired of watching these embellishments with each minor bump he receives from the opposition. Frankly, the jig is up the refs are watching you, and you were called on it this weekend.

Players that dive to draw penalties are a disgrace to hockey and I would hate to see our goalie become another fraud like former NHL player Claude Lemieux. This untimely penalty in my opinion was the beginning of another a classic implosion and then the Fighting Sioux folded like a retreating French Army division. This loss hurts because the Sioux were wining the game before blowing a 3-1 lead. The loss was a result of the Sioux not moving their feet, their defenseman became pylons and made some bad decisions in the defensive zone. The with cat like reflexes the disciplined veteran laden UNH Wild Cats blew the disjointed Sioux out of the building. Hence, yet another series split during the 2007-2008 campaign.

Sioux take game one from Wild Cats.

While reading the USCHO board this morning I found this picture, this has to be one of the funniest pictures I have seen in a long time. Must have been a WCHA official?

An interesting stat

Turn on the offense:
I found this interesting stat in today’s Capital Times blog article written Todd Milewski.

Wisconsin has averaged 4.67 goals in six non conference games and just 2.4 goals in 10 WCHA games.

I think Todd poses a good question. Why are teams like the Badgers scoring more goals in non-conference games than in conference games? One word: Obstruction.

Sioux take game one

With the win last night UND is 5-5 in the last ten games. Without naming names; some in the media have said the Fighting Sioux have been a disappointment so far this season, the fact remains that the Fighting Sioux have played the hardest schedule in NCAA hockey to date. Breaking this fact down further, that means that in 15 of 16 games UND has played this season have been against teams under consideration for the NCAA tourney. Just for comparison sake the Fighting Sioux's SOS rating on the KRACH is 441, while Michigan's is 128 and Miami's is 162.

~Make no mistake about it the University of New Hampshire is a good hockey team and they will be in the mix at the end of the season. Defensively UNH clogs up the shooting zone and makes it hard to score on them. I was impressed with UNH's discipline and they way they played as a team. The Wild Cats were also missing their one of their top forwards super frosh James van Riemsdyk who is playing for the USA in the WJC.

~UND won a game when Duncan, Oshie didn't score a goal or register a point.

~UND record is 9-1-0 where they score the first goal and 0-5 when they don’t score first.

~After scoring 10 goals for the Fighting Sioux last last year including the 180 footer against Jeff Frazee. Senior Defenseman Robbie Bina has no goals this season, however, he is third on the team in points and the top point getter for defenseman. Junior Taylor Chorney is fifth on the team in points with 12 and the second highest scoring defenseman on the team.

~If the NCAA playoffs started today UND would be a high number 2 seed.

~Sioux fans should enjoy Joe Finley because after this season he will be gone. Just a hunch...

~Kyle Radke was huge in the win last night. I would hope we see him again tonight.


~Jean-Philippe Lamoureux should get an Emmy for this acting job during last nights game. Let me say this, it was a top notch performance, however, ref Don Adam did not buy the performance and only game Bobby Butler a 2 minute minor. Here is what happened: UNH Forward Bobby Butler went behind the UND net and bumped into JPL who launched himself into the air, then fell to the ice like he had been shot by a 44 auto magnum. There was a gasp as the crowd looked on in horror, then miraculously Phil made a full recovery to rejoin the game. Maybe the gasp was the thought of Walski coming into the game.

~Here is the WCHA record against the rest of college hockey: 2-0-1 against the AHA, 12-7-4 Cup Cake Hockey Association, 9-0-0 against the CHA, 3-1-1 against the EZAC, 4-2-2 against the Hockey East. Below is the break down of the leagues record against the “big four”.

AHA 5-24-3 (.203)
CCHA 23-20-4 (.532)
CHA 7-26-3 (.236)
ECACHL 13-25-4 (.357)
HEA 15-15-5 (.500)
WCHA 19-10-7 (.625)

Lets have some perspective: Miami is good but...

Check this out this blog article.

So, what does this all mean for North Dakota-Miami?

Now, no disrespect to Charlie Effinger, but I don't think he'd get the start in this theoretical game, so give the RedHawks the edge in goal. I do think that when you look at players like Robbie Bina, Taylor Chorney and Joe Finley, the Sioux have an edge on the blueline, but it's just a slight edge. Alec Martinez is having a fantastic season, as is Mitch Ganzak, and I think the d-corps does its job more than adequately for the RedHawks.

Up front, Miami has a ton of weapons, to the point where the impact of Nathan Davis' injury has been minimized beyond anything that Rico Blasi could have hoped for. If you can add a healthy Davis to this team after the break, I won't go so far as to say that Miami will be unstoppable - enough of us already made that mistake about North Dakota - but there are just so many weapons on that team that it's scary.

The Sioux just don't have that kind of scoring depth this season, as things drop off pretty quick once you get past T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan. Is there potential for more? Certainly, and I do think the Sioux should come together after the break. They've been an excellent second-half team under Dave Hakstol, and last year's resurgence started with a win over a team from New Hampshire, too (UNH visits Grand Forks after the break). But Miami has it together right now in a way that you can't guarantee North Dakota will have it at all this season.

On that point, I think the RedHawks have had a greater team focus this season, if you look at their games, and that starts with the great senior leadership they have from the likes of Ryan Jones and Nathan Davis. In their second year as captain and assistant captain of this team, Jones and Davis are better able to establish the culture of hard-work and physical play that help make Miami so successful. No disrespect to Rylan Kaip and his assistant captains at North Dakota, but what Jones has done leading Miami this season, especially when Davis went down early in the first game of the season, is truly remarkable, and is just as big a part of his Hobey Baker candidacy as his first-half numbers.

I think that in this game between North Dakota and Miami, the way they're playing now, it'll be a great, hard-fought physical hockey game, but I think that Miami would be the team slowly wearing down North Dakota. I think Zatkoff and the defensive corps would stand up well enough to the Sioux, and that in the end, Miami would just have too many weapons, especially with all that size and strength on the wings.

So, that's my answer to that question, and I'm sticking to it until given reason to believe otherwise.

As for where Miami stacks up to everyone else, well, I'll make you wait until tomorrow for that...although you may already have some idea.

I read this article on the Rink Rant by CSTV’s Elliot Olshansky and although I love to listen to Elliot’s weekly pod cast from CSTV, I think he might be a little off of the mark, the season is half over and there is a lot of hockey to be played. Maybe we can wait and see how the cards fall before we start making grand predictions or crowning anyone champions. Here is an old cliché probably that probably rings true in this situation: championships are won in March and April and not in November, December and January. I wonder what the Miami apologists will say if Miami is bounced in the first or second round of the NCAA tourney again this season.

While I do think Miami of Ohio is a good to decent team; they are big, strong and talented. You can probably make the same argument for a lot of the teams that are in the top ten. The question I must ask people is Miami’s record really that impressive? Seriously folks, let’s have some perspective on this matter, let’s look at Miami’s not so impressive schedule a little deeper: The Miami Red Hawks; while winning in semi-impressive fashion have feasted on an unimpressive schedule of subpar mediocre to poor competition. The RedHawks are not beating the top teams in the nation.

Here is the list of unimpressive victories. Drum roll please: Vermont (29), Ohio State (50), Nebraska Omaha (31), Northern Michigan (34), Notre Dame (loss) (4), Michigan State (6), Canisius (54), Alaska (loss)(44), Rensselaer (21). That’s eighteen games played against a grand total of 2 teams that are actually nationally ranked in the top twenty or are above 20 in the Power Rankings as well. Miami is good but they have won nothing yet. There is no championship for having the best record at the half way point.

This exchange is also one of the silliest things that I have read in a long time:

Ryan (Oxford): If Miami handles St. Cloud State in the Ohio Hockey Classic, will they finally get the WCHA fans off their back...or will the WCHA continue to pretend they are "unquestionably" better than everyone else?

Dave Starman: The WCHA is allowed to stick its chest out, they have set the bar pretty high in terms of recruiting elite players, developing pros, and winning national titles...

Todd D. Milewski: Maybe in a head-to-head sense, but part of that attitude (for lack of a better term) is based in the league as a whole.
Dave Starman: HOWEVER... to say they are the best conference in college hockey right now would be wrong. The CCHA is pretty impressive.

Todd D. Milewski: Even though the CCHA's best is better than the WCHA's best right now, the dropoff point in the WCHA is a lot farther down the table than it seems to be in the CCHA.

Dave Starman: WCHA fans need to realize that you can't live in the was, you have to live in the is, and the CCHA IS probably stronger top to bottom.
Dave Starman: That being said, CC, Denver, North Dakota could all win the national title and Denver's home.

Yeah, while your top teams may or may not be ahead of the WCHA right now, lets look at the bottom 5 in the WCHA and look at the bottom 7 in the CCHA. Included is the standings and power rankings. If you look at the Power Rankings of the two leagues you will see that all teams in the bottom 5 of the WCHA are in the top 25 of the Power Rankings while the CCHA bottom 7 has one team in the top 25 of the power rankings.

WCHA's Bottom 5: 6.) Minnesota (13) 7.) Wisconsin (17) 7.)Saint Cloud(19) 7.) Minnesota State (24) 10.) Alaska Anchorage (22)

CCHA's bottom 7 is: 6.) Nebraska Omaha (31) 7.) Bowling Green (19) University tie 7.) Northern Michigan (34) 9.)Alaska, Ohio State(50) 10.) Western Michigan (49) 11.)Lake Superior (51)

Also, Ryan from Oxford your team the Miami RedHawks is supposed to beat SCSU if they are really as good as you claim. Think about it your team is ranked number one in the nation and SCSU is a team that is in 7th place in the WCHA. I would expect your team to win and if they do not win this game expect your team to drop in the rankings. I have seen a lot of Miami fans trying to peg this game as a bench mark game for bragging rights.

Time for the Second Half of the Season

Now is the time for the Fighting Sioux to step it up and set the tone for the second half of the season if they want get a good seeding for the WCHA playoffs and do anything in the NCAA playoffs. It seems that the Fighting Sioux under Coach Dave Hakstol start slow, almost uninterested, in playing at the beginning of the season. They then peak at the right time just before the playoffs begin and go on a torrid pace. At least that is what has happened the past three seasons; all three seasons have had a familiar ending with UND finishing their season in the Frozen Four minus a NCAA Championship trophy.

This season the expectations were set much higher. During the three previous seasons the Sioux had lost numerous big time hockey players. However, this time the Sioux were relatively unscathed as they had only lost two highly skilled underclassmen and two veteran hockey players to graduation.

That being said, it would seem that the expectation of the Sioux winning some hardware such as a league title and an NCAA title might be the standard of achievement this season, especially with the return of Hobey Baker Memorial award winner Ryan Duncan, T.J. Oshie, Joe Finley and Taylor Chorney.
Here are a few points of interest for this weekend's series.

ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UNH (9-2-2)
12-29-71 (H) UND 9 UNH 3 W
12-30-71 (H) UNH 3 UND 2 L
11-16-84 (A) UND 4 UNH 3 W
11-17-84 (A) UND 11 UNH 0 W
11-8-85 (H) UND 4 UNH 2 W
11-9-85 (H) UND 7 UNH 4 W
11-28-86 (A) UND 10 UNH 0 W
1-17-88 (H) UND 6 UNH 2 W
1-6-89 (A) UND 8 UNH 2 W
11-28-99 (H) UNH 6 UND 2 L
10-6-00 (N) UNH 2 UND 2 OT T
10-21-05 (H) UND 3 UNH 2 W
10-22-05 (H) UND 3 UNH 3 OT T

Series against New Hampshire: North Dakota is 9-2-2 all-time against New Hampshire. The Sioux are 4-0-0 against the Wildcats in Grand Forks, 5-2-1 against UNH in Durham, N.H., and 0-0-1 at neutral sites.

The last time the teams met was in October 2005, when the Wildcats played host to the Fighting Sioux in a two-game series in Durham, N.H. UND won the series opener 3-2 and the teams played to a 3-3 tie the next night.

UNH Wild Cats Roster Break down

Alberta (1): Fornataro- Calgary
Arizona (1): Flaishans- Glendale
British Columbia (1): Switzer-Peachland
California (1): Beck- Long Beach
Florida (1): Vranek- New Port Richey
Illinois (2): Krates-Palos Park, Radja-Yorkville
Maryland (1): Fritsch- Odenton
Massachusetts (6): Butler- Marlboro, Kapstad- Boxboro, Pollastrone- Revere,
Regan- South Boston, Rossman-Boxford, Savard- Framingham
Michigan (1): Dries-Lake Orion
Minnesota (1): Fricke-St. Paul
Missouri (1): Fortney- Webster Groves
New Hampshire (3): Foster-Pembroke, A. Thompson- Gilford, P. Thompson- Derry
New Jersey (1): vanRiemsdyk-Middletown
New York (3): Charlebois- Potsdam, Collins- Fairport, DeSimone- East Amherst
Ontario (1): LeBlanc-Hamilton
Pennsylvania (2): Campanale- Chester Springs, Manz- Wayne
Wisconsin (1): Sislo- Superior

Pretty interesting break down of hockey players from many different places, including a couple that are from south of the Mason Dixion Line.

University of New Hampshire Links for the Series

My Favorite the UNH Hockey blog

University of New Hampshire Media Guide

Chris Heisenberg Unofficial UNH site


You have got to check out this really cool hockey promotion from USA hockey

Kessel on his way out in Boston

I have been following this story for some time now and it appears that Bruins fans are losing patience with former Gopher Phil Kessel after only 1 1/2 seasons. Oh the irony. I have read where there the fans say that Phil is having a sophomore slump. I believe this observation is silly since I believe that Phil has made some improvement over last season, he will finish with more points as well.

It is pretty much the same complaints we have all heard in the past; Phil is selfish with the puck, Phil runs into team mates in the offensive zone. I have also heard more complaints along the lines of Phil's doesn't work that hard and that he's lazy. Some of these complaints may or may not be true but I have a hard time believing that Boston would just trade away their first round draft choice.

This is not the half of it, it seems that Kessel could be on his way out in Boston because his team the Bruins is suffering through a scoring outage and a tough patch were they have lost a lot of man games to injury. This was a interesting article that I found while reading a Boston Bruins fan message board.

Ultimately, it may come down to kids, and how willing the Bruins are to give up future promise for present production. There will be bidders for Phil Kessel, who was benched after two periods Sunday, his game noticeably lacking edge and dimension in this, his second NHL season. Goalie prospect Tuukka Rask and improving blue liner Mark Stuart also will bring bids, but they likely would be more difficult to sacrifice than Kessel, whose speed, though alluring, in some ways is holding him back from discovering what else he can do out there. Julien, like Dave Lewis last season, is beginning to realize it.

Kessel was the No. 5 pick in the 2006 draft. Five years earlier, Stanislav Chistov was taken fifth overall by the Anaheim Ducks, who dealt him last year to the Bruins. He wasn't totally useless, but he wasn't much more. Today, Chistov is back in Russia, another once-prime prospect gone bust. Kessel has more to offer, because of his speed and a knack around the net during shootouts. But he must show the coaching staff that he's willing to be smarter and work harder, especially in the dirtier areas of the ice.

The best proposal so far.

After reading this letter to the editor in today's issue of the Grand Forks Herald I believe this is the best solution that I have seen so far for resolving the Fighting Sioux nick name dispute. Let’s bring the issue of the Fighting Sioux name to a vote; I am talking about the members of the Sioux tribe, not just the tribal council. If after the vote; the members of Sioux tribe don't vote in favor of the fighting Sioux name, then retire the Fighting Sioux name for good. I honestly believe the Standing Rock tribal government does not really want to have a vote because they are affraid that they would end up losing the vote.

FORT TOTTEN, N.D.- I would like to take a moment to speak up on the UND “Fighting Sioux” nickname and logo.

In my opinion, this issue is beginning to get out of hand. I've spoken to many people out here, and I can honestly say that there are many tribal members who support the nickname and wish for UND to be able to retain it.

I myself am honored that a university has a nickname that addresses the Sioux as fighters. For many centuries, that is exactly what we were - fighters. Now, it looks like we are in for another fight.

For the first 32 years of my life, I lived off the Spirit Lake Reservation. I fought for my heritage and for who I was that entire time. It's unbelievable the amount of racism alive in this world.

I think the nickname is a petty issue. When I was younger, my grandmother used to tell me a saying that I think should be said now: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.” I've been called everything in the book when I was growing up, mean and hurtful things, by almost every race on this earth.

But never did anyone say, “You're nothing but a Fighting Sioux.” That's probably because it was true; and besides, it wouldn't have hurt me at all because there is nothing derogatory about that statement. I believe that's why I'm not offended by the nickname or the logo.

The NCAA weighed in about two years ago when it listed UND's nickname as “hostile or abusive.” I don't believe it's either of those things. I find nothing hostile or abusive about the nickname.

From my understanding, the nickname was accepted by our tribal leaders several decades ago. “In 1968, says (Peter) Johnson, the Grand Forks Herald reported that a delegation from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation traveled to UND to ‘adopt' its president into the tribe and give UND the right to sue the name for its athletic teams,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported not long ago. Who are we to say that those leaders were wrong?

Perhaps they saw something that people today are missing about the honor of letting UND use such a nickname.

I agree with giving the final decision on the nickname to the Sioux tribes, but I don't believe that a select few council members can speak on behalf of the entire population of either reservation.

The only true and fair way to settle this issue would be a referendum on both reservations - a referendum in which each and every individual would have the chance to vote. A select few should not be allowed to claim that what they want also is the general consensus of the whole.

Only an open vote on both reservations will allow all voices to be heard. And whatever the outcome of that vote is, that is the resolution that should be passed by the tribal councils because that would be the true voice of the people.

Before I close, I must say one more thing: If UND must lose its nickname, then so should major sports teams. Get rid of the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Chiefs, all of which do nothing on behalf of Native people, and I find their usage of such names and logos to be very demeaning, disgraceful and offensive.

I've never seen or heard of a pro football team, player or franchise ever make an effort to bring social programs out to a reservation. They don't bring their United Way onto our lands; yet, they do make it a point to show that they are actively involved with inner city youth.

At least UND is making an effort to bring pride to a people who have been viewed throughout history as being less than human.

I hope to live long enough to see the day when we stop all this petty bickering about things that never should be brought up. There comes a time in our lives when we all need to move past all of this and become one race . . . the human race.

Black Cloud is a Spirit Lake Dakota tribal member.
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Goon's picks for the week: Holiday addition.

Friday, December 28th

Non-Conference

New Hampshire @ Sioux
Princeton @ Minnesota State-Mankato

Badger Showdown

Colgate @ Wisconsin

Great Lakes Invitational

Michigan Tech vs. Michigan State

Denver Cup

Sacred Heart @ Denver

Governor's Cup

Alaska-Anchorage @ Alaska


Saturday, December 29th

Non-Conference

New Hampshire @ North Dakota

Badger Showdown

Bowling Green @ Wisconsin
Northeastern @ Wisconsin

Great Lakes Invitational

Michigan Tech vs. Providence
Michigan Tech vs. Michigan

Denver Cup

Northern Michigan @ Denver
Dartmouth @ Denver

Governor's Cup

Alaska-Anchorage @ Alaska

Dodge Holiday Cup Cake Classic

RIT @ Minnesota

Ohio Hockey Classic

St. Cloud State vs. Miami

Lightning Classic

Colorado College vs. Rensselaer


Sunday, December 30th

Non-Conference

Yale @ Minnesota State-Mankato

Dodge Holiday Cup Cake Classic

Air Force @ Minnesota
Boston College @ Minnesota

Ohio Hockey Classic

St. Cloud State vs. Ohio State
St. Cloud State vs. Harvard

Lightning Classic

Colorado College vs. Notre Dame
Colorado College vs. Massachusetts

Last week 5-3
For the Year 50-36

Merry Christmas from Goon's World

Here is wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Goon's world would like to thank everyone (almost 127,000 people) that visited our blog over the past season. Go Sioux and beat the Gophers.

Also Goon's world would like to thank the Men and Women of the armed services that are defending our nation's security interests around the globe. I can appreciate what it is like to be away from home during the holiday, your sacrifice is appreciated and not unnoticed. Till they all come home... Goon and Dakota wish everyone a merry Christmas.

What a night for Gabby...

Check out the Minnesota Wild's Marian Gaborik's 5 goal and 1 assist night, that's right folks, Gaborik lit up the New York Rangers for 6 points in one game. That is almost unheard of in today’s day and age, where the NHL focuses on defense and shutting down the shooting lanes. What is also special about Gaborik’s 5 goal night is that the first three goals were a pure hat trick.

Former Alaska Fairbanks star Aaron Voros continues to chip in for the Wild with two more assists and another fight. This kid is becoming my dark horse Wild player.
Tonight; the Wild will go for their 5th win in a row against the Detroit Red Wings who lit them up last week 5-0.

Sidney Crosby and Andrew Ference drop the gloves.

I saw this the yesterday when I was going through the box scores. At first; I actually thought it was a misprint, Sidney Crosby doesn’t get into fights, and it’s not his role. Incidentally, this was Sid “the Kid's” first professional fight, let’s hope Crosby lets his tough guys do the heavy lifting and leave the scoring to Crosby.
I am actually sorry that I didn’t get to watch this game. I was working and I only taped the Wild and Rangers game I was not able to see this game.

Goon’s advice to Sidney Crosby

First off Sidney take off you helmet, it is considered to be a bush league move to get into a fight with someone while leaving your helmet/shield on. Maybe someone forgot to tell Crosby that it’s part of the fighters code that you take off your helmet during a fight so the guy you’re fighting doesn't break his hand punching your shield. Actually the refs are supposed to give Crosby an extra two minutes for getting into a fight while wearing a shield.