Another sister kissing: UND 1 SCSU 1

When the season is over I hope the league coaches let the officials in this league have it because the league officials are doing a piss poor job and they are going to receive a grade of "F" for their effort from the fans in this league. If I hear or read one more comment by Bruce McCloud that the league officials are doing a good job I am going to snap. I just want to come through my television and flick him in the head. I've have had it with this crap.

The product on the ice that the WCHA has become so horrible, substandard and God awful to watch, this is not hockey. Garrett Roe and T.J. Oshie can not show case their talent in this league if they are being held up and down the ice. Honestly, you wouldn't ref this poorly the Bemidji men's league and get away with it. You would never be allowed to ref another hockey game.

I will take the NHL any day over this crap any day. Fans don't pay good money to watch a bunch of clutching, grabbing, hacking, tackling, slashing. Top this off with unbelievable defensive efforts and you have a recipe for boredom. Tackling a guy that takes away a scoring opportunity is a penalty in any league's rule book; whether it takes place in the first period in over-time. Tackling is not allowed in any league in hockey, however, it is encouraged in football.

Note to Todd Anderson; get off your knees put the whistle to your lips, put your arm in the air and blow your whistle, then skate to the penalty circle and make the call.

The days of race horse hockey in this league is no more. The product on the ice has become unwatchable and horrid. Please call the penalties on both sides on the ice as they happen. Power plays and Penalty killing are part of the game. If the hand comes off the stick to hold up the player it is a penatly. Call the game the way it is supposed to call and let the league show case the offensive stars that it has.

Redwing77 sums it up pretty well:

Anderson did a poor job of officiating, but it is NOT because of the missed call in OT. Everyone knows that anything but CFBs go non-called in OT. He let a TON of stuff go. The Sioux got away with a lot and so did the Huskies.

Box Score

1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Slashing) STC 1x1 16:02
STC 1 - 0 6x5 PP John Swanson (6) (Ryan Lasch, Garrett Roe) 16:43
STC: 26,19,9,7,12,G33 NDK: 2,28,16,7,G1
STC-1 Chris Anderson (2-Hooking) NDK 0x1 19:21

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK 1 - 1 6x6 GT Rylan Kaip (7) (Matt Watkins, Chris VandeVelde) 1:55
NDK (+): 17,11,20,2,3,G1 STC (-): 10,9,12,7,24,G33
NDK-2 Joe Finley (2-Interference) STC 1x2 6:52

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (5:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game

Voros hits Staal from behind.

Minnesota Wild forward Aaron Voros hits Hurricanes star Eric Staal in what is obvious a questionable hit from behind. There is no doubt about this hit its definately a checking from behind hit. I am sure that Voros knows it was a bush league check as well.

The thing that puzzled me the most was after Staal was through drawing the five minute major; which was the proper call in this situatioin was back out on the ice for the power play.

Linkorama SCSU series.

Check out what SCSU Huskie beat writer Kevin Allenspach had to say about this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the SCSU Huskies.

North Dakota has strung together five consecutive post-Christmas hot streaks, the last four of those coming under Dave Hakstol -- who doesn't know any other way to finish than to ramp up for the playoffs. The Sioux went 19-6-3 after the holiday in 2003-04, 12-8-3 in 2004-05, 17-9-0 in 2005-06, and 17-4-4 last season - each run ending at the Frozen Four. Since they're 15-2-1 since Christmas this season, what's the deal? I talked to Hakstol, who said he expects a "playoff-type intensity," and junior defenseman Taylor Chorney to find out.

"There's not a lot different now that we've been winning," downplayed Hakstol, whose team is 14-0-1 since its last meeting with St. Cloud State and has a chance to win at least a share of the MacNaughton Cup if first-place Colorado College drops one of its last two games against Denver this weekend. "We've had a consistent mentality all along where we've focused on the near future. The (winning) streak and a lot of that other stuff, that's all in the past. Offensively, we've been consistently in that 2-, 3-, 4-goal range all along. The real key is that we've been getting some different players to chip in at the right times."

A couple of those are likely out of action this weekend against the Huskies at Engelstad Arena. Freshman forward Evan Trupp, who has eight goals and 13 points, suffered a broken leg Saturday at Duluth. Sophomore defenseman Chay Genoway left the DECC with his arm in a sling, courtesy of a hit from behind by Michael Gergen on Sunday, and is doubtful. Genoway entered last weekend as the top WCHA defenseman in points per game.

But sophomore forward Chris VandeVelde always seems to light up SCSU (he's got 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in six career games against the Huskies). And junior forward Andrew Kozek leads the Sioux with 15 goals -- many of them (Surprise!) coming since he was put on the top line with T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan. And J-P Lamoureux, one of four seniors who will be honored by the Sioux on Saturday, leads the WCHA in overall goals-against average (1.68).

The more things change the more they stay the same. I was wondering when this subject was going to come up? I think this article is just a nicer way of saying; UND is a bunch of Goons, UND is the most penalized team in the league. Everytime there is an incident UND is right in the middle of it. Check it out Taylor Chorney is interviewed about UND's Style of play.

Allenspach column: Us vs. them mentality serves the Sioux well

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — You can argue how much the controversy is warranted, but there's no question the North Dakota men's hockey team has thrived — despite or because of it.

The top-ranked Sioux enter the last series of the regular season 14-0-1 — best in the nation — since their last defeat. That came 3-2 on Jan. 4 at St. Cloud State, and also was the last time they played without leading scorer T.J. Oshie, arrested the weekend before for disorderly conduct.

After his one-game suspension, the Sioux stormed back to win the rematch 6-2 and Oshie contributed a goal and an assist.

Following a home sweep against Michigan Tech, UND captain Rylan Kaip fought Minnesota State-Mankato's Trevor Bruess in a 2-1 road win Jan. 18.

After a home sweep of Alaska Anchorage, Darcy Zajac fought Minnesota's Tony Lucia during a 1-1 tie Feb. 2 at Minnesota. That night, TV cameras captured Sioux coach Dave Hakstol making an obscene gesture at referee Don Adam. Hakstol apologized but was suspended two games, so he wasn't behind the bench Feb. 16 when Kyle Radke fought Denver's Brandon Vossberg in a 4-1 win.

"It's been a learning process," said Taylor Chorney, chuckling at the recollection of fellow junior defenseman Joe Finley slashing the Wisconsin mascot during a series last November at Madison. "Maybe we did some dumb things, but some of the times I don't think it was all our fault, either. We were in situations where we had to have our teammates' backs. We've learned to walk a fine line."

The Sioux have taken more penalty minutes than their opponent once in the last eight games, indicating they're ready to play whatever style necessary this weekend against the Huskies, who rank 56th of 59 Division I teams in PIM and fourth on the power play.

"St. Cloud's a team that looks for those opportunities, so we've got to be smart," said Chorney, a second-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, who is from Hastings and played at Shattuck-St. Mary's. "We'll kill aggressive penalties — like a charge or boarding — but we don't want to take any hooking or tripping (calls)."

It's unlikely the Sioux will throw down with the playoffs next week. But they will try to, as they like to say, run the Huskies through the Zamboni doors.

"I think we've put it in the backs of teams' minds that we're going to be physical," Chorney said. "Hockey's a tough sport. We've made a couple of bad decisions, but we're at our best when we're pushing the line.

"Maybe it's easier for us because we're up here in Grand Forks and you're not going to do a whole lot but go to the rink every day and focus on hockey. There's that sort of feeling where the only thing that matters is the other guys."

Sometimes it's calmest in the eye of the storm.

This week's stupid comment from INCH.

Here is is folks your stupid comment of the week courtesy of INCH. It would be interesting to know what he is basing this comment on?

matt: In your opinion, are the bubble teams like Notre dame better then those lower tear WCHA teams that have a really strong RPI. or do you think those bubble teams would be worse in the WCHA??

Mike Eidelbes: I don't pretend to be an expert on the permutations of the computer rankings, but I think the books get cooked a tad in the favor of the WCHA teams because of the strength of schedule stuff. Despite their recent struggles, Notre Dame is a darn good team. If the Fighting Irish were in the WCHA, I think they'd finish fourth or fifth -- certainly ahead of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota Duluth and possibly ahead of Minnesota State and/or St. Cloud State.

Since 01/04/2008 the Irish have had an impressive run. So impressive the Irish are 5-7-4 losing to an impressive collection of CupCake Hockey association teams. The loses are against, Ferris State University, tOSU and Western Michigan University. That is not the path one takes in making the NCAA tourney.

KRACH and PairWise

The Rat takes a look at what the Brackets would look like for the Fighting Sioux like KRACH vs the PairWise Rankings. Keep in mind that there will not be 7-8 WCHA teams in the NCAA tourney when it is all said and done.

PairWise-Based Bracket(s)

Worcester
No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 15 Bemidji State
No. 6 Denver vs. No. 9 Boston

CollegeColorado Springs
No. 4 Colorado College vs. No. 14 Minnesota Duluth
No. 5 Miami vs. No. 12 Minnesota

Madison
No. 3 New Hampshire vs. No. 13 Wisconsin
No. 8 Michigan State vs. No. 11 Minnesota State

Albany
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 16 Army
No. 7 Clarkson vs. No. 10 St. Cloud

KRACH-Based Bracket

Madison
No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 16 Army
No. 8 St. Cloud vs. No. 10 Wisconsin

Worcester
No. 4 Miami vs. No. 13 Minnesota Duluth
No. 5 New Hampshire vs. No. 11 Minnesota

Colorado Springs
No. 3 Colorado College vs. No. 14 Clarkson
No. 5 Denver vs. No. 12 Boston College

Albany
No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 15 Bemidji State
No. 7 Michigan State vs. No. 9 Minnesota State

Elliot on Clarkson, the No. 7 seed in the actual projected bracket, is No. 15 in the KRACH system, and only gets into the "bracket" based on being the ECAC Hockey frontrunner (cue "EZAC" comments from the peanut gallery out west).

You said it so we don't have to.

Goon's World's Interviews Win-Twins

Here was the Question I posed for Heather from Win-Twins the Blogger for SCSU. I also answered some question from Win-Twins as well.

1.) Why does everyone think the Sioux are a bunch of Goons?
There are probably many answers to this questions, but here are a few. They are a “team to beat” nearly every year and there are quite a few UND fans who are as arrogant as the Gopher fans tend to be. For these reasons, people hate the Sioux. Add to that, the Sioux are always a team who has size and strength and hit hard in every game. They get in fights, they take penalties (settle down, I know they haven’t lately) and people love to have a team to hate. Plus, there’s surely some jealousy there. Would I love to have a couple big “bruisers” on my team? Heck yeah!

2.) Why does every team and their fans get up for the Sioux?
See above :)

3.) Who do you think will make the NCAA playoffs from the WCHA?
UND, CC, Denver for sure. SCSU, MSU are likely. Minnesota has an off-chance. Wisconsin, UMD – probably not.

4.) Is this the year that the Swoonskies I mean Huskies finally win an NCAA playoff game?
HAHA! You crack me up Goon! Yes. For the first time in a long time, we’re not entering the playoffs already swooning. We had our slow time in the middle of the season while the guys were all trying to figure out how to play together and the freshman were still getting used to WCHA play. These are some fun guys to watch! This group is the one that will bring home a NCAA win for the Huskies.

5.) Who are your least favorite Sioux players? (can’t say whole team) I need to see something more than because that player is a hack.
o Joe Finley – because he’s Goon’s favorite. No, because he’s a GIGANTOR and I just know he’s going to manhandle MY guys this weekend
o TJ Oshie – because he disrespects his team and the fans time and again by being an idiot
o Lammy – because he’s a drama queen, and because he’s so damn good when he’s on. UGH! :(

Just for the Record Two of my favorite players are T.J. Oshie and Big Joe Finley.

6.) Who’s your favorite Sioux player?
I like Robbie Bina because of his whole “story”. He’s come back despite remarkable odds against him and you have to appreciate that!

7.) Who would you like to see from the Sioux on the Huskies?
Joe Finley, or someone of that stature… If he played for the Huskies, I’d like him! :)

8.)Who is a better coach Motzko or Dahl?
Ummm….let’s see, that’s tough. :) Motz hands DOWN!!

9.) Are the Huskies on the right path? How long before the SCSU fans get impatient with Motzko?
Yes, they are on the right path. Motzko does not deserve the fans’ impatience. He came into his job with the best goalie in the league already in place. It’s hard to look bad when Bobby Goepfert is your starting goalie. Now, we get to really see what he can do. They have some amazing players, top three scorers in the WCHA, a couple good goalies, and their “D” is figuring it out. If the SCSU “fans” get impatient with Motzko (and some already probably have), they’re ridiculous. I think he’s doing a good job.

9.) In your opinion who is the best coach in the WCHA and why?
I think this year, it’s Scott Owens. He’s done a really good job with the Tigers and while he did get a big boost with his freshman goalie phenom, I still think he deserves a lot of credit for what he’s done there – and for having the balls to wear his hair and moustache like an 80’s porn star! I believe she is talking about Ron Jeremy?

10.) Is LGM’s aka Amy too rough on Troy Jutting?
No, she’s been there through the years of sucking it up. The reason the Mavs are doing this well this year is because Jutting is on his best behavior with his probationary contract. IF he gets another contract (non-probationary) and can continue to coach this team to the level of play they’ve achieved this year without that hanging over his head and affecting his behavior, then we can talk about whether she’s too tough on him. Until then, I agree with her 100%.

11.) Who is your coach of the year in the WCHA this season?
Oh, I kind of answered this one above…

12.) Which WCHA coach is called the Dasher Troll?
I have NO IDEA!!

I guess the SCSU fans don't refer to Gwoz as the Dasher Troll. Because after Prpich checked Pauko's cup, Gwoz stood on the dasher, hence the name Dasher Troll.

13.) Should a hockey player be suspended for a legal check that hurts an opposing player?
No. I know people will be shocked that I’ve said this because I get so pissed when it happens, but I don’t think they should be suspended for a LEGAL check. If it’s just that they didn’t get called for it, that’s a whole other issue. Legal checks to cause injuries too and players shouldn’t be penalized for that. I’ve said this time and again, even with illegal checking, I just doubt a college kid would intentionally try to hurt someone. I just don’t think they take the time to think “Ha, I’m going to try to seriously injure this kid by checking him in the back.” Maybe I’m naïve, but it seems really out there.

14.) I read on a NHL web page that Andreas Nodl is gone as soon as the season is over for the SCSU Huskies. Do you think that is an accurate assessment?
Well, I’ve heard varying thoughts on this. The Flyers gave him some stuff to work on this season and I guess it’ll depend on whether they think he can accomplish more in their system or in the WCHA. When the season started, I would have said “Yep, he’s gone after this season.” Now, I’m just not so sure. Time will tell, I guess, but I wouldn’t be shocked either way. It’ll be a tremendous loss if he does go, I know that.

15.) Garrett Roe is a Legit Hobey Baker candidate? Why/ Why Not?
A legit candidate? Yes. Does he deserve the Hobey Baker? No. What freshman deserves the Hobey Baker? After last weekend, I’m even thinking he’s second in the league for Rookie of the Year (after Richard Bachman). However, I could definitely see him developing into the kind of player who wins a Hobey at some point in his career.

Seems as if the new rule never existed.

EDIT: Yesterday College Hockey news was tipped off by their reporters Brett Gobe and Ron Ayers, about the handbook containing the following new line: "To be considered during the at-large selection process, a team must have an overall won-lost record of .500 or better a team with a sub .500 record would not qualify for the NCAA tourney unless they won their conference tourney." Seems that was untrue and happened to be a miss-print. Hum, that does seem odd that this new wording would appear in the hand book and then be deemed a misprint.

Seems the complaining about which teams are going to get into the NCAA tourney is starting even before the selection committee meets. If I am not mistaken the selection committee will on or about the 23rd of March after all of the conference tournaments have been decided.

There are a number of college hockey fans that are upset with the high number of WCHA teams with less than stellar records sitting above the likes of Notre Dame, Princeton, Harvard in the PairWise Rankings. Also, there is a good chance that there will be teams with winning records that will not make the NCAA tourney. There is also a slight possibility that teams with a losing record might qualify for the NCAA tourney despite having a sub 500 record, this is based on their strong strength of schedule. While highly unlikely that is the reality of the NCAA tourney selection based on the PairWise Rankings.

The likelihood of that happening really isn't as good as it appears. Currently 8 teams in the WCHA are in the running for an NCAA bid with three weeks left in the season. The key word is currently, a lot will change between now and March 23rd. UND, C.C., DU, SCSU and Minnesota State University are looking like they have a good chance of dancing when the NCAA selection committee makes it's selections for the NCAA tourney. Minnesota, Wisconsin, UMD are going to need some serious help. That is why I believe some are getting way too excited about nothing. I do think eventually you will see a rule that states that a team needs to have a record above .500 to be considered for an at large bid, unless you qualify by winning your conference tourney.

Not so fast folks the rule never existed.

If you look at the PairWise Rankings you will see that there are 4 WCHA teams sitting in the 11-13 spots that could get into the NCAA tourney if the selection committee met today. In reality this is not going to happen because there is going to be a massive fratacide that is going to take place during the WCHA playoffs. In reality there are only going to be 5-6 teams that make the NCAA tourney. More than likely their will be 5 WCHA teams that make the NCAA tourney. These five teams will be participants from the Final Five.

11 Minnesota State 17-13-4 .5588 (10th)
12 Minnesota 14-13-9 .5139 (8th)
13 Wisconsin 15-14-7 .5139 (3rd)
13 Minnesota-Duluth 12-14-6 (2nd)
15 Providence 14-13-5 4688 (17th)
16t Notre Dame 22-12-4 .6316 (27th)
16t Princeton 17-12-0 .5862 (34th)
18 Boston University 15-15-4 .5000 (12th)
19 Harvard 14-11-4 .5517 (33rd)

Strenght of Schedule (ranking)

Sioux Success by the Numbers

By Heidi Sioux62
Sioux Success by the Numbers

With all the talk about what goons the Sioux are, I thought I would talk a little about the positives and how the Sioux have gotten to where they are – 14 game unbeaten streak (13-0-1), tied for 1st in the pairwise, 1st in both national polls, 2nd in the WCHA - looking for 1st in the WCHA with a little help from Denver (although they are keen to take one or two from CC they may not be overjoyed that their winning will also help UND).

While I know that what happens on the ice can be very different from what is on paper, I like numbers and so will tell the story with stats. My numbers are vs WCHA teams (which I found on the WCHA website and on the UND FightinSioux.com website) as I was unable to find team stats vs country (gotta admit they are there if I want to do the digging and comparing, but I really didn’t have the time to do that).

Let’s start with the offence:

UND is 2nd in goals per game at 3.15. The scoring per period is: 1st period, 38 goals (tied for 1st with St. Cloud), 2nd period, 28 (7th in league – hope the boys can up that number in the remaining games), 3rd period, 36 (3rd in league) and overall is 2nd in league with 105 total goals. The power play is 3rd in the league in overall games played at 18.3%.

Individually the point totals at the top are not surprising. TJ with 35, Ryan with 33and Vandy with 28 (which are 5, 6 and tied for 13th respectively overall in the WCHA and 4,5 and tied for 7th respectively in WCHA league play only). The fun surprise is the next 3 top scorers – Robbie (23), Chay (22) and Taylor (20) – way to go defense, chipping in on offense, gotta love the two way play of these guys. The top scorers are then complimented with 5 guys with 13 or more points (including Joe Finley who most people would not think of as an offensive threat).
Shooting percentage is also an interesting stat, with some players having top numbers that most people wouldn’t suspect:
Vandy - 21. 5% on 65 shots (SHOOT, SHOOT and SHOOT some more Chris)
Kozek – 18.8% on 80 shots
TJ – 17.9% on 78 shots

Then there are several players that shoot between 10% and 12% (including Big Joe at 10.3% and Kyle Radke at 10% - who would have “thunk” it from those two). UND holds a shots per game advantage with 985 shots to 821 shots for an average of 29.85 shots per game. And then there are the faceoffs (this is a very underrated stat as it can be critical for scoring chances or preventing scoring chances for opponents). The Sioux have a team percentage in faceoffs won of 52.6% and you will never guess who leads the team – Zach Jones with a perfect record of 100% faceoffs won (granted he’s only taken one faceoff, but he won it). There are 8 players (including Zach) who have won 50% or more of their faceoffs, led by Kozek (after Jones of course) with 63.9% of faceoffs won.

The +/- is a stat that indicates both offen se and defense, but is primarily used as a stat to assist in evaluating defensive play. The team is awesome in this stat, having 16 players with a plus rating. Joe Finley leads the team with a +24 followed by Chay (+20), Ryan (+19) and TJ (+13).

Let’s move on to the defense.

While offense gets most of the “press”, the defensive play of this team is the real “meat and potatoes” of this team’s success.

The defense of course “starts between the pipes” with Phil. He has a nation leading GAA of 1.6776 and is tied for 1st in save % at .934. He is also tied for 2nd nationally in shutouts with 5. At the beginning of the year all the “experts” said that goaltending was going to be the week link for the Sioux. Guess Phil put that “rumor” to rest.

As spectacular as Phil has been, the defensive success of the team has been a real TEAM effort. This team has only allowed 59 total goals (10 in the 1st period, 23 in the 2nd period and 26 in the 3rd period). The next closest team in the WCHA is CC with 73 goals against. The Sioux have allowed 3 or more goals in only 8 games.

I wish I could find the shot attempts and shots blocked for opponents because from watching the games this year I think the stats would be impressive. Since I don’t have those stats I’ll just go with the shots on goal against. The Sioux have limited opponents to under 20 shots in 10 games and have limited opponents to 20-25 shots in 9 games. That’s 19 games where they’ve allowed 25 or fewer shots by the opponent. The average shots per game by an opponent is 24.88.

I guess I can’t really do a full review of the season by the numbers without including penalties. It will surprise many that it is not as lopsided as everyone seems to think. I’ll start with the penalty kill that is 89.3% and is on track to be the best penalty kill percentage in UND history.

Regarding individual penalties/penalty minutes it might surprise a lot of people that Big Joe does NOT lead the team in either category. The winner here is Rylan Kaip with 27 penalties for 73 minutes. Joe comes in 2nd with 23/65 and here’s one probably no one would expect – TJ comes in 4th on the team with 16/51.

Now lets move on to game comparisons of UND vs Opponents:

UND 268 penalties – Opponents 270 penalties
UND 685 penalty minutes – Opponents 694 penalty minutes
UND 8.1 average penalties per game – Opponents 8.2 average penalties per game
UND 20.8 average penalty minutes per game – Opponents 21 average penalty minutes per game
UND 7 major penalties – Opponents 6 major penalties
UND 9 10 minute penalties – Opponent 10 10 minute penalties
UND 7 game misconducts – Opponent 7 game misconducts

The numbers clearly don’t indicate that the Sioux are the “thugs” of college hockey that everyone seems to enjoy accusing them of. In actuality, the Sioux trail (if only by a small margin) in all categories except Major penalties where they lead by 1.I will end this story by the numbers with a salute to the fans. I wish I knew the numbers of Sioux fans at out of town games (both those who travel and those who live in the areas) because there always appears to be an amazing amount of Sioux fans at all those games. The numbers I do have is for home games and they are impressive. The home attendance for the 17 games played averages 11,725 people per game which is basically 100% capacity of the Ralph. I know the players are extremely grateful for the support both home and away and truly consider the fans the “extra man” on the ice

OUCH, Toews hurt in a game against the Canucks.

Here is a vicious hit by former Denver Pioneer Matt Pettinger on Former Sioux forward Jonathan Toews in the March 2nd game between the Chicago Black Hawks and the Vancover Canucks. The result of the questionable hit on Toews? Oh about 45-50 stitches to his upper lip. Matt Pettinger was then challenged by Cam Barker to a fight.

Here is what Toews had to say about his injury.

This weeks picks: Misc Ramblings/Rants

Friday:

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

Saturday:
St. Cloud State at North Dakota
Minnesota-Duluth at Minnesota
Denver at Colorado College
Michigan Tech at Minnesota State

Here is Jason Moy's latest Bracketology. I'll take it. If I remember right last time UND went to Worcester, Mass the Fighting Sioux played well in winning 2005 East Regional aka the Bean Pot against BU and then BC.

Northeast Regional: Worchester Mass

Bemidji State vs. North Dakota
Boston College vs. Denver

This Week in the WCHA (Sioux 7)

We are now heading into the last weekend of regular season games, and their is still a lot to be decided. Here is what we know, CC, UND, and DU have locked up home ice, and UMD, MTU, and UAA, will be on the road. UW, MSU-M, SCSU, and UM are battling for the last two home ice playoff spots, well not UW, they are off this week (and so is UAA). This is the updated standing as of Tuesday March 4.

1 Colorado College......19-6-1...39
2 North Dakota..........18-7-1...37
3 Denver....................16-9-1...33
4 Wisconsin..............11-12-5...27
5 St. Cloud State.......12-12-2...26
5 Minnesota State.......11-11-4...26
7 Minnesota................8-11-7...23
8 Minnesota-Duluth.....8-13-5...21
9 Michigan Tech..........8-14-4...20
10 Alaska-Anchorage.....3-19-6...12

(UW and UAA have finished their 28-game WCHA schedules, and they can NOT move up in the standings)


Lets take a look at this weekends match-ups, we'll start out west with CC vs. DU in a home-and-home series. CC needs just 2-pts to secure a share of the league title, DU is locked into 3rd place, they can't go up (they lose the tie breaker with UND for 2nd place) or down (no-one below them can catch them). What they are both playing for is national seeding, and of course, to beat their arch-rival. Both teams have definetly shown signs of weakness down the home stretch here, so it makes it hard to predict a sweep for either team.
THEE CALL -- SPLIT


Working our way west to east, the next match-up is SCSU at UND. The Huskies need to get 2pts to secure home ice, and UND needs some help (aka DU taking a game, or two, from CC) and some wins to get the MacNaughton Cup. I was thinking about UND's streak, and the big picture. If they lose a game, I think this is the week to do it, before the playoff start. And it would most likely cost UW home ice in the first round, which could also cost them a shot at the national tournament (if they lose in the first round of playoffs). That would help out somebody, if UW wasn't in the NCAA tourney, since they would be at home in for that...hmm...Would Mike Eaves blow a gasket and blame UND if they lost to SCSU and cost the Badgers home ice...hmm... With that in mind I'm in a dilemna for my series prediction.
THEE CALL -- SPLIT (If CC wins on Friday) SWEEP (If CC loses on Friday)


Moving on to the east we come to MTU at MSU-M.
If the Mavericks get a win this weekend they will be at home for the first round. So the Mavs are playing to win and MTU is playing for pride and also to win, to avoid playing red-hot UND in the first round. The Huskies started off the season with some good wins, but then something went wrong. And this wrong has not been righted yet. The Mavs on the other side started off slow and have built up some steam the second half of the season. It is pretty clear these teams are headed in opposite directions. This series is going to be a good game on Friday, but I don't think the rematch will have much punch to it.
THEE CALL - MAVS SWEEP


The last, but not even close to the least, games this weekend are UMD at UM. OOOH DOGGY. This should be one dandy of a series, both teams are fighting for their NCAA playoff lives. UM still has a chance for home ice, but it is a very thin chance. Both these teams have had trouble scoring goals this season. Both these teams have gotten excellent goaltending, which has keep them in their games this year. They are almost mirror images of each other. With the "even-ness" of these two combatants I only have one choice to make, who wins on what night.
THEE CALL - SPLIT


UW and UAA will be watch games and listening to the radio at their homes to see what happens and who they will be facing next week in the first round of the WCHA playoffs.


Speaking of playoffs, the Goon and Sioux 7 will be at the Final Five this year. St. Paul, consider this your fair warning :)

Cam Bam Neely, one cool tribute

Cam Neely in my opinion was one of the best right wings to ever play the game of hockey, when he retired he left a void in a lot of Boston Bruins fan's heart. Cam Neely's career was cut short by a dirty leg check by the Dirty Swede and turtle Ulfie Samuelsson.

I still remember the day Cam retired from the NHL. It feels like it was yesterday and it still makes me sad today to think what Cam Neely could have become if his hockey career not have been cut short by a bush-league knee on knee leg check. Who knows; maybe the Bruins would have traded him away like all the other stars.

But I digress; fast forward to this season. I hear people say, “oh that player over reacted, it was only a leg check.” Only a leg check, watch the video and see what a knee on knee leg check can do to a hockey player. Play the game straight up or don’t play at all.

Sioux out two key underclassmen.

This is the bad news that Sioux fans kind expected was going to be coming this week. UND lost two key underclassmen players; Chay Genoway was hurt in Sunday game during the first period on a checking from behind penalty and super frosh Evan Trupp was hurt on a freak accident that after watching the tape I still can't figure out what happened.

Genoway, Trupp Out Indefinitely for North Dakota
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A two-game sweep of Minnesota-Duluth over the weekend propelled North Dakota to the top spot in the current Pairwise, but the Fighting Sioux may have paid a significant price the victories.

Freshman forward Evan Trupp, the team's top-scoring rookie, and sophomore defenseman Chay Genoway, the WCHA's top-scoring defenseman in points-per game, will both be out of the North Dakota lineup indefinitely after suffering major injuries over the weekend.

No timetable has been set for their returns, and whether or not they will return to the lineup at all this season remains questionable.

Genoway, who has amassed 22 points in 30 games this season, was injured in the first period of Sunday's game after being checked from behind into the boards by Minnesota-Duluth junior forward Michael Gergen, a former teammate of Genoway's. Gergen was ejected from the game for the hit.

The loss of Genoway, who is second on the team with a +19 on-ice rating, leaves the Fighting Sioux with six active defensemen.

Trupp, meanwhile, was injured in the second period on Saturday, fracturing a bone in his leg according to the Grand Forks Herald. Trupp (eight goals, five assists) had played in every game for North Dakota this season until his injury.

The injuries to Genoway and Trupp come a week before the end of the WCHA regular season. North Dakota is in the midst of a nation-best 15-game unbeaten streak and will host St. Cloud in a pair of games this weekend. The Fighting Sioux sit only two points behind first-place Colorado College in the WCHA standings.

Rivalry week; SCSU and UND

A person could burn up a ton of clichés describing the importance of this week’s matchup between the SCSU Huskies and the UND Fighting Sioux. The Huskies and Sioux are natural rivals as determined by the league a few years back. What does this mean? It means the Sioux and the Huskies are going to play 4 times a year every year. I have not heard a lot of people grumble about this and I am fine with it.

The UND Fighting Sioux and SCSU Huskies usually play exciting games and this year has been no different. Under Coach Bob Motzko the Huskies have gotten away from the ever boring trap and now play a more exciting brand of up tempo hockey. Back to the Clichés; did I mention that this weekend is crunch time? With the final week of the season there is a lot at stake. A WCHA regular season title (possible if DU co-operates and UND sweeps) and seeding for the WCHA tourney. This weekend’s series also has national implications as well, because the Sioux want to keep winning so they can secure a number one seed. If the Huskies get swept this weekend they probably go on the road for the First round of the WCHA playoffs and run the risk of not making the NCAA tourney.





SCSU Huskies 17-14-3 -- 12-12-2 5th place in the WCHA
Leading scorers
R. Lasch 22-24-46
G. Roe 18-22-40
A. Nodl 17-23-40
N. Dey 10-10-20
M. Hartman 7-12-19
Goaltenders
J. Weslosky 14-11-0 2.20
D. Dunn 3-2-2 2.63
B. O'Brien 0-1-1 3.54







Fighting Sioux 23-8-2 -- 18-7-1 2nd place in the WCHA
Leading scorers
T. Oshie 14-21-35
R. Duncan 13-20-33
C. VandeVelde 14-14-28
R. Bina 2-21-23
C. Genoway 6-16-22
Goaltenders
A. Walski 1-0-0 0.00
J. Lamoureux 22-8-2 1.68

UND is 14-5-4 the last 24 games against SCSU.

This post isn't going to make Husky fans very happy.

Jim Connelly said; We’ve reached the first full week of March with only one regular season league championship still up for grabs. The WCHA will come down to the final weekend of play, with North Dakota sitting just two points behind league-leader Colorado College.

The Tigers may have the tougher opponent this weekend then they’ll face in-state rival Denver, while North Dakota squares off against St. Cloud State. SCSU did prove a problem for Wisconsin over the weekend, earning a split, but they’ll be traveling to Grand Forks for this final weekend which gives the edge to the Sioux.

Here is another interesting perspective from this blog post.

WCHA Dominance in the PairWise

If the NCAA Tournament Selection Show were taking place today, the WCHA would have a 50/50 chance of winning this year’s national championship based on the field itself (WCHA fans, I’m sure, will argue that the league’s “superiority” would give them better than a 50/50 shot, but to that I digress).

Currently, eight of the ten WCHA teams rank in the top 14 of the PairWise rankings. That was made possibly when Minnesota crept from the 15th spot to the 12th position over the weekend, while a skidding Minnesota-Duluth club held on for dear life to the 14th and final PWR rank.

I don’t have the math brain to say what the chances are the through the playoffs that eight WCHA teams will maintain their PWR. Obviously, the lower the seeds that advance to the Final Five the better the chance that we’ll see seven or eight WCHA teams.

The Jack Johnson hit on Ryan Smyth

This is the Jack Johnson hit that everyone is talking about on the intenet. While none of use want to see a hockey player get hurt and carried off the ice on a stretcher Johnson hit Smyth was a legal hit.

This is what people are saying about the legal hit and Jack Johnson.

From the MiamiHawk Talk.

redhawkforlife said; People will say it was a clean hit. I agree. But Jack knew exactly what he was doing at that exact area of the ice. We've seen it over and over from him from jr's on up.

Bonk said; Who would've guessed? Hack checks someone cleanly for the first time in his adult life, and the guy loses consciousness. I'll bet he won't try that again.

Josh D who put the video said;jack johnson nearly kills ryan smyth

Joe Sakic added: "It wasn't a dirty hit. (Johnson) hit him hard and (Smyth) hit the corner of the glass. It was just unfortunate as to where it happened."

Johnson said, "that he felt bad about the check that sent Smyth sprawling to the ice."

However, he knew what was coming next. Clean hit or not, a fight had to happen. It's part of hockey's code.

But there's honor among fighters, and Laperriere extended Johnson the courtesy of deciding when the brawl would occur.

"He came up to me and said, 'Do you want to get it over with?"' Johnson said. "I said, 'Sure."'

The fight never took place as Rob Blake stepped in and played the role of peacemaker, quickly breaking up the fracas. He didn't want to see his young defenseman get hurt by the fists of Laperriere. Not for what he thought was a clean hit.

UMicers said; JJ is a disgrace to himself, Michigan and LA. He's always done that crap. Us Michigan fans don't count him as a Wolverine. He stayed here 2 years then went pro. I hate the Avs, but I like Ryan Smith - He's an Oiler to me.
It looks like Smyth got his head run into the column that connects each glass pane. Almost as if it was protruded out from the glass. Or was that the angle and it was really just JJ's elbow he threw?

I've seen a LOT dirtier hits. Still, JJ is an IDIOT of the highest order.

Are the black helicopters are circling in Madison?

Just for the record, I did study conspiracey theory in college so I can see where some WCHA fans might think the league has something against certain teams; say the Wisconsin Badgers. The Husky fans might have argument was well.

This past weekend there was another game with another blown call. This time the botched call was made by the WCHA head of official's son Derrick Sheppard, the team on the receiving end of that bad call; the Wisconsin Badgers. The game in question was also at the National Hockey Center the site of another blow call that went against the Huskies.

So does Greg give his son Derrick a weekend off? Is there another letter of apology for coming?

A look back at the preseason predictions.

Here is what I predicted the
Standing would look like.
1.) Fighting Sioux
2.) Minnesota
3.) SCSU
4.) DU
5.) UW
6.) C.C.
7.) Tech
8.) MSU-M
9.) UMD
10.) UAA

Here is what they look like with one week to go. Both Wisconsin and the UAA have no more games this weekend. So UAA can not improve their standing and Wisconsin has to depend on other teams and could be traveling for the first round.

1 Colorado College 19-6-1 39
2 North Dakota 18-7-1 37
3 Denver 16-9-1 33
4 Wisconsin 11-12-5 27
5 MSU-Mankato 11-11-4 26
6 St Cloud St 12-12-2 26
7 Minnesota 8-11-7 23
8 Minnesota-Duluth 8-13-5 21
9 Michigan Tech 8-14-4 20
10 Alaska Anchorage 3-19-6 12

Here is my updated My What if predictions for the season.

UND 28 41
CC 28 41
Denver 28 35
Mankato 28 28
UW 28 27
SCSU 28 26
UMN 28 25
UMD 28 23
MTech 28 22
AA 28 12

Sioux 7 sent this in an email today. Interesting look by all the so call experts. looks like there were a lot of people that were wrong.

Sioux 7 GF Herald USCHO INCH

North Dakota 1, 1, 1, 1
Minnesota 2, 2, 2, 4
Denver 3, 4, 3, 2
Colorado Coll.8, 3, 5, 3
Michigan Tech 4t, 7, 4, 6
Wisconsin 6, 5, 6, 7
St. Cloud St. 4t,6, 7, 5
MSU-Mankato 7, 9, 8, 9
Minn.-Duluth 9, 8, 9, 8
Anchorage 10, 10, 10, 10

UND 2 UMD 1 OT...

Kevin Pates blog article sums it up well ; UMD's scoreless streak ended at 232 minutes and 9 seconds, the longest in school history. North Dakota's shutout streak ended at 196:41, second longest in school history.

Wow! Let’s put this into perspective, the UMD Bull Dogs went almost 4 games without scoring a goal. That is mind boggling statistic and there is no sense to it. I watched both games this weekend and UMD is a much better team than that statistic. Fast forward to this weekend I pity the Gophers because they will definitely take a pound of flesh from the Gophers. I can just imagine what the rug is going to whining about this weekend on the FSN broadcasts. UMD is a physical team and the Gophers better be ready to play. The Golden Gophers better not worry about pressing their uniforms next weekend because they are definitely going to get their uniforms creased by the hard hitting Bull Dogs.

In case anyone is keeping track UND has now gone 12 periods without getting a major penalty. That in its self is a mile stone. UND is righting the ship at the right time going into the playoffs, silly selfish penalties at the wrong time can kill a teams chances of winning a national title.

On UMD's lack of scoring; it has to be bad luck/bad karma, you kind of wonder if one of the Bull Dog players broke a mirror in the UMD locker room. Lets not kid ourselves folks the UMD Bull Dogs are more talented than the score board reflects from this past weekend play that is also reflected in the Pairwise as they are still are ranked 13th and could get into the NCAA tourney. The Sioux with the win today moved to first in the Pairwise.

WCHA over rated?

Not in my unbiased opinion. Look for CCHA trolls over USCHO.COM to start another silly thread next week where we will read that UMD and MSU-M are over rated. To me it is just sour grapes because the WCHA is such a strong league.

I don't think the Miami’s, Notre Dames, Michigan States or the Michigan’s of the world would like to play this team right now. Personally, I hope the Sioux are done with the Bull Dogs for the season. Just a prediction I am sure that Denver wants nothing to do with them as well. While there wasn't a lot of scoring this weekend, the goaltenders put on one hell of a show. Might I say that Stalock was nothing short of F'N phenomenal? UND's goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was also pretty good as he only gave up one goal all weekend. I would definitely take Stalock on my team any day over Jeff Zatkoff or Billy Sauer.

Getting a sweep on the road in the WCHA is not easy and the Sioux had to work very hard for this victory. UND is now on a 15 game unbeaten streak which is tops in the nation and will play Garrett Roe and the SCSU Huskies this weekend in the REA.

Series injuries

In addition to the Evan Trupp injury yesterday, UND super sophomore defenseman Chay Genoway was hurt in the first period when he was checked from behind and it didn't look good but lets hope that it is not a shoulder separation.

box score

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MND-1 Michael Gergen (5-Checking from Behind) (Served by Rob Bordson) NDK 0x1 1:11
MND-2 Michael Gergen (10-Game Misconduct) (Served by Rob Bordson) 1:11
NDK-1 Ryan Duncan (2-Interference) MND 0x1 5:46
NDK-2 Ryan Martens (2-Hooking) MND 0x2 15:12
NDK-3 Taylor Chorney (2-Interference) MND 0x3 19:55

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MND-3 Josh Meyers (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 3:02
MND-4 Jordan Fulton (2-Interference) NDK 0x3 7:30
NDK-4 Derrick LaPoint (2-Holding) MND 0x4 9:26
MND-5 Matt McKnight (10-Misconduct) 11:39

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MND-6 Matt McKnight (2-Hooking) NDK 0x4 3:19
NDK-5 Robbie Bina (2-Hooking) 5:00
MND-7 Nick Kemp (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x5 5:05
MND 1 - 0 6x6 MacGregor Sharp (7) (Matt McKnight, Kyle Schmidt) 11:10
MND (+): 18,13,17,11,5,G32 NDK (-): 2,10,28,7,16,G1
NDK 1 - 1 6x6 Andrew Kozek (15) (unassisted) 12:50
NDK (+): 10,7,16,2,28,G1 MND (-): 13,18,14,17,11,G32
MND-8 MacGregor Sharp (2-Holding) NDK 0x6 13:19

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (0:53)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Chris VandeVelde (14) (Rylan Kaip, Joe Finley) 0:53
NDK (+): 29,17,2,7,28,G1 MND (-): 23,19,22,4,20,G32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Color me surprised; I thought it was only UND that did these things?

To take a page from our favorite Western College hockey blogger color me surprised. This can't be. Seems things got a little rough between the Badgers and the Huskies this past weekend.

Hey; I thought it was only the Sioux got involved in these things? From what I read, it sounds like there was a lot of after the whistle stuff this past weeekend. What is the common denominator now? Red uniforms? The Badgers? According to the SCSU coach Bob Motzko his team is a bunch of saints and never gets involved in stuff like this. Heck his boys don't even know what to do in these types of situations. Here is a thought; how about the common denominator that it is a league game and things get heated.

Roe and the Huskies better be ready to be hit next weekend

I am telling you right now that UND is going to check Roe and the skilled Huskies up and down the ice next weekend. The Fighting Sioux are going to hit Roe hard every chance they get the Huskies can bank on it. That is hockey and that the way the Sioux play.

SCSU hockey: Winless no more
By Kevin Allenspach

Garrett Roe has a talent, something every bit as valuable as his abundant ability to score goals and set up others.

Those aptitudes alone are enough to make you want him on your side. He has another forte, though, that merely makes you glad you don’t have to play against him. Just ask the Wisconsin Badgers.

Roe can agitate, and the way he affected St. Cloud State’s 3-2 victory on Saturday at the National Hockey Center was right out of his stylebook.

Trailing by a goal, Roe drew a penalty late in the second period that resulted in a 5-on-3 power play for St. Cloud State.

Roe subsequently hammered a shot off the shoulder of goalie Shane Connelly to tie it, and Matt Hartman netted the winner 36 seconds later during the man advantage Roe created.

“If I play without and edge out there, you wouldn’t notice me afterward, you wouldn’t notice me on the forecheck, the backcheck, in the D-zone, on faceoffs, and you wouldn’t notice any points, either,” said Roe

Roe goaded the Badgers into two first-period penalties and then gave them the opportunity to go ahead with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty of his own.

(Read the rest of the article here)

More Garrett Roe

"I think I said we played a 'nice' game then, too," Motzko said. "That's the way it was again. They bring out the nice in us, I guess."

Except for Garrett Roe, who took exception to John Mitchell's hit at the SCSU blue line late in the second.

Roe, who thought he was kneed, got up and stalked Mitchell, eventually catching him with a hit from behind into the boards in front of the Badgers' bench.

Exit Roe for a major penalty and the closest the Huskies came thereafter was John Swanson's 20-foot shot that clanked the left post and the crossbar before bouncing out in the final minute.

The tumult and the shouting

Saturday's 3-2 victory was in the books, the Huskies had dispatched their 14-game winless streak against Wisconsin, and yet the Badgers wanted some more. Blake Geoffrion precipitated a scrum that involved many players from both benches just as they were emptying for the post series handshake. Both coaches came on the ice and started pitching their players out of danger, and referee Derek Shepherd wisely preempted the tradition and sent each team directly to their dressing rooms. Not before Matt Stephenson will remember Senior Night for the couple of good whacks he got in on Geoffrion, though.

"I looked over and I saw (Matt Hartman) on his back and Geoffrion was taking liberties," said Stephenson, who got a double-minor with Geoffrion. "I just came over to make sure it didn't get out of hand. First, they went after (Nate Dey) and that started the whole brouhaha. I looked over and I saw Geoffrion swinging. I went over and put my stick on him to let him know I was there and he turned around and punched me right in the stomach. One thing led to another and I was on top of him. I haven't been in one of those since juniors, and my last line brawl I was on the bottom."

Huskies coach Bob Motzko waded into the fray, afraid he would lose personnel for next weekend's series at North Dakota.

"Our guys never get into that, they don't know what to do," Motzko said. "I had to get out there and remind them we've got two more games to play."

MSU-M Mavericks 3 C.C. Tigers 2 in O.T.

So you say there is still a chance, UND can still tie for the WCHA title. There is still a slim chance of that happening thanks to the MSU-M Mavericks. The MSU-M Mavericks win the game in dramatic fashion as Kael Mouillierat scored 16 seconds into overtime. This is only the second time the C.C. Tiges have lost on home ice. I listened to the third period of this game and over time. See, I am not a jinx. Wow, sounded like an exciting game. I wonder how much drink spilling there was tonight?

To the Troy Jutting doubters/haters, how do you like Coach Jutting now? Talk about flying under the radar this season. Folks; there is your WCHA coach of the year. No one expected the Mavericks to be where they are but they are right there in the mix with a winning record.

Next weekend UND plays SCSU, DU plays C.C. and Mankato gets the Tech Huskies. Wow, it is going to be a photo finish in the WCHA this last week.

I hope this none of my friends.

I just hope this isn't one of my friends. Let me know if I need to send bond...

UND 2 UMD 0

Duluth Minnesota -- North Dakota scored twice in the final minute of play in each of the first two periods to extend its unbeaten streak to a nation-leading 14 games (13-0-1) and hand the Bulldogs their third straight loss (the first time that has happened all season). The Sioux (22-8-2; 17-7-1), who were 1-for-6 on the power play, got goals from T.J. Oshie and Chris VandeVelde.

If you like to watch a goaltenders battle this game was one for the classics. The goaltenders in this game were nothing short of being absolutely amazing. UMD goalie and Alex Stalock and Fighting Sioux Jean-Philippe Lamoureux were a pair of brick walls. Personally I like to see a little more scoring with my hockey but a win is a win.

Lamoureux's play this weekend helps make his case why he should be given strong consideration for the HOBEY BAKER With today's game Lamoureux is tied for 1st over all nationally in goals against average 1.70 and and third in save percentage of 933.

The game was not without a high cost as super freshman Evan Trupp suffered a lower leg injury looking at the tape I can not see what caused the injury but it didn't look good. I wouldn't be surprised if he is gone for the season. I hope I am wrong on that.

~According to UMD blogger Running with the Dogs UMD has gone 181 minutes with out a goal.

~With the shutout today by Lamoureux and the Sioux have held the opposition to zero goals 6 times on the season.

~During the 14 game unbeaten streak the Sioux have keep the opposition to 1 or fewer goals 11 times, that is pretty good defense in anybody book.

~UND known around the league as being a tough team has not taken a major penalty in 180 minutes.

~ Word for the week is - Donnybrook: A fight. Hockey announcers seem to be the only people who still use this term. In college hockey, fighting is strictly prohibited, and a player can earn a multi-game suspension for participating. But that doesn't stop announcers from dubbing just about any instance of pushing and shoving on the ice a donnybrook.

Box Score

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-1 Derrick LaPoint (2-Roughing) 4:05
MND-1 Jordan Fulton (2-Goaltender Interference) 4:05
MND-2 Justin Fontaine (2-Roughing) NDK 0x1 4:05
MND-3 Travis Gawryletz (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x2 6:04
NDK-2 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) MND 0x1 9:42
MND-4 BENCH (2-Too Many Players) (Served by Evan Oberg) NDK 0x3 12:13
MND-5 Michael Gergen (2-Roughing) NDK 0x4 14:30
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 GW LL T.J. Oshie (14) (Chay Genoway) 19:15
NDK (+): 5,7,2,16,10,G1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-3 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) MND 0x2 5:21
MND-6 Jordan Fulton (2-Hooking) NDK 0x5 9:02
NDK-4 Chris VandeVelde (2-Goaltender Interference) MND 0x3 12:51
MND-7 Jay Cascalenda (2-Delay of Game) NDK 1x6 18:21
NDK 2 - 0 6x5 PP Chris VandeVelde (13) (T.J. Oshie, Ryan Duncan) 19:37 NDK: 29,7,16,4,28,G1 MND: 22,17,20,13,G32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-5 T.J. Oshie (2-Slashing) MND 0x4 11:46
Timeout - Minnesota Duluth 19:00.3
NDK-6 Rylan Kaip (2-Roughing) 19:18
MND-8 Josh Meyers (5-Kneeing) (Served by Justin Fontaine) 19:18
MND-9 Josh Meyers (10-Game Misconduct) (Served by Justin Fontaine) 19:18

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game

The Rat discusses the CCHA SOS.

This is an interesting article and I wanted Sioux fans to check it out. There is also a Zach Parise is God reference. I do find myself agreeing with what Elliot says.

Finally, something else that I had a mind to say in my previous employment, but didn't. It involves a pro wrestling reference, which I didn't want to make at CSTV, but this is my blog and mine alone, and I'll make as many wrestling references as I Zach-damn well please.

(Yes, I will make the "Zach Parise is G-d" jokes here, if for no other reason than that there's so much else going on in the world that I doubt The Genuine Article has time to worry about college hockey).

Anyway, this has to do with the subject of strength of schedule. I don't think it's meaningless by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think it means as much as it's being made out to by those who doubt Michigan, Miami, etc.

In the fall of 1996, with the cash cow known as the nWo having just been introduced, there was going to be a WarGames match between the nWo and a WCW team (WarGames: coolest gimmick match ever). Sting and Lex Luger proposed joining forces with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson, who had been their rivals before the whole nWo business started.

Anderson, who is one of the best promo men who ever worked in wrestling, gave a long response that included a memorable (to me, anyway...sadly, it's not on YouTube) comment in the direction of Luger, who at that point had a real bodybuilder physique (not to mention better hair). He pointed at Luger's muscles and said that they were "show muscles," and no good in WarGames, but if Luger could bring the drive, intensity, and hard work that it took to get those muscles, that would be useful.

This is how I feel about teams that play "soft schedules." The record is like those "show muscles" that Arn Anderson talked about: it may look more impressive than it actually is, but the tools a team uses to win those games and amass that record? The skills, strength, speed, etc? Those are worth something, and just because those attributes have been tested against a less-than-impressive schedule, that doesn't mean that they aren't there.

I've seen Michigan, Miami, Michigan State and Notre Dame. I've seen what they bring to the table. Knock their schedules all you want, because it doesn't mean a thing about what kinds of teams they are.

I will say, however, that Miami will be much better off in the future if they can get out of the Ohio Hockey Classic. With Ohio State in its current condition as a program, that tournament does nothing for the RedHawks, and they should have gotten out of that instead of getting out of the Lefty McFadden.

If Miami is going to always be a road team in a holiday tournament, they'd do much better moving around, and going to the Denver Cup, Dodge Holiday Classic, one of the Florida tournaments, etc. At the very least, Ohio State should try to alternate Miami and Bowling Green as the second Ohio team in the tournament, so that each could move around in alternate years. Dartmouth is doing something like that since Vermont started hosting the Catamount Cup every year, as they host the Ledyard Bank tournament every other year, and are heading elsewhere at the holidays when they don't host.

There, I've said my piece on that.

Elliot is right about Miami. If the Miami RedHawks want to get more respect as a legitimate NCAA division one hockey program their university needs to start stepping up and playing some better teams during their non-conference play, they also need to win more than a game in the NCAA tourney.

Looking at Miami’s non-conference schedule; beating likes of Canisius, OSU (tourney), SCSU (tourney), Vermont and RPI is not all that impressive of a feat. Sure, Miami beat the people that they had on their schedule, however, there needs to be some meat to their schedule. Why not try to schedule some teams like B.C., UNH, UND, C.C., Wisconsin, and Minnesota? Wins against big programs helps in the pair wise rankings. I have a hard time believing these schools wouldn’t have some kind of a scheduling agreement with your school.

I read where one Miami fan said UNH and UND wouldn’t play MU. I am not sure how this guy came to this conclusion?

Or maybe no one else wants to play them. The scheduling philosophy at Miami is to play any one, anytime, anywhere. Look at our basketball and football schedules relative to the rest of the MAC. Its not Miami's fault if NDAK, UNH or other high profile hockey teams don't want to play us. And the CCHA isn’t that bad of a conference, very comparable to the other college hockey conferences. Miami may loose quickly in the tourney, but Michigan and every other team has an equal chance of bowing out early. Maybe you are the one that needs to get off what ever box you are standing on. Feb 14 2008, 2:09 pm by Justin, OXFORD, OH

I am all for Miami coming to REA for a two game series next season, in fact I would urge the University of North Dakota athletic department to schedule them as soon as possible. Why not? Actually I could imagine the Sioux traveling to Oxford, Ohio to play the RedHawks in the Goggin ice center, God knows that it would be on TV since most of us in the WCHA know that CSTV stands for CCHA TV. He, he, he...

So when is a loss an improvement?

From today's Herald I had to take a second look at this.
Since when is a loss an improvement?

Denver 1, Michigan Tech 0: Dustin Jackson scored a power-play goal with three seconds left in the second period to lift Denver over Michigan Tech.

The win lifted Denver into a second-place tie with UND in the WCHA standings.

Denver had a 22-21 edge in shots on goal.

Tech improved to 11-17-5 overall, while the Pioneers improved to 22-10-1.

Random thoughts.

This was posted by FargoSioux on Sioux sports the betting lines from Bally's in Las Vegas. This is what the gambling folks think the betting lines for this season's Frozen Four are going to be. Even the betting gurus have been fooled by Miami. It will be interesting to see how the paper tigers do during the NCAA tourney.


Teams of note:

Michigan 13/5
North Dakota 3/1
Boston College 7/2
Miami 7/2
Denver 4/1
Colorado College 6/1
Michigan St. 7/1
New Hampshire 7/1
Notre Dame 8/1

Other WCHA schools:

Wisconsin 10/1
Minnesota 30/1
St. Cloud 40/1
Mankato 50/1
Michigan Tech 60/1

Up dated WCHA standings

1 Colorado College 39 19-5-1 / 24-8-1
2 North Dakota 33 16-7-1 / 21-8-2
3 Denver 33 16-8-1 /22-10-1
4 Wisconsin 27 11-11-5 / 15-13-7
5 MSU-Mankato 24 10-11-4 / 16-13-4
6 St Cloud St 24 11-12-2 / 16-14-3
7 Minnesota 21 7-11-7 / 13-13-9
8 Minnesota-Duluth 21 8-11-5 / 12-12-6
9 Michigan Tech 18 7-14-4 / 11-17-5
10 Alaska Anchorage 12 3-18-6 / 7-18-8

I don't see any scenario where UND catches the Tigers, call me a realist. There is a slim glimmer of hope, but it is fading fast and I am not going to hold my breath waiting. First off MSU-M would have to beat the Tigers tonight, this is very possible but C.C. has lost just one game at home all season long. UND then has to win every game from here on out no ties or loses.

The league might as well FEDEX the Tigers the cup now because the race is over. Let them have the McNaughten Cup. Some have likened the McNaughten Cup an anchor because it is so hard to win then after after winning the cup some teams have gone out and laid an egg in the NCAA playoffs. A few teams come to mind off the top of my head. The last time the Sioux won the NCAA title, the fighting Sioux lost the battle for the cup with Wisconsin but won the Final Five and the NCAA title, the Badgers got bounced in the regional. I will take an NCAA title over a league title any day. This season feels a lot like the 2000 season.

I believe if the Tigers won today, they would sew up at least a tie for the championship because they would have 41 points and all UND can get is 41 points as well. That would mean that C.C. would have to lose both games next weekend against DU and I don't' see that happening. Anything is possible but I don't see it happening.

Goon's updated what-if.

CC 28 43
UND 28 41
Denver 28 37
UW 28 27
Mankato 28 26
SCSU 28 26
UMD 28 23
UMN 28 23
MTech 28 20
AA 28 14

Projected first round match ups

C.C. vs UAA
UND vs MTU
DU vs UMN
UW vs UMD
MSU-M vs SCSU

Final Five: C.C., UND, DU, UMD, MSU-M

Ruutu vs Lucic; UND on Hockeyfights.com

This is the best fight I have seen all season. This one is between Pittsbug's Jarkko Ruutu vs Boston's Milan Lucic; this fight wasn't even close as Lucic worked Ruutu. Ruutu is known around the league for being an agitator, however, he will fight and he does not hide hind the refs or a face sheild.

Thinking of the web site Hockeyfights.com everyone's favorite college hockey team the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux had a column written about on the hockeyfights.com web site. Check it out at North Dakota Toughing College Hockey

This weekend's series with the Bull Dogs

Here are some good links for this weekend's series between the Bull Dogs and the Fighting Sioux. UND travels to the DECC for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday at 2:07pm. Drunk Hockey guy covers why the games are on Saturday and Sunday. It does seem curious that the games are scheduled for when they are. I guess I am watching the first two periods at work on Saturday and Sunday. Thank God for DVR as well.

The Beat Writers.

Grand Forks Herald reporter Writer Brad Elliott Schlossman

Duluth News Tribune sports writer Kevin Pates

Apparently Dave Berger's prediction hit a cord with the UMD sports writerKevin Pates.

UMD Bloggers

Bruce Ciskie the radio voice of the Minnesota Duluth Bull Dogs also has a blog. While Bruce covers hockey he does have more of an eclectic perspective and covers a wide variety of sports.

Celebrity blogger Donna aka Running with the Dogs also has a cool blog.

USAF Bull Dog The DECC is Stacked is also an eclectic blog that covers many sports including the UMD Bull Dog hockey team.

Here is an interesting comment from the INCH/ESPN CHAT about college hockey

Landon, Littleton, CO: I was wondering if you had any insight into the success the Fighting Sioux have had finishing the regular season the past two seasons? Which include: Since Jan 1st in 2008: 12-1-1 with a 13 game unbeaten streak and counting. In 2007 after Jan 1st: 10-2-5 with an 11 game unbeaten streak! Their success has also come while playing in the toughest conference in the nation! Thanks for the thoughts.

Jess Myers: There are two ways to look at it: Either praise them for playing great after New Year's Day, or question why (with the same players) it takes the Sioux half the season to get things going. Last season there was a team meeting during which the players challenged each other to play better, and the result was a trip to the Frozen Four. This year, even in the midst of all those splits early in the season, coach Dave Hakstol knew they weren't far away from putting it all together, and when they did finally click, it was to be expected. In any case, they're better off with late-season surges than conference rivals like Denver and Alaska Anchorage, who have had late-season struggles in recent years.

More CCHA vs WCHA... Linkorama

Check out this really interesting debate that is over on the Blog that Yost Built. I would ask WCHA fans to recognize that this is the perspective from the CCHA fan, however, I am puzzled that the CCHA fans are not giving the MSU-M Mavericks a lot of respect. This season the Mankato State University Mavericks have proved to be a nice surprise this season; even to the point that they have kind flown under the radar.

When it is all said and done I do think the Mavericks will be a NCAA participant. While some have said that losing to UNO will kill their chances I think if they make the final five they will probably be in. Trust me CCHA fans I don't think that there are a lot of teams that would like to face the Mavericks right now. In fact, I am happy that the Sioux will not be facing them for the third year in a row during the WCHA playoffs. The Mavericks play hockey like a cornered animal and they will beat you up in the physicality department.

This blog post started as a result of this USCHO discussion.

Debunking the WCHA Myth
Let me be perfectly clear about this at the outset: I do think the WCHA is the best conference.

Where I disagree, however, is with the people who think that the mediocre teams in the WCHA are better than they are, solely because they're in the WCHA. I also disagree that the CCHA is a joke and that outside of the top 4, it's a horrible conference.

One of my favorite things to do is to take a look at numbers, with almost no idea about where they're going to lead me. I did it with the CCHA officials and I think that piece ended up being fairly interesting. The majority of this article was written over at USCHO in the "Minnesota State is over-rated" thread, which was basically making fun of the WCHA fans.

I find it amusing that when Miami loses to Ferris or Alaska, it's evidence that they're overrated and supports the idea that the CCHA sucks. But when CC loses to Michigan Tech, it's evidence of how deep that conference is...how even the bad teams are still really good.

The strength of schedule of the WCHA is part of the reason that everyone thinks they're so good, and why there are so many teams in position to make the tournament. I decided to take a closer look at things to see what I found. It was pretty interesting. At least to me.

Here ganzhimelf has a pretty good response to this post that I thought laid out what a lot of us have been saying all year long.

Originally Posted by ganzhimself
Give me a break... Let's look at the strength of schedule of the teams in the USCHO top 20 in the CCHA and the WCHA...

CCHA
Michigan 13th
Miami-Ohio 27th
MSU 16th
Norte Dame 24th

WCHA
North Dakota 1st
CC 5th
Minnesota State 10th
St. Cloud State 9th
Wisconsin 2nd
Minnesota Duluth 3rd
Minnesota 4th

CCHA is obviously the weaker conference with the over rated teams. I mean, not a single ranked team in the CCHA has a harder schedule than the ranked WCHA teams. Get over yourself and the Colon Cleansing Hockey Association.

Thuggery INC.

Yesterday The Minnesota Wild proved you can ruin your image for only a 6th round draft choice, as the Minnesota Wild picked up Chris Simon at the trade dead line. While other teams in the Western conference were picking up final pieces for the Stanley Cup drive the Wild picked up another tough guy. I wonder if Chris Simon can put up the numbers of Marian Hossa or Peter Forsberg? It is doubtful.

Lets look at some of the accomplishments of Chris Simon. Here is Chris Simon slashing Ryan Hollweg last March, this landed him a lengthy 25 game suspension. So what did Simon do for an encore? Chris Simon tries to slice off Jarkko Ruutu foot off with his skate on December 15th, 2007. This cost Chris Simon a 30 game suspension from the league.

Wild acquires Chris Simon
By Michael Russo
Star Tribune
(Read the whole story here)

Everybody in hockey knows the New York Islanders' Chris Simon. He's that notorious.

One year after adding depth center Dominic Moore -- a player Wild coaches had never heard of -- on deadline day, the only move Tuesday by the sinking Wild's general manager was to add Simon, a longtime enforcer whose career has been stained with eight suspensions, including the longest in NHL history.

This move came as several Western Conference contenders powered up for the stretch run and the postseason with significant trades.

"I know he's had his issues," Risebrough said of the 36-year-old Simon, who will join the Wild, his eighth team, today in Tampa and will cost the Wild a sixth-round draft pick. "The type of player he is will help us. We're a team that plays in a very competitive, very physical division. We're probably one of the smaller teams in the division. Getting size is a factor, especially size that's proven offensively.

When will they ever learn?

I recieved this email today from the Ralph Engelstad Arena Insiders. You would have thought they would have learned their lesson the last time that Ralph Engelstad Arena gave out free stuff. I can about bet there will be 5,000 of these noise makers laying on the ice.

We've clinched home ice!
The University of North Dakota men's hockey team has clinched home ice for the best-of-three WCHA first round playoffs! The games start Friday, March 14, and tickets are on sale now. Will you be there?

10,000 FREE pairs of Fighting Sioux Thundersticks will be given to fans Friday, March 14, to help cheer green to victory!

Get your adult ticket packages for the series for $40. Kid's seats are $20.
Buy yours today at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena, online at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 701.772.5151.

Minnesota State Senate approves funding for Minnesota Schools.

This is good news for BSU

Just in. This is a good news for BSU, UMD and SCSU. Now Governor Tim Pawlenty needs to sign it into law. I would suggest BSU fans start flooding the office of Tim Pawlenty with phone calls.

Bemidji State, Minnesota-Duluth and St. Cloud State Would Get Renovations or New Buildings
A Minnesota State Senate committee has approved a $1 billion public works bonding bill Tuesday which included funding for three Division I hockey arenas.


Most notably, $22 million in funding was approved for the Bemidji Regional Events Center, which would include a new hockey arena for the BSU Beavers. It was widely considered, including by the school itself, that a new arena was needed in order to maintain the viability of the men's hockey program.

Also approved was $40 million in funding for the renovation and expansion of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, home of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Built in 1966, the DECC currently holds approximately 5,300 for hockey. The renovations would expand that to 6,500.

St. Cloud State's National Hockey Center will get $10 million to remodel and expand. Also, $10 million was granted to fund a new arena for the Minnesota-Crookston Division III team.

The measure still requires final approval of the legislature and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Here is another link to the story: $1B bonding bill OK'd by Minnesota Senate panel

Hockey players and fans would get four new arenas. They are:

-- A $40 million renovation and expansion of the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center, with a 6,500-seat hockey facility.

-- $22 million for the Bemidji Regional Event Center, including a college hockey arena.

-- $10 million to remodel and expand the National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University.

-- $10 million for the proposed Crookston Ice Arena.

This weeks picks: Misc Ramblings/Rants

Non Conference
02/26/08 Nebraska-Omaha at Minnesota State

Friday/29/08

Denver at Michigan Tech
Wisconsin at St. Cloud State
Minnesota at Alaska Anchorage
Minnesota State at Colorado College

Saturday 03/01/08

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

Sunday 03/02/08

North Dakota at Minnesota Duluth

Last Weeks Picks 7-3
Season Total. 100-68

FSSN broadcast of the men's hockey series at Minnesota Duluth available on FightingSioux.com

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The University of North Dakota athletic department is pleased to announce that the Fighting Sioux Sports Network telecast of the men's hockey series at Minnesota Duluth will be available as a video webcast on FightingSioux.com. Viewers can watch the broadcast with their Sioux Xtra subscription.

The broadcast is being produced by WDAZ in conjunction with UND athletics, the Fighting Sioux Sports Network and Midcontinent Communications.

~UND has a 13 game unbeaten streak, Some in the Minneapolis media have suggested that UMD will be a cake walk.Nothing could be further from the truth as I predict a dog fight for these weekend games.

~Look for the Mavericks to beat the Tigers this weekend.

~The WCHA is looking pretty good as far as Pairwise Ratings goes. There is a good chance that 5 teams will make the NCAA tourney. Currently there are 8 WCHA teams fighting for an NCAA tourney bid.