Gophers and Huskies (game preview)

First off Goon's world wishes Gophers senior forward Tom Pohl a speedy recovery; also I would ask that we keep both Pohl and Mavericks forward Jason Wiley in our thoughts and prayers. Both players need our moral support at this tough time. First off Hockey is a game and we never want to see opposition players hurt and or injured. We are human beings and not combatants.


Since October 2005 the SCSU Huskies have a impressive record of 5-1-3 against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. That stat probably means nothing tomorrow night other the Gophers haven't beat the Huskies in 2 1/5 years. This should be a competative game from the drop of the first puck to the last wistle. Both teams have good goaltenders that have put up some pretty impressive numbers as of late. Jase Weloski shut out the Wisconsin Badgers 3-0 on 3-14-2008 and Alex Kangas was the difference in the Gophers series against Minnesota State Mankato.

Offensively the Huskies are lead by

R. Lasch 25-26-51
G. Roe 18-26-44
A. Nodl 18-26-44
J. Swanson 8-14-22
N. Dey 10-11-21

In goal the Huskies are lead by

Jase Weslosky 16-11-2 2.09




If you look at the stats offensively for both teams it would appear that the Huskies are going to run the Golden Gophers out of the Xcel Energy Center. The offensive minded SCSU Huskies are lead by a powerful trio of players; Nodl, Lasch, Roe. On the other side of the ice the offensively challenged Gophers have Wheeler and Ben Gordon.

So how big a difference is there in the offensive numbers? Minnesota is scoring an anemic 2.46 goals a game; however, SCSU isn't doing all that much better averaging 3.03 goals a game.

Offensively the Gophers are lead by

B. Wheeler 15-18-33
B. Gordon 14-14-28
J. Barriball 6-14-20
M. Howe 5-13-18
D. Peltier 4-14-18

In Net the Gophers are led by

Alex Kangas 10-8-9 1.95
Jeff "Long Island" Frazee 6-7-0 2.93

Prediction SCSU wins the game 3-1. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if the Gophers lose the rest of their hockey games this season.

Get Well Tom Pohl (HeidiSioux62)

Get Well Tom
On Sunday night a horrible accident occurred in the Minnesota/Mankato playoff game. An accident that brought back horrific memories to Sioux fans of Robbie Bina crumpling to the ice after breaking his neck during a game.
Tom Pohl of Minnesota was checked into the boards, his helmet came off and he hit his unprotected head on the boards and ice and suffered a very severe skull fracture. This was an incident that terrifies all hockey parents, family, friends, coaches and fans. Hockey is a very rough sport and all of us who have someone we care about playing the game has the fear tucked into the back of our minds that something like this may happen. Fortunately, these accidents are rare, but when they do happen, it causes us to pause and say “but for the Grace of God …”.

Tom,

I just wanted to let you know that I, along with many, many others are praying for you and wishing you a speedy recovery. This Sioux fan has been thinking of you often and I was very encouraged to read this morning that your condition has been upgraded and you have been moved out of ICU. It doesn’t matter that you may play for an arch rival’s team because if you play hockey, you are “one of the family.” Get well soon.
HeidiSioux

While most of the attention has rightfully been directed towards Tom, his family and his injury, someone that may be overlooked in this incident is Jason Wiley. Jason is the player who checked Tom. From what I could see watching the play, the hit was not malicious or done with the intent to injure (unlike the hit that occurred previously in a similar instance). From all accounts, Jason appears to be sincerely remorseful and extremely shaken up by the hit (again, unlike the player involved in the previous incident). This shows great compassion and heart, and I would like to encourage Jason to seek out all the help and support he can find from his family, friends, coaches and teammates to assist him in dealing with this situation. I would also like Jason to know that this Sioux fan is not only thinking of and praying for Tom Pohl, but also for him.

From the Final Five Media Guide.

This is from the Media guide for this weekend's tourney.
Fighting Sioux
University of North Dakota

North Dakota (25-9-4 overall) is headed to the 2008 Red Baron™ WCHA Final Five in St. Paul, Minn., to take on Denver (24-13-1 overall) at 2:07 p.m. Friday in the tournament semifinals … UND is the No. 2 seed,
while Denver is the No. 3 seed …

~UND advanced by beating Michigan Tech 2-1 on Sunday in the third game of the teams’ WCHA first round playoff series… the Sioux won the first game of the series 4-0 on Friday, and Michigan Tech won the second game 3-2 in overtime on Saturday …

~this weekend’s Final Five appearance will be the sixth in a row for the Fighting Sioux … it will be UND’s 11th appearance in the past 12 years and 12th appearance in the 16-year history of the Final Five in its current format … the No. 2 seed is UND’s highest since the Sioux were seeded No. 1 in 2004 … this will be the second time the Sioux have been seeded No. 2 in the last 16 years … the Sioux have been the top seed five times, the No. 3 seed twice, the No. 4 seed once and the No. 5 seed twice …

~North Dakota has won the Final Five tournament three times – in 1997 as a No. 1 seed, in 2000 as the No. 2 seed and in 2006 as the No. 3 seed … UND is 13-8 in its previous 11 appearances at the Final Five … last year UND defeated St. Cloud State 6-2 in the semifinals and then lost to Minnesota 3-2 in overtime in the championship game …

~UND’s all-time overall WCHA playoff record is 77-57-7 in 141 games for a winning percentage of .571 … the Sioux have won eight WCHA playoff titles in their history (1967, 1968, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1997, 2000 and 2006) … UND has now won 11 consecutive home first round playoff series …

~the Sioux and Denver have met just twice previously at the Final Five, with the Pioneers winning both of those games…

~Denver beat the Sioux 4-3 in the 1999 Final Five championship game and 2-1 in overtime in the 2005 Final Five semifinals …

~the Sioux were 3-1 against Denver this season … the teams split a Nov. 30-Dec. 1 series in Denver (1-0 Denver win, 3-1 UND win) and UND swept a Feb. 15-16 series in Grand Forks (5-4 and 4-1 UND wins) … UND has won four of their past five games against Denver …

~the Sioux are 1-6 all-time against the Pioneers on neutral ice … last weekend UND extended its unbeaten streak to a school-record 18 games (15-0-3) and home unbeaten streak to 11 games (9-0-2) with a 4-0 Friday win over Michigan Tech … goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (Sr., Grand Forks, N.D.) posted his sixth shutout of the season and the 10th of his career in the game by stopping all 14 Tech shots …

~four different players scored for the Sioux, including forwards Ryan Duncan (Jr., Calgary, AB), T.J. Oshie (Jr., Warroad, Minn.), Darcy Zajac (So., Winnipeg, MB) and Andrew Kozek (Jr., Sicamous, BC) … Oshie and Duncan each added an assist on Friday, while defenseman Chay Genoway (So., Morden, MB) had two assists … UND’s overall and home unbeaten streaks came to an end last Saturday when the Huskies tied the game 2-2 on a Tyler Shelast goal with :05.5 seconds left and then won on a Shelast goal 1:59 into overtime …

~each of UND’s last three losses (Dec. 29 to New Hampshire, Jan. 4 to St. Cloud State and Friday against Michigan Tech) had similarities in that the Sioux had two-goal leads in all three contests and also had second period leads in all three games before eventually losing … last Saturday marked the first time since Nov. 24, 1979, that an opponent tied a game against UND in the final minute and then won in overtime … Michigan State did it in the 1979 game, tying it 4-4 with :12 seconds left and then winning 5-4 in overtime …

~scoring for the Sioux in their 3-2 loss to Michigan Tech were forwards Brad Miller (Jr., Alpharetta, GA) and Matt Frattin (Fr., Edmonton, AB), who each also assisted on the other’s goal … on Sunday, Shelast gave Michigan Tech a 1-0 lead, but Oshie scored his second and third goals of the series to lift the Sioux to the win … Oshie now has a team-best 17 goals on the season, one more than Kozek …

~Oshie’s game-winner was the 16th of his career, moving him all alone into second place on the all-time school list, two behind school record holder Mark Taylor (1976-80).

Silly season continues: Michael-Lee Teslak gone at MTU

MeanEgirl wasn't lying when she said that Teslak was as good as gone at MTU over on Siouxsports.com. Today we find out that Michael-Lee Teslak will forgo his senior season with Michigan Tech to sign a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Flyer's.

This is bad for the MTU Huskies and in a way it is bad for the WCHA because they will lose another top player. Not bad for the Sioux because they won't have to face him anymore. Goon's world wishes Michael-Lee Teslak the very best at the next level. It is not unfathomable to think that Teslak should get a chance to play in Philly because they have gotten some really poor goaltending as of late. I should know because I had Biron as my goaltender in fantasy hockey.

It also appears that the story on College Hockey News about Teslak's facebook entry had some truth to it as well...

While we are talking about early departures

Here is an interesting story that I found on line. I think the NCAA has to be careful because if they push this too far with the NHL they risk pushing away some of the top recruits that would have gone the college route.

NCAA to look at Hockey Departures

In today’s Portland Press Herald, Jenn Menendez writes about the recent departures in college hockey. It begin with the uproar over Kyle Okposo leaving the University of Minnesota for the New York Islanders in December. I find it ironic that this was released on Ojposo’s debut. The NCAA wants to build a partnership with the NHL so departures like this don’t happen again. The NCAA is going after the wrong organization. Excluding underclassman that leave after their NCAA season is over, Okposo is the only player in recent memory to leave for the NHL mid season. The up roar of the signing went through the roof in Minnesota. The signing had one sports talk host in Minneapolis (Puffy)to call in sick and in tears. I found this so funny. First I had no sympathy for the Golden Gophers for losing Okposo. This loss won’t affect Minnesota in the long run. I don’t agree with Okposo’s decision but Minnesota has other talent. They are a five star program and hasn’t lost there recruits. Sure there season was a middle of the road but are still in the playoffs.

Who should the NCAA make a partnership with? The Canadian Hockey League. There are more mid season departures to the CHL then the NHL/AHL. The CHL lures college talent to cross the border for more playing time. Like I said above I don’t have sympathy for the five star programs because they are all set for the next three years with top notch recruits. I do have sympathy for the mid major teams. Bowling Green had a five star goalie recruit in Josh Unice. In August before school starts he signs with the Memorial Cup hosts, the Kitchener Rangers. Where’ was the uproar there? The Rangers new all the long they wanted Steve Mason who was with the London Knights at the beginning of the year. They finally got him in a trade in January. Unice is now the back up. They stole Unice from Bowling Green. The only only player that I know of that departed for major juniors this season was Ryan Hayes who signed with the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL. He started the year with Boston College. Last season there were a few more.
-------snip-------
If the NCAA wants to have an agreement with the NHL to have kids stay longer, you can kiss all the top players good bye. The agreement wouldn’t work because current players will jump to the CHL. Some NHL teams will tell their draft picks to go that route to. It will hurt development of the US development system. The National Team Development Program could suffer where players would jump to the CHL at 16 instead of waiting a year or two if they haven’t decided if they would play college hockey or junior hockey. The United States Hockey League would lose their top players and maybe join the Canadian Hockey League to retain their top players. If that happens the North American Hockey League would be stronger though because the players who haven’t gotten drafted in the NHL would play there until they head to college. The NCAA and the NHL shouldn’t have an NBA rule and force kids to stay in college against their will. Because it will destroy hockey development in the United States.

The NHL latest thugs of the week.

Here are the latest acts of thuggery in the NHL. Repeat offender Chris Pronger will miss 8 games (the rest of the Ducks regular season games) for his skate stomp on Ryan Kesler's leg. Seems this act earned another repeat offender 30 games, I wonder why the disparity?

Pens tough guy Georges Laraque earns three days on the beach for his vicious elbow on Buffalo Sabres player Nathan Paetsch.

FINAL 5 - This Week in the WCHA (Sioux 7)

The first round of the WCHA playoffs have come and gone, WOW, where some of those games fun to watch or what! CC, DU, and SCSU swept their series, while UND and UM played 3-games before prevailing in those series. The Final 5 starts this Thursday at 7pm in St. Paul, with the "play-in" game.

The Thursday night tilt will feature the SCSU Huskies versus the UM Gophers (SCSU will be the home teams, since they are the 4th seed, UM is the 5th seed). SCSU has had an extra day of rest compared to the Gophers, not counting all the overtime minutes the UM had to play at MSUM last weekend. I'm thinking this game will be SCSU's top line players (Roe, Lasch, Nodl) versus the UM defense, mainly Kangas. Whoever wins that battle will most likely win the game. If SCSU gets an early lead I think they will win the game, since it will force the UM to play an up-tempo game and the fatigue factor will come into play.
F5 PLAY-IN GAME WINNER - SCSU.

On a side note, everyone here at Goon's World are sending our prayers and well wishes to Mr. Pohl, and his family. We all hope that he will make a full and complete recovery from his tragecic head injuries, suffered on Sunday nights game, and be back to full strength in the near future.

Friday afternoons game, 2pm, will feature the the number 2 and 3 seeds, UND and DU. The question is this, "has DU gotten back to first half form?" The Pioneers have got some wins lately, but they have been against the bottom teams in the league. On the other hand UND is still on a hot streak, granted MTU ended their 18 game unbeaten streak, but 19-1-3 is not bad... Both goalies have been playing great as of late, so this could be a low scoring affair, on the other hand both teams have plenty of offense as well, so something has to give.
F5 SEMI-FINAL GAME #1 WINNER - UND

Friday nights game, 7pm, will have the UM/SCSU winner playing CC, the number 1 seed. The Tigers have been a steady eddie team all year. How will CC's freshman goalie Bachman hold up under the BIG TOP? I'm thinking that SCSU will put the pressure on CC's defense and try to outscore the Tigers, in what will be a bit of a shot-out. IF the UM wins and plays the Tigers, I think it will be more of a defensive struggle, with UM suffering from 5+ games in 7 days.
F5 SEMI-FINAL GAME #2 WINNER(S) - CC over UM, SCSU over CC

I'm not going to put up predictions on the Title and 3rd place games until late Friday, or early Saturday. We'll see how good (or bad) these three predictions turn out to be :)

The Goon, Sioux 7, and friends, will be invading the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area around noon on Thursday. We will try and give everyone game recaps and predicts everyday of the Final 5. The Goon has a laptop, I don't :( but I'm sure he will share with me :)

Kyle Okposo reporting for duty on the Long Island

New York Islanders photo
The much anticipated NHL debut of Kyle Okposo is upon us. Kyle's debut is going to take place tomorrow night when the Islanders and the Leafs play on long island. I wonder if there will be a lot of Gopher fans tuning in to see him play? I am going to try and tune in because it will be interesting to see how he will do. Since leaving the Minnesota Gophers in mid-Season Kyle has been developing his game in Bridge Port of the AHL.

Okposo scored eight goals and added 16 assists in 29 games in the AHL. After earning an assist in Bridgeport's victory on Saturday night, Sound Tigers coach Jack Capuano gave him the news that he was headed to the NHL.

KYLE'S FIRST SKATE--read the whole story here

Islanders 2006 first-round draft pick Kyle Okposo practices on a line with Park and Comeau at Islanders Iceworks. Donning jersey No. 21, Kyle Okposo took to the ice at Islanders Iceworks in Syosset, Monday afternoon, signifying his first step onto the NHL scene.

Today, Okposo joined his fourth team of the season after playing for the University of Minnesota to begin the 2007-08 campaign and representing the United States at the World Junior Championship. While in the Czech Republic, Okposo signed with the Islanders, and next suited up for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he recorded 24 points in 29 games. His final destination…Long Island.

"It feels pretty good being out there in my first NHL practice," said Okposo, following today's practice. "Knowing a few guys (from Bridgeport) I felt a little more comfortable today. The guys have been awesome and have taken me under their wing. The guys have been great."

Wearing an orange jersey, Okposo skated on a line with Richard Park and Blake Comeau, fitting in seamlessly with his older counterparts. Comeau, at 22, is the closest in age to 19-year old Okposo. But the age discrepancy was hardly noticeable as the talented Okposo impressed the coaching staff with his skill and maturity.

"He's an exceptional player that we're looking forward to see play at the NHL level," said head coach Ted Nolan. "There are certain players who have that instinct. He doesn't just skate and shoot the puck well, he also has that great hockey sense. Kyle has all of the ingredients good players have. We wanted to start him on a line with one of our most reliable guys in Richard Park. And considering Blake Comeau has good hockey sense, the three of them should form a pretty good line out there."

Another links to this story

Not all is well between Snow and Islander coach Ted Nolan. I am personally not surprised after watching how Snow acted during the whole Okposo mess. I have never been a fan of Garth Snow always thought the "Snowman" was a cry baby and a loose canon when he played in the NHL.

The coming of Kyle Okposo was the worst kept secret on the Isles in the last week or so. We all knew it was going to happen. Back when I, with my fellow blog boxers, questioned Garth Snow, who kindly allowed us a special session after we had already been in on the press questions, the question was broached. "Will be see Okposo before the season was out?"

Very possible, was the answer, and it showed Garth's general interest and excitement with a youth movement.

And in lieu of the Isles tailspin into the NHL season ether, with more rumors of a fracture within the team between Nolan and Snow. Albeit these are just rumors, but they seem to be coming at a steady stream now. Was Nolan's touch so golden? Did Garth Snow make more decisions, if not all, back over the summer? Are sides suddenly being taken?

Of course, the fact that they are wrought with injuries and a shell of themselves these days, does not help. The freefall in the standings now has many fans now more excited about what draft pick we'll get this offseason. So, is pressure is mounting within the Isles? There have been no clear words otherwise to stem a rumormill tide that is turning towards some sort of action. Whether to staunchly discount those rumors, or to make definitive changes.

So, while all this is happening, perhaps, is it any wonder why OkposoMania is running wild? I half expect Kyle to come out, rip off his t-shirt and then cup his ears to each side of the rink for cheers from eager OkposoManiacs.

A few things.

Wow, what an ending to the Fighting Sioux and Michigan Tech WCHA playoff series, here is some footage of the end of game three. It really was that close right down to the end.

Game ending goal

Here is the game ending goal between the Minnesota State University Mavericks and the Gophers. From what I can see on the (poor) video it almost appears that the Mankato player kicked the puck into his own net. I do feel bad for the Mavericks I think they are tough, well rounded hockey team that deserves to be in the NCAA tourney based on who they beat and their strength of schedule. There is a good chance the Mavericks will be in the NCAA tourney Cheer against Northern Michigan, Harvard and Notre Dame. If some of the other bubble teams don't win this weekend there is a good chance they are in.

The Blog that Yost built breaks it down:

-Looking very strong for Mankato to get in barring an upset in one of the title games. Making the title game isn't good enough for BU. They're going to need the autobid if they want to get in.

That being said, the 2nd overtime period last night was nothing short of unbelievable, I was sitting on the edge of my Ottoman during the whole overtime. Mankato had its own chances to end the game minutes before the game ending bubble bursting goal. In my opinion Mankato is a sniper away from being one of the top teams in the WCHA.

They said what? According to the FSN Arizona boys; Michigan super star senior forward Kevin Porter a Hobey candidate/finalist played on the defending national champions team last season. Really, I thought Michigan State won the NCAA tourney. Michigan was eliminated in the region of death last season by by North Dakota.

The Pollsters think UND is worthy of dropping in the polls. UND is 4th in the USCHO/CSTV, 5th in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The only poll that really matters is the PWR.

Here is an interesting perspective/comment that I found over on Brad's blog. I have to say I agree with what is said here.

I agree with you on Thul. In fact, a number of us were saying that about Thul when he reffed the Sioux games in Duluth. He is the only referee I can recall in the WCHA, in recent history, that seemed to have an understanding of what one team was trying to inflict upon the other with hooking and holding and calling the game that way. He did a good job of penalizing both Duluth and Tech for trying to slow us down with obstruction, without attempting to even the penalties up with isolated minor retaliations by the Sioux. To some degree he took bending the rules away from both teams. Russell definitely made the right move requesting the change. It is about time that we have a referee with the instincts and brains to ref the game that way. Especially, when it is clear well in advance of gameday that one team is going to try to use obstruction to slow the other team.

Calling games like this is the way that the WCHA is going to finally protect its star players. Anderson is a ref that will call penalties with no conscience, but he has a tendency to call a lot of legal body checks as penalties, yet let plenty of obstruction go. I do give him credit for cutting Duncan a break on his slash prior to Kerr's misconduct, knowing the beating that Tech was trying to give Duncan.

The rest of them are masters of the obvious and real susceptible to theatrics and at the end of the day go out of their way to make it even. Don Adam is one of the few refs I have seen that can take a good game and turn it into a brawl. How many times have we seen him get in the face of players and coaches? He regularly puts one guy out of a skirmish(and the wrong one)in the box or gives them the extra penalty and then frustrates the players to the point of taking it out on each other because the ref is not doing justice.

I think very few people want a game that is loaded with penalties and few want what Shepherd allowed in Mankato. I believe the true fan really wants a ref that calls infractions that stop scoring opportunities or create scoring opportunities and to penalize team's attempts to control the game through systematic infractions.

Posted by: GDeeton on Monday, March 17 9:43 PM

Check out this sweet versus Comercial; Toews leads it off.

This is a sweet commercial. I think Versus has some really good promos, while it is not ESPN I think the NHL on Versus has come a long way. I am sure most Sioux fans would agree that it is a pretty nice honor to see Jonathon Toews in this commercial with the likes of Lidstrom, Turco and Chara. Man how would he look in a Sioux jersey this season?

Last night the Rookie Jonathan Toews got his 20th goal of the season last night.

Hey Ya; March Madness...

I found this song/video over on YouTube a few days a go and have been whistling this song all day every since. I can’t get this song out of my head. I am not much of a hip-hop/rap kind of guy, I am more of a country and rock and roll fan, never the less, this is an awesome song. Goon and Hip-Hop I know; maybe I am just punch drunk from working 6 overnight shifts in a row with one more overnight shift to go. We started this new schedule at work and this was the first time through it for me. To say the least it has been a death march, but it is almost over, and the fun is about to begin.

Why am I so up beat? This is the best time of the year, its almost spring and nothing beats this time of year it except maybe the opener of Duck hunting season (Ducktober) and the beginning of golf season in the spring.

The NCAA hockey tourney is Hockey's version of March madness. March Bring the NCAA hockey tourney and then the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Every night there is another big game with huge implications. I would liken going to the final five as a religious experience, hockey and beer.

Goon's prediction of who in or not.

It is that time of year again. You are the committee

1 [AQ] Michigan
2 [AQ] New Hampshire
3 Miami (Mm)
4 [AQ] North Dakota (ND)
5 Colorado College
6 Denver (DU)
7t Boston College (BC)
7t St. Cloud State (SC)
9t Michigan State (MS)
9t Clarkson (Ck)
11 Minnesota (Mn)
12t Minnesota State (Mk)
12t Wisconsin (Wi)
14 Notre Dame (Nt)
15 [AQ] Princeton (Pn)
16[AQ] Niagara (Ni)

I still think that 7 teams might be too many for the WCHA; but that is based on my picks from you are the committee. Personally, I don't believe that Wisconsin deserves to be in the tourney by missing the conference tourney and being below .500. Just my opinion. I don't mind the Sioux going to Madison either even if the BADgers are in the tourney.

Whew.... UND punches ticket to St. Paul Sioux 2 MTU 1

When I was looking at the match ups for this weekends WCHA playoff series I thought great we get the Huskies again. As most Sioux fans will tell you the Huskies are never a give me or an easy win and have beaten the 4 Sioux times in the last two seasons. True to form this weekends game were not easy. This weekend's series was way too close for my comfort, and I would have rather the Sioux closed out the Huskies last night. Tonight after the Huskies scored I thought I was going to have an anxiety attack and the feeling continued until the end of the game. I think I am going to start calling the Fighting Sioux the cardiac kids. Tonight the Sioux and Tech played another close tight checking game and got (2) two huge goals from my pick for P.O.Y. in the WCHA T.J. Oshie. How huge was T.J. Oshie this weekend? T.J. Oshie although slowed by injury had another strong weekend chipping in 4 points in the weekend series (3g-1a), Oshie was held scoreless on Saturday night and that may have led to the Sioux failing seal the deal. Not to be over looked also; Ryan Duncan (1g-2a) and Chay Genoway (0g-3a) were solid and had strong weekends as well on the stats sheet.

It would not be an understatement to say that the win(s) against the ever tough Michigan Tech Huskies did not come easy. I have to take my hat off to the Huskies because this series was the stereotypical, hard nosed hockey series as the Sioux were in a dog fight all weekend long. I guess you have to love parity in this league and this is a perfect example of how close our league is any team can win on any day. Every game the players have to strap it on and buckle down to get the wins.

Scoring/Penalties

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1st Period (20:00)
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MTU-1 Peter Rouleau (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x1 5:01
NDK-1 Ryan Duncan (2-Hooking) MTU 0x1 5:33
MTU 1 - 0 6x6 Tyler Shelast (16) (Alex Gagne) 11:27
MTU (+): 23,18,5,12,14,G29 NDK (-): 2,5,7,14,16,G1
NDK 1 - 1 6x6 T.J. Oshie (16) (Ryan Duncan, Chay Genoway) 14:09
NDK (+): 7,16,14,2,5,G1 MTU (-): 14,12,8,19,16,G29
MTU-2 John Schwarz (2-Roughing) 19:45
NDK-2 Chris VandeVelde (2-Roughing) 19:45

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK 2 - 1 5x5 GW LL T.J. Oshie (17) (Robbie Bina, Taylor Chorney) 0:19
NDK (+): 7,28,4,16,G1 MTU (-): 14,18,12,5,G29
MTU-3 Jimmy Kerr (2-Slashing) NDK 0x2 1:56
MTU-4 Drew Dobson (2-Holding the Stick) 11:41
NDK-3 Ryan Duncan (2-Hooking) 11:41
NDK-4 Joe Finley (2-Interference) MTU 0x2 17:59

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3rd Period (20:00)
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MTU-5 Jimmy Kerr (10-Misconduct) 10:35
NDK-5 Chay Genoway (2-Holding) MTU 0x3 13:41
Timeout - Michigan Tech 19:33

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End of Game


Scores of note

AHA: Air Force 5, Mercyhurst 4 (F in OT)
CHA: Niagara 3, Bemidji State 2 (F)
CCHA: Northern Michigan 3, Michigan State 2 - OT
EZAC: Colgate 3, Clarkson 2 - 2OT Clarkson = Over-rated
WCHA: Gophers 3 - Mavericks 2 (F in 2xOT)

I suppose the league office is excited that their meal ticket made the final five this weekend in St. Paul.

Why is this obstruction holding?

Herald photo by John Stennes Can someone please tell me why this isn't a penalty? Checking the box score from last night's game I do not see John Schwarz's name for holding. This picture is a perfect example of what we have to witness every night in the WCHA. Now I can see why Duncan was getting upset with the officiating. In the NHL if you hand comes off of your stick you are whistled for a penatly.

An interesting stat.

While trying to look for the silver lining in last night loss to the Michigan Tech Huskies, I found this ineresting stat reading Todd Milewski's Ice House blog.

The home team has won Game 1 70 times in 95 chances since the WCHA started playing best-of-three series in 1988. The road team has forced Game 3 only 10times, and won it only once.

All the home teams won the first game of WCHA series last night, with the road teams combining for a grand total four goals (three of them by Minnesota-Duluth, one by Alaska Anchorage).

Turn your back on a rabid dog it will bite you. MTU 3 ND 2 O.T..

Here is what we do know. If you turn your back on a rabid dog or if you push him into a corner he will bite you. While it is pretty much a given that if the playoffs started today (they don't) the Sioux would be in the NCAA tourney. Honestly, I don't think UND wants to sit out it's conference tourney watching the other teams in the league play for the Broadmoor Trophy. Make no mistake about it, there is something to play for. Tonight's loss should refocused the Sioux that slept walked through the third period playing uninspired hockey. Play to the final horn is tonight's lesson; a standard regulation game is 60 minutes long not 59:55. Make no mistake about this MTU is the best 9th place team in college hockey I would take them against; Alaska, Holy Cross, St. Lawrence, Maine any day. Time to show some respect to the Huskies and knock them on their ass.

I looked back and the Sioux went to a third game twice in the past 6 years (Denver University 2003 and Minnesota State 2006) and they were able to prevail. We have seen this before. We have all felt like this before, losing sucks. While I am not happy, the law of averages was going to catch up with the Fighting Sioux, this is th first loss UND has had in 18 games. Now, is a great time for the team to refocus grab some perspective and put the Huskies away. The Fighting Sioux are not unbeatable but they are also not a bad team.


Scoring/Penalties

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

NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Brad Miller (5) (Matt Frattin, Ryan Martens) 4:19
NDK (+): 14,21,6,8,3,G1 MTU (-): 15,9,8,14,25,G29
NDK-1 Chay Genoway (2-Tripping) MTU 0x1 5:25
MTU-1 John Schwarz (2-BROKEN STICK) NDK 0x1 9:15
MTU-2 Jordan Baker (2-Hooking) NDK 0x2 11:32
MTU-3 Alex Lord (2-Kneeing) NDK 0x3 14:13
NDK-2 Ryan Duncan (2-Slashing) MTU 0x2 18:56

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

MTU-4 Drew Dobson (2-Holding) NDK 0x4 4:47
MTU-5 John Schwarz (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 6:35
NDK-3 Chris VandeVelde (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 6:35
NDK-4 Robbie Bina (2-Hooking) MTU 0x3 13:32
NDK 2 - 0 6x6 Matt Frattin (4) (Brad Miller) 16:58
NDK (+): 21,14,8,6,3,G1 MTU (-): 7,8,15,10,19,G29

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

NDK-5 Ryan Duncan (2-Holding) MTU 1x4 0:36
MTU 1 - 2 6x5 PP Jimmy Kerr (9) (Geoff Kinrade, Eric Kattelus) 1:19
MTU: 19,12,23,15,14,G29 NDK: 2,5,17,20,G1
MTU-6 Eric Kattelus (2-Hooking) NDK 0x5 10:41
Timeout - Michigan Tech 17:43
MTU-7 Ryan Angelow (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x6 18:04
MTU 2 - 2 5x6 SH EA Tyler Shelast (14) (Jimmy Kerr, Jordan Baker) 19:54
MTU (+): 19,22,5,10,23 NDK (-): 2,4,20,14,17,G1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (10:41)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-6 Chris VandeVelde (2-Hooking) MTU 1x5 1:27
MTU 3 - 2 6x6 GW LL Tyler Shelast (15) (Geoff Kinrade, Peter Rouleau) 10:41
MTU (+): 15,14,19,12,23,G29

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

This makes me smile.

Nothing cheers me up more than watching the Gophers lose a game. This is a better/clearer updated version of the video of last nights goal that vaulted the Mavericks to the drivers seat of the series between the Gophers and the Mavericks. Wow, what a goal. You have to love the Mavericks celebration at the end of that goal.

~Classic Wooger all that 22-2-5 means that is 22-3-5.

Memo to the WCHA refs; you suck.

Returning to a comment that Jess Meyers made this week on ESPN/INCH hockey chat:

Jess Myers: Those topics will certainly be discussed in late April when the coaches and league officials meet in Florida for their annual postseason gathering. A month ago, WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told me there's growing concern about the officials in terms of the way they're being treated by fans, players, and coaches in the league. Now, yelling at the refs and bad calls have been a part of the game for as long as it has been played on ice, so apparently league officials see something new and disturbing that's worth looking into. As for the way the game is being called, they're still searching for that happy medium between letting everything go and having someone in the penalty box at all times. Still, compare the college game to the ugliness on ice that the NHL (especially in the Western Conference) is so often and I like what I'm seeing in the WCHA.

This video is a perfect example of why the WCHA officials no longer have any credibility or respect from fans, players and coaches. Instead of complaining about the fans being tough on the officials earn that respect and trust back start doing a better job.

Kyle Okposo to make NHL Debute? We will soon find out.

(AP Photo)
It appears that the Kyle Okposo era might begin as soon as next Tuesday night when the islanders play the Toronto Maple Leafs. I might have to tune to see how his NHL debute goes.

BY GREG LOGAN
(read the rest of the story here)
Eight players who have dressed for a game in Bridgeport this season are on the Islanders' current roster. But not the one on whom Islanders fans are pinning their hopes for the future.

That's about to change. No official announcement has been made, but all indications suggest Kyle Okposo, the seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft, likely will make his Islanders debut against Toronto Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

Okposo left the University of Minnesota in January to sign a three-year entry level deal with the Isles. If he plays 10 NHL games, that deal begins this season. If he plays nine or less, next season is considered the first year of his contract. After the Isles' game Saturday night in Montreal, they will have only nine games left on the schedule, and since they are 13th in the Eastern Conference playoff race, it makes sense to evaluate Okposo against NHL competition to aid planning for next season.

Coach Ted Nolan said it's up to general manager Garth Snow to make the decision, but his smile said it all when asked if he would like to see Okposo come up. "Definitely," Nolan said. "Why not? But he's playing pretty well down there, and maybe a good finish down there [would be best]. He could just ride it out and try to get that team in the playoffs and give him a little taste. But here, it would also be good."

Golden Gophers coach Don Lucia claimed the Islanders pressured Okposo to go pro at the time of his signing. Snow fired back angrily, saying the 6-foot-1, 203-pound right wing could get better coaching and speed his development in the Isles' organization.

It was well-known in Minneapolis that Okposo was unhappy playing for Lucia and was languishing. But in 27 games with Bridgeport, Okposo is off to a solid start with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points. He might not be the finisher the Islanders need at this point, but his playmaking abilities have been impressive and he requires a lot of defensive attention.

Here is some perspective.

It was no doubt the hit on Leo was questionable and a dirty hit. There isn't room in any league for bush league hits to the head like that. The thing that puzzles me the most is that this thug is a going to lose 12,824.21 for missing 3 games. For most of us that is two and a half to three months salary. It is hard to phantom making that kind of money to beat people up in a hockey game.

Stars' Ott Suspended Three Games
TORONTO - Dallas Stars' forward Steve Ott has been suspended for three games, without pay, as a result of delivering a hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jordan Leopold during NHL game #1043 on March 9, the National Hockey League announced today.

The incident occurred at 12:31 of the first period. No penalty was assessed on the play.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Ott will forfeit $12,834.21. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Ott will miss Thursday’s game at Detroit, March 15 against Vancouver and March 19 against Anaheim. He will be eligible to return March 22 against Los Angeles

Sioux 4 Huskies 0

Tonight it looked as if the Fighting Sioux found another gear that seemed to be missing from last weekend's series. The Sioux put on a stingy defensive effort to shut out the always though and defensive minded Michigan Tech Huskies. It was half way through the game before the Huskies recorded a single shot on the Fighting Sioux goal.

Tonight also saw the return of two key player that had been injured in previous series. Returning players Chay Genoway and T.J. Oshie were instrumental in leading the Fighting Sioux to a key victory in the first round of the WCHA playoffs against the Michigan Tech Huskies. It was apparent by his body language that Oshie played the entire game in a great deal of pain but his his goal and assist probably did ease some of his pain or at least make it more bearable. In case anyone is counting make that 14 goals for Oshie on the season, who in my opinion is the Player of the Year in the WCHA in my opinion. Call me a homer, or clouded by my kelly green goggles but his worth to this team is priceless...

Zach Jones is a goon?
After going 23 games with out a taking a single penalty, Zach Jones made up for it by taking 3 minor penalties on the evening. Ironically Zach had played penalty free hockey since November 11th; the second game of the November series against the Wisconsin Badgers where he had picked up 14 minutes in penalties. That in it self is an impressive feat due to the fact that Jones is know for being a very physical player.

Read the whole article by Virg FossGRAND FORKS, N.D. — Michigan Tech hockey coach looked up at the scoreboard over Ralph Engelstad Arena after one period tonight and didn't like what he saw, for several reasons.

Not only did his Huskies trail 1-0 in the opening game of the Best-of-3 WCHA playoffs, but the scoreboard showed his Huskies being outshot 14-0.

"To be honest with you, I thought the person doing the shot chart was on crack tonight," Russell said. "It was definitely out to lunch. You can print that, too."

It really didn't matter much as a strong performance by the Sioux led to a 4-0 victory and stretched their school-record and nation-best unbeaten streak to 18 games (15-0-3).

A power-play goal by last year's Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan at 5:25 of the first period was all the offense the Sioux would need. Senior goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux posted a 14-save shutout for his sixth blanking of the season

Box Score

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

MTU-1 Tyler Shelast (2-Slashing) NDK 1x1 3:26
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP GW LL Ryan Duncan (14) (T.J. Oshie, Chay Genoway) 5:25
NDK: 16,7,5,29,4,G1 MTU: 13,28,8,5,G29
NDK-1 Zach Jones (2-Tripping) MTU 0x1 6:05
MTU-2 Malcolm Gwilliam (2-Hooking) NDK 1x2 9:04
MTU-3 John Schwarz (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x3 11:33

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

MTU-4 Drew Dobson (2-Hooking) NDK 1x4 0:36
NDK-2 Zach Jones (2-Interference) MTU 0x2 3:17
MTU-5 Jordan Foote (2-Holding) NDK 1x5 6:01
NDK 2 - 0 6x6 T.J. Oshie (15) (Ryan Duncan, Chris VandeVelde) 8:21
NDK (+): 7,16,29,4,6,G1 MTU (-): 11,22,16,12,10,G29
NDK 3 - 0 6x6 Darcy Zajac (2) (Jake Marto, Chay Genoway) 9:10
NDK (+): 11,25,2,5,22,G1 MTU (-): 28,13,25,21,5,G29
NDK-3 Matt Watkins (2-Interference) MTU 0x3 9:58
NDK-4 Rylan Kaip (2-Interference) MTU 0x4 19:21

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

NDK-5 Zach Jones (2-Tripping) MTU 0x5 2:00
MTU-6 John Schwarz (2-Holding) NDK 2x6 5:18
NDK 4 - 0 6x5 PP Andrew Kozek (16) (Brad Miller, Ryan Martens) 6:58
NDK: 10,14,8,2,5,G1 MTU: 11,4,8,14,G29
NDK-6 Rylan Kaip (2-Roughing) MTU 0x6 14:59
NDK-7 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 20:00

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End of Game
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Ole, Ole, Ole... Mavericks shut out Gophers 1-0.

Media Credit:Raymond Starin
I had the opportunity to watch the 2nd overtime of the game between the Minnesota Gophers and Minnesota State University Makato Mavericks. It was your typical overtime game, one team seemed to be getting the better of the chances than the other team, then the goalie makes a huge save for the team that is on the ropes. Then the oppostion skates down the ice and scores the winning goal, however, most times you don't see the oppostion score short handed. I have to admit that I cracked a huge smile after I saw that goal, let just say that it couldn't have happen to a nicer team. Now all we need is for Coach Jutting to say how do you like me now?

This is a message that I recieved from the Hockey_L and it sums up the game pretty well from what I have been told.

In an exciting but poorly officiated game, Minn State (Mankato) defeated U. Minn with a short-handed goal by Trevor Bress (Bruess?) at 17:53 of the second OT.

Both goalies played outstanding, both teams skated hard and all officials swallowed whistles. There were 4 penalties called against the Mavericks in the first period, two against the Gophers in the second period, and then no others until the one the game ended with. Many penalties were committed, of course, by both teams. It was brutal on the ice. I don't think they would have called a minor for a boarding that killed somebody. It has always been and remains my pet peeve that you have to call penalties even if it is OT. In this case, it was too many men on the ice, and it was picky as hell. There is no way the extra player, scrambling to get to the bench, affected play in any way, yet they chose to call that. Then justice struck! The Mavs got a 2 on 1 break, made a nice pass for an easy shot right at the crease and won.

Tom Rowe
Go Badgers!

Chris Simon's first fight as a Wild player.

Last night Wild tough guy Chris Simon had his first fight wearing a Wild jersey and he worked New Jersey tough guy David Clarkson like a clown. Look for Simon to do more fighting and playing the physical game.

Team wants Simon to be his true self
MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune
After missing two games because of the flu and one as a healthy scratch, Chris Simon was back in the Wild lineup in Thursday's 4-3 shootout loss to New Jersey.

Wild coach Jacques Lemaire asked for a much more physical Simon, which is interesting because physicality has never been an issue during Simon's 15-year NHL career.

But Lemaire sensed tentativeness from Simon, perhaps because he was worried "the eyes are on him" because of the infamy he's gained from slashing the Rangers' Ryan Hollweg in the face and stepping on the leg of Pittsburgh's Jarkko Ruutu.

"All the press -- TV's on him, league's on him, referee's on him," said Lemaire, referring to the fact that Simon is coming off recent 25- and 30-game suspensions. "It's not an easy situation for him."

Simon was acquired to be a physical presence, but he's trying to find a balance.

"He tries to be a good man, but he's got to do his job. See what I mean?" Lemaire said. "He's got to do his job, playing hard, playing tough, but the eyes are on him."

Simon, 36, tried to respond Thursday. He had one big hit on Sheldon Brookbank and fought David Clarkson, although he played only 5 1/2 minutes. "In the beginning, you feel like you have to be careful," he said. "But I feel more comfortable out there with the system and how I'm supposed to play. I just have to play my game and just trust that I'll get a fair shake.

(Read the rest of the story here)

Open letter to the WCHA coaches (By HeidiSioux62)

Open letter to WCHA Coaches

This is an open letter to the WCHA coaches regarding what I feel is a growing problem in the WCHA – a lack of quality officiating. I have sent this letter to all of the WCHA coaches. I have no illusions that my little letter will change anything, but it will be interesting to see if I get any responses and if so, what those responses are.

Dear WCHA Coaches,
I am writing to you as a life long fan of college hockey and in particular WCHA hockey. Tom Kurvers, the player personnel director for the Phoenix Coyotes was quoted in the (Minneapolis Star Tribune) as saying "The best league in this country is the NHL, obviously, but do you know what's the second-best league?" Kurvers said. "It's the WCHA. In the same article he is quote as saying “The WCHA is the second-greatest place to play hockey in the United States."

I truly believe this, however, I am becoming concerned with the direction that officiating in the league is going. There have been several games this season that have been decided by the officials and not the players, most notably the 2 incorrect calls regarding goals that resulted in apologies being issued by the league. There have also been games decided by numerous “not-calls”. I have watched as extremely skilled layers form all teams (Ryan Lasch, Chad Rau, Andreas Nodl, T.J. Oshie, Garrett Roe, Ryan Duncan, Tyler Bozak, Blake Wheeler, Peter Rouleau and Kyle Turris to name just a few) have egregious penalties committed against them with officials directly watching and often commenting and no call is made. This is extremely unfair to these kids who work so very hard and play their hearts out every game.

The WCHA has consistently been able to recruit the best talent that chooses to attend college and play hockey. Academics of course should be the first priority, but realistically many of these young men have aspirations to be professional players and choose a program based on how it may be able to facilitate them in reaching their goal. I believe that as a whole the coaches in this league work very hard to assist their players in achieving whatever goal a player may have. I also believe that this hard work is being undermined by the lack of high quality officiating.

I would respectfully encourage each of you to speak with your former skill players now playing professional hockey and ask them their impressions of the officiating in their professional league as compared to the WCHA. I would then encourage you to bring this feedback to the attention of Commissioner McLeod and director of officials, Greg Shepherd at your summer league meetings.
The WCHA is, in my opinion, the best hockey in the world. The coaches, fans and most importantly, the young men who give everything they have game in and game out, deserve to be able to play to the best of their ability by having the rules set out in the (NCAA rule book) enforced.

Comments on the INCH/ESPN chat

Back for a second week, this weeks installment of the what silly things did the boys from INCH say.

Donovan (Fargo): Jess, Could you talk a bit about the state of officiating in the WCHA. When will the coaches and the league discuss calling the interference, hooking, and holding similar to the NHL? It is happening so much now it blatantly looks like the league wants this to continue in order to create a parity solely to improve everyone's SOS and national standing. Thoughts?

Jess Myers: Those topics will certainly be discussed in late April when the coaches and league officials meet in Florida for their annual postseason gathering. A month ago, WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told me there's growing concern about the officials in terms of the way they're being treated by fans, players, and coaches in the league. Now, yelling at the refs and bad calls have been a part of the game for as long as it has been played on ice, so apparently league officials see something new and disturbing that's worth looking into. As for the way the game is being called, they're still searching for that happy medium between letting everything go and having someone in the penalty box at all times. Still, compare the college game to the ugliness on ice that the NHL (especially in the Western Conference) is so often and I like what I'm seeing in the WCHA.

Sorry if the league officials and the commish aren't feeling the love, they shouldnt because they flat out suck, frankly the refs brought this firestorm on yourselves. Incompetence in the name of the status quo is no longer acceptable and shouldn't have to tolerated by the fans. Think about this; we are paying way too much money for hockey tickets to put up with this crap on a week to week basis. Seems as if the other leagues aren't having these many problems. Look at it from Mike Eaves' point of view; shoddy officating in two game probably cost the Badgers home ice and an NCAA tourney bid.

If the WCHA officials called the game the way it is supposed to be called there wouldn't be this be this much disdain for the officials in this league. I do not feel sorry for them or do I feel any empathy for them. The WCHA needs to drain the swamp and start over, the league office needs an over hall. The criticism directed towards the officials is warranted and should be expected.

More whining about the PairWise:

Chris (Detroit, MI): The pairwise system confuses many of us. Dumb down the scenarios for us a bit...what are a couple of teams that must have excellent conference tournaments to sneak into the tournament?

Mike Eidelbes: The system is confusing to many of us. I think it's the whole strength-of-schedule thing, because it seems odd that a 22-win Notre Dame team is below a 13-win UMD club. The Irish, obviously, needs to play well and get some help -- and even getting to the CCHA championship game, plus flameouts by Wisconsin and Boston University, still might not be enough. I think Harvard is a team to keep an eye on, too, if they can sweep Quinnipiac this weekend and end up playing (and beating) Princeton in the ECAC Hockey semis.

If Notre Dame doesn't win this weekend they don't deserve to be in the NCAA playoffs and their is a good chance they lose to Ferris State. Frankly; based on who Notre Dame has lost to in the second half of the season (Massachusetts Northern Michigan, Ohio State, Ferris State) the Irish are going to be hard pressed to make the tourney.

Finally Jess Meyers will get a little love from Goon's World after this comment. I suppose now he just gave us the kiss of death. Sioux hockey players take note we do not want you to have to play on Sunday night so lets get the job done on Saturday night. So we can be kicking back on Sunday watching the Mavericks putting the finishing touches on the Gophers.

Ryan (Minneapolis): Who makes it to St. Paul next weekend and who comes out of St. Paul with the WCHA tourney title?

Jess Myers: Ah, the annual "make the so-called experts look like fools" exercise. OK, here goes: I'll pick four of the five home teams to win this weekend -- CC, NoDak, Minnesota State, and SCSU. I see the NoDak and Minnesota State series wins taking three games. I'll pick a UMD upset of Denver in three games for the reasons I detailed earlier -- namely the Bulldogs' solid defense and goaltending versus the Pioneers undermanned offense. Don't forget UMD taking SCSU to three games (and multiple overtimes in game three) last year. The Bulldogs are a tough out come playoff time, but with two great goalies facing each other (Stalock versus Mannino) don't expect to see many goals. As for the Final Five, if North Dakota is healthy I see the Fighting Sioux erasing the demons of last season, and beating CC for the playoff title. And to secure a NCAA tourney invite, SCSU will beat Minnesota State in the third place game, before an audience of hundreds.

Linkorama

Check out RWD's letter that she wrote to Chris Simon on Wild Puck Banter. I think this is how a lot of Wild Fans feel.

Here is Chris Simon's letter to Wild Fans I am all about forgiveness and giving people a second chance but the next time this guy does something stupid it could be the end of his career. This guys has over the course of a career spent 30 hours in the penalty box.

By Chris Simon
As Told to Chris Snow

I want to leave the game as a respected player. I think I am that, to coaches who coached me, and managers who managed me, and players who played with me. But I know that's going to take time to build back with the fans. And I know now, this is it. Anything else happens, I’m done. I know that.

I have played almost 800 games in 16 seasons. I have played in three Stanley Cup Finals, winning one, in Colorado. I have scored goals, 144 of them. One year I scored 29. And I've piled up a lot of penalty minutes, more than 1,800. I have been suspended eight times. The last two were long; 25 games for putting a stick to the face of a Rangers player, Ryan Hollweg. And 30 games this year for stepping on the skate of a Penguins player, Jarkko Ruutu. I am 36, with a wife and four children (ages 13, 6, 5 and 3).

And I keep playing. I want to keep playing, not only for the rest of this season but beyond. Someone asked me yesterday: Why keep playing?

I think it's because I love hockey. I love the friendships. I love the idea of having teammates. I love going to the rink. I love the competitive nature, and how hockey is about the team. Even if a guy plays 5-6 minutes, you need him. You're important no matter how much you play. And you need to give your best for the team to be successful.

That's why I was really happy to be traded to the Wild. It put a big smile on my face to hear that somebody that’s looking to challenge for the Stanley Cup would want me. I had always heard great things about the organization. I follow all of the teams and their style of play. I saw this team and its approach: skill players, but also, big physical players.

And, when I met with Jacques, it was a great thing, the way he explained my role. We had a meeting, and he said: "You're a hockey player first. You've scored goals in the past. I want you to play smart, physical. None of the other bull that has nothing to do with the game. If someone wants you to fight, you fight. You stand up for your teammates. No yapping."

That’s what in the past got me into trouble, the antagonizing, the verbalizing.

Once, during a game, I called Mike Grier a word I should never have used. I crossed the line. As soon as I said it, I knew I made a big mistake. Of anything I've ever done, that's the one that will stay with me always, the one that bothers me. It still does.

I apologized. He accepted my apology. And later, we were teammates in Washington. But, it's something that doesn't leave me.

I have heard those kinds of words in my own life. My Dad is Native Canadian, 100% Ojibwe. My Mom is Anglo Canadian.

Teams I have played for have wanted to give publicity to the good things I do. But I didn't want to. I know I've done good things in my lifetime. That helps me get through the adversity. If I was a bad person and didn't respect myself, I would have retired and run away.

The one thing I will talk about is the Native hockey schools. I do a lot of them. I go to places a lot of people won't go, remote reservations in northern Ontario and Quebec where there are only two ways in: fly, or take a winter road. You have to drive on the ice. In the summertime, you can't get in.

When I was suspended this year I went to visit children at a young offenders prison in Winnipeg. I think 80 percent of the kids in there are Native. I spoke to two groups, boys and girls. I told them my life story. I told them, sometimes you need to get help. I told them how Ted Nolan, my coach in junior, helped me when I had trouble with alcohol in junior hockey.

It was hard to leave those kids. When I was leaving, I got interviewed, and it was a funny thing. The writer wanted to know how much we talked about hockey. I don’t think we spent two minutes on hockey. It was about life. The kids were really good. I was really impressed with how interested they were and the questions they asked.

Some questions people ask me, it's hard to explain. Like: Why did I do what I did to get those suspensions?

Before I hit Hollweg with that stick he ran me into the glass. In that instant I didn't even know who hit me. I knew I'd gotten hit hard, and, instinctually, I knew if I got hit hard again, I was going to get knocked out. I just knew I couldn't get hit again. And I used my stick. That was my mistake. And it was a big mistake.

The day I stepped on Ruutu's skate, I knew exactly what I was doing. Since I was young, I never liked to see anybody picked on. I never liked to see that. I wanted to protect people I cared for. I have to stand up for my teammates against players like him. But I did it the wrong way. Next time, I will do it differently. Or, there won't be another next time for me.

I just hope for a fair chance to prove to you that I can play hard within the rules and stand up for my teammates and myself. I do know I have to play a physical game, but within the rules.

I would like to keep going in this game. I want a last chance. To prove I can play within the rules of the game. To prove that I’ve done a lot of good things in my life, opposed to a few bad things. I want to be respected. But I have to earn respect. That’s what I’m prepared to do.

Here is another article that I thought was pretty good, it is actually how I feel about the WCHA and the current state of the game, I am not sure if it could get any lower. The officials will not call the hooking, holding, slashing and obstruction, it is almost like thuggery is being rewarded. It has become unwatchable. While I don't believe that the NHL is quite as bad, hockey at a higher level is going to have to make some changes to the game or they risk losing a lot of fans.

By JIM SOUHAN, Star Tribune


Item: Even in a down year for the Gophers, the WCHA frequently offers high-scoring games in which both teams create constant chances.

Item: Wild prospect Benoit Pouliot gets his teeth knocked to the back of his throat by a minor league thug, who picks him up by the neck and smashes his face in the ice while an official does nothing.

Item: The Wild trades for Chris Simon, giving the team three tough guys -- Simon, Todd Fedoruk and Derek Boogaard -- who contribute little to the scoring column (or any column) even when healthy.

Item: The Wild, despite spending much of its payroll on skilled players, can't score more than your average soccer team.

The conclusion: The higher the level of hockey, the worse the quality of play, and the more thuggery and defensive systems are rewarded.
(Red the whole article here)

Sean Avery is all class.

Here is the latest antics by Sean Avery, talking about throwing a temper tantrum, literally.

One of the flying water bottles that was tossed by Avery ended up hitting a wall and splashing a young fan. Apparently the kids father was less than please with Sean. I guess we can't have Avery as a role model for young children.

Lou Nanne suggesting that verbals mean nothing.

Tonight (3-12-2008)on Dan Barreiro’s radio show (KFAN 1130) Lou Nanne was a guest on Barreiro's show and Nanne recieved a call from a Gophers fan that asked Lou if Don Lucia's job was safe at Minnesota? Lou told the fan that Lucia was safe and then went off on a tanget about how Lucia shouldn't have to honor verbal commitments:

LOU NANNE-- I don’t feel that the university should have to cater to other Universities in football and basketball and in every other sport they will try to steal your players up to the last minute. Look how many players we had taken from us (Minnesota) right up to the dead line. A couple years ago three football players went to Wisconsin on the say of signing that were supposed to come here because that an assistant coach left. Well we have this situation in Minnesota where these kids are making their commitments early in the 10th grade and after a while some of them have a change of heart and if I was Lucia I would go over and recruit them. There is nothing that stops him from doing it except you know that these coaches not just Don but all the coaches in college hockey they sort of say well ok he is committed there I am not going to step on their toes, this is your livelihood this your job.

Fast forward to tonight; Fighting Sioux coaches show on 1440 am. Naturally Tim Hennesey had heard the broad cast on KFAN and asked Dave Hakstol about Lou Nanne's inflammatory comments. As usual Hakstol basically brushed it off and said that the coaches don't want to take the gloves off and he likes the way their is a gentleman’s agreement going on right now in college hockey. Hakstol also said that the Sioux have had players change their mind and decide to go to UND after making a verbal agreement to another team but they did not actively recruit these kids and these players did it on their own.

Personally I am not shocked by Nanne's comments as he is a blatant Gopher homer but honestly someone needs to remind Lou Nanne that the Gophers hockey doesn't want to get into that game. It is silly to assume that the Gophers are just going to start stealing top recruits from other teams because I am pretty sure that UND could get a few of the Gophers players to change their mind as well as some of the other programs around the league.

The early exits have started already. Ben Bishop of Maine gone.

Ben Bishop aka Big Ben from Maine is the first early exit to sign a professional contract that played out entire season with his college team. This is the toughest time of the year for college hockey fans. As their favorite teams season end; college hockey fan now shift their focus to their top players as they contemplate signing a professional contract. The silly season has now begun.

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today that the team has signed goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop will join the Peoria Rivermen for the remainder of the season.

The 6-7, 210-pound netminder just completed his junior season at The University of Maine, recording a 13-18-3 record along with a 2.43 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He was named Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week three times this season, while being named Hockey East Goalie of the Month for the month of October.

He led the Black Bears to the Frozen Four last season, compiling a 21-9-2 record along with a 2.14 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.

Bishop registered a 55-34-7 career record at Maine ranking third all-time in games played (99), second in saves (2,399), fifth in wins (55) and fourth with a 2.29 goals against average.

He was originally St. Louis’ third round selection, 85th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Bishop spent three years at Chaminade High School in St. Louis before joining the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League following his junior year.

You have to love Anonymous comments.

I found something that I have to make a comment on from over on Western College Hockey that I think needs to be addressed. It is nothing that Chris said himself but from an anonymous skippy. Got to love people that hide behind anonymous tags. I think to call Brad a blatant homer is a disservice. Seriously, all you have to do is look at the stats below to see what I am talking about. UND was the 2nd ranked team in the WCHA in goals and 1st nationally overall. Also the Fighting Sioux are ranked 6th nationally on the penatly kill. That sounds like a pretty good team defensively.

Anonymous said:
Brad, word of advice: take of the f*#kin Sioux glasses. Your teams are a jokes. Interesting that 4 out of the 6 defenseman slots are from the Sioux. At least run a credible blog.

Points per game by defenseman Nationally:

1 Jack Hillen Colorado College SR D 36 6-27-33 0.92
8 Chay Genoway North Dakota SO D 30 6-16-22 0.73
17 Robbie Bina North Dakota SR D 35 2-21-23 0.66
19 Jamie McBain (CAR) Wisconsin SO D 31 3-17-20 0.65

Defenseman Scoring Conference:
1 Jack Hillen Colorado College SR D 28 0.82 4-19-23
2 Chay Genoway North Dakota SO D 23 0.78 5-13-18
3 Robbie Bina North Dakota SR D 28 0.61 1-16-17
4 Jamie McBain Wisconsin SO D 25 0.64 2-14-16
Taylor Chorney North Dakota JR D 28 0.57 2-14-16
6 Joe Finley North Dakota JR D 28 0.50 4-10-14

This Week in the WCHA Play-off Series (Sioux 7)

This past weekend wrapped up the regular season of play in the W. In reguards the the two ties between UND and SCSU, all I can say is "UW is wishing they would have counted that goal at DU, so they would have home ice, what a difference ONE point makes." UMD and UM both found some offense this past weekend as they split a pair in Minneapolis. CC looked to be helping DU with their, now almost standard, second half collapse. MSUM might have let up off the gas pedal and coasting on Saturday as they split with Jeckle & Hyde MTU Huskies.

Now lets look at this weekends WCHA 1st Round Playoff games.

#10. University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves at #1. Colorado College Tigers

The Seawolves find themselves in a common situation, playing the top seed on the road to start the playoffs. UAA has last week off to rest and no doubt were preparing for this series against CC. The group from "up north" should not be taken to lightly, as remember last year they took a game from the Gophers in the first round in Minneapolis. CC has been rolling along pretty good, they swept their arch-rival DU last weekend. In the process, the Tigers retained their Gold Pan, and add the MacNaughton Cup to boot. The question will be "Are they ready for UAA or have they been looking at their reflections on those shiny trophies?"
THEE CALL - UAA wins Friday, which scares the $#@& out of CC, but they bounce back to win Saturday and Sunday. CC punches their ticket to the Final Five.


#9. Michigan Technological University Huskies at #2. University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux

Both teams are coming off 2 point weekends. MTU has been going the wrong direction this second half, and other than the CC series, have not been all the impressive. UND had avoided the injury bug for most of the season, now it has hit them. Chay Genoway (Soph. Def), Evan Trupp (Fres. Fwd), and TJ Oshie (Jr. Fwd), I don't know if they will all be back this weekend or a couple of them... The Sioux do have some depth at forward, so they should be able to put up some goals this weekend. MTU's goalies have been playing good this second half, but where playing better in the first half of the season. The Huskies will do some barking and growling this weekend, since they have a slim, slim chance of making the NCAA tourney.
THEE CALL - SIOUX SWEEP, and the Huskies go back to Houghton with their tails between their legs.


#8. University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at #3. University of Denver Pioneers

Have the Bulldogs found their offense? If they can score 3 goals they can win, if they don't they don't seem to win. Can the Pioneers stop their slide? DU has a 6-9-1 record since January 1, and have not beat anyone in the top half of the WCHA. Could this be a repeat of their 2005 playoff series? UMD is also one of the bubble NCAA teams and DU is still in the NCAA, but if they keep losing, they might be watching the F4 from the stands.
THEE CALL - Dog Days of Summer, UMD wins in 3.


#7. University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at #4. Minnesota State Univeristy Mankato Maveriks

The Mavericks have been one of the stronger teams the second half of the season, having a 9-4-0 record in the last 13 games. The Gophers have a 6-5-7 record since January 1, with 2 of those wins against Wayne State (CHA). The Mavericks have been getting scoring from a variety of players as of late, and the Gophers are just looking to get any sort of score. With the anemic offense of the Gophers, they will not go very far into the playoffs. The goaltending and defense will have to continue to play well, if the Mavericks wish to make a run in the playoffs.
THEE CALL - MSUM sweeps


#6. University of Wisconsin Badgers at #5. Saint Cloud State University Huskies


These teams just meet two weeks ago, which ended in a split between them. The Badgers need to win this series to keep their hopes alive of playing in Madison in the NCAA tourney. SCSU needs to win, to helps secure their spot in the NCAA tourney, and to keep the Badgers out. There was a little pushing and shoving in the last series between these two teams, and who knows, we might see some of that this weekend as well. These teams are both sporting very similiar records SCSU is 17-14-5(12-12-4 WCHA) and UW is 15-14-7 (11-12-5 WCHA).
THEE CALL - SCSU in 3

Why Not T.J. Oshie for POY?

Brad Elliott Schlossman is taking a little heat for his selection of T.J. Oshie for player of the year in the WCHA. To call Brad biased or a homer is silly, Brad is paid to cover hockey for the Grand Forks Herald which is stationed in Grand Forks, ND. For the people that are geographically challenged that is also home to the Fighting Sioux.

This is Brad's answer: I went with Oshie because I believe he's the best player in the league. He's physical, he's a menace forechecking, he's extremely skilled and he does a ton for the team. He's also got good numbers to go with it.

And explain which Sioux players you don't believe to be deserving on the first or second team.

Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, March 10 1:16 PM

I like what Brad says here. it is a good question; why not pick T.J. Oshie for player of the year in the WCHA? T.J. Oshie brings it every night. I have watched him play for three seasons and T.J. Oshie is a special player that I have never seen take a shit off. First down the ice with the puck, first back in the defensive zone to back check. While Oshie is a a great offensive player, what makes him special is his ability to play in both ends of the rink, because of that fact I would take Oshie over Ryan Lasch any day.

In my humble opinion T.J. is a complete player that happens to be the hammer more than he is the nail. T.J. Oshies doesn't skate around the opposition he tries to go through the opposing players.

Sioux fans enjoy him while we can because he will be playing in the NHL very soon. I can't wait to see him in the NHL where there isn't as much hooking and holding.

All the more reason for a shoot out.

Ankur Dholakia--APChris from Western College Hockey had this posted up and it is worth a read Lots of Free Hockey

Make that lots of free hockey without a winner. Here is a perfect story backing up my theory on why hockey should add the shootout on all levels, if after numerous overtimes move on to a shootout. If the shootout is good enough for the NHL it is good enough for the amateur ranks as well. Championship are made to determine who is the champion of that league, conference or state.

8 OTs fail to decide hockey final

Co-champs declared in Michigan's longest prep hockey game

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


PLYMOUTH -- When Tim Hooker scored the tying goal late in the third period of the Division I state high school championship game, little did the Orchard Lake St. Mary's forward realize he was setting the stage for the longest prep hockey game in Michigan history.

Hooker's goal with 1:32 left in regulation Saturday night at Compuware Sports Arena tied the score 1-1 in the title game against Marquette. After three 15-minute periods, the game remained tied, sending it into sudden death overtime.

Each overtime period was eight minutes long. But after eight overtime periods and still a 1-1 tie, Michigan High School Athletic Association officials opted to call the game and declare St. Mary's and Marquette co-state champions. The game ended 4 hours, 15 minutes after it started.

"We were so tired that we were feeling like ordering out some pizzas or something like that," Hooker joked. "We knew how the other team felt. Whoever wanted it more would win. I guess we both wanted it so much."

It was only the fifth overtime state finals game since the MHSAA started hockey state playoffs in 1975. Three of the previous games were in single overtime and only one went into double overtime.

When the game ended after 45 minutes of regulation and eight 8-minute overtimes for 1:49, MHSAA officials reported that it was the longest hockey contest in state history surpassing a recent Sault Ste. Marie-Petoskey game in regional action that lasted 1:32:34, with Sault Ste. Marie winning 2-1.

The MHSAA also said available records indicate that it could be considered the second longest game in national high school hockey history, trailing only an 11-overtime game in 1955 that Minneapolis South won over Thief River Falls, Minn., 3-2.

"I thought it was the best high school hockey game I've seen in my entire life," said Marquette coach Joe Papin, who said he had "mixed feelings" about the MHSAA's decision to stop the game. "But I understand the state's decision in not wanting to see anyone get hurt."

Orchard Lake St. Mary's had defeated Marquette 4-2 in last season's title game. St. Mary's ended the game with a 15-12-3 record while Marquette was 20-5-4. Those records, as posted by MHSAA, included Saturday's game as a tie, although Papin said he considers his team to have had a 21-win season.

"My first instinct would have been to play it out," said St. Mary's coach Brian Klanow. "But the decision was made and it wasn't up for debate. I look at it as a moment in hockey history that my kids and Marquette's kids were a part of."

Marquette, whose lone goal came in the second period from Mike Peterson had a 59-34 shots advantage. Ryan Morley-Stockton had 58 saves for St. Mary's while Jon Nezich had 33 for Marquette.

Orchard Lake St. Mary's was also a part of the longest football game in Michigan state finals history last November losing 46-39 in five overtimes to East Grand Rapids in the Division 3 title game at Ford Field.

Forward Shane Halass was on the football team.

"I rather it go into a shoot-out, but in the end, it's all good," Halaas told the Detroit Free Press. "It's better than if we lost. Everyone goes out a winner. It was different, but we're champions and we get rings."

Marquette had knocked Traverse City West out of the tournament with a 6-2 win in the regional finals at Sault Ste. Marie.

Traverse City Central lost to Division 2 runner-up Midland in the regional finals at Alpena 5-4. That game went four overtimes.

WCHA Tourney Time

Herald photo by John Stennes
The match-ups have been finalized and all we have left to do is play the games. I am also happy that we won't have to listen to the other leagues fans complaining about how many WCHA teams are in the mix for a NCAA tourney bid. The Fratricide begins this weekend. I predict when it is all said and done there will be 5 WCHA teams in the NCAA tourney.

#1 CC sweeps #10 UAA

This series will be over on Saturday night.
Tigers roll winning two games 6-0 and 5-2.

#2 UND vs #9 MTU

It will be interesting to see which Huskies come to Grand Forks to play the Sioux this weekend. At the beginning of the season the Huskies were picked by some to finish third in the league, so I would have to say that the Huskies play this season has been a disappointment. Prediction: Sioux in two games.

#3 DU vs #8 DU and

UMD and DU have a history, UMD ended DU's season in the 2006 WCHA playoffs. I could see the Bull Dogs ending the Pioneers WCHA playoffs once again this year. Prediction: Dog in three.

#4 MSUM vs #7 UM

The Gopher fans are already licking their lips about the prospects of playing the Mavericks; but they shouldn't be. This is not the same Mavericks team that the Golden Goofs beat earlier in the season. Prediction: Mavericks win series in three games. Gophers coach Don Lucia appeals to the league office to get the Friday night game at the WCHA Final Five anyways, saying it isn't fair that they can't play in the Final Five. Lets Go Mavs blogger faints in the arena in Makato and has to be rushed to the hospital.

#5 SCSU vs #6 UW

SCSU will end the BADgers season in three games. SCSU is playing pretty good right now and the BADgers don't have an answer for the Huskies offense. Prediction: Garrett Roe has a conniption but the Huskies still win the series in three games.

You heard it here first folks the final five is held this season without the BADgers or the Gophers; and they will still hold the game(s) regardless of whether the two big ten teams are there or not.

Are you kidding me? Parise and Boyle

Here is a video of Zach Parise's first fight ever in the NHL. I think that Parise did a pretty good job in his first NHL fight but I a sure most of us would probably tell Zach to stick to his day job of scoring goals and being a play-maker. Leave the fighting to the David Clarkson's of the world.

According to Hockeyfights.com this was Zach's first professional fight. In fact Parise had not been in a fight since his days at SSM.

The Poll Results: Where the Gopher will finish?

Position the Gopher's finish in the WCHA standings?

A.) 4th 10 (2%)
B.) 5th 23 (5%)
C.) 6th 71 (17%)
D.) 7th 176 (44%)
E.) 8th 60 (15%)
F.) 9th 56 (14%)

Gophers finish the regular season in 7th place.
Final Standings

1.) C.C. 43
2.) UND 39
3.) DU 33
4.) MSU-M 28
5.) SCSU 28
6.) Wisconsin 27
7.) Minnesota 25
8.) UMD 23
9.) MTU 22
10.) UAA 12

Wisconsin and Minnesota on the road for their WCHA first round series.

Another sister kissing: UND 2 SCSU 2

The Sioux are going to have to play better than this if they are going to win an NCAA title. UND keeps the streak alive as they have gone 17 games without a loss. Referee Todd Anderson had another horrible night as he let a lot of stuff go on both sides of the ice. Time for the league to look into the state of officals in the off season.

Goals Scoring/Penalties Time

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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK-1 Matt Frattin (2-Tripping) STC 0x1 4:30
STC-1 Tony Mosey (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x1 8:05
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brad Miller (4) (Ryan Martens, Joe Finley) 8:23
NDK: 14,2,8,25,10,G1 STC: 26,13,24,4,G33
STC-2 Aaron Marvin (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x2 8:50

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2nd Period (20:00)
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STC 1 - 1 6x6 Brent Borgen (3) (Aaron Brocklehurst, Ryan Peckskamp) 4:23
NDK (-): 4,28,29,17,20,G1
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 Matt Watkins (8) (Derrick LaPoint, Joe Finley) 18:52
NDK (+): 20,3,2,29,17,G1 STC (-): 19,27,4,7,13,G33

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK-2 Andrew Kozek (2-Hooking) STC 1x2 16:11
STC 2 - 2 6x5 PP GT Ryan Lasch (23) (Aaron Brocklehurst, Andreas Nodl) 17:21
STC: 19,21,12,26,13,G33 NDK: 2,4,29,20,G1

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Overtime (5:00)
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End of Game