Bergeron not cleared to play, yet.

In case you forgot about him Patrice Bergeron was the Bruins star player that was chopped into the boards by Flyer's thug Randy Jones on October 27th, 2007 and was suspended a grand total of 2 games. Patrice Bergeron has yet to play since that brutal hit but is getting very close to rejoining the Bruins line up. If the Bruins can dispose of the Habs tonight look for Patrice to rejoin the line up.

Bergeron 'looks doubtful' for Game 7
Bruins coach Claude Julien said he wouldn't hesitate to use Patrice Bergeron against the Canadiens tonight in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.

But it remains unlikely that Bergeron will see action against the Canadiens.

"It's a doctor's decision and he still hasn't had the okay," Julien said prior to the Bruins' departure for Montreal. Bergeron was one of six players who took to the ice yesterday and he accompanied the team to Montreal. But the 22-year-old star, who has missed most of the season because of a concussion, said the doctors still haven't cleared him to play.

"I saw the doctor this weekend and he said 'no'," Bergeron said. "I'll talk to him again on the phone but it looks doubtful."

More Denver Post stuff...

Minnesota's Stephane Veilleux, shown fighting Colorado's gentlemanly forward Ian Laperriere during Tuesday night's 5-1 Avalanche victory, is another example of goons gone Wild. (John Leyba, The Denver Post )

Whats going on at the Denver Post?

In retrospect; I think the Denver Post must just be a in your face newspaper, that likes getting under the skin of opposing fans. Maybe it is something we just are not used to here in the upper midwest. I suppose it probably sells newspapers and get people talking about their paper. Personally, I have never seen anything like it. First we had the "Dasher Troll" George Gwozdecky whining about the Fighting Sioux. Then we get Denver Post Skippy Mark Kiszla posting objectionable stuff about the Minnesota Wild. Check out his latest, it is an interesting read it's the email he probably got as a result of his ugly Betty article, some of them are pretty funny. Just for the record hockey is a physical game and fights do happen sometimes. All teams in the NHL do goon it up from time to time, it is just part of the game. Really; college is no different.

Parting shot
And today's parting shot does not have to be stronger than a breeze to knock down Avalanche star Peter Forsberg, if you believe this whining from a Wild and crazy fan.

"Do the Avs have their own version of the Oscars? They must . . . and the top award goes to the best dive. It must be why Forsberg came back: to win one of those awards. But he should be careful, though. Ryan Smyth is trying hard to get some votes."

Mike, St. Paul, Minn.

A DieHard offer.

"Being a Minnesota native, someone who grew up playing hockey and a fan of the Wild, I am writing to personally apologize for my team beating up your Avs. Like so many soccer moms, I really wish both teams could win. That way, everyone would be happy. I woke up this morning to sunny blue skies, with temps in the 50s. And, by the way, my car started up just fine, so I'm not sure what your 'Land of 10,000 dead batteries' slam was referring to. Toughen up, dude."

Ugly Betty, Minnetonka, Minn.

Bruins take les Habs to game 7.

Wow! What a hockey game! In my opinion this was one of the best games that I had watched all season long. It wouldn't be an understatement to say that I have watched a lot of hockey this year.

In the last year and a half Habs have owned the Boston winning something like 12 games in a row until the Bruins beat the Habs in game 3. Actually, the Boston Bruins had not beaten the Canadians since Saturday March 3rd, 2007, tonight they evened the series with the Montreal Canadians. I would have loved to have been in the TD North Garden tonight.

*The Bruins, who lost all 20 previous best-of-seven series in which they trailed 3-1, will try to complete their bid to eliminate the top-seeded Canadiens in Montreal on Monday night.

*The Canadiens will play a Game 7 for the 19th time but first after leading 3-1.

Phil Kessel makes good after being benched for games 2-4. Kessel has been on fire since he re-joined the Bruins line up.

Phil Kessel is making Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien look like a genius. After being a healthy scratch for three games, Kessel has scored three goals in his last two games, including two on Saturday night as the Canadiens couldn't seem to handle anything the Bruins threw at them as Boston scored four goals in the third period. It marked the second straight game that the Habs have given up four goals in the third period against the Bruins.

Check out Phil Kessels game tying goal it is nothing short of amazing.

Julien on Kessel getting back in the line up.

If your a Bruins fan and you haven't seen a lot of games where the Bruins took the game to the Habs you might want to check out the embedded video of game five. Wow, that was simply amazing. It has to be one of my favorite nightlights of the 2007-2008 Boston Bruins hockey season. The Bruins took it to the Canadians rookie goaltender Price.


Bruins coach on Phil Kessel getting himself back in the line up after he had been a healthy scratch in games 2, 3 and 4. Ironically Kessel scored the Bruins first goal in game five in Montreal.

Counting on Kessel - With only five goals in the first four games, the Bruins needed a trigger-puller Thursday, leading to Phil Kessel making his return after being scratched the last three games. Julien scratched Jeremy Reich, the fourth-line winger and penalty killer, and put Kessel on the second line alongside Milan Lucic and Marc Savard.

But Julien made sure he put Kessel in the right situations. For several key faceoffs in the neutral and defensive zones, Julien replaced Kessel with Petteri Nokelainen, a more responsible two-way player. In the second period, when Canadiens defenseman Roman Hamrlik was nabbed for holding, Kessel was set up at his preferred space along the left boards, and the rookie didn't hesitate to snap a rebound of his shot between Carey Price's pads for the tying goal.

While some players might have been lost after a three-game benching, Kessel didn't dwell on the disappointment, instead using it as motivation.

"I think it's pretty obvious that we saw Phil Kessel determined to get back in the lineup and make a difference," Julien said. "I think everybody who's seen him play this year would say that was one of his best games. He was strong on the boards, strong on the puck, all those things that we've been working with him to get better at. He's shown us that he's capable of doing it. It couldn't happen at a better time than [Thursday] night. Was I pleased with his game? Absolutely. Do we need more of that? We certainly do."

Kiszla is at it again.

In case you haven't seen it Dener Post's resident moron is at it again. Thanks to Gopherz for posting it.

Goon Veilleux crosses the line
Now that Minnesota has pushed the tone of this NHL playoff series against Colorado from Wild and dangerous to the edge of insanity, what is commissioner Gary Bettman going to do about it before more reckless damage is done to a wonderful sport already dismissed by too many Americans as a bad excuse for a bar brawl?

Well, the commish could start by ordering a suspension for Minnesota winger Stephane Veilleux, who apparently views the NHL's penal code as a chance to write his name in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Should the league take punitive action against Veilleux?

"Definitely," Avs veteran Ian Laperriere said Wednesday, on the eve of Game 5.

Mr. Misconduct needs to be suspended. If the NHL had any sense of justice, Veilleux would be banned from participating tonight against the Avs, with the tense best-of-seven series tied at two victories apiece.

A goon-gone-wild act by Veilleux included a dangerous blindside shot on Avs star Paul Stastny late Tuesday in a 5-1 Colorado victory that saw the Wild overdose on testosterone and embarrass any Minnesotan in the great state of hockey who truly loves the sport.

Although Laperriere respects the unwritten rule of sending a we're-not-going-take-it message in the closing minutes of a lopsided playoff loss, he believes Veilleux definitely crossed the line by leaving his feet to deliver a nasty hit to the back of a defenseless Stastny.

"The league has been talking blows to the head and how we want to get rid of that. (Veilleux) jumped in the air and went right between the numbers," Laperriere said. "There's a fine line between being physical and trying to hurt someone."

Although shaken, Stastny was able to skate away from the cowardly assault by Veilleux in the third period. Should that leave a combatant who was obviously looking to cause mayhem off the hook with the league office?

"In my mind, don't wait for a guy to break his neck to do something about it. But they pay me to play, they don't pay me to hand out suspensions," said Laperriere, no angel himself, with a nose permanently bent in the shape of a 25-mph curve that proves what a tough road he has taken in 14 NHL seasons.

I like who Kiszla keeps coming back with quotes from Ian Laperriere. Just for the record Ian Laperriere is a gutless hack and a goon that has spent the series against the Wild running the skilled players of the Minnesota Wild and is nothing more than a toothless goon. Former North Stars coach and current Wild scout Glen Sonmor was right when he wondered why somebody on the Wild didn't go after the Avalanche's Cody McLeod and Ian Laperriere and ring their necks.

The Veilleux checking from behind on Av's player Paul Stasny was a questionable hit and you could call it dirty, however, the action did not warrant anything more than a 5 minute penatly in my opinon. Just for the record Veilleux is not a goon and is a good hockey player and also a decent defensive forward.

College Hockey Notebook

I would have expected better from Adam Wodon. First off let correct the names; come on now it's Joe, Finley, Taylor Chorney and Andrew Kozek. Spelling errors aside it looks pretty good, I will take 7th in the pre-season poll.

7. North Dakota -- The Sioux stand to lose a lot. T.J. Oshie hasn't signed yet, but the St. Louis Blues first-rounder is poised to leave after his junior year. The same can be said for Joe Finely and Taylor Chorine, juniors who will likely turn pro. There are other potential risks to leave, such as former Hobey winner Ryan Duncan (a free agent) and junior Andrew Kopek. The Sioux will also lose goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who was phenomenal all year until allowing six goals in the NCAA semis. Assuming enough players come back and with another good recruiting class, the Sioux will be right there. They will likely be playing with a freshman goalie, but two of the last four NCAA champs have been freshmen.

Western College Hockey: It's Not Easy Being Anchorage

A post by Chris about an article part time Grand Forks Hearald sports writer Virg Foss wrote back in March has stirred up at hornets net over on Western College hockey. In a March 15 issue of the Grand Forks Herald Virg Foss said this:

Living in that kind of perpetual darkness must be like playing on the cellar dwelling Alaska Anchorage hockey team. ...wishes there was a way to kick Alaska Anchorage out of the WCHA and replace the Seawolves with Bemidji State

The article is interesting in itself but the comments are the most entertaining part the blog post. If you haven't seen the aritcle it suggest you stroll on over and take a look, this is a going to be a train wreck.

Dan Meyer from This is the WCHA had an interesting take on this issue. Dan is suggesting that the WCHA cut itself into two divisions and east and a west.

I have seen this suggested a few times before and there are many problems with the concept. First; the strength of schedule in the two divisions would have some serious disparity; the west division would have a significantly easier schedule than the east. Second; Air Force is not going to be in the WCHA, they could not compete on a regular basis in the WCHA (my humble opinion). Also; I was told by someone in the CHA know that Air Force left the CHA to be in AHA so they could compete in the same league as Army. Also, the natural rivals of the present WCHA would not be preserved. The travel cost of the Western Division would also outweigh the costs of the Eastern Division travel. Lastly, you would also have to increase the WCHA schedule from 28 to 32 games to accommodate the extra two teams.

East Division
Michigan Tech
Minnesota
Minnesota-Duluth
Minnesota State
St. Cloud State
Wisconsin

West Division
Air Force
Alaska-Anchorage
Bemidji State
Colorado College
Denver
North Dakota

Looking at the 2008-2009 schedule.

I have been a regular listener and critic of the INCH pod casts because of their blatant bias and love for the eastern and CCHA schools. On a recent pod cast Joe Gladziszewski Jeff Howe and Mike Eidelbes went so far as to say that the WCHA schools do not travel and they play all if not most of their non-conference games inside their own building because they throw big money at the visiting teams to show up and that is the reason the WCHA strength of schedule is so inflated.

In looking at the 2008-2009 Fighting Sioux non conference schedule it appears that claim is false and if UND does well during their nonconference schedule they will have a strong strength of schedule again.

Oct. 10-11 — Ice Breaker Invitational at Boston University. (BU, UMass, Michigan State)Boston, Mass
Nov. 28-29 — EZAC CORNELL, Grand Forks, ND
Dec. 5-6 — at EZAC Harvard (Cambridge Mass)
Dec. 26-27 — at Great Lakes Invitational (Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech)
Joe Louis Arena, Detroit Michigan
Jan. 2-3 — at Bemidji State/BEMIDJI STATE

Wow; out of 10 nonconferene game the Fighting Sioux will only play 3 of those games at home and they will make the trip to the Boston area twice.

2008-2009 Fighting Sioux hockey schedule...

Today the 2008-2009 UND Fighting Sioux hockey schedule (tentative) was announced. I will get the count down going soon.

Oct. 5 — MANITOBA (exhibition)

Oct. 10-11 — Ice Breaker Invitational at Boston Univ. (BU, UMass, Michigan State)

Oct. 17-18 — at MSU-Mankato

Oct. 31-Nov. 1 — WISCONSIN

Nov. 7-8 — at Colorado College

Nov. 14-15 — ANCHORAGE

Nov. 21-22 — at Minnesota-Duluth

Nov. 28-29 — CORNELL

Dec. 5-6 — at Harvard

Dec. 12-13 — ST. CLOUD STATE

Dec. 19 — U.S. UNDER-18 (exhibition)

Dec. 26-27 — at Great Lakes Invitational (Michigan, Michigan State, Michigan Tech)

Jan. 2-3 — at Bemidji State/BEMIDJI STATE

Jan. 9-10 — MINNESOTA

Jan. 16-17 — at Michigan Tech

Jan. 23-24 — DENVER

Jan. 30-31 — at St. Cloud State

Feb. 13-14 — MSU-MANKATO

Feb. 20-21 — at Anchorage

Feb. 27-28 — COLORADO COLLEGE

March 6-7 — at Wisconsin

March 13-15 — First round WCHA playoffs

March 19-21 — WCHA Final Five (St. Paul)

March 27-29 — NCAA Regionals (Minneapolis, Grand Rapids, Mich., Bridgeport, Conn., Manchester, N.H.)

April 9-11 — NCAA Frozen Four (Washington, D.C.)

Toews Goal Voted Highlight of the Year

It has been announced on the Chicago Black Hawks team page that former Fighting Sioux star Jonathan Toew's fantastic, jaw dropping goal against the Avalanche was ranked as the number one highlight of the year.

The fans have spoken... Jonathan Toew’s amazing goal vs. the Avalanche at the United Center on Oct. 19 has been selected the highlight of the year in voting on chicagoblackhawks.com!

Two former Sioux's NHL season ends.

Two former Fighting Sioux defenseman had their NHL seasons ended last night; the two players were Mike Commodore and Brian Lee, both men play for the Ottawa Senators. In classic fashion the Ottawa Senators were dismantled by the high octane Pittsburgh Penguins in four games. The early exit by the Senators is leaving many in Ottawa to ponder what the hell happened. At the beginning of the Season the Senators were the NHL best team as the Senators got out to an amazing 15-2 start and then stumbled down the stretch.

Former Fighting Sioux Brian Lee played in all 4 playoff games for the Senators; recording no goals no assists and was a minus one. The fact that Brian Lee played in all for of Ottawa Stanley Cup playoffs games is probably a strong statement on how the Senator's organization feels about this young man. This was Brian Lee's first NHL Stanley Cup playoffs.

Former Fighting Sioux Mike Commodore came to the Senators from the Hurricanes at the trade dead line and played in all four playoff games as well recording zero goals and two assists for two points and was a minus one as well. Commodore a veterans of two Stanley finals with Calgary (loss) and Carolina (win) has played in forty nine (49) Stanley cup games scoring two goals and six assists for eight points and is a plus one.

More from game four: Wild and Av's

This clip pretty much sums up the last game between the Wild and Av's a lot of trash talk and after the whistle bull. I like how Av's punk Cody McCloud talks big when he is either hiding in the box or standing behind the refs. Of course he will never do anything but take runs at people and turtle when he is challenged.

That being said; the Wild need to play more disciplined hockey and have a little less after the whistle stuff. The Wild can not continue to take foolish penalties and put the Av's on the power play. Also, the Avalanche have proved that they won't fight and will do enough to goad the Wild into a penalty.

Linkorama: a couple of things

Former team president Bruins Harry Sinden had a few interesting things to say the other day and apparently Harry doesn't see to be a big fan of Marc Savard. Kind of funny since Savard is the top star on the Bruins. Maybe Sinden should concentrate on retirement.

Marc Savard

Marc Savard, who scored the overtime goal in Game 3: "I'm not a fan of his. He's one of these guys who has batting average but no runs batted in. You know what I mean? He gets a lot of points. He's a good player, I'm just not a fan."

Former Gopher and second year player Phil Kessel was a healthy scratch for game three and four and could be in the stands for game five when the Habs and Bruins play tonight.

*Julien also said there has been no determination on whether Phil Kessel will re-enter the lineup. Kessel was one of 15 Bruins to practice this morning.

*Julien also said there has been no determination on whether Phil Kessel will re-enter the lineup. Kessel was one of 15 Bruins to practice this morning.

* Kessel is the other wild card. If you put him in, who do you take out? Glen Murray is struggling, but he is willing to stand in front of the net on the power play, meaning the Canadiens must respect his presence. Julien could put Kessel on the second line and drop P.J. Axelsson down, which would give you a greater offensive threat, but hurt you defensively. The third line has arguably been the best unit, so you don't touch that. Julien could swap out Jeremy Reich for Kessel for better offensive touch, but then he'd be down a penalty-killer. I say Kessel remains out and lineup stays as the following:

Former Sioux Brandon Bochenski with his third team on the season and there seems to be a reoccurring theme; Bochenski was a healthy scratch with the Predators for games 3 and game 4

Check out this post.

I was reading on line the other day when I discovered this post from former student and half hit Jon Hoff on the Dakota Student. If you have lived in Grand Forks since early 2000's you will remember this person is the same Jon Hoff we are speaking about.

I know it is a little late and if I had seen it earlier I would have addressed it sooner. Seems more of the same tireless crap is still showing up on Siouxsports.com yet again. Of course this person added no link or citation to their claims. I highly doubt the statue in front of the REA game from Nazi Germany. The FBI also determined that Ralph Englestad did not harboured any pro-fascist political beliefs, I think I am going to believe the FBI over some half wit.

John Hoff
posted 1/04/08 @ 12:21 AM CST
I actually love the University of North Dakota. But the logo needs to go.

Here's another interesting point of research: who is the artist of that "Native American on horseback" statue in front of Ralph Engelstad Arena? You know, the one that was "disarmed" when they modified the statue to be carrying a staff instead of a spear on the day the arena opened and there was a big protest march?

Supposedly, Ralph Engelstad bought that statue at an auction. But who created the statue in the first place? I mean, you know, back when it had a spear instead of a "dream catcher" on the end of a staff?

For all we know, that statue could have come from an "art exhibit on the races of mankind" in the Third Reich. After all, Ralph Engelstad was NOTORIOUS for collecting Nazi bric-a-brac, and was even fined by the Nevada Gaming Commission for his outrageous Hitler theme party. The guy had a picture of Hitler in his office, for crying out loud. All a matter of record.

But in regard to that mysterious statue in front of the arena...

We just don't know where the statue came from because Engelstad Arena won't say. But it's very suspicious that a statue sits in front of the arena and nobody knows who made it. And nobody from Engelstad Arena is saying who created that statue.

The family of Sitting Bull is on the record: they don't like the statue. It doesn't honor their relative, Sitting Bull. But the big question: who made it? Where did it originate?

It's no mystery where the granite in Engelstad Arena originated, however. India. Where child labor in the stone quarries is rampant. But the statue! Ah, a mystery. Who will solve it and get the glory?

The Hockey Chicks cover free agency and the Frozen Four.

This is a must listen to podcast, it's from the Hockey Chicks that aired on 4-14-2008.

The Hockey Chicks had an interesting guest Lewis Mongelluzzo who is a amateur scout from the Ottawa Senators and Lou did a really good job breaking down the NHL free agency, but also the major junior versus college hockey.

Stephane Veilleux vs Ian Laperriere

It would be an understatement if I told you last nights game was an ugly game. The Minnesota Wild were down 3-0 to the Av's before the first period was over. From that point on the game took a turn for the worse as the Wild started a parade to the penalty box. Not all is lost as the Wild accomplished their goal by splitting in Colorado.

I give Stephane Veilleux a lot of credit for stepping in and fighting Av's thug Ian Laperriere. Face it Laperriere is a hack, he skates all over the ice taking runs at the skilled players of the Wild but he wants nothing to do with the Wild tough guys Derick Boogaard, Aaron Voros or Todd Fedoruk.

That being said the Wild need to beat the Av's on the score board and pick their spots to get their pay back against the Av's, no stupid selfish penalties.

This is pretty accurate photo of Peter Forsberg.

What's up with the Denver Post writers?

I think the Denver Post should be ashamed of themselves, this is blatant gutter sports journalism. What the hell is wrong with this newspaper? First we get this moron's Mark Kiszla's Ugly Betty hockey in Colorado's future, the article was an absolute joke, that the Wild can't win unless they goon it up. That article was so bad that the Star and Tribune covered this skippy's story. Now the another writer says the Wild resorted to Goonery. Just for the recored the Colorado Avalanche's have more fighting majors this season than the Minnesota Wild this season.

Talk about one sided journalism, while I agree the Veilleux hit on Stansy was brutal, it could have been a five minute majors some of the other crap from the Avalanche's did was just as bad. Peter Forberg is an absolute dive queen, and should be given a unsportsman like conduct penatly for his antics. Check out the latest skippy from the Denver Post.

Adrian Dater Denver Post writes:

Frustrated and outplayed all night, the Wild resorted to some goonery after getting down 5-0, including a third-period boarding penalty on Stephane Veilleux where he left his feet to hit Colorado's Paul Stastny. While a suspension is probably unlikely because Stastny was not hurt, the fact he left his feet to deliver a potential dangerous hit from behind could warrant action from the NHL front office, which has cracked down on such infractions this year. Minnesota's Derek Boogaard also drew a 10-minute misconduct for shooting the puck down the ice after a penalty, then throwing an elbow to the head of David Jones.

Patrick Reusse wrote what a lot of Wild fans think of Ian LaPerriere the guy is a hack and loves to go around running the smaller skilled Wild players but wants nothing to do with the Boogey man.

We might as well take a Kiszlaesque shot here and point out what a classy guy the Avalanche has in LaPerriere. There were a couple of fighters on the ice -- normal-sized fellows -- but LaPerriere decided the guy to drop gloves with was Veilleux, the smallest guy on the ice at the time.

After his historic night of piling up penalties, Veilleux said it wasn't a case of the Wild being down big and trying to intimidate.

Bouchard scores in overtime.

It is about time that Pierre-Marc Bouchard earns his pay and scores a goal. The overtime goal sealed the win for the Wild as they took a two games to one lead in the best of seven series against the Av's. This is the third game of this series and all three have gone overtime. If you watch the film you will see that Brian Rolston beat the slow footed Jeff Finger to the puck.

Apparently the Denver Post blogger Mark Kiszla is less that impressed with the Wild. Funny I have never seen the Wild referred to as a bunch of goons. I think the Wild have gotten tougher with Voros Boogaard and Simon but they are far from being a bunch of gutless hacks and goons. But check out this article, talk about sour grapes.

Ugly Betty hockey in Colorado's future
By Mark Kiszla

Let the mugging begin.

It's the only way the Minnesota Wild can win.

To advance in the NHL playoffs, the Avalanche must embrace the darkness. When playing this goon-it- up Wild bunch, hockey is a no-holds- barred battle of attrition, not skill.

The only good thing that can be said about Minnesota's 3-2 overtime victory against Colorado was the game lasted so deep into the night that it ended past the bedtime of most kids who could be frightened by the way the Wild mauls all the beauty from the sport.

In a long playoff series, this is the Wild motto: If you can't beat 'em, break 'em.

"You hope to wear down the opposition," Minnesota mauler Aaron Voros said Monday.

"By Games 4, 5 or 6, those bumps and bruises start

Minnesota, the land of 10,000 dead car batteries, has an inferiority about this hockey team. The Wild's style of play is as ugly and obnoxious as the uniforms, which look as if designed by a toddler who randomly pulled two crayons from the box of 64 and began scribbling.

This hard truth makes the Wild faithful grumpier than they are after waking up to yet another subzero morning. But why deny what makes the team so successful?

Andy Strickland on Oshie

As the silly season continues this is something Sioux fans will have deal with; the loss of their favorite player(s), it has become a yearly right of passage, this year very painful as there could be many defections. I am sure other college hockey fans feel the same way as they hold their breath and hope the NHL doesn't come and take their favorite players. In my opinion T.J. Oshie has been nothing but class since he has been at UND and it will be a sad day for this hockey blogger when Oshie does sign on the dotted line.
Andy Strickland blog article on Oshie

Oshie Will Take His Time Before Making Announcement
Blues super prospect T.J. Oshie has yet to make an official announcement regarding any decision to leave the University of North Dakota and signing an NHL contract.

Word is Oshie could wait until his final exams are completed before he goes public with his decision. UND holds their finals during the first week of May.

Due to NCAA regulations, the Blues are prohibited from directly contacting Oshie.

Oshie will likely start game planning his future with his family advisors sometime next week.

It appears to be pretty much a slam dunk that Oshie will sign with the club who selected him in the first round back in 2005.

Oshie will likely have an opportunity to step right in and be a top six guy for Andy Murray next season. He’s primarily been a centerman his entire life but could be asked to play wing in the NHL.

Oshie arrived at UND a little under the radar with Jonathan Toews, Brian Lee, and Taylor Chorney getting most of the attention.

That will be far from the case when he joins the Blues. Fans know who this kid is and have been patiently waiting for his arrival.

Here is some other stuff that is related to the Fighting Sioux players that might also be leaving.

The Fighting Sioux could also lose Capitals first round pick Joe Finley, Oilers second rounder Taylor Chorney, and last season’s Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan.

Duncan, whose saw his production take a dip from 31 goals a year ago to 18 this season with the absence of Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews, was never drafted. He did participate in the Blues development camp last summer and he and his father have a relationship with St. Louis Head Coach Andy Murray.

With that being said I’m not certain the Blues are sold on signing Duncan.

The Blues will likely ask Oshie to spend several weeks in St. Louis after he signs to familiarize himself with the Blues off-ice program.

Q&A with Joe Finley on Hockey Futures.

He might not be the most popular player around Grand Forks, ND right now but Joe Finley sat down for an interview with hockeyfutures.com before the recently completed Frozen Four.

Q&A with Joe Finley
Written by: DJ Powers on 04/10/2008
Towering junior defenseman Joe Finley is enjoying a career season with North Dakota. Coming into the Frozen Four he has more than doubled his entire point production from last season having posted 15 points (four goals, 11 assists). The Edina, MN native currently leads the Fighting Sioux in plus/minus (plus-27) and penalty minutes (92). One of his most memorable games came back on Jan. 5 when he posted an assist and was a plus-5 in North Dakota’s 6-2 win over St. Cloud State.

Hockey’s Future caught up with Finley after practice on Wednesday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The NHL develops the Avery rule

Seems that the National Hockey League felt Rangers tough guy Sean Avery stepped over the line last night.

INTERPRETATION OF RULE 75 – UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT

NEW YORK/TORONTO (April 14, 2008) -- National Hockey League Senior
Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell today issued the following advisory on the interpretation of Rule 75 - Unsportsmanlike Conduct: "An unsportsmanlike conduct minor penalty (Rule 75) will be interpreted and applied, effective immediately, to a situation when an offensive player positions himself facing the opposition goaltender and engages in actions such as waving his arms or stick in front of the goaltender's face, for the purpose of improperly interfering with and/or distracting the goaltender as opposed to positioning himself to try to make a play."

Here is the play everyone is talking about.

I saw this last night on Versus and this is one of the oddest things that I have ever saw. It is no doubt that Avery is trying to get in Martin Brodeur's head and it appeared that it worked on this play as Sean Avery scored a goal.

Last night over on CBC Ron McClain (who is a ice hockey official) said that he could give Avery a penalty for poor sportsmanship and according to the rules may and should be penalized. Below is the NHL rule that could cover this conduct.

NHL Rule 41.G
A misconduct penalty shall be imposed on any player who persists in any course of conduct (including threatening or abusive language or gestures or similar actions) designed to incite an opponent into incurring a penalty.

If, after the assessment of a misconduct penalty, a player persists in any course of conduct for which he was previously assessed a misconduct penalty, he shall be assessed a game misconduct penalty.

Future Sioux

There has been a lot of negativity lately around the blog sphere on how the Sioux exited the NCAA tourney. It should be expected since they stunk up the Pepsi Center, for what ever reason they got away from what got them there.

I was telling some friends at lunch on Friday that there is a lot to be positive about, the future looks bright, there are some nice blue chippers coming in next season. This past season UND earned a reputation of being a bunch of hard nosed players that played a tough brand of hockey. Some fans in the WCHA called UND a bunch of goons. I think that was a well deserved badge of honor.

If you think this years club was a bunch of goons you're going to like next years team.

Well let me expound on that here is Brett Hextall pounding Brock Palasty.

Phil's brother Mario Lamoureux can throw them as well and here is another example of Mario holding his own.

Here is a very bad video of future Sioux recruits Mike Cichy and Mario Lamoureux with 6 seconds left in the game scoring to ice the game.

The Silly Season Continues: DU's Chris Butler gone.

The Lets-Go-DU Hockey blog is reporting that Chris Butler is leaving the Denver Pioneer to sign a entry level professional contract with the Buffalo Sabres. The silly season continues and it looks like the 17 departures from a couple of years ago might be broken this summer since the college hockey season has just ended and there are 5 1/2 month till the 2008-2009 season ends.

Official press release on the Bulter signing.

Early departures in the WCHA

Wisconsin (1)
Kyle Turris, freshman

MSU-Mankato (1)
Jon Kalinski, junior

Michigan Tech (1)
Michael-Lee Teslak, junior

Minnesota-Duluth (1)
Jason Garrison, junior

St. Cloud State (1)
Andreas Nodl, sophomore

Minnesota (1)
Jeff Frazee, junior

Denver (1)
Chris Butler, junior

B.C. 4 Notre Dame 1 (ND gets hosed)

First congrats to the Eagles for winning their third national title. The Eagles proved that they are the best team in college hockey this season, and they did it being very creative in the offensive zone.

On their way to the national title, the Boston College Eagles burned the Gophers, RedHawks, Sioux and Irish with their teams speed and got good to great goaltending from Muse. I am sure other teams in college hockey will take note that you CAN win a national title by outscoring your opponents and playing smart defense without just simply piling up at the blue line and a focusing on defense first and offense as an afterthought. As a hockey fan, it makes me long for the days of racehorse hockey under Dean Blais. They just went out and tried to score as many goals as possible and played smart defense.

If you think about it, B.C. Eagles's style of play is a breath of fresh air. The Eagles play racehorse hockey and are actually really exciting to watch. Some teams in the NHL and college hockey should take note. In fact I am hoping that my favorite coach takes a look at the film from this past weekend and changes up his game plan a bit.

WCHA officials shine again

Looking back at the National Championship game, the off ice officials (WHCA head of official Greg Shepherd) got another call wrong on a goal. Leave it to the WCHA officials to screw up a perfectly good game and ruin it. If you go back and watch the film, at the end of the embedded video you will see that the Notre Dame player Kyle Lawson had the puck bounce off his left foot. Lawson tried to kick the puck with his left foot but missed. After a long review by the off ice official the goal was waved off. We saw numerous replays of the Notre Dame goal in question and there is no doubt in my mind that the goal should have counted. Adam Wodon also has a really good explanation:

But was the call wrong?

I think it was.

The longer it went on, you knew there was trouble for Notre Dame. The officials explained it as needing to see if the puck hit a stick. Otherwise, they felt pretty early on that Lawson knocked the puck in with a "distinct kicking motion."

I disagree. I've watched it over and over, and I have no idea how you look at that replay and determine that the player kicked the puck in with a distinct motion. And particularly, how do you look at that and determine it conclusively — which is necessary to overrule the on-ice call.

Lawson took a cross-ice feed and tried to corral the puck with his left skate. Then, as he was trying to get his stick down to tap it into what became a wide-open net, he turned his right skate to again try to control the puck. The puck hit off his skate blade, then went rolling towards the net. Lawson tried to tap at it, but whiffed. He also clearly tried to kick it — but it was also clear, at least to me, that Lawson made no kicking motion until after the puck had already deflected off his skate blade and went rolling away.

You don't expect an on-ice official to see that in a split second, but you do expect that, with the benefit of super slo-mo replay, that the video judges would have.

According to Greg Shepherd After a long delay, "The puck was kicked in by the Notre Dame player's right skate. The skate was moving toward the goal line." Way to go, Greg. You managed to botch another call this season.

Another shining moment for the WCHA officials. The WCHA league office must be proud today that they were able to affect a tourney they weren't even playing in.



Box Score

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

BC-1 Kyle Kucharski (2-Holding the Stick) NDM 0x1 8:41
BC-2 Matt Greene (2-Cross-Checking) NDM 0x2 14:33
NDM-1 Brock Sheahan (2-Roughing) BC 0x1 17:02
BC-3 Anthony Aiello (2-Tripping) NDM 0x3 18:24

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

BC 1 - 0 6x6 LL Nathan Gerbe (34) (Brian Gibbons, Ben Smith) 2:23
BC (+): 9,17,12,6,26,G1 NDM (-): 14,5,9,23,19,G1
BC-4 Andrew Orpik (2-Slashing) NDM 0x4 2:51
NDM-2 Ryan Thang (2-Interference) BC 1x2 4:58
BC 2 - 0 6x5 PP GW Nathan Gerbe (35) (Ben Smith, Dan Bertram) 5:37
BC: 9,12,22,15,21,G1 NDM: 25,14,5,22,G1
NDM-3 Dan VeNard (2-Cross-Checking) BC 2x3 6:29
NDM-4 Dan Kissel (2-Tripping) BC 2x4 7:27
BC-5 Kyle Kucharski (2-Holding) NDM 0x5 7:32
BC 3 - 0 5x4 PP Joe Whitney (11) (Nathan Gerbe, Benn Ferriero) 8:11
BC: 15,9,21,12,G1 NDM: 5,23,14,G1
NDM 1 - 3 5x5 Kevin Deeth (11) (Kyle Lawson, Ian Cole) 9:07
NDM (+): 21,2,28,22,G1 BC (-): 4,5,21,14,G1
NDM-5 Dan VeNard (2-High-Sticking) BC 2x5 16:49

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

BC-6 Nick Petrecki (2-Elbowing) NDM 0x6 0:08
BC 4 - 1 6x6 Ben Smith (25) (Nathan Gerbe, Brian Gibbons) 5:31
BC (+): 12,9,17,4,26,G1 NDM (-): 14,5,16,25,22,G1
BC-7 Matt Price (2-Obstruction Tripping) NDM 0x7 8:05
BC-8 Matt Greene (2-Hooking) NDM 0x8 9:54
Timeout - Notre Dame 19:12

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

Alex Ovechkin scores his first career playoff goal.

Wow, this has to be one of the nicer goals I have seen this season. Alex Ovechkin picked a great time to score his first ever NHL Stanley Cup Playoff goal. I don't see the Flyers beating the Captials.

The Devils get hosed by the Refs.

picture by Tony Kurdzuk/Star-Ledger


It would appear that the WCHA was officiating the NHL Stanley Cup playoff game between the Devils and the Rangers last night. First off I am not a fan of either team, so I have not interest in the game other than being a hockey fan, however, the officiating has to be better than it was last night.

The two most blatant calls was the checking from behind called that was missed by the ref at the end of the game and the linesman calling icing when the Devils were on the penalty kill and causing the face off to be at center ice. These are blown calls at critical times at the end of the game and this should not happen, not in the NHL. Personally, this has to be one of the worst officiating jobs I have seen in the NHL in some time. At the end of the game last night John Madden was screaming at the ref. i wonder if he will be spoken to by the league office?

Former Fighting Sioux Zach Parise is also going to need some dental work after being hacked in the face.

Check out New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist's save on Zach Parise.

The lone Bright spot from the Frozen Four.

This is one of the few bright spots from the Frozen Four for North Dakota. Jake Marto gave us a few glimpses of what we can expect in the future. Jake Marto the 2005 North Dakota Mr Hockey was a game breaker on the blue line when he played at Central high school, we are starting to see that same person in college with the Fighting Sioux.

T.J. Oshie named to the All-American Team.

Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie was named to the West First Team All-American team. It is a nice honor for gutty Sioux forward. There was one freshman and one Sophomore on the West All-American teams the rest were juniors and seniors.

WEST FIRST TEAM
G — Richard Bachman, Fr., Colorado College
D — Tyler Eckford, Jr., Alaska
D — Jack Hillen, Sr., Colroado College
F — Ryan Jones, Sr., Miami
F — T.J. Oshie, Jr., North Dakota
F — Kevin Porter, Sr., Michigan

WEST SECOND TEAM
G — Jeff Lerg, Jr., Michigan State
D — Chris Butler, Jr., Denver
D — Alec Martinez, Jr., Miami
F — Chad Kolarik, Sr., Michigan
F — Ryan Lasch, So., St. Cloud
F — Chad Rau, Jr., Colorado College

Big shock Kevin Porter from Michigan won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Duh, we all knew Kevin Porter would win it back in January. Porter was the best player on one of the best lines in college hockey.

Eagles 6 Sioux 1

Grand Forks Herald Picture

For the third year in a row the Fighting Sioux lost to the Boston College Eagles in the semi finals of the NCAA Frozen Four. For the third year in a row the Fighting Sioux goaltending and defense failed the Fighting Sioux. While I don't like to point fingers the Sioux defense looked like a bunch of pylons as the Speedy Eagles put on offensive exhibition. I must give credit where credit is due; hats off to the B.C. Eagles for beating the Sioux like a rented mule. It happens sometimes, that is life, your not going to win them all. In a one and done tourney anything can happen, ask Jeff Jackson and the Fighting Irish. The Fighting Irish were the last team in the NCAA tourney and they are going to beat the Eagles tomorrow night and win their first NCAA title. Just a hunch.

They say bad things come in threes; 1.) Last night the Minnesota Wild lost in over time. 2.) The Bruins got owned by the Habs. 3.) Finally the Sioux stunk up the Pepsi Center and looked like a western North Dakota high school team. Well something good has to happen, it is the law of averages (as I write this blog post the Fighting Irish win the game in overtime). This makes this loss a lot less painful.

Players last games

Tonight was the last game for seniors Rylan Kaip, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, Kyle Radke and Robbie Bina Goon's World would like to thank these seniors for the their dedication to the Fighting Sioux program, I have enjoyed watching you guys play for the Sioux. Also you can probably expect T.J. Oshie, Taylor Chorney and Joe Finley to sign professional contract very soon. I would also like to thank these players for taking one more kick at the can, I will never forget T.J. Oshie drive and determination, your truly a warrior. If you three guys want to come back for one more kick at the can because of unfinished business I am sure most of us will take you back with open arms.


I think the Green Team from Sioux Sports sums it up best.

I think

If you had asked my fellow Sioux fans who I wanted to see the Sioux play in the semis, I said Boston College, because of their track record, their excellence, I wanted the opportunity to beat them. I was surprised that was not the case where I watched the game 2 weeks ago. Most wanted Miami of Ohio to be the possible opponent. Despite the result, I'm still glad it was Boston College. One it shows us we need to improve, I honestly think that had we even played better we still would have been beaten by this squad...unfortunately they are better...this year. This Boston College team reminds me a lot of the teams in 97 and 2000 that we had, by quickly turning turnovers into instant scoring chances, they have a great transition game- they are tenacious bunch and it reminds me of those 97 and 2000 teams. We need to get quicker...

I've believed all year that the "Speed Kills" slogan may not apply to this team and to the last few. Boston College to their credit has found a chink in our armour over these last few years and that is to use their speed to get on our defenseman in a hurry, and you know what we haven't responded. A coaching change is not necessary but I will say that our staff has recruited to fit the style of play that continues to be allowed to be called in the WCHA-it's effective against the clutch and grab style of the bottom teams of our league. The players that we recruit to play in the WCHA, and have success here, may not match up well the style of play, skills and abilities that the players from BC have.

Goon sees a silver lining

First off life is full of disappointments, you're are not always going to come out ahead. There are always going to be losses and disappointments, its how you deal with these life lessions that truely makes you a man. There are going to be people that get great pleasure out of the Sioux losing against the Eagles tonight. So what! The UND Fighting Sioux finished ahead of 54 other teams in division 1 hockey again for a fourth year in a row. So when that relative or buddy that is a Gophers fan gets in your face and tells you your team choked again, tell them yep you're right but our team finished ahead of your team for a fourth year in a row.

Box Score

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

BC 1 - 0 6x6 LL Andrew Orpik (7) (Kyle Kucharski) 7:08
BC (+): 27,18,5,4,2,G1 NDK (-): 11,22,5,26,2,G1
NDK-1 Darcy Zajac (2-Slashing) BC 0x1 7:08
BC-1 Kyle Kucharski (2-Hooking) NDK 0x1 8:45
BC-2 Pat Gannon (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 12:00
BC 2 - 0 5x6 SH GW Nathan Gerbe (31) (unassisted) 13:14
BC (+): 9,5,17,7,G1 NDK (-): 10,5,14,2,17,G1
BC-3 Dan Bertram (2-Roughing) 14:23
BC-4 Matt Price (2-Roughing) 14:23
NDK-2 Matt Watkins (2-Roughing) 14:23
NDK-3 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 14:23
BC-5 Mike Brennan (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 14:59
NDK-4 Rylan Kaip (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 14:59
BC 3 - 0 5x5 Nathan Gerbe (32) (Brian Gibbons, Carl Sneep) 15:13
BC (+): 9,7,5,12,G1 NDK (-): 7,4,10,16,G1
BC 4 - 0 6x6 Dan Bertram (10) (Pat Gannon) 19:45.2
BC (+): 22,13,25,7,26,G1 NDK (-): 10,5,2,7,16,G1

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

BC-6 Nick Petrecki (2-Interference) NDK 0x3 0:24
NDK-5 Robbie Bina (2-Obstruction Hooking) BC 1x2 5:49
BC 5 - 0 6x5 PP HT Nathan Gerbe (33) (Ben Smith, Dan Bertram) 6:37
BC: 9,12,22,15,21,G1 NDK: 7,20,5,6,G1
NDK-6 T.J. Oshie (2-Charging) BC 1x3 7:11
BC-7 Matt Price (2-Roughing) NDK 0x4 9:38
BC 6 - 0 6x6 Ben Smith (24) (Nathan Gerbe, Brian Gibbons) 11:58
BC (+): 12,9,17,5,7,G1 NDK (-): 20,7,5,29,28,G1
BC-8 Andrew Orpik (2-Roughing) 12:26
BC-9 Anthony Aiello (2-Roughing) NDK 0x5 12:26
NDK-7 Kyle Radke (2-Roughing) 12:26
NDK-8 Rylan Kaip (2-Obstruction Holding) BC 1x4 17:55

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

NDK-9 Kyle Radke (2-Hooking) BC 1x5 2:25
BC-10 Carl Sneep (2-High-Sticking) NDK 0x6 5:43
BC-11 Nick Petrecki (2-CTH HIGH STICKING) NDK 0x7 13:28
BC-12 Nick Petrecki (2-Boarding) NDK 0x8 13:28
NDK 1 - 6 6x6 Jake Marto (2) (Matt Watkins) 18:44
NDK (+): 25,20,17,28,29,G1 BC (-): 27,6,18,24,7,G1

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

Julie Robenhymer on the Frozen Four...

Check out Julie Robenhymer's blog on hockeybuzz and her take on the Frozen Four. The only problem with the article that I saw was that she said the Sioux were in the CCHA.

In a 40-ish game schedule (depending on in-season tournaments), a team will play about 10 non-conference opponents. The top tier teams often take on other top tier teams from different conferences to guage their abilities on a national level and improve thier strength of schedule. So it was a big deal when two-time National Runner-Up Boston College (Hockey East) hosted North Dakota (CCHA), the team they had beaten both times to advance to the National Title game, earlier this season...but more on this later...

Here is another interesting point on the Sioux and the Eagles.

I have loved the Fighting Sioux ever since the off season when current Hobey Baker winner - Ryan Duncan and teammates TJ Oshie, Taylor Chorney and Joe Finley decided not to follow former teammate, Jonathan Towes, to the NHL and stick together to hopefully finish what they started and make another run at the National Championship. They started the season ranked #1, but quickly fell after a rather mediocre start. In fact, they split every series in the first half of the season and didn't kick things into high gear until after thier holiday tournament (Click here to read my blog about it from earlier this year). Since then, they have found their groove. Backstopped by Jean-Phillippe Lamoureux and his 1.64 GGA and led by Oshie and Duncan and their 45 and 40 points respectively, they roll all four lines and boast 14 skaters with double digits in points.

On the flipside...I've not been a fan of BC ever since my time at UMass, but I've gotten over it...this team ROCKS! Talk about overcoming adversity...there was a time this season when they weren't even in the nation's Top 15!! But much like the Sioux, they kicked it into high gear mid-way through the season. They won their holiday tourny and then the Beanpot in February followed by the Hockey East Tournament. Led by Hobey Baker Finalist, Nathan Gerbe and his 60 points, these Eagles might be on the smaller side, but man are they FAST. Thier PP converts at 21.7% led by freshman and last week's OT hero, Joe Whitney and his 28 man-advantage points. Another freshman stand-out (much like Michigan, this was a rebuilding year for BC), goaltender John Muse has started all 42 games in goal with a 2.26 GGA, but stepping it up in the post season he has a 1.60 GGA in the last six games. Yet another freshman to keep your eye on is San Jose defensive prospect Nick Petrecki - an absolute stud at the blueline.

I also like the way she is thinking...

Personally, I'm hoping for a North Dakota victory, but most importantly a GREAT game and of that I am assured. :)

Jeff Frazee's WJC back up signs with LA.

The LA Kings signed Jeff Zatkoff "aka Jef Frazee's WJC backup" to an three-year entry-level contract. Jeff Zatkoff the L.A. Kings' 2006 3rd draft choice led the Miami RedHawks to a number two over all seed in this years NCAA hockey tourney. Unfortunately, Miami was bounced from the 2008 NCAA hockey tourney by the Boston College Eagles 3-2 in overtime during the North East Regional final.

Zatkoff LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have agreed to terms on a three-year entry-level contract with goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today. Zatkoff was the club’s third-round selection (74th overall) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Per club policy, terms of the agreement were not announced.

(Caution this post is an attempt at humor and is not meant to be malicious)

Linkorama: Articles on the Eagles and the Frozen Four.

Here is an interesting discussion from B.C. Interruption I must say that I am nervous as well. One might say that it is hard to concentrate at work today. I am hoping that the third time is a charm against the Eagles. It would be interesting if the Fighting Sioux and the Fighting Irish both advance to the Frozen Four Finals the battle of the....

Last one, Toss Up - Who ya got? BC - North Dakota, and Michigan - Notre Dame?

Brian: I am nervous about the Eagles matchup tomorrow. It's REALLY hard to beat a team 3 years in a row in the national semifinals, but I'm going to go with my heart here and say that the Eagles keep things rolling. For the other matchup, again it's really difficult to beat a team 3 times in the same season ... ask this year's version of the Dallas Cowboys. I'm going to go the other way on this. I'm going with Notre Dame with the major upset, if only because Notre Dame survived the West regional of death, and Michigan had, by far, the easiest road to the Frozen Four. All Catholic final, let's do this.

Jeff: Notre Dame beat New Hampshire easily and then went on to beat Michigan State in this tournament. I don't know a lot about hockey but I know UNH had a good season so Notre Dame is clearly playing well and I give them the edge. Michigan expects to win and therefore has pressure, ND has no pressure on them to win. In the important matchup, I'm going with BC, obviously. What difference does it make that we've beat North Dakota the last two years? 3 times in one year might be a big deal but 3 times in 3 years ... no big deal. In 2001 North Dakota scored two late goals to force OT but then somehow BC regained composure and won the game. If BC could beat them under those circumstances I certainly expect them to win before the game starts tomorrow!

Foggy Notion: Eagles and Sioux destined to meet again.

Eagles confident they'll measure up

B.C.'s Muse plays like seasoned veteran

No stopping him: Irish's Pearce always wanted to be a goalie

Jeff "Long Island" Frazee gone at Minnesota.

Jeff Frazee has signed a professional contract with the New Jersey Devils and will forgo his senior season at the University of Minnesota. Goon's world would like to wish Jeff Frazee good luck and hopefully a fresh start in your hockey career. This video is one of the things I am going to remember Frazee for. Some of us are also going to remember Frazee in the WJC and being owned by Toews.

Early departures in the WCHA (In case anyone is keeping score)

Wisconsin (1)
Kyle Turris, freshman

MSU-Mankato (1)
Jon Kalinski, junior

Michigan Tech (1)
Michael-Lee Teslak, junior

Minnesota-Duluth (1)
Jason Garrison, junior

St. Cloud State (1)
Andreas Nodl, sophomore

Minnesota (1)
Jeff Frazee, junior

Frozen Four/NCAA hockey Linkorama.

The The Dasher Troll gives UND some unexpected love. Actually I was shocked when I read this since I thought Gwoz thought UND was a bunch of thugs/goons; especially after the series they had in Grand Forks.

* On North Dakota: "North Dakota is well balanced. They've had a terrific second half of the season and have great offensive capabilities with Ryan Duncan and T.J. Oshie. They complement each other and make others around them better. They have great experience in the Frozen Four. This is the fourth year in a row they have been there, and I think everybody expected them to advance no matter what regional they were in because of that experience and how well they played in the second half."

A MSU writer not a fan of the NCAA tourney selection process.

I am not a fan of the job the selection committee did for this year’s NCAA hockey tournament.

My lone complaint with the field is that Wisconsin made the postseason with a sub-.500 record. That shouldn’t be allowed, especially with other programs barely behind them with better records.

But that doesn’t really upset me as much as how the 16 teams were paired.

Essentially, I’m upset that MSU got shipped out to Colorado Springs, Colo., when it should be playing St. Cloud State in Albany, N.Y.

As it stands now, MSU, the best No. 3 seed, is playing Colorado College, the best No. 2 seed. That’s not how it’s supposed to work.

It should’ve been Clarkson that got shipped out to Colorado. Instead, Michigan is given an absolute cakewalk to the Frozen Four. It’ll destroy Niagara and whoever wins the game between St. Cloud State and Clarkson.

If MSU gets past Colorado College, it’ll have the tough task of facing either No. 1 seed New Hampshire or No. 4 seed Notre Dame. I’d guess New Hampshire. That is no small task, either, even though MSU has had New Hampshire’s number in recent years.

But the truth is, it’s sad when your first-round game looks to be the toughest of the four it would take to win a national title.

First off; I want to know where they get some of these skippy's? Does this kid not realize that MSU has benefited many times from playing in front of regionals that are very much in favor of MSU Spartans and or in their home state of Michigan. The team that advanced from the Colorado Springs regional was the last team to make the regional and they managed to prevail.

Linkorama Boston College Eagles.

Here is a pretty good blog from a Boston College Eagles fan: B.C. Interruption he seems to have a pretty good analysis of Boston College Hockey. This is the only B.C. Hockey blog that I have found this season.

History vs. the Eagles

Unbelievably, Thursday’s game marks the 7th time out of the last 10 years that the Eagles and Sioux have faced one another in the National tournament. The teams traded national titles in 2000 and 2001. BC has won the last two meetings, both in the national semifinal. This is North Dakota’s fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance (longest current active streak). The last team to make four consecutive trips to the Frozen Four? BC from 1998-2001.

2007 – Boston College 6, North Dakota 4 (Frozen Four)

2006 – Boston College 6, North Dakota 5 (Frozen Four)

2005 – North Dakota 6, Boston College 3 (East Regional Final)

2001 – Boston College 3, North Dakota 2 OT (National Championship)

2000 – North Dakota 4, Boston College 2 (National Championship)

1999 – Boston College 2, North Dakota 1 (West Regional Final)

Goon's World makes the front page of Sayanything blog.

Yesterday my article about Hillary and the Fighting Sioux name made the front page of Sayany thing blog. To me that is a great honor and thanks goes out to the Whistler.

Marian Gaborik vs. Ian Laperriere

Do the Wild really need their top forward mixing it up before the first round of the NHL playoffs? I think someone should remind Marian Gaborik what his role is; it's not to be a fighter/goon. Gaborik can leave that to Simon, Boogaard, Fedoruk aka the Fridge. It would have been really devastating to the Wild if Gaborik had broken a fist or gotten a concussion. Lastly, I would also like to know why Jacques Lemaire didn't have Derek Boogaard in the line up? I look for Wednesday's game to have a little bit of life to it. Apparently the Minnesota Wild were less than thrilled with Ian Laperriere.

Here is an explaination of what happen from the Star and Tribune: Colorado winger Ian Laperriere, a veteran of 161 NHL fights, did everything he could to get inside Wild star Marian Gaborik's head.

Taking advantage of a rare Gaborik third-period shift without bruising linemate Todd Fedoruk on the ice, Laperriere locked onto Gaborik's stick, collared his arm around Gaborik's head and drove Gaborik hard where the glass ends and the Avalanche bench begins.

"It was just battling on the boards and stuff," Laperriere said.

Then, at the end of overtime and knowing there was nobody but Wild skilled players on the ice, Laperriere again collided with Gaborik, the shocking result being Gaborik's first fighting major in 485 career games.

"We kind of collided, pushed, shoved and just happened to drop the gloves," said Gaborik, his right hand covered in gashes. "It happened so quick. It shows things are heating up. It's going to be a tough series. It's going to be a battle like five years ago."

When the Wild next meets Colorado, Gaborik plans to "play my game and leave that stuff for other guys."

And those "other guys," Fedoruk, Derek Boogaard and Chris Simon, weren't happy with Laperriere's antics.

"Obviously I'm going to be playing in the first game," said Boogaard, who was scratched Sunday. "We'll see if somebody has a problem then."

"We'll see if [Laperriere] does it again and on who," coach Jacques Lemaire said.

The March to the Frozen Four...

Not everyone that is a Sioux fan read Siouxsports or USCHO.COM, so if you haven't seen this video you have got to check it out. The video is from RedFrogND and in looking at this video, while the original was pretty good this one even better. I think this video montage is a great illustration the Fighting Sioux's 2007-2008 season. If your a Sioux fans and this doesn't get you ready for this weekend Frozen Four you have to check your pulse. I like how the video starts off with UND dismantling the Michigan State University Spartans to last weekend's Madison regional.


The results of the latest poll are in.

Q: Do you like UND's Bracket?
a.) No problem with it all 293 (68%)
b.) It Sucks 63 (14%)
c.) UND should have gone east 54 (12%)
d.) UND should have been sent to the Springs 21 (4%)

Sioux recruits Corey Fienhage and Ben Blood photos

A buddy of mine that runs the new Sioux blog was at the USHL game between the Ceder Rapids Rough Riders and the Indiana Ice. The Indiana ice sports two Sioux recruits Ben Blood number 20 and Corey Fienhage number 15 on its teams. Jakes girl friend Kori took the pictures.











Here is the scouting report on Ben Blood according to Jake.

Ben Blood: is one of those recruits. I have to tell you I really enjoyed watching him play. He's a big, solid defenseman and moves the puck very well. He jumps up in the play when needed and scored a goal last night. He had a lot of ice time last night, I swear he was on every other shift. I think he's got a very similar style to Genoway or Chorney. Should be a great addition to our D core.




Here is the scouting report on Cory Fienhage according to Jake:

Corey Fienhage: is the other recruit. He didn't play nearly as much as Blood and his stats show that he's played many fewer games.



Note: Corey Fienhage played high school hockey at East View High School and joined the ice after his High School team was eliminated from the Minnesota High School hockey tourney.

You can track all of the Sioux recruits stats here.

More on Wheeler.

There seems to be more unfolding in the Blake Wheeler story. Check out this article on the Hip Shot blog... Seems as if Blake is holding a lot of the cards that make up a good hand. I has to be tough to be a college hockey player; your season has just ended you feel that you have more work to do but there is a chance of a life time waiting on the other end.

Blake Wheeler Yotes 2004 pick might stay in school...

Now some want to throw Hillary under the bus for uttering Fighting Sioux.

I am not a Hillary Clinton fan nor a democrat by any means but this is absolutely silly. The anti-nick name foes are always stirring something up and always seem to make a mountain out of a mole hill. Come on; honestly folks! Hillary Clinton is a liberal Democrat and I am sure she didn't mean anything disrespectful by uttering the Fighting Sioux nick name at a rally for DEMOCRATS. Again I am not a fan of Hillary but some of the stuff she has had to face because the main stream media's being in Barack Obama's corner is down right ridiculous. It is surprising she isn't down by 20 percentage points to McCain or Obama.

But Sele and the rest of the table said Clinton “stumbled” when she repeatedly used the full, and controversial, nickname of UND’s Fighting Sioux hockey team. Sele called herself a serious sports fan who’s not a nickname advocate, but not forcefully opposed to the nickname either.

By using the controversial nickname, Sele said, Clinton invited a divisive issue into the conversation that needn’t be there.

“I don’t think she recognized how contentious that is,” Sele said. “Unless you’re here, you can’t know that.”

A variety of UND student and faculty groups and many of the campuses’ American Indians have long opposed the school’s nickname. A legal settlement with the NCAA requires UND to retire the nickname within three years if it cannot win the endorsement of both the state’s Sioux tribes.

Clinton used the Fighting Sioux nickname at the opening of her speech after Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., presented her with a hockey stick signed by the entire UND men’s hockey team. She used the nickname again at the end of speech, comparing the determination that sent UND men’s hockey players to the upcoming Frozen Four competition in Denver with her own determination to stay in the presidential race.

Obama was also presented with an autographed hockey stick, but did not use the nickname while accepting it, joking instead that he’s a worse hockey player than he is a bowler.

Glassheim also called the Fighting Sioux statements an “error,” noting that Sen. Byron Dorgan called the team the “UND Sioux,” when presenting the hockey stick, considered by many to be a less offensive version of the name.

“I’m not violently anti-nickname, but it disturbed me a little,” Glassheim said.

Glassheim speculated Clinton was likely poorly prepared for the hockey stick acceptance, by staffers that aren’t sensitive to local issues.

However, he said, it’s just possible Clinton’s use of the nickname was a calculated appeal to her base. In primaries and caucuses nationwide Clinton’s supporters have tended to be more working class and socially conservative than Obama’s.

DS article on the Sioux name.

Here is an interesting article that I think all Sioux fans need to be read and possibly discuss it. Steve Fool Bear, Mato Iyotaka submitted an article to the Dakota Student on What it means to be Sioux. While there was an online petition to keep the Fighting Sioux name. I think the people we need to have a dialog with is the people of the Sioux, Lakota, Nakota nation. Contrary to the Sioux football people; Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota isn't going to play us in football no matter what our name is. It is a pipe dream by some at UND that we are going to magically be given a football or basketball game with these teams if the Sioux change their name. Heck, forget the snobby Big 10 conference. Maybe UND should concentrate on getting Montana, Montana State, UNI and some of the other Division 1AA schools to play us first.

I also disagree with Chancellor of the North Dakota University System
Bill Goetz that we need to bring this to a conclusion as soon as possible. What's the rush? Is Bill Goetz getting pressure from Ron His Horse Thunder? UND per the settlement has three years to get this issue solved? I think more time should be spent finding out from as many of the people of the Sioux nation as possible and not just the tribal council; and asking them what do you think? If the people of the Sioux nation does in fact really want UND to retire the name, so be it.

Here is some of the important points: This issue is not a clash of Native vs. White, or any combination of the two. This is an issue of people who seek to divide versus people who wish to unite.

Both races share these groups. The dividers respond to one another by creating turmoil, and the animosity that results radiates to the rest of us. Now our social atmosphere is in increased discord.

This topic has been long ignored by those who were indifferent; many of us believed this issue was settled in 1969, when Standing Rock gave our blessing to UND, but because of these divider groups, the issue has resurfaced and is now affecting us all.

Some believe that by taking back this given Sioux name from UND will result in some victory against racism, like a logo is going affect a racist person's behavior. We have no control of these people's thoughts and actions, removing the logo will not change their view of Natives.

To chastise UND for opposing team's antics and our states local bigoted population is fruitless; nothing good will come from it, but more importantly, nothing will change.

The people that create this turmoil will still be here. UND is not to blame; it is the immoral third party chauvinists who are. Reality: If we take back the Sioux name and logo we gave to UND, we are taking a piece of their adopted culture, heritage and identity. Sound familiar?
---snip----
We do not need outside entities speaking for us like we're some dysfunctional dim-witted defeated shells of our ancestors. The NCAA, APA, NAACP and whoever else who think they know what's best for Natives, do not speak for me, and should not speak for Standing Rock.

We are the decedents of the greatest culture to have ever walked these plains, and it's time to start acting like it. The self-pity attitude that many have adopted has reached its apex.

We cannot claim any honor by hiding behind these groups.

Chairman His Horses Thunder, I respect you and your accomplishments, your job I'm sure is challenging; I would respect you more as a leader if you actually visited our communities, and in a unbiased manner spoke to your members about this most debatable topic, or visited with the UND students who never experienced all the negative incidents others attest to.

It's evident that there are a very large number of your constituents who don't agree with what is happening. It's obvious this debate is split; I'm sure as the highest ranking officer of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation, you would want to represent us accurately. After all; it is your job as our democratic leader to represent the majority, a vote would settle the issue once and for all. (Read the whole article here)

March 6th 2008 Andy Strickland interview with T.J. Oshie.

I have not seen this posted anywhere. Fighting Sioux forward, T.J. Oshie was on with Andy Strickland of AM 1380 From St Louis, March 6th 2008. Keep in mind that Strickland has always been in the camp of get T.J. to St Louis right away. After the Sioux get number 8 then the Blue can have him.

Recap from T.J. Oshie:

-Difference in UND from the beginning of season when they were struggling to now, "We had a couple of injuries and the bounces weren’t going our way. Now we are getting the bounces and getting the puck in the net and things are going well."

-Is this year's team as good as last season's, "I’m not sure, we are a different team and it is hard to say. We have other guys stepping up this year and we are on the better run this season than we were last season."

-Do you have any regret on going back to college this season to play for UND, "No regret at all. I am having the time of my life here and I am enjoying every minute of it. It is a blast and I have not once second guess my decision."

-On his health, "I am 100 percent. I had a hip injury but that is fully healed now and I am playing fully healthy right now."

-On if he catches himself watching more NHL hockey and the Blues, "Actually, I don't watch much hockey on television. I am coming around now though because it is fun watching the Blues and watching other guys in the league that I have played with. I don't like watching hockey on TV because it gets me going too much and it makes me just want to go out and play."

-On if he thinks he can make an immediate impact in the NHL whenever he decides to go pro, "I think I can. I will have to improve my strength, as well as my puck control and my vision on the ice. A couple of things that I have really been focusing on this season is becoming a better player on faceoffs and concentrating on my defensive play in our own zone."

-On leaving UND and playing for the Blues next season, "I have not made a decision yet. I am just focusing on the present and taking everything day by day. I haven't really thought about it too much and I am just blocking it out of my mind and focusing on what I am doing here with UND. When it is time to make the that decision I will, but the time to make that decision is not now. It would be unfair to my team if I did not focus 100 percent of my attention on my play here at North Dakota." (I love that answer all class right now I am playing for UND and concentrating on playing for the Sioux.)

-On UND's chances of winning the Frozen Four and being national champions, "I like our chances and it is the goal we have been striving for since the first day of practice. We just have to keep improving as a team and play up to our team's potential."

-On the rivalry with the University of Minnesota, "I am friends with most of the guys on Minnesota's team. But when we get on the ice, it is a big rivalry and with the emotions, it can get pretty heated out there."

Is Wheeler going to sign?

I found this little news nugget while I was over on HockeyBuzz.com checking out some of the posts that were in the fan forums when I stumbled across this blurb on Blake Wheeler. Personally it wouldn't shock me or probably anyone else, since even Minnesota Gophers head coach Don Lucia said on the PA and Dubay that he wouldn't be surprised if Wheeler signed a professional contract after this season. Here is a blog post that I found on the subject by the coyoteshipcheck blog.

Fan question: What is the status of Blake Wheeler?

General Manager, Don Maloney: right now we are not making much headway towards getting Blake signed but we are talking to his agent. Wheeler is very much a prospect, not someone we see as coming to the big club straight off and making an impact. He’s a very good prospect and we will continue to try to get him signed. If the contract doesn’t get done we have a *5th round* pick coming our way and that is good for the team too. *gotta confirm the exact pick… * probably like 2nd round (31st , or so pick)