Rangers talking smack before game one.

Picture from the New York Post

While I do not have a dog in this fight, now that all of my favorite NHL teams have been ceremoniously eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs, that doesn't mean that I am not interested in the games. The series that intrigues me the most is the one between the Pittsburg Penguins and the New York Rangers. Sounds like Jagr not to be out done by team punk Sean Avery has put a shot across the Pens bow. One could say that the rhetoric is heating up before game one.

Jagr says that : Sidney not in Mario's league if that isn't bulletin board material I don't know what is?

"With all due respect for [Sidney] Crosby and [Evgeni] Malkin, I don't think they are Mario Lemieux," said Jagr, preparing to go to Pittsburgh, his first NHL home, for tomorrow's night second-round opener between the Rangers New York Rangers and Penguins.

"I say that with all due respect because the game has changed.

"The gap between the best and worst players on a team [today] is very small. The gap between Mario and the rest of the guys when I was in Pittsburgh was so huge he was able to score 20 points in one series. I don't think those kids are able to do it. If I am wrong I am going to apologize and [say], 'Great job.'

I don't know about you, but I think Sid the Kid is a pretty good hockey player and Malkin isn't too bad himself. If the Rangers don't check the Malkin Crosby line they will be buried by the speedier Penguins. I have picked them to win the Stanley Cup.

I guess that Sioux fans aren't the only one that complain about the refs. Brendan Shanahan is basically calling the refs out before the series start and calling Sidney Crosby a diver... I guess what ever it takes to get the upper hand?

When the Rangers played their March 30-31 home-and-home against the Penguins, Crosby contested essentially every penalty call either made against the Penguins or those he believed should have been made against the Blueshirts. There was widespread belief that No. 87 and his teammates dived repeatedly in matches that were officiated according to "Crosby Rules."

"I'd like to believe that bias doesn't exist," Shanahan said. "Some people might argue the league wants Crosby to advance, but others might argue that it would be a greater benefit to have a team from New York in the conference finals.

"But the refereeing is something we are not going to focus on. I'd hope we can keep that out of our room, entirely."

2008 United States Men’s National Ice Hockey Team Roster

Here is the roster for the 2008 team USA Men's National team roster. It is impressive from the perspective of a college hockey fan, even more impressive is that three are a lot of WCHA players on the USA team roster.

The Break down: (3) Fighting Sioux, three (3) Gophers and two (2) Badgers and one (1) Maverick on the USA team.

GOALTENDERS (3)
Craig Anderson, Park Ridge, Ill. Florida Panthers (NHL)
Robert Esche, Utica, N.Y. Ak Bars Kazan (Russia)
Tim Thomas, Flint, Mich. Boston Bruins (NHL) Univ of Vermont

DEFENSEMEN (7)
Keith Ballard, Baudette, Minn. Phoenix Coyotes (NHL) UMN
Tom Gilbert, Minneapolis, Minn. Edmonton Oilers (NHL)UW
Tim Gleason, Clawson, Mich. Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Matt Greene, Grand Ledge, Mich. Edmonton Oilers (NHL) UND
Paul Martin, Minneapolis, Minn. New Jersey Devils (NHL) UMN
Mark Stuart, Rochester, Minn. Boston Bruins (NHL) C.C.
James Wisniewski, Canton, Mich. Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)

FORWARDS (13)
David Backes, Minneapolis, Minn. St. Louis Blues (NHL) MSU-M
David Booth, Detroit, Mich. Florida Panthers (NHL) MSU
Dustin Brown, Ithaca, N.Y. L.A. Kings (NHL)
Adam Burish, Madison, Wis. Chicago Blackhawks (NHL) UW
Jeff Halpern, Potomac, Md. Tampa Bay Lightning (NHL) Princeton
Patrick Kane, Buffalo, N.Y. Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Phil Kessel, Madison, Wis. Boston Bruins (NHL) UMN
Peter Mueller, Bloomington, Minn. Phoenix Coyotes (NHL)
Patrick O’Sullivan, Winston-Salem, N.C. L.A. Kings (NHL)
Zach Parise, Minneapolis, Minn. New Jersey Devils (NHL) UND
Jason Pominville, Buffalo, N.Y. Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
Drew Stafford, Milwaukee, Wis. Buffalo Sabres (NHL) UND
Lee Stempniak, West Seneca, N.Y. St. Louis Blues (NHL) Dartmouth

Sean Avery to work at Vogue.

It appears that Rangers tuff guy Sean Avery is going to work at Vogue this summer. I wonder if this will come up on the ice in the next series. If I was Pens tough guy Georges Laraque I might mention it.

Avery’s more conventional provocation techniques, such as trash-talking, wife-slagging, face-rubbing, slew-footing, slashing, diving, and flopping, may irritate his adversaries even more on account of his unconventional off-ice persona. Not for Avery the typical prairie-boy self-effacement of the hockey man. He has said that he finds sports, and athletes, boring, and that he’d like to be an editor of a fashion magazine. (He’s planning to do a summer internship at Vogue.) Unlike most hockey players, he sees nothing wrong with the fact that he likes to “smell nice occasionally.”

He has said that he prizes his black patent-leather Yves Saint Laurent high-tops, “a lovely cashmere throw from a friend who works at Calvin Klein,” and his Philippe Starck machine-gun-shaped lamp (“It lets you know there’s a man living in the house”). For a while, he wore black nail polish on one hand—“my fighting hand.” He told one magazine, “Sometimes I’ll wear a scarf to the game and my teammates have no idea what to do.” He is a conspicuous dater of starlets, such as Elisha Cuthbert, and was recently linked, by rumor, to Mary-Kate Olsen, and, in error, to the alleged Manhattan madam Kristin Davis. He’s sort of a puckhead’s Dennis Rodman, except that there’s more fox in his crazy. He does research on his opponents and tailors his intra-whistle banter accordingly. Avery is a skilled player, agitations aside, but not so skilled that it would explain how much better the Rangers do with him than without him. The discrepancy testifies to the genius of the idiot.

The goal in question.

I haven't seen much written on Sammi Kapanen goal but I believe that the second Flyer goal in game 7 was a result of goalie interference and should not have been a goal, there also should have been a 2 minute penalty as well...

This was a discription through the eyes of a Philly fan of the goal in question that gave Philly the lead in the game.

With the score tied 1-1 after one, both teams raced up and down the ice in a wildly entertaining second period, each scoring once.

The Flyers took their first lead of the game just about midway through regulation. Patrick Thoresen and Shaone Morrisonn both went for a puck in front of Cristobal Huet, and Morrisonn ended up knocking his goaltender out of the crease. Meanwhile, Sami Kapanen slapped in a loose puck for his second goal of the playoffs, much to the chagrin of the sold out Washington crowd.

Apparently the NHL officials thought it was a good goal.

Kapanen's goal was effectively an empty-netter and surely will be a topic of discussion.

Right before a loose puck made its way to Kapanen, Philadelphia's Patrick Thoresen gave Shaone Morrisonn a shove, and the Washington defenseman plowed into Huet, knocking the goalie off his skates. The NHL posted an explanation on the Web, saying Thoresen legally body checked Morrisonn and no Philadelphia player made contact with Huet.

Parise father and son share hatred of Rangers

Here is a story that I thought was interesting; both the Parise men hate the New York Rangers; yep so do I. Don't despair Ranger haters the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to dispatch them in next round of the Eastern Conference semis.

J.P. Parise was already a seasoned NHL veteran when he stepped onto the Madison Square Garden ice for the first time as an Islander, midway through the 1974-75 season.

"One guy leaned over the glass ... I mean, what he said to me, you can't print that stuff," he said. "From then on, I got much more satisfaction beating those guys than anybody else."

The animosity has softened 33 years later. Parise, now 66, is content to watch his son hear the name-calling and stir up his own hatred of the Rangers. Zach Parise, in fact, said just that after the Devils finally got on the board with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 3 on Sunday.

"We always disliked the Rangers ... but we have to start hating them more," Zach Perhaps that wasn't too difficult for J.P.'s youngest son. Zach had his two front teeth knocked out by Christian Backman's stick in Game 2 on Friday, April 11 - 33 years to the day since J.P. put the Islanders on the map by scoring 11 seconds into overtime in Madison Square Garden to give the Isles their first playoff win in their third year of existence.

Not exactly the stirring way to commemorate his dad's biggest moment of this tri-state rivalry. But the Parise father and son, it's worth pointing out, haven't lost to the Rangers in the playoffs. J.P. was dealt away from the Isles to Cleveland in the 1977-78 season, a year before the on-the-rise Islanders were beaten in the semifinals by the upstart Rangers.
Parise said. (Read the rest of the article here).

Zach Parise added to team USA

Former Fighting Sioux star Zach Parise and current New Jersey Devils player Zach Parise was added to team USA.

When the U.S. competes in the upcoming International Ice Hockey World Championships in Halifax and Quebec City next month, the roster will have a decidedly Minnesotan-flavour to it.

According to the Star Tribune, former Fighting Sioux Zach Parise and former Minnesota Golden Gopher Paul Martin, both of the New Jersey Devils and both natives of the state of Minnesota, have been added to the national team roster.

They will join other Minnesotans and former WCHA players; Tom Gilbert (Wisconsin Badges/Edmonton Oilers); Keith Ballard (Minnesota Golden Gophers/Phoenix Coyotes); David Backes (MSU-M Mavericks/St. Louis Blues); and Peter Mueller (Phoenix Coyotes).

The IIHF World Championship runs from May 2-18.

Former Sioux Jonathan Toews is finalist for the Calder.

Former Fighting Sioux star Jonathan Toews has been selected as a finalist for the Calder trophy. Towes played with UND from 2005-2007 playing in 76 games scoring 40 goals and 45 assists for 85 points.

NEW YORK -- They were 1-2-3 in the NHL's rookie scoring race and they are the final three contenders for the Calder Trophy.

Forwards Patrick Kane, Nicklas Backstrom and Jonathan Toews were announced as the finalists for the rookie award Wednesday, the cream of the crop in a season where many fresh faces made a strong case for themselves.

Kane led all NHL rookies with 72 points (21-51) in 82 games, the 19-year-old native of Buffalo, N.Y., making a smooth transition from the junior ranks to the pros after being taken first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in last June's NHL entry draft.

His Blackhawks linemate Toews will join him June 12 in Toronto for the NHL awards show, the Winnipeg native finishing third in rookie scoring with 54 points (24-30) despite being limited to 64 games because of a knee injury. Chicago's third overall pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft turns 20 next Tuesday.

Backstrom, taken one pick behind Toews in 2006, was second in NHL rookie scoring with 69 points (14-55) in 82 games with the Washington Capitals. The 20-year-old Swede was second among rookie forwards with a plus-13 rating, reflective of his all-around game. Backstrom could give the Caps two Calder Trophy winners in three seasons after Alex Ovechkin took home the award in 2005-06.

The last Blackhawk to win the Calder was goaltender and Former Fighting Sioux Ed Belfour in 1990-91.

Rioting in the streets in Montreal

This is what happened after the Montreal Canadians beat the Bruins in game seven, they had a riot in the streets of Montreal. It almost reminds me of when the Minnesota Golden Gophers won the NCAA title in 2003. I never understood the logic after your team wins a series or a championship you rush out into the street and burn and break things. Talk about selfish.

Marty Brodeur refuses to shake Sean Avery's hand

Kostroun/AP


There has been an on going feud between Rangers Buffoon Sean Avery and future hall of fame goalie Martin Brodeur. It may have started back in Feburary with Avery taking a blatant run at Martin Brodeur and it seems to have only gotten worse with the face guarding incident during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Lets talk about class; Sean Avery although a decent hockey player is a punk and doesn't know when to shut his big mouth and isn't worthy of sniffing Brodeur's dirty jock strap. Martin Brodeur on the other hand is a world class goalie and a future hall of fame goalie that has won multiple Stanley Cups and post season awards. Martin Brodeur is a guy you would build a championship hockey team around. In contrast to Brodeur Sean Avery is a loud mouth punk that holds the media in disdain and is disrespectful to his fellow competitors. Avery is also quickly becoming that guy that no one wants to be associated with.

Marty Brodeur: No shake for Sean Avery
BY KRISTIE ACKERT
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Martin Brodeur didn't shake Sean Avery's hand after the Rangers-Devils series ended.
The bitter feud between Rangers instigator Sean Avery and Devils goalie Martin Brodeur continued to the bitter end of their teams' playoff series. The two skated by each other in the post-series handshake line without shaking hands after the Rangers ousted the Devils, 5-3, at the Rock Friday night.

"I shook everyone's hand, everyone but one," Brodeur said without mentioning Avery by name. "I don't care how he feels about it."

Avery, who forced the NHL to add a rule to deal with his Game 3 faceguarding technique to screen Brodeur, used the handshake slight as a chance to fire another verbal barb at Brodeur.

"Everyone talks about how much class I don't have," said Avery. "I guess he forgot to shake my hand." Avery added: "Of course, I was going to shake his hand."

The feud goes way back. Avery has called Brodeur a whiner and takes verbal and physical shots at him during games every chance he gets. But he scored three goals in the series and had two assists. He also was called for three goalie interference penalties. "It was not an easy series, that's for sure," Brodeur said. "They did a great job of getting to me, getting in front of me and making my life tough out there." "I think to some degree, as the series went on, he looked tired mentally," Devils coach Brent Sutter said of Brodeur.

More Avery.

Check out this comment this is a classic example of what not to say after you win a series.

Meanwhile, members of that ‘talentless lineup’ have at least a championship ring on their fingers. Also, Mr. Avery, calling a three-time Stanley Cup winning goalie in Martin Brodeur, “Fatso” on national television, does not sit well with many of his fans and his peers. Respect off the ice, is something Marty has earned. Calling him ’fatso’ does not garner you the respect that you yearn. Although you deny it, we all know you want it. Who would not?

Is Gerbe going to sign?

LetsGoSabres.com is reporting that Nathan Gerbe is expected to forgo his senior season by signing a professional contract this Spring.

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%)