Rangers get the Star's sloppy seconds.

The soap opera continues. It will be interesting to see what happens next. You have to wounder if the Rangers are picking Avery up just so he can get into Martin Brouder's kitchen.

SPORTSNET.CA --- Sportsnet has learned the Dallas Stars will place Sean Avery on re-entry waivers as early as Monday.

Avery will play in both AHL Hartford Wolf Pack games this weekend. The New York Rangers have committed to claiming Avery providing he was still available.

In six games with the Wolf Pack, Avery has one goal and one assist.

Avery previously played in New York under coach Tom Renney, who was fired and replaced by John Tortorella on February 23, 2009. In December Tortorella commented on the Avery-Dion Phaneuf controversy while serving as a Canadian television analyst.

Tortorella said: "Enough is enough. He's embarrassed himself, he's embarrassed the (Dallas) organization, he's embarrassed the league and he's embarrassed his teammates, who have to look out for him. Send him home. He doesn't belong in the league."

Rangers GM Glen Sather told the New York Post on Monday of the potential conflict between the new coach and Avery: "He doesn't have the history with Sean that we do. Over time you learn to love him, just like I do."

Derek Boogaard suspended 5 games by NHL.

This is the hit that got Derek Boogaard "the Boogey man" suspended by the NHL for 5 games. I think it's definitely a penalty that warrants a suspension, whether it be a boarding or elbow. You have to wonder if the name on the back of the jersey had something to do with the length of the suspension. What would have happened if this was Ovechkin or Crosby that did this hit? Would there be a suspension? You have to wonder if there are two sets of rules for certain players.

Wild's Boogaard suspended for five games
News By NHL .com
Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard has been suspended for five games, without pay, as a result of an elbowing incident during NHL game #921 against the Calgary Flames, the National Hockey League announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Boogaard will forfeit $23,521.50. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 18:48 of the third period, Boogaard delivered a blow to the head area of Calgary forward Brandon Prust. Prust was injured on the play and did not return to the game. Officials assessed Boogaard minor penalties for boarding and roughing on the play.

Boogaard will miss tonight’s game at Edmonton, March 3 against Vancouver, March 5 against San Jose, March 7 against Los Angeles and March 8 against Anaheim. He will be eligible to return March 10 vs. San Jose.

Message to WCHA Fire Todd Anderson NOW!!!

Another week in the WCHA and wouldn’t you know it another incident involving an on ice WCHA official. Taking it a little further; it is another incident that involves WCHA referee Todd Anderson, again. When does the league say enough is enough with this guy? Do they give Todd Anderson the Randy Schmidt suspension, where he gets suspended and goes away quietly into the night to never be seen again on the ice. Friday night there was another series of incidents in the game between the Badgers and the Mavericks in Mankato.

Tonight I got a text from Lets Go Mavs and she says that Todd Anderson and the other official took 10 minutes to wave off a goal on video review. That is ridiculous, it is either a goal or it is not a goal.

Here is a run down of the incident on Friday night in Mankato.

In the third, with UW clinging to a 3-2 lead, a centering pass from freshman pivot Derek Stepan hit the right skate of Gorowsky and caromed past Mankato goaltender Mike Zacharias (32 saves).

Referee Todd Anderson looked at the sequence on video along with partner Pete Freesma and waived it off, telling Eaves that Gorowsky used a distinct kicking motion, which is illegal.

“I don’t know how he made that distinction after watching it on video,” Gorowsky said. “I didn’t know I touched the puck at all. I saw it come through and I tried to hit it with my stick and I thought it went all the way through. I looked and it was in the back of the net.”

Eaves’ voice was elevated during a post game discussion with Greg Shepherd, the WCHA supervisor of officials. When Eaves emerged from the ante room, he was diplomatic and terse with a sense of humor thrown in when asked about the two goals that weren’t

“I’m not going to go down that path,” he said. “Obviously they were critical times in the game. Unless I was willing to give you a $1,000 check right now — unfortunately I called my wife and she said I can’t — I’m not going to say anything about those things.”

Public criticism of game officials could result in a fine from the WCHA, something Eaves tried to avoid.

“Those viewpoints that those gentlemen have certainly aren’t the ones we have,” he said. (read the whole article here)

Let’s take look at Todd Anderson’s hit parade over the past couple of seasons. These incidents happened in the games that Todd Anderson has worked in. All these dust ups involved a game where Todd Anderson as the on ice official was not all that sharp. In fact his performance was unsatisfactory. The League office needs to man up and get rid of some dead weight.

1.) The Prpich cup check and the Dasher dance.
2.) The dasher dance and ejection from the game. Guess who is the official? Todd Anderson.
3.) The Brian Schack incident in Mankato as Schack attacked Channing Boe.

Sister kissing in Grand Forks: Sioux 4 Tigers 4

I started this glorious day at Purpur Arena where I watched the first of three hockey game live today. First on the docket was the Central Knights as they beat the Fargo South Bruins 3-2. Then I drove over to the Ralph to watch the Fighting Sioux battled to a 4-4 tie with the scrappy Colorado College Tigers. Then we went to Whitey's where we had supper and then headed back to the Ralph to end the night watching the Red River Rough Riders do the unthinkable; Red River was out shot for the game but beat Bismarck 3-2. Red River goalie Cory Meland saved his best games for the last two games of high school career.

I am not a big fan of Fighting Sioux playing at 3:37 pm in the afternoon; however it's better than working. I know it’s a cliché but a bad day of hockey is better than a good day of work. Today I thought the Fighting Sioux looked a little sluggish against the Tigers in all three zones and were a step behind during the middle part of the game. I also think that is to be understood since they played in Anchorage last weekend and that trip takes a lot out of any hockey team.

Brad Eidsness was the difference in this hockey game today; Brad Eidsness made some huge saves at the right time. I remember at the beginning of the season some were questioning if the Sioux would have enough goaltending to contend for a title. I think those questions have been answered as the Fighting Sioux are closing in a WCHA regular season title. The one save that he made in the third period was absolutely amazing. Tomorrow afternoon the defense is going to have to tighten up and start getting ready for the playoffs. The team as a whole cannot be giving up odd man rushes and letting the opposition move into the offensive zone unchallenged.

As it stands right now the Fighting Sioux are one point behind Denver with two games in hand. Realistically that means UND has a possibility of 6 points and DU has a possible 2 points left. If the Fighting Sioux can get three more points they would at least tie for a league title. If the Fighting Sioux can get 4 points they can win a McNaughton Cup out right. That would be the first McNaughton Cup of Coach Hakstol’s tenure. The Fighting Sioux have not won a McNaughton Cup since 2004.

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

CC-1 Brian McMillin (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x1 8:20
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Matt Watkins (6) (Andrew Kozek, Zach Jones) 10:56
NDK (+): 20,10,6,11,25,G31 CC (-): 7,18,16,26,10,G30
CC-2 Ryan Lowery (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 12:18
NDK-1 Chris VandeVelde (2-Tripping) CC 0x1 12:36
CC 1 - 1 5x5 Mike Testwuide (4) (Matt Overman, Gabe Guentzel) 14:04
CC (+): 25,18,10,15,G30 NDK (-): 20,5,14,11,G31
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 Brett Hextall (10) (Ryan Duncan, Jason Gregoire) 14:58
NDK (+): 26,16,17,24,5,G31 CC (-): 22,4,2,14,15,G30

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

NDK-2 Chay Genoway (2-Tripping) CC 1x2 2:44
CC 2 - 2 6x5 PP Chad Rau (15) (Bill Sweatt, Brian Connelly) 3:06
CC: 14,21,11,28,10,G30 NDK: 20,25,6,11,G31
CC-3 Jake Gannon (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x3 3:53
CC-4 Tyler Johnson (2-Roughing) 7:10
NDK-3 Jake Marto (2-Tripping) 7:10
NDK-4 Mario Lamoureux (2-Roughing) CC 1x3 7:10
CC-5 Nate Prosser (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x4 11:02
NDK-5 Chris VandeVelde (2-Interference) CC 1x4 12:33
CC 3 - 2 6x6 Bill Sweatt (12) (Gabe Guentzel, Chad Rau) 14:35
CC (+): 21,10,14,28,11,G30 NDK (-): 19,25,29,6,22,G31
CC-6 Tyler Johnson (2-Hooking) NDK 0x5 17:33
CC-7 Andreas Vlassopoulos (2-Roughing) 19:35
NDK-6 Jason Gregoire (2-Roughing) 19:35
NDK 3 - 3 5x5 Darcy Zajac (3) (Joe Finley, Chay Genoway) 19:54
NDK (+): 11,20,2,5,G31 CC (-): 11,14,25,24,G30

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

NDK 4 - 3 6x6 Brett Hextall (11) (Brad Miller) 1:49
NDK (+): 26,14,16,17,24,G31 CC (-): 16,28,18,15,4,G30
NDK-7 Matt Frattin (2-Hooking) CC 1x5 7:29
CC-8 Mike Testwuide (2-Holding) NDK 0x6 7:42
CC 4 - 4 5x5 GT Chad Rau (16) (Eric Walsky, Gabe Guentzel) 7:59
CC (+): 14,10,7,22,G30 NDK (-): 16,17,2,5,G31
CC-9 Mike Testwuide (2-Hooking) NDK 0x7 13:05

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

Timeout - Colorado College 4:00
Timeout - North Dakota 4:20

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

Scores from 2-27-2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Atlantic Hockey
American Int'l 3 at Army 3 ot
Mercyhurst 4 at Canisius 1
Bentley 1 at Connecticut 4
Air Force 4 at RIT 6
Sacred Heart 2 at Holy Cross 5

Analysis
RIT beat Air Force Academy again 6-4 and is leading the AHA by two points.

CCHA
Ohio State 6 at Miami 2
Lake Superior 3 at Northern Michigan 7
Michigan 6 at Ferris State 1
Bowling Green 2 at Western Michigan 5
Michigan State 0 at Notre Dame 5

Analysis
tOSU beats Miami in Oxford and drops the RedHawks to 12th in the Pair Wise Rankings.
Notre Dame rolls over MSU, I watched this game for a while last night and Notre Dame took it to the Spartans. I don't think anyone wants to play that team in the NCAA tourney. Michigan rolls again.

CHA
Niagara 3 at Robert Morris 3 ot

Analysis
Niagara is 0-3-1 the last four games and is now probably locked in the second seed going into the CHA tourney in Bemidji in two weeks.

ECAC
Princeton 0 at Dartmouth 2
Cornell 2 at Yale 4
Clarkson 4 at Rensselaer 2
Quinnipiac 1 at Harvard 2
Colgate 3 at Brown 3 ot
St. Lawrence 2 at Union 0

Analysis
Yale is on top of the ECAC and the regular season champ. Cornell has kind of stumbled in February with a record of 3-4.

Hockey East
Mass.-Lowell 0 at Northeastern 3
Vermont 3 at Maine 2
Providence 1 at Boston College 5
New Hampshire 4 at Merrimack 3
Boston University 6 at Massachusetts 3

Analysis
Boston University 10-0-3 in their last thirteen games and has lost one game since December. Boston College won for the first time in 5 games.

WCHA
Minnesota-Duluth 2 at Minnesota 2 ot
Wisconsin 3 at Minnesota State 4 ot
St. Cloud State 1 at Denver 3

Analysis
UMD and Minnesota the sister kissing in Minneapolis. Come on Dogs beat the dirty Gophers tonight. MSU-M wins another game against the Badgers in Mankato and WCHA on ice official Todd Anderson is the center of another controversy. It's time for the league office to fire Todd Anderson because he is not good official.

Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage 1 at Alaska 0

Exhibition
US Under-18 Team 1 at Bemidji State 3

Is Pronger going to Boston?

I have seen this rumor and like the thought of Chris Pronger playing on the Bruins blue line. Could you imagine Pronger teamed up with Chara? Holy cow! That would be an awesome sight. I can't imagine the Bruins wanting to give up Phil Kessel. Kessel is a budding, up and coming star in the NHL that could very well be a 40-50 goal scoring in the next couple of years.

So who would the Bruins give up? They are loaded on the blue line but thin at forward. I can't see the Bruins trading Kessel, Wheeler, Lucic, Krejci or Ryder. The one of the most consistant lines for the Bruins as of late have been the Wheeler, Krejci Ryder line.

Latching onto Chris Pronger, Veteran in Bruins sights
By Stephen Harris --- Friday, February 27, 2009
If you believe what you hear from various NHL sources, you can bet the Bruins had many sets of eyes trained last night on Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger.

And the Ducks were sizing up talent on the Bruins side, as well.

It’s believed the Ducks will deal away the multi-talented 34-year-old Pronger, and that the Bruins could be interested shoppers. That was certainly a hot topic at the Garden last night, site of the B’s 6-0 victory.

The obvious speculation is that the B’s end of the deal would be young speedster Phil Kessel [stats], their top goalscorer and one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the game.

“The chatter is increasing,” said B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli, “but I’m not getting any closer to doing anything. I don’t want to subtract anything from our team. I like our team and I like the chemistry.”

Notice he said he doesn’t want to subtract players. He didn’t say he wouldn’t do it. Chiarelli is understandably loath to part with a young talent like Kessel, a 21-year-old with the potential to be a 50-goal superstar.

Could Zach Parise get 50 goals?

It seems that it could be a very possible. Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Zach Parise scored his 36th goal of the season last night against the Colorado Avalanche and added his 37th assist of the season giving Parise 73 points for the season. Also Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Travis Zajac who is fourth on the Devils in scoring added a goal and two assists giving him (17-34-52).

Zach Parise feels scoring 50 goals for New Jersey Devils this season still possible.
by Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger --- Friday February 27, 2009.

Devils winger Zach Parise scored his 36th goal of the season Thursday against the Avalanche, when he beat defenseman Brett Clark to the puck then Andrew Raycroft top shelf. Zach Parise notched his 36th goal Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche and it was a beauty.

But what about his chances of scoring 50 goals this season. He would become the first Devils player to do it.

"I hope so. I don't like talking about it. We'll see," Parise told me. "I guess I've been a pretty streaky scorer. Not so much this year, but in past years."

Parise is on pace to score 48 goals.

Randomization...

Excuse me if I am a little giddy today after watching my favorite team the Boston Bruins take apart their last two opponents scoring 12 goals in two games and giving up a meager one goal. How about Bruins goalie Tim Thomas for the league MVP? It seems the roar of the late 1980's early 1990's is back in Boston. I used to live in the Boston area from 1988 - 1990 and I was able to go to seven Bruin's game at the old Boston Garden. In my opinion this years Boston Bruin's hockey team is probably better than the team(s) that went to the Stanley cup playoffs in 1987-1988 and 1989-1990 season. This Years Bruins are bigger, bader, tough and better offensively and defensively that the last two Bruin's teams that went to the Stanley Cup finals.

First after re-watching the Lucic and Brown fight In response to BrentB's comments on another blog post; Yeah I think Milan Lucic crossed the line and violated the code last night by hitting a player that was laying on the ice. Was Lucic justified because Brown hit him before Lucic was ready to fight, I don't know. Here is what Fluto Shinzawa, Boston Globe had to say on the matter.

* Based on the ruling on Mike Brown (instigating, fighting, 10-minute misconduct), Milan Lucic had a reason to be upset with the Duck's early right to start their fight. The replay showed that Lucic might not have finished shedding his gloves before Brown got in his first pop. That shot prompted Lucic to continue punching Brown when he hit the deck -- usually considered a no-no between fighters.

Here is what Blake Wheeler had to say about last night's game.

"I think guys are playing more loose," said Blake Wheeler, who had two assists. "It might sound like a really easy thing to just flip the switch. But sometimes it's the hardest thing in the world out there to just relax, play your game, let loose, and go about your business. Everyone wanted to do the right thing. When we were struggling for a little bit, everyone wanted to get things going the right way and take it upon themselves. As a group, I think we've found our rhythm again with that calmness. We're going out there and reacting and just playing hard. We're confident that the results are going to be there."

The Boston Bruins are a little banged up after playing against the Dirty Ducks last night. The game was a head banger's ball.

Marc Savard and Milan Lucic, kept out of practice today because of upper-body injuries, are questionable for tomorrow. Marc Savard, roughed up in last night's second period, is questionable for tomorrow. Blake Wheeler took a Chris Pronger shot off the foot in the first period and didn't practice today, but Claude Julien said the rookie should be available tomorrow. Julien said there could be promotions from Providence today if neither Savard nor Lucic can go tomorrow.

A couple of former Fighting Sioux made Puck Daddy's Thursday's three stars. First Zach Parise made the second star of the night. Nice to see Zach Parise doing well, too bad it's for the New Jersey Devils. I hope the New Jersey Devils fall flat on their faces during the NHL playoffs. (Sorry Sioux7)

No. 2 star: Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils We hate to double up on a full-slate night, but Parise and his linemates were that dominant in keeping the heat off Brodeur in his return after four months in mothballs. Parise, Jamie Langenbrunner and Travis Zajac combined for eight points and half of New Jersey's 32 shots. The highlight goal of the evening came when Parise out-muscled Adam Foote before beating Raycroft top-shelf from close range. The goal was his 36th, tying him with Jeff Carter for second in the NHL. Parise added two assists and did some uncredited dirty work in front of the net on the Devils' fourth goal.

It sounds like former Fighting Sioux defensman Brian Lee didn't win over the hearts and minds of the officials last night as he spent a fair amount of time in the Sin Bin.

Ottawa rookie defenseman Brian Lee was called for three minor penalties in the second period against San Jose. The Sens killed the first infraction, but the Sharks scored twice when Lee protested a holding call and had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty added to his punishment. Final score: 2-1.

The paint thinner will be flowing in Madison

The blog that Yost Built is reporting that Wisconsin and Michigan will be playing in an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall the day before the Superbowl. Personally, I think the outdoor games are a mildly entertaining gimmick and your at the mercy of mother nature. I can't imagine sitting at a game a Memorial Stadium in Grand Forks, ND freezing in sub zero weather. I also have to admit that I have watched all the outdoor games to date.

Wisconsin formally invites Michigan Wolverines to play outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium next February
by Kevin Ryan | The Ann Arbor News
Thursday February 26, 2009, 6:34 PM
The University of Wisconsin is banking on Camp Randall Stadium to draw a world-record crowd next year, but not for football.

The university has tendered a formal contract to the University of Michigan for an outdoor hockey game to be played at the 80,321-seat stadium Feb. 6, and the Wolverines are expected to accept the offer, Michigan associate head coach Mel Pearson said Thursday afternoon.

"We're just sort of reviewing (the contract) right now just to make sure everything checks out OK," Pearson said, adding he couldn't provide more details.

If Camp Randall filled to capacity for the Saturday game, it would shatter the current outdoor attendance record, which involves the Wolverines. Michigan and its biggest hockey rival, Michigan State, played to a 3-3 tie before 74,544 fans at Spartan Stadium on Oct. 6, 2001, in a game dubbed "The Cold War."

Fight night in Boston.

The "Big Bad Bruins" are back. I just got done watching the Ducks and Bruins beat each other up on my DVR. Wow! You have got to love the way Bruins TV announcer Jack Edwards calls a hockey fight. On the Lucic fight, I think Andy Brickley is right Mike Brown broke the code when he sucker punched Lucic in front of the Ducks goal and Milan Lucic hammered him. Incidentally, Milan Lucic suffered an upper body injury tonight and didn't play in the third period and I wonder if he broke his hand beating up Brown because he seemed to be favoring right hand in the penalty box after the fight with Brown. I am sure we will find out soon.

In the heavy weight fight of the night Shawn Thornton fought former Princeton grad George Parros. I have to give Thornton credit for fighting Parros because that is about only thing he is good at doing. Parros also took a run at Bruins Star Marc Savard tonight during the second period.

(Hockey fights on the game tonight) It seems that the Bruins have fought in bunches this season. The majority of the team’s fighting majors have come during six multi-fight games. Last night was no different in Boston’s game against the Ducks.

With the B’s up 3-0, a heavyweight bout between Shawn Thornton and George Parros took place eight minutes into the second period. Moments later, things escalated after Mike Brown took exception to Milan Lucic rushing in on Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller, who was covering the puck.

Brown gave Lucic a gloved punch to the face and then continued to go after him. They dropped the gloves and Brown landed a right hand before losing his balance and falling to the ice. Lucic followed him down and hammered away until Sheldon Brookbank jumped on top of him. All of the other players on the ice (sans goalies) piled in but nothing else came of it. Brookbank was ejected from the game for being the third man in.

Less than a minute later, Marc Savard dropped the gloves after being roughed up by Scott Niedermayer, but the two only received roughings. The Bruins and Ducks won’t see each other again this season, but their next meeting might be one to look out for if certain players remain on the respective rosters.

INCH CHAT...

Here is the latest from this weeks INCH Chat, my favorite post from Jess Meyers talking about how he is going to be eating crow. I would be glad to cook him some on my grill at home.

John, (Hartford Conn): Thanks for taking our questions INCH! Being from the east coast I dont get to see much of the WCHA. Whats up with the Fighting Sioux and how come year after year they are able to make their second half run? Do they have a chance at a fifth straight Frozen Four?

Jess Myers: Every year we wonder if this will be the time that North Dakota is consistent start to finish, and every year it seems like the second-half surge is the rule in Grand Forks. Although this year a second half turnaround was maybe a bit more expected because NoDak started the season with so many talented, but young, players, and you're seeing the results of their increased maturity in the second half. As for the Frozen Four, I'd be surprised to see more than one WCHA team there, because I think the league is weaker overall. But if I had
--------------------
UND in SLP: St Louis Park, MN: In this week's INCH podcast, you mentioned that UND is winning, and finding ways to win, by playing as a team. In the off season I thought that T J Oshie leaving was a blessing in disguise. The effect of losing JPL and Chorney notwithstanding, Oshie leaving got rid of the Sioux's "star player" notoriety, leaving more room for team cohesion and chemistry, and the inherent success we are seeing. Any thoughts?

Joe Gladziszewski: Absolutely, and thanks for listening to the INCH Podcast. I don't think a team is necessarily helped by losing star players, but it can have a positive impact in re-distributing the roles on the team. The Sioux have done it with an overall team effort and everyone improving to put them in their current position to win the league.
--------------------
Jennifer (Madison, WI): What do you think of the battle in the WCHA? Who's going to win? Who will have home ice? And who will be on the road for playoffs? Should end up being a great Final Five this year!

Jess Myers: I'm eating a lot of crow and admitting that North Dakota is going to win the MacNaughton Cup. Denver is my pick for the Final Five title. I see NoDak, Denver, Wisconsin, Minnesota Duluth and Colorado College at home for the playoffs. And I think the Final Five is always a great tournament (often better than the Frozen Four) but I'd be curious to see how much the attendance would drop in St. Paul if the Gophers don't get there.

Another region of death?

Here are the latest Bracketology Brackets from Jayson Moy. Interesting is the first word that comes to mind. I could see a bracket like that. UND beats Princeton and then takes on the winner of UMD and Michigan, sweet. I would love to see Red Berenson's face on the ESPN selection show as Red is explaining how he likes the prospects of playing two of the WCHA tougher teams in their back yard. At least we don't have to go to Yost Ice Arena. If these were the brackets on selection Sunday DU would have a the easiest route to the Frozen Four.

Midwest Regional:

Air Force vs. Notre Dame
Miami vs. Northeastern

West Regional:

Minnesota-Duluth vs. Michigan
North Dakota vs. Princeton

East Regional:

St. Lawrence vs. Denver
Yale vs. Vermont

Northeast Regional:

Bemidji State vs. Boston University
New Hampshire vs. Cornell

Ralph Engelstad Arena in Lawsuit.

Here is an interesting story I don't think many people knew about. It has probably kind of flown under the radar. The company CIMCO that REA is suing is being represented by a UND grad as well.

Ralph Engelstad Arena sues over ‘inefficient’ ice-making
By: Archie Ingersoll, Grand Forks Herald
The ice in Ralph Engelstad Arena hovers just above 20 degrees — the ideal temperature for hockey.

But inches below the hard, fast surface, there’s a multimillion-dollar problem, according to the Grand Forks arena.

The Ralph says the systems that make ice in both rinks in the landmark arena weren’t built to agreed-upon specifications.

“The whole system is just running inefficiently,” said Pat Morley, REA’s attorney. “As a result, the maintenance and energy costs are … way, way too high.”

Because of this alleged inefficiency, REA has brought a lawsuit against CIMCO, a Canadian company that installed the rinks and the ice-making equipment.

But CIMCO’s attorney Mark Hanson argues that his client’s work is not causing The Ralph’s problem.

“We frankly don’t see any issues with the equipment and how it was installed,” he said. “We just believe the arena needs to make adjustments.”

Some residents of Grand Forks County recently received surveys in the mail about the suit from a consultant hired by CIMCO. Hanson said the surveys — which ask questions about REA, UND and its hockey program — were sent out to learn what type of juror could be fair and impartial. (Read the whole article right here)

February Last Games (Sioux 7)

Last week in the WCHA the playoff picture cleared up some. With UND sweeping UAA and DU sweeping UW, both teams have locked themselves into home ice. CC's sweep of UM helped them into 3rd place, but have only 3-games left. UMD took 3pts from MTU to help them stay in the race for home ice. MSU-Mankato is pretty much guaranteed a road trip to start the playoffs which means they join UAA and MTU as teams that will be on the road for the first round.


WCHA STANDINGS
1 North Dakota..............15-6-3...33
1 Denver......................15-7-3...33
3 Colorado College..........12-8-5...29
4 Wisconsin.................13-9-2...28
5 Minnesota-Duluth........10-8-6...26
6 St. Cloud State.........12-11-1...25
7 Minnesota..............10-10-4...24
8 Minnesota State........9-13-2...20
9 Alaska-Anchorage......7-14-5...19
10 Michigan Tech..........1-18-7...9


#16 Wisconsin at Minnesota State
This is the only series these two teams play against each other this year. Last season the Mavericks owned a 2-1-1 record against Bucky. The Badgers need some wins to keep their position in the top half of the league and improve their odds of getting into the NCAA tourney. It looks as if UW will most likely finish somewhere between 3rd and 6th place. While the Mavericks look to finish between 6th and 8th place. MSU-Mankato needs loads of luck to get home ice, so now they can play the spoiler role. UW is 3-3-0 and MSU-M is 2-3-1 in their last six games. Both teams were swept in their last WCHA series. The Mavs magic number seems to be 2, if they hold their opponents to 2 or fewer goals they have a good record, 11-0-1 overall. Bucky has been shut-out in 2 of the last 5 games, so they need to score. I'm going with the Mavericks this weekend, they had last weekend off to rest up and get ready for their final push. Mavericks sweep the Badgers.


#19 St. Cloud State at #5 Denver
The Pioneers are pretty much a lock for the NCAA tourney, and most likely will finish 1-2 in the league. The Huskies are only a point out of the final home ice spot, after a bye last weekend, so they need points to keep the dream alive. Back on Nov. 14-15 SCSU sweep DU at the National Hockey Center. DU is coming off a big road sweep of UW, so they hope to keep momentum rolling, and hope they do not suffer a let down, this weekend. The Huskies would like nothing better than to get a season sweep of DU and really improve their chances for home ice in two weeks. DU would like to take four points and lock them into at least #2 in the league. DU might be without forward Tyler Ruegsegger (5th in team scoring 12g, 11a) who suffered an "upper body injury" last weekend. With that in mind I'm going to call a split in this series. Huskies on Friday and Pioneers on Saturday.


#14 Minnesota-Duluth at #18 Minnesota
Well this is another big series in the race for home ice. IF the Bulldogs sweep the Gophers, UMD is in good shape to hold a playoff series, and the Gophers would be on the road, possible to Duluth... IF the Gophers sweep they would be in position to grab home ice, but would need some help this weekend and next. The Bulldogs are 4-6-4 away from the DECC, and the Gophers are 8-5-5 at Mariucci this season, but are 1-3-1 in their last 5 home games, ouch! If the UM doesn't get some points this weekend, Coach Lucia might feel worse now then when he had his medical condition earlier this year. UMD plays well when they have the lead, and UM has not played well when they have been trailing. With that said the first goal of the games is going to be important and I also say who ever scores first wins the game.


#13 Colorado College at #8 North Dakota (Sat. & Sun.)
The Sioux have secured home ice for the first round, and the Tigers are in a good spot to hold onto home ice. If UND can sweep CC they would only need one more win secure the top spot in the WCHA. CC has 3-games left, these two at Grand Forks and one at Denver, not an easy way to end the season. The Tigers got their second WCHA sweep of the season last weekend, their last was back in mid-October against MTU. While the Sioux swept UAA on the road, in doing so goalie Brad Eidsness became only the 3rd UND freshman goalie to hit the 20-win plateau, joining former Sioux greats Ed Belfour and Karl Goehring - Congratulations Brad! Since the start of 2009 the Sioux have been scoring over 4goals/game and giving up just a shade over 2 goals/game. I watched the CC-UM games last weekend, and CC capitalized on some UM mistakes and got a few bounces. The Tigers were outplayed by the Gophers for large chunks of time, and where out shot 37-19 on Saturday. I don't think they have "turned things around" in C-springs just yet. This is a big weekend for both teams, but with the Sioux rolling and being back at home and CC being 5-5-4 on the road this season, I'm taking the Sioux, sweep.


UAA at UAF (Non Conference)
All I know that this series is for the Governor's Cup, I hope Governor Sarah Palin presents the winners the Cup... A look the standing and records this year points to the Nanooks being the favorite. UAF is 4th in the CCHA and UAA is 9th in the WCHA. So with the "Battle for Alaska" going on this weekend in a home-and-home series, I'm backing the WCHA, and saying the Seawolves sweep the Nanooks.


MTU is on a bye week, next week they host the Gophers.

This is what I like to hear.

This is what I like to hear come out of a hockey coach's mouth. I don't know a lot of hockey fans that like to watch the neutral zone trap. I think the Wild need to adopt this philosophy. Kind of reminds me of the days when Dean Blais was coaching for the Fighting Sioux, race horse hockey.

“We want to attack,” Tortorella said. “I’m not interested in trapping. I’m just interested in getting some puck pressure. And if we have some breakdowns, we’ve got the best goalie in the league,” a reference to Henrik Lundqvist, in his fourth season.

When he coached Tampa Bay to a Stanley Cup in 2004, Tortorella used an all-out attacking style that gave lots of ice time to the immensely productive Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards and the power-play specialist Dave Andreychuk. They controlled the puck in the other team’s end and often scored.

Andy Schneider vs. Justin Soryal

While surfing the net tonight I found this fight over on hockeyfights.com. The fight is between former Fighting Sioux defenseman Andy Schneider and Justin Soryal. Soryal is a goon who has been in an impressive sixteen fights this season while playing in the AHL. In comparison Andy Schneider has only been in two fight this season. Let's just say that Soryal's is probably playing for his fisticuffs.

INCH Pod Cast.

The latest INCH podcast, in my opinion is a must listen, there is some funny stuff on this podcast. (Click here to listen) For Fighting Sioux fans at about the 20:00 till 25:00 minute mark there is some really interesting stuff that Sioux fans will get a good chuckle out of. For the Golden Gopher fans the INCH boys all but said the Gophers are done.

Jason Blake News.

There has been a lot of speculation that Former Fighting Sioux forward Jason Blake might get moved at next weeks trade dead line. Fiona Quick reported that Leafs General Manager Brian Burke was at the last Wild game with the L.A. Kings. Is Doug Risebrough & company considering acquiring Jason Blake? Being a Wild fan I would love to see Blake playing for the team of 18,000.

** Jason Blake -- A surly outcast last year, he’s now Mr. Sunshine and attempting to become the first American to lead the Leafs in scoring since Ed Olczyk 20 years ago.
Personally, I would love to see a Former Fighting Sioux Hockey player and a American born hockey player as the top scorer for the Maple Leafs.

Jason Blake is a mess after running into Colby Armstrong check.

A still woozy Jason Blake was not on the ice for the Leafs noon-hour practice today and won’t make the trip to Ottawa for tomorrow’s date with the Senators.

In his place, the Leafs have recalled tough guy Andre Deveaux from their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. The 24-year-old, who has yet to make an NHL start, will more than just fill the spot on the roster. With 54 penalty minutes in 13 games, he figures to add some much needed toughness.

Here is a clip about the possibility of Jason Blake being moved at the Trade Deadline.

*on Blake

Position: Forward

This year: 56 games, 22 goals, 25 assists, 47 points

Why he might be moved: The veteran forward will likely be retired by the time Toronto starts to compete for a championship.

What he might be worth: Not much. Teams may be only willing to offer a reclamation project or a late-round draft choice.

Why teams are interested: Blake may not score 40 goals again, but a disastrous 2007-08 - 15 goals in 82 games - and time spent in head coach Ron Wilson's doghouse seems to have helped the speedy winger rediscover his offence.

Why he could stay: Despite his improved numbers, the only numbers that league GMs appear fixated on is Blake's age (35) and contract (US$4-million for the next three years).

The scouts say: "I think that the way he's played this year has proven that he's a guy - when motivated - who loves to score goals. You can find fault with him, but the fact of the matter is he has been producing."

University of North Dakota nickname group to meet

Here is the latest from the Fighting Sioux nick name group.

A committee considering the future of the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian head logo has scheduled its first meeting.

Board of Higher Education member Grant Shaft is chairman of the group. He says it will meet by conference call at 3:30 p.m. Thursday.

The panel has 10 members. It includes representatives of UND and the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes.

The group is supposed to talk with tribal leaders about whether UND may keep its Fighting Sioux athletics nickname and Indian head logo. The chairmen of the two tribes want UND to drop the nickname and logo.

The meeting's agenda says Shaft will discuss the committee's responsibilities and organization, and talk about a timeline for doing its work.

What if the Gophers don't make the Final Five?

The beat writers are already starting to ponder the thought of the Gophers not making the Final Five and the West Regional. There is a very good chance this could happen this season.

There will be plenty of time to throw darts — and I’m sure they will be thrown — if the Gophers don’t make the NCAA tournament, with a regional here, and worst yet, if they get bounced in the first round of the WCHA playoffs and don’t make the Final Five.

The wailing will be heard all the way to Colorado Springs, where WCHA commish Bruce McLeod has his office. People have always speculated how well a Final Five without the Gophers would draw, they might get a chance to really find out.
(Read the whole story here)

I keep hearing gloom and doom for the WCHA and the NCAA regional if the Gophers don't make the WCHA Final Five or the NCAA West Regional. I predict that both tourneys will survive even if the Minnesota Gophers fail to make either tourney. NCAA hockey is bigger than the Minnesota Gophers.

Keith Ballard vs Chuck Kobasew

Nothing like a fight between a former Minnesota Gopher and a Boston College Eagle. Kobasew isn't really know for his fighting skills but took exception with Ballard's low hit and held his own against a pretty tough hockey player like Keith Ballard.

Check out VV on the Pipe Line Show.

Check out what UND's Chris VandeVelde had to say on the Pipeline Show.

They asked Vandy if he is ready to make that jump to the next level? Chris is going to sit down after the season with his family advisor and weigh his options. I think there is a good chance that Vandy will not be back with the Fighting Sioux next season.

Bitz makes it big for the Bruins.

Former Cornell Big Red player Byron Bitz is getting his shot with the Boston Bruins and making the best of his opportunity. While staking on the fourth line Bitz has (3g-2a-5pts) in 20 games. As a Bruins fan that watches just about every Bruin's game I have to say that I have been impressed with Bitz so far. (goal 1) (goal 2)

BOSTON (AP)- It wasn't the first time Byron Bitz had a big crowd chanting his name. It had been a while, though.

The rookie fourth-liner scored his second and third NHL goals Tuesday night, leading the struggling Bruins to a 6-1 win over the Florida Panthers in the opener of Boston's six-game homestand.

Bitz's performance had the fans buzzing, just like he used to in his days at Cornell.

"Couple times in college - but 20,000 people's different than 4,000, so it was pretty cool," he said.

Bitz, playing in his 20th game since being recalled from Providence, Jan. 10, scored once in the second period and again in the third as the Bruins won for only the second time in their last eight games.

His second goals made it 4-1 and Aaron Ward and Michael Ryder followed with goals to break the game open. That got the home crowd chanting for Bitz to finish off the hat trick.

He didn't do it, even with a bit of late power play time.

"It would have been nice if it worked out but it?s not that big a deal," he said.

Lucia might start Patterson.

Check out the Story here. Lucia must be feeling the heat? I think Kangas is the least of the Gophers problems. If I was a Gopher fan I would be more concerned with their porous defense that has left their goaltending out to dry numerous times and the Gophers are starting to pay for this. I don't see Patterson making much of a difference.

As the Gophers men's hockey team prepares for its final four games of the men's hockey season, coach Don Lucia says he might have to tinker with his goaltending this weekend.

"Everything's being evaluated right now," he said. "Whether we split our goalies this week, that's not a decision that's been made. Have we talked about it as a staff? Sure we have."

Sophomore Alex Kangas has started all 30 of Minnesota's games as the Gophers have gone 13-11-6, including 10-10-4 in the WCHA going into a weekend home series against Minnesota-Duluth.

After earning the team's designation as most valuable player last season with a 1.98 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage, Kangas this season has a 2.94 GAA and a .895 save percentage. The numbers have been even worse as the Gophers have gone 6-11-2 in their past 19 games: 3.63 and .869.

The option is backup goaltender Kent Patterson, a 19-year-old freshman from Plymouth who spent two seasons with Cedar Rapids of the U.S. Hockey League and recorded a 2.75 GAA and a .913 save percentage. Patterson has played only four games for the Gophers and has stats of 2.09 and .933.

Would Kangas benefit from sitting out a game?
(read the whole article)

DU now Tigers fan this weekend.

Props to Fighting Sioux fan for making note of this Blog post from Mike Chambers. If I was DU Pioneers I would worry solely about beating the Huskies who swept the Pioneers in St. Cloud back in November 4-2 and 2-1.

Props to my buddy Sioux7 for bringing out the obvious, "The Pioneers will be playing an hour behind the Tigers, hosting St. Cloud State." FYI - CC and UND play on Sat. & Sun. at 3:37pm CT both days. You have to love Mike Chambers. Lets Go Sioux. It's time to kick some Tiger ass this weekend. Seriously, Roe, Lasch and the Huskies are going to come out flying against the Pioneers and they are not going to give the Pioneers anything. One game at a time.

CC could help DU win WCHA.
By Mike Chambers ---- The Denver Post

The Western Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championship could be awarded to the University of Denver on March 7, and it's a title archrival Colorado College could help produce.

DU fans will be fans of the Tigers this weekend when CC visits North Dakota. But the Pioneers and Tigers end the regular season March 7 at Magness Arena.

DU, tied with the Fighting Sioux atop the WCHA, needs CC to win a game or two in Grand Forks, N.D. The Pioneers will be playing an hour behind the Tigers, hosting St. Cloud State.

"We are concentrating fully on our series here with St. Cloud and feel strongly that if we take care of business over the next couple games, we'll put ourselves in real good position," DU coach George Gwozdecky

They will play at least five games and as many as eight — depending on how far they advance in the WCHA playoffs — before the 16-team NCAA Tournament field is announced March 22.

"I don't want to put the cart before the horse," Gwozdecky said of obtaining a No. 1 seed. "We feel good about ourselves right now, but I certainly don't want to be predicting or making plans. As we've seen from a week ago, the Pairwise can fluctuate so easily because of how close everyone is."

Crosby and Ovechkin.

I saw this story over on Puck Daddy. I love watching these two teams play each other. Also, I can't be the only one that is getting tired of Crosby's antics, while Crosby is a good hockey player he is a bit of a cry baby. Here is Ovechkin had to say about Sidney Crosby.

"What can I say about Crosby?" he said. "He is a good player, but he talks too much. I play hard and if he wants to hit me, he can hit me, not talk to you guys about who plays cheap and who plays dirty. That's my game... If he doesn't like it, it's his problem."

Later on, when I got my chance to speak to Ovie in Russian, he seemed to be jokingly frustrated about the whole "cheap shot" issue.

"What, I can't play hard against him? What is he going to do, cry?"

Wild are boring to watch.

You can't make this stuff up. This is what the Chicago Blackhawks had to say about playing the Minnesota Wild. As a life long Wild fan I think this is a pretty accurate description and it is becoming boring to me. I would recommend that if you're are having trouble sleeping at night, why not watch a replay of this game on DVR. It would put you right to sleep. If you like goal tending last night's game offered quite a few opportunities to see good goaltending. Last night Wild goaltender Josh Harding was nothing short of amazing as he stopped former Sioux Jonathan Toews close in. For the Blackhawks Jonathan Toews scored the only goal of the game for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Maybe it's time for Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold to rethink the Wild's team philosophy. Come on now! Maybe it's time to take a look inward and try to remake the Minnesota Wild into something more exciting, more appealing and a better on the ice product that the fans can be proud of.

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith called the Minnesota Wild's style of play "patient." Coach Joel Quenneville said it was "well-disciplined." Winger Kris Versteeg went with a more basic description.

"It's boring to play against, and it's boring to watch," Versteeg said. "They really put you to sleep out there. They have five guys that basically just stand in front and just block shots.

"Playing against a team like that makes it pretty tough to really get any life in the building."

The boring approach worked just fine for the Wild in a 2-1 victory over the Hawks on Sunday night at the United Center. The defeat snapped the Hawks' four-game winning streak, and they lost for the fourth time in their last five home contests.
(Read the whole article here)

Here is what the Blackhawks hockey blogger Steve Rosenbloom had to say about the Minnesota Wild's style of play. It sounds a lot like Sioux Sports own Redwing_77.

More games for the Blackhawks against Minnesota’s old hockey team instead of the new one.

I hate the Wild. I hate the neutral-zone trap. I hate the way Jacques Lemaire has uglied up the game.

But I really hate that the Hawks had 800 shots, including almost two minutes of a 5-on-3, but couldn’t beat Josh Harding for three stinkin’ goals when three goals is a month’s output for the Wild.

I’m aggravated, but that’s all I really want to say. No sense ranting. The Hawks don’t play the Wild again this season. Thank goodness. We now return to hockey and leave the land of lobotomies behind.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll
February 23, 2009

1 Boston University (31) 23-5-4 981 1
2 Notre Dame (19) 25-5-3 968 2
3 Michigan 24-10-0 863 3
4 Northeastern 20-8-4 850 4
5 Denver 19-9-4 790 8
6 Princeton 20-7-0 673 10
7 Miami 18-9-5 666 5
8 North Dakota 20-11-3 637 9
9 Vermont 17-8-5 635 6
10 Cornell 17-6-4 540 11
11 Yale 19-6-2 532 7
12 New Hampshire 16-9-5 513 12
13 Colorado College 16-9-8 352 18
14 Minnesota-Duluth 16-9-7 336 15
15 Ohio State 19-11-4 281 16
16 Wisconsin 16-13-3 227 13
17 St. Lawrence 17-11-4 191 20
18 Minnesota 13-11-6 145 14
19 St. Cloud State 17-13-2 122 19
20 Mass.-Lowell 15-13-2 62 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Air Force 50, Boston College 41,
Alaska 22, RIT 16, Dartmouth 7

USA Today poll

1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Michigan
4. Northeastern
5. Denver
6. Princeton
7. North Dakota
8. Vermont
9. Miami
10. New Hampshire
11. Cornell
12. Yale
13. Colorado College
14. Minnesota-Duluth
15. Ohio State


Analysis:
UND keeps moving up in the national polls and in the PWR where the Fighting Sioux are currently sitting 11th.

Sioux 5th in INCH Power Ranking.

INCH Power Rankings
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern
4. Michigan
5. North Dakota
6. Denver
7. Princeton
8. Miami
9. Vermont
10. Yale
11. Cornell
12. New Hampshire
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Wisconsin
15. Ohio State
16. Colorado College
17. St. Lawrence
18. Minnesota
19. St. Cloud State
20. UMass Lowell

Dropped out: Boston College

Bubble-licious: Air Force, RIT, Alaska

Color me surprised that UND is ranked that high.

Are the wheels coming off in Minneapolis?

The Minnesota Gophers were picked in the top half of the WCHA; currently the Gophers are again sitting in seventh place of the WCHA with four games remaining. There is a good chance that the Gophers could end up on the road again for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Gopher fans are already worried that their team will do the unspeakable and end up missing the Final Five and the Midwest regional as well which is at Marriucci Arena. These fears are very realistic and could very well happen. Playoffstatus.com give the Gophers a 17% chance of getting home ice for the WCHA playoffs. If this happens it could get very ugly in Minneapolis. (Stay tuned folks)

As the Gophers season goes poorly and the loses continue to pile up there will be more and more calls from Gophers fans for the head of Gopher's head coach Don Lucia. It is only natural, as a Viking fan I have been calling for Brad Childress to be fired since season two. The questions are already starting to mount, what went wrong with the Gophers? While there have been many distractions that could lead to some of this season's failures, there has also a plethora of excuses and silly statements to come out of Gopherville. It’s been like a train wreck in slow motion. Here are some of the excuses we have seen so far; the Gophers are too young, the WJC players are tired, coach excuse. I even heard the lovable Doug Woog utter a jersey excuse in case the Gophers had managed to lose to SCSU.

No easy road to home ice

Two weeks ago during the Wisconsin series I heard Doug Woog mention to “the Rug” that Minnesota’s schedule is much more favorable the rest of the way. After the statement the Gophers proceeded to get three points out of a possible eight in their last two series. You gotta love the Wooger.

Fast forward to this weekend the Gophers the gritty and determined UMD Bulldogs, let me just say the Bulldogs are no cup of tea and I can personally think of seven other teams I would rather face right now. If the Gophers continue to play like they have the Gophers will get run out of building by Scott Sandelin’s team. Being a rivalry series UMD is going to be all over the Gophers.

Moron of the week

Here is my candidate for the Moron of the week; this is some classic stuff folks. I like how Gophers fan always refer back to the Fighting Sioux as being a bunch of hacks when their teams is ranked a lot higher nationally in penalties in minutes (PIMS) than the Sioux. I also like how this posters mentions UND’s 4 trips to the frozen four, yep UND has come home empty handed the last four years but the Fighting Sioux also finished ahead of the Gophers.

NMGo4
DU has 8 Colorado players on its roster, Wisky has 9 in-state kids, CC only two. But Tammyloud is right. The amount of in-state talent has nothing to do with how obnoxious the fan base might be. That comes, in large part, from the coach. Some coaches flip the bird and encourage otherwise thuggish behavior, and that manifests itself in fan behavior. I am afraid we just have to get used to it, but can also take comfort in the fact that even the most obnoxious fans get very, very quiet when they get punked out year after year after year after year in the Final Four. Sue fan, try channeling your energy into winning a national title with Hackstol at the reins. Maybe that will help.

Check out some of these comments from fans on the various web boards and newspaper web sites.

Gophers fall to 7th place in the WCHA.

Loss has Gophers on the road for the playoffs.

Is it time to move on without Lucia?

Even Gopher's beat writer Roman Augustoviz has an article on Lucia and the Gopher's struggles this season. Roman's article is more careful and dances around the edges but it is interesting and does ask a few questions that might be on Gopher fan's minds.

UAA attendance problems.

Earlier this weekend I touched on the attendance woos at UAA.From watching the hockey broadcasts from UAA on their webcast and from this weekends hockey broadcast you can see there wasn't anyone in the stands. Here is an article by Doyle Woody that breaks this down even further.

Seawolves hurting; Aces about even

By DOYLE WOODY

With three home games remaining at Sullivan Arena, the UAA hockey team is on pace to register its lowest average attendance in more than 20 years.
Going into tonight's series opener against North Dakota, the Seawolves are averaging 3,348 tickets sold per home match, a drop of nearly 300 per game from last season's average of 3,641.

And last season's average attendance was the lowest since the 1987-88 season, when the Seawolves averaged 3,520 tickets sold per game.

UAA's attendance is down 8.0 percent from last season, the second-largest loss in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association behind Michigan Tech, where attendance has fallen 9.0 percent.

Eight of 10 WCHA teams have lost attendance -- granted, some of the drop-off is negligible -- and Minnesota State-Mankato has actually raised attendance 5.0 percent.

In the ECHL, where 18 of the 20 teams returning from last season have suffered drops in attendance, the Alaska Aces are among the top franchises in retaining fans.

The Aces have averaged 4,649 tickets sold per game, down 68 per game from last season.

Alaska's 1.4 percent loss in attendance ranks third-best in the league, behind defending Kelly Cup champion Cincinnati, which has increased attendance 6.9 percent, and Bakersfield, which has raised attendance 1.9 percent.

Sioux 6 Seawolves 2

The Fighting Sioux sweep the UAA Seawolves in Anchorage for the first time since 2003 but the series sweep didn't come without a high price tag as Evan Trupp left the game with an apparent shoulder injury and didn't return. The UAA television announcer said. "one shoulder is lower than the other and that's not good." According to the Grand Forks Herald Trupps status is unknown at this time; I suppose we will know more later in the week. Trupp missed four games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. Let’s hope that Trupp doesn’t miss too much time as the Sioux need his offensive creativity. I would imagine that freshman David Toews will take his place in the lineup next weekend.

With the win against the Seawolves last night, coach Hakstol's team has won at least 20 games in each of his first five years of coaching for the Fighting Sioux. With the win last night the Fighting Sioux also clinched home ice for the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux should not be satisfied with securing home ice for the playoffs; the Fighting Sioux have bigger fish to fry as they are currently tied with the Denver Pioneers for first in the WCHA. If the Sioux finish tied for first with the Pioneers the Sioux hold the tie breaker based on head to head record.

Sioux on a roll

The Fighting Sioux have been on a tear since their horrible start; since Thanksgiving weekend the Fighting Sioux have gone 16-4-2 and 11-1-2 since the first of the year after starting the season 0-3-0. The only real blemish on the Sioux's record was the disappointing showing in the GLI during the Christmas break. I would be willing to bet that no team wants to be in UND's bracket come NCAA playoff time.

Complete domination

The Fighting Sioux played a complete game and both ends of the ice and cashed in on their opportunities when they were presented to them. The Defense cleaned up rebounds and did a good job getting the puck out of the zone and up ice. Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness 20-8-3 2.409 gaa sv% .911 had a good weekend between the pipes and made some big saves in both games. At one point last night Eidsness stoned a Seawolves player on a clean break away after the Sioux defense had gotten caugh up ice in the defensive zone.

Senior Ryan Ducan (1-2-3), Freshman Jason Gregoire (0-3-3) and Junior Chris VandeVelde (3-0-3) were huge for the Fighting Sioux all weekend as they made big plays at important times during the weekend series. With the Sweep of the Seawolves last night the Fighting Sioux moved into 11th in the Pairwise Rankings which mimic the selection for the NCAA hockey tourney.


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

NDK-1 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) AKA 1x1 2:00
AKA 1 - 0 6x5 PP Kevin Clark (7) (Josh Lunden, Mat Robinson) 2:58
AKA: 9,21,33,24,20,G49 NDK: 6,16,17,25,G31
NDK-2 Brett Hextall (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x2 7:58
NDK 1 - 1 5x6 SH Ryan Duncan (14) (Jake Marto, Jason Gregoire) 9:29
NDK (+): 16,25,6,17,G31 AKA (-): 14,40,33,16,4,G49
AKA-1 Curtis Leinweber (2-Holding) NDK 1x1 12:00
NDK 2 - 1 6x5 PP LL Chris VandeVelde (11) (Brad Miller, Ryan Duncan) 13:17
NDK: 29,14,16,25,26,G31 AKA: 14,18,33,13,G49
NDK-3 Ryan Martens (2-Interference) AKA 1x3 13:44
AKA-2 Trevor Hunt (2-Tripping) NDK 1x2 15:16
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 GW Brad Malone (3) (Darcy Zajac, Ryan Martens) 19:05
NDK (+): 22,11,8,25,6,G31 AKA (-): 23,24,9,21,22,G49

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

NDK-4 Brett Hextall (2-High-Sticking) 6:49
AKA-3 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 6:49
NDK 4 - 1 5x5 Chris VandeVelde (12) (Jake Marto, Brad Miller) 6:59
NDK (+): 29,21,14,25,G31 AKA (-): 16,4,20,33,G30
NDK-5 Andrew Kozek (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x4 9:16
NDK-6 Zach Jones (2-Checking from Behind) AKA 1x5 12:44
NDK-7 BENCH (2-TOO MANY PLAYERS ON ICE) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 1x6 19:22

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

NDK-8 Joe Finley (2-Tripping) AKA 2x7 6:56
AKA 2 - 4 6x5 PP Josh Lunden (12) (Curtis Leinweber, Mat Robinson) 8:22
AKA: 21,11,9,33,20,G30 NDK: 5,11,20,24,G31
NDK 5 - 2 6x6 EN Jake Marto (6) (unassisted) 17:13
NDK (+): 25,17,6,29,16,G31 AKA (-): 9,18,20,21,16,11
NDK 6 - 2 6x6 HT Chris VandeVelde (13) (Matt Frattin, Jason Gregoire) 19:15
NDK (+): 29,17,21,6,2,G31 AKA (-): 40,21,33,4,12,G30

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

News from the other side

Check out this link for highlights from last night's game. The video also does a pretty good job of illustrating that there wasn't very many fans at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage last night. While the box score says that the paid attendance for last night game was 3679, it would appear from the broadcast and from the news highlights that the actual attendance was a lot smaller. I just don't get it. Why wouldn't the attendance be higher?

While UAA has had a tough go at it the last three seasons, UAA is improving and UAA coach Dave Shyiak has his team close to being a decent to very good hockey team in the WCHA. UAA also plays in one of the premier hockey conferences in Division one hockey. Lastly, I also don't buy the argument that there is a lot more to do in Anchorage than some of the other other WCHA cities; like say Grand Forks, Saint Cloud, Houghton or Mankato. It is the dead of winter in Alaska right now and hockey would seem to be a natural fit for a state that is known for it cold winters and majestic beauty.

Here is the Anchorage Daily News story on last night's game.

UAA certainly didn't go down without a fight. The Seawolves outshot the Fighting Sioux 18-12 in the final two periods.

"I thought we played well enough to win," UAA coach Dave Shyiak said. "You gotta give (North Dakota) credit. They earned their breaks -- they got a power-play goal and a bounce to go their way in overtime.

"We hung in there with one of the best teams in the country."

Here is Anchorage hockey blogger on attendance for hockey in Anchorage.

In the meantime, UAA entertains North Dakota this weekend in its final WCHA home series, and the Seawolves could use some more fans. Look in Friday's paper for a chart detailing the program's attendance drop this season, which is in keeping with most of the teams in the league, although UAA's drop is the second-worst.

In any event, the Aces have dropped in attendance, too, but just barely. They open a three-game, ECHL road trip at Phoenix on Saturday.

Saturday Morning Bracketology.

Here is the latest from Jason Moy at the Bracketology blog. Personally I would like to see UND get another crack at BU.
Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids)

East Regional (Bridgeport)

15 RIT vs. 1 Boston University

12 North Dakota vs. 7 Yale

Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids)

16 Bemidji State vs. 2 Notre Dame

9 Princeton vs. 8 Miami

West Regional (Minneapolis)

14 Wisconsin vs. 3 Michigan

10 Cornell vs. 6 Northeastern

Northeast Regional (Manchester)

13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Vermont

11 New Hampshire vs. 5 Denver

UND 2 UAA 1 OT

We watched the game at the Highlander Bar in Grand Forks, ND tonight after watching Central Knights shutout the Red River Rough Riders 6-0. What a day for hockey.

The Sioux won a game against a team that does a great job clogging up the neutral zone. While I am happy the Fighting Sioux won the game it wasn't a very good game to watch, it was down right boring. These are also the type of games you have to win to be successful in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs. The classic tight checking, tough contested game that requires a lot of grit where you can't make a lot of mistakes. One of those games where a missed pass ends up being a goal. Brett Hextall and Chay Genoway were huge tonight and they were the difference in the game.

UAA is kind of an enigma, for a team that is sitting in 9th place in the WCHA they sure play a lot better hockey than their record. The Seawolves play with a lot of grit and tonight they did pretty much everything they were supposed to, except they didn't get the win. Seawolves coach Dave Shyiak he said, “They are one of the best teams in the country,” and when “You give them a couple of chances and they are going to score.”.
Box Score

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1st Period (20:00)
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AKA-1 Tyler Moir (2-Interference) NDK 0x1 3:29
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) AKA 0x1 6:59
AKA-2 Jared Tuton (2-Interference) NDK 1x2 11:04
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brett Hextall (9) (Ryan Duncan, Brad Miller) 12:03
NDK: 26,16,14,25,29,G31 AKA: 18,33,13,12,G49

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2nd Period (20:00)
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AKA-3 Mat Robinson (2-Tripping) NDK 1x3 17:25
NDK-2 Jason Gregoire (2-Roughing) 19:27
AKA-4 Curtis Leinweber (2-Roughing) 19:27

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK-3 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 4:18
NDK-4 Joe Finley (2-Cross-Checking) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 0x2 4:18
AKA-5 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 4:18
AKA-6 Trevor Hunt (2-Hooking) NDK 1x4 7:33
AKA 1 - 1 6x6 Josh Lunden (11) (Mat Robinson, Kevin Clark) 11:17
AKA (+): 21,33,9,13,40,G49 NDK (-): 2,5,16,26,17,G31
NDK-5 Jason Gregoire (2-Interference) AKA 0x3 13:28

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Overtime (0:17)
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NDK 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Chay Genoway (3) (Brett Hextall, Jason Gregoire) 0:17
NDK (+): 5,2,16,17,26,G31 AKA (-): 16,12,20,13,33,G49

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End of Game

Pasquale Mangiola And The Three Habs

Coming off a disastrous 1-4-1 road trip, the last thing the Montreal Canadiens' needed was to be embroiled in another controversy.

With the Montreal media in a frenzy about the teams rapid descent down the Eastern Conference standings, any good news that's fit to print is hard to find.

Tracts of glorious pine trees are plowed under as the media attempts to play Sherlock Holmes in his latest mystery: What The Hell Is Wrong With The Habs?

Barring a miraculous clue from the sole of a dusty hob nail boot, the mystery of the Habs will fail to satisfy.

The media are smart enough to know that there are only so many times you can hammer home the point that the Canadiens are under performing.

So, it stands to reason the media will take their collective boot off the throat of the Canadiens' and look for something else.

French language newspaper La Presse were the first to find the rotting fish in the brine.

I don't want to get sued so you may find the word alleged or reportedly sprinkled throughout this diatribe.

It is alleged that the Kostitsyn brothers (Sergei and Andrei) and Roman Hamrlik are acquaintances of a Pasquale Mangiola, a man who has alleged links with organized crime.

Mangiola was arrested and charged with conspiracy and cocaine trafficking by Montreal police last week, in a sting operation called "Project Axe."

Allegedly the police have recorded conversations between Mangiola and two of the players.

La Presse was quick to point out that the three Canadiens' were not suspected of anything more sinister than a good night on the town with Mangione.

However, the optics of it all don't look good.

In a hastily put together press conference Friday afternoon, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey would not brush aside the allegations made by the media.

"I can only go on what I know," Gainey told TSN.ca. "It's not good for our team. It does not reflect well on our team, it does not reflect well on the individuals and it cannot be extinguished as a possible inhibitor to our performance."

While there are many people who want to be associated with a professional hockey team for good reasons. not everyone is a chaste.

For decades there have been hangers on and ruthless people who want to befriend young, millionaire hockey players and gain access to the inner sanctum of a club.

Gainey said that the Kostitsyn brothers and Hamrlik simply made a bad choice in whom they chose to associate with.

"We've made the players aware that this is not the kind of conduct that is part of people in our organization and for them individually as young athletes, as professionals who are trying to attain their goals, that they have to make stronger choices than the person beside them," Gainey told TSN.ca.

The NHL security department, which visits each team yearly to talk about issues, including personal associations, is aware of the situation.

"The NHL is aware of the reports and is in the process of gathering information," deputy commissioner Bill Daley said in a statement released on Friday.

Surprisingly, various Habs' blog sites are silent on this issue. They were more interested in the recent trials of Alexei Kovalev.

This isn't the first time organized crime has crossed paths with NHL players.

According to an investigation by PBS, Pavel Bure was friends with Anzor Kikalishvilli who, according to the FBI and Russian law enforcement, is the co-head of a Russian organized crime operation.

The FBI stated that Russian hockey great Vyacheslav Fetisov was linked to a Russian mobster named Vyacheslav Ivankov. Ivankov spent ten years in a U.S. prison for extortion and was charged and acquitted of two murders in a Russian restaurant.

I've got to give kudos to Alex Rodriquez for his recent troubles. If this situation is worse than initially thought, then A Rod may be the best and most obtuse saviour the NHL has ever seen.

Tell us what he did.

USCHO blogger Todd Milewski brings up a good point in his latest blog post. It would be interesting to see what is actually going to be tolerated and what isn't going to be allowed in the WCHA. Seems that the league is a little inconsistent in their rulings. I think the WCHA should model its self after The NHL who does a good job breaking down suspensions and letting the fans, teams and the players know what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, in his statement, sent a message to the rest of the league that the game must be played “within the spirit of the rules at all times.”

So why not spell out exactly what happened and why it was unacceptable? Why not say plainly that the WCHA will not tolerate X and Y and Z, and Bruess is being punished for violating that?

If players are going to be held responsible, they deserve to know without a doubt what the expectations are. This is a case where a clearer definition is needed.

Mavs and Sioux in pictures.

Here are the pictures that Garlynn and Sioux7 took this past weekend. I want to thank the two photographers for their work.

Buress supended for his hit on LaPoint.

I have to admit that I am a little surprised by this move and didn't expect the league to suspend Buress especially after they allowed a few other incidents to go unpunished, like say the Brian Schack incident and his impersonation of Todd Bertuzzi.

What I am hoping is the league has finally decided that enough is enough and is going to start flexing some of their muscle and suspending players who cross the line. During the series between the Sioux and the Mavericks Trevor Buress crossed the line a few times last weekend. I am also surprised that Geoff Irwin wasn't suspended for his stick swinging incident on Zajac at the end of Saturday's game. If that act had happened in the NHL Irwin would be getting a call from Colin Campbell.

Bruess Suspended One Game
CHN Staff Report
MANKATO, Minn. — Pursuant to WCHA policy, Minnesota State has suspended junior forward Trevor Bruess one game.

Bruess was suspended for a hit on North Dakota defenseman Derrick LaPoint. LaPoint went hard into the boards and suffered a broken leg. He had surgery this week and will miss the remainder of the season.

Bruess was not assessed a penalty on the play.

“We need Trevor to understand that he needs to make every possible effort to avoid these types of incidents and want to emphasize to him that he is responsible for his actions on the ice,” said WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod. “We hope he will use this as both an educational experience and as a time to reflect on his play.

Weekend Match-Ups (Sioux 7)

Last weekend, UND sweep MSUM to move into a 1st place tie with DU, who tied CC in their one game, else where, SCSU sweep MTU to move into 4th place, and UM took 3pts from UAA.


WCHA Standings

1 North Dakota...............13-6-3...29
1 Denver......................13-7-3...29
3 Wisconsin.................13-7-2...28
4 St. Cloud State.........12-11-1...25
4 Colorado College.........10-8-5...25
6 Minnesota................10-8-4...24
7 Minnesota-Duluth.........9-8-5...23
8 Minnesota State..........9-13-2...20
9 Alaska-Anchorage........7-12-5...19
10 Michigan Tech...........1-17-6...8


#8 Denver at #13 Wisconsin
WOW, this should be the games of the week. Only one point apart, 1st and 3rd place teams in the league, UW on the bubble for the NCAA tourney. There are many implications going on in this series. A sweep by either team puts them in position to win the WCHA regular season, AND move up in the all important PWR standings. The Badgers are coming off a bye week, DU is coming off a tie with rival CC. UW is 9-5-1 at the Kohl center this season, and DU is 5-5-2 away from Magness. Both teams should be up for this series, with all that is riding on it. I'm going to call this one a split, DU in the Friday game, and UW on Saturday.


#14 Minnesota at #18 Colorado College
Another big series, this one is for WCHA home ice in the playoffs. These teams are only separated by one point, too. Since 2009, CC is 3-3-2 and UM is 4-6-1 (and is 1-4-1 in the last 6-games), so neither has done well in 2009. With the pile of teams still alive for home ice, a sweep for one team would help them grab a better hold on home ice. Will this be the weekend the Gophers complete their collapse and fall out of the race, or will it be the Tigers who will starve? UM has only won once on the road in 2009, and well CC doesn't seem to play well on Fridays, hmm. I'm calling a tie on Friday and a Tiger win on Saturday.


#9 North Dakota at Alaska-Anchorage
The Sioux make the long trip to Alaska this weekend in a tie for 1st place with DU. A sweep for the Sioux would give them the inside track for the McNaughton cup, since DU has played one more game than UND. The Seawolves are still alive for getting home ice, but they need some help. The highest I see UAA realistically finishing is 7th place. The Sioux are coming off a weekend sweep of MSUM and UAA is back home after getting one point last weekend at UM. I say the Sioux keep on their winning ways this weekend, Sioux sweep.


#15 Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech
The Bulldogs need keep winning to to stay with the pack of teams their running with now. UMD is still on the NCAA bubble, so winning games is a must if they want to control they own destiny. The Huskies on the other hand are locked into the doghouse. MTU will be playing the number one team in the first round of WCHA playoffs on the road. The Huskies haven't rolled over and played dead yet, they have been in most of their games this year, so look for these dogs to keep barking and biting. I'm going with a split this weekend, UMD Friday, MTU Saturday.


#19 SCSU and MSUM are off this weekend

MSUM at Nebraska-Omaha (Tuesday Feb. 24)

Spirit Lake council mulls nickname vote

At this point in the game you have to wonder if it even matters if the Tribes have a vote or not. If Spirit Lake had a reservation wide referendum on the Fighting Sioux name and voted to keep the name that vote wouldn't mean much if Standing Rock DOESN'T vote to allow a referendum. We will see how this plays out but it almost seems like it is a little too late.

Spirit Lake council mulls nickname vote
Tu-Uyen Tran Grand Forks Herald
Published Wednesday, February 18, 2009

A decision whether to hold a referendum on UND's Fighting Sioux nickname will be before the Spirit Lake Tribal Council on Saturday, according to a supporter of the referendum.

John Chaske said his group met with the tribal council Wednesday, and it appeared three council members are willing to put the issue on the ballot in April. Another council member was absent, he said, and a decision on the referendum requires all to be present.

Chairwoman Myra Pearson has expressed her opposition to the nickname in the past, but she would only vote in the event of a tie.
----------(snip)----------
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, however, has made clear its opposition to the nickname and even a referendum. It voted 7-5 in May 2008 to not hold a public vote.

Chaske said he understands there are Standing Rock members pushing the council for a vote. “I hope what we do here will give them a spark over there.”

A “yes” vote on the nickname would be the first step in building a new relationship between the tribe and UND, according to Chaske.

Ideally, he said, an agreement with the university might involve more scholarships for tribal members and classes teaching other students the reality of Indian culture. “We don’t all get a check every month from the federal government.”

So did I read this right? Is UND offering more scholarship money to Native American Students to allow them keep the Fighting Sioux name? Stay tuned folks.

Some nice goals.

Here is a sweet goal by former Gopher Blake Wheeler in Boston's 5-1 win against Carolina.

Former Fighting Sioux forward Drew Stafford scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season against Jason Blake's Toronto Maple Leafs team. Blake had a niceassist on Pavel Kabina's goal. Stafford is fourth on the Sabres in points with (17g - 20a - 37 points). Jason Blake is leading the Maple Leafs with (21g - 20a - 45 points).

Here is a nice goal by former B.C. Eagle and current Boston Bruin Chuck Kobasew

Both Fighting Sioux games on TV this weekend.

This is good news for Fighting Sioux fans that happen to live in Great Grand Forks area. You will be able to watch both games of the Fighting Sioux and Seawolves this this weekend on channel 23.

This weekend's UND-UAA series to be televised in Grand Forks area

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota athletics department and Ralph Engelstad Arena announced today an agreement with GCI Cable and Midcontinent Communications to carry the broadcast of this weekend’s series at Alaska Anchorage in the Grand Forks viewing area.

The GCI production will be made available on channel 23 Grand Forks and in the immediate Grand Forks viewing area, which includes the East Grand Forks, Grand Forks Air Force Base, Drayton, Grafton, Minto, Manvel, Larimore, Crookston, Thompson, Reynolds, Buxton, Hatton, Mayville, Portland, Hillsboro, Galesburg and Grandin.

The broadcast will begin at 10:05 p.m. Central on Friday and Saturday night.