Wood versus composite sticks.

Our friend Kyle from the Illegal Curve has an excellent article on the wood versus composite stick. I have to say that I agree with what he has to say.

It is a good subject and we have talked about it from time to time with my buddies that I watch the college games with. I was over at Scheels in Grand Forks, ND a few days back and was looking for a hat in the hockey department when picked one of these composite sticks. Yuck! They don’t even feel like the hockey sticks of old. It is a piece of carbon fiber and it feels like some thing that should be on the space shuttles and not in the hands of a hockey player.

I will say that I that miss the aluminum and woods sticks. Not that I am nostalgic or old school because I like trendy things and I am tired of watching all of these composite sticks break all of the time. They are expensive and not cost effective. How many times have you seen your favorite team on the power play and the defenseman takes a shot from the point and his stick explodes causing an odd numbered rush up ice the other way? I have seen it happen a few times during the Stanley Cup playoffs this spring. I also hate sound of the slaps shots from one of these sticks. Heck just think off all the all-pros that used woods sticks; Bourque, Neely, Coffey, Kurri etc. Like Kyle mentions in the comments Bobby Hull was able to play and score goals without one of these things. Can you imagine a Bobby Orr a Bobby Hull slap shot with a Carbon Fiber stick?

If I was a hockey player I wouldn’t be helped by wood composite or Alum because I would be a non-skilled energy player, prone to taking a untimely penalty. I think composite today’s sticks could also be compared to the big headed golf drivers of today; think what Jack or Arnie Palmer could have done with a big headed graphite shaft driver with a nice Kevlar composite driver head. The sweet spot is huge with these things and you can really tee it up same with the composite stick. I think they make mediocre players better as well. I also miss the days of the old Christian Brothers or Easton aluminum hockey sticks where you could just replace the blade when it broke.

Alex Ovechkin knees Sergei Gonchar

So will the league come down on Ovechkin for his bush league kneeing penalty on Sergei Gonchar? I am going to say not. Ovechkin is their bread adn butter and don't bite the hand that feeds you. Penguins fans are not happy and I don't blame them. Can you imagine the outrage if some thug of lesser skills had did that to Ovechkin's knee?

Ference out, Wheeler in.

It is confirmed by Boston Bruins coach Claude Julien that Andrew Ference will not play tonight's game against the Hurricanes but former Gopher Blake Wheeler will. The Bruins need to come out and play with some desperation but with discipline. The Bruins need to have an aggressive in your face fore check. Milian Lucic needs to play with the nasty edge that he had against the Habs. The Bruins need to get pucks deep and play a high pressure game as well.

*Claude Julien confirmed that Andrew Ference will not play tonight. Shane Hnidy, a healthy scratch for the first three games, will be making his series debut tonight.

* Blake Wheeler will play tonight. Wheeler skated with David Krejci and Michael Ryder during the morning skate.

Status of Wheeler and Ference unknown.

If Andrew Ference can't go tomorrow night game against the Carolina Hurricanes Ference will probably be replaced in the lineup by the Bruin’s 7th defenseman Shane “the sheriff” Hnidy. On the forward lines If Blake Wheeler can't go because of an his undisclosed injury; I am not sure it will hurt the Bruins as much as the loss of Andrew Ference. During the Stanley Cup playoffs Blake Wheeler has been almost invisible and a non-factor. It is almost like Wheeler has hit the wall, which can happen as an NHL rookie. Trade deadline acquisition Mark Recci has also been barely visible himself as Recci has only scored (1-1-2) in seven games.

In seven Stanley Cup playoff games Wheeler has (0-0-0) that is a big goose egg. If Wheeler can't go I would expect Byron Bitz to replace him who recorded an assist in the one game he played when Milan Lucic was suspended.

No update on Ference, Wheeler

Julien declined to disclose whether Andrew Ference or Blake Wheeler will be available tomorrow.

Ference looked like he aggravated a lower-body injury in the second period when he was checked into the boards by Scott Walker. Ference skated only three shifts in the second period and didn't play in the third period or overtime.

Wheeler was hurt while blocking a shot in the second period. Wheeler underwent X-rays after the game... Julien said the flu-like symptoms that held Chuck Kobasew out of practice on Tuesday have not spread throughout the dressing room...Last week, Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron were under the weather but didn't miss any time.

David Backes finishes his check on Sprunger.

Check out this hit by Backes on Sprunger. Backes recieved a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for this questionable hit. While this hit was a penalty and probably dirty, I am still a big fan of David Backes. I also like what David Backes he brings to the table offensively. I think we will see Backes on the 2010 USA Olympic hockey team.

Some NHL players don't like to be hit.

Mark Spector from sportsnet.ca has posted an interesting article on hitting and European player's influence on the NHL and how some would rather watch the North American brand of hockey opposed to Euro hockey. I think the European brand of hockey has a propensity to be less physical that North American style of hockey.
Personally, I like a rougher and more physical game where an occasional fight breaks out, but I don't mind a nice mix of players from all over. That being said I don’t want to see a team made up entirely of players from Europe either. I believe the Boston Bruins are a nice example of a well balanced team.

There is also a story about Don Cherry and how some have grown tired of his antics and his xenophobia. Personally I like Cherry.

Now that these players are in the league, they’re not so sure they like being on the other end of one of those hits. “Guys have families, livelihoods,” mused Canucks bruising defenceman Shane O’Brien. “There is so much coverage now, and hits to the head have become such a topic of conversation.”

Rypien, who complained about a hit from Ben Eager in Game 1 of the Chicago-Vancouver series, made $522,000 this season. He has not yet celebrated his 25th birthday.

Hudler, who was crushed on a perfectly legal check from Anaheim’s Mike Brown, pulled in $1.15 million. At age 25 and with his skill level, he could accumulate between $10-20 million more dollars in NHL salary before his career is complete.

The risk of providing for the next two generations of your family and never having to hold another job after age 35 however, is that one day a guy like Darcy Hordichuk might catch Hudler admiring another pass. And whether or not Hordichuk senses vulnerability, well, it won’t matter to him.

“No, not at all,” Hordichuk said. “A guy like Hudler, if you catch him in Game 1 he might not be playing with a full deck of cards for the rest of the series. And the other [Red Wings] too. They’ll be aware.

“I honestly don’t think the [Brown hit] was a penalty. It was Hudler’s fault — the puck was literally right there. With Ripper, the puck was long gone.”

Well, longer gone anyhow. Which, we’ll argue, left Rypien more time to get off the train tracks.

The referees threw Brown out of Game 1 for a hit that was deemed not worthy of suspension. Eager got two minutes for his hit on Rypien. Again, no suspension.

Of course guys like Henrik Zetterberg and the Sedin brothers want those hits out of the game. They are always going to be the fly, never the windshield. We get that.

But even in a game as tough as hockey, weathered, experienced hockey men — including a few reporters and TV types we all know — whined and cried for Colin Campbell to take action when Brown caught Hudler with that text book, elbow-tucked-in, body check.

Detroit’s Mike Babcock is an excellent coach, and seems like one tough S.O.B. But in the culture that is forming in today’s NHL, even he couldn’t accept a hard hit on one of his players, without labeling it “a vicious, dirty hit.”

This is what makes North American hockey more compelling than European hockey:

Bruins lose in O.T.

Last night's game was tough to stomach, especially when you know that the Bruins can do better. Boston had gone 5-0 against the Canes this season until losing the last two games.

It would be an understatement to say that the Bruins were sloppy with the puck in all zones of the ice last night. The Bruins made a habit of coughing up the puck on numerous occasions that lead to grade “A” offensive opportunities. Lucky for the Bruins their goaltender Tim Thomas was able to bail His defenders out. In my opinion Tim Thomas is the best American born goaltender in the NHL right now and your probably looking at one of Team U.S.A's goaltender for next year's 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

I am not so sure the Bruins deserved to go to overtime and this game could have been really ugly, if not for Timmy Thomas. I was tough to watch because the Bruins have been known for the tough defensive play. On a positive note the ice cold Mark Recchi finally scored a goal.

Bruins beat writer Kevin Paul Dupont does a good job of summing up what happened in last night's game.

All in all, that had to be how Boston coach Claude Julien felt after watching his misguided wanderers flub and stumble their way to a 3-2 overtime loss last night to the hard-charging Hurricanes.

"Probably one of our worst games in I don't know how long," said a composed but clearly disappointed Julien following the defeat, which left the Bruins in a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven series. "We turned pucks over. We lacked execution. We lost battles. It was a very uncharacteristic game for us."

Three games into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Bruins have yet to play a good game against Team Tobacco Road. They walked to a win in Game 1, mostly because the Canes were still in a daze after going to the last seconds of Game 7 to rub out the Devils. Two nights later, the Canes blanked them in the Garden, 3-0, the Bruins mistakenly thinking they could win with the same Gentleman's 'C' effort they put forth in Game 1.
(read the whole article)

The goal that wasn't.

I watched this game last night and I think the ref Brad Watson really screwed this call up. Just for the record I have no dog in this fight I am not a Redwings or a Ducks fan but as a hockey fan I want to see the correct calls made. I think the Redwings do have a beef with the league officials. I know the ref lost site of the puck and was in the process of blowing his wistle but a bad call cost a team a goal and it makes the NHL look bad.

Scott Niedermayer's power-play goal 8:16 into the second period proved to be the winner as the Ducks took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"He is a difference maker," Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood said. "If we're not watching him, he is going to burn us like he has in past series."

Detroit's Marian Hossa looked to have forced overtime with 65 seconds remaining, but a hasty whistle negated the tying goal.

"We were lucky there," Ducks netminder Jonas Hiller said. "You're always going to get good calls or bad calls against you, but I always say, 'To be lucky you have to fight for it' and tonight we fought for 60 minutes — that is why we deserved to be lucky at the end."

Parked behind the net, Pavel Datsyuk poked the puck into the crease, where it sat next to Hiller's right pad until Hossa swept it into the open net.

But referee Brad Watson ruled that he lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead.
(read the rest of the article)

Dirtiest players in hockey.

I was looking at the results of this poll and I noticed none of the dirtiest players are American. Here is the break down of the dirtiest players in the NHL. They are Steve Ott, a Canadian, Chris Pronger, a Canadian, Scott Hartnell a Canadian, Jarkko Ruutu from Finland and last but not least Sean "sloppy seconds" Avery, a Canadian. Not one of top five dirtiest players are an American, Russian, Slovak or Swede.

Chris Kunitz hacks Simeon Varlamov

I doubt that Kunitz learned that move from his days at Ferris State University. While this didn't draw a penalty Kunitz should have received a beat down by a Capital's player. There really is no excuse for that of play. I think that was an attempt to injure and should have been a suspension. If an untalented goon like Donald Brashear did this to Fleury there would have been another 1-3 games suspension coming down the pike.

Wild should look to their back yard.

Kyle from the Illegal Curve had this article linked up and this article really hits the nail on the head that maybe just maybe the Minnesota Wild should look in their own back yard for talent. Then the article lists a bunch of former college players that played college hockey in and around the tri-state area, but also players with ties to the state of hockey that the Wild management could have drafted and didn't. For reasons I dunno, just doesn't make any sense. It was like the Wild were anti-college and American hockey player. Not to Wild ownership; please hire a GM with a propensity to draft college/American hockey players every now and then.

Under the old management the Wild would rather have a bunch of players with no ties to area with names you can't spell. I hope under the next general manager the Wild will look to college hockey to supply some of the talent for the home town team. I find it funny that the Wild roster over the past three to four seasons has been plastered with players from Finland, Slovakia and Quebec. There have been few former college hockey players and about what; four to five American players? The American players that I can remember are Mark Parish, Bryan Rolston, Keith Carney, Sean Hill? You do have to wonder that the hell Risebrough was thinking. It's not like they couldn't have seen these players play.

In fact, in the past three drafts, Minnesota has selected just one native son – center Chris Hickey of St. Paul, taken with the Wild’s final pick in 2006, 192nd overall. And the amount of Minnesotans on the roster right now? Zero.

Perhaps a GM change can reverse this trend, because otherwise the Wild is losing out on a natural advantage.

One name being floated around for Doug Risebrough’s old job is player agent Neil Sheehy, who grew up in International Falls, Minn., and boasts a client-roster heavy on NHLers from the Gopher State.

Now don’t expect Sheehy to bring Zach Parise, Kyle Okposo or Matt Niskanen along with him if he gets the job, but considering the young talent Sheehy has mined (add Jack Hillen, Chris Porter and Ryan Carter to that list, too) already, it’s not hard to see what top-end talent has been untapped as of yet by the Wild.

Case in point: the 2008 draft, where the Wild took Quebec-born defender Marco Scandella with the 55th selection. The next pick? Edina, Minn., speedster Danny Kristo, who played for Team USA in this year’s world juniors. If the Wild was drafting by position, they could have gone for Eastview High’s Corey Fienhage, who fell to Buffalo in the third round (81st overall) and was the exact same size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) as Scandella when the two were selected.

In the first round, Minnesota was skunked by Anaheim when the Ducks took Minnetonka defenseman Jake Gardiner before the Wild had a shot, but it wouldn’t have been a stretch to go for Roseau blueliner Aaron Ness instead of Tyler Cuma of the Ottawa 67’s. Instead, Ness went to the Isles early in the second round.

Perhaps the Wild brass felt a little snakebitten when its 2004 first-rounder, A.J. Thelen, didn’t pan out. Drafted 12th overall and ahead of players such as Drew Stafford (Wisconsin born and a Sheehy client), Alexander Radulov and Travis Zajac, Thelen was a homegrown golden boy who crashed out, getting jettisoned from the Michigan State Spartans and eventually ending up unsigned by the Wild and playing in the ECHL. (Read the whole article here)

Bayda maybe in line for more playing time.

With the injury of Scott Walker former Fighting Sioux forward Ryan Bayda could get more playing time.

In Tuesday's shuffling of the lines, with right wing Scott Walker out for six weeks, Chad LaRose moved into Matt Cullen's line with Ryan Bayda during practice.

Coach Peter Laviolette said Walker is hard to replace.

Was Chad LaRose robbed?

In reviewing the replay a case could be made that the Canes may have had a goal taken away from them. In looking at the video it appears that the refs got another call wrong and again it didn't matter because the Canes were never in danger of losing this game, however, if the Bruins had gotten a few goals in the third period and won the game that Canes fans would had good reason to be upset. Even in the best league in hockey the refs are prone to mistakes.

Wooger and the Rug extended.

Good news for Sioux fans our favorite dynamic duo from Rodentville central Doug Woog and Frank "the Rug" Mazzocco will be back in the announcers booth for Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey team again this season. Recently and Fox Sports Net and the University of Minnesota signed another contract for FSN to cover Gopher hockey. I guess now we better study up on our Woogerism when the Fighting Sioux play the Gophers.

Gopher Hockey and FSN Reach Broadcast Agreement
Courtesy: University of Minnesota 05/01/2009

One of the nation’s most unparalleled college hockey television contracts will continue in an agreement between Fox Sports North and the University of Minnesota.

The regional television network and the university have reached a contract that features a minimum of 28 exclusive regular season Gopher hockey telecasts per season. In addition, the contract provides coverage of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association first round playoffs and continued half-hour pre-game and post-game shows adjacent to each broadcast.

“We’re very excited about continuing this great relationship with Fox Sports North,” said Tom Wistrcill, Minnesota’s Senior Associate Athletic Director for External Relations. “We believe our storied hockey program and the professional quality of Fox Sports North’s broadcasts make a great partnership. This is exciting news for loyal fans of Gopher hockey to be able to continue to see the vast majority of our games.”

Fox Sports North reaches nearly two million homes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota. It is also available on most satellite television packages.

“We are very proud of our continuing partnership with the University of Minnesota,” said Fox Sports North Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Dimond. “Together, we’ve built a tradition of Gopher hockey and this new agreement allows us to continue that tradition on our network for years to come.”

Save of the Week.

This is an unbelieveable save and I would have to say that it is my save of the week. Also, nice to see the Blackhawks win last night.

The Savard and Kessel show.

Tonight the Bruins played the Carolina Huricanes in game one of the Eastern Conference semifinals and Marc Savard and Phil Kessel were on fire. This goal was a thing of beauty and illustrated the Bruins team speed. Kessel also assisted on this goal by Savard as well. Michael Ryder also had another strong game as he chipped in a goal and an assist. As a Bruins fan I really liked what I saw from the Bruins tonight as they pretty much rolled over the Hurricanes.

For the Carolina Hurricanes Former Fighting Sioux forward Ryan Bayda also got his third point in this season's Stanley Cup Playoffs as he assisted on Jussi Jokinen's goal and then Ryan got a penalty as he ran over Tim Thomas. Also, former WMU Bronco Joe Corvo must have iron lungs because he was on the ice for 25+ minutes tonight and was the best player for the Hurricanes tonight.

Mike Brown's hit on Jiri Hudler.

This will be the next hit that is going to be looked at in the NHL. Some in the media are comparing it to the Donald Brashear hit on Blair Betts. It looked like a pretty rough hit and you can bet the NHL will look at the hit. The Ducks Coach Randy Carlyle didn't think the Hit was dirty.

"I'm sure they're going to say it was dirty, but this is a game that's played and physical contact is allowed," Carlyle said. "We timed the hit. From the time he passed the puck until Mike Brown made contact with him, there wasn't a second that went off the clock. It was at 8:36, and the clock did not move by the time he made contact. He didn't hit him with his elbow, he hit him with his shoulder. Hudler was admiring his pass.

"They can talk all they want about a dirty hit. That's not a dirty hit in hockey. You're allowed to take the body in this game."

Ovechkin on Crosby.

Tip of the hat to On Frozen Blog This is kind of like the Tiger and Phil relationship only their relationship isn't quite as icy. Classic stuff here, "We're Not Friends ... We Don't Call Each Other Every Day."

Vandy is returning for senior season.

UND got some very good news today when they found out that junior forward Chris VandeVelde will return to UND for his senior season. I have to admit that I am just a bit giddy with reading this announcement. Also, it would be the first time in a very long time that UND probably won't lose any underclassmen to the NHL/pros. Also, Vandy scored a number of goals at the end of the season with a separated shoulder, that is my definition of tough.

VandeVelde will stay at UND for senior season
Brad Elliott Schlossman --- Grand Forks Herald

The power forward from Moorhead confirmed today that he will return to UND for his senior season, meaning the Sioux are unlikely to lose anyone early.

It has been 10 years since the UND men’s hockey team didn’t lose anyone early to the pros, and this offseason is starting to look eerily similar to 1999.

Back then, a MacNaughton Cup champion team with eight seniors fell short of making the NCAA Frozen Four and watched its leading scorer, among others, graduate.

The most likely candidate to leave school early that summer was 6-foot-3, 205-pound power forward Lee Goren. He decided to return to school and UND went on to win the national championship. Goren was the most outstanding player of the Frozen Four.

Chris VandeVelde can only hope that history will repeat itself.

UND again had a MacNaughton Cup champion team with eight seniors fall short of making the Frozen Four, and it had to say goodbye to its leading scorer, among others.

The most likely candidate to leave was VandeVelde – a 6-foot-2, 205-pound power forward. But today, VandeVelde announced he’s returning to UND for his senior year.

That means UND expects to have all of its underclassmen back for the first time since 1999-00 – which also marks UND’s last national title.

Why not Huntsville?

I keep hearing how UAH isn't a good fit for the CCHA and how the Chargers wouldn't make in the CCHA but UAH has outdrawn the bottom teams of the CCHA with a CHA schedule. What does that say about the bottom teams attendance wise in the CCHA? Miami with the team they have should be selling that beautiful arena out and they are not. What does that say about the CCHA? As a league the CCHA isn't drawing like the WCHA, in fact it isn't even close. Imagine what Huntsville could draw against the likes of Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Miami. UAH drew their best crowds against their heated rival BSU with 3474 and 4368 respectively. Below I have included the number for attendance for the CCHA. The first number is the # of games, second number is attendance average and the last number is percentage of capacity.

Michigan 19 6714 6,637 101.2
Michigan State 15 5473 6,470 84.6
Ohio State 20 4181 17,500 23.9
Northern Michigan 19 2932 3,754 78.1
Alaska 20 2708 4,324 62.6
Notre Dame 18 2703 2,667 101.3
UAH 10 2688 7,000 38.4
Miami 19 2491 3,200 77.8
Lake Superior 18 2257 3,373 66.9
Western Michigan 21 2112 3,667 57.6
Bowling Green 20 2044 5,000 40.9
Ferris State 18 1424 2,493 57.1

Here are the attendance numbers for the teams that were in the Frozen Four.

Boston University 22 5055 6,221 81.3
Vermont 20 3985 4,035 98.8
Bemidji State 15 1975 2,500 79.0
Miami 19 2491 3,200 77.8

The battle of the super stars.

This should prove to be an interesting series both teams have players with exception offensive skill. Personally I think Sidney Crosby is a good hockey player but a bit of a cry baby, hence the name Cindy Crosby. On the other hand you have the Hart Trophy candidate Alexander Ovechkin who is most offensively dynamic player in the NHL. Ovechkin has scored an impressive 219 goals in his four years in the NHL Sidney Crosby on the other hand can lay claim to 132 goals during the same time period.

The Bruins next opponent.

The Bruins play the Carolina Hurricanes in the next game and this is the reason that bruins can not let up for one minute against the Hurricanes. Just when it looked like the Devils were going to win the series Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal score two goals in the final two minutes to eliminate the Devils. Staal scored the game winning goal for the Canes with 30 seconds to go. How do you respond to that?

Second Round predictions.

West
Duck and Redwings, Ducks in 7 games
The Ducks will BEAT the Redwings out.
Hiller > Osgood.

Canucks and Blackhawks, Blackhawks in 6 games
Buhlin Wall will prevail.
Canucks can't stop Toews and Kane.

East

Bruins and Canes, Bruins in 6 games
Thomas > Ward

Caps and Pens, Capitals in 5 games.
Ovechkin > Crosby

UAH travel distances.

Over on the College Hockey News web site Adam Wodon made the following comment.

UAH to CCHA is not going to happen. We've reported on their site visit. It was not a "site visit" in the classic sense. It was just the CCHA commissioner going there by invitation of UAH, out of courtesy. The CCHA does not want to add expense to its teams by making them have to fly to Alabama.

As opposed to what? Flying driving to Omaha Nebraska? There isn't much of a difference in mileage. One could make the argument that UNO is a lot closer to the schools in the WCHA than the CCHA. I checked the mileage on a few of the distances of travel and this is what I came up with for distances to UAH. I don't buy that argument. That isn't the reason for not allowing UAH or it's not a very good one.

UM - UAH 651 miles
BGSU - UAH 585 miles
OSU - UAH 510 miles
MSU - UAH 672 miles
NMU - UAH 990 miles
ND - UAH 560 miles
LSSU - UAH 951 miles
NMU - UAH 657 miles
MU - UAH 442 miles
UAF - UAH 4137 miles
FSU - UAH 768 miles

Here is the distances from UNO to the various schools in the CCHA.

NMU - UNO 684 miles
UNO - MSU 672 miles
UNO - UM 692 miles
UNO - UMiami 707 miles
UNO - UAF 3270 miles
UNO - NMU 765 miles
UNO - FSU 684 Miles
UNO - ND 545 miles
UNO - OSU 781 miles
UNO - LSSU 903 miles
UNO - WMU 597 miles

You can see there isn't a lot of difference in travel miles and in some cases UAH is closer to some of the schools than UNO is. Here is some of the distances in the WCHA for comparison sake and you will see the UNO is a better fit.

UND - DU 1,029 miles
UND - C.C. 1,100 miles
C.C. - U.W. 1032 miles
C.C. - UMD 1134 miles
C.C - SCSU 1048 miles
MTU - C.C. 1342 miles
C.C. - MSU-M 918 miles
C.C. - UMN 984 miles
C.C. - UNO 609 miles
D.U. - UNO 538 miles
UND - UNO 495 miles
UNO - UMN 377 miles
UNO - UMD 528 miles

The beginning of a two headed monster?

This article was posted over on USCHO, and I like this kid's attitude: he knows he is going to be penciled in as the number two but is going to push the anointed starter of the Fighting Sioux, Brad Eidsness.

Personally, I thought Brad played well last season but he has to be better if the Sioux are to be successful and go deep into the NCAA playoffs. Last season there were times Eidsness gave up soft or unnecessary goals, it was almost like Eidsness lost his focus. The shorthanded goal at the Final Five that Duluth scored was frustrating to say the least. The forward beat the goalie back to the net, those types of mistakes need to be avoided if UND is going to be successful.

With competition at the goaltending position, both men will only get better and the Sioux goaltending will be better because of the competition. I have to say that I am already excited for the next season already.

Dell suits up with Fighting Sioux
Posted By Scott Mitchell, Senior Reporter ---- They did it once and it worked out beautifully. So the University of North Dakota is trying it again.

Last season former Airdrie Xtreme goaltender Brad Eidsness stepped into the Fighting Sioux lineup and was one of the top freshman goaltenders in the NCAA.

This year the Sioux have corralled another goaltender with an Airdrie connection to team with Eidsness as former Airdrie Thunder goaltender Aaron Dell has committed to the school for next season.

The Airdrie native has spent the last two seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Calgary Canucks.

While 2007-08 wasn’t a great season for Dell, as he posted a 5-11-2 record and a 3.13 goals against average in 23 games, Dell was brilliant this year.

And schools took notice of his league-high 51 games played, a 25-17-8 record and a 2.53 GAA. He also posted a sparkling .924 save percentage to lead the AJHL and was named to the south all-star team.

Dell will battle with Eidsness – who beat him out for an Airdrie Xtreme spot years ago – right from the beginning.

“I’ll be coming in as the second guy, but they want me to challenge Brad for the first spot,” Dell said.

He stressed that it will be a friendly battle with the incumbent who posted a 2.58 GAA and a 24-12-4 record in his rookie season in one of the NCAA’s top conferences, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).

“I’ve played against him since about peewee, so I’ve known him for quite a while,” Dell laughed.

The two caught up earlier this year when Dell took a visit to UND.

“He was my player host while I was down there. He’s pretty excited to have another Alberta boy out there,” he said. “I just have to try and perfect as much as I can and be as ready as possible. I need to be in the best shape I’ve ever been in and be even better than when they saw me last.”

The Federov goal.

This was an awesome goal to end the New York Ranger's season.

Bruins are on Versus

I am very happy that the Boston Bruins will be on Versus Sioux fans will be able to see Former Sioux Ryan Bayda play for the Hurricanes against the Boston Bruins.

May 1 - 7:30 Game 1: Hurricanes @ Bruins Versus JIP/TSN
May 3 - 7:30 Game 2: Hurricanes @ Bruins Versus
May 6 - 7:30 Game 3: Bruins @ Hurricanes Versus JIP/TSN
May 8 - 7:30 Game 4: Bruins @ Hurricanes Versus JIP/TSN
May 10 - 7:30* Game 5:Hurricanes @ Bruins Versus
May 12 - 7:00* Game 6: Bruins @ Hurricanes Versus
May 14 - TBD* Game 7: Hurricanes @ Bruins TSN

Blackhawks games are all on VERSUS.

According to the Chicago Blackhawks offical page all of the Hawks games will be on Versu. That means Sioux fans will be able to watch all of Jonathan Toews on Versus. In Grand Forks, ND that is channel 309 and 69 on your Midco dial.

Thu Apr 30, 2009 Blackhawks Canucks 8:00 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD),RDS (HD)
Sat May 2, 2009 Blackhawks Canucks 8:00 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD)
Tue May 5, 2009 Canucks Blackhawks 7:00 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD)
Thu May 7, 2009 Canucks Blackhawks 7:00 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD)
Sat May 9, 2009 Blackhawks Canucks 9:30 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD)
Mon May 11, 2009 Canucks Blackhawks 8:00 PM VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD)
Thu May 14, 2009 Blackhawks Canucks TBD VERSUS (HD),CBC (HD

How I did on my predictions.

These were my first round predictions. I didn't do too bad with my picks.

East

Montreal at Boston, I predict the Bruins will win in 5 games.
(Actual was 4 games for the habs)
NY Rangers at Washington, I predict the Caps will win in 6 games
(Actual was the Caps in 7 games)
Carolina at New Jersey I predict the Canes to win in 7 games.
(Picked this series right)
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh I predict the Pittsburgh in 6 games.
(Picked this series right)

West

Anaheim at San Jose, I predict the Sharks will win in 5 games.
(Actual the Ducks in 6)
Columbus at Detroit, I predict the Blue Jackets will win in 7 games.
(Actual Detroit in 4)
St. Louis at Vancouver, I predict the Canucks will win in 7 games.
(Actual Vancouver in 4 games)
Calgary at Chicago, I predict the Blackhawks will win in 7 games.
(Actual Chicago in 6 games)

WCHA to pursue 12 teams.

This would appear to be good news for Bemidji State University and basically mean eventually the WCHA will be a 12 team league. Now we need to convince UNO to make the move to the WCHA.

WCHA men’s membership opts to pursue future expansion to 12 teams
MARCO ISLAND, Fla. ----- The membership of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s men’s league, acting at it’s annual meeting today (April 28, 2009), has opted to pursue expansion of the league membership from it’s current 10-member team to a future membership of 12 teams.

The timetable for expansion consists of lifting the current moratorium as of today and continuing indefinitely. The lifting of the moratorium on expansion means the WCHA can entertain membership applications from any interested institutions who meet the league’s criteria for membership. Meeting the criteria for membership does not, however, guarantee admittance into the Association.

“The Western Collegiate Hockey Association membership today took a positive step forward in their decision to embrace possible expansion,” said WCHA Commissioner Bruce M. McLeod, “and we will continue to explore we may expand once we have completed further studies and once we have been able to identify potential members that fit the league’s criteria for membership. Obviously, there are numerous issues involved in expansion, just a few of which include the transformation from a 10-team, 28-game conference schedule to an expanded 12-member team format that would still enable us to protect our natural rivalries as best as possible, and to make certain we safeguard our successful flagship event – the WCHA Final Five.

“The WCHA has a proud history of being sensitive to the issue of expansion and the plight of other collegiate hockey programs and today’s development is a further indication that the Association will continue its tradition of assisting in the growth and development of collegiate ice hockey with an ultimate goal of expanding.”

The 10 teams that currently make up the men’s WCHA are University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), Colorado College (CC), University of Denver (DU), Michigan Technological University (MTU), University of Minnesota (UM), University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU), University of North Dakota (UND), St. Cloud State University (SCSU) and University of Wisconsin (UW). The last expansion in the WCHA occured in 1999-2000 when Minnesota State University, Mankato joined the conference as it’s 10th team.

The Commissioner’s office, in conjunction with the league’s structure committe, will head up the expansion effort with the goal of identifying potential member teams as soon as possible. The earliest the WCHA would be able to integrate new teams into the men’s league would be for the 2011-2012 season based on current contractual obligations.

“The WCHA also wants to note that Bemidji State University’s presentation to the league at the annual meeing on April 27 was very professional and well received,” said McLeod. “The BSU student body, faculty, alumni, and the entire community should know that the league membership came away impressed with the University’s commitment to the student-athlete, both on and off the ice, the long track record of success their hockey program has achieved, the breaking of ground for the new Bemidji State Regional Events Center, and the degree of excitement throughout the community and northern Minnesota for the future of BSU Hockey.”

Bemidji State University’s application for league membership will remain under active consideration.

Bemidji State is an original member of the WCHA’s women’s league, which was founded in 1999-2000 and this past season celebrated it’s 10th anniversary.

Joe Thornton vs Ryan Getzlaf

What a way to start a game, Thornton and Getzlaf drop the gloves and get after it. Like PJ Stock said on CBC last night I suppose next year it will be a penalty for a staged fight. I personally enjoyed it and I don't think anyone should be punished for dropping the gloves off the opening face off. The Fans love it.

Brashear gets 6 games.

The NHL has made an example out of Washington Capitals goon Donald Brashear. I am actually shocked that they suspended him this long based on their past decisions.

NHL.com --- Washington forward Donald Brashear has been suspended for six games by the National Hockey League and will miss Tuesday's Game 7 of the Capitals' Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round series against the New York Rangers for his action both prior to, and during, Sunday's Game 6.

Brashear was suspended one game for initiating contact with Rangers forward Colton Orr during the pre-game warm-up. Brashear was suspended for five additional games for a blind-side hit on New York forward Blair Betts at 9:54 of the first period.

"Brashear delivered a shoulder hit to an unsuspecting player," NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said. "It is also my opinion that the hit was delivered late and targeted the head of his opponent, causing significant injury."

BSU Makes it bid.

Bemidji State University sent a delegation from the school to the WCHA meetings and made their presentation this morning to the WCHA in Florida. Word is that the meeting went very well. Obviously the sticking point is that 11 teams is very tough to schedule. Also, apparently some of the Western schools are a little leary of a 11 team league and not seeing key match ups like UND, MN, WI.

Bemidji State makes presentation to WCHA
Bemidji Pioneer ----- Published Monday, April 27, 2009

Bemidji State University officials and a representative of the Leo A Daly architectural firm made a presentation to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Monday morning at Marco Island, Fla. BSU is applying to have its men's hockey team accepted as a member of the WCHA.

"I thought it went very well," said Bemidji State Athletic Director Rick Goeb. "We made our presentation and answered some questions. None of the questions came as a surprise, and we feel like we had very positive feedback."

The Bemidji contingent spent a little more than an hour with WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod and the conference men’s hockey representatives.

Now the representatives will determine the next step. Eight of the 10 WCHA schools must approve Bemidji State's application for admission.

"We expect to hear the results on Tuesday," Goeb said.

The Beavers now compete in College Hockey America but are seeking a new conference home for the men’s hockey program. The CHA will fold after the 2009-10 season because of a lack of teams.

The CHA now is composed of Bemidji, Niagara University, Robert Morris University and Alabama-Hunstville – but both Niagara and Robert Morris are set to join the Atlantic College Conference in 2010-11.

The ideal conference for Bemidji is the WCHA, a 10-team conference with elite teams such as Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth.

Bemidji brought a strong contingent of representatives to Florida. Included are BSU President Jon Quistgaard; Bill Maki, vice president for finance and administration; Rob Bollinger, executive director of the BSU Foundation; former BSU coach R.H. “Bob” Peters; Doug Leif, a business professor at BSU and the faculuty athletic representative; BSU head coach Tom Serratore; Goeb; and Steve Parker, the senior project manger for Leo A Daly, Bemidji Regional Event Center designer.

Bemidji State’s women’s hockey program already is a member of the WCHA. The presentation this week will be made to the men’s representatives of the WCHA

NESN Feature on Kessel.

I included the video from last season's Stanley Cup playoffs because I think it was a break out game for Former Gopher Phil Kessel. This season Kessel has taken it up a notch and has become a big time goal score for the Boston Bruins and scored a boat load of goals against the Bruins hated rival the Montreal Canadians. This year the Bruins marched past the Hab's and into the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1998-1999. Here is a nice story about Phil Kessel that was posted up on NESN.

For Kessel, what a difference a year can make
James Murphy ----- April 27th 2009

While Phil Kessel has learned much tougher lessons off the ice - battling and beating testicular cancer during his rookie season in 2006-07 — he learned a valuable lesson about life in the NHL in his first playoff experience last spring. After notching an assist in Game 1 of the Bruins’ first-round series against the Canadiens, Kessel was benched for the next three games. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience for the winger, but he handled it professionally.

“Obviously, I was mad,” Kessel said recently. “It was a tough situation. But I moved on from it and learned from it.”
Kessel put the benching behind him with three goals in Games 5 and 6, helping the Bruins force Game 7 after trailing 3-1 in the series. For the Bruins, that series was a lesson they could compete with their archrivals, which Boston proved with a sweep of Montreal this postseason.

For Kessel, last year’s series was a lesson that hard work pays off in the NHL, and that effort is required no matter how much talent and skill a player possesses. The latter is something Bruins coach Claude Julien made a point to convey to his budding star.

“That’s the thing that Phil understood at one point, that if coaches are on you a little more than maybe some other players, maybe it’s because we think that you’re capable of giving us more than some of those players,” Julien said during the Bruins-Canadiens series. “That comes with the territory. You want to be an elite player. You have to give us a little more. And he’s really understood that extremely well.”

Kessel’s understanding and acceptance of Julien’s criticism and coaching methods translated into a breakthrough season in 2008-09. The 2006 first-round draft pick lit the lamp 36 times and had 60 points during the regular season. Kessel has followed that up with four goals and six points in the playoffs. Counting the regular season, he will enter the second round in the midst of an eight-game points streak with nine goals and 13 points during that span

More on the Brashear hit on Betts.

TSN's Bob McKenzie has a follow up on the Brashear hit from yesterday's game. I think Bob is right that Brashear is going to get suspended like one poster said in the previous post this is a cheap hit and one could make the argument that there was an intent to injure by Brashear. Lets be clear Brashear has one role on the Capitals hockey team and it isn't to score goals.Donald Brashear's is a goon and his role is to beat people up and be an enforcer, now he can ad cheap shot artist to his repertoire.

It's just a hunch on my part, but I figure Donald Brashear will get a one-game suspension for his pre-game warm-up shove on New York Ranger Colton Orr and probably another one-game suspension for his hit on Ranger Blair Betts.

Which is all well and good, I suppose, but it doesn't really address the root issue on Brashear's hit on Betts, which apparently broke Bett's orbital bone and most definitely scrambled his brain, as evidenced by the video that shows an extremely groggy Betts having difficulty getting off the ice under his own power.
-------------------------

When a player such as Brashear comes from behind the play, and at the last minute swoops in laterally, to hit an unsuspecting, puck-less player in the head with a shoulder or an elbow or whatever and does significant damage to that player, that is precisely the type of hit the NHL must work to eliminate. And if it can't eliminate that type of hit, then it at least needs to eliminate the players who deliver those types of hits.

Plain and simple, it's a sneak attack and with devastating consequences.

Chicago's Ben Eager did it to Edmonton's Liam Reddox and got a three-game suspension.

Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke did it to Carolina's Scott Walker and got a two-game suspension.

This being the playoffs and all, Brashear will probably get a game or maybe two.

And that isn't nearly enough, not for these hits where the perpetrators come from the blind side and target an unsuspecting player with a head shot. And, please, don't give me the line about players needing to keep their heads up. This is not the same thing, not the same thing at all.

Funny Video on Simeon Varlamov.

Rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov is 20 years old and doesn't speak any English, in just Russian. I think the Washington Capitals are going to want to get him to English immersion classes very soon, because I could see this kid playing in the NHL for some time. It also doesn't look like he needs a razor very often.
(watch the video here)

Rangers want protection for Game 7 in D.C.

Check out the letter that Glen Sather the general manager of the New York Rangers wrote to Gary Bettman commissioner of the NHL. I think he has got a point. Fans that cross the line like the ones in Washington should be yanked out of their seats, drug out of the arena in handcuffs and charged with disorderly conduct. Spitting on the players is unacceptable.

Dear Gary:

In addition to your suspension of Coach Tortorella for his actions during last night's game, we respectfully request that you consider appropriate discipline in light of Washington's gross negligence in ensuring the safety of the personnel on the Rangers' bench, including Coach Tortorella, in the face of the Rangers' repeated requests for intervention against egregious fan misconduct during Game 5. As importantly, we would like the League's intervention to ensure that there are adequate security measures in place to protect our personnel in the event there is a Game 7 in Washington.

Neither the NHL nor either team has had the opportunity to conduct a full investigation or to interview all witnesses but the television coverage and the statements made by Rangers bench personnel make clear that Washington utterly failed in its security obligations to the Rangers, not to mention its own fans. The tension was evident from before the opening face-off. Throughout the game, several people seated immediately behind the visitors' bench took advantage of the looseness of the glass panels and the unusually wide gaps between the panels to assault the Rangers with some of the most obscene language imaginable. Because of the way the glass is installed, the patron sitting behind Coach Tortorella (the gray-haired, bearded man in the white T-Shirt) could literally scream into the coach's ear. According to Rangers trainer Jim Ramsay, one patron was screaming at the team, in graphic language, about whether Dan Girardi and Marc Staal have a sexual relationship. This was within earshot of several children seated nearby. Several other fans also made repeated homophobic remarks. Moreover, Mr. Ramsay reported that he and other bench personnel were spit on by one or more "fans" as they yelled through the gaps in the glass.

Your statement tonight referred to alerting security. In the first period, Mr. Ramsay warned the security guard stationed on the nearest stairwell (a large African-American man) that the situation was unacceptable and was likely to get ugly. No action was taken. The misconduct continued. In the second period, Mr. Ramsay warned a female security supervisor that some fans were out of control and that he was concerned that something unfortunate was going to happen. Although this supervisor was equipped with a radio, she apparently took no action, because the same fans were in their seats when the team returned to the bench for the third period. According to press accounts, no fans were ever ejected or permanently removed from their seats.

Washington's failure to respond to what its personnel knew — and were specifically warned — was a potentially dangerous situation contributed significantly to this unfortunate incident. Accordingly, we respectfully request that you consider imposing appropriate discipline on Washington for its knowing failure to protect the Rangers and prevent the situation from deteriorating into an incident that reflects badly on all of us. In addition, we must immediately discuss how Washington is going to handle security for any Game 7. Neither the Rangers nor the well-behaved Capitals fans should be forced to endure the extraordinary level of fan misconduct that Washington failed to prevent in Game 5.

Thank you for your consideration.

Glen

Donald Brashear hit on Blair Betts.

You can bet that the league office will be taking a look at this hit. Was it a cheap head shot? In my opinion it was definitely interference and a dirty hit that may knock a player out of the next game.

At the end of the video you will see Brashear and Orr talking before the game in the pregame warmups. I would imagine that could also lead to a game suspension. I expect game seven to be very exciting and full of drama.

Marleau goal.

(Watch the Marleau goal) Apparently the Ducks coach Randy Carlylewasn't happy with the Shark's goal in over time last night. I have watched the goal a few times and it's hard to tell if the Shark's player made contact with the goal tender or not. Even if there was contact with the goalie I am not sure it affected the goal.

“The reason the puck went in the net was their player pushed our goalie’s pad,” Carlyle said. “The puck was loose, their player pushed, and as he pushed, the goalie’s pad — the back of his foot, which is attached to the pad, the back of his skate, knocked the puck in the net. ... I think there needs to be some clarification, because in my view, they are not allowed to push the goaltender and the puck into the net.”

Tortorella suspended by the NHL.

It's fun to see the the drama that is the New York Rangers hockey team unfold. I would love to be a beat writer and follow this team because there is a lot of stuff going on with the New York Rangers. So the Rangers head coach John Tortorella will sit for game six. Of course the Rangers don't agree with the suspension but the NHL has been pretty clear with their instructions that players and or coaches can not have an altercations with fans.

NEW YORK -- The National Hockey League announced Saturday that New York Rangers coach John Tortorella has been suspended for one game for squirting a fan with water and throwing a water bottle that struck a fan during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series with the Washington Capitals on April 24 in Washington.

The incident occurred 6:33 into the third period.

Tortorella will miss the Rangers' game Sunday afternoon against Washington at Madison Square Garden.

"While it is a difficult decision to suspend a coach at this point in a playoff series, it has been made clear to all of our players, coaches and other bench personnel that the National Hockey League cannot -- and will not -- tolerate any physical contact with fans,” NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said. "We do not take this action lightly. It is the result of an entire day of investigation and evaluation that included the retrieval and review of videotape of the incident and discussions with Mr. Tortorella, other Rangers' bench personnel and a number of other people, including the security personnel at the Verizon Center.

"That investigation revealed that Mr. Tortorella squirted a fan with water before Mr. Tortorella was doused with a beverage.

VIEWPOINT: Nickname speaks to warriorship

There has been a lot of debate on wether UND should keep the Fighting Sioux name or not and I think this letter from a former UND student of Native American decent kind of sums it up pretty well.

After the pro nick name vote this past week at Spirit Lake Nation there was a few comments by a anti-nick name opponents that said the Native Americans that voted for the Fighting Sioux nick name just haven't been educated. (Article Cited) Well this person went to UND and he is proud of the Fighting Sioux logo and nick name.

CROOKSTON — UND should keep the Fighting Sioux name and logo, and the tribes should be proud to support the effort.

When I was a young man coming from Fort Yates, N.D., I was proud that the college I was going to attend had the name “Sioux.” I thought that spoke to the legacy of the Indian and his presence then and now, and I find the present-day logo to be much more positive than some of the caricatures I have seen in different tribal and Bureau of Indian Affairs offices over the years.

The name Fighting Sioux, for me, speaks to the warriorship needed to make a place for one’s self in the modern world. Warriors are proud men and women whose primary responsibility is to the well-being and continuing existence of the people. Warriors fought elements, nature and, when necessary, other warriors to provide sustenance, shelter and safety to the camp.

I think we have a strong chance here to correct the movie image of the whooping, vengeful savage that so many people have. We have a chance to show the truth and strength of warrior spirit.

This logo is a respectful representation of a young warrior, one who is aware of his responsibilities as he looks to the future. And isn’t that the desired goal of the complete university experience?

I am sorry that former President Charles Kupchella and his passionate defense of the name left the university. I think the tribes need to step into the gap and fight for the right to exist in image and reality.

I find the political correctness of the current situation misguided, frustrating and harmful. What puzzles me most is the stance the two reservation councils have taken. I was raised by parents from the boarding-school days who were not allowed to speak their language at their school and were punished for being Indian by being made to kneel on broomsticks. Those parents raised me not to deny my heritage but to be proud of it and not let anyone to diminish my right to be here.

For centuries, we have been subjected to disease and killings and hidden away on reservations that could not sustain us. Let’s be honest: History shows the goal of the now dominant culture has been to rid the land of us. Even at the Minnesota Uprising, the goal was to “leave no Indian alive.”

My warrior grandfathers tried to ensure the continued proud existence of our culture and people. Chief Strike the Ree went to Washington to try to get fair treatment and establish an understanding of equality. Chief Rain in the Face used his fighting skills to keep settlers from entering the sacred Black Hills and fought to protect lands and people and culture at the Last Battle.

But remember our strong responsible leaders, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull? Both were killed by Indian police sent by white officers of the U.S. Calvary. Now, we are being duped into doing it to ourselves again: Kill the image. Kill the name. Then nobody has to remember we exist as a strong, accomplished and modern people with a history to be proud of.

The rules of political correctness are just another pox-infested blanket being offered to help us wipe ourselves off the face of the Earth. It means nobody has to admit to eliminating the Indian because we took the blanket into our own hands.

When I see or hear the name Fighting Sioux, I smile. I smile because people are reminded every day of a people who refuse to give up and go away.

The only thing offensive here is how political correctness has stolen the fight out of the tribal councils.

Keep the name. Keep the logo. Keep the legacy.

Uken is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.

Torts in hot water?

I have to agree with the television announcers, this fan has drank way to many beers. You would think at some point he would realize that and cut himself off. Ironically the coach of the Rangers who has been preaching discipline and the same coach that benched bad boy Sean "Sloppy Seconds" Avery for his lack of discipline may get some form of disciplinary action from the league office himself for throwing a water bottle at the beligerant fan behind the bench.

WASHINGTON -- John Tortorella faces disciplinary action from the NHL after throwing a water bottle from the Rangers' bench into the stands at 6:33 of the third period of last night's Game 5, 4-0 defeat to the Caps.

The head coach, who would not answer questions about the incident, could be suspended by commissioner Gary Bettman for tomorrow afternoon's Game 6 at the Garden. The Rangers' public relations representative threatened to end last night's postgame press conference if questions on the subject continued.

Tortorella, who may have thought he had been doused by a beer or spat upon during a television timeout, wheeled toward the stands and threw a bottle over the high glass protecting the bench.

With his suit jacket wet, Tortorella then grabbed a stick out of the hands of Aaron Voros and appeared ready to joust with a spectator before he assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld grabbed him.

Security guards and D.C. police arrived on the scene, and though they escorted a few fans away from their seats, no one was ejected. There does not appear to be video evidence of what provoked Tortorella.

Ovechkin's sick goal.

This goal by Alex Ovechkin is unbelievable. I believe it is worthy of an ESPY. I don't think it's a stretch to say that Ovechkin is the best hockey player in the NHL right now. I am sure that there will be some Penguins fans that will disagree with my assessment but the visual evidence is right here.

WASHINGTON -- Whether he was trying to contain his excitement or simply was just completely aware of the situation, Alex Ovechkin was a bit self-deprecating when he met with the media at the podium after Friday's 4-0 playoff win over the New York Rangers.

Ovechkin might have just scored one of the greatest goals in playoff history (at least in terms of highlight-reel merit) in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, but he used works like "lucky" and "terrible" when asked to describe what happened.

Here it is: First, Ovechkin gets around Chris Drury at the top of the attacking zone. Next, he slides the puck through Derek Morris' skates and as it comes out on the other side, kicks it slightly forward with his left skate. He regains possession, but now he starts to fall down.

No big deal.

Creative contracts.

Here is an interesting take on way of working players salaries in under the cap. The Bruins might have to do this to keep two of their young guns David Krejci and Phil Kessel. Both players are going to get fat contracts after having great seasons.

The Boston Bruins meanwhile are a team which has over $47 million committed to next season’s payroll but have two quality forwards in Phil Kessel and David Krejci set to become restricted free agents.

If both seek raises over $4 million per season – and given their performances this season it would be reasonable to expect they will– retaining Kessel and Krejci could put a serious squeeze on the Bruins remaining cap space next season.

The front-loaded contract would address that problem. The Bruins could re-sign these two to affordable salaries, lock up both well beyond their eligibility age for unrestricted free agency and provide the Bruins with a more affordable cap hit next season.

Of course lengthy deals do come with risk. The player might no longer be an effective performer by the tail end of the deal, or certainly not one worth the cap space he’ll be eating up by that time.
(read the rest of the article)

Sean Avery a scratch tonight.

Here is what is really funny John Tortorella benches Sean Avery to send him a messagne and the Capitals score two goals in the first period and another one in the second period so far. Yeah how is that working for you Torts?

In yet another sign that John Tortorella is in total charge, the Rangers head coach scratched Sean Avery, a game after his two egregious third-period penalties almost cost the Rangers dearly in Game 5. Aaron Voros is in, not sure of the lines yet, expect Voros to play on the fourth... Avery had dressed in all 22 games---including the four playoff games---since being summoned from Hartford in early March, but apparently Tortorella lost his patience.
(from the Blue notes)

Is Saku Koivu going to be a Wild?

One of the things we kept hearing this season was the speculation that Saku Koivu might want to be a member of the Minnesota Wild joining his brother Mikko. From reading his comment it sounds like Saku wants to remain a member of the Habs. My next question is; do the Wild need another third line forward that is past his prime?

Koivu said if his vision of the future meshed with that of the team, he expected to have a deal, ideally for two of three seasons, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1. He added that if there’s no deal before the deadline, he will probably be playing elsewhere next season.

When Koivu was asked if joining his younger brother, Mikko, in Minnesota was an option, he said: “It would be amazing in one way to play with him on the same team. But on the other hand, he’s at the point where he has his own career. He’s making a name for himself and in some ways, it’s easier for him and I’d like to keep it that way. But it’s tempting to think about playing on the same NHL team with him and having some success.”
(Read the Whole Article here)

Who do the Bruins want next?

Here are the Bruin's records against team they could face in the next round. The Bruins have had good luck against all teams they could face in the second round. It would be fun to see Lucic beating up on Sean "Sloppy Seconds" Avery if he hasn't been banished to the press box by the time the second round comes around. If the Bruins face off against the Flyers it would bring the Patrice Bergeron against Randy Jones matchup.

Bruins vs. Rangers (2-1-1)
Bruins vs. Hurricanes (4-0-0)
Bruins vs. Penguins (2-1-1)
Bruins vs. Flyers (2-1-1)

Don Cherry on Avery.

This was posted over on KuklasKorner.com Don Cherry was less than impressed after last night's game. You have to wonder if Sloppy Seconds is running out of rope to hang himself. What is the point of playing Avery if he keeps taking really stupid penalties. Why not play within the rules Avery? Running people and chopping them in the face is bush league. I guess you can't get a leopard to change his spots eh?

Oshie and Backes to the Worlds

Nice to see a couple of former WCHA players get to play for their country at the World Championships. Now that the St Louis Blues have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs Backes and Oshie will give the USA some more offense. Oshie and Backes will join former WCHA stars, Keith Ballard Minnesota, Matt Niskanen UMD, Ryan Suter Wisconsin, Jason Blake UND, Kyle Okposo Minnesota, Drew Stafford UND, Colin Stuart, Colorado College.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- St. Louis Blues forwards David Backes and T.J. Oshie have been added to the 2009 U.S. Men's National Team roster for the 2009 World Championships.

Team USA will compete in the tournament in Berne and Zurich-Kloten, Switzerland April 24-May 10.

Backes posted career highs in points (54), goals (31), assists (23), power-play goals (6), shorthanded goals (2) and shots (208) in 82 games for the Blues this season. Backes also added 1 goal and 2 assists in four playoff games.

Backes is making his third consecutive IIHF Men's World Championship appearance, having played in the tournament in 2007 and 2008. In 2008, he tallied one assist in six games, while he notched three points (1-2) in seven games in 2007.

Oshie skated in 57 regular-season games with the Blues during his rookie season. His 39 points (14-25) ranked ninth among all NHL rookies and he finished third among rookies in points per game. Additionally, Oshie skated in all four Blues playoff games.

Oshie will be making his first IIHF Men's World Championship appearance. Oshie previously represented the U.S. at the 2006 IIHF World Junior Championship, scoring one goal in seven games.

Team USA will begin play in the 2009 IIHF Men's World Championship Saturday (April 25) at 10:15 a.m. EDT against Latvia. The United States will play two additional preliminary-round games against Austria (April 27) and Sweden (April 29) before the qualification round begins.

Wild Banged up

Check the list of walking wounded for the Minnesota Wild seems like most of them will be rehabing injuires for a good part of the summer. They will be lucky to field a full team next fall. You have to wonder if the push to make the playoffs took a big toll on the Wild. I don't know how they could have competed if they had made the playoffs.

Look at this rehab list as of now:

Niklas Backstrom — out four to six months following hip surgery Friday

Brent Burns — post-concussion syndrome and shoulder surgery Thursday that will require four months to heal.

Andrew Brunette — reconstructive knee surgery, out four to six months

Derek Boogaard — shoulder surgery Tuesday, out two months

Pierre-Marc Bouchard — concussion

(the way the B’s are dropping, Marc-Andre Bergeron better be careful walking across the street)

Nick Schultz — concussion

Tyler Cuma — still recovering from knee surgery

Oops, forgot Dan Fritsche - broken collarbone

Oh, and I forgot a fairly major one: Mikko Koivu — sprained knee
(Read Mike Russo's whole blog post here)

A couple of Ivy League Alum drop the mitts.

This was the best fight that I have seen during the Stanley Cup playoffs. Doug Murray is from Cornell and George Parros is a Princeton grad. Who says the Ivy League players can't fight? When the playoffs begin you see less fight and more of the unnecessary crap like face washes and stick work.

Komisarek and Lucic.

You would think after a while that Michael Komisarek would get tired of getting his ass kicked by Milan Lucic. Since Komisarek is done for the season I don't expect him to get a suspension for breaking a stick over Lucic's face.

Was Kessel offsides?

Phil Kessel scored his fourth goal of the series as the Boston Bruins buried the Montreal Canadians finishing the sweep. This is the first time since 1998-1999 season that the Bruins have advanced to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So it was nice after 10 years to see the Habs get closed out in (4) four games.

It appears that on the third Bruin goal Phil Kessel was offsides when he crossed the blue line. Seriously, it wouldn't have mattered because after the Habs scored the first goal the Bruins scored four unanswered goals.

Wheeler is not a Calder Trophy candidate.

Ironically Blake Wheeler (21-24-45) was beat out by Chicago's Kris Versteeg who was a Bruins prospect until the Bruins traded him to Chicago for former Fighting Sioux star Brandon Bochenski. I also wonder if the Bruin's GM would regret that move or not?

Blake Wheeler was not among the three finalists announced today for the Calder Trophy as the league's Rookie of the Year. The three finalists are Anaheim's Bobby Ryan (36-31-67), Chicago's Kris Versteeg (22-31-53), and Columbus's Steve Mason (Record 33-20-7 GAA 2.29 Sv%.916).

Wheeler (21 goals) got off to a hot start, but his stick cooled off in the second half. Mason is considered the favorite to win the award.

Wheeler could still make the All-Rookie Team and receive a $212,500 bonus.

GF Herald Employee Says Wearing Sioux Logo Like Being in Blackface

Goon invited me to post here now and then. Usually I blog politics at SayAnythingblog.com. While that's a strong political blog, it doesn't necessarily get to many UND athletics or hockey fans.

Thanks for the invite. Here's my first post on Goon's excellent hockey blog.



I wish the opposition, like Grand Forks Herald employee Tu Uyen Tran, would realize they lost the racism angle when they lost yesterday's vote.

There were tons of people [tribe members] wearing Fighting Sioux gear, too, which impressed me. I tried to envision what nickname opponents must think seeing that and it would be like a black man in blackface.

Give up the whole you know better than us meme. You don't. You ignored the UND commissioned survey that showed strong support for the name. You ignored the Sports Illustrated poll that showed the same thing.

Now, after smearing someone who's been so generous to the community who's no longer around to defend themselves this guy is smearing everyone (and it's a lot of people) who proudly wear the Fighting Sioux logo.

To address the issue, no it's nothing like blackface. We wear the Sioux logo with pride. The blackface was meant to belittle and demean black people. It's not that hard to understand.

Time will tell if the majority on the reservation and in the community get their way. However it's time the Herald and the other self appointed elites drop the whole racist meme.

Video of Ryan Bayda's goal.

Former Sioux and current Carolina Hurrican Ryan Bayda doesn't score a lot of goals playing for the Huricanes on the fourth line but this is a pretty goal. Make that Bayda's second goal of the series against the Devils.

Strong support for Fighting Sioux name at Spirit Lake .

Well that is kind of how I expected the vote to go today. It also kind of reaffirms the Sports Illustrated poll that came out a few years back that the anti-logo people tried to shoot holes in. I am now hoping that the Standing Rock Tribal council will let their members be allowed to have a vote on Fighting Sioux name. Of course the anti-Fighting Sioux logo people will continue to fight but they were handed an pretty resounding defeat tonight. It will be interesting to see how the anti-logo people spin this. This also doesn't mean anything if the Standing Rock Tribe is not allowed to vote by Ron His Horse Thunder. Then in essence we are still back at at square one with the NCAA and Myles Brand breathing down UND's neck.

Spirit Lake voters overwhelmingly support UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname
By: Tu-Uyen Tran ---- Grand Forks Herald

The Herald is still trying to verify the results with election judges. But nickname supporter Eunice Davidson said her source at the ballot counting site said the unofficial results are 774 “yes” and 378 “no,” giving the nickname 67 percent of the vote.

Nickname opponents had portrayed the issue as a battle against racism, but voters simply did not see it that way. Some said they had heard what opponents had to say and it did not sway them.

UND needs the blessings of the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes to keep the nickname as part of its settlement with the NCAA, which opposes Indian mascots.

Nickname supporters in Standing Rock are working to get that tribe to support the nickname, too, but the Tribal Council has resisted a referendum.

A Spirit Lake nickname opponent, Terry Morgan, said his group will continue to fight the nickname, but he’s not sure how yet

Jeremy Morin to the OHL.

From the World of Junior Hockey Blog. This is what most were saying in the first place so now we can get back to our regularly scheduled programing. It had been mentioed that Morin was looking at going the NCAA route (UND and BU) but he had OHL written all over him.

Press Release

Fresh off of winning a Gold Medal at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Fargo, North Dakota, Jeremy Morin has signed an Ontario Hockey League contract with the Kitchener Rangers.

Morin led team U.S.A. with six goals in seven games, placing him tied for fourth in over-all tournament scoring.

At six-foot-one and 192 pounds, Jeremy is a right-shot left winger who has played the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Burish, "I hope to have a beer with him after the season."

I suppose if Burish breaks anymore sticks over his buddies upper body their friendship might be in jeopardy. LOL. This next game is going to get rough and this is what makes the playoffs exciting and fun to watch. I also want to know why Burish doesn't get suspended but Lucic does? Seems to be a little inconsistency here. To break a stick Burish had to hit him pretty damn hard.

The status of Bourque, whose name just kept popping up Tuesday, may be gamesmanship on the part of Keenan, who said the winger from Lac La Biche, Alta., was "day to day to day as a result of the incident last night."

The Flames head coach insisted Monday that Burish injured Bourque with a "blatant" cross-check to the face, although replays showed the stick broke over Bourque's chest and shoulder. Bourque was not made available to the media Tuesday to clarify his status.

"I don't think I crossed the line," Burish said. "I did what needed to be done. It's playoff hockey. It's the same reason they're hitting our guys and they come at me and the same reason I'm going at them.

"Mike Keenan called it a cross-check to the head. It wasn't too close to the head. I think he was wrong."

Burish and Bourque were Blackhawks teammates last year before Bourque's trade to Calgary. They also played together at Wisconsin.

"I'm still going to hopefully have a beer with him after the season is done, but he's not my friend on the ice," Burish said.
(Read the whole article here)

Gainey to Habs fans to stop booing the US anthem.

I am not sure why the Hab's fans feel the need to boo the American Anthem, I don't see a logical reason to do this. If anything it lacks class and is uncalled for. The same crap happened last year during the Flyers and Habs series. Hey Habs fans have some class stop booing the United States National Anthem.

BROSSARD, Quebec (AP)—Bob Gainey is asking Montreal Canadiens fans to stop booing the United States national anthem.

Just because the hometown team is on the verge of being swept out of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Boston Bruins, fans shouldn’t take out their frustration on their neighbor to the south.

Gainey, the coach and general manager of the struggling Canadiens, urged those who booed Monday during “The Star Spangled Banner” before Game 3 to find other ways to voice their support for Montreal.

“I feel like there’s a confusion there with our fans,” Gainey said Tuesday. “They feel like booing the anthem is supporting our team, in that the anthem represents the Boston team.

“And I think if they could separate those two things, then we could respect the anthem of the United States of America and they could still participate loudly in whatever way they want to disrupt the Bruins.”

Many fans booed the U.S. anthem at the Bell Centre on Monday night, even though others tried to drown them out with chants of “Go Habs Go.”

Similar booing has been heard during the playoffs in recent years. In the past, the Canadiens responded with a taped appeal on the scoreboard from Hall of Famer Jean Beliveau, asking fans to respect the anthems of the U.S. and Canada. That curtailed the booing somewhat at subsequent games.

Burish cross check on Bourque

Props to Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy for the video. I watched this transpire at the end of last night's game. It was interesting to see two former Wisconsin Badgers getting after it as they had dropped proverbial gloves and were ready to go. The only thing stopping the fight was the ref stepped in and broke up the fight. If I was the Chicago coach I would have sent Burish out as well. That's hockey.

Adam Burish and Rene Bourque were actually team mates at Wisconsin as well at Chicago last season.

The league will probably look at this to determine if there should be a suspension or not. In my opinion I don't believe one is warranted, come on hockey is a physical sport.

Sean Avery punches Simeon Varlamov

I am so glad that Sean Avery is back in the NHL it gives us something to talk about and he is quite entertaining to watch. I guess you could also say that Sean "sloppy seconds" Avery is up to his old tricks again taking an impressive 4 minors and a ten minute misconduct.

The more entertaining fact is Avery is talking smack to a person that speak no english at all.

Bruins put Habs on the brink.

Nothing would be more pleasing to me than to see the Boston Bruins beat/eliminate the Montreal Canadiens in their 100th year of existence. For the Boston Bruins Phil Kessel remains hot against the Habs as he got his third goal of the series and his seventh goal in 5 games against the Hab's. Actually make that ten point in his last five games against Les Habs.

Now it's a matter of how many games it takes the Bruins to close out the Habs. This season the Bruins have owned the Hab's going 8-0-1 losing one game in a shootout.

Pictures from U-18 Medal Games

I went to the medal games in yesterday's U-18 IIHF championship and I have to say that that I watched two very good hockey games. The first game with Canada was very interesting as the Canadans squandered a 4-1 lead then lost the game in a shootout.

UMD's recruit Dylan Olson was on team Canada and I was impressed with him, he is going to be a very good player in the WCHA for the short time he will be with the Dogs. Dylan Olson is big and skates well and some NHL team will call his name during the entry draft (either this year or next).

Sioux recruit Nick Mattson will be a nice addition to the Fighting Sioux blue line in 2010. I like his game he doesn't try to do to much and is smart with the puck.

The Urban Plains Center is nice but it isn't even in the same league as the REA. I told Sioux7 we are spoiled as Sioux fans to have the facility that we have. When they finish the landscaping of the UPC it will be a nice place. While the UPC isn't the REA it is better building than most college hockey buildings. It is going to be interesting to see if MSU-M will try to make a go of it.

Lucic sentence one game.

Boston Bruins forward Milan Lucic has been suspended for one game by the NHL for his cross check on Hab's hack/punk Maxim Lapierre.

NHL: Lucic suspended for 1 game
Posted by Gary Dzen ---- Boston.com
Milan Lucic has been suspended for one game for the match penalty he received in a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night. Lucic will miss Game 3 against the Canadiens Monday at the Bell Centre.

Lucic received the penalty in Game 2 after he checked Maxim Lapierre in the head with his stick in front of Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak with 4:32 remaining in Game 2.

"While it is unclear whether Lucic's glove or stick makes contact with Lapierre, what is clear is that he delivered a reckless and forceful blow to the head of his opponent," said NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell in a statement.

Byron Bitz, a healthy scratch in Games 1 and 2, will be in the lineup for Game 3. Bitz will most likely skate with Shawn Thornton and Stephane Yelle on the fourth line. Blake Wheeler, who was on the fourth line for the first two games, should take Lucic's spot on the third line.