How about this one?

Big A HG had this uniform idea/concept posted over on Siouxsports.com and if UND decides to go with the no-logo/nick name in the interim while they pick a new one I think this is also a really good option. Contrary to the people that think you can just change the nick name, it may take a while to find an acceptable replacement nick name and logo that will even come close to the Fighting Sioux name and in my opinion that could be debatable as well. On my personal short list of name is no name, Wild Nokotas, Norse and Areos (flight School), Predators (UAV's), SOO and Flyers.

Simply North Dakota

This was linked to by Brad Schlossman and it's posted over on the Lets Go Sioux woman's hockey blog and frankly I could conceive a hockey Jersey with no logo like the jersey on the and just simply be the University of North Dakota. I would rather have no logo and mascot at all than something stupid. My biggest fear is the University would change the name witout consulting with the Students and Alumni. I really like the We ARE 1 WE ARE North Dakota slogan.

Logos what can stay and what can go.

I have seen the question posed on what can stay and what would have to go to be compliant with the NCAA settlement. I have also seen a lot of stuff that is incorrect, this should clear things up.

If UND had to drop the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo and the privately-owned Ralph Engelstad Arena wanted to host NCAA post-season games, it would have to remove many of the 2,400 logos it now contains.

What would stay and what would have to go?

The legal settlement between the state and the NCAA, which opposes Indian nicknames, says “images commonly associated with Native American culture” are not allowed, except these:

- Images of historical significance: These include championship banners, photos, trophies and statues, such as the Sitting Bull statue in front.

- Images that would be cost prohibitive to remove, namely the logos in the granite floor.

- Images the arena may replace over time: These include carpeting, turf, wood flooring, medallions on the seats and railings, lighted logos outside and etched glass door. Each item has a timetable for replacement from the end of 2011 to the end of 2015. (read the article here)

Also, if there logos were going to be changed don't expect Ralph Engelstad Arena or the Engelstad family to play for the changes it isn't going to happen. Nor should they be expected to pay for it. Maybe the people that wanted the Fighting Sioux name changed should poney up the money. Maybe team North Dakota can get a grant from the Federal government to pay for the changes.

On Friday we asked for a reaction from Jody Hodgson, the arena’s general manager and a representative of the Engelstad Family Foundation.

He said, among other things, that the arena’s preference, no matter the outcome, is to avoid any changes, such as removal of the logos. If changes were needed, he said, the arena won’t pay the more than $1 million cost.

The legal settlement between the state and the NCAA, which opposes Indian nicknames and imagery, requires the removal of many Sioux logos in the arena before UND can host a post-season game there. The settlement origi-nally set a Nov. 30, 2010 deadline to get tribal approval to use the name.
(read the article here)

Lastly, I have heard people say that the arena is going to blow up or be destroyed if the Fighting Sioux name is changed. Let's get serious, that's is not going to happen, folks. It is an urban legend that was started after the construction of the REA was almost stopped back in 2000 because of political correctness run amok. No one can find any documentation that says this because it is not true.

Engelstad family 'deeply disappointed' by 'lack of conviction'

The Englestad family is upset with UND president President Kelley and his lack of conviction. This is why I have said all along that I think UND needs to have a person with strong ties to UND serving as our university president, not some transient. The name means nothing to a bureaucrat like Kelly. So basically the university and the State Board of Higher Education pissed off one of their major donors there could be more to follow. Then try funding the university.

Statement from the Engelstad Family Foundation – May 15, 2009

In response to the resolution passed by the State Board of Higher Education the following statement is being released by the Engelstad Family Foundation.

"My father was immensely proud as a student-athlete to be identified with the Fighting Sioux and its proud and honored heritage," commented Kris Engelstad McGarry, daughter of Ralph Engelstad. "We stand with the 67% of tribal members at Spirit Lake who believe the identification with a fine university is a relationship which would have continued to bring benefit and opportunities to the Sioux citizens.

"I am deeply disappointed that the State Board and President Kelly are not committed to retaining the Fighting Sioux name and logo, however I can't say that I'm surprised by their lack of conviction. This is a sad day for North Dakota.

"We remain steadfast in our dedication to the students, the alumni, and the traditions established at UND.

"I feel it necessary to once again answer the question of why this issue is so important to us. As my father has stated, "Tradition is that gentle fabric woven through time and experience which generates meaning, character and identity to one and all. The Fighting Sioux logo, the Fighting Sioux tradition and the spirit of being a Fighting Sioux are of lasting value and immeasurable significance to our past, present and future."

Fighting Sioux nickname resolution.

In case you haven't read it here is the text of the from yesterday's nick name resolution.

Fighting Sioux nickname resolution adopted by North Dakota State Board of Higher Education on May 14, 2009
Consistent with the terms and conditions of the October 26, 2007, Settlement Agreement entered into with the NCAA, the Board directs UND officials to retire the “Sioux” nickname and logo, effective October 1, 2009. Full retirement of the nickname and logo shall be completed no later than August 1, 2010. In the event a new nickname and logo are adopted by UND, they shall not violate the NCAA policy regarding Native American nicknames, mascots and imagery.

UND is further directed to undertake actions consistent with the Settlement Agreement to protect its intellectual property rights in the “Fighting Sioux” nickname and mark.

UND is further directed to address the imagery at Ralph Engelstad Arena and other venues pursuant to the terms, conditions and timelines set forth in the Settlement Agreement.

This directive shall be suspended, if, prior to October 1, 2009, the following should happen:

1. The Standing Rock Sioux tribe and the Spirit Lake Sioux tribe give namesake approval consistent with the terms of the Settlement Agreement; and

2. The namesake approval be binding upon the tribes for a period not less than thirty (30) years.

Interesting day in College Hockey.

Yesterday turned out to be an interesting day in college hockey. First, Mike Kemp stepped down as hockey coach and is now the assistant athletic director of UNO. According to UNO Athletic Director Trev Alberts , Mike Kemp as not pushed out.

Former Red River star and Minnesota Gopher Grant Potulny will return to the Minnesota as an assistant coach.

Gopher assistant coach Mike Hastings is probably going to be a favorite for replacing Kemp at UNO. It would be interesting to see if Blais would consider coaching at UNO.

Neither Quinn nor Hastings returned phone calls Thursday night.

Kemp will serve on the committee to find the new coach, along with Alberts, Assistant Athletic Director Don Leahy, women's basketball coach Patty Patton Shearer, faculty athletic representative Bill Wakefield, hockey captain Mark Bernier and a member of the community.

Other names generating a buzz in coaching circles are former Lancers coach Mike Guentzel, an assistant at Colorado College who was a finalist at UNO when Kemp was hired; former North Dakota coach Dean Blais, who won two national championships with the Fighting Sioux and is now coaching Fargo of the USHL; New Hampshire assistant David Lassonde; and Miami (Ohio) assistant Chris Bergeron, who helped put together a Frozen Four team. (read the whole story here)

Interesting tid bits from Fiona Quick's twitter.

I was reading/perusing the Fiona Quick's twitter and there is some really good stuff there today. Looks like some are getting antsy in Gopher land, I hope Blaiser doesn't coach at the UofMN. I think the biggest development is that the UNO coach Mike Kemp was pushed out as the head coach. I think if Mike Hastings becomes the head coach it could bode well for the Mavericks and the WCHA expansion.

*Word on the street is there are several people pushing for Dean Blais as the next head coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers

*Former Gopher assistant coach Mike Guentzel will compete with current assistant Mike Hastings but Hastings is favorite for job at UNO.

*QuickFacts expects Golden Gopher freshman phenom Jordan Schroeder to sign an NHL professional contract following NHL Entry Draft in June.

*UNO Hockey called press conference for "Major announcement" at 4pm. Mike Hastings is favorite to take over as head coach of Mavericks.

Taps for the Fighting Sioux name?!?

I urge the University of North Dakota do not just pick a replacement name without having a discussion with the Students and alumni. If you do this hastily you will do more damage than good. As many fans have suggested in the past, if anything UND shoiuld not pick a new name and or logo immediately but in the interim just simply be the University of North Dakota.

Dickenson, ND --- The North Dakota State Higher Board of Education voted unanimously to retire the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname effective Oct. 1, 2009. The decision was made at its regular meeting held Thursday at Dickinson State University.

The retirement takes effect except in the event that stipulations in the original agreement with the NCAA to retain the nickname are met by both the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes to approve the nickname.

The NCAA previously required approval of the nickname by both tribes for the university to retain use the nickname.

This kind of sums it up.

Props to the Stanley Cup of Chowder. George Paros didn't waste that Ivy League education. Also, it's a very profound and true statement, this years Stanley Cup playoffs have been nothing short of amazing to me. The regular season is just a prelude of what is to come.

"The playoffs are to the regular season what cream filling is to the Twinkie. It's a smaller portion of the whole, but it's the tastiest part."

Anaheim Ducks Enforcer and Princeton graduate George Parros on the NHL playoffs in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated

Fighting Sioux > Summit League

I was wondering when this was going to happen? You had to know that this was coming: earlier this year the athletic director of UND was whining about not having this issue solved and needing to find a conference. They should have thought about that before they went Division One, or UND should have moved when SDSU and NDSU did. Next, let the Sioux tribe at Standing Rock weigh in on the issue, especially after the Spirit Lake Reservation voted overwhelmingly to support the Fighting Sioux name. There is no reason at all to rush this issue, the Summit league will still be there.

My next question is why does the state have to tackle this issue right now? They still have till 2010. What is the hurry? Funny how they decide now just as the summer is starting and all of the students are going home at the end of the semester. Does this remind you of the summer when president Baker took old logo off the UND hockey uniforms? I can only imagine the stupid name the university would come up with to replace the Fighting Sioux name with. You cannot just change the name to make the Summit League happy. There has to be a process. You can't change the name in the dark or during the summer. The students and alumni need to give input in the selection process.

There is no reason to hurry. The Summit isn't going anywhere and UND can't play for anything for three more years. The Summit League is a second rate conference filled with a bunch of unimpressive teams outside of NDSU, SDSU and South Dakota. Does the university really want to give up it's storied name just for a chance to be in a mediocre mid major? There is no guarantee that they will accept UND even if they drop the Fighting Sioux name. If you think I am wrong, take a look at the impressive schools in this conference; I bet Oakland, Oral Roberts, Southern Utah, Western Illinois, Centenary, IPFW, is really going to fill up the Betty. Sign me up for season tickets right now.

Summit League 'intervening issue'
Tu-Uyen Tran and Wayne Nelson ------- Grand Forks, ND
UND’s chances of entering the Summit League athletic conference may require the state to resolve the controversy over the university’s Fighting Sioux nickname sooner than expected, according to the chairman of a state committee working on the issue.

“I look at the Summit League as an intervening issue,” said Grant Shaft, who will report to the State Board of Higher Education today. “It might lead the board to move our timeline up.”

Under a timeline established earlier this year, the committee has until the end of the year to gather information about the nickname and how it affects the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux reservations and the UND community.

The state board will need the approval of both the state’s Sioux tribes for UND to keep the nickname under an agreement with the NCAA. The board has until the end of November 2010 to get that approval, although to make time for a transition period, approval has to be in place by February.

After speaking with Summit League and UND officials, Shaft said the board may not have the luxury of time.

Last month, Spirit Lake tribal members voted 764-371 to keep the nickname, although formal approval by the Tribal Council is needed to satisfy the NCAA agreement.

Some Standing Rock tribal members are gathering signatures to put the nickname on the ballot there either in July or September. The Standing Rock Tribal Council also has to give formal approval.

However, the time frame of the tribal approval process may conflict with the Summit League’s plans for expansion, according to Shaft. He said he’ll ask the state board to weigh both in its decision, which he does not expect today.

Rather, Shaft said, he’ll ask board members to mull it over until possibly the next monthly board meeting June 18.

Why is timing important for entry into the Summit League or any conference for that matter?

UND views the Summit as an attractive home for the majority of its Division I athletic programs.

The 10-team league is viewed as a good fit geographically for UND. In addition, a number of Summit schools — including North Dakota State and South Dakota State — have similar academic missions.

The Summit recently accepted South Dakota as a new member. Like UND, South Dakota also completed its first season as a Division I athletic program.

UPDATE: I will stand by my earlier statement; 'If you think I am wrong, take a look at the impressive schools in this conference; I bet Oakland, Oral Roberts, Southern Utah, Western Illinois, Centenary, IPFW, is really going to fill up the Betty. Sign me up for season tickets right now.'

I ask Sioux fans; out side of NDSU, SDSU and South Dakota what team on that list above really makes you want to say, hey I want to attend a basketball or baseball game featuring one of those teams? Not that many of us are drooling at the prospects. Is this really all we are left with? It's almost like were are bickering over scraps. That being said I do think the Missouri Valley Football Conference is a nice football conference and has some attractive teams in it.

Over at Bisonville they are discussing this issue, good for them, it will just end up being another food fight between Sioux and Bison fans.

Ducks and Redwings line brawl.

Wow, what an ending to a boring game, a good ole fashion donnybrook at the buzzer. I guess it wouldn't be an understatement to say that the Redwings and Ducks don't like each other. I also would expect the former Badger Brian Rafalski to do a better job defending himself.

Lastly, I have to give props to Pavel Datsyuk for not hiding behind the ref and turtling. You can bet the Scott Niedermayer elbow on Pavel Datsyuk will be under review by the NHL but don't expect anything from Colin Campbell. You have to wonder if it is going to be considered sending a mess or not?

Bruins force game 7.

The Bruins were never behind and they countered everything the Canes threw at them. They did get a scare when "Marc Savard was kneed by Chad LaRose but I wouldn't classify it as a dirty hit. Coach Julian said Savard will play in game 7. Patrice Bergeron (0-2-2) Mark Recci (1-1-2)and Chuck Kobasew (1-1-2) had a big game for the Bruins.

Ward's side of the Walker sucker punch.

Very interesting look at the other side of the ugly game five incident from the person that was on the receiving end of the sucker punch by Scott Walker. So you have to wonder if Walker is lying, if Walker thought he was getting into a fight with Ward; why isn't his opponent ready to fight? If you watch the video you will see that Walker just grabbed Ward and punched him. You would think Ward would have thrown off his gloves and been ready to fight. If I am going to get into a fight I am sure as heck aren’t just going to stand there and get punched in the head.

Oh by the way; I like how Keith Jones from Versus didn't mention this last night when he was defending the non-league suspension for Walker's thuggery. If you’re a player that has had concussion issues in the past maybe he should think twice about hacking away at someone one else, what does he expect Ward to do? Kiss him? If I have learned one thing the Carolina fans and their media has done a lot of whining about the Boston Bruins that they didn't do during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoff run.

Ward: 'It's a joke' --- Aaron Ward, who is sporting a purple bruise under his left eye, spoke this morning for the first time since taking a punch from Scott Walker in the third period of Game 5.

"It's a joke. It's honestly a joke," Ward said of the situation.

Ward, who will play tonight, said he was tussling with Matt Cullen prior to Walker's punch. According to Ward, Cullen had slashed him across the legs. Ward was telling Cullen he didn't like the slash when Walker came in with a punch. Ward said he didn't see Walker and never exchanged any words with him.

"I don't remember a single word being said," Ward said of the exchange between he and Walker. "I was looking at Matt Cullen. The moment I saw his right hand was when it was about a foot away from my face."

Ward said a team doctor saw "something" on an X-ray and advised him to wear a shield.

"I haven't worn one in 16 years," Ward said. "I'm not going to start now."

Ward said he never spoke with Colin Campbell about the incident.

Aaron Ward to play in game 6.

According to a few Boston Bruins hockey blogs and news sources Boston Bruin's defenseman Aaron Ward will play in game six against the Carolina Hurricanes. Colin Campbell must have went to the same school as Greg Shepherd and Bruce McLeod because they never seem to rule with an consistency in any of their rulings. If this had been Milan Lucic and he had sucker punched Eric Staal or Cindy Crosby there would have been a long suspension.

Report: Ward will play in Game 6
James Murphy --- May 11, 2009

Thankfully for the Boston Bruins, defenseman Aaron Ward is OK and will play in game 6.

TSN and NBC analyst Pierre McGuire reported on “Melnick In the Afternoon” on the Team 990 in Montreal on Monday that Ward’s injury is not “as serious as they thought” and that he will be ready to go for Game 6.
It is unknown if the Bruins will still call up another defenseman from Providence as insurance.

The NHL rescinded the automatic suspension that Scott Walker received as a result of the instigator penalty assessed to him with 2:47 remaining in the third period of Sunday’s game.

“We respectfully disagree with the NHL’s ruling to rescind the automatic suspension to Scott Walker, but we will abide by the league’s ruling,” Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said in a statement.

While the Bruins took the high road in regard to the NHL’s decision, they surely aren’t happy about what transpired.

“I don’t care what people say [that] Ward should’ve protected himself,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “He had no intention of getting involved. We asked our guys to stay composed and not fall into that trap, and he just did that. A guy with Walker’s experience should know better than to sucker punch a guy, and again, this is an area that I don’t deal with. I deal with my team and let other people deal with the situation.”

NHL head disciplinarian Colin Campbell deemed Walker’s actions did not warrant the mandatory one-game suspension, and Walker and the Hurricanes agreed with Campbell.

Anyone confused with the leagues ruling?

Let me get this right; saying sloppy seconds gets you suspended for 6 games, ok. So which is worse a crude statement or punching an un-expecting opponent? You would think the sucker punch right? Apparently it is ok to sucker punch your opponent possibly breaking his face and causing him to miss a game and possibly the rest of the series. Mind you this thug hit his opponent while his hands were down, a violation of the code. That gets you nothing from the league office, Nada.

So are you confused yet? Let’s go further; you can sucker punch your opponent but don’t you dare cross check an opposing player that will get you a one game suspension. The NHL league office has no credibility and it is time for the NHL to replace Colin Campbell with someone that is going to make consistent and fair decision there are two or three sets of rules in the NHL if you’re a goon or fourth line player you get suspended but if you‘re a star player you can get away with murder. Just ask Ovechkin and Crosby.

Lastly, Scott Walker is a knuckle head of course he accepts his fine, it is a drop in the bucket for him. What is he going to say? I don't my light punishment. What a joke! I listened to the Hurricanes homer announcers the first two games and all they did was whine about the Boston Bruins. Well they are really going to be unhappy now because they Canes woke up the slumbering bears. Do you think Lucic is going to let Walker get away with his gutless act? NOPE...

BOSTON --- Scott Walker has been fined $2,500 for his incident with Aaron Ward at 17:13 of last night's third period. Walker will not be suspended for Game 6.

"We are satisfied with the league's ruling," said president and GM Jim Rutherford in a statement. "After our team received several punches throughout the series leading up to Game 5, it was a matter of time before one was going to be thrown back."

According to Claude Julien, the Bruins are awaiting results on Ward's left eye.

"I accept the league's decision," Walker said in a statement. "Based on what was said on the ice as I was dropping my gloves, it was my understanding that I was engaged in an altercation."

Scott probably has sore knuckles.

I think I have lost all respect for Canes coach Paul Maurice (not that I had that much before this game) when the coach was asked by the media what are the ramifications of the Scott Walker situation/sucker punch. The smart assed Maurice replied, "Scott probably has sore knuckles," he said. Asked if the NHL might fine his winger, Maurice quipped: "I may have to sell my truck." Wow! That is all class right there. Your goon sucker punched an un-expecting defenseless player and all you can do is make jokes about it. The league has to suspend Scott Walker and fine Maurice the 10,000 bucks for having a major inside of five minutes left in the game.

Tim Conboy vs Mark Stuart

Former C.C. Tiger Mark Stuart is one tough hockey player and Former SCSU Husky Tim Conboy proves he isn't a very good fighter nor is he a very good hockey player either. It was kind of ronic, former Fighting Sioux Ryan Bayda was out with the flu so he was replaced by Tim Conboy who looked like a punching bag tonight. In case anyone is keeping track Conboy got worked twice in the same night. Conboy's first fight was against Bruins tough guy Sean Thornton who laid a smack down on Conboy as well. So the Hurricanes basically woke up the sleeping bear from their slumber and now the Bruins got their game back and should be angry and on the prowl in Raleigh Tuesday night.

Aaron Ward may have a broken Orbital bone.

According to the Boston Bruin's Beat writer Ward might have a broken orbitial bone.

According to Claude Julien, Aaron Ward might have suffered a broken orbital bone when he was sucker-punched by Scott Walker at 17:13 of the third period.

Ward will be re-evaluated tomorrow.

Scott Walker cheaps Aaron Ward.

Props to Paul from KuklasKorner for getting the video up this quickly. The league has to review this play, this is suspension worthy. I would say about 4-5 games at least. I don’t care what some homer writer from Carolina has to say, this was a cheap sucker punch. Back in 1995 when Rangers goon Tie Domi sucker punched the gutless puke Ulf Samuelsson and he got 8 games.

In my opinion Scott Walker broke the code by punching a guy that wasn't ready to fight, watch the tape Ward had no intention of fighting he still had his gloves on. That is a sucker punch. There is no sense to Scott Walker's act of thuggery and Walker is very lucky that Bruins tough guy Lucic wasn't able to get a hold of him.

Jean-Philippe Lamoureux sets ECHL record.

While looking through Twitter I came upon this nugget, seems that that former Fighting Sioux goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux is having a all-star season. Now you have to wonder if he will get a look in the AHL next season based on his number this season.

Former UND goalie Jean-Philippe Lamoureux has tied the ECHL record with 12 shutouts including record 8 in the regular season for Alaska Aces

That is a pretty impressive season in the ECHL 12 shutouts, eight during the regular season and 4 in the ECHL playoffs. Phil Lamoureux is one shutout short of the setting the all-time ECHL playoff shutout record.

Wheeler wants to contribute before it's too late.

Blake Wheeler has exceeded expectations with his play this past season. Based on his play in college not many expected Wheeler to make the NHL right out of training camp. I don’t think many people in their wildest dreams expected that Blake Wheeler would play in 81 games and record (21-24-45) add to the fact that he was a plus 36. Scoring 20 goals as a rookie in the NHL is nothing to sneeze at and I think some expected that play to carry over to the Stanley Cup playoffs, that has not happened to date and the Bruins are on the verge of being usurped from the playoffs. I think as a rookie Wheeler has hit the wall but that happens to rookies in the NHL.

In defense of Wheeler he isn’t the only one that isn’t producing; some key players for the Bruins have also failed to show up as well, Mark Recci (1-2-3), Patrice Bergeron (0-2-2), if the Bruins are to come back in this series they are going to need more balanced scoring and I haven’t seen any evidence of that happening so far.

There have been better times during his rookie NHL season for Boston Bruins winger Blake Wheeler.

Among the league’s top rookie scorers and overall leaders in plus/minus all season while skating for one of the top teams in the overall standings during the 2008-09 regular season, Wheeler suddenly finds himself with a goose egg on the stats sheet for a team on the verge of getting eliminated in the second round.

But he continues to flaunt maturity beyond his years even with the Bruins down 3-1 heading into tomorrow night’s Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Carolina.

“There’s two sides of any sport. Any time adversity comes, you have to react in a positive way and let it make you a better player and a better person,” he told TheBruinsBlog.net today after what might have been the Bruins’ last practice of the season in Wilmington, Mass. “You can’t feel sorry for yourself, you can’t walk around with your tail between your legs, you have to kind of embrace it, learn from it and just try to get better from it. And when you come out of it, you feel a lot better about yourself.
(read the rest of the article here)

Canucks not happy with the officiating.

I have watched a lot of this series and the Canucks are finally paying for their mistakes in all three zones on the ice. I think the Blackhawk’s are the better team. During the last series Blues didn't cash in on the Canucks mistakes like the Blackhawk’s have. I don't think the Canucks can blame any of their loses on bad officiating or weak penalties. I do think that Detroit could make the case because they were screwed on a quick whistle that should have been a game tying goal.

Chicago has given us a glimpse of their very bright future, if they can get past the Canucks I think they have a very good chance of defeating who ever they play in the next round. The refs have been consistently bad during this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs. It doesn’t matter what series you are watching. The Hurricanes homer announcers were complaining about the Bruins and how they felt they were getting away with a lot of stick work and checking from behind calls.

Questionable officiating

The Canucks probably had reason to complain about the officiating in Game 5 Saturday night. There were a few questionable calls, including an extra two minutes called on Shane O’Brien after a scrap with Matt Walker.

The Blackhawks scored on that man advantage as Dustin Byfuglien converted his second goal of the game, squeezing in a Brian Campbell rebound between the legs of Vancouver goaltender Roberto Luongo.

After the game, O’Brien expressed some frustration with the call. He was originally tied up with Byfuglien, who skated away before an altercation. O’Brien says Walker then challenged him and they dropped the gloves, but the officials called the Canucks defenceman for an extra two minutes for roughing.

Vancouver also took two penalties late in the game. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa hit Patrick Sharp along the boards and high-sticked him in the process. That led to the winning goal by Dave Bolland, his fourth of the post-season.

“That’s happened to us three times in this series…what are you going to do.” said Luongo after the game.

The game was pretty much decided with Ryan Kesler’s final penalty of the game at 16:07. Kesler was called for holding Chicago defenceman Brian Campbell, who seemed to embellish. But Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said the “two penalties at the end of the game were deserved. We got in penalty trouble and they made us pay.”

Game Five on Versus.

For the hockey fans that want to watch the Bruins that don't have the NHL Center Ice hockey package or live in Carolina and Boston will be able to see the game on Versus again on Sunday night. Lets just hope the Bruins that won the Eastern Conference top spot will show up and play hockey so they can be around for game 6.

No local TV for either team

Versus will carry Game 5, meaning NESN (Bruins) and FSCarolinas (Hurricanes) will not have the broadcasts at the Garden Monday. Carolina play-by-play announcer John Forslund and Boston analyst Andy Brickley will be the Versus broadcast team for Game 5.

Goligoski called up.

Because Alexander Ovechkin's kneeing of Sergi Gonchar and the fact that Gonchar is questionable for tonight's game the Penguins have called up former Gopher Alex Goligoski as an insurance policy in case Gonchar can't go tonight.

Pens' Gonchar possibly out for tonight's game, Goligoski called up
WASHINGTON, D.C.--The Penguins have recalled defenseman Alex Goligoski from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, and he is expected to be in the lineup for Game 5 of their second-round playoff series against Washington tonight at 7:08 at the Verizon Center.

He would replace defenseman Sergei Gonchar, whose right knee was injured on a hit by Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin during the first period of the Penguins' 5-3 victory in Game 4 at Mellon Arena last night.

Coach Dan Bylsma said this afternoon that Gonchar has not been ruled out of tonight's game, and that Goligoski was recalled as "insurance."

Ovechkin was assessed only a two-minute tripping minor for the hit on Gonchar, and Washington officials said that as of late this morning he had not had a hearing with league officials.

The extent of Gonchar's injury has not been announced, but he accompanied the team here last night. He was wearing a large black support on his right knee at the team hotel today.

Gonchar has not spoken with reporters since he was injured.

Ovechkin awaits his fate.

Interesting quote by Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins but he is right if he had kneed Alex Ovechkin or one of the Capitals skilled players Cooke would be looking at a 1-3 game suspension from the league office. I think there is a double standard when it comes to league discipline of its players. I predict nothing will be done to Ovechkin because he is a star player and he is held to a different standard than a goon or third line role player. Ovechkin is also a big fan draw for the NHL and Versus.

PITTSBURGH -- Matt Cooke knows what the verdict would be if it were him on the stand today facing what passes for NHL justice.

"If I did what he did, I wouldn't be on the ice," the Penguins forward said last night in the bittersweet aftermath of a critical 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals.

Matt Cooke is not Alex Ovechkin, however, which is the challenge NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell faces in making a ruling prior to tonight's Game 5 of the riveting best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal that is now tied at 2-2.

Ovechkin's knee-on-knee hit on Sergei Gonchar in the first period had the star defenceman writhing on the Mellon Arena ice and potentially gone for the remainder of the Penguins' playoff run.

And it had the Pens seething and fiercely seeking justice despite having just put the series back on equal terms.

"He goes out there to hurt players," Pens defenceman Brooks Orpik said of the flamboyant Russian star. "That's three games in a row against us. Just watch the way the guy hits. He leaves his feet and takes countless strides at guys. There's a line you can't cross and he does it.

"We're not in charge of suspending guys, but it looks pretty obvious to us."

In what was an all-around wasted night for Ovechkin, who was held to just two shots on net and one assist, what the league decides today may carry as much weight on how the remainder of the series plays out.

Tonight's contest, as with all Game 5s, has massive implications for the series, so too then does the manner in which the NHL handles it.

Campbell must decide if, as the Caps claim, Ovechkin led with his shoulder and then couldn't move quick enough to avoid contact. And depending on the level of guilt, there is a matter of weighing on a team's superstar being taken down by another.

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