Spirit Lake nickname supporters not giving up

Sounds like the pro name people at Spirt Lake Nation will not let the name go down without a fight. Stay tuned.

FORT TOTTEN (AP) - Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members who support the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname say they're seeking a resolution from the tribal council.

Eunice Davidson is spokeswoman for the pro-nickname group. She says its members plan to meet with the newly elected council members next week to talk about a formal resolution supporting the nickname.

A tribal vote in April gave strong support to the nickname. But UND plans to retire it unless the Standing Rock Sioux tribe also supports it. Standing Rock tribal council members have been among the opposition leaders.

The State Board of Higher Education voted last month to do away with the nickname unless it gets a 30-year agreement from the state's Sioux tribes by Oct. 1.

A former Gopher to coach the Wild?

First the good news is former Wild assist coach Mario Tremblay is not going to be the Wild's new coach. That should be refreshing and welcome news to Wild fans that want to see the Wild move away from their BORING defense first style of hockey and at least attempt to push the puck up ice. That doesn't mean the Wild play the trap at some point in their games it just means they will be more offensive focused. It would be an interesting scenario to see an American coach that played college hockey in Minnesota coaching in the State of Hockey; if Richards gets the job. To take a phrase from Danny Barriero of KFAN, 'he would definitely be one of us' (from Minnesota)

By MICHAEL RUSSO, Star Tribune ----- Local boy Todd Richards still appears to be among the frontrunners for the Wild's coaching vacancy.

According to sources, General Manager Chuck Fletcher flew to California last week to interview the San Jose Sharks assistant coach and former Gophers captain.

The two have been in contact since, although it's unclear how close Fletcher is to hiring a coach.

That's because, according to sources, Fletcher also interviewed former Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish in recent days and at least had a conversation with former Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders coach Peter Laviolette.

It's believed that Fletcher is also interested in Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Paul MacLean, whom he worked with in Anaheim.

'Time to pull the plug' on Phoenix: NHLPA

Paul Kelly isn't going to win any friends in Phoenix with those comments. Also, why didn't anyone see this coming back when they moved the Jets to the desert in the first place? This is a travesty. I wonder if in hindsite; if the City of Winnipeg wished they would have built a new arena for the Jets?

Steve Milton ---- The Hamilton Spectator
The leader of the National Hockey League Players' Association may not overtly support a league franchise in Hamilton, but he's very blunt about what should happen to the one in Phoenix.

"From a players' perspective, it's time to pull the plug," NHLPA executive-director Paul Kelly told The Spectator last night.

Kelly says that NHL owners should not only be doubting that the Coyotes should remain in Phoenix, but that those doubts should have arisen long before now.

Earlier in the day, speaking on Toronto radio station The Fan, Kelly wondered: "How much money must (a franchise) lose before someone says "perhaps they ought not to be there?"

However, Kelly would not go so far as to back Jim Balsillie's bid to transfer the Coyotes to Hamilton: even though he's known to look favourably Balsillie's membership as an NHL owner.

Hockey fans upset with the reffing.

There has been an extensive debate and some whining about the quality of the officiating in these Stanley Cup Finals. As a neutral observer I would say that the officiating has been equally bad on both ends of the ice. Edit: This hockey fans has an interesting take on the Sidney Crosby conspiracy against them. (humor)

The officiating during this spring's playoff run has been fantastically inconsistent, and even when you and I are both swearing at the TV...The players have to deal with it as best as they can. If they want to lobby the refs during or after the game, argue a call--I had no problem with Franzen saying, "He [bleeping dove" when he either hooked Craig Adams or Adams felt a stick and dropped, depending on your point of view, and I have no problem with Mike Babcock mentioning that a certain player who remained nameless got away with four interference penalties...But Babs wouldn't be lobbied into lamenting that his team lost because the refs screwed him over, and he refused to name names.

Hal Gill, cough cough. [Snapshots]

This guys is right about one thing former Bruins defender Hall Gill has looked like a pylon and a human obstruction machine and I can see why the Bruins no long employ him.

Links to the Stanley Cup Finals reffing debacle...

~I don't want to hear about the refs. [Mlive.com]

~Allegations out of the Redwings Dressing Room. [TSN]

~Maltby: Officiating 'blueprint for how regular season should go' [Puck Daddy]

… Just one last comment on the officiating: in Games 1 and 2, I was of the opinion that the officiating was awful both ways. Letting them play is a nice idea in concept, but in practice it just means the players gradually become too loose with the rules. Both teams were guilty of it in the first two games, with rampant interference being the most obvious of the play-to-play stuff. In Game 3, however, the officiating largely turned against the Wings.

Let me be clear: Detroit is not a team of perfect little angels, and I’m sure there were some things they didn’t get called for last night (I freely admit I was paying more attention to what the Pens were doing as far as penalizable offenses), but Pittsburgh truly got away with some really blatant crap last night. From tripping Ericsson in his own zone, to the high hit of interference on Helm in the final minutes, to the kicking of Osgood by Cooke, to the final uncalled trip to any dump-in involving Gill, not to mention the willful collusion on the the too many men situation.* If you’re going to call stuff like the Ericsson interference in the third, call it when the Pens do it too. It’s only fair.

Call it both ways, or don’t call it at all. That’s all I’d like. [read the whole story right here]

My response to this guy would be, the on ice officials have called it both way. Both ways the officiating has been god awful and consistently bad, compared to their performance during the regulars season and the first two rounds. That being said it does remind me of the WCHA games were they let the obstruction go.

Here is my favorite take of the whole reffing mess. [thePensblog]

Linkorama humpday.

~You can cross Detroit Redwing's forward Marian Hossa off the list of possible UFAs [Sports Illustrated]

~The NHL General Managers have voted down a new head shot rule proposal. [TSN]

~Boston Bruin's all star defenseman Zedno Chara is a finalist for the Messier Award. [TSN]

~Apparently the Flyer's are thinking about signing former Senator's sieve Ray Emery It will be interesting to see how this circus unfolds. [CSN Philly]

~Ron MacLean ate Betteman's lunch last night on CBC. Betteman is a bumbling fool. You almost have to wonder if he is running for office? Sounds just like a politician. I can't be the only person that finds him to be mind numbingly boring and uninspiring. [CBC]

~The Vancouver Canucks are going to attempt to sign the exciting Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik Sedin. They aren't going to come cheap, it will be interesting to see if they end up on the same team or if they get spilt up. [Vancouver Sun]

~This is what the Bruin's GM had to say about the subject of signing Bruin's RFA Phil Kessel this summer.

Chiarelli would not even estimate what a deal with Kessel would amount to compared with Krejci’s three-year, $11.25 million contract and would only say that “we value them both a lot.” But salary-cap restrictions, obviously, preclude the Bruins from giving Kessel too much more than Krejci. [The Bruins blog]

Boston signs Krejci to a new deal.

The first part of the puzzle has been solved. Now it's time for the Bruin's management to sign Phil Kessel. In looking at the Krejci deal it would be safe to assume that Kessel will/should get a comparable offer. Krejci will earn $3.5 million in 2009-10, $3.75 million in 2010-11, and $4 million in 2011-12. Comparing the two players Krejci had (22g-51a-73pts) in 82 games while Kessel had (36g-24-60pts) in 70 games so I would think both players would have simular deals.

BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed forward David Krejci to a multi-year contract extension. Per club policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Chiarelli and Krejci will be available to the media via conference call on Wednesday, June 3.

Krejci established a career high in games played, goals, assists and points this season with 22-51-73 totals in 82 games. His 51 assists ranked him second on the team behind Marc Savard, and he led the NHL with a plus/minus rating of +36. In 2009, Krejci also received the Bruins Seventh Player Award, given to the player who performs above and beyond expectations.

The 23-year-old native of Sternberk, Czech Republic was originally drafted by the Bruins in the second round (63rd overall) in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. He made his NHL debut with the Bruins on January 30, 2007 against the Buffalo Sabres.

In his three-year NHL career, Krejci has recorded 28-72-100 totals in 144 regular season games. He appeared in all 11 playoff games for the Bruins this season contributing two goals and six assists.

More on Huntsville to the CCHA.

Nice to see CHN coming around, this issue has been discussed extensively here. [UAH travel Distances] and here [Why not Huntsville] I think with the landscape of college hockey right now the NCAA can not afford to lose anymore teams. None of us want to go back to the 12 team NCAA hockey tourney.

Also, if some form of conference realignment dose not take place to make the necessary adjustments to the current college hockey landscape, there is a good chance that no one will ever want to start up a division one hockey program. So basically you could rule out the possibility of BTHC or expansion of teams in the NCAA from the CIS ranks. Maybe, that is a little extreme but I think the necessary adjustments must be made for the good of the sport.

Huntsville’s longshot bid becomes a lot more intriguing vis-a-vis UNO, specifically. Huntsville has been labeled a longshot because of the distance from CCHA schools. In this economy especially, flying schools to Huntsville is an expense most schools don’t want.

When the discussion swirled around Bowling Green’s potential demise, replacing BGSU with Huntsville was a costly difference.

But in terms of UNO, there is no cost difference. And this is the huge key.

check of Google Maps shows that the driving mileage distance from Detroit to Omaha, Nebraska, is 732 miles. The driving distance from Detroit to Huntsville, Alabama, is only 663 miles.

True, the airport situation may be trickier, but the end result may be no more expensive for CCHA teams.

So perhaps UNO to the WCHA, while a rough “see ya later” to the CCHA, may be the one scenario that is best for college hockey right now. Let’s face it, everyone’s between a rock and a hard place, but at least there is some semblance of a solution that would benefit everyone, somewhat — and potentially save two programs.
[College Hockey News]

Refs letting them play.

The conversation about the NHL officiating is starting to come up again during the Redwings and Penguins series. The officials have been consistent in this series, however, it's my opinion that the refs have slacked off calling the obstruction. Kind of going back to the philosophy that its a penalty in the regular season but not during the playoffs. That being said both teams are getting away with a lot more obstruction and stick work than they could if they were playing a regular season game. Obstruction or not obstruction if the Penguins don't worry about playing hockey this series will be over this week.

Last year when the Penguins fell behind the Detroit Red Wings, 2-0, in the Stanley Cup final, then-coach Michel Therrien commented on the subtle obstruction and interference that Detroit players were committing against his players.

In addition to the déjà vu element of being down, 2-0, to the Red Wings again in this year's Stanley Cup final, the Penguins are encountering the same type of obstruction and interference by the Red Wings, who, it seems, are being allowed by the officials to toe that fine line between good defense and committing a penalty.

For the most part, the officials in Games 1 and 2 have ignored obstruction and interference penalties. A total of 10 penalties have been called, but five of those were assessed in the waning seconds of Game 2 Sunday night after the altercation between Evgeni Malkin and Henrik Zetterberg. And only one interference penalty has been called during the finals, with Malkin being assessed that penalty in Game 2.

Two non-calls came back to haunt the Penguins in Game 2 when the Red Wings scored goals as a direct result of plays where the referees could have easily sent Red Wings players to the penalty box.

The Red Wings scored their first goal Sunday night when Mikael Samuelsson interfered with Malkin after a draw in the Penguins' zone. That allowed defenseman Jonathan Ericsson to have an open shooting lane from the blue line to tie the score at 1-1.

The Red Wings scored the winning goal when Marian Hossa hooked Pascal Dupuis and then broke the stick as Dupuis attempted to leave the defensive zone. Hossa retrieved the puck, and a few seconds later, Valtteri Filppula threw a backhand over Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for a 2-1 lead.

But if the Penguins are steamed at the quality of officiating through two games, they are not letting on.

"They don't call a lot of the [penalties], but it's fine," defenseman Kris Letang said. "It's both ways. I think [the officiating] has been pretty good so far."
[Read more:]

Reed Larson on the Wild. (college focused)

This is what former Minnesota Gopher Reed Larson had to say about the Wild and their lack of using American, college hockey players and or players from Minnesota. Pretty good points that needed to be said a long time ago.

"I'm sorry; I've got the utmost respect for Jacques Lemaire as a player and so forth, but they did not like (the skill level of) American players," Larson said.

He was speaking of the former Minnesota Wild coach and management.

"Craig Leipold should be a hero; he should get an award for changing the management," Larson said of the Wild owner who recently hired Chuck Fletcher to oversee his team.

"I'm not saying you can't use Europeans and you can't use Canadians, but don't turn your back on Minnesota or Americans," Larson said. "Those guys (Lemaire and former GM Doug Risebrough) came from Montreal, where they had some very good American players when they were winning Stanley Cups.

"What I don't understand about being in management here in Minnesota is that you've got really good Americans, not just in Minnesota, but in Michigan and other colleges, and everybody else is using

them. I'm not trying to cut up Risebrough and Lemaire, but my point is that I don't think they had the best interest in this area as far as American and Minnesota players.
"Nobody wants to say it; everybody's scared."

Larson, 52, is in the insurance business and helps develop young players as a coach in the Minnesota Elite prep hockey league.

"Everybody thinks there's no one around here who knows anything about hockey," he said. [Shooter Now]

I don't know what everyone was so afraid of? I was also shocked that this wasn't brought up sooner. Personally I can think of many Canadian college hockey players, American college hockey players as well as hockey players from Minnesota that would look great in a green and red uniform.

I can also think of a couple players that are free agents right now. I have faith that Fletcher a Harvard grad will be smart enough to figure it out. The Boston Bruins won the Eastern Conference regular season title with, two Minnesota Gophers, one Catamount, two Wolverines, one Boston College Eagle Eagle and a Cornell Big Red. Lastly, Jason Blake an former fighting Sioux hockey player that was a Hobey Baker Memorial finalist was the top scorer for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Oh yeah; Jason Blake is also from Moorhead Minnesota. Maybe he would like to come home and play for the hometown team.

Malkin will not be suspended.

Evgeni Malkin will not be suspended for game three. I believe this is the right move.

DETROIT (AP) - Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin won't be suspended for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals despite drawing an instigator penalty in the final 19 seconds of a 3-1 loss to Detroit in Game 2 on Sunday night.

Under NHL rules, any player drawing an instigating penalty in the final five minutes is to be suspended for the next game, but the rule allows considerable flexibility depending on the circumstances.

"None of the criteria in this rule applied in this situation," NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement issued by the league about an hour after the game ended. "Suspensions are applied under this rule when a team attempts to send a message in the last five minutes by having a player instigate a fight. A suspension could also be applied when a player seeks retribution for a prior incident. Neither was the case here and therefore the one game suspension is rescinded."

Malkin snap.

Check out the Penguins super star Malkin as he absolutely loses it at the end of game two. Like the announcers for CBC said why not? I don't think it should cost Malkin a game but he did get an instigator penalty inside of 5:00 left in the game. Eklund of hockeybuzz.com said over on his twitter that he heard the NHL will rescind the instigator penalty. I think it would be the right choice.

How did this all happen? Evgeni Malkin went after Henrik Zetterberg during a scrum in front of the Detroit net. The scrum started after Max Talbot game Osgood a little shot with his stick and Osgood acted as if the had been shot. This is what I told my buddy that I was watching the game with anyways. Some will call for Malkin to be suspended but if Campbell suspends Malkin Campbell owes a few teams an apology, plain and simple. The most egregious act of the playoffs was the Walker sucker punch on Ward that went un punished and this incident isn't even close.

Here is what a Detroit newspaper had to say about the incident.

Frustration boiled over for Pittsburgh with 18.2 seconds left, when Max Talbot stuck his stick in goalie Chris Osgood’s midsection after he made his 31st save. That led to a fight between Evgeni Malkin and Red Wings forward Henrik Zetterberg that left both players’ jerseys torn on the ice.

CBC is the best for NHL hockey coverage.

If you live in a border town (Grand Forks, ND is 75 miles from the Canadian border) your probably lucky enough get CBC on your television dial (channel 16 on MIDCO). Recently Paul Kelly was talking about how he was unhappy about the Versus and their TV coverage for the NHL playoffs. If you're a hockey fan you were probably watching CBC because it is a better channel for hockey coverage than Versus and NBC. That being said you probably watched the pregame show because you were really excited about the finals. You can almost bet that last night pre-game was an instant classic, at least in my opinion it probably will be. If you didn't see it enjoy.
(props)

Here goes nothing.

This is it, the series of the NHL hockey season till October. My prediction for the Stanley Cup Finals is Penguins in 6 games. Not that it matters since I picked none of the series right in the third round. I believe the injuries will finally derail the Redwings, as as one of their big time players Pavel Datsyuk is out with a a foot injury. Also, the Redwings will be without veteran center Chris Draper who is out with a groin injury.

I also think the play of Pens super star Evgeni Malkin has been Hart Trophy like scoring (6-3-9) in the Eastern Conference finals.

Bruins next season?

The Owner of the Boston Bruins Jeremy Jacobs addressed the media and said the Bruins were going to spend to the salary cap. This is what I like to hear. The young UAF's listed below are the key to next season's sucess and the Bruin's managment needs to find a way to get them signed.

If the Bruins want to make a deeper run at the Cup next season, they'll have to re-sign their restricted free agents David Krejci, Phil Kessel (Minnesota), Matt Hunwick (Michigan), Byron Bitz (Cornell), make decisions on their unrestricted free agents (P.J. Axelsson, Stephane Yelle, Steve Montador, Shane Hnidy), perhaps trade away some core players to clear cap space, and build depth to withstand injuries.
(read the whole article here)

More from the new Wild GM.

Wild Blogger Brad Ratgen from HockeyBuzz had the text of a recent press conference with the Owner Craig Leipold and Chuck Fletcher that was held in St. Paul, I picked out a couple of things that Wild fans might be happy about.

Q&A Session with Owner Craig Leipold and New GM Chuck Fletcher
May 25, 2009,----- Regarding the big name free agents, “we have everything to offer them here. I think the system in the past might have held them back. I believe Chuck feels that way. The people that came through felt that way. And so I think this may be the missing piece and they will look at us in a different light and will want to come play here.”

Leipold pointed out that Fletcher is GM and (Leipold) is president of the Wild.

Regarding players wanting to play in Minnesota, “you would think everyone would be knocking on our door to play here. Hopefully now the word gets out that this is a place to play up tempo and score goals.”
--------------
Regarding Minnesota players and/or American players, “we are going to get the best person available. Being from Minnesota and playing in Minnesota won’t be looked upon any longer as a negative.”
--------------
“I love physical hockey (up tempo, fore checking, on pucks, separating the defender from the puck). It doesn’t have to be fighting. I certainly believe fighting as a necessary element of a good club. Toughness to me is mental, it’s physical, it’s winning battles, it’s having your best players go to the net knowing they’re going to get cross checked. That’s toughness. Those are the type of players we want. You need a physical element and a mentally tough element. Pace of play, forcing play. Those are all elements of physical, up-tempo hockey.”

“Any team can play this style. You need skill and intelligence. We want an identity of being an up-tempo, hard working, difficult team that’s tough to play against.”

ESPN going broke? Probably not.

Tip of the hat to Buddy Pass for this little nugget. Seems like everyone has been effected by the financial problems, so why not Television? In the comments to this article someone suggested just cutting Chris Berman's job, then everyone wins including the cafeteria. They could always cut Barry Melroses position then college
hockey fans wouldn't have to listen to Barry call college hockey games.

BRISTOL, Conn.— ESPN has notified about 100 employees that they will be losing their jobs.

The layoffs are part of a plan announced by ESPN Chief Executive George Bodenheimer in January, when he told employees the sports television giant would be reviewing its entire operation and also would cut about 200 jobs, leaving about 100 vacant positions unfilled.

Company spokesman Josh Krulewitz says ESPN plans to replace the jobs that have been cut with others that "more effectively grow our company, and our head count number, ultimately, will remain consistent with current levels."

ESPN, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Co., employs about 5,400 people worldwide, including about 3,400 at its Bristol, Conn. campus.

Injury updates for the Redwings.

Here is the injury update for tomorrows game on of the Stanley Cup Finals. Looks like Lidstrom is going to be a go.

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Red Wings expect star defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said on Thursday he's encouraged by how Lidstrom's lower-body injury has recovered after he was forced to miss two games.

Holland said the team won't know until Saturday, when the series starts, if MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk (foot) and Jonathan Ericsson (acute appendicitis) will be available.

Kris Draper (lower-body injury) is doubtful for Game 1, but Holland expects him to play later in the series.

Paul Kelly unhappy with Versus.

I saw this story on Fiona Quick's twitter. Also, note to Gopher hockey fans you may not want to visit Fiona Quick's twitter, she is reporting that Minnesota Gopher Jordan Schroeder is still rumored to be turning pro after his selection in the draft this year, especially if he goes in the top 10. I dunno, I can't see her reporting something if she isn't getting a solid rumor.

Any ways, NHLPA’s head Paul Kelly is unhappy with the current T.V. situation in the NHL and would like to see the NHL return to ESPN. Well Paul there are a lot of hockey fans that would like to see the NHL return to ESPN. Personally I get the NHL Hockey package through midco every season so I can watch the game that I would like to see. I also know that when you travel most hotel rooms don't carry Versus. I found this out recently with my trip to Mpls and well as my December trip Brunswick Georgia.

May 25, 2009 : ------ NHL Players’ Association Executive Director Paul Kelly is calling for league TV partners Versus and NBC to do more to promote the NHL and NHL players, citing players’ growing frustration over hockey coverage.

“We have to push our two partners to do a better job of covering our sport … or we have to go in a different direction when that contract comes to an end,” Kelly told the Sports Lawyers Association on May 16. Kelly has called in the past for the NHL to return to ESPN.

Kelly said the fact that people in the U.S. could not watch most of the Boston-Carolina playoff Game 7 earlier this month because Versus was airing Anaheim-Detroit Game 7 “is a source of great frustration” to NHL players as well as the union.

Kelly conceded that Versus has improved production and has increased the number of homes and sports bars where it is available. However, he said, “There are still problems.”

“It is not ESPN,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t have a sports highlight show. It doesn’t have a lot of properties people want to tune in to, unless you are a hunter or a fisherman or you like turtle wrestling.”

Versus President Jamie Davis, responding to Kelly’s comments, said Versus made a significant commitment to the NHL when it agreed to a deal to take it over from ESPN in 2005. Versus “has televised significantly more hours of hockey coverage per night in the first two rounds of the playoffs this year than ESPN did in the same time span during the last several years of their deal.”

NHL to go global.

Here is a story that was posted on sportsbusiness.com The NHL is looking to go global, great it's about time. The first thing the NHL should do is get the greatest game in the world hooked back up with ESPN so more people can be exposed to NHL hockey. I still know quite a few people that don't have versus.

NHL looking at global television rights offering
The National Hockey League is looking to be the first US league to offer a global rights offering, according to its Chief Operating Officer John Collins.

The NHL drew record crowds, greater television viewers and new sponsors this season through marketing strategies borrowed from the National Football League. The league’s current focus is to attract sponsors that will ultimately lead to more television money, says Collins.

“If we grow our share of the sports advertising marketplace, I think somebody will step up,” Collins said as quoted on Bloomberg. “We can be the first domestic league that looks at a global rights offering.”

“By 2013 the digital, web and mobile audience will be sufficiently larger so the NHL will be able to combine those users with their TV audience to attract sponsorships that will support a major TV deal. I see so many similarities to the NFL. They know how to lift their passion for a game to a level that is bigger than just their local team.”

The NHL projects revenue will grow 4 per cent this year to $2.7 billion, with around $675 million coming from national and local television. The NFL received about $3.7 billion in national television revenue this year.

Current television partnerships for live NHL coverage are with the Versus cable network and NBC, the latter’s agreement including rights to five games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final.

More UNO conference talk.

This is what Trev Alberts had to say about UNO's possible switch to the WCHA. Ah yes! More talk about the Big Ten Hockey Conference. The pipe dream that just won’t go away, there has been discussions and more discussions about the Big Ten Hockey Conference since at least during the early 1990’s and where are we at now? I would guarantee UNO that if there ever was the formation of the Big Ten Hockey Conference the WCHA would be a better league to be in. Imagine the CCHA without OSU, Michigan and Michigan State, what teams do you have after that? You have Notre Dame, NMU and Miami. If Minnesota and Wisconsin leave the WCHA you have some solid teams that are going to fold and can still put butts in seats.

Also Thursday, Alberts said UNO is continuing to discuss its hockey conference affiliation with both the Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The WCHA is looking to add two teams, and Bemidji State has already applied.

"We have had sound conversations and negotiations with both leagues," Alberts said. "We're happy with what the CCHA has done for us. We realize the WCHA can provide some things the CCHA can't. The Big Ten might start (sponsoring) hockey. How does that affect us? How do we position ourselves? We can't think short-term, we have to think long-term."

It's official Dean Blais to coach WJC.

This is some really exciting news as former Fighting Sioux and current Fargo Force hockey coach Dean Blais has been named coach of the USA WJC team. Since winning the WJC in 2004 USA many have felt that U20 WJC teams have under achieved at the World Junior Championship. Last year's team was an utter disappointment and seen as undisciplined team.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Dean Blais, head coach and general manager for the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League and widely regarded as one of the top coaches in the United States at any level, will be head coach of the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team, it was announced today by USA Hockey.

I'm honored to be selected to coach this team," said Blais. "The World Junior Championship has evolved into one of the great events on the hockey calendar every year and I look forward to the challenge ahead."

USA Hockey also announced that Jim Johannson, assistant executive director of hockey operations at USA Hockey, will serve as the general manager of the 2010 U.S. National Junior Team and Tim Taylor, an assistant coach at USA Hockey's National Team Development Program and head coach of the 1994 U.S. Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Team, will serve as the team's director of player personnel.

The U.S. National Junior Team will compete at the 2010 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship, Dec. 26, 2009 - Jan. 5, 2010, in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan.

Blais to coach WJC?

This is the word on Fiona Quick's Twitter. Also the USA Hockey web page is reporting that a WJC coach will be announced at 11:00 am Central. Dean Blais would be a nice change from Ron Rolston days. Stay tuned.

Schedule for the Finals.

Here is the schedule for the 2009 STANLEY CUP FINAL.


SERIES Redwings #2 vs. Penguins #4 Network
Saturday, May 30 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS
Sunday, May 31 at Detroit, TBD-Night NBC, CBC, RDS
Tuesday, June 2 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS, CBC, RDS
Thursday, June 4 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm VERSUS, CBC, RDS
* Saturday, June 6 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS
* Tuesday, June 9 at Pittsburgh, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS
* Friday, June 12 at Detroit, 8:00 pm NBC, CBC, RDS

My definition of the Redwing.

I think the 2009 Stanley Cup final is going to be Boring. While Pittsburgh is a good team with some exciting young players, we can start the debate of who is better between Malkin and Cindy Crosby, here are a few words that I would use to explain their opponent the Detroit Redwings: tedious, dull, monotonous, repetitive, unrelieved, unvaried, unimaginative, uneventful; characterless, featureless, colorless, lifeless, insipid, uninteresting, unexciting, uninspiring, unstimulating; unreadable, unwatchable; jejune, flat, bland, dry, stale, tired, banal, lackluster, stodgy, vapid, monochrome, dreary, humdrum, mundane; mind-numbing, wearisome, tiring, tiresome, irksome, trying, frustrating; informal deadly, ho-hum, dullsville, dull as dishwater, plain-vanilla.

Will Kessel be resigned?

You do have to wonder if Phil Kessel is on his way out in Boston. I have seen a few comments that leads me to believe that his days in Boston might be numbered. I am not sure why the Bruins used him as trade bait the last two trade dead lines?

Personally, I hope that Kessel is not on his way out of Boston, Kessel is an exciting player that has grown three fold since his days with the Minnesota Gophers. I also believe that Marc Savard, Phil Kessel, David Krejci, Milan Lucic, Michael Ryder and Patrice Bergeron are the core offensive players the Bruins should build around. Thirty six goals is going to be hard to replace next season if he is not wearing black and gold.

Phil Kessel

Continued the development and maturity process, scoring a team-high 36 goals... Recorded his first hat trick of the year in the season finale... Used his speed and skill to put defensemen on their heels... Tore the rotator cuff and labrum in his left shoulder against Columbus... Underwent successful surgery today... Will not be ready for the start of 2009-10... Will be a restricted free agent... Has been in play at last two trade deadlines, which could indicate leaguewide interest again at the draft.

Max Talbot's knuckle puck goal.

When I first saw this goal, I thought of the goal that BU scored to win the NCAA title. This one is similar the Carolina defenseman Babchuk tries to block Max Talbot's shot, the defenseman actually slows down the puck causing Carolina goalie Cam Ward to whiff on the shot. The shot itself looked a lot like a knuckle puck. The Carolina Hurricanes went down with hardly a whimper and the Penguins basically cruised through the third round.

More on the UNO situation.

Here is the latest on UNO's possible membership in the WCHA. It also looks like UNO could/will have some possible competition for the 12th and final spot because McLeod mentioned that other teams had contacted him about possible membership in the WCHA. It would be interesting to know which other teams have contacted the WCHA about membership.

Alberts is also investigating a possible move from the Central Collegiate Hockey Association to the WCHA. The WCHA is seeking a program to pair with Bemidji State as candidates to create a 12-team league. It was rumored that WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod was in Omaha last week to speak with school officials.

When contacted Satur?day in Denver, McLeod would only say that the WCHA has had contact with Omaha and is in the preliminary stages of talking about possible membership in the league. He also noted that the WCHA has been contacted by other schools about admission.

During WCHA meetings in April in Marco Island, Fla., Bemidji State made a presentation to the league, but no vote on admission was taken, although a straw poll vote was reportedly 5-5. Schools making application need eight of 10 votes to gain admission.

The 10-team WCHA gave McLeod the OK to negotiate with potential members if needed, and it’s believed that there will be some bargaining with Bemidji State and Omaha. The league has indicated that new teams would not begin league play until 2011-12, however it’s likely neither school would want to wait that long. Also, in the WCHA criteria for consideration of admission, it’s noted that new schools do not share in WCHA postseason revenue during the first three years of membership, which wouldn’t appeal to any financially strapped athletic program.

The per-school share from the 2009 WCHA Final Five, which isn’t officially totaled, is estimated to be $91,000 or more, McLeod said.
(read the whole story here)

Interesting perspective.

Interesting letter to the editor in today's Grand Forks Herald. I think Mr. Fool Bear is right if there was a vote on the Fighting Sioux name Ron His Horse is Thunder wouldn't like the results. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming months. I say let the tribal members have their vote. What are we afraid of?

FORT YATES, N.D. — It’s disturbing to watch what is happening on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and in North Dakota.

In both places, leaders are ignoring those whom they’re entrusted with representing.

Standing Rock is a failed democracy. Likewise, some state government entities are backing (and imposing the views of) a radical few over the common sense of the progressive many. All in the name of political correctness, or maybe it’s fear of being called racist — who knows?

Standing Rock voted overwhelmingly to keep using our nation’s “Sioux” name a year ago. That issue was part of the anti-nickname activists’ continuing effort to deny tribal members a chance to vote in a UND nickname referendum.

The tribal council imposed a moratorium on such a referendum for one reason: to silence and deny the inevitable truth.

Standing Rock will vote in favor of UND and its Fighting Sioux nickname and logo, the same as Spirit Lake did. Otherwise, why would nickname opponents make such unethical political efforts to deny tribal members a chance to vote?

It completely contradicts democracy.

Instead, the nickname opponents spread racist propaganda throughout the reservation, using UND as reference in their efforts to change our nation’s proud Sioux name to Oyate. But they failed miserably, much like the anti-logo movement at Spirit Lake did.

Spirit Lake members forced the UND issue to a ballot — and the results were not surprising in Sioux country. We’ve known this all along: The “Silent Majority” is 2-1 ratio in favor of the UND nickname, the same ratio that emerged in the Oyate-vs.-Sioux vote.

The collective Sioux voice has been heard consistently but still is ignored: Is this not enough evidence?

But even so, North Dakota along with the rest of country continues to submit to this vocal few.

The facts are these: We are proud to be Sioux, and we are proud of the UND Fighting Sioux.

Democracy has proven this time and time again. However, this issue has proven that democratic leaders are not obligated to represent the majority.

The North Dakota Board of Higher Education has its reasons for their deciding as it did, but one would assume that North Dakota traditions, democratic evidence, progress and common sense would hold much more weight than would baseless rumors and the availability of an athletic conference.

The board is failing North Dakota’s heritage, much like the leadership at Standing Rock has failed us.

At the moment, the politicians are winning, but there is still time. Where are our leaders?

Long live the Sioux, and long live the UND Fighting Sioux.

Steve Fool Bear

It doesn't get old hearing this.

This is music to my ears. As a Minnesota Wild fan this is what I like to hear, I don't want to hear about defensive systems I want to see the puck getting pushed up ice and goals being scored.

Leipold's guy made clear his philosophy.

"I want an up-tempo, aggressive, fast style of hockey," Fletcher said. "We want to dictate the pace of play to our opponent."

That should be welcome news to Minnesota fans who had grown weary of Lemaire's counterpunching style, which relied on a strong neutral zone trap to force turnovers and create rare scoring chances. (Read the rest of the story here)

The Cabbies journey to the cup. (Toews focused)

I found this over on Elsie's blog 18,568 Reasons Why and they are talking about the Jonathan Toews beard or lack of one and other funny stuff. The thing I like about the Blackhawks is they seem like they are having so much fun and get a long as a team. Their opponents the Redwings on the other hand seem so vanilla and boring and they seem to lack emotion.

Lest we not forget.

Goon's World would like to thank all of our Veterans serving our great nation. Some people seem to forget what Memorial Day stands for, it's not just a day off from work. Memorial day is for reflection and to remember our soldiers that have served this great nation, some have given their life serving.

Changes are coming for the Wild.

These words couldn't be more welcome, at least to me. I know like other Wild fans we are sick of watching mind numbingly boring 2-1 and 3-1 games we would like to see the Wild open the games up a bit. I don't know may people that want to watch a trap feast or a defensive game. They want to see scoring and exciting goals.

Appearing at his introductory news conference in the main lobby of Xcel Energy Center, Fletcher promised to bring "an up-tempo, aggressive, fast style of hockey" to an organization that has been known for its neutral-zone trap and close-to-the-vest approach throughout its nine-year existence.

Fletcher stressed that he's not instilling "run-and-gun" hockey, but changes are coming. "We want to dictate the pace of play," he said.
(read the whole story here)

Bayda not suspended.

Former Fighting Sioux forward and Carolina Hurricane Ryan Bayda will not be suspended for this cross check on Kris Letang. I think it is the right call, if a players isn't suspended for a blatant sucker punch of their opponent while their hands are at their sides you shouldn't be suspended for cross checking someone.

TSN --- The NHL has handed Carolina Hurricanes forward Ryan Bayda a $2,500 fine as a result of the match penalty he was assessed in the third period of Game 2 Thursday night.

Bayda was given a match penalty at 18:41 of the third period after cross-checking Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Kris Letang in the chin. It was considered a deliberate attempt to injure, but Bayda will not be suspended for his actions.

Bayda was assessed the match penalty after exchanging high sticks with Letang behind Pittsburgh's net toward the end of the Penguins' 7-4 win. The incident led to two fights and Letang also received a game misconduct.

Kronwall hit on Havlat.

We had a saying when I was a football player get off the track or get run over by the train. They ruled it was a five minute interference call on Kronwall but I don't know that I agree with the call.

Wyshynski on Bayda cross check.

Here is what Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy had to say on the match penalty former Fighting Sioux player Ryan Bayda took at the end of last night's game. I really think no matter what Colin Campbell does on this matter he is going to be a loser. First we determine cross checks are bad and worthy of a one game suspension but then sucker punches at the end of the game are OK and worthy of no suspension.

• Let's see: Ryan Bayda(notes) took Kris Letang(notes) hard to the boards on an icing call with 1:19 left in the game and then cross-checked him to the face. Intent? Check. Stick work? Check. Blow to the head? Check. "Message sending" at the end of the game? Check. Match penalty? Check. It doesn't get more cut-and-dry for supplementary discipline by the standards the NHL has established this postseason. Which of course means Colin Campbell will instead nominate Bayda for the Nobel Peace Prize ...

Evgeni Malkin's awesome goal.

This in my opinion is the goal of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Malkin is a world class player with world class hands. While Pens are blessed with Crosby and Malkin, If I had to build a team around one of the two players I would take Malkin over Crosby.

Bayda facing possible suspension

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player and current Carolina Hurricane Ryan Bayda could be suspended for the next game after he received a 5 minute major and a match penalty for crossing checking Kris Letang of the Pens. You can see a better view of the cross check that lead to the brawl at the end of the video.

Bayda facing possible suspension
newsobserver.com blogs --- Ryan Bayda faces a potential suspension after he was assessed a match penalty for an incident late in Thursday’s 7-4 loss to the Penguins.

Bayda exchanged high-sticks with Kris Letang during a scrum with 1:19 to play, sparking a pair of fights — one between Tim Gleason and Letang, the other between Patrick Eaves and Miroslav Satan.

Letang was assessed a game misconduct and Bayda a match penalty, which denotes an attempt to injure and carries with it an automatic review suspension pending a review by the league office. Bayda was unavailable for comment after the game.

“I didn’t get an explanation as to what happened,” Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice said. “Two players came together and it was a high-sticking match, but I didn’t get any more than that.”

An NHL spokesman said the match penalty was assessed for a cross-check with intent to injure.

Two more express interest in UNO hockey job.

Two more college hockey coaches added their name to the list of potential candidates for the UNO head hockey coach. You would have to think that the Omaha coaching position would be a very attractive job. Add to the mix the possibility of relocating to one of the most prolific conferences in college hockey. Then if you added a high profile head coach like a Dean Blais that raises the bar even higher.

Omaha --- Earlier this week, Minnesota assistant Mike Hastings, a former Lancer head coach, said he hadn't decided whether he would apply.

Guentzel, 46, who coached the Lancers from 1992 through 1994, was one of four finalists when Kemp became the program's only head coach. He withdrew after interviewing when he was promoted to associate head coach at Minnesota, his alma mater. He stayed with the Golden Gophers until last season, when he moved to Colorado College.

"I've been an assistant for 15 years, and the people who have worked with me understand that it's been my dream to be a head coach at the Division I level," Guentzel said. "Every year I sit back and see if there's anything out there to pursue, but there's not a lot of turnover in our sport, and after 14 or 15 years you start to wonder if it's ever going to happen."

Quinn, 42, was Kemp's top assistant from 1996 through 2004 before returning to his alma mater. He helped guide the Terriers to the national championship last month.

"I'm in a situation where it's difficult to leave for any reason," Quinn said. "But my goal is to be a head coach and I'm not getting any younger. For me there are two jobs that separate themselves, and that's UNO and BU."

Besides Kemp and Guentzel, the other finalists for the job 13 years ago were former Lancers coach Frank Serratore, now head coach at Air Force, and Greg Drechsel, now associate head coach at Clarkson. Neither has returned phone calls to The World-Herald.

Other prospects include former North Dakota coach Dean Blais, now coaching Fargo of the USHL; Miami (Ohio) assistant Chris Bergeron; New Hampshire assistant David Lassonde, and former UNO assistant Steve Rohlik, now an assistant at Minnesota-Duluth. None has returned phone calls.

Blais to UNO?

Kevin Pates from Rink and Run is reporting this gem. What do Sioux fans think? Also, it would appear that UNO to the WCHA is gaining some legs. If Dean Blais was the coach of UNO they would probably become a top ten team nationally in 2 - 3 seasons.

ALSO there is talk that WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod will be in Omaha this week to talk with Nebraska-Omaha officials about joining the league. At the same time, Omaha's new athletic director, Trev Alberts, is in the midst of a search for a hockey coach, to replace Mike Kemp. The most recent rumor is that Dean Blais is the coaching front-runner, while UMD assistant Steve Rohlik is a former Omaha assistant.

The Alumni and Students should decide.

This article is in today's Bismarck Tribune. First off lets not start kicking dirt on the Fighting Sioux logo just yet. Let the people that are doing the outreach to the two Sioux tribes finish with their work. Second, this isn't some stupid contest. This should be a process that needs to be taken seriously and should be respectful. Some times I swear my head is going to explode from reading all of the misinformation and false facts I have read the past week since the decision.

I get it, the name is probably going to be changed it should be up to the students and Alumni of the University of North Dakota. Not up to some newspaper in Bismarck, ND. In my opinion if you didn't attend UND, you're not part of the facualty and or staff or not currently attending the University of North Dakota you shouldn't have any input in the next nick name and logo for the University of North Dakota.

Give us your ideas for a new UND nickname
What is the perfect nickname for the University of North Dakota? Alumni,
fans and regular readers have been passionate about the nickname issue.
Now that the Fighting Sioux name is likely on its way out, it's your
turn to suggest a new nickname. Post your ideas below as a comment.
Our normal commenting guidelines apply - nothing offensive.

Nah he isn't bitter.

Mike Chambers the Denver Post beat writer for the Denver Pioneers hockey never misses a chance to take a shot/hack at UND, here is his latest subtle shot across bow at UND. While it's true that Wiercioch is a talented and up and coming hockey player that will never see four seasons at DU, Brian Lee did play in 53 games with the Senators last season in the NHL so it's not like he is some talentless hack.

– Had a nice conversation with freshman defenseman Patrick Wiercioch, the gifted NHL-bound Canadian, about his looming decision to stay at DU or sign with the Ottawa Senators. Wiercioch previously said he intends to stay, but he probably hasn’t heard Ottawa’s best pitch yet. One thing that could help keep him around is the chance to play for Team Canada at the World Junior Championship. If he stays at DU, he almost certainly will have the opportunity to play in the WJC, but if he signs and is a regular for Ottawa, he almost certainly wont. Patrick noted that there were eight NHL rookies last December _ TB’s Stamkos and LA’s Doughty, to name two _ that could have played for Team Canada, but none were released from their NHL teams. In my humble opinion, Wiercioch is better than Ottawa’s Brian Lee, who would have been a senior at North Dakota last season, so signing with the Sens could quickly end Wiercioch’s dream of playing in the WJC. Of course, DU would love to let him go in December, and possibly be a WJC teammate with Pioneers classmate Joe Colborne. The publicity of having two Team Canada guys in the WJC would be enormous.

So you say there is a chance? Winnipeg Jets?

Every since the Jets left Winnipeg for the Desert I have wondered if Winnipeg would ever get another NHL franchise? I have kind of held out hope for the day I could watch an NHL game on Boxing day in Winnipeg. Also, that would make the NHL 150 miles from my front door. Stay tuned.

On Friday, as news spread out of the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy hearing that NHL commissioner Gary Bettman indicated that if the team had to be relocated in Canada, the league would favour Winnipeg over Hamilton -- the reaction, as always, was cautionary.

First, we stressed that Bettman's "alleged" comments came in the form of an affidavit quoting a third party, Coyotes' lawyer Earl Scudder.

Second, we stressed that Bettman qualified the statement, that "if the Coyotes had to be relocated to Canada," the NHL would prefer Winnipeg over Hamilton.

Well, turns out there's no need to stress anymore. According to documents filed in court, the Globe and Mail reported Monday that Bettman e-mailed deputy commissioner Bill Daly on April 4, after talking to Scudder, and wrote: "I told (Scudder) that at some point, if we don't have an alternative, I will have to start looking at the moving (of the Coyotes) option."

When Scudder asked about Southern Ontario and Hamilton, Bettman said, "I responded that it's a league opportunity, the building (Copps Coliseum) is too old etc. and, frankly, if this team had to move it should first be offered to Winnipeg."

Note that Bettman did not qualify the latter statement with a "if we have to move to Canada." He said if the Coyotes had to be relocated, they should be offered to Winnipeg. Period.

It really makes you wonder what the folks at True North Sports and Entertainment aren't telling us. Do you think the NHL -- which has several (probably more than we know) financially troubled franchises other than Phoenix -- hasn't lined up a list of potential locations in a worst-case scenario?

Do you think Bettman or Daly haven't called Chipman or a True North representative, or even met with them, to say, "Hey, remember when you guys (Chipman and TNSE president and CEO Jim Ludlow) flew to New York 18 months ago to pitch Winnipeg as an NHL city to our board of governors? Just wondering, are you still interested? Do you have the financial wherewithal to afford an NHL team?"
(Read the rest of the article here)

Cooke will not be suspended.

Matt Cooke will not be suspended for his knee to knee hit on Eric Cole during game one of the Eastern Conference final. I have to admit that I am not a fan of Matt Cooke and his antics and this hit is a lot worse than the Ovechkin hit on Gonchar. In my opinion it looks more malicious. If we have learned anything during the Stanley Cup playoffs is that the league office is very inconsistent.

NHL decides not to suspend Penguins winger Cooke
Pittsburgh--- Penguins left winger Matt Cooke will not be suspended for a knee-on-knee hit on Carolina forward Erik Cole during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final Monday at Mellon Arena.

It was not immediately known if Cooke will be fined by the National Hockey League office.

Cole was injured on the hit, which occurred during the third period, and played sparingly after that.

Neither he nor teammate Tuomo Ruutu, who also was injured Monday, participated in Carolina's practice today. Hurricanes Coach Paul Maurice said their status for Game 2tomorrow night has not been determined.

Toews two times.

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Jonathan Toews score two really nice goals in last night's game for the Chicago Blackhawks, unforunately it wasn't enough as the boring Detroit Redwings won the game. the first goal was a thing of beauty. The second Toews goal was a perfect example of a player getting in the blue paint and scoring a dirty goal.

Here are a few words that I would use to explain Detroit Redwings: tedious, dull, monotonous, repetitive, unrelieved, unvaried, unimaginative, uneventful; characterless, featureless, colorless, lifeless, insipid, uninteresting, unexciting, uninspiring, unstimulating; unreadable, unwatchable; jejune, flat, bland, dry, stale, tired, banal, lackluster, stodgy, vapid, monochrome, dreary, humdrum, mundane; mind-numbing, wearisome, tiring, tiresome, irksome, trying, frustrating; informal deadly, ho-hum, dullsville, dull as dishwater, plain-vanilla.

This sums it up.

Dave from the illegal curve had this posted up. I must say that I am bored with watching the Redwings play hockey. It's like I am watching a team from the Finnish or Swedish elite league play. I am holding out hope that the Chicago Blackhawks will rebound and win two games in Chicago and turn this series around.

Hockey news on the Fighting Sioux name.

Ryan Kennedy from the Hockey News weighs in on the Fighting Sioux nick name. This article has a few things that should be addressed. First, I don't believe the NCAA is going to accept the nick name Warriors not with the current logo anyways. There is already a NSIC team named the Warriors, the Sioux used to whoop up on them in football.

I have seen people write what is going to be be removed from the arena if the name is changed; I think people are miss stating the facts. The fact laid out by the settlement is that the championship banners hanging from the rafters, the photos, trophies and statues and the Sitting Bull statue in front of the Englestad arena and logos in the granite floor are not going anywhere. (NCAA Settlement agreement)

The Fighting Sioux name in North Dakota will soon be no more. The university’s controversial moniker is getting an update, thus appeasing the NCAA as well as actual Sioux nation members from two of the state’s three tribes, who would both need to change stances and endorse the name in order to keep it (the third is already on board).

Over the years there has been much debate over the topic; fans insist their love of the name and logo stems from pride and respect. Charges of racism are often quite wounding to UND supporters, though the hockey team’s greatest benefactor never really helped matters.

Ralph Engelstad, whose name graces the Fighting Sioux’s sparkling arena (which hosted the world juniors in 2005), was criticized for throwing parties in a Nazi-themed secret room at his Imperial Casino in Las Vegas on Hitler’s birthday in the 1980s. His $100 million donation to UND for the arena was contingent on the university keeping the Fighting Sioux name. Engelstad died of cancer in 2002.

But the name is likely a moot point now. The fans can regard themselves as Sioux Nation as long as they want, but the sweaters and pennants will have to be changed. The school that gave us Ed Belfour, Zach Parise and T.J. Oshie will still churn out excellent players, so what should the team be named?

Coming up with a new tag for a school so identified with the old one is tricky. And since the most obvious name for a team from North Dakota – the Bison – is already being used by North Dakota State, UND will have to get creative.

One way to keep the theme of the Fighting Sioux without the inflammatory bits, would be to call the team the Warriors. It’s a little plain, but it’s also vague enough to not be offensive. After all, a warrior can be anyone from a Sioux combatant to Peter Forsberg. Animal names are also very good. Unfortunately, North Dakota doesn’t have a very intimidating menagerie.

The state bird is the western meadowlark and North Dakota is sometimes known as the ‘Flickertail State’ because of a local squirrel. Taking to the ice as the North Dakota Flickertails would provide a little too much ammo for the Badgers and Bulldogs of the WCHA.

The state horse is the nakota, which is a cool-sounding name if you don’t mind the tongue-twister of saying “North Dakota Nakotas.” The Utah Utes have survived, after all.

Kessel and David Krejci will need surgury.

Word is coming out of Boston is that the Bruins young gun’s Phil Kessel and David Krejci were part of the walking wounded and will need surgery in the off season. There is a chance that neither of them could be ready when the regular season begins. Krejci played the whole season with a a torn labrum in his hip, an injury similar to the one that Marian Gaborik had this past season. Funny, Gabby couldn’t play on it but Krejci could, speaks to the character of David Krejci.I guess Czech's are tougher than Slovak's.

Both Krejci and Kessel will be restricted free agents on July 1 and are a big part of the Bruins success this past season. I would hope that the Bruin’s management will try very hard to get both players signed. The Bruins are going to be close to the cap so they will have to make some decisions during the off season.

David Krejci and Phil Kessel, two of the Bruins' best young forwards, are slated to undergo surgery this offseason. Both are questionable to be ready for the start of the regular season according to general manager Peter Chiarelli.

Defenseman Andrew Ference will undergo groin surgery next month, and forward Chuck Kobasew confirmed he played against the Canes with two broken ribs.

"There's a variety of injuries we had throughout the course of the playoffs," said Chiarelli this afternoon. "Every team has injuries. But we seemed to have a few more than other teams. I have to hand it to the players for playing through those injuries."

Krejci, 23, will have hip surgery next month. He is not expected to be ready for the start of training camp.

Kessel, 21, will have shoulder surgery on Thursday to repair a torn rotator cuff and labrum. Kessel is also not expected to be ready for camp.
(Links to the story) (Link to David Krejci Injury)

Check out the rest of the Bruins injuries this is a long list. .

Other Bruins who played through injuries included Mark Recchi (kidney stone), Marc Savard (knee), Milan Lucic (toe), and Zdeno Chara (shoulder, knee, and groin). Chara will not require surgery on any of his injuries. Savard noted that his knee problem probably would have kept him out for two weeks during the regular season.

UMN Assistant coach says he is staying

Maybe the Gophers won't be losing their assistant coach Mike Hastings after all. Early rumor were that Hastings would be the odds on favorite to take Mike Kemp's place at UNO. I guess only time will tell.

Hockey assistant staying :
Gophers assistant hockey coach Mike Hastings said he is flattered to be mentioned as a candidate to be head coach at Nebraska-Omaha, but he is not pursuing the job. 'I am focused right now on doing everything I can for the University of Minnesota,' said Hastings, who coached the Omaha Lancers of the USHL for 14 years before joining the U staff in 2008-09. Mike Kemp resigned as UNO coach Thursday to become the school's associate athletic director."

Aaron Ward smokes Tuomo Ruutu

Former Michigan Wolverine Aaron Ward absolutely smokes Tuomo Ruutu. This is one of the best hits that I have seen so far in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Unfortunately, it was about all there was to cheer about in game "7".