Judge won't rule today on Fighting Sioux nickname suit

There will be no ruling today on the lawsuit brough forth by the Spirit Lake tribe. The Board of Higher Ed wanted this lawsuit thrown out. I believe it's so they can retire the Fighting Sioux nickname to pursue membership in the Summit League. Stay tuned. It will be interesting to see how this thing turns out.

DEVILS LAKE ----- District Court Judge Michael Sturdevant will not rule today on the lawsuit brought forth by Fighting Sioux nickname supporters from the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation.

The lawsuit argues that the state must abide by the timeline laid out in the state's settlement with the NCAA, which says UND has until Nov. 30, 2010, to win approval of both the state's Sioux tribes if it's to keep the nickname.

The NCAA considers the nickname "hostile and abusive."

Sturdevant said today he'd have a written ruling on the matter before Christmas

Scouting the Badgers.

Check out these stats for the Badger defenseman Brendan Smith, they are impressive and eye popping. You can bet that Smith’s NHL team will probably come calling after the season if he keeps scoring at this clip. The Badgers are the top scoring team in the WCHA and they are the second best defensive team behind the Sioux.

Wisconsin men's hockey stat of the week
Junior defenseman Brendan Smith has 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) while playing in 15 of the first 16 games for the UW men's hockey team. Production like that demands closer scrutiny.

That point total leads the Badgers as well as the WCHA. The last defenseman to lead the league in scoring was 1996-97 when Minnesota's Mike Crowley (5-37-42) shared the honor with Colorado College center Brian Swanson (15-27-42).

Smith's point total and his number of goals are tops among defensemen in the nation.

His per-game average of 1.60 points is second in the country. The last UW player to have a higher average for a season was Steve Reinprecht in 1999-2000 (1.78). The last Badgers defenseman to have a higher average for a season was Theran Welsh in 1979-80 (1.61).

In his current career-best seven-game point streak alone, Smith has more points than any other WCHA defenseman for the entire season (5-10-15).

Perhaps the best measure of Smith's overall production is that, right now, he would have more points than the top-scoring UW defenseman from nine previous seasons. Here's the list, dating back to 1969-70 when the Badgers debuted in the WCHA:

It's worth noting that McBain (2009), Dessner (2000) and Jagger (1970) were first-team All-Americans; Gilbert (2006) was a second-team All-American and Tanabe, like Smith, was a first-round NHL draft pick.
[Badger Hockey Blog]

NHL checks Marc Savard deal

The NHL is investigating Marc Savard's newly signed contract. Peter Chiarelli is a smart guy so I don't think Bruins fans have to worry about this too much. Looks like the NHL brass isn't all that impressed with contracts that are front end loaded.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed yesterday that the NHL is investigating Marc Savard’s heavily front-loaded, seven-year contract signed last week.

The league, which reportedly also is looking into similar deals signed by Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, is concerned that clubs are violating the spirit of the collective bargaining agreement with so-called retirement deals, in which the player would get most of his money in the early years and then, as the salary decreases, he could choose to call it a career. Meanwhile, the club enjoys a palatable salary cap hit during the life of the deal.

Chiarelli was not concerned that the NHL, which has hired an outside law firm to investigate, would find anything wrong with the Savard pact.

“They’re looking at a number of contracts. It’s a matter of course,” said Chiarelli, confirming an ESPN.com story that was published during the weekend. “I’m confident we did everything by the CBA.”

According to terms of the deal, Savard will make $7 million the first two years of the deal, $6.5 million the third and $5 million the fourth. The money then drops precipitously, as he’s scheduled to make $1.5 million the fifth and just $525,000 in the sixth and seventh. That works out to an annual cap hit of $4.2 million. [Boston Herald]

The Sky is not falling.

This came across my twitter account today. This is to cheer up the people that are bummed out about last weekend's split with UMD. [UND Hockey Twitter]

To those who suggest UND can't protect a lead: Sioux are 9-1-1 when leading after 2nd, 5-2-0 when leading after 1st, 7-2-0 when scoring 1st.

That means if the refs don't blow last weekend game tying goal the Sioux are 10-0-1 in games where they had a two goal lead.

Denver suffered from what some might classify as a bit of a controversy non call as well last weekend in their series with their cross state rival the Colorado College Tigers. In a way It almost karma like, especially after how bad UND got homered in Denver. George Gwozdecky no matter how hard he works the officials isn’t going to get every call to go his way. The irony is that Todd Anderson comes back to bite the Pioneers again. You have to wonder if the Anderson will be working the Pioneers games again anytime soon?

UPDATE FROM MONDAY, after DU coach George Gwozdecky spoke with league officials: “When Patrick was (face-first) on the ice, we were in possession of the puck. In the heat of the moment, they probably regret the decision to not blow the whistle. It makes it even more difficult to blow the whilste seconds later when CC gains possession. As we all review the play, the play would have been blown dead a second or two after he’s down.”

Here’s what happened: Wiercioch escaped a defender behind the DU net and skated the puck up the left side of the zone. Just after he passed it ahead, a crouched Stephen Schultz checked Wiercioch, connecting only with the defenseman’s left knee. Wiercioch was down, and showed no signs of getting up, while DU had possession through the neutral zone, and into the offensive zone. A blocked Tyler Ruegsegger shot gave the Tigers possession, and they skated into the DU zone on a 2-on-1 rush, with Wiercioch face-down on the ice atop the right circle. Less than 10 feet away, Mike Testwuide scored to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

DU was furious. Referees Todd Anderson and Brad Shepherd later told Pioneers coaches they saw Wiercioch make an attempt to get up, and apparently lost sight of his actions once the play moved into the other end. From what I’ve gathered, the play should be blown dead because of an injury once the team with the injury has possession, or when the injured player is unable to get off the ice and there is no scoring opportunity at either end. Once the refs didn’t blow it dead when DU had possession, apparently they couldn’t when CC was coming into DU’s zone on

James Sheppard fight at the end of the game.

Someone needs to teach the waste of a uniform first round bust James Sheppard how to defend himself. Seriously, because Shep sure doesn't know how to fight very well and definately got himself clobbered in this fight. James was talking smack and going hard after the whistle. I have to wonder why Sheppard is still in a Minnesota Wild uniform because he is brutal. I just hope that Fletcher can get something for this waste of space soon.

Burke may make Olympic roster decisions next week

It will be interesting to see who is going to be selected to be on Team USA. You can bet that former Fighting Sioux star Zach Parise is going to be a shoe in to make team USA. I would also imagine that Phil Kessel will also be on the team as well. You can guess that the goaltenders will probably be Ryan Miller Buffalo(MSU) and Tim Thomas Boston (UVM)and a third goalie. Some think Jonathan Quick Kings(UMass). It will be interesting to see how many of the American's were former college hockey players.

TORONTO - His roster will be unveiled after the Winter Classic outdoor game on Jan. 1, but U.S. Olympic hockey team general manager Brian Burke is aiming to make his final decisions long before that.

Brian Burke hopes to have his U.S. Olympic men's team picked as soon as next week.

The team's six-man selection committee will sit down together in Pebble Beach, Calif., before the NHL's board of governors meetings next Monday.

"At that point, we hope to be down to between two and three decisions as far as our roster - if we have any at all,'' Burke said Monday on a conference call.

"The ideal world will be after we meet in Pebble Beach, we've got our team picked. And we go to Fenway Park and announce it.''

There will be some difficult decisions.

Even though the U.S. might not have boast as much depth as Canada or some of the top European countries, Burke acknowledged that it will be tough to get down to a 23-man roster.

The Americans had 34 players at their summer orientation camp in suburban Chicago and have continued to watch some who weren't in attendance.
------------------------------------------
The U.S. team promises to be one of the youngest in the Olympic tournament, led by such players as Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and Phil Kessel. It probably won't leave much room for stalwarts of past teams like Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and others.

"We've got to figure out what the balance is (between old and young players),'' said Burke.

The GM doesn't plan on quietly tipping off any players once the roster is finalized. He's happy to have most find out by watching television and will instead focus on calling the players who weren't selected.

"My primary goal on Jan. 1 is to make sure I reach the group that's not going to be included,'' said Burke.

Kessel after his frist game in Boston.

It was one of the more talked about matchups in the Northeast division this past week. Former Bruins Phil Kessel was making his return to the Boston Garden and it wasn't pretty he was booed when he was announced during the starting line ups and he was booed every time he touched the puck, it was a lot like everytime Chara goes back to Ottawa. The fans boo him every chance they get.

I don’t know if Kessel expected anything different? The off season contract talks didn't really go well for him. It’s not hard for Boston fans or the players to get up for Toronto now that the Leafs have Phil on their team. I think there is some incentive for the Bruins players because they can stick it to Phil every time the Bruins play the Leafs. I mean seriously Kessel is basically is the one trick pony in Toronto. There isn’t that much talent around him, the Leafs have a couple nice players, but they have a brutal defense and no goaltending. That is a recipe for the Bruins getting a really high draft pick next season, further sticking it to the Leafs. I also can't wait to see Milan Lucic back in the lineup pummeling Mike Komisarek.

Here is what some of the guys has to say about Phil's return to the ice. Even Blake Wheeler had something to say about it. [click to listen]

Sounds like Phil tried to talk Marc Savard out of resigning in Boston. [click to listen to Savard]

Sioux 3rd in both national polls.

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[December 7, 2009]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Miami (36) 11-2-5 977 1
2 Denver (11) 10-4-2 956 2
3 North Dakota 9-5-2 860 3
4 Bemidji State ( 2) 13-2-1 843 5
5 Cornell ( 1) 7-2-2 756 7
6 Colorado College 10-4-2 726 6
7 Quinnipiac 12-3-0 635 4
8 Yale 7-3-2 606 10
9 Mass.-Lowell 9-5-1 578 8
10 Boston College 8-3-2 542 15
11 Wisconsin 10-5-1 489 16
12 Minnesota-Duluth 10-5-1 438 12
13 Ferris State 11-3-2 419 17
14 Michigan State 10-6-2 399 11
15 Massachusetts 9-5-0 383 9
16 Alaska 8-4-4 233 12
17 St. Cloud State 8-6-2 194 20
18 Notre Dame 7-7-4 127 14
19 New Hampshire 7-6-3 112 NR
20 Union 7-3-5 79 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Vermont 47, Michigan 30, RIT 27, Nebraska-Omaha 17, Northern Michigan 10, Maine 8, Colgate 7, Air Force 2
------------------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Dec. 7, 2009]
Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week's rank
1 Miami University (Ohio) (29) 11-2-5 505 1
2 Denver (5) 10-4-2 478 2
3 North Dakota 9-5-2 426 3
4 Bemidji State 13-2-1 398 4
5 Cornell 7-2-2 358 7
6 Colorado College 10-4-2 328 5
7 Yale 7-3-2 287 10
8 Quinnipiac 12-3-0 239 6
9 Massachusetts Lowell 9-5-1 223 8
10 Boston College 8-3-2 207 14
11 Wisconsin 10-5-1 162 NR
12 Ferris State 11-3-2 116 NR
13 Michigan State 10-6-2 113 11
14 Minnesota Duluth 10-5-1 104 12
15 Massachusetts 9-5-0 79 9
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska, 19; University of New Hampshire, 11; Union College, 8; St. Cloud State University, 6; University of Notre Dame, 4; Northern Michigan University, 3; Rochester Institute of Technology, 3; Colgate University, 1; University of Michigan, 1; University of Nebraska Omaha, 1.
Analysis: I am actually surprised that UND kept the 3rd place ranking in both polls after coughing up and losing a 2 goal lead albeit the second UMD goal shouldn't have counted.

Promo for Bruins and Flyers

Here is the commercial for this years winter classic to be played in Fenway Park.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for those looking for a good laugh on Monday Morning.

1. Denver
2. Miami
3. North Dakota 1 Senior defenseman Chay Genoway has missed seven straight games due to injury. Now senior forward Chris VandeVelde could be joining him on the shelf; he missed Saturday's series finale at UMD with an undisclosed ailment. 9-5-2 (6-5-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota Duluth, 4-2; L at Minnesota Duluth, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin
4. Cornell
5. Bemidji State
6. Yale
7. Colorado College
8. Quinnipiac
9. Boston College
10. UMass Lowell
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan State
13. Massachusetts
14. Minnesota Duluth
15. Ferris State
16. Alaska
17. St. Cloud State
18. Union
19. New Hampshire
20. Maine

Dropped out: Notre Dame, Vermont, Nebraska-Omaha
Bubble-licious: RIT, Air Force, Colgate, Vermont, Notre Dame

Coach Hakstol post game comments.

Check what coach Hakstol has to say after the game. Vandy injury status is day to day, hopefully we aren't week to week. Brad says, "that two pretty big leaders out of your line up". The quality isn't that good because all of the back ground noise

KPD at it again...

Apparently now Kevin Paul Dupoint thinks he is an expert on player salaries. This is the same clown that was the cheerleader and on the bandwagon for running Phil Kessel out of town in Boston. Now he is a critic of player salaries in another NHL Market. [props]

Blackhawks’ dollars don’t make sense

The deals signed last week by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and especially Duncan Keith officially and forever severed any lingering ties to the old Bill Wirtz regime in Chicago. In Keith’s case, the Blackhawks also severed any ties to reality (a state they rarely lived in during the miserly Dollar Bill’s days).

Beginning next year, young stars Toews and Kane each will pocket an average of $6.3 million for five years. Their annual payouts will be identical: $6.5 million, $6 million, $6 million, $6.5 million, and $6.5 million. Compared with the likes of, say, the Sedin twins (Henrik and Daniel) in Vancouver, or Anaheim’s Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, or Anze Kopitar in Los Angeles, the Kane-Towes payouts are right on the money. Solid value.

However, Keith’s deal is beyond extravagant, all the worse given that fellow Hawks back liner Brian Campbell is hauling in a bloated $7.14 million through 2013-14. Grossly overpriced.

Keith, 26, will earn an average of $7.913 million over the first four years, $7.55 million for the next two years, $5.5 million for another two, $4 million for two more, and then slightly more than $2 million for the final three. Total: 13 years/$72 million, for a cap hit of $5.54 million. If you’re still holding on to your calculator, it exceeds the 12-year/$62.8 million deal, in both gross dollars and cap hit, that career marksman Marian Hossa pocketed with the Hawks in July
[Boston Globe]

Sunday thoughts

Even when it appears that things aren’t going well, in reality there are a lot of positives moving forward for the Fighting Sioux hockey team. Here are some of the things that UND is doing well.

The UND defense is ranked 5th over all nationally and tied with their next opponent the Wisconsin Badgers. [National Stats]

UND sophomore goalie Brad Eidsness is ranked 8th nationally (8-4-2, 1.97 GAA and .919 SV %) Eidsness has only give up 5 goals once in a game.

North Dakota is 7th in the nation in penalty killing 75/88 for 88.2 percent. [National Stats]

Fighting Sioux freshman Danny Kristo is ranked 11th in points per game by freshman. (5g-9a-14pts) points per game 0.88 [college hockey stats]

UND is ranked 17th in scoring nationally; 16 games 52 goals 3.25 goals per game. [college hockey stats]

UND is ranked 10th Nationally on the Power Play 21/ 92 22.8%. [college hockey stats]

Combined Special teams UND is ranked 10th; 96/177 54.2. [college hockey stats]

Dogs 3 Sioux 2

For a second weekend in a row the Fighting Sioux managed to cough up another two goal lead in the third period and earned a split with the UMD Bulldogs. For the most part it was a pretty exciting game. The Sioux seemingly had the game under control until they basically went into a defensive shell and tried to protect a lead. I thought they did the same thing last weekend against Miami as well. This team needs to start learing how to put their opponents away.

The game tying goal wasn't without controversy. Apparently, the puck left the ice surface before the game tying goal was scored. Coach Hakstol made mention of this in his post game comments and I am sure the league office will get an ear full this week. Not to make excuses about the officiating but the officials have to be better. Having the puck hit the screen above the glass and not blowing the puck dead is a critical mistake and can’t be allowed to happen.

The Sioux (9-5-2, 6-5-1 Western Collegiate Hockey Association) left Duluth steaming — not only because of the loss — but also because they believe there should have been a whistle right before the tying goal was scored.

Sioux forward Jason Gregoire attempted to clear the puck out of the zone in the final minute. It hit a Duluth player’s stick, flew into the air and off the netting above the glass. When it came down, defenseman Derrick LaPoint pinned the puck along the end wall waiting for a whistle that never came.

Instead, a Duluth forward poked the puck loose and got it to the point, where Jack Connolly ripped a shot that hit Oleksuk standing right next to the post. He easily tucked the rebound behind UND goalie Brad Eidsness, who came out to play the puck. The DECC erupted and Gregoire immediately asked the referee if the play was reviewable.

“That’s a big-time call, because the puck went off of white and the faceoff would have been out of our zone with 40 seconds left in the game,” Gregoire said. “That’s a huge advantage, rather than five seconds later having the puck in the back of the net, the game is tied, and they are still on the power play.” [Grand Forks Herald]

I am disappointed but I also think Derrick LaPoint made a boned headed mistake by pinning the puck along the end boards to eat up time; in that situation I think LaPoint should have chipped the puck out of the zone. It’s almost as bad as the head coach calling time out in the final seconds of the UNH game from last season.

I don’t know if this is irony or what but after 12 games in the WCHA play last season the Fighting Sioux were 6-5-1. Fast forward to this year and the Fighting Sioux hockey team has the same record after 12 games. The good news is that the Fighting Sioux aren’t sitting in seventh place, they are in sixth place. [2008-2009 schedule]

In checking the pairwise rankings there are six teams in the WCHA that are sitting in the top fourteen positions of the rankings. That tells me that the WCHA is back and competitive again. Every weekend is going to be a dog fight, no pun intended.




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

NDK-1 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Interference) MND 0x1 1:32
MND-1 Jordan Fulton (2-Boarding) NDK 0x1 4:46
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Brad Malone (4) (Evan Trupp, Andrew MacWilliam) 14:54
NDK (+): 22,19,2,24,7,G31 MND (-): 17,7,20,28,2,G30
NDK-2 Danny Kristo (2-Interference) 19:25
MND-2 Mike Montgomery (2-Roughing) 19:25

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

NDK 2 - 0 5x5 Brett Hextall (4) (Jason Gregoire) 0:37
NDK (+): 26,17,27,2,G31 MND (-): 8,12,22,6,G30
NDK-3 Brad Malone (2-Holding) MND 0x2 17:59

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

MND 1 - 2 6x6 Kyle Schmidt (6) (Rob Bordson, Travis Oleksuk) 1:15
MND (+): 11,19,21,28,2,G30 NDK (-): 17,26,2,27,24,G31
MND-3 Scott Kishel (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 9:58
NDK-4 Ben Blood (2-Tripping) MND 0x3 16:17
MND-4 Rob Bordson (2-Interference) NDK 0x3 17:29
NDK-5 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Interference) MND 1x4 18:17
Timeout - Minnesota Duluth 18:17
MND 2 - 2 5x5 EA Travis Oleksuk (3) (Jack Connolly, Mike Connolly) 19:27
MND (+): 21,12,22,37,2 NDK (-): 17,24,3,9,G31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (0:12)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MND 3 - 2 6x5 PP GW LL Justin Fontaine (12) (Jack Connolly, Dylan Olsen) 0:12
MND: 37,12,4,24,22,G30 NDK: 9,24,25,11,G31

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

Your Bemidji State Beavers.

Last night I went to the BSU and NU game. So here is this week’s column that I wrote for the Illegal Curve.

With my favorite team out of town in Duluth last night so I applied for a press pass and made the trek down highway to take in a game at the John S. Glas Field House in Bemidji, Minnesota. the game featured the CHA leading BSU Beavers 12-2-1 and league 7-0-0 and the Niagara University Purple Eagles 2-8-2, 1-1-1.

Much has been made about the Beaver's poll positions this season as they have been ranked in the top ten for a few weeks now, some have said the BSU Beavers didn’t deserve their high ranking because they hadn’t played anybody and they were overrated. The nay sayers were quieted down a bit when the Beavers went out and beat top ranked Miami University 3-2 last weekend in the first game of the Subway Holiday Classic. Currently the Beavers sit 5th in the USCHO poll and 4th in the USA Today poll. BSU was also ranked 6th in the latest INCH power rankings. The Beavers are ranked number one the PWR/RPI rankings (these rankings mirrors the NCAA selection).

Tenacious, High pressure, get pucks deep and speed

It would be an understatement to say that the Beavers have been winning in an impressive and dramatic fashion. From the drop of the first puck to the last whistle of the game the BSU Beavers play an aggressive fore checking high pressure game. The Beavers pride themselves in outworking their opponents. The Beavers are quick up front and strong defensively (ranked number one defensively) and aren’t very much fun to play against. When you play against the Beavers you can’t take a shift off against them or they will bury you.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers found out the hard way in the second game of their two games series against BSU back in November. With the game close at 3-1 after the two periods the Beavers came out in the third period and scored three goals in less than two minutes to bury the Gophers.

The Beavers keep coming at you by getting the puck deep in the offensive zone and then race in to converge on the puck. The Beavers mirror their coach short in stature but fiery and intense in nature. The Beavers are a breath of fresh air in the era of the Neutral Zone Trap. The Beavers play a race horse up tempo brand of hockey much like the Dean Blais UND Fighting Sioux teams of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s.

At last night’s game while sitting with my friend who is the faculty rep of the BSU hockey team, we watched in awe as the Beavers picked apart the Niagara defense. I told him that the Beavers just keep buzzing and they are relentless, they cycle the puck with a tenacious pace. The Beavers keep coming in waves as another line comes off the bench and continues the assault. During the Second period we looked on in amazement and after another long cycle by the Beavers in the Niagara end, Bemidji forward Ryan Cramer scored a nice goal.

Avalanche of goals

The BSU Beavers aren’t just squeaking out goals they are winning in impressive fashion. The Beavers have scored 5 or more goals seven times in fifteen games. The Beavers are ranked 3rd nationally in goals. That includes last night’s game where they put eight pucks behind the Niagara goalie Adam Avramenko. The score could have been worse if BSU hadn’t hit two pipes and albeit a strong effort in net by the junior goalie from Strathmore, Alberta.

The wins keep coming

Since January 24th 2009 the Bemidji State Beavers are an impressive 25-5-2. During that time frame the Beavers are 3-1-1 against the CCHA beating the likes of NMU, MU and Notre Dame. The Beavers are also 16-2-1 in their conference games during the same time period. There is a mind set developing; last night while visiting with some BSU fans I heard one of them brought up the point that the Beavers might not have to win the conference tourney to make the NCAA tourney this season. If the Beavers keep winning that is very true. Air Force Academy did it last year by qualifying 13th in the final pairwise ranking. Only time will tell if the Beavers can replicate that feat. Only once has a CHA team been given an at large bid, Niagara did it in 1999-200 season where the Purple Eagles went out and beat UNH Wildcats in the first game of the West Regional at Mariucci arena. Currently the Beavers have a big lead in their conference with a 7-0-0 record and are 10 points ahead of the next closest team the RMU Colonies who have a 1-3-2 record.

Check out more from Eric at twitter

UND 4 UMD 2

I didn't see the game last night because I was in Bemidji MN watching the BSU Beavers run over the Niagara University Purple Eagles. [Box Score]. During the Beaver game I was getting updates via text message. Thank You LGM. When I found out that Zajac had scored I knew UND was on it's way to victory, just a hunch. If I recall correctly UND has only lost one game when Darcy Zajac has scored a goal.

I think the most impressive point to come out of this game is that the Fighting Sioux defense was able to keep the Danberg, Mike Connolly and Jack Connolly line off of the score board. This has been one of the most prolific lines in college hockey this season so far.

[Box Score]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
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MND-1 Brady Lamb (2-Interference) NDK 0x1 1:04
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Interference) MND 0x1 2:03
NDK-2 Brad Malone (10-Misconduct) 4:15
MND 1 - 0 6x6 Drew Akins (3) (Mike Seidel, Jordan Fulton) 8:32
MND (+): 7,17,23,26,6,G35 NDK (-): 18,2,27,19,24,G31
MND-2 Mike Seidel (2-Hooking) NDK 0x2 8:48
NDK-3 Brett Hextall (2-Interference) MND 0x2 16:08

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

MND-3 Jordan Fulton (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 0x3 2:27
NDK 1 - 1 6x6 Darcy Zajac (4) (unassisted) 4:44
NDK (+): 11,20,9,17,3,G31 MND (-): 37,8,19,2,21,G35
MND-4 Keegan Flaherty (2-Holding) NDK 0x4 7:19
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 LL Ben Blood (2) (unassisted) 13:33
NDK (+): 24,2,13,27,10,G31 MND (-): 7,6,23,37,4,G35
MND-5 Mike Connolly (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) NDK 1x5 18:11
NDK 3 - 1 6x5 PP GW Jason Gregoire (7) (Chris VandeVelde, Brett Hextall) 18:56
NDK: 17,29,26,7,25,G31 MND: 2,8,14,11,G35

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK-4 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) MND 0x3 1:37
MND 2 - 3 6x6 Kyle Schmidt (5) (Mike Seidel, Drew Akins) 3:53
MND (+): 11,17,7,24,4,G35 NDK (-): 22,19,26,24,3,G31
MND-6 Dylan Olsen (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x6 11:04
NDK-5 Joe Gleason (2-Slashing) MND 0x4 15:22
NDK 4 - 2 6x6 EN Jason Gregoire (8) (unassisted) 19:07
NDK (+): 17,24,26,2,22,G31

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

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Tonight's Sioux and Bulldog game on Midco

I almost chocked on my scrambled eggs this morning when I read this in the Grand Forks Herald. Midco will be carrying tonight's game between UND and UMD from the DECC in Grand Forks, ND. There is no reason both games shouldn’t have been picked up for this weekend’s series.

Tonight’s game will be televised on Midcontinent Channel 23 in most of North Dakota. [Grand Forks Herald]

Toews goal against Preds.

Check out this goal by former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews, it is a thing of beauty. Unforunately for the Blackhawks it was the only goal they got as they lost 4-1 to Nashville.

Jason Blakes pretty goal.

Last night in Columbus it was the Jason Blake and Phil Kessel show. Check out this pretty goal by former Fighting Sioux forward Jason Blake. This was the second win in a row for the Toronto Maple Leafs that have a 5-1-2 record in their last 8 games.

Report not true. Genoway still out.

Contrary to reports that have surfaced tonight; Fighting Sioux defenseman Genoway didn't travel to Duluth for this weekend's series and Chay is still out indefinitely. I am not sure how this rumor got out and it’s kind of messed up because if it didn’t come from UND and the Grand Forks Herald I wouldn’t believe it. According to Brad Elliot Schlossman the beat writer for the Fighting Sioux Genoway wasn't even on the bus for Duluth. Sounds like irresponsible journalism by Fox 21.

UMD's riding a three-game winning streak, and sits near the top of the WCHA standings, but as i told you last night, faces a tough test this weekend. That test just got tougher with the news North Dakota will have their top defenseman back on Friday.

Chay Genoway's been out since mid November, after an Aaron Marvin check left him injured. But good news for North Dakota, Chay returns to the ice tomorrow night, which isn't such good news for the Bulldogs.

"They're gonna get genoway back who's probably one of the best defensemen in the country. I think he'll be back which I think is gonna add a lot to their lineup, I think they're 1–2–1 without him, but he's a great hockey player and certainly gonna bring a lot to their team. So we know we've gotta be at our best," said head coach Scott Sandlein.

"Yeah, I mean he's a great player, one of the best D in our league for sure no doubt about it, but he's coming off an injury where you never know, he might be a little scared to be in the corner. So I think we just keep coming and laying the pressure as hard as we can. So I think we're just gonna put pressure on their d all uh, all night," added Justin Fontaine.

The Bulldogs host the Fighting Sioux Friday and Saturday night at 7:07pm.
[Fox 21]

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

There are now 6 WCHA teams ranked in the to 20 this week (8 if you want to count Bemidji St. and Nebraska-Omaha already.)

This weekend is another weekend in which all the teams are in conference play. After this weekend 2 teams will reach the half-way mark in regular season league games, MSU-M and UAA.

CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS

#...TEAM...............GP....W-L-T...PTS
1 Colorado College.....10....7-2-1...15
1 Denver................10....7-2-1...15
3 Minnesota-Duluth....10....6-3-1...13
4 North Dakota.........10....5-4-1...11
4 St. Cloud State......10....5-4-1...11
4 Wisconsin............10....5-4-1...11
7 Minnesota State.....12....4-7-1....9
8 Alaska-Anchorage....12....4-8-0....8
9 Minnesota............10....3-6-1....7
10 Michigan Tech......10....2-8-0....4


#3 North Dakota at #12 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Sioux beat Ohio St. and tied Miami(OH) and the Bulldogs had Thanksgiving weekend off.

I'm thinking we could call this the a U.S. Highway 2 rivalry. Last year the Bulldogs won and tied UND in Duluth and then beat the Sioux in the Final 5 semi-final game (they didn't play in Grand Forks last season). If I recall correctly the Sioux are something like 18-9-1 in their last 28-games versus UMD. The Sioux are 125-69-8 all-time against UMD, and are 52-37-5 in Duluth. The Bulldogs are tied for the most goals scored in the WCHA with 36 in ten games while surrendering 29. The Sioux have allowed the fewest goals, 17, in the WCHA while lighting the lamp 29 times in 10 games. This looks like UND's d-men will have to continue their solid play and Eidsness too, if the Sioux are to earn some points this weekend. The Bulldogs will need to play better in their own end if they want to win, true they score but they give 'em up too. SIOUX SWEEP.


#2 Denver versus #6 Colorado College
The Pioneers split with the SCSU Huskies in Denver and the Tigers split with the Seawolves at World Arena in Colorado Springs.

I'm thinking we could call this series either the I-25 rivalry or Rumble in the Rockies, I like the latter. This is also a battle for first place in the WCHA standing at the moment. Like I've said before I don't think CC is as good as their ranking and this weekend I'll find out for sure. The teams CC has faced this year have a combined record of 40-50-5 and for DU their opponents this year are a combined 43-49-8, hmm, maybe I'm wrong about CC, who knows? Last year these teams tied 3 times and CC one the other meeting 3-2. With rivalries you can usually throw the records out the window. I'm taking the safe bet, SPLIT.


Minnesota State versus Minnesota
The Mavericks got a home sweep over visiting MTU and the Gophers lost at Michigan and won at Michigan St. in the College Hockey Showcase.

The Gophers trail the Mavericks by 2 points in the standings, but the Gophers have 2 games in hand on them. These are must have points for both teams this week, for MSUM to keep them firmly in the middle of the league. The Gophers need points if they want to have a chance at stay in contention for a home playoff spot. Last season the Mavericks won the series 2-1-1, sweeping at home and losing and tying on the road. Since this is a a home-and-home series, I'm going with the home teams to win, SPLIT.


Michigan Tech at #16 Wisconsin
The MTU Huskies were swept at Mankato by the Mavericks and the Badgers won at Michigan St. and then lost at Michigan in the College Hockey Showcase.

The Huskies are giving up twice as many goals as they are scoring in the league (21gf, 42ga). The Badgers are scoring an average of 3.3/game and letting in 2.2/game (33gf, 22ga) in the WCHA. On paper this should be a no brainer, but this is the WCHA. The only realy blip on UW's radar this year was a home loss to the Gophers, and I don't see any blips on their radar for this weekend. BADGERS SWEEP.


#20 St. Cloud State at Alaska-Anchorage
The SCSU Huskies split on the road with the Denver Pioneers and the UAA Seawolves split on the road with the CC Tigers.

(This ones for the Goon) The small, fast, fleet-footed Huskies will invade the Sully this weekend to take on the big, slow, lumbering Seawolves for pair of WCHA tilts. Okay, SCSU has 6 loses this season, 2 to Miami(OH), 1 UND, 1 DU, so they have held their own against the countries best teams so far this year. Seawolves on the other hand have beat UND and DU at home (SCSU beat UND and DU on the road). UAA is a long trip and the Seawolves play better at home then the road. This is yet another tought series to predict... SCSU 3pts.

Link to the broadcast for the UND and UMD series.

These weekends games will not be on in the Midco.Net area this weekend, the games are being picked up by Charter in Minnesota. For the lucky folks that live in North Dakota you can pick up the games using this link [B2 Broadband Sports and Entertainment Network]. I have used B2 before when the Sioux played in Mankato so I didn't have any problems using B2.

Minnesota-Duluth vs. North Dakota
12/4/2009 7:07:00 PM CST
Minnesota-Duluth vs. North Dakota
12/5/2009 7:07:00 PM CST
Tomorrow night I have applied and recieved a press pass so I am off to Bemidji State to see the Beavers play Niagara Purple Eagles. In John S. Glas Fieldhouse. In the last 15 games against the Purple Eagles the Beavers have a 6-5-4 record.

Wednesday press conference.

It's always fun to listen to Ben Blood talk. Blood said that he likes playing with MacWilliam. When asked What the Miami players were saying to you on the ice Blood said he couldn't really say other than they were trying to get into his head. On UMD, they were one of my least favorite teams to play against they play hard. Blood is also growing his hair out.

How the mighty have fallen.

Check out this blog post from Goal Gophers. My how the once mighty Gophers have fallen!!! This kind of mentality can’t be sitting well with Gopher fans. It almost looks like Don Lucia is spinning a horrible start to the season as a moral victory. The spin that it's really not as bad as it looks, it could be worse. Personally, as a Sioux fan I think that Lucia is doing a great job in Minnesota but this is almost out of character. This is really the third season of mediocrity. Over on gpl.com the Gopher faithfull are ready to throw their head coach Don Lucia a former Spencer Penrose award winner under the bus.

* Home record: "We have to play better at home, that's the big thing. You look at on the road, we have played North Dakota, at Wisconsin, Michigan and Michigan State and we are 2-3-1 which is pretty darn good in those games. And we are 3-5 at home that's what has let us down more than anything else. If you even split the Denver and split the UMD series, then all of a sudden you are sitting in decent shape considering with the inuries and some of the things we have had to go through this season."
[Goal Gophers]

Toews deal to be announced tomorrow.

Looks like former Fighting Sioux star Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have or are about to sign some nice fat contract extensions tomorrow.

The Chicago Blackhawks have called a press conference on Thursday where it is expected the team will announce the signings of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith to multi-year contract extensions.

Sources tell TSN that Toews and Kane will sign identical five-year contract extensions worth about $6.3 million per season. Meanwhile Keith's deal is worth $72 million spread over a whopping 13 years at an annual average of $5.5 million.
[TSN]

Team Canada roster.

Team Canada has released its preliminary roster and they will have their try out from 12-16 December. There are three NCAA Division 1 hockey players on it's roster, they are Louis Leblanc; Harvard, Dylan Olsen; UMD and Patrick Wiercioch Denver U.

Goalies

Jake Allen, Fredricton, N.B./N.-B. Montreal (QMJHL) STL '08
Matt Hackett, London, Ont. Plymouth (OHL) MIN '09
Martin Jones, North Vancouver, B.C./C.-B. Calgary (WHL) LA '08
Olivier Roy, Causapscal, Que./QC Cape Breton (QMJHL) EDM '09

Defense

Jared Cowen, Sask Spokane (WHL) OTT '09
Calvin de Haan, Ont. Oshawa (OHL) NYI '09
Nicholas Deslauriers, St-Anicet, Que./QC Rouyn-Noranda QMJHL) LA '09
Ryan Ellis, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NSH '09
Brandon Gormley, Murray River, P.E.I./I.-P.-E. Moncton (QMJHL)
Travis Hamonic, St. Malo, Man. Moose Jaw (WHL) NYI '08
Shawn Lalonde, Orleans, Ont. Belleville (OHL) CHI '08
Dylan Olsen, Calgary, Alta./Alb. UMD WCHA CHI '09
Alex Pietrangelo, King City, Ont. Niagara (OHL) STL '08
Marco Scandella,Montreal, Que./QC Val d'Or (QMJHL) MIN '08
Colten Teubert, White Rock, B.C./C.-B. Regina (WHL) LA '08
Patrick Wiercioch, Maple Ridge, B.C./C.-B. Denver (WCHA) OTT '08

Forwards

Luke Adam, St. John's, N.L./T.-N.-L. Cape Breton (QMJHL) BUF '08
Gabriel Bourque, Baie-Comeau, Que./QC Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) NSH '09
Jordan Caron, Sayabec, Que./QC Rimouski (QMJHL) BOS '09
Patrice Cormier, Cap-Pelé, N.B./N.-B. Rimouski (QMJHL) NJ '08
Philippe Cornet, Val Senneville, Que./QC Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) EDM '08 * Stefan Della Rovere, Maple, Ont. Barrie (OHL) WAS '08
Cody Eakin, Winnipeg, Man. Swift Current (WHL) WAS '09
Jordan Eberle, Regina, Sask. Regina (WHL) EDM '08
Scott Glennie, Winnipeg, Man. Brandon (WHL) DAL '09
Taylor Hall, Kingston, Ont. Windsor (OHL) 2010
Adam Henrique, Burford, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NJ '08
Cody Hodgson, Markham, Ont. Brampton (OHL) VAN '08
Nazem Kadri, London, Ont. London (OHL) TOR '09
Brandon Kozun, Calgary, Alta./Alb. Calgary (WHL) LA '09
Louis Leblanc, Kirkland, Que./QC Harvard (ECAC) MTL '09
John McFarland, Richmond Hill, Ont. Sudbuary (OHL) 2010
Brandon McMillan, Delta, B.C./C.-B. Kelowna (WHL) ANA '08
Greg Nemisz,Courtice, Ont. Windsor (OHL) CGY '08
Brayden Schenn,Saskatoon, Sask. Brandon (WHL) LA '09
Tyler Seguin, Brampton, Ont. Plymouth (OHL) 2010
[click to link to Team Canada]

Team USA Preliminary Roster announced.

Fighting Sioux forward Danny Kristo has made the Preliminary Team USA WJC roster. Team USA will have their U.S. World Junior evaluation camp in Grand Forks, ND December 17- 19. The Fighting Sioux will play team USA on December 19th at REA at 7:07 pm.

GOALTENDERS (2)
Jack Campbell, Port Huron, Mich. U.S. National Under-18 Team
Mike Lee Roseau, Minn. St. Cloud State University (WCHA)

DEFENSEMEN (11)
John Carlson, Colonia, N.J. Hershey Bears (AHL)
Matt Donovan, Edmond, Okla. University of Denver (WCHA)
Justin Faulk, South St. Paul, Minn. U.S. National Under-18 Team
Cam Fowler, Farmington Hills, Mich. Windsor Spitfires (OHL)
Jake Gardiner, Minnetonka, Minn. Univ of Wisconsin (WCHA)
Brian Lashoff, Albany, N.Y. Kingston Frontenacs (OHL)
Jon Merrill, Brighton, Mich. U.S. National Under-18 Team
John Moore, Winnetka, Ill. Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Max Nicastro, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Boston University (HEA)
John Ramage, St. Louis, Mo. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
David Warsofsky, Marshfield, Mass. Boston University (HEA)

FORWARDS (16)
Ryan Bourque Boxford, Mass. Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
Chris Brown, Houston, Texas University of Michigan (CCHA)
Jerry D’Amigo, Binghamton, N.Y. RPI ECACH)
A.J. Jenks, Wolverine Lake, Mich. Plymouth Whalers (OHL)
Tyler Johnson, Spokane, Wash. Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
Chris Kreider, BoxfordMass. Boston College (HEA)
Danny Kristo, Eden Prairie, Minn. UND (WCHA)
Philip McRae, Chesterfield, Mo. London Knights (OHL)
Jeremy Morin, Auburn, N.Y. Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
Kyle Palmieri, Montvale, N.J. University of Notre Dame (CCHA)
Vinny Saponari, Powder Springs, Ga. Boston University (HEA)
Jordan Schroeder, Prior Lake, Minn. Univer of Minnesota (WCHA)
Derek Stepan, Hastings, Minn. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
Luke Walker, Portland, Ore. Portland Winterhawks (WHL)
David Wohlberg, South Lyon, Mich. University of Michigan (CCHA)
Jason Zucker, Las Vegas, Nev. U.S. National Under-18 Team (USNTDP)
[link to USA Roster]

Ovechkin suspended for two games.

I have to admit that I am actually shocked and relieved that the league FINALLY stepped in and suspended Alex Ovechkin for kneeing Tim Gleason. In the past Ovechkin has escaped punishment when it was warranted. Unforunately it would have been better if the suspension had come with Alex being healthy.

You have to wonder if the suspensions actually hurt in the wallet that much? 98,000.00 is the drop in the barrel to a player like Alex Ovechkin.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Alex Ovechkin's latest on-ice indiscretion netted him a two-game suspension, a sore right knee and a new level of concern from his coach about his "pretty reckless" ways.

The league's reigning two-time MVP was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Tuesday for a knee-to-knee hit on defenseman Tim Gleason in Monday night's 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ovechkin's first NHL suspension will cost him $98,844.16 in salary. He'll sit out Thursday against Florida and Saturday at Philadelphia, although his sore knee might have kept him out of one of the games anyway.

"I regret that this has happened," Ovechkin said in a statement released by the team. "I'm glad that Tim wasn't injured because I never ever want to see anyone get [Star Tribune]

Bruins resign Marc Savard.

Good news for the Boston Bruins as they have resigned their top center for another 7 years. Savard will average 4.2 million per season for seven years. I think it's ironic that Savard signed for less than Phil Kessel asked for during the off-season.

The Bruins officially announced that center Marc Savard has signed a seven-year contract extension that runs through the 2016-17 season.

Savard, 32, signed with the Bruins as a free agent in 2006 and has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. He was also the top scorer in the postseason each of the last two seasons. Savard has twice finished in the league’s top ten in scoring with 95+ points and has played in two consecutive NHL All-Star Games.

According to TSN.ca, the deal is worth an average of $4.2 million per year.

The 5-10, 191-pound center appeared in every game for the Bruins last year and had 25 goals and 63 assists in 82 regular season games. He also had six goals and seven assists in 11 postseason games.

Savard was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the 1995 NHL Draft.

Savard missed several weeks this season with a broken bone in his foot. In 11 games this year, he has four goals and six assists.

In 752 career NHL games, Savard has 199 goals and 474 assists for 673 points. [Boston Globe]

Kristo Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week

UND Fighting Sioux freshman Danny Kristo has been awarded the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the week for his play last weekend in the Subway Holiday Classic.

Danny Kristo, Fr., F, North Dakota

Danny Kristo, a first-year right winger at the University of North Dakota, is the Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 1, 2009 as a result of his outstanding performance in the Subway Holiday Classic tournament held in Grand Forks over the Thanksgiving weekend.

A 5-11, 180-pound freshman from Eden Prairie, Minn., and a draftee of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, Kristo earned most valuable player honors at UND’s Subway Holiday Classic, lifting the Sioux to a 4-1 win over Ohio State on Nov. 27 and a 5-5 overtime tie with top-ranked Miami on Nov. 28.

Kristo, who was also named to the all-tournament team, racked up four points on the weekend, including a two-goal, one-assist performance against No. 1 Miami. He also scored a key third period goal against Ohio State to put the Sioux up 3-1.

Against Miami, Kristo assisted on UND’s first goal to tie the game 1-1, scored its second goal to make it 2-2, then scored again in the third period to give the Sioux a 5-3 lead. Kristo’s four-point weekend enabled him to move into the team scoring lead with 13 points (5g, 8a) and into a tie for the WCHA rookie scoring lead.

Also nominated this week were: William Rapuzzi, F, CC; Chris Knowlton, F, DU; Austin Lee, G, MSU; and David Eddy, F, SCSU. [WCHA.COM]

Check this out.

This is a good point from the boys at INCH. I have to ask the same question as well. On Friday and Saturday night I wanted to tape and watch the College Hockey Show Case games when I got home from the Sioux hockey games and there weren't a game to be had on Friday or Saturday on the Bing Ten Network and the Saturday games were not on Fox Sports Net either. To me this is a real head scratcher that they would put Northwestern basketball over college hockey, especially if they wanted more hockey programming from their Big Ten Hockey teams and their big discussion about wanting a Big Ten Hockey Conference this past summer. Yeah that's a real yawner. I wonder if the BTN could see the hypocrisy from a stands point of view. If they really were comitted to hockey they would have shown the College Hockey Show Case games this past weekend.

One reason the Big Ten wouldn’t mind adding hockey to the league’s stable of sports is to provide additional programming for the conference’s television outlet—especially on Friday nights, the dead zone of college athletics. But the Big Ten Network’s commitment to college pucks has to be called into question as based on its decision to forego televising any of last weekend’s College Hockey Showcase games, choosing to instead broadcast Northwestern men’s basketball on Friday and Saturday night.

In case you’re keeping track at home, four hockey programs—all of which have won national championships in the last 12 years—were bounced in favor of a hoops team that has never qualified for an NCAA tournament. That, Big Ten Net, is well below average [INCH]

I would say that it was an epic fail by the “Big Ten”. Maybe we should leave hockey to the people that are good at it, CCHA, WCHA > Big Ten.

Ovechkin knees Tim Gleason

There is an old saying, "live by the sword die by the sword." This is the second time in one week that Ovechkin was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for a questionable hit. Ovechkin also boarded Paterick Katela and recieved a 5 minute major and a game misconduct on November 25th.

Video from the MTU goal that wasn't

Chris from Western College Hockey [posted the video] from this past weekend where MTU looked like they had an apparent goals scored only to wave it off. If I was coach Russel I would have been upset, there is no reason this goal should have counted. Another another bad call by the officials. The WCHA has egg on their face again. The hits just keep coming.

Poll Monday Sioux (Sioux 3rd)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[November 30, 2009]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Miami (20) 9-2-5 934 1
2 Denver (14) 9-4-1 923 2
3 North Dakota ( 7) 8-4-2 900 4
4 Quinnipiac ( 7) 12-1-0 799 9
5 Bemidji State ( 2) 11-2-1 784 6
6 Colorado College 10-3-1 766 5
7 Cornell 6-2-1 708 7
8 Mass.-Lowell 8-4-1 647 3
9 Massachusetts 9-3-0 573 10
10 Yale 5-2-2 497 11
11 Michigan State 9-5-2 441 8
12 Alaska 8-3-3 426 12
12 Minnesota-Duluth 9-4-1 426 14
14 Notre Dame 7-5-4 323 13
15 Boston College 6-3-2 321 16
16 Wisconsin 8-5-1 308 15
17 Ferris State 9-3-2 265 17
18 Nebraska-Omaha 7-4-3 146 19
19 Vermont 5-5-1 83 18
20 St. Cloud State 6-6-2 80 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 66, RIT 21, Colgate 20, Union 19, New Hampshire 9, Northern Michigan 7, Rensselaer 3, Providence 2, Boston University 1, Minnesota 1, Princeton 1
-----------------------------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Nov. 30, 2009]

Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week's rank

1 Miami University (Ohio) (18) 9-2-5 483 1
2 Denver (10) 9-4-1 470 2
3 North Dakota (3) 8-4-2 448 4
4 Bemidji State (1) 11-2-1 373 6
5 Colorado College (1) 10-3-1 366 5
6 Quinnipiac (1) 12-1-0 353 10
7 Cornell 6-2-1 316 8
8 Massachusetts Lowell 8-4-1 244 3
9 Massachusetts 9-3-0 237 9
10 Yale 5-2-2 198 11
11 Michigan State 9-5-2 129 7
12 Minnesota Duluth 9-4-1 128 13
13 University of Alaska (Fairbanks) 8-3-3 114 12
14 Boston College 6-3-2 57 15
15 Notre Dame 7-5-4 49 14
Others receiving votes: Ferris State University, 45; University of Wisconsin, 44; University of Nebraska Omaha, 11; University of Vermont, 9; University of Michigan, 2; Rochester Institute of Technology, 2; Boston University, 1; Colgate University, 1.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for those looking for a good laugh on Monday Morning.

1. Denver
2. North Dakota 2 The Fighting Sioux have scored a total of 41 goals in their eight wins and two ties—including nine against Ohio State and Miami last weekend—but have just five goals in their four losses.
8-4-2 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 4-1; T vs. Miami, 5-5- ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth
3. Miami
4. Quinnipiac
5. Cornell
6. Bemidji State
7. Colorado College
8. UMass Lowell
9. Massachusetts
10. Yale
11. Michigan State
12. Alaska
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Boston College
15. Wisconsin
16. Notre Dame
17. Vermont
18. Ferris State
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. St. Cloud State

Dropped out: Colgate

Bubble-licious: Colgate, RIT, Union

Matt Cooke suspended two games.

This is the latest act that has gotten Matt Cook suspended from the NHL for two games for this hit on Artem Anisimov .

Matt Cooke won't be available for any sort of retribution Monday night when Pittsburgh comes to town to face the Rangers. The NHL on Sunday suspended the Penguins' Cooke for two games for his forearm to Artem Anisimov's face in the Pens' 8-3 win in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

If John Tortorella had his way, Cooke would have gotten the right sort of hockey justice after his needless hit in open ice 7:50 into the third period. Cooke somehow got only an interference minor despite delivering a head shot, one of the checks that the league's general managers and NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell have been trying to make sense of this season.

Donald Brashear tried to get at Cooke, but the linesmen prevented anything drastic from happening. Ryan Callahan fought Cooke later in the third, so it seemed as if Cooke preferred the 5-9 Callahan to the 6-4 Brashear. Tortorella said that removing the instigator penalty in certain situations would alleviate some of the brash checking that goes on.
[Newsday.com]

Is two minutes enough?

Recently I said that I wanted to hear instances where refs blew a call or had an outright horrible performance while conducting their duties as an on-ice-officials shoot me an email. I have said that I am going to be on the refs this season like a laser. I believe there has to be changes in the way the college game is officiated there are too many controversial calls being made and way too many incidents where a lengthy suspension is warranted and nothing is happening.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. In the series that I watched at the REA this past weekend the quality of officiating was top notch and the UND and Miami game had the best officials in the WCHA officiating the game (Derek Shepherd and Marco Hunt). My friend Redwing77 would probably be upset with me if he heard me say that I thought Shep and Marco were the class of the WCHA, because they do work well together. There is also some leafy spurge to hand out to others.

That being said, this past weekend it sounds like maybe there was another play where maybe the ref could have given a player a penalty that had more teeth in it. On Friday night UAA defenseman Luka Vidmar suffered a torn MCL on his knee was severely injured when he was kneed by C.C. forward Brian McMilin. Now I must preface this with the statement I haven’t seen the play in question and I can’t find much written on the incident and there isn’t a video anywhere of the incident. Doyle Woody only makes a small mention of it in his game summary. (Now I can see why there is a void being filled by a fan run blog.)

Junior defenseman Luka Vidmar sat out the game after suffering a knee injury Friday. He will be evaluated when the Seawolves return home, but is expected to miss significant time. [Adn.com]

This was an email that I got from a UAA fan (I left their name out):

You said you wanted folks to email you with stories about how the refs screw up. Tonight in the UAA/CC game, Brian McMillin (for CC) was whistled for 2 minutes for kneeing.

The rule books states that if a player is injured it MUST be called a DQ. Here is the rule book interpretation:
SECTION 33. Kneeing What criteria should be used in determining whether to assess a minor, major or disqualification penalty for kneeing? RULING: A minor penalty should be assessed in most situations. When the knee is used in a flagrant or violent manner, a major penalty should be assessed. Whenever injury results from fouling an opponent with a knee, a disqualification penalty must be assessed. Kneeing penalties may be assessed as minor, major or disqualification penalties, even though physical contact with an opponent may not have occurred...

Luka Vidmar has a grade three MCL tear; he's done. Only a 2 minute penalty was called, even though Luca remained on his hands and knees for quite a while and was helped off the ice by the UAA trainer. The refs blew it. UAA should have had a 5 minute power play, and Brian McMillin should have been kicked out of the game. The league better step in and correct this for tomorrow night’s game.

I would have to say that I agree with that person, you would think if a person suffers an injury as the result of a kneeing play that person should at a minimum get a five, ten and a game misconduct if not a game disqualification. It would appear that the refs might have blown this call or it would appear from a bystander that more of a penalty is warrented in this instance.

Update: Apparently Michigan Tech was hosed with the quick whistle this past weekend down in Mankato. LGM informs me that Tech had an apparent legitimate goal waved off:

Tech player shot, as the puck hit Lee (Mankato goalie) the whistle was blown and then the puck rolled up and over his shoulder and in to the net... After review it was called no goal because the ref blew the whistle... Though the whistle had been blown as the puck was hitting the goalie.

That is almost as bad as the I tended to blow the whistle but didn't.

Insert your own caption

This picture was sent to me by LGM. This is a funny picture and it's this weeks version of "insert your own caption...

Time to Exhale: Sioux 5 - RedHawks 5 OT

They say a tie in hockey is like kissing your sister. I don’t know about you but I could do without the sister kissing. None- the- less, this is one time that I think a tie is an appropriate ending to a very good hockey game. Last night UND and MU game was like a 15 round title fight between to heavy weights that ended with the ref raising both hand of the combatants.

Watching the Fighting Sioux play this past weekend I can say that there is much to be excited about. Going forward I will save the negatives for another day, because the positives out weight the negatives this weekend. I have also seen a lot of negative energy percolating over on Sioux Sports after this game. I think we need to grab some perspective. Sure Brad probably wants a few of those goals back but there Is no "I" in team and the game tying goal was a defensive break down by the whole team.

After the game I went home and re-watched the game and a few of the goals were a result of Miami capitalizing on the defensive turnover and untimely forced errors. Miami is an aggressive team on the fore check and you have to play flawless hockey if you want to beat them. I would say UND and Miami play similar types of games.

If this season has proven anything College Hockey is wide open this season and I like the Fighting Sioux's chances this season. Championships are won in February, March and April. There is no award for playing good early in the season or before the first of the year. I know it sounds cliché’ but we need to put this in perspective. Currently, UND is sitting right around the 8th spot in the pairwise, so if UND can keep playing consistent it looks like UND is going to have to go on a hellish death march to make the tourney. Defensively UND is ranked third in the nation, that is nothing to sneeze at. UND has awesome specials teams, the Sioux are ranked 10th on the power play and 8th on the penalty kill. [College Hockey Team Rankings]

Kristo arrives

Holy Cow! That is how I would explain Danny Kristo’s play this weekend. After going scoreless in three straight games Kristo has 6 points in the least three games (4g-2a-6). Breaking it down further, Kristo has (3g-2a-5pts) against two teams that were ranked one and two in the rankings. It’s impressive because Kristo isn’t racking up stats against weak sisters of the poor he is scoring the nation’s big boys. Kristo is proving to be a big time player playing on the national stage.

If there is one thing that concerns me about Kristo is that he reminds me of some of the other players that play for a school that I won’t mention. Every goal he scores is like he has won the NCAA title or a Stanley Cup with his excessive celebration. Kristo is an elite player and he should act like he has scored before. I am not saying don't celebrate but raise your stick celebrate with your team mates and skate back to the bench.

Juniors coming up big

Junior forward Brad Malone(3g-8a-11pts) is starting to put together a pretty impressive season and had an awesome highlight shorthanded goal against the Miami. If the video of the goal is posted I will put it up to view.

Junior Forward Evan Trupp (4g-9a-13pts) is starting to impress me more and more every game. Trupper has four points in last three games and this past weekend he has three assists.

[Box Score]
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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK-1 Mario Lamoureux (2-Checking from Behind) MIA 0x1 4:32
MIA 1 - 0 6x6 Reilly Smith (3) (Pat Cannone) 8:17
MIA (+): 18,20,9,26,6,G31 NDK (-): 25,10,9,27,3,G31
MIA-1 Vincent LoVerde (2-Tripping) NDK 0x1 9:54
MIA-2 Will Weber (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x2 11:56
NDK 1 - 1 6x5 PP Ben Blood (1) (Danny Kristo, Jason Gregoire) 13:52
NDK: 24,7,17,26,29,G31 MIA: 20,9,26,14,G31

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2nd Period (20:00)
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MIA-3 Alden Hirschfeld (2-Hooking) 2:17
NDK-2 Darcy Zajac (2-High-Sticking) 2:17
MIA 2 - 1 5x5 Carter Camper (7) (unassisted) 3:20
MIA (+): 11,14,6,20,G31 NDK (-): 26,7,25,3,G31
MIA-4 Chris Wideman (2-Hooking) NDK 2x3 6:52
NDK 2 - 2 6x5 PP Danny Kristo (4) (David Toews, Jake Marto) 7:23
NDK: 7,18,25,19,22,G31 MIA: 9,5,11,4,G31
NDK 3 - 2 6x6 Jason Gregoire (6) (Ben Blood, Brett Hextall) 7:59
NDK (+): 17,24,26,29,2,G31 MIA (-): 44,17,23,19,14,G31
MIA 3 - 3 6x6 Tommy Wingels (5) (Reilly Smith, Pat Cannone) 10:07
MIA (+): 9,18,20,4,26,G31 NDK (-): 10,13,27,20,4,G31
MIA-5 Steven Spinell (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x4 12:40
NDK-3 Brett Hextall (2-Hooking) MIA 0x2 14:28
NDK 4 - 3 5x6 SH Brad Malone (3) (unassisted) 16:00
NDK (+): 22,19,3,25,G31 MIA (-): 11,9,6,16,20,G31
MIA-6 Cameron Schilling (2-Interference) NDK 3x5 16:43
NDK 5 - 3 6x5 PP Danny Kristo (5) (Evan Trupp, David Toews) 17:46
NDK: 7,19,18,22,25,G31 MIA: 19,4,26,17,G31
MIA-7 Curtis McKenzie (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 20:00
NDK-4 Darcy Zajac (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 20:00

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3rd Period (20:00)
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MIA-8 Will Weber (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 3x6 0:33
NDK-5 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Tripping) MIA 1x3 7:28
MIA 4 - 5 6x5 PP Cameron Schilling (2) (Jarod Palmer, Reilly Smith) 9:27
MIA: 5,19,18,17,13,G31 NDK: 22,24,19,25,G31
NDK-6 Ben Blood (2-High-Sticking) MIA 1x4 11:26
MIA-9 Alden Hirschfeld (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 3x7 14:08
MIA 5 - 5 6x6 GT Reilly Smith (4) (Andy Miele, Chris Wideman) 17:19
MIA (+): 18,17,6,23,44,G31 NDK (-): 29,17,26,2,24,G31

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Overtime (5:00)
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End of Game

Redwings screwed again.

There must be a league wide conspiracy against the Detroit Redwing this season because this is the second goal in about two weeks that should have counted but didn't. I don’t know how they can say that Cleary is interfering with the goalie in this situation. I think this goal looked like it should have counted, what do you think?[props]

Sioux 4 Buckeyes 1

What a difference a week makes. The Sioux and Buckeyes decided the game on the ice and there wasn’t a ridiculous parade to the penalty box like last weekend in Denver. Last night the Fighting Sioux beat the tOSU Buckeyes 4-1 in the first game of the Subway Holiday Classic before a crowd of 11,251. This was one of those games that could have been very disastrous for the Fighting Sioux; OSU is a decent team but not a great team. This is also the same team that beat DU 4-0. The Buckeyes have a lot of young players with good upside, in my opinion Zac Dalpe is one of the better forwards in the CCHA and is leading the CCHA in points with (7g-7a-14pts). Their goalie Justin Carlson had a good game last night and made a lot of good saves. The Sioux could have blown this thing open if it wasn’t for his effort between the pipes .

+Positives+

I was impressed with the Fighting Sioux effort last night the defense is starting to adjust without Chay Genoway being in the lineup and I thought Corey Fienhage has made some strides forward after sitting out the first 9 games.

Brad Eidsness continues to be solid between the pipes for the Fighting Sioux. With the win Eidsness improved to (7-3-1 GAA 1.6323 and .931SV%) I have seen a lot of improvement in his game this season and I think he will only get better with experience.

Evan Trupp (4g-8a-12pts) who had two assists in last night’s game is becoming the player many thought he was capable of being. This kid has a lot of offensive creativity and is very exciting when he is killing penalties with Brad Malone.

Number one Miami up next for the Fighting Sioux

The task at hand tonight is not simple, however Miami is not unbeatable and I think UND can beat Miami tonight. Make no mistakes about it the Miami RedHawks are a good hockey team; they have a great defense and some good offensive players up front. The RedHawks have had trouble scoring goals and the Sioux are going to need to get a lead on them early. The Sioux are going to need to get on top of them with a furious fore-check. The Fighting Sioux cannot let up and no one can take shifts off or have players doing their own thing.

[Box Score]
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1st Period (20:00)
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OSU-1 Chris Reed (2-Hooking) NDK 0x1 6:59
NDK-1 Brett Hextall (2-Hooking) OSU 0x1 11:13

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK 1 - 0 6x6 LL Darcy Zajac (3) (Corey Fienhage, Brett Bruneteau) 4:30
NDK (+): 11,4,13,20,9,G31 OSU (-): 11,16,27,20,3,G41
OSU-2 Kyle Reed (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 10:24
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-High-Sticking) OSU 0x2 14:22
NDK-3 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Tripping) OSU 0x3 16:20

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK 2 - 0 6x6 GW Brad Malone (2) (Evan Trupp, Derrick LaPoint) 4:24
NDK (+): 22,19,18,4,20,G31 OSU (-): 15,10,21,8,17,G41
OSU-3 Sergio Somma (2-Tripping) NDK 0x3 6:04
OSU 1 - 2 6x6 Zac Dalpe (9) (Peter Boyd, Sergio Somma) 8:18
OSU (+): 19,26,44,12,27,G41 NDK (-): 25,3,17,29,26,G31
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 Danny Kristo (3) (Chris VandeVelde, Jason Gregoire) 11:25
NDK (+): 7,29,17,20,4,G31 OSU (-): 20,12,27,11,16,G41
OSU-4 Matt Bartkowski (2-Tripping) NDK 1x4 13:12
NDK 4 - 1 6x5 PP Brett Hextall (3) (Jake Marto, Evan Trupp) 13:49
NDK: 26,25,19,7,22,G31 OSU: 20,17,11,21,G41
NDK-4 BENCH (2-Too Many Players) (Served by Brett Bruneteau) OSU 0x4 17:02

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End of Game
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NCAA Round Up: BSU is for real

Here is my latest column for the Illegal Curve.

Yesterday afternoon I saw one of the better played college hockey games of the seasons. The first game featured the upstart Bemidji State University Beavers of the CHA against the media darling Miami University RedHawks of the CCHA. Coming into the game it was one of the more talked about matchups of the season in college hockey. The game was a rematch of last season’s frozen four semi final from Washington D.C. in which the Miami RedHawks won 4-1. Yesterday the rematch went the BSU Beavers way as they won a hard fought 3-2 victory over the number one ranked team in the nation.

BSU overrated?

This season there has been a reoccurring theme; BSU has been ranked in the top ten the past three weeks and I have had many fans tell me that BSU was over rated and hadn’t played anyone and was unworthy of their high ranking. This past week all over the blogosphere and college hockey message boards I had read how Miami was finally going to show BSU that their record was over inflated and they would lay a smack down on the BSU Beavers. Now it’s the Beaver fans that are laughing. Yesterday’s 3-2 win by the Beavers is no fluke; the Beavers have an impressive 25-4-2 since January 24th, 2009. During that time the Beavers have beaten Notre Dame, Cornell, Minnesota and now Miami.

Are the Beavers still over rated?

Bemidji’s top line of Matt Read (10g-11a-21pts), Jordan George (6g-11a-17pts), Ian Lowe (4g-3a-7pts) is good enough to be on any teams top six in division 1 hockey. Matt Read leading the nation is points and is sixth in the nation in points per game. Read is also leading his team in total points.

Bemidji State are solid in net Dan Bakala (8-1-1, 1.6323 and .935 SV %) good for 6th nationally. The Beavers have a very good defensive core and tied with North Dakota for the top defensive team in the nation giving up an average of 1.69 goals per game. [College Hockey National Statistics]

So is BSU over rated? My answer is no until the Beavers are proven otherwise the evidence is there in the win column and statistically that they are a very good hockey team and just took down the number one rated team in the country. My question is; is Miami over rated? What do you think?

Check out more from Eric at twitter

Chorney's stache

Hockey players from around the NHL have been growing Mustaches for prostate cancer awareness and here former Fighting Sioux defenseman Taylor Chorney’s attempt at growing a mustache.

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache-growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health.

Eight Oilers players and three members of the team's training staff will be participating in the charity event this year and we will be tracking their moustache progress throughout the month.

Prostate Cancer Canada (http://www.prostatecancer.ca/) uses the Movember funds for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer
[NHL.COM]