Team Canada WJC Roster.

Hockey Canada released their roster for the WJC and there isn't any NCAA influence on the Canadian team. There was a chance that Harvard’s Louie Leblanc and Minnesota-Duluth's Dylan Olsen would make the team but they were cut by team Canada. The Wild's 2008 draft choice Marco Scandella made the team while Wild draft choice Tyler Cuma did not.

Goalies

1 Jake Allen, Fredericton, N.B./N.-B. Montreal (QMJHL) STL '08
31 Martin Jones North Vancouver, B.C./C.-B. Calgary (WHL) LA '08 (FA/JA)

Défense

2 * Colten Teubert, White Rock, B.C./C.-B. Regina WHL) LA '08
3 Travis Hamonic, St. Malo, Man. Moose Jaw (WHL) NYI '08
5 Marco Scandella, Montreal, Que./QC Val d'Or (QMJHL) MIN '08
6 * Ryan Ellis, Freelton, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NSH '09
22 Jared Cowen, Allan, Sask Spokane (WHL) OTT '09
24 Calvin de Haan, Carp, Ont. Oshawa (OHL) NYI '09
27 * Alex Pietrangelo, King City, Ont. St. Louis (NHL) STL '08

Forwards

4 Taylor Hall,Kingston, Ont. Windsor (OHL) 2010 Dft/Rep.
7 Gabriel Bourque, Baie-Comeau, Que./QC Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) NSH '09
9 Nazem Kadri,London, Ont. London (OHL) TOR '09
10 Brayden Schenn, Saskatoon, Sask. Brandon (WHL) LA '09
12 Adam Henrique, Burford, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NJ '08
14 * Jordan Eberle, Regina, Sask. Regina (WHL) EDM '08
15 Brandon McMillan, Delta, B.C./C.-B. Kelowna (WHL) ANA '08
16 Greg Nemisz, Courtice, Ont. Windsor (OHL) CGY '08
17 Brandon Kozun, Calgary, Alta./Alb. Calgary (WHL) LA '09
19 * Stefan Della Rovere, Maple, Ont. Barrie (OHL) WAS '08
20 Luke Adam,St. John's, N.L./T.-N.-L. Cape Breton (QMJHL) BUF '08
26 Jordan Caron, Sayabec, Que./QC Rimouski (QMJHL) BOS '09
28 * Patrice Cormier, Cap-Pelé, N.B./N.-B. Rimouski (QMJHL) NJ '08
[Link to team Canada Roster]

Check out the Don Cherry clip.

This is the latest dust up involving Don Cherry. Last week Dr. Charles Tator said that “He’s (Don Cherry) was a negative influence, the aggressive, lack-of-respect hockey that he preaches — we need to get that out of the game.” The audio is the response to a reporter that was trying to get him to talk about the incident. I don’t blame Cherry for responding that way at all.

Caution there is some raw/coarse language in this clip.
[Click to listen to the audio here]

An apology from Don Cherry for telling a Toronto radio reporter to “f-off” during a profanity laced tirade on Sunday is highly unlikely.

Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, says Cherry is not to blame for the incident and in fact was incited by the reporter who was overly aggressive.

“I think the apology should go the other way,” Moore said in an email.

Moore went on CFRB radio in Toronto today at noon and stated the network is throwing its full support behind Cherry. Moreover, sources confirmed there will be no apology from the Hockey Night In Canada commentator.

In another development, 680 News reporter Colin D’Mello, who attempted to interview Cherry on Sunday, may be suspended by the station.

His main offence was posting Cherry’s expletive filled rant on Facebook and also Twittering it. The clip was picked up by The Globe and Mail and posted. You can also hear the clip on this website at the bottom of this piece.

D’Mello was attempting to get a reaction from Cherry regarding neurosurgeon Charles Tator’s assertion that Cherry has been a negative influence on the game by promoting fighting and the so-called “rock em, sock em” style of hockey. Tator’s concern is concussions in hockey.
[Read the rest of the article]

Lack of ‘O’ a problem for Bruins

Props to Rusty of the Illegal Cruve. Earlier this season I predicted the Bruins would be hard pressed to score goals and were stupid not to resign Phil Kessel. I said it was crazy to suggest that Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron were going to pick up the slack left by Kessel. Also, David Krejci has been a disappointment so far this season. Looks like I was right in predicting that the Bruins would be hard pressed to score goals this season.

Key veteran offensive guys - like Marco Sturm, Michael Ryder and Mark Recchi - are posting below-average numbers. Youngsters like David Krejci and Blake Wheeler are not having the kind of years hoped for. The most important offensive player, Marc Savard, has missed almost half the season due to a foot injury and has yet to really get going.

Against the Flyers, Savard had no shots and was a minus-3.

“We’ve got to get better, I’ve got to be better,” Savard said. “I’ve got to start getting results. I’m not getting any of those.”

The obviously frustrated Savard was blaming no one other than himself, but the fact is he needs better wingers to center.

With all due respect to Byron Bitz, as hard-working and honest a player as you’ll find, his stint as a first-liner should be finished. Wheeler hasn’t been able to relocate the scoring touch that produced 21 goals last season.

“That line wasn’t very good for us,” coach Claude Julien said. “Savvy’s got to take some of that responsibility, but it’s not a one-man line. He needs his wingers, and his wingers weren’t there, either. That line was very average for us. It needed to be better.” [Boston Herald]

Wild not on TV. No Commi Tonight.

The Wild game is not on TV tonight, damn VERSUS. I guess I won't be able to watch Mike Commodore play as well. I am so sick and tired of the Versus situation.

Lastly, in order to keep the VERSUS ratings at its usual monster numbers, tonight's Wild-Jackets game won't be televised in either market. Both Minnesota and Columbus gets the shaft because it falls into VERSUS' exclusive window. [Russo's Rants]

Someone please explain where the penalty is...

I want to be clear; the refs didn’t cost the Fighting Sioux the game on Saturday night. That is not the intention of this blog post; my point of this blog post is to hammer home a point that the leagues officials are incompetent and there needs to be a change in the WCHA. Here is a very clear video of the alleged CFB penalty at the end of Saturday's game. Please tell me I am seeing things and that a WCHA on ice official didn’t stop a potential scoring attempt to call a penalty on a legal hip check. Second, Hextall didn’t check the Badger player it looks like Malone did.

Oh yeah the email address for the WCHA Commissioner is bmccleod@du.com

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[December 14, 2009]

1 Miami (48) 13-2-5 998 1
2 Denver ( 2) 11-5-2 900 2
3 Colorado College 11-4-3 841 6
4 Cornell 7-2-2 805 5
5 Boston College 10-3-2 717 10
6 North Dakota 9-6-3 672 3
7 Wisconsin 11-5-2 657 11
8 Quinnipiac 13-3-1 639 7
9 Yale 7-3-2 609 8
10 Bemidji State 13-4-1 594 4
11 Ferris State 13-3-2 556 13
12 Minnesota-Duluth 11-6-1 434 12
13 Michigan State 12-6-2 419 14
14 Mass.-Lowell 10-6-1 418 9
15 Massachusetts 10-5-0 365 15
16 New Hampshire 8-6-3 209 19
17 Alaska 9-5-4 183 16
18 Union 8-3-5 164 20
19 St. Cloud State 8-7-3 120 17
20 Notre Dame 8-8-4 71 18
Others Receiving Votes: Maine 42, Vermont 32, Michigan 23, Minnesota State 11, Colgate 7, Lake Superior 6, RIT 4, Minnesota 3, Nebraska-Omaha 1
---------------------------
USA Today
[December 14, 2009]
1. Miami (33)
2. Denver (1)
3. Colorado College
4. Cornell
5. North Dakota
6. Boston College
7. Wisconsin
8. Yale
9. Bemidji State
10. Quinnipiac
11. Ferris State
12. UMass-Lowell
13. Michigan State
14. Minnesota-Duluth
15. UMass
Others receiving votes: University of New Hampshire 18, University of Michigan 7, University of Alaska 5, St. Cloud State University 3, Union College 3, Rochester Institute of Technology 1.

Something to think about...

These comments were posted on the Herald's site. While I don’t think there is a conspiracy per see, I do think the league office has a perception problem with some of the member schools fans, whether they intended to or not.

Just to clear up the record McLeod did come to WCHA office at DU from UMD. I am going to make a prediction, the WCHA office will be moved out of Denver University in the future. Just a hunch… This isn’t the first time I have heard this kind of talk and there are a few fans that are upset with the way things have transpired in the WCHA.

kb I. ----Grand Forks, ND 12/13/2009 10:34 AM
Dang, here is your WCHA:

*Commissioner Bruce McCleod. His office is on Denver's campus and his email bmccleod@du.com

*Assistant Commissioner of Operations Carol LaBelle-Ehrhardt In 2003, LaBelle-Ehrhardt was awarded the (2002) Tourism Ambassador Award for St. Paul, Minn. Prior to joining the conference full-time, LaBelle-Ehrhardt was an Assistant to the Athletic Director at the University of Denver for five years. A graduate of the University of Denver, LaBelle-Ehrhardt and her husband, Mark Ehrhardt, live in Colorado.

*Associate Commissioner Sara R. Martin Prior to assuming her duties with the WCHA, Martin worked at the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department from 1990-99. She began as an administrative assistant to the associate athletic director and moved into the department of facilities and events in 1995. In 1997 she became the Event Manager at the Kohl Center. Martin earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1990 and a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Minnesota State University in 1993.

*Supervisor of Officials Greg Shepherd Shepherd was a 36-year employee of Xcel Energy, in St. Paul, Minn. He was a former City Council person in West St. Paul, Minn. Greg and his wife, Nancy, live in West St. Paul.

*Associate Commissioner for Public Relations Doug Spencer Prior to coming to the WCHA, Spencer had tenures as an Assistant SID at Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Wisconsin. He and his wife, Caroline, live in Madison .

*Assistant to the Commissioner Jeff Sauer Sauer recorded 655 victories while heading up the teams at both Colorado College and the University of Wisconsin.

*Women's Public Relations Bill Brophy He spent five years covering college hockey for the Duluth News-Tribune. Brophy served as the University of Wisconsin beat reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison before serving as the State Journal sports editor. He also served as the radio analyst on Badger hockey from 1991 until 2003. Brophy was the communications director for the Diocese of Madison. A native of Minneapolis, Minn., he makes his home in Madison, Wis. HEY! WHERE IS NORTH DAKOTA'S REPRESENTATION?
[Grand Forks Herald Comments]

Badgers, and the W.C.H.A., Assert Themselves

Check out this article in the New York Times hockey blog. Seems like North Dakota keeps popping up in the New Yorks Times a lot lately.

After a few dormant years, the Western College Hockey Association appears to be back on track as a dominant force in college hockey. The conference entered this past weekend’s action with six of the top 17 teams in the national polls, led by the mainstays Denver, North Dakota and Colorado College all hovering around the top five in the polls.

Add another team to the mix, as 11th-ranked Wisconsin went on the road for a pair of games in Grand Forks, N.D., and came away with an impressive 3-point weekend and a revelation in net. Backed by the junior goalie Scott Gudmandson, making back-to-back starts for the first time in his career, the Badgers made a statement in a tough road environment at Engelstad Arena: the W.C.H.A. isn’t as top-heavy as it might appear.


Wisconsin’s big weekend is a testament to the depth of the W.C.H.A., and an indication that the Badgers are ready to compete with the heavyweights in the conference and around college hockey. Earlier this season the Badgers picked up a pair of blowout victories against Hockey East-leading New Hampshire, but earning a tie Friday and a win Saturday against the Fighting Sioux was a new high.

Gudmandson stopped 27 shots in a 3-3 draw Friday, a game in which the Badgers twice gave up two-goal leads to a resilient Sioux club that pulled even on a late power-play goal from Danny Kristo. The first night’s effort from Gudmandson was strong and his play the next night earned him more rave reviews. The goalie turned away 31 shots to help his team come away with a 4-3 win and take three huge points from North Dakota.

The senior center Ben Street appreciated his goalie’s performance, telling The Capital Times: “He’s not going to crack under pressure, that’s for sure. These last two nights have been some pretty high-pressure games and he’s come up big and that’s huge to show your teammates that.”

Gudmandson typically splits time in net with Brett Bennett, who is nursing a dislocated left shoulder. The junior took advantage of the situation, propelling his team toward victory with a great showing Saturday, including seven saves on an extended first-period 5-on-3 for the Sioux.
[Read the rest of the article]

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for those looking for a good laugh on Monday Morning. What is humorous about this week's power ranking is that Cornell and Yale are ranked so high; yet Yale would barely be in the NCAA tourney and Cornell would be on the outside looking in if the NCAA tourney started today.

1. Miami
2. Denver
3. Cornell
4. Boston College
5. Colorado College
6. Yale
7. Wisconsin
8. North Dakota 5 The Fighting Sioux gave up more than two goals once in their nine games en route to a 7-1-1 start. They've allowed three or more goals six times in the nine games since and are 2-5-2 in that stretch.
9-6-3 (6-6-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Wisconsin, 3-3 ot; L vs. Wisconsin, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. USA Under-20 Team (Ex.)
9. Quinnipiac
10. Bemidji State
11. Michigan State
12. UMass Lowell
13. Massachusetts
14. Ferris State
15. Minnesota Duluth
16. Union
17. Alaska
18. New Hampshire
19. Maine
20. St. Cloud State

Dropped out: None
Bubble-licious: Colgate, Lake Superior State

Illegal hits are tarnishing college hockey.

Former Fighting Sioux hockey beat writer Virg Foss has a really good article on "illegal hits." I think Virg is right; if I was a head coach in college hockey today what's to stop me from telling one of my tougher players to just go out and run the other team's top player? The refs on the ice can’t even make the right call half the time anyways. We had an official calling a player for a five minute checking from behind call when it wasn't even an illegal hit. Even if the refs do get the call right that night, you probably aren't going to pay for the illegal hit with any extra games anyways.

“If I coached college hockey,” he said, “I’d take my worst player and send him out to fight the best player on the other team, getting him out of the game,” he said. “I’d take that trade-off any day.”

He ignited a topic that has been boiling inside me for some time now, the relatively free pass given to players in college hockey who inflict grave harm upon an opponent.

It was that same anger that prompted this mild-mannered basketball coach to flip over the edge with his suggestion.

n A few years ago, Denver’s Geoff Paukovich delivered a pulverizing, illegal check from behind into the boards to UND’s Robbie Bina. The hit broke Bina’s neck, took him out of hockey for a year, and who knows what limitations he’ll face later in life.

Paukovich, not even penalized on the play, was later given a game suspension by his school, one more by the league. Big hairy deal, I say.

n Last year, Minnesota State’s Trevor Breuss slew-footed UND’s Derrick LaPoint into the end boards, snapping the leg of LaPoint and ending his season. Breuss received a slap on the wrist from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, much like Paukovich.

n This season, St. Cloud State’s Aaron Marvin tracked UND’s Chay Genoway the length of the ice, delivering an illegal high hit, smashing Genoway’s head into the glass and leaving him knocked senseless on the ice with a concussion.

Marvin got an additional game suspension from the WCHA. Genoway, one of the league’s most dynamic players, hasn’t played since the Nov. 13 hit. Coaches are not sure when — or if — his reported concussion will clear this season.

It bugs me to no end that players such as Bina, LaPoint and Genoway can be knocked out of action for a spell, a season, or maybe forever and the players who inflict the injuries skate away relatively unscathed.

Something’s wrong with the rules of college hockey, folks. That players can be seriously injured with little consequence to the violators alters not only their careers, but the fortunes of their teams.

A league championship, perhaps a national title, can be taken away in a blink by a reckless hit, whether intent to harm was there or not.
[Grand Forks Herald]

Some video of last night's scrum.

Someone asked me if there was any video of last night's little dust up at the end of the game between the Badgers and the Sioux, the beauty of YouTube . No one was disqualified or did anyone get more than a double minor and a ten minute misconduct. You can see Todd Anderson admiring his work, another game that gets away from him because of his incompetence.

Post game comments and Hextall's CFB.

At about 5:30 of the video you will see the penalty that Todd Anderson called on Hextal. That was NOT a checking from behind penatly. That was a good legal check. Another brutal game by Todd Anderson.

How is Todd Anderson still reffing games in the WCHA?

I think I am going to dust off an old article from the past. Tonight the UND and Wisconsin game almost ended in a line brawl. Guess who was officiating the game? You guessed it Todd Anderson.

Let’s take look at one of my favorite WCHA officials Todd Anderson and his impressive hit parade over the past couple of seasons. These ugly incidents happened in the games that Todd Anderson has worked in and the game has gotten away from him. You have to wonder if the WCHA league office is at all concerned that these reoccurring incidents usually involve a game where Todd Anderson has been one of the on ice officials. My question to the league is; how does this guy keep his job when it is obvious he isn't all that sharp and can't control a game? In fact his performance was unsatisfactory in all of these games and there is no other possible grad for him. The League office needs to man up and get rid of some dead weight. [Message to the WCHA fire Todd Anderson now]

1.) The Prpich cup check and the Dasher dance. [ND Redfrog] Todd Anderson on ice official.
2.) The dasher dance and ejection from the game. Guess who is the official? Todd Anderson.
3.) The Brian Schack incident in Mankato as Schack attacked Channing Boe. The on ice official? Todd Anderson.
4.) Goal review in Mankato.
5.) J.P. Testwuide vs Ben Gordon from the Pioneers at Gophers game on Jan 20, 2007 [Hockey Fights] Guess who the official is? Todd Anderson.
6.) Tonight end of the game between the Sioux and Badgers and a near line brawl breaks out. Guess who is reffing again? You would never guess? Todd Anderson. [Scrum end of Badgers and Sioux game]

Badgers 4 Sioiux 3

I would use three words to explain this weekend's play; UNACEPTABLE, UNDICISPLINED and LAZY. If you can't move your feet get off the ice. I swear! I wonder if next season I can just buy half a season ticket package and start showing up to the games after the first of the year because for a 6th season in a row the Fighting Sioux are just not playing up to their potential. Frankly they suck. There are many players that would give their left testicle to play for this program. The effort on the ice was non-existent.

Goaltending this past weekend by the starting goaltender Brad Eidness was HORRIBLE or another word I would use is BRUTAL. Three of the four goals that Eidness let in tonight were shot he should have and has to stop. I want someone to tell me why Eidness is always on his knees, if he isn’t on his knee is failing to cover the short side post or just out of position all together. The Fighting Sioux coaching staff needs to get a goalie coach to work with their tenders.

DISCIPLINE

Edit (the beauty of DVR): I went back and watched the game oon my DVR and the first penalty against Ben Blood in the second period was a joke it was a legit finished body check, the second penalty was a legitmate boarding call and I have seen hits like this called checking from behind. borderline checking from behind.

In conclusion: Take nothing away from the Wisconsin Badgers they are a very good hockey teams that is loaded with future NHL players. As usual Mike Eaves outcoach the Fighting Sioux staff again. Blake Geoffrion i an awesome player that would look great in green and white and I can’t understand why he isn’t already playing for a pay check in the AHL or NHL?
[Box Score]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WIS-1 Craig Smith (2-Tripping) NDK 0x1 3:57
WIS-2 Ben Street (2-O-TRIPPING) NDK 0x2 4:30
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Brett Hextall (5) (Derrick LaPoint) 6:59
NDK (+): 26,3,2,9,11,G31 WIS (-): 13,22,11,7,55,G1
NDK-1 Ben Blood (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) WIS 1x1 7:46
WIS 1 - 1 6x5 PP Blake Geoffrion (14) (Brendan Smith, Justin Schultz) 9:28
WIS: 5,7,6,9,21,G1 NDK: 2,3,19,22,G31
WIS-3 John Mitchell (2-Hooking) NDK 1x3 12:18
NDK 2 - 1 6x5 PP Chris VandeVelde (5) (unassisted) 12:46
NDK: 29,26,17,7,25,G31 WIS: 11,5,19,17,G1
NDK-2 Darcy Zajac (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) WIS 1x2 19:04

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

WIS 2 - 2 6x6 Michael Davies (6) (Derek Stepan) 5:56
WIS (+): 9,21,55,13,7,G1 NDK (-): 7,20,19,3,22,G31
NDK-3 Ben Blood (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) WIS 2x3 6:15
NDK-4 Ben Blood (2-Boarding) WIS 2x4 6:15
WIS 3 - 2 6x5 PP LL Ben Street (6) (John Mitchell, Craig Smith) 7:55
WIS: 22,24,15,19,27,G1 NDK: 19,22,2,4,G31
NDK-5 Mario Lamoureux (2-Holding) WIS 2x5 8:24
WIS-4 John Mitchell (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 1x4 10:03
NDK-6 Andrew MacWilliam (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) WIS 2x6 19:23

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

WIS-5 Derek Lee (2-Tripping) NDK 1x5 6:13
NDK-7 Jake Marto (2-Slashing) WIS 3x7 12:40
WIS 4 - 2 6x5 PP GW Brendan Smith (8) (Justin Schultz, Derek Stepan) 13:09
WIS: 7,6,21,5,9,G1 NDK: 22,19,2,24,G31
WIS-6 Ben Grotting (2-Boarding) NDK 1x6 13:20
WIS-7 Craig Smith (2-Tripping) NDK 2x7 18:11
Timeout - North Dakota 19:23
NDK 3 - 4 6x5 PP EA Brett Hextall (6) (Jason Gregoire, Evan Trupp) 19:43
NDK: 26,17,19,22,7,25 WIS: 5,17,27,11,G1
NDK-8 Brett Hextall (10-Game Misconduct) 19:56
NDK-9 Brett Hextall (5-Checking from Behind) WIS 3x8 19:56
WIS-8 Blake Geoffrion (2-Cross-Checking) 20:00
WIS-9 Matt Thurber (10-Misconduct) 20:00
WIS-10 Ben Grotting (2-Roughing) 20:00
WIS-11 Ben Grotting (2-Roughing) 20:00
WIS-12 Ben Grotting (10-Misconduct) 20:00
NDK-10 Darcy Zajac (2-Cross-Checking) 20:00
NDK-11 Mario Lamoureux (10-Misconduct) 20:00
NDK-12 Corey Fienhage (2-Roughing) 20:00
NDK-13 Corey Fienhage (2-Roughing) 20:00
NDK-14 Corey Fienhage (10-Misconduct) 20:00
NDK-15 Ben Blood (10-Misconduct) 20:00

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

NCAA Round Up: Half way point

Here is this weeks column that I wrote for the Illegal Curve.

Most College hockey teams have played about half of their games (somewhere between 15-17 games), so I think we can say that we are approximately half way through the college hockey season. So, as a result, I have posted the top sixteen in the Pairwise Rankings--which are a snap shot of the college hockey season to date. While the Pairwise Rankings are very fluid and can change with a team suffering a few bad losses or by losing comparisons against other teams, the PWR is interesting to look at and utilitize measure how your favorite team is doing. After taking a look, you shelf it and come take a look again a little later on in the season.

Teams per the Pairwise Rankings
1 Miami 12-2-5 (CCHA)
2 Denver 11-4-2 (WCHA)
3 Bemidji State 13-3-1 (CHA)
4 Boston College 9-3-2 (HE)
5 Ferris State 12-3-2 (CCHA)
6 Wisconsin 10-5-2 (WCHA)
7 North Dakota 9-5-3 (WCHA)
8 Colorado College 10-4-3 (WCHA)
9 Quinnipiac 12-3-1 (ECAC)
10 Michigan State (CCHA)
11 Mass.-Lowell 10-5-1 (HE)
12 St Cloud St 8-6-3 (WCHA)
13 Massachusetts (HE)
14 Minnesota-Duluth 10-6-1 (WCHA)
15 New Hampshire 8-6-3 (HE)
16 Air Force Academy or RIT (AHA) tourney winner

So far this season the WCHA has once again emerged as the pride of college hockey and if the tourney started today there would be an impressive six WCHA teams in the NCAA tournament. While there probably won’t be six WCHA teams in the top 14-15 spots of the PWR at season's end, I think there is a good chance there could be five teams; simply, the WCHA is that good. The fact is, the NCAA is probably already sweating and hoping they don’t have another all WCHA Frozen Four.

Traditional teams like Minnesota, Michigan and Boston University would be on the outside looking in. Two of the four teams from last season’s frozen four would be sitting home UVM and BU.

This is how the NCAA tourney would shake out –

6 – WCHA
4 – HE
3 – CCHA
1 –ECAC
1 – CHA
1 –AHA

Here’s the Strength of Schedule for the WCHA teams [KRACH]
2 Denver 4
3 Colorado College 15
4 Wisconsin 7
5 North Dakota 5
7 St. Cloud State 1
9 Minnesota-Duluth 11

Check out more from Eric at twitter, and the Goon’s World Blog

Derek Boogaard vs Brian McGrattan

Check out the Boogieman's clobbering of Calgary goon Brian McGrattan. Derek made short work of the Calgary player, about a two or three punch fight.

Not only did Boogaard win the Fight against McGrattan but two Wild players scored goals last night that haven't done much this year. That means the Minnesota Wild finally beat the Calgary Flames in overtime and they beat the Flames in the Saddle Dome in Calgary. Also, Waste of a uniform James Sheppard scored the the [game tying goal] add an assist from the Sheriff Shane Hnidy and Martin Havlat. In the overtime period the overpaid and waste of a uniform Martin Havlat got his [third goal of the season]. Yep that's right Havlat is being paid 5 million dollars a year to score 13 points after 25 games. That's unacceptable but maybe he can get it going now.

Lets give Wisconsin some Credit.

While I want the Sioux to win every game they play I don’t think I am disappointed with a tie last night, really this game could have gone south the way it started.

I read where people were saying all UND could get against the Badgers was a tie. Let’s give Wisconsin some respect because Wisconsin is a very good veteran hockey team that is a little more experienced than UND. Wisconsin has nine juniors and seven seniors on their roster while the Sioux have five juniors and three seniors.

Currently on defense the Fighting Sioux have two freshman, two sophomores and two juniors. On the other side of the ice tonight the Wisconsin Badgers three juniors, one sophomores and two freshman, three of these defenseman are first round draft choices and two of them are second round draft choices. That is a pretty solid defensive corps.

With the tie UND is still ranked 7th in the Pair Wise Ranking so the Fighting Sioux are sitting in good position. [PWR] Last year at this time UND wasn't even in the top 20.

Points of interest
Here is one of these stats that stick out when you look at it.

According to Andy Baggot The Badgers failed to win an overtime game for the 19th consecutive time, but the record will show they were fortunate to emerge with a 3-3 standoff with North Dakota in their WCHA series opener at Ralph Engelstad Arena. UW is 0-6-13 in overtime affairs since the final outing of 2006-07. That's when it knocked off St. Cloud State 4-3 in the consolation game of the WCHA Final Five.[Madison.com]

Sister kissing in Grand Forks: Sioux 3 Badgers 3

When the game first started I thought that the Wisconsin Badgers were going to run the Fighting Sioux out of the REA as the Badgers scored two goals in the first period with relative ease. The Sioux looked more like the slumbering Sioux than the Fighting Sioux as many for their passes were not connecting and they were having trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. Frankly; being run out of the building wouldn't have shocked me because the Badgers had some pretty good luck in Grand Forks since the REA opened in 2001 (6-5-2, 13 games). Let’s mark it down as a substandard effort in the first period.

Fast forward to the second period, finally the Sioux got things clicking offensively and scored their first goal by Brad Malone at 1:58 of the second period. The celebration was short lived as the Wisconsin Badgers scored their third goal by Andy Bohmbach less than two minutes later. I think it would be an understatement to say that the third Badger goal was of the weak variety and it could have been a momentum killer. Let’s just say that it wasn’t Brad Eidness’ best effort.

At this point Coach Hakstol had seen enough and made a goalie change; out of the game goes Brad Eidsness and in skates Aaron Dell. Cue the Dude we got a Dell commercial. Dell had been banished to the bench since his shelling at the hands of the SCSU Huskies back in November 14th, so it was kind of a surprise because coach Hakstol doesn’t pull goalies very often. I honestly can’t remember any games during the past three seasons were the Sioux have pulled their goalie. In retrospect I am also sure that Eidsness would like to have the third goal back because it was not a good goal at all and the Sioux had just started to get the momentum going their way. Bad goals kill a team’s momentum and this goal could have killed any momentum the Sioux had picked up, but it didn’t. UND outshoot the Badgers 12-2 in the second period.

In the third period Danny Kristo got the game equalizer and it was another night goal by Kristo. Kristo finished the game with a goal and an assist and has been on a pretty good clip as of late. For the most part the play was pretty equal as the Sioux outshot the Badgers 9-8.

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

WIS-1 Ryan McDonagh (2-Roughing) 0:51
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-High-Sticking) 0:51
WIS-2 Aaron Bendickson (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 0x1 5:18
WIS 1 - 0 6x6 Craig Smith (3) (Blake Geoffrion, John Ramage) 9:00
WIS (+): 15,5,55,24,7,G1 NDK (-): 24,3,9,29,11,G31
WIS-3 Derek Lee (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 16:42
WIS 2 - 0 6x6 Blake Geoffrion (13) (Craig Smith, Cody Goloubef) 19:43
WIS (+): 5,15,27,24,6,G1 NDK (-): 3,9,22,11,25,G31

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

NDK 1 - 2 6x6 Brad Malone (5) (Danny Kristo, Evan Trupp) 1:58
NDK (+): 22,7,19,20,3,G31 WIS (-): 9,55,22,7,21,G1
WIS 3 - 1 6x6 Andy Bohmbach (4) (Ryan McDonagh, Matt Thurber) 3:40
WIS (+): 11,12,10,17,19,G1 NDK (-): 4,10,8,25,17,G31
WIS-4 John Ramage (2-Roughing) 5:03
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-Cross-Checking) 5:03
WIS-5 John Mitchell (2-Tripping) NDK 1x3 7:49
NDK 2 - 3 6x5 PP Ben Blood (3) (Chris VandeVelde, Jason Gregoire) 9:35
NDK: 24,29,20,26,17,G32 WIS: 14,22,27,7,G1
NDK-3 Ben Blood (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) WIS 0x1 9:35
WIS-6 Blake Geoffrion (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) NDK 1x4 14:32
WIS-7 Cody Goloubef (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x5 16:14
WIS-8 Brendan Smith (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 17:46
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (10-Game Misconduct) 17:46
NDK-5 Brett Hextall (5-Checking from Behind) WIS 0x2 17:46
WIS-9 Craig Smith (2-Tripping) NDK 1x6 19:19

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

WIS-10 Ben Grotting (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) 8:50
NDK-6 Corey Fienhage (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) 8:50
WIS-11 Ryan McDonagh (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x7 9:46
NDK 3 - 3 5x4 PP GT Danny Kristo (6) (Jake Marto) 10:14
NDK: 7,25,19,22,G32 WIS: 13,27,6,G1
NDK-7 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) WIS 0x3 12:16
WIS-12 Craig Smith (2-Roughing) 16:22
NDK-8 Ben Blood (2-Roughing) 16:22

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

WIS-13 Craig Smith (2-Slashing) NDK 2x8 2:21

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

Lines for tonight's game.

Here are the lines for Tonight's game Per Brad Schlossman


UND's lines

9 Lamoureux(3-3-6)- 29 VandeVelde(4-9-13)- 11 Zajac (4-6-10)
19 Trupp(4-10-14)- 22 Malone (4-8-12)-7 Kristo(5-9-14)
17 Gregoire (8-4-12)- 18 Toews (4-8-12)- 26 Hextall (4-3-7)
8 Cichy (1-2-3)-27 Rowney (0-5-5)-10 Knight (1-0-1)

2 MacWilliam (0-2-2) - 24 Blood (2-3-5)
25 Marto (3-2-5)- 4 Fienhage (0-1-1)
3 LaPoint (1-3-4) - 20 Gleason (0-3-3)

31 Brad Eidsness (8-4-2, 1.97 GAA, .919 SV%)
32 Aaron Dell (1-1-0, 2.26 GAA, .870 SV%)

[UND STATS]

Wisconsin's lines

24 Mitchell (4-3-7) - 5 Geoffrion (12-3-15) - 15 Smith (2-10-12)
23 Lee (1-6-7) - 22 Street (5-5-10) - 14 Grotting (1-3-4)
13 Bendickson (3-6-9) -21 Stepan (5-15-20)-9 Davies (5-10-15)
11 Bohmbach (3-5-8)- 12 Thurber (1-0-1) -10 Johnson (3-2-5)

7 Smith (7-17-24)- 55 Ramage (2-4-6)
27 Goloubef (3-5-8) - 6 Schultz (1-5-6)
17 McDonagh (2-7-9) - 19 Gardiner (1-2-3)

1 Scott Gudmandson (4-2-1, 1.57 GAA, .933 SV%)
35 Mitch Thompson
[UW Stats]

Not an impressive Sioux Hockey stat...

Here is an interesting stat the Wisconsin Badgers are 6-5-1 against the Sioux in the Ralph Engelstad Arena since it opened in 2001. I wasn't aware that the Badgers had owned UND in their own rink the past 6 games. That is unacceptable stat that needs to be fixed.

Let’s hope that UND can change their fortunes against the BADgers the next two games. Wisconsin plays a very defensive game that is frustrating to play against, the BADGers recently have really activated their defense and their recent top scorers have been defenseman. They are a dangerous team and I think a split is reasonable this weekend. The defense is going to have to be alert to odd man rushes this weekend and someone needs to tie a lanyard to Eidsness so he doesn’t stray too far from the goal.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Ask around the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the toughest place to play and North Dakota will be near the top of every list.

For one thing, the team here is excellent. The Fighting Sioux have lost 36 regular-season league home games since 2000-01 — the fewest among the 10 WCHA members — and have advanced to five NCAA Frozen Fours, more than any other school during that time.

For another thing, the atmosphere is imposing. Ralph Engelstad Arena — which puts many NHL rinks to shame with its amenities — has a rambunctious student section and loud sellout crowds of 11,634 that are fueled in part by alcohol sold at the facility.
---------------------------
Of course, there’s this: The Badgers are the only visiting WCHA team with a winning record at Engelstad (6-5-1) since it opened in 2001. That includes a 5-1 mark on their last three trips here.

Asked about that stretch of success, UW coach Mike Eaves said his players seem to respond to facing a quality opponent in an intense atmosphere on an NHL-size (200x85) rink.

“It’s like a pinball machine in there sometimes,” he said. “Everywhere you turn, you’re going to run into somebody or something is happening. You have to be into the game.”

A common thread through those five wins — including sweeps in 2005-06 and ’06-07 — is that the Badgers have landed the big punch.
[Madison.com]

Hab's screwed.

Here is the latest installment of the get off your knees ref your blowing the game. Last night I was watching the Canadians and the Penguins game on the NHL network and I witnessed one of the more horrendous calls of the year. How in the heck can the ref blow the call this bad on what appeared to be a legit goal? The puck was no where near close to being frozen by the goaltender.

Friday morning links.

Here are a couple of things that are floating out there that might be of interest to you.

Both Fighting Sioux hockey games this weekend will be on channel 617 on Direct TV as well as on the NHL channel. [Fighting Sioux]

Here is an awesome blog post detailing the Leafs beat down they took at the hands of the Boston Bruins last night. [Tea Party Throw Down]

If you fas forward to 26:10 you can hear the Shawn Thornton comments on his former teammate Phil Kessel. [Toucher and Rich podcast]

Here is a summary of a few of the things that Thornton said.

Question from the hosts: We heard that you were was proud of the crowd on Saturday night; Shawn enjoyed the constant booing of Kessel for jumping ship for a couple more dollars. Peter (Chiarelli) said they offered him a pretty good contract and Kessel still chose to leave, he (Peter Chiarelli) was painted into a corner.

When asked if Thornton liked him; Shawn we weren’t that tight. It was evident that Thornton really didn’t want to answer the question but when prodded by the hosts, ‘alright I don’t like him.’

Question from the hosts: Are the Bruins are we are better off without him on the team? Thornton: For our system I don’t know if we are better off without him. It wasn’t the best fit, he is better suited to be able to wheel and deal float around and take 10 shots a night and hope a lot of them go in.

The Wild's former first round bust Benoit Pouliot has finally recovered from his injury and has now been assigned to Hamilton Bulldogs for the purpose of reconditioning. [NHL.COM]

For some Wisconsin Badgers perspective you can go to this blog site. [60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets]

Here is the Badgers Nation Series Preview: No.11 UW vs. No.3 N. Dakota.
[Scout.com]

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Notables:

UND is ranked #3 in polls, but sits in 6th place in the WCHA, just ponder that!

UM, DU, SCSU, UMD all played UND after their bye week...

The generally defensively minded Badgers put up 14 goals on MTU last weekend, and only gave up 2 goals on Friday.

UW now leads the WCHA with 47 goals scored.

UND leads the WCHA in goals against with allowing only 22.

MTU has scored the fewest goals, 23, and given up the most, 56, in the WCHA

MSU-M and UAA are now half way through the WCHA schedule of 28-games.



Current WCHA Standings

#..TEAM...............GP...W-L-T...PTS
1 Denver....................12...8-2-2....18
2 Colorado College.....12...7-3-2....16
3 Minnesota-Duluth....12...7-4-1....15
3 St. Cloud State.........12...7-4-1....15
3 Wisconsin................12...7-4-1....15
6 North Dakota...........12...6-5-1....13
7 Minnesota State.......14...5-8-1....11
8 Minnesota................12...4-7-1.....9
9 Alaska-Anchorage....14...4-10-0....8
10 Michigan Tech......12...2-10-0....4


WCHA

#2 Denver at #12 Minnesota-Duluth
The Pioneers took 3-pts from their in-state rivalry CC, and the Bulldogs got a split at home against the Sioux.

Last season they split in Duluth and DU swept UMD in Denver, then UMD blanked DU in a Final 5 semi-final game. The Bulldogs had over come 2 goal deficits in their last 3 wins. They are living dangerously with having to make comebacks, which will mostly likely burn them later. If UMD falls behind DU by 2 goals I don't think the Bulldogs will be able to comeback. However, DU did give up 2 goals in the 3rd period to CC on Saturday and the Tiger got the tie. The Pioneers are still on quarter break (Thanksgiving-New Years) so they can concentrate purely on hockey. PIONEERS SWEEP.


#11 Wisconsin at #3 North Dakota
The Badgers sweep the Huskies of MTU at the Kohl, and the Sioux split with the Bulldogs in Duluth last weekend.

Last season the split both series in Grand Forks and Madison, and then met in the Final Five 3rd place game with UW winning 4-1. This is the last "official" games for both teams until 2010 (UND has an exhibition game with the US U-20 team 12-19-09). The Badgers are a modest 3-3-0 on the road this year, and UND has only lost once at home in the past 20 home games and have a 5-1-2 record this year at home. The Sioux need to sweep the Badgers if they want to leap-frog them in the WCHA standings, which is not an easy task. The Sioux also need to stop blowing leads in the 3rd period, which they have done that past three weekend. It is safe to say that this is the start of UW's hardest stretch, after UND, in 2010 Bucky plays, @ CC, DU, and @ UMD. UW has been a good against bad teams (MTU, UAA) and has struggled some with the better teams (CC, SCSU). I have to go with my guys on this series. SIOUX 3-pts


Minnesota at Michigan Tech
The Gophers split with the Mavericks, and the Huskies were swept in Wisconsin by the Badgers.

Last season the Gophers won the series 2-1-1, with MTU getting the tie in Minneapolis and winning once in Houghton. The Gophers are a better road team than at home this year, 3-3-1 away and 3-6-0 at home. The Huskies, well, they're just bad this year, 2-4-0 at home and 1-7-0 on the road. If the Huskies can get it together this weekend and sweep the Gophers they would move up to 9th place and only be one point behind UM for 8th place. The Gophers would like to sweep the Huskies and get their WCHA record to one game below .500 at the half-way mark of the season. UM is the better team on paper, but they haven't shown it much and the first half of the season is almost over. I have to go with a SPLIT in this series.


#6 Colorado College at #17 St. Cloud State
The Tigers got a point from a pair with Denver, and SCSU sweep the Seawolves in Anchorage Alaska.

In the only series last year in Colorado Springs, SCSU won and tied the Tigers. CC is 1 game into the their big road trip, they have 8 of the next 10 games on the road. SCSU only has 8 more road games this season, and 1 is to Minneapolis and 1 to Mankato. CC has cooled off the last couple of weeks after starting hot. SCSU has played well all year and has had a murderous schedule so far and come out just fine.
I'm sticking with my guns and saying that CC is still over ranked, SCSU SWEEP.


Minnesota State at #4 Bemidji State
The Mavericks split with the Gophers, and the Beavers swept CHA foe Niagara.

BSU is a perfect 8-0-0 at home this year and MSUM is 2-4-1 on the road. I would normally go with MSUM for the whole conference thing, but after seeing both teams play it isn't that easy. I'm going with a SPLIT.


BYE WEEK - OFF
University of Alaska - Anchorage Seawolves

Shawn Thornton Doesn’t Like Phil Kessel…

The was the response that Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton gave a local radio show in Boston when asked about Phil Kessel. This really shouldn't be a shock to anyone since we have heard a lot of rumblings in the off season about Kessel. Where ever Kessel has gone there have always been rumblings. Like in this story, Kessel's draft combine wasn't pretty.

”…..I don’t like him.”

Shawn Thornton stated the obvious this morning on the Toucher & Rich morning show and admitted he wasn’t the biggest fan of Phil Kessel. ”I don’t know if we’re better off without him, but I know he wasn’t the best fit.” Granted it took some prodding from the T&R, but it was nice to finally hear it. After discussing the team’s dynamic with & without Kessel, Thornton talked about the crowd’s reaction to Phil the Thrill’s return on Saturday night. “I hope he didn’t come here thinking he was going to get cheered whenever touched the puck.” He mentioned that there are some players who love getting the hate from the crowd, but from the looks of it, Phil isn’t one of them. Pitty. Not really. [According to Cameron Frye]

Dustin Byfuglien sticks it to Gabby's team.

Check out these moves from former Roseau Minnesota Kid Dustin Byfuglien, as he wins it in overtime for the Chicago Blackhawks. I have to admit that while I haven't been a Hawk fan in the past, they seem to be a legit contender for Lord Stanley's Cup. The bonus is that Marian Gaborik’s team isn’t even in playoff contention right now. So basically Gabby is still racking up points on a team that won’t win a cup.

Blake's game winner.

Jason Blake got the game winner against the Islander last night in Toronto. The Leafs play the Bruins again tonight in Boston. The game will feature three former WCHA players, Blake Wheeler, Jason Blake and Phil Kessel.

Leafs fans want Wheeler suspended.

Some Leaf fans want Blake Wheeler to be suspended for this hit on Ian White and are upset that he turtled against Colton Orr. According to Elliot Friedman, "Bill McCreary apologized to Ian White for missing Blake Wheeler’s push from behind that sent White hard into boards." I know that the NHL wants to do away with the push checks like this.

Obviously, the fact that Bill McCreary missed the hit is mind-blowing. I won't beat around the bush, Ian White is bang on: he is very lucky. If he had been hit a half a stride or so sooner he could have woken up Sunday with a halo and paralysed from the waist or neck down. Blake Wheeler laid an absolutely filthy hit and the fact that he isn't suspended and that there was no call on the ice highlights the massive trouble the league faces in trying to cut dirty play out of the game.

The more upsetting part was that Blake Wheeler didn't stand up to Colton Orr when it came time to pay the piper. Normally, non-fighters obviously don't have to fight enforcers but 'The Code' is supposed to keep players from making those kinds of hits because they'll have to fight the Colton Orrs of the world. Instead, we saw Wheeler pull his best Claude Lemieux impression while the Bruins were rewarded with a powerplay. Of course, I don't want Orr to pull a Carcillo but is it to much to ask that Blake Wheeler man up? And if he won't, would it kill the league to dish out some punishment? I guess so. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Stand up and Cheer and make some noise.

I think this is a really good idea, its time for people to get up and make some noise. There are times when the arena can be a little dead. This will be the last time to see the Sioux play in WCHA action this year, so it’s time to set the tone going into the second half of the season. The next time the Fighting Sioux play will be on New Years weekend in the Notre Dame Shillelagh Tourney against Niagara University.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The third-ranked Fighting Sioux men's hockey program is asking its fans to take the name of the University's fight song to heart and "Stand up and Cheer" at the beginning of the first period until the first whistle of each game.
UND athletics recently solicited feedback from its fans in an effort to enhance the gameday experience at Fighting Sioux home games. Many new initiatives have already been implemented as a result and the "Stand Up and Cheer" initiative was suggested during an open forum involving UND athletics and UND students.

The "Stand Up and Cheer" initiative is similar to the longtime UND basketball tradition in which Sioux fans remain on their feet until the opposing team scores its first points of the game.

UND's men's hockey team will host WCHA rival and 11th-ranked Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday and 7:07 on Saturday.

- Go Sioux -

Ed Jovanovski suspended two games by the NHL.

Coyotes hack Ed Jovanovski was suspended two games for his brutal hit on Wild forward Andrew Ebbett (UMICH). I think the more troublesome fact was none of the Wild challenged Jovanovski after this hit. You can't hit an opposition player in the head. You have to wonder if this would have happened if Derek Boogaard had been in the lineup. Here is a novel idea if you can't hit someone legally don't hit them at all take a number get them back later. Mike Russo is reporting that Ebbett is out with a concussion, this is the fourth player to suffer a concussion for the Wild.

TORONTO -- Phoenix Coyotes' defenseman Ed Jovanovski has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an incident in NHL game #436 against the Minnesota Wild, December 7, the National Hockey League announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Jovanovski will forfeit $67,357.52. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 9:34 of the third period, Jovanovski delivered a forearm to the head area of Minnesota's Andrew Ebbett. No penalty was assessed on the play.

Jovanovski will miss Thursday's game at Los Angeles and Dec. 12 against San Jose. He will be eligible to return Dec. 14 at Detroit.

In Twist, Tribe Fights for College Nickname

My friend Rusty from the Illegal Curve sent me this article in my email this morning. Interesting story and I am surprised the New York Times would cover this story. Funny that this story brings up a point that I have made mention of for a long time. That there are a number of people upset with the Fighting Sioux nickname that aren’t Dakota/Sioux. This sound awful familiar. [click to see article] The Whistler and I were quoted in this article back in November.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Sometime soon, the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota were to be no more, another collegiate nickname dropped after being deemed hostile and abusive to American Indians.

Except that some members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, one of two groups of Sioux in the state, say they consider the nickname an honor and worry that abandoning it would send them one step closer to obscurity.

“When you hear them announce the name at the start of a hockey game, it gives you goose bumps,” said Frank Black Cloud, a tribal member. “They are putting us up on a pinnacle.”

And so, in a legal standoff that has turned some preconceptions upside down, North Dakota’s top state lawyers will be in court on Wednesday to oppose members of the Spirit Lake Tribe who have sued to preserve the Fighting Sioux name and logo, an image of an Indian in profile, feathers draping down.

The battle here, like some others at the 20 or so institutions urged by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to drop their mascots, names or images, has been painful and drawn out. The University of North Dakota is the only one still sorting the matter out, an N.C.A.A. spokesman said, and it is creating rifts on this campus of 13,000 students, among its web of alumni that run through nearly every realm in North Dakota, and, especially, among American Indians here.

All around, harsh new accusations are flying. The members from Spirit Lake behind the lawsuit assert that many of the American Indians opposed to the Fighting Sioux nickname are simply from tribes other than the Sioux, and are jealous of all the recognition. (Opponents call this absurd.)

Some against the name claim that the operators of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, the gleaming hockey stadium built by a particularly successful alumnus for more than $100 million — and contains 2,400 images of the logo — are secretly behind the lawsuit, hoping to block the nickname from being abandoned. (False, the Spirit Lake members and hockey stadium officials say.)

“Still, to do what they’re doing, you’re more or less selling out,” said Frank Sage, a Navajo and one of about 400 American Indian students at the university and one who says he finds the Fighting Sioux imagery hurtful and harmful. “They’re just being used.”

The lawsuit, filed last month by eight members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, is tangled, and grows out of a similarly tangled series of events that began in 2005, when the N.C.A.A. warned the University of North Dakota and 17 other colleges to change their nicknames and mascots if they wished to show the images at N.C.A.A.-controlled championships or to host such events. (Two other institutions were later added, according to the N.C.A.A.)

Since then, some colleges changed their logos, others sought and received permission from local tribes to keep them, and a few resolved the matter in other ways.

But the University of North Dakota is still at it. The state’s Board of Higher Education and the university sued the N.C.A.A. to preserve the nickname and logo, and in 2007 reached a settlement that let it keep them if the Sioux tribal councils in the state — at Spirit Lake and Standing Rock — agreed to the idea by the end of November 2010.

But some university officials said they began worrying that the debate was leading other institutions to avoid competing against them in sports. Robert Kelley, the university’s president, has taken no position on the nickname but said he found himself being asked about it almost constantly —at the supermarket, in meetings of the state’s Congressional delegation — and wanted to ensure that the debate did not eclipse the university’s academic focus.

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]