INCH on this weekend's series.

Here is what INCH had to say about this weekend's series.

Denver at North Dakota

FRIDAY AND SATURDAY --- If nothing else, this weekend's series in Grand Forks will provide a look at the resiliency of these two teams. The Fighting Sioux -- in the midst of grueling seven-week stretch during which they've faced or will face Minnesota, Cornell, Denver, St. Cloud State, Minnesota Duluth, and Colorado College -- are trying to get back into the top half of the WCHA standings. The Pioneers were clipped by Wisconsin in Madison, getting just one point from the Badgers.

Denver's healthier and has the edge in goal with Marc Cheverie, but consecutive high-stakes series at unfriendly venues like Wisconsin and North Dakota can be mentally draining. And you can bet that the Engelstad Arena crowd, which hasn't seen the Sioux play at home in three weeks, will be at a fever pitch for this series
[INCH]

This is what Jess Meyers had to say in the weekly WCHA column.

EARPLUG TIME AT THE RALPH?

This weekend will be Denver’s first visit to North Dakota since last year at about this time, when the Fighting Sioux got a sweep, and four very important points en route to winning the MacNaughton Cup. That was also the weekend that Pioneers coach George Gwozdecky, after an on-ice fracas, made his now-legendary stroll across the ice to speak to the officials, on his way to an ejection.

Needless to say, some Sioux fans have been saving some choice words for coach Gwoz for a long time, eagerly anticipating his return. We’re sure there will be the standard pre-game announcements warning against the use of “foul and abusive language” by fans and threatening ejection for same. We wonder, if ushers stringently enforce that threat, will there be any Sioux fans left in the building by the third period?

DU hockey press conference

Here is what George Gwozdecky had to say about the upcoming series between the UND Fighting Sioux and the DU Pioneers. One thing that I notice is that the DU coach and players are choosing their words very carefully.

Vandy's goal against Cornell.

This is the game winning goal against Cornell last Saturday night. This was the goal that Cornell's head coach Mike Schafer was arguing about and the Cornell coach thought there should have been a penalty called on UND's Chris VandeVelde. I didn't know picking someone's pocket was considered a penalty? There is no penalty there. It was the right call by the on ice officials.

Friday Links.

Here is the link to this week's Wednesday press conference [click to listen]

Here is the link to the Wednesday Coaches show. [Click to listen]

UND is going to celebrate the 2000 NCAA Championship team the weekend of the UND and UMD series, it's been 10 years since the Fighting Sioux won a NCAA title.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - The University of North Dakota athletics department and men's hockey program invites Fighting Sioux fans to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UND's 2000 NCAA championship season during the Feb. 19-20 series against Minnesota Duluth.
Members of the 2000 Fighting Sioux will be on hand for a pre-game autograph session prior to the Saturday, Feb. 20 game. The autograph session will begin at 5:30 p.m. on the northeast concourse of Ralph Engelstad Arena and FREE autograph cards will be provided.*

The 2000 Sioux will be introduced on the ice during the second intermission of the Saturday game.

The weekend will also include a series of video board messages from players and staff from that championship team. A commemorative game program will also be available, featuring a team photo of the 2000 national championship team on the insert poster and special 10th anniversary images. [Fighting Sioux]

DU at North Dakota advance

Looks like the DU hockey beat writer and the DU players are picking their words more carefully this time around. John Lee is one of my least favorite DU hockey players.

If nothing else, the University of Denver will find out this weekend how well it has recruited over the past five years. It won’t be a gauge of talent, in which the Pioneers have plenty, but a test of competitiveness and character while playing in college hockey’s toughest atmosphere.

Third-ranked DU, coming off the first leg of its difficult road stretch last weekend at No. 2 Wisconsin, faces No. 4 and simmering rival North Dakota tonight and Saturday at Engelstad Arena.

The Pioneers were boys when they pledged to play for DU, but they’ll need to perform like men against the Fighting Sioux, who arguably have the most animated and loyal fans in the country.

“It’s a product of being apart of high-profile like ours,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said of playing challenging, back-to-back road series. “There is no question that one of the big reasons why these guys decided to come to DU was to play big games, and win big games, whether it’s the regular season or postseason. Part of that is dealing with the expectations, the stress and the anxiety.”

History says this weekend’s series will be a hard-hitting, emotional affair _ similar to the teams’ two-game set in Denver Nov. 20-21. The Pioneers swept with 1-0 and 3-2 victories, both in penalty-filled and controversial fashion.

The rematch in Grand Forks figures to be just as mentally draining.

“Yeah, it’s going to be very intense, we’re going to play with intensity and emotion, but this is not winner take all, the end-all,” Gwozdecky said. “There is a balance that has to be established and I think the team has that right kind of balance.”

DU sophomore defenseman John Lee grew up in Moorhead, Minn., which is about 80 miles south of Grand Forks. Lee’s older brother, Brian, was a standout at UND when John chose Denver over North Dakota and Minnesota.

A year ago, John absorbed plenty of grief from Sioux players and fans in his DU debut at Engelstad.
[Read the Rest of the Article]

DU Defenseman William Wrenn out for this weekend's series

DU Pioneer freshman defenseman William Wrenn is not making the trip to Grand Forks, ND this weekend. Wrenn in 20 games is (0-6-6 +5).

Freshman defenseman William Wrenn is among those that didn’t travel to Grand Forks today. Wrenn, who has experience at Engelstad Arena — he was captain of the U.S. under-18 team last season — is recovering from a hip injury. Senior Cody Brookwell or freshman Paul Phillips will be in the lineup on Friday’s series opener, likely as DU’s sixth blue-liner.

Sophomore forward Luke Salazar also didn’t make the trip.
[Denver Post hockey Blog]

Jack Hillen smoked in the head by Alex Ovechkin Shot

So you want to be a defenseman in the NHL, it can be a dangerous job blocking shots. Unforunately former C.C. Tiger Jack Hillen took a laser in the head. Hillen is going to be out 6-8 weeks.

Weekend Match Ups (by Sioux 7)

This week I want to start off by asking a question. Does the state of Minnesota still have the DQ (Dairy Queen) Cup thing going on? (They use to have certain games between the MN schools count as points throughout the regular season, and the winner would be the “champion” of MN and get the DQ cup.)

Look at the standings and the MacNaughton cup could end up with 5 different teams. It's a classic log jam only this time its at the top of the standings, instead of the middle. The top 5 teams are only separated by 2 points. I remember a few season where 2 teams have tied for the title, but wouldn’t it be something to see a 3 or 4 way tie!

This weekend we are treated to a full slate of WCHA games. It's funny how it works out that the top teams are playing each other and the bottome teams are playing each other. (UMD vs UW, SCSU vs CC, DU vs UND, UM vs UAA, and MSUM vs MTU)


CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS

TEAM…………………..GP.…W-L-T….PTS
1 Minnesota-Duluth…...18….12-5-1….25
2 St. Cloud State……...18….11-5-2….24
2 Denver……………….....18….10-4-4….24
4 Wisconsin…………......18….10-5-3….23
4 Colorado College…....20….10-7-3….23
6 North Dakota………....18….8-7-3…..19
7 Minnesota……………....18….7-9-2…..16
8 Alaska-Anchorage…...20….7-12-1….15
9 Minnesota State……...18….5-12-1….11
10 Michigan Tech……....18….2-16-0…..4

Minnesota at Alaska-Anchorage
Last weekend the Gophers were swept by SCSU in a home and home series, and the Seawolves split with CC in Anchorage.

In most conferences not many people would pay attention to the 7th and 8th place teams playing each other. But I think this series could have historic meaning this weekend. Let’s face it, UM is considered one of the power-houses in college hockey, and well UAA has generally been a cellar dweller. But, this weekend the Seawolves could pass up the once mighty Gophers, and sit 3 points ahead of them, with a sweep. Of course, the Gophers would still have two games in hand on the Seawolves. Can you image the joy in Anchorage (and other cities around the league) if they would be ahead of the Gophers in the standings at the start of February? The Gophers have to make the long trip to UAA this weekend. The Seawolves are playing well as of late, 3-1-0 in their last four games, and they are 5-7-0 at Sullivan Arena this season. The Gophers are 5-4-1 away from home. UM has more talent on paper, but we've seen what that has done for them this season. I’m going to take the easy way out and call a SPLIT.

Minnesota State at Michigan Tech
Last weekend both the Mavericks and the Huskies were on vacation.

From my figuring MTU is locked into a road trip the first round of the playoffs. The Huskies last win was back on 11-13-09 against the UMD Bulldogs. These teams met in Mankato back on Thanksgiving weekend, where the Mavericks swept the Huskies.
The Mavericks are winless in their last four games, and their last WCHA win was back on 12-4-09 against UM. MSUM can make a push towards the middle of the pack and try and move out of the 9-spot with a sweep over the Huskies. Also the Mavericks have another bye week next weekend (Feb. 5, 6). In league play, the Huskies are averaging only 2.0 goals/game while surrendering 4.5 goals/game, that is a -2.5 goal/game differential, ouch. Sorry Tech fans but I have to go with Mavericks in this series. MAVERICKS SWEEP


#3 Denver at #4 North Dakota
Last weekend the Pioneers got one point while visiting UW and the Sioux split a series against Cornell in Ithaca, NY.

Back in November the Pioneers swept the Sioux at Magnuss Arena by scores of 1-0 and 3-2. This series is more important for UND, who needs points to get into the top five of the WCHA and host a playoff series, and in the PWR standings. This has been a good rivalry for the past, oh, decade or so now. This could possibly be the last time the Pioneers play the Sioux (who knows with all the nickname lawsuits). Starting with DU, the Sioux have games against everyone ahead of them in the standings, except UW. After the DU series UND plays SCSU, UMD, CC, and MTU to end the regular season. DU on the other hand faces the other bottom league teams UM, MTU, MSUM, and then end the season with in-state rival CC. I’m sure the Sioux would love to get revenge from the earlier series and sweep the Pioneers, but DU never rolls over and plays dead. SPLIT

#5 St. Cloud State at #11 Colorado College
Last weekend the Huskies swept in-state rival UM, and the Tigers split with UAA in Anchorage.

The Huskies come into this series with an 8-game winning streak and are looking to run that to double digits. Meanwhile the Tigers are 3-5-0 in their last 8 games. However, SCSU last loss was to the Tigers, so does that mean the Tigers will "finish what they started" this weekend? SCSU is one point ahead of CC in the standing, but has two games in hand on them. A Huskies sweep could put the Tigers way back in SCSU’s rearview mirror. I watched both SCSU-UM games last weekend, and the Huskies played very well in both games. I’m going to say SCSU's win streak comes to an end this weekend. SPLIT.

#2 Wisconsin at #9 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Badgers took three points from DU, and the Bulldogs got swept by soon-to-be WCHA member Bemidji St.

Well this is the only meetings between these two teams this season, and boy-o-boy it should be a good series. One or both teams could be sitting on top of the league come Saturday night. The Badgers are 5-4-1 away from the Kohl center this season, and the Bulldogs are 10-5-0 at this the last season in the DECC. The Badgers are leading the WCHA in scoring this year 70-goals, the Bulldogs are 3rd with 64-goals (CC is 2nd with 65-goals but has played two more games than UW and UMD). I’m not sure what the outcome of this series will be, but it should be fun to watch. Since UW plays on the big ice and now has to play on the smallest ice sheet in the league, I’m going to call a SPLIT.

Announcing the Bemidji Pond Hockey Classic.

Coming February 26th - 28th the Bemidji Pond Hockey Classic.

Mark Fistric and Eric Nystrom fight.

Check out this fight between former University of Michigan Wolverine star and current Calgary Flame Eric Nystrom and Dallas Star player Mark Fistric. The stars player Fistric takes off Eric Nystrom's helmets and hits him with his own helmet. I have never seen anything like this before.

Chiarelli trying to make a deal

The Bruins are starved for goals and now are looking to make a trade, Chiarelli should have thought about that before he failed to sign Kessel. The problem is that the team never replaced the goals that they lost when Kessel scored his big deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs this fall. The Bruins really don't have the room under the cap for KIlya Kovalchuk. You know your team is in trouble when Blake Wheeler is second on the team in scoring.

Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Wednesday he is working the phones trying to make a deal ahead of the Feb. 12 Olympic roster freeze and the March 3 trade deadline.

"I'm looking every year [to make trades], but maybe more so this year because of the way we performed," said Chiarelli. "Having said all that, we want to be in the playoffs and we want to succeed in the playoffs."

The Bruins, who have lost five straight and currently sit one point out of a playoff spot, have plenty of ammunition at their disposal in trade talks. They have nine draft picks in the first two rounds over the next two years, including a pair of first-rounders courtesy of the Phil Kessel trade in September (Toronto sent over a first-rounder for both 2010 and 2011). Some of those picks are in play.

"But I can tell you one thing, I'm not trading Toronto's pick [for this year]," said Chiarelli. "I am not trading it. That pick is too valuable."

The Leafs are 28th in the overall standings, so that asset looks more like a lottery pick, which could wind up being the first overall selection.

While Chiarelli refused to discuss any specific names, another NHL source told ESPN.com the Bruins are very much in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes along with Los Angeles, in particular. While Vancouver, Philadelphia and Chicago also have reported interest, it appears the Bruins and Kings are the front-runners at this point.

But will anyone pay the price? The Atlanta Thrashers reportedly are looking for a package that includes a first-round pick, a prospect and a player from their NHL roster.

Kovalchuk, who is among the NHL's leaders with 56 points in 46 games this season, is an unrestricted free agent July 1. [ESPN.COM]

It's still possible

I was playing around with the numbers and realistically speaking the Fighting Sioux "COULD" finish in first still. I don't know the Sioux are 4-2-2 during the second half. Try the "what-if" calculator. Go ahead and post your finds if you like. I don't know if I would like to see UND play the Seawolves.

WCHA Final
UMD 28 36
UND 28 36
Denver 28 36
UW 28 35
SCSU 28 35
CC 28 29
UMN 28 26
AA 28 21
Mankato 28 21
MTech 28 5

UND gets some love from INCH.

I was wondering if INCH has gone soft or something. Joe Gladziszewski has been very complimentary of UND this season, if you listen to the INCH podcast as well. I want my team to travel so we can get some good teams to come back to play the Fighting Sioux at the REA. I don’t want to see our team load up cupcakes and nondescript teams, just for the sake of making the NCAA tourney. Playing tough teams helps UND’s PWR for the NCAA tourney.

@SchlossmanGF - In Lynah Rink. It’s freezing in here.

@undsid - In Lynah Rink. It’s freezing in here. @SchlossmanGF: Stop whining!

@SchlossmanGF - @INCH_Gladdy Strange that two guys from North Dakota are complaining about the cold?

The Tweets of the Week share some levity from Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman and North Dakota media relations director Jayson Hajdu. Here are a couple of guys who wake up to sub-zero Fahrenheit temperatures throughout the winter and got the chills in a 40-50 degree hockey rink.

The bigger picture is that one of the ideas for this week’s Stick Salute was to raise the branches to North Dakota’s willingness to travel east and set up a very good series between two very good teams. We understand that several high-profile Western teams have big rinks and big financial responsibilities to their athletic departments. That being said, North Dakota has made a commitment to get on the plane and play non-league games against prominent Eastern-based teams. Last year, it was the IceBreaker Tournament at BU with another game against UMass. This year, a trip to Cornell; and next year the Sioux embark on a two-game series at Maine.
[INCH]

Some video to get you in the mood.

A little dasher dance by Gwoz [Click for Video]

Pioneers and Sioux get after it [Click to view] Radke's two fight game.

Vandy and Testwuide discuss their weekend plans [Click to watch video]

DU Pioneers hockey team faces tough series at North Dakota

Mike Chambers loves to take a swipe at UND when ever he gets a chance, he seems to have UND derangement syndrome, or maybe he is just desperate for hits on his DU hockey blog. I have to admit that this is one of the better series that UND will see this season. DU has become the villains/evil empire and might have actually surpassed Minnesota Gophers as being our hated rivals. There is also a perception that the DU Pioneers have also become the WCHA golden boys that gets all of the breaks as well. Don’t expect Brian Thul, Scott Bokal to ref the games this weekend either.

Last season the Pioneers started running their mouth before they even got to Grand Forks, ND. I guess it's starting already. Just for the record UND has not had a fighting major in two plus seasons.

Last Saturday, the then-No. 1-ranked University of Denver hockey team was greeted by the first Kohl Center sellout of the season, losing 4-3 at Wisconsin before a relatively good-natured gathering of 15,237.

The Badgers' lively student section undoubtedly made it a difficult place to play for the Pioneers. But the atmosphere in Madison will be considered tame compared with the expected antics that will unfold this weekend against North Dakota in Grand Forks.

The Pioneers, who fell to No. 3 in the media polls after failing to win a weekend game for the first time this season, will face the always-willing-to-fight Fighting Sioux, who are ranked fourth.

"I wouldn't say we have to make up for it, but they're big games as far as seeing what we're made of," DU senior center Tyler Ruegsegger said. "Having a tough weekend (at Wisconsin) and then going to North Dakota, where there will be an even more hostile arena, is a big challenge."

DU captain Rhett Rakh-shani is confident the unwanted baggage left from the Wisconsin series won't be brought to North Dakota. The Pioneers played well only in stretches against Wisconsin.

"They're all important from here on out, and this weekend is just as important as next weekend, and so on and so forth," Rakhshani said. "It doesn't matter who you're playing, when you're playing, what the standings are, what you're ranked, what they're ranked. You want to play the same. So we're going to want to bring forth our best game, no matter who we're playing, and that will be the same for North Dakota."
[link to the article here]

In case you forgot the story line from last season's games here are a few story lines from the UND and DU series a year ago. It was a hard fought and fun series to watch.

League to look at Scrums/Fights

AWAITING THE JURY: Not that he wouldn't have reviewed the video anyway, but University of Denver's melee against North Dakota on Friday did not go unnoticed by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, who watched the fights unfold live on television from the World Arena press box during CC's tie against St. Cloud.

McLeod said any disciplinary action resulting from the episodes, including coach George Gwozdecky's ejection from the game Saturday, wouldn't be determined until he receives a review from Greg Shepherd, the WCHA's supervisor of officials. [Rocky Mountain News]

Gwozdecky reprimanded by school - Sioux Fighters

My thoughts: Gwozdecky is the most mild-mannered coach I know, and in 14 years I’ve only seen his blood boil twice — both times against North Dakota and with referee Todd Anderson blowing the whistle.

See a pattern there? The “Sioux Fighters” and their fans want minor-league entertainment, Anderson is an emotional official who sometimes jaws at players, and Gwozdecky is a class act. At some point those styles clash, and the mild-mannered coach can’t stomach it. It becomes disgusting, and the coach erupts into what he doesn’t like.

Gwozdecky doesn’t deserve anything except a pat on the back for being the way he is 99 percent of the time. He might be embarrased to have been ejected, but shame on DU for throwing him under the bus.

I think DU is using Gwozdecky to remind the Sioux that it is better than them. But to publicly scorn your respected coach is a bad way to do that.

I can appreciate the Sioux and their fans. They are to North Dakota what football is to Nebraska. The players are hard-nosed and the coaching staff gives them a long leash, maybe too long, but … I don’t hear any apologies from Grand Forks, and there shouldn’t be any from Denver.
[Denver Post Hockey Blog]

FSN’s Rizzo not a fan of Sioux fans

“Honestly, if I’m not covering Denver the next time they go there, I would never have any reason in the world to ever go to a North Dakota hockey game,” she told me Tuesday. “(Sioux fans) need to realize they leave a bad taste in an opponent’s mouth, or anyone that’s going to see the arena for the first time.”

Rizzo’s angst stems from obnoxious and seemingly uncontrollable Fighting Sioux fans — particularly adults.

“It was a little too much for too long,” Rizzo said. “It wasn’t the student section as much as the older crowd, right on top of the DU bench, and I stood in the hallway going into their locker room.

“There were a lot of derogatory comments . . . from men and women, young and old, asking me about Coach Gwozdecky’s behavior, calling him a ‘Little Man,’ asking me ‘Why are you really here?’ and ‘I vote for last night’s outfit.’ It’s one thing to cheer for your own team, I’m all for that, but to constantly berate college athletes that are not being paid to play a sport for the constant length of the game was a little much.”

Rizzo, who also covers the Colorado Rockies, is in her second season working DU hockey for FSN. Previously, she covered the University of Wisconsin’s men and women’s hockey teams in Madison for WISC, a CBS affiliate. She worked Badgers games in 2006, the year both UW teams won NCAA championships.

“The Kohl Center is just as packed, if not more, than Ralph Engelstad Arena is on any given night, and Badgers fans are equally as passionate about hockey as North Dakota fans, but I lived in Madison for 2 ½ years and never in all of my time covering those teams ever heard Badger fans treat opposing teams the way the North Dakota fans treated Denver,” she said. “I never felt uncomfortable in Madison.”
[Denver Post Hockey Blog]

Huskies plan to appeal Cormier’s season-long suspension

I really think that the QMJHL isn't going to over rule or shorten their suspension. Cormier is an adult and he should man up and except his punishment, the punishment fits the act in my opinion.

Patrice Cormier will not accept his suspension by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League after all.

The Rouyn-Noranda Huskies said Tuesday they will appeal the suspension handed Cormier for his hit to the head of Quebec Remparts defenceman Mikael Tam.

Coach and general manager Andre Tourigny said on a conference call that the suspension for the rest of the season and the playoffs was "excessive."

"He could serve up to 48 games, that's too much," Tourigny added.

Later, Cormier read a short statement to The Canadian Press over the telephone. It said:

"I respect the decision of the QMJHL even if I find it too severe. I deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this event and I wish Mikael Tam a speedy and full recovery. Thanks for your attention."

He declined to answer questions on the decision.

Earlier Tuesday, the Huskies centre had seemed to suggest he had accepted the league's ruling in statement released through his Halifax-based agent Tim Cranston.

"I fully respect the Quebec Major Junior League's decision regarding the Mikael Tam incident," Cormier said in that statement. "I deeply regret the circumstances surrounding this event and wish Mikael Tam a speedy and full recovery." [TSN.COM]

John Tortorella tells Larry Brooks off

In case you haven't seen this, it's kind of funny that a beat writer would have such a bad relationship with one of it's beat writers. John Tortorella is always a fun person to listen to in the post game press conferences. This is the quote from the article that Larry Brooks wrote that set Torts off.

It can't work, not with the 30-year-old Lecavalier under contract through 2019-2020 at an annual cap hit of $7.727 million. It can't work even if the arithmetic does, even if Tampa Bay's cash-poor ownership would be willing to accept Wade "Golden Gloves" Redden as part of the package in return that most surely would have to include Michael Del Zotto or Marc Staal and Brandon Dubinsky or Ryan Callahan , and perhaps Derek Stepan. [Link to the article]

I think you're seeing a pattern developing between Brooksie and Torts. [Tortorella and Brooks part 1]

Couple of things... DU and UND week.

The Voice of the Fighting Sioux Radio Tim Hennessey has a new video show on Fightingsioux.com

The Fighting Sioux have a new comitted recruit. Former Edmonton Oiler's great Craig Simpson's kid Dillon Simpson has comitted to the University of North Dakota.

Over the weekend Dillon Simpson committed to the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. The 16 year old rookie defenceman with the Spruce Grove Saints has 8 goals and 34 points this year in 47 games with the number one ranked Junior A team in the country. Simpson has heated up recently wiht 7 points hin his past 4 games. He was an 8th round choice of the Kelowna Rockets in the 2008 WHL bantam draft, but would have gone much higher, possibly in the first round had he not been leaning towards the NCAA. [Coming down the pipe]

In reading the City Beat blog post on the Fighting Sioux name, I really believe the name is on life support and is a dead logo walking unless the Standing Rock Tribe acts on a vote for the Fighting Sioux logo. UND is so desperate to get into a conference they will just throw the Fighting Sioux logo under the bus without a fight. Buy all of the Fighting Sioux gear that you can, because it's not going to be around much longer, I can only wonder what gay logo the University of North Dakota will come up with to replace the Fighting Sioux logo with?

I want a know who the Board of Higher Education is going to blame for the fall out that comes after they drop the Fighting Sioux logo. There will be a lot of fall out for dropping the Fighting Sioux logo. Who is the State Board of Higher Education going to throw under the bus? The political leadership did nothing to help with this situation either, the governor and team ND (aka the Three Amigos) were AWOL as well.

This is what our University President had to say about the logo. All Robert Kelley sees the logo as nothing more than a controversy or a hindrance; this is why I am not for non North Dakota being in leadership positions at the University of North Dakota. I would really laugh if the University jumped through all of these hoops to get into the mediocre mid major that is the Summit League to only get told that they aren’t accepted.

UND President Robert Kelley: In my conversations with many, but not all, the presidents of Summit League presidents' council, I believe we are in the best position we can possibly be at the present time, pending resolution of this controversy. All the things Mr. Faison said are absolutely true and I do believe that we would be welcomed in the Summit League based upon the conversations I've had with many of the members.

Poll Monday (Sioux 4th in both polls)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
January 25, 2010

1 Miami (37) 16-4-6 984 2
2 Wisconsin ( 8) 14-6-4 938 3
3 Denver ( 5) 14-6-4 917 1
4 North Dakota 13-8-5 748 5
5 St. Cloud State 16-7-3 679 12
6 Yale 11-5-3 637 6
7 Bemidji State 17-5-2 633 14
8 Cornell 10-5-3 631 9
9 Minnesota-Duluth 16-9-1 622 4
10 Ferris State 17-7-2 601 8
11 Colorado College 14-9-3 590 7
12 Michigan State 16-8-4 480 10
13 New Hampshire 12-7-4 436 16
14 Boston College 12-8-2 345 11
15 Massachusetts 15-9-0 326 15
16 Mass.-Lowell 14-9-2 226 19
17 Vermont 12-8-2 214 17
18 Union 13-6-5 210 13
19 Maine 11-9-2 69 20
20 Michigan 14-11-1 68 NR
Others Receiving Votes: St. Lawrence 47, Lake Superior 41,
Notre Dame 12, Alaska 10, Minnesota 6, Quinnipiac 6,

-------------------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Jan. 25, 2010]
1 Miami University (Ohio) (30) 16-4-6 507 2
2 Wisconsin (3) 14-6-4 472 3
3 Denver (1) 14-6-4 446 1
4 North Dakota 13-8-5 356 6
5 St. Cloud State 16-7-3 322 12
6 Bemidji State 17-5-2 281 14
7 Yale 11-5-3 272 5
8 Cornell 10-5-3 269 7
9 Minnesota Duluth 16-9-1 250 4
10 Ferris State 17-7-2 244 9
11 Colorado College 14-9-3 188 8
12 New Hampshire 12-7-4 144 NR
13 Michigan State 16-8-4 128 11
14 Massachusetts 15-9-0 74 15
15 Boston College 12-8-2 67 10
Others receiving votes: Union College, 31; University of Massachusetts Lowell, 12; University of Vermont, 11; Rochester Institute of Technology, 2; St. Lawrence University, 2; Lake Superior State University, 1; University of Michigan, 1.

Cormier suspended for balance of QMJHL season and playoffs.

Wow! I must say that the QMJHL really threw the book at Patrice Cormier, it will be interesting to see if that will deter further ugly incidents like this one. Maybe the other leagues will take notice, hint to WCHA leadership Bruce McLeod and Greg Shepherd, when someone hits an opposing player with a head shot and knocks them out possibly for the season, a one game suspension is not enough or acceptable.

The verdict is in.

Rouyn-Noranda Huskies forward Patrice Cormier was suspended for the balance of the season and the playoffs by the QMJHL on Monday.

Cormier, 19, created a firestorm of media attention last week when he elbowed Mikael Tam of the Quebec Remparts in the head, sending Tam into convulsions on the ice and causing him to be taken to hospital with brain trauma and broken teeth.

Chief disciplinarian Raymond Bolduc called the hit "dangerous and unacceptable" after laying out the punishment on Monday.

The incident occurred in overtime of a game on January 17. Cormier took to the ice to start his shift, cut through the centre ice area and threw his right elbow up into Tam's face. Tam then collapsed, his body shaking until he was taken off the ice on a stretcher by medical staff and players.

Cormier, who was playing in just his third game with the Huskies, was suspended indefinitely by the league pending further investigation.

The hit generated a massive amount of discussion in Canada, drawing the ire of head shot critics from the hockey world. The day after the incident, TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie took to his Twitter account, writing, "This Cormier elbow is sickening on so many levels. I have never been so discouraged about the game of hockey as now."
[TSN.COM]

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings. I don't know if I would have ranked UND as the fourth ranked team in the nation. I am thinking more like 10th over-all. Maybe I would rank UND that high with Chay Genoway and Brett Hextall in the line up but not without them. UND is 4-2-2 in the second half of the season.
1. Miami
2. Wisconsin
3. Denver
4. North Dakota 3 We mentioned it in this space last week, but it bears repeating: the Fighting Sioux have eight losses this season and all but one of them have been by one goal. The latest was a 1-0 loss at Cornell Friday, but NoDak salvaged the non-conference series with a 3-1 win Saturday. 13-8-5 (8-7-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Cornell, 1-0; W at Cornell, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, vs. Denver
5. Cornell
6. Yale
7. St. Cloud State
8. Bemidji State
9. Michigan State
10. Minnesota Duluth
11. Colorado College
12. Ferris State
13. New Hampshire
14. Boston College
15. Union
16. UMass Lowell
17. St. Lawrence
18. Massachusetts
19. Maine
20. Vermont

Dropped out: Lake Superior State
Bubble-licious: Lake Superior State, Michigan

Four of five North Dakota Supreme Court justices in Sioux nickname case are UND Law School grads

My first reaction to this story was you have got to be kidding me? Also, I think Leigh Jeanotte is trying to muck up the process by forcing the court hand to make the decision in his favor or the ND Supreme Court doesn't have any credibility. This is right out of the rules for radicals play book; begin the task of agitating: rubbing resentments, fanning hostilities, and searching out controversy. This is exactly what Jeanotte is doing, he is trying to invent a controversy before the appeal even begins. This is shameful. Let the issue play out in the courts without influence from the outside. The group that brought the lawsuit against the State Board of Higher Education are actually members of the Spirit Lake Tribe.

Leigh Jeanotte “would hope” that North Dakota’s Supreme Court won’t be biased in any way about the Fighting Sioux nickname because four of its five members are University of North Dakota law school graduates.

“But you always wonder about that affiliation with UND and the athletics,” said Jeanotte, director of American Indian Student Services at UND and an outspoken nickname opponent. “It just could taint something, I think, in a horrible way.”

Legitimate or not, such concern exists among some nickname opponents hungry for an end to the issue, he said.

Despite his reservations, “My feeling is that they’re going to be fair with this and any other item that they have to deal with,” Jeanotte said.

The Supreme Court has received a notice of appeal from the attorney representing a group of Spirit Lake Sioux trying to stop the state Board of Higher Education from retiring the nickname before a November deadline set in a settlement with the NCAA.

The board voted 5-3 on Thursday to keep the nickname until the appeal is heard, and directed its attorney to request an expedited hearing before the state’s highest court.

Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle bristled Friday when asked whether it will be difficult for justices to set aside their UND connections when hearing arguments in a case that goes to the heart of the university’s identity.

“You start with the presumption, apparently, that all the judges are on one side or the other,” he said. “I don’t know that. I have no idea what their position is on the issue.”

“I’m not happy, very frankly, about the question because I think it raises issues about the credibility of the court,” he added.

Of the four justices who hold law degrees from the UND School of Law, two of them, VandeWalle and Justice Daniel Crothers, also earned undergraduate degrees at UND. Justice Dale Sandstrom earned his bachelor’s degree at North Dakota State University, while Justice Mary Muehlen Maring earned hers at what is now Minnesota State University Moorhead. Justice Carol Ronning Kapsner holds a bachelor’s degree from College of St. Catherine in St. Paul and a law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law.
[READ the WHOLE ARTICLE]

Cross posted at sayanythingblog.com

Sunday Morning Reading.

Don Cherry was on the coaches corner last night talking about the stop signs on the back of the hockey players jerseys and helmets. I remember bringing up this idea back in another blog article.[link] [Safety amoung other players]

@ 5:54 Grapes and Ron talked about the Carcillo and Gaborik fight and Grapes said that I have to admire that Gaborik so much, to drop, he can’t fight, but at least he dropped his gloves. This guy is not a tough guy he is not an enforcer, he’s a pest, for him to fight a European is against the code. How he can do that and say that when Gaborik dropped his gloves he licked his chops. Enforcers do not do that.

Gopher fans are in full meltdown mode after being swept by the SCSU Huskies this past weekend. [Link] The Gopher fans one week removed for their win and a tie against the UND Fighting Sioux and with a Gopher player declaring that the Gophers have turned the corner. It too one week for the Gopher fans to jump back off of the bandwagon and back on the fire the coach/lynch mob bandwagon again. Ah, grab a bag of popcorn this is going to be fun to watch.

This comment caught my attention. The Gophers have 20 NHL draft choices on their team that is not my definition of a journeyman.

Pathetic performance I find it funny how these Gopher fans just assume that Coach Blais is going to ride in on a white horse and automatically save their stumbling program. Actually I think that mindset is arrogant and pompous.
This is the worst gopher hockey team i've seen in a long time. No size, no speed, no passion (just like the coach). They are a collection of journeymen - the whole squad. the defense is terrible. They can't skate with St. Cloud. last weekend was a fluke (5-1 win over UND). This weekend was more of the same we've seen all year from this crew, and what really pisses me off is to see other teams in the WCHA with much better Minnesota bred talent. Don Lucia has lost his shine and the Gopher squad has been getting worse each year for the past several now. Just think what a Dean Blais coached team would do to attract better talent on this team. I really think it's time for Lucia to go. So - all you Lucia lovers out there - have at me for stating the truth.

Saturday Morning or that is what it turned into; Bruce Ciskie took almost 6 hours to get home to Duluth from Bemidji because of the roads. This is the one reason that I didn't go. I know how bad Highway 2 can get in this type of weather.

Coming Down the Pipe has a really nice blog post on the NCAA. It sounds like they may agree with my assessment of the 1-0 game the Sioux played in on Friday night.

The ECAC always gives me fits. A lot of scouts have told me that it's brutal hockey (as in horrible, not super physical) and the little bits that I've been able to watch on TV or online haven't given me any reason to doubt that thought. I watched Yale and St. Lawrence last year in the playoffs... a was so bored to tears. Maybe because of that game I've never been able to get on board with Yale.

This weekend they were ranked #6 heading in and yet again they win one, lose one. Clarkson fell 3-2 to the Bulldogs on Friday but Saturday it was Yale that was victimized by the Saints of St.Lawrence. St.Lawrence's 4-2 win gives them a run of only 1 loss in their last 8 games. Maybe I'm not giving enough credit to Yale (or Cornell, Union, Quinnipiac, etc) because the Bulldogs do have a win against Ferris State and tied Wisconsin this year. I still would have a hard time thinking they'd be a .500 club if they were in the CCHA, WCHA or Hockey East. And that goes for all the ECAC programs. Great institutions for higher learning, no doubt about that, but I'm not a believer in them being on par with the other three conferences when it comes to producing hockey players.

I have been saying the same thing about the ECAC for a very long time. The ECAC has the best academic schools in college hockey but they are a bit hamstrung with comes to going for and competing for the best college hockey athletes because of their academic standards and the cost of going to one of these fine schools. I am still convinced if you took the best schools in the ECAC and put them in the WCHA, HE and or CCHA they would have a hard time being a .500 team. While the gap has been closed there is still a big difference in the talent gap.

The other day I was wondering what SKOL Vikings mean here is the definition - Skol (written "skål" in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish and "skál" in Faroese and Icelandic or "skaal" in transliteration of any of those languages) is the Danish/Norwegian/Swedish word for cheers, a salute or a toast, as to an admired person or group. The meaning of the Scandinavian skalli/skalle: skal means simply "shell" and skál/skål "bowl".

Sioux and DU week.

This video should get your juices flowing and maybe your blood boiling and put you in the mood for this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the Denver Pioneers. Last year’s series at the Ralph was an emotional and hard fought series. Few questions; what is the over and under of Gwoz dancing on the Dasher? Also, what is the over and under of Todd Anderson being one of the officials and having a Donnybrook break out?

My prediction

There will be a dasher dance, there will be at least one game where it gets really nasty and Gwoz will egg on the officials and fans. Gwoz will also be on the ice at least once.

Hockey day: UND 3 - Cornell 1 - BSU 5 - UMD 4 in O.T.

Keeping with the spirit of the day (it was hockey day in Minnesota); today was one of the best days of hockey I have witnessed in a very long time. At noon I watched the Bruins game against the Senators, that game had a bad ending but still ended up being a pretty good hockey game.

After watching the Bruins stumble to the Ottawa Senators backstopped by former Badger Brian Elliot, I then watched the DU and Wisconsin game that I had saved on my DVR from last night. I have to give kudos to the NHL Network for putting that game on last night. The Badgers and Pioneers played to a 3-3 sister kissing. Then I went out and attempted to blow the slush out of my driveway.

Then I watched UND Fighting Sioux and Cornell Big Red game on the Cornell Webcast and I have to admit that the game tonight wasn’t as good as light night’s game. The game did have a happy ending and was a little better game to watch than last night trap feast.

After watching the UND and Cornell game I decided to spend the $7.00 and watch the BSU and UMD game on the B2 Network. Honestly, that game was one of the most exciting hockey games that I have seen in a very long time.

BSU came back three times in the third and won the game in overtime. BSU scored a shorthanded goal, a power play goal and an even strength goal. It was a attack and counter attack game. I will take this type of a game anytime over a grind out defensive battle. The game winning goal by Jordan George was a thing of beauty; George spilt the UMD defensemen and scored to end the game just 36 seconds into overtime. [BSU - UMD box score]

How do you like the Beavers now?

I have been telling people all season long that BSU is a good hockey team, they are not over rated. I have been told by fans of WCHA teams that I am delussional and clueless for backing BSU. So now BSU is 3-0 against teams ranked in the top 5. What else do the Beavers have to do to get some respect? They Beavers just took two wins from a good Bulldog team, the second win was a hard fought gut it out win. Tonight was the first time I had ever listened to Bruce Ciskie on the radio and he said that he would love to see these two teams play for a regional championship in the Xcel Energy Center in March. It would be an exciting game.

Lines for tonights game UND and Cornell.

Brad Elliott Schlossman the North Dakota beat writer for the Fighting Sioux has the lines posted for tonight's game. The is a live chat at his site as well.

Interesting fact: With the loss last night, UND actually moved up nationally in defense. They are now ranked 5th with a team GAA of 2.20.

Here are a few links to watch

UND hockey twitter

INCH Gladdy

Brad Schlossman Twitter


UND's lines

17 Jason Gregoire--29 Chris VandeVelde--21 Matt Frattin
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--7 Danny Kristo
13 Brett Bruneteau--11 Darcy Zajac--27 Carter Rowney
15 Brent Davidson--9 Mario Lamoureux--18 David Toews

2 Andrew MacWilliam--24 Ben Blood
3 Derrick LaPoint--25 Jake Marto
20 Joe Gleason--4 Corey Fienhage

31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell

[UND hockey stats]

Cornell's lines

15 Colin Greening--27 Blake Gallagher--22 Joe Devin
10 Patrick Kennedy--14 Riley Nash--8 Locke Jillson
28 Joe Scali--12 Sean Collins--26 John Esposito
16 Greg Miller--9 Tyler Roeszler--29 Dan Nicholls

24 Brendon Nash--4 Keir Ross
6 Nick D'Agostino--2 Mike Devin
7 Braden Birch--5 Justin Krueger

30 Ben Scrivens
35 Michael Garman
31 Omar Kanji

[Cornell's stats]

NCAA Round Up: BSU Beavers whoop the UMD Bulldogs 4-1.

All season long I have been telling people that the Bemidji State University Beavers are a good hockey team and they are legit. I have posters repeatedly telling me that BSU is over rated and hasn’t played anyone or anybody. I have told that BSU has a schedule full of cup cakes.

I can refute that argument and say that these people don’t know what they are talking about, in regards to BSU hockey. Bemidji State has a very good coach in Tom Serratore and he has his team well prepared and ready to play when the puck drops. Being in the CHA the Beavers coaching staff works very hard recruiting their players and has gotten the most out of their players. Within moving to the WCHA and having a new arena they will be able to compete with the other WCHA teams on a more even footing.

This season I have been called delusional for saying that the Beavers would whoop that Bulldog ass Friday night in Bemidji and they did. I was supposed to go to last night game but the weather didn’t permit me from going to the game, apparently I made the right decision. I wish I could have seen the 4-1 dismantling that happened last night. A friend of mine called me up after the game and said it wasn't even close.

So to the people that keep telling me that BSU is no good, overrated, haven’t played anyone and is undeserving of their ranking what else do the Bemidji State University Beavers have to do to make you change your mind? I mean seriously, in the calendar year BSU has beaten Miami, Notre Dame (last spring), Cornell (last spring), Air Force (x2) Northern Michigan, Minnesota and now UMD. Oh by the way NMU beat UMD. I also included Air Force because some thought they were so good last season. The AHA has an unimpressive record (0-6-1)against the CHA this season.

Here are some of the comments that one certain person has put on my blog this season. This fan should be thankful the Beavers aren't playing the Huskies this season. This is also a fan of the SCSU Huskies who have never won an NCAA division one hockey game. The Beavers have more wins in the NCAA tourney than their team. Please tell me again who is overrated? Just for the record the UMD Bulldogs are a good hockey team too.

WCHAdominates said...
I have not seen the Beavers play in person or on tv at all this season, and there's good chance that won't happen unless they qualify for the NCAA tournament. While it may be true that they play a race horse style of hockey (which is also known as fire wagon hockey, up and down, etc) I find it extremely difficult to beliece that Niagara offers much resistance to it in any manner. It's like a single A high school team playing a double AA high school team: clearly there is a separable difference in talent and team quality. As long as they don't lose to the cup cakes they keep playing and go about .500 against the decent teams, they're going to put good pairwise rankings and a high spot in the poll. You failed to mention that they also lose one night later to lowly Ohio State after beating Miami. That clearly shows they're win over the Redhacks means almost nothing. Throwing every cup cake win out, they are 4-2 thus far against N. Michigan, Minnesota, Miami, and Ohio State. Those are the only ones that mean anything.

Here is another gem. Just for the Record RMU was the same team that beat Miami twice.

WCHAdominates said...
Yes, the rest of the country will finally see how highly over ranked the Beavers are after beating up on Alabama Huntsville, Air Force, Northern Michigan, and Robert Morris. I don't know if if I've ever seen a team so over rated in the polls than Bemidji State has been this season. They have one decent win all season and they're ranked #6 in the country with 2 first place votes. Gimme a break!

Yawn! Sioux 0 Cornell 1

I watched the game on the internet tonight Kudos to Cornell their internet broadcast was top notch. That being said, this is too bad because this was one of the most boring games that I have watched in at least the last three years. UND scored two goals that didn’t count, story of the season.

The one goal was questionable in that it was one of those ref lost sight of the puck/ref blew the whistle early calls, the other one as per Brad Schlossman: UND's video guy says he thinks the puck may have gone in, but like Hajdu said, nobody reacted like they scored.

Here is the way I saw it, UND skated circles around Cornell tonight, they played a collapsing defense and they basically circled the wagons around there goaltender, they got a break and cashed in on it. I don’t think UND would be afraid to play Cornell in the NCAA’s. Cornell is a decent team but they couldn’t skate with UND in an up and down the ice race horse hockey game. The game really wasn't that close in puck possession and UND out shot them 28-14.

For the Fighting Sioux freshman goalie Aaron Dell (.915 SV% 1.34 AA 1- 2- 1)played pretty well, he was square to the puck and not getting caught out of possition and I hope coach Hakstol starts him tomorrow night; I am trying to remain positive but I am tired of watching Brad Eidsness stink up the joint and let in soft goals and over play the puck. I think Eids needs to sit on the bench and watch a few games.

[Box Score]

NON-CONFERENCE SERIES: No. 5 North Dakota at No. 9 Cornell

Here is Elliot Olshansky's pre-game write up from the NCAA blog.

Dave Hakstol's team is regularly one of the best-traveled in college hockey, but a trip to Lynah Rink in Ithaca is no ordinary road trip. Some 4,000 Big Red fans maybe one of the smaller crowds North Dakota plays in front of (coming out of the WCHA), but they'll also be one of the loudest.

The Big Red, meanwhile, is in a tight spot. Despite their high national ranking, their 2-2-1 non-conference record is less than impressive, with a major missed opportunity in a 3-3 tie with Boston University at Madison Square Garden, and a pair of losses to Colorado College and Princeton at the Florida College Classic. A win against No. 16 New Hampshire, the current Hockey East leader, helps somewhat, but with the WCHA as strong as it is, this year, Cornell needs at least one win this weekend to improve its chances at an NCAA tournament berth. Otherwise, it may be "ECAC Title or Bust" for Mike Schafer's team.

Cornell will have the No. 3 scoring defewnse in the nation on its side, allowing just 2.12 goals per game, as well as the No. 5 power play in the nation (24.3 percent), which features a pair of potent scorers in seniors Blake Gallgher and Colin Greening, who have cooled off a bit from their red-hot start to the season, but are still formidable weapons.

Still, Cornell has scored more than two goals just twice in their last seven games, and North Dakota doesn't figure to make lighting the lamp any easier. NoDak is right behind Cornell and Ferris State among the nation's defensive leaders with 2.25 goals per game, and will provide a different kind of test for Cornell at the other end of the ice, with 11 players scoring in double-digits, led by junior forward Evan Trupp (5g, 15a) and sophomore Jason Gregoire, who has seven assists to go with a team-high 12 goals.

The always-intense Lynah Faithful should be especially fired up for this series: in addition to being a key pair of games against a formidable non-conference opponent, it's also Cornell's first home game since Nov. 24

.
Here is the information for listening and watching this weekend's game.

Jan. 22-23, 2010 • 6 pm CT • James Lynah Rink (4,267) • Ithaca, N.Y.
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • TV: Time Warner Sports (N.Y. only)
WEBCAST & LIVE STATS: CornellBigRed.com/Showcase • AUDIO: FightingSioux.com

SECOND-HALF SURGE?: The Sioux are off to a 3-1-2 (.667) start since the Christmas break after a 9-6-3 (.583) first half. In Dave Hakstol's five-plus years as head coach, UND has posted a .688 winning percentage (84-34-15) in games played after Christmas (including playoffs), compared to a .569 mark (49-36-9) prior to Christmas.

In each of the last five seasons, UND has dramatically increased its winning percentage following the holiday break. Below is a year-by-year comparison of UND's pre and post-Christmas records: Year Before After

2004-05 13-7-2 (.636) 12-8-3 (.587)
2005-06 12-7-1 (.625) 17-9-0 (.654)
2006-07 7-10-1 (.417) 17-4-4 (.760)
2007-08 8-6-1 (.567) 20-5-3 (.768)
2008-09 9-8-1 (.528) 15-7-3 (.660)
2009-10 9-6-3 (.583) 3-1-2 (.667)

More on the Daniel Carcillo and Marian Gaborik fight.

I have this game taped on my DVR so I am going to go back and watch this game later on this weekend because it sounds like I missed a good ole fashion donnybrook game. I just caught the highlights from last night's game while watching another game on the tube. Now if you miss a game on NHL Center Ice you will get a second chance to DVR said game after the game is over. Thank You!

Incidents like this is why I hate/loathe the Philadelphia Flyers, the Broad Street Bullies are a bunch of blood thirsty ruffians skating around the ice taking liberties with the opposition team. The two biggest hacks are Scott Hartnell aka “mop head” and Daniel Carcillo. First off Hartnell is you’re going to be a fighter; be a tough guy and take off the shield. Also, get a hair cut you look like a poor mans version of a French poodle. Second Carcillo knew what exactly what he was doing, he know that there wasn’t any tough guys on the ice and he went over and grabbed Gabby, and was looking for an excuse to pummel their top scorer. Here is what Carcillo had to say, "I wasn't expecting him to drop his gloves when he did," Carcillo admitted. "I was pretty much licking my chops."

If you watched the fight (if you want to call that a fight) you will see that Gabby dropped the gloves, but I think it was more out of self preservation. I am sure Gabby saw the the one sided exchange between Carcillo and Bradley and didn’t want to have the same thing happen to him. After the Bradley incident, who knows if Carcillo wouldn’t have just hit Gabby whether he would have dropped the gloves or not. Carcilo’s actions last night might pretty much prove that league top players better beware and are notice because its open season on you if you are playing the Flyers.

PHILADELPHIA -- John Tortorella's sense of honor, an amorphous concept to begin with, was offended last night when Flyers' thug Daniel Carcillo dropped his gloves to throw punches at the Rangers' elegant pacifist, Marian Gaborik, at 5:43 of the second period of the Flyers' 2-0 victory.

Perhaps the head coach should have directed his ire at Dan Girardi and the rest of the Blueshirts on the ice at the time who were bystanders (though hardly innocent ones) to the bout during which their best player was in jeopardy.

Or maybe Tortorella already had done so, because Girardi, who watched from just a few feet away as the unfair fight unfolded in the Rangers' attacking left corner and circle, told The Post that he regretted his decision not to engage on behalf of his teammate.

"I guess I was overthinking it, Girardi said. "I didn't want to take another penalty, because I knew we already had one there [on Brandon Dubinsky], but I should have gotten involved. I should have jumped in. Maybe it was the wrong decision, but it was the decision I made at the time.

"If there's a next time, I would go."

Tortorella, who told the press he already had addressed that issue with the team behind closed doors, did not take kindly to Carcillo's actions.

"There is no honor in that," Tortorella said when asked what he felt about Carcillo, who has 58 career fights in 194 NHL career, going after Gaborik, who had fought once previously in 551 career matches, against Ian Laperriere, then of the Avalanche, on Apr. 6, 2008.

Tortorella expressed further exasperation when told that Carcillo had said something about how he had been licking his chops to get a shot at Gaborik, talked more about honor, how it was embarrassing and all that.
[Read the rest of the story here]

The Guillaume Latendresse for Benoit Pouliot trade

In another blog post I looked at the trade between the Wild and the Habs, (Guillaume Letendress for Benoit Pouliot), at first I thought it was a one sided deal, however, it would appear that both players Guillaume Latendress and Benoit Pouliot have had an resurgence in their hockey careers and are helping both of their respective teams.

Last night the Wild played and beat the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. The Wild victory was fueled a possessed Guillamume Latendresse who led the charge with (1g-3a-4pts). Latendresse is really on a roll, in the last four games he is (4g-5a-8pts)

Incidentally, the guy the Wild traded to the Montreal Canadians to get Latendresse, former Wild player Benoit Pouliot has only scored 4 goals in 9 games. Latendresse surpassed Pouliot's production with the Habs in three periods of hockey. Not hard to see who got the best of that deal?

Since moving over the Montreal Canadians Benoit Pouliot has recorded (8g-1a-9tps) in 13 games. On the other side of the trade Guillaume Latendresse (13g-6a-19pts) in 26 games for the Minnesota Wild. It would appear that the trade is working out for both teams.

On Wednesday I was watching the Habs and the Blues play on my television and I couldn’t believe what I saw, Pouliout scored two goals. It was like Benoit Pouliot was a different player, energized by moving to the Canadians.
[props]

Carcillo proves he is a hack

I know why Gabby dropped his gloves because he probably saw this one sided exchange that Matt Bradley had with uber hack Daniel Carcillo. I don't blame the Ranger coach at all for being upset.

PHILADELPHIA -- Dan Carcillo's bloody knuckles came at the expense of an unlikely victim.

Ray Emery made 24 saves for his second shutout of the season, and James van Riemsdyk and Mike Richards scored in the Philadelphia Flyers' 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

But Carcillo's fight against Rangers star Marian Gaborik overshadowed another strong effort by the resurgent Flyers.

Rangers coach John Tortorella was furious that Philadelphia's enforcer went after his best player and sarcastically called Carcillo "a brave guy."

"There's no honour in that," Tortorella said. "I don't play the game, I don't wear the uniform, I don't want to say too much about it, but there's simply no honour in that."

Carcillo floored Gaborik with a hard uppercut early in the second period after the two-time all-star surprisingly dropped his gloves first.

"I didn't really expect to fight who I fought, but it kind of worked out," Carcillo said. "I don't know who on that line would have been able to help him though. I wasn't expecting him to drop his gloves, but when he did, I pretty much was licking my chops."
[TSN.COM]

Press conference and coaches show.

Click here to listen to the Fighting Sioux coaches show. I guess I would call this week’s Fighting Sioux coaches show was interesting because Chay Genoway filled in for the coaches who were missing in action.

Chay Genoway filled in for the coaches. First thing that stuck out was that Chay Genoway was recruited by Cornell. Cornell has a lot of players from out west. Chay said that he played against the Nash Brothers and some of the other guys on the team.

Chay was asked if he was recruited to Michigan Tech. Chay said, no he wasn’t recruited by Tech. Tim or Chay didn’t know of anyone on the team or recently who was recruited by Tech.

Chay says still struggling with a lot of things, doesn’t feel like it’s getting much better, the systems have lightened up a bit. Chay really hasn’t thought about a medical red shirt, but there will a time when they come a point, where they might consider it, it’s coming up on ten weeks since he has last played (2 ½ months). Chay, said that we haven’t jumped any conclusions will just trying to get better. Chay really hasn’t looked into the details of it of medical redshirt but has been told he might be eligible.

Weekend Match Ups (by Sioux 7)

If someone would have said UMD would have been on top of the WCHA with ten games to go at the beginning of the season, I would’ve said, “Is that a type-o, don’t you mean UND?” We have to hand it to the Bulldogs they have been a good solid team this year, and are taking advantage of their league schedule (they play MTU, MSUM, & UND 4 games, all are currently in the bottom half of the league).

The playoff picture is starting to take shape, it looks like both UMD and DU will get home ice, and MSUM and MTU will be on the road.

The interesting thing I noticed in the standings is that 6th place UND has a winning record and 7th place Minnesota has a .500 record. If certain games go a certain way, you could see only 6 points separate the top 7 teams in the league, talk about what could be a pile up in the standings.

The WCHA now has 5 out of the top 7 spots in the USCHO poll this week, or 6 out of the top 12, or if you count BSU, then there would be 7 out of the top 14. The pollsters really seem to love the dub.

WCHA STANDINGS

TEAM…………………GP.…W-L-T….PTS
1 Minnesota-Duluth….18….12-5-1..…25
2 Denver……………....16….10-3-3..…23
3 Colorado College…..18…..9-6-3……21
4 St. Cloud State……..16…..9-5-2……20
4 Wisconsin…………..16…..9-5-2……20
6 North Dakota……….18…..8-7-3……19
7 Minnesota…………..16…..7-7-2……16
8 Alaska-Anchorage…18.….6-11-1….13
9 Minnesota State…….18….5-12-1….11
10 Michigan Tech…….18.....2-16-0…..4

WCHA

#7 Colorado College at Alaska-Anchorage
Last week the Tigers split at home against the Badgers, and the Seawolves swept the MTU Huskies in Houghton.

Back around Thanksgiving these teams split a pair in Colorado Springs. The Seawolves are 2-1-1 in their last four WCHA games and the Tigers are 1-3-0 over that same stretch. The boys from Up North are looking to move into contention for home ice by extending their current winning streak, and the CC Tigers need some points to stay in the top five. Are we now seeing the CC team, which many of us predicted to finish in the bottom half of the league? The Tigers gave up 10 goals last weekend, seeing that, they were lucky to get a split. CC needs to limit their opponents scoring, if they want to win some more games. The boys from UAA look to be playing their best hockey of the year right now, a sweep of cellar-dwell MTU, and a tie and one goal lose to DU, in their last outings. I like the Seawolves at home to take some points this weekend. SEAWOLVES 3PTS.

Minnesota away/home #12 St. Cloud State
Last week the Gophers got 3 points at home against the Sioux, and the Huskies swept Quinnipiac on in Connecticut.

Have the Gophers finally righted their ship? This weekend is another big test for them, the Huskies were my pre-season dark horse of the league and they are quietly sneaking up the standings. SCSU is just five points out of first with two games in hand on UMD. I like the way the Huskies are playing right now they are H.O.T. winning 6 in a row and are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games. The Gophers set a record on Saturday scoring goals 7 seconds apart. However, the Gophers were outshot and had fewer scoring chances than the Sioux, but did get some “puck luck” as it were. I’m going with the Huskies in this series, SCSU SWEEP.

#1 Denver at #3 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Pioneers were enjoying a bye-week, and the Badgers split with the Tigers in Colorado.

DU has really owned the Badgers in Madison the past six years. The last time the Badgers beat the Pioneers in Madison was Friday October 30, 2004. DU won the next night (Halloween), and has won their last 7 games in the Kohl Center. The Pioneers are three points ahead of Bucky right now in the standings and both teams will want to get some points to secure their spots for home ice. The Pioneers are starting a tough road stretch, next week they are on the road again at “their real rival North Dakota” according to a DU hockey player.
Both teams are playing well right now and I’m going to take the easy way out and call this series a SPLIT.

Non-Conference

#4 Minnesota-Duluth at/home #14 Bemidji State
Last week the Bulldogs swept the Mavericks in Mankato, and the Beavers split at fellow CHA member Niagara.

This should be an entertaining series between two highly ranked teams, and soon to be league foes. It looks be the Bulldogs are trying to send the DECC out with style and a WCHA title this year. I haven’t been to the DECC in a few years but it was a fun building to watch hockey in and I’m sure it will be missed by the faithful UMD fans. I’m looking at the big picture in this non-conference home-and-home series. I’m taking the WCHA here, BULLDOGS SWEEP.

#5 North Dakota at #9 Cornell
Last week the Sioux got a point playing the Gophers, and the Big Red beat Clarkson and tied St. Lawrence.

The Sioux are in the second half of the season and will be looking to get some wins this weekend to start their “second half run” which they have done every year since Hakstol took over as coach. However, is this the year that streak comes to an end? Does UND start calling this a rebuilding year, if they don’t get a win or two this weekend. The Sioux do have 10 freshmen on the team this season. The other issue in Grand Forks has been the injury bug, Genoway has been out since mid November (concussion), Zajac was out for a month but is back now (hernia surgery), Hextall is out for what sounds like another month (leg injury), Knight was out last weekend… I’ll say this when the Gopher fans started to cheer “over-rated” last Saturday, I would have to agree with them. If UND is the 4th best team in college hockey, that doesn’t say much for the state of hockey as a whole. I’m not making excuses, but if I wanted too, there would be a couple to choose from. Okay, enough of my whining about the Sioux.

I’ve never been impressed with teams from the ECAC (Goon is not impressed with ECAC teams either…) even when they are ranked. I have to look at the big picture and go with WCHA in this match up, SIOUX SWEEP.

OFF – BY WEEK
Minnesota State University Mankato Mavericks
Michigan Tech University Huskies

UND still Fighting Sioux for now.

The Fighting Sioux nickname will stay for now.

GRAND FORKS - The state Board of Higher Education voted 5-3 today to keep the status quo with the Fighting Sioux nickname while an appeal is pending.

The board also directed its attorney to request an expedited hearing with the Supreme Court.

Board member Grant Shaft of Grand Forks said although the appeal does not prevent the board from directing UND to retire the nickname, he thinks it is appropriate to wait for the legal matter to be resolved.

Board member Mike Haugen of Fargo argued for directing UND to begin retiring the nickname.

"I don't see it in 10 months being any different than today," Haugen said.

Prior to the vote, UND President Bob Kelley and Athletic Director Brian Faison told board members a resolution is vital for the university to pursue membership in the Summit League.

Board members Shaft, Sue Andrews, Claus Lembke, Jon Jackson and Duaine Espegard supported the motion.

Members Mike Haugen, Minot State University , Rachelle Hadland, NDSU Student and President Richie Smith, Creighton University opposed it.

Does this sound familiar?

I saw a link to this article over on Maverick Puck. Sound Familier? Seems like the UNO Mavericks are having some of the same issues.

“We’re real close,” UNO coach Dean Blais said of his squad. “But we can’t be satisfied with just being close. We’ve got to be team-hungry. We’ve got to do everything a little bit better in practice. We’ve got to be better on the power play, and we’ve just got to be a little bit better in everything we do.”
[WORLD-HERALD]

Changes coming to the 'Final Five'?

Todd D. Milewski looks at the Final Five and what might happen next season. I don't mind the idea of keeping the tourney at five games, albeit now there will probably be two games on Thursday and only one on Saturday. I am also would not be opposed to the WCHA deciding to go ahead and making the it a Final Six or Super Six (6 teams, 6 games), this would allow them to play two games each day. Money drives college hockey and the league could make a little extra money for its member schools. Of course some of the teams wouldn't want to play a third place game. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

It appears that the postseason will include all 12 teams once the WCHA expands to include Bemidji State and Nebraska-Omaha next season. That would push six teams to the league’s playoff championship and require a reformatting of the three-day tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

Currently, the Final Five includes five games — a play-in contest Thursday night, two semifinals on Friday, a third-place game Saturday afternoon and the title game Saturday night.

The leading thought out of the meeting, the source said, was that the league could still use the Final Five title with a simple redefinition — five games, instead of five teams.

The third-place game has long been a source of contention in the league. While that game can be important — winning the 2006 version gave Wisconsin the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament over Minnesota, which it defeated — it also has been detrimental to some.

In 17 years of the Final Five, the consolation game loser has made the NCAA tournament 10 times. Seven times — including the last four years — that team has lost its first NCAA game.

The third-place game is important to the league’s coffers however, because it is a separate ticket that provides revenue, and therefore the league is reluctant to give it up.

Having six teams involved would allow the WCHA to keep a five-game format — two play-in games Thursday involving the teams seeded third through sixth, two semifinals Friday and the championship game Saturday — and please a vocal group of coaches by dumping the consolation game.
[Read the rest of the article]:

With the Final Five now becoming the Final six it’s time to kill the Minnesota rule, enough is enough. The Final Five is in the Gophers back yard and if they can’t take time off from work or school to see their favorite team play in the afternoon game that their tough luck. Last year proved that even with the Gophers only playing one game the tourney was attended well. I also believe that the “Minnesota Rule” is an unfair advantage; a team should play where they’re supposed to play. If the Golden Boys are supposed to play in the 2:00 pm game than I like other fans feel that is where they should play.

— Whether Minnesota would automatically be assigned to the night game on Thursday and Friday (if it is still alive in the tournament) to maximize local ticket sales. The so-called “Minnesota rule” currently sets the Gophers up with the prime-time semifinal spot, even if it causes the Thursday night winner to play Friday afternoon

Cross Posted on the Sin Bin.

Andy Sutton suspended two games.

Former Michigan Tech Huskie Andy Sutton was given a two game suspension for planting former Wild Pascal Dupuis into the boards. [Note: not a pretty video] Just for the record I don't think Andy Sutton isn't a dirty player, he has only been suspended one other time by the NHL from what I have seen.

TORONTO – New York Islanders defenseman Andy Sutton has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an incident in NHL game #738 against Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis, Tuesday night, the National Hockey League announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Sutton will forfeit $31,088.08. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Sutton was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for boarding at 17:05 of the third period. Dupuis was injured on the play.

Sutton will miss Thursday's game against Florida and Jan. 23 against New Jersey. He will be eligible to return Jan. 26 against Washington.