WCHA Officiating: A link in the anchor holding the WCHA back

Ok, this is more a follow up to Goon's He said What? piece earlier.

My stance is pretty arrogant and biased, but here it is. I believe the WCHA to be the best NCAA hockey has to offer. I believe that only a handful of teams in other conferences (most notably Michigan, BC, and BU) would be able to keep up with the WCHA. Sure, every conference has its strengths and weaknesses, but I think the WCHA is on the cusp of being the elite conference.

There are only two entities holding the WCHA back: Its administration and its officiating. Despite myself lobbying for McLeod's ouster, I think he's the lesser of two evils overall. I know this is hard because he's the one that hired the worst evil that the WCHA knows as of yet. The ONE thing holding the WCHA back. That's WCHA Director of Officials Greg Shepherd.

Let's speak positives. There's very few involved with the WCHA that hasn't positive memories of Greg Shepherd while he was an on-ice official. I've never witnessed him officiate a game, but I've also yet to hear anything negative about his on-ice performance overall. That being said, Kevin McHale was a great player for the NBA. How did his work as a GM work out for the Timberpuppies?

The big catch-word in today's business (which, like it or not, hockey is) is the word "accountability." Accountable employees tend to be more efficient if given the right support and environment to work in. Those who are not held accountable, or accountability standards aren't enforced, tend to satisfice, or simply work hard enough for it to be considered "good enough." There is no need to improve. No need to criticize what could have been, trace mistakes and work to improve on them. This is bad enough when you are low on the corporate ladder, so to speak. However, when this is displayed by administration, this is devastating, because it is self-perpetuating. An administator who seeks the "good enough" stance, like McLeod and Shepherd do, install officials that reflect on this belief. There is no need to improve because they haven't been called out too harshly by the ADs and coaches of the league at meetings held, conveniently, after the season. Coincidentally, something like par or subpar officiating is hardly an issue when other things are on the docket. And if it is brought up, the rapport with the ADs and coaches will usually be enough to smooth most of it over. Time and empty promises will smooth the rest.

So, with compromised hiring (and firing) practices and a satisficing Administrative leadership, what about the on-ice officials? Hello, "Good 'ole boy" network. This is a big time conference with Beer League Accountability. "Don't do it again or you'll pay." Even then, though, it's not enough. That didn't work for Don Adam. In the span of 5 years, he's watched two incredibly illegal, damaging hits to players and made no attempt to be decisive on a call. He called Paukovich for boarding Bina despite the other facts in the case (Paukovich charged Bina from center ice and crushed him at full speed, he made no attempt to slow down, and the puck should have been blown dead after the Sioux player behind the net touched up the puck due to a penalty on the Sioux having been called) and was convinced to call a 5 minute major as a sort of make up call type set up after Hextall went ballistic on Marvin and, even then, did not bother to even find out who actually did the illegal hitting until after the period was over. But the key to the whole Adam affair is the phrase "span of 5 years." Randy Schmidt made the same mistake twice in a season and was fired for it.

So, there's your precedent. Don Adam will be fine provided he doesn't watch two players get seriously injured in the same year. Maybe it would have to be the same team getting the injury without a call to end Adam's WCHA tenure. Don't forget that, though unsubstantiated, Don Adam left for the HEA at one point and was FIRED or NOT retained. I would assume that's not true if Adam didn't have a history of being THE most dangerous official with regards to player safety in the WCHA. Face it folks, every other official in the WCHA blows games now and then, but only Don Adam allows serious injuries to go relatively unanswered.

Then there is the issue with NCAA Crackdowns. Why do Crackdowns take place? Has anyone read the crackdowns? If you had, you'd probably notice that NONE of them impose NEW RULES. Why would the NCAA have to tell the WCHA to enforce the rulebook if the officials were doing a good enough job, even taking human error into account, on their own? I can't prove that the obstruction crackdown was meant to counter WCHA ineptitude, but you can't tell me the CFB Crackdown wasn't. And even then, it's now a joke. Cheap hits cannot be defended by the teams. No fighting is allowed. So... it falls on the officiating. If players walk onto the ice knowing that any cheap stuff will be met severely, they won't do it or if they do, they'll pay and so will their team. McLeod brags about how the WCHA doesn't give out more than 2 game suspensions. He's right. I can only think of one 2 game suspension the WCHA has handed out. I believe it was earlier this year to an MSUM player? Or maybe it was C. Smith of UW. I can't remember clearly. Paukovich got 1 game, not even a misconduct for the game he did the hit on, and DU added 1 game because, as Gwozdecky rationalized, Paukovich needed a little extra time to get over the circumstances. In other words, had Paukovich not been somewhat human, 1 game is all he'd have sat. I guess it was ok to sit him as it was only going to be missing a game vs. Bemidji. I've never rooted for a long shot harder in my life.

There are a bunch of solutions to this:

1. This offseason, dismiss Greg Shepherd (heck, offer him early retirement, I don't care). Put McLeod on dismissal watch.

2. Hire a consultant to comb through policies and procedures, personnel interviews, performance records, etc. and suggest immediate and long term solutions to the administrative aspect of officiating and the league.

3. Hire someone with NHL credentials to lead the officials.

4. Separate league goals from officiating goals. No more institution-enforced parity. No more situation officiating.

5. Install the NHL's standards (or a variation therein) of hiring, firing, and performance standards for all on-ice and off-ice officials (such as video replay judges, scoring table people, etc.)

6. Start enforcing the rule book as the rule book is written. No more leeway to coaches regardless of the school's standing.

7. Mandate a 24 hour response period towards serious infractions. If the college doesn't give a serious enough response (within reason) to an illegal action either on or off ice, the league will impose a harsh punishment. No more "talking to's" will be accepted as a punishment.

8. Move league offices out of cities that hold member schools. McLeod should not have his office in or near Denver, CO. I suggest Chicago, IL. If the other Directors wish to not consolidate their stance, then the Head of officiating should be headquartered in someplace like Milwaukee, WI or even someplace more out of the way like Detroit, MI. That way, if Gwozdecky wants to get ahold of McLeod, he has to do the same thing Eaves or Hakstol or Lucia has to do: Email, phone, or hop on a plane. The best place I'd've recommended would have been Omaha, NE, but now that UNO has entered the WCHA, that's out.

9. Appraisal of Officiating or on-ice issues should be discussed at a separate time AFTER the post season meetings. Get the "big deals" done first and then approach this issue as THE priority on the agenda. The first order of business? League wide mandated and enforced accountability standards for ALL WCHA officials from the newest AR to the Head of Officiating himself. Heck.. MAKE THAT PUBLIC. Punitive action can be kept private, but the hiring practices and accountability standards are hardly confidential and should be right there for perusal. And, for the following 5 years post-ratification, the standards should be revisited ANNUALLY. After that, every 5 years unless 3 schools make a motion at the post season meetings to revisit it prior to that time.

10. Reverse review officials. This would be a two-tiered appraisal process in which surveys would first go out to ADs, Coaches, and the officials themselves (as a form of self-assessment). I'd love for the fans to be involved, but that would be a disaster. I don't see much more than 1 or 2 officials actually losing their jobs. The only one who'd probably lose his job would probably be Don Adam. The rest should just go on probation and see where they stand. Those new to the league would be exempt from this as it's too early to see a trend. So, no free passes. It doesn't matter if you played hockey for 20 years and then officiated up until today. You're a nobody until proven by the new accountability standards.

11. Might want to investigate disallowing any on-ice official to officiate his alma mater. We can call this the Mason Rule if tUMD fans wish it.

END RANT???

Hexy playing tonight. (It's Official game on)

RWD's favorite hockey beat writer has put the up the UND's lines. for tonight's game. More good news for the Fighting Sioux; Brett Hextall who has been out since the Tourney in Chicago is back in the line up after being out with a undisclosed lower leg injury.

17 Jason Gregoire--29 Chris VandeVelde--10 Corban Knight
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--21 Matt Frattin
9 Mario Lamoureux--11 Darcy Zajac--18 David Toews
26 Brett Hextall--27 Carter Rowney--7 Danny Kristo

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 Fighting Sioux stats]

The SCSU Huskies are reporting that their captain is out for tonight's game with the some kind of illness.

SCSU captain Garrett Raboin has come down with an illness and will miss Friday night's game against North Dakota at the National Hockey Center, according to the SCSU sports information department. Coincidentally, both teams will be without their captains. Sioux senior Chay Genoway remains out with a concussion following the last UND-SCSU series in November. [Pucks and Bats]

Sterns County Community College lines

11 Jared Festler--17 Aaron Marvin--19 Ryan Lasch
27 Tony Mosey--9 Garrett Roe--22 David Eddy
10 Ben Hanowski--29 Drew LeBlanc--12 Travis Novak
13 Jordy Christian--16 Nick Oslund--21 Brian Volpei

4 Craig Gaudet--18 Chris Hepp
25 Oliver Lauridsen--24 Taylor Johnson
6 Brett Barta--3 Sam Zabkowicz

41 Dan Dunn
30 Mike Lee
[SCCC Stats]


Here is the official press release to the earlier post about tomorrow's game being on MIDCO channel 6.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- Saturday night's men's hockey television broadcast between No. 11 North Dakota and No. 4 St. Cloud State will be shown on Midcontinent Communications. The broadcast will air on channel 6 in Grand Forks and on digital cable channel 322 throughout the rest of the state of North Dakota.

The broadcast is produced by Charter Cable, with Rob Hudson handling play-by-play duties and former Husky forward Mike Doyle providing color analysis.

Saturday night's game begins at 7:07 p.m. Central. Friday's game will be aired on channel 23 for Midcontinent subscribers.

Saturday's game between the Sioux and Huskies to be televised

UND hockey beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman had this up on this blog. Good news for Sioux fans.

UND announced this afternoon that Saturday's game against St. Cloud State also will be televised by Midcontinent. It will be on Channel 6 in GF. More to come.... [UND Hockey Blog]

Husky hockey: SCSU's Marvin center of attention

 For the Sioux fans that haven't seen this one this article is interesting but it's not going to fan the flames of discontent. The flames of discontent are already there. It's almost like the SCSU team; fans and media are holding their breath and hoping their boy Marvin makes it out of this series without too many bumps and bruises. That is the beauty of hockey if you do something cheap, bush-league or violate the hockey code eventually you will pay for it, maybe not this weekend but eventually. I also wish people would stop painting Marvin as the victim, he made this bed. This song would probably be a good theme song for this weekend's series.

Mike and Connie Marvin often make the trip from Warroad to St. Cloud to watch their son, Aaron, play for the Huskies. This weekend’s series against North Dakota is one they’ll have to miss, however, because they’ll be in Vancouver, watching their daughter, Gigi, play for the U.S. Olympic team.

They’ll be keeping close tabs on what happens at the National Hockey Center, though, especially since Aaron Marvin could be a focal point for some in a crucial late-season matchup between fourth-ranked St. Cloud State and the 11th-ranked Sioux.

The Huskies are tied for first place in the WCHA and are trying to claim their first MacNaughton Cup. Sixth-place North Dakota still has a chance at home ice, but can’t afford to let many more points get away.

That’s where Marvin comes in. There’s a significant contingent of Sioux backers — if not UND players — who could blame him for sabotaging their season. On Nov. 13, North Dakota was tied for first place and knocked off the Huskies 4-2 in Grand Forks — only late in the second period, Marvin chased down Sioux captain Chay Genoway and crushed him with a check from behind into the glass near the SCSU net.


Marvin drew a one-game suspension, Genoway suffered a concussion and, three months later, has yet to return to the lineup. He was the top-scoring defenseman in the league at the time of his injury, when UND was 7-1-1. Without him, they’ve gone 6-10-4 — including a 1-4-1 mark in the last month.

“Back home, we’d always say what goes around comes around,” said Marvin, who publicly expressed regret shortly after the hit and has had one other five-minute major (on Feb. 23, 2008) in 107 career games. “They’re definitely going to be coming around on Friday night. Whatever happens, happens. You just have to keep your head up and protect yourself.”

Various Internet message boards have lit up recently with calls by Sioux fans for frontier justice. It remains to be seen whether the opportunity for that could come today or Saturday. It’s certain Genoway’s teammates would like to at least respond by beating SCSU

“He’s still a huge part of this team,” UND senior Darcy Zajac said of Genoway during the Sioux’s weekly media availability. “This weekend’s for Chay. We’ve got to be playing for Chay, and we got to get those two wins for him.”

Adding twists to the storyline are that Marvin’s grandfather, Cal, is a member of the UND and U.S. Hockey halls of fame. And Aaron is sort of related to Genoway. One of Marvin’s cousins married a relative of the Sioux senior.
“No team feels worse than us,” Huskies coach Bob Motzko said of Genoway’s injury. “We’re all hoping he comes back quick — unless he chooses to (medically) redshirt.”

Not that it will buy Marvin any goodwill. [SCTIMES]

If SCSU Huskies coach Bob Motzko wanted to extend some good will he would have suspended Marvin for longer like George Gwozdecky did when Paukovich injured Robbie Bina back in 2005. I am not advocating any cheap stuff this weekend. I want UND to run the Huskies into the ground play a physical hardnosed brand of hockey and crash the net. Nothing dirty, however, if the chance presents itself take that pound of flesh. Remember hockey is a physical game so the Sioux forwards should pound Roe and Lasch every chance they get. The Huskies are not a physical team and don’t like to be hit, they are a lot like the Gophers.

A couple of things about the upcoming series.

I thought that you might want to see what the other side has to say about this weekend's series. Funny how the SCSU hockey beat writer basically said the same thing that I did on how the Huskies had not played the most impressing schedule in their last 12 games. I am not saying that the Huskies are not a good hockey team, I am just saying their wins weren’t that impressive.

Amid all the 'will-UND-get-revenge-on-Aaron-Marvin' hoopla this week (that's the subject of Friday's preview story), perhaps a little of the lustre of an otherwise classic matchup is lost. Fourth-ranked St. Cloud State playing host to No. 11 North Dakota could be one of the best series of the season, regardless of whether the Huskies and Sioux mix it up with anything other than shots and goals, saves and skating.

SCSU needs the series to stay in the MacNaughton Cup race, to keep the pressure on other teams for a top-three finish and strong position in the WCHA playoff picture, and better firm up a high seed for the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota, two years removed from a fourth straight Frozen Four appearance and less than 12 months since the Sioux last hoisted the Cup, are staring a road playoff series in the face for the first time since 2002 unless they perhaps sweep this weekend.

“I haven’t watched a whole lot on St. Cloud, to be honest with you,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “I know their personnel well enough. They’ve got a couple of high-end guys up front but they’ve got a bunch of good, offensively skilled players and, obviously, they’re finding good chemistry and finding ways to win a lot of games, especially over the last two months.”

The Huskies enter the series 10-1-1 in their last 12, but most of those opponents weren't of this caliber -- and SCSU is 3-6-1 all season when facing teams ranked No. 11 or better.

"We know we're going to get North Dakota's best," Huskies coach Bob Motzko said. "They're in a spot they're not used to and that's a prideful program. They're well-coached and a good hockey team. We're going to have our hands full. They play with the pedal to the floor. Their goal is to push you through the back wall. We try to play the same way. You're going to get knocked over when you play them. It's how you get up and go from there that's important."

North Dakota has the top scoring defense in the WCHA (2.21 goals against). And SCSU's goalies are both in the top five in save percentage. So don't be surprised if both games are nail-biters that live up to billing.[Pucks and Bats]

Ovechkin slambs Gill and scores goal? Not.

Wow what a hit by Caps star Alex Ovechkin as he laid out the human obstruction machine Hall Gill. In my world that is what I call finishing a check and I believe that goal should have counted. I am hoping that the Capitals or Bruins make it out of the East this season. It was ruled no goal on the ice but I think it should have counted.

Ovechkin had a goal waved off 14:10 into the second. Ovechkin crashed the crease and knocked Montreal defenseman Hal Gill into Price as the puck slid into the net after the Montreal goalie made a huge glove save on Mike Knuble's shot.

Initially ruled a goal, the on-ice officials huddled in front the timekeeper's bench before reversing their decision, waving off the goal.
[NHL.COM]

He said what?

I found this part of Brad's Thursday article to be interesting. When I read McLeod's quote it does nothing but make me furious. Nope! The league office isn’t worried about this weekend’s game in Saint Cloud, give me a break. So if the league office why are they summoning the head of officials Greg Shepherd and Marco Hunt and Derek Shepherd? I smell it and I don’t believe them.

If you’re not worried about this weekend’s series why not let Don Adam and John Campion and or even Todd Anderson ref this series? I will answer that question, the league office doesn’t want to see an a line brawl this weekend if any of the games get out of control.

In talking with a great Fighting Sioux hockey mind I predicted that we would probably see Derek Shepherd and Marco Hunt ref this series with Greg Shepherd looking one from the press box, and I was right. Like I said in the past Marco and Derek are the best of the worst and they need their most competent officials for this weekend’s series and they can’t take the risk letting some buffoon like Don Adam, Brian Thul or Scott Bokal. We have seen two UND players carried off the ice when Adam is officiating.

Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Bruce McLeod says the league isn’t worried about a possible incident in St. Cloud, but supervisor of officials Greg Shepherd is expected to be on hand for both games.

McLeod did say that the league will start considering lengthier suspensions for flagrant hits, though. The WCHA’s standard has been handing out one-game suspensions, which is what Marvin got for his hit on Genoway.

In contrast, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, in dealing with two recent illegal hits to the head, suspended one player for the entire season and another for 15 games.

McLeod said that the NCAA had a conference call after Marvin’s hit on Genoway to clarify the rule and another one with the league’s teams to warn them about a crackdown.

“(Longer suspensions) would definitely be a consideration after the warnings,” McLeod said. “Knock on wood, we haven’t had to deal with another one and hopefully we don’t.” [Grand Forks Herald]

Lastly, McLeod must have trouble with reading the rule book because the NCAA rules are pretty cut and dried; Hitting From behind are a point of emphasis. I don’t need to listen to a conference call to be able to understand that. I would imagine that people that are hockey fanatics could understand the rules.

Weekend Match Ups (by Sioux 7)

Since 4 WCHA teams are on a bye week, and it's Valentine’s Day weekend, how about a poem this week.


Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Play in this League
And the Refs will Screw You


It seemed funny when I wrote it :) Now down to some business.


CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS

TEAM………………….GP….W-L-T….PTS
1 Minnesota-Duluth…..22….14-7-1.….29
1 St. Cloud State……...22….13-6-3….29
3 Denver……………….... 20….12-4-4.….28
4 Wisconsin…………..... 20….11-6-3…. 25
4 Colorado College…...22….11-8-3.….25
6 North Dakota………...20…..8-9-3.….19
7 Minnesota…………....20…..8-10-2 …18
7 Alaska-Anchorage…24…..8-14-2….18
9 Minnesota State……20…..6-13-1….13
10 Michigan Tech.……22..…4-18-0.….8



WCHA

#11 North Dakota at #4 St. Cloud State
Last weekend the Sioux enjoyed the week off and the Huskies took 3 points from UAA at the National Hockey Center.

Earlier this season the teams met in Grand Forks with each team getting a win. A week off might just be what the Sioux needed. It gave their injured players time to heal and get back to work on basic hockey skills. Meanwhile the red hot Huskies continue their point gathering ways, moving into a tie for 1st place (with UMD). Since the calendar changed to 2010 UND has an okay 4-4-2 record, while SCSU is 10-1-1. After this weekend the Huskies will only have four remaining games, all are in against WCHA foes. The Sioux need points if they are going to try and wrestle the 5-spot away from the CC Tigers. I’m also thinking that UND might want some reckoning this weekend, since it was Marvin who checked Genoway from behind and knocked him out this year. So maybe their might get to be a little scuffle or two this weekend. The Goon and I will be attending Saturday’s game at the NHC, so hopefully we can will our team to a victory that night. SPLIT.


Minnesota at #2 Denver
Last weekend the Gophers rested during a bye week and the Pioneers beat Mercyhurst and then edged the Air Force academy in OT.

Back in October the Pioneers swept the Gophers in Minneapolis, by identical 3-0 scores. DU has a relatively easy schedule this month, after UM they host MTU and then travel to MSU-Mankato. UM has a much harder schedule this month, after DU the Gophers host CC, go to UMD, and in March host UW to end the year. DU has basically got home ice for the first round of the playoffs, and UM has to get some help if they want to get up to the 5th spot. Both UM and UND will be cheering for whoever is playing CC, since that is the team they both want to leap over. Gopher fans have to be beyond restless at this point of the season; they have to wonder if the team, that looks so good on paper will ever be that good on the ice. Pioneers fans, the faithful few of them, are happy to see their team live up to the pre-season billing of being a top team in the league and country. The stats and everything point to a Pioneers sweep, but this is the WCHA after all. SPLIT.


Minnesota State at #3 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Mavericks took the week off and the Badgers beat Michigan in their outdoor game in Madison.

This will be the only meeting between these teams this season, however they might end up playing each other in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The last time these teams played was last season’s 1st round of the WCHA playoffs in Madison where the Badgers beat the Mavericks in two games. But in February of 2009, when the Mavericks hosted the Badgers, MSUM took 3 points. The Mavericks have 6 wins in conference and 3 of them are against helpless MTU. I don’t think this will be much of a series, the Badgers should easily take all four points. BADGERS SWEEP.



BYE WEEK – OFF
#7 Minnesota – Duluth
#9 Colorado College
Alaska Anchorage
Michigan Tech

Milan Lucic vs Adam Mair

This was a good fight and only one of three fights that Milan Lucic has been in this season because of his broken finger and his high ankle strain that kept him out of 18 games earlier in the season.

Thomas: Trade reports are 'fictitious'

This would refute some of the rumors about Thomas going to the Chicago Blackhawks. I was not aware that Thomas has a no trade clause in his contract. I like Tim Thomas and he hasn't had any goal support this season and Rask is hot right now but Timmy was one of the best goalies in the NHL last season.

BRANDON, Fla. – Tim Thomas’ family has heard all of the trade rumors, and – worst of all – that he might be headed to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Never mind the fact that Thomas has a full no-trade clause for the first three years of his four-year deal, or that the Blackhawks have no interest in making such a trade with the Bruins. Once the whisper campaign begins, it can turn concrete enough that no amount of facts can get in the way of juicy rumor.

Thomas told CSNNE.com he "won't respond to something that's completely fictitious" and thus won't address trade rumors that have kicked up with the Vezina Trophy winner.

Thomas moved his parents from the Flint, Mich., area to Boston prior to the 2009-10 season and bought a house in the North Shore with his wife and children, planting roots in the city where he made his bones as an NHL goaltender. He has no reason, or desire, to waive his no-trade and uproot his family.

A hockey source confirmed with CSNNE.com that nobody – Bruins or otherwise -- has approached Thomas about potentially waiving his no-trade clause, and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon. Perhaps something gets revisited in the summer, when the Bruins are in a better position to shed salary cap baggage given their abundance of quality draft picks, but there’s no way something will happen with the B’s goalie this season.

Midcontinent to broadcast Friday's UND-SCSU game

Some good news for Sioux fans. Friday nights game will be on Midcontinent channel 23 in Grand Forks, ND. This is very good news.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Midcontinent Communications announced today that Friday night's men's hockey game between the Fighting Sioux and host St. Cloud State will be televised live on the Midcontinent channel throughout North Dakota and South Dakota.

The broadcast is produced by Charter Cable, with Rob Hudson handling play-by-play duties and former Husky forward Mike Doyle providing color analysis.

Friday night's game begins at 7:07 p.m. Central

Wednesday Presser with UND hockey

I will paraphrase a few of the comments from the Pressor.
Coach Hakstol: The line up will be the same from the DU series, UND will go with the same players. No panic in our locker room right now.

Gleason: We not going to focus to much on the thing with Chay. Our goal as a team is four points.

Zajac: We spent the off week getting healthy. We practiced hard. We recouped and we are ready to go. On Chay and Marvin incident those things seem to work themselves out in the end. This weekend we are playing for Chay. Our power play is going to come through this weekend.

Malone: We are going in there for four points. Team comes first, and no one is going to let their emotions go. Hurts to see Chay there waiting and not being able to play. Chay is a competitor.

SCSU vs UND (head to head)

2009-2010
11/14/2009 St. Cloud State 3 North Dakota 2 St. Cloud State
11/13/2009 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 4 North Dakota
2008-2009
01/31/2009 North Dakota 4 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota
01/30/2009 North Dakota 0 St. Cloud State 3 St. Cloud State
12/13/2008 St. Cloud State 4 North Dakota 7 North Dakota
12/12/2008 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 3 North Dakota
2007-2008
03/08/2008 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 2 (ot) Tie
03/07/2008 St. Cloud State 1 North Dakota 1 (ot) Tie
01/05/2008 North Dakota 6 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota
01/04/2008 North Dakota 2 St. Cloud State 3 St. Cloud State
2006-2007
03/16/2007 North Dakota 6 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota
03/03/2007 North Dakota 7 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota
03/02/2007 North Dakota 3 St. Cloud State 3 (ot) Tie
11/04/2006 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 2 (ot) Tie
11/03/2006 St. Cloud State 1 North Dakota 3 North Dakota
2005-2006
03/18/2006 St. Cloud State 3 North Dakota 5 North Dakota
01/28/2006 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 1 (ot) St. Cloud State
01/27/2006 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota 1 St. Cloud State
11/19/2005 North Dakota 3 St. Cloud State 2 North Dakota
11/18/2005 North Dakota 2 St. Cloud State 3 St. Cloud State
[Click to the stats]
Someone posed the question over on USCHO what is the head to head record between SCSU and UND since Bob Moztko took over the coaching duties at SCSU in 2005-2006 UND leads the series 10 – 6 – 4 in the last 20 games.

Nickname supporters at Standing Rock begin push to add UND nickname to ballot

Looks like there is some movement on the Standing Rock Reservation. I still think the logo is on life support though.

Supporters of UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname at the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe will be starting a petition drive today to get the issue on the ballot.

Tom Iron, one of the supporters, said the group aims to have at least 600 signatures by next Wednesday. He said he’s spoken with Chairman Charlie Murphy about the matter, and the chairman has promised to cooperate.

Nickname supporters have worked for months on a petition, but the apparent lack of progress had convinced many State Board of Higher Education members that it was time to retire the nickname and move on.

Under a settlement between the state and the NCAA, which considers American Indian nicknames offensive, UND has until Nov. 30 to win support of both the state’s Sioux tribe or abandon the nickname. Spirit Lake tribal members had voted overwhelmingly last year to stand behind the nickname, but Standing Rock’s Tribal Council had refused to allow a referendum.

Iron and other supporters hope the signatures would convince the council, about half of which is new, to put the nickname on the ballot.

The state board will meet Feb. 18, and most members have indicated they might decide to retire the nickname then so UND can apply to the Summit League athletic conference. The Summit League has said it won’t consider an application until the nickname issue is settled. A lawsuit seeking to stop the board from doing that is awaiting a Supreme Court hearing in March, but board members think they won’t have to wait.

Coincidentally, the board will be meeting at Lake Region State College, not far from the Spirit Lake reservation.
[Grand Forks Herald]

Will Marvin get his?

Well it’s SCSU and UND week and this weekend’s series has to potential to get really ugly, in fact the refs are sitting on a potential powder keg. We all know why? There is no question; Marvin’s attempted decapitation on Chay Genoway in November was one of the dirtiest hits that I have seen since Geoff Paukovich tried to drive Robbie Bina through the boards at the 2005 Final Five. In my opinion the Marvin hit on Genoway has to be answered for, what Marvin did was a violation of the hockey code. I don't want to hear it was an accident, this gutless, dirty hit was a deliberate attempt to injure an opposition player. It is what it is, an illegal, gutless, brutal, bush-league hit, nothing else.

Watch the film, Marvin follows Genoway 185 feet all the way down the ice and looks for his chance to drive him into the boards, the fact that he hits him with an elbow, makes the more dirty. I am disappointed that Darcy Zajac had a chance to avenge the hit per the hockey code the night of the bush-league hit and didn't.

The Paukovich hit went unanswered for in following season and that incident festered for 2 years. The right response in this situation is like what happened in the Trevor Bruess and Rylan Kaip fight. If Marvin is a man of honor and lives by the hockey code, if challenged, (I would be willing to bet he get's challenged) Marin will man up game one Friday night and get it over with or he can be punk like Paukovich and let it fester, run his mouth and hide behind the officials and hope they are able to rescue him.

I agree with Brandon that I am sick and tired of reading on messages boards where SCSU fans are telling Sioux fans to get over it. The one that really chaps my ass is where I say some clown say since it was a UND player and since they play a psychical game Chay deserved it.


Let's put the shoe on the other foot imagine if one of the Sioux hockey player had driven Garrett Roe or Ryan Lasch's head into the boards, knocking him out for the season basically jeopardizing your season. Can you imagine the scene SCSU head coach Bob Motzko would have made if that had happened to one of his player, remember the scene made because one goal didn’t go the way he thought it should. Marvin was given a flimsy one game suspension for a hit that warranted at minimum a 2-3 three game suspension and you would have no trouble making the argument for giving him at least a 5 game suspension. If the WCHA actually had some leadership that had a pair balls Marvin would have been given a suspension with some meat to it. The WCHA is culpable in this situation, the players will probably take justice into their own hands.

If this was the QMJHL Marvin would probably be sitting out for very long time, but since the WCHA’s leadership are a bunch of walking buffoons they don’t’ see a need to protect the leagues players. Why should someone a top player choose the WCHA over the WHL if this kind of behavior is going to go unpunished, would you want your first round draft choice playing in the WCHA if you were a NHL GM?

Jeff Carter smokes Anssi Salmela

All I can say is ouch! Looks like a violent but legal hit to me.

Devils defenseman Anssi Salmela was taken off the ice on a stretcher in Philadelphia Monday night after getting hit by the Flyers' Jeff Carter just after scoring a short-handed goal for a 2-0 Devils lead.

Salmela, who came to the Devils in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade, cut around Mike Richards in the right circle and scored from the slot just as Carter delivered a right shoulder to his head.

After remaining facedown on the ice for six minutes in a mostly silent Wachovia Center, Salmela was removed from the ice on a stretcher. No penalty was called on the play.

The goal and it occurred at 1:01 of the second period. As the period ended, the Devils reported that Salmela was walking around the dressing room and was OK. [NJ.COM]

Here come the Gophers?

I found this blog article to be interesting. You have to wonder if Lucia is feeling the heat? Most fans in Gopher nation are not happy, their team almost has to run the tables and win the Final Five to make the NCAA tourney which is in their back yard. Their remaining games on the schedule are brutal as well. In my weekly pool that I am in with my friends I have picked the Gophers being swept by the Pioneers this weekend.

The Gophers play at Denver this weekend and Lucia is hoping for at least a split to give his team a chance to make a run for home ice.

"We still have that opportunity," Lucia said. "Obviously, we are going to have to get some points this weekend against Denver. If we get a couple [two] points, then all of a sudden you are only five back [of Colorado College] and you have them in your own building for two games.

"CC still has Minnesota, North Dakota and Denver, so they don't have an easy go of it as well."

Clearly, the Gophers have their sights set on overtaking North Dakota, one point ahead of them, and CC, a deceivingly seven ahead. The Tigers are tied with Wisconsin for fourth place with 25 points but are idle this weekend.

So if the Gophers can get two points or more, they can reel the Tigers in the following weekend at Mariucci if they can sweep CC.

"You still want to continue to play well and to finish as strong as you possibly can," Lucia said. "And then whether you are home or on the road, you are going to have to win that first round matchup no matter where you are. The fortunate thing for us is, we have played pretty well on the road all year long.

"I still think with eight games left, we can still do some damage. And that's our goal." [Goal Gophers]

2011 WJC Schedule announced.

[Props] The 2011 World Junior Hockey Championship has been announced. I think there is a good chance that UND recruit Derek Forbort will probably be playing for Team USA in Buffalo next season.

The Buffalo Sabres and USA Hockey today announced a tentative schedule and pool assignments for the 2011 World Junior Championship that will take place in Buffalo from December 26, 2010-January 5, 2011. The Sabres also announced that four games originally scheduled for Dwyer Arena will now be played at HSBC Arena, bringing the number of games in Buffalo to 21. This will not affect the previously announced ticket package pricing.

A total of 31 games will be played over 11 days at HSBC Arena, and Dwyer Arena on the campus of Niagara University in Lewiston, NY. Team USA will be in Group A along with Finland, Germany, Slovakia and Switzerland. Group B will feature Canada, Sweden, Russia, Czech Republic and Norway. The Gold Medal game will take place on Wednesday, January 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Team USA will begin defense of its 2010 World Junior title on Sunday, December 26 vs. Finland at HSBC Arena at 8 p.m. The opening day of the tournament will also feature two other games at HSBC Arena, including Canada/Russia at 4 p.m. The tournament officially opens up at 12:30 p.m. with a game at HSBC Arena between Germany and Switzerland. Norway and Sweden will face-off at Dwyer Arena that day in a 4 p.m. start.

Another highlight of Team USA’s schedule is a New Year’s Eve game against Switzerland beginning at 8 p.m. They will also face Slovakia (Dec. 28, 8 p.m.) and Germany (Dec. 30, 7 p.m.). All four of USA and Canada’s preliminary round games will be played at HSBC Arena.
[Buffalo World Juniors]

Tim Thomas On The Block?

I honestly don't see anyone picking up Timmy Thomas' and his huge 5 million a year contract, also, Tim Thomas is 35 years old. I also hope the Bruins wouldn't want anything to do with Christobal Huet, that guy is a brutal goalie.

One surprising rumor which just hit the wire is that the Boston Bruins are shopping last year's Vezina Trophy winner, Tim Thomas. If this is true, is it too early for the Bruins to give up on their down-to-earth goalie, a player they have a very heavy financial commitment to? (5 Million USD per year).

Does Chicago have faith in Cristobal Huet to take them to the promised land? It is possible that these two teams are disappointed enough in their respective goalies to try a switcheroo. But of course, that's easier said than done.[The Rink]

Avery's "pestrionics" get to Kovalchuk

My favorite punk Sean Avery, he makes for good theater. Whether you like Sean Avery or not, you have to admit it was smart hockey. I mean seriously, you took an offensive threat like Kovalchuk off the ice in essence ending his day early. I think Avery won that exchange.

NEW YORK -- The poke of the stick into a part of your body that might not respond well to that sort of thing. The hit slightly after the whistle designed to get your attention. The well-timed insult that gets under your skin and causes you to lose your cool.

Everyone knows the game of Rangers irritator Sean Avery -- but that doesn't make it any less irksome if you're in the wrong state of mind.

Just ask Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk.

With his team trailing the Rangers 3-1 and only 2:16 left in the third period, Kovalchuk found himself a couple of feet from Avery during a whistle. A tap of the stick and a few well-chosen words later, Kovalchuk was wailing away on Avery as officials tried to separate the pair.

They each received four minutes for roughing, effectively ending their nights with very little time left in the game. It left the Devils without their biggest offensive threat with the game on the line, and the Rangers without, well, a guy who gets paid to do just what he did to Kovalchuk.

"We obviously know the history with Avery and I think it's a smart play on his part to take Kovy out with two minutes left in the game," Devils forward Patrik Elias said after his team's 3-1 loss. "That's an advantage for them, obviously."

"He's always talks. It's part of the game," Kovalchuk said. "That time I should stay away from that, but we have a lot of great players who can do some damage in front. I heard it's a big rivalry, and now I know it."

Lesson learned.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
February 8, 2010

Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Miami (46) 20- 4-6 996 1
2 Denver ( 3) 18- 6-4 949 2
3 Wisconsin ( 1) 16- 7-4 899 3
4 St. Cloud State 18- 8-4 844 4
5 Bemidji State 18- 6-2 703 7
6 Yale 14- 6-3 650 8
7 Minnesota-Duluth 18-11-1 642 6
8 Cornell 13- 6-3 637 5
9 Colorado College 17-10-3 635 10
10 Boston College 15- 8-2 598 14
11 North Dakota 13-10-5 538 9
12 Maine 14- 9-3 432 16
13 Michigan State 17-10-5 389 12
14 Ferris State 17- 9-4 387 11
15 New Hampshire 13-10-4 258 13
16 Union 15- 7-6 248 20
17 Vermont 13- 9-4 242 17
18 Massachusetts 16-11-0 201 15
19 Michigan 16-13-1 131 19
20 Mass.-Lowell 14-12-2 29 18
Others Receiving Votes: St. Lawrence 28, Alaska 18, RIT 15, Boston University 8, Rensselaer 8, Northern Michigan 6, Sacred Heart 5, Lake Superior 3, Minnesota 1

--------------------------------

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Feb. 8, 2010]

Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week's rank
1 Miami (Ohio) (33) 20-4-6 509 1
2 Denver (1) 18-6-4 478 2
3 Wisconsin 16-7-4 441 3
4 St. Cloud State 18-8-4 400 4
5 Bemidji State 18-6-2 305 7
6 Cornell 13-6-3 289 5
7 Yale 14-6-3 286 8
8 Minnesota Duluth 18-11-1 260 6
9 Colorado College 17-10-3 244 10
10 Boston College 15-8-2 227 14
11 North Dakota 13-10-5 199 9
12 Maine 14-9-3 136 NR
13 Ferris State 17-9-4 98 11
14 Michigan State 17-10-5 87 12
15 New Hampshire 13-10-4 48 13
Others receiving votes: Massachusetts 27; Union 21;
Vermont 18; Michigan 6; Rochester Institute of Technology 1.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH power rankings. Just for your information Cornell is 15th, Yale is 17th and UNION is 18th in the Pairwise Rankings.
1. Miami
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. St. Cloud State
5. Yale
6. Cornell
8. Michigan State
9. North Dakota
10. Bemidji State
11. Minnesota Duluth
12. Boston College
13. Union
14. Maine
15. Ferris State
16. St. Lawrence
17. New Hampshire
18. Rensselaer
19. Michigan
20. Massachusetts

Dropped out: UMass Lowell
Bubble-licious: Alaska, Vermont, Boston University

Wheeler and O'Byrne fight.

This has to be one of the worst fights that I have seent his season, if not ever, epic fail... Puck Daddy also agrees with me as well. I can just hear Wheeler now; do you want to go? O'Bryne, yep. Wheeler, Really!?!

Dishonorable mention: Up 4-1 with 26 minutes to play, Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) and the Penguins defense couldn't hold the lead ... Sadly, Blake Wheeler's(notes) pugilistic skills couldn't match the excitement in Jack Edwards' voice leading up to his "fight" with Ryan O'Byrne(notes):

Comparing the Sioux and the Huskies.

The war of words has started already I have been lectured all weekend by Husky fans telling me that the Huskies are better than the Sioux in every measure. I can prove that this is simply not true. Defensively the Sioux are a better team. [National Stats]

Combined Special Teams: Totals PCT
18 North Dakota 152/295 51.5
38 St. Cloud State 141/286 49.3

Penalty Kill: totals SHF PCT
10 North Dakota 123/142 2 86.6
11 St. Cloud State 108/126 8 85.7

Scoring Defense: Games Goals G/GM
4 North Dakota 28 62 2.21
14 St. Cloud State 30 75 2.50

Strenght of Schedule
UND 5th
SCSU 6th

National Penalty Minutes
1 Alaska Anchorage 28 581 20.8
2 Ferris State 30 590 19.7
3 Canisius 28 530 18.9
4 Wisconsin 27 503 18.6
5 North Dakota 28 520 18.6
6 Miami 30 555 18.5
7 Michigan Tech 28 493 17.6
8 Bowling Green 27 471 17.4
9 Minnesota State 28 488 17.4
10 Minnesota Duluth 30 521 17.4

Ovechkin's Hat-Trick.

In my opinion I believe that Alexander Ovechkin is currently the best hockey player in the world. If I was an NHL Owner and had to build a franchise around one player it would be Alexander Ovechkin. I would even take Alex Ovechkin over Sidney Crosby any day. Ovechkins third goal was a thing of beauty. [Goal 2] [Goal 3]

Little bit of reality here.

This is for all of those Husky fans that are beating your chest about the SCSU Huskies and how great they are. Let's take a closer look at their schedule and who they have played. It's not impressive.

While SCSU may have an impressive record 12-2-2 the last sixteen games the Huskies haven't really played anyone that is very good in their impressive streak, except the C.C. Tigers. Looking closer in fact the Huskies have feasted on the weak sisters of the poor. UAA (X4), Brown (X2), MTU (X2), at Quinnipiac (X2), Minnesota (X2) and C.C. (X4) they were 1-2-1 against C.C.
[SCSU Schedule]

Drew Stafford and R.J. Umberger

Former Fighting Sioux forward Drew Stafford takes on former Ohio State Buckeye R.J. Umberger in a good fight. Both players Stafford and Umberger aren’t really known for their fighting skills so this fight wouldn't fall into the staged fight category.

Nothing to do in Fairbault and Grand Forks but skate.

This one is too good not to share. Having lived in Grand Forks, ND since 1993 there isn't a lot to do here in the winter. Maybe that is why I watch so much hockey.

When asked in a recent interview how he had become such a powerful, quick skater he replied, ” I went to high school in Faribault, Minnesota and college in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Skating was the only thing we could do for fun.” [read the whole article here]

Goons (not Goon), Fighting, and "Character" (Redwing77)

I'm going to open up my yapper once again to voice my opinion. Yet again ANOTHER QMJHL player is suspended indefinitely for an illegal hit. Pro-CHLers take note: This seems to be an issue in the Q this year as I've yet to hear about any such issues in the WHL, OHL, or whatever. So, what I'm going to say can't really be applied as a put down to Major Juniors as a whole. Only a fool would say that these acts are a problem only in Major Juniors. I've seen cheap shots at every level from juniors to the pros.

In the wake of the trade of Ilya Kovalchuk to the Devils, the NHL Network went over the trade in depth. In the platitudes and endless meaningless dribble they called "analysis," one NHL Network Anchor called Patrice Cormier a "character guy" based upon his experience as Captain of Team Canada in the World Juniors. Sorry, but the only Team Canada guy I saw that would be a "character guy" would be that Eberle kid. That kid is going to be a stud. Hall wasn't bad either, but Eberle was amazing in the USA game.

In any case, I DOUBT Cormier would have worn a letter if "the hit" would have occured before the WJC. That is NOT a character move. And, even if it did happen, his reaction to the hit was not indicative of character.

I've always maintained that, though fighting is part of the game and should remain so, policing is not something that should be left solely to the fighters. If the game is well officiated, there really is a possibility of not needing fights for the period of games rather than periods. No, perfect officiating will not eliminate fighting and there are times when a fight is warranted. I think a fight might be something worthwhile when used as a motivational tool. It could fire up the team in the right circumstance. I also see fighting as warranted in the event of a cheap hit or undue physicality towards a smaller player or goaltender. I do not believe that the star power of a player necessarily warrants a fight should the star get checked. And clean hits should never spawn fights.

I also think that, once a fight is picked, that's who's fighting. 99.9% of the time, that's the case, but I once watched a game where Alexander Ovechkin (who I call Ovechchrist after how the NHL Network fawns over him...almost as much as they fawn over Crosby) picked a fight (or a fight was picked on him) with an opposing player. They both dropped the gloves. However, before they could start throwing punches, Washington's Bradley skated in and grappled him. To Bradley's credit, it would have been very easy to sucker punch the opposing player because the opposing player was obviously not expecting to be blind sided. However, he stepped in and they fought. Instead of what normally should have happened (Bradley assessed further penalty for interfering with a pre-existing fight (again by my definition), Bradley and the opposing player got 5 minutes and that's that. That's bush league. Ovechkin dropped the gloves. He's fighting. Or... give the option of that occuring and the punishment would be the same as a 5 minute major without a misconduct... meaning both Bradley and Ovechkin would sit for 5 minutes for Washington and the opposition would have enjoyed a 5 minute powerplay.

I also am a big fan of enforcers who can do something other than fight. There are quite a few, although some harbor attitudes that make them not very likeable. A few examples would be Philadelphia's Carcillo, Dallas' Ott, Chicago's Byfuglien, and perhaps with a little more training, Minnesota's Clutterbuck. Many have been like this even in the old NHL. Players like NJ's Scott Stevens, Toronto's Wendel Clark, and even Detroit's Gordie Howe (who did have a bit of a cheap streak to him according to my father who saw him live... though admittedly he is a Blackhawk fan...).

Terry Frei of ESPN once wrote about the decreasing need for an enforcer and, though I disagree with his angle of seemingly pining for those "old time hockey" days (Like Eddie Shore!), the gist is there: You need a tough guy on the ice, but you can't compromise the mission of the team to do so anymore. The mission, of course, is to put points on the board while keeping the opposition from matching or exceeding your point total or, in other words, "just win, baby!"

Coming up: Sioux and Huskies.

I posted this video in hopes that it will fire up Sioux fans for next week's series. I would also hope the memories of this painful series back in November will fire up the Fighting Sioux hockey team as well. Because face it the sky is not falling yet, but there is no room for error if the Fighting Sioux want to get home ice for the WCHA playoffs and make the NCAA tourney.

This is kind of where the UND Fighting Sioux's season took a turn for the worse. Listen to these two guys, I wonder how many complaints they got for making light of Marvin hit on Chay Genoway? Also, the refs threw SCSU a life line with this waved off goal that should have counted.

The game that hardly anyone saw. (Update with Video)

This is why I think the WCHA needs to have a WCHA network. MAYBE, channel 23 in Grand Forks, ND will pick up this game later this week. They do show other games around the league sometimes. I was able to watch the first game of the UMD and MSU-M series that happened a few weeks ago.

I don’t care what anyone says, the WCHA is the best college hockey league in college hockey and we can’t see 35% our games on TV. I think these games like UAA and SCSU need to be on T.V. and not just on some crappy webcast. I would like to see a replay with the over head camera and the synced up with the game clock.

Instead of being able to watch a good hockey game, instead I stomached Union and Clarkson (one sided game), B.C. and UMass (one sided game) and Cornell and QU (boring). I would also pay more money to see these other of market WCHA games on TV.

In St. Cloud, Minn., the St. Cloud State Huskies trailed 3-1 and 4-2 on the way to a tie. Anchorage managed just 19 shots on goal but got a goal and two assists from Kevin Clark. Ryan Lasch had two goals for St. Cloud State. On the tying play, St. Cloud State was on a power play and pulled goalie Dan Dunn for a two-man advantage. After Hanowski scored, the goal was reviewed.

"Right away (the referee) signaled 'goal,' so you're thinking — or you're hoping — that he's right," Hanowski told the St. Cloud Times.

"We got to the bench and, you know, I know the horn went off before (the puck) hit the twine in the back of the net. So you're nervous, especially since they're taking awhile to look at it. But it ended up being good and it's a big relief." [Rink and Run]

A conspiracy theorist might ask did Motzko buy his team a break with his end of game tirade last weekend. What do you think? Just think that 0-27-4 streak was in jeopardy of becoming history when the unexpected happened.

He said what?

I guess I would expect more from a college hockey beat writer for a major newspaper that writes for a top WCHA team. The Pioneers are a major player in the national spotlight, but their beat writer acts like a writer for a college newspaper. I don't know, it just seems like most of his blog posts contain some sort of red meat to be thrown to the wolves. You would never see Brad Elliot Schlossman write something objectionable like that.

The Pios got an Anthony Maiani goal 8:59 into the second period to take a 3-0 lead in a truly ho-hum atmosphere at Magness Arena. The play-making Maiani, who was brilliant last weekend at North Dakota, has three points (two helpers). He has nine points (two goals) in his five-game point streak. The shots are 35-17 and DU has yet to be called for a non-coincidental penalty. But the Pios are just 1 of 5 on the power play. They failed to score on a 5-on-3 advantage for more than a minute. After trips to Wisconsin and North Dakota the past two weekends, the Pios are obviously having a tough time adjusting to an inferior foe, and the crowd of around 4,200 has yet to get its their money’s worth. [Denver Post Hockey Blog]

Standing Rock Tribal Members To Petition for Vote

I have said before that the Fighting Sioux logo and nick name are on life support, if something doesn't happen pretty soon. It's time to either have a vote on the Standing Rock Reservation or we can kiss the logo and Fighting Sioux name goodbye. Time is running out, the ball is in their court. The UND athletic department is desperate to get into the Summit League (emphasis mine), because they don’t have a home for their men and women’s basketball, volleyball, track and field, swimming and diving and baseball teams. The Football team is still looking for a place to call home because the Great West Conference is  unimpressive and in my opinion an over glorified Divison II football league.

Next Tuesday a group of Sioux Nickname supporters on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation will circulate a petition around the community.

The petition will ask for a reservation-wide vote on the issue.

Nickname supporter Tom Iron says next Tuesday him and 8 others will start the petition to gauge tribal support in the next two weeks.

Iron says he will need 550-signatures to make it valid and that would override a moratorium that previously banned a vote.

He will present it to tribal chair Charlie Murphy and ask the vote to happen before February 18th.

That's the date of a State Board Of higher education meeting where some board members have indicated they might look toward retirement
[WDAZ.COM]

Josh Harding with an awesome save.

Props to RWD for finding this video. This save by Josh Harding was one of the top saves of the year in my opinion. Unfortunately he then had to take himself out of the game because he reactivated his hip injury that has been bugging him this season.

Hockey to watch this weekend.

For those that are concerned that there will be no hockey to watch this weekend you can get your hocky fix by watching the UAA and SCSU here. Sioux fans will probably want to cheer for the Seawolves so they don't pull to much further away in the standings.

On the NHL network there is an EZAC game between Union and Clarkson tonight at 6:00 PM Central Time on the NHL Network.

Cornell and Quinnipiac are on CBS College Sports at 7:00 PM Central Time(New York, New York) DirecTV 613, Dish Network 152.

There is a Hockey East game on New England Sports Network UMass against Boston College at 6:30 PM Central Time. DirecTV 628 and Dish Network 434.

For CC hockey here is the for their non-conference game against Air Force Academy 8:37 PM Central Time.

The outdoor game Between Michigan and Wisconsin is on BTN tomorrow at 3:00 PM Central Time.

Tomorrow the game betwen DU and AFA at 8:37 PM Central Time on Station Fox Sports Rocky Mountain (Denver, Colorado) DirecTV 683, Dish Network 414.

Jason Blake's first goal as a Duck.

Former Fighting Sioux forward Jason Blake has been traded to the Ducks this past week and he scored his first goal as a duck in his third game. Notice that Blake has shed the number 55 and is now wearing number 33.

A bit of props to Lou Lamorello (Redwing77)

I know I'm a Red Wings fan, but when it comes to building a team and making personnel decisions, I think Lou Lamorello is one of the best the NHL has to offer.

I know what you're saying "Redwing, you hyporcrit. The Devils aren't your team." True, but I've had a soft spot for them since Lou practically sprinted to the podium and announced Parise's name like a 4 year old sprints downstairs on Christmas Morning, opens the present he has been talking about all year long. You might be saying "You're just saying that because Lou is a college guy." Yeah, he spent time with Providence College and as an administrator with Hockey East. And yeah I consider him to be a big reason why HEA gets so much press compared to other college hockey leagues despite it not being as dominant historically compared to the WCHA (different argument).

Today, Lou Lamorello pulled the trigger on a blockbuster trade sending rookie Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya, a 1st round pick, and a 1st round dumb*** Patrice Cormier for Ilya Kovalchuk and a rookie defenseman Salmela. To me, this is a great move, at least in the short run.

Oduya and Bergfors are good players, for sure, but Kovalchuk is a proven commodity as well and will pay huge dividends to the Devils. Salmela is an unknown to me.

The big question mark is that first rounder. That's a long term "Will it bite us in the backside?" type deal. If the Devils find some way (unlikely) to retain Kovalchuk past this year (and still keep Parise and Zajac), the Devils will win hands down. Since finances, salary caps, and that sort of thing is like Chinese to me, I have absolutely no clue if this is even possible.

The bonus in all of this is that Patrice Cormier is no longer Lamorello's problem. Being traded to Atlanta will keep Cormier where he belongs: an irrelevant goon on an irrelevant team.

So, to recap: Atlanta gets a future top prospect, a solid dman, a rookie wing that can score, and a bum. New Jersey gets a serviceable, if unknown dman and a top line premier scoring forward. Short term? NJ wins. Long term? Unkown at this time.

I solidly believe that Lou is one of the best (if not THE best) GMs in the NHL.

A little Perspective on the NHL side of things

Ok, first, it's great to be on board with Goon and crew. And with that comes a "test" of our "seeing eye to eye." I want to give a little perspective on the NHL and my take on certain aspects. In other words, it's an opinion.

First: Pros and Amateur (NCAA or any other similar unpaid organized league) are night and day.

I am never one to have the same expectations between the pro teams I love (Red Wings, Devils, and a little Blackhawks...when they're not playing Detroit) and the amateur ones I love (such as the Sioux) but some of what I say would obviously contradict each other if put together.

Here's a great example: Attitude. It is a reasonable thing to believe that a pro team should win after bringing in big names and going about stating that they are going to be tough to beat. It compounds when the media buys into it. So, I have no problem feeling utter disgust towards the play of the Red Wings, injury-plagued or not. I have no such compulsion with the Sioux. They're main goal is to educate athletes and develop talent with 1a is winning. UND may have a great tradition of winning with 7 NCs and all, but I believe the greater tradition is the quality of athlete we send off to the pros be it the NHL, minors, or abroad. The world of NCAA hockey is a competitive learning environment. The victories are sweet and the defeat no less bitter, but they go off to the pros better people.

I can't claim complete superiority, but I look at the case of Jimmy Howard. He had a frustrating time at Maine. He did well, sure, but if Howard were on a team like DU or UND or perhaps BC, Minnesota or UW.... he'd've probably won it all in the NCAA but he didn't. Then got signed into an organization with depth. 3 time Stanley Cup champion Chris Osgood, world class backup Manny Legace...Uh... that's easy to crack right? Well, Legace left. In comes Hasek. No worries, spend time in Grand Rapids getting conditioned for the pros. Hasek takes 2 years. Then he goes. Oh good, now I can come in....oh wait... In comes Conklin. Now, Howard is in his first full year in the NHL and he's taken away the starting duties from Osgood. Is Maine a failure of an organization because, despite having a blue chip goaltender, they couldn't win it all? If I were a Maine fan (and I hear there are a TON of classy Maine fans about), I'd be proud of my program and proud that Howard chose Maine over BU or BC or Cornell (which is about as home town as he could have gotten being from Syracuse).

I am NOT saying that losing is ok provided that the players we recruit turn into great guys. I'm saying that we're out to win it all, sure, but if we fall short, we can fall back on the knowledge that, win the NC or not, the NHL and future aspiring NHLers know that UND's program is among the top for future pro development.

QMJHL suspends Marco Scandella indefinitely for hitting an opponent in the head

[props]Minnesota Wild defense prospect Marco Scandella has been suspended indefinately for this violent hit. You would think the players would get the message but they haven't.

BOUCHERVILLE, Que. -- The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has suspended Val-d'Or Foreurs defenceman Marco Scandella indefinitely for hitting an opponent in the head.

The incident occurred in a game Wednesday against the Rimouski Oceanic.

"This afternoon, (QMJHL disciplinarian) Raymond Bolduc informed me of his decision to suspend Marco Scandella indefinitely," league commissioner Gilles Courteau said in a statement. "After seeing the hit, I believe it is the right decision while the disciplinary process runs its course.

"Our position is clear: We have a responsibility to protect our players. Their safety is our No. 1 priority."

Scandella was considered to be one of Canada's top defencemen at this year's world junior hockey championship.

Bolduc will gather testimonies from on-ice officials as well as players and members of both organizations, then analyse the facts and review his findings with a committee before deciding what action to take.

No timetable regarding when a decision will be reached has been set.

UNO Mavericks close to a sellout.

The Quest Center seats 16,000 for college hockey, that would be a big crowd to watch a college hockey game in Omaha, Nebraska.

The big day is almost here! 1,421 tickets are left for SelloutOhioState.com. Come and join us for this historic... 6 minutes ago from Facebook

Parise and Zajac have a new teammate.

Apparently the New Jersey Devils have added a new piece to the puzzle, ESPN is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have acquired Ilya Kovalchuk for the stretch run. It would be interesting to see if Parise or Zajac get to play with the former Thrasher.

The New Jersey Devils have won the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, acquiring the superstar winger from the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night, a source close to the deal told ESPN.com.

The Devils have struggled of late, especially scoring goals. Veteran Devils GM Lou Lamoriello didn't hesitate, swooping in and acquiring the biggest rental player available on this year's trade market.

Kovalchuk will be an unrestricted free agent July 1 and contracts talks with the Thrashers hit a stalemate recently.

The move comes hours after Thrashers GM Don Waddell released a statement saying that contract negotiations with Kovalchuk had reached an "impasse" and that the team was exploring its options.

"Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract," Waddell said in the statement earlier Thursday. "During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We've spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we've reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can't reasonably go any higher. [ESPN.COM]

Anton Volchenkov hit on Mike Cammalleri

Chec out this hit by Anton Volchenkov on Mike Cammalleri, ouch. I was watching the Bruins game and they just showed this hit. This is how former Michigan Wolverine Mike Cammalleri got hurt and is out 6-8 weeks.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Since we only have two WCHA series this week, how about a TOP TEN list?

10. The number of tie league games this season
9. Teams that still have a chance at home ice this season
8. What I did to my popcorn at the game
7. NCAA titles North Dakota and Denver each have
6. WCHA teams in the USCHO top ten poll
5. Is how many teams will be in St. Paul come March 18
4 . Out of the 5 WCHA series ended in splits last weekend
3. How many league wins MTU now has this season
2. Waved off goals from last weekend’s DU-UND series
1. Where DU is sitting in this week’s WCHA standings

CURRENT WCHA STANDINGS

TEAM………………….GP….W-L-T….PTS
1 Denver……………… 20….12-4-4….28
2 Minnesota-Duluth…..20….13-6-1….27
3 St. Cloud State……...20….12-6-2….26
4 Wisconsin………….. 20….11-6-3…. 25
4 Colorado College…..22….11-8-3….25
6 North Dakota………..20…..8-9-3.….19
7 Minnesota…………...20…..8-10-2 …18
8 Alaska-Anchorage…22…..8-13-1….17
9 Minnesota State…….20…..6-13-1….13
10 Michigan Tech…….20…..3-17-0….6

WCHA

Alaska-Anchorage at #4 St. Cloud State
Last weekend the Seawolves split with Minnesota in Anchorage and the Huskies split with Colorado College in Colorado Springs.

Earlier this season the Huskies swept the Seawolves in Anchorage. The Seawolves continue to split their home series, loss on Friday and then win on Saturday, but this weekend they are traveling to SCSU. UAA has a 3-6-1 road record and SCSU has a 8-2-3 home record this season. The Huskies have a chance to take over 1st place in the league with a sweep of UAA. Coach Motzko has a hot team right now, winning 9 in a row before losing on Saturday. I’m sure the Husky faithful are hoping that was just a blip on the radar and not a cooling off sign. It will help the Husky cause to start a new win streak by hosting the 8th place Seawolves. I see SCSU starting a new streak this weekend. HUSKIES SWEEP

#6 Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech
Last weekend the Bulldogs split with Wisconsin in Duluth and the Huskies split with Minnesota State in Houghton.

Earlier this season when these designated league rivals met in Duluth the Bulldogs split with the Huskies. And with MTU having their Winter Carnival this weekend it won’t be easy for the Bulldogs to try and grab four points. The Huskies are now official playing the spoilers, since they cannot get home ice in the playoffs. However, MTU can damage other teams’ chances of getting the WCHA regular season title. If Tech wants get some points they will need to score some goals, which they have had trouble doing this season. But I think the Huskies will damage UMD’s chances of a league title this weekend. SPLIT.

Non-Conference

Friday, February 5

Air Force (12-10-6 overall) at #10 Colorado College (15-10-3 overall)
Last weekend the Tigers split at home against St. Cloud State. Currently the AFA Falcons sit in 2nd place in Atlantic Hockey.

I’m betting this in-town rivals will be playing in front of a sold out arena. I haven’t followed Air Force, but they are 4-4-2 since the calendar changed to 2010. The Tigers haven’t fared much better since January 1, they have a 3-5-0 record. So I will stick with the WCHA in this battle. CC WIN.

Mercyhurst (12-14-2 overall) at #2 Denver (16-6-4 overall)
Last weekend the Pioneers swept North Dakota in Grand Forks. Currently the Lakers sit in 3rd place in Atlantic Hockey.

The Lakers have a 3-5-0 record in 2010, with one of those losses to UMD by a 6-0 score. The Pioneers are owners of a 5-1-2 record in this New Year. This game should be a DU blow-out. But, if DU is still thinking about their recent sweep of UND, they could get beat, not likely though. DU WIN

Saturday, February 6

Mercyhurst at #10 Colorado College
Have to stick with the WCHA in this game. CC WIN

#2 Denver at Air Force
I’m sticking with the dub in this game too. DU WIN

Camp Randal Hockey Classic
#19 Michigan (15-12-1 overall) at #3 Wisconsin (15-7-4 overall)
Last weekend the Badgers split in Duluth with the Bulldogs, and the Wolverines split with arch-rival Michigan State during a home-and-home series.

Earlier this year these teams met in the College Hockey Showcase over Thanksgiving and the UM beat UW by a score of 3-2 in Ann Arbor. UW has not lost back-to-back games this season, and they lost on Saturday. This game will played outside at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. So weather could be a factor in this game, the forecast for Saturday is flurries with a high in the mid 20’s. I’m going with the home team in this outdoor contest. BADGERS WIN.

BYE WEEK – OFF
#9 North Dakota
Minnesota
Minnesota State – Mankato

INCH Chat.

I have to admit that I haven't been a big fan of INCH in the past but I have to admit that Gladdy is definately growing on me. I think of all of the INCH writers I think he is the most even handed. Funny he has more confidence in the Fighting Sioux than some of our fan base.

Bert (Titletown, ND)
Gladdy you seem to have more confidence in UND than most of the UND faithful. Why?

Joe Gladziszewski (2:39 PM)

Must be because I'm from a different part of the country and not saddled with the lifelong stigma that North Dakota is always under-appreciated when good, and absolutely terrible when not in first place. I like the team's grit and scoring depth primarily. They're a tough team to play against, and even in several losses I think they've outplayed their opponents. The worm's gotta turn. [INCH Chat]

Thrasher GM Don Waddell Ilya Kovalchuk

Holy Cow is Kovalchuk going to cost a lot of money for the team that wants and ends up signing him; it’s going to cost some team over 10 million a year to sign him. There is a lot of chatter on the blogsphere on where he is going to go. I am hoping the Boston Bruins are going to make a run at him but I don't think they have the cap space or anything to trade back to the Thrashers. The Bruins GM has said he won't trade the first round pick in this year's draft that they got from the Leafs for Phil Kessel. I have seen Blake Wheeler and DU Pioneer Joel Colborne's names thrown around as trade bait.

Statement from Thrashers GM Don Waddell:

"Our goal from the start of this negotiating process was to sign Ilya Kovalchuk to a long-term contract. During the process, Kovy affirmed his desire to be a Thrasher for life. We've spent several months exploring scenarios with Kovy and his agent to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and offered many lucrative packages in an attempt to meet his financial objectives. Unfortunately, we've reached an impasse and at this point he has declined all of our proposals and we can't reasonably go any higher.

Ultimately, we offered Kovy more than $101 million over 12 years, which would have been the highest contract signed by an impending unrestricted free agent in the history of the league. If accepted, this contract would have been the second highest offer ever to any NHL player. We also met his desire to be the highest paid player based on average annual salary with a separate offer of 7 years at $10M per year ($70M). This offer is $0.5M higher per year than any other player. [The Hockey News]