Redwing77's Final Five Wrap Up

Ok, I wanted to do this with my NCAA Outlook but I thought it would be too long of a post and they don't fit together.

The Final Five

Despite Goon's attempts to get me to attend, I did not attend this year's Final Five. I think I should have. It sounded like a great time, even if Goon and his squad (The Goon Squad) may only remember parts of it. :D

The biggest surprise to me was Denver not even trying. What little attempts at winning they displayed against UND they completely abandoned against UW. Cheverie goes out having a terrible Final Five and questions become apparent about this team pulling a Craig Dahl-esque swoon job in the NCAAs.

The biggest disappointment for me was having my Sioux end the Bulldog's season. I really like the Bulldogs. They play a standup game. Sandelin is an amazing person and a great coach. He makes me think that he's the collegiate version of Andy Murray. Knows what he's doing, gets the best out of the players he can manage to recruit, despite not always being able to get the best of the best.

The All Tourney Team

The first thing that struck me on this list was that Evan Trupp made MVP but did not make the team as a whole. Now, I don't think there's a rule that says that the MVP must come from the All WCHA Tourney Team, nor do I think that it is a snub on Evan Trupp. I actually like the fact that Trupp isn't on the Tourney Team because it allows one more player to be added that could have been argued belonging on the list in the first place.

Here's the All Tourney Team:

Goaltender - Brad Eidsness (UND)
Defense - Garrett Raboin (SCSU)
Defense - Ben Blood (HA HA HATERS TAKE THAT!)
Forward - Blake Geoffrion (UW)*
Forward - Chris Vandevelde (UND)
Forward - Tony Mosey (SCSU)
MVP - Evan Trupp (UND)

Ok, right off the bat I can tell you Eidsness, Vandevelde, Trupp, and Mosey belong in the list. Geoffrion had 2 goals and no assists in the tourney. But let me put this on the table:

Drew Shore (DU) - This forward had 3 assists on the weekend.
Jesse Martin (DU) - Had 1 goal and 1 assist on the weekend

Ok, neither of these guys potted a Game Winning Goal this weekend, where Geoffrion did. So, I can see that weighing heavily in Blake's favor, but I think Drew Shore played fantastic on a team that seemed at times not to give a darn. The unfortunate thing for Drew is that he wasn't credited for the John Lee goal in the UND game. If he was, he'd've HAD to be named to the All Tourney Team. Anyways, if the rule stood that the MVP had to come from the All Tourney Team, then it is obvious to me that Geoffrion would've been the last one in and the first one out and Trupp would've been named in his stead.


Defense can be a bit more subjective and so I'll leave that be....mostly. All I can say, again, is HA HA! EAT THAT HATERS! Ben Blood all in your FACE! Ok, I'm not sure Ben was the best D on the ice this weekend, but he certainly stood out. And the officials knew it calling two phantom calls on him and one correct call.

The Title Game

I'll get to the "correct call" right away so I don't leave people scratching their heads, but first, a little back story.

SCSU lost the game because of Garrett Roe. You heard me. Roe didn't play. SCSU lost the game. Why didn't he play? He got injured, taken off on a stretcher (for precautionary measures I'm told) after he got hit in the game against Denver. Now, unfortunate? Maybe. WCHA USCHO correspondant Spisak even suggested that the severity of the hit in question was brought upon by Roe. Normally, I'd say "Wait a minute" but the Robbie Earl Memorial Trophy winner is KNOWN for such actions, so, I have to give Spisak the benefit of the doubt.

Had Roe been in the game, however, Lasch wouldn't have had to dive, letting Roe do the job for him and that would have gotten Blood a major and a game instead of a Boarding minor. You could clearly tell the inexperience of Lasch at the contest of Frozen Water Diving. Before Blood hit Lasch, Lasch looks right at Blood coming and turns his back. He does NOTHING with the puck, he simply waits to be hit. He had time to pass the puck or turn away. He could have skated towards the blue line.

When he was hit, I thought "That's a major and he doesn't deserve it." And then I thought "Well... at least give Lasch a diving penalty on top of it." No dice. Instead, Shepherd, situational official that he is such a pro for doing, called a boarding penalty on Blood. Had Roe been there, he'd've done a Earl impression, getting the trainer on the ice, and forcing Shepherd to use his gullible side and kick Blood out of the game.

SCSU had already embellished earlier in the game and had it work (Hextall knocked a stick out of the guy's hand). I'm sure Lasch was surprised and Roe corrected him after the game.

So, I call this a "correct call" solely based on the fact that Shepherd and *unt didn't kick Blood out of the game. Was it the correct call according to the rule book? Well, welcome gray area.

It was a Checking from Behind penalty set up by the voluntary action of Lasch. He knowingly turned his back on an oncoming defenseman and waited to get hit. That's unethical. Unfortunately, I don't think that's against the rules. There's no rule against being stupid along the boards.

But in any case, Mike Lee got chased, Dunn came in and showed that he was the real deal RIGHT NOW all along (I maintain Lee will become a good goaltender eventually) and that's all she wrote.

In other officiating news: Campion didn't make the WCHA playoff officiating roster but Don Adam and Marco *unt did. Sorry, inconsistent as he may be, I'll take Campion any day of the week over *unt and Adam.

Redwing77's NCAA Outlook

I'm sitting here watching the NCAA Selection show and it looks like our bracket might've gotten a bit easier.

We play YALE in the opening round. BC opens with Alaska Fairbanks. We play at 5pm EST (they say ESPN360.com, but I'm not sure about webcast etc.).

I think this outlook is much better than the USCHO final bracketology, which had us either playing Michigan or New Hampshire in the opening round.

Once again, we play BC, a team that has had our number as of late. And, once again, BC will be our toughest foe.

Yeah, I'm looking past Yale. I really don't think they're as good as their record indicates. I really don't think they're playing well enough coming into the playoffs to hang with the Sioux. It's not going to be a blowout, but if the Sioux continue playing the way they have coming into the playoffs, we should face off against BC.

Barry "Eastern Bias" Melrose and Sean "Can't remember his last name" both have UND making the Frozen Four and both of them have us losing to Miami. I'd like to think there's a good chance that they are right on about the Frozen Four prediction. Miami's track is simply amazingly easy any way you cut it. Michigan is the only team at their bracket that could give them trouble.


Let's use their analysis and predictions:

Barry loves Cornell. Sean loves Wisconsin. I love neither team. If it comes down to a battle of goaltenders, then Barry is right. Cornell wins. Scrivens is far superior to Bennett and Gudmanson of UW. I think Scrivens is the best goaltender in that predicted Frozen Four lineup.

If it comes down to offense, then UND and UW hold the key to the NC. And if it comes down to simple team D, then it's a toss up as I think all four of those teams have solid Team D. I guess I'd have to give the slight edge to UW as their DCorps is amazing.

But yeah, what I'd like to see is Cornell laying an egg against DU. Then it is Miami, DU, UW, and UND in the Frozen Four. Melrose is distraught and ESPN ponders throwing in a quick coverage of the 2008 World Series of Poker replay during the ensuing WCHA vs WCHA matchup (not sure which two would face off against each other).

Is UND a shoe in, like they say for the Frozen Four? No. They're only one bad game or bad shift away from the end of their season. BC definitely has the ability to do it. Who really knows.

FYI - Barry Melrose shows his true colors by calling Dane Jackson the "best assistant in college hockey." Now, I know my green colored glasses should make this a bragging point, but my realist stance says "hello bias." You see, Jackson was the coach for a team owned by Barry Melrose at one point. I believe it was a UHL team. I'm not saying Jackson is terrible, but I'm not sure if that accolade is entirely accurate either.

MacNaughton Anchor

Here is are some interesting historical facts about the last three teams to win the MacNaughton Cup. That is why some refer to it as the MacNaughton Anchor.

Curse of the Cup.

WCHA regular-season champion DU is the third straight MacNaughton Cup winner to go 0-2 at the Final Five.

North Dakota won the Cup last season before losing in the semifinals and consolation game. Colorado College began the trend in 2008.

The Sioux and Tigers both failed to win their ensuing NCAA regional.
[Denver Post]

UND 5 - SCSU 3 (up dated links)

If you would have asked me at the end of January after the Sioux were swept by the Denver Pioneers if the Sioux would win the Broadmoor Thropy, I would have called you crazy. The Sioux have come full circle and tonight they are the WCHA Final Five champions, winners of the new Broadmoor Trophy.

3-0 at the Final Five

The Fighting Sioux are only the second team to win the Broadmoor Trophy from the Thursday night play in game (UMD was the first in 2009). This is also the last time the Final Five will be in its current form as the WCHA will expand to 12 teams (BSU and UNO) and the WCHA Final Five will have two play in games on Thursday next season. The Sioux are on a roll and have gone an impressive 12-2 since being swept by the Pioneers at the end of January. The Sioux will now wait to see where they play in next weekend’s NCAA hockey toruney.

There are the teams that more than likely are in the NCAA tourney.

AHA (1)

RIT (Conference Champ)

CCHA (4)

Alaska Fairbanks
Miami
Michigan (Conference Champ)
Northern Michigan

CHA (2)

Bemidji
Huntsville (Conference Champ)

ECAC (2)

Cornell (Conference Champ)
Yale

HE (3)

BC (Conference Champ)
New Hampshire
Vermont

WCHA

North Dakota
Denver University
Wisconsin
Saint Cloud

Links to the Story:

USCHO; MVP Trupp, North Dakota Battle Back for WCHA Title

Pucks and Bats; Find a silver lining? What silver lining! (Will it be Michigan again?)

Saint Cloud Times; WCHA Final Five: No. 1 seed eludes SCSU

Saint Cloud Times; Strong start, disappointing finish for Huskies

Grand Forks Herald; MEN'S HOCKEY: Slow start, fast finish for Sioux

Virg Foss: An open letter to a few hockey leaders

Former UND beat writer Virg Foss had this zinger for Bruce McLeod in today's Grand Forks Herald. I agree with Foss it's time for a change in league leadership. I do believe the members schools need to look at a house cleaning at the top in the WCHA starting with McLeod and Shepherd.

Dear Bruce McLeod:

College hockey isn’t a child’s game, where you make up rules as you go. Yet that’s how you continue to operate in your role as commissioner of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

I perhaps can buy the 5-minute major given to North Dakota’s Matt Frattin for charging for his hit on Minnesota’s Kevin Wehrs recently.

But for you to step in and add a one-game suspension makes no sense. Frattin didn’t leave his feet in making the hit, and didn’t bring his arms up to initiate contact to the head.

Earlier, you gave UND’s Mario Lamoureux a one-game suspension for dropping his gloves and challenging St. Cloud State’s Aaron Marvin to a fight, though none took place.

In the aftermath of Frattin’s hit, looks to me from the video replay that Gopher defenseman Seth Helgeson has his gloves off in his effort to get after Frattin.

So once again your seat-of-the-pants rulings have no consistency or much logic, either.

That so many calls or non-calls by league referees are changed by the league office after the fact highlights my view that league officiating overall isn’t very good or very consistent in the first place.

I sense a growing feeling that a change in league leadership is needed — and soon. [Grand Forks Herald]

Wisconsin's Cody Goloubef suspended for one game

Bruce McLeod’s WCHA wheel of justice has doled out a one game suspension to Wisconsin's Cody Goloubef for his hit on St. Cloud State center Nick Oslund during yesterday’s game between Wisconsin and St. Cloud. When I saw this hit I had a feeling that it was going to cost Goloubef a one game suspension.

The UW men's hockey team will have a decidedly different look Saturday when it faces top-ranked Denver in the WCHA Final Five consolation game at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

One change was forced on the Badgers when the league suspended junior defenseman Cody Goloubef for a game. He was assessed a major penalty Friday for his open-ice hit on St. Cloud State center Nick Oslund in the second period.

The shoulder-to-head check from the blindside has become a source of concern in the NCAA as well as the NHL. The WCHA recently suspended St. Cloud State center Aaron Marvin for three games for a similar hit that sidelined UW senior center Blake Geoffrion for two games with a concussion.

Marvin's suspension was longer in part because he was involved in a checking-from-behind incident earlier this season in which North Dakota defenseman Chay Genoway suffered a severe concussion.

After the Badgers dropped a 2-0 decision to St. Cloud State in the Final Five semifinals Friday, Huskies coach Bob Motzko said the in-game penalty against Goloubef was appropriate and that no further action was necessary.
[Madison.com]

Links to the Story

UND Hockey Blog; WCHA suspends Goloubef

Saturday morning pontifications; smiling from ear to ear...

I told someone that the UND's luck was going to change against Denver University and it did, it's hard to go 5-0 against a team, especially when both of them are good teams. Marc Cheverie is a good goaltender but the Sioux lit him up last night. Yes, I am smiling from ear to ear this morning.

I have heard this quote a few times this week at the Final Five, that fourth line player kills penalties and is a good defensive forward. Just for the record Aaron Marvin (5g-14a-19pts) and Mario Lamoureux has (7g-5a-12pts), that fourth line player has more goals than mister suspension.

When the series returned to the National Hockey Center last month, the Huskies beat the Sioux 4-3. The next night, UND blasted SCSU 8-1 and Sioux forward Mario Lamoureux, a fourth-liner, challenged Marvin to a fight. Lamoureux subsequently drew a one-game suspension for instigating the incident. That win for North Dakota started an 11-1-0 string heading into tonight's matchup. [Pucks and Bats]

Garrett Roe who was injuried in yesterday's game is questionable and a game time decision.

Larry Roe said his son will be re-evaluated today. Incredibly, Garrett Roe hasn't ruled out playing in today's championship, though it sounds like that might be a long shot.
"His neck is very sore and stiff," Larry Roe said. "I won't be surprised if Garrett does whatever he can to convince them to let him play, but I don't know if it's a good idea. The doctors (initially) were concerned there could be something that would crop up later on. When you have an injury like that, they worry about bleeding on the brain."
[SC Times]

The MacNaughton Anchor? Two of the last three teams (C.C. and UND) to win the the MacNaughton Cup lost their last three games of the season.

• The last three MacNaughton Cup champs are now a combined 0-5 in the Final Five, after ‘08 champs Colorado College and ‘09 champs North Dakota lost twice, and Denver lost on Friday. [INCH]

Sioux 4, Pioneers 2 and SCS-EWWWWWW

Yet again the Sioux come out and take care of business, and this time they do it against a team that completely and totally owned them all season long until this point.

How much can be taken for this game? If there was ANY value to this game, most of it would lie in UND's side. DU was in the tourney. I can't find a way for them to drop lower than #3 (to be safe) in the PWR. There is no reason to really try outside of trying for the trifecta (McNaughton, Broadmoor, and National Title). UND is still in the tourney regardless and really only has two things to play for: The Broadmoor Trophy and a #1 seed in the tourney.

Nevertheless, the Sioux never trailed in this game. They went up 1-0 on Chris Vandevelde's rebound shot (initial shot made by Corbin Knight). They then went up 2-0 when Redwing77 Player of the Game Evan Trupp made a wicked one timer past Cheverie (thanks to an even more wicked pass by Frattin).

DU got within 1 when DU Dman Donovan basically skates a marathon, tiring out the UND players and buried a shot past Eidsness.

Trupp then scored the game winner on another one timer on the powerplay. UND would add another goal by Brad Malone (a thing of beauty) shorthanded thanks to again, RW77 POG Evan Trupp stealing the puck from Wiercioch and passing it back to Malone. And Knowlton of DU got a meaningless goal with 37 seconds left in the game to make it look good.

UND has now scored five short handed goals in the past 11 games. Impressive.

My three stars:

First Star (and Player of the Game): Evan Trupp
Second Star: Brad Malone (1g 1a)
Third Star: Matt Frattin (2a)

Honorable Mentions: Corbin Knight, Chris Vandevelde, Brad Eidsness

The officiating was, for the most part, meh. This is a big improvement over the whole deal as of late, but it still featured one bogus call. The haters loved it though, as it is one their favorite guy (they love him when he has a good game but they hate him if he makes a single mistake) Ben Blood.

What's Up Next

We're off to try for the Broadmoor against SCSU. The questions I have are:

1. How will UND approach Aaron Marvin in this game?
2. SCSU will be playing to win. If they do, there's a very good chance they'll leapfrog UND in the PWR rankings and become a #1 seed.
3. Who will start in net for the Huskies?
4. Will anyone be able to stop Evan Trupp or will they only hope to contain him?
5. Will the officials let UND play physical?
6. Will newly inaugurated Men's Freestyle Diving - Frozen Water Division Champion (screw this, I'm calling it the Robbie Earl Memorial Trophy from now on!) Garrett Roe put UND on the perpetual penalty kill?

I hope we play smart and let Marvin lie (hit him as hard as we can get away with provided it is legal would be best for me). We can't go on the powerplay.

We need to rest up because Roe WILL dive and we WILL go to the box for it. Oh, and Ben Blood, stay away from Roe because it is obvious the WCHA would see Roe diving with you near him as a double whammy!

Shawn Thornton beat down on Matt Cooke

This was the much anticipated beat down of Penguins thug Matt Cooke. I also think that this is not enough. Eventually I think the Bruins will come to collect on the Bill again.

Friday morning - pontifications

This goal by Evan Trupp is a thing of beauty, good effort by Kristo to get the shot on net and to get his feet moving and a nice shot on net inside the dot at the back door, game over Dogs heading back up I-35...

The last big bounce came with 2:00 to go when junior Evan Trupp broke a 20-game goalless streak, corralling a Danny Kristo shot that ricocheted off the endboards and firing it into an open net past a sprawling Reiter to round out the scoring. [CHN.COM]

Chris VandeVelde had another good night on the score sheet as he assisted on both Sioux goals. VandeVelde has 9 multiple point games and leads the Sioux with (14g-24a-38pts) in 39 games.

Brad Eidsness and the Fighting Sioux defense have been air tight (ranked third in the nation with 2.05 GAA) and have gone on an impressive 10-2 run over the last twelve games. Breaking it down further; during that run the Sioux have only given up four or more goals twice (2 losses), during those ten wins the Sioux have given up 12 goals.

Jason Gregoire got his 20th goal of the season last night.

UND has gotten balanced scoring from all of their players and they have three players with 30+ points, four players with 20+ points and there are 15 on the Sioux roster with at least 10 or more points.

Sioux 2 Dogs 0

The Fighting Sioux gutted out a 2-0 win against the UMD Bulldogs. The Bulldogs were fighting for their NCAA playoff life and needed to probably win to make the NCAA tourney, it would appear with tonight's loss their season could be over, they are sitting 14th in the pairwise rankings.

In Eids we trust

The game was a goaltending battle for the first two periods as Brad Eidness got his second shutout in four games and fourth of his career. The Sioux score another short handed goal to break a 0-0 tie. Tomorrow night the Sioux get the DU Pioneers who went 4-0 during the regular season against the Sioux.

[Box Score]

Anaheim's Wisniewski gets gonged (REDWING77)

Anaheim Defenseman, James Wiesnewski will sit out 8 games and forfeit over $200,000 in salary for the ridiculously stupid hit on Blackhawks defenseman Keith Seabrook.

Listening to his interview on NHL Network I have to say I'm impressed. He said "I wasn't trying to injure him. We were roommates at one point blah blah blah." He tried to sound sincere and perhaps he was. However, he's a repeat offender... wait... that's sounding more and more like COOKE.

Earlier this year he tried to be an NFL linebacker against Dallas' Morrow, a nice cross check to the mouth of a Red Wings player I can't recall... and I think there was one other.

Bettman says it is completely different. Cooke cheapshotted and blindsided a player who was around the puck and Wisnewski did not blindside Seabrook but took a flying cheapshot at him instead in clear retaliation. Oh yeah, Cooke wanted to "make his presence known." Both acts are reprehensible and both warranted suspension. So, yeah, Bettman is mostly right.

The Anaheim coach complained that it was too lengthy. Nope. He complains that Wisniewski was an easy target. Gee, coach, why is that? Campbell and his goons didn't throw a dart at the Ducks roster and say, "YES! Give that man an 8 game suspension!" He made a stupid hit and everyone in the world is rightfully blasting Campbell and Bettman that the league is starting to make the right decision.... Good decisions under duress... Wait a minute... I'm talking about the WCHA again, aren't I?

Who cares. 8 games is about right and about the same time Cooke should have been sitting.

So, justice is served....sorta. Booth and Savard are sitting at home going "WHAT THE ****!!"

LINK

2009-10 WCHA Award Winners

Here are the WCHA awards for the 2009-2010 season. I think it's an honor that Chay Genoway has played in 9 games this season and still makes the third team WCHA. Funny you don't see one UMN Golden Gophers on any of the teams.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - North Dakota freshman forward Danny Kristo was named the 2009-10 Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Rookie of the Year this afternoon at the league's annual awards banquet. UND sophomore goalie Brad Eidsness was named to the All-WCHA second team and senior defenseman Chay Genoway was named to the All-WCHA third team.

Major awards

Player of the year -- Marc Cheverie, G, Denver
Rookie of the year -- Danny Kristo, F, UND
Coach of the year -- George Gwozdecky, Denver
Defensive player of the year -- Brendan Smith, Wisconsin
Student-athlete of the year -- Eli Vlaisavljevich, Michigan Tech

First team

F -- Blake Geoffrion, Wisconsin
F -- Rhett Rakhshani, Denver
F -- Jack Connolly, Duluth
D -- Brendan Smith, Wisconsin
D -- Patrick Wiercioch, Denver
G -- Marc Cheverie, Denver

Second team

F -- Justin Fontaine, Duluth
F -- Ryan Lasch, St. Cloud State
F -- Tyler Ruegsegger, Denver
D -- Ryan McDonagh, Wisconsin
D -- Nate Prosser, Colorado College
G -- Brad Eidsness, UND

Third team

F -- Michael Davies, Wisconsin
F -- Joe Colborne, Denver
F -- Garrett Roe, St. Cloud State
D -- Chay Genoway, UND
D -- Garrett Raboin, St. Cloud State
G -- Dan Dunn, St. Cloud State

Rookie team

F -- Danny Kristo, UND
F -- Craig Smith, Wisconsin
F -- Rylan Schwartz, Colorado College
D -- Matt Donovan, Denver
D -- Justin Schultz, Wisconsin
G -- Joe Howe, Colorado College

Wisnewski To Test the Matt Cooke Rule

Sorry, I don't have the Youtube Link because it just happened...(Goon must be busy so I added the video for him. TW)



Anaheim's Wisnewski (sp?) just decided to take the Colin Campbell's Matt Cooke exception to the test tonight. Seabrook absolutely leveled Cory Perry earlier in the period and Wisnewski went after him.

If you want to see what Frattin's hit would have looked like if Wehrs was nowhere near the puck and Frattin did imitate Superman, check out this hit. Seabrook was in the corner about to turn up ice with his teammate when Wisnewski came out of nowhere, left his skates, and drove his shoulder into Seabrook's jaw. The back of Seabrook's head hit the glass hard. His helmet was askew atop his head and the whole of Seabrook's forehead was exposed. Lucky for him, he fell to the ice backwards. Also lucky is that his head fell on the boards, so the friction caused his shoulders or base of his neck to hit the ice first. DEFINITELY a bad hit.

Seabrook left the game with an "upper body injury" which I'll amateurly call something known as a CONCUSSION.

The NHL refs pulled a Don Adam and gave him a 2 minute Charging minor, where Wisnewski should have been leveled AT LEAST a 5 minute charging MAJOR.

That's ok, though. These types of hits are happening more and more and the refs are doing less and less. So, Campbell is going to feel a little heat.

But mark my words: WISNEWSKI WILL NOT BE SUSPENDED. If he is, then Booth, Savard, and Campbell will swear at the top of their lungs.

Ok, this hit was not a blind sided hit, but it was SUPER dangerous.

It goes to reason that someone is going to get hurt. BADLY.

In good news, Greg Shepherd is now a flight risk to advise the NHL on matters of illegal hits because they've got Shepherd's system down pat.

Schroeder bails on Minnesota

Well that didn't take long. I am sure there are a lot of Gopher fans saying don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out. it's pretty apparent that he had no intentions of playing with the Gophers next season. Who's next?

Vancouver, B.C. - Vancouver Canucks President and General Manager Mike Gillis announced today that the Canucks have signed their 2009 first round draft selection, centre Jordan Schroeder. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Schroeder, 20, spent the 2009-10 season with University of Minnesota, recording 28 points (9-19-28) in 37 games played. In his freshman season, Schroeder tallied 45 points (13-32-45) in 35 games.

Links to the story

Vancouver Sun; Canucks call up Michael Grabner, sign Jordan Schroeder

The Goal Crease:Canucks sign Jordan Schroeder

CBC: Canucks recall Grabner, sign Schroeder

TSN: Canucks sign 2009 1st rounder Schroeder

UND fans should see dry drive to St. Paul

This is good news for Sioux fans that are making the trip down to the Xcel Energy Center. Wow! What a bargin to travel to Sait Paul via air this weekend. No thanks we will drive. Someone needs to get Jet Blue up here to Grand Forks, ND.

UND hockey fans hitting the road this week for the WCHA Final Five in St. Paul shouldn’t run into any delays on North Dakota interstates.

Troy Gilbertson, highway maintenance coordinator for the North Dakota Department of Transportation, said a stretch on Interstate 29 near Harwood N.D., has flooded in past years, but it shouldn’t be a problem anymore, though people might hit small stretches of overland flooding.

“That road has been raised up a foot or two,” Gilbertson said. “Our plan is to run motorists through any water southbound on I-29 unless it gets too deep. Then we’ll reroute them into single-lane traffic in the northbound lanes.”

The Red River Bridge on Interstate 94 that crosses into Minnesota should be high and dry, Gilbertson said. The Red is expected to crest in Fargo–Moorhead at 38 feet on Saturday.

“At 40.8 feet last year, the river wasn’t even close to that bridge,” Gilbertson said.

Motorists who still have doubts should know there are round-trip seats on four of five Delta Air Lines flights from Grand Forks to Minneapolis-St. Paul on Thursday through Saturday — for $784.40. [Grand Forks Herald]

Steve Downie hit on Sidney Crosby

[Click to see video]Here is the latest hit to cause a stir around the NHL. Forty seconds into the game Lightning hack Steve Downie takes a run at Sidney Crosby’s knees. Not one of Sidney's teammates challenged Steve Downie to a fight, check out the game box score, Downie was given a roughing minor.
It is unacceptable to let a player of Downie’s ilk take a run at one of the best players in the NHL and not challenge him.

The league has fined Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Steve Downie $1,000 for taking down Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby during Sunday's game. Downie said he spoke to league disciplinarian Colin Campbell on Tuesday morning. He said there will not be a suspension.

"He called it a dangerous play," Downie said.

The play happened early in the first period when the two got tangled up and Crosby fell awkwardly with his right leg pinned underneath Downie. Downie said there was no intent to injure. There was no penalty on the play, and Crosby played the rest of the game.

Downie, who has worked very hard this season to not take stupid penalties, did not want to speculate on if his reputation, based on past actions, might have played into the decision, saying he just wants to move on. But he did say, "If he (Crosby) didn't fall in an awkward position, it wouldn't even be talked about." [Tampabay.com]

UND can still get a number one seed.

Jayson Moy of USCHO says there is still a chance that UND can be a number one seed in the NCAA tourney. Personally, I would rather see the Sioux knock out UMD out of the Final Five with the possibility of ending their season, than to have the Fighting Sioux play one be done for the weekend. I think the Sioux are going to want to get some pay back for losing to the Bulldogs in last year’s Final Five. Looking at the various scenarios it looks like the chances of this happening are slim and none as well.

North Dakota gets the last number one seed. After losing on Thursday night in the WCHA Quarterfinal Game.

CCHA Semifinal #2: Northern Michigan defeats Ferris State
CCHA Semifinal #1: Michigan defeats Miami
CCHA Championship game: Northern Michigan defeats Michigan
CCHA Consolation game: Ferris State defeats Miami
ECAC Semifinal #2: Union defeats St. Lawrence
ECAC Semifinal #1: Brown defeats Cornell
ECAC Championship game: Union defeats Brown
ECAC Consolation game: St. Lawrence defeats Cornell
Hockey East Semifinal #2: Boston University defeats Maine
Hockey East Semifinal #1: Vermont defeats Boston College
Hockey East Championship game: Vermont defeats Boston University
WCHA Play-in #1: Minnesota-Duluth defeats North Dakota
WCHA Semifinal #2: Wisconsin defeats St. Cloud State
WCHA Semifinal #1: Minnesota-Duluth defeats Denver
WCHA Championship game: Wisconsin defeats Minnesota-Duluth
WCHA Consolation game: Denver defeats St. Cloud State
Atlantic Hockey Semifinal #2: Air Force defeats Sacred Heart
Atlantic Hockey Semifinal #1: RIT defeats Canisius
Atlantic Hockey Championship game: Air Force defeats RIT
[USCHO.COM]

Moron of the week.

Here is my candidate for moron of the week, I have to say that it was unanimous as well. I have read a lot of stupid stuff posted on line this week but this one is just too good and has to passed along. If you suffering from a bad day this one will pick you up. This beauty was found in the comments section of the Puck Daddy article that covered the Frattin hit. Stick slap to Sean Leahy for using my video that I posted on line at YouTube. Last time I checked my up loaded video had gotten 8,000+ views.

Well What ever spewed - Tue Mar 16, 2010 5:42 pm EDT: I watched this series and I am familiar with the history these two clubs have. Frattin is no-talent little punk which explains why he is in such great company playing at North Dakota. Everything else aside, this was, at the very least, a blatantly obvious attempt to injure an opponent!! A one game suspension is a joke and a waste of time. This useless tool should be gone for the rest of the year, but instead he is allowed to continue his "training" toward becoming yet another hockey problem child. There is absolutely nothing wrong with playing your heart out for your team but when it becomes the "violent episode" that Frattin is, it is time for major suspensions and psycho-therapy and this cheap f-ck is in need of both.

What is really puzzling is that ND is a team that would just need to "skate their game" and they could easily beat Minnesota...this year, anyway. But instead they resort to these barbaric tactics...why?? I thinking that Hakstol told certain players between periods to do "some damage" and not worry about the "cost" because he felt it was the only way for this seemingly apparent group of underachievers to beat the sub-.500 Gophers. Newsflash Dave....you're at home at Ralph Engelstad Arenea in front of your own unruly, barbaric, and largely simplistic fans and this season, the Fighting Sioux are a better team than the Gophers! Yet...you STILL felt it necessary to provide one more lousy example to hockey youth all over the country. Apparently the Fighting Sioux are NOT the great team THEY think they are or they would have simply let their skating ability do the speaking for them. Well, I can only wish UMD success in beating the hell out of those snot-nosed little punks from Grand Forks, It's a damn shame that Frattin will be able to use his suspension to avoid the beatdown he so righteously deserves.

Kudos to Coach Lucia for keeping his team's composure and not buying into the "Sioux sorry sportsmanship", but I must confess that I was angry the seniors were not "turned loose" on any and all Sioux players that talk a great game but are just as easily beat down as any other talentless group of cheapshots.

To the deadbeat who posted that ND running over Gopher goaltender Alex Kangas was simply a case of the Fighting Sioux "charging the net" listen up little one: Whenever you skate around a defenseman, leave him sprawling on the ice behind you, drive hard to the net, put your shoulder down, and plant it squarely on the chin of the goaltender, you have just provided a textbook example of "running over the goaltender" which is still a penalty in most arenas but apparently not "the Ralph". You would have to be a Fighting Sioux fan to make the observation you did about that play and that makes you equally as pathetic as that punk Frattin, that "soul-selling" coach Hakstol, and those steaming dogpile officials on the ice at the time.

A brief message to Frattin: You have now earned a name for yourself, son. On the ice, from this day forward, I would skate with your head up and on a swivel at all times. You may also want to stay out of the corners and away from the goalie's crease.

I hope this week's play-in game has on-ice officials who are not afraid to call penalties...both ways...and that they remember that their responsibility rests in "officiating the game"...not deciding it. That "crew" at the UM-UND game was about as useless as tits on a boar hog! I certainly hope that they are done putting on stripes for the year...or, for good for that matter.

Good luck to UMD...go Bulldogs! [Puck Daddy Comments]

Weekend Final 5 Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

The first round of WCHA playoffs have come and went, with all the home teams winning their series. DU and UW ended their series in 2 games, while SCSU, UND, UMD took 3 games to close out their first round home series. The national picture is looking like all 5 WCHA teams in St. Paul this weekend will also be playing next week in the NCAA tournament.

My predictions last weekend turned out really good, the only thing a missed was UND taking 3 games to dispatch the Gophers, and everything else was dead on. Speaking of that series, I hope, as well as everyone else, that UM defensemen Kevin Wehrs makes a quick recovery from the hit he took on Sunday, as well as UM defensemen Nick Leddy. (I missed Leddy getting hit, but I don’t think anybody missed the Wehrs hit)

Sunday’s Sioux-Gopher hockey game could have been the last of an era. Next season it might be "the team formerly know as the North Dakota Fighting Sioux” versus the Gophers. With that possibility, I took it upon myself to by another Sioux jersey (I got a home white one, in case you’re wondering) Sunday. If they don’t get permission to use the Sioux name, I have the feeling Sioux gear will be flying off the shelves across the region this summer. The powers that be, need to resolve the issue by November.

Speaking of flying the Goon and I will again be attending the Final 5. We are looking forward to meeting some of our old friends and making some new ones.

This will most likely be my last posting for a while. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading my ramblings this hockey season. I might post some predictions for the NCAA tournament...


THURSDAY (Play-in Game 7:07pm)

#11 Minnesota-Duluth vs #5 North Dakota (season series UND wins 3-1-0)
Last weekend the Sioux defeated the Gophers in 3 games in Grand Forks, and the Bulldogs beat the Tigers in 3 games in Duluth.

These teams met last year in the Final 5, with UMD taking that game (3-0) while riding a hot goalie named Stalock to the Broadmoor trophy. This year the Bulldogs don’t have a shut down net minder and have gotten things done offensively. However, a good portion of their goals have come on the power play, and the Sioux have the best defense in the league. UMD really needs to win this game to solidify a spot in the tourney; they’re still on the bubble. The Sioux are still hot going 9-1-0 in their last 10 games, and the Bulldogs are 5-5-0 over their last 10 games. Part of me wants the Sioux to throw this game, so they can rest up for the NCAA tourney and the other part says win this and the Final 5, to get the auto-bid and possibly a number one seed. Whoever wins this game will be playing 6-games in 9-days. SIOUX WIN


FRIDAY (Semi-final game 2pm)

#6 St. Cloud State vs #3 Wisconsin (season series tied 2-2-0)
Last weekend the Seawolves hosted the Bulldogs and split their series, and the Badgers and Gophers split a pair in Minneapolis.

The Badgers have not won more than three games in a row this season, and have not lost consecutive games. And after last weekend, they are now 2-0 heading into the Final 5. I wonder if the Badgers will want to get some measure of revenge against the Huskies Marvin in this game. I know the Sioux still want a piece of Marvin. UW is definitely the deeper team, where SCSU relies heavily on Roe & Lasch for most of their offense. If the Badgers blue-liners can live up to their NHL draft status and shut that line down, I see the Huskies going down. BADGERS WIN


FRIDAY (Semi-final game 7pm)

UND/UMD vs #1 Denver
Last weekend the Pioneers swept the MTU Huskies in Denver.
DU vs Bulldogs (season series tied 1-1-0)
DU vs Sioux (season series DU wins 4-0-0)
I’ll take UND over DU in that match-up. Or if the Bulldogs play DU, I’m going with the Pioneers over the Bulldogs.


SATURDAY (3rd Place game @ 2pm, Championship @ 7pm)

Possible match-ups on Saturday
DU vs UW (season series UW wins 1-0-1)
DU vs SCSU (season series tied 1-1-0)
I’ll take DU over SCSU, or UW over DU, depending on how Friday’s games shakes out.
UND vs UW (season series UW wins 1-0-1)
UND vs SCSU (season series tied 2-2-0)
I’ll take UND over either UW or SCSU.

UMD vs UW (season series --)
UMD vs SCSU (season series --)
I’ll take UW over UMD, or SCSU over UMD

Edit: Sioux7's prediction made the Rink and Run blog that is run by Kevin Pates. Kevin runs a pretty good beat writers hockey blog on UMD hockey.

Managers urge NHL to fast-track head shot regulations

After watching that gutless puke Matt Cooke end Marc Savard’s season with a dirty but legal hit, I wonder if this isn't such a bad idea. Someone is going to get killed on the ice with a vicious head shot. I think one thing the GM's might want to also do while they are at it, is get rid of the instigator rule to help police the game and respond to dirty acts such as the one above.

In the face of mounting public criticism, a group of general managers is pushing the NHL to adopt its proposed new rule on hits to the head before the end of the current season.

The group wants NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to bring the proposed rule, which calls for a minor or major penalty plus an automatic review by the league for any hit in which the head is the target, to the competition committee for a quick review. If the committee grants the necessary approval, the GMs want the governors to give the final approval in a fax vote in order for the rule to be put into force immediately, sources told The Globe and Mail. [Globe and Mail]

Where are they now... Tyler Bozak

Since it is Final Five week, I figured I would pass along a story that I found on line. Former DU star Tyler Bozak is making a good impression with the Toronto Maple Leafs. I can only imagine what kind of a team DU would be if Bozak was still in the line up. Bozak is playing with former Minnesota Golden Gopher and Boston Bruin Phil Kessel.

OTTAWA–Leaf rookie Tyler Bozak is making a name for himself these days as a speedy centre with playmaking skills.

But a year ago, the pivot who has found chemistry with Phil Kessel, was making his name in the NHL for his interviewing skills. As a highly touted forward with the University of Denver, Bozak was entertaining NHL offers while winding down his NCAA career in 2008-09.

Making the difficult decision wasn't easy, since he was already balancing school and hockey. He needed a plan after 27 NHL teams came to see him in a span of two months. In the end, it boiled down to two teams – the Leafs and Ottawa Senators.

Top Canucks prospect Jordan Schroeder promises NHL decision by week's end

Looks like the players leaving early season is about to begin, I don't think it will shock anyone when if Schroeder signs. Looks like Schroeder has one of the better players agents Family advisors in the business. Sounds like Gopher fans aren't all that sad to see him go as well.

VANCOUVER — A disappointing season came to an early end Sunday for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers, and now Vancouver Canucks draft pick Jordan Schroeder has a decision to make.


Does he turn pro or return to Minnesota for a third season?


Schroeder said Monday he will make his decision by the end of this week. But in a telephone interview the 19-year-old centre sounded very much like a young man who is leaning toward turning pro.


"It's every kid's dream to be a professional hockey player," Schroeder said. "I am discussing my options right now and you never know what might happen here in the next few days. I am talking to my agent (Neil Sheehy) and my family."


Schroeder acknowledged the Canucks would very much like to sign him to a pro contract. He could then conceivably join the Manitoba Moose for the remainder of their American Hockey League season.


The Gophers were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs for only the second time in the last 33 years on Sunday when they dropped a 4-1 decision to North Dakota.

Frattin gets a one game suspension

The WCHA Wheel of Justice has given Frattin a one game suspension, that didn't take long. No word if UND will appeal.

MADISON, Wis. – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association today (March 15, 2010) announced a one-game suspension to University of North Dakota hockey player Matt Frattin as a result of his actions in the March 13 game vs the University of Minnesota.

Frattin’s suspension was determined as a result of a review of the incident under the WCHA’s Supplementary Discipline Policy and Procedures.

Frattin will be required to serve this one-game suspension in his team’s next regularly scheduled game on Thursday, March 18 vs the University of Minnesota Duluth. [WCHA.COM]

Edit: First off the writers at Goon’s want to wish Kevin Wehrs a speedy recovery and that he will have no lingering affect from the hit. I don’t think any of us want to see a player from another team injured on the ice. There are those people that like to see players or race car drivers carried off the playing surface or track on a stretcher, no one that I know would take that point of view. Let’s hope that Wehrs will make a speedy recovery and be able to play next season with the Golden Gophers.

Moving forward, I kind of figured that a suspension from the league was coming for the hit in question. The focus will turn to the Sioux playing in the Final Five and the Sioux will have to play without Frattin for one game.

Links to the Story:

Goal Gophers; Wehrs has mild concussion; Frattin suspended for one game

Grand Forks Herald; Frattin suspended one game for big hit

Saint Cloud Times; WCHA suspends UND's Frattin for hit to the head

The Ciske Blog; Frattin Receives Suspension

North Dakota Hockey Blog; WCHA suspends Frattin for one game

Rink and Run; PairWise and Frattin

Puck Daddy; Video: Frattin's nasty hit leads to suspension in college hockey

60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets;North Dakota's Matt Frattin Suspended 1 Game

Alex Kangas Hates Us

Here's the video of Alex Kangas saying that he hates North Dakota, UND, the Ralph Englestad Arena and fans of Sioux hockey.

I'm surprised that the U of M hasn't done any education on what a player should say in an interview and what they shouldn't.

Ovechkin suspended two games for Campbell hit

I would have to say that I am surprised that it wasn't longer. Campbell is going to be out for a long time with a broken collar bone. If this had been Derek Boogaard this would have probably been 5-10 games.

NHL.COM - Alex Ovechkin was suspended for two games without pay by the National Hockey League on Monday for his hit on Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell early in Sunday's game in Chicago that reportedly has ended Campbell's regular season.

NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell ruled that it was a "reckless" hit by Ovechkin, who received a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct on the play that occurred 12:16 into the first period.

Ovechkin, now considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, forfeits $232,645.40 in salary, based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (193). The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Versus is back on DIRECTV.

This is good news.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and PHILADELPHIA, March 15, 2010 - DIRECTV and Comcast have reached an agreement to return VERSUS to the DIRECTV programming lineup today. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

VERSUS will return to the same DIRECTV programming packages it was in at the end of August 2009.

“We are pleased that both sides were able to work out a satisfactory deal to bring this programming back to our customers,” said Derek Chang, executive vice president, Content Strategy and Development, DIRECTV.

“We’re excited that we were able to come to a fair agreement that puts VERSUS back in millions of homes with DIRECTV in time for our busy spring programming schedule,” said Jamie Davis, president of VERSUS. “We look forward to super-serving these fans with NHL regular-season and playoff coverage, our first live UFC event and much more.”
[KuklasKorner]

Poll Monday (Sioux in the NCAA tourney)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[March 15, 2010]
1 Denver (46) 27- 7-4 996 1
2 Miami ( 4) 26- 6-7 931 2
3 Wisconsin 24- 9-4 913 3
4 Boston College 23-10-3 833 4
5 North Dakota 22-12-5 792 5
6 St. Cloud State 22-12-5 726 7
7 Cornell 19- 8-4 699 9
8 Ferris State 21-11-6 610 13
9 Yale 20- 9-3 552 6
10 Bemidji State 23- 9-4 514 8
11 Minnesota-Duluth 22-16-1 503 14
12 Northern Michigan 19-11-8 454 16
13 New Hampshire 17-13-7 320 11
14 Vermont 17-13-7 298 19
15 Union 20-11-6 280 17
16 Michigan State 19-13-6 259 10
17 Michigan 23-17-1 234 NR
18 Alaska 18-11-9 224 12
19 Maine 18-16-3 107 NR
20 Boston University 18-16-3 80 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Colorado College 75, RIT 45, Nebraska-Omaha 19, Mass.-Lowell 15, St. Lawrence 11, Minnesota 6, Massachusetts 3, Minnesota State 1

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

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[March 15, 2009]
1. Denver (31)
2. Miami (3)
3. Wisconsin
4. Boston College
5. North Dakota
6. St. Cloud State
7. Cornell
8. Ferris State
9. Yale
10. Bemidji State
11. Minnesota-Duluth
12. Northern Michigan
13. New Hampshire
14. Vermont
15. Union

Here is what Jason Moy had to say about Bracketology and the NCAA tourney. Wow, the western school are really showing thier strenght this season.

- I Believe that the Top 7 are in. Denver, Miami, Wisconsin, Boston College, North Dakota, St. Cloud, Bemidji.
- I have been able to get Ferris State out of the tournament.
- I have not been able to get Cornell and Yale out of the tournament as of yet, but I think that there are scenarios that can leave either team out, I just have not found them. It may or may not be the case.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for something to talk about. The only ranking that really matters is the Pairwise Rankins. The head scratcher is Union is sitting at 18th in the power rankings and they have them ranked 8th.

1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Wisconsin
4. Boston College
5. North Dakota 1 The favorite to win WCHA Rookie of the Year honors, forward Danny Kristo had a goal and two assists in the Fighting Sioux's series win against Minnesota to extend his current point streak to a season-high 10 games. 22-12-5 LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota, 6-0; L vs. Minnesota, 4-2; W vs. Minnesota, 4-1 (WCHA First Round Series). THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth (WCHA Final Five)
6. Cornell
7. St. Cloud State
8. Union
9. Ferris State
10. Yale
11. Northern Michigan
12. Bemidji State
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Michigan State
15. Alaska
16. New Hampshire
17. RIT
18. Michigan
19. St. Lawrence
20. Boston University

Dropped out: Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha, UMass Lowell

Bubble-licious: Maine, Vermont

Matt Frattin hit on Kevin Wehrs

The quality isn't very good I used my digital camera to record the hit from television. There has been a lot of discussion on the hit on the Internet. Frattin said in the post game comments that he was trying to fire his team up with a big hit. The crowd was fired up after the penalty kill was over. I do think the hit in question took the steam out of the Gophers and threw them off their game especially when they didn’t score on the five minute major. The Sioux were not very fun to play against tonight and this was one rough series across the board all three nights.

I want a preface this that I didn’t see the hit live I saw it ex post facto, my daughter had called me away from the television and when I got back from helping her my cell phone was ringing and my buddy Gary was chirping at me about the hit which hadn’t even seen as of yet. I had to review the video to get up to speed on the hit. This hit was a text book charge and maybe interference and I was surprised when I found out that Frattin hadn’t been kicked out of the game, I thought he had gotten the gate. Will the league review the hit? I would say they might, the WCHA Commissioner said that they review all major penalties to see if any additional discipline is needed. Will Frattin get suspended; he may. Nothing this league office does surprises me. That being said Matt Frattin was the best forward on the ice for the Fighting Sioux this past weekend, he scored four goals this weekend and the kid played like a beast, in my opinion Frattin is a prototypical power forward.

Watching the game from home

I unlike others I thought UND was going to dispatch of the Gophers in two games and didn't bother to line up a baby sitter for last night's game. I guess when they say three games series I should plan for the series to go three games. Any ways, I don't think I sat down the whole game between texting and pacing. I finally sat down once the game got to 3-1.

Cross posted at the Sin Bin.

Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell

This is the hit that everyone is talking about in the NHL today, I was watching this game and it was kind of a buzzkill. I wonder if the league will suspend Ovechkin or not. Collin Campbell has proven in the past that there are different standards for different types of players.

Post game comments from the Fighting Sioux

Here is the post game comments from tonight's game.Matt Frattin said he tried to make a big hit to fire up his team. I am in the process of uploading video from the hit in question. It was a text book charging call; I think 5 minutes was the right call.

A Redwing77 Gopher Series Wrap-Up

The Game

This game couldn't have been more up and down. The Sioux dominate the first period yet I felt like the Gophers were the ones who left the period with the momentum. Lo and behold, the second period was just dominant by the Gophers on 5 on 5. It was not good for them on the Powerplay (more on that in the next section). I thought it was going to be just another close loss by the Sioux at one point, but luckily enough, we kill off Frattin's second penalty of the period (more on that in the next section) and Frattin makes amends by scoring in the third.

The big man of the evening is Jason Gregoire. He ends tonight with 1 goal and 2 assists. He was just obscene with the puck tonight and should've scored more than he did. He also was very selfless in giving the puck to Hextall, who should've scored last night.

My UND 3 Stars:

First Star: Jason Gregoire
Second Star: Ben Blood
Third Star: Brad Eidsness

I chose Blood because he was all over the ice and scored. Had he not scored, Trupp gets the nod at 3rd Star and Eids goes up to second. I did not give Frattin a Star (again, explanation upcoming).

My UMN 3 Stars:

First Star: Alex Kangas (yes, Alex Kangas)
Second Star: Nick Leddy
Third Star: Jake Larson

I chose Kangas because he really didn't play poorly at all. He got hung out to dry a lot. This brings me to the operative question: If the Gopher D left Kangas out to drive so much, why have a Dman as the second star? Because one player isn't the whole corps. I think Leddy played pretty well all things considered. Helgeson was outmatched.

The Hit

Ok, my take on the Frattin hit. Simply stated, the hit was illegal, but only for one reason and one reason alone: Frattin left his skates to make the hit. Sweeney stated that it was contact to the head and maybe it was. I thought I heard Looker call it a Charging Major. This Charging major is more to my line of thought. This was a stupid and dangerous hit that was the big note in what has to be the worst period for Matt Frattin since he returned. It was quite possibly the worst period of hockey for him in his entire Sioux career. He was a liability. Yes, you heard it. A liability. Over aggressive, reckless, and payed the price. He spent almost half of the second period (including the last minute 55 of the second) in the penalty box. He hit Wehrs hard and injured him, true enough.

Was it a cheap shot. NO. Frattin didn't come from behind or from the blind side. He came face to face with Wehrs. Wehrs saw it coming. He actually did the right thing, which was put his head up. Unfortunately, Frattin jumped and well... read the first part of this section.

Should he have been ejected. Wooo... I'm actually on the fence on this one, though my reason on the side of giving him an ejection is more of the fan perspective than the rule book. The reason why I would have been "ok" with a 5 minute and a game is because of how Wehrs left the ice. It was OBVIOUS he was injured. He wasn't Robbie Earl-like (he got checked from the behind, laid on the ice so long the trainer came out, he skated back to the bench asking the trainer if they called a major on the Sioux player, and then started out on the ice for the Powerplay). So, since injury occurred, Frattin could have gotten a game and I would have been "ok" with it. But he didn't... because I believe the rulebook gives that decision to the officials and the officials, who enjoy situational officiating, are very reluctant to eject a player when they are not absolutely forced to.

So I'm ok with him staying because now the Gopher fans see the officials through Green colored glasses. The Gophers didn't lose the game because of Frattin's lack of an ejection. Frankly, I was surprised they gave him a major. That was surprisingly what the rulebook said, something the officials only occasionally cite.

But anyways, if Frattin did the same thing but this time didn't leave his skates, at worst it would have been a 2 minute minor, at best, just a really hard hit.

Minnesota

They played better than Game 1 but not as good as Game 2. I'm stunned to say this but... Cepis actually played 90% of the game by the rule book. There were no overt dives I saw unlike in Game 2.

Alex Kangas wasn't the reason the Gophers lost. I think Game 2 and 3 was why Lucia started Kangas over Patterson. What I don't think was good was the fact that Lucia waited until the 3rd period to replace Kangas in Game 1.

The problem with Minnesota isn't Lucia folks. It's John Hill's incompetence and Grant Potulny's inexperience. This year was huge for Grant. If Lucia was serious about his job, this year should be Hill's last with Minnesota. I really think the "whiny" stance the Gopher players take is more Hill's influence than Lucia's. Lucia may say some stuff in the media. He may have hair that reminds some of a 1980's style plant toy. But he's won EVERYWHERE he's gone. You can't get that anywhere.

The Outlook

WCHA Conspiracy Theorists can relax now. McLeod will be in a panic as the superficial sports media morons in MSP will look to an overrated Gopher basketball team or perhaps the Minnesota Mild to occupy their time rather than some good hockey played by good teams.

I don't expect UND to win it all. I have them entering the NCAAs as a #2 seed. And that means that it is very likely we'll get BC in the regional. Yuck.

Update

I fixed a few errors I had in my original post and I'd like to add my 3 Stars of the Series:

First Star: Matt Frattin
Second Star: Jason Gregoire
Third Star: Brad Eidsness

Honorable Mention: Derrick LaPoint, Evan Trupp, Jake Marto, Danny Kristo

Jordan Schroeder watch...

Since the Gophers season will end tonight or next week in the latest, I wanted to start a Jordan Schroeder watch. Here is my question; if Schroeder’s team is eliminated tonight will he be on the plane to Vancouver from Grand Forks, ND. Will call on the cell phone come from his agent? Will the contract be sitting in the fax machine in the Gophers locker room when that elimination game is over. The Jordan Schroeder watch is officially on.

Jordan Schroeder's Golden Gopher squad is in tough tough in the playoffs against North Dakota, losing the first game in the best-of-three series 6-0, and may be available in a matter of days. His numbers have dropped between last year and this one (45 points to 27), but remember that this is University level hockey, and dramatic swings between seasons are commonplace as the teams change composition every year. Plus, even with the fall in scoring, he leads the Gophers in points despite missing two games this season; he has ten points in 34 games on the power play; he's over .500 in face offs and he was given an "A" this season.

The black mark against him is his size: but even at (a somewhat generous) 5'8", he's very strong on the puck and has a heavy wrist shot, even if he doesn't use it enough. He'll have to get his mindset away from passing and into scoring, but once he does he's going to be just deadly. Bring him up and let him try![Nuck Misconduct]

Cross posted first at the Sin Bin.

This should put you in the mood.

Brad Schlossman has the lines posted for tonight's games against the Rodents. The same two buffoon's from last night's game Marco Hunt and Derek Shepherd are going to ref tonight's game as well, let's hope they can do a better job than they did last night. Cepis was diving up and down the ice like the SCSU troll Garrett Roe does and it's sad when their beat writer is making light of it as well.

Wonder how many penalties Papa Chirp Cepis -- he's older and talks a lot -- will draw tonight. Refs probably on high alert he may take dives

Maybe one of the Sioux players will give Mr C-piss a nice wake up or remind him that this is an adult league and we don't dive. That's for high school kids. C-piss is a punk.

UND's lines

17 Jason Gregoire--29 Chris VandeVelde--26 Brett Hextall
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--21 Matt Frattin
10 Corban Knight--11 Darcy Zajac--7 Danny Kristo
8 Mike Cichy--9 Mario Lamoureux--13 Brett Bruneteau

2 Andrew MacWilliam--24 Ben Blood
3 Derrick LaPoint--25 Jake Marto
15 Brent Davidson--20 Joe Gleason

31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell

Minnesota's lines

17 Jacob Cepis--19 Jordan Schroeder--24 Zach Budish
11 Mike Hoeffel--16 Mike Carman--18 Nick Larson
12 Tony Lucia--7 Patrick White--22 Ryan Flynn
23 Josh Birkholz--13 Nico Sacchetti--21 Jake Hansen

5 Nick Leddy--20 David Fischer
10 Aaron Ness--28 Cade Fairchild
2 Kevin Wehrs--4 Seth Helgeson

33 Alex Kangas
35 Kent Patterson

UAH Chargers throw a monkey wrench in the equation

Well the scenario that everyone feared might happen became reality in the CHA tourney this past weekend. Last week I read on line where quite a few of the self appointed hockey experts and the various hockey bloggers had penciled in the BSU Beavers as being a shoe in to take the CHA conference tourney this weekend. Many of these same people were probably left scratching their heads after the Bemidji State University Beavers lost to the Niagara University Purple Eagles in Friday’s CHA semi final game 5-4. I know this sounds like a real cheesy sports Cliché but that’s why you play to the last whistle, nothing in sports is a given, you can assume nothing, everything worth fighting for in life has a cost.

Personally, I am not surprised at all and from watching the CHA over the past 10 years know that the teams that make up the soon to be the defunct CHA are legit teams, I don't care what anyone says. A lot of their games have been tough out of conference games where they traveled to another team’s arena to play a couple of games, most times it was hard for the CHA teams to get a return visit to their home arena. Robert Morris University had 14 home games, University of Huntsville had 12 home games, Niagara University had 14 home games and finally Bemidji State University 15 home games, in comparison a typical WCHA team have the luxurary of having more games played on their home ice. In comparison the University of North Dakota had 18 regular season games at home, the University of Minnesota has 19 games at home and the Wisconsin Badgers had 19 regular season home games as well. Playing 4-5 extra games at home helps.

I think it’s only fitting that the CHA champion is the team that CCHA decided to snub this past summer. I wonder if the UAH fans are saying, “Suck it CCHA?” Maybe not!

In the coming week there is going to be a lot of grumbling that half the teams in the CHA are in the NCAA tourney. That’s 50 percent of the CHA’s teams that will be playing in the NCAA tourney, not even the WCHA can make that claim very often. The NCAA decided to give the CHA a final auto bid in their final season, a move that I thought it was the right call then and I still think it is now. It is what it is. Ironically on the only team that hasn’t found a home in one of the existing five leagues is the one that made the tourney with the CHA’s final auto bid. I think its poetic justice. If you’re a fan of a team in the 13-16 spots in the Pairwise rankings you’re probably not going to be very happy camper right now.

Rodents 4 - Sioux 2

First thing I want to do is put this thing into perspective. The Gophers season either ends tonight or next week, the Golden Gophers aren’t going to the NCAA tourney. The Gophers aren't going to win the Final Five from the play-in-game. The Gophers won't make the NCAA tourney as an at large bid unless the selection crew that picks the teams for the NCAA tourney is drunk. That’s the reality folks; the Sioux are going to NCAA tourney barring a major unforeseen Pairwise catastrophe. It's up to them if they want to play next weekend. This is the first loss for the Fighting Sioux in 9 games. The Sioux also remain 5th in the all important Pairwise Rankings.

Dive Cepis Dive...

Losing to our heated rival sucks, watching Jacob C-Piss dive and flop around up and down the ice drawing penalties does makes a person see red and it does make you mad because the WCHA/NCAA is suppose to be focusing on embellishment and they are not. No big surprise there. It is what it is. It’s obvious that Jacob Cepis is trying to surpass Garrett Roe for punk of the year. Don’t worry Jacob you're still a punk in my opinion but Garrett Roe still has you beat, you’re going to have to work harder to beat the dive queen Roe at his game. Lastly, I also have to question a player’s character that leaves his team half way through a season. To me that is major a character flaw and speaks volumes to the type of person that he is.

Here is how UND hockey beat writer Brad Elliot Schlossman described UMN goals on his blog.

Minnesota 1, UND 0 -- Mike Hoeffel (Jacob Cepis, Cade Fairchild) 17:20 (pp). Cepis sets up the power play with a dive, then sets up a goal with a pass in the slot to Hoeffel, who slips it by Eidsness for Minnesota's first goal of the weekend.
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UND 2, Minnesota 2 -- Jacob Cepis (Mike Hoeffel, Jake Hansen) 12:10 (pp). Cepis draws another penalty with a dive and ends up scoring on a shot from the circle with traffic in front.

This is from the in game live chat on Brad's blog: Do you see a emerging theme here. It was pretty obvious what was going on except to the on ice officials.

9:13 Jayson, UND SID: Cepis draws another
9:13 Jayson, UND SID: I hope Cepis is ok. He sure went down hard.
9:13 Schlossman, GF Herald: This is really embarrassing for the officials. Cepis dives again
9:14 Jayson, UND SID: Gophers have responded well after both Sioux goals.

It is embarrassing. It's obvious that Cepis is duping the WCHA officials and making them look like asses with his over embellishment last night and you would have to be a complete homer not to notice this. What the hell is Brad Eidsness suppose to do when a player comes through his crease like that?

This is how the UMN beat writer described the antics of their player in his article for the Star and Tribune.

Cepis orchestrated the goal. The 5-7 agitator nicknamed "Papa Chirp" drew a tripping penalty on Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness, falling when Eidsness' stick brushed one of his ankles.

Sioux fans wanted a diving call; the referees ignored the boos

Is Adrian Peterson wearing a Sioux Jersey?

Last night the Sioux were coughing up turnovers like running back Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings football team. The Sioux were not very smart with the puck last night, they didn’t cycle the puck very well and they didn’t get set up in the offensive zone. They Fighting Sioux needs to get puck deep and keep the Gophers on their heels. Last night the Fighting Sioux made undisciplined errors that they couldn’t recover from in the end. They must be better tonight if they want to advance to the Red Baron Final Five.

Sunday Game to look forward to

While the officiating was sub par and sucked, I don't think anyone has blamed the loss on the officiating. The Sioux didn't execute last night and they got beat by a team that had nothing to lose. Alex Kangas was on TV talking about how he hated North Dakota and playing up here, let’s remind him tonight why he doesn't like playing here. This Gopher team's mental make up is weak and can be shattered with a few well time goals. If the Sioux can get to Kangas early he will crumble like a prom dress at an after prom party. The Sioux need to be miserable to play against and play with an edge.

Links to the Series

MEN'S HOCKEY: Sioux fall to Gophers

Red Star and Sickel: Given up for dead, U forces Game 3

College Hockey News: WCHA Tournament Roundup

Gopher Puck Live: Gophers Surprise – Rebound to Force Game 3

USCHO.COM: Kangas Stops 41 as Minnesota Tops North Dakota 4-2

Fighting Sioux: Gophers force game three with 4-2 win over Sioux

Examiner.com: Gophers play hard and give good effort in 4-2 victory over North Dakota; series finale Sunday

So the WCHA wants to sell tickets?

Red Meat: Fighting Sioux fans get accused of being conspiracy theorists, however, after watching last nights poorly officiated game, one could make the stretch with relative ease, that the WCHA wanted a game three to sell more tickets, they must be loving life, three series will go to a third game. What bigger draw than having the Gophers and the Sioux play on Sunday night, you're going to sell 9,000 - 10,000+ tickets at a 80% profit for the WCHA. I did see a black helicopter hovering behind the Ralph last night.