USA gets it handed to them by team CANADA...

Canada came to play while the USA team looked like deer in the headlight. I think the writer from TSN.CA sums it up best with this...

It was a satisfying evening on Monday for Canada, which saw goals from Curtis Hamilton, Quinton Howden, Ryan Johansen and Zack Kassian. Chris Brown had the lone tally for the Americans, in what must have felt like an "away" game for them with all those red and white jerseys in the stands at HSBC Arena.

"We got great support. People were coming over the border," said Canadian forward Brayden Schenn after the game. "Hopefully it will be the same in the final."

The Canada-U.S. matchup was less of a contest than many had predicted, sending the Canadians to their 10th consecutive appearance in the finals at the WJC. The Americans - with eight returning players from 2010's championship team - were the favourite to win the tournament, but they didn't appear up to the challenge on this night.

"We were a little lackadaisical and a little big-headed," said American forward Emerson Etem.

U.S. captain John Ramage seconded that notion.

Last night’s effort by the USA squad was pathetic, I had a hard time watching this game, I was ready to throw my television out the front window. The Canadian WJC team had all of the answers for the USA squad that looked like a team that had forgotten that when you wear your countries uniform the logo the front means more than that name on the back back of the uniform, I know it sounds cliché but it’s true. Too many players on team USA last night were playing like individuals and could take a page from the Canadian's play book, defend your countries honor… Play like there is no tomorrow, no excuses. Last years team had it, this years team played like a bunch of spoiled "prima donnas" that couldn't deal with adversity.

While some want to blame the coach for the loss I don’t think that is the right approach, it's counter productive and I also don’t think it would have mattered if the coach had been a WCHA, coach or a coach from the OHL. The loss is squarely with the players that fail to compete and make plays when the game was on the line. The goaltender Jack Campbell should sue his team mates for nonsupport.

TEAM Canada 4, Some American guys 1 (REDWING77)

Yeah, I said it.

The American team came out and played like crap. It really looked a lot like UND playing Holy Cross a few years back. USA looked, not totally outclassed, UNBELIEVABLY outclassed.

Jack Campbell... wow. Thanks, guy. Thank you for showing up. Too bad everyone else was too busy planning what they were going to do when the game was over to worry about playing the game.

The US played heartless. They played like they were scared of the Canadians. They had opportunities to shoot the puck and they decided to try to get closer to the net. This made the outstanding Canadian D say to themselves "Happy Boxing Day! This is too easy!"

Canadian Goaltender Visentin wasn't tested. I don't know how good he is. Team USA didn't make him do much. He probably could have shored up his CIS degree while awaiting the American team do ANYTHING worth his attention.

The First Period ended with the Americans being outshot 10-4. The second period wasn't much better.

The third? Meh. Too little too late.

The officiating was decent. A missed call on Team Canada when a Team Canada player left his feet to make sure Brock Nelson went into the Team Canada bench. The officials got a quick make up call soon thereafter and the Americans were meh.

We were the experienced team here. We were actually FAVORITES!!!! We had an opportunity to prove that we belonged in front of some of our own fans in our own country. We blew it.

After the game, Chris Kreider talked about how the upcoming bronze medal game vs. Sweden was a game about pride. REALLY? Where was the PRIDE in this game?

This was THE game! THE BLEEPING GAME!

I am not too impressed with Allain. I don't know if I'd ask him back again as a head coach. I would have tried again to get Blais to come back. Heck, he won it all. Let him do it again.

Or perhaps bring in an American coach that has won it all lately... like Jerry York or Mike Eaves or Enrico Blaisi, or perhaps there's an American coach somewhere in the WHL.

The other think I think of is the schedules. Everyone talks about how the Canadians had the path of death or whatever. Well, they built their team to win by playing in it and, although they didn't play well at times, they did enough to not only stay competitive, but to win when it mattered.

It would not be surprising to me if Sweden won. Heck, if the US came out as well prepared (sarcastically speaking) on Wednesday as they did tonight, I suspect Sweden runs all over the Americans.

Optimistically speaking, I'm hoping for a Bronze Medal for Forbort and Nelson. Realistically speaking, I don't know who will win.

As for Gold, we're stuck with the Arrogance to the North vs. the Divers from Asia/Eastern Europe.

Well... I despise Canadian hockey fans for their arrogance and condescending attitude, but they play clean. So, despite their fanbase, I'm going to root for Canada vs. the Diving team from Russia.

I hope Forbort and Nelson do what's best and bring all of their luggage to the arena or check what they can ahead of time. Then have their Airport Shuttle waiting outside so they can get out of Buffalo AHEAD of the exiting fans! I'd want to put this entire embarrassment behind me as fast as possible.

7 on 5 hockey...

Check this video out and count the number of players on the ice. #epicfail by the on ice NHL hockey officials. I thought the WCHA officials were bad but this is unacceptable, the NHL officials are paid to do a job and this officiating crew should be punished for this blunder. Can you imagine if the Colorado Avalanche had scored?

Huskies finally break the Miami Curse...

s/t to Husky Hockey time... The SCSU Huskies got off of the snide by finally beating the Miami University RedHawks who had owned them as of late, as the Huskies had gone 0-4-1 since December of 2007. This time the RedHawks luck had run out and the Huskies finally got the win and have evened the season series with the RedHawks 1-1-1.

The Huskies ended up winning their Holiday Tourney by beating Cornell and Miami, in both games SCSU was behind in both games before coming back in the third period of each game to win by a score of 4-3. It was also the Huskies first wins in the month of December as they went a not so impressive 2-4-0. [Cornell game box score] and [Miami box score]

October 8th 2005 UND 3 Miami 0
October 6th 2006 Miami 5 DU 2
December 27, 2007 Miami 2 SCSU 1 O.T.
March 27, 2009 Miami 4 DU 2
March 28, 2009 Miami 2 UMD 1
October 09, 2009 Miami 3 SCSU 2 O.T.
October 10, 2009 Miami 2 SCSU 0
November 28, 2009 UND 5 Miami 5 O.T.
October 15, 2010 Miami 6 SCSU 3
October 16, 2010 Miami 1 SCSU 1 O.T.
December 30, 2010 SCSU 4 Miami 3
[Goon's World]

Poll Monday - Sioux second in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[January 3, 2011]
1. Yale (45) 12-1-0
2 North Dakota ( 2) 14-5-2
3 Boston College (3) 13-5-0
4 New Hampshire 10-3-4
5 Minnesota-Duluth 12-4-3
6 Denver 13-5-4
7 Miami 11-6-3
8 Michigan 12-5-4
9 Maine 9-5-4
10 Rensselaer 11-4-3
11 Notre Dame 12-7-3
12 Nebraska-Omaha 12-7-1
13 Wisconsin 12-7-3
14 Boston University 8-5-6
15 Union 11-6-3
16 Alaska 9-6-3
17 Merrimack 9-4-4
18 Colorado College 12-9-1
19 Princeton 10-5-0
20 Ferris State 9-8-4
Others Receiving Votes: Western Michigan 45, Clarkson 40, Dartmouth 26, Minnesota 26, Robert Morris 23, Minnesota State 15, Bemidji State 4, Ohio State 2, Quinnipiac 2, St. Lawrence 2, Niagara 1, Providence
---------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[January 3, 2011]
1. Yale (34) 12-1-0
2. North Dakota 14-5-2
3. Boston College 13-5-0
4. Hampshire 10-3-4
5. Minnesota Duluth 12-4-3
6. Denver 13-5-4
7. Michigan 12-5-4
8. Miami (Ohio) 11-6-3
9. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 11-4-3
10 Nebraska-Omaha 12-7-1
11. Maine 9-5-4
12. Notre Dame 12-7-3
13. Wisconsin 12-7-3
14. Union 11-6-3
15. Boston University 8-5-6
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska, 36; Colorado College, 27; Merrimack College, 23; Ferris State University, 1; Princeton University, 1; Robert Morris University, 1; Western Michigan University, 1.

I am going to pose a question; I am not trying to start a flame feast, however, do you think the "pollsters" think that Yale's 10-3 shredding of a lesser opponent/cupcake Holy Cross is a more impressive than UND's 5-0 win against UMD who is in the top five of the national standings?

Again, I would like to know how many of the “pollsters” actually saw the games this weekend or during the holiday break? I think it’s safe to say that beating Holy Cross is not equal to beating UMD. Again, I would love to see how some of the ECAC and AHA teams would do if they were in the WCHA and had to play the schedules of UMD, UND, DU and Wisconsin... Pretty sure we wouldn't be having this argument if these teams had played that kind of a schedule.

Also, we have teams in the bottom of the WCHA standings (MSU-M, BSU, SCSU) winning holiday tourneys by beating teams that are in the upper half of the other conferences (ECAC team UNION, CCHA teams Notre Dame, Miami) yet these teams are still sitting in the top 15 of the national rankings. So a couple of weeks ago when I was told that the Strength of schedule doesn't matter I think last weekend's holiday tourney results shoot that theory all to hell...

This ranking system is out of whack, and it’s getting to be as silly as the Boise State football being near BCS rankings until late in the season; these teams aren’t playing anyone really that tough and they can rack up wins against lesser opponents (mid majors) and will take a tumble in the pairwise and the polls the minute they lose a couple of games to the teams from their schedule.

They said what?

This was in yesterday's Fargo Fish wrapper...

Witlessness continues to afflict North Dakota bureaucracies and the chattering class, especially on the now-verboten University of North Dakota “Fighting Sioux” nickname. They have forced the change because of the nickname’s offensiveness to North Dakota’s Sioux, yet the Spirit Lake tribe voted in favor of UND keeping the logo and is still fighting in court to force UND to keep the name. The leaders of the Standing Rock tribe won’t allow the issue to come to a vote, most likely because they know the outcome would echo Spirit Lake’s vote.

So we have gutless, white- bread folks forcing a change the North Dakota Sioux don’t want in order to protect those same Sioux. Does this make any sense to you? Paging Michael Moore’s “Stupid White Men.”

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings, because they are worth a look... Of course Yale on top of the rankings again after ripping through weak sisters of the poor from the Holy Cross... Seriously! The only poll that really matters is the one that is going to be looked at on March 19th 2011.

INCH Power Rankings
[January 2, 2011]
1. Yale
2. North Dakota - As if the Sioux needed any more offensive weaponry, previously slumbering sophomore forward Danny Kristo has a goal and six assists in his last four games. 14-5-2 (11-3-0 WCHA) RECENT SCORES: W at Minnesota Duluth, 5-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Robert Morris, vs. Robert Morris
3. New Hampshire
4. Boston College
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Michigan
7. Denver
8. Rensselaer
9. Miami
10. Maine
11. Nebraska-Omaha
12. Union
13. Wisconsin
14. Notre Dame
15. Merrimack
16. Boston University
17. Alaska
18. Robert Morris
19. Colorado College
20. Clarkson
Dropped out: Ferris State
Bubble-licious: Dartmouth, Ferris State, Niagara, Princeton, Western Michigan

Colton Orr and Chris Neil

Wow what a great heavy weight fight. Colton Orr is a one dimensional player that brings nothing to the ice surface except fighting majors and penalty minutes, but I have to admit that I like to watch a good fight as much as the next guy… While I am not a fan of Chris Neil he does at least score goals once in a while and has (2g-10a-12pts) in 40 games this season.

Drew Stafford burys the Bruins again...

Drew Stafford has scored 13 goals this season 6 of them have come against the Boston Bruins, that is 6 goals in three games for the Former Fighting Sioux winger. Stafford has 4 career hat tricks and two have come this season against the Boston Bruins. You would think going forward that the Boston Bruins might want to check Stafford a little more closely.

David Steckel’s blind side headshot on Sidney Crosby

I don't know what to make out of this hit, it doesn't appear to be intentional at all, I would say that it's a freak accident. I see any reason for the league to review this hit because, there was no penalty on the call and it doesn't appear to be anything but an accidental collision. Crosby did return for the third period.

Daniel Carcillo vs Kyle Chipchura

Every time I see my favorite hack Daniel Carcilo drop the gloves I always cheer for his opponent, there is something about that guy that I detest... Chipchura lands some nice punches on Carcillos face... It doesn't help that Carcillo plays for the hated filthy Flyers. Carcillo is one of those players you don't want play against him and you don't want him on your favorite team either.

UMD's Olsen leaves UMD for the AHL...

When this story broke yesterday afternoon the first thing that came to mind was ineligible for the academically for second half of the season. Dylan Olsen is a first round draft choice so realistically he isn’t going to sit around at UMD not playing hockey; studying, trying to get eligible academically for the fall semester. Not going to happen folks.

If my memory serves me right Dylan Olsen was recruited by UND but wasn’t able to get into UND so he ended up choosing UMD. The academically ineligible spin was the buzz around this story on the blogsphere and Twitter and it's not surprising what so ever.

Rink and RUN ---- Former NHL first-round draft pick Dylan Olsen, a Minnesota Duluth sophomore defenseman from Calgary, Alberta, signed a three-year, two-way contract with the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday and will join the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Rockford, Ill., following the World Junior Championships.

Olsen, 19, leaves UMD with two goals and 22 assists for 24 points in 53 career games. This season, he had a goal and 12 assists for 13 points in 17 games before leaving to join Canada for the World Junior Championships in Buffalo, N.Y. Canada finished the preliminary round 3-1 following a shootout loss to Sweden on Friday. The tournament runs through Jan. 5.

“Dylan was having a good year and we were expecting a better, more confident player to return to us after the experience of the junior tournament,” said UMD coach Scott Sandelin. “We knew how much making Canada’s team meant to him and that it could only help his play. We’re just disappointed he chose to make a change at midseason.”

Sandelin did note that recent academic developments would likely have left Olsen ineligible for the second semester.

If you can’t stay eligible academically to play for your college hockey team I believe it’s a character flaw a lack of commitment on the part of the athlete because they are not living up to their end of the scholarship deal, Dylan Olson let his teammates down and he let himself down. This one also falls on the coach because they should be evaluating his players academic progress throughout the semester.

Being a former college athlete, I have seen a few people flunk out of college and lose their eligibility to compete in athletics and I don't understand how they can let this happen? Most places all you need to get is a 2.0 or a 2.5 and you can almost do that by just attending class and reading the materials from the lectures. Again, going to the state schools in the WCHA isn't all that difficult, (BSU, UMD, SCSU, UND, MSU-M) isn't like attending the MTU, Wisconsin, Minnesota, AFA and or Yale and Harvard. My advice to young athletes is go to class, study and complete your assignments, ask for help if you need it, get a tutor.

Happy New Year – Moving Forward…

Another year has come and gone at Goon’s World. This year was the most successful date as we had 456,000+ visitors. I personally would like to thank everyone that stopped by to read our blog … At the bottom of the blog I added the Popular Posts widget and the most popular blog post of the year was Halak scores on himself, which incidentally or maybe it was accidentally made Fox Sports, there was 10,000+ hits on that article for one day… I woke up the morning after I submitted that blog post and looked at the stats and said, "what's going on here?" Blogging is a lot like life, you really never know what article is going to be popular or which one is going to be a dud, you just kind have to go with the flow. I also, have thank YardBarker has been very good to Goon’s World.

The second most popular article was Andrew Ladd with the Stanley Cup, thanks to Puck Daddy… Occasional Goon’s World contributor Amy aka Lets Go Mavs made the top ten posts of the year with her post MN's "Pride on Ice" is officially the "Pathetic on Ice" (by LGM) . While I have gotten some flak from Sioux fans for letting her post on Goon’s World, I do think she brings an interesting perspective to the table and this blog is about heated discussions. I don’t see anything wrong with taking an occasional dig at the Gophers fan base… They aren't as much fun when their team is losing though.

I appreciate everyone that writes for Goon’s World; Sioux7, Redwing77, the Whistler, LGM, Kevin Wiley… Thanks a lot for your efforts… Seriously, it’s harder than it looks… Retired and former Goon’s World Contributor Gordon Anderson is now writing for the Ottawa Sun...

I would also like to thank the Bemidji State University SID Brad Folkestad for credentialing me for the historic first WCHA series between the BSU Beavers and the UND Fighting Sioux. While for some reason I haven’t been able to get a press pass just to attend the Wednesday press briefings and post game press conferences for UND hockey, Brad was kind enough to save me a spot for me in the BREC center press box when there were many requests for press passes… Brad Folkestad and the BSU SID office run a first class organization...

I learned a lot of interesting things that weekend about being in press row, first if you going to report the game in time via Twitter, Face Book, it’s harder than it looks. You also have to be really good at typing, but also an awesome multitasker. Lastly, you also have to pace yourself with the Diet Coke or you end up missing a goal or key play…

Sioux 5 Dogs 0

Grand Forks Herald Photo

As I posted on twitter the UND Fighting Sioux ruins the Bulldogs building opener. UND is now 3-0 and has scored 15 goals and given up only 4 goals in inaugural games/weekends.

To take a quote from the Viking’s quarterback Brent Favre, “the pieces are in place.” I do think this year’s Fighting Sioux hockey team is one of the better teams that Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol has had here at UND, that's including the teams that had Stafford, Oshie and Toews, this year’s version of Sioux has the UND Fighting incredible depth and are getting great play from all four of the forward lines. Defensively, the Fighting Sioux are getting to be very difficult to play against and held the FCC line pointless in tonight's game. The Sioux didn’t look like a team that had been off for a week and a half.

B2tv.com why bother?

Personally, I was impressed with what I saw tonight or at least with what I could see. I watched tonight's game on the B2tv.com and I am not impressed with the quality of broadcast that they put out, they are ripping people off. I am not sure it was worth the seven bucks that I spent to watch the game. It’s a low quality broadcast and just short of being horrible, the announcers were fine, I thought they did a good job, if you like the Bulldog perspective. Kind of makes a guy long for the student broadcast of KBSU or SCSU.

Both teams not at full stength

At the end of the game there was a mention of the Bulldogs not having all of their players. I am not sure we can use that as a reason why one team won or lost. Both teams were missing key players for this game, the Bulldogs were without Justin Faulk (6g-9a-15pts) and Dylan Olsen (1g-12a-13pts), both players are playing in the World Junior Championships. Senior forward Kyle Schmidt (7g-5a-12pts)was injured in at practice on Wednesday and he was out of the line up as well.

On the other side of the ice the Fighting Sioux were without Brock Nelson (2g-4a-6pts) and Derek Forbort (0g-9a-9pts), who were at the WJC. The Sioux were also missing forwards Jason Gregoire (6g-7a-13pts) and Brett Hextall (2g-4a-6) because of undisclosed upper body injuries. While Falk and Olson might be the Bulldogs best defenders, Hextall and Gregoire are 2/3 of one of the Fighting Sioux’s top two forward lines. Jason Gregoire is one of the best two-way forwards in the WCHA so, if anything, the missing players are a wash. It does appear that UND, who ends the month of December with a record 5-0-0, is heading in a different direction than the UMD Bulldogs who end the month of December at 1-3-1.

Goon's three stars of the game

1.) Aaron Dell 35 saves and records 2 shutout of the season
2.) Danny Kristo (1g-2a-3pts)
3.) Brad Malone (2g-0-2)

[Box Score]

Zach Kassian hit on Czech defenceman Petr Senkerik.

Here is the hit that Zach Kassian put on Czech defenceman Petr Senkerik. For the hit Kassian was given a 5 minute major and a match penalty which carries an automatic game suspension. Kassian was given an extra game suspension by the IIHF and will have to sit out another game for team Canada when they play the Sweds.

Jody Shelley gets two games

Last month when Shelly was given a two game suspension for a hit from behind on Adam McQuaid I was told on my twitter page that Jody Shelly wasn't that type of a player. Huh! Now he is a repeat offender. Because funny thing, that is Jody Shelly's second suspension of the 2010-2011 season.

csnphilly.com --- On Wednesday, the NHL suspended Shelley for two games. He will miss Thursday’s game in Los Angeles and the New Year’s Eve contest in Anaheim.

This has been a “December to Remember” for the 35-year-old native of Thompson, Manitoba, as he served a two-game suspension earlier in the month for a hit from behind to Adam McQuaid in Boston.

Given Shelley is a repeat offender, this could have been four games instead of two.

“Exactly right,” Shelley said. “Right now, my gut reaction is that I’m disappointed. And I said this last time. That’s why they do it. They want you to feel sick, shame, embarrassment ... It’s been a tough December.”

Lightning upset with this penalty call...

This was the penalty that led to the Boston Bruins power play that Boston Bruins forward Mark Recchi scored on. The Tampa Bay Lightning took issue with this call that cost them the game.

TBO.COM ---Don VanMassenhoven, the referee at the trailing end of the play, put his arm up and called boarding on Stamkos, giving Boston a man advantage with under two minutes to play.

"Not a penalty, a shoulder on shoulder hit,'' Boucher said. "I've watched it 10, 12 times and I still can't get myself to see what others saw. … This is a game I firmly believe should have went to overtime. It's just very, very difficult to swallow for everybody, everybody. I'm not going to point my finger at my players for this one. They battled hard enough to win this game. It was not decided on something I could control.''

To make matters a bit worse, Adam Hall got picked at the Tampa Bay blue line by Michael Ryder as the Bruins entered the zone, preventing Hall from getting to Dennis Seidenberg and putting pressure on the puck at the right point. One pass later, Recchi found open space at the top of the slot for the winning goal.

I guess I can see why the on ice official called a penalty on the play; we have seen players in college hockey get thrown out of the game for the same hit. As a player you really have to be careful when you hit someone into the end boards, especially with the number of injuries that have happened recently. You run the risk of getting thrown out of the game or have a penalty called on you if a player has his back turned. In this case I think it's a grey area, it was close to being a shoulder to shoulder hit. The Bruins players thought it was a questionable hit...

The IIHF throws the book at Slovakia hack’s Martin Marincin and Peter Hrasko

I applaud the IIHF for throwing the book at the two Slovaks and giving Martin Marincin three additional games and Peter Hrasko two additional games for their bush league hits during their game with team USA…

BUFFALO – Dan Marouelli, the IIHF`s appointed Disciplinary Single Judge, handed out suspensions totalling six additional games to three players for flagrant violations in games played yesterday.

The Slovakia-United States game produced five of those games to two Slovaks, the heaviest suspension going to Martin Marincin (three games). Peter Hrasko received two additional games while Canada's Zack Kassian got one extra game.

The IIHF has very specific rules regarding dangerous hits. These are not limited just to the head but to the neck area as well, which is defined by that part of the body above the collarbone and shoulder pads (i.e., unprotected areas).

All players were automatically given one-game suspensions for their match penalties for a hit to the head and neck area. Here are the details for each violation.

Slovakia’s Martin Marincin was assessed a further three-game suspension (four games in total) by the IIHF for his hit to the head and neck area on American forward Jason Zucker with 7:51 left in the third period of the United States-Slovakia game on December 28.

In making his assessment, Marouelli analyzed the play on DVD. As well, he received a verbal report from the IIHF’s medical staff and discussed the play with the referee supervisor and the chairman of the championship.

Some of the criteria used to make this decision included the distance travelled by Marincin to deliver the hit. In Marouelli’s opinion, this was a premeditated act as the puck had long left the vicinity of the play. Marincin took advantage of a defenceless and unsuspecting opponent and deliberately targeted the head and neck area, resulting in an injury to Zucker.

Slovakia’s Peter Hrasko was assessed a further two-game suspension (three games in total) by the IIHF for his hit to the head and neck area on American forward Jerry D’Amigo.

In making his assessment, Marouelli analyzed the play on DVD. As well, he received a verbal report from the IIHF’s medical staff and discussed the play with the referee supervisor and the chairman of the championship.

Hrasko deliberately targeted the head of the American player, using his elbow and upper arm to deliver the blow and causing D’Amigo to be thrown violently into the boards. As a result, D’Amigo struck his head against the glass, sustaining an injury... [Read the Rest of the article]

In reviewing the video its safe to conclude that Dan Marouelli, of the IIHF`s made the right decision in severely punishing the offending Slovak players. From the drop of the puck you could tell that the Slovaks were going to play a dirty game and were out to get their pound of flesh.

Can SCSU finally beat Miami?

Tomorrow the Miami Redhawks will play the SCSU Huskies again for a third time this season tomorrow in the Championship game of the Florida College Classic. Miami has had SCSU's number as of late going 0-4-1 against them since 2007. Actually, Miami has been dominant against the WCHA since 2005 and the only team to have a winning record against Miami from the WCHA is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux which is 1-0-1, DU is 0-2, SCSU is 0-4-1 and UMD is 0-1-0 that is a combined 7-1-1 against the WCHA. I would say that this is a statement game for the Huskies tomorrow night...

October 8th 2005 UND 3 Miami 0
October 6th 2006 Miami 5 DU 2
December 27, 2007 Miami 2 SCSU 1 O.T.
March 27, 2009 Miami 4 DU 2
March 28, 2009 Miami 2 UMD 1
October 09, 2009 Miami 3 SCSU 2 O.T.
October 10, 2009 Miami 2 SCSU 0
November 28, 2009 UND 5 Miami 5 O.T.
October 15, 2010 Miami 6 SCSU 3
October 16, 2010 Miami 1 SCSU 1 O.T.
[Goon's World]

Another example of Slovakian Thuggery.

s/t to Bruce Ciskie here is the hit of Slovakia player Peter Hrasko as he smoked Jerry D'Amigo of team USA with a dirty elbow, notice taht Hrasko leaves his feet to hit D'Amingo in the head... Maybe this guy should get an extra game as well.

Were the Slovaks looking for revenge?

In reading the awesome WJC blog United States of Hockey, Chris Peters speculates that maybe the Slovaks were seeking revenge on USA Forward Jason Zucker for his hit on Martin Stajnoch during the 2010 WJC... In looking at the video of Zucker hit on Stajnoch it appears to be a legal shoulder to shoulder hit, so maybe the Slovaks need to learn how to take a hit and play with in the confines of the rules.

The United States of Hockey --- As a side note, you may recall this hit delivered by Zucker at last year’s World Junior Championship. The U.S. Men’s National Under-18 Team played Slovakia’s under-18 squad in an exhibition prior to last year’s IIHF World Under-18 Championship in Belarus. During that game, it was noticeable that the Slovakian players were out to get Zucker. One of my fellow Team USA staffers quipped, at the time, that the extra attention was perhaps retaliation for the hit at the WJC. Maybe it was, I can’t be certain. However, Martin Marincin delivered a deliberate knee-on-knee hit to Zucker that earned Marincin a major penalty and game misconduct (Here’s that game’s box score). So yeah, there’s a history.

There is one thing about hockey if the score is out of hand you can expect the game to get rough, even in international play. I guess if you can't beat the opposition on the score board you start taking liberties against the opposition, last night the USA outshot the Slovaks 22-1 in the first period, so maybe the Slovaks should concentrate on getting pucks on net and playing instead of trying to injury other players. What a bunch of classless hack and they are a disgrace to the game of hockey…

Slovak Hack Martin Marincin's dirty hit on Team USA's Jason Zucker

I dare someone to defend the play of Slovak defenseman Martin Marincin... There is no excuse for this kind of play in the WJC or in level of hockey. Personally, I thought that the Slovak WJC team played very dirty hockey from the drop of the first puck till the end of the game the Slovak defenseman Martin Marincin should be suspended for the rest of the tourney for this bush league hit. The Slovak hockey team is lucky that fighting isn't allowed in the WJC.

Potential vs. Current Development, a RW77 Rant

Ok, I am feeling rantish today and I'm in need of some enlightenment from the reader base.

On and on throughout my online fandom, I've read post after post about fans expectations of collegiate players based upon draft status and position. I find this extremely laughable.

Here's my rant:

Draft position, or even the fact they were drafted, is only marginally relevant to the college game. It's not even all that relevant towards junior player-rostered international competition. Why?

The NHL is always trying to draft for "now" talent, but it's not all that often that there are those sitting around beyond, say, the top 5 picks overall, and that's not always the case even so. Those who are good enough for the NHL when they are drafted are usually signed by the NHL right away. There are exceptions, sure, but for the most part, they are drafted based upon potential... or what they're predicted to develop into.

With this in mind, it's amazing on how people can base whether or not a player has done well or is living up to expectations based upon when they were drafted. If they weren't drafted at all, then there is no such expectation. Talk about hypocrisy.

The most recent example is the fact that Finland hung in there with the US WJC team despite the US having more draft picks on the team. What does that have to do with anything?

Sure, the American players have a higher potential towards professional play according to NHL Scouts, but that's hardly what's being graded at the WJC. Remember, Herb Brooks had the option to put even "better" players on his 1980 Olympic team than he did, but he did not. Craig, the goaltender, IIRC, wasn't the best goaltender available to Brooks at the time. BTW, Craig didn't have an altogether stellar pro career either.

Why is draft stock held in so much higher regard towards expectation than the players' current level of development?

I'm reminded of the former Wild GM Risebrough (sp?) who talked about the potential of his team being the key to his system. Yet, year after year, the Wild sucked. Why? Because potential relates directly to the future... a future that isn't guaranteed, just predicted. Teams that want to win NOW sign players who are able to produce NOW. Much like why the Red Wings are so successful as of late. Yeah, they are older than the sky but their potential has been realized and Babcock can better assigned them into roles within the team that should bring the most success.

College Hockey deals almost exclusively in players who have not yet reached their potential. In fact, if they did before they reached DI, they're typically on the watch for being busts... (See Mike Fink, Sioux fans). Yet, if an NCAA player is drafted, especially if it is in the first round, they are expected to be absolute monsters right away. If they're not, or play differently than the expectations the fans build on them, they're usually criticized, more often or not, unfairly so.

It's one of the main challenges of being college fans. We want our players to play fantastic, win it all, etc. We bang our heads against the wall when the NHL takes notice and signs them early. But if the player takes a normal developmental curve, they're open for criticism for not being as good as a player who bolted early.

So what is it? Allow the players to play their game at the current developmental rate and criticize them according to their play or let draft status cloud our judgment and grade them according to what they should be X years down the road today?

It seems rather harsh to me.

T.J. Oshie to return in late January?

The St Louis Blues got some encouraging news, it appears that former Fighting Sioux forward T.J. Oshie might be eying a possible return at the end of January, that would be good news for the Blues. T.J. Oshie was hurt November 10th during a scrum in the third period of a game where the Blues were down 8-1 in the game, Oshie lost his balance and fell backwards with his ankle pinned under his weight breaking his ankle.

NHL Hockey --- Blues forward T.J. Oshie could return to the lineup as early as late January, according to Blues General Manager Doug Armstrong.

Armstrong made the announcement to members of the media on Tuesday after the team's gameday skate.

"Oshie is doing very well. He's been out skating the last week or so I'd say and he's progressing very well," Armstrong said. "With his work ethic and his healing and the way he's been, we're comfortable that (his return) somewhere around the All-Star break is a realistic goal for us."

Oshie was injured in the Nov. 10 game vs. Columbus and was originally projected to be out of the lineup until at least mid-February with a broken ankle. But Armstrong said an early return is possible thanks to Oshie's positive attitude off the ice.

Is Chris Osgood worthy of the Hall of Fame?

I think the table has been set for the discussion that is about to follow. Chris Osgood is 10th all time in wins, most of the people above him on the list are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Lets break it down further - (3) Thee Stanley Cups 1997, 1998, 2008, (400) four hundred wins, Osgood has played in 742 NHL game has a .905 save percentage and a 2.49 goals against average, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs Osgood has played in 129 games .916 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.09. Just for comparison sake Grant Fuhr played in 868 games had a not so impressive 3.38 goals against average and .887 save percentage and he was inducted into the hall of game in 2003. In my opinion it kind of sounds like Osgood had a NHL Hall of Fame career to me...

1 MARTIN BRODEUR 607
2 Patrick Roy 551
3 Ed Belfour 484
4 Curtis Joseph 454
5 Terry Sawchuk 447
6 Jacques Plante 437
7 Tony Esposito 423
8 Glenn Hall 407
9 Grant Fuhr 403
10 CHRIS OSGOOD 400
[ESPN]

Maybe it's not so easy, Colorado Avalanche - Claude Lemieux

Cal Clutterbuck made quite the impression this past week (December 23rd 2010) when the Wild faced and beat the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. Apparently, Cal Clutterbuck rattled the Colorado Avalanche so much that their Denver Post beat writer went off on a Cal Clutterbuck diatribe in a fashion that would mirror a fan blog type rant, minus the profanity, fine for fan blog but it does seem out of character for beat writers of a major news paper. Here is what Adrian Dater had to say about the NHL's hit leader.

All THINGS AVS ---- Clutterbuck is who he is. A hit-and-run artist. A trash talker. A guy who has no problem catching you with a big hit, as long as your back is turned or you have no time to react from the front. If you want to get him back, he’s going to cover up, play possum, and hope you draw a penalty. And a lot of his defenders point out that he leads the league in hits every year, but also has low penalty minutes – which kind of makes my point. He’s trying to artificially jack up his hit total, but doesn’t want to back anything up with a fight or two.

Like I said, he’s good at it. But it still doesn’t change that ultimate truth about Cal Clutterbuck: that he doesn’t stand up for himself, that he wants to hit and run and cower. Teammates hate those kinds of guys, because it means their guys are going to be targeted right back since he won’t fight his own battles. These teams will meet again soon, and we’ll see if Cal is clucking as loudly that night.

Personally, I find it funny because the Avalanche don’t have the moral high ground in this situation. One could say that the Av's fans have short memories eh? Rewind to 1996 when the Colorado Avalanche employed one of the most disgusting players to ever wear a uniform in the NHL, that pukes/hacks name was Claude Lemieux. On May During the 1996 Stanley Cup Playoffs Lemieux hit Chris Drapper face first into the dasher causing him to suffer a broken jaw, broken nose, broken cheekbone, and a concussion… I don’t remember an incident where Cal Clutterbuck has committed an act of aggression like that in the NHL… To top it all off, for the Av’s fans that have short memories, Claude the Fraud never apologized for his transgression against Chris Draper. Yeah, that’s something I would be proud of if I was an Avalanche fan. So don’t come pointing your finger at the Wild and their players because your franchise had one dirtiest, disgusting players to ever put on a uniform.

First example;Claude Lemieux turtles as Redwings tough guy Darren McCarty delivers a beat-down… [click to view video]

Second example; after delivering a bush league high stick to Cam Neely Claude the Fraude turtles again... [click to view video]

Lucic 'happy' he didn't warrant a suspension

For those that said the Meyer hit on Milan Lucic wasn’t high or dirty think again. The NHL disciplinarian Mike Murphy thought otherwise and decided not to suspend Milan Lucic for his punch on Freddy Meyer. The rematch in Atlanta on Thursday night should could (since no one attends Thrasher games) be a barn burner as the Bruins and Thrasher are starting to become a bit of a rivalry. Here is the box score to the game in question. [Box Score] Check out what Joe Haggerty had to say about the matter.

SUNRISE, FL. – Milan Lucic called the Sunday disciplinary call with NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy a “slap on the wrist” while talking about it following Monday’s morning skate at Bank Atlantic Center.

Lucic said he was ecstatic about avoiding a suspension.

The Bruins’ top left winger was slapped with a match penalty in the middle of the line brawl in the third period of win over the Thrashers, and some assumed he’d end up with a one-game suspension after the incident.

Instead, Murphy and the NHL took into account the dangerous nature of Meyer’s hit that precipitated the entire chain of events -- and Lucic’s contrition after the fact certainly didn’t hurt his cause.

“That’s basically what it was: a slap on the wrist,” said Lucic. “They made it clear it’s something that shouldn’t be a part of the game, and I feel the same way. Looking back on it it’s something I shouldn’t have done, but sometimes you do things that you don’t mean to do once you get your adrenaline going.

“I’m just happy it wasn’t a game suspension and I’ll take the fine. We were looking back at some previous sucker punches and mine was more of a straight jab. I didn’t cock my hand back or anything like that. You can look at the Scott Walker/Aaron Ward incident where he brought his hand fully back for a haymaker where mine was a jab.”

The big power forward admitted wrongdoing while talking about the punch thrown to Freddy Meyer’s head, and the middle finger he “accidentally” extended out at the Atlanta bench as he was escorted off the ice.

Lucic was fined a total of $3500 by the NHL for both the punch and the obscene hand gesture, and chalked it up to a matter of basically seeing red.

“I didn’t feel anything on kind of hit to my chest. That was straight to the head area,” said Lucic. “He’s a lot shorter than me and he did leave his feet.

“I took it right on the head and the chin, and that’s why we reacted as a group. It was great to see that all of the guys had my back. We all had each other’s back on the ice. It’s a great feeling to know the other guys have your back no matter what the situation.”

Freddy Meyer came in high with a hit on Lucic in the third period that the refs deemed an “elbowing” penalty, and the 22-year-old said Meyer’s hit was very reminiscent of a Bryan Berard hit during his rookie season that knocked Lucic out for five games with a concussion.

With his mouth bleeding and his anger stirred, Lucic went at Meyer after he was tackled by Andrew Ference – and eventually found him with a right-handed jab that decked the surprised Meyer after refs had begun regaining order in the scrum. Lucic said he’d be ready if the Thrashers come looking for revenge against him when the Bruins travel to Atlanta on Wednesday night.

WCHA shines in USA WJC win...

What an exciting game; or what I saw of it because the feed from the broadcast was substandard, I guess I would expect more from the NHL network. None the less, the opening game for the USA WJC turned out to be a great night for WCHA players; the Bulldogs’ freshman defenseman Justin Faulk got the first goal for team USA that was followed up by Denver University forward and Wild Draft choice Jason Zucker, he got the second USA goal and the game winner in overtime by Minnesota forward Nick Bjugstad…

Team USA got some bad news as Jeremy Morin might be done for the WJC because of an injury, if true that is bad news for the Americans.

Sources say Team USA winger Jeremy Morin, on loan from the Chicago Blackhawks' AHL farm team in Rockford, apparently suffered a shoulder injury that could be significant.[TSN.CA]

Video link for the Canada and Russia WJC game [click for link]

Phaneuf versus Kovalchuk

I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that this isn’t a very good fight between Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk I think the biggest statement is the fact that no one from the New Jersey Devils comes to the aid of the Devils super star.

Ilya Kovalchuk who signed in the offseason for 100,000,000.00 has had a tough go of it in 34 games he has (8g-10a-18pts) and is an unimpressive -26 maybe the New Jersey Devils should ask from some of their money back.

After Knocking Out Matt Cooke, Evander Kane Says Milan Lucic Texted Him

I came across this article on the NESN site. I would have also liked to have thanked Evander Kane for knocking out that gutless puke/POS Matt Cooke, heck I would have bought him a steak dinner. Evander Kane did the hockey world a favor...

BOSTON -- Most opposing players come into the Garden expecting to be treated like the enemy.

But Atlanta forward Evander Kane might just be the exception to that rule as far as Bruins fans are concerned.

The Garden faithful certainly don't want to see Kane lighting up the scoreboard when the Thrashers take on Boston on Thursday night, but Kane should get a warm reception regardless of what he does.

That's because last year, Kane did what most Bruins fans wanted to see one of their own players do, when he delivered a devastating knockout punch to Pittsburgh cheap-shot artist Matt Cooke. Kane administered the beatdown on April 10, just over a month after Cooke knocked out Marc Savard with a blind-side head shot on March 7.

Thursday will be Kane's first game in Boston since that fight, but he's already heard from some of the Bruins. They certainly appreciated what he did to Cooke, even though it wasn't actually his intention to avenge the cheap shot on Savard.

"I know when it happened, I got a couple phone calls from the guys," Kane said after Thursday's morning skate. "I know it got a lot of buzz throughout the league. It just so happened to be Matt Cooke, who did that to Marc Savard earlier on in the year. I wasn't really looking for payback for that. It was more for myself and for my team, but I guess it worked out."

Kane's KO of Cooke was especially gratifying for Savard's longtime linemate Milan Lucic.

Looch will not be suspended for pounding Freddy Meyer...

Boston Bruins got some good post Christmas news today as they found out that the Bruins tough guy Milan Lucic will not be suspended for punching former BU Terrier Freddy Meyer... Watching the video you will see that Lucic while being tied up by a linesman punched Freddy Meyer who was also tied up by a linesman. Lucic was given a match penalty for the punch to the side of Meyers head. In my opinion I believe it was the right call and no other discipline was warranted at this time…

WILMINGTON -- Bruins coach Claude Julien said general manager Peter Chiarelli told him after practice at Ristuccia Arena that forward Milan Lucic would not be suspended for his actions in Thursday's 4-1 Bruin victory over the Thrashers at TD Garden. Lucic received a game misconduct and a match penalty after a fight with Atlanta's Freddy Meyer (a BU grad). Lucic is expected to comment tomorrow.

Chiarelli then issued a statement: “The NHL has informed us that Milan will not be suspended as a result of the match penalty assessed to him during our game against the Thrashers last Thursday. He will be fined $2,500 for the punch thrown in the scrum and $1,000 for making an obscene gesture directed at the Thrashers bench. He will join the team on the flight to Florida and be available for Monday’s game against the Panthers.”

That makes the line juggling much easier for Julien, as the Bruins head to Florida to start a five-game road trip. "For me, all I need to know is he wasn't suspended,'' said Julien.
"It's great to see he's going to be in our lineup tomorrow night.''

Merry Christmas from Goon's World... (Gift included)

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year... Go Fighting Sioux..
So for Christmas I have a gift for everyone. I uploaded the interview Scott Williams did with the WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod during the historic BSU and UND series; unfortunately for some reason I could only down load the interview in 36 second increments, so there will be four parts... Enjoy...

Part one Scott Williams interview of Bruce McLeod [Click to view]

Part two Scott Williams interview of Bruce McLeod [Click to view]

Part three Scott Williams interview of Bruce McLeod [Click to view]

Part four Scott Williams interview of Bruce McLeod [Click to view]

Permission was granted by Lakeland Public Television and BSU Hockey 

Cal Clutterbuck: It’s just too easy

Surfing the net this morning; I found this blog post from the Denver Post Avalanche beat writer to be remotely entertaining, it’s worth a look. Recently, I have had this on going discussion with a friend of mine in the hockey media about fan bloggers and how some of them let emotions drive their blog posts, I am probably a little guilty of that… Fast forward to this gem, this is a blog post from a beat writer for a national newspaper that writes for an NHL hockey team… This is my text book definition definition of blatant homerism. This is like Michael Russo writing Av’s goon David Koci (114 games 2-1-3, 388 pims) is a untalented hack that can barely skate, lucky to be in the NHL and basically a punching bag…

All things Avs --- There are some players I just have to laugh at in this game, though, and Cal Clutterbuck is one of them. Nothing against the guy at all. He’s good at what he does, which is drive you crazy with the game of “I hit you first, then try to draw the penalty with your retaliation hit against me.” These guys have been in hockey for time immemorial.

That’s fine, I respect that. It’s a game. You have to play every angle, and if being the agitator who gets the opposition to lose their minds and, hence, the game is what you need to do to succeed, then by all means do it, especially if you’ll be paid a million dollars for it.

But, and part of me hates saying this in a way, because I really don’t care either way. But, Cal Clutterbuck is a cowardly hockey player. He’s Bill Laimbeer on skates, folks.

Again, if it works for you and you have success being that type of player, then you’ll actually get grudging respect from me. Anything that makes you a winner, we can all admire that in the end.

But Clutterbuck is a coward. I mean, come on, did the Wild forward really talk a lot of smack about the Avalanche tonight, after a December 3-1 victory? Really, he did?

In fact, he did. Here’s what was in the estimable blog tonight of Michael Russo, the ace reporter of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and one of my better friends among the hockey writer zeitgeist.

Clutterbuck clucked: ““There’s some guys over there, two guys in particular, I’m shocked they’re still even playing in the league. If they’re going to take a penalty, take a penalty.

“We’re on the road, we’ll take a power play any day of the week. If they want to flaunt their egos, they want to show how tough they are, well, guess what, we’re going to beat you, and we’re coming for them in the standings.”

Let’s just establish a couple of islands or irony first, before we move on. Clutterbuck talking smack after a 3-1 win over an injury-ravaged team in December, is bathed in irony considering his team hasn’t made the playoffs for two straight seasons.

Cal Clutterbuck is an aggressive player that likes to hit, Cal is far from being Bill Laimbeer of the NHL… Bill Laimbeer was a diver and a hack Clutterbuck is not. Clutterbuck has played three season in the NHL and has a grand total of 150 minutes in penalties, each season his penalty minutes have declined as well, this season Clutterbuck has gooned it up so bad that he has a grand total of 22 penalties minutes.

Bruins line brawl... Lucic has hearing on Sunday

Wow what a game! Shawn Thornton and Eric Boulton started the game by dropping the gloves and fighting. I think this could turn into a pretty good rivalry.

This is my definition of a good old fashioned line brawl or Donny Brook and what a marvelous way to end a hockey game. I think that Milan Lucic reacted in the right manner the Trasher's Freddy Meyer hit Milan Lucic up high with a questionable hit to the head and kudos to the Boston Bruins for sticking up for their teammate. The league will review this play and possibly give Lucic a couple game suspension, in this situation I think this dirty hit had to be answered for so I think the consequences of the reaction to the hit are worth it…

It's nice to know if someone cheap shots one of the Boston Bruins that a teammate is going to have their back. Meyer will think twice about hitting Lucic or another Bruins like that again.

Boston Globe --- Last night in the third period, Andrew Ference was a step behind Milan Lucic when the left wing got popped under the chin by Freddy Meyer. Naturally, with one of the best views in TD Garden of the play, Ference’s first reaction was to shed his gloves, grab Meyer, and let the Atlanta defenseman know such hits would not be tolerated.

“It was a high hit. Without a doubt,’’ said Ference. “Looch is going down the boards. I was following right behind him, so I had a really good view of it. The guy just put his stick and his hands right in Looch’s head. It’s a high hit. No question about it.’’

If you hit someone in the head like Meyer did you're going to get this type of a reaction. This is how the Boston Bruins needed to respond to the Freddy Meyer hit. Edit: Milan Lucic will have a disciplinary hearing with the NHL on Boxing Day (Sunday) to see if he will receive any punishment for his beat down on Meyer.

One thing that did concern me from this scrum was Marc Savard getting into a fight, that’s one thing the Boston Bruins do not need, one of their top forwards who’s had concussion problems squaring off in a fight. In my opinion it was an ill advised move on Savard’s part. Thank God he wasn’t hurt…

Festivus - Airing of grievances...

This was one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes. I thought I would give hockey fans a chance "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength," and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles"....

Today I decided I would air a few of my personal grievances; 1.) is the poor quality of the officiating in the WCHA. 2.) the college hockey pollsters for picking teams number one that have no business being number one. 3.) the "mask" in college hockey time to go to the half shield. 4.) time to use the KRACH instead of the PWR to pick the teams for the NCAA tourney.

Go ahead and tell us a few of your grievances.

Lucia Article (by LGM)

The Star Tribune ran an article about Don Lucia and his struggles with health issues and the hockey team. Click HERE to read it.

I found it to be an interesting read. I'll be the first to fully admit that I have a huge bias against Don Lucia ever since he publicly stood up for Brian Shack and his actions towards Channing Boe a couple of seasons ago. You'll all remember that Shack came charging from across the ice to tackle Boe and didn't stop beating his head into the ice until he broke Boe's leg and had to be pulled off.

It is no secret that LGM is a big Channing Boe fan, thus these actions made me livid. Then to have Lucia stick up for Shack's antics several times made me lose all respect for the guy.

So, onto this article. After the above stated bias I will state my position. I think Lucia participated in this article as a last ditch effort to keep his job and have people feel sorry for him. Lots of excuses seem to go on in the article. Don't get me wrong, I feel bad for what he's gone through but he should have taken a medical leave if he was so rageful for so long. Also, if he wasn't in the position to do so why didn't the UofM step in and have him take a leave? Really, they allow someone to be a "madman" (as he described himself) and just lets the assistant coach make excuses to players and other professionals? Total BS if you ask me. The U needed to grow a pair and put him on leave. Now they can live with their decision.

Yep, I know I'm going to get some mean comments on my position but that's fine. To each their own. I do hope the best for recovery for Lucia and he has gone through some horrible things...but there's also the aspect of professionalism, which I think both he and the U have lacked for years.

Merry Christmas John MacLean you’re fired…

It sounds like it’s not going to be a very fun Christmas/Holiday season in the John MacLean house this year. I had a feeling this move was coming when I watched the New Jersey Devils get dismantled by the Washington Capitals the other night 5-1. The Devils fans and beat writers had been calling for McLeans head only 20 games into the season.

New Jersey.com --- John MacLean's short and rocky tenure as Devils coach has come to an end, The Star-Ledger has confirmed.

MacLean, who coached the injury-riddled team to an NHL-worst 20 points and 9-22-2 record, is expected to be replaced on an interim basis by former coach Jacques Lemaire, an NHL official confirmed.

The official requested anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the decision.

During the capitals debacle the Devils all world goalie Martin Brodeur was shelled and left high and dry by their defense. It has been par for the course this season and every time I have watched the Devils play this season they have been playing a listless brad of hockey… Personally, I find it funny that the head coach is the one that usually gets the blame for a team’s failures and misgivings in the era of the entitlement hockey player. It also doesn’t help the New Jersey Devils when you take Zach Parise’s 80-90+ points out of the line up and the Devils have gone an unimpressive 6-13-1 since Zach’s injury.

Meaningless exhibition game?

Every time you put that uniform on it means something. Check out this video and the post game interview. This is why I love the game that Andrew McWilliam plays. When asked about his future team mate J.T. Miller, 'he plays like a Sioux and it's about time we get a player from the program (USDT) with some grit', you have to love Mac's analysis.

Second Half Preview (by Sioux 7)

Second Half Preview

WCHA standings

TEAM……………...W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota………11-3-0…22
2. Denver……………...9-3-2…20
2. Minnesota-Duluth....9-3-2…20
4. Nebraska-Omaha….9-4-1…19
5. Colorado College…..8-6-0…16
6. Minnesota…………..6-6-2…14
6. Wisconsin…………..6-6-2…14
8. Alaska-Anchorage...4-8-2…10
8. Minnesota State…...4-8-2…10
10. Bemidji State……….4-9-1…9
11. St. Cloud State….....3-8-1…7
12. Michigan Tech……..1-10-1…3


Michigan Tech
The Huskies have dug themselves a deep hole in the first (almost) half season only getting one win in twelve games. Simply put they need to score more goals in order to give themselves a chance to win some games in the second half. It’s already pretty safe to say they will be playing the role of spoiler after Christmas break.


St. Cloud St.
The Huskies will need to win all their games in January (they play MTU, BSU, and MSUM that month) if they want to make a real push for home ice. After that they have a grueling schedule, @ UNO, @ UMD, UND, UW and @ DU to wrap up the season. This team had high hopes going into this campaign and has been dismal to this point. But if they can go on a run in January, they can get back into the middle of the pack and compete for home ice.


Bemidji State
The Beavers are slowly adjusting to life in the WCHA, let’s face it, this league is a much bigger grind week in and week out than the old CHA. The Beavers played UMD tough with both games going into overtime and even swept UNO, so they are competitive, no question about that. The Beavers appear to have a relatively nice schedule in 2011 they only have to play a couple of the top teams again (UNO and UND). However, they are on the road for 4 series and host 3 series (SCSU, CC, UM) at the new Sanford Center.


Minnesota State
The Mavericks have league wins over CC, UAA, and UM(2) in the first half of the season. MSUM plays CC and UAA again in the second half too. The Mavericks need to get wins over the other teams in the bottom of the standings if they want to move up and compete for a home ice spot. In order to do that, they need to be more consistent on offense. Scoring two goals or so a game isn’t enough, they need to get to three or more to get wins. They can’t rely solely on the goal tenders to save their bacon game in and game out.


Alaska Anchorage
The Seawolves are in the same boat as the MSUM Mavericks. However, the Seawolves have a tough schedule they host CC, @ DU, @UM, MTU, @ UND, UNO, and end the season @ MSUM. The Seawolves need to keep the games low scoring affairs if they want to win, since they have had problems producing goals. If UAA can get some timely goals and solidly consistent goal tending they could be in the hunt for hosting a first round playoff series.


Wisconsin
The Badgers, ah, were to start, they have been scoring goals, but they have been giving up quite a few too. I’ve seen a few of their games this year, and if they can cut down on some of the miscues they can be right in the mix for home ice. Well, if they don’t get hosed by the refs too much in 2011 (all the UW fans remember that horrible OT “lose” to UMD). UW just needs to create its own puck luck in the second half and they should end up in the top half of the league.


Minnesota
They got talent, but they can’t seem to put it all together at the same time. It looks like everyman for himself at times, and other times they have flashes of brilliance. The Gopher fans look to have a new number one in nets now with Patterson, but who knows, Kangas could make a comeback. They open the second half with some tough opponents and end with a softer schedule. Here is a look at the Gophers second half - @ UND, UAA, @ UMD, DU, @ UW, MTU, and @ BSU to end the regular season. The Gophers still control their own fate. But, if the wheels come of the bus, they will be riding one for the first round of the playoffs.


Colorado College
The Tigers have quietly moved up the standings, all the way to fifth place, and are two games over .500 in the league. They were on a six game winning streak until the last game before break, and they were shutout in that contest. The Tigers will need to get victories over the bottom half teams in the second half to keep their distance and home ice. The Tigers have also pitched four shutout games of their own; getting goal tending like that will also help them down the home stretch. Look for the Tigers to be in control of their own destiny the second half.


Nebraska-Omaha
The Mavericks started of the season on a red hot streak, winning 8 of their first 9 games. Since then they have cooled off and have a 4-4-1 record. UNO only has to make three road trips in 2011, with trips to UND, UAA, and UMD. Those will be a big games, especially when you figure they play the Bulldogs that last weekend of the season. The Mavericks have come back down to earth after that great start and might now have some confidence issues. We’ll have to wait and see what happens in second half, and see if they can survive the grind that is the WCHA.


Denver
The Pioneers find themselves in familiar territory this time of year, in the race for the league title. They have been flying under the radar while most people have been focused on the surprising UMD Bulldogs and UNO Mavericks. DU has quietly put together a good record, with quality wins over UMD and UND on the road. The Pioneers have been getting get goal tending which helps any team out. They just have to avoid any more injuries and they should be in title race the second half.


Minnesota-Duluth
The Bulldogs lead the WCHA most of the first half and only lost the lead in the last week of play. They have played bonus hockey, overtime, in 9 out of their 18 games. UMD fans will say the team steps up in OT and gets win, doubters will say they are living dangerously. The Bulldogs need to get more scoring from more than just the top line, and need to pick up the 5x5 scoring too. If they can improve those items they can make a second half run that goes deep into the playoffs.



North Dakota
The Sioux have rattled off 4 wins in a row while missing 2/3rds of their top line, not bad. That shows that they have the depth and determination to do whatever it takes to win games. If the Sioux can avoid injuries in the second half they should be just fine. UND is off to its best first half under the helm of Coach Hakstol. If they go on their typical second half run, they could win their 15th WCHA regular season title and second under Hakstol.

USA releases roster for WJC.

Here is the roster for Team USA.

GOALTENDERS
Jack Campbell, Windsor Spitfires, OHL (Dallas)
Andy Iles, Cornell University, ECAC

DEFENSEMEN
Brian Dumoulin, Boston College, HE (Carolina)
Justin Faulk, Minnesota-Duluth, WCHA (Carolina)
Derek Forbort, North Dakota, WCHA (Los Angeles)
Nick Leddy, Rockford, AHL (Chicago);
Jonathan Merrill, Michigan, CCHA (New Jersey)
John Ramage, Wisconsin, WCHA (Calgary)
Patrick Wey, Boston College, HE (Washington)

FORWARDS
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota, WCHA (Florida)
Ryan Bourque, Quebec, QMJHL (N.Y. Rangers)
Chris Brown, Michigan, CCHA (Phoenix)
Mitchell Callahan, Kelowna, WHL (Detroit)
Charlie Coyle, Boston University, HE (San Jose)
Jerry D'Amigo, Toronto, AHL (Toronto)
Emerson Etem, Medicine Hat, WHL (Anaheim)
Chris Kreider, Boston College, HE (N.Y. Rangers)
Jeremy Morin, Rockford, AHL (Chicago)
Brock Nelson, North Dakota, WCHA (N.Y. Islanders)
Kyle Palmieri, Syracuse, AHL (Anaheim)
Drew Shore, Denver, WCHA (Florida)
Jason Zucker, Denver, WCHA (Minnesota).

Who didn't make it
Adam Clendening (Boston University)
Jamieson Oleksiak (Northeastern)
Philip Samuelsson (Boston College)
Connor Brickley (Vermont)
Rocco Grimaldi (USNTDP)(UND Recruit)
Matthew Nieto (Boston University)
Brandon Saad (Saginaw, OHL)

Links to the WJC

USA Hockey Twitter

U.S. announces World Junior roster [USA Hockey]

Forbort, Nelson make final cut for USA Hockey [Fighting Sioux]

NHL Network U.S. to broadcast USA quest for historic gold medal repeat at 2011 IIHF WJC [NHL.COM]

Kreider is hoping last year's luck carries over [NHL.COM]

U.S. junior team has 2005 blueprint as a guide [NHL.COM]

Buffalo News WJC Blog [BuffaloNews.COM]

USA hockey unveils its roster for world junior tournament [Toronto Star]

Canadian World Junior News. [Toronto Star]

Wild's Zucker, 5 Minnesotans make USA World Junior team [Russo's Rants]

TV Schedule for the World Juniors
[Click link for TV SCHEDULE]
Date Game Time (EST)
Sunday, December 26
Russia vs. Canada 4 p.m.
Finland vs. USA 8 p.m.

Tuesday, December 28
Canada vs. Czech Republic 4 p.m.
USA vs. Slovakia 8 p.m.

Wednesday, December 29
Norway vs. Canada 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 30
Sweden vs. Czech Republic 3 p.m.
Germany vs. USA 7 p.m.

Friday, December 31
Canada vs. Sweden 4 p.m.
USA vs. Switzerland 8 p.m.

Sunday, January 2
Quarterfinal #1 3:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal #2* 7:30 p.m.

Monday, January 3
Semifinal #1 3:30 p.m.
Semifinal #2* 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 5
Bronze-Medal Game 3:30 p.m.
Gold-Medal Game 7:30 p.m.

Uber Hack Matt Cooke is up to his old tricks...

Watch this video of uber hack Matt Cooke as he throws an elbow to the back of Keith Yandle head, there is no excuse for this kind of hockey, Matt Cooke should be suspended for this hit. I am so sick and third of this disgusting POS and his antics. Some day Matt Cooke is going to finally get what is coming to him, eventually someone is going to catch Matt Cooke with his head down and this hack is going to end up paying for his transgressions… You cannot skate up and down the ice throwing cheap shots at people without getting something in return. The Hockey Code demands it.

When this happens I am going to celebrate, sure Evander Kane handed it to him but he hasn’t learned his lesson. The old cliché what comes around goes around. I just hope I get to see it. I can't believe that the Penguins writer for the Bleacher Report said this;

Not only did Cooke provide a goal and kill penalties for the Pens, but it was a penalty that Cooke committed that may have been most important.

In the second period, with the Penguins leading 5-0 and on the penalty kill, Cooke went in on a forecheck and put a forearm to the head of Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle.

Cooke was sent to the box for two minutes for boarding, and that seemed to be that.

However, after the game the Coyotes were furious with the hit (which in no way appeared dirty to me), and Yandle said, "every guy on our team tried to fight him."

Seriously! You have got to be kidding me? Since when is a a fore arm hit to the head considered clean, that's not dirty to you? Talk about not having a clue... Matt Cooke deserves a beat down for that elbow and should have answered the bell when challenged, but Cooke is gutless puke.

WJC TV Schedule

2011 IIHF World Junior Championship - NHL Network U.S. Broadcast Schedule
Dec. 26 - Jan. 5, Buffalo, N.Y. [Click link for TV SCHEDULE]

Date Game Time (EST)
Sunday, December 26
Russia vs. Canada 4 p.m.
Finland vs. USA 8 p.m.

Tuesday, December 28
Canada vs. Czech Republic 4 p.m.
USA vs. Slovakia 8 p.m.

Wednesday, December 29
Norway vs. Canada 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, December 30
Sweden vs. Czech Republic 3 p.m.
Germany vs. USA 7 p.m.

Friday, December 31
Canada vs. Sweden 4 p.m.
USA vs. Switzerland 8 p.m.

Sunday, January. 2
Quarterfinal #1 3:30 p.m.
Quarterfinal #2* 7:30 p.m.

Monday, January 3
Semifinal #1 3:30 p.m.
Semifinal #2* 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, January 5
Bronze-Medal Game 3:30 p.m.
Gold-Medal Game 7:30 p.m.

Update on DU's Jesse Martin

Edmonton Journal Picture...



Here is an update from the Edmonton Journal on DU forward Jesse Martin, its good to see that Jesse Martin now has to halo off and is wearing a neck brace. This article kind of puts life in perspective; that there is more to life than sports and that your family is one of the most important aspects in a person’s life.

EDMONTON - It's little wonder Terry Martin and his family don't know what to give one another for Christmas gifts this year.

They have all they need: Each other.

The past year could have torn the Edmonton family of four apart. Terry's wife, Jacquie, was diagnosed with a brain tumour just before his daughter, Natasha, was injured in a car crash and required emergency surgery.

Then his son, Jesse, a 22-year-old senior who plays hockey for the University of Denver Pioneers, was injured in an Oct. 30 game against the North Dakota Fighting Sioux and carried off the ice on a stretcher with a spinal cord injury. Three days after getting home from visiting with Jesse in the U.S., Terry had heart attack.

"We're all having a little trouble buying Christmas gifts this year," Terry says. "I mean really, what material things could we give or receive that could provide greater happiness than what we are experiencing by simply being together?"

It's the gift of family.

"The serious medical challenges each of us faced recently certainly tested us as individuals with respect to inner strength and character. But how we came through it all is also a testament to how closely knit our family is," Terry says.

Jesse's injury -- a crush against the boards when he was looking down -- got a lot of attention because of a YouTube video of the hit. As of Monday, the video had been watched 131,192 times.

"Like every family, we have had our ups and downs, but the common thread has been that we never forget that we are there for each other no matter what, and we are always able to lean on each other for support," says Jesse.

Poll Monday; 5th in USA Today Poll...

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Dec. 20, 2010]
1 Yale (34)11-1-0 510
2 New Hampshire 10-2-4 458
3 Minnesota Duluth 12-3-3 418
4 Boston College 11-5-0 410
5 North Dakota 13-5-2 403
6 Miami (Ohio) 10-5-3 308
7 Denver 12-5-3 282
8 Maine 8-4-4 247
9 Nebraska-Omaha 12-5-1 243
10 Michigan 10-5-4 195
11 Boston University 8-4-5 162
12 Notre Dame 11-6-2 156
13 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 9-4-3 124
14 Union 10-5-3 59
15 Wisconsin 10-7-3 43
Others receiving votes: University of Alaska, 22; Colorado College, 15; Merrimack College, 6; University of Minnesota, 6; Western Michigan University, 6; Ferris State University, 3; Robert Morris University, 3; Dartmouth College, 1.

I know these polls really don’t mean much because in the end the only poll(s) that matters is the RPI/PWR that is used to select the teams for the NCAA tourney. We can put Yale at the top of the polls all season long if we want but they still have to play and prove themselves in the end, I still think they are going to end up being another 2007 Clarkson that was a number one seed that got bounced from the tourney.

If there is a team that deserves some credit it would be RPI, they beat Boston University and still end up behind BU in the USA Today poll. I would also like to know why in the name of Zeus’s butt is Union still ranked in the top 15 after being swept by Western Michigan University this past weekend?

Frattin for Hobey Baker... Why not?

I think that when we start talking about candidates for the Hobey Baker Matt Frattin’s name has to be in the mix, look that the year Frattin is having (17g-8a-25pts), I would say that Frattin has been a man among boys this season. Immediately you will hear about Frattin’s checkered past, I think that’s fair, however, I think the article written by Brad Elliot Schlossman this past weekend, The Road to Redemption is the first step in the right direction because the article brings to light some information that could help sway the committee.

I the reason I think the committee can be swayed is that Matt Frattin could have taken the easy route that other players have and just signed a professional but instead he decided to get his act together and deal with his personal issues and he didn't avoid them but met them head on.

The fact that the University of North Dakota pulled Frattin’s scholarship and Matt Frattin had to pay his own way is even more impressive to me, he could have said screw this… Matt could have just signed the professional contract and taken the money and moved on to the Toronto Maple Leafs but he decided that he had some unfinished business at UND to take care of. Frattin took care of his personal issues worked his butt off to stay in shape worked on the side and went to counseling and I think that is a testament to the kind of guy that Frattin is.

I have known adults that wouldn’t have taken these steps to make things right, they would just moved on and been done with it. Frattin took the path not always traveled came back probably a better player and a better person. Like I said over on Sioux Sports; “let he who is without sin cast the first stone", life is about lessons and we learn from our mistakes and none of us are perfect. I also don’t think any of the previous Hobey Baker Memorial Candidates were either.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

This video should get you in the mood as the 2011 WJC approaches, the USA has a good chance to make more memories like this. Yesterday the USA and RPI played in an exhibition game yesterday that was won by RPI 4-3, the game went to a 12 round shootout that was won by the RPI Engineers. Here is the video to the 12 round shootout. Here is a link to the post game interviews.