Bruins last team Kessel wants see...

Toronto Globe and Mail

Wow! I would not want to be Phil Kessel right now, since being traded to the Toronto Maples Leafs from the Boston Bruins; Kessel has scored one assist against his former team in nine games, that is not very good at all for a player that has made a living scoring goals. Check out this article about Kessel in today's Toronto Globe and Mail, sounds like Phil is having a rough go at it. 

Globe and Mail ---- With reporters and cameras beginning to gather around Phil Kessel for his latest words of wisdom on Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs winger looked over at his neighbour in the dressing room and said: “They’re here for you.”

Former C.C. Tiger Joey Crabb simply grinned.

Alas, that was wishful thinking for Toronto’s notoriously withdrawn goal scorer, who again becomes the reluctant centre of attention with the Leafs facing his former team, the Bruins, in Boston on Tuesday night.

Such is the problem when you’re dealt to a division rival: You see them six times a year and it makes for an easy storyline every time you do.

“How many times have I played there?” Kessel asked as he walked away from the mass of media. “It feels like 35.”

That it’s only four speaks to just how memorable those trips have been. Kessel’s only other visit to Boston this season ended with a 2-0 Toronto loss and the Beantown fans serenading him with a mocking “Thank you,” a response to the 2009 trade that gave them three high draft picks.

Including five games at the Air Canada Centre, Kessel has now played his former team nine times, going scoreless with one assist for his worst points-per-game output against any NHL team in his 348-game career.

Making matters worse this time around is the worst goal-scoring slumps of his career. If he fails to break his current string against the Bruins, Kessel will match a career high of 15 consecutive games without a goal.

“Right now, it’s a tough stretch, I guess, to say the least,” Kessel said. “I gotta be better. I gotta figure out a way to get them in the net.”

Teammates keep an optimistic view. “It’s exciting to play with him right now,” Joffrey Lupul said of his new linemate, “because you know any one of these games he’s going to break out.”

Kessel’s apparent frustration with his coach, meanwhile, has become a cause for debate in Toronto, but it hasn’t persuaded the Leafs bench boss to limit his criticisms. Asked Monday about the continued funk the team’s highest paid forward is in, Ron Wilson didn’t hold back.

I for the life of me can’t understand why anyone would want to play hockey in Toronto. Second, I also would not want to be an American hockey player playing in Toronto either, sounds like a night mare waiting to happen. In my humble opinion Toronto fans are the worst fans, they sound like entitlement hockey fans. Third Toronto Maple Leaf's fans are very hard on their team and their favorite team's players. It seems like they are focusing extra hard on the Americans players and or players that played college hockey in the USA.

I don't see this same thing happening in Montreal where they have two Americans as their captains; Brian Gionta "C" as well as Hall Gill "A" both are Americans as well as former college hockey players.

I don’t know what the problem in Toronto is, maybe it’s because they have sucked so bad for so long and they are just scape  goating the Americans players, I remember watching the same thing when Jason Blake played for the Leafs.

Fighting Sioux Hockey WCHA playoffs series ticket packages on sale

Time to get those WCHA first round playoffs series tickets... Get your ticket so you can watch the drive for number 8.

Grand Forks Herald ---- Ticket packages for UND’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association first round playoff series will go on sale to UND students and the general public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Playoff ticket packages include tickets for all three potential games in the series.

The best-of-three series will be played at Ralph Engelstad Arena on March 11, 12 and 13 (if necessary). Game times are 7:37 p.m. on Friday, and 7:07 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday (if necessary).

Ticket packages for the series are $40 for adults, $20 for youth and $14 for UND students with a valid UND student identification card.

Public playoff ticket packages can be purchased at the UND box office at Ralph Engelstad Arena, all Ticketmaster locations, by phone at (800) 745-3000 or online at Ticketmaster.com.

David Backes vs Clayton Stoner Feb 12, 2011

What a way to end Hockey Day in Minnesota. The Minnesota boy David Backes probably bit off more than he can chew by fighting Clayton Stoner but Backes doesn't back down from a fight. Ouch!!! Cayton Stoner catches Backes in the face with a bomb.

There were a couple other fights in the game as well.

Matt D'Agostini vs Cam Barker

Cam Janssen vs Brad Staubitz

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 14, 2011]
1 Boston College (50) 21-6-0 1000 1
2 North Dakota 21-8-2 956 5
3 Yale 20-5-0 889 2
4 Denver 18-7-5 814 4
5 Minnesota-Duluth 18-6-5 774 3
6 Merrimack 19-5-4 739 11
7 Union 22-7-3 714 9
8 New Hampshire 17-7-4 606 6
9 Notre Dame 18-9-5 599 10
10 Miami 17-9-6 525 12
11 Michigan 19-9-4 517 13
12 Wisconsin 19-10-3 440 7
13 Nebraska-Omaha 18-10-2 412 16
14 Rensselaer 18-8-4 387 8
15 Boston University 14-8-7 290 14
16 Dartmouth 15-7-3 250 17
17 Western Michigan 15-7-10 236 15
18 Colorado College 17-14-1 102 19
19 Maine 12-10-6 92 18
20 Ferris State 16-12-4 61 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Rochester Institute of Technology 36, Princeton 35, Minnesota 15, Cornell 5, Robert Morris 5, Ohio State 1
____________________________________

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
Feb. 14, 2010
1. Boston College (34) 21-6-0 510 1
2. North Dakota 21-8-2 464 5
3. Yale 20-5-0 435 2
4. Denver 18-7-5 386 4
5. Merrimack 19-5-4 348 11
6. Minnesota Duluth 18-6-5 335 3
7. Union 22-7-3 334 9
8. Notre Dame 18-9-5 248 10
9. New Hamsphire 17-7-4 234 6
10. Miami (Ohio) 17-9-6 204 12
11. Michigan 19-9-4 175 13
12. Nebraska Omaha 18-10-2 129 NR
13. Wisconsin 19-1 0-3 105 7
14. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 18-8-4 101 8
15. Boston University 14-8-7 33 14
Others receiving votes: Dartmouth College, 29; Western Michigan University, 6; Rochester Institute of Technology, 4.

Check out the Goon on KNOX 1310 @3:00 PM

I will be on KNOX 1310 A.M. at 3:00 PM - 4:00 this afternoon talking about hockey with R.J. Richards you can listen to the show on this link if you don't live in Grand Forks, ND. [KNOX 1310 Click to listen]

Drew Stafford Hat Trick - 2/13 - Stafford second star of the week...

What a season Drew Stafford is having. Drew Stafford has four hat tricks this season, five for his career. Two of Drew Stafford's hat tricks have come against the Boston Bruins, one against Tampa Bay and one against the New York Islanders. Drew Stafford has been read hot has he has 8 goals in the last four games and two hat tricks in his last three games. According to Brad Schlossman Stafford now has 23 goals in 36 games. That’s 0.64 goals per game, which ranks third in the NHL behind No. 1 overall picks Sidney Crosby (0.78) and Steven Stamkos (0.71).

Drew Stafford hat trick 12/15/10

Drew Stafford hat trick 1/1/11

Stafford Scores Hat Trick In Sabres' Win on

Buffallo Sabre forward Drew Stafford named NHL second star of the week. [NHL.COM]

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for discussion purposes and this week there was a lot of movement. The Darlings from Yale are starting to tumble in the rankings.

INCH Power Rankings
[February 13, 2011]
1. Boston College
2. North Dakota 2 - In three starts for the Sioux against Alaska Anchorage, goaltender Aaron Dell is 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals against average and a .964 save percentage. 21-8-2 (16-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 6-1; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud State
3. Yale
4. Union
5. Merrimack
6. Denver
7. Minnesota Duluth
8. Miami
9. New Hampshire
10. Rensselaer
11. Michigan
12. Notre Dame
13. Nebraska-Omaha
14. Wisconsin
15. Dartmouth
16. Boston University
17. Western Michigan
18. RIT
19. Colorado College
20. Robert Morris
Dopped out: Maine
Bubble-licious: Cornell, Ferris State, Maine

Mario Lamoureux impersonates Mario Lemieux

You have got to check out the call of this goal by Mario "Lemieux" Lamoureux Scores his second goal of the season versus the UAA Seawolves on Friday the second of February 11th 2011.... In my opinion Tim Hennessey is one of the best college hockey announcers in the business.

Kyle Clifford vs Daniel Carcillo

Watching this video really makes me happy, seriously Daniel Carcillo is one biggest hacks in the NHL and watching get worked by a clown by King's rookie Kyle Clifford is something that I relish. I am really impressed with this youngster's toughness who has already been in 12 fights this season.

Scores from Saturday, February 12

ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
American Int'l 5 at Bentley 1
Army 0 at Holy Cross 6
Niagara 5 at Air Force 4 OT
Robert Morris 4 at Mercyhurst 4 OT

CCHA
Northern Michigan 6 at Michigan State 5
Alaska 2 at Lake Superior 4
Bowling Green 1 at Notre Dame 5
Western Michigan 1 at Miami 3
Ohio State 1 at Michigan 2

ECAC
Cornell 3 at Rensselaer 2 OT
Princeton 1 at Dartmouth 4
Brown 5 at St. Lawrence 1
Colgate 3 at Union 6
Yale 6 at Clarkson 3

HOCKEY EAST
Providence 3 at Massachusetts 3 OT
New Hampshire 2 at Merrimack 3 OT
Vermont 2 at Maine 4

WCHA
Bemidji State 1 at Michigan Tech 0
Denver 3 at Minnesota 7
Alaska Anchorage 1 at North Dakota 3
Minnesota State 1 at Colorado College 2
St. Cloud State 3 at Minnesota Duluth 3 OT
Wisconsin 3 at Nebraska-Omaha 4

NON CONFERENCE
Alab-Huntsville 1 at Ferris State 5

Analysis – It was another interesting night of hockey in the WCHA, the race for home ice is starting to shake out. With three weeks to go in the season before the WCHA playoffs start, the UND Fighting Sioux lead the WCHA with 32 points, Denver is second with 31 points and UMD is tied with the UNO Mavericks for third place with 30 points.

Bemidji State 1 - Michigan Tech 0 – The BSU Beavers won the Winter Carnival Crown in Houghton Michigan against the hapless MTU Huskies. BSU Sophomore Jordan George’s breakaway goal with 93 seconds left in regulation lifted the Bemidji State Beavers to a 1-0 win over Michigan Tech. The loss by the Huskies increased their winless streak to 26 games but with the tie on Friday night the MTU Huskies stopped a 18 game losing streak. The MTU Huskies have not won a hockey game since October 15, 2010. [Up North Sports]

Denver 3 – Minnesota 7 – The Minnesota Gophers beat the DU Pioneers who coming into this series had dominated the Minnesota “not so Golden Gophers” 10-1-1 in the last 12 games, so you kind of figured that something had to give and it did as the flood gates opened for the Gophers as they hung a “7” spot on the Denver’s sieves goaltenders. The Gophers chased DU starter Sam 33 seconds into the second period. There was “gasp” a fight in the game as well as John Ryder and Jake Hanson dropped the gloves and fought; or that’s how it was scored on the box score... From what I heard the fight in question was mostly two guys swinging at each other while by being separated by the WCHA buffoons officials. Note to WCHA refs and league office, if you’re going to award a player a game disqualification and a five minute major for fighting, let the players fight. [Goal Gophers], [Denver Post]

Alaska Anchorage 1 – North Dakota 3 – The UND Fighting Sioux secured home ice by sweeping the UAA Seawolves. The Sioux outscored the UAA Seawolves 9-2 and proved that the trap can be broken with speed and crisp passes. The Sioux blew by the big slow lumbering team from UAA all weekend long exploiting their lack of foot speed. The UAA goaltenders actually kept their team in the games all weekend long and if they hadn’t gotten good goaltending it would have been more lop sided. I thought that UAA goaltenders Rob Gunderson and Chris Kamal both played well in net for the Seawolves and they will only get better with experience. The Sioux with the win now sit at the top of the WCHA standings with 32 points. [Woody, ADN], [Grand Forks Herald]

Minnesota State 1 – Colorado College 2 - The Purple Mavericks and the Colorado College Tigers split a weekend series in Colorado Springs, Co. C.C. Tigers forward Tyler Johnson scored the game winning goal at the 10:40 mark of the third period to secure the split for the Tigers. [Mankato Free Press], [Colorado Springs Gazette]

St. Cloud State 3 – Minnesota Duluth 3 OT – The UMD Bulldogs came back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game and earn a point in their weekend series with the SCSU Huskies at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, MN. With the tie the Huskies are sitting in ninth place of the WCHA standings and host the UND Fighting Sioux next weekend in Saint Cloud. [Saint Cloud Times], [Rink and Run]

Wisconsin 3 – Nebraska-Omaha 4 – The Wisconsin Badgers were swept by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha, Nebraska. The Wisconsin Badgers now own an unimpressive 1-9-2 record against ranked teams. The loss also dropped the Badgers to 15th over all in the Pair Wise Rankings. With the win the UNO Mavericks are sitting in third place two points out of first in the WCHA Standings. While I have had Badger fans remind me that while UW is 1-9-2 against rank teams, a fair number of these games have been in overtime or one goal losses; [4-3 BU, 4-2 DU, 1-0 UND, 4-2 UND, 6-5 UMD O.T., 3-2 UMD O.T., 2-0 UMD, 4-1 UNO, 4-3 UNO], a loss is a loss and it counts the same in the standings whether its by 1 goal or 5 goals. Just for the record, I am not trying to bag on the Wisconsin Badgers, personally, I have a lot of respect for the Wisconsin Badgers hockey program and their coach, the fact remains is that the Badgers have struggled against team above them in the standings. The Badgers are a good young team and if they aren’t raided by the NHL next season could be one of the top teams in the WCHA next season. [Madison.com], [Omaha.com]

Sioux 3 Seawolves 1

With the win last night the UND Fighting Sioux temporarily took over top spot in the WCHA, also, the UND Fighting Sioux have clinched home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Actually, I really didn’t think that was ever in doubt, because getting home ice was basically a formality for the Fighting Sioux hockey team based on how they had played this season to date. The UND Fighting Sioux would have had to fall flat on their face and stumble pretty bad not to get home ice.

So with the Fighting Sioux clinching home ice on Saturday night for the WCHA playoffs, again, the REA and the Fighting Sioux will host a first-round WCHA home playoff series for the ninth consecutive year, which currently is the longest streak in the WCHA.

Anyone want to get the “Let's fire coach Dave Hakstol” threads going on Sioux Sports now? Nah! I didn’t think so… I am just kidding, that being said, this weekend’s series the Sioux badly out shot the UAA Seawolves by a wide margin of 78-40. The Sioux used their speed to their advantage and basically just blew by the slower Seawolves all weekend long. The way the Sioux played this past weekend against a gritty tough opponent makes me very happy. The Sioux were all over the Seawolves forwards and they no answer to the Sioux’s tenacity. The Sioux also beat the Seawolves to the puck all weekend long, they won the battles along the wall and got good opportunities in the slot all weekend long. The main thing that I was impressed with was the Fighting Sioux ability to limit turnovers in the neutral zone that lead to odd man rushes. I don’t remember a lot of odd man rushes this past weekend.

Brett Hextall reemerges

This past weekend I thought that the Gregoire, Knight Hextall line reemerged as a dominate line, they played with discipline and were creating offensive opportunities off turnovers all weekend long. One of the factors for that reemergence was the play of forward Brett Hextall who was (1g-2a-3pts) on the weekend and only had one minor penalty called against him on Friday night. The Gregoire, Knight, Hextall line had ten points on the weekend – Jason Gregoire (2g-2a-4pts), Corbin Knight (1g-2a-3tps) and Brett Hextall (1g-2a-3pts)… This line needs to keep producing if the Fighting Sioux wants to go far in the post season. If Brett Hextall can regain his scoring touch and stay out of the penalty box with disciplined play he can be an effective weapon in the Fighting Sioux arsenal.

[Box Score]

Goon’s Three Stars of the game
1.) Jason Gregoire 1g-1a-2pts
2.) Corban Knight 0g-2a-2pts
3.) Brett Hextall 1-g-1a-2pts

Links to the game

USCHO

UND Hockey Blog

Grand Forks Herald

Sioux Yeah Yeah!!!

Woody, ADN

NHL suspends Matt Martin 4 games, Sioux beat UAA 3-1

I will take a 3-1 win against a gritty defensive UAA team. It’s been a long weekend I will post a blog post tomorrow on tonight’s Fighting Sioux hockey game, it was an impressive dominating sweep this weekend and the Seawolves were never really in jeopardy of beating UND. The Fighting Sioux skated through and around the Seawolves forwards and defenders all weekend long and if it wasn't for the Seawolves goaltenders it could have been uglier. The Sioux won a gritty playoff style win against the UAA Seawolves, I think in the future this team will be heard from because they have something like 10 or 11 freshman on their team and the Seawolves compete very hard.

This suspension just came out from the NHL. Matt Martin of the Islanders has been suspended for four games for his attempted Todd Bertuzzi style attack on the Penguins' Max Talbot. I am surprised that Martin didn’t get more than four games.

NHL.COM --- The National Hockey League has suspended Pittsburgh's Eric Godard for 10 games, while Trevor Gillies of the New York Islanders received a nine-game suspension and Isles forward Matt Martin drew a four-game suspension for their actions during Friday's game on Long Island.

The disciplinary actions were announced by NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell following in-person hearings with the Islanders on Saturday evening in Buffalo, where the Isles play Sunday afternoon.

Godard drew an automatic 10-game suspension under Rule 70.11 for coming off the bench to become involved in a third-period fight after New York's Michael Haley squared off with Penguins goaltender Brent Johnson. Godard received a double minor for roughing and a double game misconduct.

Gillies was suspended for leveling Pittsburgh's Eric Tangradi with an elbow and throwing several punches to his head in an incident that led to the Haley-Johnson fight, earning a major penalty and a game misconduct. Tangradi left the game with concussion symptoms.

Martin was suspended as a result of delivering several punches from behind to an unsuspecting opponent, the Penguins' Max Talbot, during the second period. He received a major for fighting and a game misconduct.

Gillies will lose $24,193.53 in salary; Martin will forfeit $41,585.36 as a repeat offender; and Godard will lose $40,322.25.

"The actions by the Islanders' Gillies and Martin were deliberate attempts to injure by delivering blows to the head of players who were unsuspecting and unable to defend themselves," Campbell said in a statement issued by the NHL. "The message should be clear to all players: targeting the head of an opponent by whatever means will be dealt with by suspension.

Scores from 2/11/2011

Atlantic Hockey Association
Army 1 at Holy Cross 5
Bentley 3 at American Int'l 2
Canisius 0 at RIT 3
Connecticut 4 at Sacred Heart 2
Mercyhurst 2 at Robert Morris 3
Niagara 2 at Air Force 3

CCHA
Alaska 2 at Lake Superior 2 OT
Bowling Green 1 at Notre Dame 2
Ohio State 2 at Michigan 3
Western Michigan 3 at Miami 3 OT
Northern Michigan 4 at Michigan State 2

ECAC
Brown 1 at Clarkson 4
Colgate 2 at Rensselaer 1 OT
Cornell 0 at Union 4
Princeton 4 at Harvard 4 OT
Quinnipiac 1 at Dartmouth 3
Yale 2 at St. Lawrence 3

Hockey East
Boston College 3 at Providence 0
Merrimack 4 at New Hampshire 2
Northeastern 3 at UMass Lowell 2 OT
Vermont 7 at Maine 2
Boston University 4 at Massachusetts 3 OT

WCHA
Bemidji State 2 at Michigan Tech 2 OT
Denver 2 at Minnesota 1
Alaska Anchorage 1 at North Dakota 6
Minnesota State 5 at Colorado College 1
Wisconsin 1 at Nebraska-Omaha 4
St. Cloud State 8 at Minnesota Duluth 2

Non Conference
Alab-Huntsville 2 at Ferris State 5

Analysis – It was wild night of college hockey in the WCHA.

Bemidji State 2 - Michigan Tech 2 OT – The Michigan Tech Huskies are flirting with history and it’s not what I would classify as being positive. The hapless Huskies haven’t won a hockey game since October 15th and extended their winnless streak to 25 games. The Huskies have only won one game all season in WCHA play. With the tie last night the Beavers record is now 10-14-3 overall and 6-12-3 in the WCHA play. The hapless Michigan Tech Huskies sport an unimpressive 3-22-4 record overall and 1-18-2 record in WCHA play. [Up North Sports Report]

Denver 2 - Minnesota 1 – Jason Zucker scored the game-winning goal of the 4:01 mark of the third period to lead the Pioneers over the not so Golden Gophers 2-1. The Gophers with the loss are looking more like a team that is going to be on the road for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. If the playoffs started today the Gophers who are currently are sitting in 8th place would have to travel to Omaha to face the UNO Mavericks, a team that swept them earlier in the season. The moral victory of the night was that the Gopher out shot the Pioneers 37-30. With the loss the Gophers' record drops to 11-12-4 overall and 8-10-3 in WCHA play. Gopher fans are lining up with pitch forks and rakes and calling for the head of Gopher head coach Don Lucia. The not so Golden Gophers are now winless sporting a 0-3-1 record in their past four games. The Denver Pioneers with the win improved to 18-6-5 and lead the WCHA with a 14-4-3 record. [Goal Gophers], [Denver Post]

Alaska Anchorage 1 - North Dakota 6 – The Fighting Sioux used their speed and blew by the UAA Seawolves all night long like the Seawolves were a big slow lumbering team. It will be interesting to see if the Seawolves make adjustments to their game plan tonight after being beat soundly on Friday Night. With the loss the UAA Seawolves sit in 6th place of the WCHA standings tied with the C.C. Tigers. The Seawolves record is 10-14-3 overall and 9-12-2 in WCHA play. With the win the Fighting Sioux are 20-8-2 and 15-6-0 and sit in second place all alone. With the win head coach Dave Hakstol's teams have won 20 games seven consecutive seasons in a row. [Doyle Woody, ADN]

Minnesota State 5 at Colorado College 1 – The Colorado College Tigers have give up five or more goals in three of the last four games. With the loss the C.C. Tigers are sitting in 6th place of the WCHA. The4 Tigers are 16-14-1 overall and 10-11-0 in WCHA play. The Mavericks with the win improve to 13-12-6 and 7-12-4 and are tied for 9th place with the SCSU Huskies. According to the C.C. beat writer injured freshman Jaden Schwartz will probably join the Tigers in practice next week, that could be good news for the Tigers. [Puckato], [Eye of the Tigers]

Wisconsin 1 - Nebraska-Omaha 4 – The Mavericks beat the Wisconsin Badgers and now sit in fourth place of the WCHA standings with a 13-6-2 record in WCHA play and a 17-10-2 record overall. The Omaha newspaper head line says that the Mavs upset No. 7 Badgers, 4-1, which is misleading because with the loss tonight the Badgers have a 1-8-2 record against ranked teams. The two teams played in front of a record crowd 15,137 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska. The two team play game two tonight. With the loss the Badgers fall to 19-9-3 overall and have a 11-8-2 record in WCHA play and sit in 5th place. [Madison.com], [Omaha.com]

St. Cloud State 8 - Minnesota Duluth 2 – In the battle of the dogs the SCSU Huskies spanked the UMD Bulldogs 8-2 in front of a stunned home crowd at Amsoil Arena and showed that the SCSU Huskies aren’t ready to roll over and give up the fight just yet. The Bulldogs sieves goaltenders Kenny Reiter (9 saves, 3 goals); Aaron Crandall (11 saves, 5 goals) had a rough night as both goalies combined to give up 8 goals on 28 shots. Huskies sieve goaltender Mike Lee got the win in net for the SCSU Huskies. According to Kevin Pates the beat writer for the UMD Bulldogs; this was the first time UMD had allowed eight goals since the Bulldogs were spanked 8-3 by the UND Fighting Sioux in November of 2007. With the loss the Bulldogs are now in 3rd place in the WCHA standings with a record of 13-5-3 and sport a 18-6-4 record overall. The Huskies with the win sit in 9th place tied with the MSU-M Mavericks with 8-11-2 record in WCHA play and 12-14-3 overall. [Rink and Run], [SC Times]

Sioux skate past the Seawolves 6-1

The UAA Seawolves are big tough team that focuses on defense first and are very difficult to play against, the Seawolves also have a tendency to play a very boring brand of hockey. I say this because one might have witnessed this when the UAA Seawolves played the Minnesota Golden Gophers two weeks ago in Minneapolis as the Seawovles beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers 1-0 in defensive battle. The game was about as fun as watching paint dry and was a tad bit of a snorer.

Earlier in the week I had said that the Fighting Sioux needed to get the lead early on the Seawolves and open the game up, because I didn’t feel that the Seawolves are as deep up front as the Fighting Sioux and they would have a hard time keeping up with the Sioux’s speed. This is exactly what happened tonight and the Seawolves were a step behind all night and didn’t have an answer for the Fighting Sioux’s speed through the neutral zone.

The Sioux blew by the Seawolves all night long through the neutral zone and proved the best way to beat the trap is to use their speed and just skate by the defenders going up along the wall. That pretty much what the Fighting Sioux did all night long.

The Fighting Sioux got going in the first period and scored two goals 17 seconds apart before the game was seven minutes old and Sioux raced past the Seawolves for a 6-1 win. Mario Lamoureux scored his second goal of the season and continued his streak of when Marios scores a goal for the Fighting Sioux they are undefeated, they have not lost a game when he scores a goal.

It was fun watching the Sioux stretch the Seawolves defense with crisp smart passes, it look like the tortoise chasing a rabbit all night long... The Sioux also keep the turnovers to a minimum, hence, not giving the Seawolves a lot of opportunities to score goals. The one turnover the Sioux had in the offensive zone ended up trickling over the goal line off of the stick of UAA's Matt Bailey.

With the win tonight UND Fighting Sioux hockey coach Dave Hakstol reached the 20 win plateau for a the seventh season in a row. UND is all alone in 2nd place in the WCHA standings with a 15-6-0 and is 20-8-2 overall.

Goon's three stars of the game

1.) Matt Frattin, UND 1g-2a-3pts
2.) Derek Forbort, UND 0g-2a-2pts
3.) Aaron Dell, UND 1 goal against

Links

[Box Score]

FightingSioux.com

USCHO

Delusions of Grandeur

UND hockey Blog

Penguins and Islanders line brawl...

This might end up being a suspension for the islander player Matt Martin's as he attempts to sucker punch Maxime Talbot. I am not sure if he Martin caught him or not. This in my opinion is a violation of the hockey code. I also wouldn't class Maxime Talbot a dirty player or worthy of a response like this.

UAA and UND Lines - Taylor Dickin to start tonight

Brad Schlossman has posted the lines for tonight's game and Freshman Taylor Dickin will be making his first start in a Sioux jersey and he will wear number 14. Dickin was an All Star in the MJHL so he does come with some impressive junior hockey numbers.

UND’s lines

19 Evan Trupp–22 Brad Malone–21 Matt Frattin
17 Jason Gregoire–10 Corban Knight–26 Brett Hextall
14 Taylor Dickin–29 Brock Nelson–27 Carter Rowney
15 Brent Davidson–9 Mario Lamoureux–11 Derek Rodwell

2 Andrew MacWilliam–25 Jake Marto
4 Derek Forbort–24 Ben Blood
3 Derrick LaPoint–20 Joe Gleason

32 Aaron Dell
31 Brad Eidsness

[UND Stats]

UAA Seadog's Lines

16 Tommy Grant–20 Alex Gellert–27 Sean Wiles
19 Nick Haddad–21 Matt Bailey–12 Mitch Bruijsten
5 Justin Kirchhevel–40 Daniel Naslund–7 Brett Cameron
36 Jade Portwood–14 Craig Parkinson–18 Chris Crowell

8 Scott Warner–23 Luka Vidmar
3 Wes McLeod–15 Brad Gorham
11 Curtis Leinweber–26 Tyler Currier

35 Chris Kamal
33 Rob Gunderson

[UAA Stats]

Check out the Goon on KNOX 1310 @3:30 PM - Blais on the BTHC

First off I will be on KNOX 1310 A.M. at 3:30 PM - 4:30 this afternoon talking about hockey with R.J. Richards you can listen to the show on this link if you don't live in Grand Forks, ND. [KNOX 1310 Click to listen]

Breaking News

Dean Blais just fired a missile across the bow of the Big Ten Hockey Conference. This author has been on record of being against a BTHC because I think it’s going to do a lot of damage to the CCHA and possibly to college hockey as a whole, there are schools barely hanging on by a thread. The BTHC is being driven by the Big Ten athletic directors that want make more money for their schools by showing more hockey games on their Big Ten television network, I would really like to know what is stopping them. By all means show more college hockey on the BTN. I would really like to know what is stopping you from showing more hockey hockey now. I don't by this argument that you need to have a BTHC conference to make more money off of the BTN.

I want to applaud Coach Blais, is saying what a lot of other have been saying about the Big Ten Hockey Conference. Since Blais is saying it, this become more credible because Blais is a college hockey coaching legend and a future hall of fame hockey coach. Check out this article by Tom Shatel of the World Herald newspaper.

WORLD-HERALD ---- UNO coach Dean Blais — a Minnesota alum — is staunchly on the side that says this would be a bad deal and could “ruin’’ college hockey.

“It’s a TV issue,’’ Blais said. “There’s money. The big schools have money and they want a lot more. Is it good for college hockey? We’ll see.’’

Blais’ point: The cost of starting this mega made-for-TV league would come at the expense of the “little guys,’’ especially in the WCHA and CCHA.

There are 58 schools that play Division I men’s hockey. College hockey is not cheap. Many Mid-American Conference-level schools depend on the revenue from home games with Michigan or Wisconsin or Michigan State. If those teams don’t come around anymore, and hockey became too expensive, how many of those schools would drop the sport?

“It wouldn’t hurt Omaha, we’re going to be fine,’’ Blais said. “But this division could hurt certain teams. It would give an administration an excuse to drop hockey.’’

To ease that pain, the Big Ten apparently is working on a plan in which the Big Ten schools from the WCHA and CCHA would continue to schedule some teams in those leagues as nonconference games. But they couldn’t play everyone in their former leagues.

And, let’s face it, if Wisconsin has to play Murderer’s Row in the Big Ten, it’s not going to play North Dakota, Denver and UNO on the side.

“What pod are we in? Who are we going to play?’’ Blais said. “You have to think about the good of college hockey. Do the fans of Minnesota want to see North Dakota come in there and Omaha and Duluth? Absolutely. Do they care about Michigan and Ohio State? No.

“For Wisconsin to lose North Dakota, that’s their No. 1 rival. That would be terrible. And now that Miami is up there, people in Ann Arbor would rather see Miami now than Wisconsin or Minnesota.’’

Blais also makes this point: Most of the schools in a Big Ten hockey league are used to making the NCAA tournament, but that league would get only one or two bids as the teams beat up on each other.

“College hockey right now is pretty solid,’’ Blais said. “We’re third, I think, in the NCAA in revenue-producing. Are we going to jeopardize that, as a body? Minnesota and Wisconsin probably make $4 million to $5 million a year in hockey because of their buildings. If you give them $7 million, does that matter? They already have so much money. Is it worth the extra money to ruin college hockey?’’

There is some blogger from PSU that believes I am a hater when it comes to everything Penn State University. It’s not about that at all, college hockey is bigger than the Big Ten Hockey Conference and it’s bigger than some school that doesn’t even have a division one hockey program yet. Some people are missing the point in a very big way. College hockey is about the small schools beating the big schools on the ice; David versus Goliath. In college hockey there are many schools that are Division II or Division III in all their other sports. These schools also use these games against the Big Ten schools to pad their bottom line and put butts in their stands and make money.

College Hockey is one of the few sports were a team from Sault Sainte Marie can beat a team from Ann Harbor, Madison, East Lansing or South Bend. College hockey has to be very careful to no upset the delicate balance that has been created. Six Big Ten Schools could irreparable damage to the rest of college hockey for the sole purpose of greed and making more money. Maybe we all need to take a deep breath and work this out like adults.

Over on Goal Gophers, Chris Miller and Roman Augustoviz make their predictions for this weekend's series between the Seapuppies and the Fighting Sioux.

Alaska Anchorage at North Dakota

Chris: As long as I’m pumping up sportswriters, I got to say Doyle Woody of the Anchorage Daily News used to have quite the gig back when the ADN traveled with the Seapuppies, as far as frequent flyer miles go. As I recall, Doyle also missed a lot of flights thanks to his enjoyment of the WCHA night life, often returning to his hotel room long after the 4 a.m. wakeup call, but I would never say that publicly in case Doyle has a good lawyer.

In Duluth, we used to convene at the “smoke-free” Pioneer Bar and, in true journalistic style, Doyle met the future Mrs. Woody there one night when she was working for the News-Trombone. They are now happily married and, quite honestly, Doyle still has a ton of frequent flyer miles so after the season he’s always jetting off to Bora-Bora or some tropical locale. Enough insight about Anchorage, though.

North Dakota had last weekend off to watch Christina Aguilera screw up a song that most of us learned in kindergarten, so they’ll be rested and ready to sweep. If not, Dave Hakstol should be fired and replaced by Dean Blais. ... Sioux sweep

Roman: UAA has won three in a row, beating the Gophers 1-0 at Mariucci and Michigan Tech 4-1 and 4-2 in the Sully. The Seawolves' neutral zone trap or four-man picket fence at its blue line can hamper opponents. Tech was held to under 20 shots in both losses. But the Sioux smell another title. They are only one point back of UMD and Denver, tied for first place in the WCHA so ... A Sioux win and a tie

UND and UAA match up courtesy of CHN

Tale of the Tape

Alaska-Anchorage vs. North Dakota / February 12, 2011

	Alaska-Anchorage	North Dakota
Record	10-13-3	19-8-2
Head-to-Head	0-0-1	0-0-1
Goals	62 / 2.38	106 / 3.66
Goals Against	77 / 2.96	72 / 2.48
Power Play	15.9%	20.3%
Penalty Kill	81.0%	84.2%
Avg. Height / Weight	6' 0.25" / 188.64 lbs.	6' 0.58" / 194.85 lbs.
Avg. Age	22y 3m	21y 8m
Coach	Dave Shyiak	Dave Hakstol
Latest Results	2/05 vs. Michigan Tech ... 4-2 W 2/04 vs. Michigan Tech ... 4-1 W 1/29 at Minnesota ... 1-0 W 1/28 at Minnesota ... 1-5 L	1/29 at Colorado College ... 6-0 W 1/28 at Colorado College ... 2-4 L
Injuries	Andrew Pickering (head)	Chay Genoway (lower body) Danny Kristo (frostbite)
Team Scoring Leaders
	T. Grant 10-13-23 M. Bailey 8-9-17 J. Kwas 4-13-17 C. Parkinson 7-8-15 M. Bruijsten 8-5-13	M. Frattin 21-10-31 C. Knight 12-16-28 B. Malone 9-16-25 C. Genoway 6-19-25 E. Trupp 11-14-25
Team Goaltenders
	R. Gunderson 6-10-2 2.72 C. Kamal 4-3-1 2.97	A. Dell 18-6-1 2.07 B. Eidsness 1-2-1 4.56
More Info
Radio	650 AM KENI	KQHT 96.1 FM
	Netcast	Netcast
	Roster	Roster
	Stats	Stats
	Schedule	Schedule
Recent Team vs. Team Result History

Is there a Colin Campbell conspiracy?

www.montrealgazette.com/sports

Apparently the Montreal media was less than amused with watching the Montreal Canadians get their asses handed to them last night in Boston. If you don’t want to get into a fight, do not lock up with a tough guy that has a reputation of pummeling guys who makes his living with his fists. This article is highly entertaining and worth a look. The author also suggests that there is a conspiracy by Colin Campbell to look the other when his son commits a questionable and egregious act on the ice. My first follow up question would be who determines what is considered egregious and questionable?

Montreal Gazette ---- There was no supplemental discipline coming from the NHL Thursday, hardly surprising given the fact the league probably couldn’t organize a haircut at a skinhead convention.

Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin wasn’t willing to discuss the provocative final-minute use by Bruins counterpart Claude Julien of his roster’s foil fists with the game’s result by then well decided.

That resulted in the pummelling by Boston’s Johnny Boychuk of pacifist Habs defenceman Jaroslav Spacek, the chasing around by Shawn Thornton of rearguard Roman Hamrlik, and the bloodying of Montreal forward Tom Pyatt by Gregory Campbell, the ankles-sharpened son of NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell.

Photos of the Pyatt-Campbell scrap show the latter clearly having nearly lost his left elbow pad, which is hanging from his arm and essentially being used as a tethered weapon.

In hand-to-hand combat, Pyatt was badly over matched by a player who has 10.7 penalty minutes for each of his NHL goals. But in this case, he was cannon fodder.

Leaving Thursday’s morning skate, a box lunch in hand and a baseball cap tugged low on his head, Pyatt wore a blue-black shiner beneath his right eye and had seven small stitches zippered high into his right cheekbone.

This article also suggests the same Colin Campbell conspiracy theory as well. Same Montreal newspaper of course. Maybe it's just a Montreal Gazette thing? Of course they aren’t going to be amused because their team was taken to the wood shed last night and exposed for being a bunch of pansies. Last night Hab's Punk P.K. Subban was yapping at the Bruins all night long while hiding behind the refs.

While the game featured the silliest fight of the year between goaltenders Carey Price and Tim Thomas, there were others that fell into the gratuitous violence category. There was Johnny Boychuk who kept beating on Jaroslav Spacek even after the Canadiens defenceman had stopped fighting, and Gregory Campbell who used his elbow pads as weapons against Tom Pyatt. It’s the sort of action that the NHL should be compelled to look into but, then again, the guy who handles discipline for the NHL is Colin Campbell, who is Gregory’s proud dad.

While we’re on the subject of the way the NHL views fighting, it’s ironic that it has taken a hard line on shots to the head, but doesn’t have any problem when Brent Johnson rearranges Rick DiPietro’s face with a left hook. That incident was on Thomas’s mind as he faced Price, but the Canadiens goalie had the grace not to press the advantage when he landed on top of Thomas after a graceless - and punchless - waltz. [Read the whole article here]

Me personally, I don't think there is a Colin Campbell conspiracy but I am a Boston Bruins fans so I might not be seeing it from a Hab's fan perspective, I have seen a lot more egregious thuggery and other questionable stuff go unpunished by Colin Campbell. Puck Daddy seemed to be hinting at this conspiracy as well .   I do think the Hab's were exposed last night as being a bit soft. I do think we will see other teams playing Canadians in a physical manner.

Thursday afternoon pontifications

In looking at this video posted above, it's like watching two games with in a game. This is the video from the Kendall Hockey Classic, tournament the Sioux played in back in October, while it was at the beginning of the season, it should serve as a reminder for the Fighting Sioux. The UND Fighting Sioux raced to a 5-1 lead and then ended up hanging on for a 5-5 tie, the Sioux almost lost that game in the overtime period. I hope that the Fighting Sioux do not take this Seawolves team lightly, they are big, physical team and they will come at you and they will play the body. This team is not a bunch of pansies that are afraid to hit, beware of Jade Portwood.

If the Seawolves get a lead on the Fighting Sioux they will back into the defensive zone and play a collapsing defense. The Seawolves are one of the biggest teams in division 1 hockey so they will be a hard team to get inside the dots on. The Sioux are going to have to cash in on their opportunities… The Fighting Sioux are a deeper team offensively and they are going to have to use their speed to capitalize on the Seawolves mistakes and burry the turnovers. The Fighting Sioux are going to have to get a lead and to cause the Seawolves to have to open up their game.

Listen to Gopher Puck Lives' Ryan Cardinal and P.A. on KFAN on [click to listen]

Delusions of Grandeur has a preview to the Sioux and Sea Dogs series. It was amazing that he was able to write a blog post free of profanity.

The Fighting Sioux Hockey team had five of their players recognized for their academic achievements. This was the fourth year in a row that Chay Genoway has made the list.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Senior defenseman Chay Genoway was named a four-time recipient of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Scholar-Athlete Award today, highlighting North Dakota's five recipients of the league's highest academic honor.

UND's other honorees include Tded two-time recipients Brad Eidsness (Jr., Chestermere, Alberta) and Derrick LaPoint (Sr., Eau Claire, Wis.) and first-time recipients Brett Bruneteau (So., Omaha, Neb.) Tate Maris (So., Denver, Colo.).

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

The playoff picture is starting to take shape with only four more weekends to go in the regular season. We have all 12 teams in league games this weekend again. The top 5 teams are separated by only 5 points. Also 6th place thru 11th place is only separated by 6 points. It looks like the last home ice playoff spot will come down to the last weekend of play, the way things are going. MTU is the first team to be eliminated from home ice contention. The most points Tech can end with is 19, and that would require them to win their last 8 games. The Sioux look to have the “easiest” schedule down the stretch, they do not playing any of the current top teams in the WCHA. (UND schedule has series with UAA, @ SCSU, BSU, and @ MTU to finish out the regular season.)

We at Goon’s World are still hoping Kristo will make a full recovery from his frostbite, keep going Danny.

WCHA standings

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. Denver………….....……13-4-3…29
1. Minnesota-Duluth.....13-4-3…29
3. North Dakota…….….14-6-0…28
4. Nebraska-Omaha…..12-6-2…26
5. Wisconsin……...….…11-7-2…24
6. Colorado College…10-10-0…20
6. Alaska-Anchorage….9-11-2…20
8. Minnesota……….……8-9-3…19
9. Minnesota State……6-12-4…16
9. St. Cloud State….....7-11-2…16
11. Bemidji State……….6-12-2…14
12. Michigan Tech………1-18-1…3

WCHA

#7 Wisconsin @ #16 Nebraska-Omaha
Last weekend the Badgers enjoyed a free weekend and the Mavericks swept with the SCSU Huskies in Omaha.

This should be the marquee matchup this week in the WCHA. These teams are separated by only 2 points in the standings. This will be a battle to take possession of 4th place and keep pace on the league leaders. The Badgers and the Mavericks have played 5 times before this weekend, with Bucky winning all 5 times. The Badgers are leading the league in defense, giving up a league low 41 goals. The Mavericks are 3rd in the league with goals scored at 67 (trailing DU and UND with 70 each). Buck also have done well this year away from the Kohl Center posting an overall road record of 5-3-2, and the Mavericks have a 10-3-1 overall record at the Qwest Center in Omaha. The Badgers are red hot going 12-1-0 in their last 13 games, but they can’t look past UNO and to the Gophers next weekend. We’ll see what the Mavericks are made of the next month, after UW, they go to UAA, host DU, and finish up at UMD. With a schedule like that, they could easily end up in a fight for a home ice spot. SPLIT

#4 Denver @ Minnesota
Last weekend the Pioneers split with the CC Tigers and the Golden Gophers got a point against the Bulldogs in Duluth.

The Pioneers are owners of a 5-4-3 overall road record this season and the Gophers sport a 6-7-1 overall home record. The Gophers are in need of points, if they don’t want to travel the second weekend in March. DU has gone 6-3-1 in their last ten games, while the Gophers 3-4-3 in their last ten games. I watched both Gopher games last weekend, and they showed some resolve in their games against UMD. They also showed some defensive lapses too. This year’s Gopher’s season is shaping up to be like their last 3 seasons, where home ice is decided that last weekend. Like they say, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” I think that desperation will get them some points this weekend. SPLIT

Bemidji State @ Michigan Tech
Last weekend the Beavers split with the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato and the Huskies were swept by the Seawolves in Anchorage.

The Beavers can seal the Huskies fate this weekend. If BSU can sweep the hapless Huskies, MTU will be locked into the bottom spot. The Beavers have played better since the Christmas break, they are 5-4-1 overall over that span. BSU has seen overtime in 4 of their last 6 games. The Huskies are still winless since October 15th, this weekend is looking the best for MTU to get another win this season. After the Beavers, the Tech-sters play, DU, UM, and UND. This could be Tech’s weekend, the Beavers have scored only 44 goals in league play (2.20/game) and Tech has 36 goals (1.8/game) in the WCHA. With what could theoretically be a couple of 2-1 games, the Huskies have hopes of winning. SPLIT

Alaska-Anchorage @ #5 North Dakota
Last weekend the Seawolves swept the MTU Huskies in Anchorage and the Sioux were on a bye weekend.

The Seawolves keep their dream of hosting a first round playoff series alive with a sweep of MTU. But this weekend, they have a much taller order, the 5th ranked Sioux, in Grand Forks. These teams met once this season back in October, in Anchorage at the Kendall Classic, where the teams skated to a tie. The Sioux will be missing a couple of key players this weekend, forward Danny Kristo (frostbite) and their captain, d-man Chay Genoway. Fortunately for the Sioux have great depth this and should be able to manage this weekend. All the Sioux players had last week to rest up and get healthy, and now should be ready to start the stretch run. If UND isn’t rusty on Friday from the break and come to play they should be able to take care of business. SIOUX SWEEP

Minnesota State @ #19 Colorado College
Last weekend the Mavericks split with the BSU Beavers in Mankato and the Tigers split with the Pioneers in a home-and-home series.

These teams met back in October with the teams splitting that series, MSUM 5-4, and CC 1-0 in the rematch. The Mavericks will be down to four league games, after this series, so they direly need points if they want to climb into the 6-spot and host a playoff series. The Tigers are currently tied for the last home ice spot, with UAA, but have two games in hand on the Seawolves (and MSUM). The Tigers could assure the Mavericks a bottom half finish, if they can sweep them at World Arena. CC played their arch-rivals tough last weekend, so they proved they can play with the big boys, but they have also lost to lesser teams. SPLIT

St. Cloud St. @ #3 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Huskies were swept by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha and the Bulldogs got 3-points against the Gophers in Duluth.

The Bulldogs are slowly breaking in their new Amsoil Arena, they are 2-2-1 in their new home and are 9-3-1 overall at home this season. The Huskies are 4-6-0 overall away from the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud (3-1-0 at neutral sites). The Huskies need help if they want to host a first round playoff game, which is a long shot when looking at the schedule they face. SCSU had high hopes to start the season, and most coaches and the media thought that SCSU would be a MacNaughton Cup contender this season. Now they can play spoiler role. By getting some points over the last month they can try and avoid a bottom 3 finish and avoid playing the “big boys” in the first round. The Bulldogs will get home, barring some type of historic meltdown. UMD is a puck possession team, so if SCSU wants to win, they need to play keep-away with the Bulldogs. UMD’s weakness appears to be their defensive zone coverage, followed by their net minders. The Huskies need to exploit these aspects if they want some points. SPLIT.

Coach Hakstol unhappy with the distraction

Check out coach Hakstol’s response when asked about Danny Kristo’s frostbite. If you watch coach Hakstol’s body language you can tell that he is not very happy to have to be dealing with this situation in the playoff stretch drive. Coach Hakstol said that he is unhappy with the distraction that has been created for our team at this time of year.

Bruins and Habs brawl

Bruins beat up the Habs and beat them 8-6 on the score board

If you didn't see this game tonight, watch this video by NESN, it was amazing, oh my!!! What a game tonight. There was a lot of goals tonight 14 and a there were a lot of fights as well, there were 187 192 minutes in penalties minutes. Wow! This is the way the Boston Bruins need to play to be successful, they need to show the opposition that they will not be pushed around and that they will push back, last week they beat the hell out of Dallas Stars and the Bruins won the battles tonight as well. The big bad Bruins are back. This blurb by NESN.COM really explains it pretty good.

"We're on opposing team but we spent some time together at a hockey camp a few summers ago and we were just at the All-Star Game together," Thomas said. "We're on friendly terms. It was business, but once business is done, it's done."

It wasn't done for the rest of the players though. Another melee saw David Krejci and Benoit Pouliot break away from the pack and square off, only to have Krejci dropped with a big punch. Andrew Ference and Travis Moen later exchanged blows in a spirited scrap, and while that was being broken up three other fights broke out simultaneously.

The Bruins had the decided edge in each of those bouts, with Shawn Thornton fighting through the refs to pound on Roman Hamrlik after a shot from Hamrlik ignited that powder keg. Johnny Boychuk worked over Jaraslav Spacek and Greg Campbell won a one-sided decision over Tom Pyatt during the same line brawl.

Between the punchups, the goals came fast and furious, with Boston matching a season-high output with eight goals to make it a truly enjoyable evening for the Bruins faithful.

Goalie Fight - Carey Price vs Tim Thomas

Redwing77's favorite Habs goalie Carey Price got into an alleged fight tonight with all world Bruins goalie Timmy Thomas. While they called it a fight in the box score this looked more like a dance among friends if you ask me. Here is the penalties from the scrum [Box Score]
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Brian Gionta : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL James Wisniewski : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Max Pacioretty : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 MTL Carey Price served by Roman Hamrlik : Goalie leave crease - 2 min
12:36 MTL Carey Price served by Roman Hamrlik : Fighting (maj) - 5 min
12:36 BOS Mark Recchi : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand served by Shawn Thornton : Charging - 2 min
12:36 BOS Brad Marchand : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Zdeno Chara : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Steven Kampfer : Roughing - 2 min
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas served by Patrice Bergeron : Goalie leave crease - 2 min
12:36 BOS Tim Thomas served by Patrice Bergeron : Fighting (maj) - 5 min

Hump Day thoughts - 3201 and a few other things

I know a lot of my fellow Sioux fans don’t like Kevin Gorg but he did have a lot of nice things to say about the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team at about 7:00 Minutes in on the P.A. show on KFAN. Personally, while Kevin Gorg is a homer (He is from Minnesota) I think he is a great college and NHL Hockey Mind. [Click to listen]

Wisconsin Badgers defenseman Jake Gardiner rights were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Anaheim Ducks before he ever laced up the skates. [TSN.COM] Check out the comments from the Canadian fans about American players as well.

Brad Schlossman had this on his blog today. This would be very good news if this happens to come to fruition. I would love to see the Sioux play the Eagles and or Michigan in our house.

I’ve tried for over a month now to get official confirmation on this, but have been unable to. That’s probably because no contracts have been signed, so nobody wants to talk. But I’ve gotten extremely strong indications from several people that UND is going to be hosting the Ice Breaker to open next season with a big-time lineup of Boston College, Michigan and Air Force coming to town.

The Ice Breaker, which is awarded by the American Hockey Commissioners Association, usually puts together stellar lineups like this year’s in St. Louis, which featured Wisconsin, Boston University, Notre Dame and Holy Cross. The Sioux last played in it two years ago at Boston University along with Michigan State and UMass.

Penguins’ hack gets flimsy four game suspension

I know we have covered this subject a lot here but I really think that Matt Cooke needs to be suspended more than four games, his latest suspension is a friggen joke and a travesty. This was an opportunity for the NHL to throw the book at this P.O.S. and make a statement that they will no longer tolerate this kind of crap anymore, they let him off the hook with a flimsy four game suspension.

Hey I don't have a problem with players being a pest and it’s one thing to be a antagonize but Cooke goes way beyond the what should be considered ethical behavior on the ice. In looking around the internet today there is a common theme among the fans and bloggers, Matt Cooke needs to sit and there needs to be some teeth to his suspension, maybe a lengthy 15-20 game suspension. Cooke’s four game suspensions is a joke and is basically the league condoning his behavior. Cooke tried to take Ovenchkin’s knee out earlier this week, now this. The next time Cooke commits another dirty hit or bush league the league needs to make it hurt.

NHL.COM --- Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins was suspended four games by the NHL on Wednesday for hitting Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Fedor Tyutin from behind Tuesday night, according to Nick Kypreos of Rogers Sportsnet.

I have to agree with Don Cherry that Matt Cooke is a back stabbing piece of _________. We don’t need to put it down here because you know I mean. If you think I am over blowing this go back and watch this video, this is the kind of player Matt Cooke is, in my opinion Cooke is a text book definition of thuggery and goonery. [Click to watch]<<<--Watch this video it's a great historical breakdown of Cooke's antics.

Today on XM-204 Jeremy Roenick called Matt Cooke a chicken shit. [Click to listen]

Drew Stafford's big night.

Former Fighting Sioux forward and Buffalo Sabre Drew Stafford has three hat tricks this season (two against the Boston Bruins) and has been on a terror scoring 17 goals in the last 22 games. Stafford as scored 5 goals in the last two games, that's an amazing pace. [Watch all three of Staffords goals]

Matt Cooke's bush league hit on Fedor Tyutin

Matt Cooke is up to no good again. It's becoming a nightly thing, every game he plays in, Matt Cooke doing something questionable. The other night he was kneeing Ovechkin. Eventually the league has to throw the book at this gutless puke. Where is Evander Kane when you need him? Some will argue that Fedor Tyutin had this coming because he turned his back to Matt Cooke at the last moment and put himself in a vulnerable position. Fortunately, the P.O.S Cooke was tossed from the game for this hit. Props to Tyutin's team mate Derick Brassard for challenging Matt Cooke to a fight for his hit on Tyutin.

Milan Mikhalek hit on Keith Ballard

Check out this hit by the Senators Milan Mikhalek on former Gopher and current Vancouver Canucks forward Keith Ballard, the hit caused an injury to Ballard's leg and he will probably be out of action for 2-4 weeks. From looking at the video it would appear to be a slew foot. What do you think?

Tuesday Linkorama – shuffling through the B.S.

There is a lot of news in college hockey this week. It’s the dog days of winter, no pun intended since three of our teams in the WCHA are named after dogs, Huskies (X2) and Bulldogs. The Huskies (X2) aren’t having very good seasons but the Bulldogs are coming off a three point weekend against the not so Golden Gophers. Mike Connolly had a magical night in Duluth as he lit the lamp 5 times. s/t Ciskie blog

Contrary to what Delusions of Grandeur says the story that he has linked on his blog was an A.P story that was posted on the Herald site and was not what was printed in the Grand Forks Herald. Hell, let’s not let facts get in the way of a good blog post. His latest dissertation is really a piece of work as well. If the state of North Dakota is so bad, why do I see a humongous boat parade every fall from Minnesota?

delusions of grandeur - a delusion (common in paranoia) that you are much greater and more powerful and influential than you really are delusion, psychotic belief - (psychology) an erroneous belief that is held in the face of evidence to the contrary megalomania - a psychological state characterized by delusions of grandeur

Chuck Schwartz from 60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets has his latest addition of Bracketology up and he has the Sioux in St Louis playing the BU Terriers followed by the winner of the DU and Notre Dame game. That would be a region of death in my opinion.

Without a Peer has the Fighting Sioux out east playing in Manchester as a number two seed against Michigan with the winner getting WMU and or University of no hardware UNH. Personally unless UND stumbles down the stretch I see UND finishing as a one seed and not a two seed playing out east. Just my humble opinion, but you never know with the NCAA.

According to Mike Chambers DU's freshman hockey class is as good as advertised, I would have to agree. I hope the Wild sign Zucker after the Pioneers lose in the first round of the NCAA tourney. [Denver Post]

The Bemidji State University Beavers ended a seven-game losing streak to the Purple Cows Mavericks dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Mavericks won the first night on a goal by Bemidji boy Channing Boe in overtime. The Mavericks won game one 2-1.

Kessel: ‘I love Toronto, I want to be here’ Edit Video added

Aaron Lynett/National Post

This story has really taken off and created a fire storm around the blogsphere, if you haven’t seen it, the story is worth a read. It seems like wherever Kessel goes he is either misunderstood or maybe he really is part of the problem. Kessel is an amazing offensive talent but you won’t see him going over the boards to kill a penalty very often.

TORONTO — Nobody in the audience seemed to be listening as intently as Tyler Bozak. He nodded at some answers, grimaced at others and shook his head in bemusement at the tenor of the questions facing the man one stall over, inside the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room.

Phil Kessel, his friend and teammate, was the reluctant star, holding an unwanted media conference after Monday’s pre-game skate to clarify his comments from a day earlier and dispel any notion that he was demanding a trade. It got a little awkward, and Bozak smiled.

“I kind of just give it to him a bit, bug him about his interviews,” he said with a smile not long after the lights dimmed. “I love it when he gets interviewed, because I like watching him after, cracking jokes to him about it.”

Kessel does not do interviews very often, and he generally does not do them very well. It is a source of humour for some of his teammates, but it became a source of alarm Sunday afternoon, when he hinted at friction with his head coach and stumbled in explaining how he felt when Ron Wilson demoted him to the third line.

The 23-year-old said, flatly, that “me and Ron don’t really talk.”
[Read the Whole Article]

While we are talking about the BTHC

While we are on the subject of the BTHC here are a couple of articles that I have found that might be of interest to some. There is a big unknown out there hanging over everyone’s head, there is a lot of variables that I believe haven’t been thought out. This could have a devastating effect on college hockey. When the BTHC come on line you will probably see the WCHA go after Notre Dame and Miami as well.

news.cincinnati.com ---- Currently, three Big Ten schools compete in the CCHA: Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Two, Minnesota and Wisconsin, compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Miami athletic director Brad Bates said Friday he didn’t have any inside word on whether or when the Big Ten hockey league might become a reality.

Given Miami’s high profile in college hockey – the RedHawks have played in back-to-back Frozen Fours – he expects the RedHawks program to not only survive such a thing if it were to happen, but to thrive from it. Miami routinely has standing-room only crowds at 3,200-seat Steve Cady Arena.

“We’ve been very proactive in our talks about it, and we’ll (weigh it) as to how it affects college hockey in general, our league and (Miami),” Bates said.

An Associated Press report this week speculated whether the CCHA’s smaller programs might be “crushed by the Big Ten’s power” if that conference began playing league hockey.

Hockey is expensive, and schools like Lake Superior State in the CCHA are buoyed by big draws like Michigan, the AP said.

This is actually a news story that I am surprised isn't getting more play or exposure. This could speed up the shake up of college hockey. It's worth a read as well.

www.collegian.psu.edu ---- Happy Valley may become Hockey Valley even sooner than expected.

The Pegula Ice Arena is now projected to open in the fall of 2013 rather than in the spring of 2014, said Associate Athletic Director for Ice Arena Operations and the Director of the Ice Arena and Hockey Campaign Joe Battista.

With that news, Battista said Penn State is now projected to begin Division I conference play in 2013-14, a full season earlier. It has yet to be decided whether a Big Ten conference will be created, or if Penn State will join one of the existing Western Collegiate Hockey Association or Central Collegiate Hockey Association conferences.

The men’s and women’s D-I hockey programs are set to begin play in 2012-13 and will spend the first season as an independent, playing in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’re making on the design and the schedule,” Battista said Friday. “A lot of work has gone into this by a lot of people.”

Battista said a meeting held Saturday between himself, Penn State donors Terry and Kim Pegula, Penn State President Graham Spanier, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and others could produce more even more news.

“The meeting between everyone was to talk about arena bowl configuration, number of seats and number of suites,” Battista said. “Those official numbers could be released as soon as Monday.”

Don Adam gets the call right - No Goal!

This is the goal that has gotten much discussion on the internet and on Twitter.com. Watching the video I have to respectfully disagree with FSN analyst Kevin Gorg this was not a goal, Don Adam made the right call, the UMD player's hook should not have caused Nico Sacchetti to take out the goalie. In my opinion Sacchetti makes no effort to not run into the goalie and therefore interfered with the UMD goalie.

Matt Cooke's hit on Ovechkin

Here is the latest cheap shot from P.O.S. Matt Cooke, watch the video as he tries to take out Alexander Ovechkin’s knee with a leg check. Of course Cooke will say that he wasn’t trying to injure Ovechkin. I predict that one day very soon Matt Cooke is going to get what is coming to him, live by the sword, die by the sword and then it will be interesting to see the expression on stupid his face will be.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 7, 2011]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston College (47) 19-6-0 996 1
2 Yale ( 1) 19-4-0 932 3
3 Minnesota-Duluth ( 1) 18-5-4 871 4
4 Denver 17-6-5 850 2
5 North Dakota 19-8-2 804 5
6 New Hampshire ( 1) 17-5-4 780 6
7 Wisconsin 19-8-3 671 7
8 Rensselaer 18-6-4 599 9
9 Union 20-7-3 558 11
10 Notre Dame 16-9-5 536 10
11 Merrimack 17-5-4 521 12
12 Miami 16-9-5 479 13
13 Michigan 17-9-4 464 8
14 Boston University 13-7-7 341 14
15 Western Michigan 15-6-9 300 16
16 Nebraska-Omaha 16-10-2 227 18
17 Dartmouth 13-7-3 191 17
18 Maine 11-9-6 140 15
19 Colorado College 16-13-1 127 20
20 Princeton 14-8-1 58 19
Others Receiving Votes: Ferris State 24, Rochester Institute of Technology 17, Alaska 5, Cornell 3, Minnesota 2, Robert Morris 2, Ohio State 1, Quinnipiac 1
____________________________________

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[February 7, 2011]
1 Boston College 508 (32) 1 19-6-0
2 Yale University 468 (1) 2 19-4-0
3 University of Minnesota Duluth 424 (1) 4 18-5-4
4 University of Denver 399 3 17-6-5
5 University of North Dakota 389 5 19-8-2
6 University of New Hampshire 356 6 17-5-4
7 University of Wisconsin 263 7 19-8-3
8 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 255 8 18-6-4
9 Union College 247 11 20-7-3
10 University of Notre Dame 186 10 16-9-5
11 Merrimack College 185 12 17-5-4
12 Miami University 152 13 16-9-5
13 University of Michigan 118 9 17-9-4
14 Boston University 60 14 13-7-7
15 Western Michigan University 40 NR
Others receiving votes: University of Nebraska Omaha 18, Dartmouth College 9, Rochester Institute of Technology 3.

We Are - Penn State Hockey! Edit Why I am not impressed...

Yawn! If the hockey pundits think that Penn State University is just going to march into college hockey and start winning titles I think they are delusional. Minnesota is an established hockey program and they are having a hell of a time right now in the WCHA, they will be lucky if they get home ice and make the Final Five, they probably are going to miss the NCAA tourney again. Last time I checked Minnesota has all the advantages of a premiere hockey program. Big Ten School Michigan State is floundering this season and sitting in the bottom of the CCHA standings in 10th place. If some think they can just throw money at a big name coach and expect a winning program they are misinformed. I would be surprised if Barry Melrose would know where Penn State is located.

Edit: Some apparently have mistaken satire for hate. Forgive me if I am not colored impressed with the big announcement about PSU going division I in college hockey. While I don’t begrudge PSU wanting to add hockey more the merrier, I am sick and tired of this fawning over PSU the college hockey media and pundits the schools big announcement. They fawn over a school that isn’t division I yet but could give a "EF" about an established school looking for a conference so their program won't fold, they can't hang on forever as an independent.

Going forward, the WCHA is set up and will survive even without the Big Ten Schools Wisconsin and Minnesota. That theory was proven already with Minnesota missing the Final Five all together last season, however, the Big Ten Hockey Conference could have a very catastrophic affect on the not so stable CCHA who some schools are hanging on by a thread, cue BGSU. I am looking at the big picture for the rest of college hockey not just 6 schools that perceive themselves as being elite. Or I should say their athletic directors perceive their schools as being elite. Most of these teams aren’t even a power in BCS football anymore, except maybe OSU which has had trouble getting anyone to show up for their hockey games, even when they make the NCAA tourney.

Why am I not impressed; what pissed me off is how the CCHA wanted nothing to do with UAH a season ago and basically told them to go take a flying ____, however when PSU made their big announcement that they were going Division I in hockey, the commissioner of the CCHA Tom Anastos was all but falling all over himself all of a sudden to extend an invitation to PSU to join the CCHA. Why because he knows what is head for his conference minus MSU and Michigan.

I also think it’s funny that a conference commissioner would sacrifice an established school like UAH to invite a program that has no history other than being an ACHA club hockey school. Yeah that rubs me the wrong way and yeah I can see come college hockey fans might not be that happy. Does that make me a hater, absolutely not!

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look. No big surprises this week.

INCH Power Rankings
[February 6, 2011]
1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. Minnesota Duluth
4. North Dakota — The series between the Fighting Sioux and Alaska Anchorage, this weekend’s opponent, has been surprisingly close in recent years. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, NoDak owns a 7-4-2 edge on the Seawolves.
19-8-2 (14-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage
5. Denver
6. New Hampshire
7. Union
8.Rensselaer
9. Merrimack
10. Miami
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. Notre Dame
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Dartmouth
18. Colorado College
19. RIT
20. Maine
Dropped out: Princeton
Bubble-licious: Cornell, Princeton, Robert Morris

Maybe it's him? (Kessel)

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America

This seems to be a reoccurring theme wherever the young Kessel goes. Seems like Phil Kessel is in the proverbial dog house in Toronto now, oh that can't be. To Bruins fans Kessel is the gift that keeps giving for the Bruins. The Leafs traded two number one draft choices away to get Phil Kessel and the Bruins are set to get another great player of Tyler Seguin's quality in this years draft because the Leafs are at the bottom of the league again.

Toronto Sun ---- Much to the displeasure of Phil Kessel, Maple Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson has finally broken up his second and third lines.

With the season down to 30 games, a huge chasm in the standings between Toronto and the playoff pack and Kessel goal-less in his past 10 starts, Wilson is splitting up the right winger from centre Tyler Bozak, at least for the start of Mondays’ game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Kessel appeared with centre Darryl Boyce and regular left winger Joey Crabb at Sunday’s practice, while Bozak is now between Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg.

After practice at the MasterCard Centre. Kessel took the unusual step of sitting in full equipment waiting for reporters at his stall to talk about his woes. Separation from his good pal Bozak is clearly gnawing at him.

“Maybe it’s just not working out here I guess, I can’t get anything going,” Kessel said. “Maybe it’s time for a change or something. I’m not sure if that (putting him with Boyce) is it. Who knows? I’m trying.”

When asked if he and Wilson have discussed the skid off the ice, Kessel replied “me and Ron don’t really talk...that’s all I have to say about that.”

Wilson replied that Kessel is not one to share many thoughts on scoring.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it or even work on it in practice, it’s kind of a touch thing,” Wilson said. “He comes and goes with cold streak and hot streaks. Just be patient and change up the line. This is a different look, it makes you think a little bit.

“At the end of the day, he’s getting the chances (averaging more than four shots per game) and he has to figure a way to put he puck in the net. But a scoring chance that fails, should not shut you down the next five or six minutes.”