Ground Hog Day, Sioux 5 Beavers 1 - Edited

What a weekend of hockey, first the North Dakota State Hockey Tourney, the two game series between the Fighting Sioux men and the Bemidji State University Beavers and finally the Sioux women playing against the Beavers in the WCHA first round of the WCHA tourney. As they say in baseball lets play two... Yesterday was an amazing day of hockey, first I was able to watch the Sioux and the Beavers play in the Ralph Engelstad Arena, the Fighting Sioux won the game 5-1 wrapping up their 15th MacNaughton Cup Championship. Then after the game I high tailed it to the Purpur Arena to catch the second game of a double header, between the Sioux women’s team and the Bemidji State University Beavers. Let’s just say I was not disappointed with my first look at the UND women’s team.

The Sioux start slow...

During this afternoon's game the Fighting Sioux started out slow getting behind 1-0 in the first period, the Beavers were limiting the Fighting Sioux time and space and getting their sticks in the passing lanes and they made it difficult for the Sioux to get going... The Fighting Sioux made adjustments after the first period and opened the game up scoring 4 goals in the second period to blow by the BSU Beavers. The Sioux scored again in the third period winning the game 5-1. It only would have been fitting if the Sioux goaltender Aaron Dell had let in one more goal to make the game 5-2. The first three games in the series were 5-2, 5-2, 5-2… With the win the Fighting Sioux clinched at least a tie for first place and a share of the MacNaughton Cup Championship and now get to play MTU in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Actually, the Sioux will get to play the Huskies four games in a row. The Sioux are going to need to stay focused and not get into any bad habits from one could develop from playing the worst team in the WCHA.


Hobey Frattin

During yesterday’s afternoon matinee Matt Frattin continued to play like a man possessed working on his final crescendo as he closes out his final games of his UND career, it definitely looks as if the Senior forward is going to end his career at a fast pace. As we sat and watched Matt Frattin pick apart the BSU defenders, I had commented to my buddy Sioux7 “that Frattin looks like he is a fowl mood this afternoon” that translates to good for the Sioux bad for the Beavers. Seriously, no kidding, if Matt Frattin isn't one of the best players in College hockey right now I would have to question your eye sight because Matt Frattin was like a men among boys this weekend. You can give me all of the candidates from Hockey East and the ECAC but Frattin is probably the best player in college hockey this season hands down.

Off to Purpur Arena

When the first game of the double header was over I hightailed it to the Purpur arena to watch the Sioux women and the BSU Beavers play game three of the WCHA home series, I had the pleasure of watching the game with a couple of friends of mine from Bemidji. I have to admit that this was my first time I had ever watched a UND women's game and I was impressed with what I saw, I think there are definitely some great days ahead for UND Women's hockey. Tonight's game turned out to be a barn burner but also a very tense game as the Sioux came close to losing the game in overtime themselves before Monique Lamoureux-Kolls took the puck on an end to end rush and put the puck in the Beaver net ending the game... For the Beavers goalie Zuzana Tomcikova was amazing as well made some awesome saves in net for the Beavers. Lastly, the Lamoureux twins are elite women’s hockey players and its’ worth the price of admission to see them play hockey. With the win the Sioux women make the WCHA Final Face-Off tournament where the Sioux will face the Wisconsin Badgers…

Domination by the Fighting Sioux

The Fighting Sioux have played the Beavers four times this season scoring 20 goals in four games and while the Fighting Sioux were never in any danger of losing any of these games to the Beavers, in games past the Sioux and the Beavers had been hard fought contested games between the two teams. This season the Fighting Sioux were the better team and played very well in all four games systematically taking apart the Beavers hockey team, the Sioux just seemed to have an extra gear and always seemed to kick it in at the right time scoring timely goals.

While the games might not have ended well for the Beavers against the Fighting Sioux, the future is bright for the BSU Beavers and Tom Serratore is a very good hockey coach that I have a lot of respect for, Serratore is a great hockey mind and he will get the most out of his hockey team and he will his team prepared and ready to play in the WCHA playoffs. Coming into this series the Beavers were riding a five game unbeaten streak.

This season the Fighting Sioux scored a total of 20 goals against the Beavers. Matt Frattin had a goal and an assist today for four points on the weekend (3g-1a-4pts) and should be the player of the week in the WCHA, if Frattin is not it will be a travesty. Frattin was unstoppable against the Beavers this season racking up (7g-2a-9pts) during the four game season series against the BSU Beavers. Tom Serratore had this to say about Matt Frattin, “He’s (Frattin) such a dangerous player and he showed why he’s probably going to be the WCHA player of the year.”

INCH Power Rankings - 2/27/2011

As always I post the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look, this week we are to believe that Union is the 3rd best team in college hockey, I don't think so...
1. North Dakota — Matt Frattin scored his 25th, 26th, and 27th goals of the season in the Fighting Sioux's sweep of Bemidji State. In the last 10 seasons, the only NoDak players with more goals in a single season are Bryan Lundbohm (32 in 2000-01), Brandon Bochenski (35 in 2002-03), and Ryan Duncan (31 in 2006-07). 24-8-3 (19-6-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bemidji State, 5-2; W vs. Bemidji State, 5-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Yale
5. Miami
6. New Hampshire
7. Merrimack
8. Michigan
9. Denver
10. Notre Dame
11. Minnesota Duluth
12. Nebraska-Omaha
13. Boston University
14. Western Michigan
15. Rensselaer
16. Minnesota
17. Wisconsin
18. Maine
19. Colorado College
20. Dartmouth
Dropped out: Cornell, RIT, Robert Morris
Bubble-licious: RIT, Air Force, Cornell

Sioux 5 Beavers 2

The Fighting Sioux have played the BSU Beavers three times this season and in each game the score has been an identical 5-2 verdict. One might say that each game has been like ground hog day, same score all over again. In each game Matt Frattin has been on a torrid pace as well, it's almost like it's personal, it's like he sees read against the Beavers.

After watching the game this afternoon, I would imagine that the Bemidji State University Beavers would be happy to never see Fighting Sioux senior forward Matt Frattin again, counting the two goals that Frattin scored this afternoon against the BSU Beavers, Frattin now has (6g-1a-7pts) on the season against the BSU Beavers. Matt Frattin with the two goals today has (26g-14a-40pts) on the season and is one point short of reaching the hundred point mark of his NCAA career (54g-45a-99pts).

Jason Gregoire has also been hot against the Beavers this season as the junior forward has scored an impressive(4g-0a-4pts) against the BSU Beavers in three games. Gregoire has also been hot recently for the Fighting Sioux since returning from his mid season injury as Gregoire has a nine game point streak where he has gone an impressive (9g-7a-16pts), with the two goals today Gregoire now has (48g-48a-96) for his career and is four points shy of the century mark as well...If the Fighting Sioux can continue getting consistent scoring from all four forward lines the Fighting Sioux will be hard to beat during the WCHA and NCAA playoffs.

Balanced scoring

With Mario Lamoureux recording an assist today the Fighting Sioux now have twelve players with 10 or more points, the Fighting Sioux also have 7 players with twenty or more points, four of which have thirty or more points… So the Sioux are getting balanced scoring through the forward lines. The UND Fighting Sioux lead the WCHA with Goals score with 90 and have a game in hand on the rest of the league.

Goon's Three Stars of the game

1.) Matt Frattin (2g-0a-2pts)
2.) Jason Gregoire (2g-0a-2pts)
3.) Brock Nelson (0g-2a-2pts)

Matt Niskanen hit on Eric Staal

Check out this hit by former UMD Bulldog Matt Niskanen on Carolina Hurricane Eric Staal. There was no penalty called on the play and Eric Staal suffered an upper-body injury on the play and will not play against the Montreal Canadians tonight. According to the rules this is not a violation of the NHL's Rule 48.

Derek Stepan Hit On Mike Green

Check out this hit by former Wisconsin Badger and current New York Ranger Derek Stepan on Washington Capital Mike Green, by definition this is probably a violation of of rule 48... There was no penalty called on the play, one could make the argument that the cross check by Green on Stepan was just as bad and could have been called a penalty as well. Just for the record, Derek Stepan is not a dirty player and according to the New York Post beat writer Larry Brooks the NHL will review the hit. Mike Green is listed as questionable.

College Hockey tonight breaks down the BSU and UND series...

Listen to Scott and Moose Richards talk about the upcoming series between UND and BSU. [Click to listen]

At about 10:00 minutes Scott Williams took issue with Tyler Buckentine wrote about the BSU Beavers in a USCHO blog post. After reading the article yesterday, I have to agree with Scott... I am pretty sure that BSU isn't trying to find themselves in their 12th season as a D-I Hockey team... In my opinion that statement is so far from the truth it’s not even funny... The BSU program, whether Tyler wants to admit it or not has been successful in every level of hockey they have competed in and the BSU Beavers will continue to strive in the WCHA as well… As was brought up by Scott, BSU has been to the Frozen Four a couple years ago and they made the NCAA tourney as an at large team so this article really misses the mark, while Tyler’s team the MSUM Mavericks have not…

USCHO.COM ----- The Beavers were coming off two straight NCAA tournament bids and built a flashy new arena. They started the season off with a five-game winless streak and were never able to recover. BSU couldn’t put together four straight games without a loss until its current five-game unbeaten streak.

BSU is two seasons removed from its only Division I Frozen Four appearance but has a rich tradition in other divisions, winning five national titles at the D-II level and one in D-III. The Beavers are still trying to find themselves in their 12th season at the D-I level, and the move to the WCHA can help BSU get noticed.

The key is to break out and establish itself as an accomplished program in the WCHA, something teams like Minnesota State and Alaska-Anchorage are still struggling with. MSU has been in the league since 1999 and UAA came into the league in 1993.

“You want to go out and make sure people know you’re not a bottom dweller,” Lowe said. “It was important to come in here and play these teams and make sure we weren’t a team that would just get rolled over.”

ESPN; Delay of Coyotes sale has cascading effects

Hum, this is an interesting little news tidbit that just came across the Tweet Deck. Why do I get the feeling that the Desert Dogs are on life support in the Phoenix area? They can only fool around so long before the NHL is going to pull the plug on the Coyotes.

Scott Burnside, ESPN --- The trade deadline isn't the only deadline looming on the NHL landscape.

The City of Glendale, never quite on the same page as anyone else when it comes to getting the job done, failed to begin selling bonds to raise money that would go to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer as part of an agreement on a new lease for Jobing.com Arena. That bond sale must go through before the lease agreement with Hulsizer is finalized, and that deal must be completed before the league will close on its sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Hulsizer.

Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Friday that the league has established no deadline for the sale of the bonds and multiple sources familiar with the deal insist they expect the deal will close, just not as soon as had been anticipated.

One of the reasons for the delay in the bond sales, which were expected to be completed by this week, is the specter of a lawsuit by watchdog group the Goldwater Institute.

Goldwater threatened legal action because the deal may contravene state rules on subsidizing private businesses. If the monies committed by the City of Glendale are greater than what they would receive through parking revenues and other monies that would go to the city as part of the deal, it would break state rules.

It's not clear whether Goldwater will take the municipality to court if the deal is consummated.

While the NHL may not have imposed a deadline the reality remains that the NHL does not have infinite patience with the City of Glendale.

NHL should be terrified of threat to Crosby

This article caught my eye this morning and I believe it's worth a look; it’s an issue that won’t go away anytime soon, concussions have become almost an epidemic in the NHL this season. All you have to do is look down the injury list to see this. Look how many names are currently on the NHL injury list for concussions, it’s staggering. At first glance at this list I counted approximately 18 players out with concussion, I think that list actually grew three from last week. The Penguins alone have three players suffering from Concussions.

Bruce Arthur February 23, 2011 – 10:19 pm ----- It has been eight weeks now. Eight weeks since Victor Hedman smashed Sidney Crosby’s head into the glass in Pittsburgh, which was four days after David Steckel ran his shoulder into Crosby’s temple in the Winter Classic at Heinz Field. Which means that it has been eight weeks since Sidney Crosby played an NHL game.

And that should make anybody who cares about hockey nauseous. It should give them a headache. It should cause sleepless nights. In other words, it should make them feel like they have suffered a concussion.

It’s not that Sidney Crosby, as a person, is more important than Marc Savard or David Perron or Matthew Lombardi or Peter Mueller, all of whom have missed most or all of the NHL season with post-concussion symptoms. It’s not that his symptoms are necessarily worse. There were 33 concussions reported in the NHL through Dec. 1. There are a lot of guys sitting in dark and quiet rooms, these days.

But Crosby is different, because he is Sidney Crosby. He is the best player in the world; he is one of the two players in the league who actually have the ability to transcend the league. And since Alexander Ovechkin has spent the season being a more physical Brad Richards — another guy who has the curtains drawn, at the moment — Crosby was, until early January, standing alone.

And then came David Steckel and Hedman, neither of whom were fined or suspended for making contact with Crosby’s head from behind. And as the days stretch out, you start to wonder and worry about what comes next.

The precise severity of Crosby’s concussion has not been made public. The Penguins have said he needs to go symptom-free for 10 days before being cleared, and that has apparently not happened. On Jan. 24 he told reporters in Pittsburgh, “People say mild concussion, but I don’t know that there really is such thing. The good thing is the past four to five days have been pretty good, but that’s not to say symptoms won’t come back.”

That was a month ago, now. Then he talked about headaches, and not knowing what triggered them — light, noise, exertion, it all seemed a little random — and that he was happy to be able to drive a car again. Just 10 days ago he returned from some time away from the team, with his parents, and when Pittsburgh Tribune beat reporter Rob Rossi mentioned he didn’t have much of a tan, Crosby said, “I didn’t want to stay [outside] too long because that might bring on [headaches].”

There has been speculation that he is done for the season, but we won’t know until the season is over. So all we really know is that Crosby’s symptoms have not gone away. Or that if they have, they’ve always come back. And that the vacuum of information coming out of Pittsburgh is like the quiet between bombings.

And the NHL should be terrified. Crosby was having his finest season; he is still fifth in the league in scoring despite missing 20 games. And the greatest difference between Crosby and every other hockey player is not his skating, or his hands, or his size. It is his neural capacity to control his skating, to direct his hands, to see the ice, to think the game with a fine edge. It is his brain.

So many players have never been the same after suffering a concussion this severe, or at least, that has lasted this long. Eric Lindros, Paul Kariya, Pat LaFontaine, Keith Primeau, Savard, on and on. Not every concussion opens a window to more concussions. Maybe this is the only brain injury Sidney Crosby will ever suffer, and he will fulfill the promise of being a generation-defining player. He is just 23.

But either way, he will now play the rest of his career in greater danger of a second concussion, and a third. The worst-case scenario, of course, is that he becomes Lindros all over again. Crosby’s much better at protecting himself, but in a league where those two hits are deemed acceptable, it might not matter. When he decried such hits back in January, Crosby said, “when you get hit like that there’s nothing you can do, there’s no way you can protect yourself.”

And yet they went unpunished.

While driving home from my workout this afternoon, the host from the Point on XM-204 NHL Home Ice was talking about Sidney Crosby’s concussion and basically saying the longer Sidney Crosby is out with this concussion the more likely he won’t be back this season, we are running out of time for his return, there is roughly what six weeks left to the season. Which is a shame you have the top player in the NHL an elite player sitting on the shelf and might not play again this season because he has a head injury.

I think the NHL could prevent more of the head injuries if the NHL took a more serious approach to disciplining the offenders that are laying out this types of questionable hits to the head and started protecting the players, maybe the numbers would go down. Until the NHL front office gets serious about protecting the players on the ice you will continue to see an injury list full of players suffering from concussions and post concussion syndrome.

Goon's on KNOX 1310 Friday from 2:00 - 3:00 PM

Listen to Goon live at 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm on KNOX 1310 AM on Friday 25, 2011. R.J. and I will be talking about hockey... We will talk about the WCHA playoff race, and the Fighting Sioux's upcoming series with BSU…. If you live out of town you can listen live by clking on this address. [Click to Listen]

Call in 701-775-5559, 1-866-KNOX-1310, email: Live@KNOXRADIO.com

Chay Genoway Hobey Baker Memorial Award promo

I think when you look at UND senior defenseman Chay Genoway’s and his career at UND, he reminds me of your prototypical Hobey Baker Memorial Award Candidate, he is a 4.0 student, All WCHA Academic, clean cut, the leader on his team. The UND Fighting Sioux hockey team will miss him after he graduates... Here is the link to his Vote for Chay Genoway for Hobey Baker Memorial Award page. Also, here is the official link to the Vote for the Matt Frattin Hobey Baker Memorial Award page...

His Story

Chay Genoway not only thought his college career was over, he thought he may never play hockey again.

Hit to the head early in the 2009-10 season, suffered post concussion symptoms that kept him off the ice.

"Not knowing whether you're going to play at all again is pretty scary," Genoway said.

The captain watched his team go on to win the Broadmoor Trophy and into the NCAA playoffs. He wanted nothing more than to be a part of the team.

Shortly after the season ended, Genoway announced he would return after receiving a medical redshirt.

He wanted to finish what he started.

On and off the ice, Genoway makes a difference. Game changer in the rink. In the community. The class room. Genoway continues on.

Matt Frattin Hobey Baker Memorial Award promo

Here is the promo for UND senior Matt Frattin and his official promo for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, in my opinion this is well done and I was impressed by the quality of work. Goon’s world would like to send major kudos to the UND Sports Information Department for their great work for both Candidates Chay Genoway and Matt Frattin. Here is the official link to the Vote for Matt Frattin Hobey Baker Memorial Award page.

His Story

Matt Frattin has the skill set every hockey player dreams of. Fast. Powerful. Elite scorer.

He was living his dream of playing college hockey. That came to an abrubt end.

"The way he was living his life away from the rink wasn't what it needed to be," UND head coach Dave Hakstol said.

After two alcohol-related incidents — one of which he was later acquitted of — Frattin was dismissed from the team.

Frattin didn't give up. He showed other aspects of his character.

Hard work. Selflessness. Committment. Teamwork.

With his scholarship taken away, Frattin decided against going pro. Instead he took out a loan and came back to UND. He worked hard and earned his way back onto the team, earning respect in the process.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

We have 5 league series lined up this weekend again. Interesting fact - there was not a single sweep last weekend in the 6 WCHA series last weekend. The top 4 teams are separated by only 3 points. Also 5th place thru 11th place is only separated by all 5 points. It looks like the last home ice playoff spot will come down to the last weekend of play, the way things are going. It looks like the top four teams this week will be the top four teams come playoff time. Most teams only have 4 WCHA games left (UAA and MSUM only have 2). The standings show the top 4 have distanced themselves from the middle of the pack, and it is very unlikely that they will be caught. Interesting fact, both UND and CC go their first league tied games last Friday night. If UND sweeps, UNO-DU split, and UMD gets no more than 3-points, the Sioux will claim a share of the MacNaughton Cup this weekend.

Remember, I’ve changing my rankings; I was using the USCHO poll, but changed to the PairWise Rankings. Since the PairWise mimic who is selected to the NCAA tourney.

WCHA Standings

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota……….17-6-1…35
2. Denver………………15-6-3…33
3. Minnesota-Duluth.....14-6-4…32
3. Nebraska-Omaha…..15-7-2…32
5. Wisconsin……….…11-10-2…25
6. Minnesota……..…..10-10-4…24
6. Colorado College…11-12-1…24
8. Alaska-Anchorage…10-14-2…22
9. Bemidji State…….….8-12-4…20
9. St. Cloud State…......8-12-4…20
9. Minnesota State…….8-14-4…20
12. Michigan Tech………2-20-2…6

WCHA

Michigan Tech @ #18 Minnesota
Last weekend the Huskies split with the DU Pioneers in Denver and Gophers took 3-points from the UW Badgers in Madison.

Can we say MTU is making waves, late in the season? They have gotten a win and a tie over their last two WCHA series, doubling their point total. Have the Gophers finally hit their stride this season? They are 2-1-1 in their last 4 league games, and those are teams that are higher in the standings. Three weeks ago I would have said the Gophers should sweep MTU, but now I’m not sure. The Huskies should be gaining some confidence now with some success, as should the Gophers. The Maroon & Gold faithful better hope they don’t have a letdown after their big UW road series. The Gophers now control their own fate, win out and they get home ice. The Huskies can put a kink into the Goldy’s hopes if they can pull a point or two out of Mariucci. The Gophers are 7-8-1 at home this season, and without a sweep they will not have winning home record in the regular season. GOPHERS 3-POINTS

#4 Denver @ #8 Nebraska-Omaha
Last weekend Pioneers split with the MTU Huskies in Denver and the Mavericks split with the UAA Seawolves in Anchorage.

This should be the “premier series in the WCHA” this weekend. Both the Pioneers and Mavericks suffered minor setbacks last weekend. This is a very important series for both teams; DU and UNO both have a chance to win the league. Both have secured home ice, so that isn’t an issue, but the PairWise ratings are. The Mavericks have a sparkling 12-3-1 record at the Qwest Center this season and the Pioneers have a decent road record of 6-5-3. The Pioneers are 2nd in league scoring with 82-goals and the Mavericks are 3rd with 81-goals. Denver has played the Mavericks a few times with DU holding a 7-2-0 all-time mark versus UNO. It wouldn’t surprise me if we saw a couple of shoot-outs in Omaha’s barn this weekend. SPLIT

Bemidji State @ #2 North Dakota (Sat. & Sun. @ 3:37pm)
Last weekend the Beavers took 3-points from the CC Tigers in Bemidji and the Sioux took 3-points from the SCSU Huskies in St. Cloud.

BSU opened their WCHA schedule by hosting the Sioux at their new arena, back in October. The Sioux spoiled their opening by sweeping the Beavers in a pair of 5-2 games. The Beavers still have an outside chance at home ice, but the need points and lots of help to get there. UND is looking to put a strangle hold on first place this weekend with getting a home sweep. UND is averaging 3.54goals/game in the WCHA and BSU is at 2.25goals/game. The Sioux lead the WCHA in goals scored at 85 and fewest surrendered at 56. Not too often does a team lead in both categories, this late in the season. It is senior weekend at Grand Forks, since it is the last regular season home games. No doubt, that the 7 seniors on the team will want to go out with a sweep, and the rest of the team wants to see that too. If the Sioux continue their consistent play, I see them taking care of business this weekend. SIOUX SWEEP.

#14 Wisconsin @ St. Cloud St.
Last weekend the Tigers split with the MSUM Mavericks in Colorado Springs and the Beavers took 3-points for the MTU Huskies in Houghton.

Two weeks ago the Badgers looked to have a lock on a home ice spot. But getting only one point in their last four games has hurt them badly, not only in the WCHA standings but the PairWise too. The Huskies have played well as of late going 1-1-2 against UMD and UND the past two weekends. SCSU can continue their climb and sink the Badgers this weekend, if, they can pull off a sweep at the National Hockey Center. It appears these teams are heading in opposite directions now, SCSU going up, UW going down. The Badgers are 5-5-2 away from home this year and the Huskies are a dismal 4-8-4 at home. The Badger’s can ill afford to get swept this weekend. If that happens the Kohl Center might see a protest or two, just like the Wisconsin capitol building. It appears that both teams might be circling the panic button. SCSU has nothing to lose, and UW is getting desperate, so this series could have some good action. SPLIT

#7 Minnesota-Duluth @ #19 Colorado College
Last weekend the Bulldogs split with the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato and the Tigers got 1-point from the BSU Beavers in Bemidji.

The Bulldogs still have a shot at the title, and are pretty much locked into home ice. The Tiger lose the tie-breaker to the Gophers for 6th place currently, so they need points to try and grab a home ice spot. The Bulldogs are an impressive 10-3-1 away from Duluth and the Tigers are 9-7-1 at World Arena this season. UMD has slipped a little going 1-2-1 in their last 4 games, all against lower half teams. The Tigers will need sink their teeth into this series and claw their way back into the top half of the league. If CC contains the “law firm of Connelly, Connelly, & Fontaine” they should be able to get some points. SPLIT

Governor’s Cup

Alaska-Anchorage (11-16-3) vs Alaska (13-14-5 overall)
Last weekend the Seawolves split with the UNO Mavericks in Anchorage and the Nanooks split with the Michigan State Spartans in Fairbanks.

In any case, if you’re wondering the current governor of Alaska is Sean Parnell. This is a home and home series, at Fairbanks Friday and Anchorage on Saturday. I was in Anchorage to kick of the season at the Kendall Classic back in October. Back then I saw UAF play a couple of games, they didn’t look to bad, but that was 4 months ago. I just saw UAA two weeks ago in Grand Forks; they looked a bit slow compared to the Sioux. I have to go with the Seawolves in this series, just because I loved the city of Anchorage, when I was there. SEAWOLVES SWEEP

BYE WEEK
Minnesota State University Mankato – Mavericks

Thursday Links - EDIT

Just a few things going on today... Here is Ryan Cardinals weekly appearance on 1130 KFAN yesterday, it’s a day earlier because P.A. is in Indy for the Combine. [Click to listen]There were some interesting things said during the thirty two minute interview. Said UND is the Favorite to win the WCHA and that the Fighting Sioux have the best chance at playing in the Xcel Energy Center.

You probably didn't hear it because most of us don't listen AM 1500 out of the Twin Cities... In So here is the audio of Don Lucia [Click to listen]

Jim Rich brings you This Week in the WCHA... [click to listen]

Don Lucia was also on 1130 KFAN this past Monday, a very interesting interview as well. [Click to listen]

Jamestown Girls hockey coach Brad Schaack is headed to the Girls state hockey tourney this weekend. [Jamestown Sun]

Here is what UND head hockey coach Dave Hakstol had to say at yesterday's press conference. [Click to watch]

Fighting Sioux hockey and two weeks remain before the playoffs [Click to read]

The Boy's at INCH have their First Shift up for Week 20

Tyler Buckentine from USCHO has prematurely called the race for the WCHA’s MacNaughton Cup. [Click to Read]...The last thing the Sioux want to do is mail in their last four games and think the race is over. There is a decent chance that they could win the cup but the Beavers are going to have something to say about the race as well.

Without a Peer has their Bracketology up again this week. [Click to view]

Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets, has their Bracketology up this week as well. [Click to view]

Mike McMahon has his own version of Bracketology up and I would love to see the bracket he has on his blog. [Click to view]

The DU Pioneers are now having a change of heart and net and will probably play Sieve goalie Adam Murray in Friday’s series opener at Nebraska-Omaha... [Click to read article] Also, Pioneers Captain Kyle Ostrow will not travel with the team to Omaha; Ostrow is still out with an injury.

Gophers goalie Kent Patterson would like his forwards to score more goals so he doesn't have to stand on his head every night. [Goal Gophers]

Slightly Chilled has a great article about Gopher hockey fans have a sense of entitlement. Well, I am glad to see that I am not the only one that says this. The more I read this blog to more I admire this guy's work.

Joel Colborne Sega hockey goal

Back in the 1990's Sega Hockey was popular and you could score almost every time using this type of a goal. Check out this dipsy doodle goal by former DU Pioneer and Providence Bruin Joel Colborne. Joel Colborne was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Tomas Kaberle and a first and second round pick. This is Colborne playing for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.

Ice Breaker tourney coming to Grand Forks October 2011 - UPDATED

 

The University of North Dakota is hosting the Ice Breaker Hockey tournament on October 7 & 8 2011. Tickets for the tourney go on sale on March 4^th 2011 at 10:00 am.

Tournament ticket packages will go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 4 at 10 a.m. Packages are $70 (adult) and $40 (youth). Tickets may be purchase at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena, online at Ticketmaster.com, or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

UND men's hockey season ticket holders will have the ability to purchase their seats for the Ice Breaker at a discounted rate of $50 beginning today through April 12. Season ticket holders may purchase their seats by logging onto their ‘My Fighting Sioux Account' at www.fightingsioux.com or at the UND Box Office at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Ticket packages are being held for UND students and will go on sale in the fall.

UND’s Fighting Sioux Nickname May Stay Despite Conflict

UND’s Fighting Sioux Nickname May Stay Despite Conflict: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

Well lets not let facts get in the way of a good argument. Check out these comments from Fighting Sioux logo opponent Mike Forcia.

Other opponents -- including Native American groups -- say the logo is also racist and demeaning.

“It is mocking. It’s the antics that go along with it,” explained Mike Forcia. “They wear face paint and war bonnets. Some of those things are sacred to our people.”

Forcia said he understands that some of the proponents mean well, but he said they don’t understand the full impact on the American Indian culture.

Never once have I seen anyone wear a war bonnet or war paint, since I have been in Grand Forks, ND (1993). This statement absolutely incorrect and fallacious this doesn't happen at UND and I dare him to actually back up his facts. Nothing like making up your own facts to forward your argument.

Eric Staal Hard Check on His Brother Mark Staal

Wow, that was a nice body check. Looks like a clean hit to me, elbows are down, doesn’t leave his feet.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard spinorama goal against the Oilers

Edit: I was following two games tonight, my other favorite team the Boston Bruins were playing the Calgary Flames which the Boston Bruins won 3-1, None the less, check out this spin-o-rama breakaway goal goal from Minnesota Wild center Pierre-Marc Bouchard that he scored against the Edmonton Oilers, this has to be one of the top goals of the season. Bouchard also had two assists to go along with this goal as the Wild beat Edmonton 4-1.

Pens’ Thug Matt Cooke checked into the boards by Matt Bradley no one cares…

There is an old saying in hockey you live by the sword you die by the sword; well that sword sliced Matt Cooke in the posterior last night. I was watching the game between Washington and Pittsburgh on Versus last night and during his second game back from his most recent suspension for being a putz on the ice: probably to many fans amusement; the despicable and unlikable Matt Cooke was checked face first into the boards by Capitals winger Matt Bradley, what I find even more amusing that no one is upset about it Cooke getting check head long into the boards.

I spent most of the last hour combing through the major NHL Hockey blogs (Puck Daddy, Kukla’s Korner) and there is no outrage what-so-ever. I even checked a prominent Pittsburg Penguins fan blog and showed little if any empathy or outrage for the Bradley hit on Pens hack Matt Cooke. I think that is a telling story of just how people feel about Matt Cooke.

I think eventually all of the transgressions that Matt Cooke has done on the ice are going to catch up with him, some day someone is going to catch him with his head down and some is going to blast him and he isn’t going to get up. My next question is will anyone but some Penguins fans care?

Fighting in Hockey

Recently, in the last couple of day there has been much discussion about the role of fighting in hockey and whether it should be banned or punished more severely. A research group did a poll that said a majority of Canadians want fighting banned from hockey, I highly doubt it was a poll made up entirely by hockey fans. I would actually like to see the break down of who their flawed poll actually surveyed. I am sure there are a fair number of these people that were surveyed that don’t have a clue what a hockey puck is for and when they see a fight in hockey they are probably clueless to what purpose fighting actually serves in hockey.

Fighting in hockey serves a purpose and keep the players that play by the hockey code honest. If there wasn’t fighting in hockey I would be willing to bet you would see more "guttless pukes" like Matt Cooke or insert your favorite player ___________ skating up and down the ice taking liberties with other teams skilled players because they know they wouldn’t have to fight, they could hide behind the refs and yap because they know they wouldn't have to fight anymore. Basically, I see it all of the time in college hockey now a days where players know they can do bush leagues things because they know that they rarely have to fight. I also think that you would see more questionable checks in retribution for these bush league tactics from players like Cooke.

Brett Hextall Red Baron® WCHA Co-Offensive Players of the Week

Fightingsioux.com photo

Fighting Sioux forward Brett Hextall has been named the Co-Offensive player of the week. Unfortunately, Hextall has to share the award with Gopher fraud Jacob C-Piss. This past weekend Brett Hextall was impressive has he scored (3g-0a-3pts) on the weekend and now has 7 points in the last 5 games (5g-2a-7pts).

WCHA.COM ---- Hextall, a junior from Manhattan Beach, Calif., scored three critical goals to lead North Dakota to a three-point weekend at St. Cloud State. All three of his goals in the series gave the Sioux the lead. He scored a game-winning power-play goal in third period last Saturday to give UND a 3-2 win, after having earlier provided UND a 2-1 lead with an even-strength goal late in the second. He was named the No. 1 star of the game. Hextall also scored the opening goal late in the first period of last Friday's 3-3 (tie) at SCSU, earned a +2 rating in the series and had five shots on goal. In the midst of a five-game point streak, Hextall has 17 points (8g, 9a) in 28 games this season.

Also nominated this week: Jamie MacQueen, F, Bemidji State; Drew Shore, F, DU.

Most Canadians want hockey fights banned: poll

The Boogey man beating the tar out of some stiff

I would really like to see the ins and outs of this poll; I would like to see their data and who they sampled. I highly doubt that many NHL Hockey fans would like to see fighting taken out of hockey. There is a big difference between asking hockey fans from Canada about fighting in hockey and asking Canadians about fighting in hockey.

Bradley Bouzane, Postmedia News ---- While most older Canadians say fighting is not an important part of hockey and want the National Hockey League to crack down on violence, younger Canadians are less inclined to blow the whistle on dropping the gloves, an exclusive poll has found.

An Ipsos Reid poll, conducted for Postmedia News and Global National, found 54 per cent of those surveyed say an outright ban should be placed on fighting in the NHL. The poll also found 68 per cent disagree that “violence is just a part of the game and penalties for playing rough and tough should not increase.”

However, the majority (about 60 per cent) of respondents between 18 and 34 are opposed to an outright ban against on-ice fisticuffs. In fact, nearly half of younger Canadians say fighting is an important part of hockey.

In contrast, 56 per cent of the 35 to 54 age group support a ban, while 65 per cent of those 55 and over say they want an end to fighting.

Under current rules, fighting leads to five minutes in the penalty box — and often a spot on the nightly highlight reels.

Meanwhile, the majority of those polled also say the NHL should punish other violent behaviour — which has led to serious injuries, including concussions.

I doubt we will ever see fighting gone from NHL and junior hockey in our life times. Take fighting out of the NHL and you will be letting thugs like Matt Cooke get away with taking liberties on skilled players in the NHL, the level of violence will actually go up and there will probably be more head injuries. Allowing fighting in hockey lets the players police the game and doesn’t make the NHL teams and their players rely on the NHL front office to dole out suspensions and punishment for questionable acts of violence on the ice. For example; if I am an NHL hockey player and I knew I can take a run Crosby or Ovechkin an not have to answer for my actions by having to fight I basically have a green light to skate up and down the ice taking liberties that may never be answered for. Having to fight keeps the players semi honest.

Sioux Victory in the House!

The bill in the North Dakota House to preserve the Sioux name was passed 65-28.

Now it moves to the Senate where I think it will do as well.

Go Sioux!

More from my blogging partner (boss) at Say Anything.

HB1263, instructing the State Board of Higher Education to keep the Fighting Sioux Nickname, just passed the state House by a 65 – 28 vote. HB1263 was sponsored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson. Other Sioux-related bills, HB1257 and HB1208 both failed by wide margins obviously because the House found consensus behind Carlson’s bill.

“This isn’t the most important bill this session,” said Rep. Carlson. “But it’s important to a lot of people.”

Opponents to the bill, including Grand Forks’ Rep. Elliot Glassheim, called it legislative overreach. He argues, as Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem does, that the state legislature doesn’t have the authority to pass this legislation.

Which is actually correct (would that these critics were more in tune with the state constitution when it came to, say, the unconstitutional nature of economic development spending). The state constitution establishes the State Board of Higher Education as an almost totally unaccountable 4th branch of the state government. Outside of funding, and approving board appointees, the state legislature has almost no control over higher education in North Dakota.

And that’s a big problem that goes far beyond the Fighting Sioux nickname. That the SBHE is trying to get rid of the nickname over the protests of a majority of the public is an example of just how arrogant and drunk with power they are, and from there we go to their endless demands for more funding despite huge double-digit increases in their state budgets every legislative session. We look at the waste, fraud and abuse in the higher education system.

What the Fighting Sioux nickname debate illustrates is that the state’s higher education system needs to be less autonomous and more accountable to the elected representatives of the people.

Poll Monday - Sioux number 1 in both polls

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 21, 2011]
1 North Dakota (21) 22-8-3 959 2
2 Boston College (13) 22-7-1 941 1
3 Yale (15) 22-5-0 937 3
4 Merrimack ( 1) 21-5-4 832 6
5 Union 24-7-3 749 7
6 Denver 19-8-5 741 4
7 Minnesota-Duluth 19-7-5 715 5
8 Notre Dame 20-9-5 639 9
9 New Hampshire 18-7-5 610 8
10 Michigan 21-9-4 576 11
11 Miami 17-9-6 540 10
12 Nebraska-Omaha 19-11-2 404 13
13 Wisconsin 19-11-4 362 12
14 Rensselaer 19-9-4 360 14
15 Boston University 16-9-7 328 15
16 Maine 14-10-6 199 19
17 Western Michigan 15-9-10 183 17
18 Dartmouth 15-9-3 144 16
19 Colorado College 17-15-2 88 18
20 Minnesota 13-12-5 67 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Princeton 33, Robert Morris 28,
Cornell 24, RIT 20, Ferris State 17, Northeastern 3,
Ohio State 1
_____________________________________________

USA Today poll
[February 21, 2011]
1. University of North Dakota, 487 (18)222-8-320
2. Boston College, 468 (7)122-7-120
3. Yale University, 463 (9)322-5-020
4. Merrmiack College, 406521-5-47
5. Union College, 354724-7-317
6. University of Denver, 407419-8-520
7. University of Minnesota Duluth, 298619-7-520
8. University of Notre Dame, 256820-9-517
9. University of New Hampshire, 236918-7-520
10. University of Michigan, 2201121-9-420
11. Miami University, 2141017-9-620
12. University of Nebraska Omaha, 1221219-11-216
13. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 941419-9-412
14. University of Wisconsin, 681319-11-415
15. Boston University, 491516-9-717
Others receiving votes: University of Maine 8, Dartmouth College 7, Western Michigan University 5, Robert Morris University 4, Rochester Institute of Technology 3, Cornell University 1.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look, I am actually shocked that they picked UND number 1. UMD and DU seem to be dropping in the rankings.

1. North Dakota 1 Forward Brett Hextall, who scored three goals in his first 23 games this season, scored three more in the Fighting Sioux's tie and win at St. Cloud State. He has five goals and two assists in his last five games. 22-8-3 (17-6-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at St. Cloud State, 3-3 ot; W at St. Cloud State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Bemidji State
2. Boston College
3. Yale
4. Union
5. Merrimack
6. Miami
7. New Hampshire
8. Denver
9. Minnesota Duluth
10. Michigan
11. Notre Dame
12. Rensselaer
13. Nebraska-Omaha
14. Boston University
15. Wisconsin
16. Western Michigan
17. Cornell
18. RIT
19. Robert Morris
20. Minnesota
Dropped out: Dartmouth, Colorado College
Bubble-licious: Maine, Dartmouth, Princeton, Colorado College

Goon In studio today on KNOX from 3:00 - 4:00 PM

I am on the air in studio with R.J. Richards on KNOX 1310 in Grand Forks, ND from 3:00 - 4:00 pm. We will be talking hockey. You can listen live by clicking on this link... Call in number is 701-775-4611. email the booth at live@knoxradio.com

Sioux 3 Sled Dogs err Huskies 2

SCSU Hack/Thug Aaron Marvin is stopped by Aaron Dell - SC Times photo

I have to admit that I didn’t see the game last night because I didn’t want to watch another Sioux hockey game on the B2TV Network. I must say that this season I have been less than impressed with the quality of video broadcasts that the B2Network have produced. Since I have been unimpressed with their hockey broadcasts this season, adjectives like lackluster come to mind in describing them. In my opinion I don’t think their broadcast was worth the $7.00 that the B2TV Network charges to watch the games, so we spent $7.00 and went to the EDC hockey tourney instead. Speaking frankly the B2TVNetwork broadcasts suck, I don't know how I can say it any other way.

I know that this only lends credence to the argument that the NCAA needs to have a NCAA Center Ice hockey package so fans can view their team and not have to watch their favorite team on a laptop or desktop computer.

So yesterday; I decided to take in EDC Hockey yesterday with a buddy of mine and we spent the afternoon and evening watching North Dakota high school hockey. We watched three hockey games back to back and got to see player that hopefully will be a future Fighting Sioux hockey player in Keaton Thompson who said last week that he would like to be a member of the Fighting Sioux. It hard to believe that this kid is only a freshman in high school because he shows great poise and puck handling skills for a kid that is still developing physically, it will be interesting to see what he looks like in a couple of seasons. Thompson is supposed to join the Force now that his season is over. This is a developing story that I will follow closely. It will be interesting to see if he accelerates his high school studies or not.

While I was at the EDC games I followed the game on the FightingSioux.com chat and it sounded like that WCHA officials had what can only be classified as another very bad game on the ice. What I gleaned from the chat is that officials were blowing calls up and down the ice for no particular reason other than they are incompetent. Apparently, coach Hakstol was less than pleased with what he saw on the ice gave WCHA official Brad Shepherd an earful after the second period. Incidentally or maybe ironically, Brad Shepherd happens to be the son of WCHA on ice officials Greg Shepherd, I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

It’s the opinion of this blogger that Brad Shepherd is not a good on ice official and is only officiating hockey games in the WCHA because of his father’s position. I believe that nepotism and cronyism in the WCHA front office is having a very serious affect on the quality and integrity of play in the WCHA. I have been unimpressed with Brad Shepherds work all season long and I am not finding this situation to be amusing or funny.

I am hoping that when the Big Ten is finally a reality that Shepherd and crew of on ice buffoons go with the Big Ten Hockey Conference where they can team up with CCHA buffoon Matt Shegos, the fans deserve better than what they are getting from the on ice officials in college hockey. I don't believe the argument that they are only part time so fans should just shut the hell up and take it. The member schools need to start speaking up and let them selves be heard. I think we have seen enough of the WCHA officials quality of work to realize that they are being fed a red herring. This is the best hockey league in college hockey and the refs are bunch of bumbling buffoons that I wonder how they are able to tie their skates before the games they officate.

With the win last night there is some positives, Junior Brett Hextall now has 4 goals in 5 games, some have linked Hextalls resurgence to Hextall wearing his give blood play hockey hat during post game and Wednesday interviews. Hey if it works keep doing it, don’t take that hat off or wash it till after the season is over. I would recommend Mr. Hextall sleep with that hat on his head if he has to, whatever it takes.

With the win last night the Fighting Sioux are 7-1-2 on the big sheets this season (1-0-1 Kendall Hockey Classic), (2-0-0 Wisconsin), (2-0-0 Mankato), (1-1-0 C.C.), (1-0-1 SCSU) = 7-1-2 in ten games on Olympic sheets of ice this season.

Links to the game

Huskies fight hard but denied the win [SC Times]

North Dakota Edges Huskies 3-2 at the National Hockey Center [Center Ice]

Box Score

UND MEN'S HOCKEY: It’s old hat for Hextall and the Sioux [Grand Forks Herald]

Mark Stuart vs Jean-Francois Jacques Feb 19, 2011

Former C.C. Tiger and Boston Bruin Mark Stuart makes his presence known in his first game with his new team the Atlanta Thrashers. Looks like another example of where a player throws a good clean check, then the teammate of that player that was checked challenges that player to a fight. None takes a number anymore.

Hockey Scores from Friday, February 18

Atlantic Hockey Association
Air Force 5 at Mercyhurst 3 AH
American Int'l 4 at Army 6 AH
Connecticut 2 at Bentley 4 AH
Sacred Heart 2 at Holy Cross 3 AH

CCHA
Lake Superior 1 at Ohio State 1 CC OT
Michigan State 1 at Alaska 4 CC
Notre Dame 3 at Ferris State 2 CC
Northern Michigan 2 at Bowling Green 2 CC OT
Western Michigan 3 at Michigan 6 CC

ECAC
Brown 3 at Princeton 7
Dartmouth 3 at Colgate 5
Harvard 4 at Cornell 3
Rensselaer 3 at St. Lawrence 5
Union 4 at Clarkson 3 OT
Yale 6 at Quinnipiac 1

Hockey East
Merrimack 4 at Massachusetts 3 OT
Maine 4 at UMass Lowell 0
Northeastern 7 at Boston College 7 OT
Providence 1 at Boston University 2
New Hampshire 6 at Vermont 1

WCHA
North Dakota 3 at St. Cloud State 3 OT Box
Nebraska-Omaha 2 at Alaska Anchorage 3 Box
Minnesota 5 at Wisconsin 2 Box
Colorado College 5 at Bemidji State 5 OT Box
Minnesota Duluth 1 at Minnesota State 3 Box
Michigan Tech 3 at Denver 2 Box

The Frattin goal that wasn't

This was the Frattin goal that was waved off in the third period of Friday night's game. Obviously, the video from Charter wasn't very good and I also used my wife digital camera to record the video, but if you watch the video you will see Mike Lee reach out with his catching glove and knock Trupp off stride causing a pile up in the SCSU goal. I don't know? What do you think, should the goal counted? I think there is an argument to be made either way. By Lee grabbing Trupp he actually cause interference so I think the goal could have counted, Lee also appeared to have enough time to get back into position in my opinion... Let the debate begin.

AW, UND's Illegitimate President Has Issues With Legislature Listening To Citizens on Sioux Nickname

I think some background is in order. UND has a long proud tradition of using the Sioux name as it's identity for sports team. For a long time there's been a small but vocal group trying to create discord by saying that the name is disrespectful. Of course the Sioux tribal members don't see it that way no matter how much racial discord the haters, a malcontent humanities professors, tried to whip up.

It finally came down to a law suit against the NCAA. While we had a winning case, the Attorney General and the State Board of Higher Education stabbed us in the back by agreeing to an unprecedented agreement. We not only had to get our neighboring tribe to agree to the name we had to get a tribe hundreds of miles away to agree. According to interviews I heard of Archie Fool Bear, that tribe really doesn't have a lot of contact with UND.

I would like to ask the Attorney General how many other schools had to get two tribes to approve of the name. I expect though we'd get the kind of dishonest answer that Scott Hennen when he asked AG Wayne Stenehjem why he had never visited the tribes to negotiate when he promised he would the day of the settlement. Stenehjem said on the radio that he had early on. However in the Grand Forks Herald newspaper story, the Long Bitter Fight, Grant Shaft said that Stenehjem's involvement in the matter ended at the time of the settlement.

The anti's in the administration and Board of Higher Education were happy to not negotiate with the tribes and leave the blame on the Tribes until Tribal members took up the issue on their own and were forcing a vote. Then UND's illegitimate president pressured the Summit league commissioner to say that our application was being held up until the matter was settled. The Board of Higher Education then using that as an excuse started working on retiring the name right away.

Now since the people of Grand Forks and the Tribal Members and the UND alumni have been ignored the North Dakota state legislature has taken up the issue. Robert Kelley doesn't like anyone that doesn't agree with him having a say in this matter.

He also expressed concern about “the profound negative, deleterious effect” he fears recent legislative involvement in the long contentious nickname issue could have on the university.

Just like he made up the issue about the Summit league he's trying to obscure the facts. The lawsuit was settled under North Dakota state law. The state legislature can and should change the law so that people have a say.

Kelley would like to pretend that if he gets his way here that everything will just settle down. I don't think so. If UND had allowed the case to go to court and we lost we would have regretted it, but at least we tried. If UND and the state government had tried to get the tribes approval and failed we would have regretted it but at least we tried.

Instead nobody from the state negotiated with the Tribes. The Kelley administration didn't want to keep the name. The State Board of Higher Education formed a committee to try to keep the name. Grant Shaft headed up one organizational meeting and as soon as Tribal members on the Spirit Lake reservation started working on the issue on their own they he said we couldn't wait for the Summit league and made the motion to drop the nickname.

Shaft says that they had contact with the tribes. I don't believe him. Where is the documentation? Where are the expense forms for travel?

Things aren't going to just go away:

[Al] Olson also expressed concern about the effect the controversy is having on UND’s current major fundraising campaign, as many potential donors have strong feelings about the Fighting Sioux name and logo.

Tim O’Keefe, executive director of the UND Alumni Association, agreed that there are potential costs to stretching the transition out over several years. “I think this president has a great agenda … that’s being impaired,” he said. The nickname issue dominates discussions he has with alumni around the country, and consequently “they’re not talking about the many great things that are happening here.”

But a great many of UND’s 112,000 alumni “are in mourning,” O’Keefe said.

Tim, great things aren't going on at UND. Robert Kelley is running this institution into the ground.

And we're not in mourning. We're angry that our side has been ignored when it hasn't been denigrated. The great majority of people on and off the reservation have this in common. We want to keep the Sioux nickname. The university people work for us, not the other way around.

Contact your House members, there is supposed to be a vote around noon on Monday to save the name.

Cross posted from Say Anything Blog

Sister kissing in St. Cloud, Sioux 3 - Huskies 3

They say a tie in hockey is like kissing your sister, while I won’t argue that fact because I have no idea, tonight’s tie between the UND Fighting Sioux and SCSU Huskies feels almost as bad as a loss. I feel like the Sioux let one point slip away tonight. It was a missed opportunity and luckily for the UND Fighting Sioux the teams below them in the standings lost as well. UMD, UNO and DU all lost tonight so their tie tonight against the SCSU Huskies isn’t as costly as it could have been.

I guess the vaunted Black Jerseys weren’t enough for the Fighting Sioux to break the “jinx” that is Friday nights in the National Hockey Center in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. They say that all streaks eventually must come to an end, this was a streak that I would have like to see ended tonight, the Sioux are something like 25-1-3 in the black jerseys since 2007.

Michigan Tech ended their streak of futility by winning their first hockey game since October 15th, 2010; Denver University was the unlucky recipient of that streaking ending win. I am glad that MTU has that elusive win out of the way, because I would hate to see UND be that team that loses to the Michigan Tech Huskies the last weekend of the regular season March 4th and 5th in Houghton, Michigan. That's why they play the games, there is no give mes in the WCHA. Sucks to be Denver and it couldn't have happened to a better team. Yeah I would love to see the morning skate in Denver tomorrow, I would be willing to bet that morning practice won't be fun tomorrow.

Back to clichés again, there are no mails in points in the WCHA and while the SCSU Huskies aren’t a very good hockey team this season, you still have to play hockey for 60 minutes to beat them, your team can’t a period of hockey off and still expect to win the hockey game. I thought the Sioux took a few shifts off tonight and were caught not moving their feet during the middle part of the game.

I thought the Sioux had trouble with turnovers as well and failed to get pucks deep at key times in the game, twice this lead to goals for the Huskies. The Fighting Sioux defense also left their goaltender in vulnerable situations at key times in the game, the power play goal that SCSU scored the Ben Hanowski was a perfect example of what not to do while killing a penalty, the Sioux defenders were standing and not clearing out the front net and Aaron Dell was screened on the shot, that can't happen in the post season. That's unacceptable the coaching staff will make adjustments.

The game started out well tonight, the Sioux raced to a 2-0 lead before they kind of fell off of the quick pace they set in the first period and stopped moving their feet. I thought that the Sioux had a really good chance at ending their unimpressive winless streak in the National Hockey Center as well, but it wasn’t to be tonight. My reason for optimism, was two fold, SCSU isn't having a very good season and that SCSU starting goalie Mike Lee had been dismal against the Fighting Sioux, Lee has an 0-4 career record against the Fighting Sioux and an unimpressive 5.32 goals-against average and a lackluster.863 save percentage against the UND Fighting Sioux. Tonight it wasn't meant to be I guess. On the flip side of that equation, the Fighting Sioux have an 8-1-1 record the last ten games at the National Hockey Center on Saturday nights.

Here are some stats for you on how valuable Matt Frattin is to the Fighting Sioux, according to the UND SID, UND's Matt Frattin has four goals and three assists in his last four games. He has scored 35 goals in 45 games dating back to last Feb. 13 at SCSU.

Goon's three stars of the game

1.) Matt Frattin (2g-0a-2pts)
2.) Corban Knight(0g-2a-2pts)
3.) Brett Hextall (1g-0a-1pts)

Box Score

SCSU vs UND lines

RWD favorite college hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman has posted the lines for tonight's game between the Fighting Sioux and the SCSU Huskies. The Fighting Sioux are an uninspiring 0-7-3 in their last 10 Friday night games at the Concrete Center National Hockey Center...

UND’s Forward 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

Defense

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

Goalies

32 Aaron Dell
31 Brad Eidsness

[UND Stats]

St. Cloud State’s Forward lines

10 Ben Hanowski–9 Garrett Roe–22 David Eddy
11 Jared Festler–17 Aaron Marvin–12 Travis Novak
23 Cam Reid–19 Drew LeBlanc–26 Nic Dowd
28 Mitch MacMillan–13 Jordy Christian–16 Nick Oslund

Defense

25 Oliver Lauridsen–14 Nick Jensen
7 Kevin Gravel–6 Brett Barta
3 Sam Zabkowicz–4 Taylor Johnson

Sieves Goalies

30 Mike Lee
44 Dan Dunn

[SCSU Stats]

Bruins get Tomas Kaberle in a trade with Leafs.

Before you start laughing with this statement; so I am busy for a couple of hours this afternoon and then I come back to computer to find out that the Boston Bruins have made some major moves. There’s a couple of big trades for the Boston Bruins this afternoon. First the Tomas Kaberle was traded to the Leafs for Joe Colborne and two draft picks. This trade wasn’t that big of a shocker because it was being talked about most of the week. The Boston Bruins get their high end defenseman they have wanted and needed for some time now, the Bruins give up former DU Pioneer Joe Colborne who I think is a more talented version of Blake Wheeler big soft forward that’s not very physical, the Bruins also give up “their own” 2011 first-round draft pick, and a conditional 2012 second-round draft pick.

The Bruins also traded former Golden Gopher Blake Wheeler and former C.C. Tiger Mark Stuart to the Atlanta Thrasher for Boris Valabik and Rich Peverley. Rich Peverley has 14 goals and 20 assists in 59 games and will add some offensive talent to the Bruins attack.

As a Bruins fans I am very happy because that the Boston Bruins get rid of two big soft forwards... They also got a big time puck mover on the back end that they needed desperately. I am sadden by the Trade of Mark Stuart, he wais one of my favorite Bruins defenseman because he was tough and has a lot of grit and wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves.

Links to the Story

Bruins acquire Peverley and Valabik for Wheeler and Stuart [Boston Globe]

Kaberle trade official [Boston Globe]

Leafs deal Kaberle to Bruins for prospect, picks [NHL.COM]

Kaberle to the Bruins? UPDATED...

It looks like the Bruins and Leafs might be making that trade they have been talking about according to Damien Cox, unfortunately, it appears that former Gopher forward Blake Wheeler is not one of those on the way out of Boston. I also see that former DU Pioneer Joe Colborne might be on the move which really wouldn’t be that big of a loss for the Boston Bruins since I think is just a bigger version of Blake Wheeler, a big soft forward that doesn’t like to hit.

All signs are pointing to Tomas Kaberle becoming a Boston Bruin today.

This could change, either in a league trade call that has yet to take place between the Leafs and Bruins, or if the teams miscommunicate in the way they did back in June, 2009 when a deal involving Kaberle for Phil Kessel literally fell apart on the draft floor because Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli believed they were talking about different deals.

Or, of course, the B's might feel better about their prospects after pounding the Islanders last night.

But right now, it's believed the Leafs would get Boston's first round pick this June (not the second of two first rounders sent to the Bruins in the Kessel deal) and a prospect. Winger Blake Wheeler is apparently not in play, but the Leafs might be zeroing in on one of two good Boston prospects, Ontario junior Ryan Spooner or Providence centre Joe Colborne.

For Leaf fans, Colborne might be the prospect they'd be happiest with, given that he's 6-foot-5 and was Boston's first rounder back in 2008. Spooner has been a more prolific offensive player, particularly this year with Doug Gilmour's Kingston Frontenacs, but he's not as big as Colborne.

I am still holding out hope that the Maple Leafs still get Blake Wheeler, he played with Phil Kessel in college at Minnesota for one year and it would be nice to see those two reunited again. Before Minnesota fans jump down my throat, I am not anti Wheeler as a person, I just am not impressed with his game, he is a big soft forward that doesn’t like to hit and he doesn’t fit the big bad Bruins mold. During the playoffs last spring his game was uninspiring and he couldn’t have hit water if he was standing in a boat.

This is from the Boston Globe hockey blog --- According to a league source, Tomas Kaberle is on the verge of being a Bruin. The Bruins would acquire Kaberle from Toronto for former DU Pioneer Joe Colborne and their own 2011 first-round pick.

Friday morning links - the dog days of winter are upon us

There is a lot of great breaking hockey news going on today… It’s crunch time and shall we say the dog days of winter in the NHL and NCAA hockey and there are a lot of great story lines developing.

Huskies record post Christmas and what to make of it?

First there is a lot being made of the SCSU Huskies going 7-3-2 since Christmas, what hasn’t been talked about is who the SCSU Huskies have played. The Huskies while having won seven games since Christmas the Huskies have only beaten two hockey teams with a winning record (Miami and UMD) and have gone a lack luster 1-3-2 their last six games. I am not saying the Huskies won't beat the Sioux I am just saying that for the most part the Huskies wins have come against bad teams.

Story lines for this weekend's games

The Pony Express is delivering big time. Here is what Brad Schlossman had to say about the all senior line.

UND’s top line of Evan Trupp, Brad Malone and Matt Frattin has a combined 20 points in the last four meetings against St. Cloud State. Prior to Feb. 13, 2010, in St. Cloud, Frattin had 17 goals in 96 career games. On that day, he started a stretch of 33 goals in 44 games.

In the rumor mill department, apparently there is some question on whether Wisconsin Defenseman Jake Gardiner is going to go pro or not after this season. It will be interesting to see how this plays out but I would be willing to bet that we won’t see Jake back at Wisconsin next season. Just a hunch… [Madison.com]

Over at USCHO our favorite EZAC writer Brian Sullivan has the Sioux in third in his weekly top 20 poll… [USCHO.COM]

Predictions

Goal Gophers has Chris Miller back with him this week making predictions and I must say that this guy must be a real hoot. I have enjoyed reading Goal Gophers predictions the past few weeks.

Old Charlie. He pretended he was enjoying his stay in the Red River Valley, but you know dang well he was on the next phone screaming at his agent for booking him anywhere north of St. Louis. Roman has established the Sioux (are they still the “Fighting Sioux?”) as the team to beat down the stretch, and who am I to argue? The Huskies will steal one this weekend, though, for a ... Split

Roman: The Sioux have clinched home ice, now they want to win the MacNaughton Cup which goes to the regular-season champion. They have a one point lead, a three-game win streak and a hot, hot player. Jason Gregoire, since returning from an injury, has eight goals and four assists in eight games. No wonder Dave Hakstol said he did backflips when he heard Gregoire was healthy again. The Huskies are coming off an impressive three-point weekend at UMD, but finish with a brutal sked: NoDak, Wisconsin and Denver. The Sioux swept SCSU 3-1, 6-2 at the Ralph earlier. ... UND sweep

USCHO gives us their weekend predictions Let's hope that both writers are wrong in their predictions again this week. Both WCHA writers are predicting a SPLIT in the series between the Fighting Sioux and the SCSU Huskies.

No. 2 North Dakota (21–8–2, 16–6–0 WCHA) at St. Cloud State (12–14–4, 8–11–3 WCHA)
Theresa: This has developed into a nice little rivalry over the past two years and should prove to be an interesting weekend. Despite injuries, the Sioux have been rolling along just fine (as coach Dave Hakstol has said, they’re not technically short-handed). The Huskies, meanwhile, may have found their stride at the perfect time in the season. I believe home ice is a stretch for them (don’t quote me on that), but, like BSU above, they can make their league positioning a lot more favorable. As a result, I believe we’ll see a split — SCSU Friday, UND Saturday.

Tyler: UND’s key injuries (Genoway and Kristo) make it a little more of an even playing field with the series played in St. Cloud. This is probably the last bump in the road for the Sioux before they end the season with Bemidji State and Michigan Tech. Meanwhile, centers Garrett Roe and Drew LeBlanc are finally making strides for SCSU. Split.

Jess Meyers has a nice story about the Big Ten Hockey Conference and I am sure we will see more of these stories as the calendar turns to the 2012-2013 season. Like I have previously said, I think the Big Ten Hockey Conference is ill conceived and hasn’t been thought out yet and could cause more damage than good for NCAA Hockey.

The Hobey Tracker is up at INCH and not a lot of love for the Western College Hockey players, Western being WCHA hockey players. [INCH.COM]

Mike Eidelbes from INCH has their yearly 4 X 4 and he is predicting that the Fighting Sioux are going to be in St Louis and with a first round match up against Dartmouth followed by the winner of the UNO and Union game. I guess Mike is assuming that Union would get by UNO, I don't know if I would bet against Dean Blais.

The NCAA purportedly doesn’t care about attendance in favor of “bracket integrity”, but it almost seems like North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha have to end up in St. Louis in order for anyone to show up. The thought of a NoDak-Union regional final is quite appealing.

It looks like the DU Pioneers have decided on their starter in net as freshman Sam Brittain will make his third start for in a row for the DU Pioneers. Last Saturday night DU goalie Sam Brittain was shelled against the Gophers giving up 4 goals on 14 shots.

Fans want Canadiens to acquire some muscle

Apparently the Montreal Canadian fans are tired of seeing their team getting pushed around physically on the ice and would like to see their team add an enforcer to their line up. Seems logical after the Boston Bruins handed them their ass earlier this month.

MONTREAL -- As the NHL trade deadline draws nearer, Montreal Canadiens fans believe their inconsistent and undersized squad should ply the market for more muscle.

A QMI-Leger Marketing poll suggests 50% of Habs fans believe the team needs to pick up a bigger, tougher player if they hope to return to the Eastern Conference final. Hard-nosed Ottawa Senators winger Chris Neil was at the top of the fans' wish list.

The Canadiens, who haven't had an enforcer since Georges Laraque was bought out in January 2010, are noticeably smaller than such rivals as the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers. Defenceman P.K Subban is the team's leader in penalty minutes, but ranks only 31st in the league with 86 minutes in the box.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

We have 6 league series this weekend again. The top 4 teams are separated by only 2 points. Also 6th place thru 10th place is only separated by 4 points. It looks like the last home ice playoff spot will come down to the last weekend of play, the way things are going. Just think, in one month (March 17th) the Final Five will be starting in St. Paul. I think it is safe to say the current top 4 teams will be hosting a first round playoff series. UND is the first team to officially lock-up a home playoff series.

I figured it’s that time of year again, conference playoffs are just around the corner and the NCAA tournament is lurking in the background. So, I’m changing my ranking numbers this week. Previously I was going off the USCHO poll, now I’ll be using the PairWise Rankings. Since the PairWise mimics the selection process of who does and doesn’t make the tournament.

WCHA Standings

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota……….16-6-0…32
2. Denver………………14-5-3…31
3. Minnesota-Duluth.....13-5-4…30
3. Nebraska-Omaha…..14-6-2…30
5. Wisconsin……..….…11-9-2…24
6. Colorado College…11-11-0…22
7. Minnesota……..……9-10-3…21
8. Alaska-Anchorage….9-13-2…20
9. St. Cloud State…......8-11-3…19
10. Minnesota State……7-13-4…18
11. Bemidji State……….7-12-3…17
12. Michigan Tech………1-19-2…4

WCHA

#19 Minnesota @ #15 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Badgers were swept by the UNO Mavericks in Omaha and Gophers split with the DU Pioneers in Minneapolis.

These teams met earlier in the season in Minneapolis with the Badgers taking 3-points with a 6-0 win and a 3-3 tie. By going pointless last weekend the Badgers are now in fight for a home ice spot. The Gophers by getting points again last weekend are only a point out of the last home ice spot. The Gophers have played well in 2011 against the upper half teams, so they have hope. The Badgers have not fared well against top teams, but have taken care of business against the lower teams this season. The Badgers are good at the Kohl Center posting a 13-4-1 home record and the Gophers sport a 5-4-1 road record this year. It is interesting that the Gophers have scored more goals in WCHA play than the Badgers, 67 versus 60. But the Badgers are the best defensive team, allowing a league low 49 goals, where the Gophers have let in 64 on the season (middle of the pack). SPLIT

Michigan Tech @ #4 Denver
Last weekend Huskies got a point playing the BSU Beavers in Houghton and the Pioneers split with the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.

The Huskies are closing in a dubious record, that the CC Tigers own, the longest winless streak. MTU is up to 25 games, going abysmal 0-23-2 since October 16th, they only need to go winless in their next 4 games to tie the record. The Pioneers have cooled down, going 2-2-0 in their last four games. The Pioneers need to take MTU seriously and take care of business and not look ahead to their next series, a road trip to Omaha. PIONEERS SWEEP.

#7 Nebraska-Omaha @ Alaska-Anchorage
Last weekend the Mavericks swept the UW Badgers in Omaha and the Seawolves were swept by the UND Fighting Sioux in Grand Forks.

This being the Mavericks first year in WCHA action, has them sniffing at a league title with three weeks to go. UAA has been in the league for over a decade and has yet to finish in the top half. But the Seawolves are in the hunt to host a first round series, just 2 points out of 6th place. This will be the second meeting between UNO and UAA, they played Oct. 14, 2006 in Anchorage (Nye Classic) and tied 2-2. The Mavericks have taken a long plane ride before, when they had to visit Alaska, in Fairbanks, their old CCHA foe. The Mavericks will need points this weekend if they want to keep on the heels of the WCHA leaders. UNO plays their “neighbors” the last two series, DU and UMD. After this weekend, the Seawolves only have 1 WCHA series left, a trip to Mankato, to play the other Mavericks (UAA plays Alaska next weekend). Omaha has dropped some games to teams that they probably shouldn’t have this year, namely BSU, QU, and UAH. The Mavericks are 6-7-1 on the road this year. I don’t think the Seawolves are throwing in the towel this year. I think coach Shyiak will have his team ready this weekend. SPLIT


#3 North Dakota @ St. Cloud St.
Last weekend the Sioux swept the UAA Seawolves in Grand Forks and the Huskies took 3-points from the UMD Bulldogs in Duluth.

These teams met in early December with the Sioux sweeping that series, 3-1 and 6-2 in Grand Forks. The Huskies got their first win over a top half of the league team last weekend. This year SCSU has not lived up to preseason expectations, they started off this year’s campaign ranked #4 and have slid since then. Home ice for the first round is still possible, but not likely, since they need to make up 3 points and play UW and DU after this weekend. The Sioux have officially locked up a home ice spot and are now looking to put a lock on the league’s top spot. UND has an easier schedule then SCSU does down the stretch, the Sioux host BSU and travel to MTU to end the season. The Huskies have squandered a pair of 3-goal leads in two of their past three games. The Sioux will need to continue their style of play this weekend to grab more points. SIOUX 3-POINTS

#18 Colorado College @ Bemidji State
Last weekend the Tigers split with the MSUM Mavericks in Colorado Springs and the Beavers took 3-points for the MTU Huskies in Houghton.

The Tigers are clinging to the last home ice playoff spot by a point, and the Beavers are clinging to hopes of climbing into that spot. BSU still has a chance at home ice, but they need to sweep CC to keep that chance alive. The Tigers control their own fate, put together some wins and they can maintain their spot, drop too many games and, well, others will control their fate. The Beavers have struggled in their first year as a WCHA member, but have been in most of their games. For instance in 2011, the Beavers have played 5 overtime games in their 8 league games. BSU is a more defensive minded team this season, as their numbers show, scoring 47 goals and giving up 56 goals. If the scores remain low this weekend, they have a chance of winning. SPLIT

#6 Minnesota-Duluth @ Minnesota State
Last weekend the Bulldogs got 1-point against the SCSU Huskies in Duluth and the Mavericks split with the CC Tigers in Colorado Springs.

The Bulldogs have only 1 win in their last 4 games, going 1-1-2, since their sweep of the hapless (MTU) Huskies. The Mavericks need to sweep this weekend if they want any shot at home ice, since they have only 1 WCHA series after this weekend (UAA Mar.4-5). UMD slipped from a first place tie into a tie for third (with UNO) last weekend, thanks to SCSU making themselves at home in Amsoil arena. The Bulldogs are an impressive 9-2-3 (overall) away from Duluth this season. Both teams know the end of the season is near, and points are becoming expensive, it’s just a matter of which is willing to pay the price. SPLIT.