Monday Links...

There are some nice stories out there that are worth looking at on this Monday evening after an awesome weekend of hockey. Go Fighting Sioux…

Julie Robenhymer from Hockey Buzz has a great blog post on the NCAA tourney. Breaking Down the Brackets - How The Frozen Four Got There...[Click to view]

Looks like Merrimack College forward Stephane Da Costa will not be returning to college in the fall. [Click to view] That's a huge loss for Merrimack College.

Tim Boger from the Dakota Student has a blog post about the Sioux being half way to pay dirt. Good stuff there... [Click to view]

Kevin Pates has an article about the UMD and Yale game. College hockey: Penalty proved key for UMD's run to the Frozen Four [Click to view]

Without a Peer refered to UND as a runway truck... [Click to view]

Our Favorite USCHO writer Brian Sullivan has an article on Yale’s misfortune during the Regional; Yale pays the penalty and sees its season end. This article sounds more like sour grapes to me. From my perspective the hit was a penalty and the ref made the correct call, lets also be real, UMD out played Yale. Got to like how there is no credit given to UMD for their victory, that unacceptable in my opinion. Also, sounds like major league whining to me. [Click to view Article]

It sounds like Michigan junior defenseman Brandon Burlon will be returning for the Frozen Four for the Ugly Helmets Michgian Wolverines [Click to view]

The College Hockey blog has the Frozen Four by the Numbers. [Click to view]

More whining and lack of class from the Yale Daily. Hopes dashed in Bridgeport...[Click to view]

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[March 28, 2010]
1 North Dakota (34) 32-8-3 510 1
2 Michigan 28-10-4 462 6
3 Minnesota Duluth 24-10-6 418 12
4 Notre Dame 25-13-5 394 9
5 Boston College 30-8-1 378 2
6 Yale 28-7-1 330 3
7 Denver 25-12-5 302 5
8 Miami (Ohio) 23-10-6 282 4
9 New Hamsphire 22-11-6 230 11
10 Merrimack 25-10-4 200 7
11 Colorado College 23-19-3 186 13
12 Union 26-10-4 134 8
13 Western Michigan 19-13-10 128 10
14 Nebraska Omaha 21-16-2 94 14
15 Rensselaer 20-13-5 16 15
Others receiving votes: Dartmouth 10; Boston University 4; Rochester Institute of Technology 1; Air Force 1.

Blood Check on Zucker

Here's a video of Big Ben Blood taking out Jason Zucker with a textbook body check.



Ben Blood is leading the country in plus minus. His 36 is far better than the next guy on the list, Notre Dame's Sean Lorenz who is at 29.

Matt Frattin is #3 at 28.

Blood has been a rock for us on defense, but he hasn't gotten the national attention that he's deserved.

Goon's in studio on 1310 KNOX - Tuesday from 4:30 – 5:00 PM

Listen to the Goon live at 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm on 1310 AM KNOX on Tuesday March 29th, 2011. R.J. and the Goon will be talking about last weekend NCAA Regional tourney... If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this web link... [Click to Listen]

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

Fire Hakstol… err wait a minute. Sioux 6 DU 1...

I was told by a friend tonight in an email that I should get the "Fire Hak!" thread going again. I laughed pretty hard when I read that email. Just think after losing to the UNO Mavericks 8-4 that there were fans that wanted the head coach of the Fighting Sioux fired for not winning that game and thought that if the Sioux didn't win the Frozen Four that would also be ground for Hakstol's termination. I would bet any money that those same fans that were calling for Mr. Hakstol's head are now firmly on board the Hakstol bandwagon at this very moment as the Sioux are once again going to the Frozen Four. But I digress... Not many coaches in the WCHA can claim to have the success that Dave Hakstol does.

The Fighting Sioux with the victory last night against the Denver Pioneers are making their fifth trip in seven seasons to the Frozen Four. Not a bad coaching job for Dave Hakstol and his staff. There were a lot of doubters in the Fighting Sioux fan base, but I never doubted this coach or this group of hockey players.

Good goaltending

There were people that questioned the goaltender Aaron Dell and said that he wasn’t very good. Those people were proven dead wrong as Aaron Dell took the reins from two year starter Brad Eidsness and won his 30th game of the season (30-6-2, 1.81 GAA and .924 sv%) with the win last night surpassed former NHL All Star and Fighting Sioux goalie Eddie “the Eagle” Belfour… Nationally, Dell is tied for first in the nation with 6 shutouts, number one in winning percentage, eight in save percentage, number one in goals against average. So I ask the doubters, how they can say that Aaron Dell isn’t very good goaltender?” Me personally, I would rather have Dell than any other goalie in the WCHA right now. Where would this team be if the Fighting Sioux didn’t have Aaron Dell, Brad Eidsness is a shell of his former self and couldn’t stop a beach ball earlier this season?

Balanced scoring

The Fighting Sioux were the second highest scoring team in the nation, second only to the EZAC team Yale, who was number one. You know how I feel about that stat so we will leave it at that, it is what it is, Yale racked up points playing a less than impressive schedule (44th SOS) the Fighting Sioux picked up their points playing the seventh toughest schedule. Breaking down the Sioux stats sheet, there are fifteen players on the Sioux roster with ten or more points, three players with twenty or more points, six players with thirty or more points, five players with forty or more points and one player with sixty points. That is some pretty good scoring dept.

Total Domination

Tonight after the first period I thought the Sioux did to the Pioneers what they did to the RPI Engineers, they beat them with their dept, the Pioneers were basically playing three lines to the Sioux rolling four lines and in the end the Sioux took the Pioneers to the wood shed.

An unnamed radio personality was complaining on twitter tonight about the Fighting Sioux still having their top players out on the power play at the end of the game. Like one of my old football coaches said, if you don’t want to get scored on play better defense, the time in the game is relevant. What the hell is the Fighting Sioux coaching staff supposed to do? UND isn’t a one line wonder like some teams and they are deep through the forward lines and the Pioneers were hacking away at the Sioux at the end of the game so I don’t blame Hakstol and co for putting the better guys out on the power play at the end of the game. The best cure for getting a team to stop taking penalties is to score on them on the power play. Just for the record Brett Hextall and Jason Gregoire are second line players. Yeah I know, they would be first line players on other teams in the WCHA.

Goon's three stars of the game
1.) Chay Genoway (0g-3a-3pts)
2.) Aaron Dell 1 GAA
3.) Brad Malone (1g-1a-2pts)

[Box Score]

Regionals Wrap Up (Redwing77)

It turns out I didn't do too badly after all.

I batted .500 on the Frozen Four lineup. I hit with UMD and UND and missed with Michigan and Notre Dame. For the record, I had UMD, UND, BC, and Miami.

UND vs. DU:

I was very nervous for this game because I believe that very few coaches know how to unravel UND's game plan. Gwozdecky and Blais do. York of BC have had luck in this as well. So, as you probably can guess, UNO, DU, and BC aren't teams I wanted UND to face off in the playoffs. And, from what I've read, I think UND still shouldn't have had to.

I agree with Michigan's blogger (link missing) who stated that DU and Michigan should have swapped regionals. Of course, then it would be UND vs. DU in the Frozen Four but oh well.

I was very impressed in this game with UND.

As for the Resch Center: They're only slightly better than Ford Field and that arena in Indiana. I think I've noticed ponds in rural Minnesota that had better quality ice. Actually, if I went to North Central Nebraska, I might find a few ponds in December that would rival the Resch Center.

My three stars:

First Star: Aaron Dell
Second Star: Brad Malone
Third Star: Chay Genoway

My All Regional Team:

Matt Frattin - UND
Jason Zucker - DU
Brad Malone - UND
Chay Genoway - UND
Matt Donovan - DU
Aaron Dell - UND

Tourney MVP: Aaron Dell - UND

Update: I can't find the actual All Tourney Team, but I now know that Genoway, Malone, Dell, and Trupp represented UND with Dell winning MVP.

Commentators for the Midwest Regional:

I don't know what to take of Paradise and whatshisface. During the RPI game they spent almost the entire first period apologizing for RPI and acted as if almost consoling RPI fans to prepare for the worst like UND is a big bad bully about to steal their milk money and give them a wedgie. Then UND starts scoring and suddenly their alter ego takes over and they're all chipper and happy about the goals.

DU/UND they spent almost the entire game blathering about whatever. They actually tuned out the Brock Nelson goal entirely. At least the cameraman paid attention. Look, I know what a 6-1 game looks like but every goal in this matchup mattered. It would have been nice if the commentators understood that.

CC vs. Michigan:

Michigan and CC both looked slow, but Michigan looked better and that's all that was needed to beat CC. CC was on borrowed time and made it much further than I originally thought they would. That being said, only UNH can match CC in terms of lethality among #4 seeds.

UNH vs. Notre Dame:

This game was boring... if you like offense. UNH tried to bring a fast game to the ice and Notre Dame kept slowing it down. Mike Johnson (goaltender, Notre Dame) played an awesome game and was named Player of the Game for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he was also the tourney MVP for that regional.

The Frozen Four matchup:

UND vs. Michigan:

Michigan is no slouch. They aren't great, but they're no slouch. Shawn Hunwick (UM goaltender) has played great... a lot better than I thought he would. Michigan does have some scoring but I think their offense is much like DU in that they really don't have any dynamic scoring. They're pretty balanced overall, but pretty easy to outmuscle. If UND plays a fast but physical game, much like they did today against DU, keeps the front of the net clear, and takes care of rebounds both on offense and defense, I think UND wins.

On paper, UND wins. In reality? Still a toss up.

My prediction: UND wins. No percentage on this one. I'm a Sioux fan. No one should expect any different in this category.

End Thought:

Don't know if I should be happy that Notre Dame won or sad that UNH lost. With Notre Dame in the tourney, you have ZERO Eastern teams. That's a good thing. With Notre Dame in there, you have two big schools (Michigan and Notre Dame) and two little schools comparatively (UND and UMD). I wonder how the coverage will work. Will they pull the Eastern Team Red Carpet act on Notre Dame and Michigan and poo-poo UND and UMD or will they play it equal or what?

Yeah!!! Blame the Sioux.

You've got to be kidding me??? I can't believe he would even say this, what a buffoon for even writing it. This is the beat writer that asks DU Head Coach George Gwozdecky what time RIT is playing at the press conference after his team has just beat C.C. in the WCHA Final Five. Surprisingly it was legit eh?

GREEN BAY, Wis. — After defeating Western Michigan 3-2 in double OT Saturday and faced with a relatively short rest period before this afternoon’s regional championship game against top-ranked North Dakota, the Denver Pioneers had trouble sleeping. They awoke twice at the Aloft Green Bay Hotel because of fire alarms, at about 7 and 8:30 a.m., according to DU radio guy Jay Stickney.

Yeah, your first reaction is to blame the over-indulged Sioux fan, and there are lots of them here, but apparently it was legit. Stickney said he checked with the front desk people and they said there were problems in the kitchen. Nobody had to evacuate the hotel, just exit their rooms and hang out in the hallway for short periods.

Something to ponder on Sunday morning; ECAC Hockey...

So after Union, Yale and RPI went an impressive 1-3 in the NCAA tourney this past weekend, can we now again call the ECAC the EZAC again? All season long we heard how tough the ECAC was top to bottom. The ECAC fans were upset with the rest of the college hockey world for rolling our eyes at this suggestion. We had seen this drill before. After watching Yale rack up wins against a list of unimpressive teams, we were lectured by the “Eastern college hockey pundits” that Yale was one of the best college teams in the country and they’re going to be punching their ticket to the Frozen Four in March. #epicfail #notwinning

I ask you, has anything actually changed? But I digress. After watching Yale play two games, I don’t think that Yale was even the best team in their conference. I had the opportunity to watch Union play three or four times this season, I believe that Union was best team in the ECAC. The Dutchmen gave UMD more of a fight that Yale did. Before someone jumps down my throat I saw the O’Neill hit on Jake Hendrickson that was a penalty and worthy of a major penalty and the refs made the right call in that situation.

Let’s think about this, Duluth (the fourth place team in the WCHA) rolled through Yale like a hot knife through butter. Almost true to form; and right on script, the ECAC teams were all gone by the end of the NCAA regionals. That right, the ECAC went 1-3 in their four NCAA games played. So I ask you college hockey fans, has anything really changed? NCAA titles are won and lost in March and April, there is no trophy for being number one in the pairwise during regular season nor is a there a trophy for having the most wins in January and February.

I had a debate recently with a person that had said top to bottom that the ECAC was most balanced league in all of college hockey. I immediately took issue with what this man had said; I told his argument was highly flawed and flat out wrong. Of course the man was perplexed that I would even question his logic.

Going forward I think my argument has been proven to be right with the results of this post season. All you have to do is look at what the WCHA has done this post season and what has transpired, the 10th place team in the WCHA took out the third place team and the fourth place team in the WCHA playoffs.

I honestly think after watching the tourney to this point that the WCHA has proved to be the toughest league top to bottom; think about this, how often does the 6th place team in any league take out the defending NCAA champion in the NCAA tourney? That doesn’t happen very often. Think about this, when the regular season ended the C.C. Tigers finished in 6th place in the WCHA standings and had to go to a third game against the Wisconsin Badgers to make the WCHA Final Five. The Tigers were also a bubble team and were one of the last teams in.

The Eagles were no cupcake and the Tiger took them down and hung an 8 spot on their team. Their goaltender had gone an impressive 8-0-0 in the NCAA tourney. That’s no small accomplishment in my opinion; the Eagles were the team that had won NCAA titles in two out the last three NCAA’s. The next night the Tigers played tough against Michigan. UMD took two of the anointed best teams that the ECAC had to offer and chewed them up and spit them out.

Sioux 6 RPI 0

Today was the first game of the Midwest Regional and the Fighting Sioux came out and put the woods to the RPI Engineers, the game was tight checking and close for the first period and the Sioux only led the game by one after one period, the Sioux eventually wore down the Engineers with their dept and broke open the game with four goals in the third period. The Sioux got one more goal in the third period to ice the game away. It was apparent as the game wore on that UND and RPI are no t on the same page are there is a huge difference between the two teams talent wise.

Nelson Knocked out of the game

There was one area of concern as RPI Josh Rabbani knocked Brock Nelson out literally and then Nelson was helped off of the ice by the trainer. In reviewing the video of the hit I would say that it could have been called a charge or interference. There was no penalty on the call and the Sioux went down the ice and scored. I do think that Brock Nelson has to keep his head up in that situation especially with a big physical team like RPI that tried to play physical against UND but to no avail.

Scoring for the Fighting Sioux were Brad Malone (2X), Danny Kristo, Jason Gregoire, Matt Frattin. Since coming back from frostbite, Danny Kristo has been on fire scoring (3g-2a-5tps) in his last three games. Kristo started out the season snake bitten and could hit water if he was standing in a boat in the middle of a lake. During the second half of the season, his fortunes have changed, Kristo has been on a scoring tear, if my math is right, Kristo had 1 goal, 4 assists and 5 points on November 26, since that date, Kristo has been red hot scoring (7g-15a-22pts).

Since coming back from his frostbite episode, It's almost like his frostbite incident has caused Kristo to refocus his efforts and play like a man that is possessed, his goal today was an awesome and the toe drag move was one for the highlight reels.

[Box Score]

Goon's three stars of the game
1.) Brad Malone (2g-0a-2pts)
2.) Danny Kristo (1g-1a-2pts)
3.) Aaron Dell shutout

Bracket Busting is legal

I think it would be an understatement if I said, “that my brackets are busted.” Actually, my brackets are now a piece of smoking rubble, I got one pick right the last two days. I am not doing very well I have only gotten on pick right and that was UND beating smoking RPI like a cheap cigar. I virtually have no chance of winning my pick-em contest that my buddy entered me into. #epicfail...

Controversy in St Louis

Last night there was a lot of controversy about the Michigan game winner against UNO, of course the ugly helmet fans are happy about this decision, why wouldn’t they be? Seriously, their team lives to fight reviewing everything that I have seen on the goal, I still think the refs made the wrong call on that goal review... That’s my opinion and I am not changing it. It should not take almost 10 minutes to review a goal, I am sorry if you can’t figure it out in 2-5 minutes it’s time to wave the goal off and get back to playing the game.

Ref that made call fired by the NHL

The ref that was part of controversial call is a disgraced and fired NHL/AHL referee. Harry Dumas who was fired by the NHL/AHL during the summer of 2006, I am not making that point up. So let me get this straight; in the biggest games of the year, the NCAA is using an on ice official that was fired by the NHL, that is not something to be proud of, that means this guy wasn’t very good, yet he is good enough to ref and NCAA Division 1 hockey game? How?!? I don’t like this precedent at all, you can’t tell me we don’t have other competent officials that haven’t been fired from the NHL or AHL that could call these regional games. [The Hockey Blog], [Hockey Refs] ... As a college hockey fan I find this to be unacceptable. But of course, Secretary Rules Editor Steve Piotrowski released this statement after the game.

"The officials' initial on-ice call was no goal. There was reasonable evidence to believe the puck had completely crossed the goal line. The play was stopped at the next non-advantage situation to allow an opportunity for the on-ice referees to review the video. Following video review, the on-ice referees determined through conclusive video evidence that the puck had completely crossed the goal line and exited the net by way of the goalie's leg pad."

What I find eve more puzzling is that Steve Piotrowski is from the CCHA so of course he is going to stick up for one of his member schools that benefited from the controversial ruling. The thing that really sticks in my craw is that it took the on ice officials almost 10 minutes to make the call, in my opinion that's unacceptable, if you don't see conclusive evidence that it's a goal in 2-5 minutes it's not there, no review should take that long, either there is visual evidence or there is not.

Ode to the Blown Bracket (Redwing77)

It's only the first day! But yup. My brackets shot to hell...sorta.

Union vs. UMD - Got this one right. Union shows that, though they are a good program, they haven't played anyone. UMD has had a tough schedule having to play teams like UND, DU, CC, UW, and UNO.

Yale vs. AFA - Unfortunately, I got this one right. I know I said unfortunately, because I know deep down AFA could have beat Yale. Yale is just like Union... Talented, but have played nobody. They're a lot like the SDSU of college hockey. Sure SDSU was something like 30 and 3 in this year's basketball season but they played nobody and UCONN destroyed them. The AHA somehow manages to be a weaker conference than the ECACHLMAO and they still took Yale to OT.

Yale vs. UMD - UMD easy. This will be the only bracket that will go according to my prediction. UMD will win because Yale hasn't played a team like UMD all season long. The Bulldogs of Yale bowing out to not even the best WCHA team would be epic and awesome.

UMich vs. UNO - I can't honestly remember who I picked for this matchup. However, I believe I picked UNO. When I went to the gym, UNO was up 2-0. And then they fell prey to the reason why I thought they would fall eventually: Not enough firepower to keep up with the big powers. Michigan is NOT a great team. They laid an egg to a slightly above average WMU team and it took the refs to give them the game vs. UNO. And I don't care about the blown call: UNO should have won this game so that the call wouldn't have had to be blown in the first place.

BC vs. CC - This game I went INCREDIBLY wrong and I let everyone who listened in to 1310 am this afternoon know how wrong I was. Who knew BC would score 4 goals and lose? Who thought CC would score EIGHT goals? You know what this reminds me of? Last year. UND vs. Yale. BC was totally looking forward to Michigan. Now they can look forward to Michigan without the pressure of actually having to play them. I guess Howe came up for them but 4 goals does not a great goaltender makes.

CC vs. Michigan - Well, I lose regardless in this bracket so I'm going to give the feel good props to CC. Michigan SHOULD win this game but BC SHOULD have won tonight so.. There you go.

This NCAA tourney isn't like the basketball tourney where #1s and #2s are dropping like flies... but year in and year out we learn that there is a reason why they play the games.

I just hope we don't pull a 2011 BC and RPI doesn't pull a 2011 CC. And maybe Goon wasn't smoking something when he predicted WMU beating DU. I don't know. I still have it UND vs. DU.

After further review the refs blow call, Michigan goal in O.T.

In reviewing this controversial goal it's my belief that the one ice officials Harry Dumas, Chip McDonald made the wrong call and in my opinion should never be allowed to ref a NCAA Division one tourney game ever again, it should not take 9 ½ minutes to review a goal. In my opinion this is a bitter pill for UNO to swallow and the refs are culpable in my opinion.

Former Badger Ryan Suter kicks puck into own net - video

Check it out

Friday afternoon Links - NCAA Hockey

Today is the opening day of the NCAA tourney and there is a lot of stuff going on.

Mile High City looks at the NCAA tourney from the Colorado Avalanche perspective. 

I have to question the timing of this article as Jesse Martin feels snubbed by Sioux ...

BC hockey takes new route toward NCAA title [ESPN.COM]

According to a tweet from Mike McMahon; Gustav Nyquist leaves Maine, signing with Detroit Red Wings last night. Here is the article to the signing.

UND Hockey; Gregoire, others still question marks [Click to read article]

Without a Peer looks at RPI's opponent the Fighting Sioux; WAP also looks at the Fighting Sioux logo as well. Here is the link to the Without a Peer podcast. [Click to listen]

INCH has their Midwest Regional preview, Mike Eidelbes picks the Sioux to win the regional.

Goon's in studio on 1310 KNOX - Friday from 4:15 – 5:00 PM

Listen to the Goon live at 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm on 1310 AM KNOX on Tuesday March 29th, 2011. R.J. and the Goon will be talking about last weekend NCAA Regional tourney and the up coming Frozen Four in the Xcel Energy Center April 7th and 9th ... If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this web link...[Click to Listen]

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

Brad Schlossman on Slap Schotts

If you haven't heard it yet Kevin Pates of the Duluth News Tribune and Brad Schlossman the Grand Forks Herald were on "Slap Schotts" [Fox Sports AM 980]Listen to Brad and Ken Schott break down the series between RPI and UND.

Jeff Jackson not a fan of the Big Ten Hockey Conference

Looks like you can mark down Notre Dame Fighting Irish head hockey coach Jeff Jackson as not being a fan of the Big Ten Hockey Conference. If you haven't seen it, WSBT.COM has good article that is worth taking a look at. I do think Jackson brings up some of the issues that others are concerned about.

SOUTH BEND -- And in Jackson’s opinion, the changes that will soon come are not a promising circumstance for the game at all.

"I think what the Big Ten is doing could potentially have a negative impact on college hockey," Jackson said. "I think it's great that Penn State is adding college hockey. I think it's great that the Big Ten is going to be allowed to play each other more often. I think that's great for college hockey. But separating themselves from our league and the WCHA could have a pretty profound effect on college hockey in general."

Jackson's worries are not so much about the effects on Notre Dame, so much they are about the impact the potential changes will have on smaller schools, and the overall health of the game at the college level.

"My roots are from a small school up in the (Michigan upper peninsula)," Jackson said. "I coached 10 years at Lake Superior State. And I think one of the worst things that could happen is that teams don't go up there and play anymore. Because it could be the death nail of their program. And I don't think anybody wants to see that.

"Notre Dame is going to be fine. It's just a matter of us reviewing everything, making sure what's in the best interest of our University and our hockey program."

NCAA 1st Round Match-Ups - (by Sioux 7)

The playoffs have reached the big show now with the start of the NCAA tournament this weekend. Let’s take a look at all the first round match-ups. Sorry these analyses are not very in depth, but I dont' have much first hand knowlegde of the non-WCHA teams.


EAST REGIONAL (Bridgeport, CT)
#1 Yale (27-6-1) vs #16 Air Force (20-11-6)The Bulldogs and the Falcons have played each other this year, back in mid-November. Yale led the game 3-0 before the Falcons rallied for a 4-3 win in Colorado Springs.

Many fans think that Yale is overrated, well, after this weekend they will know, win or lose. Last year the Bulldogs upended the Sioux in the first round, now the Falcons will be looking to upset the higher seed. YALE WINS 4-2


#8 Union (26-9-4) vs #9 Minnesota-Duluth (22-10-6)These teams have two common opponents this year, Minnesota and Bemidji State. The Dutchman beat the Gophers in Minneapolis with a 3-2 OT victory on New Year’s Eve, and then lost to BSU on New Year’s Day by a 3-1 score. The Bulldogs went 1-1-1 versus the Beavers on the season, winning and tying in Bemidji back in October and losing to them in the Final 5. UMD went 1-1-2 versus the Gophers on the season. Take that info for what it’s worth. Since this is the 8-vs-9 seed, whoever wins, it won’t be an upset. BULLDOGS WIN 5-4


REGION FINAL – YALE/AFA vs UNION/UMD winners
If my predictions end up being right, I’m going to go with Yale over UMD.


NORTHEAST REGIONAL (Manchester, NH)
#6 Merrimack (25-9-4) vs #11 Notre DameMerrimack was excellent at home this season posting a 14-2-1 record, and they were good on the road too, 10-6-3. With this game only being about an hour from home, I like their odds of winning this game. The Irish are 9-5-2 away from South Bend this year. Since I haven’t seen either of these teams play this year, I’m taking the easy way out and going with the higher seed. MERRIMACK WINS 3-2.


#4 Miami (OH) vs #13 New Hampshire (21-10-6)The Wildcats are 11-4-4 at home this season and are 10-4-2 away, even though they are the host institution; it isn’t at their home arena. The RedHawks are 7-5-4 away from Oxford this season. I saw one of their games this year and they have speed and skill on their forward lines. I think Miami’s depth will be the key in this game, even though this will really be a “home game” for UNH. MIAMI WINS 4-2


REGION FINAL – MC/ND vs Miami/UNH winners
If my predictions end up being right, I’m going to go with Miami over Merrimack.



MIDWEST REGIONAL (Green Bay, WI)
#2 North Dakota vs #15 RensselaerThe Sioux return to the tournament keeping their coach’s perfect attendance record at the NCAA intact (7 in a row). RPI has not been in the tourney since 1995, but they do have history, they have two national championships, ’54 and ’85. (UND has seven, ’59, ’63, ‘80, ‘82, ‘87, ’97, ’00.) The Sioux are led by the Magnificent Seven, their seven seniors. After an early exit from last year’s tournament, they are looking for some redemption. NORTH DAKOTA WINS 4-2


#7 Denver vs #10 Western MichiganWestern Michigan is only 5-6-7 away from Kalamazoo this season, and the Pioneers aren’t much better going 7-6-3 away from Denver. The Pioneers lost a heart-breaker to the Sioux in the Final 5 Championship game in double overtime. The question will be, how much do they have left in the tank after that? Last year DU was a number one seed and lost in the first round. The Broncos have been a pleasant surprise this year in the CCHA. No doubt both teams will come out swinging, and we’ll just have to wait and see who is still standing. WMU WINS 3-2


REGION FINAL – UNC/RPI vs DU/WMU winners
If my predictions end up being right, I’m going to go with North Dakota over Western Michigan.


WEST REGIONAL (St. Louis, MO)
#5 Michigan vs #12 Nebraska-OmahaThese teams met earlier this season, mid-October, in Ann Arbor with the teams splitting that series 4-2 UNO in the opener and UM winning 6-1 in the closer. Obviously these two are familiar foes, since UNO played in the CCHA for about a decade. The Wolverines are 7-6-3 on the road this year and the Mavericks are 8-9-1 away from Omaha. Dean Blais know how to coach, as does Red Berenson, so this should be on helluva game to watch. MICHIGAN WINS 4-3.

#3 Boston College vs #14 Colorado CollegeThis is the Eagles time of year, they won it all last year in Detroit, and three years ago too. The Tigers are back to the tourney again this year, and their coach has been here many times before. CC has an excellent top line, as does BC. Looking after that, BC has the edge, especially in goal tending; their starter hasn’t lost a game in the NCAA tournament. That said, people may say he is due to have a bad game this year, and the Tigers are hoping it is this one. In the one and done format anything can happen, but I don’t think it will be in this round. BC WINS 4-2


REGION FINAL – UM/UNO vs BC/CC winners
If my predictions end up being right, I’m going to go with Michigan over Boston College.

Bruce McLeod on the Fan 740.

Here is the interview in question [Click to listen]

Listen to what Bruce McLeod says he is basically saying in so many words, we aren't interested in adding Minnesota State University Moorhead. In a nice way he is saying don't call us, we'll call you.

NCAA has no shame, still selling Fighting Sioux logo

If you haven't seen this letter to the editor it’s worth a read, it was posted in today’s letters to the editor in the Grand Forks Herald. I think it's hypocritical as well, the NCAA want to ban the Fighting Sioux logo because the NCAA say it’s hostile and abusive but then NCAA is still making money off of the Fighting Sioux logo. Shameful!!!

GRAND FORKS — In 2005, the NCAA made a decision that schools with tribal logos and/or nicknames — including UND — were to be sanctioned, originally because they were deemed “hostile and abusive.”

Those sanctions would not allow UND or other schools like it to use tribal names or logos in post-season play nor could they host post-season championships.

Asking universities to do away with these logos — even suing schools and threatening them with sanctions — is a bold move. Therefore, the NCAA as an organization certainly should not be promoting let alone profiting off of the very logos it is against.

But the NCAA has not stopped selling the logoed wear of the schools that it has sanctioned. Hundreds of UND items are available on the NCAA’s website, www.shopncaasports.com. This at a time when the Sioux men’s hockey team will be participating in a prominent NCAA-sanctioned event.

Despite threats of the UND logo going away, the cost of Sioux apparel is up, and the rise doesn’t appear to be stopping. But go into any local retailer, and these items are flying off the shelves. Sioux apparel continues to rank among the hottest sellers.

It is interesting that the NCAA has not taken a hard stance on this and stated that regardless of the position of the school, the organization would be the first to stop selling the logoed apparel.

Has anyone associated with UND, the State Board of Higher Education or even the North Dakota attorney general’s office discussed this with the NCAA? Why is the organization profiting off of something it is so against?

Jennifer Dame

How are the Sioux supposed to act?

I am puzzled on how the Sioux are supposed to act when they win a conference trophy? Are they supposed to over celebrate? Dance around the arena, possibly go to the lobby of the Xcel Energy Center and sing their school song? The boys at INCH took issue with UND as well. From what I can tell is that the Fighting Sioux aren't satisfied with being the league regular season and post season champs, the Fighting Sioux want more, they want another trophy. Some programs might look at winning a Conference Trophy as successful season but I think for this team anything less than going to the Frozen Four will be seen as being unsuccessful season.

Without a Peer --- Let there be no doubt as to which team in this matchup has the pressure on them. Anything short of the national championship for North Dakota, especially given their dismissive demeanors after winning the MacNaughton and the Broadmoor, will be a failure. The Engineers, while they surely are going to go for the win, are merely happy to still be playing. That alone, or even combined with the elements above, isn't going to suddenly make RPI favorites, but there's something to be said for the freedom that comes with using house money.

Felger & Mazz: Mark Recchi On The Canadiens, Pacioretty

If you haven't heard this radio/audio clip it's worth a listen.

The hiring of Anastos is an interesting turn of events

I have been reading this story all day and into the night and my Bravo Sierra detector is in full force... The more I read this story the more it doesn't smell right. Who the hell hires a league commissioner to coach a high profile division one college hockey program? Especially, when the coach hasn't coached a hockey game in 20 years? This hiring makes no sense what-so-ever. I would think the game has changed in the last twenty years as well.

USCHO.COM --- In the press conference Wednesday announcing his hiring, Anastos said it himself: “It’s not every day a commissioner’s hired to come coach a team.”

I’d take that one step further. It’s not every day that someone whose last college coaching experience was nearly 20 years ago is hired as a head coach at a high-profile university.

That’s one question I have. Why did Michigan State choose someone with no recent direct college hockey coaching experience?

MSU athletic director Mark Hollis took everyone through his hiring process at the press conference. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet with so many people — people from the hockey world, people from the athletic world, and people from the business world, talking about what it takes to be a great leader, what it takes to be a great coach, and frankly what it takes to be a great Spartan. Through it all we started with 20-plus names.”

Twenty? Really?

“In the end,” said Hollis, “Tom Anastos jumped to the forefront on all the characteristics I believe take a true leader. I think when I step back and I look, any time I hire a coach I step back and look at my three children, and I think, ‘Who would I entrust my three children with to be a mentor?’ And that was a big factor in hiring Tom Anastos.”

Okay.

“I believe that we have to create a culture here,” said Hollis, “where folks in the NHL — scouts, general managers — believe that we’re giving our kids everything possible to train, develop not only to play in the NHL but for a life beyond, and that’s what Tom Anastos believes in.”

I am on board with this. There’s no question that NCAA hockey needs to compete harder with major junior Canadian hockey for college-eligible players. No question. From what Anastos has said on several occasions, I know that he’s passionate about keeping college-eligible players in college.

Final Five pictures from DU and UND

Again, I want to thank Corrie Block my photographe for the final five.

Canadiens embellished Pacioretty's concussion, says Recchi

Nothing like throwing some gas on the fire. This is a story that is breaking on the internet tonight, here is the audio to the interview in question that everyone is talking about, [click to listen]

Fluto Shinzawa, Globe Staff ---In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub this afternoon, Mark Recchi emphasized how thankful he was that Max Pacioretty is recovering from the March 8 hit that left him with a fractured vertebra and a severe concussion. Pacioretty could play in the playoffs.
But Recchi speculated that the Canadiens embellished the nature of Pacioretty's concussion to prompt the league to suspend Zdeno Chara.

"He does obviously have a fractured vertebra, but the concussion is obviously really a non-factor," said Recchi, citing how Pacioretty attended a movie several days after the hit. "In maybe a day or two -- maybe a day he felt it -- but he was fine a couple days later. They were trying to get Zdeno suspended and they embellished it a little bit. In terms of that side, they're doing whatever they could to get him suspended. I think the league sent a message that it was a hockey play. That's the important thing and people have to understand. If they deemed it something that was serious, they suspended Matt Cooke up to 17 games for a head shot. They're serious about protecting the players now. That was an interference play at worst. The partitions got in the way. I don't think Zdeno is to blame for that."

Before everyone jumps on Boston Bruins forward Marc Recchi, just for the record Recchis isn’t known for being a dirty player and he is hardly a goon or a thug and Recchi does bring up some good points. I have to admit that I thought the same thing when I heard the announcement last week on Pacioretty. My first reaction was, I thought he was done for the season and that was a chance that his career was in jeopardy. Now we are hearing that Max Pacioretty has made this incredible recover in a very short period of time. Hum!

You can color me skeptical… That does sound a little fishy to me.

Edit; MSU plucks Anastos from the CCHA.

This has turned into a crazy story; apparently MSU went after Tom Anastos and he had no clue they were interested in hiring him as the head coach of the MSU Spartans. Personally, I can see how when this story first broke that some including me would look at this cynically… Look the CCHA isn’t a very attractive league minus Michigan State and Michigan. I could personally care less about tOSU because they have done nothing notable during their college hockey existence. I wouldn't have blamed him if he did in fact bail on the CCHA. I still wonder how the fans over at Save UAH Hockey  feel about this move; are they cheering Tom Anastos leaving the CCHA leadership post?

The State News --- MSU’s new hockey coach will be former Spartan and current CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos.

Anastos said in a release he is excited about returning to MSU.

“The expectations I have for our program will be to compete annually for conference and national championships,” Anastos said. “That was the expectation when I was here as a player and as an assistant coach, and I don’t believe it should be any different in my role as head coach. … I am excited to get started, to hire a staff, and to get myself re-acclimated within the MSU community.”

MSU has been looking for a new coach since Rick Comley announced his retirement on Jan. 25.

MSU Athletics Director Mark Hollis said in a release Anastos brings the passion needed to coach a hockey program like MSU.

“He can attract high-caliber talent and develop those players into those who are attractive to the National Hockey League. He places a premium on education, and the drive and desire to compete for championships,” Hollis said. “Hockey is important in the state of Michigan, and it is also important to Michigan State. We will continue to provide the resources to appropriately support this program, and to best prepare our student-athletes for their personal future … in the NHL and the business world.”

They said what? Picture included

This was in the INCH first shift. Apparently the boys at INCH are not impressed with the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team not touching/picking up the Broadmoor trophy.

Here at INCH, we get mildly perturbed when teams refuse to take possession of championship trophies — such as North Dakota after winning the Broadmoor Trophy Saturday — based on some absurd hockey superstition stating that the only touchable hardware is handed out following the final game of the season. Nonsense! Winning a league championship is an impressive achievement and should be embraced, especially in the WCHA. We often hear how great the WCHA is and how difficult it is to win in that league. To turn around and act like it’s not that big a deal is inconsistent, at best.

Personally, I know why some teams do this, the last time the Sioux won the MacNaughton Cup they touched the cup and lost their next two games at the Final Five and then lost their first round game of the NCAA tourney to UNH. This season the Fighting Sioux didn't touch the MacNaughton Cup and they won the Broadmoor, some teams just don't touch the trophy. Just for the Record Sidney Crosby touched the league trophy and they cup. It seems that not touching is working for them so far.



photo by Corrie Block



INCH Power Rankings

gAs always I include the INCH Power Rankings, for a fifth week in a row the Fighting Sioux are on top of the rankings.

INCH Power Rankings
[March 23, 2011]
1. North Dakota — The Fighting Sioux have played 60 NCAA Tournament games in their program’s history. They’ve won 40 of them for a .667 winning percentage, tops among all schools, and only Minnesota (50), Michigan (47), and Boston College (41) have more total tournament victories. 30-8-3 LAST WEEK: W vs. Colorado College, 4-3; W vs. Denver, 3-2 2ot (WCHA Final Five). THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer (NCAA Midwest Regional)
2. Boston College
3. Miami
4. Yale
5. Michigan
6. Merrimack
7. Union
8. Denver
9. New Hampshire
10. Western Michigan
11. Colorado College
12. Minnesota Duluth
13. Notre Dame
14. Dartmouth
15. Nebraska-Omaha
16. Boston University
17. Air Force
18. RIT
19. Rensselaer
20. Wisconsin
Dropped out: None
Bubble-licious: None

Putting a wrap on the Final Five...

This past weekend I took in all five games of the Final Five and realized what an awesome format the new Final Five is. It’s a shame that the new format will only last two more seasons before the almighty Big Ten Hockey Conference will ride off into the sunset with Wisconsin and Minnesota. I hope we can keep a semblance of the current format.

There were a “few things” that I really liked about the new tournament format. First, in the new format your team is only guaranteed to play in one game, that’s it, if your team loses it’s done and that team goes home for the weekend, under the old format if your team managed to win on Thursday night, that team would be guaranteed to play in two more games. Since there was no third place game this year, fans did not have to buy a ticket to a meaningless third place game that could have ended up being a clunker if one team was already out of the NCAA playoff picture.

Again, In my opinion I must emphasis that this year every game mattered, while both teams were in the NCAA tourney already, when both teams were asked at the post game press conference if this was a meaningless game, the media was corrected by both teams players and the head coaches that this was not a meaningless game. If you need to ask why it wasn’t a meaningless game, it was because a conference title and a tourney trophy and pride was on the line. Not many teams get to claim back to back Broadmoor Trophies and the Denver Pioneers had an opportunity to prevent that from happening, in the end they did not but the Fighting Sioux had to work for it as well.

In retrospect this was one of my favorite WCHA Final Fives not just because my favorite team won but because there were a lot of great story lines and great hockey, I also got to see the game from a different angle this time around. I applied for a received a press pass from the WCHA and I was able to see the back stage of the college hockey world, this was a valuable experience that I will never forget. I met some really cool people as well and hung out with some old friends as well. It was a great learning experience all the way around.

Beavers and Bulldogs

In the First game of the WCHA Final Five the BSU Beavers beat the UMD 3-2 in overtime to advance to the Semifinals of the WCHA Final Five. The UMD and BSU game wasn’t without controversy as the Bulldogs defenseman Brady Lamb was called for high sticking at 5:53 mark of OT period and the Beavers forward Matt Walters scored 19 seconds later on the only shot of the period for the BSU Beavers. The win for the Beavers game the life to fight another day, the loss for the Bulldogs sent them home to lick their wounds and get ready for the next round. At the post game press conference you could tell by UMD head Scott Sandelin’s body language has not very happy at all and almost in disbelief at what had just happened, I kind-of likened it to another giant that fell victim for the BSU Beavers, just ask the Cornell Big Red and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The "victors" on the other hand gave us a look backward into the past; the upstart Beavers that made the Frozen Four two short years ago, the wide eyed kids from Bemidji that refused to go away, they knocked off the third and fourth teams in the WCHA and they were now setting their sights on the second place Pioneers.

Seawolves and Tigers

In the second game of the quarterfinals the Seawolves gave the C.C. Tigers everything they could handle as they out-shot the Tigers 23-16 and dominated the play for most of the game but the Seawolves suffered some of the worst puck luck I have ever watched in a hockey game. The UAA head coach summed it up well with this statement, "It doesn't feel right," said Shyiak. "I thought we earned the right to win by the way we played. I thought we played well, and we had some quality scoring chances early, but we didn't get any of them to go in. And all four of their goals went in off skates."

UAA Seawolves forward Tommy Grant proved once again that he was one of the most under rated forwards in the WCHA as he ended his WCHA career just as he started going 100 hundred miles an hour playing each shift if it was his last. I can see this kid getting a contract sometime in the near future because of the way he plays the game, I will miss watching Tommy Grant play in the WCHA.

DU and BSU

The second game the upstart BSU Beavers didn’t really go as well as they had wanted , the Beavers need to win two more games to return to the NCAA tourney for a third year in a row. That run ended at the hands of the DU Pioneers as the Pioneers who thrashed the Beavers 6-2. The game was close through two periods as the Beavers had out worked the Pioneers and were still tied going into the third period. In the third period, the Beavers failed to convert on a 5-3 power play the Pioneers scored four unanswered goals.

At the press conference, the wide-eyed Beaver players from a day before looked dejected, the reality that their season was finally over, and a fantastic run had come- to- an end, the giants from DU had ended the BSU Beavers first season in the WCHA.

While all season long I have e read comments about the BSU Beavers being a poor hockey team or not being very good, the Beavers in fact proved to be a team that was dangerous and not to be over looked. I told my buddy Scott that the BSU Beavers resembled their coach, intense, small in stature, hard working and they never stopped moving their feet. They are on top of you and they will never give up. I think by making the Final Five and winning a game, the BSU Beavers were successful in their first season and there will be better days ahead. I think the Beavers proved to the naysayers and fan bloggers that the Beavers did in fact belong in the WCHA.

With the loss the magical career of Matt Read came to an end, I only wish I could see him play more, Matt Read finished his college career with (65g-78a-143pts). Word has it that Read is close to signing a professional contract.

UND and C.C.

The Tigers and the Sioux were locked into a what I would call a pretty good defensive battle, Sophomore forward Danny Kristo scored a goal on his first shift in his first game back from the frostbite incident, I don’t know if you couldn’t write a better story line any, I mean does it get any better than that? Also, sophomore defenseman Andrew MacWilliam returned to the lineup from an undisclosed injury that had kept MacWilliam out of action for three games. MacWilliam looked fresh returning from the layoff and played like a man possessed. I would say that Andrew MacWilliam looked as good as I had seen him play all season long, MacWilliam known for being more of a physical bruising stay at home defenseman actually led a couple of nice rushes up ice. The Sioux won the game 4-3 on a goal from Hobey Baker finalist Matt Frattin.

DU and UND

The Sioux and the DU Pioneers took center stage to renew college hockey’s version of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. The game was testy and feisty from the start as both teams got after each other. The Sioux came out and looked like they were a little tight and the DU Pioneers got on the board first with a goal from Denver forward Dustin Jackson assisted by Kyle Ostrow and Anthony Maiani.

In the second period, the Fighting Sioux got their legs going and answered the Pioneer tally with a goal from Danny Kristo assisted by Taylor Dickin and Derrick LaPoint. Both teams exchanged good offensive scoring chances and sophomore goalie Aaron Dell kept the Sioux in the game with stellar goaltending. The Sioux finally took the lead on a weird goal by senior forward Brent Davidson as he scored from behind the red line, assisting on the Davidson goal were Kristo and LaPoint. Going into the third period the Sioux had something like a 20-0-2 record when leading after two periods so you had to think that Sioux had a good chance to win the game.

History in the making

In the third period with 2:13 remaining in the game the DU Pioneers scored to tie the game with a nice goal from Anthony Maiani assisting were Beau Bennett, Matt Donovan. The game was very entertaining through the first overtime and the game would remain tied until the 5:11 mark of the second overtime when Hobey Baker Finalist Matt Frattin scored the game winner assisting on the game winning goal were Chay Genoway and Evan Trupp. It was the first time the championship game of the Final Five had gone to overtime since the fluky Blake Wheeler goal in the 2007 Final Five. This was also the longest overtime game for a Final Five since 1993 when the WCHA went to the Final Five

You've got to be kidding me...

Student Costumes at Hill Murray Game Called Racist: MyFoxTWINCITIES.com

All I can say is, Wow!!! You have got to be kidding me?

FOX 9 was at that game, and saw the Hill Murray students dressed as gorillas and a banana, a practice that the school’s principal said has been happing since last year regardless of what team they’re playing.

According to the principal, the costumes grew out of what’s called the “banana cheer.” Though she declined an on-camera interview, she did say that “if there were any malice, we would put a stop to it.”

Video shows the same students in the same costumes at the girls’ state tournament, when Hill Murray beat Alexandria.

Still, there were a number of Johnson parents on Friday night who did not know the costumes were typical, and instead took it to be a racial statement. A few of the players also said they were offended.

Yet, one father said he felt whether a person finds the costumes racist will depend on their perception of what they mean, and he equated the controversy with the one facing the University of North Dakota’s “Fighting Sioux” mascot -- which the NCAA is pressuring the school to drop

Nanne wants Gophers to add Minnesota hockey tournament

This was in Shooter's column today, former University of Minnesota Golden Gophers and Minnesota North Stars player Lou Nanne comes up with a pretty decent idea for the Gophers to continue scheduling the Minnesota WCHA schools and still keeping the main rivalry games against DU, UMD and UND. Perusing the proposal from my seat, it looks like a pretty good idea, however, how often are the Big Ten Schools going to want to come to the REA, Amsoil or Magness Arena and get beat.

Charley Walters, pioneerpress.com ----- Lou Nanne, the former University of Minnesota All-American, said he likes that the Gophers will become part of an upstart Big Ten hockey conference in 2013-14 because of Big Ten Network exposure.

But, Nanne said this morning, he has an idea "that no one is talking about and that they should do. I would have a Minnesota tournament every year instead of that Christmas tournament they've got now with schools you've never heard of."

Such a holiday tournament would include St. Cloud State, Minnesota State Mankato and Bemidji State.

"That would give visibility and credibility to the Minnesota schools and build rivalries," he said. "Don't have Duluth in it, because Duluth would be on the non-conference schedule. I would maintain Duluth and North Dakota for two non-conference games a year. The (holiday tournament) would mean two more games for Minnesota.

"That would give you six (Gophers) games that should be a must. And they would, by far, draw better at the Christmas tournament. No one has thought about it, and they better start thinking about it."

Nanne, who owns four Gophers season tickets, intends to suggest the holiday tournament to Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi.

"I don't want to go watch the weaker schools from the East; I don't care about them," Nanne said. "I care about the Minnesota schools.

"That's what this is all about, maintaining Minnesota rivalries somehow. But I really hope that they work in traditional rivalries with North

Dakota and Duluth and Denver and Colorado. North Dakota and Duluth are the biggest rivalries we've had."

Color me less than impressed

One scenario that I can see is in the future, I think the Big Ten Schools are going to fill their schedules with teams that aren’t as hard to beat, shall we call them cupcakes because face it, their conference schedule is going to be tough in the Strength of Schedule department and they are going to need rack up some wins after beating the hell out of each other to possibly to make the NCAA tourney and might have to line their non conference schedule with less challenging opponents cupcakes that are looking to travel to the Big Ten teams arena's for a pay day.

One thing I would've liked to have seen when then Big Ten Schools made their big annoucement would've been for the WCHA and CCHA athletic directors to tell the Big Ten Schools to tell them, "don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out." I would have liked to seen the Bruce McLeod tell the Big Ten Schools Minnesota and Wisconsin whatever and or nice knowing you and good luck. I would rather not have the commissioner falling all over himself. In the next breath as soon as possible I would have called for a meeting with the head of the CCHA Tom Anastos to set up discussion about forming a new super conference between the WCHA and the CCHA.

I mean seriously, what we are really doing here; the way I see it, college hockey is adding one college hockey team in PSU, this is a team who has never played a single friggen division one hockey game ever and we are now going to possibly sacrifice up to five CCHA teams, FSU, LSSU, WMU, BGSU and or NMU so the BTHC can have 40+ hockey games on their beloved BTN. I am not anti Big Ten but why not put a little more thought into it.

WDAZ to Broadcast Fighting Sioux Hockey Game With RPI

Nice to see that the Sioux hockey game is going to be picked up by ABC, if there are any changes I will post them to the blog. Nice to see the game on TV and not on ESPN3.COM which is unavailable in Grand Forks, ND on Midco Communications.

Grand Forks, ND --- WDAZ and all North Dakota ABC network stations will televise the UND men's hockey game against RPI, Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in the NCAA Midwest Regional in Green Bay.

The North Dakota ABC network includes:

WDAY-TV Channel 6.1 in Fargo.
WDAZ-TV, Channel 8.1 in Devils Lake/Grand Forks.
KBMY-TV, Channel 17.1 in Bismarck.
KMCY-TV, Channel 14.1 in Minot.
KXMA-TV, Channel 2.2 in Dickinson.
KXMD-TV, Channel 11.2 in Williston.

If UND wins, it will play either Denver or Western Michigan in Sunday’s regional championship. That game will be broadcast at 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU, which is available on Midcontinent digital cable in Grand Forks on channel 320.


Regional and national television options have not been announced yet.

Where have you been NHL? Finally Cooke gets some justice...

Picture from http://www.puckinghockey.com

I am going to piggy back on what Redwing77 said earlier. Now that the NHL has made an example out of Matt Cooke, one must ask the question, what took the NHL head office so long to finally give Matt Cooke what he has deserved for so long. This suspension was long overdue and it’s too short in my opinion, Matt Cooke deserves to be suspended for the rest of this year and all the way through the playoffs and add ten games to start next season, then I would be satisfied. Like I said already, Matt Cooke has deserved this suspension for a very long time and it's time for the NHL to make a statement against d-bags thugs like Matt Cooke. It's time for the NHL to take a stand and say that enough is enough... Don’t get me wrong, I am all for playing hard nosed hockey and playing a physical game with in the rules of the game but you can’t excuse what Cooke does on a day to day basis. Cooke not only crosses the line, he has no idea where the line has been drawn. This suspension should refocus Matt Cooke and remind him that the NHL will no longer tolerate his bag of tricks anymore.

DETROIT --There is only anecdotal evidence that controversial Penguins winger Matt Cooke has found enlightenment after his latest nasty hit -- an elbow to the head of New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh on Sunday that led the NHL to suspend him Monday through Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

"After the game with me, and when I saw him at the airport and the ride in, he said all the right things," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said yesterday of Cooke. "He takes full responsibility. He sent Ryan McDonagh a text.

"The words are great, but it's going to be your actions when you come back as a player and still be a productive player in the league. That's going to be up to Matt Cooke."

Cooke, who has been suspended five times overall and four in three seasons with the Penguins, has defended himself in previous disciplinary hearings with NHL Hockey Operations. He didn't take that tact Toronto yesterday.

"In the past, I've been very defensive and have argued my point," he said. "The (Players Association) talks, they argue their point; and your agent gets on and defends you a lot.

"I realize and understand more so now than ever that I need to change. That was what I wanted my message to be.

And now after “uber hack” has been suspended and he can’t play for the rest of the regular season and for one series into the NHL playoffs we are to believe that Matt Cooke has finally had an epiphany and seen the light and will now finally play within the rules of the game? Really Matt? Forgive me if I am coming off as being a little bit cynical but the proof is in the pudding and I have seen a lot of foul dishes of pudding served up by Matt Cooke... I also wonder if these masters of thuggery had been punished in the past like they deserved, maybe they wouldn’t still be doing these questionable things. Matt Cooke has felt the sting that he deserved a long time ago and the next time he screws up he should be banished for even longer. I just don’t trust anything this psychopath says until he proves us wrong and Cooke has a long ways to go to prove us wrong. As it stands right now I hold Cooke in a very low regard on the same level as the dog excrement that you scrap off of your shoe - that's pretty low.

UND and C.C. Pictures

Again pictures for the C.C. and UND game were taken by Corrie Block.

BSU and DU pictures

Goon's World would like to thank Corrie Block for the photos of the BSU and DU game.

Pittsburgh's UberGoon Matt Cooke gets Unpaid Leave

A stunned Matt Cooke gets some time to reflect.

Matt Cooke has been suspended the rest of the regular season (10 games) AND the first round of the playoffs. With any luck, Pittsburgh will get ousted in the first round and Cooke can just take the time off he deserves.

NHL Network blowhard and former NHL Career Backup Kevin Weekes actually made a decent point. He talked about how playing in the NHL is a privilege and Cooke just doesn't get it despite being sat down and talked to by just about everyone in power from Byslma to Campbell. Perhaps even Gary Bettman himself. Heck, when the guy who works on the financials between the team and your agent says "Heck yeah, the suspension was a great idea!" COULD you possibly ignore it again? Weekes is right on. I bet no reader of this blog nor any hockey player, coach, or fan could post in this comment section the name of ONE minor league player in Pittsburgh's system or free agent CHLer or free agent NCAA grad who wouldn't jump at the chance to take Cooke's slot on the Pens.


Take away his illegal hits and incredible lack of anything resembling a brain and he's actually a pretty decent hockey player. He can score. He can play gritty. He can win faceoffs. He can fight. He just can't play the game legally.

Look, illegal hits will happen. Injuries and concussions will happen too. But when you go out and do such a thing on a repetitive basis, then you are showing a different attitude than what is in the spirit of the game. It's because of this that I think that he's an unbelievable idiot. I can understand the vehement anger regarding Chara's hit, but his was the first incident this season and I HIGHLY doubt he'd repeat this if given the opportunity to. But Cooke's earlier hit on Tyutin was rationalized by saying that Tyutin didn't protect himself. He is already famous for injuring Marc Savard and saying that he was only "trying to make his presence known."

An Interesting Rule Change

Speaking of Penguins and GM meetings... I'm watching the DET vs. PIT debacle (or PIT Domination if you are a PIT fan or hate the Wings, whichever) and during the intermission, one of the intermission commentators suggested that a suspended player's slot should be forfeited by the team for the duration of the suspension. So, instead of 23 players on the active roster, Pittsburgh would only be allowed 22 until the second round of the playoffs.

The NHLPA wouldn't like that much, but I can't see the fans or the League being against it. It would certainly harm the team as much as it hurts the player.

I'm for it.

Redwing77's F5 Final Impressions

It's been a very long time but I have finally visited the XCel. My first Final 5 game. I still consider myself not having been to the Final 5 because I didn't get to see every game. However, here are my impressions:

The Fans

I sat around a wide variety of fans. Mostly were Sioux fans, but I sat next to two Gopher fans, in front of two SCSU fans, and talked to a few others. Oddly enough, the people who were the coldest were the two Sioux fans in front of me from Lincoln, NE. Stupid of me to consider we had something to talk about since I live in Omaha, NE. Oh well. Oddly enough, I spent most of my time talking to the Gopher fan and the Sioux fans behind me and to my right. I had fun even though I didn't get to put any faces to any of the names I see on USCHO, SS.com, or Schlossman's blog and here. As for Goon, he'll just owe me a drink for blowing me off this summer.

Talking to the Gopher fan, he was a fun guy despite him yelling Hobey Baker whenever Brittain made a save. However, it was all in fun anyways. I talked to him about the Gophers and he agreed with me about Hill. I didn't expect him to disagree with me though. Oh well.

The Seats

My seats, fans excluded, sucked. I had absolutely NO sightline to the far end of the rink. That meant that I only saw ONE goal, Frattin's game winner, live. The rest I saw on the jumbotron. In the end, with the up and down hockey we witnessed in the Broadmoor game (as I call it), I had a lot of trouble following the puck.

The Venue

XCel is nice. Unfortunately, I got screwed by the woman in front of me for the TShirts but oh well. She ordered one TShirt so, thinking she was done, I placed my order for 1. There were only three left. She turned to me and said "Hey, wait a minute, I'm not done!" And she took all 3 TShirts remaining. What a... Oh well. Not XCel's fault but certainly turned my mood slightly bitter postgame.

The Game

Denver came ready to play and they took it to us. Yes, we had one good period (2nd period), one half-good period (3rd period) and put it in the net in the end, but they had an OT that, by my opinion, was just Aaron Dell away from putting us away something like 3 or 4 times over.

Davidson's goal to put us ahead was SUPER soft. Brittain will have nightmares on that goal. Sam Brittain was DU's POTG for sure (and was awarded as such). Like I said, UND dominated in certain stretches but not for any too impressive stretch of time. Brittain stood on his head. If he stays hot into the NCAAs this could be trouble. Oh, and Zucker is fast. His play on Kristo would have been the Play of the Game, imo, if Brittain hadn't made that save on Knight.

UND didn't play poorly by any stretches, but they did get a bit careless at times. Failure to clear when they could have resulted in the first goal and chasing the puck caused the second. Aaron Dell isn't unbeatable but we should do better to protect him.

The Refs

Meh. I think they called a pretty decent game until the 3rd period when they were starting to let some overt penalties go. The first OT had some incredible noncalls in it. Oh well. It happens.

The Keys to Come

RPI is next. They aren't in the tourney because someone from the ECACHLMAO had to go besides Yale. They are good. VERY good. They have a Hobey finalist on the team. I believe it is his second time as a finalist. Unfortunately, that's as much as I know about RPI. Oh, they're no Holy Cross. They've been to the NCAAs before and have a pretty solid result at least once. We respect them and worry about DU after that.

DU will have no problem, in my opinion, with WMU. It could even turn into a laugher.

The #4 with the best chance to go all the way this year is UNH. CC is good, but won't be able to beat BC. I wish Air Force would beat Yale, especially since Air Force has already beaten them once this season... but I don't anticipate it happening. If Air Force doesn't beat Yale, I predict UMD will.

Notre Dame is also a #3 that has a great chance to make the Frozen Four. DU is the best #2, imo. Merrimack and Union... no offense, but... Thanks for playing.

I want Blais and Co. to beat Michigan badly but I think they'll be focused and ready to go after laying a steaming turd vs. WMU. Nevertheless, go Mavs.

There aren't any "easy" brackets this year. I guess the closest would be Yale's bracket. The hardest bracket is either Green Bay or St. Louis. It really depends upon how well Michigan and UNO play.

Poll Monday - UND number one in both polls. Links!!!

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[March 21, 2011]
1. North Dakota (37) 30- 8-3 985 1
2. Boston College ( 7) 30- 7-1 951 2
3. Yale ( 5) 27- 6-1 901 3
4. Miami ( 1) 23- 9-6 841 6
5. Denver 24-11-5 780 5
6. Michigan 26-10-4 748 4
7. Merrimack 25- 9-4 732 7
8. Union 26- 9-4 605 9
9. Notre Dame 23-13-5 546 8
10. Western Michigan 19-12-10 539 12
11. Minnesota-Duluth 22-10-6 509 11
12. New Hampshire 21-10-6 507 10
13. Colorado College 22-18-3 419 13
14. Nebraska-Omaha 21-15-2 342 14
15. Dartmouth 19-12-3 243 15
16. Rensselaer 20-12-5 227 18
17. Boston University 19-12-8 196 16
18. Maine 17-12-7 140 17
19. Cornell 16-15-3 92 20
20. Air Force 20-11-6 75 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 67, Minnesota 25, Alaska-Anchorage 8, Bemidji State 5, Ferris State 5, Rochester Institute of Technology 4, Northeastern 3, Princeton 3, St. Cloud State 2
_______________________________________

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[March 21, 2011]
1. University of North Dakota 503 (27) 1 30- 8-3
2. Boston College 480 (6) 2 30- 7-1
3. Yale University 441 (1) 3 27- 6-1
4. Miami University 402 6 23- 9-6
5. University of Denver 353 5 24-11-5
6. University of Michigan 349 4 26-10-4
7. Merrimack College 320 7 25- 9-4
8. Union College 246 T-8 26- 9-4
9. University of Notre Dame 197 T-8 23-13-5
10. Western Michigan University 192 12 19-12-10
11. University of New Hampshire 181 10 21-10-6
12. University of Minnesota Duluth 176 11 22-10-6
13. Colorado College 125 13 22-18-3
14. University of Nebraska Omaha 72 14 21-15-2
15. Rensselaer 28 NR 20-12-5
Others receiving votes: Dartmouth College 12, Boston University 2, United States Air Force Academy 1.

Links to the Big Ten Hockey Announcement

Denver Post

Big Ten Officially Announces Hockey Conference [College Hockey New]

WCHA Issues Statement Regarding Today's Announcement from Big Ten Conference [WCHA.COM]

Men's Hockey Recommended as Big Ten Sport [Gopher Sports]

WCHA IN AWE OF SIOUX FANS --- Doug Spencer, WCHA associate commissioner for public relations, said Monday that he was "totally in awe of the contgent of fans representing North Dakota. In all my years, I have never seen anything like that. It was remarkable support."

Spencer has worked at Final Fives (and Final Fours) since 1988.

He said preliminary reports indicate the Final Five average about 140 more fans per session that last year. He said that was quite a development, considering three of the six teams were from so far away, Alaska Anchorage, Denver and Colorado College.

Matt Frattin's Broadmoor Winning Goal

What's cool is that it went from Trupp (senior) to Gennoway (senior) to a pile of guys that were tied up with Brad Malone (senior) to Matt Frattin (senior) who buried it.

Men's Ice Hockey To Be Recommended As Official Big Ten Sport Beginning With 2013-14 Academic Year

There it is, the official announcement, it's not like it was a big shocker to anyone, coming soon to a half empty arena near you, the Big Ten Hockey Farce. I talked to a lot of Gopher hockey fans this winter and even this weekend; I don’t think I talked to anyone that was really in favor of the Gophers and the Badgers joining the Big Ten Hockey Conference. What is wrong with the status quo now? Personally, I think it’s a horrible idea and it could have damaging effects for the smaller schools in the CCHA that are hanging on by a thread.

Some of the questions that are out there are; will the WCHA pluck Notre Dame and Miami from the CCHA or will there be a super conference with the remaining CCHA and WCHA schools? One thing that needs to be address is that the University of Alabama Huntsville is going to need a conference to play in as well, so they don't go belly up. It has been confirmed on numerous Fighting Sioux weekly chats from Sioux Hockey beat writer Brad Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald that the WCHA is going to go after Notre Dame and Miami. That is one option as well.

One of the first things I thought about this past weekend was the Xcel Energy Center and how full the building was with green and white jerseys connected to Fighting Sioux fans, 57000+ plus fans attended the WCHA Final Five. I also think that UND making the final game of the WCHA Final Five saved the WCHA’s bacon, they could have taken a bath if the Sioux had lost to the C.C. Tigers. Could you fathom how many people would have been in the building for a C.C. and DU title game, I would say there would have been 5000-10000 fans probably.

Park Ridge, Ill. - The directors of athletics of Big Ten institutions which sponsor men's ice hockey unanimously announce their intention to recommend to the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors in June the establishment of men's ice hockey as an official conference sport for the 2013-14 academic year with participation by Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin.

The recommendation includes both the establishment of the inaugural Big Ten Men's Ice Hockey Tournament in March of 2014, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship, and a 20-game conference schedule with each team playing the other five schools four times (two home games and two away games). In addition, the Big Ten's men's ice hockey programs will continue to proactively work to maintain a strong schedule of non-conference competition with the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA).

In September of 2010, Penn State announced the establishment of men's and women's ice hockey programs set to begin competition in the 2012-13 academic year, giving the Big Ten six institutions sponsoring men's ice hockey. Big Ten rules allow for a conference championship when six institutions sponsor a program in any given sport.

Since Penn State's announcement, the conference has researched and investigated the establishment of men's ice hockey as a conference sport. The conference has sought input and communicated both internally with conference chancellors, presidents, administrators and coaches, and externally with members of the hockey community, including the CCHA and WCHA.

With the addition of Nebraska on July 1, 2011, the broad-based athletic programs of the 12 Big Ten institutions will sponsor 298 teams with more than 9,500 men and women student-athletes competing for Big Ten Championships. The conference currently features 25 official conference sports, 12 for men and 13 for women. The last official conference sport established by the Big Ten was women's rowing in the 1999-2000 academic year.

Pictures from day one of the WCHA Final Five.

Pictures from day one of the WCHA Final Five by photographer Corrie Block. I will get day two and three up as soon as I get the pictures.

T.V. Schedule for the NCAA Division one Hockey Tourney

Here is the Television Schedule for the NCAA Division 1 Ice Hockey Tourney. 206, 208 and 209 is Direct TV and 141 is Dish Network.

Fri. March 25 NCAA East Regional ESPNU 3 p.m. 208 / 141
Fri. March 25 NCAA West Regional ESPNU/ESPN3.com 5:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Fri. March 25 NCAA East Regional ESPNU 6:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Fri. March 25 NCAA West Regional ESPNU 9 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA Midwest Regional ESPNU/ESPN3.com 1:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA Northeast Regional ESPNU 4 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA Midwest Regional ESPNU/ESPN3.com 5 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA East Regional Final ESPNU 6:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA Northeast Regional ESPNU/ESPN3.com 7:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Sat. March 26 NCAA West Regional ESPNU 9 p.m. 208 / 141
Sun. March 27 NCAA Midwest Regional Final ESPNU 5:30 p.m. 208 / 141
Sun. March 27 NCAA Northeast Regional Final ESPNU 8 p.m. 208 / 141
Thurs. April 7 NCAA Semifinal ESPN2 5 p.m. 209 / 144
Thurs. April 7 NCAA Semifinal ESPN2 8:30 p.m. 209 / 144
Sat. April 9 NCAA Championship ESPN 7 p.m. 206 / 140

Unfortunately, Midcontinent Communications does not offer you access to ESPN3.com

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

Listen to the Goon live at 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm on 1310 AM KNOX on Monday March 21st, 2011. R.J. and Goon will be talking about the WCHA Final Five, and the up coming NCAA tourney... If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this web link... [Click to Listen]

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

Uber Hack Matt Cooke is up to his old tricks.

Whenever I read Mario Lemieux’s comments about the league protecting it’s players I have to wonder if Mario is oblivious to the fact that on roster of the team he owns is one of the dirtiest and most despised players currently playing in the NHL. It seems like almost every week we are talking about “uber douche” Matt Cooke and his on ice transgressions. It’s time for the NHL to suspend this worthless P.O.S. before he kills someone or paralyzes someone for life, enough is enough.

“We, as a league, must do a better job of protecting the integrity of the game and the safety of our players. We must make it clear that those kinds of actions will not be tolerated and will be met with meaningful disciplinary action.

“If the events relating to Friday night reflect the state of the league, I need to re-think whether I want to be a part of it.”

Today we have Matt Cooke driving his elbow into Ryan McDonagh’s head. Seriously! There is no excuse for that play, there is no reason that Matt Cooke should play again during the regular season, I also believe that Matt Cooke should be suspended for the first round of the playoffs for this latest escapade. I also believe that Ken Daneyko is right when he says “that the NHL [should declare] open season for one week on Matt Cooke. You won't get suspended. Then we'll see if he'll continue [his behavior] for the rest of the season or his career." Also, if Mario had any cojones he would suspend Matt Cooke for the rest of the year to send a message that he is serious about player safety, if not he has egg on his face.