A Look at the Numbers - Fighting Sioux Hockey

Name, Yr	GP	G	A	Pts.▼	Pt/GP	PIM	GW	PPG	SHG	+/-
Ben Blood, D, Sr	4	1	1	2	0.5	2	1	0	0	-2
Mario Lamoureux, F, Sr	4	0	1	1	0.25	0	0	0	0	-1
		1	2	3		2				-3
Danny Kristo, F, Jr	4	2	5	7	1.75	2	0	2	0	4
Corban Knight, F, Jr	4	3	3	6	1.5	6	0	0	1	3
Carter Rowney, F, Jr	4	1	2	3	0.75	0	0	1	0	-1
Andrew MacWilliam, D, Jr	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	0
Joe Gleason, D, Jr	3	0	1	1	0.33	2	0	0	0	-1
		6	11	17		14				5
Brock Nelson, F, So	4	2	2	4	1	2	1	0	0	3
Derek Forbort, D, So	4	1	1	2	0.5	0	0	1	0	-2
Dillon Simpson, D, So	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-1
Taylor Dickin, F, So	4	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	-2
Derek Rodwell, F, So	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	-1
		3	3	6		8				-3
Nick Mattson, D, Fr	4	1	1	2	0.5	2	0	1	0	0
Mark MacMillan, F, Fr	4	0	2	2	0.5	2	0	0	0	-4
Michael Parks, F, Fr	4	1	0	1	0.25	4	0	0	0	-1
Andrew Panzarella, D, Fr	3	0	1	1	0.33	0	0	0	0	1
Connor Gaarder, F, Fr	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Rocco Grimaldi, F, Fr	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-3
Brendan O'Donnell, F, Fr	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	-3
Stephane Pattyn, F, Fr	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	-1
		2	4	6		10				-11

Two weeks into the season the Fighting Sioux hockey team is a minus -12 the Fighting Sioux freshman class is a minus -11. The junior class is carrying the water for the Fighting Sioux scoring (6g-11—17pts).

UAH students vote to keep hockey at Division I level

Image via WikipediaHere is the latest information regarding the UAH hockey program. Nice to see the student getting behind their hockey program which is in dire straights and needs a conference to play in. It's time for the WCHA to step up and accept the Chargers. 

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The student government association at the University of Alabama in Huntsville voiced its support of the school's beleaguered hockey program.

The SGA announced in a press release today that it voted to keep the Chargers hockey program at the NCAA Division I level rather than scale back to club level or abolish the program altogether.

The UAH hockey program is under close scrutiny from Dr. Malcolm Portera, chancellor of the University of Alabama System. Portera is considering scaling back the hockey program to a club team to save on expenses. Portera said maintaining hockey at the Division I level would cost the school about $1.5 million annually.

TV for this weekend's games.

Image via WikipediaHere is the information on this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the Wisconsin Badgers. Only Friday's game against the Badgers will be on TV.

MEDIA COVERAGE: All Fighting Sioux men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy is in his 31st season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux. He is joined during home games by color analyst Steve Olson.

Friday night's game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports North Wisconsin and Fox College Sports Atlantic. (Fox Sports Wisconsin Direct TV 669) Saturday's game will not be available outside of Wisconsin.

Video webcasts for each game can be purchased at www.uwbadgers.com. Free (delayed) video streaming of both games will also be available at 10 p.m. each night at Wisconsin Public TV.

Goon's picks for the October 21-22

Image via WikipediaHere are my picks for the week of October 21-22, 2011. Last week I went 7-9 if my math is right. I managed to jinx the defending National Champions, I predicted a split and they were swept by the Gophers.

My competitor Alex from Mankato went 5-11 in his picks. Sioux7 was at a wedding in North Carolina last week went 0-0.

WCHA

Minnesota State at Denver - Denver Sweep
Alaska-Anchorage at Nebraska-Omaha - Split
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State - Bemidji Sweep
North Dakota at Wisconsin - Sioux Sweep

Non-Conference

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State - UNH Sweep
Vermont at Minnesota - Minnesota Sweep
Minnesota-Duluth at Providence - Split

Sioux7 is currently on vacation in Sin City and here is his picks...

WCHA

Minnesota State at Denver - DU Sweep
Alaska-Anchorage at Nebraska-Omaha - Split
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State - Split
North Dakota at Wisconsin - UND Sweep.

Non-Conference

New Hampshire at St. Cloud State - UNH three points.
Vermont at Minnesota - Gopher Sweep
Minnesota-Duluth at Providence – Split

Matt Frattin's shootout goal against the Jets.

Former Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin scored on one of his patented snapshots in third round of the shootout to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 win shootout win over the visiting Winnipeg Jets. Frattin played 13:58 during tonight's game. Leafs forward Nazem Kadri who just recently returned from MCL injury was actually sent to the Toronto Marlies in stead of Matt Frattin.

Tim Mathern has bill to repeal UND Fighting Sioux nickname law

Image via WikipediaDemocratic senator Tim Mathern from Fargo, ND has a bill that he is going to introduce to repeal the Fighting Sioux nickname law. For those who don't know who Mathern is, he is the Democratic Senator that ran against and lost to then North Dakota Governor John Hoeven in the 2008 election.

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald ---- Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, said today that he has a bill ready for the November special session of the Legislature that would repeal the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname law adopted earlier this year.

"No muss, no fuss - just overturn what we did in the past legislative session," he said. "It would be the cleanest, simplest way to get back to the process that was already decided upon and in place wherein the Board of Higher Education and the University of North Dakota had made some decisions."

Repeal would take effect on Dec. 1, according to the bill draft filed with the Legislative Council. Mathern, who was first elected to the Senate in 1986 and was the Democrats' candidate for governor in 2008, said repeal would remove "the question of constitutionality that came with the Legislature intervening

Minister of Offense Still Out!!! Grimaldi and O'Donnell out

This just is not good news for the Fighting Sioux hockey team.

Related articles

• Hockey Prospectus on Forbort and Grimaldi (mvn.com)
• Hump Day Links... (mvn.com)
• Hockey is in the air... (mvn.com)
• Burke on Frattin - "He's going to get a good look in camp." (mvn.com)

Stefan Matteau on the Pipeline Show

Dean Millard and Guy Flaming from the Pipeline Show on 1260 A.M. out of Edmonton, Alberta do a really good job promoting the game of hockey on all levels from the NHL, CHL and NCAA., last night the Dean and Guy had Fighting Sioux recruit Stephan Matteau.

Coming Down the Pipe --- Our 2012 draft prospect will be Stefan Matteau of the U.S. National development program. The budding power forward is another in the growing list of sons of NHLers. His dad Stephane is a Stanley Cup Champion.

Click to listen to the interview on the Pipeline Show. [Click to listen]

Get your Fighting SIoux Hockey Media Guides Today...

I case anyone is looking for the new Fighting Sioux media guide you can buy one for 25.00 by clicking on the link below. You can also download the media guide for free by clicking on this link.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Fans of Fighting Sioux men’s hockey can now order their own printed copy of the 2011-12 Fighting Sioux men’s hockey media guide.

The media guides serve as the ultimate season preview and historical document for every Sioux fan, containing student-athlete and coach bios, detailed roster information, opponent capsules, season outlooks, season recaps, statistical breakdowns, record books, university and facility information and much, much more.

Fans can purchase their media guides by visiting www.fightingsioux.ondemandmediaguides.com.

Cost of the 196-page media guide is $25.00, which includes shipping and handling. Please allow a minimum of 7-10 days for delivery.

Production of printed UND Athletics media guides was halted in 2010-11 due to cost-saving measures, but has been revived in 2011-12 due to popular demand.

Printed media guides for women’s hockey, football, volleyball and soccer are also currently available. Media guides for additional fall and spring sports will become available at a later date.

Kris Letang suspended for two games for hit on Alex Burmistrov

I think that some of the ruling to come out of the Department of Player Safety have been puzzling and I just don't think that this hit warranted a two game suspension. It's not like Kris Letang is a dirty hockey players, and this isn't a Matt Cooke we are talking about.

Don't get me wrong I am glad that Colin Campbell is not spinning the Wheel of Justice anymore but do we really need to suspend every single players that commits a checking from behind penalty? I think it's a legitimate question. The NHL is throwing the book at players that don't have history of being dirty players.

NEW YORK – Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has been suspended, without pay, for two games for boarding Wiinnipeg forward Alex Burmistrov during NHL Game No. 66 Monday night in Winnipeg, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Letang will forfeit $37,837.84. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 13:08 of the third period, Letang hit Burmistrov from behind, driving him into the boards. Letang was assessed a minor penalty for boarding.

Letang will miss games tonight at Minnesota and Thursday, Oct. 20, vs. Montreal. He will be eligible to return Saturday, Oct. 22, vs. New Jersey.

Jay Harrison vs Zdeno Chara

This doesn't require a lot of narration. The Boston Bruins lost their cool tonight, and then lost the game 4-1. There is a time and a place for the rough stuff but the Bruins so concentrate on playing hockey first. So far I have been less than impressed with the Bruins play, there is only one word that I can use to describe the defending Stanley Cup champions play, "unacceptable." The Boston Bruins are currently 2-4 and sitting in 11th place in the Eastern Conference.

Bieksa, "Rypien loved his role in hockey"

Image via WikipediaThis past summer the NHL had a horrible summer as the sport lost three former tough guys (Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak) to various issues (two to suicide and one to an accidental mix of alcohol and the painkiller oxycodone).

In the after math of the deaths of these three players, many were quick to point to their roles as fighters as a reason that these three people were no longer with us. Two of them (Rick Rypien, Wade Belak) tragically took their own lives and were both dealing with depression issues at the time of their death. According Vancouver defenseman Kevin Bieksa a former teammate and close friend of Rick Rypien; Rypien loved his role as a fighter.

Iain MacIntyre, Vancouver Sun --- Bieksa is emphatic that Rypien loved his role in hockey and fighting had nothing to do with his mental challenges. He said Rypien's illness was too complicated to be explained away by one event or circumstance, such as the car-accident death nearly a decade ago of Rypien's girlfriend or the constant stream of injuries that slowed his NHL career.

"There were a lot of things going on," Bieksa said. "I felt he was as much my responsibility as anybody's. Looking back now, I wished I'd talked to him a little more in the summer. I thought he was getting better. I knew the severity of it [but] I don't think anyone really thought this would happen."

What I am trying to say here is that maybe before we just the gun here maybe we need to step back and take a look “at all the facts” before we jump to conclusions. We don’t even know if any of the deaths are related, on its face each player’s death could have a different set of circumstances surrounding it. We just don’t know.

Nickname retirement may cost $750,000

Here is the latest on the Fighting Sioux nickname, $750,000.00 that's a lot of money and that isn't including "the costs" of removing the logos from the REA. My next question is, who is going to pay for this?

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- UND officials have estimated the cost of retiring the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo at nearly $750,000, not counting the cost of changes that may occur at the privately-held Ralph Engelstad Arena.

University President Robert Kelley sent the estimates last week to a budget analyst and auditor with the North Dakota Legislative Council, in response to a request made by Rep. Mike Schatz, R-New England.

Schatz, who has declared that he will not support an attempt in next month’s special legislative session to clear the way for retirement of the name and logo, said he asked for the cost information so he could attach a fiscal note to any bill contemplating that action.

“I wanted all the legislators to know the figures that the president estimated it would cost,” Schatz said Tuesday. “I think that’s been left out of the conversation so far.”

Spirit Lake nickname foes 'embarrassed' by 'threats'

Color me surprised!!! You just knew it was just a matter of time before this story came to the forefront of the Fighting Sioux nickname issue. I am not sure if I am the only one that sees this, but it always seems to be the same people that are being consulted on the anti-Fighting Sioux nickname issue. At times I have also wondered why the anti-Fighting Sioux nickname crowd seems to get the lion’s share of the press when it comes to people that are against the Fighting Sioux nickname?

Chuck Haga; Grand Forks Herald --- Several Fighting Sioux nickname opponents at the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe have written an open letter to Grant Shaft, president of the state Board of Higher Education, saying they are “embarrassed by the threats our fellow tribal members are making on behalf of the Spirit Lake Nation” over efforts to retire the name and logo.

Late last week, the pro-nickname Committee for Understanding and Respect warned the state board, UND and others looking to drop the symbols that they should expect consequences “far more severe than any sanctions UND claims will exist by keeping the name.”

The committee’s efforts to preserve the Fighting Sioux name and logo at UND have been endorsed by the tribal council, which adopted a resolution authorizing the group to speak for the tribe. That followed a 2009 referendum in which a substantial majority of tribal members approved UND’s continued use of the name.

But Erich Longie, a longtime advocate for UND dropping the nickname and logo, and 10 others told Shaft that they speak for the minority of more than 300 tribal members who voted “no” in that referendum.

Will this hit warrant a suspension or Not?

Check out this hit by Penguins Kris Letang on the Jets Alex Burmistrov during last night's game in Winnipeg. I don't think this boarding call is worthy of a suspension and I don't think the NHL needs to suspend every player that commits a questionable play/penalty.

Related articles

• Suspension coming for Penguins' Kris Letang? (aol.sportingnews.com)

Badgers in overtime Since 2002-03

Image via WikipediaOne thing that has become very apparent is that the Badgers under head coach Mike Eaves has had a dismal record in overtime, the Badgers have lost three games this season already in overtime. This is the Badgers record in overime since the 2002-03 season. s/t Madison.com If my math is right the Badgers own a record of 12-21-45

2011-12 -- 0-3-0 overall, 0-2-0 WCHA
2010-11 -- 1-3-4 overall, 0-3-3 WCHA
2009-10 -- 0-0-4 overall, 0-0-3 WCHA
2008-09 -- 0-3-4 overall, 0-2-3 WCHA
2007-08 -- 0-3-7 overall, 0-2-5 WCHA
2006-07 -- 2-3-4 overall, 2-3-3 WCHA
2005-06 -- 2-1-3 overall, 0-0-3 WCHA
2004-05 -- 0-1-4 overall, 0-1-3 WCHA
2003-04 -- 5-1-8 overall, 1-0-7 WCHA
2002-03 -- 2-3-4 overall, 2-2-4 WCHA

An early look at the PWR.

For a good laugh on this Monday afternoon, the Michigan Tech University Huskies are leading the Pair Wise Rankings after four games. You might want to take a picture because I am sure you will see this change as the season continues and the games play out. 

Don Cherry apologizes to tough guys on CBC

Last Saturday night during the Coaches Corner, on Hockey Night in Canada Don Cherry apologized for his comments where he berated Stu Grimson, Chris Nilan and Jim Thomson the week before.

CBC.CA --- Cherry called Grimson, Nilan and Thomson "turncoats" and "hypocrites," accusing them of not wanting players to make the same living they did.

He also accused those who want to end violence in the sport of taking advantage of the three deaths to make points on fighting.

Poll Monday Sioux 5tth and 6th...