Goon's World

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Goon's WCHA Power Rankings 2/26/2012

This is my weekly WCHA Power Rankings for INSIDEHOCKEY, Zack Friedli from Hockey State of Mind and I do a weekly WCHA Power Rankings.

1. Minnesota – (19-7-0 WCHA, 23-11-1) The Minnesota Gophers swept the UNO Mavericks (3-2 O.T. W, 3-2 W) in Omaha this past weekend. The Gophers close out the season against the Wisconsin Badgers in Minneapolis. Minnesota has secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Gophers are finishing the regular season strong and have won four games in a row are 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.

2. Minnesota Duluth – (16-6-4 WCHA, 22-7-5) The Bulldogs swept the C.C. Tigers (4-3 O.T. W, 5-2 W) at Amsoil Arena. The Bulldogs close out the regular season with a series at the National Hockey Center against the Saint Cloud State Huskies. The Bulldogs secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Bulldogs are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.

3. Denver – (14-8-4 WCHA, 19-11-4) The Denver Pioneers split their weekend series with the North Dakota Fighting Sioux (3-4 L, 5-3 W) at Maness Arena in Denver. The Pioneers finish the regular season with a trip to Omaha to play the UNO Mavericks. With the win on Saturday night the Pioneers secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Denver is 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

4. North Dakota – (14-11-1 WCHA, 18-12-3) The Fighting Sioux split their weekend series with the Denver Pioneers (4-3 W, 3-5 L) at Magness Arena in Denver. This weekend the Fighting Sioux close out the season by entertaining the suddenly smoking hot Minnesota State University Mavericks (6-3-1 in the last 10 games) at Ralph Englestad Arena. The Fighting Sioux have secured home ice for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Fighting Sioux are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

5. Colorado College – (13-12-1 WCHA, 16-14-2) The Tigers were swept this past weekend by the UMD Bulldogs (3-4 O.T. L, 2-5 L) at Amsoil Arena. This weekend the Tigers entertain the Michigan Tech Huskies at the World Arena. The Tigers are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games.

6. Nebraska-Omaha – (11-10-5 WCHA, 14-14-6) The Mavericks were swept by the Minnesota Gophers (2-3 O.T. L, 2-3 L) at the Century Link Center. This weekend the Mavericks entertain the Denver Pioneers. The Mavericks are 3-5-2 in their last 10 games.

7. Michigan Tech – (11-11-4 WCHA, 14-16-4) The Tech Huskies split their weekend series with the Saint Cloud State Huskies (2-5 L, 3-2 W) at MacInnes Student Ice Arena. This weekend the Tech Huskies travel to Colorado Springs to play the C.C. Tigers. The Huskies are 3-4-3 in the last 10 games.

8. St. Cloud State – (11-12-3 WCHA, 14-16-4) The Saint Cloud State Huskies split their weekend series with the Michigan Tech Huskies (5-2 W, 2-3 L) at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Michigan. This weekend the Huskies entertain the defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The Huskies are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games.

9. Wisconsin – (10-14-2 WCHA, 15-15-2) The Wisconsin Badgers swept the Bemidji State Beavers (4-2 W, 4-2 W) at the Sandford Center. The Badgers travel to play their B1G Rival the Minnesota Gophers. The Badgers with the win on Saturday night, the Badgers improved their road record to 3-8-1. The Badgers are 5-5-0 the last 10 games.

10. Bemidji State – (9-14-3 WCHA, 15-16-3) This past weekend the Bemidji State Beavers were swept by the Wisconsin Badgers (2-4 L, 2-4 L) at the Sandford Center. The Beavers close out the regular season by traveling to Alaska Anchorage to play the last place Seawolves. The Beavers are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games.

11. Minnesota State – (8-16-2 WCHA, 12-20-2) The Mavericks were idle this past weekend. The Mavericks close out the regular season by traveling to Grand Forks, ND to take on the Fighting Sioux. The Mavericks are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.

12. Alaska-Anchorage – (5-20-1 WCHA, 9-21-2) The Alaska Anchorage Seawolves split their home and home series with the University of Alaska Fairbanks (3-2 W, 1-3 L) this past weekend. This weekend the Seawolves entertain the Bemidji State Beavers at the Sullivan Arena. The Seawolves will again travel to Minnesota to play the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Seawolves are 3-7-0 their last 10 games.

Shanahan will not suspend Kyle Turris

Kyle Turris will not be suspended for his hit on Joe Corvo. I think this is the wrong decision and this is the type of hits that need to be eliminated from hockey. I don't know how Shanahan can say that Turris didn't leave his feet. I would like to know what video that Shanny was watching?

Dan Rosen - NHL.com --- Shanahan said Turris told the Department of Player Safety that he slowed down prior to hitting Corvo in order to avoid hitting him in the numbers.

"We thought that was a good decision," Shanahan said. "He tried to wait until he felt it was going to be a shoulder-to-shoulder check.

" Shanahan said the contact to Corvo's head was made after the Bruins' defenseman opened his left shoulder following his pass. However, Shanahan said the Department of Player Safety did not deem it to be intentional or reckless. He said that Turris' feet were on the ice as he made the hit, but they come off as he's following through on the hit, "almost like he's falling into the boards himself."

"Like some of the suspensions we have had, it wasn't a case of him launching up high into the head," Shanahan added. "All players to a certain degree come off their feet when they drive through a check. That wasn't prior to the hit and he wasn't launching up."

Kizla's perspective on the UND and DU game

Where is Mike Chambers when you need him? God I love this newspaper, they sure have an interesting way of drawing up their perspective when it come to hockey games between UND and DU.

I guess Mark Kizla missed the Nick Shore spear on Carter Rowney at the end of the game and the fact that the refs lost control of this game early and were consistently poor all weekend long so I don't really think either team was worse than the other. I do hold the ref (Todd Anderson and Brad Shepherd) culpable in this situation.

Who knew Denver was a suburb of Fargo? Although the North Dakota campus in Grand Forks sits nearly 1,000 miles from center ice in Magness Arena, the Sioux Nation showed up in force, then ignored both political correctness and the polite rules of being a house guest, by chanting "Let's go Sioux!" Losing control of the game, North Dakota than lost its composure. In the third period, freshman Michael Parks went caveman, taking a swing of the forearm at DU defenseman John Ryder. Way to stay classy, North Dakota. [Denver Post]

If anything I hope the NCHC commissioner Jim Scherr was able to catch either one of both of these games and has made a mental note to not employer either referee from this series. There were four game misconduct penalties and one, the Michael Parks hit on John Ryder that was actually worthy of a five minute major and a game misconduct.

The Sioux and a Comment on Officiating (RW77)

First the good news:

Despite the ugliest series of the entire year for UND discipline wise (probably the same goes for DU as well), the Sioux leave Denver with 2 points. I think Eidsness played very well on Friday and, unless the score doesn't tell the story, ok but not great on Saturday. I now firmly believe that Dell will take at least one of the games next weekend. In any case, despite this there is good news:

Home ice is ours for the WCHA playoffs. Brad Schlossman and I think Jason Hejdu calculated that it is impossible for CC and MTU to move past us so as to have us drop out of the top 6. That's great news.

However, there is a very good possibility that we will be down to 17 skaters for the rest of the year. Sure, Dickin's not the most prolific scorer and he may not normally be missed if everyone else was healthy but... they're not. And going into the playoffs, consistent and timely play as well as depth (which means fresher legs late in the game) are key. The Sioux do not have depth at all... but our IR list would be a great line or two on most teams in the nation. So we go short bench from here on out.

Good thing Gleason is playing great right now. He looks more and more like Genoway every single game.

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A note on Officiating:

Yeah, yeah, UND fan talking about officiating again, but I'm not going to rag on Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd or Don Adam. I'm simply going to state my conspiracy theory and watch closely as I expect it will become more and more true as we get closer to the BTHC and NCHC becoming a reality.

I believe that the officials, led by Greg Shepherd, will follow the rule book as required but will not do their professional best nor be held accountable for mistakes when it comes to any game involving NCHC or BTHC teams. They will care less if it is NCHC vs. NCHC, NCHC vs. BTHC, or BTHC vs. BTHC and care more as the permutations get closer to WCHA vs WCHA.

The reason is simple: They only are biding time with the NCHC and BTHC teams but are still trying to pander support among the WCHA teams (and future WCHA teams). So there is more incentive and intention to perform better administratively (which includes officiating) towards WCHA teams than there is to be towards future NCHC and/or BTHC teams.

So, in other words, expect really poor officiating if your NCHC or BTHC team is involved. If you are a WCHA team, there will still be brutal games but that will be because the WCHA officials are idiots and know very little about consistency.

It's like my tinfoil hat saying: Every weekend we have to beat our opponents and the officials.

Kyle Turris hit on Joe Corvo

Here is the video of former Wisconsin Badger and current Ottawa Senators forward Kyle Turris' questionable and dirty hit on Boston Bruins defenseman Joe Corvo. There is no excuse for this types of hits and these are the types of hits that need to be removed from the game of hockey.

There is no way to defend this hit and Kyle Turris needs to sit for a minimum of 2-3 games for this bush league hit.

Zdeno Chara vs. Chris Neil

This fight was a direct result of Chris Neils hit on the Boston Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk earlier in the game. From reviewing the video, I think the play was a "borderline" charging call. [click to view video of hit].

It was not a good day for Boston Bruins defensemen as Johnny Boychuk and Joe Corvo were both left the game and didn't return.

Both Boychuk and Corvo made the bus and were on the flight’s manifest. Julien figures both will be OK. Boychuck, he said, got caught with his head down, and was held out for the rest of the game per standard protocol. [Boston Globe]

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Andrew Oglevie's Hit

17 year old Andrew Oglevie of the USHL's Cedar Rapids RoughRiders put quite a hit on Fargo Force Captain Brian Cooper, dumping him into the RoughRiders bench. Andrew is committed to Notre Dame.

Nick Shore cup checks Carter Rowney

We will hear how UND is a bunch of goons and how they were trying to start a fight at the end of the game but there is the reason why... Watch this short video... If my eyes are not deceiving me; it looks like DU forward Nick Shore spears Carter Rowney between the legs. If you watch the video you will see that Shore stuck his stick in Rowney's crotch. I don't know if there is any other way to describe it.

Evgeni Malkin's goal...

This doesn't require a lot of narration but check out this sweet goal by Evgeni Malkin. This is a classic end to end rush blowing by everyone on the ice and then he fakes the Tampa Bay goalie Dwayne Roloson out of his jock.

UND vs. DU game 2

Tonight's game is on 683 DirecTV.
Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: There will be no webcasts this weekend.

TV Saturday: Root Sports Rocky Mountain – 683 DirecTV

Fighting Sioux Forward Lines

29 Brock Nelson–10 Corban Knight (A) –7 Danny Kristo
16 Mark MacMillan–27 Carter Rowney–15 Michael Parks
Stephane Pattyn 28 –9 Mario Lamoureux (C) – 20 Joe Gleason
8 Dan Senkbeil–13 Connor Gaarder– No forward.

UND Defensive Pairings.

4 Derek Forbort – 24 Ben Blood
2 Andrew MacWilliam (A) – 5 Nick Mattson
18 Dillon Simpson–22 Andrew Panzarella

UND Goalies

31 Brad Eidsness
35 Tate Maris
UND Official Players Stats

UND Injuries: Forwards Rocco Grimaldi (season knee surgery), Brendan O’Donnell (season ending surgery), and Derek Rodwell (season shoulder surgery) are out.

Denver’s Forward Lines

12 Ty Loney–15 Drew Shore–18 Luke Salazar
17 Jason Zucker–23 Nick Shore–11 Chris Knowlton
37 Nate Dewhurst–26 Shawn Ostrow–8 Dustin Jackson
14 Larkin Jacobson–25 Matt Tabrum–10 Daniel Doremus

Denver Defensive Pairings

7 Paul Phillips–2 Scott Mayfield
24 John Ryder–4 Josiah Didier
21 Joey LaLeggia–5 John Lee

Denver Goalies

31 Juho Olkinuora

1 Sam Brittain
33 Adam Murray

Denver players stats

Referees: Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd
Linesmen: Bob Keltie, Tim Swiader

Quote of the week...

This is my nominee for quote of the week. I can only hope that the Fighting Sioux hockey team can keep George Gwozdecky disappointed.

“It’s hard to say anything good about that game. You can say yeah, we scored (three goals), but you have to give full credit to North Dakota. They were better than us in every department,” DU coach George Gwozdecky said. “This is probably one of the most difficult interviews I’ve had to do in a long time because I’m extremely disappointed.”

Platinum edition – Shaking off the cobwebs on Saturday Afternoon

I really liked this post that was on twitter today. As most know, I am not a Canucks fan and I think with the addition of former Dallas forward Steve Ott to their roster only gives me more reasons to not like the Vancouver Canucks. As I have said in the past, I think that the Vancouver Canucks are one of the most "unlikeable teams" in the NHL, they are a team stuffed full of characters I have no problem despising. This is also the team that employed Todd Bertuzzi at one time. Now you have a trio of losers, Alex Burrows, Steve Ott and Max LaPierre.

I am not sure who is worse from that group of miss fits, but Ott is also that guy that is the

prototypical P.O.S. if you catch my drift.

Breaking down the Zidlicky trade

You can mark me down as being happy with the deal. Love it.

The Minnesota Wild traded the disgruntled and overrated Marek Zidlicky, I also think the Wild got rid of a locker room distraction, that they don’t need going down the stretch. In return for Zidlicky the Minnesota Wild get former Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster and also forwards Nick Palmieri and Stephane Veilleux. The kicker is the Wild will also get a second-round pick in 2012 draft.

I think it’s a smart move for the Wild because they get a decent defenseman and a third or fourth line forward that will do what-ever it takes to help the team win. I don’t know much about Nick Palmieri other than he is an American from New York and has played in 48 NHL games and has scored (9g-9a—18pts), it would seem that he will add some needed depth to the third or fourth line as well.

During his NHL career, Zidlicky has scored 60 goals and added 238 assists. Zidlicky has also racked up 496 penalty minutes, in 548 games.

Random Stuff (RW77)

I haven't posted in a while and I know how you all miss me.... Ok, maybe not but here's a few things that have piqued my interest lately...

In the area of WTF.... Ferris State University.

True, this the third straight good year they've had, but last year they barely finished above .500 and suddenly they're at a .700 win percentage? #1 in the Nation? They could be paper tigers but I'm less inclined to think of them like a Union based on the following criteria:

1. They won their division and their division isn't a cupcake conference like AHA.
2. They play a full schedule rather than a wonky won likle the ECACHLMAO
3. It's late in the season. No one cares who is number one (except the stat hounds) early in the season. We have something like 3 regular season games left now. To be #1 at this time in a major conference means something.

I'm not saying that Ferris State is going to win the Frozen Four or even win 1 round of the NCAAs. I'm saying it's quite an accomplishment for a team who has never been #1 ever.

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In sadder news, Concordia University (Wisconsin) announced that Tony Hrkac will not return. In his defense.... well, there isn't much. In the 129 games CUW has played since they started the program in 2007, all of which under Head Coach Hrkac, they've amassed.... 10 wins. TOTAL.

They were 10-109-10. I don't care who you are. It's awfully tough to keep a job with a record like that. Here is the link. [USCHO.COM]

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In a more cynical twist:

The Minnesota Wild completed a trade yesterday with the New Jersey Devils. The Wild trade away Zidlicky and get Kurtis Foster (D), Nick Palmieri (F), Stephane "Pe-U" Veillieux, and a 2nd round draft pick (in actuality, Washington's 2nd round pick).

So, Minnesota trades one of its only major trade bait players for two former Wild players, a 2nd round pick, and a mediocre young forward in Palmieri.

It makes no sense to me to go out and get a grinder D, grinder Forward, and a young winger. If you wanted grinding forwards, just call down to Houston. You have a minor league system FULL of them. Why get Veillieux? He's worthless offensively. And last I checked, Minnesota needed scorers. Well, at least Veilleux is fresh. According to NJDevils.com, he's only played 1 game this year. Kindof dovetails into my claims that even in Stephane's prime (he's 30 now), he wouldn't crack most of the NHL rosters on a nightly basis. Oh well.

This was a BAD trade, regardless of 1 for 1 value. It reminds me so much of Risebrough it is scary. Zidlicky was the only player outside of the blockbuster players (Koivu, Harding, Backstrom, maybe Heatley) that the Wild could trade to get scoring forwards and they didn't get one. Palmieri is young, but he's a lot like a Latendresse or Brunette in terms of offense. Seeing how Brunette is a Blackhawk and Latendresse is injured, maybe that's why they got Palmieri? I just feel like the Wild could have gotten Palmieri for less than Zidlicky and then traded Zidlicky for a scorer.

Then again, I wouldn't be afraid at this point to go overkill and trade a player like Zidlicky for a scorer even if Zidlicky, value wise, was superior to that of the scorer in question. The Wild need to score goals and well, they're not going to get that with this trade. They're not even building towards it.
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Last thing.

Though I expect Dell will start tonight, I take great pride in pointing out that Eidsness seems to be returning to form. He did fantastic last night, even with the last 3 minutes being scary. 2 of the 3 goals they scored were no doubter nothing you can do types (Shore's and Zucker's). The third was just sniping. I think Eids could have been in better position for that one but it was a good shot.

In any case, I am sure the Eidsness haters are having a field day with the last 3 minutes of the game, but I don't care. Eidsness has shown this season that he's come to play. And though I don't think we can truly say "Bench Dell for Eidsness" I can't truly say "Thanks Eids, now back to Dell" either.

I'd love to see the JPL/JPar arrangement come into place. Eidsness takes Fridays and Dell takes Saturdays. It's really late in the season to implement such a thing, but I think it should be done.

In any case, however longer the ride goes with this team, I'm all in. They have enough injuries to make it believable that winning is too hard to come by. There's no shame in having a down season due to injury. However, this team plays with a different attitude from other teams: They just go out and have fun with the system Hakstol has put in place. They're not the most talented UND team. Heck, I'd be hard to put them in the top 10 even. But they play with cohesion and support each other much better than in previous years. And from what I hear, the locker room is a different place than in previous years.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Danny Kristo penalty shot

Danny Kristo was awarded a penalty shot in the second period of UND's game against DU. Kristo scored on the penalty shot.

Andrew MacWilliam hit on Matt Tabrum

WCHA official Todd Anderson blew this call, this was a shoulder to chest hit, there was no reason to throw Andrew MacWillam out of the game for that hit. It was a brutal call, just because the guy lays on the ice doesn't mean the ref needs to award a penalty for the hit. Before you jump down my throat, watch the video. Also, I am going to take the word of an NHL official (Kerry Frazier) over Todd Anderson who is a second rate official in the WCHA, at best.

I am not saying that a penalty isn't warranted for this hit, because you could've given MacWilliam a penalty for interference, but this is not a five minute major for contact to the head. When the NCHC starts it's play they need to not have use the WCHA officials for reffing games in the NCHC. This is a perfect reason why.

UND vs. DU lines

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux athl...

Image via Wikipedia

Fighting Sioux Forward Lines

29 Brock Nelson–10 Corban Knight (A) –7 Danny Kristo
16 Mark MacMillan–27 Carter Rowney–15 Michael Parks
Stephane Pattyn 28 –9 Mario Lamoureux (C) – 20 Joe Gleason
8 Dan Senkbeil–13 Connor Gaarder–14 Taylor Dickin

UND Defensive Pairings.
4 Derek Forbort – 24 Ben Blood
2 Andrew MacWilliam (A) – 5 Nick Mattson
18 Dillon Simpson–22 Andrew Panzarella

UND Goalies

31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell

UND Official Players Stats

UND Injuries: Forwards Rocco Grimaldi (season knee surgery), Brendan O’Donnell (season ending surgery), and Derek Rodwell (season shoulder surgery) are out.

Denver’s Forward lines

17 Jason Zucker–15 Drew Shore–12 Ty Loney
11 Chris Knowlton–23 Nick Shore–18 Luke Salazar
37 Nate Dewhurst–26 Shawn Ostrow–8 Dustin Jackson
14 Larkin Jacobson–25 Matt Tabrum–19 Daniel Doremus

Denver Defensive Pairings

7 Paul Phillips–2 Scott Mayfield
24 John Ryder–4 Josiah Didier
21 Joey LaLeggia–5 John Lee

Denver Goalies

1 Sam Brittain
33 Adam Murray
31 Juho Olkinuora

Denver players stats

Referees: Todd Anderson, Brad Shepherd
Linesmen: Bob Keltie, Tim Swiader

Will we see a Dasher Dance tonight?

WCHA referee Todd Anderson was the on ice official in both games where DU head coach George Gwozdecky did his dances on the dasher. Todd Anderson is one of the on ice officials in tonight's game between the Fighting Sioux and the Denver Pioneers.

The Video above is the game where Mike Prpich performed the cup check on Geoff Paukovich. There was no call on the play and Gwoz lost his mind. Here is the other incident where Gwoz danced on the dasher, made a motion to the crowd and then took a trip across the ice. [Click to view]

Goon's Weekly Picks - 2/24 - 2/25

Fri 02/24/12
St. Cloud State at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-My9)
Minnesota at Nebraska Omaha 7:37 p.m. CT (TV-FSn)DirecTV 668
Wisconsin at Bemidji State 7:37 p.m. CT (TV-LPT)
North Dakota at Denver 8:07 p.m. MT (TV-NBCSN)DirecTV 603
Alaska at Alaska Anchorage 7:07 p.m. AT Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup (TV-GCI)

Sat 02/25/12
St. Cloud State at Michigan Tech 7:07 p.m. ET
Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-My9)
Minnesota at Nebraska Omaha 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-FSn)
Wisconsin at Bemidji State 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-LPT)
North Dakota at Denver 7:07 p.m. MT (TV-Root) DirecTV 683
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska 7:05 p.m. AT Alaska Airlines Governor's Cup

St. Cloud State at Michigan Tech – Split
Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth – Split
Minnesota at Nebraska Omaha – Split
Wisconsin at Bemidji State – BSU sweep
North Dakota at Denver – Split
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska – Split

Last Week 6-6 Record for the season 127-80

Here are some interesting stats from @UNDSID on the Sioux's record after the first of the year...

Year Before After
2004-05 13-7-2 (.636) 12-8-3 (.587)
2005-06 12-7-1 (.625) 17-9-0 (.654)
2006-07 7-10-1 (.417) 17-4-4 (.760)
2007-08 8-6-1 (.567) 20-5-3 (.768)
2008-09 9-8-1 (.528) 15-7-3 (.660)
2009-10 9-6-3 (.583) 16-7-2 (.680)
2010-11 13-5-2 (.700) 19-4-1 (.813)
2011-12 9-8-1 (.528) 8-3-2 (.682)
Totals 80-57-12 (.577) 123-47-18 (.702)

Two UND Defenseman make HF top 10

Two of UND's defenseman are in Hockey's Futures Top 10 NCAA defensemen. Dillon Simpson made other notables.

4. Derek Forbort, Sophomore, University of North Dakota
NHL Rights: Los Angeles Kings
Drafted: 1st Round, 15th overall, 2010After a successful freshman campaign, Forbort returned to North Dakota this season stronger and better. He has played in 21 games to date, posting five points (one goal, four assists). In the season-opening Icebreaker Tournament championship game versus Boston College on October 8th, Forbort posted his first (and thus far only) collegiate goal. Forbort suffered a lower body injury in the recent World Junior Championship and returned to the lineup on February 10th versus Minnesota-Duluth.

Forbort added roughly ten pounds to his enormous 6'5 frame over the summer. And that has really enhanced his skating. There is more power in his strides without taking anything away from his excellent mobility.

While Forbort is known for his offensive abilities, it's the progress that he has made on the defensive side this season that is noteworthy. His positional and one-on-one play has vastly improved from last season, and he has also added a bit of grit to his game as well. Forbort isn't likely to develop into an overly physical player, but the grit he has begun to show will simply add to his overall skill set. The one area where Forbort will need to continue to improve however is his gap control.

With Forbort's development coming along nicely at North Dakota, it'll only be a matter of time before the Los Angeles Kings will move to sign the Duluth, MN native. It remains to be seen if Forbort will return for his junior season in the fall.

10b. Ben Blood, Senior, University of North Dakota
NHL Rights: Ottawa Senators
Drafted: 4th Round, 120th overall, 2007
Blood is having the best year of his collegiate career right now, but a recent incident versus the University of Minnesota on January 14th has somewhat tainted that. The result was Blood being stripped of his assistant captaincy (He did issue an apology for his actions). Nevertheless, Blood is a player with excellent potential for success at the pro level.

The Plymouth, MN native has played in all 29 games thus far, posting 14 points (two goals, 12 assists). His 14 points tie a career-best, which was set in his sophomore year two seasons ago. Despite the Minnesota incident, Blood has been a strong leader on North Dakota's predominantly young blue line this season.

One area that has developed quite nicely during Blood's collegiate career is his offensive side. He has shown to be an adept puck-handler that can help run the power play as well as set up and finish plays. While it is unlikely that he'll post big numbers at the next level, Blood has the ability to be a solid offensive contributor from the blue line.

Blood was offered a contract by Ottawa at the end of last season, but opted to return to North Dakota to finish out his collegiate career. Barring anything unexpected, the Senators will likely offer him another contract at the end of the season.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Through these doors episode 16

Episode 16 of through these doors. Another great job...

It's UND's fault because they are the Fighting Sioux

Image via Wikipedia

You can read this and form your own opinion. So basically in a nut shell it's UND's fault because they wore the Fighting Sioux jersey's... UND fans I want to know what do you think of this. You can read the whole post at this link.

3. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races It is within that 3rd definition that issues arise. Were the chants insensitive? Yes. Were they intended to insult or put down an entire race of people? No. I believe it says something about our society how we perceive these chants. The chants deemed most racist were those about “Smallpox Blankets” which was done once over that weekend (I am not trying to justify it). I believe more problems have come about from those not in the hockey world trying to understand what happened.

Students are rowdy, students want to be tip-toeing the line, and students want to do as much damage as they can to an opposing team from their seats. Were the chants filled with racial undertones? Yes. However, they were not done as a whole race (white people) chanting them at another race (Native Americans). They were a bunch of students chanting at a team because of their mascot/nickname. Some people have taken the stand that if North Dakota had not recently re-adopted the nickname that the chants would then have not happened. Some say that any reference to genocide is wrong and well over the line.

I thought I would include this blog post because it generated a bit of discussion on twitter earlier this week, not entirely the same thing and it's written much better by our friend Runnin' with the Dogs who doesn't appear to be the fan of the Fighting Sioux nickname either.

UND’s mascot and nickname are dehumanizing and desensitizing. tUMD students demonstrated that a week and a half ago. How can someone stand behind a nickname that leads to chants like the ones the students did? Or shirts like this? Or this one, done by UND students? Or the attitudes spelled out here? Or the people who “honor” the nickname by swearing, vomiting in their seats, fighting, making lewd gestures, etc while wearing the Sioux jersey? (Every fan base has people who do this. But not every fan base is appropriating the image and name of Native Americans and claiming to honor them while behaving in this fashion.)

The nickname and mascot are an embarrassment. The chants are an embarrassment. The history behind the chants is an embarrassment. It’s time for the nickname to go. Getting rid of the nickname won’t change the mind of any student, fan, athlete or administrator who might have been motivated to chant or support the nickname or make one of those t-shirts by actual, active racism, but it will at least stop the people who simply aren’t thinking, who aren’t looking beyond the nickname and mascot to the humans they are based on. (Because it shouldn’t be necessary, humans [Seminole, Dakota, Illini, Irish, Dutch, etc] should not be mascots!)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

This week we almost have a full schedule, we have five WCHA series. This is the second to last weekend of the regular season. Also we pretty much assured of a new WCHA champion, UND would need lots of luck to keep the cup in Grand Forks.

Here is a list of who has won the most MacNaughton Cups (regular season championships):

15 – North Dakota
13 – Denver
11 – Minnesota
10 – Colorado College
7 – Michigan Tech
3 – Minnesota-Duluth
3 – Wisconsin

I’m going to say that the current top six will remain in the top six and host the first round of the playoffs. I know it isn’t that big of a stretch, but hey, why not make some predictions.

WCHA STANDINGS

Team………………………W-L-T………Points
1. Minnesota………………17-7-0…..……34
2. Minnesota-Duluth……..14-6-4….…….32
3. Denver…………..………13-7-4………..30
4. Colorado College ……..13-10-1……….27
4. North Dakota.……….….13-10-1….……27
4. Nebraska-Omaha………11-8-5………..27
7. Michigan Tech………….10-10-4………24
8. St. Cloud St……………. 10-11-3………23
9. Bemidji State….…………9-12-3…….….21
10. Wisconsin……………..8-14-2…..……18
10. Minnesota State………8-16-2………..18
12. Alaska-Anchorage…...5-20-1………..11

WCHA Games (#’s are current Pair Wise Rankings)

Wisconsin @ #23 Bemidji State
Last weekend the Badgers split with the Pioneers in Madison and the Beavers were swept by the Gophers in Minneapolis.

Both the Badgers and the Beavers are locked into the bottom half of the bracket. However, both still want to win and avoid going to a top three team in the first round of the playoffs. The Badgers have been downright awful, away from the Kohl Center, going 1-8-1 on the road. The Beavers have been rolling at home going 11-4-1, in the Sanford Center, or should we call it the Lodge? After only putting up a lone goal last weekend BSU needs to get the offense back on track. If BSU can get some timely goals they could move up the standings a spot, or two. BEAVERS SWEEP.

#14 North Dakota @ #11 Denver
Last weekend the Sioux took three points from the MTU Huskies in Grand Forks and the Pioneers split with the Badgers in Madison.

The Pioneers are three points ahead of the Sioux and trail league leader Minnesota by four points. DU is almost locked into home ice and UND needs a couple more points too, to secure a home ice spot. The last time these played was in the NCAA tourney with UND winning 6-1 and before that was the WCHA Final 5 and UND won that 3-2 in overtime. The Sioux need to keep the offense going and put some pucks in the net, if they want to leave the mile high city with some points in tow. Denver just needs to play their game and not get into the physical stuff, which these teams have had in the past. SPLIT

#25 St. Cloud State @ Michigan Tech
Last weekend the SCSU Huskies split with the Seawolves in St. Cloud and MTU Huskies got a point from the Sioux in Grand Forks.

These sets of Huskies are only separated by a lone point in the standing. Both still have a chance to get home ice in two weeks. But both really need a sweep this weekend to bolster their chances of that happening. MTU is winless in their last four games, and have only won twice in their last nine games, going 2-4-3 over that span. SCSU has won three of their last four games; with the one lose coming in overtime. It appears that one dog is going up and the other going down. SCSU 3-PTS

#19 Colorado College @ #5 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend Tigers split with UNO Mavericks in Colorado Springs and the Bulldogs took three points from the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato.

The Tigers have been sliding down only winning twice in their last seven games, going 2-4-1. CC now finds themselves in a three way tie for fourth place. Also of note the Tigers have not won back to back games in 2012. The Bulldogs are 3-3-1 in their last seven games and are unbeaten in their last three games, 2-0-1. The Bulldogs are only two points off the lead of UM and the McNaughton Cup. The last time UMD hoisted the prestigious cup was the 1992-93 season. BULLDOGS 3-pts

#8 Minnesota @ #23 Nebraska-Omaha
Last weekend the Gophers swept the Beavers in Minneapolis and the Mavericks split with the Tigers in Colorado Springs.

This is the first meeting this season between these teams. Last season they played Oct. 15-16, 2010 in Minneapolis, the Mavericks won both of those games. This will be the Gophers first visit to Omaha, as a conference game. The Mavericks are 7-4-3 at home and the Gophers are 7-6-1 on the road this season. UNO plays on a NHL sized rink, which is smaller than the Olympic size the UM plays on. The Mavericks have been scoring about 4gpg in their last couple of series. If UNO can keep that scoring up they should be able to beat the Gophers this weekend. The Gophers have also been scoring at a good pace as of late. If one goalie is able to step up and dominate a sweep could happen, for either team. But with the season winding down, desperation starts to become a big factor too. SPLIT

GOVERNOR’S CUP

Alaska (11-17-4) vs Alaska-Anchorage (8-20-2)
Last weekend the Seawolves split with the SCSU Huskies in St. Cloud and the Nanooks were swept by Michigan State in East Lansing.

Friday’s game is in Anchorage and Saturday’s rematch is in Fairbanks. Last season’s GC ended with both teams winning at home, I’m thinking it might be the same result again this year. SPLIT

BYE WEEK
Minnesota State

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Adam McQuaid vs B.J. Crombeen

This was the main event from tonight's game between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues. Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid fought St Louis Blues Forward B.J. Crombeen, good fight between two big hombres.

That was the sixth fight of the year for both players. The Boston Bruins are now second with 45 fighting majors on the season. The New York Rangers lead the NHL with 46 fighting majors.

UND vs. DU Series Notes

Image via Wikipedia
The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux travel to Denver University to play the Pioneers at Magness Arena February 24-25, 2012.

Game Time: 9:07 pm CT Friday and 8:07 pm CT Saturday Night

Records and Rankings: University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (17-11-3 overall, 13-10-1 WCHA); The Fighting Sioux are ranked 14th in the USCHO poll and 12th in the USA Today Poll. North Dakota took three of four points in their weekend series with Michigan Tech University (4-2 W, 1-1 T). Official Release

Denver Pioneers (18-10-4, 13-7-4 WCHA) are ranked 9^th in the USCHO Poll and 10^th in the USA Today Poll. The Pioneers split their weekend series with the Wisconsin Badgers (3-0 W, 2-5 L). Denver is 8-2-1 in their last 11 games. Official Release

Series History: The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux leads the all-time series against the Denver Pioneers 130-115-8 (.535). UND has a record of 49-66-3 against the DU in Denver. Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol’s teams have a 11-14-1 record against the Denver Pioneers. The Fighting Sioux have won four of the last five games they have played against DU 4-1-0. UND was 3-1-0 against DU last season.

Radio: UND 96.1 (KQHT-FM) – The Fox.

Webcast: There will be no webcasts this weekend.

TV Friday: NBC Sports Network – 603 DirecTV

TV Saturday: Root Sports Rocky Mountain – 683 DirecTV

Players to Watch:

For UND: Forwards: Danny Kristo (14g-19a—33pts), Corbin Knight (11g-19a—30pts) and Brock Nelson (20g-15a—35pts), Carter Rowney (14g-9a—23pts). Defense: Nick Mattson (5g-11a—16pts), Dillon Simpson, (1g-13a—14pts), Ben Blood (2g-12a—14pts). Goaltenders: Aaron Dell .890 save percentage and a 2.90 goals against average. Brad Eidsness .926 save percentage and a 1.92 goals against average.

UND Injuries: Forward Rocco Grimaldi is out (season knee surgery), Brendan O’Donnell out (season ending surgery), Derek Rodwell is out (season shoulder surgery).

For DU Forwards: Jason Zucker (17g-20a—37pts), Drew Shore (18g-24a—42pts), Nick Shore (10g-19a—22pts) Luke Salazar (8g-13a—21pts) Defense: Joey LaLeggia (10g-23a—33pts), Jon Lee (3g-9a—12pts) Paul Phillips (1g-8a—9pts) Goaltender: Sam Brittain .923 save percentage and a 2.51 goals against average.

Other games in the WCHA: Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota at Nebraska Omaha, Wisconsin at Bemidji State, Michigan Tech at Saint Cloud State. Non-Conference Friday: Alaska at Alaska Anchorage. Saturday: Alaska Anchorage at Alaska. Idle Minnesota State.

Wednesday Links - thanks 2 Million

First, I would like to thank the readers of this blog as Goon's World has reached the 2 million hit mark. Thanks to everyone that has visited this blog.

At the Wednesday Media day, coach Hakstol said that there isn't much to report on Fighting Sioux junior goalie Aaron Dell, other than he was back practicing with the team yesterday and I think we can list him as a day-to-day. That's if I understand coach speak correctly, I would probably list him as a game time decision. I can confirm that Dell looked good from my vantage point in practice today.

Also, Senior goalie Brad Eidsness looks like he has returned to form and in my opinion appears to be the same goalie that once won two All-WCHA honors (X2). While he got some lucky bounces he also made some huge saves to probably steal a point for UND when they weren't at their best.

Here is what Hockey Futures had to say about junior forward Corbin Knight.

12. (15) Corban Knight, C, 6.5C
Acquired: 5th round, 135th overall, 2009

Knight, too, got caught up in the injury trend for 2011-12, and has spent time in and out of the UND lineup. However, when he has been on the ice, he has shown why he should still be considered a rising talent in the Florida organization. He has been a point-per-game player for the Sioux, has been once again terrific in the faceoff circle and a demon in the corners. He has the skill to get the puck up ice and to his linemates, the hands to get a good release on his shot even in heavy traffic, and has sound hockey smarts.

Here is what Hockey Futures had to say about freshman Roco Grimaldi.

11. (8) Rocco Grimaldi, C, 8D
Acquired: 2nd round, 33rd overall, 2011

The 2011-12 campaign was a lost season for Grimaldi, who suffered a knee injury early in training camp for the University of North Dakota. He struggled to return to the lineup, and managed to find ice time in four games before having knee surgery that brought a close to his freshman year. Grimaldi will be eligible to take a redshirt, if necessary, but more important is the lost development time for the offensive wizard.

As a result, Grimaldi drops down the ranks for now. Once he gets back on the ice, and gets the opportunity to show off his dazzling offensive skills and skating, he should begin a steady march back up the ranks.

Fighting Sioux Hockey Game Site Of Offensive Chants

Image via Wikipedia
The left leaning Huffington Post has picked up the story that first appeared in the Duluth News Tribune on Tuesday.

Huffington Post --- The Duluth News-Tribune reported on the letter Tuesday.
North Dakota fan Chad Czmowski told the newspaper that students made war-whooping noises and chanted "Hi, HOW are you?" and "smallpox blankets" during the Feb. 10-11 series. The latter refers to some historical claims that Indians were given smallpox-infected blankets by white settlers.

"I thought it was over the top," Czmowski said. "I'm all for rowdy cheering and rowdy student sections. Personal attacks, it was too much and there is no place for it."

Dave Zentner, a season ticket holder since 1955, said he didn't hear anything he considered to be offensive from the student section.

"I'm sure we've heard some dumb things over the years," he said. "I'm not sure if they were racist or bad sportsmanship. We've been road warriors and have been subjected to a lot of profanity and abuse in the league. I think overall, everybody has a few silly fans."

Wow, after reading the comments of Dave Zentners I have to say that some people live in denial, and I am not talking about the river in Egypt

Like I have said in the past, I like the Fighting Sioux nickname, I think it’s the best logo in all of college sports and there is nothing that could ever replace the Fighting Sioux logo that is ever going to be as good. I am also sick and tired of political correctness, and I believe it’s killing this country.

I think this issue goes beyond the issue of nicknames. It’s about ignorance from opposition fans, like one person said on my Facebook page, “thinking that changing a name and logo is going to change the mind-set of the ignorant and the racist is delusional, tunnel vision thinking at its best.”

This is the issue here, UND was required by state law to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname, so there are going to be a lot of people that are going put UND under a microscope and they are going to be on the watch for anything like this that happens.

You’re going to get a lot of, ‘see I told you so’ comments especially from the main stream media elites. You will also see people blaming UND for the something that is way beyond their scope of responsibility.

All you need to do is read the Rachel Blount article that was in the Star and Tribune, this is a perfect example of the types of articles that you’re going to continue to see until the Fighting Sioux nickname is retired.

In closing, a big face-palm to the folks that do these stupid cheers.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Who is hostile and abusive?

Image via WikipediaI saw this the other day and all I can say is, "Wow!!!" Really!!! Comeon UMD fans, you're better than this garbage. What century do you guys live in? This is actually what the Anti nickname people are talking about and they will use this incident to say, "see this is why we need to change the Fighting Sioux nick name."

There is no reason for this type of classless behavior to happen. I find this behavior to be unacceptable.

Christa Lawler, Duluth News Tribune --- Nielson sent the students a letter dated Feb. 17 that warned “any profane, racial, sexist, or abusive comments or actions directed at officials, opposing players or teams will be grounds for removal from the arena” and could result in a forfeiture of season tickets.

North Dakota fan Chad Czmowski said he was adjacent to the student section during Saturday night’s game when students began chanting “smallpox blankets” and what he described as other racist phrases and actions directed at the university’s mascot. Czmowski said other derogatory statements were specifically directed at the goalie’s mother.

“I thought it was over the top,” Czmowski said. “I’m all for rowdy cheering and rowdy student sections. (But) Personal attacks, it was too much and there is no place for it.”

Dave Zentner, a season ticket holder since 1955 who has seats near the blue line, said he didn’t hear anything racist from the student section during the series.

Nate Newell named interim executive director

For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Albany, N.Y. – The Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) today announced
that Nate Ewell has been appointed to the position of interim Executive Director
of College Hockey, Inc., (CHI).

“We are extremely pleased to announce Nate’s promotion to his new position
knowing that he is an experienced professional who is highly regarded at both
the pro and collegiate levels of hockey,” said HCA President Steve Hagwell. “CHI
will be well served by his expertise in the media, communications, marketing
and promotional creativity.”

Prior to joining the staff of College Hockey Inc. in January, 2011, Ewell served
as the Vice President of Communications for the NHL’s Washington Capitals. In
eight seasons with the Caps, he created a comprehensive media strategy for
league MVP Alex Ovechkin, established a program for accreditation of bloggers
that became a model for other sports franchises, and led a staff that captured
four consecutive Dick Dillman Awards as the top media relations group in the
Eastern Conference.

A 1996 graduate of Princeton University, where he was the Sports Editor of the
campus newspaper, Ewell went on to become the Assistant Sports Information
Director at Michigan State University. There, he served as the principal media
contact for the MSU men’s hockey program.

CHI is a non-profi t corporation that operates under the auspices of the HCA and
serves as the educational, promotional and marketing arm of college hockey.

Dion Phaneuf hits Parise and then fights David Clarkson

This is the reason that fighting has to stay in the game of hockey watch the end of the video, Dion Phaneuf hits Zach Parise with a questionable hit to the head and then he has to answer for that objectionable hit almost immediately. The Players can police the game so they don't have to wait for the NHL to react or not react to questionable hits.

Goon's World Extras

Sunday, February 26, 2012

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