UND Hockey: A few Things on game day

Series history: There’s definitely a history between the two teams. Coming into this weekend, the University of North Dakota has never lost to Wisconsin during the NCAA playoffs. Historically, UND is 2-0 against the Badgers in the NCAA tournament.

First meeting: UND beat Wisconsin 5-2 during the 1982 NCAA Championship game. Second meeting: UND beat Wisconsin 3-2 in overtime in the 2008 Midwest Regional Championship game.  Andrew Kozek scored the game winning goal at the 1:47 mark of the first overtime to give UND the regional Championship.

All-time: The Badgers have an 86-65-12 record against UND. UND is 5-3-2 in the last 10 games against the Badgers. 

Here’s the video clip of the last time UND played against Wisconsin in the NCAA playoffs.

Breaking down the numbers

As most of you know, numbers mean nothing this time of year. You can throw records out the window. All of the teams that are in the NCAA tournament have a chance of winning. We found that out last season when Yale made their run through the NCAA playoffs. Yale was the last at-large bid to make the NCAA tournament. We also saw that when fourth seeded RIT knocked off number one seeded Denver 2-1 in the 2010 East regional. 

North Dakota (23-13-3) vs. Wisconsin (24-10-2)

UND didn’t play against Wisconsin this season. The two teams will resume the rivalry next season in Madison.

Common opponents (3)

Wisconsin split with the Miami RedHawks (0-2 L, 3-2W)

UND was 3-2 against the Miami RedHawks (4-2 W, 2-6 L, 3-2 W, 9-2 W, and 0-3 L)

Wisconsin swept the Colorado College Tigers (4-1 W, 4-3 W O.T.)

UND was 4-1-0 against the Colorado College Tigers (5-3 W, 3-2 W, 4-2 W, 2-3 L O.T. and 4-3 W)

Wisconsin was 2-0 against Northern Michigan (5-2 W, 2-1 W)

UND was 2-0 against Northern Michigan (3-2 W, 3-1 W)

Breaking down the Records

Wisconsin was 17-2-1 at home and 5-8-1 on the road. Neutral site 2-0. 

North Dakota was 14-7-1 at home and 8-5-2 on the road. Neutral site 1-1.

Badgers record when…

14-1-1 when they lead after one period

2-6-1 when they trail after one period

8-3-1 when tied after one period

18-0-1 when leading after two periods

2-8-1 when trailing after two periods

North Dakota’s record when…

13-1-1 when they lead after one period

5-9-0 when they trail after one period

5-3-2 when tied after one period

19-1-0 when leading after two periods

1-10-1 when trailing after two periods

 

Marcel Goc's ankle injury

Marcel Goc's ankle isn't supposed to bend like that. Ouch! Goc was helped off of the ice. To quote @ChrisWasselTHW the @InjuryNinja never sleeps.

NHL Players Safety, 'No Hearing for Nino Neiderreiter for his check on Alex Burrows

(1 of 5) Niederreiter makes full body contact. While there is contact to head, refer to rule 48 points (i) & (ii).. pic.twitter.com/ta3lqfGDgi
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 27, 2014

I told the Canucks fans that were chirping me on twitter last night that his hit was not a suspendable hit. I was told to re-read Rule 48. Yet, I was right… I wonder where those Vancouver Canucks fans are today?

@goon48 go watch the replay again and take off your team coloured glasses
— Scotia (@Scottkanold) March 27, 2014

Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter will not have a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player safety for his check on Vancouver Canucks forward Alex Burrows. Nor should he.

(2 of 5) (i) In spite of some head contact, NN hits squarely thru the body. He does not "pick" the head.. pic.twitter.com/024CC92yyS
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 27, 2014

(3 of 5) ..as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension upward or outward.. pic.twitter.com/YBDcArYVX6
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 27, 2014

(4 of 5) (ii) We believe that some head contact on this otherwise full bodycheck was unavoidable. pic.twitter.com/AenUwn3Ve4
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 27, 2014

(5 of 5) The reverse angle shows this most clearly. pic.twitter.com/ASF9sqUBYY
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) March 27, 2014

Updated Vegas Odds for Division I hockey tournament

SBN College Hockey has the updated odds for the NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament. Five Dimes is supplying the odds.

Tough Road Trip Ahead for Minnesota

After last night's head shaker, the Minnesota Wild now find themselves leaving home on what could be their toughest road trip of the season. On this trip, the team will make stops in St. Louis, Phoenix, LA, and their last stop is at the Madhouse on Madison against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Tonight two huge points are on the line as the green and white invade Scottrade Center in St. Louis to play the first place Blues. In the two teams last meeting at Xcel, Minnesota would rally for one point as they would fall in the shootout. However, many positives would come from this game. One, this proved that the Wild are capable of skating with the top dogs in the NHL. Two, they are able to overcome adversity coming from behind, tying the game in the third, and sending it to overtime and eventually the shootout.

Tonight's game may be a little different though. Minnesota, who just played last night, is coming into St. Louis after a 5-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks.  Yes they would throw 31 shots on goal, but had major struggles to capitalize on premium scoring chances, and had a few costly turnovers. I would expect Ilya Bryzgalov to get the call in St. Louis tonight as the Wild look to get the much needed two points and remain the top wild card team.

After tonight, Minnesota travels to face a Phoenix team who sits just three points behind the Wild for the top wild card spot. This is probably the biggest game of the season for Minnesota, and a must win in regulation. The Coyotes are a team that not many talk about, so there is no pressure on them making their season a lot less stressful on this team.

From the desert the Wild will travel to Hollywood as they face-off against the LA Kings at Staples Center. Minnesota really has not done too well in LA in recent history, but need to change history in order to keep their playoff push strong. LA is also the new home to the first ever Minnesota Wild draft pick Marian Gaborik. Although Gabby would have many injury problems towards the end of his time in Minnesota, New York, and Columbus, he is always a threat to score when he is on the ice and makes this LA offense that much more lethal. The Minnesota defense is going to have to be at the top of their game or LA will blow this one wide open.

Finally, from LA Minnesota travels to the Windy City to play the Chicago Blackhawks. These two teams have had a lot of history in the last two seasons, including last year's playoffs, and look to have another tight battle on the ice. Minnesota has found some success playing in Chicago this season and lets hope they can continue to have it.

The road doesn't get much easier as the season draws to a close for Minnesota, but this tough end of season schedule might be just what this team needs to prime themselves for the playoffs. It is looking like right now the Wild will be playing the winner of the Pacific Division, provided no major changes in the standings between now and the second week in April.

Betting Lines and Odds for the NCAA Hockey Tournament

The University of North Dakota Hockey team comes in at  -125 and the Wisconsin Badgers are  -115.  

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Who's to Blame for Home Loss?

Not much can be said about tonight's game for the Wild, except, well I can't think of anything to say. This game left me with no words and scratching my head wondering what they need to do to find the net.

The Minnesota Wild would control much of the play in tonight's home game against Vancouver, but would find themselves surrendering the first goal to David Booth. However, just over a minute later, Charlie Coyle would find the twine when he would flat out snipe Eddie Lack. The teams would go into the locker room tied at one, but Minnesota probably should have been up by two goals for how much they controlled play. They just were not getting the bounces they needed.

As the game went on, things were still being controlled by the Wild, but the flood gates would open up in the third for the Canucks. A couple of power plays and bad turnovers later, the game was quickly 5-1 in favor of the bad guys. Nino Niederreiter would put one late goal in for the Wild, but that's exactly what it would be, too little too late.

Outshooting the Canucks 31-19 tonight, the Minnesota Wild and fans like me are left scratching their heads wondering what they could have done different tonight. More often then not, they did not get any second or third quality chances in the offensive zone, even though they were controlling most of the play.

Another thing that would cost them is too many costly turnovers. The Canucks are a team you can't make these kind of mistakes against or they will find the back of the net and tonight was a good example of this.

Goalie Darcy Kuemper also looked a bit off tonight, however, each and every Vancouver goal was scored from a high percentage scoring area, or off of a deflection. Kuemper can't be completely to blame for this loss. That being said, five goals against on 19 shots isn't that good at any level of play, and improvement is needed.

The gist of it all is that our key guys need to contribute more consistently in key games like tonight, and on the upcoming road trip. With guys like Parise, Pominville, and Moulson not finding the net as much as they should, it leaves playmakers like Koivu and Granlund sitting in the dust getting ridiculed because they aren't producing points either.

It's time for the veteran leaders to take charge and lead this team into the playoffs. They can't keep missing out on key points coming down the stretch, otherwise they could be sitting on the outside, much like the Toronto Maple Leafs are right now in the east.

Minnesota Wild: Nino Niederreiter hit on Alex Burrows (Video/GIF)

Minnesota forward Nino Niederreiter was given a two-minute minor for interference. As you can see Nino hit Alexandre Burrows with a legal shoulder-to-shoulder check. There was no interference either. This is a blown call.

The line - Nino Niederreiter Interference - 2 min against Alexandre Burrows

Former UNO goalie Anthony Stolarz receives an eight-game suspension for Slashing Josh Ho-Sang in the Head

Former UNO and current London Knights goalie Anthony Stolarz received an eight-game suspension today for slashing/chopping Windsors Josh Ho-Sang in the back of the head with his carbon fiber goalie stick. In my opinion eight games is not enough. This is unacceptable. Stolarz's team was actually won the game 10-2.

Ontariohockeyleague.com ----The Ontario Hockey League today announced the results of a review of an incident which took place in a game played in Windsor on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014, involving the Spitfires and the visiting London Knights Hockey Club.

The incident reviewed was a high sticking infraction involving player Anthony Stolarz of the London Knights Hockey Club.

Based on a review of the incident, it is the position of the League that player Anthony Stolarz shall be suspended for eight (8) games effective immediately.

It should be understood that if the suspension to player Stolarz cannot be served in its entirety prior to the commencement of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup, player Stolarz’s participation in the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup will be reviewed at that time.

NCAA Hockey: Under the old Pairwise Rankings

Jim Dahl has what the old Pairwise rankings would have looked like, if the NCAA used the Pairwise Ranking from last season. To be honest with you, I don't like the new Pairwise formula. I think it was an over reaction to the smaller schools whining about the big schools not traveling to the smaller schools home arenas. 

West (St Paul)
1. Minnesota vs 16. Robert Morris
8. Wisconsin vs 9. Ferris St

Northeast (Worcester)
3. Boston College vs 14. Cornell
6. Providence vs 11. Notre Dame

East (Bridgeport)
2. Union vs 15. Denver
7. St Cloud St vs 10. North Dakota

Midwest (Cincinnati)
4. Mass-Lowell vs 13. Mankato
5. Quinnipiac vs 12. Colgate

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If NHL Playoffs Started Today....

With just two and a half weeks left in the NHL season lets have a little fun and see how the playoffs would match-up if they were to start right now. Remember, the playoff format has been changed from last season. The top three finishers in each of the four divisions will make the playoffs along with two wild card spots for each conference. The top division winner in each conference will play the second wild card team, as the other division winner plays the top wild card team. This then leaves the second and third place teams in each division. These two teams will meet in the first round, just enhancing the inner division rivalries.

We will start out east. Sitting at the top of the conference, and the Atlantic Division, the surging Boston Bruins look like they are the favorite to come out of the East. However, Pittsburgh is always tough and the Rangers seem to be finding their stride down the stretch, so things could be very interesting as the season out east begins to wind down.

As of right now, the three teams making it in the Atlantic Division would be the first place Bruins, second place Canadians, and third place Lightning. Tampa is on their longest point streak dating back to when they won the Stanley Cup in the 2003-2004 season. The Montreal Canadians made a splash at the trade deadline to grab scorer Thomas Vanek from the Islanders to add a little more depth to their line-up for the stretch run. No explanation is needed for the Boston Bruins. They are about as deep as they come from top to bottom. They are my favorite to come out of the East, but the competitiveness of the NHL today anything can happen.

In the Metropolitan Division, the Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the charge, like they have for much of the season. Making the late charge after a horrible start, the Flyers are now finding themselves in the playoff mix sitting in third place in the division. Captain Claude Giroux has found his scoring touch and the rest of the team has followed his lead. The New York Rangers are the hottest team in the division right now on a four game winning streak, and with the trade deadline addition of Marty St. Louis, they look for a little more playoff experience, and a little bit more scoring then Ryan Callahan provided.

Finally we have the two wild card teams. There are four teams tied with 80 points, but the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings are the two teams shown in the two slots. People laughed at me before the season started when I picked the Blue Jackets to make the playoffs, or just be in the playoff hunt. Lets just say I will take my apologies at anytime from all who laughed at me. Still in the hunt, however, are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals, and I will go as far to include the New Jersey Devils who are sitting at 75 points right now.

My pick to come out of the east needs to be the Boston Bruins. The only team that comes close in the east to match their depth is the Penguins. However, you can never count anyone out in the NHL.

Moving west, this is the superior conference in the NHL and it looks that barely anyone out east will be able to compete with anyone in the west. With three teams over 100 points, and likely to be four or five by seasons end, my Cup winner will be out of the west this year.

Starting in the ever so tough Central Division, we have the red hot St. Louis Blues leading the charge at 103 points. In a division where everyone thought that the Blackhawks, who are in second, would win outright this season after their amazing cup run last year, the St. Louis Blues are only a little bit of a surprise to the NHL community this season. Probably the biggest surprise coming out of the St. Louis camp would be the play of Alexander Steen this season. Having a career year, Steen, along with usual suspects in Backes and Oshie, are leading the charge. Probably the biggest surprise in this division is the third place Colorado Avalanche. New head coach, and my pick to win the Jack Adams award for coach of the year, Patrick Roy grabbed the bull by the horns and utilized this young and talented team, making their opponents look like fools this season.

In the Pacific, we have the usual suspects at the top with San Jose, LA and Anaheim. The Sharks currently occupy the top spot in the division, but the Ducks are breathing down their neck just two points back right now. At points of this season, the Ducks were considered the best team in the NHL and, in my opinion, are a very good favorite to come out of the west this year, or at least make it to the west finals. Finally, we have the Kings quietly doing their thing in third place in the division. With their cheap deadline deal with the Blue Jackets acquiring Marian Gaborik, this team is always a threat to score. If Gaborik can stay away from the injury bug that has plagued him for nearly his entire career, the Kings look to bring themselves back to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Now for the two wild card teams in the west. First we have the streaky Minnesota Wild. The Wild would add Matt Moulson at the trade deadline to make what should be three complete lines that should be a threat to put the puck into the net. However, this is not the story. Coach Mike Yeo is having trouble in finding chemistry within his lines, but saw a ray of hope in their overtime victory Sunday night in Detroit. You also can't talk about the Wild without talking about Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper has taken over the number one role between the pipes with injuries to Josh Harding and Nik Backstrom and has ran with it. Sitting in the second wild card is the Phoenix Coyotes. With the Stars not too far behind, the margin for error is not that big for Phoenix. One thing that might trouble the Coyotes is the injury to their goalie Mike Smith. One can only wonder how far they can go without their number one.

As to who is coming out of the west, this is going to be very difficult. However, I am going to have to take the Chicago Blackhawks because with the majority of the team from last season, they know what they have to do to get the job done. They are also my pick to win the Cup and win the first back to back since the Red Wings did it in 1997-1998.

UND's Chances at Number Eight

Since it is that time of year again, all of the "fire Hakstol" nonsense is put on hold, well at least until UND makes an exit from the NCAA tournament, if they even do this season.

This UND team is a team that has shown signs on how they can compete with the best teams in the country. On the contrary, they also have shown signs on why there is also a great chance that they could be golfing very early this spring.

Lets take a look at their first round match-up against a tough Wisconsin. The Badgers are coming off of an entertaining overtime victory in the Big Ten title game Saturday night against Ohio State. Finishing second in the Big Ten regular season standings, the Badgers have found themselves in the top 10 of the rankings essentially all season long. However, they are playing a UND team that has almost been unbeatable since their Friday night loss to St. Lawrence all the way back in November.

That being said, this UND team has also shown sides of very poor play. Good examples of this is their 6-3 loss to UNO at the Ralph in February and most recently this past Friday against Miami. The only difference between the two games is UND would put forward a good 60 minutes against Miami, but would miss on great scoring chances that one team just can't miss on.

If that team from the Miami game shows up this Friday against the Badgers, our tournament life is very likely to be limited and the "fire Hakstol" jazz will be back in full force once again. However, if the team from Saturday night, which beat Western Michigan 5-0, shows up, look out NCAA.

So what are the chances I am giving UND to win their eighth national title this year? I'd say probably about a 35% chance at the most. I can hear all of the hate coming in right now, but watching this team play all season, I learned that their play can be very bipolar. Depending on what team shows up this Friday, sorry for stating the obvious here like Pierre, but it will determine how long they can stay in this tournament. Beat the Badgers, and I think this team makes the Frozen Four.

Tale of two GIFS Patrice Bergeron's goal

Check this out. We have both sides of Dougie Hamilton shot and the redirect goal by Patrice Bergeron. It was the game tying goal for the Boston Bruins. The Bruins would lose the game in a shootout. 

Mens NCAA Tourney is Set

After a crazy weekend of conference tournaments, the 2014 men's ice hockey field was set on Sunday morning. The NCAA looks at the Pairwise rankings, along with auto bids from winning conference tournaments to determine the 16 team field of play.

Lets take a look at this years tournament, first starting with the West Regional in St. Paul working our way east. In the region's first game, we have the number one overall seed Minnesota Golden Gophers facing off against auto bid Robert Morris. This match up seems to have everything made for an easy Minnesota victory, but so did their opening round game against Yale last year. Do we need to even mention the Holy Cross game in 2006 in Grand Forks? What I am trying to get at here is that the Gophers better not take this game too lightly or they could be golfing early once again. One thing they do have on their side is the home ice advantage of playing at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. In the last West Regional hosted here, the Gophers would skate to a regional championship with a 5-2 victory over the University of North Dakota.

For the second game in this regional we have another Minnesota team in St. Cloud State facing off against the always tough Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This opening round game has everything in store for it to be a classic. It has all of the tools to be set up as a classic goaltending duel. Between SCSU's Ryan Faragher and Notre Dame's Steven Summerhays, I would say this is going to be a very low scoring contest. However, one must look at the end of season disaster in the first round of NCHC play against Miami, is one to think that the confidence will be down after getting swept, or will the extra week of no games have them primed and ready to go? Notre Dame, on the other hand, is coming into this tournament knocking off the number two overall seed Boston College, to get to their conference tournament, but would lose 4-0 in the semifinal to the surging UMass Lowell.

I have Notre Dame and Minnesota winning in the first round of this region with Notre Dame advancing to the Frozen Four. I know this is bold, but much like Michigan did in 2011, Summerhays is a goalie who is hot and can carry this Notre Dame team far in this tournament.

Moving to the Midwest Regional where we have number four overall seed Wisconsin playing the team they helped get in by beating Ohio State Saturday, North Dakota. The team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux is coming into this tournament off of a 5-0 victory over Western Michigan in the NCHC third place game. However, their Friday night game against Miami was by far one of the worst games that this UND squad had played all season. Not cashing in on opportunities when in front of them and giving up goals that were not North Dakota like goals to give up. However, if the UND team that played on Saturday shows up in this tournament, watch out. There could possibly be an eighth banner being hung up at the beginning of next season. As for Wisconsin, they are coming off of a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory in the Big Ten championship game against Ohio State. In their last 10 games, the Badgers are an amazing 8-2-0 and if you go back to 12 games, you will find a home ice sweep of Minnesota. These former WCHA rivals are going to beat each other up in this game. Look for a lot of physicality and a very low scoring contest.

For the other game in the Midwest Region, we have Ferris State playing Colgate. Colgate is coming off a 5-2 loss to Union, who is this week's USCHO poll number one team, in the ECAC championship game. Before that, Colgate is 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, including a 4-4 stand-off against Union. As for one of the new WCHA members, Ferris State, they are also coming off a conference championship loss to Minnesota State Mankato of a score of 4-1. Both teams are coming in with something to prove, and have a very tough road to get to the Frozen Four, but never count out a team who just was recently in a Frozen Four with Ferris State.

I have North Dakota and Ferris State winning their opening round match ups with North Dakota advancing to the Frozen Four.

Moving east, we have Union skating into Bridgeport, Connecticut to play the Vermont Catamounts, who is coming off of a very impressive season. However, the Catamounts are coming off of a 3 game Hockey East playoff series loss to UMass Lowell so they also are coming into the tournament on a losing note. However, maybe the extra rest will give them all of the tools for an upset against this very tough Union team. Union is coming into the tournament winning the ECAC championship and as the number one ranked team in the USCHO.com poll. I just can't see Vermont coming out on top in this game, but in this tournament, you can't count anyone out.

For the second game in the East Regional we have Providence playing Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac is looking for a second straight trip to the Frozen Four, but hoping for better results then last season. They also are coming off of a heartbreaking double overtime loss in the ECAC semi finals to Colgate so they come in with a little extra weight on their shoulders. As for Providence, they also are coming off their conference semi final to a loss 3-1 against UNH. going 11-7-2 in a very tough Hockey East, Providence looks to prove that they are deserving on making this tournament by advancing past the first round.

I have Union facing Quinnipiac in the regional final, in what could be another tournament classic if the game actually does happen, with Union advancing to the Frozen Four.

Finally we move to the Northeast Regional in Worchester, Mass. Both opening round games look to be classics with UMass Lowell playing Minnesota State Mankato in the regions first game. MSUM is coming off of a very successful season, only missing out on the WCHA regular season crown to Ferris State by just a single point. However, Mankato would get their revenge in the conference tournament by beating the Bulldogs and win their first WCHA tournament crown. As for Lowell, they probably are coming into this tournaments as one of the hottest teams in the country and will be a tough opponent for anybody in this tournament.

For the second game, we have auto bid Denver facing off against number two Boston College. After a lot of people were skeptical about Denver this season, especially with the departure of George Gwozdecky, but this Pioneer squad never gave up and won the first ever NCHC Frozen Face-Off. As for BC, the Eagles took an early exit from their conference tournament, losing to Notre Dame, Hockey East's newest member. However, the Eagles to play home to the NCAA's likely Hobey Baker winner in Johnny Gaudreau. BC is always a tough opponent this time of year and if they keep up their pattern since 2008, it is their year to win the NCAA title.

I have BC and UMass winning their first round games with UMass advancing to the Frozen Four. The choice for this region wasn't that easy, but I had to go with the hotter team.

Finally for my Frozen Four picks. I have Notre Dame advancing over North Dakota to the title game, with UND having nightmares once again with another hot goalie, much like in 2011. I also Have Union advancing over UMass. UMass can only ride the hot streak for so long and Union is going to put the fire out. Finally for this year's national championship game, I have Union beating Notre Dame.

Now I know some of you are probably thinking I am crazy for picking these two schools to advance to my title game, but that's the power of opinion. Feel free to share what you think with me on twitter at the handle of @siouxhockey33.

Post-Frozen Faceoff A few things

What a weekend… While this past weekend, was a good time. The Frozen Faceoff will never come close to comparing to the 13 previous WCHA Final Fives that I attended. That being said, this was a really good experience. This year was actually the first time in 15 years that I took my wife with me. In the past, this has been a guy’s only weekend. Hopefully Sioux7 goes next year.

Pros

The downtown Minneapolis area has “more” options and amenities for you, than the area surrounding the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. There’s also a Starbucks or Caribou Coffee on every corner. This is a definite plus for someone that’s a caffeine addict.

The Marriott Hotel City Center was second to none. You can take the Sky Walk all the way from your hotel to the Target Center. Even bigger plus, the Marriott actually has a  Starbucks inside the hotel complex and one next to the entrance to the parking garage of the Marriott. So you're covered at the hotel complex. I am staying there next year, for sure. They had DirecTV in the hotel rooms and all of the right channels to include the NHL Network and the Golf Channel. Major plus for a sports geek like me.

Campus Pizza was excellent again, and a very short drive from downtown Minneapolis. I was the only one wearing a UND hoodie and a Bemidji State Beavers t-shirt in Campus Pizza. Upon entering the building, I felt like I was going to burst into flames. If you’ve never ate at Campus Pizza, you’re missing out. I suggest giving their pizza a try. Only negative, the restaurant is located on the campus of the University of Minnesota and is full of Minnesota Golden Gophers garbage.

I thought the NCHC did a good job running their conference tournament. There were a few minor things that will probably be changed, but overall I was impressed. The NCHC coaches seemed very happy with the way the tourney was run.

Surprisingly, there were decent sized crowds, both days of the two-day event. Even with UMD and SCSU sitting home and not attending the tournament, the league still was able to attract 17,252 fans.

One ticket for both games is an awesome idea. Fans can leave the arena and come back.  

Press Box had candy and tons of free popcorn. Kudos to them for that.

Cons

Let’s face facts, The Target Center is an old run down building and is going to get a serious overhauled soon.  It’s not the Xcel Energy Center, but it's still a decent arena to house the event. According to the Target Center time line, the construction starts this spring or summer.

No Diet Coke at the Target Center. Saturday, I had to smuggle in my Diet Coke. The Target Center has an exclusivity contract with Pepsi. I hate Pepsi products, so that was a major bummer for me. I also didn’t find an acceptable coffee vender in the Target Center.

The Target Center was freezing. I almost had to wear my winter coat to stay warm in the press box and literally had to leave the building to warm up. I kid you not. I talked to many fans that thought the building was cold. Just for the record, the Ralph has been cold this season, and Target Center was definitely colder than the Ralph. I didn't think that was possible.

On Friday, the ice was a little soft, and the ice had only had been in for two days before the tournament started. So, the ice really didn't have much time to set. Word was that ice was really soft for the Thursday practice. The ice seemed to improve as the weekend progressed. Just for the record, the Target Center actually has new ice making equipment. That will be something to look for as the years progress.  I still think the ice was better this weekend than during the Final Fives that were held at the Target Center.

The Boards and glass were pretty lively and had some weird bounces one of them cost DU a goal.

All in all, it was a good weekend… Something to build on. The NCHC did a good job running this tourney.

Funny story… After Saturday’s UND game and before the post-game press conference, I made the comment about there’s going to be overtime tonight, I can feel it. Herald writer Brad Schlossman and the other media guys/gals in the media room looked at me as if I had committed a major crime.  Wouldn’t you know it, Wisconsin needed overtime to beat Ohio State.

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North Dakota's Drake Caggiula blasts Miami's Sean Kuraly

Thoughts on this hit... UND forward Drake Caggiula absolutely blasts Miami's Sean Kuraly with a clean hard, legal check. There is not elbow to the head. I don't buy it, the guy had the puck, before he was checked. Caggiula didn't charge him. It's another example of blown call. At the end of the press conference. WMU head coach Andy Murray said, "The league needs better officiating." I think it's a bad call by the official.

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Wisconsin's Mark Zengerle's game winning goal, B1G Hockey Tournament Championship game (Video)

I am sure that UND hockey fans would like to buy Wisconsin's Mark Zengerle a beverage of his choice after he scored the game winning goal against the tOSU Buckeyes in the Championship game of the B1G Hockey Tourney. That goal allowed UND to make it's 12th NCAA appearance in a row. Now the two teams will meet in the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati, Ohio.

UND shuts out WMU, Probably Makes tourney with Wisconsin Win

Minneapolis, MN – The University of North Dakota Hockey team came into the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s Frozen Faceoff third place game with their NCAA playoffs hopes on life support. First, they needed to win the third place game, if they had any chance of getting an at large NCAA bid. UND also needed help to make the NCAA tourney.

UND took care of their own end of the deal by shutting out the Western Michigan Broncos 5-0.

Leading the way for UND, was sophomore goalie Zane Gothberg and junior forward Connor Gaarder. Gothberg was rock solid between the pipes, stopping 25-of-25 shots, to earn his third shutout of the season. That was also the second time Gothberg had shutout Broncos in the last month.

A day after being shut out by the Miami RedHawks, UND came out of the gates with a lot of energy. UND was a buzz saw, they came out and pushed the pace. Gaarder scored the first of his two goals at the 01:42 mark of the first period. Gaarder would score his second marker 10:00 minutes later. With his two goals, Gaarder pushed his season total to seven goals, a career high for the junior from Edina, Minnesota.

UND would never let Western Michigan into the game.

After scoring goals in bunches during the month of February, UND had trouble scoring goals in the month of March. Today, UND would erupt for five goals.

UND head coach Dave Hakstol reflected on his team's win today and the situation that his team was in.

“We fought hard for our 23rd win of the year today,” Hakstol said. “That puts us in a situation where although we don’t control our destiny, we gave ourselves a chance. We did what we had to do today. We played a good hockey game. It’s going to be a long three, four hours, sitting, waiting and watching."

Hakstol continued. “Waking up on November the 30th, with five wins, as a staff, I couldn’t be prouder of this group. The type of team they have become. Working hard continuing to build and grow. This win gives us a chance to wake up tomorrow morning to prepare for a regional tourney. We will see where the cards fall.”

“I think the biggest thing after the game yesterday, we were kind of disappointed in our locker room,” assistant captain Stephane Pattyn. “We knew we had to win a game this weekend. We really wanted it to be that first one, then we would have a chance at a championship tonight. Right after the game, we had to turn the page and make sure we won that one today. I think our team did a good job at doing that.”

WMU head coach Andy Murray was the only representative from his team to speak to the media after the game.

“They’re (UND) a quality group and a solid coaching staff, certainly deserving of the win today,” Murray said. “Our kids competed. Maybe it’s my Canadian background, but I have never been very good playing for third place. Not normally used to it.”

Western Michigan ends their season with (19-16-5) record. UND improves to (23-13-3) and with the Wisconsin Badgers winning the Big Ten Hockey Conference tournament, UND “should”  make the NCAA tourney.

(Box Score)

Related articles

• UND Advances to the Frozen Faceoff (insidehockey.com)
• UND Slips Past WMU (insidehockey.com)
• UND Hockey: Players' Only Meeting Turns Season Around (thehockeywriters.com)
• Miami Blanks UND (insidehockey.com)

Martin Brodeur goalie with his eye on the puck.

Photographed the #NJDevils vs #nyrangers tonight in Jersey. Nice building. Photo : #brodeur eyes the puck #NHL pic.twitter.com/yIgswySTRL
— Brian Babineau (@babsphoto) March 23, 2014

New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur eyes the puck, literally. Awesome picture.

UND vs. WMU NCHC Third Place game

UND Forward lines

9 Drake Caggiula–16 Mark MacMillan–15 Michael Parks (A)

28 Stephane Pattyn (A) –19 Rocco Grimaldi–27 Luke Johnson
21 Brendan O'Donnell –13 Connor Gaarder–11 Derek Rodwell

25 Mitch MacMillan – 29 Bryn Chyzyk–17 Colten St. Clair

North Dakota Defense Pairings

5 Nick Mattson–6 Paul LaDue
18 Dillon Simpson (C)–24 Jordan Schmaltz
4 Keaton Thompson–2 Troy Stecher

UND Goalies

31 Zane Gothberg
33 Clarke Saunders

Out: 7-Wade Murphy (Fr., F), 20-Gage Ausmus (Fr., D), 22 Andrew Panzarella

 (Jr F), 26-Coltyn Sanderson (So., F), 30-Matt Hrynkiw (Fr., G)

Western Michigan’s lines

8 Sheldon Dries–29 Will Kessel–28 Sam Mellor
14 Colton Hargrove–16 Nolan LaPorte–27 J.T. Osborn
2 Mike McKee–10 Josh Pitt–17 Justin Kovacs
24 Shane Berschbach–13 Chase Balisy–25 Mike Cichy

Western Michigan defense Pairings

3 Thomas Nitsche–7 Kenney Morrison
9 Chris Dienes–20 Taylor Fleming
15 Jordan Oesterle–11 Dennis Brown

Western Michigan Goalies

1 Frank Slubowski
35 Sam Bloomberg
55 Lukas Hafner

Kevan Miller's huge hit

I was going to add this picture yesterday, but my wireless in the hotel was sketchy at best.

Karma? B1G

#epicfail RT "@Joh02051: @B1GHockey already collapsed. @GopherPuckLive @GopherHole @B1GIceHockey pic.twitter.com/QOVWZnDEUE”
— Beth Burger (@bethburjack) March 21, 2014

I like this one, it came across my twitter feed yesterday.

Miami blanks UND 3-0

Miami University (Ohio) logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Minneapolis, MN – Coming into the National Collegiate Hockey Conferences Frozen Faceoff, three of the four teams needed to win the tourney to continue their season. 

The University of North Dakota came into Friday’s game as an NCAA bubble team. At a minimum, they need to win at least one game this weekend.

After being shutout 3-0 by Miami University, UND has one more chance to extend their season. They must get a win tomorrow against Western Michigan if they’re going to have a chance. They also will be scoreboard watching.

Again, for those asking, it appears if UND, UW & Lowell win, UND is in. If not, UND is out.
— Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) March 22, 2014

The game was closer than the score, UND outshot Miami 32 to 28, but they weren’t able to get anything past Miami sophomore goalie Ryan McKay, who was very solid and stopped 32-of-32 shots. UND goalie Zane Gothberg stopped 25-of-28 shots, but struggled with the puck at times.

One of the big concerns coming into the tourney was the condition of the Target Center ice. The ice appeared to be a little soft, but it didn’t look like the ice was a factor in the game.

“It improved from yesterday,” UND senior defenseman Dillon Simpson said. “It’s tough place for the game of hockey, where it isn’t usually played. I think they did a good job trying to make it as good especially after practicing on it yesterday. All in all, it was okay. It was a little soft, but at the end of the day it was fine.”

Over the last four games, UND has made a habit of falling behind. In three of the last four games, UND has given up a two goal lead twice and a three goal once (against Miami).  UND is 1-2-0 in those three games. Miami would get goals from Blake Coleman, Austin Czarnik and Anthony Louis. Coleman would lead Miami with (1g-1a—2pts).

After the game, UND head coach Dave Hakstol was very complimentary to the RedHawks.

“Hats off to Miami University, they played a great game tonight,” head coach Dave Hakstol said. “They played hard, as did our team. Both teams battled hard. They scored the first goal of the game – got a critical one in the second period and we couldn’t fight our way back into it. This one is over, it’s in the past. Our focus is now moves to tomorrow at three thirty in the afternoon.”

On February 15, 2014, UND ran over the Miami RedHawks 9-2, at Ralph Engelstad Arena. At the time, Miami didn’t have the services of Coleman, who was injured. This time around, Miami was a much different team with the junior from Plano, Texas.

“They’re a lot better team than we played a month ago, junior forward Mark MacMillan said. “Obviously they got (Blake) Coleman back from injury and I think that he put a spark in their team. They went in and swept Saint Cloud last weekend and came in and played a great game against us tonight. Much different team than we faced last time.”

With the loss to the RedHawks, UND (22-13-3) is currently sitting at 15th in the Pairwise. They need to win the third place game to extend their season, but they also need help. The UND captain was asked what his team needed to do, to get the win tomorrow.

“I think first and foremost, it starts with myself, handling things the right way,” Simpson said. We got a young team and we have good group of guys. We all know the task at hand, they now what needs to be done.”

The Miami University head coach Enrico Blasi seem relieved that his RedHawk team (15-19-3) was one game away from going to the NCAA playoffs after finishing eight in the NCHC standings.

“Obviously, a real good game for us,” Enrico Blasi said. I thought Ryan (McKay) made some really huge saves when we needed them. Timely goals, and timely bounces.  I thought we did a good job keeping them on the outside for the most part.”

Blasi continued, “I was thinking on the bench that sometimes you have to have a little bit of faith in your team. About a month ago I don’t think any of you guys would have picked us to be here in this position. I always say everything happens for a reason. Guys stayed with each other. They played hard. They practiced hard. They stayed positive. We’re going to the championship game tomorrow night.”

UND faces off against the Western Michigan Broncos in the third place game at 3:38 p.m. Central, tomorrow at the Target Center.

The NCHC announced that 9,113 fans attended today’s games at the Target Center.

(Box Score)

Western Michigan goal that was waived off - GIF

s/t @cjzero... Western Michigan's Mike McKee mows over the Denver defender, and Sam Mellor appears to score the second goal of the game for the Broncos. The refs reviewed the play and waived off the goal.  I believe this is the right call on this play.

Sam Mellor gives WMU a 2-1 lead!!!! 9:50 left in the 1st period.
— WMU Hockey (@WMUHockey) March 21, 2014