The way it all ended

This the Final Regulars season WCHA Standings

1. Minnesota
2. St. Cloud
3. North Dakota
4. Denver
5. Colorado College
6. Michigan Tech
7. Wisconsin
8. Minnesota State
9. Minnesota-Duluth
10. Alaska-Anchorage

Goon's Pre-Season Picks Projected
Final League Standing

1. Minnesota (=)
2. North Dakota (-1)
3. Denver (-1)
4. Wisconsin (-3)
5. Colorado College (=)
6. Minnesota-Duluth (-3)
6. St. Cloud (+4)
8. Minnesota State (=)
9. Michigan Tech (+3)
10. Alaska-Anchorage (=)

I picked 4/10 right not too bad for an amateur. I called Minnesota, Minnesota State and Achorage right, I tottally missed the boat on the Huskies, Badgers and Bull Dogs.

More Bockenski, as Bruins beat the Habs.

Brandon Bochenski has lit the lamp at every level he has played at. Check out Brandon's sweet goal at 2:27 into the YouTube video as Bochenski rips it past Habs goalie Halak on the short side.

The Bruins and Devils.

The game looked like a former college hockey allstar game. Parise and Zajac were held scoreless and Bochenski and Kessel had multi point games. Any time the Devils lose it's alright with me. When the Bruins beat them it's a bonus.

Erik Johnson grumbling in Minnesota.

Check it out

Here is part of the text from a John Buccigross and Erik Johnson interview that is on the ESPN NHL web page. Honestly; I am sure none of us will be shocked if the goes to the NHL right after the Gophers season comes to a screeching halt but I do find it interesting.

Q: Will you be playing in the NHL next season?


A: Let me first start off by saying that I think it was a great choice to come to Minnesota this year. It was a great steppingstone. But next year, I really think I need to make the jump in competition in order to keep developing the way I want to. I think here at Minnesota, I could have been used more effectively in the system, so that has been frustrating. But, overall, it has been a fun time and I have really enjoyed my time here and I desperately want to win a national title. Next year will be decided after the season, though.

[Sounds like a St. Louis real estate agent is going to get a nice commission within a few months.]


Q: Have you stopped going to class?


A: Many times, I have been really close to stopping, but no, I am there pretty regularly. My classes are somewhat interesting, and it gives me something to do other than hockey. After hockey is over, it will be tough.

[Wow! Honesty! How rare. I like these nonpackaged answers. Hopefully, IMG won't get a hold of you. This not-going-to-class thing in college happens a lot in every sport. If a student-athlete knows he or she is not going to return to school the following year, they usually stop going to class. I'm not one to cast stones. If I was in the same situation, I would do the same thing. Hang out in my dorm room, go to the cafeteria and enjoy college life.]


Q: Will you fight in the NHL?


A: I certainly am not going to be a player where all I am looking for is to fight just to fight. But when it comes to fighting or standing up for a teammate or sending a message to an opposing team, then that is something I would fight for.

Sign the Petition to get the NHL back on ESPN.

Here is the link
Seems like fans are not happy with the Versus coverage of the NHL and are starting a petition to get the NHL back on ESPN.
Sign it here

Goon's Predictions for the First Round.

For the six people who haven't seen them

10 UAA @ 1 UMTC in two games

9 UMD @ 2 SCSU in two games

8 MSUM @ 3 Fighting Sioux in two games

7 UW @ 4 DU in three games

6 MTU @ 5 CC in three games

Prediction:

The Gophers will get the best official that the WCHA can offer, who that is I don't have a clue? The Seawolves will be called for every infraction they commmit (hookings, holding and obstructions) this will be so the league can assure it's so called percieved top draw will make the big tourney. Also, look for DU to be called for everything as well this next weekend. I bet if we look at the Penalty numbers I will be right too. Minnesota and Wisconsin will have the lion's share of the power play opportunities.

Check this out.

Check out this article from the South Bend Tribune

You can build a team, you can grow a program in a building like this," he said, "but to sustain an elite program, to sustain it, you definitely need upgraded facilities."

North Dakota, Miami and defending NCAA champion Wisconsin are three programs on the rise after years of mediocrity. It's no coincidence that each school recently bestowed a new shiny arena on its hockey team.

Of Course when I see something that isn't quite right I have to make sure it gets corrected. Here is my letter to this guy

Dear Steve;

While you wrote a nice article and your right ND needs a new arena to replace
the dump they play in right now, North Dakota has missed the NCAA playoffs just
once in the last ten years, during that time winning two NCAA titles. They haven been mediocre for at least 11 years. In fact they were on the rise about 4 years before they moved into their new arena.

Goon

The Last Time? Sioux and Huskies.

Bobby

The Last Time the Fighting Sioux Face Bobby Goepfert

This weekend’s series has huge implications in the final standings of the WCHA; also this weekend’s tilt could solidify a NCAA tourney berth for the Fighting Sioux, according to some of the experts the Sioux would need a huge meltdown to not make the NCAA tourney now.

Also, I found a silver lining to this weekend's series between the Fighting Sioux and the SCSU Huskies; this weekend series could be the last time the Fighting Sioux have to face all world goalie Bobby Goepfert. In my opinion Bobby Goepfert is an awesome goaltender that usually doesn’t give up a lot of weak goals. To score against him the Sioux are going to have to bring their “A” game.

In the two years against Goepfert the Fighting Sioux have had moderate to limited success against Goepfert. Against Bobby the Sioux are are 3-3-1. The most goals the Sioux have ever laid on Goepfert were five during last season’s Final Five in St Paul.

Realistically, I don’t see the Sioux getting five goals either night on Goepfert unless the D.O.T. line is allowed to roam free and that won’t happen.
Score

Comparing the goalies

Here are the stats of this weekend’s probable starters.

Philippe Lamoureux, Jr GP-28 15-10-3 GAA 2.36 SV% .911

VS

Bobby Goepfert, Sr GP-27 15-6-6 GAA 2.11 SV% .931

Rumors about REA False if UND Changed the Name

Rumors not True

Just as I expected the rumors not true there has been this urban legend around Grand Forks, ND that basically said if UND changed the name Fighting Sioux the arena would be razed. Not True:

From the Dakota Stupid:

Since the arena has opened its doors, the rumors have remained, however. Many people now think that a logo or nickname change would result in UND's loss of the REA, a claim that was also emphatically denied.

"I have never heard any conversation that would lead me to believe that anything like that would happen," said Bob Gallager, UND's vice president for finance and operations.
"There's no truth to the rumors. It's a $100 million facility. It's not very realistic that they would kick out the school and leave it empty."

Kupchella also said these rumors are false, saying that the "agreement is the agreement. We would never have agreed if things like that were in there."

Jody Hodgson, general manager of the REA, said the Engelstad family remains committed to the university, but neither they, nor arena officials have plans to kick UND out if the nickname and logo were changed.

"As always, the REA will work with UND on this issue," he said.

Just as I suspected. Now we can move on and argue about something else.

This is just too funny to pass up.

What games did the Wooger watch?

Hey checkout this Link

This is classic Wooger. I realize it’s from the week before but I wonder if he would say this after the Huskies dismantled his Golden Gopher hockey team 5-1 and 5-3?

Minnesota got good goal tending last weekend, particularly on Saturday night. If you are going to win later in the season it’s not just what you get from your top dogs, but what also what everyone else can contribute. In order to win you have to get some production from the young guys. Right now Minnesota needs more steady production out of the ‘go to’ guys.

That is funny, no really it is. In Friday's game Jeff Frazee was nothing short of horrible and couldn't stop a beach ball. Lets not forget that the Minnesota defensive corps left him high and dry. On Saturday Briggsieve was only a little bit better, as the Gophers gave up a third period lead.

Gopher fans; I am not so sure we aren't watching another implosion happen right before our very eyes in Gooferville? Get your act together Gophers; Sioux fans need Minnesota to take at least 3/4 points from MTU this weekend but I don't think the Gophers can do it unless they start playing with some pride, and playing some defensive hockey. Frankly, I am not so sure they can win one game this weekend.

28 Feb Bracketology

Jason Moy predicts the Brackets

West Regional

16 Sacred Heart vs. 1 Minnesota
10 Michigan vs. 8 Denver

Midwest Regional

13 Colorado College vs. 3 Notre Dame
11 Miami vs. 6 Boston University

Northeast Regional

15 Niagara vs. 2 New Hampshire
9 North Dakota vs. 7 Maine

East Regional

14 St. Lawrence vs. 4 St. Cloud
12 Boston College vs. 5 Clarkson

First off if the Brackets shake out this way SCSU will be in the Frozen Four, you can mark it down right here, with a weak bracket like that SCSU would have a legit chance of winning it all. I also Like UND's chances of winning their regional as well. C.C. has a chance against a weak field as well but its hard to say which BU team would show up.

However, lets get realistic. Could you imagine the whining if Minnesota actually had to play in DU's regional? Face it he Gophes are prime for the picking as well, and they would fold like a cheap tent against the DU pioneers. You can also bet on there being a shit storm, tDon would make Woog's 1997 tantrum look minor. who knows maybe the committee will throw tDon a bone/pacifier and send him to Grand Rapids. I can hear it right now, that's not fair we are a number one seed and we are stuck in that brutal regional, while Notre Dame has an easy pass...

That beings said, the committee is not going to have a bracket in Grand Rapids Michigan without a Michigan team. The NC$$ is about money and would bet a lot of money Michigan will be in Grand Rapids so I suppose you could Miami to Denver and put Michigan in Grand Rapids.

Corrected Brackets.

Midwest Regional

13 Colorado College vs. 3 Notre Dame
10 Michigan vs. 6 Boston University

West Regional

16 Sacred Heart vs. 1 Minnesota
11 Miami vs. 8 Denver

The NHL Plays of the Week

No former Sioux hockey players this week. Interesting though, Kessel gets robbed, Former Huskie Ryan Malone Lamps the times for a hat trick scoring the each goal in the first minute of each period. Peter Forsberg starts earning that money they are paying him. Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik scores a pretty goal.

Goon's Prediction

The way it shakes out?
I played theWhat if Calculator

Team GP Pts
UMN 28 41
SCSU 28 36
Denver 28 32
UND 28 30
CC 28 27
UW 28 26
MTech 28 25
Mankato 28 25
UMD 28 21
AA 28 17

How do we get here:
The Gophers take 4 from MTU
DU gets three points from C.C.(anything can happen here)
UMD and Wisconsin split (possible)
UND and SCSU *Since the Christmas break, UND is 11-2-2 (.781) and SCSU is 10-3-3 (.719) From PCM Sioux Sports

Lucia Says he is Sorry

Ice intelligence

Read the whole article right here at St Cloud Times Article

A nice play with words

All week we talked about playing smart," said Huskies sophomore John Swanson, who snapped a 10-game pointless streak with two assists. "Keep your feet moving and keep your stick on their stick and try to avoid taking penalties."

On the same day a Twin Cities newspaper quoted Gophers coach Don Lucia as saying it was easier to get a player into St. Cloud State than Minnesota academically, his team came out and matched its worst margin of defeat this season.

The Huskies, ranked fourth and fifth in the national polls, also sent the message that they can keep up offensively with any team in the nation. The No. 2 Gophers had the second-best offense in the country coming in.

"I've never played in front of a crowd like this before and you could tell before the game there was a buzz in the locker room," said Lasch, who was goalless in the past three series and scored as often Friday as he had in the past 17 games. "It was different. I can't explain it, but everyone had a jump in their step."

The second-place Huskies used it to move five points behind the first-place Gophers with three WCHA regular-season games remaining.

Another implosion coming?

By the time Brocklehurst capped it, the Dogg Pound was in vintage form. The students chanted "Overrated!" and "Husky Rejects!" among other unprintable words that have also rankled Lucia. Afterward, Gophers assistant Mike Guentzel could be heard screaming at his team in the dressing room. Lucia declined to reiterate the comments he made about St. Cloud State's academic reputation.

"I don't want to go there," Lucia said. "I did talk to (Motzko)."

Huskies athletic director Morris Kurtz said Lucia apologized.

"They were gracious enough to accept our apology, so we're certainly gracious enough to accept theirs," Kurtz said, referring to a scene the last time Minnesota played in St. Cloud when several giveaway novelty fans landed on the ice. This time they were replaced by several actual dead gophers.

"I've been to a few, and I don't remember one like this," Swanson, a St. Cloud Tech graduate, said of the Huskies-Gophers games at the Hockey Center. "You know it's going to be a good night when you drive down to the rink and the line is already out the ticket office. Then when you come out for warm-ups the student sections are already full. It makes the game that much more intense."

Tonight is sure to repeat, and with a win the Huskies can claim a cup of their own away from Minnesota: The DQ Cup, given to the state school with the best winning percentage among others in the WCHA.

"We haven't won anything yet," Gophers captain Mike Vannelli said. "We didn't play with a sense of desperation. We didn't play hard and we didn't play smart Gopher hockey. Some things needed to be said (by Guentzel) and it's better to air our dirty laundry now than in a few weeks."

Don't Say That

I was told along time ago that you never publicly talk down your opponent and give them fuel for the fire. It's called bulletin board material and Donny gave the Huskies a bunch of it this past week. I believe Don Lucia's comments about SCSU fired them up even more. One must wonder if another implosion is coming to a rink near the Twin Cities?

Round Two Sens and Sabres

This actually was a pretty exciting game. Chris Neil with another dirty hit on a Buffalo player. It's been reported that Neil admitted to wanting to go out and injury people with his hits. Stay tuned it could get even better.

Lucia is Whinning Again.

Come on tDon

Seems this past week Lucia seems to have had foot in mouth disease.
First tDon said that:

When it comes to rivalries, I would say they are third right now," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "I don't think they will ever surpass Wisconsin and North Dakota because there is so much history involved with those schools."

"It's not very expensive to go to school at St. Cloud," Lucia said. "If Denver gives a kid a half-scholarship, it still costs the player $20,000. At St. Cloud, a half-scholarship costs the kid $5,000.

"And it's a lot easier to get a kid into St. Cloud [academically] than it is to get a kid into here. As long as you are [an academic] qualifier, you can get into school there."

Now tDon is complaining about the behavior of the fans in the stands at Saint Cloud State University. More tDon Whinning

Much to the Gophers' displeasure, a number of hand-held, battery-operated fans handed out prior to the Nov. 11 game ended up thrown in the direction of the Gophers. Gophers coach Don Lucia said it wasn't the first time the Gophers had been subjected to such behavior in St. Cloud, adding, "We're sick of it."

Lucia met briefly with Kurtz after the game and said something had to be done.

"We were disappointed because we had hired extra security and we wanted to provide a wonderful atmosphere for home and visiting fans," Kurtz said. "We did not expect the giveaways to end up on the ice with the extra security we hired."

Kurtz said six fans were caught throwing the fans on the ice. Four were St. Cloud State students and two were students from the University of Minnesota.

"We dealt with our students and sent the two IDs to the University of Minnesota," Kurtz said.

Kurtz said he apologized to Lucia and Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi. But Lucia said he still expects Huskies fans to "cross the line" with abusive language.

"It's as bad there as anywhere," Lucia said. "The fans are great, they're into it, they pack the place. I just don't like the swearing and all the stuff that goes with it.

"A 12-year-old kid who is there shouldn't be subjected to that. Too many times, as administrators, we look the other way. And I think that's wrong."

The funny part of this article is that two of the 6 students caught throwing stuff on the ice were UMN fans. This is classic stuff here. In reviewing tDon's comments this week it would appear that this was a tough week for him. My advice to the Minnesota coach is shut up and play some hockey. I am also wondering if his comments about getting into SCSU had anything to do with inspiring the Huskies as they shredded the Gophers hockey team this past weekend. I would be willing to bet that Hakston won't be giving the Huskies any bulletin board marterial this week nor will he be insulting the SCSU students or their fans.

Duncan Deserves to be A Hobey Finalist

Hobey Duncan?
There is no doubt in my mind that Ryan deserves to be a Hobey Baker Memorial finalist this season. Ryan is ranked third in the nation in points per game.
NCAA Stats

1 Eric Ehn Air Force JR F 36 24-36-60 1.67
2 T.J. Hensick (COA) Michigan SR F 36 17-39-56 1.56
3 Ryan Duncan North Dakota SO F 34 27-21-48 1.41
4 Kevin Porter (PHO) Michigan JR F 36 19-31-50 1.39

Ryan is also leading the WCHA in goals, power play goals as well as points. In addition to these honors that Duncan currently hold, Ryan is also the leader in the WCHA in game winning goals. One last reason I believe that Duncan is worthy of winning a Hobey Baker is that Ryan is ranking these points up against the toughest competition in college hockey not a league full of patsies. On the radio broadcast last night Tim Hennesey said that Duncan should be the League MVP, I couldn't agree more with that assessment.

Sabres and Senators Feb 22nd, 2007

I am Watching the Rematch Tonight



Couple of things that I thought were bush league: There is no doubt Chris Neil tried to hurt Drury with his questionable high hit to the face, it was rightfully called a penalty. While I agree with Barry Melrose that it wasn't an elbow it was a a dirty questionable hit. I believe that Ruff was responding to it, by sending out his group of goons/hacks. Ruff made a statement and said basically, if your going to hit my star players with questionable hits I am going to do the same things to your star players. Hence, Ruff sent out a line of goons against one of the top lines in the NHL.

The message was recieved. Funny thing is there might be more of this in the future because of the way Ruff over reacted in this situation. Ruff could have waited till Chris Neil was done serving his penalty then send out one of his goon's to challenge Neil to a fight. Neil is known to shy away from a fight and would have in escense settled this thing. By over reacting this incident is going to probably boil over and fester into tonight's game as well.

Finally I think Emery is a hack, when he was laying on his sparing partner should have quit throwing punches he didn't. I believe that is why Peters came over to fight him and finally Peters fighting a goalie crossed the line and someone should have responded but who from the Senators would have gotten into it, one of the many stars on the ice.

Sioux 7 Addresses the Officating in the WCHA.

The Officating

I have beening stewing about the whole ref situation in the WCHA.

How can a league with so much talent, on all the teams, have such sub-standard officials.

I know they get reviewed and even get graded. So why don't they publish their scores... if they did we could see who is passing with an "A" or "B" and who is average with a "C" and who needs some improvement with a "D" or if they are failing with an "F" its time to go back down the ladder to juniors or high school reffing.

Can't we get some old college players as refs. Like some from out in H.E. for example they have some good players that don't make the pro's. They know the rules and can match the speed of the game.

Or maybe the W needs a a two ref system. So the players know that they cannot get away with as much clutch-n-grab-n-hook as they do now.

I think the the situation right now is good for any WCHA team going into the NCAA. The other ref's in other leagues will be calling the games. This means good offensive teams wouldn't be impedded as they are in the W. Which should result in a number of power play opportunities.

I also believe poor officiating is why you see some "altercations" in games. Players get frustrated when they are being hooked and held and the ref's aren't calling it, especially on "offensive scoring opportunities."

Just my 7 cents worth.

Lucia calls SCSU a second Rate School.

Check out this Statement by tDon
Check out what Don Lucia said about SCSULink to the article

Lucia points out that every program has its advantages.

"It's not very expensive to go to school at St. Cloud," Lucia said. "If Denver gives a kid a half-scholarship, it still costs the player $20,000. At St. Cloud, a half-scholarship costs the kid $5,000.

"And it's a lot easier to get a kid into St. Cloud [academically] than it is to get a kid into here. As long as you are [an academic] qualifier, you can get into school there."

Did Lucia just call SCSU a second rate school. For 20,000.00 you can get someone else to do your home work for you too. Just kidding.