Back in hockey country. (catching up)

My work/training in south eastern Georgia is over. Back to reality. I was lucky enough I fly back to God's country last night. The reality was when I got off the plane in Grand Forks and felt that burst of cold air. It was at that moment that I realized that the temp was about 80 degrees different. Wouldn't you know it, I am getting back just in time for a Blizzard this weekend.

Hockey is not spoken in the south

First off while I was in Georgia I watched 4 hockey games total; (2x) Sioux hockey on Sioux extra and the (2x) Bruins and Thrasher. For me that isn't a lot of hockey most times I would have watched a game a night at least. So lets just say I am about 7 games short this past two weeks. Luckily, all four games were wins for my teams. While I was there I had like 2 conversations about hockey. No that I was around this past week likes hockey. It is like a foreign language that no one understands. So tonight I am going to get my hockey fix. Go Fighting Sioux.


Links for tonight's exhibition game

The team we are playing tonight beat MSU 4-2 (Box Score).

Article in the Grand Forks Herald about future Sioux hockey player Danny Mattson. I look forward to watching this kid play tonight.

They are talking about NCAA Regionalization again and I think it is a horrible idea. Lets just hope for some reason this idea gets killed. One nice thing about the current NCAA tourney is that your team gets to play other teams from other parts of the country.

The NCAA's Championships/Sports Management Cabinet will be looking, at its next meeting in February, to put its final stamp of approval on travel restrictions for its tournaments. The push for this came as the NCAA hierarchy pondered its financial issues, and the financial climate the country is in.

If approved as is, this means that, for the NCAA tournament, the committee would only be allowed to seed the top four teams in the bracket (i.e. the four No. 1 seeds). It would be able to do so regardless of geography (although current practice for hockey is to place them "closest to home" anyway). Meanwhile, the remaining 12 teams would have to be placed in the closest geographical region possible, regardless of where it falls in the 5-16 Pairwise pecking order.

Big Joe Finley is making his appearance after being off for 16 games. This makes me very happy and like someone said a standing ovation would be in order. I have been waiting to see big Joe patrol the blue line for most of the season. Question: who sits every week?

Poor Sister In The Desert

When the NHL moved the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix after the 1996 season, questions were raised about whether the decision was the right one or not.

The answer may come sooner than later. After 12 seasons in the desert, the hot sun may be finally setting on the Coyotes.

Initially, the Coyotes re-located to America West Arena in the affluent city of Scottsdale, Ariz. Because the NBA’s Phoenix Suns were the primary tenant in the arena, the Coyotes were, essentially, cut out of any revenue the building earned.

They approached Scottsdale City Council in 2001 for a loan to construct a new building.

When Scottsdale City Council rejected their financing proposal, the club turned its eyes to courting the working class west-end city of Glendale, Ariz.

Glendale City Council voted in favour of a $180 million loan (all figures in U.S.) to help build a facility for the Coyotes. The hockey club found another $40 million and settled into the Jobing.com Arena, in Dec. of 2003 and began to lay the groundwork for the franchise.

Hockey in Phoenix is a marginalized venture at best. The Coyotes may have counted on northern ex-pats to support the team but when your limited fan base lives in one city you can’t assume they will follow you to another town 45 kilometres (26 miles) away.

Another fatal error was the Coyotes’ belief that corporate dollars would follow them across town.

“The big-money guys, the corporate guys don’t live in Glendale,” NHLPA executive director Paul Kelly told David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail. “If you live in Scottsdale, Glendale is not an easy place to get to. That hurts them in the area of club seats and boxes.”

Coyotes’ governor and CEO Jeff Shumway told the Arizona Republic that the team lost $30 million (all figures US) in 2006-2007.

The Globe and Mail also reported that the Coyotes may be on the verge of losing between $25 million to $35 million this season.

It hasn’t helped that owner Jerry Moyes’ has serious financial troubles of his own. Moyes, 63, owns Phoenix based Swift Transportation and according to Eiad Asbahi, managing partner of Prescience Investment Group in New York, his liabilities are reported to be worth $1 to $1.5 billion more than his company’s assets.

This seriously jeopardizes Moyes’ ability to swallow any more of the hockey club’s losses.

Inside the arena the Coyotes are averaging 14, 657 through 15 home games this season. However, the club suffers from the upper bowl phenomenon where the cheap seats in the upper bowl are full while the suites and expensive seats sit unused. It is even rumoured that the club discounts the expensive seats, driving revenues further down

The average ticket price is about $39, which ranks 29th in the league.

Whoever said that numbers don’t lie was speaking the truth.

So, what’s next?

There are three choices in play:

1) File for Bankruptcy.

2) Put the onus on NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to find a new buyer for the team.

3) Re-negotiate their arena lease forcing the city of Glendale to cover some of their losses.

Given the financial situation of Moyes, he may have no choice but to put the team in the hands of the NHL.

Shumway doesn’t buy that.

“I am confident not only that hockey will be here in five years but that we will be doing well in five years,” Shumway told the Globe and Mail. “We run a great franchise in a great sport, a sport we love.”

With files from the Globe and Mail

INCH Chat.

While I have nothing but time on my hands I am checking out the INCH Chat live in time. Still sitting at the airport waiting for my plane back to the arctic circle known as Grand Forks, ND. It is hard to believe that people actually live in an environment that doesn't include snow.

1.) I am beginning to like Joe Gladziszewski more and more. Joe is one of the east coast writers that seems to know more than the writer that is assigned to the WCHA. Of course UND should be on the radar they eat Cornell's lunch when they played them.
2.) Nice save by Jess Meyers and now he seems to have changed his tune a bit. I don't know they seem to be all over the place.
3.) Understatement of the chat; less-challenging Atlantic Hockey schedule. They should change the name of the AHA to the Atlantic Cupcake Hockey Association.
4.)I do think the GLI is going to be a big gauge of how some of these team are going to do in the second half of the season. I would love to see the Sioux and the Wolverines playing for the GLI throphy.

Jeb from Grand Forks, ND: Now that UND has gotten back above .500 and beaten some pretty good teams will they now be in the INCH Power Rankings? I mean you have Cornell in the top ten and UND beat them handidly the Friday night and put a whopping on SCSU as well. I would think they have earned a right to be ranked at least in the top 20.

Joe Gladziszewski: (2:35 PM ET ) Right now we've got North Dakota just outside of our top-20. They've been much better in the last 3-4 weeks than they were during a very slow start. Finally, North Dakota is scoring goals at the rate that most people expected. We just couldn't rank/consider a team that was several games below .500. Now that North Dakota has reached that level we definitely have our eyes on them.
--------------
Matt, East Main Street, NJ: Air Force has plenty of wins on their schedule but, as I see it, their only significant win comes against Colorado College (4-1) and is then followed by a loss against Denver (4-1). I would love to see them finish inside the top ten this year and maybe even make a run in the post season but with such a weak schedule, do you see this as being a reality?

Joe Gladziszewski: (2:47 PM ET ) Well, considering the less-challenging Atlantic Hockey schedule, Air Force should be able to rack up some wins and earn a spot in the top-10 by season's end. It's tough to judge teams that might not play a lot of other very good teams. Canisius is dangerous in Atlantic Hockey as well as RIT.
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Billy (New Jersey): Has the second half hot streak starting early for the Fighting Sioux? How do you guys see them doing in the Great Lakes Invitational against MSU and UM and should we expect a continued push for the tournament in 2009?

Jess Myers: (2:50 PM ET ) North Dakota has played very well in its last four games -- clearly a result of more experience in some key places where they are young, and of getting Joe Finley and Evan Trupp back healthy. They are more
dangerous than either Michigan State or Michigan Tech right now, so I'd say that the GLI is between the Sioux and the Wolverines. As for how they'll do in March, I see them being a factor in the race for home ice in the WCHA which, by definition, makes them a legitimate NCAA tournament candidate.

Are the Coyotes going to be the Jets?

I have been running across this story on the internet more frequently as of late. With the Coyotes failing miserably in the Southwestern Desert of the USA, one has to ask themselves if maybe it is time to move the failing club out of Phoenix and back to where it belongs; north of the border in Winnipeg Manitoba.

With the current financial situation of the Coyotes it does kind of make you have to wonder if the Coyotes ownership would move the team back to Winnipeg.

I still remember the day the Jets left Winnipeg in 1996 for the Phoenix area. I had been to one of their last games before they moved and I can remember the bitter sweet feeling I had after another team of mine was taken from me. I too was sad that day the Jets left Winnipeg for bigger and better things. Personally I welcome the move back and I would definitely start going to games if they came back. I should go order my passport now.

Yes, I can't accept that my Winnipeg Jets died. But wait! Maybe my prolonged denial stage wasn't all for naught! First Gary Bettman said the NHL returning to Winnipeg was a possibility. Now, none other than Forbes magazine has put out a list of the 10 sports franchises that are most likely to move. Surprise, surprise - guess who is on the list? The Phoenix Coyotes, of course:

Here are some links to the story.

Seems Puck Daddy was on to something back in September.

Heck it has even been mentioned in the New York Times.

Lets get the MTS centre ready? I guess I can only dream right?

Financial Roughing. It seems that the Coyotes are not the only team that is in big trouble.

Why is the Canadian media obsessed with the Phoenix's failure?

Three former Sioux hockey players all score a goal in the same game.

I am not sure if this happens all that often. Three former Sioux hockey players all happened to be on the ice to play a hockey game (Parise and Zajac for the Devils and Stafford for the Sabres)at the same time. During the course of the game each one of them scored a least one goal. Seems impressive.

(Click here for the Video)

Actually if you check the box score you will see quite a few ex-college hockey players.

Box Score

1 1 1:36 EV N.J 19 T.ZAJAC(8) 27 M.MOTTAU(6) 15 J.LANGENBRUNNER(14)
2 1 6:58 EV BUF 21 D.STAFFORD(7) 41 C.MACARTHUR(7) 9 D.ROY(17)
3 1 11:44 PP N.J 9 Z.PARISE(18) 15 J.LANGENBRUNNER(15) 26 P.ELIAS(18)
4 2 10:52 EV N.J 24 B.SALVADOR(2) 26 P.ELIAS(19) 14 B.GIONTA(19)
5 2 11:10 EV BUF 36 P.KALETA(2) 20 D.PAILLE(7) 6 J.SPACEK(15)
6 3 6:04 EV N.J 23 D.CLARKSON(6) unassisted
7 3 9:31 EV N.J 12 B.ROLSTON(2) 23 D.CLARKSON(5)
8 3 9:43 EV BUF 28 P.GAUSTAD(3) 29 J.POMINVILLE(15) 55 J.HECHT(8)

Formber B.C. Eagle and Fighting Sioux Killer Nate Gerbe is hurt and will be out for at least ten days, lets just say it's the dreaded upper body injury.

Nathan Gerbe will miss at least 10 days due to an upper body injury.

The rookie was hurt during Buffalo’s 4-2 win against the Devils on Saturday night after taking a hit late in the game.

We have a Marian Gaborik sighting.

Check it out folks, Gabby played his first game in 27 games and had a two point night 1 goal and 1 assist.

Now, I wonder if the Wild can keep Marian Gaborik on the ice for more than a few games. I would like to see the Wild put together a winning streak and get back in the race.

Ex-Sioux hockey players updates...

Catching up on a few of the guys.

Buffalo Sabres player Drew Stafford has 6 points in his last 6 games. Stafford has 6-8-14 in 27 games.

St Louis Blue T.J. Oshie is still out with an injury. The Blues have had a lot of injury issues this year. Oshie, Paul Karyia, Andy McDonald are all out with injuries.

Brian Lee has split time with the Senators and their AHL team Binghamton and has one goal, five assists and 20 penalty minutes in 20 games. Lee also has played in 8 games with the Senators and has three points 0-3-3 in 8 games.

Hurricanes forward Ryan Bayda has been kind of cold as of late scoring one assist in his last five games. Bayda has 3-6-9 points in 31 games.

Maple Leafs player Jason Blake has 6 points in his last 5 games but is scoreless in his last two. Blake has 5-11-16 points in 26 games for the Leafs. Its no secret that Jason Blake has had a tough go of it in Toronto. I would have to say that the past two season have probably been kind of trying for Mr. Blake. Seriously, if you read the comments the fans can be down right brutal.

Personally, I hate how Toronto's fans try to heap the blame on Blake for the Leafs trouble. Seriously folks this is getting kind of tiresome. I would love to see the Wild pick Blake up, with his numbers he could be a great addition to the scoring challenged Wild. (Blake's Shootout goal is included on the top of the post)

Check out this guys post he says he is not a fan Blake and then writes this. Who the hell does he think the Leafs are going to get in exchange for Blake? This guys mentality is also the problem the Leafs suck and they have no one that is really very good to play with him. Teams aren't just going to hand over one of their super stars to another team.

Blakes attributes
I am not a fan of Jason Blake but his attributes are serious speed and quickness and he plays a pretty feisty, fearless game. Hopefully the Leafs will be able to trade him for some valuable assets which will enable them to make room for one more of their younger players, the question is what team believes itself able to tame the undisciplined even selfish side of this guy. Ian White is a player the Leafs should not give up on, he has a lot to offer, a great team attitude, great shot, the smarts and he's versatile, not to mention he is quite a capable physical player and he's young and durable. Move the veterans for as much as you can, when you can get the most for them which I wish was right now.

Matt Greene goes yard. (goal)

Tip of the hat to the Boosh factor for posting this goal by former Sioux Matt Greene. That is the second ever career goal for the former Sioux defenseman.

UND almost full strenght.

RWD's favorite hockey blogger Brad Elliott Schlossman is reporting that big Joe Finley may play this weekend against the under 18 team and Evan Trupp will probably be playing this weekend. I think this is a very nice Christmas present.

Getting big Joe Finley back in the line up would be a huge lift for the Fighting Sioux. My next question would be who sits on defense?

Gabby to play tonight.

It's too bad that I have one more day in Georgia. Lets just say that you would be hard pressed to find a hockey game on Television other than the Thrashers. So I will only be able to read about Gabby's first game back, I probably won't be able to see any visual evidence of it happening.

Being in hockey starved Georgia I was actually was able to see the Bruins and Thrasher play twice on Comcast in my hotel room but that's it. Nothing, nix, nine, nay, nada as far as hockey goes. If I lived down here on a regular basis I would have to get the hockey package. I think this is why Hockey is a regional sport that isn't doing as well in the south as it does in the northern tier areas.

It's official Gaborik to return ---The good news for the Wild, which as I predicted in my Monday game story would be out of the playoff top-eight by the time it next played, is Marian Gaborik is officially back. The Wild activated him this morning. And he’ll even get to dictate his ice time tonight. Took him eight years, but Jacques Lemaire told him before today’s skate that he needs to be communicative tonight. In other words, tell Jacques how he’s feeling, and if he’s feeling good, he’ll get more and more ice time.

I asked Gaborik if he gets to pick his linemates, too. Nope. He’ll start with Sheppard and Veilleux tonight. Incidentally, I’m pretty positive that was Gaborik’s line against Atlanta and Boston in his only two previous games this season.

Gaborik to play tonight.

This is what the Minnesota Wild are missing from their line up. If you read the news it appears that Marian Gaborik is going to play on Wednesday night. Hey Gabby it is about time you showed up for the party the Wild have had trouble scoring and need your help.

Gaborik plans to play for Wild on Wednesday
AP - Dec 16, 5:38 pm EST NHL Gallery ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)—Wild fans have grown so frustrated with Marian Gaborik’s contract status and 27-game absence that mentions of his name over the Xcel Energy Center speakers have brought boos a couple of times this season.

Minnesota’s star right wing should find out how the customers feel on Wednesday night. Gaborik declared himself “good to go” to face the Calgary Flames and, pending final consultation with coach Jacques Lemaire, will appear in a game for the first time since Oct. 14.

The next day, he hurt part of his lower body—presumably that long-problematic groin muscle, though the team won’t specify injuries anymore— which made his future with the Wild even more uncertain. Gaborik’s contract expires this summer, and negotiations on an extension broke off before he was hurt. Attempts by the team to trade him have predictably hit a wall.

With the Wild struggling to score, their 76 goals being the fewest in the Western Conference, Gaborik and his All-Star offensive skills have been missed.

Their losing streak is at five games, and they’ve scored five goals during that span

NCAA Round Up (going five hole article)

Here is the latest article I wrote for Sean Leahy's Going Five Hole.






First off I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. This is the season to watch college hockey and Christmas tourneys. Then get ready for the second half push. This is where teams cement their place in the NCAA field or tumble out of the RPI/PWR. I must say that this is a very exciting time of the year. May all your Christmas wishes comes true.

All I want for Christmas is…

1.)Refs that can call the college game like the NHL officials. A penalty in the first period should also be a penalty in the third or overtime.

2.)The shootout to be standard in all regular season, conference and non-conference games in Division one college hockey. Ties are like kissing your sister.

3.)My Fighting Sioux to finally win a WCHA regular season title again.

4.)The WCHA to fire league commissioner Bruce M. McLeod, head of officials Greg Shepherd. While we are at it how about on ice officials Don Adam and Derrick Shepherd.

5.)The NCAA to use more than one angle when reviewing goals on replay.

6.)The Wisconsin Badgers, Minnesota Gophers and the Michigan Wolverines to go 0 for the season. 

7.)For the NCAA Ice Hockey selection committee to adopt the KRACH when selecting the NCAA Field.

8.)The MTU Huskies make the Final Five as long as it isn’t at the expense of the Sioux.

9.) Public announcements when a NCAA on ice official is a disciplined or suspended.

10.) More NCAA hockey games to be on television like the NHL.

Goon’s Top Ten

1.) Notre Dame
2.) Denver
3.)Minnesota
4.)Northeastern
5.)Boston University
6.)Miami
7.)Boston College
8.)Colorado College
9.)Michigan
10.)Vermont

Great Kessel blog post.

Here is an interesting article written by Sean Leahy of Puck Daddy on former Gopher Phil Kessel. (tip of the hat to Sean)

He arrived in the National Hockey League described as brash, a prima donna and self-focused. He was an early contender to be selected first overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, but questions about his character and work ethic dropped him to fifth overall, where the Boston Bruins were happy to take the former Minnesota Golden Gopher.

Two months into his rookie season, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Less than a month later he returned to the Bruins and promptly went on to record a hat trick in the 2007 Young Stars Game in Dallas. His perseverance in fighting cancer and return to the NHL made Kessel a feel-good choice as that season's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winner.

It seems that Phil Kessel has grown up and become a budding star in the NHL and is one of the reasons that Bruins are on fire right now in Boston. I also believe that Kessel is one of the pieces to the puzzel in winning a Stanley Cup.

This is the same Phil Kessel that was touted as having explosive speed, great vision, and hockey sense before he entered the NHL in 2006. After a few speed bumps, we're finally seeing the hype come to fruition, despite being benched in last year's playoffs for being a liability on defense.

"There were growing pains for me my rookie year," Kessel said recently. "This year, it's clicking a little more. I think part of it has to do with my line mates, setting me up in good spots."

Kessel and fellow line mate Milan Lucic are both having career seasons thanks to being setup by assist-specialist Marc Savard.

The kid is 21-years old and obviously matured after a wake up call from testicular cancer.

More good news for Phil Kessel as he is given an award by the NHL.

Phil Kessel Named NHL's First Star of the Week
December 15, 2008

BOSTON, MA - The NHL announced today that Boston Bruins forward Phil Kessel was named NHL's First Star of the Week for the week ending December 14.

Kessel tallied eight points with three goals and five assists in four games last week and extended his point streak to 15 games. Kessel helped lead the Black and Gold to a 3-1-0 record, which improved their Eastern Conference-leading mark to 21-5-4. Kessel notched one goal and one assist in a 5-3 victory over Tampa Bay December 8, registered an assist in a 3-1 loss at Washington Dec. 10, tallied a goal and two assists in a 7-3 win at Atlanta Dec. 12 and closed the week with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over the Thrashers Dec. 13

Wild news...

star tribune picture

This is the reason I am sick of Wild GM Doug Doug Risebrough and his lack of focus on keeping the Wild's star players. First we lose Brian Rolston because he screwed around and low balled Brian. Next the Wild are probably going to lose Marian Gaborik and if Risebrough tries hard enough he can probably fail to sign Niklas Backstrom.

Risbrough is such a genius he hasn't even approached Niklas Backstrom about seeing if the all-pro goalie wants to sign another contract with the Minnesota Wild. Seriously, this is the Wild's All-Star goalie and the Wild haven't asked him if he is interested in staying in Minnesota. Why? What are they going to do if they can't resign Backstom? Josh Harding is no where near the goalie Backstrom is.

Super Star Marian Gaborik is about ready to play after missing all but two games of the season.

I would love to see the Wild get Gabby into the line up and see if he can get it going again. Then I would try to resolve the Gaborik situation.

Poll Monday. (Sioux back in the Poll).

USCHO Poll
1 Notre Dame (41) 14-3-2 981 1
2 Miami ( 6) 12-3-3 921 3
3 Boston University 11-4-1 867 4
4 Minnesota ( 1) 8-3-5 854 2
5 Denver 13-5-1 804 6
6 Northeastern 11-3-2 755 5
7 Boston College 9-5-2 675 7
8 Princeton ( 2) 10-2-0 666 8
9 Colorado College 10-6-4 585 9
10 Cornell 7-1-2 559 10
11 Air Force 14-2-0 479 12
12 Michigan 11-7-0 439 13
13 Vermont 9-4-2 426 11
14 Wisconsin 9-7-2 263 16
15 New Hampshire 8-6-3 257 15
16 Nebraska-Omaha 11-4-3 175 19
17 Minnesota State 8-7-3 168 14
18 Alaska 8-4-4 104 20
18 North Dakota 9-8-1 104 NR
20 Dartmouth 6-4-0 103 18
Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota-Duluth 87, Maine 62, Ohio State 61, St. Cloud State 59, Bemidji State 11, Massachusetts 11, Alaska-Anchorage 10, Yale 7, Mass.-Lowell 4, Niagara 2, Quinnipiac 1.

Analysis
While it is nice to be in the top 20 again, it is way too early to really make much in the way of inferences about team rankings. It will be interesting to see how the teams end up after the holiday tourneys. I personally think DU is the best team in the country right now.

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
Dec. 15, 2008
Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week
1 Notre Dame (30) 14-3-2 506 1
2 Miami (Ohio) (4) 12-3-3 470 3
3 Boston University 11-4-1 422 4
4 Minnesota 8-3-5 409 2
5 Denver 13-5-1 383 5
6 Northeastern 11-3-2 337 6
7 Boston College 9-5-2 298 8
8 Princeton 10-2-0 274 7
9 Cornell 7-1-2 226 9
10 Colorado College 10-6-4 214 10
11 Michigan 11-7-0 148 12
12 Air Force 14-2-0 126 13
13 Vermont 9-4-2 116 11
14 New Hampshire 8-6-3 55 15
15 Nebraska Omaha 11-4-3 33 NR
Others receiving votes: University of Wisconsin, 25; University of Maine, 9; University of Alaska, 6; Minnesota State University, 6; The Ohio State University, 6; University of North Dakota, 5; St. Cloud State University, 5; Dartmouth College, 1.

INCH Power Ranking
1. Notre Dame
2. Denver 1
3. Boston University
4. Miami
5. Minnesota
6. Princeton
7. Northeastern
8. Boston College
9. Cornell
10. Vermont
11. Air Force
12. Colorado College
13. Michigan
14. Wisconsin
15. Ohio State
16. Dartmouth
17. Minnesota State
18. Nebraska-Omaha
19. Alaska
20. Minnesota Duluth
Dropped out: None
Bubble-licious: New Hampshire, North Dakota, Maine

Analysis
These guys power ranking is a joke. I mean Gladdy has gotten better on the podcasts and on the ESPN chat but but come on. Seriously all of these polls. We are to believe that Princeton is the 6th ranked team in the nation? Cornell at 9th this is the same team that UND shredded on on Friday night a few weeks back. What are they going to do when both of these teams are bounced in the first round again?

Yep, CHA is the better league.

This post is in relation to a blog I will not link. Just for record if you look at both leagues inter conference records you will see that the CHA has a better over-all record. Click here to see the inter-conference records Of course there are othters that can't see the bvious, that fact remains the numbers do not lie. Of course there are others that can't see this point and want to write stupid blog post about it because they don't have the ability to come up with their own material.

CHA 2-2-0 (AHA) 2-7-2 (CCHA) 2-4-0 (ECAC) 1-3-0 (HEA) 3-7-0 (WCHA) Over-all 10-23-2 (.314)
AHA 2-11-0 (CCHA) 2-2-0 (CHA) 5-9-1 (ECAC)0-8-1 (HEA) 1-5-0 (WCHA) Over-all 10-35-2 (.234)

.314 > .234

UND is not a bunch of Goons

I was thinking about how UND usually is at the top of the league for penalty minutes but this year UND is taking less penalties than the opposition. The numbers are the break downs of the numbers of penalties taken by each team for each series.

BU and UND 9-7
UMass and UND 6-4
MSU-M and UND 31-23
UW and UND 15-12
C.C. and UND 16-16
UAA and UND 23-17
UMD and UND 29-24
Cornell and UND 15-8
Harvard and UND 19-18
SCSU and UND 09-10

UND is also ranked 10th nationally on the Power play 26/132.

Here is the top penalized teams in NCAA Division one hockey.
1.Ferris State 183-for-482 24.10
2 Wisconsin 180-for-409 22.72
3 Rensselaer 154-for-378 22.24
4 Yale 90-for-218 21.80
5 Alaska-Anchorage 145-for-328 20.50
6 Minnesota State 167-for-359 19.94
7 Michigan 138-for-358 19.89
8 Northeastern 138-for-317 19.81
9 Mercyhurst 144-for-355 19.72
10 Miami 161-for-354 19.67
11 Quinnipiac 116-for-267 19.07
12 Minnesota-Duluth 143-for-343 19.06
13 New Hampshire 137-for-320 18.82
14 Harvard 98-for-220 18.33
15 Ohio State 149-for-328 18.22
16 Brown 95-for-198 18.00
17 RIT 146-for-319 17.72
18 Minnesota 135-for-281 17.56
North Dakota 139-for-316 17.56
20 Boston University 125-for-280 17.50
In years past UND would have been in the top 3 for penalty minutes.

Sean Avery not going back to the Stars.

Super punk and bad boy Sean Avery will not be back with the Dallas Stars, probably not ever. Wow! How is that off season move working for you now Dallas Stars? Remember folks the comment about sloppy seconds got Avery suspended for 6 games that will probably turn into the remainder of the season.

Dallas today said that Avery and will not be back with the Stars ever. Remember this is the hockey league that you can chop an opposition player head long into the boards cause a serious head injury to him, causing the end of his season because of a serious concussion and you only get supsended for two games. Add to the equation, no one in the league office is offended by this cheap and guttless move, however, you better not make a tasteless comments about a woman you once dated. Where the hell do these people get off? What the hell is wrong with this country? Lets not forget Avery's comments were classless but the best punishment would have been for him to meet Dion Phaneuf on the ice. Make him pay for his comments.

My first question I would ask the Dallas Stars is; why the hell did you sign this clown to a 4 year contract? You knew before hand what you were getting. So now after an unknown epiffany the Dallas Stars are looking for ways to get out of the deal. I think they should have to pay him his full 4 year deal.

Scores from Saturday night.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Atlantic Hockey
Mercyhurst 3 at RIT 5

Analysis
Yawn! Boring, I would rather watch paint dry.

CCHA
Bowling Green 3 at Notre Dame 4
Nebraska-Omaha 2 at Lake Superior 1

Analysis
Since going 9-2-1 the UNO Mavericks are 2-2-2. Back to reality folks, UNO is a middle of the road team. Notre Dame has not lost a game in two months and is unbeaten in 14 straight games. That is 12 wins and two shootout wins. 14-0-2

CHA
Robert Morris 0 at Niagara 3

WCHA
St. Cloud State 4 at North Dakota 7
Colorado College 1 at Minnesota 4
Michigan Tech 1 at Minnesota-Duluth 1 ot
Denver 5 at Minnesota State 2

Analysis
MTU with a tie the Huskies are 2-14-2. With the tie against the Huskies, Minnesota Duluth now has 5 ties this season in league play and 6 overall. Can we say time for a shootout in Division one hockey. Minnesota also has 5 ties over-all as well. Denver University is 9-4-1 and sitting in first place in the WCHA and has an over-all record of 13-5-1.

Non-Conference
Alabama-Huntsville 2 at Ferris State 5
Vermont 3 at St. Lawrence 4
Union 1 at Maine 5
Rensselaer 1 at Miami 3
Bentley 2 at Ohio State 3 ot

Exhibition
US Under-18 Team 2 at Northern Michigan 6

With a winning record Sioux move up.

The Fighting Sioux are sitting in 18th place of the pair wise rankings. Here is the top 20.
|KRACH| RPI | Adjusted |PWR | Win % |

1 Northeastern 1 1 1 5
2 Boston University 2 4 5 7
3 Princeton 3 2 2 2
4 Cornell 4 3 3 3
5 Vermont 5 6 6 12
6 Miami 6 5 4 6
7 Denver 7 9 9 8
8 Minnesota 8 8 7 10
9 Notre Dame 9 7 8 4
10 Boston College 10 12 12 15
11 Maine 11 11 11 13
12 Air Force 12 10 10 1
13 Wisconsin 13 16 16 23
14 New Hampshire 14 15 15 22
15 Michigan 15 13 13 17
16 Alaska 16 14 14 16
17 Minnesota-Duluth 17 18 18 18
18 North Dakota 18 21 21 29
19 Ohio State 19 19 19 14
20 St Cloud St 20 23 23 24