MTU 2 UND 1

The Sioux look uninspired and do something I didn't think was humanly possible; the Fighting Sioux managed to lose two games to two of the worst teams in the big four conferences. Coming into to today's game both teams had a combined win total of 9 wins. After today craptastic! exhibition (copy right Boosh) both teams now have 10 wins.

The Brutal reality is that the Fighting Sioux will probably have to win the WCHA Final Five to make the NCAA tourney. That is not going to happen with this team. I will go to the games I will cheer loudly but I realize also that the run of Hakstol trips to the frozen four only to loose is over. I highly doubt the Fighting Sioux could beat the UND woman's team right now.

That being said the positive is that the Bruins are red hot right now. Unfortunately the Bruins are down 1-0 after one period to the Atlanta Thrashers. Score update -- Boston 1 Thrashers 1. Former Golden Gopher Phil Kessel with the goal his 22nd of the season.

Wild being killed by the Chicago Blackhawks. 2-0. The Wild are the NHL version of the UND Fighting Sioux; the Wild couldn't hit water if they were standing in a boat.

Box Score

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-1 Matt Watkins (2-High-Sticking) 6:29
MTU-1 John Schwarz (2-Cross-Checking) 6:29
MTU-2 Jordan Baker (2-Goaltender Interference) NDK 0x1 11:14
NDK-2 Jason Gregoire (2-Checking from Behind) MTU 0x1 15:15

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-3 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) MTU 0x2 0:34
MTU-3 Ryan Bunger (2-Slashing) NDK 0x2 3:05
MTU-4 Ricky Doriott (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x3 4:47
NDK-4 Matt Watkins (2-Goaltender Interference) MTU 0x3 7:45
MTU 1 - 0 6x6 Ryan Angelow (1) (Ryan Bunger) 17:18
MTU (+): 13,21,20,26,28,G37 NDK (-): 2,14,19,26,29,G31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK 1 - 1 6x6 Evan Trupp (2) (Brett Hextall, Chris VandeVelde) 8:14
NDK (+): 19,26,3,5,29,G31 MTU (-): 10,24,13,21,14,G37
MTU-5 Geoff Kinrade (2-O-HOOKING) NDK 0x4 8:37
MTU-6 Brett Olson (2-Tripping) NDK 0x5 11:40
MTU 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Jordan Baker (9) (Brett Olson, Alex Lord) 14:02
MTU (+): 22,16,7,10,23,G37 NDK (-): 11,8,20,3,5,G31
MTU-7 Jordan Baker (2-CHARGING THE GOALIE) NDK 0x6 15:12

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game: Thank God that sucked.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UND Lines against MTU.

Here are the UND's lines for today's game against the MTU Huskies.

17 Jason Gregoire--16 Ryan Duncan--21 Matt Frattin
20 Matt Watkins--11 Darcy Zajac--8 Ryan Martens
15 Brent Davidson--22 Brad Malone--10 Andrew Kozek
19 Evan Trupp--29 Chris VandeVelde--26 Brett Hextall

3 Derrick LaPoint--5 Chay Genoway
2 Joe Finley--14 Brad Miller
6 Zach Jones--25 Jake Marto

31 Brad Eidsness
30 Aaron Walski

Here were yesterdays lines.

20 Matt Watkins--11 Darcy Zajac--8 Ryan Martens
16 Ryan Duncan--29 Chris VandeVelde--10 Andrew Kozek
17 Jason Gregoire--18 David Toews--21 Matt Frattin
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--26 Brett Hextall

Looks like coach Hakstol has decided to change things up bit. I am hoping Hakstol is finally feeling the pressure. David Toews is out of the line up and Davidson is in. I am not sure I like that the line up change but I am not the coach. Maybe Hak is trying to send Toews a message that it is time to step it up and play some Fighting Sioux hockey. Also, it is about time that coach Hakstol puts Duncan on a line with some more skilled players. I not sure why it took so long. With the right players Duncan can make some noise offensively.

The Finley Haters are back

That didn't take long did it? My God, check out the comments on Brad's blog. Holy Cow the Finley haters are out in full force. Of course they are real brave when they can hide behind an anonymous name and not have to stand up for their comments. I would love to see some of these classless skippy's say these vile and hateful things to big Joe's face. I don't think they are brave enough. Do you?

Let me explain it to the "Finley haters"; Big Joe is one of our best defensive forwards on the team. Big Joe was also the reigning plus minus player in the WCHA last season. Players don't get those types of defensive numbers by being a hack.

Avery going back to the Rangers?

Being a Bruins fans I have to admit that I enjoy watching the Rangers fumble their current bad streak.

Here is one perspective by the NY Post writer Larry Brooks that says the Rangers need Sean Avery back. Ah yes; Sean Avery the gift that just keeps on giving. Personally, I think that Sean is great for the Rangers and that they are a match made in heaven. It gives the fans in the Eastern conference a villain to hate. The NHL needs Sean Avery because he sells tickets and gives the fans some drama/soap opera to follow. Think about it. The guys is a tough guy that is interested in fashion and wrote for Vogue magazine. I dare someone to call him a sissy, Avery will pop you in the face.

The Rangers have a negative-eight goal differential. They have been outscored in every period. They have been outscored at even-strength and are just even on the specialty teams. They are 1-6 in their last seven games decided in regulation, 2-8 in the last 10.

But they like each other! They really like each other!

The Rangers are smooth, like a snow globe. The best teams find the way to incorporate jagged edges into their room and into their equation, the way the Rangers were able to do with Avery.

What happened in Dallas, happened. It's clear that there's one team and one team only for which Avery can play; one city and one city only big enough for him to live; one coach and one coach only - the one behind the Rangers bench - for whom Avery can play.

The mechanics of making it happen are hazy. But those are mere details. The Rangers need an infusion of energy. The Rangers need someone who actually will be tough to play against. The Rangers need Avery almost as badly as he needs them, and if anybody doesn't like it, he should be playing better.

Because this is pretty much it was before Avery became a Ranger . . . the first time.

What really is the problem?

The Fighting Sioux suck right now. I also looked at my calender and noticed that it is still 3 1/2 days until the new year comes and we can only hope that the Fighting Sioux will turn the corner and go on yet another run to the NCAA playoffs. Just like the Fighting Sioux did the last 4 seasons.

I believe the later isn't coming this season, but there is still a lot of hockey. Personally, I think the Fighting Sioux's season will end on a Thursday night at the Xcel Energy Center. Just a prediction. I hope I am wrong, and I can only imagine the carnage if this turns out to be true.

Lots of questions to be answered

I sit here today scratching my head, My favorite football team the Vikings suck miserably and I am hoping the Vik-queens will lose today's game so we can start the fire Brad Childress watch.

While I don't hope for the same fate for Hakstol he is wearing on me and other Sioux fans. All you have to do is read the posting on USCHO.COM and SIOUXSPORTS.COM. The Sioux fateful are getting nervous and want some answers. They are tired of hearing I like this team, we are almost there. We want to see W's in the win column.

1.) I am more than miffed; why have the Fighting Sioux have played so many games the past 5 years with little or any emotion? This didn't happen a lot on Dean Blais' watch.

2.) Could it be that Hakstol isn't the greatest of coaches? Is Hakstol in over his head? Who do we blame for these yearly debacles? Should the fans hold the players more accountable?

3.) What happened to Sioux pride? Doesn't wearing Sioux warrior on the front your jersey mean anything anymore?

4.) Who is going to step up and be a leader?

5.) Is anyone else sick of stupid sports cliches?

Certainly not a real good performance,” UND coach Dave Hakstol said. “Our heads were up our rear ends from the drop of the puck through the first 11 minutes of the hockey game. And the rest is history.

“I don’t want to take anything away from (Michigan State’s) performance. They are a great team that knows how to win. Certainly, a lot of guys in that room have done a lot of winning. They did a very good job. We did not.”

6.) Is that all our coach can say after a pathetic loss? Your team just lost to a team that had not won a game in 12 games and this is all you have to say? It is the coaches job to perform the extraction, make adjustments to your game plan and move on. Don't let the guys flounder on the ice for 2 1/2 periods.

7.) Should the Sioux hockey team worry less about filming cool shows like Miller Time and start concentrating more on playing hockey?

8.) Is Jess Meyers right? I would hope not.

9.) Should the Sioux wear the black uniforms more often?

10.) Can the Sioux beat MTU today? I dunno Boosh and MeG I think your team has a chance.

BRUINS 4 CANES 2

I was watching this game as I listened to the Sioux and MSU game. I just wonder where the heck did this Blake Wheeler come from the guy is on fire and had two goals tonight to pace the Bruins to their seventh straight win (Wheeler goal 1) (Wheeler goal 2).

Having Watched Blake play for three season with the Minnesota Gophers I have to say that I am shocked at Blake Wheeler's play so far. I was ready to classify him as bust. I even thought Wheeler was a soft player that was going no where in the NHL and couldn't understand why the Phoenix Coyotes has picked him fifth over all in the NHL draft? When Blake turned down the Coyotes to sign an possibly play for the Boston Bruins I thought the B's were high. What the heck were they doing? When Wheeler made the Bruins out of camp I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. Now I can hear Wheeler saying, "how do you like me now"?

Sioux 1 MSU 2 (Unacceptable)

The Fighting Sioux play an uninspired game against a horrible Michigan State University team (a team that hadn't won a game in 12 games) and lose 2-1. This type of play is not acceptable if the Sioux have any hope of making the NCAA tourney. Playing like this is not the way to make the Final Five either. By squandering games like this one, the Sioux are hammering the nails in the Fighting Sioux's NCAA playoff coffin. They Fighting Sioux must right the ship now if they want to do anything this season. I hope the coaches and players spare us the cute sports cliches. I am sick and tired of hearing how we are so close to playing really good and clicking. Stop talking and just play hockey.

The only bright spot for the Fighting Sioux was the play of Fighting Sioux freshman goalie Brad Eidsness. For their efforts the Fighting Sioux get to play Michigan Tech University and if they play like they did tonight they could end up losing the game to real Huskies as well.

Positive(s)

*The play of Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness. Another strong effort in net.

*Miller and Genoway continue to play good on defense.

*Big Joe Finley is back with the Fighting Sioux after missing 18 games. Big Joe is starting to look more comfortable with each shift after missing so much time with the post concussion syndrome.

*Matt Frattin is becoming the player that we thought he would be as he is now the leading goal scorer on the Fighting Sioux.

Negative(s)

*Very little shots inside the dots against MSU, a good goalie like Lerg is going to see shots from the perimeter and stop them every time. You need to get traffic in front of the net. The Sioux did not.

*Horrible effort by the Fighting Sioux forwards as they played dump and chase all night and then when they dumped the puck in the offensive zone they were beat to the puck by MSU defense.

*Taking stupid penalties at bad times during the game.

*Lack of cycle down deep in the Spartans zone.

Box Score

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Kneeing) MSU 0x1 2:28
MSU-1 Andrew Conboy (2-Charging) NDK 0x1 4:10
NDK-2 Andrew Kozek (2-Interference) MSU 1x2 6:48
MSU 1 - 0 6x5 PP LL Matt Schepke (8) (Corey Tropp, Joey Shean) 7:14
MSU: 24,25,19,7,2,G1 NDK: 17,16,25,6,G31
NDK-3 Brett Hextall (2-Holding the Stick) 8:19
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (2-Slashing) (Served by Andrew Kozek) MSU 1x3 8:19
MSU-2 Jay Sprague (2-Interference) 8:19
MSU-3 Andrew Conboy (2-Charging) NDK 0x2 9:16

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSU 2 - 0 6x6 GW Matt Schepke (9) (Corey Tropp) 1:39
MSU (+): 24,25,2,19,5,G1 NDK (-): 17,14,18,21,2,G31
MSU-4 Andrew Rowe (2-Hooking) NDK 0x3 8:41
NDK-5 Jason Gregoire (2-Interference) MSU 1x4 9:32

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MSU-5 Matt Schepke (2-Tripping) NDK 0x4 0:23
NDK-6 Joe Finley (2-Tripping) MSU 1x5 5:10
NDK-7 Chay Genoway (2-Hooking) MSU 1x6 5:50
NDK-8 Derrick LaPoint (2-O-HOLDING) MSU 1x7 13:35
MSU-6 Jay Sprague (2-Slashing) NDK 1x5 14:42
NDK 1 - 2 6x5 PP Matt Frattin (8) (Chay Genoway, Brad Miller) 16:35
NDK: 21,5,14,19,17,G31 MSU: 21,25,24,5,G1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game

UND and MSU lines for tonight's game. Michigan 5 MTU 0

Here are the UND's lines for tonights game with Michigan State.

20 Matt Watkins--11 Darcy Zajac--8 Ryan Martens
16 Ryan Duncan--29 Chris VandeVelde--10 Andrew Kozek
17 Jason Gregoire--18 David Toews--21 Matt Frattin
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--26 Brett Hextall

3 Derrick LaPoint--5 Chay Genoway
6 Zach Jones--25 Jake Marto
2 Joe Finley--14 Brad Miller

31 Brad Eidsness
30 Aaron Walski

Michigan State's lines

24 Matt Schepke--19 Joey Shean--25 Corey Tropp
28 Andrew Conboy--40 Tim Crowder--17 Jay Sprague
6 Andrew Rowe--9 Daultan Leveille--10 Dustin Gazley
26 Kurt Kivisto--4 Trevor Nill--27 Daniel Sturges

8 Brandon Gentile--2 Jeff Petry
21 Matt Crandell--7 Tim Buttery
16 Justin Johnston--5 Brock Shelgren

1 Jeff Lerg
29 Drew Palmisano

Michigan 5 MTU 0

Michigan was too much for MTU as they were shut out 5-0 by the Michigan Wolverines. The score was 4-0 after one period. So much for the real Huskies being on a roll.

(Click here for the BOX SCORE)

Tim Thomas robs Patrik Elias

Check out this sick save by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas, this is unbelievable.
This is a game changing ten bell save. Thomas also robbed Zach Parise as well.

Wild Rumors.

Eklund "The Anonymous Hockey Blogger" has this latest rumor involving Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Gaborik. I am not sure what the Wild would have to trade to get Ilya Kovalchuk? Personally it isn't that great of a move because Kovalchuk is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. It will be interesting to see what comes out of this. It could be like a lot of the other Eklund rumors mere speculation that doesn't come to fruition.

The Minnesota Wild are looking hard at Kovalchuk as well, but Gaborik is NOT involved in that deal I am told. The Wild are talking Gaborik with the Islanders, Canadiens, Kings, and Penguins.

Possible line for todays USA WJC.

The World of Junior Hockey the lines posted for this afternoon's game.

Fowards

James Van Riemsdyk-Colin Wilson-Jordan Schroeder
Drayson Bowman-Mitch Wahl-Jim O'Brien
Eric Targradi-Matt Rust-Aaron Palushaj
Mike Hoeffel-Tyler Johnson-Jimmy Hayes
Danny Kristo

Defense

Ian Cole-Jonathan Blum
Ryan McDonagh-Kevin Shattenkirk
Cade Fairchild-Teddy Ruth
Blake Kessel

Goalies
Thomas McCollum
Josh Unice

INCH-ESPN perspective on the GLI.

Check out what INCH had to say about the upcoming GLI. Yeah I am not going to shed a tear for the Wolverines because they are missing a player or two to the WJC. In years past UND fans have had to watch depleted Sioux teams tangle in the Christmas tourneys as well as league games during the WJC.

Michigan looks for second consecutive Great Lakes win
Who to Watch --- Michigan will be the only team shorthanded from the World Junior Championships this year, as offensive catalysts Aaron Palushaj and Matt Rust will represent the United States in Ottawa. The leaves a great deal of the burden on Palushaj's linemate Louie Caporusso to pick up the slack, and he'll be looking for help from freshman David Wohlberg, who has played very well in recent weeks. For the Sioux, keep your eyes on Brad Miller and Chay Genoway, who each have 18 points on the season. And, given the fact that neither Michigan State nor Michigan Tech has generated much offense, they'll rely on the goaltending of Jeff Lerg and Josh Robinson to keep them afloat.

WJC tourney news.

Here are some of the links of interest to the 2009 WJC. Go team USA.

Canada hockey schedule

2009 IIHF World Junior Championship
*Friday, Dec. 26 Canada vs. Czech Republic 7PM EST TSN
*Sunday, Dec. 28 Canada vs. Kazakhstan 3PM EST TSN
*Monday, Dec. 29 Canada vs. Germany 7PM EST TSN
*Wednesday, Dec. 31 Canada vs. USA 7PM EST TSN
*Friday, Jan. 2 Quarter-final #1 3:30PM EST TSN
*Friday, Jan. 2 Quarter-final #2 7PM EST TSN
*Saturday, Jan. 3 Semifinal #1 3:30PM EST TSN
*Saturday, Jan. 3 Semifinal #2 7PM EST TSN
*Monday, Jan. 5 Bronze Medal 3:30PM EST TSN
*Monday, Jan. 5 Gold Medal 7PM EST TSN

*Former Maple Leafs coach Pat Quin returns for team Canada.

*Here is the team USA World junior hockey championship capsule.

United States
No shortage of talent, but an inability to finish sums up the Americans the last few years at the world junior championship. They've played for a medal the last six years and won just two. The U.S. has heaps of talent again, including four first-round NHL draft picks on defence. If they master the art of playing as a team, the gold could be theirs.

Player to watch: UNH player James vanRiemsdyk, the No. 2 pick in the 2007 NHL draft by Philadelphia.

James vanRiemsdyke is also leading the NCAA in pointers per game as well (9-17-26). Look for the Flyers to sign vanRiemsdyke after the Wildcats season is over.

*Prospects Tavares, Hedman rivals on ice and off with both vying for the No. 1 spot at the June draft. I have read where some of the NHL pundits have compared Tavares to the great one.

*Title defence: Manning Team Canada's blue line. Wisconsin's Cody Goloubef is the only NCAA player on team Canada's defense.

CODY GOLOUBEF

Oakville

Lone college player on the team out of Wisconsin is calm, covers off gaps and doesn't give quarter in the defensive zone. Good skater with quick transition game.

*Team USA hockey roster.

*Jonathon Blum (Vancouver Giants of the WHL)was named team USA captain, Colin Wilson (Boston University) and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (Boston University) have been named team USA's alternate captains. Hockey East is represented well.

*Here is the team USA WJC blog.

*Here is current Golden Gopher and USA WJC player Jordan Schroeder's hockey's future page.

*Canadian WJC coach Pat Quinn has built this years team around speed and skill up front, a bruising defensive corp on the blue-line. I believe it is a good way to set up any team. Hum, sounds like last season B.C. Eagles.

*Canada 2009 WJC preview (read the article here).

*I think this article is stating the obvious; Canadians face stern test in Ottawa.

United States (2008 result: 4-2, 4th place)

With four first-round NHL draft picks on defence, the Americans will be competitive and will be led by James vanRiemsdyk, the second overall pick in the 2007 draft by the Philadelphia Flyers.

The lineup also includes 2009 draft prospects Jordan Schroeder , who had seven assists at last year's world juniors, and Jeremy Morin. Both will go in the first round of the draft in Montreal.

Another player to watch is Colin Wilson , who was Nashville's top choice, seventh overall, in the 2008 draft. He is the son of former Canadian national team member Carey Wilson.

The Guelph Storm's Thomas McCollum of the Ontario Hockey League is expected to get the majority of the starts in net for Team USA. He was the 30th overall pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2008 draft.

*Here is a link to the Dallas Star's prospects in the WJC.

Boxing Day addition. (Linkorama)

Boxing Day in Winnipeg

When I got up this morning I said its December 26th Boxing day in Canada. Obviously I am an American but I do live in a border state. If the Winnipeg Manitoba still had an NHL team I could have the opportunity to watch NHL hockey 150 miles from my front door, but I digress. The Jets folded up shop and moved to Phoenix Arizona after the 1995-1995 season and that team is now known as the Coyotes who are now floundering in the desert southwest poised to lose millions of dollars. There has been some question wether they will be able to make payroll or not.

I believe to this day that it was a huge mistake to take a NHL hockey team out of Canada and put it in a city that doesn’t appreciate hockey. There are even suggestions that the Coyotes should move back to Winnipeg. I am crossing my fingers.

I remember back to the Winnipeg Jets 1992-1993 season and my father, brother and sisters attended a hockey game in Winnipeg Manitoba at the Winnipeg Arena to watch an NHL hockey game between the Jets and the L.A. Kings.


Fighting in the NHL up again

The incidence of fighting is up in the NHL. My first response is good. Usually we hear the hue and cry from some fair weather hockey fans how fighting has lost its place in the NHL and the league needs to ban it immediately. The usual claim is that incidence of holding fans back fan or keeping the NHL from having more fans follow the NHL. I say B.S.

First off, hockey is a regional sport and we don't need a lot of clueless fans that we have to explain the game of hockey too every step of the way. Go watch basket brawl. If these novice hockey fans don't understand the reason for fighting in hockey we don’t need them to be fans they are probably the same people that like the Fox Glow Puck.

Fighting in hockey is a tool and keeps the agitators and cheap shot artists in check. The thought of having to pay for you transgressions keeps players honest. If I am one of these punks that hides behind a half shield runs around the ice running players and hacking the opposition with my stick I am going to pay for my actions eventually.

Goons/tough guys protect players like Sidney Crosby or Marian Gaborik. I know that if I take a run at Marian Gaborik I am going to have to look over my shoulder for the Boogey man, because he is coming. If fighting is taken out of hockey there is no checks and balance to cheap shot and the league will putting a star player’s health in jeopardy.

Detractors of hockey say that fighting keeps the sport away from a broader fan base and continues to leave the sport in relative obscurity. In the past, efforts to curtail fighting have set hockey back on several occasions. I’m not talking about taking the sport back to the reckless style of the 1970’s, but critics have to recognize the unbreakable link between fighting and the popularity of hockey with its fans.

Penguins Coach on a the rampage

The Penguins coach Michel Therrien let his team have it after loosing to a crappy Tampa Bay Lightning team. As a hockey fan I would like to see more coaches have press conferences like this one. Team plays bad let them know it. These guys make too much money to be dogging it.

Penguins coach Michel Therrien was critical of his team's effort.

"The schedule is pretty tough. We just played four games in six days. Those are excuses," he said. "We don't have the right attitude. We like to complain about each other on the bench and on the ice. They better wake up pretty quick. ... I'm really disappointed with their work ethic and the concentration. Until they change their attitude, we are going to have the same results."

Pens And Habs Fans Wage A Cyberspace Battle

Due to an NHL website security meltdown, the league is at the centre of a cyberspace battle that rages between fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens.

The league’s All Star voting process has been tainted by fans and blog sites alike, to stuff the ballot box by any means necessary.

In a Nov. 11 home game against the Ottawa Senators, it was reported that the Canadiens heavily promoted all star voting during the game. One day ahead of the official start of voting.

When early results were tabulated, it was unusual to see all six Eastern Conference starters from the Canadiens

After these results, rumours surfaced that there was ballet box stuffing going on in Montreal.

Various news agencies investigated why the totals were so disparagingly high for Canadiens’ players while other notable stars such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin were far off in the distance.

So, why were the votes so highly in favour of Les Glorieux?

Along with legitimate votes, a user on a Canadiens fans site urged people to vote using an automated program called Greasemonkey (a Firefox extension that allows the user to take control of a specific website browser). The program allows users to vote over and over again and this would explain why all six starters, at one point, were all Habs.

According to NHL voting rules, fans are allowed to vote, via internet and text messaging, as many times as they like but are prohibited from using automated voting machines.

“Use of automatic voting methods is prohibited,” says the NHL website. “The NHL will have in place monitoring procedures designed to prevent individuals from unfairly influencing the outcome of the voting by generating significant blocks of votes using technical enhancements.”

The NHL moved quickly on this and eliminated thousands of votes from Canadiens’ players, including 20,000 from Alexei Kovalev alone. The NHL took preventative measures and now the league claims that every real time vote you see has been cast by a real person.

Against the overwhelming number of votes, illegal or otherwise, going Montreal’s way, a popular Penguins blog site decided to do something about it.

On Dec. 10 fans were encouraged to vote and get Crosby and Malkin ahead of Kovalev and Canadiens captain Saku Koivu.

Whether this message had any effect on the vote standings is impossible to say but as of Dec. 25, Crosby and Malkin lead the Eastern Conference in voting, ahead of Kovalev and Koivu.

So far no rumuors of automated programs have surfaced from Pittsburgh.

Currently, Kovalev is third in voting; approximately 480,000 votes ahead of sixth-place Ovechkin, which brings another interesting facet to this debate.

The Penguins have entered into a relationship with the Washington Capitals to further drive this voting war.

The collective effort is called the “Unholy Alliance” and they have made it clear what their intentions are.

“This one time only would bring Pens/Caps fans together to try and stun the world and get A.O. (Alexander Ovechkin) into the top three of the All Star voting,” said the Pens blog site.

“Yes, A.O. is a jackoff, but a Sid-Malkin-A.O. line in the All Star game would be a lot of fun on almost every level. Not to mention it would completely humiliate Habs fans.”

This isn’t the first time that ballot stuffing and agenda driven results have been effective.

Two years ago, 22-year-old Steve Schmid thought it would be a great idea to vote a hard-working, journeyman into the all star game. He chose Vancouver Canucks’ defenceman Rory Fitzpatrick. The “Vote for Rory” phenomenon was born.

Media outlets picked up on this and a few weeks later Canucks’ players were wearing “Vote for Rory” T-shirts. Rory’s supporters started promoting him with video montages on You Tube and soon after he was written about in publications like Sports Illustrated and the New York Times.

At that time, Fitzpatrick had nine NHL goals in his career. He had spent a month on the sidelines with a broken ankle and his name was nowhere to be found on any official NHL ballots.

On the strength of Schmid’s campaign, Fitzpatrick rose through the ranks to third in the Western Conference. He finished behind Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Neidermayer.

To his credit Fitzpatrick backed out and never played in the 2007 All Star game in Dallas, Texas.

Any way you look at it the NHL has created a fair amount of publicity for itself. Although it’s hard to say if they wanted it through illegal voting. Judging by the desperate straits the league is in, they may take publicity any way they can get it.

Michigan State Rivals GLI Preview.

Check out the GLI preview from Michigan State Rivals right here. (Click here) Go WCHA (MTU and UND) It would be nice to see the real Huskies beat the Michigan Wolverines but I don't think it is in the cards, not this year's Husky squad (please make a liar out of me if you would like). MTU has had a rough 1st half of the season, injuries galore. In fact every thing that could go wrong and every bad that could happen to the Huskies has. It is almost like someone put a curse on them.

It’s the holiday season and that can only mean one thing for the city of Detroit…. It’s time for the 44th annual Great Lakes Invitational. In years past, this tournament hosts the top teams in the country, and this season is no exception with the name recognition. Co-hosts Michigan and Michigan Tech and pseudo host MSU welcome North Dakota as the 4th team to this year’s tournament.

The only thing that is different about this tournament is that every single team is looking for a much better second half of the season. Spartan fans know this tournament has always been a springboard to a strong second half under Coach Comley. This season MSU fans know the hockey team is looking for something, anything, ANYTHING to grasp their hands on to what has been a disastrous first half.

The Schedule:

Saturday, December 27th:

3:05 pm Michigan vs. Michigan Tech
6:35 pm Michigan State vs. North Dakota

Sunday, December 28th:

3:05 pm 3rd place game
6:35 pm Championship Game

All games can be seen on FSN Detroit.
730 AM will have the radio coverage on Saturday
1240 AM will have the radio coverage on Sunday

The Records:

Michigan 11-7-0 (7-5-0-0 CCHA, T-5th place)
MSU 4-11-3 (2-8-2-2 CCHA, 12th place)
North Dakota 9-8-1 (6-5-1 WCHA, 5th place)
Michigan Tech 4-14-2 (1-11-2 WCHA, 10th place)

North Dakota:

Speaking of improvement, the Fighting Sioux have been coming on strong over the last 3 weekends. After a rough 4-7-1 start, the Fighting Sioux have won 4 straight and 5 of their last 6 game. If anything, it shows things can be turned around in a hurry.

The Fighting Sioux are led on the offensive end by Seniors Brad Miller (4-14-18), Ryan Duncan (7-8-15), and Ryan Martens (7-7-14). Junior defenseman Chay Genoway (2-16-18) has been a stable force on the blue line all season long.

In goal freshman Brad Eidsness (9-5-1, .909 %, 2.72) has been somewhat of a surprise with his solid play in his first year of college hockey.

However, the biggest reason why North Dakota has been winning has been their offense. In their last 4 games the Fighting Sioux have tallied 24 goals, including a 10 goal effort at Harvard on December 5th. By comparison, MSU has scored only 29 goals all season.

ND is currently 3rd in scoring in the WCHA at 3.33 goals/game. On defense, ND ranks 10th in the WCHA at 3.06 goals allowed/game. The Sioux power play ranks 3rd in the WCHA at 19.7%. The PK ranks 5th in the WCHA at 82.5%.

Michigan:

The University of Michigan has been looking for some consistency from night to night, and they think they might have found something in their sweep over MSU. The team has been playing much better in front of Bryan Hogan, and while they would say their effort at Munn Ice Arena wasn’t the greatest, they did enough at the end of the game to pull out the victory.

Michigan will be without the services of forwards Matt Rust (2-6-8) and Aaron Palushaj (8-17-25). They will be at the World Jr. Tournament.

Michigan is paced by Caporusso (14-7-21), Carl Hagelin (5-10-15), Travis Turnbull (4-9-13), and David Wohlberg (8-4-12).

In goal senior Bill Sauer (2-6-0, .903 %, 2.64) and sophomore Bryan Hogan (9-1-0, .909 %, 2.24) have been splitting time, but Hogan finally got both starts against MSU. The team has given Hogan more offensive support than Sauer.

Michigan’s offense is ranked 4th in the CCHA at 3.22 goals/game. Their defense is ranked 6th in the CCHA at 2.56 goals allowed/game. Their power play ranks 6th in the CCHA at 15.0%, and their PK is ranked 9th at 83.3%.

Predictions:

North Dakota 5 Michigan State 1
Michigan 4 Michigan Tech 1

Michigan State 3 Michigan Tech 2
Michigan 4 North Dakota 3

UND GLI game on Webcast.

According to the FightingSioux.com the game between MSU and UND will be on Webcast. If the Sioux beat MSU the championship game will be on FCS Atlantic. For 9.99 a month you can subscribe to the premium version and get the games on video. I watched the Harvard and SCSU series and the video was pretty good. I recommend spending the 9.99 a month because there are all kinds of great Fighting Sioux events you can watch via you computer.

Press release from FightingSioux.com
Media Information: All Fighting Sioux men’s hockey games - home and away - can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux hockey network, with veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy calling the action.

A video webcast of this weekend’s games will be available at FightingSioux.com. FREE
audio is also available at FightingSioux.com.

Sunday’s GLI championship game will be broadcast live on FSN Detroit.

GLI preview: UND vs MSU

The Fighting Sioux take to the ice Saturday to play the Michigan State Spartans in the Great Lakes Invitational. The Spartans are having a rough go this season are 0-9-2 (the game on November 1st was a shoot out win for the Spartans) since November 1st. The Spartans also lost against the U-18 USDT 4-2 as well, a team that UND beat 5-2.

Here is a look at the Sioux first opponent. While the Spartans do not have a good record the Sioux can not take the Spartans lightly as they almost beat the Gophers during the College Hockey Show case and the Gophes had to score a goal in the third period to avoid getting beat by the Spartans.

About michigan state: The Spartans went 4-11-3 overall and 2-8-2 in the CCHA during the first half of the season ... Michigan State averages just 1.61 goals per game, which ranks second-last in the nationl behind only Michigan Tech (1.35 gpg) ... The Spartans’ leading scorers - senior forwards Tim Crowder and Matt Schepke - have 10 points in 18 games, and are tied for 53rd in the CCHA scoring race ... Senior G Jeff Lerg is 3-10-1 with a 2.88 goals against average and a .912 save percentage ... The Spartans wrapped up the first half of the season with a 4-2 loss to the U.S. Under-18 team.

Here is a nice little clip on Fighting Sioux senior Ryan Duncan who has taken a few jabs from the WCHA fans the past few seasons. While the Sioux do not have Oshie or Toews on the team anymore, Duncan has played pretty good this season and the Sioux will need his contributions if they want to get into the NCAA title hunt.

draft dunc: Senior captain Ryan Duncan (Calgary, Alberta), the leading scorer among all active NCAA DI players, scored his 72nd career goal Dec. 13 against St. Cloud State, giving him 148 career points and moving him into a tie for 23rd place on UND’s all-time scoring list.

Duncan scored his 32nd career power-play goal at Harvard (Dec. 6), tying him with Bob
Joyce (1984-87) for fifth all-time at UND (see left). In 18 games this season, Duncan has seven goals and eight assists for 15 points and is tied for the team lead with four-power play goals. Duncan has notched at least one point in 10 of his last 13 games

AHA is not a good league.

Here is a post that I must respond to that was on USCHO.COM

All you people are making the writers point that there is bias against the Atlantic Hockey. Last two years Atlantic Hockey teams have been playing with every other league and coming out with a lot more wins then they were in years past. Air Force took Miami to the third period with a lead in the NCAAs last year.

OK lets look at the AHA's record against the big four conferences. Wow, the AHA has won 8 games out of 45 against the big four conferences. That is NOT very impressive folks, I wouldn't want to hang my hat on that one. What are we measuring here?

While we are on the subject the EZAC they are not doing that well against the big four conferences either as they have won an impressive 9 games out of 34 games. Yet we have Princeton and Cornell ranked in the top ten of all the major college hockey polls. Please! Give me a break.

Conference vs. 'Big 4'
AHA 8-34-3 (.211)
CCHA 14-18-5 (.446)
CHA 8-21-2 (.290)
ECACHL 9-24-2 (.286)
HEA 24-14-3 (.622)
WCHA 18-9-6 (.636)

Here is the KRAH for the AHA there isn't a team with a strenght of schedule over 47 and their numerial order is 47, 48, 49, 51, 52 53, 54, 55, 56, 58. Playing these teams and beating them doesn't nothing for your teams RPI numbers imagine what losing does as well.

11 Air Force 350.4 .7273 1 14-2-0 .8750 7.000 47 50.1
44 Bentley 32.8 .3005 37 6-8-1 .4333 .765 48 42.9
46 RIT 29.5 .2835 35 8-9-1 .4722 .895 52 33.0
47 Mercyhurst 27.4 .2718 39 7-10-2 .4211 .727 51 37.7
48 Canisius 26.3 .2656 28 7-6-4 .5294 1.125 56 23.4
52 Sacred Heart 18.1 .2110 44T 4-10-3 .3235 .478 49 37.8
54 Holy Cross 15.6 .1919 44T 5-11-1 .3235 .478 53 32.7
55 Connecticut 11.1 .1510 49T 4-11-0 .2667 .364 54 30.6
56 Army 10.0 .1391 46 4-9-1 .3214 .474 58 21.0
57 American Int'l 9.3 .1320 54 4-13-0 .2353 .308 55 30.2

What's The Deal With Cujo?

When former Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher signed back-up goalie Curtis Joseph to a one-year deal on Canada Day, visions of Cujo’s former brilliance danced in fans’ heads.

The Keswick, Ont. native was brilliant in his first stint with Toronto. He was a nightly highlight reel who posted three consecutive 30+ win seasons and finished second in Vezina voting in 1999 and 2000.

Many have said he was the best goalie in these parts since Johnny Bower backstopped their last Stanley Cup in 1967.

Joseph was so popular the city fathers should have given him the key to the city, or, at least, named a holiday after him.

However, Joseph is six-years removed from his last stay in Toronto and it looks painfully obvious that he is not close to what he once was.

Nor should he be, but at 41 years of age, the ravages of time have finally caught up with him.

While the starter gets the glory, the position of back-up goaltender is often looked on as a mere afterthought. Unless you have a Martin Brodeur type, who plays 70+ games a year, it’s crucial the back-up be more than a warm body to fill the 4X6.

A perfect example of that is Ty Conklin. When Penguins starter Marc-Andre Fleury went down with a high ankle sprain last year, Conklin came in a won his first seven starts and went an impressive 17-6-5.

While nobody expects Joseph to match those lofty numbers, it seems he won’t be getting much of an opportunity to fulfill his contractual obligations.

Judging by Cujo’s season results (0-4, 4.12 GAA) head coach Ron Wilson let his actions do the talking.

In an 8-5 loss to the Bruins on Dec 18., Joseph replaced Toskala early in the first but surrendered four goals in ten shots during the second period. When the Leafs pulled the game back to 6-5, Wilson sent Toskala back into the net to start the third period.

During his post-game autopsy, Wilson bristled at the idea that Joseph was near the end. Though he wasn’t exactly clear why he put Toskala back in for the third period he offered no rationale for the decision.

Two nights later the Leafs were in Atlanta and Toskala was sidelined with a groin strain. The Leafs called up Toronto Marlies (Leafs AHL affiliate) goalie Justin Pogge to start the game while Joseph languished on the bench.

A humiliating 8-2 home loss to the Dallas Stars on Dec 23., crystallized the point.

Toskala was the victim of a porous defensive effort. He gave up seven goals in 31 minutes of work and then was replaced by Joseph.

That begs the question as to why Wilson kept Toskala in net for seven goals.

Even the most optimistic Leaf fan wasn’t convinced of a Boston style rally.

So, there was no tangible reason for Toskala to hear a barrage of cat calls and jeers from the surly 19,000 in attendance.

Wilson has simply lost confidence in Joseph and, in Pogge, the Leafs have an escape clause.

The Leafs are in re-building mode and it seems obvious that Pogge is going to get a chance to play more often. Although he was returned to the minors when Toskala proclaimed he was fit to play against Dallas.

Pogge is a middle-of-the-road AHL goalie but Leafs GM Brian Burke lacks a soft spot for Joseph like Fletcher did.

Many believe that Pogge’s one-game audition may turn into a series of games.. If he performs well it may force the Leafs to make a decision on Josephs’ future with the club.

One potential outcome would be to buy-out Joseph and promote him within the organization, likely at a coaching level (a similar move happened last month when Luke Richardson retired with the Ottawa Senators).

Joseph has 449 wins, fourth all-time, and he wears Teflon in this city. However, there is no room for the hazy memories of the past. His recent performance has been sub-par and sentimentality won’t cut it for Burke and that, for Joseph, may be the deepest cut of all.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Christmas Eve Linkorama

*Looks like former Sioux T.J. Oshie is skating again.

*Julie Robenhymer from HockeyBuzz.com said that some are calling Wheeler the best free agent pick up of the season. While Wheeler looks like he was a good pickup. Lets give it a few more months before we declare him a huge success in Boston, however, what Wheeler has done so far surprises me. After watching Blake Wheeler play in College I would have to say that I am actually shocked at Wheeler's performance. During his college days with the Gophers I thought he was a soft player that was just going through the motions but with the Bruins he has really fit in.

After being out most of last season Patrice Bergeron suffered another concussion.

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Landon Wilson has three points in this last two games and recorded two assists against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto's fan's favorite whipping boy Jason Blake also scored in the same game.

The Wild are holding Marian Gaborik out of practice and games but the Wild GM says it isn't because they are trying to trade him. Yeah! Uh, ok. Personally I am tired of this spoiled brat and the Wild can't dump him fast enough, don't let the door hit you in the ass Gabby.