USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll
February 23, 2009
1 Boston University (31) 23-5-4 981 1
2 Notre Dame (19) 25-5-3 968 2
3 Michigan 24-10-0 863 3
4 Northeastern 20-8-4 850 4
5 Denver 19-9-4 790 8
6 Princeton 20-7-0 673 10
7 Miami 18-9-5 666 5
8 North Dakota 20-11-3 637 9
9 Vermont 17-8-5 635 6
10 Cornell 17-6-4 540 11
11 Yale 19-6-2 532 7
12 New Hampshire 16-9-5 513 12
13 Colorado College 16-9-8 352 18
14 Minnesota-Duluth 16-9-7 336 15
15 Ohio State 19-11-4 281 16
16 Wisconsin 16-13-3 227 13
17 St. Lawrence 17-11-4 191 20
18 Minnesota 13-11-6 145 14
19 St. Cloud State 17-13-2 122 19
20 Mass.-Lowell 15-13-2 62 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Air Force 50, Boston College 41,
Alaska 22, RIT 16, Dartmouth 7
USA Today poll
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Michigan
4. Northeastern
5. Denver
6. Princeton
7. North Dakota
8. Vermont
9. Miami
10. New Hampshire
11. Cornell
12. Yale
13. Colorado College
14. Minnesota-Duluth
15. Ohio State
Analysis:
UND keeps moving up in the national polls and in the PWR where the Fighting Sioux are currently sitting 11th.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sioux 5th in INCH Power Ranking.
INCH Power Rankings
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern
4. Michigan
5. North Dakota
6. Denver
7. Princeton
8. Miami
9. Vermont
10. Yale
11. Cornell
12. New Hampshire
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Wisconsin
15. Ohio State
16. Colorado College
17. St. Lawrence
18. Minnesota
19. St. Cloud State
20. UMass Lowell
Dropped out: Boston College
Bubble-licious: Air Force, RIT, Alaska
Color me surprised that UND is ranked that high.
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern
4. Michigan
5. North Dakota
6. Denver
7. Princeton
8. Miami
9. Vermont
10. Yale
11. Cornell
12. New Hampshire
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Wisconsin
15. Ohio State
16. Colorado College
17. St. Lawrence
18. Minnesota
19. St. Cloud State
20. UMass Lowell
Dropped out: Boston College
Bubble-licious: Air Force, RIT, Alaska
Color me surprised that UND is ranked that high.
Are the wheels coming off in Minneapolis?
The Minnesota Gophers were picked in the top half of the WCHA; currently the Gophers are again sitting in seventh place of the WCHA with four games remaining. There is a good chance that the Gophers could end up on the road again for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. Gopher fans are already worried that their team will do the unspeakable and end up missing the Final Five and the Midwest regional as well which is at Marriucci Arena. These fears are very realistic and could very well happen. Playoffstatus.com give the Gophers a 17% chance of getting home ice for the WCHA playoffs. If this happens it could get very ugly in Minneapolis. (Stay tuned folks)
As the Gophers season goes poorly and the loses continue to pile up there will be more and more calls from Gophers fans for the head of Gopher's head coach Don Lucia. It is only natural, as a Viking fan I have been calling for Brad Childress to be fired since season two. The questions are already starting to mount, what went wrong with the Gophers? While there have been many distractions that could lead to some of this season's failures, there has also a plethora of excuses and silly statements to come out of Gopherville. It’s been like a train wreck in slow motion. Here are some of the excuses we have seen so far; the Gophers are too young, the WJC players are tired, coach excuse. I even heard the lovable Doug Woog utter a jersey excuse in case the Gophers had managed to lose to SCSU.
No easy road to home ice
Two weeks ago during the Wisconsin series I heard Doug Woog mention to “the Rug” that Minnesota’s schedule is much more favorable the rest of the way. After the statement the Gophers proceeded to get three points out of a possible eight in their last two series. You gotta love the Wooger.
Fast forward to this weekend the Gophers the gritty and determined UMD Bulldogs, let me just say the Bulldogs are no cup of tea and I can personally think of seven other teams I would rather face right now. If the Gophers continue to play like they have the Gophers will get run out of building by Scott Sandelin’s team. Being a rivalry series UMD is going to be all over the Gophers.
Moron of the week
Here is my candidate for the Moron of the week; this is some classic stuff folks. I like how Gophers fan always refer back to the Fighting Sioux as being a bunch of hacks when their teams is ranked a lot higher nationally in penalties in minutes (PIMS) than the Sioux. I also like how this posters mentions UND’s 4 trips to the frozen four, yep UND has come home empty handed the last four years but the Fighting Sioux also finished ahead of the Gophers.
NMGo4
DU has 8 Colorado players on its roster, Wisky has 9 in-state kids, CC only two. But Tammyloud is right. The amount of in-state talent has nothing to do with how obnoxious the fan base might be. That comes, in large part, from the coach. Some coaches flip the bird and encourage otherwise thuggish behavior, and that manifests itself in fan behavior. I am afraid we just have to get used to it, but can also take comfort in the fact that even the most obnoxious fans get very, very quiet when they get punked out year after year after year after year in the Final Four. Sue fan, try channeling your energy into winning a national title with Hackstol at the reins. Maybe that will help.
Check out some of these comments from fans on the various web boards and newspaper web sites.
Gophers fall to 7th place in the WCHA.
Loss has Gophers on the road for the playoffs.
Is it time to move on without Lucia?
Even Gopher's beat writer Roman Augustoviz has an article on Lucia and the Gopher's struggles this season. Roman's article is more careful and dances around the edges but it is interesting and does ask a few questions that might be on Gopher fan's minds.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
UAA attendance problems.
Earlier this weekend I touched on the attendance woos at UAA.From watching the hockey broadcasts from UAA on their webcast and from this weekends hockey broadcast you can see there wasn't anyone in the stands. Here is an article by Doyle Woody that breaks this down even further.
Seawolves hurting; Aces about even
By DOYLE WOODY
With three home games remaining at Sullivan Arena, the UAA hockey team is on pace to register its lowest average attendance in more than 20 years.
Going into tonight's series opener against North Dakota, the Seawolves are averaging 3,348 tickets sold per home match, a drop of nearly 300 per game from last season's average of 3,641.
And last season's average attendance was the lowest since the 1987-88 season, when the Seawolves averaged 3,520 tickets sold per game.
UAA's attendance is down 8.0 percent from last season, the second-largest loss in the 10-team Western Collegiate Hockey Association behind Michigan Tech, where attendance has fallen 9.0 percent.
Eight of 10 WCHA teams have lost attendance -- granted, some of the drop-off is negligible -- and Minnesota State-Mankato has actually raised attendance 5.0 percent.
In the ECHL, where 18 of the 20 teams returning from last season have suffered drops in attendance, the Alaska Aces are among the top franchises in retaining fans.
The Aces have averaged 4,649 tickets sold per game, down 68 per game from last season.
Alaska's 1.4 percent loss in attendance ranks third-best in the league, behind defending Kelly Cup champion Cincinnati, which has increased attendance 6.9 percent, and Bakersfield, which has raised attendance 1.9 percent.
Sioux 6 Seawolves 2
The Fighting Sioux sweep the UAA Seawolves in Anchorage for the first time since 2003 but the series sweep didn't come without a high price tag as Evan Trupp left the game with an apparent shoulder injury and didn't return. The UAA television announcer said. "one shoulder is lower than the other and that's not good." According to the Grand Forks Herald Trupps status is unknown at this time; I suppose we will know more later in the week. Trupp missed four games earlier this season with a shoulder injury. Let’s hope that Trupp doesn’t miss too much time as the Sioux need his offensive creativity. I would imagine that freshman David Toews will take his place in the lineup next weekend.
With the win against the Seawolves last night, coach Hakstol's team has won at least 20 games in each of his first five years of coaching for the Fighting Sioux. With the win last night the Fighting Sioux also clinched home ice for the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux should not be satisfied with securing home ice for the playoffs; the Fighting Sioux have bigger fish to fry as they are currently tied with the Denver Pioneers for first in the WCHA. If the Sioux finish tied for first with the Pioneers the Sioux hold the tie breaker based on head to head record.
Sioux on a roll
The Fighting Sioux have been on a tear since their horrible start; since Thanksgiving weekend the Fighting Sioux have gone 16-4-2 and 11-1-2 since the first of the year after starting the season 0-3-0. The only real blemish on the Sioux's record was the disappointing showing in the GLI during the Christmas break. I would be willing to bet that no team wants to be in UND's bracket come NCAA playoff time.
Complete domination
The Fighting Sioux played a complete game and both ends of the ice and cashed in on their opportunities when they were presented to them. The Defense cleaned up rebounds and did a good job getting the puck out of the zone and up ice. Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness 20-8-3 2.409 gaa sv% .911 had a good weekend between the pipes and made some big saves in both games. At one point last night Eidsness stoned a Seawolves player on a clean break away after the Sioux defense had gotten caugh up ice in the defensive zone.
Senior Ryan Ducan (1-2-3), Freshman Jason Gregoire (0-3-3) and Junior Chris VandeVelde (3-0-3) were huge for the Fighting Sioux all weekend as they made big plays at important times during the weekend series. With the Sweep of the Seawolves last night the Fighting Sioux moved into 11th in the Pairwise Rankings which mimic the selection for the NCAA hockey tourney.
Box Score
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-1 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) AKA 1x1 2:00
AKA 1 - 0 6x5 PP Kevin Clark (7) (Josh Lunden, Mat Robinson) 2:58
AKA: 9,21,33,24,20,G49 NDK: 6,16,17,25,G31
NDK-2 Brett Hextall (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x2 7:58
NDK 1 - 1 5x6 SH Ryan Duncan (14) (Jake Marto, Jason Gregoire) 9:29
NDK (+): 16,25,6,17,G31 AKA (-): 14,40,33,16,4,G49
AKA-1 Curtis Leinweber (2-Holding) NDK 1x1 12:00
NDK 2 - 1 6x5 PP LL Chris VandeVelde (11) (Brad Miller, Ryan Duncan) 13:17
NDK: 29,14,16,25,26,G31 AKA: 14,18,33,13,G49
NDK-3 Ryan Martens (2-Interference) AKA 1x3 13:44
AKA-2 Trevor Hunt (2-Tripping) NDK 1x2 15:16
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 GW Brad Malone (3) (Darcy Zajac, Ryan Martens) 19:05
NDK (+): 22,11,8,25,6,G31 AKA (-): 23,24,9,21,22,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (2-High-Sticking) 6:49
AKA-3 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 6:49
NDK 4 - 1 5x5 Chris VandeVelde (12) (Jake Marto, Brad Miller) 6:59
NDK (+): 29,21,14,25,G31 AKA (-): 16,4,20,33,G30
NDK-5 Andrew Kozek (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x4 9:16
NDK-6 Zach Jones (2-Checking from Behind) AKA 1x5 12:44
NDK-7 BENCH (2-TOO MANY PLAYERS ON ICE) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 1x6 19:22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-8 Joe Finley (2-Tripping) AKA 2x7 6:56
AKA 2 - 4 6x5 PP Josh Lunden (12) (Curtis Leinweber, Mat Robinson) 8:22
AKA: 21,11,9,33,20,G30 NDK: 5,11,20,24,G31
NDK 5 - 2 6x6 EN Jake Marto (6) (unassisted) 17:13
NDK (+): 25,17,6,29,16,G31 AKA (-): 9,18,20,21,16,11
NDK 6 - 2 6x6 HT Chris VandeVelde (13) (Matt Frattin, Jason Gregoire) 19:15
NDK (+): 29,17,21,6,2,G31 AKA (-): 40,21,33,4,12,G30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With the win against the Seawolves last night, coach Hakstol's team has won at least 20 games in each of his first five years of coaching for the Fighting Sioux. With the win last night the Fighting Sioux also clinched home ice for the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux should not be satisfied with securing home ice for the playoffs; the Fighting Sioux have bigger fish to fry as they are currently tied with the Denver Pioneers for first in the WCHA. If the Sioux finish tied for first with the Pioneers the Sioux hold the tie breaker based on head to head record.
Sioux on a roll
The Fighting Sioux have been on a tear since their horrible start; since Thanksgiving weekend the Fighting Sioux have gone 16-4-2 and 11-1-2 since the first of the year after starting the season 0-3-0. The only real blemish on the Sioux's record was the disappointing showing in the GLI during the Christmas break. I would be willing to bet that no team wants to be in UND's bracket come NCAA playoff time.
Complete domination
The Fighting Sioux played a complete game and both ends of the ice and cashed in on their opportunities when they were presented to them. The Defense cleaned up rebounds and did a good job getting the puck out of the zone and up ice. Freshman goalie Brad Eidsness 20-8-3 2.409 gaa sv% .911 had a good weekend between the pipes and made some big saves in both games. At one point last night Eidsness stoned a Seawolves player on a clean break away after the Sioux defense had gotten caugh up ice in the defensive zone.
Senior Ryan Ducan (1-2-3), Freshman Jason Gregoire (0-3-3) and Junior Chris VandeVelde (3-0-3) were huge for the Fighting Sioux all weekend as they made big plays at important times during the weekend series. With the Sweep of the Seawolves last night the Fighting Sioux moved into 11th in the Pairwise Rankings which mimic the selection for the NCAA hockey tourney.
Box Score
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-1 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) AKA 1x1 2:00
AKA 1 - 0 6x5 PP Kevin Clark (7) (Josh Lunden, Mat Robinson) 2:58
AKA: 9,21,33,24,20,G49 NDK: 6,16,17,25,G31
NDK-2 Brett Hextall (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x2 7:58
NDK 1 - 1 5x6 SH Ryan Duncan (14) (Jake Marto, Jason Gregoire) 9:29
NDK (+): 16,25,6,17,G31 AKA (-): 14,40,33,16,4,G49
AKA-1 Curtis Leinweber (2-Holding) NDK 1x1 12:00
NDK 2 - 1 6x5 PP LL Chris VandeVelde (11) (Brad Miller, Ryan Duncan) 13:17
NDK: 29,14,16,25,26,G31 AKA: 14,18,33,13,G49
NDK-3 Ryan Martens (2-Interference) AKA 1x3 13:44
AKA-2 Trevor Hunt (2-Tripping) NDK 1x2 15:16
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 GW Brad Malone (3) (Darcy Zajac, Ryan Martens) 19:05
NDK (+): 22,11,8,25,6,G31 AKA (-): 23,24,9,21,22,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (2-High-Sticking) 6:49
AKA-3 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 6:49
NDK 4 - 1 5x5 Chris VandeVelde (12) (Jake Marto, Brad Miller) 6:59
NDK (+): 29,21,14,25,G31 AKA (-): 16,4,20,33,G30
NDK-5 Andrew Kozek (2-Cross-Checking) AKA 1x4 9:16
NDK-6 Zach Jones (2-Checking from Behind) AKA 1x5 12:44
NDK-7 BENCH (2-TOO MANY PLAYERS ON ICE) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 1x6 19:22
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-8 Joe Finley (2-Tripping) AKA 2x7 6:56
AKA 2 - 4 6x5 PP Josh Lunden (12) (Curtis Leinweber, Mat Robinson) 8:22
AKA: 21,11,9,33,20,G30 NDK: 5,11,20,24,G31
NDK 5 - 2 6x6 EN Jake Marto (6) (unassisted) 17:13
NDK (+): 25,17,6,29,16,G31 AKA (-): 9,18,20,21,16,11
NDK 6 - 2 6x6 HT Chris VandeVelde (13) (Matt Frattin, Jason Gregoire) 19:15
NDK (+): 29,17,21,6,2,G31 AKA (-): 40,21,33,4,12,G30
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, February 21, 2009
News from the other side
Check out this link for highlights from last night's game. The video also does a pretty good job of illustrating that there wasn't very many fans at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage last night. While the box score says that the paid attendance for last night game was 3679, it would appear from the broadcast and from the news highlights that the actual attendance was a lot smaller. I just don't get it. Why wouldn't the attendance be higher?
While UAA has had a tough go at it the last three seasons, UAA is improving and UAA coach Dave Shyiak has his team close to being a decent to very good hockey team in the WCHA. UAA also plays in one of the premier hockey conferences in Division one hockey. Lastly, I also don't buy the argument that there is a lot more to do in Anchorage than some of the other other WCHA cities; like say Grand Forks, Saint Cloud, Houghton or Mankato. It is the dead of winter in Alaska right now and hockey would seem to be a natural fit for a state that is known for it cold winters and majestic beauty.
Here is the Anchorage Daily News story on last night's game.
Here is Anchorage hockey blogger on attendance for hockey in Anchorage.
While UAA has had a tough go at it the last three seasons, UAA is improving and UAA coach Dave Shyiak has his team close to being a decent to very good hockey team in the WCHA. UAA also plays in one of the premier hockey conferences in Division one hockey. Lastly, I also don't buy the argument that there is a lot more to do in Anchorage than some of the other other WCHA cities; like say Grand Forks, Saint Cloud, Houghton or Mankato. It is the dead of winter in Alaska right now and hockey would seem to be a natural fit for a state that is known for it cold winters and majestic beauty.
Here is the Anchorage Daily News story on last night's game.
UAA certainly didn't go down without a fight. The Seawolves outshot the Fighting Sioux 18-12 in the final two periods.
"I thought we played well enough to win," UAA coach Dave Shyiak said. "You gotta give (North Dakota) credit. They earned their breaks -- they got a power-play goal and a bounce to go their way in overtime.
"We hung in there with one of the best teams in the country."
Here is Anchorage hockey blogger on attendance for hockey in Anchorage.
In the meantime, UAA entertains North Dakota this weekend in its final WCHA home series, and the Seawolves could use some more fans. Look in Friday's paper for a chart detailing the program's attendance drop this season, which is in keeping with most of the teams in the league, although UAA's drop is the second-worst.
In any event, the Aces have dropped in attendance, too, but just barely. They open a three-game, ECHL road trip at Phoenix on Saturday.
Saturday Morning Bracketology.
Here is the latest from Jason Moy at the Bracketology blog. Personally I would like to see UND get another crack at BU.
Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids)
Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids)
East Regional (Bridgeport)
15 RIT vs. 1 Boston University
12 North Dakota vs. 7 Yale
Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids)
16 Bemidji State vs. 2 Notre Dame
9 Princeton vs. 8 Miami
West Regional (Minneapolis)
14 Wisconsin vs. 3 Michigan
10 Cornell vs. 6 Northeastern
Northeast Regional (Manchester)
13 Minnesota-Duluth vs. 4 Vermont
11 New Hampshire vs. 5 Denver
UND 2 UAA 1 OT
We watched the game at the Highlander Bar in Grand Forks, ND tonight after watching Central Knights shutout the Red River Rough Riders 6-0. What a day for hockey.
The Sioux won a game against a team that does a great job clogging up the neutral zone. While I am happy the Fighting Sioux won the game it wasn't a very good game to watch, it was down right boring. These are also the type of games you have to win to be successful in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs. The classic tight checking, tough contested game that requires a lot of grit where you can't make a lot of mistakes. One of those games where a missed pass ends up being a goal. Brett Hextall and Chay Genoway were huge tonight and they were the difference in the game.
UAA is kind of an enigma, for a team that is sitting in 9th place in the WCHA they sure play a lot better hockey than their record. The Seawolves play with a lot of grit and tonight they did pretty much everything they were supposed to, except they didn't get the win. Seawolves coach Dave Shyiak he said, “They are one of the best teams in the country,” and when “You give them a couple of chances and they are going to score.”.
Box Score
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AKA-1 Tyler Moir (2-Interference) NDK 0x1 3:29
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) AKA 0x1 6:59
AKA-2 Jared Tuton (2-Interference) NDK 1x2 11:04
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brett Hextall (9) (Ryan Duncan, Brad Miller) 12:03
NDK: 26,16,14,25,29,G31 AKA: 18,33,13,12,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AKA-3 Mat Robinson (2-Tripping) NDK 1x3 17:25
NDK-2 Jason Gregoire (2-Roughing) 19:27
AKA-4 Curtis Leinweber (2-Roughing) 19:27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-3 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 4:18
NDK-4 Joe Finley (2-Cross-Checking) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 0x2 4:18
AKA-5 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 4:18
AKA-6 Trevor Hunt (2-Hooking) NDK 1x4 7:33
AKA 1 - 1 6x6 Josh Lunden (11) (Mat Robinson, Kevin Clark) 11:17
AKA (+): 21,33,9,13,40,G49 NDK (-): 2,5,16,26,17,G31
NDK-5 Jason Gregoire (2-Interference) AKA 0x3 13:28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (0:17)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Chay Genoway (3) (Brett Hextall, Jason Gregoire) 0:17
NDK (+): 5,2,16,17,26,G31 AKA (-): 16,12,20,13,33,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game
The Sioux won a game against a team that does a great job clogging up the neutral zone. While I am happy the Fighting Sioux won the game it wasn't a very good game to watch, it was down right boring. These are also the type of games you have to win to be successful in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs. The classic tight checking, tough contested game that requires a lot of grit where you can't make a lot of mistakes. One of those games where a missed pass ends up being a goal. Brett Hextall and Chay Genoway were huge tonight and they were the difference in the game.
UAA is kind of an enigma, for a team that is sitting in 9th place in the WCHA they sure play a lot better hockey than their record. The Seawolves play with a lot of grit and tonight they did pretty much everything they were supposed to, except they didn't get the win. Seawolves coach Dave Shyiak he said, “They are one of the best teams in the country,” and when “You give them a couple of chances and they are going to score.”.
Box Score
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AKA-1 Tyler Moir (2-Interference) NDK 0x1 3:29
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) AKA 0x1 6:59
AKA-2 Jared Tuton (2-Interference) NDK 1x2 11:04
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brett Hextall (9) (Ryan Duncan, Brad Miller) 12:03
NDK: 26,16,14,25,29,G31 AKA: 18,33,13,12,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AKA-3 Mat Robinson (2-Tripping) NDK 1x3 17:25
NDK-2 Jason Gregoire (2-Roughing) 19:27
AKA-4 Curtis Leinweber (2-Roughing) 19:27
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK-3 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 4:18
NDK-4 Joe Finley (2-Cross-Checking) (Served by Andrew Kozek) AKA 0x2 4:18
AKA-5 Kevin Clark (2-Roughing) 4:18
AKA-6 Trevor Hunt (2-Hooking) NDK 1x4 7:33
AKA 1 - 1 6x6 Josh Lunden (11) (Mat Robinson, Kevin Clark) 11:17
AKA (+): 21,33,9,13,40,G49 NDK (-): 2,5,16,26,17,G31
NDK-5 Jason Gregoire (2-Interference) AKA 0x3 13:28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (0:17)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Chay Genoway (3) (Brett Hextall, Jason Gregoire) 0:17
NDK (+): 5,2,16,17,26,G31 AKA (-): 16,12,20,13,33,G49
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Game
Pasquale Mangiola And The Three Habs
Coming off a disastrous 1-4-1 road trip, the last thing the Montreal Canadiens' needed was to be embroiled in another controversy.
With the Montreal media in a frenzy about the teams rapid descent down the Eastern Conference standings, any good news that's fit to print is hard to find.
Tracts of glorious pine trees are plowed under as the media attempts to play Sherlock Holmes in his latest mystery: What The Hell Is Wrong With The Habs?
Barring a miraculous clue from the sole of a dusty hob nail boot, the mystery of the Habs will fail to satisfy.
The media are smart enough to know that there are only so many times you can hammer home the point that the Canadiens are under performing.
So, it stands to reason the media will take their collective boot off the throat of the Canadiens' and look for something else.
French language newspaper La Presse were the first to find the rotting fish in the brine.
I don't want to get sued so you may find the word alleged or reportedly sprinkled throughout this diatribe.
It is alleged that the Kostitsyn brothers (Sergei and Andrei) and Roman Hamrlik are acquaintances of a Pasquale Mangiola, a man who has alleged links with organized crime.
Mangiola was arrested and charged with conspiracy and cocaine trafficking by Montreal police last week, in a sting operation called "Project Axe."
Allegedly the police have recorded conversations between Mangiola and two of the players.
La Presse was quick to point out that the three Canadiens' were not suspected of anything more sinister than a good night on the town with Mangione.
However, the optics of it all don't look good.
In a hastily put together press conference Friday afternoon, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey would not brush aside the allegations made by the media.
"I can only go on what I know," Gainey told TSN.ca. "It's not good for our team. It does not reflect well on our team, it does not reflect well on the individuals and it cannot be extinguished as a possible inhibitor to our performance."
While there are many people who want to be associated with a professional hockey team for good reasons. not everyone is a chaste.
For decades there have been hangers on and ruthless people who want to befriend young, millionaire hockey players and gain access to the inner sanctum of a club.
Gainey said that the Kostitsyn brothers and Hamrlik simply made a bad choice in whom they chose to associate with.
"We've made the players aware that this is not the kind of conduct that is part of people in our organization and for them individually as young athletes, as professionals who are trying to attain their goals, that they have to make stronger choices than the person beside them," Gainey told TSN.ca.
The NHL security department, which visits each team yearly to talk about issues, including personal associations, is aware of the situation.
"The NHL is aware of the reports and is in the process of gathering information," deputy commissioner Bill Daley said in a statement released on Friday.
Surprisingly, various Habs' blog sites are silent on this issue. They were more interested in the recent trials of Alexei Kovalev.
This isn't the first time organized crime has crossed paths with NHL players.
According to an investigation by PBS, Pavel Bure was friends with Anzor Kikalishvilli who, according to the FBI and Russian law enforcement, is the co-head of a Russian organized crime operation.
The FBI stated that Russian hockey great Vyacheslav Fetisov was linked to a Russian mobster named Vyacheslav Ivankov. Ivankov spent ten years in a U.S. prison for extortion and was charged and acquitted of two murders in a Russian restaurant.
I've got to give kudos to Alex Rodriquez for his recent troubles. If this situation is worse than initially thought, then A Rod may be the best and most obtuse saviour the NHL has ever seen.
With the Montreal media in a frenzy about the teams rapid descent down the Eastern Conference standings, any good news that's fit to print is hard to find.
Tracts of glorious pine trees are plowed under as the media attempts to play Sherlock Holmes in his latest mystery: What The Hell Is Wrong With The Habs?
Barring a miraculous clue from the sole of a dusty hob nail boot, the mystery of the Habs will fail to satisfy.
The media are smart enough to know that there are only so many times you can hammer home the point that the Canadiens are under performing.
So, it stands to reason the media will take their collective boot off the throat of the Canadiens' and look for something else.
French language newspaper La Presse were the first to find the rotting fish in the brine.
I don't want to get sued so you may find the word alleged or reportedly sprinkled throughout this diatribe.
It is alleged that the Kostitsyn brothers (Sergei and Andrei) and Roman Hamrlik are acquaintances of a Pasquale Mangiola, a man who has alleged links with organized crime.
Mangiola was arrested and charged with conspiracy and cocaine trafficking by Montreal police last week, in a sting operation called "Project Axe."
Allegedly the police have recorded conversations between Mangiola and two of the players.
La Presse was quick to point out that the three Canadiens' were not suspected of anything more sinister than a good night on the town with Mangione.
However, the optics of it all don't look good.
In a hastily put together press conference Friday afternoon, Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey would not brush aside the allegations made by the media.
"I can only go on what I know," Gainey told TSN.ca. "It's not good for our team. It does not reflect well on our team, it does not reflect well on the individuals and it cannot be extinguished as a possible inhibitor to our performance."
While there are many people who want to be associated with a professional hockey team for good reasons. not everyone is a chaste.
For decades there have been hangers on and ruthless people who want to befriend young, millionaire hockey players and gain access to the inner sanctum of a club.
Gainey said that the Kostitsyn brothers and Hamrlik simply made a bad choice in whom they chose to associate with.
"We've made the players aware that this is not the kind of conduct that is part of people in our organization and for them individually as young athletes, as professionals who are trying to attain their goals, that they have to make stronger choices than the person beside them," Gainey told TSN.ca.
The NHL security department, which visits each team yearly to talk about issues, including personal associations, is aware of the situation.
"The NHL is aware of the reports and is in the process of gathering information," deputy commissioner Bill Daley said in a statement released on Friday.
Surprisingly, various Habs' blog sites are silent on this issue. They were more interested in the recent trials of Alexei Kovalev.
This isn't the first time organized crime has crossed paths with NHL players.
According to an investigation by PBS, Pavel Bure was friends with Anzor Kikalishvilli who, according to the FBI and Russian law enforcement, is the co-head of a Russian organized crime operation.
The FBI stated that Russian hockey great Vyacheslav Fetisov was linked to a Russian mobster named Vyacheslav Ivankov. Ivankov spent ten years in a U.S. prison for extortion and was charged and acquitted of two murders in a Russian restaurant.
I've got to give kudos to Alex Rodriquez for his recent troubles. If this situation is worse than initially thought, then A Rod may be the best and most obtuse saviour the NHL has ever seen.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Tell us what he did.
USCHO blogger Todd Milewski brings up a good point in his latest blog post. It would be interesting to see what is actually going to be tolerated and what isn't going to be allowed in the WCHA. Seems that the league is a little inconsistent in their rulings. I think the WCHA should model its self after The NHL who does a good job breaking down suspensions and letting the fans, teams and the players know what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable.
WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod, in his statement, sent a message to the rest of the league that the game must be played “within the spirit of the rules at all times.”
So why not spell out exactly what happened and why it was unacceptable? Why not say plainly that the WCHA will not tolerate X and Y and Z, and Bruess is being punished for violating that?
If players are going to be held responsible, they deserve to know without a doubt what the expectations are. This is a case where a clearer definition is needed.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Mavs and Sioux in pictures.
Here are the pictures that Garlynn and Sioux7 took this past weekend. I want to thank the two photographers for their work.
Buress supended for his hit on LaPoint.
I have to admit that I am a little surprised by this move and didn't expect the league to suspend Buress especially after they allowed a few other incidents to go unpunished, like say the Brian Schack incident and his impersonation of Todd Bertuzzi.
What I am hoping is the league has finally decided that enough is enough and is going to start flexing some of their muscle and suspending players who cross the line. During the series between the Sioux and the Mavericks Trevor Buress crossed the line a few times last weekend. I am also surprised that Geoff Irwin wasn't suspended for his stick swinging incident on Zajac at the end of Saturday's game. If that act had happened in the NHL Irwin would be getting a call from Colin Campbell.
What I am hoping is the league has finally decided that enough is enough and is going to start flexing some of their muscle and suspending players who cross the line. During the series between the Sioux and the Mavericks Trevor Buress crossed the line a few times last weekend. I am also surprised that Geoff Irwin wasn't suspended for his stick swinging incident on Zajac at the end of Saturday's game. If that act had happened in the NHL Irwin would be getting a call from Colin Campbell.
Bruess Suspended One Game
CHN Staff Report
MANKATO, Minn. — Pursuant to WCHA policy, Minnesota State has suspended junior forward Trevor Bruess one game.
Bruess was suspended for a hit on North Dakota defenseman Derrick LaPoint. LaPoint went hard into the boards and suffered a broken leg. He had surgery this week and will miss the remainder of the season.
Bruess was not assessed a penalty on the play.
“We need Trevor to understand that he needs to make every possible effort to avoid these types of incidents and want to emphasize to him that he is responsible for his actions on the ice,” said WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod. “We hope he will use this as both an educational experience and as a time to reflect on his play.
Weekend Match-Ups (Sioux 7)
Last weekend, UND sweep MSUM to move into a 1st place tie with DU, who tied CC in their one game, else where, SCSU sweep MTU to move into 4th place, and UM took 3pts from UAA.
WCHA Standings
1 North Dakota...............13-6-3...29
1 Denver......................13-7-3...29
3 Wisconsin.................13-7-2...28
4 St. Cloud State.........12-11-1...25
4 Colorado College.........10-8-5...25
6 Minnesota................10-8-4...24
7 Minnesota-Duluth.........9-8-5...23
8 Minnesota State..........9-13-2...20
9 Alaska-Anchorage........7-12-5...19
10 Michigan Tech...........1-17-6...8
#8 Denver at #13 Wisconsin
WOW, this should be the games of the week. Only one point apart, 1st and 3rd place teams in the league, UW on the bubble for the NCAA tourney. There are many implications going on in this series. A sweep by either team puts them in position to win the WCHA regular season, AND move up in the all important PWR standings. The Badgers are coming off a bye week, DU is coming off a tie with rival CC. UW is 9-5-1 at the Kohl center this season, and DU is 5-5-2 away from Magness. Both teams should be up for this series, with all that is riding on it. I'm going to call this one a split, DU in the Friday game, and UW on Saturday.
#14 Minnesota at #18 Colorado College
Another big series, this one is for WCHA home ice in the playoffs. These teams are only separated by one point, too. Since 2009, CC is 3-3-2 and UM is 4-6-1 (and is 1-4-1 in the last 6-games), so neither has done well in 2009. With the pile of teams still alive for home ice, a sweep for one team would help them grab a better hold on home ice. Will this be the weekend the Gophers complete their collapse and fall out of the race, or will it be the Tigers who will starve? UM has only won once on the road in 2009, and well CC doesn't seem to play well on Fridays, hmm. I'm calling a tie on Friday and a Tiger win on Saturday.
#9 North Dakota at Alaska-Anchorage
The Sioux make the long trip to Alaska this weekend in a tie for 1st place with DU. A sweep for the Sioux would give them the inside track for the McNaughton cup, since DU has played one more game than UND. The Seawolves are still alive for getting home ice, but they need some help. The highest I see UAA realistically finishing is 7th place. The Sioux are coming off a weekend sweep of MSUM and UAA is back home after getting one point last weekend at UM. I say the Sioux keep on their winning ways this weekend, Sioux sweep.
#15 Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech
The Bulldogs need keep winning to to stay with the pack of teams their running with now. UMD is still on the NCAA bubble, so winning games is a must if they want to control they own destiny. The Huskies on the other hand are locked into the doghouse. MTU will be playing the number one team in the first round of WCHA playoffs on the road. The Huskies haven't rolled over and played dead yet, they have been in most of their games this year, so look for these dogs to keep barking and biting. I'm going with a split this weekend, UMD Friday, MTU Saturday.
#19 SCSU and MSUM are off this weekend
MSUM at Nebraska-Omaha (Tuesday Feb. 24)
WCHA Standings
1 North Dakota...............13-6-3...29
1 Denver......................13-7-3...29
3 Wisconsin.................13-7-2...28
4 St. Cloud State.........12-11-1...25
4 Colorado College.........10-8-5...25
6 Minnesota................10-8-4...24
7 Minnesota-Duluth.........9-8-5...23
8 Minnesota State..........9-13-2...20
9 Alaska-Anchorage........7-12-5...19
10 Michigan Tech...........1-17-6...8
#8 Denver at #13 Wisconsin
WOW, this should be the games of the week. Only one point apart, 1st and 3rd place teams in the league, UW on the bubble for the NCAA tourney. There are many implications going on in this series. A sweep by either team puts them in position to win the WCHA regular season, AND move up in the all important PWR standings. The Badgers are coming off a bye week, DU is coming off a tie with rival CC. UW is 9-5-1 at the Kohl center this season, and DU is 5-5-2 away from Magness. Both teams should be up for this series, with all that is riding on it. I'm going to call this one a split, DU in the Friday game, and UW on Saturday.
#14 Minnesota at #18 Colorado College
Another big series, this one is for WCHA home ice in the playoffs. These teams are only separated by one point, too. Since 2009, CC is 3-3-2 and UM is 4-6-1 (and is 1-4-1 in the last 6-games), so neither has done well in 2009. With the pile of teams still alive for home ice, a sweep for one team would help them grab a better hold on home ice. Will this be the weekend the Gophers complete their collapse and fall out of the race, or will it be the Tigers who will starve? UM has only won once on the road in 2009, and well CC doesn't seem to play well on Fridays, hmm. I'm calling a tie on Friday and a Tiger win on Saturday.
#9 North Dakota at Alaska-Anchorage
The Sioux make the long trip to Alaska this weekend in a tie for 1st place with DU. A sweep for the Sioux would give them the inside track for the McNaughton cup, since DU has played one more game than UND. The Seawolves are still alive for getting home ice, but they need some help. The highest I see UAA realistically finishing is 7th place. The Sioux are coming off a weekend sweep of MSUM and UAA is back home after getting one point last weekend at UM. I say the Sioux keep on their winning ways this weekend, Sioux sweep.
#15 Minnesota-Duluth at Michigan Tech
The Bulldogs need keep winning to to stay with the pack of teams their running with now. UMD is still on the NCAA bubble, so winning games is a must if they want to control they own destiny. The Huskies on the other hand are locked into the doghouse. MTU will be playing the number one team in the first round of WCHA playoffs on the road. The Huskies haven't rolled over and played dead yet, they have been in most of their games this year, so look for these dogs to keep barking and biting. I'm going with a split this weekend, UMD Friday, MTU Saturday.
#19 SCSU and MSUM are off this weekend
MSUM at Nebraska-Omaha (Tuesday Feb. 24)
Spirit Lake council mulls nickname vote
At this point in the game you have to wonder if it even matters if the Tribes have a vote or not. If Spirit Lake had a reservation wide referendum on the Fighting Sioux name and voted to keep the name that vote wouldn't mean much if Standing Rock DOESN'T vote to allow a referendum. We will see how this plays out but it almost seems like it is a little too late.
So did I read this right? Is UND offering more scholarship money to Native American Students to allow them keep the Fighting Sioux name? Stay tuned folks.
Spirit Lake council mulls nickname vote
Tu-Uyen Tran Grand Forks Herald
Published Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A decision whether to hold a referendum on UND's Fighting Sioux nickname will be before the Spirit Lake Tribal Council on Saturday, according to a supporter of the referendum.
John Chaske said his group met with the tribal council Wednesday, and it appeared three council members are willing to put the issue on the ballot in April. Another council member was absent, he said, and a decision on the referendum requires all to be present.
Chairwoman Myra Pearson has expressed her opposition to the nickname in the past, but she would only vote in the event of a tie.
----------(snip)----------
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council, however, has made clear its opposition to the nickname and even a referendum. It voted 7-5 in May 2008 to not hold a public vote.
Chaske said he understands there are Standing Rock members pushing the council for a vote. “I hope what we do here will give them a spark over there.”
A “yes” vote on the nickname would be the first step in building a new relationship between the tribe and UND, according to Chaske.
Ideally, he said, an agreement with the university might involve more scholarships for tribal members and classes teaching other students the reality of Indian culture. “We don’t all get a check every month from the federal government.”
So did I read this right? Is UND offering more scholarship money to Native American Students to allow them keep the Fighting Sioux name? Stay tuned folks.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Some nice goals.
Here is a sweet goal by former Gopher Blake Wheeler in Boston's 5-1 win against Carolina.
Former Fighting Sioux forward Drew Stafford scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season against Jason Blake's Toronto Maple Leafs team. Blake had a niceassist on Pavel Kabina's goal. Stafford is fourth on the Sabres in points with (17g - 20a - 37 points). Jason Blake is leading the Maple Leafs with (21g - 20a - 45 points).
Here is a nice goal by former B.C. Eagle and current Boston Bruin Chuck Kobasew
Both Fighting Sioux games on TV this weekend.
This is good news for Fighting Sioux fans that happen to live in Great Grand Forks area. You will be able to watch both games of the Fighting Sioux and Seawolves this this weekend on channel 23.
This weekend's UND-UAA series to be televised in Grand Forks area
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The University of North Dakota athletics department and Ralph Engelstad Arena announced today an agreement with GCI Cable and Midcontinent Communications to carry the broadcast of this weekend’s series at Alaska Anchorage in the Grand Forks viewing area.
The GCI production will be made available on channel 23 Grand Forks and in the immediate Grand Forks viewing area, which includes the East Grand Forks, Grand Forks Air Force Base, Drayton, Grafton, Minto, Manvel, Larimore, Crookston, Thompson, Reynolds, Buxton, Hatton, Mayville, Portland, Hillsboro, Galesburg and Grandin.
The broadcast will begin at 10:05 p.m. Central on Friday and Saturday night.
I guess you are never too old.
I guess this is an example of why you should never stop living your dreams. I would have to say that this is one of those feel good stories. The guy is supposed to go work on a oil field and ends up suiting up as a back up in a professional hockey league. Funny thing is that Wheaton is backing up former Gopher Kellin Briggs.
ONTARIO, Calif. - For the Reign, they were just two games out of 73.
For Terry Wheaton, the only player in uniform who didn't play either Friday in Bakersfield or Saturday against Las Vegas, it was a dream come true.
The 42-year-old Corona resident knew it would be, almost as soon as he hung up the phone after telling coach Karl Taylor that prior business commitments would prevent him from serving as the team's emergency backup goaltender for the weekend.
"The more I thought about the opportunity," Wheaton said, "I called back and said, `I will be at practice Thursday morning and will reschedule my business meeting.' "
It sounds like a simple choice. But consider that Wheaton, a full-time oil field manager, had to postpone a trip to Libya just to take a few pucks in the chest before each game, then open and close the gate on the Reign bench for 60 minutes. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to see live game action unless starter Kellen Briggs suffered an injury that prevented him from staying in.
Still, once the puck dropped in Bakersfield, with his wife and two children among the 5,525 in attendance, "I had to pinch myself," Wheaton said.
Doug Risebrough's latest blunder.
Check out the latest comment by Wild General Manager Doug Riesebrough talk about mismanaging a National Hockey League team. No one should wonder why the Wild are floundering and will miss the playoffs this season. Pouliot has been a bust since he has been with the Wild and should have been released.
The Road for the Wild gets even tougher as they will play 14 of 17 games on the road.
The Road for the Wild gets even tougher as they will play 14 of 17 games on the road.
Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough admitted keeping Pouliot on the roster following training camp was "a bad mistake."
"He wasn't ready," Risebrough said. "You get to a point when a player's not succeeding [with the Wild] ... it's better to put him down."
A few things.
There is the latest 4 X 4 by INCH and where INCH has predicted UND will end up in the post season. That would be one tough regional. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season plays out.
This is very good news for college hockey. The NCAA has decided to put reginoalization on hold for now. Lets hope cooler heads will prevail and this thing will get killed and die a slow painful death.
GRAND RAPIDS Midwest Regional 1. Notre Dame --- For a team that didn't lose a game for three months, the Irish's list of marquee wins — Boston College, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan — is surprisingly short.
2.Miami --- The home-and-home series against Ohio State to close the regular season could have some extra heft, don't you think? The RedHawks appear to have shaken their January swoon.
3. North Dakota --- To steal a phrase from ESPN's Chris Berman, nobody circles the wagons like the Sioux. Still, this team isn't that far removed from consecutive losses to Michigan State and Michigan Tech.
4. RIT --- There was a time not that long ago where it was unfathomable to put anyone other than Air Force in as the Atlantic Hockey auto-bid.
This is very good news for college hockey. The NCAA has decided to put reginoalization on hold for now. Lets hope cooler heads will prevail and this thing will get killed and die a slow painful death.
"Regionalization," or the NCAA's cost-cutting restrictions on placement of teams in the NCAA tournament bracket, has been put on hold for one year, according to Steve Cady, chair of the Men's Division I Ice Hockey Committee and associate athletic director at Miami.
Regionalization threatened to cause havoc with the bracket this year, as CHN previously examined in this article here.
The Championships/Sports Management Cabinet is voting this week on whether to make regionalization of brackets something that is mandated across most NCAA sports. If they do, Cady said it wouldn't take hold until next year.
But even then, because of the cooperation the committee received on delaying it until next year, Cady is optimistic that the more drastic regionalization proposals will not be passed, and instead hockey will be allowed its compromise proposal
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
First step in changing the name?
I believe this might be the first step in what some of us fear is coming, the changing of the Fighting Sioux nickname. I am not a fan of changing the name but I don't see how the University of North Dakota keeps the name. Stay tuned;I will keep up with this issue and post anything related to the Fighting Sioux name.
Grand Forks Lawyer to Chair ND Nickname Committee
2/17/2009
A 10-member committee has been formed to consider the future of the University of North Dakota`s Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.
Board of Higher Education member Grant Shaft will chair the group. Shaft is a Grand Forks attorney and former state legislator.
The group`s first meeting has not yet been scheduled.
The panel includes representatives from UND`s student body, members of the Standing Rock and Spirit Lake Sioux tribes and representatives of Sen. Byron Dorgan and Gov. John Hoeven.
The members are Shaft; Ryan Bernstein, Hoeven`s staff attorney; Robert Boyd, a UND vice president; Steve Burian, a UND alumnus who heads a Grand Forks civil engineering and consulting company; and Pam Gulleson, Dorgan`s state director.
Other members are Jody Hodgeson, general manager of the Ralph Engelstad Arena; Standing Rock Sioux tribal member Tom Iron; Spirit Lake reservation resident Erich Longie; UND law student Jeremiah Lunde; and UND student Celeste Melander.
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