A National Holiday/Obsession?

Only 3:49:17 to go and I am counting the digital minutes.

The 3 pm (EST) deadline is closing and I am live blogging.

We have too much time on our hands here in Canada

Today is NHL trade deadline day and it's an unofficial national holiday in the land of ice and snow.

In Toronto there are three competing television networks, over 20 talking heads and counting and 26 hours of combined coverage to let us know that Brendan Bell was put on waivers by the Ottawa Senators and Antoine Vermette was traded to Columbus for Pascal LeClaire and a second round pick.

Talk about putting the "care" in "I don't care."

Hold a minute, breaking news: Montreal recalled goaltender Marc Denis from Hamilton (AHL affiliate) and the Thrashers place Eric Perrin on waivers.

Now things are heatin' up!

This is interesting: Flames in pursuit of Ollie Jokinen for Matthew Lombardi.

Now back to Nick Kypreos and his Blackberry.

Wait! Don't change the channel. Darren Pang is about to say something.

Hold On! Jordan Leopold is going back to Calgary and he's on the phone right now! TSN has him on the line. Live! Nice scoop guys.

Pierre McGuire is arguing with TSN host Darren Dutchyshen. Good television.

Let's see what's up with the Score Television Network.

Damn! An interview with Randy Sportak from the Calgary Sun.

Maybe The Score got the scoop. I don't know I wasn't watching them. I'm sure that disapoints The Score management. All that market research and over priced beer ads.

Hey! My old buddy Marty McSorley just made a cameo on Sportsnet. He's debating the merits of Miroslav Satan. Thanks to TSN, maybe it was Sportsnet who told me the Penguins put him on waivers.

This is big.: Alex Ovechkin has a sore foot.

It's almost noon and the waiver wire deadline is approaching.

McGuire is giving Oilers' management a thrashing right now.

Michael Farber from Sports Illustrated, Steve Simmons from the Toronto Sun and Damien Cox from the Toronto Star are debating the fourth line of the Canucks.

Phoenix just traded Mikael Tellqvist to the Buffalo News ? For a fourth round draft pick.

Darren Pang and Keith Jones love the trade. McGuire is over the moon about it and he calls it a "positive day for the Buffalo Sabres."

Bob Mackenzie from TSN informs us at 12:03 (EST) pm that the Leafs just picked up Marty Gerber from Ottawa on recallable waivers and Darren Dreger says the Leafs might shut down Vesa Toskala for a while because of hip and groin problems.

The Leafs are on live television at the Lakeshore Lions Arena in south Toronto. Where's Vesa?

Are they going to trade him?

Had enough yet?

According to Sportsnet there is 2:46:51 left.

You can't do that! I want my Kypreos back. He's leaving.

The Score and Sportsnet are in commercial break right now.

Just enough time to check the weather in Slovenia.

Where's Alan Eagleson?

Former Tampa Bay Lightning GM Jay Feaster is having a heated debate with Matthew Barnaby about Dominic Moore. I wonder what's gonna happen to him?

The Score says the Islanders are 2500-1 to win the Cup.

It's 12:30 pm now and I'm going to find what's left of my pathetic life.

2:30:10 and counting...

Final Week of the Season.

Check out this press release from the WCHA. I like the sounds of sentence that is bolded. The league leading and number 6 ranked North Dakota (should say Fighting Sioux).

MADISON, Wis. - The final weekend of the 2008-09 regular season will bring about some of the most intriguing scenarios in the long and storied history of the 57-year-old Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The battle for the league championship and MacNaughton Cup is on the line as well as the final three first round home WCHA Playoff berths. And with all 10 member teams engaged in conference play this Friday and Saturday, March 6-7, fans everyone can be assured of a playoff atmosphere in the five arenas that will host games.

At the Kohl Center (15,237) in Madison, league-leading and No. 6-ranked North Dakota (21-11-4, 16-6-4 WCHA) will take on host and No. 19-ranked Wisconsin (16-14-4, 13-10-3 WCHA) in a pair of 7:07 pm CT face-offs that, for the Fighting Sioux, offer them the chance to add to their league record 13 regular season titles and that, for the Badgers, can elevate them as high as a third place finish and secure a home playoff berth. North Dakota enters the series on a seven-game unbeaten streak at 6-0-1 and sporting a 12-1-3 mark over their last 16 WCHA games. The two teams split their first series of the season in Grand Forks back on Oct. 31-Nov. 1, with UND winning 3-2 on that Friday and the UW taking a 5-2 decision on that Saturday.
---------------(snip)---------------
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, North Dakota (26 WCHA gp, 35 points) holds a one-point lead - and one game in hand - over second place Denver (27 WCHA gp, 34 points). One, or both, of those teams will emerge as WCHA champions this weekend. Colorado College (27 WCHA gp) is third with 30 points, Wisconsin (26 WCHA gp) is fourth with 29 points, and Minnesota (26 WCHA gp), Minnesota Duluth (26 WCHA gp) and St. Cloud State (26 WCHA gp) are intwined in the fifth spot with 27 points each. Minnesota State (26 WCHA gp) stands eighth with 23 points, Alaska Anchorage (26 WCHA gp) is ninth with 19 points, and Michigan Tech (26 WCHA gp) is 10th with nine points.

A season ago (2007-08), it took 28 points to earn a top five finish and the home-ice advantage for the first round of WCHA playoffs, and only three teams - league champion Colorado College, second place North Dakota, and third place Denver - finished their 28-game league slates with winning records. So far this season, seven teams - UND, DU, CC, UW, UM, UMD and SCSU - all have winning records in conference competition. Also through games of March 1, there have been 22 ties in league competition, 37 games have been decided by just one goal, 27 have been decided by two goals, and 43 have been decided by three goals or more.

Linkorama

Rangers claim Sean Avery on waivers. This should get interesting.

The Minnesota Wild have resigned Niklas Backstrom I am not sure why General Manager Doug Risebrough wait so long to get a deal done. One free agent down another to go. Apparently Marian Gaborik upset a few people with these stupid comments.

When asked about the pressure to get back in the lineup given the 10th-place team's struggling, Gaborik said, "Quite frankly I haven't really been watching games. I've been following the scores, but I haven't been watching games. From my perspective, I just really need to focus on how am I feeling, how everything goes with me and then if everything goes good, I'm going to jump in to play. Definitely the pressure is on, but first of all I want to feel confident in my body and ... so far everything is going well."

Former Sioux Zach Parise is being mentioned as a candidate for the Hart trophy.

Here is a nice story about soon to be Fighting Sioux hockey player Danny Mattson.
(click here for the whole article)

"I'm willing to do whatever the coach wants," he said. "I like to mix it up a little bit and play physical when the situation calls for it. I feel like I'm more of a playmaker, though, more of that finesse-type of player."

Mattson, who finished seventh in the state in 2007-08 with 69 points (30 goals) in 25games, will attend the University of North Dakota next fall.

"I also had visits to Minnesota and Wisconsin, but my mom graduated from North Dakota and when I was on campus, it just felt like a good fit and all the coaches were great," Mattson said.

While he openly admits a need to improve his defensive-zone coverage, there's no question Mattson's vision and distribution of the puck are second to none.

Chris Edwards, who scouts the Ontario Hockey League for Central Scouting, had an opportunity to evaluate Mattson in November during the 2008 Nike Bauer National Invitational Tournament in New Hope, Minn. Through the years, the NIT field has included many of the top players selected at the NHL Entry Draft.

This should fire up Sioux fans.

This is a pretty goal and might be the defining cup clinching moment as UND needs only a point in it's next series to tie for the McNaughton Cup. I am making the assumption that DU is going to beat C.C. next weekend so UND will need two points to win the McNaughton outright.

Trade dead line moves. As seen through the eyes of INCH

This was found on an napkin over on INCH. I have a hard time believing the Bruins would give up two number one draft picks to aquire a defenseman. The defenseman rumored to be going to Boston would be Chris Pronger.

• Joe Colborne/Phil Kessel/Mark Stuart (Boston): The B's are apparently in hunt for a top flight defenseman, and this troika with WCHA ties appears frequently as trade bait.

Ode to the 2009 Fighting Sioux Seniors

Here is the salute to the Seniors class of 2009: Joe Finley #2 (147 games 7g-28a-35 pts), Zach Jones #6 (161 games 1g-10a-11 pts), Ryan Martens #8 (91 games 14g-27a-41 pts), Brad Miller #14 (121 games 21g-42a-63 pts), Ryan Ducan #16 (168 games 80g-85a-165 pts), Aaron Walski #30 (.842 Sv% 2.87 gaa record 1- 3- 0), Matt Watkins #20 (162 games 25g-32a-57 pts),
Andrew Kozek #10 (160 games 38g-26a-64 pts) (Video Courtesy of badgersioux)

In case anyone is keeping track: This Fighting Sioux recruiting class also included three NHL players, Jonathan Toews Chicago, Brian Lee Ottawa and T.J. Oshie St.Louis, Taylor Chorney Springfield AHL, were also members of this class that have since moved on to play in the professional ranks. The thing I like about this senior class is they are an unselfish hard working lunch pail group. It seems only fitting that this group could be rewarded with a MacNaughton Cup. I am looking forward to hopefully seeing the McNaughten Cup paraded around the REA.

Here is a pretty good description of how UND season has gone in the second half and what they are closing in on. Their first MacNaughton Cup sine 2004, and actually UND was a bounce away from going to the Frozen Four that season as well.

The Sioux (36 points) could back into the MacNaughton Cup if Denver (35 points) loses or ties to Colorado College in their single game Saturday night, but UND has no intentions of doing that.

The Sioux have been predictably on fire in the second half of the season, going 16-3-3 since the start of December and 12-1-3 in this calendar year. They haven’t lost back-to-back conference games since mid-November. (click here for the whole article)

Don Cherry on Ovechkin.

I found this story over on Puck Daddy and while Cherry's comments might be xenophobic - intense dislike and/or fear of people from other countries, Don Cherry has been on record as not being a big fan of European hockey players. Ovechkin is a Russian, I don't believe Don Cherry's comments are necessarily racist, per se.

Don Cherry is right, I do think if Ovechkin keeps up with his antics of over celebrating after a goal, eventually there will come a day when someone is lurking in the weeds to light Alex up.

For Canadian fans, he's an institution whose xenophobic Archie Bunker-lite persona is balanced with a genuine championing of hockey's grand traditions. With that in mind, I'm not stunned that we received over a dozen emails about Cherry's comments over the weekend. It's like Rush Limbaugh and the conservative movement: Just when you think the guy is on the margins, suddenly he's the torchbearer again.

The torch Cherry grabbed this weekend was that of Sidney Crosby and other players who are critical -- publicly or privately -- of Ovechkin's enthusiastic displays after goals or victories.

While the hell Cherry's catching for his views is warranted, here's the thing: Once you get past the cultural bias and subtle racism in the presentation of his argument, there's actually some validity to what Cherry actually said on "Hockey Night In Canada" about the biggest star in the NHL.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll
March 2nd 2009
1. Boston University (44)
2. Notre Dame (6)
3. Michigan
4. Northeastern
5. Denver
6. North Dakota
7. Vermont
8. Miami
9. New Hampshire
10. Princeton
11. Yale
12. Cornell
13. Colorado College
14. Ohio State
15. St. Lawrence
16. Minnesota-Duluth
17. Minnesota
18. St. Cloud State
19. Wisconsin
20. Boston College
Others Receiving Votes: Air Force 56, Mass.-Lowell 22, RIT 16, Dartmouth 6, Minnesota State 5, Alaska 4
-----------

USA Today
March 2, 2009

1. Boston University (26)
2. Notre Dame (8)
3. Michigan
4. Northeastern
5. Denver
6. North Dakota
7. Vermont
8. Miami
9. New Hampshire
10. Yale
11. Princeton
12. Cornell
13. St. Lawrence
14. Ohio State
15. Colorado College

The Hockey Show.

Listen to the latest episode of hockey show. I would have gotten this up earlier but I have been busy this past weekend watching high school and college hockey.

(Click here) to listen to the Hockey Show. If you have an iPod you can listen to the hockey show here->(click here) Listen to Channing Boe's account of the Brian Schack attack/incident; that is at about 41:55 minutes in. Interesting! Brian Schack was actually hitting Boe while his leg had already been broken. That is a class act.

Scores from 28 February and March 1 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Atlantic Hockey
Canisius 3 at Mercyhurst 4 ot
Holy Cross 3 at Sacred Heart 4
Connecticut 2 at Bentley 2 ot
Air Force 3 at RIT 1
Army 3 at American Int'l 1

Analysis
Air Force wins the AHA tie breaker with the split at RIT.
RIT is my favorite to win the AHA tourney.

CCHA
Notre Dame 2 at Michigan State 1
Ferris State 0 at Michigan 4
Bowling Green 3 at Western Michigan 5
Miami 7 at Ohio State 5
Lake Superior 3 at Northern Michigan 4

Analysis
Notre Dame finished as the regular season champ and has a 13-2-1 record in 2009. WMU ends the season with a 5-2-1 record. Michigan remains hot as they ends 2009 with a 12-3-0 record.

CHA
Niagara 0 at Robert Morris 0 ot

ECAC
Princeton 2 at Harvard 3
Cornell 3 at Brown 2 ot
St. Lawrence 2 at Rensselaer 0
Quinnipiac 4 at Dartmouth 1
Clarkson 1 at Union 2

Analysis
Cornell went 10-6-1 after starting the season 8-1-3.

Hockey East
Northeastern 3 at Mass.-Lowell 1
Vermont 2 at Maine 1
Boston College 4 at Providence 3 ot
Merrimack 0 at New Hampshire 1
Massachusetts 2 at Boston University 7

Analysis
Boston University remained hot as they have lost one time in 2009 going
14-1-3. Cross town rival Boston College went 6-7-3 in 2009.

WCHA
Minnesota-Duluth 3 at Minnesota 5
Colorado College 4 at North Dakota 4 ot
Wisconsin 3 at Minnesota State 3 ot
St. Cloud State 2 at Denver 1 ot

Analysis
Sioux fans would like to thank the SCSU Huskies for beating the Pioneers.
I guess this week Sioux fans become Tigers fans this weekend? I cheer for two teams the Fighting Sioux and who ever is playing the dirty Minnesota Golden Gophers.

I guess this weekend I am a Real Huskies fan. Minnesota State Mankato takes three out of four points against the Badgers. Not without some controversy though. Another series and another game/series that Todd Anderson screws up big time. I think it is time for Todd Anderson to lose his job reffing in the WCHA.

Non-Conference
Alaska 0 at Alaska-Anchorage 3

Analysis
The 9th place team in the WCHA swept the 4th place team from the CCHA in a weekend series. The more impressive fact is that Fairbanks was shutout two games in a row.

Exhibition
US Under-18 Team 3 at Bemidji State 6

Sunday, March 1, 2009

ECAC
Colgate 3 at Yale 2

Analysis
Big win for Colgate as they beat the league champ Yale in overtime.

WCHA
UND 4 vs C.C. 3 ot

Analysis
The Sioux need to secure one point next weekend against the Badgers to bring home the McNaughten Cup. UND is 11-11-1 against the Badgers in the last 23 games dating back to 2002-2003. Talk about an even series.

Conference vs. 'Big 4'
AHA 11-40-5 (.241)
CCHA 24-26-9 (.483)
CHA 12-34-2 (.271)
ECACHL 20-37-4 (.361)
HEA 33-20-4 (.614)
WCHA 24-18-9 (.559)

INCH Power Rankings

March 1st 2009
1. Notre Dame
2. Boston University
3. Northeastern
4. Michigan
5. North Dakota — The Fighting Sioux, one point from winning the WCHA regular-season title, are 12-1-3 since Jan. 1. With their penchant for second-half success, maybe Dave Hakstol should schedule all 36 games after Christmas from here on out. 21-11-4 (16-6-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Colorado College, 4-4 ot; W vs. Colorado College, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin
6. Denver
7. Vermont
8. Miami
9. Yale
10. Princeton
11. New Hampshire
12. Cornell
13. St. Lawrence
14. Ohio State
15. Colorado College
16. Minnesota
17. Minnesota Duluth
18. St. Cloud State
19. Boston College
20. Wisconsin

Dropped out: UMass Lowell

Bubble-licious: Air Force, RIT

I never thought I would see UND ranked so high in an INCH power rankings.

Sioux 4 Tiger 3 OT.

First off those people that were writing off the Sioux the last weekend of December or first week of January because they lost a couple of game, well ten to be exact. That is why they play the whole season. Like I said earlier this season there is no award for best record during the first half of the season. Ala Air Force. Now, Sioux fans do you believe? I never stopped believing. The Fighting Sioux started the season 5-8-1 and have gone an impressive 16-3-3 since then.

Let them eat crow

The Fighting Sioux are two points away from hanging another banner for a McNaughten Cup. Pardon me if I feel a little Giddy this afternoon. It looks a lot better than 7th place like some of the pundits had predicted. Hey Jess Meyers come over to the house lets have a beer and I will serve some crow for you. Don't worry while I don't have any Crow in my freezer I do have some PHEASANT we can grill.

Today on bus back from the Ralph I heard on the radio we found out that the Fighting Sioux have never lost a game when Darcy Zajac has scored a goal. That would be my text book definition of a big time money player.

Balanced scoring

With Joe Finley Picking up a point (assist) this weekend the Fighting Sioux now have 16 players with 10 or more points. Eight players on the Fighting Sioux have 20 or more points. With a few more points Brad Miller and Chris VVandeVelde will add to the total of player with 30 or more points. Currently there are two players with 30 points (Duncan and Genoway).

Here is the goon's what if. A few weeks ago I was called a homer for suggesting that the Sioux would win the WCHA regulars season title. Seems my prediction wasn't all that far out of line.

WCHA Final
Team GP Pts
UND 28 38
Denver 28 36
CC 28 31
UMD 28 31
UMN 28 31
UW 28 31
SCSU 28 29
Mankato 28 25
AA 28 19
MTech 28 9

Scoring/Penalties Time

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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Andrew Kozek (8) (Ryan Duncan) 10:58
NDK (+): 10,16,26,6,25,G31 CC (-): 14,2,10,7,22,G30
CC-1 Cody Lampl (2-Roughing) 10:58
NDK-1 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) 10:58
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-Interference) CC 0x1 13:40
CC-2 Gabe Guentzel (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 15:34
NDK-3 Evan Trupp (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 15:34
CC-3 Tyler Johnson (2-Elbowing) NDK 1x1 16:31
CC-4 Jake Gannon (2-Interference) NDK 1x2 16:35
NDK 2 - 0 6x4 PP Ryan Duncan (15) (Chris VandeVelde, Brett Hextall) 17:53
NDK: 16,26,29,14,5,G31 CC: 14,15,7,G30

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

NDK-4 Evan Trupp (2-Tripping) CC 1x2 3:44
CC 1 - 2 6x5 PP Scott McCulloch (6) (Brian Connelly, Eric Walsky) 3:54
CC: 26,11,22,14,10,G30 NDK: 2,5,11,20,G31
NDK-5 Brad Miller (2-Boarding) CC 2x3 5:42
CC 2 - 2 6x5 PP Cody Lampl (3) (unassisted) 6:12
CC: 2,25,19,21,15,G30 NDK: 11,20,5,2,G31
NDK 3 - 2 6x6 Brett Hextall (12) (unassisted) 6:57
NDK (+): 26,10,25,16,2,G31 CC (-): 26,22,7,14,15,G30
CC-5 Brian Connelly (2-Holding) NDK 1x3 8:38
CC-6 Andreas Vlassopoulos (2-Holding) NDK 1x4 10:46
NDK-6 Andrew Kozek (2-Interference) CC 2x4 12:38
NDK-7 Zach Jones (2-Interference) CC 2x5 17:15
CC-7 Andreas Vlassopoulos (2-Hooking) NDK 1x5 18:03

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

CC 3 - 3 6x6 Chad Rau (17) (Eric Walsky, Nate Prosser) 15:24
CC (+): 14,22,15,11,2,G30 NDK (-): 2,5,16,10,26,G31
NDK-8 Brett Hextall (2-Charging) CC 2x6 19:50

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (3:25)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NDK 4 - 3 6x6 GW LL Darcy Zajac (4) (Brad Malone, Andrew Kozek) 3:25
NDK (+): 11,22,10,5,6,G31 CC (-): 14,4,10,22,26,G30

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End of Game
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The Senators send down former Sioux Brian Lee.

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Brian Lee was sent down to Binghamton today to make room for uber sieve Martin Gerber. In a way you kind of feel for Brian Lee especially after the last game he had, I expect Lee to get called up again before the season is over.

SPORTSNET.CA –- The Ottawa Senators assigned defenceman Brian Lee to the Binghamton Senators Friday and recalled goaltender Martin Gerber.

Gerber, 34, has posted six wins and as many losses in 13 games with Birmingham this season, posting a 2.90 GAA with a .911 save percentage and one shutout.

With the Senators this season, Gerber has four wins, nine losses and an overtime loss in 14 games with a 2.86 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

According to Sportsnet’s Ian Mendes, Alex Auld has the flu, so there is a small chance they need Gerber to back up Brian Elliott Saturday night.

He last saw action with the Senators in a 6-4 loss to the Bruins in Boston on Jan. 8.

Lee, on recall for a third time this season since Dec. 13, has two goals, nine assists and 14 penalty minutes over 36 games with the NHL club.

In 22 AHL games, the 21-year-old has one goal, eight assists, 28 penalty minutes and a +4 rating.

Rangers get the Star's sloppy seconds.

The soap opera continues. It will be interesting to see what happens next. You have to wounder if the Rangers are picking Avery up just so he can get into Martin Brouder's kitchen.

SPORTSNET.CA --- Sportsnet has learned the Dallas Stars will place Sean Avery on re-entry waivers as early as Monday.

Avery will play in both AHL Hartford Wolf Pack games this weekend. The New York Rangers have committed to claiming Avery providing he was still available.

In six games with the Wolf Pack, Avery has one goal and one assist.

Avery previously played in New York under coach Tom Renney, who was fired and replaced by John Tortorella on February 23, 2009. In December Tortorella commented on the Avery-Dion Phaneuf controversy while serving as a Canadian television analyst.

Tortorella said: "Enough is enough. He's embarrassed himself, he's embarrassed the (Dallas) organization, he's embarrassed the league and he's embarrassed his teammates, who have to look out for him. Send him home. He doesn't belong in the league."

Rangers GM Glen Sather told the New York Post on Monday of the potential conflict between the new coach and Avery: "He doesn't have the history with Sean that we do. Over time you learn to love him, just like I do."

Derek Boogaard suspended 5 games by NHL.

This is the hit that got Derek Boogaard "the Boogey man" suspended by the NHL for 5 games. I think it's definitely a penalty that warrants a suspension, whether it be a boarding or elbow. You have to wonder if the name on the back of the jersey had something to do with the length of the suspension. What would have happened if this was Ovechkin or Crosby that did this hit? Would there be a suspension? You have to wonder if there are two sets of rules for certain players.

Wild's Boogaard suspended for five games
News By NHL .com
Minnesota Wild forward Derek Boogaard has been suspended for five games, without pay, as a result of an elbowing incident during NHL game #921 against the Calgary Flames, the National Hockey League announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Boogaard will forfeit $23,521.50. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 18:48 of the third period, Boogaard delivered a blow to the head area of Calgary forward Brandon Prust. Prust was injured on the play and did not return to the game. Officials assessed Boogaard minor penalties for boarding and roughing on the play.

Boogaard will miss tonight’s game at Edmonton, March 3 against Vancouver, March 5 against San Jose, March 7 against Los Angeles and March 8 against Anaheim. He will be eligible to return March 10 vs. San Jose.

Message to WCHA Fire Todd Anderson NOW!!!

Another week in the WCHA and wouldn’t you know it another incident involving an on ice WCHA official. Taking it a little further; it is another incident that involves WCHA referee Todd Anderson, again. When does the league say enough is enough with this guy? Do they give Todd Anderson the Randy Schmidt suspension, where he gets suspended and goes away quietly into the night to never be seen again on the ice. Friday night there was another series of incidents in the game between the Badgers and the Mavericks in Mankato.

Tonight I got a text from Lets Go Mavs and she says that Todd Anderson and the other official took 10 minutes to wave off a goal on video review. That is ridiculous, it is either a goal or it is not a goal.

Here is a run down of the incident on Friday night in Mankato.

In the third, with UW clinging to a 3-2 lead, a centering pass from freshman pivot Derek Stepan hit the right skate of Gorowsky and caromed past Mankato goaltender Mike Zacharias (32 saves).

Referee Todd Anderson looked at the sequence on video along with partner Pete Freesma and waived it off, telling Eaves that Gorowsky used a distinct kicking motion, which is illegal.

“I don’t know how he made that distinction after watching it on video,” Gorowsky said. “I didn’t know I touched the puck at all. I saw it come through and I tried to hit it with my stick and I thought it went all the way through. I looked and it was in the back of the net.”

Eaves’ voice was elevated during a post game discussion with Greg Shepherd, the WCHA supervisor of officials. When Eaves emerged from the ante room, he was diplomatic and terse with a sense of humor thrown in when asked about the two goals that weren’t

“I’m not going to go down that path,” he said. “Obviously they were critical times in the game. Unless I was willing to give you a $1,000 check right now — unfortunately I called my wife and she said I can’t — I’m not going to say anything about those things.”

Public criticism of game officials could result in a fine from the WCHA, something Eaves tried to avoid.

“Those viewpoints that those gentlemen have certainly aren’t the ones we have,” he said. (read the whole article here)

Let’s take look at Todd Anderson’s hit parade over the past couple of seasons. These incidents happened in the games that Todd Anderson has worked in. All these dust ups involved a game where Todd Anderson as the on ice official was not all that sharp. In fact his performance was unsatisfactory. The League office needs to man up and get rid of some dead weight.

1.) The Prpich cup check and the Dasher dance.
2.) The dasher dance and ejection from the game. Guess who is the official? Todd Anderson.
3.) The Brian Schack incident in Mankato as Schack attacked Channing Boe.

Sister kissing in Grand Forks: Sioux 4 Tigers 4

I started this glorious day at Purpur Arena where I watched the first of three hockey game live today. First on the docket was the Central Knights as they beat the Fargo South Bruins 3-2. Then I drove over to the Ralph to watch the Fighting Sioux battled to a 4-4 tie with the scrappy Colorado College Tigers. Then we went to Whitey's where we had supper and then headed back to the Ralph to end the night watching the Red River Rough Riders do the unthinkable; Red River was out shot for the game but beat Bismarck 3-2. Red River goalie Cory Meland saved his best games for the last two games of high school career.

I am not a big fan of Fighting Sioux playing at 3:37 pm in the afternoon; however it's better than working. I know it’s a cliché but a bad day of hockey is better than a good day of work. Today I thought the Fighting Sioux looked a little sluggish against the Tigers in all three zones and were a step behind during the middle part of the game. I also think that is to be understood since they played in Anchorage last weekend and that trip takes a lot out of any hockey team.

Brad Eidsness was the difference in this hockey game today; Brad Eidsness made some huge saves at the right time. I remember at the beginning of the season some were questioning if the Sioux would have enough goaltending to contend for a title. I think those questions have been answered as the Fighting Sioux are closing in a WCHA regular season title. The one save that he made in the third period was absolutely amazing. Tomorrow afternoon the defense is going to have to tighten up and start getting ready for the playoffs. The team as a whole cannot be giving up odd man rushes and letting the opposition move into the offensive zone unchallenged.

As it stands right now the Fighting Sioux are one point behind Denver with two games in hand. Realistically that means UND has a possibility of 6 points and DU has a possible 2 points left. If the Fighting Sioux can get three more points they would at least tie for a league title. If the Fighting Sioux can get 4 points they can win a McNaughton Cup out right. That would be the first McNaughton Cup of Coach Hakstol’s tenure. The Fighting Sioux have not won a McNaughton Cup since 2004.

Box score
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
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CC-1 Brian McMillin (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x1 8:20
NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Matt Watkins (6) (Andrew Kozek, Zach Jones) 10:56
NDK (+): 20,10,6,11,25,G31 CC (-): 7,18,16,26,10,G30
CC-2 Ryan Lowery (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 12:18
NDK-1 Chris VandeVelde (2-Tripping) CC 0x1 12:36
CC 1 - 1 5x5 Mike Testwuide (4) (Matt Overman, Gabe Guentzel) 14:04
CC (+): 25,18,10,15,G30 NDK (-): 20,5,14,11,G31
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 Brett Hextall (10) (Ryan Duncan, Jason Gregoire) 14:58
NDK (+): 26,16,17,24,5,G31 CC (-): 22,4,2,14,15,G30

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK-2 Chay Genoway (2-Tripping) CC 1x2 2:44
CC 2 - 2 6x5 PP Chad Rau (15) (Bill Sweatt, Brian Connelly) 3:06
CC: 14,21,11,28,10,G30 NDK: 20,25,6,11,G31
CC-3 Jake Gannon (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x3 3:53
CC-4 Tyler Johnson (2-Roughing) 7:10
NDK-3 Jake Marto (2-Tripping) 7:10
NDK-4 Mario Lamoureux (2-Roughing) CC 1x3 7:10
CC-5 Nate Prosser (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x4 11:02
NDK-5 Chris VandeVelde (2-Interference) CC 1x4 12:33
CC 3 - 2 6x6 Bill Sweatt (12) (Gabe Guentzel, Chad Rau) 14:35
CC (+): 21,10,14,28,11,G30 NDK (-): 19,25,29,6,22,G31
CC-6 Tyler Johnson (2-Hooking) NDK 0x5 17:33
CC-7 Andreas Vlassopoulos (2-Roughing) 19:35
NDK-6 Jason Gregoire (2-Roughing) 19:35
NDK 3 - 3 5x5 Darcy Zajac (3) (Joe Finley, Chay Genoway) 19:54
NDK (+): 11,20,2,5,G31 CC (-): 11,14,25,24,G30

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK 4 - 3 6x6 Brett Hextall (11) (Brad Miller) 1:49
NDK (+): 26,14,16,17,24,G31 CC (-): 16,28,18,15,4,G30
NDK-7 Matt Frattin (2-Hooking) CC 1x5 7:29
CC-8 Mike Testwuide (2-Holding) NDK 0x6 7:42
CC 4 - 4 5x5 GT Chad Rau (16) (Eric Walsky, Gabe Guentzel) 7:59
CC (+): 14,10,7,22,G30 NDK (-): 16,17,2,5,G31
CC-9 Mike Testwuide (2-Hooking) NDK 0x7 13:05

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Overtime (5:00)
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Timeout - Colorado College 4:00
Timeout - North Dakota 4:20

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End of Game
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Scores from 2-27-2009

Friday, February 27, 2009

Atlantic Hockey
American Int'l 3 at Army 3 ot
Mercyhurst 4 at Canisius 1
Bentley 1 at Connecticut 4
Air Force 4 at RIT 6
Sacred Heart 2 at Holy Cross 5

Analysis
RIT beat Air Force Academy again 6-4 and is leading the AHA by two points.

CCHA
Ohio State 6 at Miami 2
Lake Superior 3 at Northern Michigan 7
Michigan 6 at Ferris State 1
Bowling Green 2 at Western Michigan 5
Michigan State 0 at Notre Dame 5

Analysis
tOSU beats Miami in Oxford and drops the RedHawks to 12th in the Pair Wise Rankings.
Notre Dame rolls over MSU, I watched this game for a while last night and Notre Dame took it to the Spartans. I don't think anyone wants to play that team in the NCAA tourney. Michigan rolls again.

CHA
Niagara 3 at Robert Morris 3 ot

Analysis
Niagara is 0-3-1 the last four games and is now probably locked in the second seed going into the CHA tourney in Bemidji in two weeks.

ECAC
Princeton 0 at Dartmouth 2
Cornell 2 at Yale 4
Clarkson 4 at Rensselaer 2
Quinnipiac 1 at Harvard 2
Colgate 3 at Brown 3 ot
St. Lawrence 2 at Union 0

Analysis
Yale is on top of the ECAC and the regular season champ. Cornell has kind of stumbled in February with a record of 3-4.

Hockey East
Mass.-Lowell 0 at Northeastern 3
Vermont 3 at Maine 2
Providence 1 at Boston College 5
New Hampshire 4 at Merrimack 3
Boston University 6 at Massachusetts 3

Analysis
Boston University 10-0-3 in their last thirteen games and has lost one game since December. Boston College won for the first time in 5 games.

WCHA
Minnesota-Duluth 2 at Minnesota 2 ot
Wisconsin 3 at Minnesota State 4 ot
St. Cloud State 1 at Denver 3

Analysis
UMD and Minnesota the sister kissing in Minneapolis. Come on Dogs beat the dirty Gophers tonight. MSU-M wins another game against the Badgers in Mankato and WCHA on ice official Todd Anderson is the center of another controversy. It's time for the league office to fire Todd Anderson because he is not good official.

Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage 1 at Alaska 0

Exhibition
US Under-18 Team 1 at Bemidji State 3

Is Pronger going to Boston?

I have seen this rumor and like the thought of Chris Pronger playing on the Bruins blue line. Could you imagine Pronger teamed up with Chara? Holy cow! That would be an awesome sight. I can't imagine the Bruins wanting to give up Phil Kessel. Kessel is a budding, up and coming star in the NHL that could very well be a 40-50 goal scoring in the next couple of years.

So who would the Bruins give up? They are loaded on the blue line but thin at forward. I can't see the Bruins trading Kessel, Wheeler, Lucic, Krejci or Ryder. The one of the most consistant lines for the Bruins as of late have been the Wheeler, Krejci Ryder line.

Latching onto Chris Pronger, Veteran in Bruins sights
By Stephen Harris --- Friday, February 27, 2009
If you believe what you hear from various NHL sources, you can bet the Bruins had many sets of eyes trained last night on Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger.

And the Ducks were sizing up talent on the Bruins side, as well.

It’s believed the Ducks will deal away the multi-talented 34-year-old Pronger, and that the Bruins could be interested shoppers. That was certainly a hot topic at the Garden last night, site of the B’s 6-0 victory.

The obvious speculation is that the B’s end of the deal would be young speedster Phil Kessel [stats], their top goalscorer and one of the most dynamic offensive threats in the game.

“The chatter is increasing,” said B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli, “but I’m not getting any closer to doing anything. I don’t want to subtract anything from our team. I like our team and I like the chemistry.”

Notice he said he doesn’t want to subtract players. He didn’t say he wouldn’t do it. Chiarelli is understandably loath to part with a young talent like Kessel, a 21-year-old with the potential to be a 50-goal superstar.

Could Zach Parise get 50 goals?

It seems that it could be a very possible. Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Zach Parise scored his 36th goal of the season last night against the Colorado Avalanche and added his 37th assist of the season giving Parise 73 points for the season. Also Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Travis Zajac who is fourth on the Devils in scoring added a goal and two assists giving him (17-34-52).

Zach Parise feels scoring 50 goals for New Jersey Devils this season still possible.
by Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger --- Friday February 27, 2009.

Devils winger Zach Parise scored his 36th goal of the season Thursday against the Avalanche, when he beat defenseman Brett Clark to the puck then Andrew Raycroft top shelf. Zach Parise notched his 36th goal Thursday night against the Colorado Avalanche and it was a beauty.

But what about his chances of scoring 50 goals this season. He would become the first Devils player to do it.

"I hope so. I don't like talking about it. We'll see," Parise told me. "I guess I've been a pretty streaky scorer. Not so much this year, but in past years."

Parise is on pace to score 48 goals.