Maturi supports Don Lucia.

If you read the various message boards and newspaper articles around the blogsphere you will see that there are a lot of Gopher fans unhappy with the current direction of the Golden Gopher's hockey team. Don't expect any major changes at the top, yesterday Gopher athletics director Joel Maturi gave Don Lucia his support.

"Of course I'm not happy with the direction of the program. No one is," he said Tuesday.

But Maturi contends that missing the NCAA tournament by a hair and ending a streak of eight consecutive NCAA berths for the Gophers is only temporary.

"I think I'm involved enough with the sport and knowledgeable enough about the sport that I'm not in panic mode," he said. "I think we'll be back in the hunt next year."

Asked if coach Don Lucia, who has two national championships in 10 seasons at Minnesota, still is the man to lead the Gophers back to national prominence, Maturi hesitated for only an instant.

"In my opinion, yes," he said.
(Read the whole story here)

Booze for Tickets.

Kyle from the illegal curve had this posted, heck I would buy a 1.75 of Smirnoff for a free NHL ticket, even if it is the Yotes. It is a shame that the Phoenix Coyotes have been run into the ground after leaving Winnipeg. It will be interesting to see what happens to the Coyotes.

Ruegsegger might play this weekend.

I have been following this story via the Denver post hockey blog and it appears that DU forward Tyler Ruegsegger is going to do everything and anything in his power to play in this weekend's regional down in Minneapolis. Originally it was announced that he was out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. As a hockey fan you have to admire his grit and effort. Kind of reminds me of the Wild's Andrew Brunette who is playing with an is playing on at least a partially torn right ACL. If the Pioneers have both Bozek and Ruegsegger they are substantially a much better hockey team and really tough to beat.

Meanwhile, junior center Tyler Ruegsegger surprisingly participated in some practice drills Tuesday, donning full equipment and an orange “no crush” sweater. Ruegsegger’s season was deemed over when he partially tore a ligament in his right knee on March 13 against Alaska-Anchorage.

“We’ve been working really hard with rehab and I’m wearing a custom brace right now that helps stabilize it,” said Ruegsegger, who is tied for the team lead with 15 goals, including a team-high 12 on the power play. “We originally thought 4-6 weeks, and it still might be that time, but it doesn’t feel too bad . . . I’m definitely happy with the way rehab is going so far.”
(Read the whole story here)

WCHA third place game to remain.

This is some good news; the third place game of the Final Five will remain for the forseeable future. Personally, I think this is a very good thing for college hockey fans. I love the final Five because it give you a chance to see other teams from the WCHA and it gives you five games in three days.

The WCHA has two more years on its contract with the Xcel. ”Next year already, we will begin the process of renegotiating the contract,” McLeod said.

One topic brought up at the postgame press conference after the third-place game was whether to keep playing it.

There is no third-place game in several of the conference tournaments. This year Wisconsin’s 4-1 victory over North Dakota in that game almost was enough to get the Badgers in the NCAA tournament. They just missed being the last at-large team, edged out by Ohio State.

McLeod said the third-place game is going to remain for the forseeable future.

“We’ve debated it since the get-go, whether it hurts or helps more,” McLeod said. “I don’t have the answer. It almost got Wisconsin in. It’s always something we talk about. Let’s be honest, there’s a financial factor, so it depends on whether you talk to coaches or athletic directors.”

North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said his team didn’t need to play in third-place game this year. The Sioux were already assured a spot in the NCAA tournament. In other years, when his team needed an extra win, Hakstol said, he might want another game. (read the rest of the article here)

The latest Hockey show.

I know it is a little late but I just got around to listening to it Hockey Show that was on the 20th of March. Click here to listen to an awesome Hockey show (Click here to listen to the show on the Web site) (Click here for the iTunes version).



Here is the latest from the Hockey Show.

At 13:00 in: BSU Coach Tom Serratore talks about college hockey is a grind, there is no tougher sport than major college hockey, season starts in October and if you go to the Frozen Four your season ends on April 10th. We travel all over North America. There are three seasons in one, Time in the season you can't do anything right, there is a time in the season where everything is clicking, then there is a time that your 50/50.

At 20:00 in to the podcast WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod talks with Moose Richards about the WCHA and a few of the issues they had on the ice this season. Some interesting stuff here, one point really made my blood boil. They talked about the Mankato game and Channing Boe getting injured.

McLeod said the Mankato game was not a good game; McLeod was at the game a lot of things started to happen in that game that just got away from everybody. Channing had a faux pas right before he got hurt he got a checking from behind penalty and that is a real, real no no. A penalty was going to be called. One of the Minnesota players took objection and kind of grabbed him from behind and in the melee it wasn't the action of the Minnesota player I can't tell you how he actually broke his leg.

First off; Bruce you kind of missed a major point there. You glossed over the Todd Bertuzzi style attack by Schack on Channing Boe that in my opinion is WAY more serious than a checking from behind penalty. Also, I am not saying that checking from behind isn't a serious offense because it is, however, when the league allowed a player to get away with a gutless act like Schack did and to only give him one game DQ for jumping a fellow competator and beating him with your gloves and helmet on your opponent was laying on the ice in a vulnerable position can not be allowed to happen. Boe could fight back and was being attacked while his leg had already been broken is a horrible situation.

Expansion was talked about at 30:40 minutes in. McLeod didn't reveal any other schools other than BSU that has indicated that they are going to apply for membership; they are evaluating what they want to do with their programs in the futures. There is a degree of interest from other schools. It would be interesting to see who the other schools. McLeod wouldn’t reveal who they were since they are still playing in other conferences. So I wonder if we can assume UNO, NMU, UAH are the schools that interested?

Final USCHO and 1997 similar to 2009...

Final USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll
March 23, 2009

Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston University (27) 31- 6-4 977 2
2 Notre Dame (23) 31- 5-3 973 1
3 Michigan 29-11-0 882 3
4 Denver 23-11-5 832 4
5 Yale 24- 7-2 803 7
6 Northeastern 25-11-4 727 5
7 North Dakota 24-14-4 661 6
8 Minnesota-Duluth 21-12-8 621 17
9 Cornell 21- 9-4 578 9
10 Princeton 22-11-1 541 8
11 Vermont 20-11-5 506 10
12 New Hampshire 19-12-5 465 11
13 Miami 20-12-5 399 12
14 Ohio State 23-14-4 243 18
15 St. Lawrence 21-12-5 239 14
16 Mass.-Lowell 20-16-2 228 19
17 Wisconsin 20-16-4 201 16
18 Air Force 27-10-2 192 NR
19 Minnesota 17-13-7 175 13
20 Boston College 18-14-5 150 15
Others Receiving Votes: Colorado College 44,
Bemidji State 26, Northern Michigan 25, Alaska 9,
St. Cloud State 2, Dartmouth 1

1997 similar to 2009?

I was talking to someone before this years Final Five; and I said that I think this year seems a lot like 1997. In 1997 there was a dominant team in college hockey that was heads and tails above everyone else.

To take a page from Brendan Morrison's book the best team doesn't always win. Hence, the Michigan Wolverines then went out and got beat by the Boston University Terriers in the semis of the Frozen Four.

The Fighting Sioux then turned around and beat the Terriers in the next game two nights later. This year Boston University appears to be an unbeatable foe that no one might be able to touch, they have all of the pieces to the puzzle. Like 1997 the Sioux again have won the MacNaughten Cup and have another team with a good mix of role players and good young talent. This years Fighting Sioux has another daunting task ahead of them, Boston University, if the Sioux can beat the Wildcats they will get a chance to play the hockey Goliath. I see no way OSU beats the Terriers.

There is also a flood forecasted for this spring just like 1997 as well. The Fargo Forum and the Grand Forks Herald have their flood cams up (Fargo Forum flood cam) (Grand Forks Herald Flood Cam)

Mom says J.P. will play...

I thought this story was interesting and in a way kind of funny. Denver defenseman and student-athlete of the year in the WCHA J.P. Testwuide will play, mom says he will be fine. Hey you can't argue with the mom...

Gwozdecky said Sunday he hasn’t talked to Testwuide or the training staff about his leg injury, and sorry to say, I have no update today. J.P. (Testwuide) had class until 4 p.m. and I had to split to pick up my son. If you think “mama knows best,” assume J.P. will play. Janet Testwuide told me her son is going to be fine. I’ll be at practice Tuesday and update then.
(Click here for the full article)

A couple of things from INCH

Here are a couple of things that caught my eye that was written by Jess Meyers of INCH. First off, all I can say is come on Jess. There were a few of us that took exception respectfully with what you have written about our favorite team.

I don't think anyone has been overly rude on this blog towards your predictions. Second what do people expect Finley to do in that situation, he just clobbered Jordy Murray with a awesome, clean legal hit and Blake Geoffrion wants to challenge Finley to a fight. If I was Finley in that situation, I wouldn't let someone attack me after I hit one their teammates with a legal check. I suppose it's North Dakota's fault. Right? Lucky for Geoffrion the refs rescued him before he got himself hurt. LOL...

+ We’ve ribbed them, and a few of them have ripped INCH repeatedly, but here’s a deserving shout-out to Fighting Sioux fans for traveling in such numbers and making so much noise this weekend. Love them or loathe them, their passion makes the tournament’s atmosphere more fun.

Applause for a nice fashion trend we’ve seen at the rinks recently - pink hockey sweaters (we saw sharp-looking North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth versions on Saturday) designed for female fans. A portion of the proceeds from their sale goes to fight breast cancer. As the Sandelin family can attest, that’s a very worthy cause.

While there were plenty of empty seats on the upper level, Xcel Energy Center officials tell us they were within a few hundred tickets of an official sellout on Saturday. Nice work, ticket-buyers in snapping up more than 82,000 seats over the weekend, and so much for those fears that no Gophers equals no crowd.
----------
- North Dakota’s power play was 0-for-9 on Saturday and 0-for-14 on the weekend. “We’ve been streaky on the power play all season, and this was a bad streak for us,” Hakstol said.

After a hard check late in the third-place game, North Dakota defenseman Joe Finley looked very much like a man who wanted to fight Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion. We’re all for defending your turf and whatnot, but getting tossed and possibly disqualified for your team’s NCAA opener is a low-percentage play.

Ovechkin scores number 50

Check out the video Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Matt Smaby was on the ice when Alex Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season. I think the celebration by Ovechkin was a little over the top and maybe he should act like he's been there before. We has 50 times this season.

Matt Watkins interview on Hockey Buzz.

Julie Robenhymer from Hockey Buzz interviewed Matt Watkins Some good stuff here and Watty's opinion on who should be the next host of Miller Time.

Here is what Julie had to say about the UND Fighting Sioux and the fan support at the Xcel. Pretty accurate assessment of this past weekend.

In the second semifinal, the Bulldogs took on the Fighting Sioux, who's fans showed up in full force. No joke, you might have thought this tournament was being held in Grand Forks there was so much green in the crowd. Too bad it didn't help the Sioux as the crowd was taken out of the game early on a big time boo boo by their goaltender, Brad Eidsness. He went behind the net to corral the puck coming around the boards and then left it there for his defenseman and skated around the long way to the front of the net, but was unaware of McGreggor Sharp, who has been Johnny on the Spot for the Bulldogs this weekend, coming up around the other side who scooped up the puck and tapped it into an essentially empty net. Did I mention that was shorthanded?? The Sioux finally got their act together in the middle of the second and started playing to their potential, but Stalock put up another solid performance and didn't let anything by as the Bulldogs advanced to the Championship Game.

Wow, Bulldogs make history.

A few weeks back after the Bulldogs had lost five games in a row and one of the local Duluth writers; Howie Hanson had wrote a scathing hit piece on the Bulldog hockey team and their coach. The article as called ANOTHER BULLDOGS MELTDOWN After reading this drive by shooting by Howie Hanson I wrote this blog post in response to Howie Hanson's ridiculous premature blog post.

The quote that is posted below, is the part that really struck a nerve cord with me. If you fast forward to this weekend Howie's hit piece was basically ruled to be irrelevant and a premature panic attack. Who could writtem this story any better than Scott Sandelin’s scrappy Bulldog team. UMD because the first play in game winner to win the Final Five, yeah I guess the WCHA was closer this season than you thought. Maybe those 9th place Seawolves weren't as bad as you made them out to be.

Competing for fifth-place and a home ice series in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs in the final weekend, UMD’s once-proud program sunk to perhaps the most pitiful low in Coach Scott Sandelin’s mostly unproductive tenure last weekend — when the poorly-prepared Bulldogs lost twice at home to (drum roll, please) the mighty, ninth-place Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves.

This is the response that I wrote to Howie's blog post. I guess I was pretty close on my prediction eh? The Bulldogs winning the Final Five from the play in game is definitely one of the Cinderella sports moments.

To taking a quote out of the sports cliches' it isn't over until the fat lady sings. Hey Howie, the season isn't over for the Bulldogs, not yet anyways. Why don't you let the games play out first. In case you haven't noticed the Bulldogs get to play C.C. in the Springs this weekend where they have a record of 1-0-1 against the Tigers this year. Personally, I would wait till the end of the season before you start kicking dirt on the Bulldogs season.

You have to wonder if this guy followed the rest of the WCHA very closely because seeding for the WCHA playoffs were not really decided until the last hours of the season. Maybe he should stick to high school hockey. Seriously, who is to say the Bulldogs don't go to Colorado College beat the Tigers in two or three games and get to the Final Five? UMD is also ranked 17th in Pair Wise Rankings so a series win in Colorado Springs and a couple of games in St Paul could put them into the NCAA tourney. During the 2005-2006 season the UMD Bulldogs were 11-25-4 and went to DU and won a WCHA playoff series against the Pioneers in Denver.

The answer to the question was.

To the fellow Sioux fan that wanted to bet me a $1000.00 that tried to convince me that Rory Mcmahon had fought Matt Demarchi. I knew he was wrong, I just couldn't remember that it was in fact Mike Vannelli, I remember this triva fact this morning when I woke up. I wish I would have taken this guys money.

Putting the final touches on the Final Five.

I have been going to the Final Five for ten years (1999) since it was held at the Target Center and this was the best time that I have had of my ten trips to St. Paul. Sioux7 and I were three for three, we closed three bars in three nights and we had fun doing it. McGovern’s (Thursday night), Tom Reid’s (Friday Night) and the Liffey's (Saturday Night). This is what the Final Five is all about; fellowship with your fellow fans, it's not about getting in people’s faces, the final five is about socializing and cheering our teams on, and hanging out with friends.

The Final Five is about ringing in the spring and the beginning of the end to the college hockey season for another season. As our teams are eliminated we sit on pins and needles and wonder if our favorite player is going to go pro or not.
In my opinion the Michigan Tech fans are the MVP of the weekend, while their team was not in St. Paul they were there in full force representing their University.

Sandy is King

Anyone that doubted Scott Sandelin before this weekend; all I can say is, how do you like him now? I know a few of the UMD fans were ready to make a change and getting antsy. The Bulldogs were the first team to win a Final Five from the Play in game. That is an impressive feat, it just doesn't happen very often. The Bulldogs gave up one (1) goal in three games. That is unprecedented, that just doesn't happen very often.

Here is the latest Bracketology from Jason Moy, it will be interesting to see if his prediction are on or not. There will be three WCHA teams UND, DU and UMD. There will be no Wisconsin Badgers, no SCSU Huskies and no Minnesota Golden Gophers in this year's NCAA tourney.

Midwest Regional:

Bemidji State vs. Notre Dame
Princeton vs. Northeastern

West Regional:

Miami vs. Denver
Cornell vs. Minnesota-Duluth

East Regional:

Air Force vs. Michigan
Vermont vs. Yale

Northeast Regional:

Ohio State vs. Boston University
New Hampshire vs. North Dakota

Badgers 4 Sioux 1

Today's effort was disappointing because we failed to show up and the Badgers handed it to us. Also, I am disappointed with the power play which was abysmal, pathetic and listless. We need remind a few of the players that when you put on the Fighting Sioux it means something. Losing two games at the final five is unacceptable and not a good way to launch the team into the NCAA playoffs.

I also think it is bushleague that a Blake Geoffrion would go after a Finley after Joe hit Jordy Murray with a clean a legal text book hit. Come on what a bush league move. Some Badger fan sitting next to me said that Finley is the Sioux version of Ryan Flynn. I told him what do you expect big Joe to do? Just let the guy attack him.

***I didn't bring my camera but will post some pictures later.


Box Score
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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK 1 - 0 6x6 Ryan Duncan (19) (Jason Gregoire, Brett Hextall) 7:45
NDK (+): 16,17,26,14,24,G31 WIS (-): 16,24,14,3,7,G35
WIS-1 Blake Geoffrion (2-Roughing) 10:16
WIS-2 Blake Geoffrion (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) NDK 0x1 10:16
NDK-1 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 10:16
WIS-3 Jamie McBain (2-Cross-Checking) 10:57
NDK-2 Brett Hextall (2-Slashing) 10:57
NDK-3 Matt Frattin (2-Holding) WIS 0x1 14:20
WIS-4 Ryan McDonagh (2-Interference) NDK 0x2 18:41
NDK-4 Ryan Duncan (2-Tripping) WIS 0x2 19:28

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2nd Period (20:00)
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WIS 1 - 1 6x6 Andy Bohmbach (10) (Ben Grotting, Craig Johnson) 3:37
WIS (+): 11,14,5,3,7,G35 NDK (-): 24,21,14,22,29,G31
WIS-5 Blake Geoffrion (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) NDK 0x3 4:31
WIS-6 Brendan Smith (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 6:16
NDK-5 Matt Frattin (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 6:16
WIS 2 - 1 6x6 GW LL Jordy Murray (7) (Michael Davies) 8:28
WIS (+): 18,9,19,21,7,G35 NDK (-): 16,17,6,25,26,G31
NDK-6 Darcy Zajac (2-Holding) WIS 0x3 8:41
WIS-7 Jake Gardiner (2-Hooking) NDK 0x4 11:16
WIS-8 Brendan Smith (2-Holding) NDK 0x5 15:29
NDK-7 Matt Frattin (2-Slashing) WIS 1x4 18:04
WIS 3 - 1 6x5 PP Brendan Smith (9) (Blake Geoffrion, Jamie McBain) 19:15
WIS: 7,5,2,9,21,G35 NDK: 6,25,22,17,G31

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3rd Period (20:00)
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NDK-8 Ben Blood (2-Interference) WIS 1x5 3:48
WIS-9 Blake Geoffrion (2-Hooking) NDK 0x6 4:08
WIS-10 Aaron Bendickson (2-Tripping) NDK 0x7 5:18
WIS-11 Patrick Johnson (2-Hooking) NDK 0x8 9:49
WIS-12 Cody Goloubef (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x9 12:30
NDK-9 Brad Miller (2-Hooking) WIS 1x6 14:27
NDK-10 Chay Genoway (2-Interference) WIS 2x7 15:20
Timeout - Wisconsin 15:20
WIS 4 - 1 6x5 PP Jordy Murray (8) (Andy Bohmbach, Brendan Smith) 17:04
WIS: 18,11,7,17,21,G35 NDK: 6,25,22,11,G31
WIS-13 Blake Geoffrion (2-Roughing) 18:38
WIS-14 Blake Geoffrion (2-Cross-Checking) 18:38
WIS-15 Blake Geoffrion (10-Misconduct) 18:38
NDK-11 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) 18:38
NDK-12 Joe Finley (2-Cross-Checking) 18:38
NDK-13 Joe Finley (10-Misconduct) 18:38

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End of Game
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Much fun to be had.

Went to Tom Reids in St. Paul tonight after the game and ran into some neat people and my buddies met Julie Robenhymer from hockey buzz. Julie was a lot fun to talk to and knows her hockey really well.

Also had the opportunity to meet Jess Meyers from INCH. I told Jess that I forgave him on his seventh place prediction for UND.

Also, all the refs showed up at Tom Reids to night as well, no we didn't engage them.

UMD 3 UND 0

Cue the cliche' the Fighting Sioux ran into a smoking hot goalie tonight, nothing you can do but congratulate Stalock and have him take a bow. In talking with Sioux7 tonight I don't think UND played all that bad and I thought UND carried the play once they got going. The Sioux has to be better on the power play especially when they get handed a 5 minute power play.

Brad Eidsness needs to be more careful with the puck. That being said I can't remember the last time I saw a goalie leave the puck for opposition to have him beat the goalie back to the net and score.


BOX SCORE
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1st Period (20:00)
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MND-1 BENCH (2-TOO MANY PLAYERS ON ICE) (Served by Justin Fontaine) NDK 0x1 4:53
MND 1 - 0 5x6 SH GW LL MacGregor Sharp (22) (unassisted) 5:10
MND (+): 18,22,14,26,G32 NDK (-): 26,14,25,16,29,G31
MND-2 Brady Lamb (2-Roughing) 7:05
NDK-1 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) 7:05
MND 2 - 0 5x5 Mike Montgomery (2) (Josh Meyers, Justin Fontaine) 7:41
MND (+): 24,17,37,12,G32 NDK (-): 20,22,6,25,G31
NDK-2 Chay Genoway (2-Holding) MND 0x1 11:33
NDK-3 Zach Jones (2-Interference) MND 0x2 15:20

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK-4 Ryan Duncan (2-Slashing) MND 0x3 0:36
MND-3 Brady Lamb (5-Kneeing) NDK 0x2 4:33
MND-4 Chad Huttel (2-Hooking) NDK 0x3 14:54
MND-5 Michael Gergen (2-Slashing) NDK 0x4 17:32
MND-6 Andrew Carroll (2-Roughing) 20:00
NDK-5 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) 20:00

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3rd Period (20:00)
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MND-7 Mike Connolly (2-Slashing) 5:00
NDK-6 Ryan Duncan (2-Interference) 5:00
MND-8 Brady Lamb (2-High-Sticking) NDK 0x5 7:16
NDK-7 Chay Genoway (2-Slashing) MND 0x4 9:47
NDK-8 Joe Finley (2-Roughing) MND 0x5 15:26
MND 3 - 0 6x6 EN Mike Connolly (12) (MacGregor Sharp, Jay Cascalenda) 18:07
MND (+): 22,18,14,19,17,G32 NDK (-): 29,16,5,14,17,26

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End of Game
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DU 3 Wisconsin 0

It was a fitting end for the Wisconsin Badgers, this time the Denver Pioneers got sweet revenge on their hated rivals that had held a 11-0 record against them in the playoffs. The Pioneers returned the favor from last springs west regional in Madison Wisconsin. This time it was the Pioneers that ended the Wisconsin Badgers playoff hopes.

The score of today's game was 3-0. For the most part the Denver Pioneers kept the Badgers shots to the outside and didn't allow them space between the dots. This afternoon's game turned out to be a relatively uneventful game and the fans were given little cheer about. Wisconsin scored a goal with about two minutes left to go in the game but it was ruled that the puck was kicked in with a skate.

Box Score
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1st Period (20:00)
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WIS-1 Andy Bohmbach (2-Slashing) DEN 0x1 11:07
DEN 1 - 0 6x6 GW LL Brian Gifford (4) (unassisted) 15:20
DEN (+): 22,8,27,11,7,G1 WIS (-): 12,17,18,10,27,G35
DEN-1 Rhett Rakhshani (2-Holding) WIS 0x1 15:34

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2nd Period (20:00)
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DEN 2 - 0 6x6 Kyle Ostrow (14) (Luke Salazar, Patrick Mullen) 13:40
DEN (+): 19,18,7,12,6,G1 WIS (-): 16,2,24,19,14,G35
DEN-2 J.P. Testwuide (2-Holding) WIS 0x2 17:00

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3rd Period (20:00)
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WIS-2 Brendan Smith (2-Hooking) DEN 1x2 5:35
DEN 3 - 0 6x5 PP Patrick Wiercioch (12) (Patrick Mullen, Joe Colborne) 6:01
DEN: 28,7,12,9,16,G1 WIS: 5,18,17,27,G35
DEN-3 John Lee (2-Interference) WIS 0x3 9:11
DEN-4 Jesse Martin (2-Cross-Checking) WIS 0x4 18:07
WIS-3 Blake Geoffrion (2-Elbowing) 18:46
DEN-5 John Ryder (2-Slashing) WIS 0x5 19:27

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End of Game
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A couple of things (Dubay sighting)

***This is the most emotion you will probably see Coach Hakstol display. Props to Bob from BadgerSioux.

***Last night I ran into Jeff Dubay formally of P.A. and Dubay show and Jeff wanted me to relay to the Sioux fans that he was very gracious for how he was recieved in Grand Forks, ND during the Sioux and Gophers series. I told him that a quite a few of us just want to see him get well and turn his life around. Personally while I still listen to the P.A. show, it isn't the same without PUFFY.
I want to see Jeff turn it around and will be pulling for him.

UMD 2 UMN 1

Wow, what a great game! No really! I thought tonight's game was one of those games where it was fun to be in the stands watching the game. Sucks that one team has to lose this game. Right team won.

In the game Alex Stalock was awesome and I would say the difference in this game. Word is that Kangas had the Flu tonight and that was the reason he was pulled in favor of Patterson. It was a fun night. I finally got to meet the famous Boosh and Dirty.

Tomorrow the Fighting Sioux meet the UMD Bulldogs in a game that will probably turn out to be a street fight, two team that don't like each other very much. Funny thing the Gophers will not be playing evening game as a few predicted. See you torrow night.

Box Score.


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1st Period (20:00)
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MND 1 - 0 6x6 LL MacGregor Sharp (21) (Evan Oberg) 3:46
MND (+): 18,4,19,22,2,G32 MIN (-): 29,19,26,28,6,G33
MND-1 Chad Huttel (2-High-Sticking) MIN 0x1 7:56
MND-2 Matt Greer (2-Tripping) MIN 0x2 8:51
MIN-1 Drew Fisher (2-Holding) MND 0x1 15:26
MND-3 Michael Gergen (2-Interference) MIN 0x3 17:25

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2nd Period (20:00)
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MIN-2 Cade Fairchild (2-Interference) MND 0x2 7:34
MND-4 Mike Connolly (2-Slashing) MIN 0x4 12:25
MND 2 - 0 6x6 GW Matt Greer (5) (Drew Akins, Chad Huttel) 14:34
MND (+): 16,7,26,22,14,G32 MIN (-): 16,12,7,10,20,G35

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3rd Period (20:00)
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MIN 1 - 2 6x6 Cade Fairchild (9) (Jay Barriball, Jordan Schroeder) 6:08
MIN (+): 29,28,26,19,6,G35 MND (-): 16,24,17,21,7,G32
MND-5 Jay Cascalenda (2-High-Sticking) MIN 0x5 10:34
Timeout - Minnesota 13:43
MND-6 Andrew Carroll (2-Hooking) 20:00

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End of Game
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Play-in Game (Sioux7)

Well, their you have it, the Bulldogs upset the Gophers in the first game of the final five. This will definitely help the Bulldogs with their chances of getting into the NCAA tourney next week. The Bulldogs took advantage of their scoring opportunities tonight to jump on top to 1-0 lead in the first, and then they extended their lead to 2-0 in the second period. The Gophers put a plethora of shots on UMD goalie Alex Stalock and were finally able to solve him in the 3rd period to cut the lead to 2-1, but they just couldn't get the equalizer. The UM had a chance in the first to even the game at one when they had a 5 on 3 power play for over a minute, but the Bulldogs stood their ground and killed it off.

The Bulldogs advance to play the Sioux tomorrow night at 7pm.

I and the Goon are off to get some food...