Sioux 4 Gophers 0

The Fighting Sioux were dominating in all zones of the ice last night as they outshot the Gophers 43-22 and shutout the Gophers 4-0. Brad Eidsness got his second shutout of his college hockey career. The Sioux defense beat the Gophers to the puck all night they were able to limit quality shots on net, and the Gophers did get a shot on net Eidsness was sharp in goal for the Fighting Sioux. After struggling on the power play the weekend before the Sioux scored two power play goals and a shorthanded goal.

The Fighting Sioux played a stifling defense all game and when Joe Gleason received a five minute major for checking from behind with about four minutes to go in the game the Sioux held the Gophers to no shots on net while the Sioux managed to put two shot on net.

The Sioux have put together a pretty impressive run against the Gophers as of late as they are now 9-2-1 in the last 12 games against the Golden Gophers. According to the Grand Forks Herald UND is 27-4-4 at home since 2008. The Sioux are also unbeaten in 15 games at the Ralph that is a 13-0-2 record.

Props to Golden Gopher goalie Alex Kangas: as Charles mentioned in the comments section, you can't blame junior Goalie Alex Kangas for the Gophers loss, the goalie doesn’t check or cycle the puck out of the defensive zone. In this game the Gopher defenders need to take ownership for their non support in the game, they also looked like a bunch of pylons. Incidentally, Alex Kangas is 1-4-1 for his career against the Fighting Sioux and the Score could have been 6-0 or 7-0 is Kangas hadn't have held the fort down for the Gophers.

Some profounds words from Golden Gopher Coach Don Luica.

"You've got to score some goals to get some momentum," Lucia said.

And to score goals a team needs the puck: North Dakota usually had it. The Sioux won the faceoff battle, 42-26.

"If you don't start with the puck, it seems like you are chasing it all night," Lucia said. [Red Star and Sickle]

[Box Score]
--------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------
MIN-1 Seth Helgeson (2-Hooking) NDK 1x1 1:30
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP GW LL Jason Gregoire (2) (Chris VandeVelde, David Toews) 2:17
NDK: 17,29,18,7,5,G31 MIN: 9,3,12,10,G33
NDK-1 Brett Bruneteau (2-Interference) MIN 0x1 4:24
MIN-2 Jake Hansen (2-Checking from Behind) NDK 1x2 10:31
--------------------------------------------------
2nd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------
NDK-2 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Tripping) MIN 0x2 3:20
NDK 2 - 0 5x6 SH Derrick LaPoint (1) (Evan Trupp, Brad Malone) 4:21
NDK (+): 3,19,22,25,G31 MIN (-): 12,13,3,10,16,G33
NDK-3 David Toews (2-Tripping) MIN 0x3 9:03
MIN-3 David Fischer (2-Hooking) NDK 1x3 11:15
MIN-4 Sam Lofquist (2-Roughing) 12:49
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) 12:49
MIN-5 Ryan Flynn (2-Roughing) 15:09
NDK-5 Ben Blood (2-HITTING AFTER WHISTLE) 15:09
MIN-6 David Fischer (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x4 17:19
NDK-6 Brett Hextall (2-Interference) MIN 0x4 18:44
--------------------------------------------------
3rd Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------
MIN-7 Zach Budish (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x5 3:47
MIN-8 Ryan Flynn (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 4:26
NDK-7 Brett Hextall (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 4:26
MIN-9 Tony Lucia (2-Tripping) NDK 2x6 5:30
NDK 3 - 0 6x5 PP Chay Genoway (1) (Evan Trupp, Joe Gleason) 5:56
NDK: 5,19,20,22,18,G31 MIN: 11,19,28,24,G33
NDK 4 - 0 6x6 Mario Lamoureux (1) (Darcy Zajac, Carter Rowney) 8:18
NDK (+): 9,11,27,24,5,G31 MIN (-): 28,19,26,11,4,G33
NDK-8 Joe Gleason (5-Checking from Behind) MIN 0x5 15:57
NDK-9 Joe Gleason (10-Game Misconduct) (Served by Michael Cichy) 15:57
--------------------------------------------------
End of Game
--------------------------------------------------

A couple more links.

Brandon from Sioux Yeah has an interesting blog post on the rivalry, I am sure he isn't going to endear himself to the Badgers fans. :)

My prediction last week on a certain big team came true. [Illegal Curve]

Dan Myers of tis is the WCHA predicts a split for the Gophers and Sioux this weekend. [This is the WCHA]

TCHB ask if the BSU Beavers are for real. My answer is that of course the Beavers are for real, or AFA is overrated because the Beavers hung ten goals on AFA and swept the Falcons last weekend. Note to various hockey bloggers, the teams in the CHA are not bad hockey teams that are competitive and the CHA is 3-1 against playoff teams from last season. Taking it further Notre Dame is 1-2 in its last three games against CHA teams. I would imagine that Notre Dame wouldn't think they are overrated.

CHL is king in ISS list.

ISS just released their top thirty for the upcoming draft
in 2010, not a lot of College Hockey Players in the list.

1. TAYLOR HALL LW 6'1 185 L Nov 14/91 Windsor OHL
2. CAM FOWLER LD 6'2 190 L Dec 5/91 Windsor OHL
3. TAYLER SEGUIN C 6'1 186 R Jan 31/92 Plymouth OHL
4. KIRILL KABANOV LW 6'3 176 R Jul 16/92 Moncton QMJHL
5. BRANDON GORMLEY LD 6'1 175 L Feb 18/92 Moncton QMJHL
6. JOHN MCFARLAND LW 6'1 195 R Apr 2/92 Sudbury OHL
7. BRETT CONNOLLY LW 6'2 181 R May 2/92 Prince George WHL
8. MIKAEL GRANLUND LW 5'10 176 L Feb 26/92 HIFK FinE
9. VLADIMIR TARASENKO F 5'10 167 L Dec 13/91 Sibir KHL
10. ERIK GUDBRANSON RD 6'3 199 R Jan 7/92 Kingston OHL
11. JONATHAN MERRILL LD 6'3 198 L Mar 3/92 U18 USHL (Michigan)
12. MARK PYSYK RD 6'1 175 R Jan 11/92 Edmonton WHL
13. JOEY HISHON C 5'10 190 L Oct 20/91 Owen Sound OHL
14. QUINTON HOWDEN LW 6'3 183 L Jan 12/92 Moose Jaw WHL
15. DEREK FORBORT LD 6'4 198 L Mar 4/92 U18 USHL (UND Recruit)
16. RILEY SHEAHAN C 6'2 195 L Dec 7/91 NDU CCHA
17. ALEX BURMISTROV C 6'0 170 R Oct 21/91 Barrie OHL
18. AUSTIN WATSON RW 6'3 177 R Jan 13/92 Windsor OHL
19. STANISLAV GALIEV C 6'1 182 R Jan 17/92 Saint John QMJHL
20. JEFFERY SKINNER C 5'10 182 L May 16/92 Kitchener OHL
21. EVGENY KUZNETSOV F 6'0 174 L May 19/92 Meche RUSU-
22. TEEMU PULKKINEN C 5'11 176 R Jan 2/92 Joker FinE
23. JARRED TINORDI LD 6'5 205 L Feb 20/92 U18 USHL
24. NICK BJUGSTAD W 6'3 188 R Jul 17/92 Blain MN-HS(MN Recruit)
25. RYAN SPOONER C 5'10 175 L Jan 30/92 Peterborough OHL
26. JASON ZUCKER LW 5'10 174 L Jan 16/92 U18 USHL
27. MAXIM KITSYN C 6'3 194 R Dec 24/91 Metal KHL
28. PETR STRAKA C 6'1 180 L Jun 15/92 Rimouski QMJHL
29. EMERSON ETEM C 6'0 194 R Jun 6/92 Medicine Hat WHL
30. TOM KUHNHACKL F 6'1 180 L Jan 21/92 Lands GerJr
[TSN]

Friday Sioux and Gophers links.

The Daily Gophers is expecting three points for the Rodents this weekend against the Sioux. [Daily Gopher]

Here is what College Hockey News had to say about UND:

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
2008-09 record: 24-15-4 (17-7-4 WCHA); WCHA Regular Season champions
NCAA: Lost First Round
Key Returnees: Brad Eidsness G SO., Chay Genoway D SR., Jason Gregoire F SO, Evan Trupp F JR., Chris VandeVelde F SR., Darcy Zajac F SR.
Key Losses: Ryan Duncan, Joe Finley, Matt Frattin (underclassman), Andrew Kozek, Matt Watkins

Before last season, North Dakota had never missed the Frozen Four under the guidance of Hakstol. Through 40 minutes of a first-round contest against New Hampshire, it appeared UND was on track for a return trip. Leading 5-3 halfway through the third period, it all fell apart. The Wildcats scored at the 11 minute mark to make it 5-4 before tying the score with an improbable goal with under a second to play in regulation. UNH capped the comeback with the game-winner just 45 seconds into overtime to knock North Dakota from the NCAA tournament.

That type of finish to their season – unprecedented under Hakstol – has left the Sioux with a chip on their shoulders heading into 2009-10.

“For our veteran returning players, I hope there is a lesson to be learned there,” Hakstol said. “Most importantly for those guys, hopefully there was a motivation for them in their training over the summer.”

Included among those veterans is senior defenseman Chay Genoway – arguably the league’s best defenseman – and a number of quality forwards, including fellow seniors Chris VandeVelde and Darcy Zajac, as well as junior Evan Trupp and sophomore Jason Gregoire, whose 29 points last season was sixth among league freshmen. VandeVelde, who has increased his scoring totals in each of his three seasons, set a career high in goals (18) and points (35) a year ago, and seems primed to break out as one of the conference’s best forwards.

Also back is sophomore goaltender Brad Eidsness. Only now-departed UMD goalie Alex Stalock played more minutes than Eidsness did as a freshman a year ago, and Eidsness responded, finishing with a .906 save percentage and 2.56 goals against average.

“We have some players returning who we know will do a good job for us,” Hakstol said. “But we also have a lot of questions marks we need to answer.”

Those questions surround the team’s youth. While the Sioux return a number of quality players with experience, UND’s fortunes will likely come down to how well its freshmen can adapt to the college game. Among those coming to Grand Forks who could see immediate playing time are Corban Knight and Danny Kristo, a nifty forward from Eden Prairie, Minn.

“We have a lot of guys who look like have come to campus ready to compete for jobs,” Hakstol said. “Now it’s a matter of us sorting out what roles those players are capable of playing at.

The biggest weekend of the season for the Gophers, and their beat writer hasn't written an article since the 5th of October. Not sure what is going on there. You would think he would have some piffy stories on the UND and UMN matchup. [Goal Gophers] The Gopher defenders might score more this season, but I wonder if Fairchild will be able to find the blue line.

Here is how Gopher beat writer/homer Roman Ausustoviz predicts the WCHA season will end. Naturally he picks the Gophers to finish second in the WCHA standings. [Red Star and Sickle]

1 DENVER (23-12-5 IN 2008-09)
2 GOPHERS (17-13-7)
3 NORTH DAKOTA (24-15-4)
The Sioux won a record 14th MacNaughton Cup last season, finishing two points ahead of Denver in the WCHA standings. "We have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of tools to work with," coach Dave Hakstol said. Senior defenseman Chay Genoway was the conference's defensive player of the year. Senior Chris VandeVelde (18 goals) is the top returning scorer.
4 WISCONSIN (20-16-4)
5 MINNESOTA DULUTH (22-13-8)
6 ST. CLOUD STATE (18-17-3)
7. COLORADO COLLEGE (16-12-10)
8 ALASKA ANCHORAGE (14-17-5)
9 MINNESOTA STATE MANKATO (15-17-6)
10 MICHIGAN TECH (6-25-7)

Gophers sieve Alex Kangas wants to put last season behind him. I don't know, it was fun for me to watch. [Pioneer Press]

Watch this weekend's games on the internet if you don't get Fox Sports or FSSN. [Click here for video]

The Media Guide is up for the Fighting Sioux hockey teams. [Fighting Sioux]

Couple of quick facts about Sioux/Gophers series:

• The Sioux outhit the Gophers. There were 53 penalties called and six 10-minute misconducts. North Dakota had 24 penalties, including 11 for roughing and two for hitting after the whistle. The Gophers had 29 penalties: 15 for roughing, one for instigating. R.J. Anderson, a Gophers senior defenseman, summed up it best: "They came to a war with guns, and we came with butter knives." [Star Tribune]

UND is 8-2-1 in the last 11 games against the Gophers.

SERIES HISTORY: UND is 124-130-12 all-time against the Gophers but is unbeaten in the last four meetings (3-0-1) and is 8-2-1 over the last 11.

The Sioux swept the lone series between the two teams last year, skating to 6-3 and 6-1 victories in Grand Forks (Jan. 9-10).

Gopher Puck Live writer Ryan Cardinal talks about the match up. Goaltending will be key in this series.

Despite that fact they were hit around last time out against UND, tmatch uphe main issue in that series was the goaltending, or lack thereof for the Gophers. The duo of Alex Kangas and Kent Patterson had a combined save percentage of just .836 in that series, and though they were hung out to dry a few times, there were several savable goals that made their way into the back of the net. Kangas started both games and was pulled on each night, and at media day, Lucia admitted he should have used Patterson more often last season. Look for Kangas to get the start on Friday night, and if he plays well he could also get the nod on Saturday as he does have the edge in experience, but Patterson will play more games this season, that much is for sure. [Gopher Puck Live]

The best beat writer in college hockey, Brad Elliott Schlossman, has all your required Friday Reading for the upcoming series. [UND Hockey]

Martin Havlat Hurt.

It's official the Wild suck and now they have injury problems as one of their only star players Martin Havlat is now on the shelf with an injury also Cal Clutterbuck, Peter Sykora, Pierre-Marc Bouchard are all out with various ailments. If anyone cares resident tough guy Derek Boogaard is hurt as well as he is still recovering from a concussion, while I find his fight entertaining I don't see him scoring many goals. You have to wonder if the former Wild Coach Jacque Lemaire is smiling yet?

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Wild suffered another painful loss Wednesday night, dropping a 3-2 decision to the Anaheim Ducks and losing top-line forward Martin Havlat in the process.

Wild coach Todd Richards dropped the dreaded words that seem to be replayed over and over again when he announced Havlat's injury after the game.

"Pulled groin," he said. "Day to day."

For much of their game at the Honda Center, the Wild looked like the equal of the sometimes still-mighty Ducks. But too often, lapses and breakdowns left the Wild's defense and even their power play resembling recess time at an elementary school.

"What really killed us was our power play," Richards said. "Every time we got on the power play, we couldn't do a thing. It was tough for us to get it in their zone, and it seemed like they had it on their stick more than we had it on ours."

There were no moral victories on this evening, as the Wild dropped to 1-4 this season, 0-4 on the road.

Weekend Match Ups (Sioux 7)

Last weekend the WCHA as a whole did okay, 2 teams are 2-0-0, 5 teams are now 1-1-0, and 1 team is 0-0-2, and 2 teams didn't have any record 0-0-0.

WCHA

Minnesota State at Minnesota-Duluth

In state rivals, the Bulldogs will play host to the Mavericks this weekend to start both teams WCHA schedules. Last weekend the Mavericks sweep the Falcons of Bowling Green, while the Bulldogs beat Lake Superior St on Friday and losing to Northern Michigan on Saturday. The big question is going to be how well are the Bulldogs going to be in net and on defense? The season is fledgling and teams are still getting all the pieces to fit. I'm going to call a SPLIT in this series.

On a side note Aaron Fox, MSU-M alum (1997-2000), scored a "Mike Legg" goal the other night. See and read about more of it [here] and [here]

Colorado College at #13 Wisconsin

Last weekend CC split a series with visiting Northeastern (Hockey East) and UW did not play. The Badgers appear to have the better team on paper, but the Tigers have a couple of games under their belt. I like the Tigers to win on Friday. Why? The Badgers have not played a game yet this season and will need to iron some things out yet, plus they need to get "up to speed" with the speed of the game. I think the Badgers will bounce back on Saturday and even the series. SPLIT.

#9 Minnesota at #4 North Dakota
The Sioux come into this weekend look to add a pair of wins to their 2-0-0 start. The Gophers have only played one exhibition game this season, against British Columbia two weeks ago. This should be the marquee match up this weekend in all of college hockey, with two old rivals that both ranked in the top 10. I'm leaning towards the home team in this series, one reason is UND has played a couple of games and have gotten use to the speed and hitting of the game again, and UM hasn't had that opportunity. I would like to see results like last season, but I don't think the Sioux will score 12 goals, but I do think the SIOUX SWEEP is the prediction.

Non-Conference

Denver at Ohio State
The Pioneers split a pair of games last weekend with the Vermont Catamounts, and the Buckeyes got sweep by Quinnipiac. This is a Thursday and Saturday two game series, why Friday off, your guess is as good as mine... I got a feeling that the Pioneers are going to send the Buckeyes to an 0-4-0 start, call it a hunch. DU SWEEPS

Union at #19 St. Cloud State
The Huskies lost a pair to #4 Miami (OH) last weekend (who now jumped to #1 in the rankings) and the Dutchmen swept Maine. The Dutchmen are picked to finish in the middle of the ECAC this season. The Huskies should take care of the Dutchmen, but still have to play a full 60 minutes of hockey if they want to secure a pair of wins this weekend. HUSKIES SWEEP.

Rensselear & Robert Morris vs. Alaska-Anchorage
The Seawolves are playing in another tournament, apparently they are backwards up their, most teams like to play in tournaments at the end of the season, instead of at the start of the season. The Engineers from RPI are pick to finish in the bottom half of the ECAC this year, well with that info, I'm going to take the Seawolves in the Friday night game. On Saturday they play the Colonials from Robert Morris, who will be moving from the CHA to Atlantic Hockey next year. I'm going take the Seawolves in this one. UAA 2-wins, remember you heard it here first!

Gabby is laughing now.

I had the misfortune of watching the Minnesota Wild go down to defeat again in another game where the opposition scored first, in fact I can't remember a game where they actually had the lead or scored first. So I come home tonight and turn on NHL Center ice and this season they have replays of the games that have been played today. Low and behold Marian Gaborik scored this highlight reel goal against the L.A. Kings. Gabby is off to a fast start and has scored 6 goals 4 asssits in 7 games for the Rangers. The Rangers are tied with the Pengiuns for best record in the NHL.

The first round dead weight known as James Sheppard.

I am wondering how long the Wild are going to keep coming back with this kid? As a Wild fan I have tried to look for something in this kids game that leads me to believe he was worthy of a first round pick in 2006. Through four games this season he has put up a big zero on the score sheet. Through two seasons and including the beginning of this one James Sheppard has played in 164 games, scored 9 goals 34 assist for 43 points. Funny thing is Sheppard is one of the more productive ones of his 2006 draft class that where taken after him in the first round. Here is the list of players that were taken after him that have been more successful in the NHL.

Richards again reiterated that with no Cal Clutterbuck, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Sykora, it’s essential Benoit Pouliot and James Sheppard step up. He liked Pouliot’s game in San Jose, but he said Sheppard is going through spells of not moving his feet on the ice, which leads to ineffectiveness all over the ice.

Really, there’s a lot of pressure on Sheppard now. I mean, he’s going to get ice time now. He’s going to get responsibility. If you can’t do it now, when are you going to, in other words. And remember, this is the guy assistant GM Tom Thompson guaranteed publicly this offseason would have a breakout year. He’s got no points in four games.

I meant to mention this yesterday, but I had sort of a weird interview with Sheppard yesterday. With Clutterbuck, Bouchard and Sykora out, both Chuck Fletcher and Richards singled out Sheppard and Pouliot as two guys who must step up with the extra ice time and responsibilities. Pouliot said it is a must and he can’t mess it up.

I threw three or four questions at Sheppard about stepping up specifically, and he consciously made it a point to never use the first person during the back and forth. Here’s two examples of back-to-back questions and answers:

Russo: With all the injuries now, how much do you feel you’re going to need to step up now with the extra ice time you’re going to get?

Sheppard: “Everyone’s got a bigger job. We’d love to have everyone playing, but for the guys who get more minutes or get into the game more, they’re going to be more focused because they’ve got a bigger job and they’re going to be in the game, touching the puck more and getting more minutes. It works both ways. There’s negatives and positives to both things. but for the most part, the guys who are going to play are going to play more intense.”

Russo: Chuck and Todd mentioned you and Pouliot specifically, so do you feel you need to be the guy who steps up?

Sheppard: “Just like I said, the guys who do get these minutes are going to touch the puck more and get more ice time. Hopefully for those guys, they can use them well and not take them for granted and make sure they … I think what I’m trying to say is that it’s not really a big deal for quote-unquote these guys.”

You kinda needed to be there to actually understand what I’m saying, but Sheppard tried hard, and I mean hard, to make it a point to never personalize it. I don’t know what the motivation there was. Maybe he’s sensing the pressure, but I just didn’t see a very confident player there.
[Russo's Rants]

INCH Podcast

I would have to say that it was an interesting pod cast, semi thought provoking for the discussion check out the return of Goon's favorite college hockey web page INCH  podcast [click here for the podcast] about nineteen minutes into the podcast the discussion of EZAC hockey comes up. Apparently they saw the article that was at the Illegal Curve or here because they quoted this blog post. I still stand by those comments, they would hard pressed to get home ice for the WCHA playoffs. Also, they mentioned a couple of ECAC goaltenders (Ben Scrivens, Cornell and Zane Kalemba, Princeton). I believe that these goaltenders wouldn't have the same low goals against averages and high save percentages as well if they played in the WCHA. These goaltenders are over inflating their numbers playing against mediocre teams that aren’t as competitive (Brown, RPI, Union, Clarkson, Quinnipiac). If these players played in one of the more competitive big four leagues these player might be at the top of the league but they wouldn't have the gaudy numbers.

When I saw this CHN poll I thought you have got to be kidding me? This is a joke right? I mean seriously we have three EZAC teams in the top ten. The same three teams that if you put them in the WCHA would be struggling to make the top five to gain home ice for the WCHA playoffs. I know there are many that feel the same way as I do.

Sioux and Gophers week.

Ah the good ole days of Sioux and the Gophers weekend. No clue what to expect this weekend when the two teams meet. I am sure we will have some rough stuff. Friday can't come fast enough. I would compare this matchup to Hatfield and McCoy fued.

Series History

The Gophers lead the all-time series 137-124-12, though North Dakota won both meetings last year with 6-3 and 6-1 victories at home. The Fighting Sioux are 7-2-1 in the last 10 encounters with the Gophers. Prior to last year's sweep, four of the previous six meetings had gone to overtime and eight of the previous nine had been decided by two goals or less. The Gophers also are 4-3 in their last seven games at Englestad Arena.

About the Fighting Sioux


North Dakota opened its season with a home sweep of Merrimack by 5-2 and 3-2 scores last weekend. The Fighting Sioux controlled both games, outshooting Merrimack 40-17 on Friday and 35-18 on Saturday. Freshman forward Michael Cichy had a goal and two assists in his collegiate debut series and was named the WCHA Rookie of the Week. Brad Eidsness played both games in goal, finishing with 15 saves on Friday and 16 saves on Saturday. The sophomore was a third-team all-WCHA selection last season and has now started 35 consecutive games, which is the third-longest streak in school history. Senior defenseman Chay Genoway was last season's WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the Inside College Hockey Preseason All-American team. North Dakota returns 16 letterwinners from last year's WCHA championship team and has 10 freshmen on this year's roster.

Historical Memories

Sioux and Gophers in December of 2007

Sioux vs Gophers 2nd Period Scrum Feb 3rd 2008, Gorg from between the Penalty Box.

Blast from the past Vannelli vs McMahon. Vannelli got worked in this fight.

Last season there were a lot of goals from the Green and White. Highlights from last season 2-0 series win by the Sioux.

Stafford Scores against Detroit.

Former Fighting Sioux hockey player Drew Stafford scores his first goal of the season for Buffalo against the Detroit Redwings. Last night  the Buffalo Sabres took it to the Detroit Redwings beat them 6-2 on Versus.
The Northeast Division has started out the season pretty weak this season and the Sabres are actually leading the Northeast division with a 3-0-1 record early on.

Matt Hendricks vs Garnet Exelby

Who says that Former Huskies can't fight? Former SCSU Husky Matt Hendricks and Garnet Exelby get into a pretty good fight, unfortunately Hendricks slips and got the worse of the exchange. The Maple Leafs are an unimpressive 0-5-1 so far this season. 

USCHO Poll. (UND 4th)

[October 13, 2009]
1 Miami (28) 2-0-0 871 4
2 Boston University (17) 0-0-0 859 2
3 Denver 1-1-0 772 1
4 North Dakota 2-0-0 759 6
5 Michigan 1-1-0 685 3
6 Cornell 0-0-0 608 7
7 Notre Dame 1-1-0 598 5
8 Yale 0-0-0 523 8
9 Minnesota 0-0-0 521 9
10 Princeton 0-0-0 459 10
11 Vermont 1-1-0 408 14
12 Boston College 0-0-0 395 12
13 Wisconsin 0-0-0 352 13
14 Mass.-Lowell 1-1-0 348 11
15 Bemidji State 2-0-0 183 NR
16 Nebraska-Omaha 2-0-0 154 NR
17 Alaska 2-0-0 126 NR
18 Quinnipiac 2-0-0 110 NR
19 St. Cloud State 0-2-0 109 15
20 Northeastern 1-1-0 105 20

Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota-Duluth 102, New Hampshire 84, Union 55, Michigan State 53, Minnesota State 46, Northern Michigan 43, Ohio State 32, Colorado College 24, Harvard 17, Massachusetts 11, Air Force 9, Alaska-Anchorage 7, RIT 7, Colgate 5, St. Lawrence 4, Alabama-Huntsville 3, Rensselaer 2, Canisius 1

Obsession.

 

Being it's Sioux and Gophers week, I figured it was never too early to get this picture posted. Fighting Sioux hockey fans know that Gopher hockey fans are obsessed with anything that is about Fighting Sioux Hockey. We are still debating who is the better player Parise or Vanek. We also can't forget that the Holy Cross game still comes up after six years. I know it's a long time ago but it is still funny. Nothing was more pleasing that watching a bunch of over confident Gopher fans leave the arena in disbelief. My wife informed me yesterday that Scheels is selling Holy Cross shirts. Get them while they are hot.

Of course there are Gophers fans that like to bring up the UNH game but it's still not the same as the Holy Cross game. UNH was a pretty good hockey team, Holy Cross was a sixteen seed.

Not to be out done by Sioux fans, Gopher fans like to bring up this game but this game still brings me much joy as well. A Regional championship > League playoff Championship.

Dirty over at Ditry's Diatribe posted a site that I found pretty comical, the blog post is pretty funny as well. I hope we all remember in the end that this is just a game. We don't need any fights in bars like we had last season. When you get to the point that your ready to start swinging you might have an anger management issue.

Some people really have no life. Apparently Goofs fans love Dave Hakstol as well. This one hasn't gained any steam what so ever.

Leafs in shambles Bozak called up to the Leafs.

The Make Me laughs are a mess, last years top scorer Jason Blake has two points in 5 games, the goaltending can't stop a beach ball. Why not call up former DU star Tyler Bozak? Seriously, I was surprised when they sent him down and he could add some spark to the line up?

[Sun Media] Reeling from their worst start in almost 20 years, the 0-4-1 Leafs called up centre Tyler Bozak from the Marlies, apparently benching forwards Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman and sitting goalie Vesa Toskala out with a lower body injury.

”Why not?,” coach Ron Wilson said of the high-profile benchings. “We need more from everyone, we’re giving opportunities to younger guys.”

Toskala was shaken up in Monday’s 7-2 loss to the New York Rangers, when teammate Jason Blake crosschecked Ranger forward Ryan Callahan over top of him while he was in the butterfly position. With Joey MacDonald already slated to start after Toskala registered no wins, a 5.56 goals-against average and an .812 save percentage, the Leafs called up James Reimer from the Marlies to back up MacDonald tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. Toskala went for an MRI today, but the problem is not thought to be serious.

The game will also see the return of the Leafs’ top scorer in pre-season, Viktor Stalberg, who suffered a mild concussion a week ago early in the club’s third game after getting one point in two previous starts. He and Bozak live together with forward Christian Hanson, who is also with the Marlies.

“Viktor and I were on different schedules, but I was jealous whenever he went on (an NHL) road trip,” Bozak said.

Bozak received word via text last night he would be called up.

Aaron Fox goes Mike Legg on KHL goalie.

Check out this amazing goal by former MSU player Aaron Fox who's currently playing for Zagreb Medvescak of the KHL, incidently this is also former Fighting Sioux hockey player Mike PrPich's team.
[props] and [props]

Hey ref you...

Fighting Sioux hockey beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman has now posted the numbers for the WCHA refs just in time for the WCHA season. Sweet.

Personally, I was kind of disgusted that the refs have now gone chicken, so the fans no longer know who they are without the roster, because they no longer put their names on the back of their jerseys. I can't be the only on that thinks that was a stupid thing to do? I mean seriously, if the officials are not doing a good job (like usual) there should be a name attached to the product. I suppose the League Commissioner Bruce McLeod believes that it will decrease the complaints against their crappy officials. Not a chance. If you doing a horrible job there should be some ownership connected with the crappy product.

3 -- Derek Shepherd
4 -- Todd Anderson
5 -- Justin Brown*
7 -- Don Adam
8 -- Tom Sterns*
9 -- C.J. Beaurline
10 -- Peter Friesema
11 -- Tim Walsh
12 -- Butch Mousseaux
14 -- Brian Thul
15 -- Marco Hunt
17 -- Craig Welker
18 -- Max Battimo
20 -- Brad Albers
22 -- Bill Mason
23 -- Matt Ulwelling
24 -- Jon Campion
25 -- Mike McCreary*
27 -- Jonathan Morrison
29 -- Scott Bokal
31 -- Brett Klosowski
33 -- Brad Shepherd

Poll Monday

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine
Men’s College Hockey Poll - #2

1 Miami University, 496 (24) 1 2-0-0 2
2 Boston University, 470 (9) 3 0-0-0 2
3 University of Denver, 413 2 1-1-0 2
4 University of North Dakota, 394 8 2-0-0 2
5 University of Michigan, 365 4 1-1-0 2
6 Cornell University, 298 7 0-0-0 2
7 University of Notre Dame, 294 5 1-1-0 2
8 University of Minnesota, 269 6 0-0-0 2
9 Princeton University, 213 9 0-0-0 2
10 Yale University, 204 11 0-0-0 2
11 University of Vermont, 155 15 1-1-0 2
12 Boston College, 144 (1) 12 0-0-0 2
13 University of Massachusetts Lowell, 136 10 1-1-0 2
14 University of Wisconsin, 74 14 0-0-0 2
15 University of Nebraska Omaha, 36 NR 2-0-0 1
Others receiving votes: Bemidji State University, 27; University of Alaska Anchorage, 17; University of Minnesota Duluth, 17; St. Cloud State University, 15; Quinnipiac University, 11; Union College, 9; Michigan State University, 8; University of New Hampshire, 6; Northeastern University, 3; Northern Michigan University, 3; Minnesota State University, 2; University of Massachusetts, 1.

Just for laughs
INCH Power Rankings

1.)Miami
2.)UND -- Fourteen of the 18 skaters who dressed for the Sioux's sweep of Merrimack registered at least one point on the weekend. 2-0-0 (0-0-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 5-2; W vs. Merrimack, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota
3.)DU
4.)BU
5.)Notre Dame
6.)Michigan
7.)Cornell
8.)Princeton
9.)Minnesota
10.)Yale
11.)Vermont
12.)U-Mass Lowell
13.)Wisconsin
14.)Boston College
15.)Alaska (Fairbanks)
16.)BSU
17.)UNO
18.)SCSU
19.)UNION
20.)MSU

USCHO.COM Poll (comes out Tuesday because of the holiday)

Latest Versus Hockey Comercial (Toews)

Goon's world is going to have a partnership with Versus hockey and the folks at Versus sent us this video to get things rolling. Former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews is featured in this commercial. Stay tuned for details.

OILERS RECALL TAYLOR CHORNEY

Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Taylor Chorney has been recalled by the Edmonton Oilers. Nice to see Chorney get called up, hopefully he will stick with the Edmonton Oilers this time.

[Official Press Release] General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the Edmonton Oilers have recalled defenceman Taylor Chorney from the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League.

Chorney, 22, currently leads the Falcons in scoring (tied with three others) and is third among all AHL defencemen in scoring with five points (2-3-5) in four games.

The Thunder Bay, Ontario native made his National Hockey League debut last season, appearing in two games with the Oilers.

In 68 games with the Falcons, Chorney tallied five goals and 16 assists for 21 points and 22 penalty minutes.