Wednesday press conference...

Interesting press conference, it would appear that last weekend's series results may have refocused the team. Darcy Zajc, Brad Eidsness were the players in today’s press conference. The thing that caught my attention was one of the reporters asked coach Hakstol about this being the first time your team has faced adversity. The response was this isn't the first time we have faced adversity, you haven't been in our lockerroom.' Coach Hakstol was asked Chay Genoway's status, it has not changed from Friday two weeks ago. Genoway is still out indefinitely and nothing has changed.

Also listen to Sioux Sports Today. [Click to listen]

Dusting off an old article: UND last WCHA team to be RedHawks.

I wrote this article for the Illegal Curve back on October 10th 2009.

On October 27th 2007 Miami Student writer Mike Zoller declared that Miami University hockey ‘was on the Brink of being a dynasty.’ While Miami Hockey is not a dynasty by definition (need to win a few NCAA titles), I am also going to hold off calling them a dynasty for now but Miami does have a good shot at being a title contender this season if they play up to their potential.

Since 2003-2004 the Miami RedHawks have compiled a 144-76-23 record and have made the NCAA tourney five out of the last six seasons. Last spring the RedHawks had the NCAA chapionship in their grasp, the RedHawks made it to the NCAA Championship game, took a 3-1 lead before losing the game in over time to the Boston University Terriers. [Box Score]

This is what I found in my Twitter posts this morning when I got up this morning.

MikeSwainey @goon48 All I know is Miami continues to knock off WCHA teams. IIRC, 5 straight wins against your league. But tomorrow's another day.

First off I wouldn’t be surprised tonight if SCSU loses to the RedHawks again tonight to make it six games in a row. Breaking it down further, Mike is right, Miami has done pretty well against WCHA foes as of late. Both DU and SCSU have both lost their last two games they have played against the Miami University RedHawks. Also, the Miami RedHawks beat UMD in last season’s Midwest regional at Mariucci Arena. Incidently, the last WCHA team to beat Miami University was the Fighting Sioux 3-0 in Lefty McFadden Invitational on October 8th 2005 when Jordan Parise held off a Miami surge and got a shutout against the RedHawks.

Here is the last 6 games that Miami has played against WCHA teams.

October 8th 2005 UND 3 Miami 0
October 6th 2006 Miami 5 DU 2
December 27, 2007 Miami 2 SCSU 1 O.T.
March 27, 2009 Miami 4 DU 2
March 28, 2009 Miami 2 UMD 1
October 09, 2009 Miami 3 SCSU 2 O.T.
October 10, 2009 Miami 2 SCSU 0

Breaking it down further, Mike is right, Miami has done pretty darn good job against the WCHA teams as of late. Both DU and SCSU have both lost their last two games they played to the Miami University RedHawks. Also, the Miami RedHawks beat UMD in last season’s Midwest regional championship game at Mariucci Arena. Incidentally, the last WCHA team to beat Miami University was the Fighting Sioux 3-0 in Lefty McFadden Invitational on October 8th 2005 when Jordan Parise got a shut out against the RedHawks. The Fighting Sioux might have to stop that streak if the Huskies can't stop them tonight.

Non Conference scores from last night

Last night the WCHA went 7-1 in non conference play. Last season the WCHA’s non conference play was their Achilles heal, last night SCSU was the only team in non conference play from the WCHA to lose.

UND 5 Merrimack College 2
MTU 5 NMU 3
C.C. 4 Northeastern 2
UMD 4 LSSU 3
MSU-M 3 BGSU 2
DU 5 VMU 4
UAA 5 Mercyhurst College 3
Miami 3 SCSU 2 O.T.

CHA 2-0 in Non Conference play last night.

UAH 3 Notre Dame 2 (this one makes me happy)
BSU 3 AFA 1 the battle of the Serratore brothers

Check out more from Eric of mvn.com, on my twitter,

Head Shots

Really good article by MSU-M beat writer Shane Frederick on head shots in the WCHA.

Already this season there have been three notable high or blindside hits.

Wisconsin’s Craig Smith got a game-disqualification and an additional one-game suspension from his school for a frightening check from behind into the boards that knocked Geoff Irwin out of commission for two games with a shoulder injury.

Alaska-Anchorage’s Jade Portwood broke Minnesota freshman Nick Leddy’s jaw with a shoulder check, putting Leddy out for six weeks. There was no penalty on the hit, and Portwood was not suspended, despite Gophers coach Don Lucia’s plea for punishment.

And then there was the check from behind that St. Cloud State’s Aaron Marvin laid on North Dakota’s Chay Genoway. Genoway was knocked out for at least three games, and Marvin was suspended one game by the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the hit, which has been replayed over and over again on YouTube.

“It still happens and it’s a mystery to me,” WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod told the Associated Press last week. “We’ve beefed up that rule and our officials know to always err on the side of safety. They are doing the best they possibly can ... We’re trying to emphasize that there’s no tolerance for it, but it hasn’t stopped it from happening.”
[Mankato Free Press]

I can’t believe that Bruce McLeod would actually make that stupid statement. McLeod can’t be that oblivious to the situation, he and his officials are part of the problem. The reason players are still hitting other players in the head and they don’t respect their opponents and your disciplinary system is a joke. There is no real repercussion or any meaningful discipline for the leagues hockey players that hits another player with questionable and egregious hit.

Let me break this further, if you’re a player in the WCHA what’s stopping you from taking a run at a top player like Jordan Schroeder. What are the consequences if you hit another player with a hit to the head and injure him? Seriously! All you’re going to get is a one game suspension max, isn’t that really a zero sum gain?

Daniel Briere suspended two games.

Flyers forward Daniel Briere is the last to be punished by the Colin Campbell's wheels of justice. The hit to the head is at the end of the video. All levels of hockey are trying to eliminate hits to the head. It would appear that some are not getting the message. The thing that really stuck out with me is that Briere makes more in two games than a lot of people make the whole year. You can also see the hit better on this clip. It's a dirty hit

TORONTO -- Philadelphia Flyers forward Daniel Briere has been suspended for two games, without pay, as a result of a late hit on an unsuspecting opponent -- Avalanche defenseman Scott Hannan -- during NHL Game #335 in Colorado Monday night, the National Hockey League announced today.

The incident took place at 9:06 of the second period, immediately following Hannan's goal.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average salary, Briere will forfeit $67,357.52. The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Briere will miss games Nov. 25 against the New York Islanders and Nov. 27 at Buffalo. He will be eligible to return Nov. 28 at Atlanta.

Coach Hakstol on last weekend.

Check out what the head coach Dave Hakstol had to say about the weekend series. No excuses the team didn't deal well with adversity.

Tuesday reading.

Moving forward there is lots to be positive about if you’re a Fighting Sioux hockey fan.

A lot has been made this season about Junior Marc Cheverie play and how good he has been and he is currently ranked 1st nationally with 6-0-0 record a SV% of .961 and a GAA of 1.1940. Not to take anything away from Marc Cheverie but Fighting Sioux goaltender Brad Eidsness isn’t having too bad of a season as well. Currently Eidsness is ranked 5th in the nation with 6-3-1 record a 929 SV % and a GAA of 1.69. [USCHO.COM]

The good numbers don't end there. UND is also Ranked 19th nationally in offense 3.08 goals per game and 3rd nationally in defense 1.75 goals per game. [USCHO.COM]

UND is also ranked 14th nationally on the power play and ranked 10th on penalty killing.

Georges Laraque suspended for five games fot hit on Niklas Kronwall

Maybe WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod and Greg Shepherd could learn a thing or two about the NHL disciplinary procedures. This is what happens when you take a player out you pay for it with a suspension. Like I said in an earlier post I thought the NHL should suspend Georges Laraque for this dirty hit on Niklas Kronwall.

The National Hockey League announced on Monday night that Montreal Canadiens forward Georges Laraque has been suspended for five games without pay, and will forfeit $38,860.10 in salary for an incident that took place during a game against the Detroit Red Wings last Saturday.

At 8:52 of the first period, Laraque was involved in an incident where he deliberately extended his knee and, through his actions, caused an injury to Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall. Laraque was assessed a minor penalty for tripping on the play.

"Mr. Laraque's actions were dangerous and caused a significant injury to his opponent," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell.

Laraque will miss Montreal's next five games – Nov. 24 against Columbus; Nov. 25 at Pittsburgh; Nov. 28 against Washington, Dec. 1 against Toronto and Dec. 3 at Buffalo. He will be eligible to return on Dec. 4 against the Boston Bruins. [NHL.COM]

Christmas comes early Pouliot traded to the Habs.

RWD game me a heads up on this trade. I am excited about this trade because I have never been impressed with Benoit Pouliot, the kid was a waste of a uniform who put up little if any effort and I wondered why the Wild keep coming back with him in the lineup, now if the Wild can get rid of their other first round mistake James Sheppard the kid has shown nothing to date that leads me to believe that he will ever be anything more than a fourth line player. I don't think he has even earned the right to play on the Wild's fourth line in my humble opinion. If he is lucky he MIGHT score 5-10 goals this season. As a self confessed Montreal Canadians’ hater I guess it will take some time for me to get used to this move. I think that Guillaume Latendresse might be able to add some grit in front of the opposition net.

The thing I like about Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher is that he isn’t sitting around making excused like the former Wild GM Doug Risebrough did. I actually like the fact that this season Fletcher has went out and got Chuck Kobasew, Andrew Ebbett. It shows that Fletcher isn’t going to sit around and just let people wear a uniform.

The Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens traded underachieving forwards Monday afternoon.

Montreal sent power forward Guillaume Latendresse to the Wild in exchange for forward Benoit Pouliot.

Latendresse, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound left wing, has just 2 goals and 3 points on this season after a 26-point season in 2008-09. In his first three season, Latendresse had put together back-to-back 16-goal seasons in his first two years in the League.

"Guillaume is a young, talented forward who has averaged 15 goals per season in each of his first three NHL seasons,” Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said. “At just 22 years old, he will add size and a scoring punch to our roster.”

Pouliot, Minnesota's first-round pick, No. 4 overall, in the 2005 Entry Draft, has just 2 goals and 4 points in 13 games this season. The 6-foot-3, 199-pound left wing has 9 goals and 18 points in 65 NHL games, spread across parts of four seasons.

Pouliot is presently out of the lineup with an upper-body injury. He last played on Nov. 13. Latendresse, meanwhile, has been relegated to third- and fourth-line duty for the Canadiens. He has not seen more than 9 minutes of ice time since Nov. 5. [Wild.Com] Props to [Mike Russo]

Poll Monday (Sioux 4th)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[November 23, 2009]
1 Miami (37) 9-1-4 983 1
2 Denver ( 9) 8-3-1 938 3
3 Mass.-Lowell ( 2) 8-2-1 864 4
4 North Dakota 7-4-1 794 2
5 Colorado College 9-2-1 792 7
6 Bemidji State ( 2) 10-1-1 690 8
7 Cornell 5-2-0 648 5
8 Michigan State 9-3-2 632 6
9 Quinnipiac 10-1-0 622 13
10 Massachusetts 8-2-0 587 11
11 Yale 3-2-2 417 9
12 Alaska 8-3-1 401 10
13 Notre Dame 6-5-3 381 14
14 Minnesota-Duluth 9-4-1 378 20
15 Wisconsin 7-4-1 292 15
16 Boston College 5-3-2 250 17
17 Ferris State 9-3-2 247 NR
18 Vermont 4-4-1 188 17
19 Nebraska-Omaha 5-4-3 109 12
20 Colgate 6-3-4 70 NR
Others Receiving Votes: St. Cloud State 64, Michigan 63, RIT 20, Princeton 18, Union 16, New Hampshire 12, Northern Michigan 10, Rensselaer 8, Merrimack 2, Providence 2, St. Lawrence 2
-----------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Nov. 23, 2009]
Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week's rank
1 Miami University (Ohio) (26) 9-1-4 502 1
2 Denver (6) 8-3-1 479 3
3 Massachusetts Lowell (2) 8-2-1 440 4
4 North Dakota 7-4-1 374 2
5 Colorado College 9-2-1 364 7
6 Bemidji State 10-1-1 290 8
7 Michigan State 9-3-2 270 6
8 Cornell 5-2-0 256 5
9 Massachusetts 8-2-0 240 11
10 Quinnipiac 10-1-0 234 13
11 Yale 3-2-2 144 9
12 University of Alaska (Fairbanks) 8-3-1 137 10
13 Minnesota Duluth 9-4-1 94 NR
14 Notre Dame 6-5-3 86 14
15 Boston College 5-3-2 42 NR
Others receiving votes: University of Vermont, 30; Ferris State University 27, University of Wisconsin 25, University of Michigan 11, University of Nebraska Omaha 10, Colgate University 5, Rochester Institute of Technology 3, St. Cloud State University 1.

Analysis: Five WCHA teams in the top 20 this kind of looks like it’s shaping up to be one of those season where the WCHA might get five teams in the big dance. That could change because the WCHA teams will commit fratricide against their fellow conference foes with WCHA schedule. I know it's early so we will have to see how the season shakes out.

I am kind of surprised that C.C. is still behind UND in the polls. Again the polls mean nothing at the current time, but they are fun to talk about. The Bemidji State University Beavers receives two first place votes in this week's poll after they pounded UAH I am sure we will hear how BSU has played a weak schedule and doesn’t deserve to be ranked so high. This weekend we will see how the Beavers stack up against two CCHA teams.

Marc Savard returns to the Bruins

This is very good news for the Boston Bruins who are starved for goal scoring. Also, it helps me because I get one of my fantasy hockey players back in my hockey pool. Of course sitting in 8th place in a 10 team league isn't all that impressive.

Marc Savard, out of the lineup since Oct. 17 against Phoenix, will be back in uniform tonight after recovering from a broken left foot. Savard will center the No. 1 line between Marco Sturm and Byron Bitz.
[Bruins Blog]

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings for those looking for a good laugh on Monday Morning.

1. Miami
2. Denver
8-3-1 (6-1-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. North Dakota, 1-0; W vs. North Dakota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State
3. UMass Lowell
4. North Dakota 2 The losses at Denver marked the first time the Sioux suffered a weekend sweep since dropping a pair to Michigan Tech Dec. 15-16, 2006. "Hopefully it doesn't happen again," NoDak forward Chris VandeVelde told the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman. 7-4-1 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 1-0; L at Denver, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Miami (Subway Holiday Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.)
5. Colorado College
6. Cornell
7. Bemidji State
8. Michigan State
9. Quinnipiac
10. Massachusetts
11. Yale
12. Alaska
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Notre Dame
15. Vermont
16. Wisconsin
17. Boston College
18. Ferris State
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. Colgate
Dropped out: Princeton
Bubble-licious: St. Cloud State, Merrimack, RIT

Georges Laraque's Knee On Knee hit on Niklas Kronwall

I think this is a bush league hit and Georges Laraque should be suspended by the NHL for this dirty hit. I have have to be honest that I am not a fan of Georges Laraque and find his antics borish. That doesn't mean I don't like tough guys because I do. I just appreciate tough guys with honor that play the game straight up. It just find it funny that a guy that doesn't play more than eight minutes a game and that has little or any talent was able to knock out a talented defenseman like Niklas Kronwall. I saw this on hockey night and Canada last night and have to agree with the Redwing's General Manager.

Asked if he thought the hit dirty, Holland didn’t hesitate.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Yes, it was dirty. It was knee-on-knee, and I believe knee-on-knee is a dirty play. I don’t know if the referees saw it. I just saw Nik go down and then I got to watch it on TV and video replay.”

Laraque was only assessed a two-minute minor penalty for tripping – though he also got four minutes for high-sticking Darren Helm during the same shift – but the NHL may well hand down a suspension upon review.
[Freep.com]

DU 3 UND 2

Well that was fun!?! I hope UND learned a few things about their team this past weekend. The Fighting Sioux aren’t quite there yet but they aren’t too far off from being a really good hockey team. Hey I will give DU their due they are a good hockey team but UND isn’t too bad either. Lets also not be confused, while DU is a good hockey they are not world beaters or unbeatable either, like some have suggested. The Pioneers are a good hockey team that has a lot of balance but I wouldn’t write them in as NCAA champions yet. Maybe Kizla should stick to covering the Av’s.

Seriously, I really don’t think there is really too much of a difference between the two teams, like one fan said over on DG’s blog this series could have gone either way. I agree with that. In whole grand scheme of things UND is still a pretty young team but is ranked third nationally in team defense, not too shabby. UND was also missing their top defenseman this weekend. That probably played a big hand in this weekend’s results.

Going Forward

I have already have discussed the shoddy official’s performance in this series and I don’t know if I need to cover that anymore today. Sioux7 might have something to say about it next week. None-the-less, I am going to be on the officials like a laser this season. If they screw up I am going to talk about it. If I see a poor performance involving any team from the officials I will cover it. That means if UAA gets screwed by the officials it will get discussed. The fans are paying way to much money to get cheated by the on ice officials. I also don’t think they are off limits for discussion. If you have visual evidence of a travesty email it to me and it will get covered.

Silver Linings

The Fighting Sioux also learned that if take stupid penalties it could come back to haunt you. Former Fighting Sioux hockey coach Dean Blais used to say “if you’re going to take a penalty you better be ready to kill it.” I actually thought UND did pretty good on the penalty killing this weekend. Special teams were key in this weekend series, all of the goals scored this weekend came on the power play. Really if you look at the silver lining UND lost by two goals in a two game series. That is better than getting blown out two nights in a row.

The sun did come up to day as well and there are many things to be thankful for.

Props ~ I think that Joe Gleason picked up his play this past weekend and did a good job moving the puck out of the zone.

Props ~ Danny Kristo had a goal and an assist this past weekend and I thought he looked pretty good this past weekend.

Props ~ Brad Eidsness was pretty good this past weekend and now has a record of 6-3-1 in ten and a half games and a GAA of 1.69 and a SV% of .929. Like BigA HG of Sioux Sports said, Eids has looked great in my eyes (not in some others). I would have to say that I concur.

Props ~ To Patrick Wiercioch and Marc Cheverie for making it back to the line up from injuries and having a hand in sweeping UND.



[Box Score]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st Period (20:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DEN-1 Jesse Martin (2-Tripping) NDK 1x1 1:31
DEN-2 John Lee (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) NDK 1x2 2:22
NDK 1 - 0 6x4 PP Danny Kristo (2) (Brad Malone, Evan Trupp) 3:23
NDK: 7,19,22,25,18,G31 DEN: 24,27,6,G1
NDK-1 Ben Blood (2-CTH ROUGHING) DEN 0x1 10:07
NDK-2 Corban Knight (2-Cross-Checking) DEN 0x2 13:37
DEN-3 John Ryder (2-Roughing) NDK 2x3 16:32
NDK 2 - 0 6x5 PP Chris VandeVelde (4) (Jason Gregoire, Danny Kristo) 17:26
NDK: 29,7,17,20,26,G31 DEN: 19,21,6,9,G1
NDK-3 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Holding) DEN 1x3 19:18

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

NDK-4 Derrick LaPoint (2-Tripping) 0:20
DEN-4 Rhett Rakhshani (2-Tripping) 0:20
DEN 1 - 2 6x5 PP Joe Colborne (4) (Kyle Ostrow, Drew Shore) 1:09
DEN: 12,19,23,28,15,G1 NDK: 22,19,24,25,G31
NDK-5 Ben Blood (2-Hooking) DEN 1x4 2:09
NDK-6 Ben Blood (2-Contact to the Head) DEN 2x5 4:45
DEN 2 - 2 6x5 PP Joe Colborne (5) (Patrick Wiercioch, Tyler Ruegsegger) 5:22
DEN: 12,28,15,19,9,G1 NDK: 11,19,25,3,G31
NDK-7 Brad Malone (2-Slashing) DEN 3x6 6:47
DEN 3 - 2 6x5 PP GW LL Kyle Ostrow (5) (Joe Colborne, Rhett Rakhshani) 8:33
NDK: 9,11,3,25,G31
NDK-8 Danny Kristo (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) DEN 3x7 13:04
NDK-9 Brett Hextall (2-Roughing) DEN 3x8 15:54
DEN-5 Jesse Martin (2-Hooking) NDK 2x4 17:22
NDK-10 Brett Hextall (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) DEN 3x9 18:47

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

DEN-6 Matt Donovan (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x5 5:32
NDK-11 Chris VandeVelde (2-Slashing) DEN 3x10 10:32
NDK-12 Brad Malone (2-Interference) DEN 3x11 16:10
DEN-7 Joe Colborne (2-Hooking) NDK 2x6 17:43
DEN-8 Jesse Martin (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x7 19:16

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

After futher review the refs still suck.

Yesterday I wrote a column for the Illegal Curve on how the officiating in the WCHA is sub par and needed to be changed starting with the leadership at the top by failing to renew their contracts when they come up for renewal. I also said that the officials in the WCHA lacked credibility and the rest of college hockey; including the fans, media pundits and other leagues look at the WCHA leadership as being joke. In the last INCH pod cast the guys from INCH in a nut shell basically said that the WCHA league officials were a joke in the way they handled the Genoway hit.[Click to listen] I hate to say it, but I agree with the guys from INCH.

Travesty in Denver

Last night was one of the most one sided officiating jobs that I have seen in my 17-18 years of watching college hockey. Let it be known that I have watched some bad officiating jobs over those years, but this one stuck out more than others. The WCHA should review the performance of Brian Thul, Scott Bokal these two officials are a joke and don’t belong calling hockey games anymore, if you can’t call the game fairly both ways than you shouldn’t be allowed to call a game. There were many instances where the DU player would obstruct, hook, hold or slash a UND player yet there would be no call from the ref and then the refs would turn around and call UND for another penalty. UND had to kill off six straight penalties in the second period. That is an utter joke. It was like the decision had been made UND wasn't going to win this game.

On the ruling of no goal; this is one instance where the refs actually made the right call for once. Color me surprised. When the officials go to review a goal on the video as a fan you have no clue how the refs are going to rule because they are so inconsistent in their rulings. Each ruling is an adventure. Unfortunately, this ruling probably cost UND a point in the standings, but I am alright with that because they mad the right decision for once.

Look at the video that is included at the top of the page its clear that Sioux forward Brad Malone clearly made a distinct kicking motion at the puck with his skate. So in reality the refs got two thirds of their goal reviews wrong this past weekend, I guess you can’t be wrong all of the time, right. Even the homer DU radio announcers said that the refs blew the two goal reviews from Friday night, one goal that should have probably counted for the DU goal and another goal that should have counted for UND. I guess you could call it a wash but if UND’s goal counts it may have changed the complexity of the game a bit.

The league needs to have a cognitive approach to reviewing the goals because right now the refs are not doing a very good job reviewing the goals. There is no rhyme or reason to their rulings on questionable goals. Of course the league commissioner and the head of WCHA officials are oblivious and walk around acting if nothing is wrong with the officiating in the WCHA. In the minds of the WCHA leadership the officials are doing a great job in their mind the league has five teams within a couple points of each other in the standings, all for the sake of parity.

Last night the game started out well for UND the Fighting Sioux got two power play goals in the first period and were playing well. The game was tame and not a lot of after the whistle b.s. then Denver University coach George Gwozdecky stepped into his office and decided that he had seen enough of this and did his patented work over the refs routine. It was typical Gwoz he called the ref over to the DU players bench and complain to the refs about the calls on the ice. I mean how dare UND get a lead on his team. As a Sioux fan you know what is coming next, you know that UND is about to get homered in Denver. The next penalty or two is coming UND’s way. Sure enough UND had to kill off six straight penalties and gave up three goals.

Coach Hakstol is unimpressed with the refs

Check out Coah Hakstol post game comments with Tim Hennessey after the game. [Click to listen] This is the most upset that I can ever remember Dave Hakstol being in a post game interview. Check out what he has to say.

Check out a few of the comments by Coach Dave Hakstol. The team took a few of the undisciplined penalties that went over the deep end. There were also a few calls that were junk. The pros on ice (the officials)didn't do a very good job. The league commissioner was in attendance and maybe we will have a talk with him, or maybe not.

McLeod is a joke

Last night between the second and third period WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod was on the radio last night with Tim O'Keefe and the league commissioner basically said you have to kill a commit an act of murder to get more than a one game suspension. In other words get a 2 game suspension from the league you have to do something that is really egregious, apparently the check on Chay Genoway didn’t cross that threshold of being grotesque enough to warrant an extra game. You can bet if that person that committed the act had been wearing purple or green uniform they would have had the book thrown at them. Just ask Mankato coach Troy Jutting.

Tim O’Keefe also asked McLeod if he understood how fans would be upset with the fact that Chay Genoway is sitting at home while Aaron Marvin gets to play this weekend. The buffoon’s response was something like this aw shucks we make stuff as we go along and mentioned Nick Leddy’s dad being upset about the hit on his kid. Apparently the WCHA commissioner has no ability to feel empathy for anyone. I was ready to take my computer and throw it across the room.

Lastly, Tim O’Keefe also brought up how George Gwozdecky walked out on to the ice at the end of the period. Again the commissioner said something to the affect of ah shucks we reviewed the tape and had a talk with George said that he shouldn’t be out on the ice. How about a sanction? I wonder if this discussion was over their morning coffee together at Denver University.

I know that some are going to sound like conspiracy theory stuff but the league office is at Denver University and I can see how fans might question this and how this appears to others in the WCHA. Seriously, you had the two controversial goals that DU benefited from two seasons ago and then you have this debacle.

Lines for tonight's game.

UND Fighing Sioux hockey beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman has posted the lines for tonight's game against the Denver Pioneers.

UND's lines

17 Jason Gregoire--29 Chris VandeVelde--26 Brett Hextall
19 Evan Trupp--22 Brad Malone--18 David Toews
9 Mario Lamoureux--11 Darcy Zajac--27 Carter Rowney
8 Mike Cichy--10 Corban Knight--7 Danny Kristo

24 Ben Blood--20 Joe Gleason
3 Derrick LaPoint--25 Jake Marto
2 Andrew MacWilliam--Corey Fienhage

31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell

Denver's lines

9 Rhett Rakhshani--12 Joe Colborne--19 Kyle Ostrow
16 Anthony Maiani--15 Tyler Ruegsegger--14 Jesse Martin
17 Matt Glasser--22 Brian Gifford--27 Brandon Vossberg
26 Shawn Ostrow--23 Drew Shore--11 Chris Knowlton

24 John Ryder--21 William Wrenn
4 Matt Donovan--6 Chris Nutini
[Either 7 Paul Phillips or 28 Patrick Wiercioch]--5 John Lee

1 Marc Cheverie
33 Adam Murray
35 Lars Paulgaard

NCAA Round: After further review the refs suck.

Here is this weeks Illegal Curve article.

There has been a recurring theme this season in the WCHA and to a lesser extent the other leagues in college hockey, shoddy and inconsistent officiating. What is a penalty one period isn’t a penalty the next. While the NHL has figured out how to protect the puck carrier and call the obstruction the WCHA is still lagging behind the NHL and the rest of college hockey. The refs are failing to call the picks, hooking, holdings and slashing penalties.

Another troubling trend is that the officials are failing to make the proper calls on the ice at the time that they happen and are making the calls after reviewing the video. Last week I witnessed one of the biggest travesties that I have seen in college hockey for a very long time. During a game between UND and SCSU the Huskies Aaron Marvin put a deliberate, bush league, brutal, and devastating hit on UND defenseman and Hobey Baker Memorial Award candidate Chay Genoway’s.


If you watch the video you will see that Marvin followed Genoway all the way up the ice and drove his head into the glass with a vicious elbow, Genoway didn’t even have the puck at the time of the check. It’s easy to determine from watching the video that it was a deliberate hit.

The thing that troubles me the most is that there were four officials on the ice at the time of the play. Everyone in the building saw the play except the four on ice officials. That is unacceptable and that can not be allowed to happen. Some ones’ head needs to role for that. How can there be four officials on the ice and none of them see the play in question? How come they aren’t watching the play in the area of where the puck is? Seriously! This is a legitimate question; shouldn’t the ref be watching the play or area where the puck is in play? If the refs aren’t watching the play what the heck are they watching?

What is even more troublesome is that after the whistle there was an ensuing lengthy discussion between three of the on ice officials. It was determined incorrectly after a lengthy discussion that SCSU defenseman Chris Hepp had hit Genoway from behind. Hepp was incorrectly given a five minute major and a game misconduct. Hepp was sent to the locker room where he took off his equipment and showered. Aaron Marvin was allowed to play for another 2 ½ minutes before the period ended.

Between periods: After reviewing the video it was correctly determined that Aaron Marvin was the one that committed the penalty and not Chriss Hepp. So naturally after being thrown out of the game Chris Hepp had taken off his equipment and showered because he had assumed his night was over. After the correction of the penalty Hepp was told to get dressed and return to the game. Hepp had to put his equipment back on and didn’t show up on the bench until after the period had started. I have never in all of my days of watching hockey heard or seen anything like that happening before.

The WCHA reviewed the play and decided to tack on an additional one game suspension for Aaron Marvin. My next question is how does Marvin only get a one game suspension for that brutal hit? This past week James Neal of the Dallas Stars was given a two game suspension for a less serious hit by the NHL. Are we to infer that the “Wheels of Justice” in the NHL are more credible than the NCAA and WCHA?

I meant to blow the whistle on that play

I have been witness to a lot of quick whistles at the goalmouth this season. Some of these plays were obvious goals that should have counted. Of course the on ice official got the on ice call wrong or was totally out of position to make the right call. In most of these cases the puck hadn’t been frozen, yet the ref incorrectly called the play dead. A couple of these calls were of the “I intended to blow the whistle on that play” which in a couple of cases was the incorrect call.

College hockey isn’t the only place these things happen. In the best league in hockey the NHL the same thing also happened during game involving the Detroit Redwings and the Dallas Stars. The Redwings scored what looked like a legitimate goal only to fall victim to the subjective, “I intended to blow the whistle but I couldn’t get my lips on the whistle call the play dead.” After reviewing the video numerous time it was very apparent that Dennis LaRue a veteran official had blown the call horribly. I think in this case LaRue didn't want to admit that he made a mistake.

You have to give the NHL credit they at least explained why the goal was waved off the WCHA doesn’t usually give their explanation on controversial call.

"The way we've always handled it and the way we will continue to handle it until we have a procedure change is the referees call on the ice stands. He sees the shot and he sees the save and doesn't see the puck in the net and kills the play or blows the whistle," Murphy said. "It's not when you hear the whistle blow, it's when he intends to blow the whistle. There is a little bit of a gray area there between when he intends and when the whistle sounds. [NHL.COM]

These kinds of incidents do not reflect well on the leadership of the WCHA or its on ice officials. That fact remains that the commissioner of the WCHA Bruce McLeod and its head of officials Greg Shepherd are oblivious to the lack of credibility of their on ice officials and or they don’t feel that the league office as has a credibility problem. As long as there is parity in the WCHA they don’t care. They fail to get rid of bad officials and actually reward them with letting them work NCAA regional and Championship games. The thing that I find troublesome is that the junior league the USHL can find credible and decent officials to ref their games but the WCHA cannot and keeps wheeling out the same old officials year after year. Something has to be done.

The WCHA rarely if ever feels that they to answer for their officials on ice incompetence. This past weekend there was no "formal" explanation for to the on ice debacle that took place in Grand Forks, ND. The only time recently that I can remember this happening was after former referee Randy Schmidt had blown two calls on controversial goals in 2008 and after the second incident Schmidt was finally suspended by the WCHA and not hired back the following year. No official explanation was given. I believe the fans are entitled to these explanations. No press release was ever issued about Schmidt’s dismissal from the WCHA

The funny thing was that it wasn’t until one of the WCHA’s Big Ten schools got screwed by a bad call, costing them a game and points in the standings that the WCHA finally decided to step in and then decided to suspend and terminate Schmidt’s employment.

What can be done about the incompetent officials?

I don’t think there is anything that can be done about incompetent officials except if the member schools of a particular conference become unhappy with the current state of the on ice officials. I believe that the member schools would have to lodge formal complaints and request that a change be made. Also, in the case of the leadership at the top of the WCHA, and pertaining to the commissioner Bruce McLeod and the head of officials Greg Shepherd the league schools would probably have to decide that they have had enough of the current administration and fail to renew their contracts.

Fans have the right to complain about the officials

I hear from time-to-time other fans tell fellow fans to stop complaining about the on ice officials. As hockey fans we are told how hard it is to officiate the game of hockey and that the refs should be given some slack. Having officiated hockey at a very low level in college you’re right it is hard to officiate hockey games. So there is a little bit of validity in that statement, however, hockey fans pay good money to watch a very good product of athletes they deserve and should demand that the on ice officials be the best in their trade. We should not have to settle for mediocre officiating or officials. I encourage fans to write or call their league office if they feel that the quality of officiating isn’t up to snuff.

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that the league officials should be of top quality and have to perform at a higher level. If the refs are not doing a good job they should be removed from the league and never allowed to ref in college hockey again. The status quo is no longer good enough and the fans deserve and should demand better.

Check out more from Eric at twitter.

DU 1 - UND 0

Round one of the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s went to the Denver Pioneers. Since 2003-2004 UND has lost three 1-0 games to DU. Last time the Sioux lost 1-0 to the Pioneers (2007-2008 season) the Fighting Sioux rebounded the next night to win the game 3-1. Last night I was unimpressed with the Fighting Sioux effort to start the game, you have a goalie that hasn’t played in three weeks and the Fighting Sioux should have been all over him to start the game. The Fighting Sioux could not cycle the puck and set up a sustained attack on the Denver goalie. Instead the Fighting Sioux let him get comfortable and instead spent the first part of the game back on their heals, looking like a cellar dweller instead of a team that was ranked second in the nation.

Undisciplined effort

The Fighting Sioux came out and for the first period and a decided that they were going to take a bunch of untimely, undisciplined and knuckle headed penalties. You can not continue to give a team like DU a bunch of power plays because eventually they will figure it out.

Not time to panic yet

This is the best start of Hakstol era at 7-3-1, last year at this time the Fighting Sioux were an unimpressive 4-7-1 and went on to win the WCHA regular season title. Never-the-less, if the Fighting Sioux play like this next week against the Miami RedHawks it could be an embarrassing and painful experience. The Fighting Sioux need to regroup and at least get a tie out of tonight’s game.

Put on notice

Finally, there are a few players that are not playing to their full potential. One might say that they are passengers so far this season and need to step it up. Again I realize that it's early in the season but there is an expectation when a player puts on that uniform.

• Sophomore Jason Gregoire 5g-0a-5pts in 11 games, he needs to step it up and start putting some points on the board.
• Freshman Michael Cichy 1g-2a-3pts in 9 games, he needs to step it up as well he hasn’t had a point since the 10th of October.

[Box Score]
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1st Period (20:00)
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NDK-1 Mario Lamoureux (2-Roughing) 2:07
DEN-1 Chris Nutini (2-Roughing) 2:07
DEN-2 Jesse Martin (2-Hooking) NDK 0x1 6:08
DEN-3 Matt Donovan (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 0x2 7:14
NDK-2 Mario Lamoureux (2-Holding) DEN 0x1 12:51
DEN-4 John Ryder (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 0x3 15:42
NDK-3 Evan Trupp (2-Slashing) DEN 0x2 19:45
NDK-4 Brad Malone (2-Roughing) 20:00
DEN-5 Joe Colborne (2-Roughing) 20:00

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK-5 Corey Fienhage (2-Interference) DEN 0x3 5:03
NDK-6 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Holding) DEN 0x4 7:27
NDK-7 Evan Trupp (2-Hooking) DEN 1x5 9:15
DEN 1 - 0 6x5 PP GW LL Drew Shore (3) (Joe Colborne, Anthony Maiani) 10:07
DEN: 23,12,16,14,24,G1 NDK: 17,24,29,25,G31
DEN-6 John Lee (2-Holding) NDK 0x4 14:09
NDK-8 Ben Blood (2-Roughing) 19:07
NDK-9 Brett Hextall (2-Cross-Checking) DEN 1x6 19:07
DEN-7 Joe Colborne (2-Roughing) 19:07

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3rd Period (20:00)
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DEN-8 John Lee (2-Tripping) NDK 0x5 6:02
NDK-10 Chris VandeVelde (2-Hooking) DEN 1x7 6:26
DEN-9 Brandon Vossberg (2-Boarding) NDK 0x6 15:42

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End of Game
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Cheverie is playing for DU.

UND Fighting Sioux Hockey beat writer Brad Elliott Schlossman has the lines up for tonight's game and Cheverie is in and Patrick Wiercioch is out. I guess his injury is more serious than a certain blogger thought.


UND's lines

22 Brad Malone--29 Chris VandeVelde--18 David Toews
17 Jason Gregoire--19 Evan Trupp--26 Brett Hextall
9 Mario Lamoureux--11 Darcy Zajac--27 Carter Rowney
8 Mike Cichy--10 Corban Knight--7 Danny Kristo

3 Derrick LaPoint--25 Jake Marto
24 Ben Blood--20 Joe Gleason
2 Andrew MacWilliam--4 Corey Fienhage

31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell

Denver's lines

9 Rhett Rakhshani--12 Joe Colborne--19 Kyle Ostrow
16 Anthony Maiani--15 Tyler Ruegsegger--14 Jesse Martin
17 Matt Glasser--22 Brian Gifford--27 Brandon Vossberg
26 Shawn Ostrow--23 Drew Shore--37 Nate Dewhurst

24 John Ryder--21 William Wrenn
4 Matt Donovan--6 Chris Nutini
7 Paul Phillips--5 John Lee

1 Marc Cheverie
33 Adam Murray
35 Lars Paulgaard

[UND Hockey Blog]

The DU and UND series in a nut shell.

I think this statement sums up the DU and UND rivalry pretty well. They don’t like us and they don’t like us. I would use the analogy that this rivalry is like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s feud. I think this what makes this rivalry a solid rivalry. Nothing gets left on the ice. Personally, I have gotten to the point where I like the DU and UND games more than the old traditional rivals of UND and UMN or UND and UW.

But Pioneers senior Brandon Vossberg has no doubt.

"We hate them, and they hate us," Vossberg said.

Fighting Sioux coach Dave Hakstol seems fine with that take.
[Denver Post]

Gophers Goon Schack contributes in his limited role

Oh goody! I happened to come across this little gem today when I was reading the Minneapolis Red Star and Sickle. Hockey is a game of honor and to call Brian Schack an enforcer is a disservice to hockey enforcers everywhere. That label for Shack couldn’t be further from the truth. Most enforcers play by the hockey code and if something questionable happens on the ice they challenge that person straight up to a fight, they do not jump them from behind with their gloves and helmets on. So yeah I stand by those statements and I own them. I believe that Goon and Hack are accurate statements in referring to this player.

I know that Channing Boe hit Barriball from behind in that game, however, surprisingly the officials got the call right and had Boe already rung up for a five minute major and a game misconduct. The proper response for Schack would have been to challenge Boe to a fight in the next game. Then I wouldn’t be referring to Brian Schack as being a hack.

All I can say is, “please Donny start Schack the hack against the MSU-M Mavericks so he can get what is coming to him.” The Mavericks and the Gophers play on the weekend of December 4th and 5th. [Gopher Schedule]

Usually he is the guy congratulating others. Or the guy on his knees helping Lucia patch a rut in the ice before practice, as Schack did Wednesday. Or the guy who stands up for his teammates when games become chippy.

"He's a real team guy; people appreciate that," said Jay Barriball, a senior forward out for the season because of a knee injury.

A check from behind on Barriball was the last straw for Schack in a game against Minnesota State Mankato on Jan. 30 last season. Schack went after the perpetrator, Channing Boe, and Boe suffered a broken ankle in the ensuing pileup. Bloggers called Schack a goon, a hack; Lucia supported him.

"That game was getting out of hand," Schack said. "I just stepped in and did what I thought I had to do."

Schack, the enforcer, had 41 penalty minutes last season, but 37 came in two physical battles with North Dakota and the Mavericks.
[Star and Tribune]