Ovechkin suspended for two games.

I have to admit that I am actually shocked and relieved that the league FINALLY stepped in and suspended Alex Ovechkin for kneeing Tim Gleason. In the past Ovechkin has escaped punishment when it was warranted. Unforunately it would have been better if the suspension had come with Alex being healthy.

You have to wonder if the suspensions actually hurt in the wallet that much? 98,000.00 is the drop in the barrel to a player like Alex Ovechkin.

ARLINGTON, Va. - Alex Ovechkin's latest on-ice indiscretion netted him a two-game suspension, a sore right knee and a new level of concern from his coach about his "pretty reckless" ways.

The league's reigning two-time MVP was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL on Tuesday for a knee-to-knee hit on defenseman Tim Gleason in Monday night's 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.

Ovechkin's first NHL suspension will cost him $98,844.16 in salary. He'll sit out Thursday against Florida and Saturday at Philadelphia, although his sore knee might have kept him out of one of the games anyway.

"I regret that this has happened," Ovechkin said in a statement released by the team. "I'm glad that Tim wasn't injured because I never ever want to see anyone get [Star Tribune]

Bruins resign Marc Savard.

Good news for the Boston Bruins as they have resigned their top center for another 7 years. Savard will average 4.2 million per season for seven years. I think it's ironic that Savard signed for less than Phil Kessel asked for during the off-season.

The Bruins officially announced that center Marc Savard has signed a seven-year contract extension that runs through the 2016-17 season.

Savard, 32, signed with the Bruins as a free agent in 2006 and has led the team in scoring each of the last three seasons. He was also the top scorer in the postseason each of the last two seasons. Savard has twice finished in the league’s top ten in scoring with 95+ points and has played in two consecutive NHL All-Star Games.

According to TSN.ca, the deal is worth an average of $4.2 million per year.

The 5-10, 191-pound center appeared in every game for the Bruins last year and had 25 goals and 63 assists in 82 regular season games. He also had six goals and seven assists in 11 postseason games.

Savard was originally drafted by the New York Rangers in the fourth round of the 1995 NHL Draft.

Savard missed several weeks this season with a broken bone in his foot. In 11 games this year, he has four goals and six assists.

In 752 career NHL games, Savard has 199 goals and 474 assists for 673 points. [Boston Globe]

Kristo Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week

UND Fighting Sioux freshman Danny Kristo has been awarded the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the week for his play last weekend in the Subway Holiday Classic.

Danny Kristo, Fr., F, North Dakota

Danny Kristo, a first-year right winger at the University of North Dakota, is the Red Baron® WCHA Rookie of the Week for Dec. 1, 2009 as a result of his outstanding performance in the Subway Holiday Classic tournament held in Grand Forks over the Thanksgiving weekend.

A 5-11, 180-pound freshman from Eden Prairie, Minn., and a draftee of the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens, Kristo earned most valuable player honors at UND’s Subway Holiday Classic, lifting the Sioux to a 4-1 win over Ohio State on Nov. 27 and a 5-5 overtime tie with top-ranked Miami on Nov. 28.

Kristo, who was also named to the all-tournament team, racked up four points on the weekend, including a two-goal, one-assist performance against No. 1 Miami. He also scored a key third period goal against Ohio State to put the Sioux up 3-1.

Against Miami, Kristo assisted on UND’s first goal to tie the game 1-1, scored its second goal to make it 2-2, then scored again in the third period to give the Sioux a 5-3 lead. Kristo’s four-point weekend enabled him to move into the team scoring lead with 13 points (5g, 8a) and into a tie for the WCHA rookie scoring lead.

Also nominated this week were: William Rapuzzi, F, CC; Chris Knowlton, F, DU; Austin Lee, G, MSU; and David Eddy, F, SCSU. [WCHA.COM]

Check this out.

This is a good point from the boys at INCH. I have to ask the same question as well. On Friday and Saturday night I wanted to tape and watch the College Hockey Show Case games when I got home from the Sioux hockey games and there weren't a game to be had on Friday or Saturday on the Bing Ten Network and the Saturday games were not on Fox Sports Net either. To me this is a real head scratcher that they would put Northwestern basketball over college hockey, especially if they wanted more hockey programming from their Big Ten Hockey teams and their big discussion about wanting a Big Ten Hockey Conference this past summer. Yeah that's a real yawner. I wonder if the BTN could see the hypocrisy from a stands point of view. If they really were comitted to hockey they would have shown the College Hockey Show Case games this past weekend.

One reason the Big Ten wouldn’t mind adding hockey to the league’s stable of sports is to provide additional programming for the conference’s television outlet—especially on Friday nights, the dead zone of college athletics. But the Big Ten Network’s commitment to college pucks has to be called into question as based on its decision to forego televising any of last weekend’s College Hockey Showcase games, choosing to instead broadcast Northwestern men’s basketball on Friday and Saturday night.

In case you’re keeping track at home, four hockey programs—all of which have won national championships in the last 12 years—were bounced in favor of a hoops team that has never qualified for an NCAA tournament. That, Big Ten Net, is well below average [INCH]

I would say that it was an epic fail by the “Big Ten”. Maybe we should leave hockey to the people that are good at it, CCHA, WCHA > Big Ten.

Ovechkin knees Tim Gleason

There is an old saying, "live by the sword die by the sword." This is the second time in one week that Ovechkin was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for a questionable hit. Ovechkin also boarded Paterick Katela and recieved a 5 minute major and a game misconduct on November 25th.

Video from the MTU goal that wasn't

Chris from Western College Hockey [posted the video] from this past weekend where MTU looked like they had an apparent goals scored only to wave it off. If I was coach Russel I would have been upset, there is no reason this goal should have counted. Another another bad call by the officials. The WCHA has egg on their face again. The hits just keep coming.

Poll Monday Sioux (Sioux 3rd)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[November 30, 2009]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Miami (20) 9-2-5 934 1
2 Denver (14) 9-4-1 923 2
3 North Dakota ( 7) 8-4-2 900 4
4 Quinnipiac ( 7) 12-1-0 799 9
5 Bemidji State ( 2) 11-2-1 784 6
6 Colorado College 10-3-1 766 5
7 Cornell 6-2-1 708 7
8 Mass.-Lowell 8-4-1 647 3
9 Massachusetts 9-3-0 573 10
10 Yale 5-2-2 497 11
11 Michigan State 9-5-2 441 8
12 Alaska 8-3-3 426 12
12 Minnesota-Duluth 9-4-1 426 14
14 Notre Dame 7-5-4 323 13
15 Boston College 6-3-2 321 16
16 Wisconsin 8-5-1 308 15
17 Ferris State 9-3-2 265 17
18 Nebraska-Omaha 7-4-3 146 19
19 Vermont 5-5-1 83 18
20 St. Cloud State 6-6-2 80 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Michigan 66, RIT 21, Colgate 20, Union 19, New Hampshire 9, Northern Michigan 7, Rensselaer 3, Providence 2, Boston University 1, Minnesota 1, Princeton 1
-----------------------------------------
USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Nov. 30, 2009]

Rank School (first-place votes) Record Points Last week's rank

1 Miami University (Ohio) (18) 9-2-5 483 1
2 Denver (10) 9-4-1 470 2
3 North Dakota (3) 8-4-2 448 4
4 Bemidji State (1) 11-2-1 373 6
5 Colorado College (1) 10-3-1 366 5
6 Quinnipiac (1) 12-1-0 353 10
7 Cornell 6-2-1 316 8
8 Massachusetts Lowell 8-4-1 244 3
9 Massachusetts 9-3-0 237 9
10 Yale 5-2-2 198 11
11 Michigan State 9-5-2 129 7
12 Minnesota Duluth 9-4-1 128 13
13 University of Alaska (Fairbanks) 8-3-3 114 12
14 Boston College 6-3-2 57 15
15 Notre Dame 7-5-4 49 14
Others receiving votes: Ferris State University, 45; University of Wisconsin, 44; University of Nebraska Omaha, 11; University of Vermont, 9; University of Michigan, 2; Rochester Institute of Technology, 2; Boston University, 1; Colgate University, 1.

INCH Power Rankings

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

1. Denver
2. North Dakota 2 The Fighting Sioux have scored a total of 41 goals in their eight wins and two ties—including nine against Ohio State and Miami last weekend—but have just five goals in their four losses.
8-4-2 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 4-1; T vs. Miami, 5-5- ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth
3. Miami
4. Quinnipiac
5. Cornell
6. Bemidji State
7. Colorado College
8. UMass Lowell
9. Massachusetts
10. Yale
11. Michigan State
12. Alaska
13. Minnesota Duluth
14. Boston College
15. Wisconsin
16. Notre Dame
17. Vermont
18. Ferris State
19. Nebraska-Omaha
20. St. Cloud State

Dropped out: Colgate

Bubble-licious: Colgate, RIT, Union

Matt Cooke suspended two games.

This is the latest act that has gotten Matt Cook suspended from the NHL for two games for this hit on Artem Anisimov .

Matt Cooke won't be available for any sort of retribution Monday night when Pittsburgh comes to town to face the Rangers. The NHL on Sunday suspended the Penguins' Cooke for two games for his forearm to Artem Anisimov's face in the Pens' 8-3 win in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

If John Tortorella had his way, Cooke would have gotten the right sort of hockey justice after his needless hit in open ice 7:50 into the third period. Cooke somehow got only an interference minor despite delivering a head shot, one of the checks that the league's general managers and NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell have been trying to make sense of this season.

Donald Brashear tried to get at Cooke, but the linesmen prevented anything drastic from happening. Ryan Callahan fought Cooke later in the third, so it seemed as if Cooke preferred the 5-9 Callahan to the 6-4 Brashear. Tortorella said that removing the instigator penalty in certain situations would alleviate some of the brash checking that goes on.
[Newsday.com]

Is two minutes enough?

Recently I said that I wanted to hear instances where refs blew a call or had an outright horrible performance while conducting their duties as an on-ice-officials shoot me an email. I have said that I am going to be on the refs this season like a laser. I believe there has to be changes in the way the college game is officiated there are too many controversial calls being made and way too many incidents where a lengthy suspension is warranted and nothing is happening.

Now I must give credit where credit is due. In the series that I watched at the REA this past weekend the quality of officiating was top notch and the UND and Miami game had the best officials in the WCHA officiating the game (Derek Shepherd and Marco Hunt). My friend Redwing77 would probably be upset with me if he heard me say that I thought Shep and Marco were the class of the WCHA, because they do work well together. There is also some leafy spurge to hand out to others.

That being said, this past weekend it sounds like maybe there was another play where maybe the ref could have given a player a penalty that had more teeth in it. On Friday night UAA defenseman Luka Vidmar suffered a torn MCL on his knee was severely injured when he was kneed by C.C. forward Brian McMilin. Now I must preface this with the statement I haven’t seen the play in question and I can’t find much written on the incident and there isn’t a video anywhere of the incident. Doyle Woody only makes a small mention of it in his game summary. (Now I can see why there is a void being filled by a fan run blog.)

Junior defenseman Luka Vidmar sat out the game after suffering a knee injury Friday. He will be evaluated when the Seawolves return home, but is expected to miss significant time. [Adn.com]

This was an email that I got from a UAA fan (I left their name out):

You said you wanted folks to email you with stories about how the refs screw up. Tonight in the UAA/CC game, Brian McMillin (for CC) was whistled for 2 minutes for kneeing.

The rule books states that if a player is injured it MUST be called a DQ. Here is the rule book interpretation:
SECTION 33. Kneeing What criteria should be used in determining whether to assess a minor, major or disqualification penalty for kneeing? RULING: A minor penalty should be assessed in most situations. When the knee is used in a flagrant or violent manner, a major penalty should be assessed. Whenever injury results from fouling an opponent with a knee, a disqualification penalty must be assessed. Kneeing penalties may be assessed as minor, major or disqualification penalties, even though physical contact with an opponent may not have occurred...

Luka Vidmar has a grade three MCL tear; he's done. Only a 2 minute penalty was called, even though Luca remained on his hands and knees for quite a while and was helped off the ice by the UAA trainer. The refs blew it. UAA should have had a 5 minute power play, and Brian McMillin should have been kicked out of the game. The league better step in and correct this for tomorrow night’s game.

I would have to say that I agree with that person, you would think if a person suffers an injury as the result of a kneeing play that person should at a minimum get a five, ten and a game misconduct if not a game disqualification. It would appear that the refs might have blown this call or it would appear from a bystander that more of a penalty is warrented in this instance.

Update: Apparently Michigan Tech was hosed with the quick whistle this past weekend down in Mankato. LGM informs me that Tech had an apparent legitimate goal waved off:

Tech player shot, as the puck hit Lee (Mankato goalie) the whistle was blown and then the puck rolled up and over his shoulder and in to the net... After review it was called no goal because the ref blew the whistle... Though the whistle had been blown as the puck was hitting the goalie.

That is almost as bad as the I tended to blow the whistle but didn't.

Insert your own caption

This picture was sent to me by LGM. This is a funny picture and it's this weeks version of "insert your own caption...

Time to Exhale: Sioux 5 - RedHawks 5 OT

They say a tie in hockey is like kissing your sister. I don’t know about you but I could do without the sister kissing. None- the- less, this is one time that I think a tie is an appropriate ending to a very good hockey game. Last night UND and MU game was like a 15 round title fight between to heavy weights that ended with the ref raising both hand of the combatants.

Watching the Fighting Sioux play this past weekend I can say that there is much to be excited about. Going forward I will save the negatives for another day, because the positives out weight the negatives this weekend. I have also seen a lot of negative energy percolating over on Sioux Sports after this game. I think we need to grab some perspective. Sure Brad probably wants a few of those goals back but there Is no "I" in team and the game tying goal was a defensive break down by the whole team.

After the game I went home and re-watched the game and a few of the goals were a result of Miami capitalizing on the defensive turnover and untimely forced errors. Miami is an aggressive team on the fore check and you have to play flawless hockey if you want to beat them. I would say UND and Miami play similar types of games.

If this season has proven anything College Hockey is wide open this season and I like the Fighting Sioux's chances this season. Championships are won in February, March and April. There is no award for playing good early in the season or before the first of the year. I know it sounds cliché’ but we need to put this in perspective. Currently, UND is sitting right around the 8th spot in the pairwise, so if UND can keep playing consistent it looks like UND is going to have to go on a hellish death march to make the tourney. Defensively UND is ranked third in the nation, that is nothing to sneeze at. UND has awesome specials teams, the Sioux are ranked 10th on the power play and 8th on the penalty kill. [College Hockey Team Rankings]

Kristo arrives

Holy Cow! That is how I would explain Danny Kristo’s play this weekend. After going scoreless in three straight games Kristo has 6 points in the least three games (4g-2a-6). Breaking it down further, Kristo has (3g-2a-5pts) against two teams that were ranked one and two in the rankings. It’s impressive because Kristo isn’t racking up stats against weak sisters of the poor he is scoring the nation’s big boys. Kristo is proving to be a big time player playing on the national stage.

If there is one thing that concerns me about Kristo is that he reminds me of some of the other players that play for a school that I won’t mention. Every goal he scores is like he has won the NCAA title or a Stanley Cup with his excessive celebration. Kristo is an elite player and he should act like he has scored before. I am not saying don't celebrate but raise your stick celebrate with your team mates and skate back to the bench.

Juniors coming up big

Junior forward Brad Malone(3g-8a-11pts) is starting to put together a pretty impressive season and had an awesome highlight shorthanded goal against the Miami. If the video of the goal is posted I will put it up to view.

Junior Forward Evan Trupp (4g-9a-13pts) is starting to impress me more and more every game. Trupper has four points in last three games and this past weekend he has three assists.

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

NDK-1 Mario Lamoureux (2-Checking from Behind) MIA 0x1 4:32
MIA 1 - 0 6x6 Reilly Smith (3) (Pat Cannone) 8:17
MIA (+): 18,20,9,26,6,G31 NDK (-): 25,10,9,27,3,G31
MIA-1 Vincent LoVerde (2-Tripping) NDK 0x1 9:54
MIA-2 Will Weber (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x2 11:56
NDK 1 - 1 6x5 PP Ben Blood (1) (Danny Kristo, Jason Gregoire) 13:52
NDK: 24,7,17,26,29,G31 MIA: 20,9,26,14,G31

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

MIA-3 Alden Hirschfeld (2-Hooking) 2:17
NDK-2 Darcy Zajac (2-High-Sticking) 2:17
MIA 2 - 1 5x5 Carter Camper (7) (unassisted) 3:20
MIA (+): 11,14,6,20,G31 NDK (-): 26,7,25,3,G31
MIA-4 Chris Wideman (2-Hooking) NDK 2x3 6:52
NDK 2 - 2 6x5 PP Danny Kristo (4) (David Toews, Jake Marto) 7:23
NDK: 7,18,25,19,22,G31 MIA: 9,5,11,4,G31
NDK 3 - 2 6x6 Jason Gregoire (6) (Ben Blood, Brett Hextall) 7:59
NDK (+): 17,24,26,29,2,G31 MIA (-): 44,17,23,19,14,G31
MIA 3 - 3 6x6 Tommy Wingels (5) (Reilly Smith, Pat Cannone) 10:07
MIA (+): 9,18,20,4,26,G31 NDK (-): 10,13,27,20,4,G31
MIA-5 Steven Spinell (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x4 12:40
NDK-3 Brett Hextall (2-Hooking) MIA 0x2 14:28
NDK 4 - 3 5x6 SH Brad Malone (3) (unassisted) 16:00
NDK (+): 22,19,3,25,G31 MIA (-): 11,9,6,16,20,G31
MIA-6 Cameron Schilling (2-Interference) NDK 3x5 16:43
NDK 5 - 3 6x5 PP Danny Kristo (5) (Evan Trupp, David Toews) 17:46
NDK: 7,19,18,22,25,G31 MIA: 19,4,26,17,G31
MIA-7 Curtis McKenzie (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 20:00
NDK-4 Darcy Zajac (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 20:00

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

MIA-8 Will Weber (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 3x6 0:33
NDK-5 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Tripping) MIA 1x3 7:28
MIA 4 - 5 6x5 PP Cameron Schilling (2) (Jarod Palmer, Reilly Smith) 9:27
MIA: 5,19,18,17,13,G31 NDK: 22,24,19,25,G31
NDK-6 Ben Blood (2-High-Sticking) MIA 1x4 11:26
MIA-9 Alden Hirschfeld (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 3x7 14:08
MIA 5 - 5 6x6 GT Reilly Smith (4) (Andy Miele, Chris Wideman) 17:19
MIA (+): 18,17,6,23,44,G31 NDK (-): 29,17,26,2,24,G31

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Overtime (5:00)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


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

Redwings screwed again.

There must be a league wide conspiracy against the Detroit Redwing this season because this is the second goal in about two weeks that should have counted but didn't. I don’t know how they can say that Cleary is interfering with the goalie in this situation. I think this goal looked like it should have counted, what do you think?[props]

Sioux 4 Buckeyes 1

What a difference a week makes. The Sioux and Buckeyes decided the game on the ice and there wasn’t a ridiculous parade to the penalty box like last weekend in Denver. Last night the Fighting Sioux beat the tOSU Buckeyes 4-1 in the first game of the Subway Holiday Classic before a crowd of 11,251. This was one of those games that could have been very disastrous for the Fighting Sioux; OSU is a decent team but not a great team. This is also the same team that beat DU 4-0. The Buckeyes have a lot of young players with good upside, in my opinion Zac Dalpe is one of the better forwards in the CCHA and is leading the CCHA in points with (7g-7a-14pts). Their goalie Justin Carlson had a good game last night and made a lot of good saves. The Sioux could have blown this thing open if it wasn’t for his effort between the pipes .

+Positives+

I was impressed with the Fighting Sioux effort last night the defense is starting to adjust without Chay Genoway being in the lineup and I thought Corey Fienhage has made some strides forward after sitting out the first 9 games.

Brad Eidsness continues to be solid between the pipes for the Fighting Sioux. With the win Eidsness improved to (7-3-1 GAA 1.6323 and .931SV%) I have seen a lot of improvement in his game this season and I think he will only get better with experience.

Evan Trupp (4g-8a-12pts) who had two assists in last night’s game is becoming the player many thought he was capable of being. This kid has a lot of offensive creativity and is very exciting when he is killing penalties with Brad Malone.

Number one Miami up next for the Fighting Sioux

The task at hand tonight is not simple, however Miami is not unbeatable and I think UND can beat Miami tonight. Make no mistakes about it the Miami RedHawks are a good hockey team; they have a great defense and some good offensive players up front. The RedHawks have had trouble scoring goals and the Sioux are going to need to get a lead on them early. The Sioux are going to need to get on top of them with a furious fore-check. The Fighting Sioux cannot let up and no one can take shifts off or have players doing their own thing.

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

OSU-1 Chris Reed (2-Hooking) NDK 0x1 6:59
NDK-1 Brett Hextall (2-Hooking) OSU 0x1 11:13

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

NDK 1 - 0 6x6 LL Darcy Zajac (3) (Corey Fienhage, Brett Bruneteau) 4:30
NDK (+): 11,4,13,20,9,G31 OSU (-): 11,16,27,20,3,G41
OSU-2 Kyle Reed (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 10:24
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-High-Sticking) OSU 0x2 14:22
NDK-3 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Tripping) OSU 0x3 16:20

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

NDK 2 - 0 6x6 GW Brad Malone (2) (Evan Trupp, Derrick LaPoint) 4:24
NDK (+): 22,19,18,4,20,G31 OSU (-): 15,10,21,8,17,G41
OSU-3 Sergio Somma (2-Tripping) NDK 0x3 6:04
OSU 1 - 2 6x6 Zac Dalpe (9) (Peter Boyd, Sergio Somma) 8:18
OSU (+): 19,26,44,12,27,G41 NDK (-): 25,3,17,29,26,G31
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 Danny Kristo (3) (Chris VandeVelde, Jason Gregoire) 11:25
NDK (+): 7,29,17,20,4,G31 OSU (-): 20,12,27,11,16,G41
OSU-4 Matt Bartkowski (2-Tripping) NDK 1x4 13:12
NDK 4 - 1 6x5 PP Brett Hextall (3) (Jake Marto, Evan Trupp) 13:49
NDK: 26,25,19,7,22,G31 OSU: 20,17,11,21,G41
NDK-4 BENCH (2-Too Many Players) (Served by Brett Bruneteau) OSU 0x4 17:02

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

NCAA Round Up: BSU is for real

Here is my latest column for the Illegal Curve.

Yesterday afternoon I saw one of the better played college hockey games of the seasons. The first game featured the upstart Bemidji State University Beavers of the CHA against the media darling Miami University RedHawks of the CCHA. Coming into the game it was one of the more talked about matchups of the season in college hockey. The game was a rematch of last season’s frozen four semi final from Washington D.C. in which the Miami RedHawks won 4-1. Yesterday the rematch went the BSU Beavers way as they won a hard fought 3-2 victory over the number one ranked team in the nation.

BSU overrated?

This season there has been a reoccurring theme; BSU has been ranked in the top ten the past three weeks and I have had many fans tell me that BSU was over rated and hadn’t played anyone and was unworthy of their high ranking. This past week all over the blogosphere and college hockey message boards I had read how Miami was finally going to show BSU that their record was over inflated and they would lay a smack down on the BSU Beavers. Now it’s the Beaver fans that are laughing. Yesterday’s 3-2 win by the Beavers is no fluke; the Beavers have an impressive 25-4-2 since January 24th, 2009. During that time the Beavers have beaten Notre Dame, Cornell, Minnesota and now Miami.

Are the Beavers still over rated?

Bemidji’s top line of Matt Read (10g-11a-21pts), Jordan George (6g-11a-17pts), Ian Lowe (4g-3a-7pts) is good enough to be on any teams top six in division 1 hockey. Matt Read leading the nation is points and is sixth in the nation in points per game. Read is also leading his team in total points.

Bemidji State are solid in net Dan Bakala (8-1-1, 1.6323 and .935 SV %) good for 6th nationally. The Beavers have a very good defensive core and tied with North Dakota for the top defensive team in the nation giving up an average of 1.69 goals per game. [College Hockey National Statistics]

So is BSU over rated? My answer is no until the Beavers are proven otherwise the evidence is there in the win column and statistically that they are a very good hockey team and just took down the number one rated team in the country. My question is; is Miami over rated? What do you think?

Check out more from Eric at twitter

Chorney's stache

Hockey players from around the NHL have been growing Mustaches for prostate cancer awareness and here former Fighting Sioux defenseman Taylor Chorney’s attempt at growing a mustache.

Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a moustache-growing charity event held during November each year that raises funds and awareness for men's health.

Eight Oilers players and three members of the team's training staff will be participating in the charity event this year and we will be tracking their moustache progress throughout the month.

Prostate Cancer Canada (http://www.prostatecancer.ca/) uses the Movember funds for the development of programs related to awareness, public education, advocacy, support of those affected and research into the prevention, detection, treatment and cure of prostate cancer
[NHL.COM]

More Friday reading.

Work can't end fast enough to get to the rink today. Here is some more reading till the games start. When the Subway Holiday Classic first started people used to refer to it as the Subway Holiday Cupcake Classic. This season’s match ups are anything but. Today I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning.

Two weeks ago, Bemidji men’s hockey head coach Tom Serratore said the eyes of the hockey community across the state were on the Beavers as they faced the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mariucci Arena.

This weekend, the eyes of college hockey community across the nation will be on Bemidji State.

The Subway Holiday Classic hosted by the University of North Dakota will bring together the nation’s first (Miami), fourth (North Dakota) and sixth (BSU) ranked teams, along with 2009 NCAA Tournament participant Ohio State Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

The Beavers will face Miami at 4:07 p.m. Friday in a rematch of the 2009 Frozen Four national semifinal.

Saturday the Beavers will take on Ohio State at 4:07 p.m.

“Who would have thought when (UND head coach) Dave Hakstol was putting this deal together two years ago that you’d have three of the top six ranked teams in the country, plus Ohio State who has an abundance of talent?” said Serratore. “Beyond that, that you’d have BSU and Miami playing in a rematch game of the 2009 Frozen Four? This is going to be a great weekend for college hockey fans.” [Bemidji Pioneer]

Here is the Miami University Press Release for this weekends Subway Holiday Classic[Miami Hockey]

QUICK HITS
• Miami’s eight-game unbeaten streak is the longest in the country.
• Six of Miami’s 14 games have gone to overtime with the RedHawks holding a
1-1-4 record in such games. The mark in CCHA shootouts is 1-2.
• Miami trails only Bemidji State in the national statistics for scoring defense. The
Beavers have given up 20 goals in 12 games (1.67 gpg), while RedHawk opponents have 24 goals in 14 games (1.71 gpg).

SERIES BREAKDOWN: Miami has won all
three games it has played with Bemidji
State, including a 4-1 triumph in the
NCAA National Semifi nals last April 9. The
teams fi rst met for a two-game series in
Bemidji, Minn., during 2000-01..
The RedHawks have lost both
matchups with North Dakota in its history,
both during holiday tournaments.

Hey Beaver fans check this out...

I found this posted on the Miami Hawk Talk message board. Just for a little FYI or gee whiz reading because there is nothing else going on the day after Thanksgiving. I don't know if I would be that confident. BSU is a good hockey team that has a good coach and the Beavers are going to come out on fire ready to prove the nay sayers wrong and will be looking to avenge the loss from the 2009 Frozen Four as well. I expect a lot closer game than 6-2 tonight. Hey what the heck a little tongue in cheek never hurt right.

PS3 Prediction

#6 Bemidji State 2
#1 Miami 6

Well, Miami's somewhat dormant offense woke up in Grand Forks. The RedHawks scored 5 goals in 38:28 and forced BSU's starting goalie Dan Bakala to the bench before the second intermission.

The scoring started at 8:16 of the first period, when Carter Camper made a beautiful no-look-between-the-legs pass to Tommy Wingels, who then blasted a shot Bakala's glove side. Joe Hartman picked up the second assist and the 'Hawks had the 1-0 advantage. Andy Miele made it 2-0 just 8:04 later following great passes from Curtis McKenzie and Alden Hirschfeld. After one period, Bemidji had the lead in shots at 10-7 but Miami had the 2-0 lead.

The second period was The Justin Vaive Show. The big man scored on two different power play chances, the first at 9:57 (from Pat Cannone) and the second at 18:34 (from Jarod Palmer and Will Weber). In between the Vaive goals, Trent Vogelhuber found the back of the net (with assists going to Weber and Cannone) and Miami had a dominant 5-0 lead. After the second Vaive goal, Bakala was pulled in favor of Mathieu Dugas.

How bad were the Beavers? They scored Miami's final goal. Matt Read won a faceoff in his own end and the puck immediately went to Darcy Findlay, who skated in front of his own net. The problem was Findlay's stick bumped Dugas' pad and the puck trickled betweed the Quebec native's legs. For the record, Gary Steffes received credit for the unassisted tally. 6-0, Miami. BSU would avoid the shutout thanks to a Findlay goal at 7:08 and would make it look a tad more respectable thanks to a Brad Hunt goal at 8:16 while the Beavers had a 5-on-3 advantage. Still, it was a dominant victory.

Bemidji actually more shots on goal. The Beavers finished with 33 shots to Miami's 31.

Three stars:
1. Vaive (2 goals)
2. Cody Reichard (W, 31 saves)
3. Weber (2 assists)

BSU.....0 0 2 2
Miami...2 3 1 6

Subway Classic reading.

First off I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Here are a few links of interest to the Subway Holiday Classic.

Subway Holiday Classic [Click to view]

Fighting Sioux defenseman Chay Genoway is still out and his status hasn't changed in the last 12 days. [Grand Forks Herald] For those who havent seen the play this is the hit that took out Genoway. [Click for Video]

This weekend's series could prove to be a defensive battle. [Grand Forks Herald]

Bemidji State players talk about Frozen Four rematch with Miami in Holiday Classic. [Bemidji Pioneer]

Sweep carries Beavers to No. 6 in national polls. [Bemidji Pioneer]

When talking about Miami University this story has to be mentioned. Ice hockey on brink of dynasty. [The Miami Student]

Facing 2 of nation's top D's, Miami hockey going for goals. [The Oxford Press]

Here is what former Fighting Sioux hockey player Hunter Bishop had to say about playing UND. [ohiostatebuckeyes.com]

Here is the link to the OSU Buckeyes media release for the Subway Holiday Classic. [click here] In reading their media guide OSU is averaging an unimpressive 1688 in attendance at home.

Subway Holiday Classic Preview [illusions of grandeur]

Thanksgiving Games (Sioux 7)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all the college hockey fans out their who read GOON'S WORLD. I know everyone's in the holiday spirit, and ready to eat copius amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie. We hope if you have the time (or tournament) that you will also gobble up some WCHA games or a Thanksgiving Holiday Tournament.


Current WCHA Standings

#..TEAM................GP..W-L-T...PTS
1 Colorado College.......8...6-1-1....13
1 Denver..................8...6-1-1....13
1 Minnesota-Duluth.....10...6-3-1....13
4 North Dakota..........10...5-4-1....11
4 Wisconsin..............10...5-4-1....11
6 St. Cloud State..........8...4-3-1....9
6 Minnesota...............10...3-6-1....7
8 Alaska-Anchorage......10...3-7-0....6
8 Minnestoa State.......10...2-7-1....5
10 Michigan Tech.........8...2-6-0....4


Holiday Classic (Grand Forks, ND)
Friday
#1 Miami (9-1-4 overall) vs #6 Bemidji St.(10-1-1 overall) (4pm)
Miami took 3pts at fellow CCHA member Western Michigan last week and Bemidji St. swept CHA rival Alabama-Huntsville.

What more could you want on Black Friday, than a clash of top ten teams in the top college arena? (More turkey and pie?) The Beavers will be looking to cook a bird on Friday afternoon, and it's not a turkey. BSU will look to further their ranking by basting the RedHawks in what is sure to be a game that's as hot as an oven. Miami will be looking to solidify their number one rank. The RedHawks have tied three of their last four games. Unlike Thanksgiving day, this Friday, both teams will be wanting more, the prediction, TIE.


Ohio State (5-8-1 overall) at #4 North Dakota (7-4-1 overall) (7pm)
OSU was swept by Ferris St. and UND was swept by Denver last week.

The Buckeyes have not played the Sioux since 1979, I think...(help me if you can)
The Sioux are now on a three game losing streak, ugh. I think the Buckeyes are what UND needs right now, a non-conference game that they should win. I'm going with my boys in Green & White tonight, SIOUX WIN.

Saturday
Ohio St. vs #6 Bemidji St. (4pm)
This game should go the way of the Beavers. We all know that Beavers gnaw on trees to build damns (industrial little fella's aren't they), and well, the Buckeye is a tree. The Beavers chew through the trees base and the tree falls over, thump, BEAVERS WIN.

#1 Miami at #4 North Dakota (7pm)
Ladies and Gentlemen, lets get ready to rumble. This is the heavy weight bout of the weekend in college hockey, RedHawks versus Sioux, this bout is scheduled to go three 20 minute rounds. The CCHA seems go be down as a whole this season, with only Miami and Mich St. as the powerhouses, Michigan and Notre Dame both have struggled this year. As always I have to pick my favorite team, SIOUX WIN.

(I bet DU would love to see Miami get swept in this tourney!)


College Hockey Showcase
Friday
Minnesota (4-7-1) at Michigan (5-7-0 overall)
Last week the Gophers were sweep at Mariucci by the UMD Bulldogs, and Michigan split with fellow CCHA member Bowling Green.

Most years this game would be between two ranked teams, not this year. Both UM's have struggled this season, when both were preseason picks for title contenders in their conferences. Both teams want to turn that M upside down for a W in this game.
I don't know who to go with in this game, both have talent, but haven't got the chemistry going yet. For the sake of the WCHA, I'm forced to cheer for the Gophers to win, to help out our conference as a whole. GOPHERS WIN.

#15 Wisconsin (7-4-1 overall) at #8 Michigan State (9-3-2 overall)
Last weekend the Badgers split with St. Cloud St., and the Spartans split with Notre Dame.

This should be the best game of the CHS Tournament, with both teams being ranked and looking for respect in their conference as well as Big Ten bragging rights. The Badgers haven't got a good winning streak going yet, and MSU had their 8-game unbeaten streak end last Saturday. I have to go with our conference, the Woo-cha, the big picture, BADGERS WIN.


Saturday
Minnesota at #8 Michigan State
Sparty is hot right now, and Goldy is not. SPARTANS WIN.

#15 Wisconsin at Michigan
In this battle between UW and UM, there is only one team wearing a W on their jersey, and that team will get the W. BADGERS WIN.


WCHA

Alaska-Anchorage at #5 Colorado College
Last weekend the Seawolves split at home with the Mavericks, and the Tigers swept Robert Morris at home.

UAA is win less on the road this year posting a 0-4-0 record. CC has done well in the World Arena this year, garnering a 6-2-0 record there. I'm not convinced the Tigers are one of the top teams in the country, after this week CC's schedule gets much tougher, so we'll have to wait and see. The Seawolves have played sporadically in most of their series, scoring 7 against DU, and then giving up 8 goals to MSU-M last week. You just don't know what Seawolves team is going to show up. I'm going CC one night and UAA the next, SPLIT.


St. Cloud State at #2 Denver
Last week SCSU split with home with UW, and DU swept UND in Denver.

This is the only series between the teams this year, last year SCSU won the series 3-1-0 (the 1 loss was in Denver). The Huskies have played well this year, a little inconsistent, but well. DU could be suffering from a UND hangover as well as looking ahead to CC next week. The Pioneers have all their star players back in the line up, so they should be up to full speed. The Huskies appear to be the sleepers in my book, they can't be taken for granted. If you look past them they will certainly steal your turkey and all your fixin's. I see a Huskies win on Friday, with the Pioneers getting their just desserts on Saturday, SPLIT.


Michigan Tech at Minnesota State
Last week the Huskies enjoyed a week of rest and relaxation, while the Mavericks split with the Seawolves in Anchorage.

The Huskies will look to move out of the basement and send Mankato into the 10-spot this weekend. If someone gets swept in this series, the sweep-ee will most likely be out of the running for home ice in the playoffs. (And yes I do realize that the playoffs are 4 months away.) The Mavericks are 3-3-0 at home and the Huskies are 1-3-0 on the road this year. These will be games three and four on the road for MTU in a six game road stretch. I'm going to say each team is into the Thanksgiving mood and give each other a win, SPLIT.


BYE WEEK - OFF
#14 University of Minnesota - Duluth



I'll end this little article with a Thanksgiving poem...

"May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!"
– Anonymous