Sister kissing in Grand Forks: Sioux 3 Badgers 3

When the game first started I thought that the Wisconsin Badgers were going to run the Fighting Sioux out of the REA as the Badgers scored two goals in the first period with relative ease. The Sioux looked more like the slumbering Sioux than the Fighting Sioux as many for their passes were not connecting and they were having trouble getting the puck out of their own zone. Frankly; being run out of the building wouldn't have shocked me because the Badgers had some pretty good luck in Grand Forks since the REA opened in 2001 (6-5-2, 13 games). Let’s mark it down as a substandard effort in the first period.

Fast forward to the second period, finally the Sioux got things clicking offensively and scored their first goal by Brad Malone at 1:58 of the second period. The celebration was short lived as the Wisconsin Badgers scored their third goal by Andy Bohmbach less than two minutes later. I think it would be an understatement to say that the third Badger goal was of the weak variety and it could have been a momentum killer. Let’s just say that it wasn’t Brad Eidness’ best effort.

At this point Coach Hakstol had seen enough and made a goalie change; out of the game goes Brad Eidsness and in skates Aaron Dell. Cue the Dude we got a Dell commercial. Dell had been banished to the bench since his shelling at the hands of the SCSU Huskies back in November 14th, so it was kind of a surprise because coach Hakstol doesn’t pull goalies very often. I honestly can’t remember any games during the past three seasons were the Sioux have pulled their goalie. In retrospect I am also sure that Eidsness would like to have the third goal back because it was not a good goal at all and the Sioux had just started to get the momentum going their way. Bad goals kill a team’s momentum and this goal could have killed any momentum the Sioux had picked up, but it didn’t. UND outshoot the Badgers 12-2 in the second period.

In the third period Danny Kristo got the game equalizer and it was another night goal by Kristo. Kristo finished the game with a goal and an assist and has been on a pretty good clip as of late. For the most part the play was pretty equal as the Sioux outshot the Badgers 9-8.

[Box Score]
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1st Period (20:00)
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WIS-1 Ryan McDonagh (2-Roughing) 0:51
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-High-Sticking) 0:51
WIS-2 Aaron Bendickson (2-Holding the Stick) NDK 0x1 5:18
WIS 1 - 0 6x6 Craig Smith (3) (Blake Geoffrion, John Ramage) 9:00
WIS (+): 15,5,55,24,7,G1 NDK (-): 24,3,9,29,11,G31
WIS-3 Derek Lee (2-Tripping) NDK 0x2 16:42
WIS 2 - 0 6x6 Blake Geoffrion (13) (Craig Smith, Cody Goloubef) 19:43
WIS (+): 5,15,27,24,6,G1 NDK (-): 3,9,22,11,25,G31

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2nd Period (20:00)
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NDK 1 - 2 6x6 Brad Malone (5) (Danny Kristo, Evan Trupp) 1:58
NDK (+): 22,7,19,20,3,G31 WIS (-): 9,55,22,7,21,G1
WIS 3 - 1 6x6 Andy Bohmbach (4) (Ryan McDonagh, Matt Thurber) 3:40
WIS (+): 11,12,10,17,19,G1 NDK (-): 4,10,8,25,17,G31
WIS-4 John Ramage (2-Roughing) 5:03
NDK-2 Brad Malone (2-Cross-Checking) 5:03
WIS-5 John Mitchell (2-Tripping) NDK 1x3 7:49
NDK 2 - 3 6x5 PP Ben Blood (3) (Chris VandeVelde, Jason Gregoire) 9:35
NDK: 24,29,20,26,17,G32 WIS: 14,22,27,7,G1
NDK-3 Ben Blood (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) WIS 0x1 9:35
WIS-6 Blake Geoffrion (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) NDK 1x4 14:32
WIS-7 Cody Goloubef (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 1x5 16:14
WIS-8 Brendan Smith (2-Unsportsmanlike Conduct) 17:46
NDK-4 Brett Hextall (10-Game Misconduct) 17:46
NDK-5 Brett Hextall (5-Checking from Behind) WIS 0x2 17:46
WIS-9 Craig Smith (2-Tripping) NDK 1x6 19:19

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3rd Period (20:00)
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WIS-10 Ben Grotting (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) 8:50
NDK-6 Corey Fienhage (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) 8:50
WIS-11 Ryan McDonagh (2-Cross-Checking) NDK 2x7 9:46
NDK 3 - 3 5x4 PP GT Danny Kristo (6) (Jake Marto) 10:14
NDK: 7,25,19,22,G32 WIS: 13,27,6,G1
NDK-7 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) WIS 0x3 12:16
WIS-12 Craig Smith (2-Roughing) 16:22
NDK-8 Ben Blood (2-Roughing) 16:22

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Overtime (5:00)
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WIS-13 Craig Smith (2-Slashing) NDK 2x8 2:21

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End of Game
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Lines for tonight's game.

Here are the lines for Tonight's game Per Brad Schlossman


UND's lines

9 Lamoureux(3-3-6)- 29 VandeVelde(4-9-13)- 11 Zajac (4-6-10)
19 Trupp(4-10-14)- 22 Malone (4-8-12)-7 Kristo(5-9-14)
17 Gregoire (8-4-12)- 18 Toews (4-8-12)- 26 Hextall (4-3-7)
8 Cichy (1-2-3)-27 Rowney (0-5-5)-10 Knight (1-0-1)

2 MacWilliam (0-2-2) - 24 Blood (2-3-5)
25 Marto (3-2-5)- 4 Fienhage (0-1-1)
3 LaPoint (1-3-4) - 20 Gleason (0-3-3)

31 Brad Eidsness (8-4-2, 1.97 GAA, .919 SV%)
32 Aaron Dell (1-1-0, 2.26 GAA, .870 SV%)

[UND STATS]

Wisconsin's lines

24 Mitchell (4-3-7) - 5 Geoffrion (12-3-15) - 15 Smith (2-10-12)
23 Lee (1-6-7) - 22 Street (5-5-10) - 14 Grotting (1-3-4)
13 Bendickson (3-6-9) -21 Stepan (5-15-20)-9 Davies (5-10-15)
11 Bohmbach (3-5-8)- 12 Thurber (1-0-1) -10 Johnson (3-2-5)

7 Smith (7-17-24)- 55 Ramage (2-4-6)
27 Goloubef (3-5-8) - 6 Schultz (1-5-6)
17 McDonagh (2-7-9) - 19 Gardiner (1-2-3)

1 Scott Gudmandson (4-2-1, 1.57 GAA, .933 SV%)
35 Mitch Thompson
[UW Stats]

Not an impressive Sioux Hockey stat...

Here is an interesting stat the Wisconsin Badgers are 6-5-1 against the Sioux in the Ralph Engelstad Arena since it opened in 2001. I wasn't aware that the Badgers had owned UND in their own rink the past 6 games. That is unacceptable stat that needs to be fixed.

Let’s hope that UND can change their fortunes against the BADgers the next two games. Wisconsin plays a very defensive game that is frustrating to play against, the BADGers recently have really activated their defense and their recent top scorers have been defenseman. They are a dangerous team and I think a split is reasonable this weekend. The defense is going to have to be alert to odd man rushes this weekend and someone needs to tie a lanyard to Eidsness so he doesn’t stray too far from the goal.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Ask around the Western Collegiate Hockey Association for the toughest place to play and North Dakota will be near the top of every list.

For one thing, the team here is excellent. The Fighting Sioux have lost 36 regular-season league home games since 2000-01 — the fewest among the 10 WCHA members — and have advanced to five NCAA Frozen Fours, more than any other school during that time.

For another thing, the atmosphere is imposing. Ralph Engelstad Arena — which puts many NHL rinks to shame with its amenities — has a rambunctious student section and loud sellout crowds of 11,634 that are fueled in part by alcohol sold at the facility.
---------------------------
Of course, there’s this: The Badgers are the only visiting WCHA team with a winning record at Engelstad (6-5-1) since it opened in 2001. That includes a 5-1 mark on their last three trips here.

Asked about that stretch of success, UW coach Mike Eaves said his players seem to respond to facing a quality opponent in an intense atmosphere on an NHL-size (200x85) rink.

“It’s like a pinball machine in there sometimes,” he said. “Everywhere you turn, you’re going to run into somebody or something is happening. You have to be into the game.”

A common thread through those five wins — including sweeps in 2005-06 and ’06-07 — is that the Badgers have landed the big punch.
[Madison.com]

Hab's screwed.

Here is the latest installment of the get off your knees ref your blowing the game. Last night I was watching the Canadians and the Penguins game on the NHL network and I witnessed one of the more horrendous calls of the year. How in the heck can the ref blow the call this bad on what appeared to be a legit goal? The puck was no where near close to being frozen by the goaltender.

Friday morning links.

Here are a couple of things that are floating out there that might be of interest to you.

Both Fighting Sioux hockey games this weekend will be on channel 617 on Direct TV as well as on the NHL channel. [Fighting Sioux]

Here is an awesome blog post detailing the Leafs beat down they took at the hands of the Boston Bruins last night. [Tea Party Throw Down]

If you fas forward to 26:10 you can hear the Shawn Thornton comments on his former teammate Phil Kessel. [Toucher and Rich podcast]

Here is a summary of a few of the things that Thornton said.

Question from the hosts: We heard that you were was proud of the crowd on Saturday night; Shawn enjoyed the constant booing of Kessel for jumping ship for a couple more dollars. Peter (Chiarelli) said they offered him a pretty good contract and Kessel still chose to leave, he (Peter Chiarelli) was painted into a corner.

When asked if Thornton liked him; Shawn we weren’t that tight. It was evident that Thornton really didn’t want to answer the question but when prodded by the hosts, ‘alright I don’t like him.’

Question from the hosts: Are the Bruins are we are better off without him on the team? Thornton: For our system I don’t know if we are better off without him. It wasn’t the best fit, he is better suited to be able to wheel and deal float around and take 10 shots a night and hope a lot of them go in.

The Wild's former first round bust Benoit Pouliot has finally recovered from his injury and has now been assigned to Hamilton Bulldogs for the purpose of reconditioning. [NHL.COM]

For some Wisconsin Badgers perspective you can go to this blog site. [60 Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets]

Here is the Badgers Nation Series Preview: No.11 UW vs. No.3 N. Dakota.
[Scout.com]

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Notables:

UND is ranked #3 in polls, but sits in 6th place in the WCHA, just ponder that!

UM, DU, SCSU, UMD all played UND after their bye week...

The generally defensively minded Badgers put up 14 goals on MTU last weekend, and only gave up 2 goals on Friday.

UW now leads the WCHA with 47 goals scored.

UND leads the WCHA in goals against with allowing only 22.

MTU has scored the fewest goals, 23, and given up the most, 56, in the WCHA

MSU-M and UAA are now half way through the WCHA schedule of 28-games.



Current WCHA Standings

#..TEAM...............GP...W-L-T...PTS
1 Denver....................12...8-2-2....18
2 Colorado College.....12...7-3-2....16
3 Minnesota-Duluth....12...7-4-1....15
3 St. Cloud State.........12...7-4-1....15
3 Wisconsin................12...7-4-1....15
6 North Dakota...........12...6-5-1....13
7 Minnesota State.......14...5-8-1....11
8 Minnesota................12...4-7-1.....9
9 Alaska-Anchorage....14...4-10-0....8
10 Michigan Tech......12...2-10-0....4


WCHA

#2 Denver at #12 Minnesota-Duluth
The Pioneers took 3-pts from their in-state rivalry CC, and the Bulldogs got a split at home against the Sioux.

Last season they split in Duluth and DU swept UMD in Denver, then UMD blanked DU in a Final 5 semi-final game. The Bulldogs had over come 2 goal deficits in their last 3 wins. They are living dangerously with having to make comebacks, which will mostly likely burn them later. If UMD falls behind DU by 2 goals I don't think the Bulldogs will be able to comeback. However, DU did give up 2 goals in the 3rd period to CC on Saturday and the Tiger got the tie. The Pioneers are still on quarter break (Thanksgiving-New Years) so they can concentrate purely on hockey. PIONEERS SWEEP.


#11 Wisconsin at #3 North Dakota
The Badgers sweep the Huskies of MTU at the Kohl, and the Sioux split with the Bulldogs in Duluth last weekend.

Last season the split both series in Grand Forks and Madison, and then met in the Final Five 3rd place game with UW winning 4-1. This is the last "official" games for both teams until 2010 (UND has an exhibition game with the US U-20 team 12-19-09). The Badgers are a modest 3-3-0 on the road this year, and UND has only lost once at home in the past 20 home games and have a 5-1-2 record this year at home. The Sioux need to sweep the Badgers if they want to leap-frog them in the WCHA standings, which is not an easy task. The Sioux also need to stop blowing leads in the 3rd period, which they have done that past three weekend. It is safe to say that this is the start of UW's hardest stretch, after UND, in 2010 Bucky plays, @ CC, DU, and @ UMD. UW has been a good against bad teams (MTU, UAA) and has struggled some with the better teams (CC, SCSU). I have to go with my guys on this series. SIOUX 3-pts


Minnesota at Michigan Tech
The Gophers split with the Mavericks, and the Huskies were swept in Wisconsin by the Badgers.

Last season the Gophers won the series 2-1-1, with MTU getting the tie in Minneapolis and winning once in Houghton. The Gophers are a better road team than at home this year, 3-3-1 away and 3-6-0 at home. The Huskies, well, they're just bad this year, 2-4-0 at home and 1-7-0 on the road. If the Huskies can get it together this weekend and sweep the Gophers they would move up to 9th place and only be one point behind UM for 8th place. The Gophers would like to sweep the Huskies and get their WCHA record to one game below .500 at the half-way mark of the season. UM is the better team on paper, but they haven't shown it much and the first half of the season is almost over. I have to go with a SPLIT in this series.


#6 Colorado College at #17 St. Cloud State
The Tigers got a point from a pair with Denver, and SCSU sweep the Seawolves in Anchorage Alaska.

In the only series last year in Colorado Springs, SCSU won and tied the Tigers. CC is 1 game into the their big road trip, they have 8 of the next 10 games on the road. SCSU only has 8 more road games this season, and 1 is to Minneapolis and 1 to Mankato. CC has cooled off the last couple of weeks after starting hot. SCSU has played well all year and has had a murderous schedule so far and come out just fine.
I'm sticking with my guns and saying that CC is still over ranked, SCSU SWEEP.


Minnesota State at #4 Bemidji State
The Mavericks split with the Gophers, and the Beavers swept CHA foe Niagara.

BSU is a perfect 8-0-0 at home this year and MSUM is 2-4-1 on the road. I would normally go with MSUM for the whole conference thing, but after seeing both teams play it isn't that easy. I'm going with a SPLIT.


BYE WEEK - OFF
University of Alaska - Anchorage Seawolves

Shawn Thornton Doesn’t Like Phil Kessel…

The was the response that Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton gave a local radio show in Boston when asked about Phil Kessel. This really shouldn't be a shock to anyone since we have heard a lot of rumblings in the off season about Kessel. Where ever Kessel has gone there have always been rumblings. Like in this story, Kessel's draft combine wasn't pretty.

”…..I don’t like him.”

Shawn Thornton stated the obvious this morning on the Toucher & Rich morning show and admitted he wasn’t the biggest fan of Phil Kessel. ”I don’t know if we’re better off without him, but I know he wasn’t the best fit.” Granted it took some prodding from the T&R, but it was nice to finally hear it. After discussing the team’s dynamic with & without Kessel, Thornton talked about the crowd’s reaction to Phil the Thrill’s return on Saturday night. “I hope he didn’t come here thinking he was going to get cheered whenever touched the puck.” He mentioned that there are some players who love getting the hate from the crowd, but from the looks of it, Phil isn’t one of them. Pitty. Not really. [According to Cameron Frye]

Dustin Byfuglien sticks it to Gabby's team.

Check out these moves from former Roseau Minnesota Kid Dustin Byfuglien, as he wins it in overtime for the Chicago Blackhawks. I have to admit that while I haven't been a Hawk fan in the past, they seem to be a legit contender for Lord Stanley's Cup. The bonus is that Marian Gaborik’s team isn’t even in playoff contention right now. So basically Gabby is still racking up points on a team that won’t win a cup.

Blake's game winner.

Jason Blake got the game winner against the Islander last night in Toronto. The Leafs play the Bruins again tonight in Boston. The game will feature three former WCHA players, Blake Wheeler, Jason Blake and Phil Kessel.

Leafs fans want Wheeler suspended.

Some Leaf fans want Blake Wheeler to be suspended for this hit on Ian White and are upset that he turtled against Colton Orr. According to Elliot Friedman, "Bill McCreary apologized to Ian White for missing Blake Wheeler’s push from behind that sent White hard into boards." I know that the NHL wants to do away with the push checks like this.

Obviously, the fact that Bill McCreary missed the hit is mind-blowing. I won't beat around the bush, Ian White is bang on: he is very lucky. If he had been hit a half a stride or so sooner he could have woken up Sunday with a halo and paralysed from the waist or neck down. Blake Wheeler laid an absolutely filthy hit and the fact that he isn't suspended and that there was no call on the ice highlights the massive trouble the league faces in trying to cut dirty play out of the game.

The more upsetting part was that Blake Wheeler didn't stand up to Colton Orr when it came time to pay the piper. Normally, non-fighters obviously don't have to fight enforcers but 'The Code' is supposed to keep players from making those kinds of hits because they'll have to fight the Colton Orrs of the world. Instead, we saw Wheeler pull his best Claude Lemieux impression while the Bruins were rewarded with a powerplay. Of course, I don't want Orr to pull a Carcillo but is it to much to ask that Blake Wheeler man up? And if he won't, would it kill the league to dish out some punishment? I guess so. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Stand up and Cheer and make some noise.

I think this is a really good idea, its time for people to get up and make some noise. There are times when the arena can be a little dead. This will be the last time to see the Sioux play in WCHA action this year, so it’s time to set the tone going into the second half of the season. The next time the Fighting Sioux play will be on New Years weekend in the Notre Dame Shillelagh Tourney against Niagara University.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The third-ranked Fighting Sioux men's hockey program is asking its fans to take the name of the University's fight song to heart and "Stand up and Cheer" at the beginning of the first period until the first whistle of each game.
UND athletics recently solicited feedback from its fans in an effort to enhance the gameday experience at Fighting Sioux home games. Many new initiatives have already been implemented as a result and the "Stand Up and Cheer" initiative was suggested during an open forum involving UND athletics and UND students.

The "Stand Up and Cheer" initiative is similar to the longtime UND basketball tradition in which Sioux fans remain on their feet until the opposing team scores its first points of the game.

UND's men's hockey team will host WCHA rival and 11th-ranked Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena. The puck drops at 7:37 p.m. on Friday and 7:07 on Saturday.

- Go Sioux -

Ed Jovanovski suspended two games by the NHL.

Coyotes hack Ed Jovanovski was suspended two games for his brutal hit on Wild forward Andrew Ebbett (UMICH). I think the more troublesome fact was none of the Wild challenged Jovanovski after this hit. You can't hit an opposition player in the head. You have to wonder if this would have happened if Derek Boogaard had been in the lineup. Here is a novel idea if you can't hit someone legally don't hit them at all take a number get them back later. Mike Russo is reporting that Ebbett is out with a concussion, this is the fourth player to suffer a concussion for the Wild.

TORONTO -- Phoenix Coyotes' defenseman Ed Jovanovski has been suspended for two games, without pay, for an incident in NHL game #436 against the Minnesota Wild, December 7, the National Hockey League announced today.

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

At 9:34 of the third period, Jovanovski delivered a forearm to the head area of Minnesota's Andrew Ebbett. No penalty was assessed on the play.

Jovanovski will miss Thursday's game at Los Angeles and Dec. 12 against San Jose. He will be eligible to return Dec. 14 at Detroit.

In Twist, Tribe Fights for College Nickname

My friend Rusty from the Illegal Curve sent me this article in my email this morning. Interesting story and I am surprised the New York Times would cover this story. Funny that this story brings up a point that I have made mention of for a long time. That there are a number of people upset with the Fighting Sioux nickname that aren’t Dakota/Sioux. This sound awful familiar. [click to see article] The Whistler and I were quoted in this article back in November.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Sometime soon, the Fighting Sioux of the University of North Dakota were to be no more, another collegiate nickname dropped after being deemed hostile and abusive to American Indians.

Except that some members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, one of two groups of Sioux in the state, say they consider the nickname an honor and worry that abandoning it would send them one step closer to obscurity.

“When you hear them announce the name at the start of a hockey game, it gives you goose bumps,” said Frank Black Cloud, a tribal member. “They are putting us up on a pinnacle.”

And so, in a legal standoff that has turned some preconceptions upside down, North Dakota’s top state lawyers will be in court on Wednesday to oppose members of the Spirit Lake Tribe who have sued to preserve the Fighting Sioux name and logo, an image of an Indian in profile, feathers draping down.

The battle here, like some others at the 20 or so institutions urged by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to drop their mascots, names or images, has been painful and drawn out. The University of North Dakota is the only one still sorting the matter out, an N.C.A.A. spokesman said, and it is creating rifts on this campus of 13,000 students, among its web of alumni that run through nearly every realm in North Dakota, and, especially, among American Indians here.

All around, harsh new accusations are flying. The members from Spirit Lake behind the lawsuit assert that many of the American Indians opposed to the Fighting Sioux nickname are simply from tribes other than the Sioux, and are jealous of all the recognition. (Opponents call this absurd.)

Some against the name claim that the operators of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, the gleaming hockey stadium built by a particularly successful alumnus for more than $100 million — and contains 2,400 images of the logo — are secretly behind the lawsuit, hoping to block the nickname from being abandoned. (False, the Spirit Lake members and hockey stadium officials say.)

“Still, to do what they’re doing, you’re more or less selling out,” said Frank Sage, a Navajo and one of about 400 American Indian students at the university and one who says he finds the Fighting Sioux imagery hurtful and harmful. “They’re just being used.”

The lawsuit, filed last month by eight members of the Spirit Lake Tribe, is tangled, and grows out of a similarly tangled series of events that began in 2005, when the N.C.A.A. warned the University of North Dakota and 17 other colleges to change their nicknames and mascots if they wished to show the images at N.C.A.A.-controlled championships or to host such events. (Two other institutions were later added, according to the N.C.A.A.)

Since then, some colleges changed their logos, others sought and received permission from local tribes to keep them, and a few resolved the matter in other ways.

But the University of North Dakota is still at it. The state’s Board of Higher Education and the university sued the N.C.A.A. to preserve the nickname and logo, and in 2007 reached a settlement that let it keep them if the Sioux tribal councils in the state — at Spirit Lake and Standing Rock — agreed to the idea by the end of November 2010.

But some university officials said they began worrying that the debate was leading other institutions to avoid competing against them in sports. Robert Kelley, the university’s president, has taken no position on the nickname but said he found himself being asked about it almost constantly —at the supermarket, in meetings of the state’s Congressional delegation — and wanted to ensure that the debate did not eclipse the university’s academic focus.

Judge won't rule today on Fighting Sioux nickname suit

There will be no ruling today on the lawsuit brough forth by the Spirit Lake tribe. The Board of Higher Ed wanted this lawsuit thrown out. I believe it's so they can retire the Fighting Sioux nickname to pursue membership in the Summit League. Stay tuned. It will be interesting to see how this thing turns out.

DEVILS LAKE ----- District Court Judge Michael Sturdevant will not rule today on the lawsuit brought forth by Fighting Sioux nickname supporters from the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation.

The lawsuit argues that the state must abide by the timeline laid out in the state's settlement with the NCAA, which says UND has until Nov. 30, 2010, to win approval of both the state's Sioux tribes if it's to keep the nickname.

The NCAA considers the nickname "hostile and abusive."

Sturdevant said today he'd have a written ruling on the matter before Christmas

Scouting the Badgers.

Check out these stats for the Badger defenseman Brendan Smith, they are impressive and eye popping. You can bet that Smith’s NHL team will probably come calling after the season if he keeps scoring at this clip. The Badgers are the top scoring team in the WCHA and they are the second best defensive team behind the Sioux.

Wisconsin men's hockey stat of the week
Junior defenseman Brendan Smith has 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) while playing in 15 of the first 16 games for the UW men's hockey team. Production like that demands closer scrutiny.

That point total leads the Badgers as well as the WCHA. The last defenseman to lead the league in scoring was 1996-97 when Minnesota's Mike Crowley (5-37-42) shared the honor with Colorado College center Brian Swanson (15-27-42).

Smith's point total and his number of goals are tops among defensemen in the nation.

His per-game average of 1.60 points is second in the country. The last UW player to have a higher average for a season was Steve Reinprecht in 1999-2000 (1.78). The last Badgers defenseman to have a higher average for a season was Theran Welsh in 1979-80 (1.61).

In his current career-best seven-game point streak alone, Smith has more points than any other WCHA defenseman for the entire season (5-10-15).

Perhaps the best measure of Smith's overall production is that, right now, he would have more points than the top-scoring UW defenseman from nine previous seasons. Here's the list, dating back to 1969-70 when the Badgers debuted in the WCHA:

It's worth noting that McBain (2009), Dessner (2000) and Jagger (1970) were first-team All-Americans; Gilbert (2006) was a second-team All-American and Tanabe, like Smith, was a first-round NHL draft pick.
[Badger Hockey Blog]

NHL checks Marc Savard deal

The NHL is investigating Marc Savard's newly signed contract. Peter Chiarelli is a smart guy so I don't think Bruins fans have to worry about this too much. Looks like the NHL brass isn't all that impressed with contracts that are front end loaded.

Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli confirmed yesterday that the NHL is investigating Marc Savard’s heavily front-loaded, seven-year contract signed last week.

The league, which reportedly also is looking into similar deals signed by Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa, Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger, is concerned that clubs are violating the spirit of the collective bargaining agreement with so-called retirement deals, in which the player would get most of his money in the early years and then, as the salary decreases, he could choose to call it a career. Meanwhile, the club enjoys a palatable salary cap hit during the life of the deal.

Chiarelli was not concerned that the NHL, which has hired an outside law firm to investigate, would find anything wrong with the Savard pact.

“They’re looking at a number of contracts. It’s a matter of course,” said Chiarelli, confirming an ESPN.com story that was published during the weekend. “I’m confident we did everything by the CBA.”

According to terms of the deal, Savard will make $7 million the first two years of the deal, $6.5 million the third and $5 million the fourth. The money then drops precipitously, as he’s scheduled to make $1.5 million the fifth and just $525,000 in the sixth and seventh. That works out to an annual cap hit of $4.2 million. [Boston Herald]

The Sky is not falling.

This came across my twitter account today. This is to cheer up the people that are bummed out about last weekend's split with UMD. [UND Hockey Twitter]

To those who suggest UND can't protect a lead: Sioux are 9-1-1 when leading after 2nd, 5-2-0 when leading after 1st, 7-2-0 when scoring 1st.

That means if the refs don't blow last weekend game tying goal the Sioux are 10-0-1 in games where they had a two goal lead.

Denver suffered from what some might classify as a bit of a controversy non call as well last weekend in their series with their cross state rival the Colorado College Tigers. In a way It almost karma like, especially after how bad UND got homered in Denver. George Gwozdecky no matter how hard he works the officials isn’t going to get every call to go his way. The irony is that Todd Anderson comes back to bite the Pioneers again. You have to wonder if the Anderson will be working the Pioneers games again anytime soon?

UPDATE FROM MONDAY, after DU coach George Gwozdecky spoke with league officials: “When Patrick was (face-first) on the ice, we were in possession of the puck. In the heat of the moment, they probably regret the decision to not blow the whistle. It makes it even more difficult to blow the whilste seconds later when CC gains possession. As we all review the play, the play would have been blown dead a second or two after he’s down.”

Here’s what happened: Wiercioch escaped a defender behind the DU net and skated the puck up the left side of the zone. Just after he passed it ahead, a crouched Stephen Schultz checked Wiercioch, connecting only with the defenseman’s left knee. Wiercioch was down, and showed no signs of getting up, while DU had possession through the neutral zone, and into the offensive zone. A blocked Tyler Ruegsegger shot gave the Tigers possession, and they skated into the DU zone on a 2-on-1 rush, with Wiercioch face-down on the ice atop the right circle. Less than 10 feet away, Mike Testwuide scored to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

DU was furious. Referees Todd Anderson and Brad Shepherd later told Pioneers coaches they saw Wiercioch make an attempt to get up, and apparently lost sight of his actions once the play moved into the other end. From what I’ve gathered, the play should be blown dead because of an injury once the team with the injury has possession, or when the injured player is unable to get off the ice and there is no scoring opportunity at either end. Once the refs didn’t blow it dead when DU had possession, apparently they couldn’t when CC was coming into DU’s zone on

James Sheppard fight at the end of the game.

Someone needs to teach the waste of a uniform first round bust James Sheppard how to defend himself. Seriously, because Shep sure doesn't know how to fight very well and definately got himself clobbered in this fight. James was talking smack and going hard after the whistle. I have to wonder why Sheppard is still in a Minnesota Wild uniform because he is brutal. I just hope that Fletcher can get something for this waste of space soon.

Burke may make Olympic roster decisions next week

It will be interesting to see who is going to be selected to be on Team USA. You can bet that former Fighting Sioux star Zach Parise is going to be a shoe in to make team USA. I would also imagine that Phil Kessel will also be on the team as well. You can guess that the goaltenders will probably be Ryan Miller Buffalo(MSU) and Tim Thomas Boston (UVM)and a third goalie. Some think Jonathan Quick Kings(UMass). It will be interesting to see how many of the American's were former college hockey players.

TORONTO - His roster will be unveiled after the Winter Classic outdoor game on Jan. 1, but U.S. Olympic hockey team general manager Brian Burke is aiming to make his final decisions long before that.

Brian Burke hopes to have his U.S. Olympic men's team picked as soon as next week.

The team's six-man selection committee will sit down together in Pebble Beach, Calif., before the NHL's board of governors meetings next Monday.

"At that point, we hope to be down to between two and three decisions as far as our roster - if we have any at all,'' Burke said Monday on a conference call.

"The ideal world will be after we meet in Pebble Beach, we've got our team picked. And we go to Fenway Park and announce it.''

There will be some difficult decisions.

Even though the U.S. might not have boast as much depth as Canada or some of the top European countries, Burke acknowledged that it will be tough to get down to a 23-man roster.

The Americans had 34 players at their summer orientation camp in suburban Chicago and have continued to watch some who weren't in attendance.
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The U.S. team promises to be one of the youngest in the Olympic tournament, led by such players as Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and Phil Kessel. It probably won't leave much room for stalwarts of past teams like Mike Modano, Bill Guerin, Doug Weight and others.

"We've got to figure out what the balance is (between old and young players),'' said Burke.

The GM doesn't plan on quietly tipping off any players once the roster is finalized. He's happy to have most find out by watching television and will instead focus on calling the players who weren't selected.

"My primary goal on Jan. 1 is to make sure I reach the group that's not going to be included,'' said Burke.

Kessel after his frist game in Boston.

It was one of the more talked about matchups in the Northeast division this past week. Former Bruins Phil Kessel was making his return to the Boston Garden and it wasn't pretty he was booed when he was announced during the starting line ups and he was booed every time he touched the puck, it was a lot like everytime Chara goes back to Ottawa. The fans boo him every chance they get.

I don’t know if Kessel expected anything different? The off season contract talks didn't really go well for him. It’s not hard for Boston fans or the players to get up for Toronto now that the Leafs have Phil on their team. I think there is some incentive for the Bruins players because they can stick it to Phil every time the Bruins play the Leafs. I mean seriously Kessel is basically is the one trick pony in Toronto. There isn’t that much talent around him, the Leafs have a couple nice players, but they have a brutal defense and no goaltending. That is a recipe for the Bruins getting a really high draft pick next season, further sticking it to the Leafs. I also can't wait to see Milan Lucic back in the lineup pummeling Mike Komisarek.

Here is what some of the guys has to say about Phil's return to the ice. Even Blake Wheeler had something to say about it. [click to listen]

Sounds like Phil tried to talk Marc Savard out of resigning in Boston. [click to listen to Savard]