How the times have changed

Check out this blog post by the Star Tribune Minnesota Gophers hockey beat writer. I would say that the times have sure changed. In my opinion as an outside observer that this post is very critical of a coach that once walked on water in the eyes of a lot of Gopher fans.

While I am no fan of the Gophers it does seem that there is a lynch mob mentality brewing in the Twin Cities. This is a hockey coach that has won 2 NCAA titles (back to back) and a couple of league titles. This isn't some some hack coach that teams have finished in the bottom of the league standings for five years in a row. Sure the Gophers have all the breaks but you can't win them all. If you want to assign blame, blame the players who are playing with little life. I can't imagine a reason why Lucia would let this reporter interview him? Feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the matter. Are Gopher fans being a little hard on their head coach? Should the Gopher fans blame the players as well? Would it make a difference if Patterson had played more games this season?

The Gophers' chances will be much better if coach Don Lucia changes his tactics and if the players play with desperation.

Lucia has to stop saying that goalie Alex Kangas has done his job if he gives up only two goals. His job -- especially at this time of the year -- is to play better than the other goalie. He might have to get a shutout sometime in the playoffs, or give up only one goal to win a game.

Kangas has played great at times that in the past and he has to go into games with the attitude that the opponent can't beat him. His mindset has to be that he will give up one fewer goal than the other goalie.

Coach Lucia has rarely asked me for advice -- OK never -- but he also has to stop saying this team has to win games 3-2, that it's not good enough to score more than three goals. In playoff hockey, the Gophers have to score as many goal as it takes to win.

If they get in a shootout with somebody, than they have to keep popping goals in. This team is a real mystery that way. It''s got talented offensive players who seem to do little for weeks at a time and then have one good game here and there. It's surprising Lucia has so much hair and it's not all white already. [Goal Gophers]

Puck Daddy picks Bruins as number one dissappointment

You know I have to agree with Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy, the Boston Bruins have been a dismal and utter disappointment this season. After winning their division last season they are probably going to fall nothing short of an epic failure this season.

During the off season the Bruins lost their star offensive threat to the Toronto Maples Leafs and the Bruins front office failed to give the Bruins coach any replacement for the loss of Phil Kessel 36 goals. You can tell your team certain players will be expected to pick up the slack but it didn’t happen. The Bruins were also decimated by injuries and key players haven’t picked up the slack. I see the Bruins as a one series and done team, IF the make the playoffs.

1. The Boston Bruins

How do you go from 53 wins and a point away from the President's Trophy, with an eye-popping offense and a stifling defense to, well, this?

The Bruins are in the thick of the fight for a bottom-2 Eastern Conference playoff spot (meaning they'd be miles out of it if they played in the West) and can't seem to do anything all that well.

Let's talk about the forwards. Not one has 40 points. Really. Not one has 20 goals. Only four who have played in 30 or more games have a positive plus-minus. If it weren't for Marc Savard's(notes) 31 points in 37 games, no one would even be close to a point-a-game pace. Besides Savvy and Patrice Bergeron(notes), it's hard to think of anyone that hasn't at least been a disappointment at best, or a colossal, blown-up-on-the-launchpad disaster (hi, Milan Lucic(notes)!). The power play has dropped off by a solid five points as well.

And let's go over the defense. Zdeno Chara's(notes) a plus-6. Johnny Boychuk's(notes) a plus-3. That's it for positive plus-minus ratings there as well. Remember last year when the Bruins defensemen scored 50 goals? Yeah, they must not either, because they have 19 this year with a pretty similar D corps. And yeah, they're fifth in the league in goals against, but last year they were first.

A lot of that defensive slump, though, has to do with Tim Thomas(notes), who has been very mediocre pretty much all season, but only recently was benched by Claude Julien in favor of Tuukka Rask(notes), who, if he had more games, would be getting Steve Mason-type plaudits from pundits for his 2.08/.928 performance. Especially in front of a team as terribly disappointing as the Bruins have been this year. [Puck Daddy]

UND Misses Summit League scheduling window

Hum, I find this move predictable, look very carefully at this statement: "won't be considered until the "Fighting Sioux" nickname issue has been resolved." I think we know what that means. What we have now is a University President Robert Kelley lobbying the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education to drop the Fighting Sioux nickname immediately.

Let’s not kid ourselves, “RESOLVED” probably means dropped, nickname changed, no more Fighting Sioux nickname. Sioux fans our once proud name is going to be on the scrap heap of history soon. It appears that the Summit League has become a proxy for the NCAA, the first salvo has been fired over the bow, do as we say or else. I am sure Miles Brands is smiling today.

UND has missed it's opportunity to joining the Summit League this year.

UND president Robert Kelley says he talked with League commissioner Tom Douple over the last few days and learned UND has missed the scheduling window for the 2011-2012 season.

Kelley says 2012 will be the earliest they can play in Summit League conference play if they are even accepted.

They've applied but won't be considered until the "Fighting Sioux" nickname issue has been resolved.

Kelley say this was unexpected, they had hopes they would still make the window.

He says it shows the league won't wait for them even though they've said UND is a perfect fit.

Kelley says this points out the urgency of resolving the nickname issue quickly, so they don't miss out on other opportunities.

" We are seeing some doors start to close the scheduling has moved past us you know this is a long process there is no drop dead date in this the big concern I have is other schools are wanting to get into the Summit League."

Kelley says his concern could lead him to ask the league for a contingency plan to hold a spot for their application if the nickname issue is not solved in a reasonable time frame. [WDAZ]

In Seth the Knight's trust

I was reading my home town newspaper the Grand Forks Herald this morning and much to my amazement there was an very nice article about Grafton Park River goalie Dylan Offutt in the sports page. That's fine to write a nice article about the Grafton Park River goalie but this was a kid that as shelled in two previous games against the Knights 8-0. Offutt was outscored 17-2 in three games.

There is another goalies that has had a much more impressive season, Central Knights senior goalie Seth Lang has a GAA of 0.89 and a save percentage of .936 with 11 shutouts. If your not impressed with those numbers the Grand Forks Central Knights have 13 shutouts this season in 24 games.

I am not here to slam the Grand Forks Herald sport page because I think Brad Elliot Schlossman does a great job covering Fighting Sioux hockey. None the less the Herald coverage of high school sports in Grand Forks, ND that doesn’t relate to Red River High School is a bit to be desired. If Red River plays a hockey game it’s on the front page of the sports page, if the Central Knights play a hockey game it’s lucky to get three columns on the fifth page.

I not saying don’t cover Red River High school, I am just saying both schools should get equal coverage from the Herald and it’s just not the case. I like the kids from both schools they are great ambassadors for Grand Forks, ND. Does the herald really need to do a story on a kid from Grafton, ND that is the 15th ranked goalie in the state of North Dakota when the number one goalie in ND plays 6 blocks from the Grand Forks Heralds office?

Central Knights offensive Juggernaut

Not only is the defense getting the job done but the Central Knights can roll three lines and grind the opposition into the ground. Central has 10 players over 20 points and junior forward Casey Purpur is 2nd in the state of North Dakota with (33g-27a-60pts) in 24 games, freshman Luke Johnson is ranked 5th in the state in scoring with (16g-28a-44pts) and Johnny Simonson is ranked 9th with (14g-28a-42pts). You might never know this because little if anything has been written in the newspapers about this impressive high school hockey team. Central players Bottineau in the first round of the ND High School Hockey team on Thursday.

Grand Forks Central [21-3]
The Knights have won 11 of their last 12 games with their last loss coming on February 13th at home to Fargo South 4-1. The Knights have only allowed 21 goals in 24 games this season which is just under less than a goal per game and they average around 6-goals offensively. The Knights only allowed 1-goal and Seth Lang posted two shutouts in three games last weekend at the East Region Tournament so they are coming in very solid. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since at least 1993.

Bottineau [15-8-1]
The Braves are the story of the tournament so far as they have not played in a state tournament since 1993. David Hoff was the coach back then and he is still the Head Coach today so he has experience at state although it was many years ago. His Braves are somewhat young but can play and come in with a [4-1-1] mark over their last 6-games. Their only loss over the last 6-games was the 4-1 West Region opener to Bismarck High who went on to win the region title two days later. The Braves have not played G.F. Central for many, many years so no recent match up history to report.



2010 N.D. State Boy's High School Hockey Tournament

Thursday, February 25th: at Engelstad Main Arena - Grand Forks, N.D.
12:00 PM: #1W-Bismarck High vs #4E-West Fargo
2:30 PM: #2E-Fargo South vs #3W-Williston
6:00 PM #1E-G.F. Central vs #4W-Bottineau
8:30 PM #2W-Bismarck Century vs #3E-Grafton/Park River

You make the call. Suspend or not.

Like I said on the other post: I just watched the video when I got home from work at least 15 times and I just can't see an elbow in there, that is not saying it didn't possibly happen. The video quality for FSSN isn't very good to begin with; this is an ongoing issue. I have been hoping that FSSN decided to go to HD soon.

Since the video of the hit in question is not very good and it's grainy, even on my 40 inch television, I wouldn’t be able to make a definitive determination if there was in fact a questionable hit. I would also hope that the video quality is better than this if and when the WCHA league office decides to review game film and determine if they want hand down a suspension on the play or not.

To me from my perspective it looks like Connolly turns into the wall at the last moment and it appears to be a shoulder to shoulder check that looks like the check in question vaults him into the boards violently, possibly hitting his head on the boards? From the video I reviewed, it does not appear to be an elbow to the head of Mike Connolly from Corbin Knight. There was no call on the play from the refs on the play.

I don't know maybe this is a boarding or charging call? Based on that video which is not conclusive, I predict there will be no suspension from the WCHA. If there is another angle that has better video evidence, I would like to see it to make a determination. My personnel ruling is in complete not enough evidence.

I am in no way condoning hits to the head or endorsing hits to the head, if a Sioux player commits an act that is punishable or worthy of a suspension they should face the consequences. If the league decides that they want to suspend Knight, so be it, I would except the ruling. What would the league suspend him for one game? I am not sure that this hit rises to the level of the Genoway and Marvin incident. Marvin got a one game suspension. Do you think the WCHA will suspend Corbin Knight for this hit? What do you think?

Winger Mike Connolly is recovering from a concussion received in the final minutes of Saturday's game at North Dakota. Connolly took an elbow to the head from North Dakota's Corban Knight. The play was made along the side glass in UMD's defensive zone and Connolly hit the glass with the left side of his face, and has a bruise and black eye to show for it. He will be allowed to practice and play when his concussive symptoms are gone, he said. There was no penalty on the play. [Rink and Run]

Here are a few other links to blogs discussing the issue [Ciskie Blog], [Runin with the Dogs], [Rink and Run], [Sioux Yeah, Yeah]

Corban Knight HIt on Mike Connolly

Goon asked me to post this video of the Knight hit on Mike Connolly. The talk over on Sioux Sports is that Connolly suffered a concussion from an "elbow."

For the life of me I don't see Knights elbow come up. It looks like a routine check to me.

I saw the check live and was also surprised that "22" went down like that. I even thought that Knight got more of the boards than the body on that check.

I don't think it was a dirty hit and I hope that Mr. Connolly is back in the lineup soon.

Edit: I asked Whistler to post the hit, I have not seen the hit in question and tried to find it on the DVR before I went to work at 1530 hours this afternoon. I will hold off commenting on it till tomorrow morning.

Poll Monday (UND 8th in both)

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 22, 2010]
1 Denver (39) 22- 6-4 988 2
2 Miami (11) 23- 5-6 957 1
3 Wisconsin 19- 8-4 887 3
4 St. Cloud State 20-10-4 829 4
5 Yale 18- 6-3 811 5
6 Bemidji State 21- 7-2 700 9
7 Boston College 18-10-2 668 8
8 North Dakota 16-11-5 638 11
9 Cornell 16- 8-3 551 10
10 Minnesota-Duluth 18-13-1 499 6
11 New Hampshire 15-10-5 498 13
12 Michigan State 18-11-5 452 12
13 Colorado College 17-12-3 435 7
14 Ferris State 19-11-4 371 14
15 Union 18- 8-6 368 16
16 Maine 15-12-3 245 15
17 Alaska 14- 9-9 211 20
18 Vermont 13-11-6 95 17
19 Nebraska-Omaha 17-13-6 88 NR
20 Boston University 14-13-3 73 19
Others Receiving Votes: Northern Michigan 34, Mass.-Lowell 27, RIT 25, Northeastern 19, Michigan 10, Massachusetts 7, Sacred Heart 7, Minnesota 4, Colgate 2, St. Lawrence 1

--------------------------------

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Feb. 22, 2010]
Team (First Place) Record Pts PR
1. Denver (28) 22-6-4 504 2
2. Miami (6) 23-5-6 480 1
3. Wisconsin 19-8-4 429 3
4. Yale 18-6-3 392 5
5. St. Cloud State 20-10-4 387 4
6. Bemidji State 21-7-2 311 7
7. Boston College 18-10-2 288 9
8. North Dakota 16-11-5 279 11
9. Cornell 16-8-3 200 10
10. New Hampshire 15-10-5 185 13
11. Minnesota Duluth 18-13-1 170 6
12. Colorado College 17-12-3 126 8
13. Michigan State 18-11-5 122 12
14. Ferris State 19-11-4 73 14
15. Union 18-8-6 68 NR

Others Receiving Votes: Maine 29, Alaska 19, Nebraska-Omaha 8, RIT 6, Northern Michigan 3, Sacred Heart 1.

Who said this statement?

Here is a question for the great hockey minds. Who made this statement.

"We talk about it — I tell (the players) every week that we can't take foolish, selfish penalties," said unnamed WCHA coach, 12-9-3 overall in his first season as head coach. "North Dakota, they're notorious for roughing it up.

If you see a fight in our league, chances are they're involved. It's a source of pride for them. They try to get nasty and get in your face. That's the way they like to play, aggressive. We've got to be ready for that."

Thanks a million

I would like the thank the people that read our blog, we just surpassed 1,000,000 hits. My wife wanted to know if I was responsible for 900,000 of them. Goon’s World started in December 31st of 2005. This article covering former Gopher Phil Kessel's draft combine was the most ever viewed blog post.

INCH Power Rankings.

As always I include the INCH power rankings. Now we are to believe that Yale is the third ranked team in the power rankings. I don't think so.
1. Denver
2. Miami
3. Yale
4. Wisconsin
5. St. Cloud State
6. North Dakota Maybe Mario Lamoureux should drop the gloves more often. After serving a one-game suspension Friday for his pre-empted tete-a-tete with St. Cloud State's Aaron Marvin, he returned to the lineup Saturday and scored twice in the Fighting Sioux's 5-1 win over Minnesota Duluth.
16-11-5 (11-10-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5-2; W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5-1. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College
7. Cornell
9. Bemidji State
10. Union
11. Boston College
12. Minnesota Duluth
13. Colorado College
14. Ferris State
15. New Hampshire
17. Nebraska-Omaha
18. Alaska
19. RIT
20. Boston University

Dropped out: Rensselaer, Northern Michigan
Bubble-licious: Rensselaer, Northern Michigan, Northeastern

USA Olympic Roster

USA OLYMPIC ROSTER

So, I’m watching the US Olympic hockey team, and thinking, I recognize a lot of those names from college. So I look up the USA roster, which is made up of 23 guys, and this is what I see.

WCHA
1. Zach Parise ----------- U. North Dakota
2. Paul Stastny ---------- Denver U.
3. Phil Kessel ------------ U. Minnesota
4. Erik Johnson --------- U. Minnesota
5. Ryan Malone --------- St. Cloud State
6. Joe Pavelski ---------- U. Wisconsin
7. Brian Rafalski -------- U. Wisconsin
8. Ryan Suter ------------ U. Wisconsin
9. David Backes --------- MN State – Mankato

CCHA
10. Jack Johnson -------- U. Michigan
11. Ryan Miller ----------- Michigan St.
12. Ryan Kesler --------- Ohio St.

Hockey East
13. Chris Drury ----------- Boston U.
14. Ryan Whitney ------- Boston U.
15. Brooks Orpik --------- Boston College
16. Jonathan Quick --- U. Mass-Amherst


That would be 9 guys that played in the WCHA are now playing for team USA, or 39% of them, if my math is correct. Plus you have 3 from the CCHA and 4 from HE. I think it is easy to see that college hockey does produce numerous great hockey talents. In total that would be 16-out-of-23 with ties to college hockey, or 70%, not too shabby. Oh, and there are also some college guys on team Canada too, eh.

USA Prevails 5 - 3

The speech from the movie Miracle still kind of fits today even thirty years later. Yeah; I watched the game.

Fast forward till today; leading up to the game we have heard how great the Canadians are and don't get me wrong the Canadians are a good team. The Russians are a good team; the Swedes have a good team as well. Team USA is going down without a fight. I think the thing that makes me happy is the fact that team USA just put four goals past one of the best goalies in the world. Two of the goals were scored by former Wisconsin Badger Brian Rafalski who was a former NHL team mate of Martin Brodeur’s. Maybe Rafalski know’s Marty’s weaknesses? If Brodeur has any?

You have to wonder if the Canadians just thought they were going to win. I must say that the last two minutes of the game were some of the best hockey I have seen in a long time. Former MSU goalie Ryan Miller was a brick wall and nothing short of awesome keeping the American in the game when the Canadians were pressing all over Team USA in the closing minutes. I guess you could say it was Miller Time.

GAME SUMMARY

SCORING
CAN 1 1 1 - 0
USA 2 1 2 - 0

First Period

1. USA, Rafalski (Suter , Langenbrunner) :41
2. CAN, Staal (Seabrook, Toews) 8:53
3. USA, Rafalski (Unassisted) 9:15

Penalties - Getzlaf CAN (interference) 3:41, Pavelski USA (high sticking) 6:07.

Second Period

4. CAN, Heatley (Toews, Weber) 3:32
5. USA, Drury (Ryan, Backes) 16:46

Penalties - Staal CAN (holding) 19:06

Third Period

6. USA, Langenbrunner (Rafalski, Suter) 7:09 (PPG)
7. CAN, Crosby (Nash, Keith) 16:51 (PPG)
8. USA, Kesler (Parise) 19:15 (ENG)

Penalties - Crosby CAN (high-sticking) 1:44, Perry CAN (slashing) 6:05, Kane USA (hooking) 10:49, E. Johnson USA (tripping) 14:56.

SHOTS ON GOAL
CAN 19 12 14 - 45
USA 6 13 3 - 22

Goaltenders (goals-shots against) - CAN: Brodeur (L, 4-22); USA: Miller (W, 3-45).

Power plays (goals-chances) - CAN: 1-4; USA: 1-4.

CHN hits it out of the park.

If you have not seen this article from the College Hockey News; you have got to read it because Adam Wodon really hits it out of the park. This article is a lot like the zinger Virg Foss wrote for the Grand Forks Herald last week. Kind of saying the same things many of us are saying only this is from a writer from the outside looking in at the WCHA. The view can't be that impressive. I know from a fan of the WCHA I can look at the ECAC and say that I would rather have Paul Stewart supervising our officials than Greg Shepherd.

I mean it's a serious question and should be addressed. Take the ECAC; Paul Stewart was a beloved NHL official, Greg Shepherd is not. My question is do we hold the WCHA officials and leadership culpable if a player gets hurt on their watch? There are no teeth to the WCHA's suspensions or discipline, If I am a player I can do about just about anything on the ice and only get a one game suspension.

We have been pretty critical of the WCHA officiating over the years, and rightly so. Actually, in general, offciating at the college level isn't the best, but that's to be expected, actually, and there's not much you can do about it. On that score, we rarely harp on officiating. But the WCHA seems to have this "let them play" atmosphere that, on the one hand, fans have loved vis-a-vis the other conferences, then deplored because it escalates into things like this.

Of course, it's not just this. The WCHA has bungled so many video review calls in recent years, I've lost count.

The issues stem from the top, and the leadership in the conference does not seem very interesting in cracking down on anything. When the other leagues all announced a crackdown on obstruction a number of years ago, for example, the WCHA remained very Laissez-faire about it. Well, that's one thing, but when the league keeps a hands off approach to any discipline of any kind, things start to snowball into instances like this.

Again, forget whether we should indict Aaron Marvin in particular. I just want to know how in the world that play is not a "contact to the head" penalty, a rule that was put in specifically to take the guesswork out of things by ruling any hit to the head, intentional or not, an infraction.

As players have become bigger, faster and stronger over the years, the potential for head injuries has exponentially increased. That is why more and more protective measures have been put in place. But that only works if these things are enforced. Bungling a video review call is one thing — being non-chalent about enforcing hits to the head calls is something that can put players' careers, or lives, in jeopardy. [Read the Whole Article]

History repeats itself Aaron Marvin hit on Blake Geoffrion

Color me surprised?!? So does this hit reach the threshold where the WCHA might decide to suspend Mr. Marvin for this hit? I would love to hear what that buffoon WCHA Commissioner Bruce McLeod has to say on this matter.

There is no queston, this is definitely a questionable hit, watching the video one could make the argument that Marvin is trying to head hunt Geoffrion on an open ice hit. Let's not forget Geoffrion is also in a vulnerable position as well. Of course there was no penalty called on the play, no one should be remotely surprised either based on the gong show that is Brad Shepherd, Todd Anderson were reffing this game. More buffoonery in action from the WCHA, but hey there wasn’t any fights, can’t have that, but you can have another all-American and Hobey Baker Candidate possibly injured on another questionable and dirty hit. Some day Marvin will have to answer for his questionable play by the hockey code. If anything this latest transgression basically makes McLeod look like a bigger moron for suspending Mario but acting as if Marvin was the victim.

It’s funny how history repeats itself again. This hit has cause quite the stir in Badger land. This wasn't a hit where a smaller player was hit by a bigger player either. Also, Mr Garrett Roe was gooning it up this weekend as well as he took 9 minutes in penalties in the third period of tonight's game. Roe is such a punk in my opinion.

(STC-9 Garrett Roe (2-Roughing) 18:51,
STC-10 Garrett Roe (2-CONTACT TO THE HEAD) 18:51
STC-11 Garrett Roe (5-Cross-Checking) WIS 2x8

This is what Chuck Swartz from 60 Minutes,No Alibis, No Regrets had to say about the Marvin hit. It will be interested to see how long it takes for some SCSU fan to defend this hit.

Senior Captain Blake Geoffrion had a major scare in tonight's game when he took a dirty check from St. Cloud State goon Aaron Marvin to the head. Now, Wisconsin isn't the cleanest team in the league, that's for sure...but I have no patience for hits to the head and this was as blatant as it can get.

Sioux sweep Dogs 5-1

The UMD Bulldogs have a record of 1-10-1 against the Fighting Sioux in the Ralph Engelstad Arena their last twelve games this weekend proved to be no better for the UMD Bulldogs. The REA has become a house of horror for the Bulldogs. If it wasn't for the puck in the net goal in duluth, the Fighting Sioux might have gone 4-0 against the Bulldogs for the season.

Air Tight Defense

The UND Fighting Sioux have the top rated defense in the WCHA and third overall nationally and have been tough to score goals against this season. Adding to their statistics this weekend the UND Fighting Sioux only gave up three goals the whole weekend to the UMD Bulldogs and UMD is no slouch when it comes to scoring goals.

What was impressive to me this weekend was that the Fighting Sioux held UMD Bulldogs to three goals all weekend, the UMD Bulldogs were 17th over nationally in scoring. What was even more impressive was the Fighting Sioux shutting down the Connolly boys (no they are not related) to a measly and impressive one point each - Mike Connolly (1g-0a-1pts) and Jack Connolly (0g-1a-1pts). That is no small feat because they are nice impressive dynamic offensive pair of players. The Sioux also held the talented Justin Fontaine (1g-0a-1pts). So basically the Fighting Sioux defense was able to limit the 4th and 5th (X2) best players in the WCHA to one point each.

Tough stretch for the Dogs

It is almost like the two teams are going different directions. UND has won three straight and UMD is kind of hit a tough stretch and kind of cooling off after starting out so hot.

The loss kept No. 9 UMD (18-13-1 and 14-9-1) in a tailspin, going 2-6 the last eight games and 1-10-1 the last 12 on North Dakota ice. The Bulldogs dropped to fourth in the league, four points ahead of North Dakota and Colorado College. [Rink and Run]

Second half surge?

The Sioux have a three game winning streak and are FINALLY scoring goals again (8 + 5 + 5 = 18 goals) in the last three games. While I am not ready to announce that everything is ok with the Fighting Sioux and they are off and running again towards the Frozen Four, it does appear that the Sioux may have righted the ship and peaking at the right time.

Brett Hextall has been impressive and has scored (8g-3a-11pts) in his last 7 games. It appears that Frats is back, Matt Frattin is also starting to chip in offensively and actually scored the last two goals of the second SCSU game and the first one of the first SCSU game.

[Box Score]

Saturday pontifications

Here is an up date on the Bemidji Regional Event Center will be the new home of the BSU Beavers. The Sioux and Beavers will open the new BREC next season the 15th and 16th of October 2010. This will also be the Beavers first home WCHA series.

The Fighting Sioux will also play UMD in the Hall of Fame game December 30th 2010 in the new DECC. Next season is going to be an exciting time in the WCHA, there will be two new teams; two teams in the WCHA will be opening brand new hockey arenas. Incidently, the UND Fighting Sioux will be opening both of these new buildings. Let's hope UND can prove to be good guests by starting both teams off with loses. :) Obviously, that is easier said than done because both teams are tough to beat on their home ice.

Julie Robenhymer brings luck to the Fighting Sioux

Julie Robenhymer from hockey buzz attended last night's hockey game between the Sioux and the Bulldogs. I tweeted this after the Sioux went up 2-0.

@JulieRobenhymer you seem to have brought some luck to the Sioux.

Here was her reply.

RT @goon48 you seem to have brought some luck to the Sioux - yet to be seen!! they're 0-6 in games I've attended, although none at home...

Yeah we can't lose all the games she watches UND play in right? You have to figure the law of averages will pick up for the Sioux right? Now they are 1-6 with the former Miss New Jersey watching us.

UND power play on fire

Since Brett Hextall returned from his leg injury last weekend the Fighting Sioux's power play has recovered from their 0-32 winter doldrums to go an impressive 8/17 in the last three games. Also, Hextall himself has been on fire scoring 10 points in his last 6 games.


Closing an Arena

My Friends Scott Williams and Moose Richards from the Hockey Show break down the final series in the John Glas Field House, against the Niagara University Purple Eagles. Close one down and open another one. The guys are right the John Glas Field House is not adequate for division one hockey. [Click to listen]

Redwing 77: A Situation McLeod would never know (nor for that matter, would Shepherd)

I just found this article and I thought I would share it. Nathan Fournier of the World of Junior Hockey Blog posted this article of the QMJHL's recent upholding of Patrice Cormier's suspension. Apparently this is a very legal-style process with examinations, cross examinations, and so on. I wonder if the QMJHL Commissioner, as the judge in this apparent courtroom drama, wore a black robe?

Anyways, the crux of the article is thus: Patrice Cormier committed an illegal act that was of the most severe and heinous order. Upon review of the facts, there was no reason to doubt or alter the initial discipline board's decision. Of course, Cormier can appeal again to independent arbitration. (I expect him to do that)

So, Patrice Cormier, YOU SIT YOU SIT YOU SIT! (Courtesy: Sioux student section among others)

Here's the direct quote from QMJHL Commissioner Gilles Courteau:

"After hearing the testimonies, examining the evidence and meticulously analyzing the facts, I believe that Patrice Cormier’s gesture was very violent and susceptible of inflicting severe damage to the victim. The decision rendered by the Disciplinary Prefect follows the principals outlined by the League’s Board of Governors in the fall of 2008 regarding the elimination of gratuitous violence. Furthermore, the decision is consistent with the need to establish new and more severe disciplinary standards to dissuade players from taking these actions."

"Consequently, I declare that the Disciplinary Prefect’s decision to suspend Patrice Cormier is justified, reasonable and consistent with the League’s new policy."

NOW: To tie this into WCHA Hockey: Could you imagine McLeod saying that he'd like to impose some sort of stance such as the one the Q's Board of Governors took in 2008?

I can.

Do you think McLeod has the cohones to ENFORCE it like the Q's Discipline Board and now the Commissioner did?

Absolutely....not.

It would mean suspending a player for more than 2 games. It would also mean forming some sort of commission to enable the player's voice to be heard as well as the coach and AD of both schools. To be fair, that would probably benefit Gwozdecky. Then again.... I don't believe he ever has to worry about suspensions anyways.

To be honest, I don't think a discipline board is necessary in the WCHA. As aggravating as cheap hits are, the WCHA is lucky enough to not have them as too often an occurrence. But Virg Foss is right. The WCHA, and perhaps even the NCAA, doesn't have the safety of the players in mind.

I don't know what the answer is. I'm reluctant to allow fighting in NCAA hockey as I don't believe that fighting will always occur at the "right" times. That's a growing problem even in leagues that allow fighting. But at the same time, the officials, who have to step up if fighting isn't allowed, aren't stepping up.

Virg Foss (article here) said that the officials got reprimanded the last time UND was involved in a fight because they were allowed to fight. So, they stepped in on Lamoreaux and Marvin before it could have been settled. Well... now what?

It's now coming to the point that there SHOULD be a push by member schools to force the WCHA to take a hard stance on this topic: Either push the NCAA to allow fighting and structure the rules about fighting accordingly OR officials and the league disciplinary stance must be stepped up to protect the players at all costs. It seems to me, the only realistic and consistent way to do that is to take the judgment out of the hands of the officials. That means crackdown. It destroys the integrity of the game by forcing the hands of those officiating, sure, but when the officials cannot be trusted to make the right decisions for a variety of reasons (already covered) over time (aka a trend), it becomes a necessity (the Bina rule wasn't a new invention, remember).

I just hope something happens before someone gets another season ending injury of the cheap shot variety.

Hextall paces UND 5 UMD 2

This goal was the one that broke the UMD Bulldogs back the Sioux were killing a five on three power play and Hextall came out of the penalty box and Derrick LaPoint caught with a nice pass that sent Hextall in on a break away. Hextall's other goal was a thing of beauty as well.

The Sioux played a good game in all three zones of the ice tonight and never really were challeged once UND got a 3-0 lead. In the last two game the Sioux have scored 13 goals.

[Box Score]

Letter to the commissioner

This is an email a friend of mine sent to the league commissioner of the WCAH after the brutal, questionable ruling where Mario Lamoureaux was suspened for one game for almost getting in a fight with Aaron Marvin.

Mr. Bruce McLeod.....what a disappointment! Giving Mario Lamoureaux a one-game suspension and not Aaron Marvin is simply sad and an injustice. Marvin's actions on the ice were not one bit different than those of Lamoureaux's. How do you justify a different penalty for the same action? How disappointing your judgment has become in the past few years. Simply disappointing! Your hatred for certain teams and love for other certain teams has become blatantly obvious...I believe it's time you sharpen up your resume and seek new employment.

As a fan of college hockey for 39 years and a former collegiate player, I can honestly say what you are doing is ruining the game. I go to games to watch good, hard-nosed hockey. What I have been watching these past couple of years is officiating. As you will probably agree, officiating should not get noticed in a good game. I have not been to a game in the WCHA in several years where I don't noticed how bad the officiating is. You own this result!

Here is the response that Bruce McLeod sent him. Now this guy never identifies his team that he follows and this is the reply that McLeod gives him. Mind you, this is an impressive response.

Dear Sir - Sorry you feel that way - Hope you will continue to support Sioux Hockey !!

NCAA Hockey 101.

Ryan Lambert from Puck Daddy interviewed me for the pop quiz this week.

POP QUIZ

In which I ask a blogger five questions about the team they follow. This week, Goon from Goon's World and about a million other places, was kind enough to share his thoughts on the entire landscape of college hockey.

1) What has Miami done the last few years to be so mind-bogglingly successful (short of an actual postseason title, obviously)?

I think you could answer this question in two words; Enrico Blasi. Blasi is a very good coach and he expects a lot out of his players and has been very successful on the ice. I would say that he is recruiting the right mix of players and they are buying into what he is telling them. Color me impressed.

2) Who is the best rookie in the country right now?

Statically it's Stephane Da Costa from Merrimack College (13g-22a-35pts), that being said, putting on my homer glasses and having the opportunity to watch BSU a few times this season I have been impressed with Jordan George from BSU (13g-17a-30pts) I think Jordan George is a diamond in the rough and this recruit is a testament of thetype of recruiter Tom Serratore is. WCHA beware. I would say that George is my rookie of the year candidate.

3) Given the WCHA is about to send the most teams of any conference to the NCAAs (right now I've got six teams going), how likely is an All-WCHA Frozen Four?

I don't think we will ever see another Frozen Four with all 4 team being from the WCHA. In 2005 there were a lot of people that were less than thrilled about the WCHA getting four teams in the Frozen Four. I also think the 2008 Midwest Regional in Madison where you had DU; Wisconsin, UND and Princeton in the same regional was kind of a preview of what will happen if you have five or more teams in the NCAA tourney from a single league. This season there is going to be a bracket or two where there will be WCHA teams doubled up, especially if there are six WCHA teams in the tourney.

4) Do you feel as though we've seen a significant rise in the number of dirty hits or suspensions in college hockey this year?

Loaded question: No and not enough or lengthy suspensions, in my opinion. This is a hot-button issue with many college hockey fans. Untilthe NCAA decides to really get serious about protecting the players you are going to see more incidents like the Aaron Marvin hit on Chay Genoway. Seriously, what's to stop a team from just going out and taking a run a star player with the intent of injuring him if you're only going to have the offending player get suspended for flimsy one or two game suspension? There needs to be a set standard for discipline in NCAA division one hockey, no more smoke filled room decisions, there needs to be more transparency.

A perfect example of how bad the officiating is in college hockey; the one-game suspension to Aaron Marvin is an absolute joke and a travesty, and the WCHA should be ashamed. Let's break it down even more: the league gave Marvin a one-game suspension for knocking out a Hobey Baker candidate and potential All-American for the season on a dirty checking from behind penalty, that the refs actually penalized the wrong player on, the league officials had to review the tape between periods to get the right player.

The Marvin hit on Genoway would probably net at least 2-4 games in the NHL, even with the inconsistency of the Colin Campbell's Wheel of Justice and probably longer in the QMJHL.

In my favorite league it's going to take a player really getting seriously hurt and carried off the ice on a gurney before the WCHA will finally get serious about disciplining the players that commit egregious penalties on the ice, I think the leagues head of officials is culpable for what has transpired on the ice this season because their disciplinary rulings have no teeth to them.

5) With only six points separating second from seventh in Hockey East, who do you think comes out as the league's representatives in the NCAA tournament.

I think it's going to be Boston College because UNH's out of conference record is brutal and is going to kill them in the end, the Wildcats are1-5-1, Boston College is 5-2 in out of conference play.