Knight on Connolly; in conclusion

This vindicates Sioux forward Corban Knight. All week long UMD and Sioux fans have pontificated on the hit in question and some fans had thought it was a dirty hit, Sioux fans were told we were delusional because we said it was a clean hit and that there was no elbow on Connolly and it looks like the people that were calling out Whistler were wrong. The WCHA is going to use it as an example.

Word is that the WCHA has requested video of a Corban Knight hit on Duluth's Mike Connolly from last week to use as an example that a textbook clean hit can still result in an injury.

Connolly was shaken after colliding with Knight during the third period of last Saturday's game. He didn't return, but he did practice this week and is in the lineup tonight against Minnesota. [UND hockey blog]

NBC and how they are ruining the International Sporting World (REDWING77)

First off, I'd like to congratulate the Winter Olympics of being the first show to have better ratings than American Idol in around 6 years. That being said, it's not for NBC's, which stands for Nary a Broadcaster with Competence, lack of trying.

Let's look at award ceremonies. We all seem to enjoy the personal stories and overcoming adversity that many Olympic athletes bring with them to the Olympics. We all know about the Canadian downhill skier whose brother has CP. What we don't know is who won Silver and Bronze in that competition...well, at least without looking it up on Google. The fact remains that, if you didn't win Gold, WHO THE H*** CARES...at least according to NBC.

Don't worry though. I see and recognize the brilliant accomplishment of a Gold Medal. Then again, I also see the significance and recognition of winning a Silver or Bronze. I guess that puts me ahead of NBC.

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius or Swifter, Higher, Stronger. In many ways, it's been described as the only sporting competition where the competition is almost as important as the result. It's always mentioned on how the athletes only compete in their events and set aside much of the animosity away from the arena. I can't speak to how true that really is, but if that's the case, then why all the bias?

The reason is because of the rule of the Gambler: You always go for the sure thing. NBC broadcasts to benefit Canada. Their coverage is, at times, overwhelmingly biased towards Canada. The only time this isn't the case is when there is no possible way a Canadian can even come close to medalling. Why? Well, only an idiot would say that an event of this caliber wouldn't be popular already in the host country. So, since it is already popular, you play to that crowd. Then you can claim the ratings and popularity as being caused by your "superior broadcasting prowess."

That's probably part of why NBC won't even allow HIGHLIGHTS to be broadcast on other stations.

So, since we're on a hockey blog, let's talk hockey. The two biggest morons ever to be connected to a microphone this year happens to be... yup... Pierre McGuire and Mike Milbury. There are countless Op-Ed websites talking about Pierre McGuire's competence (He's competent, just ask him!). None related to the Olympics better than this one by Tab Bamford of the Bleacher Report.

I'm not sour grapes like Bamford is about McGuire and his stance on the U.S. I think that's more homage towards fellow Canada-first commentator Don Cherry (sorry, I'm omitting my true feelings on him because I don't want to tempt slander charges). McGuire is just filling his role in this case perfectly: To add an overwhelmingly pro-Canada voice at ice level. Heck, with Milbury's "Euro-trash game" comment, so's Milbury. But hey, I'll get to Milbury shortly.

What I do have a problem with is his (and Milbury's) huge Madden-esque mancrush on Sidney Crosby. The guy is a great hockey player. WE GET THAT! It's nice to know that McGuire has already annointed Crosby as the next Gretzky. I'm glad Gretzky doesn't have a problem with it. I would. If I were Gordie Howe I'd have a problem suddenly being third greatest all time in offensive categories when Crosby doesn't yet have the right to be called such. Maybe he will. Maybe he'll outscore Gretzky... but let's let him DO IT FIRST.

In any case, the other big rube is Mike Milbury. He's another example of "just because you played the game [and even spent time as a hockey exec] doesn't mean you actually know the game." Case in point: At the end of the Russia-Canada tilt Russian forward Alexander Semin rocked Canadian defenseman Dan Boyle against the boards. He called that hit a "cheap shot." Maybe it was. I'm not going to contest that. What happened next was Dan Boyle got up, skated over, and returned the favor overtly to Semin. Now, that in itself is the game. Boyle got rocked, had a problem with it, took it out on Semin. Whoopdedoo. Milbury goes apes*** and calls out Semin for cheap shotting Boyle. Again. Don't care. When Boyle retaliates, he basically applauds Boyle for hitting him back. Well... what's it going to be? If Semin's hit was a cheap shot, then Boyle's retaliation was a cheap shot too! BOTH were penalties. Both were noncalls (HEY! When did WCHA officiating make the Olympics?). Milbury's an idiot because he was too blinded by that stupid tree leaf on the front of that jersey to understand that a cheap shot, if you want to call it that, is a cheap shot regardless of the jersey. Had Dan Boyle been a member of Team USA, he'd've probably called the retaliation a cheap shot as well. Pierre McGuire would have killed Boyle.

Bias is what it is all about. Well, so then why don't we switch to radio? Today, I listened to the Finland-US tilt (wow! Let me say that I was dead on regarding Finland... I claimed they were lucky and looked rather mediocre against the Czechs. They used diving to produce powerplays and everything) and former NHLer John VanBiesbrouck claimed that Russia was the favorite against Canada. WHAT THE.... What planet is he on??? The only thing that the Russians were favorites for on the ice was the most likely to lynch figure skating judges after the men's figure skating competition. As soon as Hockey Canada announced the roster, Team Canada was IMMEDIATELY the favorite... in EVERYTHING hockey. OooOOOooo Alexander Ovechkin... THANK YOU for proving my biggest point regarding Sidney Crosby: I don't give a crap how good you are... if your team plays like crap around you, YOU LOSE.

So, now we have another US vs. Canada hockey tilt.... I think I'll watch on mute.

Frattin's goal

In case you haven't seen it here is Frattin's game winning goal. According to coach Hakstol, Matt Frattin had a few injury issues and it wasn't clear if he would play or not this weekend, sounded like he was a game time decision.

Sioux Rally to Win Against Colorado College

This year the Sioux have an awful record in one goal games. Today they finally won a close game against a quality opponent.

This puts the Sioux in sole possession of 5th place in the WCHA. That means that we are in the drivers seat for home ice in the first round of the WCHA tournament.

The Sioux were first on the boards with an early goal by Freshman Danny Kristo. That's the way the first period ended. CC tied it up in the second and took a lead in the 3rd.

Considering the history of losing these close games I didn't have a lot of luck. But with a couple minutes left Brad Malone scored a goal to tie it up.

The game was capped off with an overtime game winner by Matt Frattin in the overtime frame.

We have to be happy with coming back like that. It was certainly feeling like we were going to let another game get away from us.

I just heard that we had 42 shots on goal in this game.

I wouldn't mind having the wins come easy, but you have to be proud of the guys figuring out how to battle back and win a game that they could have let go.

Let's get out there and get the sweep tomorrow night.

Kevin Gorg regains moron status

I was starting to like Kevin Gorg's from FSN Sports and starting to feel his vive and then Kevin Gorg went out and ruined it with this stupid segment filling in for Dan Barreiro - KFAN AM 1130.

At about six minutes into the last hour of the Dan Barreiro broadcast, Gorg comments on the Corbin Knight hit on Mike Connolly, calling it a cheap shot, I would doubt if Gorg has even seen the video, goes off on UND and cheap shots and still talking about the Joe Finley incident two years after the fact. Gorg go back and watch the video, I have about 30 times and even in slow motion there is NO ELBOW, if any thing it might be a boarding call, it's certainly not a cheap hit. These are the same kinds of hit that Cal Clutterbuck makes, that you applaud as an FSN hockey analyst, hard and right on the line.
[Listen to the Clip]

IOC to investigate Canadian women's hockey team for celebration

My buddy Gary sent me this story in an email. I guess girls will be girls eh? Interesting.

The International Olympic Committee will investigate the actions of Canadian women's hockey players who celebrated their gold medal victory Thursday night by swigging beer and smoking cigars on the ice in Vancouver.

A number of players, including 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, were drinking alcohol on the ice following the team's 2-0 defeat of the United States. (The legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.) Players lingered for more than 70 minutes after the awards ceremony reveling in the arena, which was empty except for media and arena staff. (Click here to view a slideshow of the celebration.)[Read the whole story]

Dean Blais on the Hockey Show

Listen to the award winning Hockey Show from KBUN. Former UND coach Dean Blais talks with Moose Richards. [Click to Listen]

UNO on the up and up.

Props to Husker Mike for this article. For those people that automatically think Blais is going to be the next coach in Minnesota, if the University of Minnesota comes calling, I don't know if I would hold my breath waiting. It’s definitely not a not a slam dunk like some assume.

In listening to him speak here in Grand Forks, ND in December and reading the articles over the past few months, it kind of sounds like Blais has some unfinished business in Omaha, Nebraska to take care of. It also sounds like he enjoys what he is doing at UNO. I think he has also put the college hockey world on notice that the Mavericks from Nebraska Omaha are going to be a force to be reckoned with.

Like a lot of Omahans, I didn't know Dean Blais from Dean Martin.

He had won two NCAA hockey championships at North Dakota. He sounded like a good hire for Trev Alberts at UNO. But this is UNO we're talking about. What could he possibly do? Win a national championship?

Well, it's only the first year.

“When I took over at North Dakota, the first year we were .500,'' Blais said the other day. “The second year, we were about six, seven games above .500. The third year, we won the national championship. I could see the same thing here.''

I'm sorry. Did he just say he thought that UNO could win the national championship in two years?

He did, in fact. And just a word to the wise: Don't bet your farm against him.

So far, he has delivered. And then some. Blais' first year at UNO isn't even over — we're just getting to the good part — and he has already lived up to expectations. If anything, he may be exceeding the hype as college hockey legend/savior.

It's not just that his first-year club has developed into a hard-skating, hard-checking, high-scoring force. It's not just that the Mavs swept Ohio State and Michigan on back-to-back weeks, then went into No. 1 Miami's den and stole a split. Nor that they enter the weekend's series with Bemidji State with a shot at the NCAA tourney and the confidence to trash the playoffs.

It's more the way he wields an unfailing confidence and the way he picks up believers like hitchhikers along the way. Blais has an aura about him, a swagger. He talks about greatness matter-of-factly, like it's to be expected. And that's just it: It is.

In that way, Blais is unique among coaches in this area. Tom Osborne delivered the goods, but he made it sound like his team would be lucky to win seven games every year.
[Read the whole article here]

Check out this comment by Blais, interesting.

On Omaha: “Lovely city. My wife and I have been downtown, eating at all the restaurants. I love the road system, although there are a lot of potholes. Golf courses are great. I haven't had a chance to hunt and fish, but I guess you can do that here.''

On buying a house here: “I've got four houses right now: one in Fargo, one in Minneapolis I had when I was with the (Columbus) Blue Jackets, and two lake homes in International Falls (Minn.). I've got to sell a couple and buy one here.''

That's a good sign. Now that Blais is back in college hockey, suitors may be lining up. But he says he wants to fulfill his four-year contract in Omaha.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

I got some grief for my prediction last weekend of a UM sweep over CC, and now that it happened, I’m feeling pretty good about myself. Even a Sioux fan gets lucky sometimes.

The playoff picture is just about set, DU and SCSU have locked up home ice. UW looks to be a sure bet as well for home ice, and UMD is also looking like they will get home ice. The big question is who will get the 5th and final spot, CC or UND, or will the UM shock everyone. I like UND’s odds, after their clash this weekend with CC, they return home to host last place MTU, while CC faces DU, and UM faces UW in the last weekend of the regular season. The only other spots that are for sure are UAA, MSUM, and MTU will be on the road for the first round of playoffs. Here are my predictions for the 1st round of WCHA playoffs…

10 MTU @ 1 DU
9 MSUM @ 2 UW
8 UAA @ 3 SCSU
7 UM @ 4 UMD
6 CC @ 5 UND


CURRENT WCHA STANGINGS

TEAM………………..GP….W-L-T….PTS
1 Denver…………….....24….16-4-4….36
2 St. Cloud State……26….15-8-3….33
3 Wisconsin…………....24….14-7-3….31
4 Minnesota-Duluth…24….14-9-1….29
5 Colorado College…..24….11-10-3…25
5 North Dakota………..24….11-10-3…25
7 Minnesota…………....24….10-12-2…22
8 Alaska-Anchorage...26…..8-16-2….18
9 Minnesota State…..24…..8-15-1….17
10 Michigan Tech…...24…..4-20-0…..8



WCHA

#3 Wisconsin at Michigan Tech
Last weekend the Badgers split with the SCSU Huskies in Madison and the MTU Huskies were swept by the Pioneers in Denver.

Earlier this year these teams met in Madison with the Badgers crushing the Huskies, 8-2 and 6-0 in that series. Look at the stats and these teams are at opposite ends, UW has scored a league leading 95 goals, MTU has given up a league worst 100 goals. The Badgers are an average road team this season with a 6-5-1 record, but this is Tech, they only have 5 wins all season. If the Badgers get a sweep this weekend, they will pass up SCSU and be into second place. BADGERS SWEEP.


#8 North Dakota at #13 Colorado College
Last weekend the Sioux swept the Bulldogs in Grand Forks and the Tigers were swept by the Gophers in Minneapolis.

This is a big series for both teams, since they are tied for the 5th and final home ice spot. It looks as if the Sioux have started their second half run, a little later this year compared to seasons past. The Tigers are headed in the other direction, losing 4 out of their last 5 WCHA games. The boys from CC need to focus on this weekend and not look forward to the following weekend, when they face their rivals DU for the Gold Pan. The Sioux have now won 3 in a row, scoring 18 goals over those games. I think UND can grab the 5th spot if they split with the Tigers, because they host MTU the following weekend. However, if the Sioux sweep the Tigers, they will have the tie breaker on them, with head-to-head, and would only need a point against MTU to possible hold of the Gophers (if UM wins its final 4 games). SIOUX SWEEP.


Minnesota at #10 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Gophers were at home and swept the visiting Tigers of CC, the Bulldogs went to Grand Forks and were swept by the Sioux.

Earlier this season the Bulldogs swept the Gophers in Minneapolis, with two come from behind wins, one of them in overtime. The Bulldogs need some points to try and get 3rd place and possible avoid the Final 5 play-in game. Of course, last year they won the play-in game and the Final 5 Broadmoor Trophy. The Gophers still have hopes of home ice, but they need some help. They trail CC-UND by 3 points, but the Gophers own the tie breaker with CC. The Gophers would need CC-UND to split this weekend to keep both of them within striking distance. That being said the UM needs to help themselves again by getting 4-points out of Duluth. In what will be the last regular season home games at the DECC (next year they open their new arena). The Bulldogs have been sliding as of late going 2-4-0 in their last 6 WCHA and are 2-6-0 in their last 8 games (2 loses to Bemidji St.). The Gophers just got their 2nd WCHA sweep of the season; their first was way back on Halloween weekend against UAA. I’m going to “wimp out” on this series and go with a SPLIT.


#1 Denver at Minnesota State
Last weekend the Pioneers swept the MTU Huskies at Magness and the Mavericks swept the Seawolves in Mankato.

The Pioneers can win the MacNaughton Cup this weekend with a sweep over the Mavericks. The Mavericks can pass up UAA this weekend and take over 8th place, if they can get a win. I’m sure all the UW and SCSU fans will be pulling hard for the Mavericks to knock off the Pioneers, and give the Badgers and Huskies another shot at the title. The Mavericks are 5-6-1 overall on the road this season and the Pioneers are 13-2-3 at home this season. This looks to be some more easy points for the Pioneers, but they can afford a loss with their cushion, and possibly looking ahead to next week’s showdown with CC. I’m going to go with an upset in this series. SPLIT.


NON-CONFERENCE

Alaska at Alaska-Anchorage (Governor's Cup)
Last weekend the Seawolves (10-18-2 overall) were swept by the Mavericks in Mankato. The Nanooks (14-9-9 overall) swept Lake Superior State in Fairbanks.

This will be the first meetings of the teams from the Last Frontier this season. Last season the Seawolves swept the Nanooks. I think the Seawolves will be angry and looking for some revenge after losing two games last weekend. I have to go with the WCHA, the best league in college hockey, in this series. SEAWOLVES SWEEP.

BYE WEEK
#4 St. Cloud State University

It's Thursday and WCHA League office still silent.

In case you haven't seen this article. Over on USCHO there is an interesting article by USCHO writer Todd D. Milewski. I do find it interesting that it's Thursday and we have yet to hear a ruling about this hit in question from the WCHA league office on a hit that happened this past weekend.

What I do know, however, is that he’s getting quite a reputation around the WCHA, and it’s not something to be proud of.

I heard one longtime WCHA observer use the term goon in reference to Marvin after last Saturday night’s game, in which the Huskies junior forward delivered an open-ice check to Wisconsin’s Blake Geoffrion that left the Badgers captain with a concussion. Geoffrion didn’t return to the game that night (he later informed everyone via Twitter that he was doing “just fine”), and the Wisconsin State Journal reports that the Badgers’ leading goalscorer won’t play this weekend at Michigan Tech.

On first glance, I didn’t see that Marvin’s shoulder went against Geoffrion’s head in the check, so I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. I’m guessing the on-ice officials were of the same viewpoint, even though their eyes were significantly closer to the play than mine, because no penalty was called.

St. Cloud State coach Bob Motzko said after the game that players on his bench told him it was a good hit, but even then, he was worried because of the crackdown on hits to the head.

If this was an isolated incident, I don’t think it would be as heated a topic this week. But Marvin is the same player who leveled North Dakota captain Chay Genoway on Nov. 13, drawing a one-game suspension from the WCHA.

As of nearly five days after the latest incident, there has been no public follow-up from the league, so many were left to believe no action is being taken. A WCHA official, however, said that the league’s supplemental discipline procedure was launched a day after the game, and the reason that no announcement has been made is that it must fully run its course before public comment is issued. [Read the whole article]

Oshie on Brad Miller time

I thought this one was a really funny episode; it was also interesting that TJ Oshie brought up the point on Danny Kristo’s celebration and how he goes down on one knee and waves his hand around. Oshie said, “when you score goals, this (goes down on one knee and waves arm) we don’t do that here, maybe in Minnesota we know you’re from the cities, probably could have went there…” That was classic stuff.

Grand Forks Central Knights begin quest for title.

The Grand Fork Central Knights 21-3-0 begin their quest for a state title tonight at 6:00 pm at the Ralph Englestad Arena; their first hurdle will be the Bottineau Braves 15-8-1. Goon’s World would like to wish the Central Knights good luck and hope that they achieve the goal that they have been working for all season long – a North Dakota state hockey title. This Central Hockey team is deep and not many teams can match it's stretch through the forward lines or defensively.

Defense is Key

This past season the Central Knights limited their opponent’s goals and outscored their opponents an impressive 148-21. In addition, the Central Knights shut out their opponents 13times in 24 games. The blue line is paced by senior Danny Ray (10g-23a-33pts) and junior Paul Ladue (9g-23a-32pts). Seth Lang is the top starting goalie in the State of North Dakota with a 18-3-0 record, GAA .089 SV % of .936. The Central Knights have been limiting their oppostion to about 14 shots on goal a game. During the season the Central Knights never game up more than 4 goals a game and and only had 4 goals scored on them twice, during the course of the season the Central Knight's defense game up about 0.913 goals per game.

Paul LaDue (10g-23a-33pts), Danny Ray (9g-23a-32pts)
David Nelson (5g-12a-17pts), Jeremy O’Keefe (8g-12a-20pts)
Corey Zimmerman (1g-2a-3pts), Matt Walters (0g-2a-2pts)


Forwards

Luke Johnson (16g-28a-44pts), Casey Purpur (33g-27a-60pts), Johnny Simonson (14g-28a-44pts)
Aaron Hatt (9g-18a-27pts), Justin Moody (5g-15a-20pts), David Sayler (7p-8a-15pts)
Jordy Aamot (5g-15-a-20pts), Jared Sorlien (5g-4a-9pts), Brenden Gust (14g-17a-21pts)
Tyler Haug (2g-2a-4pts), Caleb Folson (4g-10a-14pts), Alec Lazur (1g-2a-3pts)

As you can see that Central is well balanced through the forward lines and you will not be able to just shut down one line. Central's top line has three players in the top ten of the North Dakota state scoring leaders.

[Central High Player Stats]

[Bottineau High Player Stats]

Geoffrion still not back.

Looks like Blake Geoffrion is still has lingering effects of the concussion he suffered during last Saturday night's game against the SCSU Huskies. Update: According to Andy Baggot the beat writter for the Wisconsin Badgers, Blake Geffrion will not play against Michigan Tech this weekend. Also, as of Wednesday there still has been no suspension handed down for the hit on Geoffrion.

Senior center and tri-captain Blake Geoffrion sat out a second day of practice Tuesday, raising the possibility that he won't be able to play for the UW men's hockey team in its WCHA series at Michigan Tech Friday and Saturday.

Geoffrion suffered a concussion when checked by St. Cloud State center Aaron Marvin during the second period of a WCHA encounter at the Kohl Center last Saturday. It was the second time this season Geoffrion has suffered such an injury.

"He wasn't good enough to skate today,'' UW coach Mike Eaves said of Geoffrion Tuesday. "He still had a headache today.''

Eaves outlined a series of steps that Geoffrion must make before he's cleared to play. Among them, he must be able to exercise without triggering a headache [read the rest of the article here]

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.