Gods Absent: Olympic Selection Committee cited for Atheism

Ok, another cynical post but actually...

The Olympics named their "All Star Team" and MVPs. And guess what! Both Gods are absent just like they were all tourney long!

Sidney "Jesus" Crosby and Alexander Ovech-Christ didn't make the the All-Olympic Team.

Who did? Why, 1 foreigner, 1 Major Junior alum, and FOUR former collegians.

TWO of them former Sioux and THREE of them former WCHA players.

SUCK IT DON CHERRY!

Ryan Miller got the MVP and Top Goaltender awards. Well, gee, thank you Team Canada for starting out with Brodeur or I think Luongo would have gotten this award.

Brian Rafalski got top D. Former UW player. Former Devil. Current Red Wing. Booyah.

Parise and Toews on the Forwards listing with Toews getting top forward. Suck it Crosby. That's not fair! Sid will always be tops in McGuire, Milbury, and Cherry's books. I'm sure there was some conspiracy as to why Crosby didn't get named to the list.

Shea Weber and Pavol Demitra got the other honors. HEH! Former Wild Demitra. HEH!

To be honest, Shea Weber was amazing defensively but I can't believe he got the award because usually these things favor the offensive dmen. Weber might've done ok in the offensive zone, but I thought his best work came playing defense.

Demitra... nice to see. The Slovaks should've won Bronze. Finland seemed ripe to choke after not showing up to the USA game.

Anyways, here's the list (from CTV Olympics):

Goaltender: Ryan MILLER (USA)

Defenceman: Brian RAFALSKI (USA)

Defenceman: Shea WEBER (CAN)

Forward: Pavol DEMITRA (SVK)

Forward: Jonathan TOEWS (CAN)

Forward: Zach PARISE (USA)

Most valuable player: Ryan MILLER (USA)

Tournament Directorate Best Player Awards

Goaltender: Ryan MILLER (USA)

Defenceman: Brian RAFALSKI (USA)

Forward: Jonathan TOEWS (CAN)

RATS! Congrats.

Oh well. What can I say? Congrats to Canada for squeaking out a Gold Medal. To be honest, I'm not surprised they won. They were the clear cut favorites all tourney long (screw you Vanbiesbrouck, they were. Accept it and move on). USA wasn't even supposed to medal.

To make matters better, it was actually a good game! Toews got a goal. Parise with a HUGE game tying goal with just 24 seconds left. When they went to OT, I said to myself "Hey, we made a game of it. I'd still like to win, but if Canada wins in OT, I'll be ok with it... provided..." You guessed it. Provided Jesus Crosby didn't make any noise in OT. Well, he got the game winner. And Vanbiesbrouck and Gillstein (I think that's what that putz's name was) went nuts. But let me back this up a bit...

I knew they would go nuts. How? Well, they've been practically drooling over the Canada D all game long. No, not even that got me thinking they would. What got me thinking they would was during the initial part of the intermission between the 3rd period and OT. They said "Team Canada played the third period perfectly. They just lost track of one player..." WAIT A BLEEPING MINUTE HERE.....

What're you saying, pal? If they played a "perfect 3rd period" this game would have been OVER in regulation! Losing Parise wasn't a mistake? Seriously, they couldn't admit that the Canadians made a mistake and Parise made them pay. This isn't a Buffalo Wild Wings commercial. Oh well.

Then Sidney Crosby potted the game winner on a beautiful pass by, IIRC, Rick Nash. I'm happy for Nash. I'm happy for Toews, but the radio commentators played it like this: "The legend wins it! The legend of Sidney Crosby gets even bigger!" Uh......... Nope.

You see, legends aren't born WHILE THE PERSON IS STILL ALIVE. Here's Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary's definiton of the term legend:

1 a : a story coming down from the past; especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable b : a body of such stories c : a popular myth of recent origin d : a person or thing that inspires legends e : the subject of a legend (http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/legend)

You see, this isn't exactly accurate. Sidney Crosby's accomplishments aren't a story coming down from the past that is popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable. It's not a body of such stories. The stories might be of recent origin, but it is no myth. Sidney Crosby MIGHT accomplish 1(d) and/or 1(e) of the definition, but right now? How many stories are being spawned about the prowess of Sidney Crosby? I can't speak about things in Canada, so there might be something to it there. But there's nothing in the U.S. And, if you've never seen a hockey game, nor tuned into these Olympics, nor watched NHL Network, there's a decent chance as an American that you've never even heard of Sidney Crosby. HARDLY legendary.

Fancy the fact that I still run into students in OMAHA, NE that know who Wayne Gretzky is. How would they know or care about Gretzky when they have a "legend" playing right now in Crosby?

Look, I know it looks like I dislike Sidney Crosby. He's a great player and surely Hall of Fame quality at this pace... but he's not there yet. Let's let him get there before we crown him and start worshipping him like some sort of Sports God.

Yeah, Milbury, McGuire, and Cherry, you got your two wishes: Canada wins Gold and Crosby pots the Gold Medal winning goal. But Crosby was NOT the best player on the ice during this Olympics. He wasn't even the best player on the ice in this game!

Here's my 3 Stars of this game:

1st Star: Roberto Luongo
2nd Star: Ryan Miller
3rd Star: Zach Parise

Honorable Mention: Rich Nash, CAN; Ryan Kesler, USA; Sidney Crosby, CAN

Yeah, I know Crosby scored the game winner, but if Luongo hadn't played the best game I've EVER seen him play, and the Canada D hadn't played good when Luongo wasn't facing pressure, would Crosby even have been necessary? Crosby was a COMPLETE NON FACTOR until OT. Arguably, wasn't a factor for all but this game and the game against the Swiss!

Hardly a "legend."

Let's give props to where it lies: Congrats to TEAM Canada. They won. They did so fairly. They played GREAT. They deserved it.

And now, with the Closing Ceremonies commencing, we can say good bye to NBC's crappy coverage and return MSNBC and CNBC back to where it belongs: Obscurity.

Don Cherry predicts Canada will win...

I must admit that I am nervous for today's game because I don't think the Americans are going to sneak up on Canada. Ryan Miller is going to have to bring his "A" game in net to beat the Canadians. Cherry is right there are going to be a lot of pucks on net today. The Americans need to play smart, get pucks deep and not give up odd man rushes to the Canadians.

It may be the most anticipated hockey game in Canadian history.

And with national pride at stake — and some serious ice bragging rights on the line — the country’s biggest puckhead has made his prediction.

“I am calling it 5-3 for Team Canada,” declares Don Cherry.

It won’t be long now until we find out.

At 3:15 p.m. Sunday, the country will gather together to watch the gold medal match between Canada and the United States for hockey supremacy.

“It just shows you the interest in hockey, the greatest game in the world,” Cherry said.

And today, he said, Canada will prove once again we are the best at it?

“I am pretty sure we will but it won’t be easy,” said Cherry. “Ryan Miller has been excellent in the American’s goal and has only allowed five goals in five games. They are going to have to earn it.”

The coverage on CTV has been stellar throughout but a lot of hockey fans miss hearing The Coach’s take on each development. He will be back on CBC’s Coach’s Corner next week but American fans will get a taste of Grapes on NBC today.[Toronto Sun ]

UND sits at 6th in the PWR

Here is the latest Pairwise Rankings. UND has gone an impressive 5-1 in the last 6 games, all of them against teams that sitting higher than them in the WCHA standings. Also, as Brad Elliot Schlossman mentioned that UND has made up 10 points in 15 days on C.C. in my opinion that is an impressive run. It wasn't long ago that I was ready to give UND the paddle and put them on life support.

1 Denver1 24 0.5885 24-6-4 0.7647 Feb 27 Mankato
2 Miami2 23 0.5845 24-5-7 0.7639 Feb 27 Ohio State
3 Wisconsin 22 0.5712 21-8-4 0.6970 Feb 27 MTech
4 St Cloud St 19 0.5581 20-10-4 0.6471
5 Bemidji State 19 0.5522 22-8-2 0.7188 Feb 27 Nebraska-Omaha
6 North Dakota 18 0.5527 18-11-5 0.6029 Feb 27 CC
7 Boston College 18 0.5501 20-10-2 0.6562 Feb 26 Massachusetts
8 Yale 17 0.5458 19-7-3 0.7069 Feb 27 Quinnipiac
9 New Hampshire 16 0.5437 16-10-6 0.5938 Feb 27 Northeastern
10 Alaska 16 0.5357 16-9-9 0.6029 Feb 27 AA
11 Cornell 14 0.5359 17-8-4 0.6552 Feb 27 Rensselaer
12 Michigan State 12 0.5335 19-11-6 0.6111 Feb 27 Bowling Green
13 Minnesota-Duluth 11 0.5362 19-14-1 0.5735 Feb 27 UMN
14 Ferris State 11 0.5351 19-11-6 0.6111 Feb 27 Western Michigan
15 Northern Michigan 10 0.5310 17-11-8 0.5833 Feb 27 Lake Superior
16 Vermont 10 0.5282 14-11-6 0.5484 Feb 26 Boston University Feb 28 Boston University
17 Maine 9 0.5284 16-13-3 0.5469 Feb 27 Merrimack
18 Nebraska-Omaha 6 0.5255 18-14-6 0.5526 Feb 27 Bemidji State
19 Union 6 0.5223 18-10-6 0.6176 Feb 27 Colgate
20 Colorado College 5 0.5319 17-14-3 0.5441 Feb 27 UND
21 Boston University 5 0.5150 14-14-3 0.5000 Feb 26 Vermont Feb 28 Vermont
22 Mass.-Lowell 4 0.5192 17-14-3 0.5441 Feb 27 Providence
23 Northeastern 3 0.5204 16-14-2 0.5312 Feb 27 New Hampshire
24 Minnesota 2 0.5201 16-16-2 0.5000 Feb 27 UMD
25 Michigan 0 0.5147 19-17-1 0.5270 Feb 27 Notre Dame

Cam Janssen hit on Matt Bradley

Since the NHL will return on March 1st I thought we would get back in the swing of things. This is the latest controversial hit from the NHL that will cost Blues tough guy Cam Janssen 5 games. I was kind of surprised that it was worthy of a 5 game suspension, but I digress, because you can never really guess what the Colin Campbell wheel of justice is going to yield. What do you think?

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis Blues forward Cam Janssen received a five-game suspension from the NHL on Thursday for his Feb. 13 hit to the head on Matt Bradley of the Washington Capitals.

Janssen must forfeit $14,248 and will miss the Blues' first five games once they return from the Olympic break from March 2-13. He is eligible to return March 14 against Minnesota.

Janssen received a five-minute major interference for the first-period hit along the boards. He also was challenged to a fight by Washington's Quintin Laing, with Laing picking up a two-minute instigator penalty, two minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and a 10-minute misconduct.

Janssen was eventually assessed a game misconduct penalty.

EDIT: It's been a tough season for Matt Bradley this is the same guy that Flyers hack Daniel Carcillo smoked.

Sioux clinch home ice for the WCHA playoffs

The Fighting Sioux have a 3-0 record when I don't listen or watch them play. I know what you’re thinking, it’s not going to happen. The first win was when UND won in Duluth the first night of the two game series back in December when I was in Bemidji to watch the Beavers play the Purple Eagles. Add 2-0 this past weekend I was at the state hockey tourney in Grand Forks, ND watching the Central Knights win the 2010 state tourney.

Central Knights 2010 champs

Let me just say congrats to the Grand Forks Central Knights for winning the State title. Your hard work, dedication and focus finally payed off tonight. I can remember two years ago the Central Knights were sitting in the stands after they failed to make the tourney and you could see it in their eyes that they wanted to be there, tonight was their night. The 2009-2010 Knights were a impressive group of hockey players with a stifling defense and it only seems right that you end the year with a shutout. Senior goalie Seth Lang got his 13 shut out of the season.

Sioux play air tight defense

With the Sweep at C.C. the Sioux clinch home ice for the WCHA playoffs. I remember it wasn't too long ago most of us that UND was going to be on the road for the WCHA playoffs. Just when you think the Sioux are down and out Coach Hakstol pulls a rabbit out of his hat. The Sioux are 5-1 in their last 6 games and have won 5 straight games. For 2010 the Sioux have a 9-5-2 record. In the last 5 games the Sioux haven’t given up more than two goals and have beaten the teams above them in the standings. The Sioux are the top defensive team in the WCHA and are ranked third nationally giving up 2.18 goals per game.

Frattin Smoking hot

Matt Frattin remain hot this weekend as the junior forward had (2g-2a-4pts) for the weekend, you would think he would get some consideration this week for offensive player of the week. Just a gage on how hot Frattin has been he had 8 points in February and the Sioux didn’t play one weekend. I can only imagine how the season could have gone for him if he hadn't screwed up last summer. I honestly think Frattin could have scored 15-20 goals this season. Matt Frattin has an amazing shot and his potential upside is not yet tapped. Brad Malone (1g-4a-5pts) and Evan Trupp also had a good weekend has he picked up (0g-3g-3pts) for the weekend.
[Friday's box score] [Saturday's box score]

WCHA wheels of justice squeak to a halt

In reading this article; do you see a potential problem? It’s almost a week later and the league still hasn’t made a decision on Aaron Marvin’s status for next weekend. If this was the NHL the NLPA would be all over this. This is a joke, either suspend the player in question or not. This hit in question is either worthy of additional supplemental punishment or it’s not. What is taking so long? This is why the WCHA league administrators are looked at with contempt. It’s incidents like this that make the WCHA leadership look like a Kangaroo Court but also makes them look like a bunch of bumbling buffoons.

WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod said Friday that there is a potential violation stemming from last Saturday's St. Cloud State game at Wisconsin and the Huskies are in the process of an appeal.

The "potential violation" in question is Huskies forward Aaron Marvin's center-ice shoulder-to-head hit on Badgers captain Blake Geoffrion. No penalty was called but Geoffrion was knocked out of the game and is missing this weekend's series at Michigan Tech because of a concussion.

"We're into the process and St. Cloud was notified Sunday of the potential violation in our view," McLeod said. "It's been a little slower than normal coming to a resolution in part because we have the luxury, I guess, of St. Cloud not playing this weekend. We want to get through this as quickly as possible. I don't think anything would happen before (early next week). But we know (SCSU coach Bob Motzko) and his team needs to prepare for the series ahead so we want to do something as early as we can."

McLeod said he could not discuss the specifics of the violation or the hit on Geoffrion until after the process is completed.

Reading between the lines here, it seems all but certain Marvin will face some penalty next week and could miss one or both games of the regular-season finale against Minnesota State-Mankato. If senior defenseman Garrett Raboin (who suffered an ankle injury on a questionable hit by Badgers forward Aaron Bendickson) also can't play, the Huskies would be without both of their captains. [Pucks and Bats]

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]