Inside Fighting Sioux hockey

The inaugural season of Inside Fighting Sioux hockey. It will be a weekly show that will go on for 23 weeks. I guess you could say that it will be the inaugural and well probably last season of Inside Fighting Sioux hockey. Next year UND will drop the Fighting Sioux logo and who knows what will happen.

The NHL season is here...

s/t to Brad "Sioux Rube" Schack for the video, I took it from his Face Book page. I am pumped, today is the opening day of the NHL season and I will be able to watch the Wild game at 11:00 on Versus. I already bought my subscription to NHL Center Ice, this season it's 170.00 plus dollars. Yikes! I predict that finally the Boston Bruins will win the Stanley Cup.

UPDATE - Season opener...

Minnesota Wild goalie Niklas Backstrom with a new goalie mask.

Martin Havlat with a new number he is now 24.

The newest member of the Minnesota Wild former SCSU Husky Matt Cullen wearing number 7.

First goal for the 2010 - 2011 NHL season - MIN Guillaume Latendresse (1) Wrist Shot - Assists: M. Koivu (1) & K. Brodziak (1).

19:50 Carolina Brandon Sutter (Jussi Jokinen, Jamie Mcbain) PP... Former Wisconsin Badger Jamie Mcbain with the assist.

Derek Boogaard, noted fighter, will be looked at to do more than brawl with Rangers: John Tortorella

This is an interesting article that some Wild fans might be interested, if anything it’s an entertaining read. Also, I didn't realize it had been that long since Boogeyman had scored a goal. Let’s be real and who are we kidding? Derek Boogaard's only hockey skill is to fight and his specialty is beating the crap out of goons and if people expect him to do anything else it's silly. Also, Boogaard is very effective scowling and waving his finger at the opposition on the player’s bench. Now; don’t get me wrong I enjoy watching him beat the crap out of out players but he isn’t worth the money the Rangers are going to pay him.

When John Tortorella talks about Derek Boogaard, he does so with a tiptoeing delicacy that stands in stark contrast to the subject.

"We all know what his biggest strength is," the coach says on more than one occasion when asked about the 6-7 mountain of a man who signed a four-year, $6.5 million contract with the Rangers this summer. "It's still in our game. Guys feel more comfortable when a guy like that is around."

Boogaard has not scored a regular-season goal since Jan. 7, 2006, and he would love to end his 222-game drought. It's just that scoring isn't what earns him seven figures. [Read more]

When I read this quote, it's very hard to me not to snicker or to break into uncotrolled laughter. "Yeah Right." You're kidding right? If Boogey scores more than 3 goals I would be surprised.

"I'm not sure how he was treated in Minnesota - if he was just told to go out and fight - that's not what we're looking for here," said the coach. "He'll have his opportunities to do that, but we also want to try to help him become a better player and help us by adding some minutes to our lineup."

Boogaard welcomed that challenge. He struggled through the conditioning tests at the beginning of training camp, but made it through, and he hopes that will allow him to get in the box score for something other than fighting penalties. That's what he did in the preseason, scoring on Friday against Ottawa. But he is still waiting for the real thing. [Read more]

WCHA Website/Blogger Preseason Poll - Sioux the run away winner.

I participated in the Inaugural WCHA Website/Blogger Preseason Poll and here is how the vote played out. I am pretty sure I know who gave Duluth the first place vote. :)

1. North Dakota (12) 177
2. St. Cloud (2) 158
3. Duluth (1) 154
4. Denver 125
5. Minnesota 117
6. Wisconsin 113
7. Nebraska-Omaha 81
8. Colorado College 77
9. Bemidji State 73
10. Minnesota State 39
11. Michigan Tech 30
12. Alaska-Anchorage 26

WCHA Player of the Year:

Jack Connolly-Duluth (6)
Garrett Roe-St. Cloud (5)
Jacob Cepis-Minnesota (1)
Chay Genoway-North Dakota (1)
Jason Gregoire North Dakota (1)
Matt Read-Bemidji (1)

WCHA Rookie of the Year:

Jaden Schwartz-Colorado College (6)
Beau Bennett-Denver (2)
Derek Forbort-North Dakota (2)
Nick Bjugstad-Minnesota (1)
Erik Haula-Minnesota (1)
Matt White-Nebraska Omaha (1)
Mark Zengerle-Wisconsin (1)
Sam Rendle-Bemidji (1)

Voters:

Goon-Goons World (North Dakota)
RWD-Runnin' With The Dogs (Duluth)
Brandon-Sioux Yeah Yeah! (North Dakota)
Chuck Schwartz-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Exile on Dayton Street-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Gandalf The Red-Sixty Minutes (Wisconsin)
Hammy-Gopher Hockey Blog (Minnesota)
Dirty-Dirty's Diatribe (North Dakota)
Jeremy-Husky Hockey Blog (St. Cloud)
USAFA Bulldog-The DECC is Stacked (Duluth)
Jon-Mav Puck (Nebraska-Omaha)
Fade to black and gold-Michigan Tech Hockey Blog (Michigan Tech)
Exiled One-College Hockey Recruit Exchange & DaHuskies.com (St. Cloud)
Donald - Delusions of Grandeur (Anchorage)
Millsy-The Beaver Pond (Bemidji)

Here is my ballot

1.) UND
2.) SCSU
3.) UMD
4.) DU
5.) UW
6.) UMN
7.) UNO
8.) BSU
9.) CC
10.) MSU
11.) UAA
12.) MTU

Poy Chay Genoway-UND
ROY Jaden Schwartz-Colorado College

TSN TOP 50 PLAYERS: 2010 EDITION

Two former UND Fighting Sioux hockey players made the TOP 20 of the TSN top 50 players.

3. F - Jonathan Toews (1,398)
16. F - Zach Parise (1,047)

A couple of things (Sioux Hockey)

As the summer winds down and the days gets shorter and the weather gets colder, on can only notice that college hockey is back on the “radar”. This weekend the Fighting Sioux travel to the last frontier to play in the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska. There is good news for Sioux hockey fans that have Midco as their cable carrier.

Fighting Sioux --- This weekend's games will be broadcast live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network on cable systems in North Dakota and Minnesota. FSSN is picking up the GCI production of both games.

A video webcast of Friday's game against UAA can be purchased at www.GoSeawolves.com, where FREE live stats are also available. There will not be a video webcast for Saturday's UND-UAF game, but FREE live stats will be available. Live audio of both games can be heard at FightingSioux.com.

All UND home games are broadcast live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network, Midco Sports Network and Fox College Sports Central. Sunday's game will also be carried live on DirecTV 617.

Since the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team plays the big slow, lumbering team from UAA I thought I would direct your attention to something Delusions of Grandeur had to say about UND. Let's hope Aaron Dell shuts out UAA again this season. Also, Sioux7 is making the trip this week so hopefully we will get a full report from Alaska when he gets back.

North Dakota

It is finally the last year that this team is allowed to continue using it's offensive nickname in the NCAA. Thank christ for that. UND returns eleven skaters as upperclassmen this season. That 11 may very well equal SCSU's 15 in terms of overall talent.

But their 8 sophomore skaters could likely drive this team. There is definitely a lot of scoring potential in their sophomore class. UND will be tough across all four lines. And all four lines will be potential scoring lines.

Sure, they could be the WCHA team to get to the Frozen Four and kill kittens. But I think that just like every other year when UND puts Minnesota in their rear mirror they'll lose the motivation that keeps them so ultra competitive in the WCHA. So they'll finish 2nd in the league. They'll finish 3rd or 4th at the Final Five. Then lose to lower seeded B.C. in the first round.

Don't think for a second that I don't see this talent-laden roster. There's a bunch of real goal scorers on it; Cichy, Knight, Rowney, Gregoire, Kristo. But the mantle of "dealing with personalties" has shifted a bit from it's ever-presence at Minnesota to UND. Those fucking guys all know they're studs.

Okay? So yah ... you manage that. They also better hope Eidsness is good to go all year. Because they're going to ride that boy like they rode Lammy.

This is what Dean Blais had to say on media day. Looks like UNO might get a new hockey arena on campus.

12:32 p.m.: UNO's Dean Blais spoke Tuesday afternoon on the WCHA coaches teleconference. Here's some of the highlights of what the legendary coach -- who led North Dakota to NCAA titles in 1997 and 2000 -- had to say:

>>“We're glad to be in WCHA. It's a great bunch of guys, as far as coaches … and even the referees -- we kind of enjoyed (seeing them) last week when we played British Columbia. We had a good crowd here, we had 5,700 fans, and won 6-1. We had five different players scoring, and it was a really exciting game.”

>>“A new building, like Duluth and Bemidji, is hopefully going to be announced here. We've got three more years at the Qwest Center, then we want to break ground in the spring, and it will take about two years to build. They're thinking 7,500 to around 8,000 (seats). Details should be out hopefully within a month or two.”

INCH gives Sioux the kiss of death

In case you haven't seen it, INCH has The Great 58 up and they have University of North Dakota ranked number one. I would say that B.C. should be number one because they are the reigning NCAA champ and they returned most of their good players.

1. North Dakota - A crucial four-week stretch of October and November for the Sioux has home series with Denver and UMD sandwiched between trips to Maine and Wisconsin.
2. Boston College
3. Miami
4. Michigan
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. St. Cloud State
7. Yale
8. Maine
9. New Hampshire
10. Alaska
11. Denver
12. Union
13. Rensselaer
14. Boston University
15. Cornell
16. Notre Dame
17. Michigan State
18. Minnesota
19. Wisconsin
20. RIT

Michael Cammalleri Slash on Nino Niederreiter

In looking at this video I don't think a one game suspension is a stiff enough punishment for this egregious act. The slash by former Michigan Wolverine hack Mike Cammalleri on Nino Niederreiter is a bush league move and there is no room in hockey for this type of crap. Cammalleri should be out at least 2-4 games in my opinion.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[October 4, 2010]
1 Boston College (45) 29-10-3 993 3
2 North Dakota ( 3) 25-13-5 935 4
3 Miami ( 2) 29- 8-7 892 1
4 St. Cloud State 24-14-5 749 7
5 Michigan 26-18-1 741 11
6 Yale 21-10-3 719 8
7 Maine 19-17-3 639 18
8 Minnesota-Duluth 22-17-1 618 14
9 Denver 27-10-4 534 2
10 New Hampshire 18-14-7 510 12
11 Cornell 21- 9-4 509 6
12 Alaska 18-12-9 435 17
13 Wisconsin 28-11-4 295 5
14 Boston University 18-17-3 280 NR
15 Minnesota 18-19-2 271 NR
16 Michigan State 19-13-6 191 19
17 Notre Dame 13-17-8 156 NR
18 RIT 28-12-1 152 20
19 Union 21-12-6 136 16
20 Colorado College 19-17-3 127 NR
Others Receiving Votes: Vermont 105, Bemidji State 101, Northern Michigan 96, Ferris State 83, Nebraska-Omaha 49, Northeastern 39, Rensselaer 32, Mercyhurst 31, Quinnipiac 18, Merrimack 15, Ohio State 13, Colgate 9, St. Lawrence 5, Air Force 4, Mass.-Lowell 2, Robert Morris 1

Sioux 5 - Bisons 2

First; I thought the game was kind of a yawner and the Sioux played very sloppy at times, however, that is probably to be expected since they haven’t had many practices under their belt, I was told that the Fighting Sioux hockey team had like one practice before this game. I also thought Manitoba was a bit cheap and took a lot of runs that UND’s skilled players. I am not sure I would put them in the hack category but they did seem to play with a bit of a edge. It’s one thing to play hard but I don’t think it’s necessary to try and start a brawl during an exhibition game, we would like to save the brawling for conference opponents like the Pioneers and the Gophers.

Second; I thought that Manitoba Bison defenseman Chris Benias and Zachery Tully were a couple of punks. Tully’s hit on Pointer in the corner during the third period was unacceptable and should have been a penalty, I don’t know if it was of the “Major Penalty” variety but it was definitely a hit to the head and could have been five and a game misconduct. Here is the video from the NCAA ice hockey rules committee and at 12:00 they show the definition of major penalty for hits to the head.

Just a few observations from last night's game...

Corban Knight – I thought Knight played well last night and looked good playing at the center. I also thought Knight played a strong physical game. I think Corban Knight is ready to break out this season and fill the net with pucks the up side on this kid is very good.

Mike “Ocho” Cichy – I thought Mike Cichy looked pretty good last night and it would be a plus to have him playing at a higher level to start the season. Last year coach Hakstol said that Cichy came into came out of shape and this season Mike appears to be leaner and in better shape. From the sidelines it would appear that his hard work might have paid off.

Derek Forbort – I think that Forbort is going to fit right into the Sioux line up and didn’t look out of place at one bit. I was impressed with Forbort’s poise in the defensive zone.

Chay Genoway – I think Chay looked a little rusty from only playing nine games last season but I believe he will get back up to speed after a few games and practices.

Brock Nelson – I think Nelson showed us a glimpse of the future and will only get better as the season unwinds. I also expect that he will gain some much needed muscle during the season as he gets into the weight room.

Matt Frattin – Wow! What can you say but Fratts was a beast last night, he looks bigger, stronger, faster, meaner and ready to make an impact on the WCHA. His shot from the point last night on the power play was a laser and it appeared as if it was shot out of a howitzer.

Dillon Simpson – Although he didn’t play that much, I thought that Simpson looked a bit like a deer in the head lights last night. I would say that he will probably be the extra to start the season for the Sioux on defense.



Goon's three stars of the game

(1) Corban Knight
(2) Jason Gregoire
(3) Matt Frattin

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

MTB-1 Tyler Dittmer (2-Slashing) NDK 0x1 1:19
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Tripping) MTB 1x1 2:16
MTB 1 - 0 6x5 PP Dane Crowley (Ian Duval, Blair Macaulay) 3:38
MTB: 5,18,26,11,4,G34 NDK: 4,21,24,19,G31
MTB-2 Blair Macaulay (2-Hooking) NDK 0x2 6:48
NDK 1 - 1 6x6 Corban Knight (Brett Hextall, Jason Gregoire) 14:20
NDK (+): 10,26,4,17,24,G31
NDK 2 - 1 6x6 LL Jason Gregoire (Derek Forbort) 17:25
NDK (+): 17,4,10,26,24,G31 MTB (-): 11,26,15,19,4,G34

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

NDK 3 - 1 6x6 GW Brett Hextall (Jason Gregoire) 1:11
NDK (+): 26,17,24,4,10,G31 MTB (-): 3,23,4,21,9,G34
MTB-3 Troy Crowley (2-Interference) NDK 0x3 1:44
NDK-2 Mario Lamoureux (2-Interference) MTB 1x2 4:57
MTB-4 Troy Crowley (2-Slashing) NDK 1x4 13:11
MTB-5 Travis Mealy (2-Slashing) NDK 2x5 13:58
NDK 4 - 1 6x4 PP Matt Frattin (Corban Knight, Derek Forbort) 14:16
NDK: 21,10,22,4,19,G32 MTB: 19,2,5,G34
NDK 5 - 1 6x5 PP Brad Malone (Matt Frattin, Brock Nelson) 15:11
NDK: 22,21,29,19,4,G32 MTB: 3,10,4,17,G34

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

NDK-3 Evan Trupp (2-High-Sticking) MTB 1x3 0:05
MTB-6 Chad Erb (2-Roughing) 4:05
MTB-7 Tyler Dittmer (2-Roughing) 4:05
MTB-8 Chris Benias (2-Roughing) 4:05
MTB-9 Zachery Tully (2-Tripping) NDK 2x6 4:05
MTB-10 Zachery Tully (2-Roughing) NDK 2x7 4:05
NDK-4 Derek Forbort (2-Roughing) 4:05
NDK-5 Ben Blood (2-Roughing) 4:05
NDK-6 Corban Knight (2-Roughing) 4:05
MTB 2 - 5 6x6 Mike Hellyer (Blair Macaulay, Dane Crowley) 9:18
MTB (+): 11,26,5,15,18,G34 NDK (-): 22,19,24,26,4,G32
MTB-11 Dane Crowley (2-Holding) NDK 2x8 9:54
MTB-12 Dane Crowley (2-Roughing) 12:13
MTB-13 Dane Crowley (2-Roughing) 12:13
NDK-7 Mario Lamoureux (2-Roughing) 12:13
NDK-8 Mario Lamoureux (2-Roughing) 12:13
NDK-9 Chay Genoway (2-High-Sticking) MTB 1x4 14:21

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

UND 5, the OTHER Bisons 2

Holy Crap! We had to come from behind against the Bisons! Fire Hakstol! Bench Eidsness! Call a Priest to put our season 6 feet into the ground!

No, seriously, it was just an exhibition game, so I won't pontificate on our season based off of this game. However...

Jason Gregoire and Corbin Knight had great games offensively. Derek Forbort was head and shoulders the best freshman on the ice.

I didn't get as much out of this game than perhaps Goon did (however, I THINK I saw Goon on the FSSN feed for a fleet second...), but those three stood out the most to me.

Brock Nelson will eventually be pretty good, but he wasn't the best on the ice.

Also, Chay Genoway did ok, but he did have his rough moments.

I also thought the officials did a passable job tonight...except when it came to protecting the players safety. Derek LaPoint was checked into the boards from behind, no call. I thought for a second that Don Adam was officiating but I remembered that he wasn't. How'd I know? Because if he had, he'd've done two things in the aftermath of the play:

1. He would have called LaPoint for a 10 minute misconduct for telling him that he wasn't doing his job. (By the way, I found out Don Adam guest starred on South Park. You can see him right here.)
2. He would have found a way to give Manitoba the powerplay. He'd've probably added a 2 minute minor to LaPoint for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Manitoba actually played very well all things considered. Steve Christie played alright. He didn't do a great job on Malone's goal. Erb and Dudar did a decent job as well.

They Sioux looked like they hadn't played together at all in the first period (which, except for one practice and a handful of captain's practices, was true) but played better and better as the game wore on. I also thought the first period was also where they missed Kristo the most. Manitoba scored simply by throwing the puck on net. It deflected off of Blood's skate and voila. Danny Kristo isn't afraid to shoot the puck, which, up until that point, was basically what the Sioux seemed to need. No one shot the puck. They tried to be too cute and flashy.

Of course, I've always been a strong proponent of "when in doubt, shoot the puck" as well as the adages "No goals have ever been scored on a pass" and "The more you pass on the power play the more your opponent gets away with too many men on the ice." To further beat the dead horse, a garbage goal is just as good as a highlight reel goal and are much easier to come by.

Anyways, we've got a little work to do before we play Anchorage.

Annnnnnnnnd We're off!

The season is 25 hours and change away when we start the season with the OTHER Bison skating to (hopefully) defeat in the Ralph.

Thus begins the last season as the Fighting Sioux and the following as whatever lame toothless name the idiots on the SBoHE and the UND Administration pigeonhole us into.

But I digress, HOCKEY!

Manitoba boasts a ton of "talent" with again being the team to actually bring a bunch of 25 year old Canadians back to Grand Forks. So, once again, this is the one time a season where Minnesota fans can point at Grand Forks and say that there is a hockey team playing there full of 25 year old Canadians and be right.

Manitoba is a classy program even if the CIAU (or whatever they now call it) is truly a third tier hockey league. To be honest, I'd love to see a USHL team, a DIII team, and a MJ team play a CIAU team and see who would win. I think a USHL team could give them a run for their money and both the DIII and MJ teams have a very good chance at winning.

Anyways, Manitoba brings back 2 former 7th rounders and 2 former 6th round draft picks. A few of their players have actually played pro hockey, in either the AHL or overseas. Their starting goaltender will undoubtedly be Steve Christie, though their backup was, at one time, the Brandon Wheat Kings' rookie of the year before his performance slowly faded into fail.

Once again, Manitoba brings to Grand Forks a washed out ex-NCAA player. The first time it was some former NMU defenseman whose name I don't care too much to remember or even look up. This time it is former Bemidji State University defenseman Joey Moggach.

Just once, I'd like to bring in that team in Alberta that Graeme Harrington transferred to or perhaps U Alberta or U British Columbia to see what they can do. But who cares really. And then there's real news.

We start things off with a little backwards movement: UND Forward and reigning WCHA Rookie of the Year Danny Kristo did something stupid and got caught. Unlike Finley, Kristo wasn't able to do something unique in getting caught doing something stupid, but it was stupid nonetheless. So, he starts the season when UND heads to Alaska.

I'll take flak for this but.... I think Kristo should sit a regular season game in addition to the exhibition. I know that there is some power to sitting him tomorrow because the Sioux start the regular season on the road facing hapless UAA and less hapless UAF and being on the ice when the Sioux skate out with the Broadmoor would be special, but... No.

I think Kristo sitting against UAA would send the message double time without Hakstol hurting the team any more than is absolutely necessary. I think we could bench half our forwards and still win against UAA though.

Speaking of UAA....

They lose Kane LaFranchise for a semester because he actually found something to do other than go to classes last Spring or Summer! Maybe it was the endless sunlight or temps over the freezing point of water that distracted him? I dunno. In any case, UAA goes into the season without much in the way of scoring, nothing in the way of proven goaltending (even MTU has that!) and now, almost nothing in the way of defense.

Looks like my prediction of picking UAA dead last (while Goon and the rest of the media world went with MTU and even MSUM finishing behind UAA!) may become reality. Don't worry, folks, I'll be sure to taunt Goon mercilessly on his blog over this should a Redwing77 Prediction actually come true. Why? Because, to my knowledge, this would be the first time one of my predictions even remotely came true!

Kristo will sit for Sunday's game

According to RWD’s favorite beat writer Brad Schlossman, Sophmore forward Danny Kristo will be sitting out for the exhibition game against Manitoba because he was cited for underage drinking. I hope once the season begins that the Fighting Sioux hockey players focus on the task at hand. Unacceptable!

Sophomore forward Danny Kristo will be benched for Sunday’s exhibition against Manitoba after being cited for drinking underage.

UND announced the suspension for violating team rules today. Kristo will be eligible to return to the team for the first regular-season game against Alaska-Anchorage next weekend.

Blais on the BTHC

I have to agree with Dean Blais on this one, what does Barry Alvarez really know about hockey? I think the Big Ten should concentrate on things that they do well;  like Basketball and Football championships. These athletic directors are messing with college hockey that is already successful and there is a delicate balance that they could upset if they get greedy.

Q: What's your take on the Big Ten possibly starting a hockey league?

A: I don't know what's going to happen for sure. I hear Penn State is starting a program and building an arena. It's hard, hard to get into a conference. They are talking about it. There's got to be a lot of thought that goes into it if the Big Ten schools are going to get together at the expense of hurting college hockey. If you have 55 (58) schools playing hockey and five fold because of that, you better know what you're doing.

(Five programs would fold? Blais said it could happen in the CCHA if it loses three teams to the Big Ten. He had some strong words for the Big Ten schools in the WCHA. “Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin athletic director, has been pushing this. He's a football guy. Does he know anything about hockey? This could really hurt the sport. Minnesota and Wisconsin have to think about the backlash in future schedules. What's keeping everyone from blackballing them and making them look east?”)

Chorney headed to Oklahoma City

Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Taylor Chorney is head to the AHL to start the season. Chorney played in 42 games last season and was a horrific -21 and became a whipping boy for the Oiler’s faithful.

Edmonton Oilers Press Release --- Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the club has assigned the following four players to Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League:

Taylor Chorney (D)
Colin McDonald (LW)
Jeff Petry (D)
Alex Plante (D)

Is that Bettman or Booman?

When will the NHL come to the realization that Gary “Buttman” Bettman is ruining the image of the NHL? When ever Bettman is asked a question by fans or the press he sounds like a condescending American politician or high priced trial lawyer. What really bothers me and other is his smugness and arrogance as well.

To a chorus of boos, of course.
Why does Bettman insist on putting himself through the humiliation of hearing the catcalls? He heard them on the biggest stage when he presented the Chicago Blackhawks with the Stanley Cup in June. Tuesday he heard them at the 1,200-seat venue, which was full of children.

We understand why Bettman needed to be in the building on both occasions. Obviously, he needs to be in the house when the league’s champions are crowned.

In the Dundas instance, he wanted to show he believes in the grassroots of hockey. We get that. Not to be overly cynical about it, it was also an opportunity for TV time.

Yet in hindsight, does it really help the image of the NHL — and the future of the NHL — when the guy running the league is being booed in front of several hundred children? Why bring on the hatred by taking centre stage at centre ice?

Surely, Bettman couldn’t have imagined the crowd was going to seranade him. Remember, Dundas is only a long slapshot away from the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, the place where the NHL commissioner so steadfastly refused to consider as a landing spot for the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes franchise last year.

Dundas is, in fact, now part of the amalgamated city of Hamilton. (We can imagine Bettman was jumping for joy when a community connected to Hamilton won the rights to the game over every other Canadian possibility).[Read the whole article here]

Great Expectations - UND first in Media and Herald Polls...

94X WCHA MEDIA POLL
1. North Dakota (28 first-place votes) 347 points
2. Minnesota Duluth 300
3. St. Cloud State (1) 295
4. Denver 242
5. Wisconsin 218
6. Minnesota 203
7. Colorado College 182
8. Bemidji State 156
9. Nebraska-Omaha 125
10. Minnesota State 97
11. Alaska-Anchorage 51
12. Michigan Tech 46

Grand Forks Herald Coaches Poll
1. UND (10) 120
2. St. Cloud State (2) 105
3. Minnesota-Duluth 100
4. Denver 88
5. Minnesota 82
6. Colorado College 67
7. Wisconsin 64
8. Nebraska-Omaha 55
9. Bemidji State 46
10. MSU-Mankato 41
11. Alaska-Anchorage 19
12. Michigan Tech 15

Goon's Preseason poll
1. UND
2. SCSU
3. UMD
4. DU
5. UW
6. UMN
7. UNO
8. BSU
9. CC
10. MSU
11. UAA
12. MTU

Josh Birkholz, gets a chance to rejuvenate his career in Everett

This is a text book definition of a "prima donna." This is the problem with today's hockey players, some of them think they are entitled to play on the first line and when they don't play as well as they think they should they just change teams instead of working harder in practice.

HeraldNet.COM --- But Birkholz wasn't given his chance to shine. Instead he found himself buried on the depth chart, seeing just a handful of shifts per game while playing on the fourth line. In 36 games he managed just five goals and one assist.

Everett had added Birkholz to its 50-player protected list a year earlier, and as he rode the pine Birkholz's thoughts turned toward Everett. His mind was all but made up to leave Minnesota for Everett when he was slapped with a suspension by Minnesota for violating team rules. That erased any final lingering doubts about his decision.

“Growing up in Minnesota it's always a goal for the young hockey players to play for the University of Minnesota,” Birkholz said. “It's tough leaving that and tough leaving home. But it's part of the sacrifice you have to make to reach your goals.”

Now in Everett, Birkholz sees opportunity. He sees the chance to show the Panthers the full range of his abilities, something he says he was never able to do at Minnesota. And he sees a chance to move into the professional ranks as quickly as possible.

This was a perfect opportunity for a life lesson for the young Josh Birkholz, instead of facing the music, he just quit and went somewhere to escape his punishment.

Oilers assign Pitlick

This happened over the weekend when I was out but it's news worthy because it's technically another one and done player in the WCHA that left College Hockey to sign early and was sent down to a WHL team that owned his rights after he failed to make the Edmonton Oilers. I know there were rumblings that Pitlick was leaving school anyways, because college really wasn't for him or something like that.

NHL.COM --- Edmonton Oilers General Manager Steve Tambellini announced today the club has assigned centre Tyler Pitlick to the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League.

Pitlick, 18, played in 38 games for Minnesota State in the WCHA collecting 19 points (11G, 8A). The Minneapolis, MN native was drafted by the Oilers in the 2nd round, 31st overall, in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

Wild looking at Jose Theodore

I have a feeling it could be a long season for the Minnesota Wild if Niklas Backstrom were to get hurt or have another sub par season like last year. I am also not a big fan of Jose Theodore, I think he is past is prime in my humble opinion.

COLUMBUS, OHIO - If the Wild is interested in bringing in free agent Jose Theodore to replace injured Josh Harding, the longtime NHL goaltender would be interested in coming, his agent said Monday night.

Don Meehan, whose firm also represents Harding, said he spoke with Wild General Manager Chuck Fletcher on Sunday about Theodore.

"When Chuck called to tell me Harding would be out for the season, Chuck said to me, 'Look, I've got to make a move.' And I said, 'Keep me in the loop. Jose Theodore is available,'" Meehan said. "He said, 'That's certainly an interesting possibility.'

"I told Chuck to keep me in mind. I think they'll probably get their staff together and assess where they go from here, but I'd say, 'It's a consideration for them, yes, and Jose would be intrigued by Minnesota.'"