It was inevitable (RW77)

We've now played 3 games with Eidsness and Dell sharing the duties and already there are people calling for Dell to play over Eidsness.

Here's why that's ridiculously stupid:

1. Eidsness was on the All WCHA team last year and was among the best goaltenders in the country last year. You don't get that by sucking.

2. I'd like to see Dell do as good as Eidsness did on Friday with just as much (meant as sarcasm) Team D in front of him. Something tells me, UAA would still have tied the game or won.

3. Eidsness is the man according to Hakstol.

It's still unfortunate that people seem to think that the only good goaltender is the one that can steal the game for you. My perspective is this: If you need a goaltender to steal a game for you, even if it is once in a while, then you're only saying that because you don't want to come to the realization that the team in front of the goaltender is prone to sucking. Ok, ok, there is value to a game stealing goaltender (Devils and Brodeur, Canadiens and Halak, etc.) but there are just as many examples of great teams with goaltenders that did what was asked of them but wasn't flashy or stole games (like Leighton/Boucher for the Flyers or Marc-Andre Fleury - who is good, but not flashy).

The point is this: if your dominance depends solely on the play of one player, regardless of position, then your team will eventually fail. That is, unless your sport is focused upon individual performances in a team setting (such as the Olympics, the Ryder Cup in golf, etc.).

Hockey is a sport that requires solid play in all areas of gameplay or your team will struggle, from the obvious loss to squeaking by with the win.

How about a non-hockey point to beat the dead horse? Yesterday, Alabama lost to South Carolina in football. Though this delighted me to no end (as did LSU's win over Florida... suck it ESPN), it displays my point exactly. Alabama should NEVER have lost to USC. But their defense let them down and game over. What we're doing with the Eidsness issue, in this context is, had the middle linebacker played better, Alabama would have won. Ahm... Nope.

Saturday we saw great team defense. Fairbanks tested Dell..... twice according to Brad the entire game. One of those two times, Fairbanks scored. It took a 5 on 3 powerplay to generate that chance. See how important Team Defense is? It took Fairbanks 10 minutes to get their first shot on goal (made while on the powerplay) and another 7 minutes on top of that to get their first even strength shot on goal! I think Tate Maris could have looked better than Eidsness with this kind of Team D in front of him.

So what do we take from this weekend? Two things:

1. If we play good on Team D, it doesn't matter who is in net.

2. We may have what could be a solid tandem in net. Dell just needs to be tested a bit more.

Eidsness is still the #1 goaltender on the Sioux. Sioux fans will just have to come to grips with the fact that Eidsness isn't going to be a game stealer. And as far as I'm concerned, I'd rather he not be expected to be so.

No webcast for tonight's game.

According to Brad's blog there is no webcast tonight from the Fighting Sioux site.

Today’s game is NOT available for webcast. It is televised on FSSN and Midco Sports Network. It is NOT on FCS.

They Said... most thrilling rallies in tournament history ...

I was thinking that it was one of the more painful and something you would want to wipe from your memory, I was thinking that It would be more of a historic collapse.

ANCHORAGE – Senior winger Tommy Grant had a goal and an assist Friday as Alaska Anchorage stormed back from a four-goal deficit to register a 5-5 tie against 2nd-ranked North Dakota in Game 2 of the Kendall Hockey Classic at Sullivan Arena.

After trailing 5-1 midway through the second period, freshman right wing Brett Cameron capped one of the most thrilling rallies in tournament history when he knocked a shot slap shot past Brad Eidsness early in the third period.

Another Seawolf freshman, goalie Chris Kamal (25 saves), made the lead hold up by stopping the Fighting Sioux the rest of the way, including eight total saves in the third period and overtime.

Following the overtime period, North Dakota prevailed in a shootout, 2-1, which would go toward breaking a potential tie to determine the tournament champion. The game, however, goes in the official books as a tie in what was the season-opener for both teams.

Scores from other games.

You can get all of the scores on College Hockey INC and College Hockey News
Thursday, October 7, 2010

Non-Conference
Ferris State 4 at Alabama-Huntsville 1

Friday, October 8, 2010

CCHA
Michigan 4 at Bowling Green 1

Hockey East

Northeastern 2 at Providence 3
Mass.-Lowell 2 at Maine 8

Non-Conference

Ohio State 1 at Quinnipiac 2
Rensselaer 1 at Colorado College 2
Ferris State 2 at Alabama-Huntsville 4
St. Lawrence 5 at Minnesota State 5 ot
Sacred Heart 0 at Union 9
Denver 5 at Vermont 3
New Hampshire 3 at Miami 6
Canisius 5 at Western Michigan 3
Massachusetts 3 at Minnesota 5

IceBreaker

Holy Cross 3 vs. Notre Dame 6
Boston University 4 vs. Wisconsin 3

Maverick Stampede
RIT 1 vs. St. Cloud State 3
Clarkson 0 at Nebraska-Omaha 8

Superior Showcase

Michigan Tech 4 at Northern Michigan 3 ot
Minnesota-Duluth 6 at Lake Superior 6 ot

Kendall Hockey Classic

Air Force 2 vs. Alaska 5
North Dakota 5 at Alaska-Anchorage 5 ot

Exhibition

Western Ontario 5 at Michigan State 3

UND 5 UAA 5

I know it’s early and I don’t see a need to start the Fire Hakstol threat over on Sioux Sports as of yet but last night’s game was tough one to stomach. The Sioux raced to a 5-1 lead only to cough the lead up and then had to win the game in a shoot out. While some might blame the Sioux's listless play on the time change and travel but the Sullivan Arena has turned into a house of horrors for the UND hockey team in the last 9 games the Sioux are an unimpressive 4-4-1. The fact remains that the Fighting Sioux had UAA’s rookie goalie Chris Kamal on the ropes but the Fighting Sioux hockey team let him off of the hook by letting the Seawolves score and get back into the game. Seriously, the Sioux had the young goalie rattled but they took the foot off of the gas. The Sioux will need a better effort tonight if they are going to beat the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks.

If I had to explain last night’s game in one sentence it would be, “It was a horrible effort all the way around and magnified by bad defense and goaltending.” In my opinion the goals that did the Sioux in were the third and fourth goals. Those two goals were a comedy of errors that leaves even the most die hard fans scratching their heads. I would have to ask, where was the team effort after they got a 5-1 lead? At 10:57 of the second period the Sioux gave up the first of four unanswered goals. 

On the third UAA goal Brad Eidsness goes into the corner to play the puck is beat to the puck by UAA forward Jade Portwood, the big forward pass the puck to Sean Wiles who has an empty UND net to shoot the puck into.  The fourth UAA goal was a horrible effort all the way around, the puck is turned over in the offensive zone and Tommy Grant makes the Sioux hockey team look like a bunch of uninspired pylons.

Three Stars of the Game

1.  Corban Knight UND, 2 goals
2. Jason Gregoire UND, 2 assists
3. Tommy Grant  UAA,
 

 Box Score
--------------------------------1st Period (20:00)--------------------------------
AKA-1 Mark Pustin (2-Holding) NDK 1x1 2:07
NDK 1 - 0 6x5 PP Brad Malone (1) (Brett Hextall) 3:06
NDK: 22,26,21,4,19,G31 AKA: 15,27,36,8,G35
AKA 1 - 1 6x6 Curtis Leinweber (1) (Tommy Grant, Jordan Kwas) 12:25
AKA (+): 11,16,23,14,17,G35 NDK (-): 29,8,5,2,7,G31
AKA-2 Luka Vidmar (2-High-Sticking) NDK 1x2 15:09
AKA-3 Quinn Sproule (2-Charging) NDK 2x3 19:05
NDK 2 - 1 6x5 PP Jake Marto (1) (Chay Genoway) 19:38
NDK: 25,5,7,10,17,G31 AKA: 15,8,14,36,G35
--------------------------------2nd Period (20:00)--------------------------------
NDK 3 - 1 6x6 Corban Knight (1) (Jason Gregoire, Derrick LaPoint) 0:47
NDK (+): 10,17,5,2,26,G31 AKA (-): 27,16,8,20,11,G35
NDK-1 Brad Malone (2-Boarding) AKA 0x1 1:38
NDK 4 - 1 6x6 Carter Rowney (1) (Jason Gregoire) 3:41
NDK (+): 27,17,22,3,2,G31 AKA (-): 27,40,36,23,9,G35
NDK 5 - 1 6x6 Corban Knight (2) (Danny Kristo) 7:32
NDK (+): 10,7,4,24,27,G31 AKA (-): 27,20,16,13,3,G35
AKA 2 - 5 6x6 Matt Bailey (1) (Brett Cameron, Mitch Bruijsten) 10:57
AKA (+): 21,7,12,3,13,G35 NDK (-): 9,27,21,4,24,G31
NDK-2 Evan Trupp (2-Interference) AKA 0x2 14:24
NDK-3 Chay Genoway (2-Interference) AKA 0x3 15:00
AKA-4 Craig Parkinson (2-Boarding) NDK 2x4 16:41
AKA 3 - 5 5x6 SH Sean Wiles (1) (Jade Portwood) 18:07
AKA (+): 27,36,23,11,G35 NDK (-): 24,10,5,7,17,G31
AKA 4 - 5 6x6 Tommy Grant (1) (unassisted) 19:00
AKA (+): 16,20,14,8,15,G35 NDK (-): 10,5,25,17,9,G31
--------------------------------3rd Period (20:00) --------------------------------
AKA 5 - 5 6x6 GT Brett Cameron (1) (Mitch Bruijsten, Matt Bailey) 1:34
AKA (+): 7,12,21,13,3,G35 NDK (-): 4,29,24,7,8,G31
NDK-4 Andrew MacWilliam (2-Elbowing) AKA 0x4 4:06
Overtime (5:00)
--------------------------------End of Game--------------------------------

UND Foundation Seems to Have Lost a Lot of Money Subsequent to the Dropping of the Sioux Nickname

With the UND administration's insistence on abandoning the Sioux nickname for it's identity the talk has been that donors have cut back.

I've heard of some serious hitters saying that they weren't giving the school any money in the future. Of course that's anecdotal. I mean surely those that were against the name would have stepped up to the plate once they got their way.

I've been waiting for UND Foundation to release their report for some months now. After all their fiscal year ends June 30th. Well today, in the GF Herald I saw the first indication that things aren't pretty.

In 2007, before the recent economic downturn, UND was talking about bringing its endowment up to $500 million. A

As of the end of fiscal year 2010, the endowment was $106 million, Johnson said.

According to the last Foundation report for fiscal year 2009, on page 17, they had $144 million in net assets. So if they're down to $106 million there are some issues. There is a chance that they consider something less that that as their endowment. I don't see any line item on their books as an endowment though.

It will be very interesting when they do release their financials. Back in the spring of 2009 the Board of Higher Education made the move to eventually retire the name. If they say a drop in 2009-2010 I would predict an even larger drop in the current fiscal year, now that the name is apparently killed off by the current administration.

I have a hard time believing that the UND Foundation should have lost money in their investments in the last fiscal year. My 401K did pretty well over that period.

The same article says that there's a big announcement for a new fund raising campaign tonight. I wasn't invited. But if I had to bet I'd say that the only thing that UND President Robert Kelley could raise funds for at this point is moving expenses.

Cross Posted from Say Anything Blog

Genoway and Eidsness make USCHO's Hobey Baker Watch.

Elliot Olshansky from USCHO has included Fighting Sioux defenseman Chay Genoway and Fighting Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness in his 2010-11 Hobey Baker Watch: Preview, Part II.

DEFENSEMEN

Chay Genoway, Sr., North Dakota – Genoway was named to the All-WCHA third team despite playing a grand total of nine games due to a concussion sustained at the hands of St. Cloud’s Aaron Marvin, but was granted a medical redshirt to complete his college career at North Dakota. In those nine games, he had four goals and six assists, and was generating his share of Hobey talk. Given a full, healthy season on a North Dakota team that always seems to get hot at the right time of year, he should be able to contend for the award again.

GOALTENDERS

Brad Eidsness, Jr., North Dakota – Eidsness was an All-WCHA second team pick last season after finishing eighth nationally in goals-against average and 23rd in save percentage. The return of Chay Genoway to the UND blueline corps should be helpful, and while it’s always tricky to pick goalies, Eidsness is one worth looking at.

Friday Morning Pontifications....

The UAA Seawolves will have a new goaltender(s) to start the 2010-2011 season, the previous goaltenders/sieves Jon Olthuis (Senior) and Bryce Christian (signed professional contract) have left the team making way for three inexperienced goalies to battle for the starting position.

The Seawolves don't have a projected No. 1 goalie, or even a proven college backstop, among the three men who play the position.

Gunderson is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound freshman from the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Chris Kamal is a 5-9, 186-pound freshman from the North American Hockey League. And the college game resume of returning junior Dusan Sidor, a 6-foot, 170-pounder, consists of a two-period relief stint last season.

The UAF Nanooks made their first trip to the NCAA tourney last season and are now poised to make another run to the NCAA tourney. Sounds like the Nanooks spent the off season preparing for the up coming season.

FAIRBANKS — “All summer, we had that taste in our mouths,” junior right wing Ron Meyers said after the recent Blue-Gold Game at the Patty Center. “We worked our butts off so we can get back there and get that taste ... and get more of a taste, staying there for more rounds and seeing how far we get there.”

More rounds in the NCAA Tournament starts with the regional final. If a team is fortunate there, it means a trip to the Frozen Four, where it will play in a national semifinal and if its fortune continues, it will play for the national championship.

The 22 veterans have stressed to the five newcomers — freshmen Colton Beck (left wing), Cody Kunyk (center), Erik Slemp (right wing) and Michael Quinn (defenseman) and sophomore center Adam Henderson, a transfer from Central Collegiate Hockey Association rival Michigan State — that they want that taste to stay throughout the regular season and remain with the Nanooks for, hopefully, another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Nanooks hockey seeks repeat postseason trip

The Alaska Nanooks Hockey Blog has an interesting blog post on the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team. It's always interesting to see how others scout the Sioux. Britton is a more user friendly than Delusions of Grandeur. [Click to read]

Dominating is the goal for SCSU [SCSU Times]

Lee, a third-round draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, went into his freshman season with a lot of accolades and awards. He was the United States Hockey League Goalie of the Year and USA Hockey Junior Hockey Goalie of the Year in 2009. In preseasons polls of the media and the coaches, he also was the WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year.

Last winter, he won a gold medal with Team USA at the World Junior Championships and started the last six postseason for the Huskies. He also had a 6-7-2 record and a 3.04 goals-against average in WCHA games.

"It was about as good a learning year as anybody could ask for with all of the ups and downs," said Lee, a sophomore who led Roseau to the 2007 Class 2A state high school title. "I went through about everything that somebody could go through in a season. It was good to get that experience under my belt for my freshman year.

"We're looking to build off that year," said Lee, who started in the WCHA championship game and won an NCAA first-round playoff game. "The more times you play for championships, the better your odds are. That's our goal, to keep putting ourselves in those situations."

Dominating? Yeah! Uh, oh, OK! I have been on record as saying that I think that Mike Lee is over rated and that Dan Dunn is the better of the two goalies for the SCSU Huskies. Last season Mike Lee folded in the big games in college and on the World stage. Lee was pulled in the WJC against Canada in the championship game, pulled in the Final Five against UND and was 0-3 UND last season (4-0 L, 8-1 L, 5-3 L), in fact Mike Lee only finished one game against the Sioux last season a 4-0 loss in November. On the flip side of that goalie combo Dunn was 2-0 against UND.

UND Fighting Sioux hockey Season on... First off the Seawolves.

The UND Fighting Sioux travel to Anchorage Alaska to play in the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska. Game time is at 11:07 pm Grand Forks, ND time. You can watch the game on FSSN Channel 27 or listen to the game on 96.1 or via the internet on FightingSioux.com. The Fighting Sioux radio broadcast between UND and UAA is free but requires that you register at FightingSioux.com.

Here are some of the key returning players for the Fighting Sioux

Forwards

Danny Kristo Soph, 15g-21a-36pts
Matt Frattin Sr, 11g-8a-19pts
Jason Gregoire Jr, 20g-17a-37pts
Brett Hextall Jr, 14g-12a-26pts
Evan Trupp Sr, 8g-26a-34pts

Defense

Derrick LaPoint Sr 2g-20a-22pts
Jake Marto Sr, 5g-13a-18pts
Ben Blood Jr, 5g-9a-14pts
Chay Genoway SR, 4g-6a-10pts

Goalie

Brad Eidsness Jr, 24-10-4, 2.11 GAA, SV% .914

Here are some of the key returning players for the UAA Seawolves.

Forward

Tommy Grant Sr, 9g-17a-26pts
Sean Wiles Sr, 9g-8a-17pts
Craig Parkinson Sr, 6g-5a-11pts
Jade Portwood Jr,3g-2a-5pts

Defensemen

Nick Haddad Sr, 5g-5a-10gpts
Luka Vidmar Sr, 2-g10a-12pts
Brad Gorham Jr, 0g-5a-10pts
Chris Crowell So, 0g-0a-0pts

Goalie

Dusan Sidor So, 0-0-0 6.00 GAA SV% .846
Rob Gunderson Fr.
Chris Kamal Fr.

Comparing the two teams

UND averages 6'0.07" and 187.96 lbs.
UAA averages 6'0.71" and 187.13 lbs.

UND record against UAA the last 12 games 7-4-1

UND has a 4-4 in it's last 8 games in Anchorage.

Read what the College Hockey News has to say about the Kendall Hockey Classic in Anchorage, Alaska.

All the more reason for the defense to stay strong.

"On the flip side, we need to manufacture more shots that lead to an increase in goal production," said Shyiak. "We want to be a team that is tough to play against and keep teams scoring chances to a minimum."

North Dakota, coming off a 5-2 exhibition victory over Manitoba, has epitomized consistency during the past decade-plus, reaching the NCAA tournament in 13 of the last 14 years, including each of the last eight. Last year, the Sioux fell to Yale in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Still, six of the Sioux's seven 20-point scorers from a season ago return this year, so it's no wonder that talk of the Frozen Four is already swirling around Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. In addition, Chay Genoway returns to the Fighting Sioux defensive corps after a concussion kept him out of last season.

Genoway played regular shifts in North Dakota's win over Manitoba last week.

Familiar faces returning to WCHA

Kevin Pates from the Duluth News Tribune has a nice article about the two new teams that will begin play in the WCHA this season. I have a feeling that the WCHA is going to get to know Tom Serratore and Dean Blais’ teams pretty quick as both coaches like to play an up tempo race horse hockey type of game.

Duluth News Tribune ---- The newest members of the league — Serratore with Bemidji State and Blais with Nebraska-Omaha — begin 2010-11 play in the next two weeks. On Tuesday, they were warmly welcomed by fellow WCHA head coaches during a media conference call. They needed no introduction.

Serratore, 46, is entering his ninth year as Bemidji State’s head coach with a mark of 140-120-29. He was a St. Cloud State assistant for five years in the WCHA from 1993-99.

Blais, 59, is entering his second year at Omaha and spent 10 seasons in the WCHA as North Dakota’s head coach with a 262-115-33 record. He had another nine years as a North Dakota assistant and played for Minnesota from 1969-73.

“It’s an exciting time in Bemidji, something we’ve dreamt of for years,” said Serratore, who grew up in Coleraine and was a Bemidji State hockey captain. “The longtime goal of this program has been to be a member of the WCHA, and it’s nice to see it come to fruition.

“All of northern Minnesota and the Iron Range has been looking forward to this, and we hope to compete day-in-and-day-out with the teams in our league.”

Bemidji State knocked on the WCHA’s door with the demise of College Hockey America. Nebraska-Omaha was then courted by WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod to make the league an even dozen members, the largest size since its inception in 1951.

Bemidji State, which grew to national small-college stature under Bob Peters, has been in three NCAA Division I tournaments the past six years. The Beavers were 23-10-4 last season, won the College Hockey America regular-season title and lost to Michigan 5-1 in the NCAA Midwest Regional’s first round. The four-team College Hockey America then dissolved.

Bemidji State opens its first WCHA season in impressive fashion with the christening of the $44 million, 4,500-seat Bemidji Regional Event Center on Oct. 15 against North Dakota.

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

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

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2nd Period (20:00)
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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

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3rd Period (20:00)
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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

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End of Game