Curtis Glencross boards Clayton Stoner

Last night during the Wild and Flames game, former UAA Seawolves forward Curtis Glencross boarded Wild defenseman Clayton Stoner into the end boards with this hit and for his effort Glencross will likely be the next victim of the Colin Campbell “Wheel of Justice.” Glencross was given a five minute major on the call but not given a game misconduct.

PK Subban overtime winner

I am going to preface this with I am a Bruins fans and the Habs are as disgusting to me as the Minnesota Gophers, so excuse me for not being amused with P.K. Subban antics. While I do think P.K. Subban is an exciting young talent, what do you think Gordy Howe would have done to him if has celebrated like that in front of him? This is one thing I hate about hockey; there are players that celebrate like they have won the Stanley Cup on every goal. Act like you have been there before. Was P.K. Subban’s sniper gun celebration over the top?

TSN.com --- "I scored the goal, I did a celebration," said the 21-year-old rookie who has taken some heat for being cocky this season. "I wish I had just put my stick up, but that's something I've always dreamed of -- scoring the winner in overtime.

"It was a great moment, but the important thing is we got the two points."

It didn't bother the Flames, who not only erased a 4-0 Montreal lead but got an important point while playing their third game in four nights on the road. Calgary, trying to battle back into playoff position in the Western Conference, went 2-0-2 on a four-game road trip and have at least one point in five straight games.

Bob Kurtz the voice of the Wild...

Here is the radio voice of the Minnesota Wild Bob Kurtz as he does a number on the NHL refs during Peckham and Havlat incident in last night game that led to Oilers “hack” Zach Stortini fighting Wild Defenseman Brent Burns

They said what?

Check this out, this is from Roman’s blog on Goal Gophers.

THE DON ON RADIO

Tuned in on Monday evening to hear coach Don Lucia on his weekly radio show. Trouble was, there was not a program this week. He was on KFAN on Tuesday morning for a while. Some highlights:

* On recruiting: He drove 1,000 miles the past couple days recruiting. He still wants to recruit the high-end talend but believes the one-and-done players probably hurt you more than they help. He said he is trying to get a blend, including players who will stay four years.

* On Friday's 3-2 victory: "We answered the ball physically. ... Even on Saturday it was a one-goal game in the third period."

* On unbalanced schedule: Nine of the past 11 games against North Dakota have been at the Ralph in Grand Forks. Partly explaining that is three-game first-round playoff series there last March.

* On special teams: He is not worried so much about the Gophers' power play even though it was 0-for-6 on Saturday. The penalty kill is the biggest area which needs fixing. North Dakota only scored two five-on-five goals.

* On a bye week so soon after the holiday break: Ideally the Gophers would have had their next bye week in early February.

* On skating legs of Erik Haula and Nick Bjugstad, freshmen forwards who played in the World Juniors: Their legs are fine.

Blasier not expecting any love this weekend.

I think I can speak for quite a few of us, that former Fighting Sioux hockey coach Dean Blais will always be loved in Grand Forks, ND. Personally, I had tears in my eyes when I found out he was leaving UND for the NHL. I think that I will always have a soft spot for the Dean Blais, he is a future hall of fame coach that can get the most out of his players. Blais brought UND back to greatness 1990’s after UND had hit rock bottom, winning NCAA titles in 1997 and 2000.

Omaha.com --- 1:50 p.m., Tuesday: Former Sioux coach Dean Blais already knows what it feels like to work from the visiting team's bench at North Dakota's Engelstad Arena.

Blais last winter led his U.S. National junior team to a 4-2 win over the Sioux. The crowd of 10,000-plus in Grand Forks was happy to have Blais back on UND's campus, and there was no chance they'd act hostile toward a team representing the USA.

But that was only an exhibition, and it didn't count a lick toward North Dakota's WCHA and NCAA championship hopes. Blais even had one of the Sioux's own -- Danny Kristo -- skating for him in a Team USA sweater.

Blais remains a revered figure at UND, but he fully expects all that good will to go out the window this weekend. For the first time since he left the Sioux in 2004, Blais will go back to Grand Forks as the coach of another college team.

"I left the University of North Dakota on great terms, going to work in the National Hockey League," Blais said Tuesday prior to the Mavs' practice. "And obviously last year, coaching for my country, that's a compliment for what we accomplished at North Dakota, too.

"But now, coming back to Grand Forks as UNO's coach -- trying to take away their points and beat their Fighting Sioux -- there's going to be no love for me up there at all."

Andrew Brunette's slick goal

This is an awesome goal by Andrew Brunette...

Tuesday morning links – freezing in the north country.

Apparently Omaha.com writer Chad Purcell didn't get the memo from the "East Coast" hockey pundits because he too thinks UND is the best team in the NCAA. How dare he even suggest that; this is utter blasphemy!!! [Omaha.com]

UNO freshman is a quick learner [Omaha.com]

There will be a lot on the line this weekend when the Fighting Sioux play the UNO Mavericks. NCAA hopes on the line for Mavs [Omaha.com]

According to the Goal Gophers playing a physical brand of hockey is considered by some to be intimidation hockey down in the land of 10,000 excuses. [Goal Gophers]

Apparently, the Lansing State Journal didn’t get the memo on Yale either... [lansingstatejournal.com] I have asked the same questions as well...

But here's the big question being asked around college hockey - by fans and media publicly and coaches and players privately: "Is Yale really the best team?"

Most everyone admits the Bulldogs are good, talented and the best in their league. But the question often asked is, "What would their record be if they played in a more competitive conference?"

The Little Caesars North American Showcase is taking place at the REA on Jan 20 - Jan 23 admission is free. [Click for details]

Apparently, Merrimack College sophomore Stephane Da Costa is going to be a hot ticket on the free agent market this year after M.C. is eliminated from the NCAA hockey tourney. [CBC.CA]

Oshie Set to Return This Week?

According to Andy Strickland of True hockey and Hockey Buzz former Fighting Sioux hockey player T.J. Oshie is set to return to the St Louis Blue line up sometime in the very near future.

TrueHockey.com --- Monday was a significant day for Blues forward T.J. Oshie who could return from ankle surgery as early as Tuesday when the Los Angeles Kings visit St. Louis.

For the first time since beginning the on-ice portion of his rehab, Oshie participated in contact drills as he begins to put his surgically repaired ankle to the test. Prior to Monday’s practice Oshie told his teammates he didn’t want them to hold back as he was looking to push it.

After practice Oshie looked good and there is a chance he suits up Tuesday night. How big of a chance remains to be seen as a lot of that will depend on how his ankle feels Tuesday morning. Obviously if he’s experiencing any soreness the team will hold him back.

It appears the safer play would be to sit out against the Kings but no one is willing to rule anything out at this point. If Oshie is not in the lineup on Tuesday, it looks like Thursday against Detroit is looking pretty good.


Oshie originally broke his ankle November 10th in Columbus.

Rangers and Flyers shenanigans.

The Philadelphia Flyers beat the New York Rangers 3-2 last night and there was a lot of extra stuff going on during the game. Check this out move by Flyers forward Danny Briere and Flyers “hack” Scott Hartnell they are actually taking swipes at Rangers forward Brandon Prust as he skates by the Flyers players bench after a big hit on Kimmo Timmonen, that’s straight out of the movie Slap Shot.


Sean Avery you should be ashamed of yourself, first off Matt Carle is not a fighter, second, when your sparring partner hits the ice you stop swinging, its part of the hockey code you don’t keep feeding him a few more rights. Sean “sloppy seconds” Avery should get a couple days on the beach for that bush league move, I think it would be an understatement to say that Avery is a two bit knuckle head. That was the first ever fight for Matt Carle, I guess if you can call getting fed a couple of right while you're laying on the ice a fight.

Poll Monday - Fighting Sioux second in both polls.

USCHO Division I Men
[1-17-2011]
1 Yale (38) 15-2-0 978
2 North Dakota (9) 17-6-2 929
3 Boston College ( 1) 15-6-0 844
4 Denver ( 1) 14-5-5 814
5 Minn. Duluth 15-5-3 802
6 Michigan ( 1) 15-6-4 761
7 New Hampshire 12-4-4 750
8 Notre Dame 15-8-3 596
9 Wisconsin 15-8-3 552
10 Maine 11-6-4 508
11 Miami 13-8-3 485
12 Union 15-6-3 451
13 Merrimack 12-4-4 412
14 Rensselaer 13-6-3 364
15 Boston University 10-5-6 317
16 Nebraska-Omaha 12-8-2 290
17 Western Michigan 12-6-6 211
18 Dartmouth 10-5-2 147
19 Alaska 10-8-4 129
20 Princeton 11-6-1 45
Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota 31, Colorado College 28,Ohio State 15, Robert Morris 15, Ferris State 9,Minnesota State 7, Clarkson 4, RIT 2, St. Cloud State 2,Niagara 1, Northeastern 1.
________________________________________________

USA TODAY/USA Hockey men's poll
[Jan. 17, 2010]
1. Yale (26) 15-2-0 500
2. North Dakota (8) 17-6-2 479
3. Boston College 15-6-0 404
4. Denver 14-5-5 380
5. Minnesota Duluth 15-5-3 370
6. Michigan 15-6-4 353
7. New Hampshire 12-4-4 325
8. Notre Dame 15-8-3 236
9. Wisconsin 15-8-3 190
10. Union 15-6-3 172
11. Maine 11-6-4 164
12. Miami (Ohio) 13-8-3 151
13. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 13-6-3 121
14. Merrimack College 12-4-4 120
15. Nebraska-Omaha 12-8-2
Others receiving votes: Boston University, 37; Dartmouth College, 21; Western Michigan University, 4; University of Alaska, 3; Robert Morris University, 2.

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings. This past weekend everyone in the Top five lost this past weekend, Yale lost to the unimpressive Brown Bears, UND lost to the hapless Gophers, UNH lost to Dartmouth, Boston College lost to Maine and UMD lost to Wisconsin.

INCH Power Rankings
[January 16, 2011]
1. Yale
2. North Dakota — Down 1-0 early on Saturday and facing an upset home sweep against the rival Gophers, it took Evan Trupp just 34 seconds to respond with an unassisted breakaway goal to turn the momentum North Dakota's way. 17-6-2 (12-4-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota, 3-2; W vs. Minnesota, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha, vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
3. New Hampshire
4. Boston College
5. Minnesota Duluth
6. Denver
7. Michigan
8. Union
9. Merrimack
10. Rensselaer
11. Notre Dame
12. Miami
13. Wisconsin
14. Maine
15. Nebraska-Omaha
16. Boston University
17. Western Michigan
18. Dartmouth
19. Alaska
20. Ohio State

Dropped out: Colorado College
Bubble-licious: Minnesota, Princeton, RIT, Robert Morris

Drew Doughty's Hit On Taylor Hall

Check out this hit by the King's defenseman Drew Doughty on Oilers forward Taylor Hall. Drew Doughty absolutely blows up Taylor Hall. There was no penalty on the check and the Oilers Dustin Penner was the only one to receive a two minute roughing penalty for his retaliation on Drew Doughty. What do you think? Was that a head shot?

Why Yale Is #1 in the Statistical Polls

Our friend Goon has expressed some skepticism about the Yale Bulldogs being a legitimate #1 team. You may have noticed that.

Yale has played the 31st easiest schedule while UND has played the toughest overall. We even have more wins then them. I'd think that fact alone would get some #1 votes.

But then on the other hand Yale is #1 in the Pairwise. That's hard to argue with since it's statistical in nature and you know, statistics is hard.

Right now we only have one comparison with Yale and that's the RPI. The problem with the RPI is that Yale has this asterisk thing by their RPI score:

Excluded Yale's 1 wins over Colgate because their game RPIs (0.5694) would have lowered Yale's RPI (0.6057) Excluded Yale's 1 wins over Sacred Heart because their game RPIs (0.5637) would have lowered Yale's RPI (0.6057) Excluded Yale's 1 wins over Holy Cross because their game RPIs (0.5886) would have lowered Yale's RPI (0.6057) Excluded Yale's 1 wins over Harvard because their game RPIs (0.5965) would have lowered Yale's RPI (0.6057)

There are four other team with one exclusion each. Yale's schedule is so weak that they have as many exclusions as the rest of the 57 teams put together.

I'd like to know what Yale's real RPI is. But the problem is, statistics are hard.

College Hockey Scores from 1-16-2011

Atlantic Hockey
Niagara 3 at American Int'l 1
Holy Cross 2 at Mercyhurst 3 OT
Army 5 at Air Force 4
Connecticut 2 at Robert Morris 4
Bentley 3 at RIT 3 OT

CCHA
Michigan State 2 at Lake Superior 2 OT
Alaska 4 at Notre Dame 1
Michigan 6 at Ferris State 1
Bowling Green 1 at Miami 3
Ohio State 2 at Western Michigan 2 OT

ECAC
Rensselaer 2 at Colgate 1 OT
Brown 2 at Yale 5
Union 5 at Cornell 1

Hockey East
Vermont 0 at Northeastern 2
Mass.-Lowell 1 at Massachusetts 4

WCHA
Denver 4 at Minnesota State 3 OT
Colorado College 1 at Alaska-Anchorage 2
Bemidji State 3 at Nebraska-Omaha 2 OT
Wisconsin 3 at Minnesota-Duluth 2
Minnesota 1 at North Dakota 4

Non-Conference
St. Lawrence 6 at Michigan Tech 0
Harvard 2 at Boston University 5
Merrimack 7 vs. Alabama-Huntsville 0
New Hampshire 4 vs. Dartmouth 5

Analysis – Another great night of hockey in the WCHA, the best conference in college hockey. Four games were decided by one goal and only the Sioux and Gophers game was decided by more than one goal.

Denver 4 at Minnesota State 3 OT – The MSUM Mavericks played the Denver Pioneers tough all weekend long and only got a point to show for the whole weekend. On Saturday night the DU Pioneers came back from a three goal deficit to beat the pesky MSUM Mavericks 4–3 in overtime. Adam Murray improved his record to 4-1 for the Denver Pioneers. The Mavericks are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games but couldn't close out the two best teams in the league when they had leads against them. [Box Scores], [Pukato], [Denver Post]

Colorado College 1 at Alaska-Anchorage 2 – The UAA Seawolves gutted out a sweep this weekend against the Colorado College Tigers in Anchorage Alaska. The Seawolves goalie Rob Gunderson was solid in net all weekend long for the Seawolves. With their sweep this weekend the Seawolves are now 2 points out of 5th place in the WCHA. The Seawolves sweep of the C.C. Tigers was their first since taking two games from the lowly Michigan Tech Huskies on Jan. 10-11, 2010 [Box Score],[Delusions of Grandeur], [Woody on Hockey],[Eye of the Tigers]

Bemidji State 3 at Nebraska-Omaha 2 OT – The BSU Beavers have had a lot of good fortune against the UNO Mavericks this season, the Beavers took seven of eight points in the season series against the Mavericks. I think it would be safe to say that Dean Blais doesn't want to see the Beavers in the WCHA playoffs. Last night Matt Read scored the game winning goal in overtime to beat the Mavericks 3-2. The Beavers have been hot as of late as they won for the fourth time in six games and sport a 4-1-1 since the Christmas break. The Mavericks on the other hand have been slumping and they are 3-6-1 in their last team games. [Box Score], [BSU Beat Writer Blog], [Maverick Beat Writer]

Wisconsin 3 at Minnesota-Duluth 2 – The Wisconsin Badgers won it’s first game against an upper division WCHA team, in their previous games the Badgers had gone 0-2 against UND, 0-1-1 against DU and 0-3 against UMD. Saturday’s win was only the second time the Badgers have beaten an opponent with a wining record. According to Andy Baggot the beat writer for the Wisconsin Badgers, UW is 1-7-3 against clubs with records over .500, scoring 2.90 goals per game. The Badges are also 13-1 against clubs under .500, averaging 3.92 goals per outing. The Badgers are going to have to beat some teams with wining records if they want to solidify their NCAA chances and get into the top twelve. The UMD Bulldogs held the Badgers without a shot in the third period. [Wisconsin Beat Writer], [Box Score], [Rink and Run]

Minnesota 1 at North Dakota 4 – The UND Fighting Sioux picked up their wining ways after they lost for only the second time all season on Friday night 3-2 to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Senior forward Evan Trupp extended this point streak to eight games with a goal and an assist as the Sioux beat the Gophers 4-1 in game two. UND was also 2/6 on the power play and limited the Gophers to 21 shots on goals. The Sioux play the UNO Mavericks next weekend in an important WCHA home series. After the game the Gophers seemed miffed and were questioning the legitimacy of the penalties that were called on them during the game. [Box Score], [UND Hockey Blog], [Goal Gophers], [Gopher Puck Live], [Grand Forks Herald], [USCHO]

Brown 2 at Yale 5 – The Yale Bulldogs win a game against another unimpressive conference opponent and again this week will be the number one team in college hockey in all three rankings. Yippee, Skippy!!! Yale has won 10 straight games against the weak sisters of the poor. [Box Score], [Boston.Com]

They said what?

The “halos” are out in Minnesota this morning. I guess the Sioux didn’t get the memo that you’re not allowed to go down when you’re cross checked. Lol!

"Then the penalties came," Lucia said.

Most notably, senior Jay Barriball took an inexplicable penalty, cross-checking Ben Blood from behind in the neutral zone. Blood flew to the ice like he'd been shot out of a cannon.

"I tapped him in the back, and I didn't think I did it too hard, and he kind of flailed his arms out and dove forward," Barriball said. "That was the first penalty." With the referee's arm up, Barriball then knocked down Chay Genoway and drew a second penalty for tripping, resulting in a four-minute stay in the box. On the ensuing kill, Aaron Ness was called for cross-checking when Brett Hextall went down like a ton of bricks in the crease. [Read the whole article]

Yeah! I have to admit that I saw the replay last night at home of the play where Blood got cross checked by Jay Barriball, yeah I admit that Blood might have sold it a bit, one could/might say that Blood took a dive… So what? It was the first time I have seen him embellish in three years of hockey. It would have been a penalty either way because Barriball hit him with a cross check from behind. Roe and Cepis embellish on a weekly basis... On the flip side of that argument, as a player, Barriball and Ness have to know better, just because your team is down two men doesn’t mean that you have a free pass to start hacking and cross checking people and the Gopher paid for it last night. The Sioux cashed in on that power play. I have seen the Sioux get called for the same thing.

Sioux 4 Gophers 1

Except for a fluky goal by Mark Alt in the first period the Sioux took it to the Gophers tonight and really didn't let them get “too much” sustained pressure in the Sioux defensive zone. The Sioux also punished the Gophers every chance they got and in the end the Gophers were looking not to get hit and at times avoided going into the corners to get the puck. Aaron Dell had a much better effort and made the stops when he had to. In the Defensive zone the Fighting Sioux cleared the rebounds out of the reach of the Gopher forwards and made the Gophers earn every inch they got in the offensive zone. It was not easy sledding for the Gophers and they don't like to play that kind of hockey.

In my opinion, it was a much better effort all the way around the ice tonight. The Fighting Sioux limited the number of stupid penalties taken and went 2/6 on the power play and didn’t allow a power player goal to the Gophers. Ironically, the Sioux and the Gophers had an even number of power plays on the weekend, that's 12 for each team, or 6 power plays a piece each night. The UND Fighting Sioux went 4/12 on the power play while Minnesota went 2/12.

Turnovers kill

In other end of the ice I thought that the Gophers turnovers would eventually came back to haunt the Minnesota Gophers, you can’t give the Sioux forwards chances in the slot and not pay for it eventually, the Fighting Sioux have too many talented forwards that know how to score goals. If you play with fire long enough you’re going to get burned, I don’t care how good your goaltender is… A Gopher fan called it on Twitter last night: “We can only make horseshit passes in front of our net for so long before you guys capitalize.” I went back and re-watched last night’s game on the NHL Network this afternoon and UND let a lot of opportunities go to waste, they should have won that game last night as well. Tonight that fortune changed and the Sioux forwards buried the puck when they had to.

Goon’s World

1.) Evan Trupp (1g-1a-2pts)
2.) Aaron Dell 1 gaa
3.) Brad Malone (1g-1a-2pts)

[Box Score]

Jacob Cepis up to no good.



Photo by MissSioux85

This is the reason I don’t like the “no fight rule” in NCAA/college hockey. There is no way that Jacob Cepis would do this if he had to face Andrew MacWilliam like a man. This is a very dangerous move.

Friday night going forward; strap on your helmet...

Going forward today I believe UND hiccupped a bit last night but it’s nothing to get upset or excited about, the better team is the UND Fighting Sioux and the Minnesota Golden Gophers are going to have to kill themselves to make the NCAA tourney they will also be hard pressed to make the final Five in March. There is no need for Sioux fans to get down or over excited, it is what it is. Cue the catchy sports clichés. The sky is also not falling. Let me be clear, I do not blame the officials for last night debacle and it’s not a reason the Sioux lost the game because the officials were equally horrible for both teams.

Let’s play disciplined hockey please

Last night I felt the Fighting Sioux out played the Gophers for forty minutes and unfortunately hockey games are sixty minutes long. To be successful you have to play from the drop of the opening faceoff till to the final horn. You have to play disciplined hockey, the Sioux also took some untimely, knucklehead and undisciplined, stupid penalties at inopportune times. These penalties are momentum killers, the Rodwell Penalty was weak call by the officials and killed the Sioux’s momentum when they were starting to take the game over at that point.

While I like the game Brett Hextall plays, he has a lot of offensive creativity, Hextall has to play more disciplined hockey and stop taking knuckleheaded and selfish penalties, one of his penalties in the first period lead to a power play goal.

If the Sioux want to go far in the NCAA tourney they can’t take penalties like they did last night, good teams like B.C. will bury them on the power play, the Sioux have to play under control to be sucessful. Also, the eastern refs aren’t going to call the game like the WCHA refs. The eastern refs are competent and call the game per the rule box and make no bones about calling penalties against a team all night long, they have no sense of humor for WCHA hockey. They aren't concerned about number of penalties per side. You will not see the penalties even out at six to six by the end of the game.

Buffoon's in stripes

Now on to the refs, the WCHA continues to be a gong show of stupidity, nepotism and Buffoonery every single week. They have no credibility anymore and it’s amazing that the NCAA even invites our officials to the NCAA tourney. The on ice officials were brutal in all three zones of the ice missing calls both ways and they are culpable for the mess that happened at the end of the second period.

Lines man not good either

The lines men were also brutal last night and missed four instances where the Gophers had seven players on the ice for big stretches, this is unacceptable. The linesmen in last night game also missed many offsides and that can’t happen. Being that Derek Shepherd is the son of the head of official’s Greg Shepherd nothing will ever happen to this officiating crew. They were probably told that they did a great job last night by Greg Shepherd. Lol! The WCHA got the result they wanted the Gophers stay in the hunt for home ice.

Donny Brook in Grand Forks

It also amazes me how the refs can allow a team to just start piling on to the ice while there is a scrum/altercation at the end of a period. Straight out of the movie Slap Shot. That was a serious blunder by the officials. Seriously folks; the Gophers players that came off the bench first should be suspended for tonight’s game, these players caused the event at the end of the second period to further escalate... That’s on the officials.

There has been a lot of discussion about the hit by Malone. In my opinion the hit by Brad Malone on Kevin Wehrs was a legal check it was correctly not called a penalty on the ice. We can debate that if you want. Also, if the Gopher hockey player wants to challenge the person that hit him, challenge him to a fight, or check him later take a number. I know fighting in college hockey is frowned upon but I am sure Malone or one of the other Sioux players would oblige. Nope! The Gophers like to jump a smaller players that wasn’t in on the act itself or wait till they have an odd man situation like two on one situation, which if the refs actually used the rule book to officiate, is considered a third man in and an automatic ejection from the game, another blunder by the ref, but who's counting. Looks like the Gopher players took lesion from former Gopher hack Brian Schack on how to jump the opposition and act like an utter thug. What they should call the Gophers is Minnesota Pansies on ice.

If the refs had done their job they would have told the players from both benches come off the bench and you’re going to sit tomorrow night. Ask former SCSU Husky Chris Hepp what happens when you leave the player’s bench. They didn’t and the scrum became an instant classic on Youtube.

Play by the "Code"

The fact that the Gophers weren’t penalized for leaving the players bench is unacceptable and needs to be reviewed by the ref. Also, Jake Hanson should have received a game disqualification for throwing punches at a guy that was lying on the ice. Seth Helgeson is really a tough guy as well, if you want to fight someone Seth, challenge them to a fight. Don’t stand there with your stick in your hand cross checking a guy that is already on the ice with a guy lying on top of him. Should be a great game tonight.

College Hockey Scores from 1-14-2011

Friday, January 14

AHA
Army 1 at Air Force 5
Bentley 1 at RIT 4
Connecticut 1 at Robert Morris 3
Holy Cross 1 at Mercyhurst 3
Niagara 3 at American Int'l 2

CCHA
Alaska 1 at Notre Dame 2
Bowling Green 1 at Miami 5
Ferris State 2 at Michigan 3
Ohio State 2 at Western Michigan 4
Michigan State 4 at Lake Superior 0

EZAC
Rensselaer 1 at Cornell 5
Union 2 at Colgate 1

Hockey East
Massachusetts 5 at UMass Lowell 4
Vermont 3 at Northeastern 1
Providence 3 at Maine 4 OT

WCHA
Bemidji State 2 at Nebraska-Omaha 2 OT
Denver 4 at Minnesota State 4 OT
Minnesota 3 at North Dakota 2
Wisconsin 0 at Minnesota Duluth 2
Colorado College 1 at Alaska Anchorage 4

Non-Conference
St. Lawrence 4 at Michigan Tech 4 OT
Merrimack 5 vs Alab-Huntsville 4

Analysis – BSU 2 and UNO 2 – The BSU Beavers have taken five of six points against the UNO Mavericks so far this season and since the UNO Mavericks played the Fighting Sioux in Omaha the UNO Mavericks have come back to earth going 3-5-1. The Beavers on the other hand have gone 5-3-1 since the month of December. [Box Score], [BSU beat writer], [UNO beat writer]

Denver 4 and Minnesota State 4 OT – The Minnesota State Mavericks have been on a bit of a tear as of late losing only to the UND Fighting Sioux and have gone an amazing 8-2-1 since being swept by Denver back in November, losing only to the Fighting Sioux. The Pioneers had to score with 1:16 left to force overtime. [Box Score]

Minnesota 3 and North Dakota 2 – Old Time Fighting Sioux hockey A legal hard check by Brad Malone on Kevin Wehrs and a reaction to the hit by the Golden Gophers hockey team set off a near Donny Brook at center ice at the end of the second period but when order was restored the two teams played hockey the Minnesota Golden Gophers hung on by the skin of their teeth and won on a power play goal by Nico Sacchetti in the third period, yeah say that name 15 times really fast. [Box Score], [UND Hockey Blog], [Goal Gophers],[fan comments from Star and Trib article],[USCHO Arena Reporter]

Wisconsin 0 and Minnesota Duluth 2 – The UMD Bulldogs beat the Badgers for the third time this season and if my math is correct the Wisconsin Badgers have a record of 0-6-2 against ranked teams. [Box Score], [UMD beat writer], [60 minutes. No Alibis. No Regrets]

Colorado College 1 and Alaska Anchorage 4 – This was the first game the UAA Seawolves had played in five weeks according to the post game interview with UAA head coach Dave Shyiak and the Seawolves made it count with a 4-1 win against the Tigers. The Seawolves went 3 for 3 on the power play. This was the 4th game between UAA and C.C. this season and the rubber game is tonight.

With the win the Seawolves are 4 points out of 6th place (top six get home ice) and UAA very possibly could get home ice if they keep up their winning ways. I don’t think anyone wants to go up to Anchorage to play the Seawolves in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. [Box Score]

St. Lawrence 4 and Michigan Tech 4 OT – The MTU Huskies have had a miserable season and haven’t won a game in sixteen games pushed the streak to 17 games, got the tie against a St Lawrence in Houghton, Michigan. [Box Score]

Lucia's Goon Squad? (by Sioux 7)

So being at another UND vs. UM game you expect a heated contest. Lucia, said a few years ago, that everytime some fight breaks out, it seems UND is involved. Well Don, it happened again tonight in Grand Forks. Hey Don, why didn't you or your coaches stop your players from getting on the ice at the end of the second period? Even after the benches had emptied, the Gopher staff did nothing to get their players off the ice (neither did the UND coaches). If the Don is that against fighting, like he has always said, why did he let his team get in that "situation" at the end of the second? I think Lucia finally said to this players, "you better fight" it's not just my job , but your scholarships that are on the line. :)

I suspected UND was due for a loss, going on a nine game unbeaten streak, you are due a game where things just don't go your way. I wasn't impressed by the UM of play or UND's play for that matter. Tomorrow's another day, the only downside is that it is the same refs/linesmens' again.

Again it was another subpar night for the officials. I don't know how many times the Gophers had too many men on the ice and the linesman didn't blow the whistle. It generally wasn't a big issue, but come on guys, that's a penalty.

If I could make an offical box score it would read 2-2-2 game, UM 2, UND 2, Refs 2. Neither team really "earned" a win tonight, and the officials deserved at least a tie, if not a win.

Lucia, you should keep your players under control, since they are essentially paying your salary. You should be ashamed of your hipocracy after tonight, ashamed. I'm happy you recovered from your infection they other season. But the way you handled, or in this case, didn't handle the situtaion at the end of the second period, is another mark against the Gopher program as a whole. Malone's check was legal, he didn't get a penaltly for it, watch the replay, their was nothing wrong with it. I don't want anybody to get hurt, it's only a game, but I like checking, this isn't the womens' league.


All in all I'm looking forward to Saturday's night game, hope to see you there.

PS - Have you all seen last weekend's "incident" where the Goon falls down? As the press might say, "alcohol may have been a factor." :)