While we are talking about the BTHC

While we are on the subject of the BTHC here are a couple of articles that I have found that might be of interest to some. There is a big unknown out there hanging over everyone’s head, there is a lot of variables that I believe haven’t been thought out. This could have a devastating effect on college hockey. When the BTHC come on line you will probably see the WCHA go after Notre Dame and Miami as well.

news.cincinnati.com ---- Currently, three Big Ten schools compete in the CCHA: Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State. Two, Minnesota and Wisconsin, compete in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Miami athletic director Brad Bates said Friday he didn’t have any inside word on whether or when the Big Ten hockey league might become a reality.

Given Miami’s high profile in college hockey – the RedHawks have played in back-to-back Frozen Fours – he expects the RedHawks program to not only survive such a thing if it were to happen, but to thrive from it. Miami routinely has standing-room only crowds at 3,200-seat Steve Cady Arena.

“We’ve been very proactive in our talks about it, and we’ll (weigh it) as to how it affects college hockey in general, our league and (Miami),” Bates said.

An Associated Press report this week speculated whether the CCHA’s smaller programs might be “crushed by the Big Ten’s power” if that conference began playing league hockey.

Hockey is expensive, and schools like Lake Superior State in the CCHA are buoyed by big draws like Michigan, the AP said.

This is actually a news story that I am surprised isn't getting more play or exposure. This could speed up the shake up of college hockey. It's worth a read as well.

www.collegian.psu.edu ---- Happy Valley may become Hockey Valley even sooner than expected.

The Pegula Ice Arena is now projected to open in the fall of 2013 rather than in the spring of 2014, said Associate Athletic Director for Ice Arena Operations and the Director of the Ice Arena and Hockey Campaign Joe Battista.

With that news, Battista said Penn State is now projected to begin Division I conference play in 2013-14, a full season earlier. It has yet to be decided whether a Big Ten conference will be created, or if Penn State will join one of the existing Western Collegiate Hockey Association or Central Collegiate Hockey Association conferences.

The men’s and women’s D-I hockey programs are set to begin play in 2012-13 and will spend the first season as an independent, playing in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.

“We’re pleased with the progress we’re making on the design and the schedule,” Battista said Friday. “A lot of work has gone into this by a lot of people.”

Battista said a meeting held Saturday between himself, Penn State donors Terry and Kim Pegula, Penn State President Graham Spanier, Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and others could produce more even more news.

“The meeting between everyone was to talk about arena bowl configuration, number of seats and number of suites,” Battista said. “Those official numbers could be released as soon as Monday.”

Don Adam gets the call right - No Goal!

This is the goal that has gotten much discussion on the internet and on Twitter.com. Watching the video I have to respectfully disagree with FSN analyst Kevin Gorg this was not a goal, Don Adam made the right call, the UMD player's hook should not have caused Nico Sacchetti to take out the goalie. In my opinion Sacchetti makes no effort to not run into the goalie and therefore interfered with the UMD goalie.

Matt Cooke's hit on Ovechkin

Here is the latest cheap shot from P.O.S. Matt Cooke, watch the video as he tries to take out Alexander Ovechkin’s knee with a leg check. Of course Cooke will say that he wasn’t trying to injure Ovechkin. I predict that one day very soon Matt Cooke is going to get what is coming to him, live by the sword, die by the sword and then it will be interesting to see the expression on stupid his face will be.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[February 7, 2011]
Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Boston College (47) 19-6-0 996 1
2 Yale ( 1) 19-4-0 932 3
3 Minnesota-Duluth ( 1) 18-5-4 871 4
4 Denver 17-6-5 850 2
5 North Dakota 19-8-2 804 5
6 New Hampshire ( 1) 17-5-4 780 6
7 Wisconsin 19-8-3 671 7
8 Rensselaer 18-6-4 599 9
9 Union 20-7-3 558 11
10 Notre Dame 16-9-5 536 10
11 Merrimack 17-5-4 521 12
12 Miami 16-9-5 479 13
13 Michigan 17-9-4 464 8
14 Boston University 13-7-7 341 14
15 Western Michigan 15-6-9 300 16
16 Nebraska-Omaha 16-10-2 227 18
17 Dartmouth 13-7-3 191 17
18 Maine 11-9-6 140 15
19 Colorado College 16-13-1 127 20
20 Princeton 14-8-1 58 19
Others Receiving Votes: Ferris State 24, Rochester Institute of Technology 17, Alaska 5, Cornell 3, Minnesota 2, Robert Morris 2, Ohio State 1, Quinnipiac 1
____________________________________

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[February 7, 2011]
1 Boston College 508 (32) 1 19-6-0
2 Yale University 468 (1) 2 19-4-0
3 University of Minnesota Duluth 424 (1) 4 18-5-4
4 University of Denver 399 3 17-6-5
5 University of North Dakota 389 5 19-8-2
6 University of New Hampshire 356 6 17-5-4
7 University of Wisconsin 263 7 19-8-3
8 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 255 8 18-6-4
9 Union College 247 11 20-7-3
10 University of Notre Dame 186 10 16-9-5
11 Merrimack College 185 12 17-5-4
12 Miami University 152 13 16-9-5
13 University of Michigan 118 9 17-9-4
14 Boston University 60 14 13-7-7
15 Western Michigan University 40 NR
Others receiving votes: University of Nebraska Omaha 18, Dartmouth College 9, Rochester Institute of Technology 3.

We Are - Penn State Hockey! Edit Why I am not impressed...

Yawn! If the hockey pundits think that Penn State University is just going to march into college hockey and start winning titles I think they are delusional. Minnesota is an established hockey program and they are having a hell of a time right now in the WCHA, they will be lucky if they get home ice and make the Final Five, they probably are going to miss the NCAA tourney again. Last time I checked Minnesota has all the advantages of a premiere hockey program. Big Ten School Michigan State is floundering this season and sitting in the bottom of the CCHA standings in 10th place. If some think they can just throw money at a big name coach and expect a winning program they are misinformed. I would be surprised if Barry Melrose would know where Penn State is located.

Edit: Some apparently have mistaken satire for hate. Forgive me if I am not colored impressed with the big announcement about PSU going division I in college hockey. While I don’t begrudge PSU wanting to add hockey more the merrier, I am sick and tired of this fawning over PSU the college hockey media and pundits the schools big announcement. They fawn over a school that isn’t division I yet but could give a "EF" about an established school looking for a conference so their program won't fold, they can't hang on forever as an independent.

Going forward, the WCHA is set up and will survive even without the Big Ten Schools Wisconsin and Minnesota. That theory was proven already with Minnesota missing the Final Five all together last season, however, the Big Ten Hockey Conference could have a very catastrophic affect on the not so stable CCHA who some schools are hanging on by a thread, cue BGSU. I am looking at the big picture for the rest of college hockey not just 6 schools that perceive themselves as being elite. Or I should say their athletic directors perceive their schools as being elite. Most of these teams aren’t even a power in BCS football anymore, except maybe OSU which has had trouble getting anyone to show up for their hockey games, even when they make the NCAA tourney.

Why am I not impressed; what pissed me off is how the CCHA wanted nothing to do with UAH a season ago and basically told them to go take a flying ____, however when PSU made their big announcement that they were going Division I in hockey, the commissioner of the CCHA Tom Anastos was all but falling all over himself all of a sudden to extend an invitation to PSU to join the CCHA. Why because he knows what is head for his conference minus MSU and Michigan.

I also think it’s funny that a conference commissioner would sacrifice an established school like UAH to invite a program that has no history other than being an ACHA club hockey school. Yeah that rubs me the wrong way and yeah I can see come college hockey fans might not be that happy. Does that make me a hater, absolutely not!

INCH Power Rankings

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because they are worth a look. No big surprises this week.

INCH Power Rankings
[February 6, 2011]
1. Boston College
2. Yale
3. Minnesota Duluth
4. North Dakota — The series between the Fighting Sioux and Alaska Anchorage, this weekend’s opponent, has been surprisingly close in recent years. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, NoDak owns a 7-4-2 edge on the Seawolves.
19-8-2 (14-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage
5. Denver
6. New Hampshire
7. Union
8.Rensselaer
9. Merrimack
10. Miami
11. Wisconsin
12. Michigan
13. Notre Dame
14. Western Michigan
15. Boston University
16. Nebraska-Omaha
17. Dartmouth
18. Colorado College
19. RIT
20. Maine
Dropped out: Princeton
Bubble-licious: Cornell, Princeton, Robert Morris

Maybe it's him? (Kessel)

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America

This seems to be a reoccurring theme wherever the young Kessel goes. Seems like Phil Kessel is in the proverbial dog house in Toronto now, oh that can't be. To Bruins fans Kessel is the gift that keeps giving for the Bruins. The Leafs traded two number one draft choices away to get Phil Kessel and the Bruins are set to get another great player of Tyler Seguin's quality in this years draft because the Leafs are at the bottom of the league again.

Toronto Sun ---- Much to the displeasure of Phil Kessel, Maple Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson has finally broken up his second and third lines.

With the season down to 30 games, a huge chasm in the standings between Toronto and the playoff pack and Kessel goal-less in his past 10 starts, Wilson is splitting up the right winger from centre Tyler Bozak, at least for the start of Mondays’ game against the Atlanta Thrashers. Kessel appeared with centre Darryl Boyce and regular left winger Joey Crabb at Sunday’s practice, while Bozak is now between Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg.

After practice at the MasterCard Centre. Kessel took the unusual step of sitting in full equipment waiting for reporters at his stall to talk about his woes. Separation from his good pal Bozak is clearly gnawing at him.

“Maybe it’s just not working out here I guess, I can’t get anything going,” Kessel said. “Maybe it’s time for a change or something. I’m not sure if that (putting him with Boyce) is it. Who knows? I’m trying.”

When asked if he and Wilson have discussed the skid off the ice, Kessel replied “me and Ron don’t really talk...that’s all I have to say about that.”

Wilson replied that Kessel is not one to share many thoughts on scoring.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it or even work on it in practice, it’s kind of a touch thing,” Wilson said. “He comes and goes with cold streak and hot streaks. Just be patient and change up the line. This is a different look, it makes you think a little bit.

“At the end of the day, he’s getting the chances (averaging more than four shots per game) and he has to figure a way to put he puck in the net. But a scoring chance that fails, should not shut you down the next five or six minutes.”

The long, bitter fight

I agree with the critics that more could have been done to save the name and the political leaders dropped the ball. I don’t blame people for being angry. I think there are some legitimate questions that need to be asked. Why wasn’t former governor John Hoeven and now U.S. Senator involved in the process? Hoeven is a very popular state wide and he could have made a difference in the process of retaining the nickname. Why wasn’t North Dakotas’ elected leaders team “North Dakota” (Dorgan, Conrad and Pomeroy) involved in the process?

Grand Forks Herald --- In the cascade of venom and conspiracy theory surrounding the fight over the Fighting Sioux name and logo, few key players have escaped abuse or censure.

In public comments posted on the Internet in response to recent news stories on the nickname, UND President Robert Kelley has been called a “buffoon” and worse. “Fire the liar,” another posted.

Student senators who voted to oppose the nickname bills, which would enshrine the Fighting Sioux name in state law, were called cowards. Faculty opponents of the bills were tarred as “Political Correctness Nazis.”

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who negotiated a lawsuit settlement with the NCAA that gave the state board three years to gain Sioux tribal authority to retain the symbols, was declared “an idiot.”

And Shaft, who took the lead in board efforts to seek responses from the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes, was dismissed as a “PC puppet.”

His school-age children have been taunted. He has received hundreds of e-mails, mean and rancorous. Horse manure was deposited on his driveway. Legislative leaders publicly scolded Shaft and the board for “mishandling” the nickname issue.

He has been vilified on blogs as a schemer, dupe and traitor to the Fighting Sioux tradition.

“I try not to read the blogs,” Shaft said recently over coffee at the Urban Stampede in Grand Forks. “They have a preconceived notion as to how this went down, a misunderstanding of the facts. Unless we engaged each of them in a 45-minute sit-down, they would not understand.”

Other nickname devotees, “people I know — friends, business acquaintances, members of Sioux Boosters and the Alumni Association board, people who have a more vested interest in the university than most of the bloggers — will tell me they’re deeply disappointed,” he said. “But they recognize the board has done everything it could. It’s time to accept it and move on.”

Just as he did at the legislative hearing, Shaft recited his own Fighting Sioux credentials. He earned his law degree from UND. His wife and brother are graduates. The family connection to Sioux athletics goes back four generations.

“I’m a Fighting Sioux guy,” he said.

The House Education Committee, which heard more than eight hours of testimony on Jan. 26, may take up the nickname bills this week after dealing with budget bills, Chairwoman Rae Ann Kelsch, R-Mandan, said. The committee has work sessions scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.

also think it’s funny that people thought the Fighting Sioux nickname would just go away quietly during the night and there wouldn’t be any hurt feelings and all parties would just embrace a new nickname, It’s not going to happen folks. I would be willing to bet that this is going to be a nasty fight.

There has been a lot of stuff said on both sides of the issue and both sides are culpable. It’s laughably predictable that there is now going to be finger pointing and name calling. How nice! I do think that people have a right to question the AG as well as the president of UND, maybe calling him a “buffoon” is a little much but I do think people have a right to question Kelley as well. That's not out of bounds. In the last election I voted against the Attorney General Stenehjem I voted for the democrat whose name escapes me. I mean seriously, Kelley can’t act all smug as say, ’hey, don’t blame me I am not involved in this nickname mess’. Kelley shouldn’t let off the hook so easily. Dr. Kelley can sit in the band with his instrument with his interlocking ND logo jersey on at REA and act as if nothing is happening, but we aren’t stupid.

Boston's Marc Savard done for season

According to Joe McDonald of ESPN Marc Savard is going to be shut down for the season. This is not good news for the Boston Bruins as they have lost one of their top players for the rest of the season. This was the second concussion in ten months for Marc Savard.

Boston Bruins center Marc Savard will be shut down for the remainder of the 2010-11 season because of ongoing problems with concussions, according to a team source. An official announcement is expected from the team on Monday.

General manager Peter Chiarelli declined to comment on Savard's status on Sunday, but early last week Chiarelli admitted to ESPNBoston.com that there was a "strong possibility" Savard's season was over.

Earlier Sunday, at the conclusion of the Bruins' practice, coach Claude Julien said there was no update on Savard.

Savard, along with his agent, Larry Kelly, met with Chiarelli this weekend after undergoing further tests.

Savard suffered his most recent concussion on Jan. 22 against the Avalanche in Colorado when his head hit the bottom of the glass after a clean hit by former teammate Matt Hunwick. In fact, it was the second such hit he suffered in a week's time after he was hit by Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland early in the third period on Jan. 15 at TD Garden.

While the loss of Savard hurts the Boston Bruins they have played a good portion of the season without him and with their dept the Boston Bruins can still make a big move in the post season. When Savard is healthy he can make a major contribution on the ice for the Bruins.

Hockey Night in Canada - Coach's Corner: Feb 5

Interesting Coach's Corner. Don Cherry discusses the Andrew Ference comments on Daniel Paille's hit on Stars forward Raymond Sawada, in a way I agree with Don Cherry, go up to your teammate in the locker room and tell him you thought the hit was dirty . Don Cherry also addresses the Tim Gleason hit on the Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin after he hit him twice in the face. Below is the transcript of what Grapes said about Ference.

NESN.COM --- "You do not, I don't care if your teammate is an axe murderer, what you got to say to the guy is you [go to him] in the dressing room and tell him that it was a dirty hit," Cherry said during the segment. "But you wouldn't do that anyhow.

"I'd hate to be in that dressing room right now. You see what happened [Saturday], 2-0 [Bruins loss to San Jose]. That brings your dressing room down. When you have a guy in the dressing room talking about your own players and know he's going to get suspended."

Malkin has torn ACL and MCL

This is really bad news for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Malkin is one of the Penguins top forwards. Sidney Crosby has been out with a concussion since January 5th, so the injuries are starting to pill up for the Penguins.

NHL.COM --- Head coach Dan Bylsma told the media that Evgeni Malkin has a torn ACL and MCL.

"Evgeni Malkin had an MRI this morning. The results show that he has a torn MCL and ACL. At this point in time we are discussing options with the doctors on what to do next.

"This is a difficult injury for him. It was kind of a fluke situation going into the boards with a guy. That's a tough injury for Geno. We have dealt with games without him. We've managed to find our way without him. That's what we're going to have to look at now.

"We're discussing options with our doctor. Surgery is a possibility. I'm not sure if there is a rehab possibility. But right now I just got the news on the MRI."

Volatility on the edge of TUC

This article was silly and probably not worth a mention but I couldn’t resist. Yep, the Pairwise Rankings are volatile and unpredictable, I think that is why the Pairwise Rankings were made to look at after all of the games have been played, to include the conference playoffs. It doesn't hurt to take a look, but they will change.

USCHO.COM --- Robert Morris’ loss Thursday night to Canisius had a big effect on North Dakota’s PairWise ranking. The Colonials dropped as a Team Under Consideration (TUC) when their RPI fell below .500 in the 5–4 defeat. That cost the Fighting Sioux two wins against TUC (causing them to lose that comparison against Denver) and a few decimal points in RPI (causing them to lose the RPI comparison vs. Boston College), moving North Dakota to fifth in the PairWise and out of an NCAA regional No. 1 seed.

Why does this matter now? Because it has implications for the final few games of the season. Robert Morris is likely to stay right around .500 in the RPI as it battles for its first AHA title. The Colonials could return as a TUC with a decent regular-season finish and a successful Atlantic Hockey playoff run.

North Dakota fans may find themselves keeping tabs on Atlantic Hockey playoff results to see whether those two wins against RoMo at the Ralph in January will help the Sioux or not.

I think that I can predict that Sioux fans probably won’t be watching Robert Morris University or the AHA playoffs. It would probably be like watching paint dry. Yeah the Fighting Sioux are on a bye week and with the loss of Robert Morris on Thursday night The Sioux did drop to 5th in the Pairwise Rankings but the next night they moved back up to second in the pairwise rankings. If you want good analysis on the Pairwise Ranking check out Jim Dahl of Sioux Sports, Jim is the PWR master.

Big Bad Bruins beat the snot out of the Dallas Stars...

In case you haven't seen this video, called by my favorite homer NESN'S Jack Edwards it's worth a look. As a Bruins fan this makes me smile because I like the toughness that the Bruins displayed last night. Dallas ended up on the short end of the stick as they now have a beat up lineup after last night's game.

ESPN/Dallas.com --- Thursday night's game against Boston was costly for the Dallas Stars.

They placed forward Adam Burish on injured reserve because of a facial injury Friday and recalled forward Francis Wathier from the Texas Stars of the AHL.

Burish was injured in a fight with Boston defenseman Andrew Ference, continued to play and eventually left the game.

Forward Krys Barch is also out with what is being called a facial injury and Ray Sawada is out with a shoulder injury. Sawada also suffered a broken nose after being hit in the head by Boston forward Daniel Paille, who had a disciplinary hearing with the league Friday morning and was suspended four games.

NHL throws the book at Daniel Paille

This is a text book example of the type of hits that the NHL is trying to get rid of. When I saw the hit last night I figured that this hit warranted a multi game suspension and the NHL has decided that Daniel Paille will sit for four games. Going forward I hope the league is consistent in making their decisions.

NHL.COM --- Boston Bruins forward Daniel Paille was suspended four games Friday by the NHL for a hit to the head of Dallas Stars forward Raymond Sawada during Thursday's game.

He will forfeit $23,118.28 in salary.

Sawada was carrying the puck into the Bruins' zone midway through the second period when Paille hit him. Sawada left the ice under his own power but did not return to the game. Paille was given a five-minute penalty for an illegal hit to the head, as well as a game misconduct.

"Paille delivered a lateral hit where the principal point of contact was his opponent's head," said Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy. "Additionally, the injury suffered by the Dallas player was a factor in this decision."

The incident occurred at 8:39 of the second period and Paille was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct under Rule 48 for Illegal Check to the Head.

This is the fourth suspension under Rule 48 handed down this season. Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan was suspended three games Oct. 17 for a head check against Anaheim's Dan Sexton. San Jose's Joe Thornton was handed a two-game ban Nov. 4 for striking the head of David Perron of the St. Louis Blues. On Dec. 8, Matt Martin of the New York Islanders was handed a two-game suspension for a check to the head of Vern Fiddler of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Paille hit on Sawada

Boston Bruins forward Daniel Paille received ten and a game misconduct match penalty for this hit on Raymond Sawada tonight. Will there be a suspension to Daniel Paille for this hit? It does look like Paille catches Sawada with a elbow to the head.

Thursday night at the fights Boston and Dallas...

Check out this video, this is old old time hockey between the Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars. One second into the period Boston's Greg Campbell and Dallas hack and menace Steve Ott drop the gloves, Ott catches Campbell with an elbow. Next not to be out done, Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton works Stars punching bag Krys Barch like a clown sending Barch to the locker room for repairs. Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid show Brian Sutherby why he shouldn't dropped gloves four seconds into the game. Then after a few goals former Wisconsin Badger Adam Burish gets his ass handed to him by Andrew Ference, wow what a fight. Oh yeah and the Bruins won the game as well 6-3.

Here is the call of the three fights to open the game by my favorite homer Jack Edwards. The game wasn't 10 minutes old and there was four fights, and the Bruins had a 3-0 lead.

Friday morning free for all. Why does everyone hate the Gophers so much?

Since the Sioux are on the dreaded bye week and I am bored out of my friggen mind already, I figured I would stir things up a bit with this blog post. Why not? Let’s wade into another area that might be better off left unexamined. Ah, can we say what the hell; lets pose this question that that Gopher fan Paul LaPlante posted on Twitter the other day. I think it’s worth a look. Why do Sioux fans hate the Gophers fans so much? Why do Gopher fans hate Sioux fans so much. Do fellow Sioux fans hate UW fans as much?

@laplante5 Paul LaPlante @UWChuckSchwartz serious? Why does everyone else but Gopher fans hate the Gophers so much? For example, do UW fans hate UND as much?

First off I might rephrase the question to dislike instead of hate, because I really don’t hate too many people. I think back in the days when the Gophers were actually good and weren’t getting knocked out of the NCAA playoffs by Holy Cross or missing the Final Five and the NCAA tourney all together; I think what rubbed people the wrong way was their fans’ in your face lectures and pompous attitudes towards other fan bases by Gopher fans. In their hay day Doug and Frank the clownish but loveable buffoons in the FSN broadcast both helped fan the flames of discontent. Let the discussion begin…

Update on the condition of Fighting Sioux forward Danny Kristo

Here is the latest on Fighting Sioux forward Danny Kristo... Sounds like he is very fortunate.

St. Paul, Minn. - Feb. 3 - University of North Dakota hockey player Danny Kristo remains in fair condition at Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Minn.

Kristo, who is suffering from frostbite on the toes of his right foot, maintains full use of all of his extremities and is in the early stages of recovery.

"I'm doing fine, I'm planning on recovering as safely and as quickly as possible," Kristo said. "I'm just trying to get better day by day. I'm doing better today than I was yesterday and I was doing better yesterday than I was the day before. I'm feeling a lot better than I was the first two days.

"I definitely feel fortunate, I definitely feel lucky. I want to say thanks to the fans and friends and family members who have prayed for me."

Said Kristo's father, Mark Kristo: "Our family wants to express our sincere gratitude for all of the thoughts and prayers from his friends, supporters and the Sioux family during these past few days."

After being discharged from Regions Hospital, Kristo is expected to remain at his parents' home in Eden Prairie, Minn., for continued treatment before returning to Grand Forks.

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

We are now into February and the league race for a top half finish is heating up.
And mathematically everyone still has a chance to finish in the top six. However, there are some teams that realistically will not get home ice. I think we all know which team(s) those are. UND’s Danny Kristo suffered frostbite on this right foot this past week, we here at Goon’s World wish him a quick and full recovery.

WCHA standings

TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota……….14-6-0…28
2. Denver………………12-3-3…27
3. Minnesota-Duluth.....12-4-2…26
4. Wisconsin……..….…11-7-2…24
5. Nebraska-Omaha…..10-6-2…22
6. Colorado College……9-9-0…18
6. Minnesota……….……8-8-2…18
8. Alaska-Anchorage….7-11-2…16
8. St. Cloud State….......7-9-2…16
10. Minnesota State……5-11-4…14
11. Bemidji State……….5-11-2…12
12. Michigan Tech………1-16-1…3

WCHA

Michigan Tech @ Alaska-Anchorage
Last weekend the Huskies were swept the Badgers in Houghton and the Seawolves split with the Gophers in Minneapolis.

The Huskies are, well, not a good team this year, let’s just let those poor doggy’s lie. The Seawolves are still in the hunt for hosting a first round playoff series. The UAA guys need to get all four points this weekend to keep in the race. I saw both UM-UAA games last weekend and the Seawolves played their game on Saturday night and won. They should be able to take out the lowly Huskies twice this weekend. SEAWOLVES SWEEP

#2 Denver vs #20 Colorado College
Last weekend the Tigers split with the Sioux in Colorado Springs and the Pioneers were on a bye weekend.

Earlier this season these teams split their series. This weekend is a huge series for both teams again, more so for CC. The Tigers are looking to secure a home ice spot and the Pioneers are looking to repeat as league champions. DU has pretty much locked up home ice and a spot in the NCAA tourney, barring some type of historical melt down. CC would like nothing better than to beat their archrival – twice – and watch them fall down the standings and rankings. The Pioneers are coming off a bye, so they might be a little rusty on Friday and the Tigers will be out to avenge last Saturday’s blow-out loss. Then Saturday’s rematch should be a good one too. Also of note – CC’s captain alluding to a Tigers sweep of the Pioneers, by win the Gold Pan (it’s good to be confident and not so good to be cocky, in my book). SPLIT

Minnesota @ #4 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Golden Gophers split with the Seawolves in Minneapolis and the Bulldogs enjoyed a free weekend.

Earlier this season, just before Christmas break the Gophers took 3-points from the Bulldogs in Minneapolis. This will be the Gophers first visit to the new AMSOIL arena in Duluth. The Gophers are running out of games to get points to try and climb into a home ice spot. Watching them play UAA last weekend, it looks like they were un-inspired on Saturday. The Gophers appear to be “satisfied” to get splits every weekend. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. The Bulldogs are in the hunt for the MacNaughton cup and want to keep themselves in that race. UMD fans might say they have been on back-to-back bye weeks; they played MTU two weeks ago. The Bulldogs could be a little rusty on Friday. The Gophers have been good on Friday’s lately, so they hope to continue that pattern this weekend. SPLIT

Bemidji State @ Minnesota State
Last weekend the Beavers were on a bye and the Mavericks took 3-points from the SCSU Huskies in St. Cloud.

The last time the Beavers were in action they lost twice to SCSU. If the Mavericks are to stick to their four game streaks, they should get a win or two this weekend. Both teams could use a sweep to keep their hopes alive for a home ice spot. Getting swept this weekend, by either, would pretty much seal their fate to a bottom half finish. These teams are similar, not only in their records, but their hot and cold playing. The Mavericks should be motivated this weekend. They don’t want to lose to the new guys in the league and end up behind them in the standings at the end of the year. SPLIT

St. Cloud St. @ #18 Nebraska-Omaha
Last weekend the Huskies got 1-point against the MSUM Mavericks in St. Cloud and the UNO Mavericks split with the UAH Chargers in Omaha.

The Huskies were riding a six game win streak until last weekend. SCSU fans are hoping that was just a blip, and then can get back on track this weekend against the other Mavericks. These teams met in St. Cloud back in mid November with UNO grabbing 3-points that weekend. The Mavericks started the season red hot, but have cooled their heels in 2011. The Huskies have done better this half, after a few players were let go from the team. I kind of wonder if it was those players affecting the others, like one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. Anyway they’re playing like everyone thought they would be playing the whole season. One thing for sure is there will be lots of red, white, and black at the Qwest Center this weekend. SPLIT

BYE week

#5 University of North Dakota – Fighting Sioux
#7 University of Wisconsin – Badgers

Genoway out 3-5 weeks

According to Brad Schlossman and from listening to the UND coaches show, there is some good news on the Chay Genoway front; he will be out 3-5 weeks and his injury is not career/season ending, and we should see him in a Fighting Sioux uniform again.

UND is expecting to get its captain back this season.

Sioux coach Dave Hakstol said on the coaches show this evening that defenseman Chay Genoway is expected to be out for three to five weeks. Genoway, who suffered a leg injury last Friday at Colorado College, was being evaluated for much of this week after returning to Grand Forks.

Hakstol said the team’s medical personnel were thorough in their evaluation, which continued into Wednesday.

“We’ve really taken time to make sure that we went through the right steps and the right processes,” he said. “I know people want to know right away what’s going on, but that’s not possible in a lot of cases.”