Sunday, March 06, 2011
Stafford buries the Wild in O.T.
What is it with former Fighting Sioux forward Drew Stafford? Every time I turn around Stafford is sinking another one of my favorite NHL teams, twice this season Stafford takes it upon himself to single handily beat the the Boston Bruins as he scored a hat trick twice, now tonight, Drew Stafford scores this high light goal/game winner in overtime to sink my other favorite NHL team the Minnesota Wild. That was goal number 26 (26g-14a-40pts) on the season for the Former Fighting Sioux forward.
Sioux sled past Huskies 11-2 end regular season as top musher...
Kudos to Redwing77 for posting yesterday’s game summary after the game. I couldn’t help my self with thst title… Yesterday's game between the Fighting Sioux and the MTU Huskies was a dismantling in systematic fashion… The Fighting Sioux scored two goals in the first 49 second of the game and before they could announce those two goals the MTU Huskies forward Patrick McCadden scored to make the score 2-1 only 1:23 into the game.
From that point on, it was off to the races for the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team as they skated around, through and over the hapless MTU Huskies 11-2 in Houghton, Michigan. The game was never close from there on out, the score was 6-1 after one period, 9-2 after two periods and the Sioux got two more in the third period crushing the Huskies… Kudos to both teams for not letting it get out of hand in the third period after the score was out of reach.
Watching the MTU Huskies you almost feel sorry for them, they really are a sad bunch, the MTU Huskies have had two 30 loss seasons in a row, and the Huskies have lost 25 games six times in the last eight seasons. I had not realized the Huskies were this bad until I say a twitter exchange last night between UMD Radio voice Bruce Ciskie and RWD. This is the same hockey teams that swept the Sioux in December of 2006 and beat the Sioux in Houghton during the 2007 season.
Balanced scoring
Breaking down the scoring for the Sioux yesterday afternoon - Junior forward Jason Gregoire paced the Fighting Sioux with a hat trick, Freshman forward Brock Nelson and Junior forward Brett Hextall each scored two goals. Chipping in one goal each was the Pony Express line of Matt Frattin, Evan Trupp, Brad Malone and freshman Derek Rodwell. With the win last night the Sioux extended their unbeaten streak to nine games, in cae anyone is keeping score, that’s the third longest in the nation.
A team full of Champions
Senior Forward Matt Frattin is the points champ in the WCHA with (22g-18a-40pts). Junior Forward Jason Gregoire was 7th with (18g-13a-31pts) Gregoire missed four games because of injury.
Goals Scoring
Matt Frattin was first in the WCHA for goal scoring for the Fighting Sioux with 22 goals, DU Forward freshman forward Jason Zucker was second with 20 goals, UMD’s forward Mike Connolly was third with 19 goals and Jason Gregoire was fourth with 18 goals.
Assists
Corban Knight proved to be a good set up man for the Fighting Sioux as he tied for second in the WCHA for assists with 21; Jack Connolly from UMD was first with 28 assists.
Goaltending
Sophomore goaltender Aaron Dell is the top WCHA goaltender with a 1.97 GAA. Kent Patterson from the Minnesota Golden Gophers was second with a 2.31 GAA and Kenny Reiter from UMD was third with a 2.32 GAA. We can split hairs all day long and say that GAA is a team defense stat, whatever, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
High Flying Sioux
The UND Fighting Sioux were the top offensive team in the WCHA scoring 4.00 goals a game, UNO was second 3.36, DU was third with 3.32 and UMN and UMD tied with 3.25.
Stingy on Defense
The Fighting Sioux were the top defensive team in the WCHA giving up 2.21 goals per game, WCHA new comer UNO was second with 2.46, Wisconsin was third 2.57 and the UMD Bulldogs were fourth with 2.61, DU rounded out the top five with 2.68.
Sioux not a bunch of Goons…
Michigan Tech was the most penalized team in the WCHA with Michigan Tech with 15.7 penalty minutes per game, DU tied UMN for second with 15.2 minutes per games, UNO was third with 14.1, and the Fighting Sioux were fifth with 13.9, C.C. was sixth with 13.8.
Top Power Play in the WCHA
The Fighting Sioux have the top power play in the WCHA scoring on 23.3 percent of their power play chances, UMD was second with 21.9%, BSU was third with 21.2%, SCSU was fourth with 19.3% and Minnesota was fifth with 18.8.
Top Scoring Team in the WCHA
The Fighting Sioux were the top scoring team in the WCHA with 112 goals, Second was UNO with 94 goals, third was DU with 93 goals, Minnesota tied with UMD for fourth with 91 goals and SCSU was sixth with 84 goals. Just for the Record the Fighting Sioux are also the 2nd ranked team in scoring nationally and are currently ranked 8th nationally on defense as well.
From that point on, it was off to the races for the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team as they skated around, through and over the hapless MTU Huskies 11-2 in Houghton, Michigan. The game was never close from there on out, the score was 6-1 after one period, 9-2 after two periods and the Sioux got two more in the third period crushing the Huskies… Kudos to both teams for not letting it get out of hand in the third period after the score was out of reach.
Watching the MTU Huskies you almost feel sorry for them, they really are a sad bunch, the MTU Huskies have had two 30 loss seasons in a row, and the Huskies have lost 25 games six times in the last eight seasons. I had not realized the Huskies were this bad until I say a twitter exchange last night between UMD Radio voice Bruce Ciskie and RWD. This is the same hockey teams that swept the Sioux in December of 2006 and beat the Sioux in Houghton during the 2007 season.
Balanced scoring
Breaking down the scoring for the Sioux yesterday afternoon - Junior forward Jason Gregoire paced the Fighting Sioux with a hat trick, Freshman forward Brock Nelson and Junior forward Brett Hextall each scored two goals. Chipping in one goal each was the Pony Express line of Matt Frattin, Evan Trupp, Brad Malone and freshman Derek Rodwell. With the win last night the Sioux extended their unbeaten streak to nine games, in cae anyone is keeping score, that’s the third longest in the nation.
A team full of Champions
Senior Forward Matt Frattin is the points champ in the WCHA with (22g-18a-40pts). Junior Forward Jason Gregoire was 7th with (18g-13a-31pts) Gregoire missed four games because of injury.
Goals Scoring
Matt Frattin was first in the WCHA for goal scoring for the Fighting Sioux with 22 goals, DU Forward freshman forward Jason Zucker was second with 20 goals, UMD’s forward Mike Connolly was third with 19 goals and Jason Gregoire was fourth with 18 goals.
Assists
Corban Knight proved to be a good set up man for the Fighting Sioux as he tied for second in the WCHA for assists with 21; Jack Connolly from UMD was first with 28 assists.
Goaltending
Sophomore goaltender Aaron Dell is the top WCHA goaltender with a 1.97 GAA. Kent Patterson from the Minnesota Golden Gophers was second with a 2.31 GAA and Kenny Reiter from UMD was third with a 2.32 GAA. We can split hairs all day long and say that GAA is a team defense stat, whatever, everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
High Flying Sioux
The UND Fighting Sioux were the top offensive team in the WCHA scoring 4.00 goals a game, UNO was second 3.36, DU was third with 3.32 and UMN and UMD tied with 3.25.
Stingy on Defense
The Fighting Sioux were the top defensive team in the WCHA giving up 2.21 goals per game, WCHA new comer UNO was second with 2.46, Wisconsin was third 2.57 and the UMD Bulldogs were fourth with 2.61, DU rounded out the top five with 2.68.
Sioux not a bunch of Goons…
Michigan Tech was the most penalized team in the WCHA with Michigan Tech with 15.7 penalty minutes per game, DU tied UMN for second with 15.2 minutes per games, UNO was third with 14.1, and the Fighting Sioux were fifth with 13.9, C.C. was sixth with 13.8.
Top Power Play in the WCHA
The Fighting Sioux have the top power play in the WCHA scoring on 23.3 percent of their power play chances, UMD was second with 21.9%, BSU was third with 21.2%, SCSU was fourth with 19.3% and Minnesota was fifth with 18.8.
Top Scoring Team in the WCHA
The Fighting Sioux were the top scoring team in the WCHA with 112 goals, Second was UNO with 94 goals, third was DU with 93 goals, Minnesota tied with UMD for fourth with 91 goals and SCSU was sixth with 84 goals. Just for the Record the Fighting Sioux are also the 2nd ranked team in scoring nationally and are currently ranked 8th nationally on defense as well.
College Hockey Scores from 3/5/2011
Atlantic Hockey Association
Sacred Heart 6 at Bentley 3
American Int'l 6 at Army 3
Mercyhurst 5 at Robert Morris 1
Canisius 6 at Niagara 3
CCHA
Bowling Green 2 at Northern Michigan 0
Ohio State 2 at Lake Superior 3
Michigan State 3 at Alaska 4 2OT
ECAC
Brown 0 at Quinnipiac 4
Harvard 6 at Clarkson 4
Colgate 5 at Rensselaer 2
Hockey East
Boston College 4 at New Hampshire 3
Merrimack 3 at Providence 5
Maine 4 at Massachusetts 4 OT
Northeastern 4 at Boston University 3
UMass Lowell 2 at Vermont 4
WCHA
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Minnesota State 1 [Box Score]
Colorado College 1 at Wisconsin 3 [Box Score]
Minnesota 3 at Bemidji State 2 OT [Box Score]
St. Cloud State 2 at Denver 3 [Box Score]
Nebraska-Omaha 5 at Minnesota Duluth 2 [Box Score]
North Dakota 11 at Michigan Tech 2 [Box Score]
WCHA First Round Match ups
(1) North Dakota
(12) Michigan Tech
(4) Minnesota-Duluth
(9) St. Cloud State
(8) Alaska-Anchorage
(5) Minnesota
(6) Colorado College
(7) Wisconsin
(3) Nebraska-Omaha
(10) Bemidji State
(11) Minnesota State
(2) Denver
Sacred Heart 6 at Bentley 3
American Int'l 6 at Army 3
Mercyhurst 5 at Robert Morris 1
Canisius 6 at Niagara 3
CCHA
Bowling Green 2 at Northern Michigan 0
Ohio State 2 at Lake Superior 3
Michigan State 3 at Alaska 4 2OT
ECAC
Brown 0 at Quinnipiac 4
Harvard 6 at Clarkson 4
Colgate 5 at Rensselaer 2
Hockey East
Boston College 4 at New Hampshire 3
Merrimack 3 at Providence 5
Maine 4 at Massachusetts 4 OT
Northeastern 4 at Boston University 3
UMass Lowell 2 at Vermont 4
WCHA
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Minnesota State 1 [Box Score]
Colorado College 1 at Wisconsin 3 [Box Score]
Minnesota 3 at Bemidji State 2 OT [Box Score]
St. Cloud State 2 at Denver 3 [Box Score]
Nebraska-Omaha 5 at Minnesota Duluth 2 [Box Score]
North Dakota 11 at Michigan Tech 2 [Box Score]
WCHA First Round Match ups
(1) North Dakota
(12) Michigan Tech
(4) Minnesota-Duluth
(9) St. Cloud State
(8) Alaska-Anchorage
(5) Minnesota
(6) Colorado College
(7) Wisconsin
(3) Nebraska-Omaha
(10) Bemidji State
(11) Minnesota State
(2) Denver
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Huskies Put Down by Sioux 11-2
Ok, Ok, a harsh title, but the Sioux absolutely destroyed MTU today 11-2.
The Sioux scored on all but one, maybe two powerplays and even scored a shortie. Jason Gregoire had a hat trick while Frattin, Nelson, and Hextall each had 2 goals each. It got brutal RIGHT AWAY. The Sioux scored 2 within the first minute. It was 2-1 UND only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the first period!
MTU Starting Goaltender Josh Robinson's glove must have been weighted down because he looked ridiculously awful when UND shot glove side. No matter as he was gone with about 4.5 minutes left to go in the first period. Genoe relieved him and lasted until the 3rd period only giving up a paltry 5 goals. Third Stringer Corson Cramer, MTU announcers proclaimed him the first Colorado-born player on MTU to play, actually looked decent... by MTU standards only giving up 2 goals. After looking at one of the two goals, there was nothing Cramer could do about it. Both goals were redirected shots.
How Embarrassing and Shameful!
You'd think with the horrid officiating that took place today, I'd be lighting up the officials with this header but no. I'm talking about whoever the idiots were who ran the cameras and production area for MTU. They missed 2 goals entirely and for about a minute, perhaps more, did nothing more than focus on the goaltenders and forgot completely about the puck and the hockey going on. Hextall's second goal was missed entirely because of their idiotic idea to blow up and show the jumbotron time stamp!
Who are these guys? I will never throw stones at grainy pictures or poor graphic quality because sometimes such things just aren't able to be afforded, but the minimum qualification for running cameras at a sporting event is to record what the EFFING H-BOMB is going on!
Ok, I get the fact that no one likes to watch their team get utterly destroyed and I recognize how hard it must have been for MTU faithful watching this game but... wait a minute... I guess nobody but those present got to watch at certain points in time.
MTU's Radio Commentators
Believe it or not, I'm going to give props to them. They didn't come close to the homerisms I thought I'd experience and they definitely gave props to both sides when deserving. They did correctly call a few times when UND forwards (Hextall or Malone... I can't remember) did a bit of diving. Unfortunately, MTU's first penalty came off of a dive as well. They called it good play by Johnstone. Oh well.
Regardless, they are my MTU second stars of the game. It wasn't bad to listen to at all.
The Officiating
I have often wondered what it would be like if the officials completely ignored UND and called the other guys like they often called UND... well, tonight we saw it. UND did play the majority of the game clean, but there were several instances where we SHOULD have been called and weren't. I'm not talking about gray areas either. A UND point man prevented a short handed break away by taking down an MTU player in what can only be described as "ILLEGAL." Only it wasn't. Hextall shot the puck after the whistle at an MTU player too. Those were only two.
The CFB on Dorriott was borderline major. There was no head contact and the force in which Marto was hit was not out of control. Now, I know those two factors aren't considered by officials when making the call... even when it takes them a few seconds to suddenly decide that it was an illegal check. They could have given Dorriott a minor for boarding and it probably would have been ok.
Sportsmanship
MTU announcers lauded both teams over sportsmanship entirely forgetting the fact that Ryan Furne (commentators made it seem like his name was Burn) was absolutely beyond retarded. I expect that everyone expects the chirping like I'm sure Hextall and Lamoreaux were doing all game long, but Furne, a first line winger no less, mouthed off to the officials on the way into the box for his second penalty (a tripping call) and then left the box mouthing off to the officials, who apparently called a 10 minute misconduct and then Furne apparently mouthed off AGAIN and recieved the rest of the night off. Looks like he has a learning disability. Hey.... next time you get a warning for conduct to the officials, LISTEN THE EFF UP! They gave him the misconduct after the SECOND time he mouthed off in that whole scenario (he may have mouthed off after his first penalty but it wasn't apparent from the webcast or the commentators)!
That being said, it was very nicely played. The coaches were cordial and even the intermission entertainment wasn't too rough to watch... though I'd be pissed if I were the guy who got the RC truck with the bad batteries or controller.
What's Next?
We see if the rest of the MTU team learns anything from this weekend: Go to the Box, get out of the box before 2 minutes is up. Pretty easy. UND's powerplay is ok, but not great.... and MTU made it look like we're unstoppable up a man.
UND cannot party it up even though we play the next series against MTU as well in Grand Forks. MTU did play us very well in Period 1 on Friday and they could do so again if we play like we're playing a cupcake like MTU and not a team that has nothing to lose.
The Three Stars:
1st Star: Jason Gregoire (3g 1a 4pt)
2nd Star: Matt Frattin (2g 2a 4pt)
3rd Star*: Brett Hextall (2g 1a 3pt)
* - I could give it to Brock Nelson or Corbin Knight as well. All three had 3 point nights.
The Sioux scored on all but one, maybe two powerplays and even scored a shortie. Jason Gregoire had a hat trick while Frattin, Nelson, and Hextall each had 2 goals each. It got brutal RIGHT AWAY. The Sioux scored 2 within the first minute. It was 2-1 UND only 1 minute and 25 seconds into the first period!
MTU Starting Goaltender Josh Robinson's glove must have been weighted down because he looked ridiculously awful when UND shot glove side. No matter as he was gone with about 4.5 minutes left to go in the first period. Genoe relieved him and lasted until the 3rd period only giving up a paltry 5 goals. Third Stringer Corson Cramer, MTU announcers proclaimed him the first Colorado-born player on MTU to play, actually looked decent... by MTU standards only giving up 2 goals. After looking at one of the two goals, there was nothing Cramer could do about it. Both goals were redirected shots.
How Embarrassing and Shameful!
You'd think with the horrid officiating that took place today, I'd be lighting up the officials with this header but no. I'm talking about whoever the idiots were who ran the cameras and production area for MTU. They missed 2 goals entirely and for about a minute, perhaps more, did nothing more than focus on the goaltenders and forgot completely about the puck and the hockey going on. Hextall's second goal was missed entirely because of their idiotic idea to blow up and show the jumbotron time stamp!
Who are these guys? I will never throw stones at grainy pictures or poor graphic quality because sometimes such things just aren't able to be afforded, but the minimum qualification for running cameras at a sporting event is to record what the EFFING H-BOMB is going on!
Ok, I get the fact that no one likes to watch their team get utterly destroyed and I recognize how hard it must have been for MTU faithful watching this game but... wait a minute... I guess nobody but those present got to watch at certain points in time.
MTU's Radio Commentators
Believe it or not, I'm going to give props to them. They didn't come close to the homerisms I thought I'd experience and they definitely gave props to both sides when deserving. They did correctly call a few times when UND forwards (Hextall or Malone... I can't remember) did a bit of diving. Unfortunately, MTU's first penalty came off of a dive as well. They called it good play by Johnstone. Oh well.
Regardless, they are my MTU second stars of the game. It wasn't bad to listen to at all.
The Officiating
I have often wondered what it would be like if the officials completely ignored UND and called the other guys like they often called UND... well, tonight we saw it. UND did play the majority of the game clean, but there were several instances where we SHOULD have been called and weren't. I'm not talking about gray areas either. A UND point man prevented a short handed break away by taking down an MTU player in what can only be described as "ILLEGAL." Only it wasn't. Hextall shot the puck after the whistle at an MTU player too. Those were only two.
The CFB on Dorriott was borderline major. There was no head contact and the force in which Marto was hit was not out of control. Now, I know those two factors aren't considered by officials when making the call... even when it takes them a few seconds to suddenly decide that it was an illegal check. They could have given Dorriott a minor for boarding and it probably would have been ok.
Sportsmanship
MTU announcers lauded both teams over sportsmanship entirely forgetting the fact that Ryan Furne (commentators made it seem like his name was Burn) was absolutely beyond retarded. I expect that everyone expects the chirping like I'm sure Hextall and Lamoreaux were doing all game long, but Furne, a first line winger no less, mouthed off to the officials on the way into the box for his second penalty (a tripping call) and then left the box mouthing off to the officials, who apparently called a 10 minute misconduct and then Furne apparently mouthed off AGAIN and recieved the rest of the night off. Looks like he has a learning disability. Hey.... next time you get a warning for conduct to the officials, LISTEN THE EFF UP! They gave him the misconduct after the SECOND time he mouthed off in that whole scenario (he may have mouthed off after his first penalty but it wasn't apparent from the webcast or the commentators)!
That being said, it was very nicely played. The coaches were cordial and even the intermission entertainment wasn't too rough to watch... though I'd be pissed if I were the guy who got the RC truck with the bad batteries or controller.
What's Next?
We see if the rest of the MTU team learns anything from this weekend: Go to the Box, get out of the box before 2 minutes is up. Pretty easy. UND's powerplay is ok, but not great.... and MTU made it look like we're unstoppable up a man.
UND cannot party it up even though we play the next series against MTU as well in Grand Forks. MTU did play us very well in Period 1 on Friday and they could do so again if we play like we're playing a cupcake like MTU and not a team that has nothing to lose.
The Three Stars:
1st Star: Jason Gregoire (3g 1a 4pt)
2nd Star: Matt Frattin (2g 2a 4pt)
3rd Star*: Brett Hextall (2g 1a 3pt)
* - I could give it to Brock Nelson or Corbin Knight as well. All three had 3 point nights.
UND line up changes.
RWD's favorite beat writer is reporting via Twitter that Brad Eidsness and Chay Genoway will be back in the line up tonight. Fighting Sioux defenseman Andrew MacWilliam is out with an undisclosed injury. MTU forward Bennett Royer is back in after getting disqualified for a fight in Minnesota's Jake Parenteau during the MTU and UMN series.
UND’s Forward lines
19 Evan Trupp–22 Brad Malone–21 Matt Frattin
17 Jason Gregoire–10 Corban Knight–26 Brett Hextall
8 Mike Cichy–29 Brock Nelson–20 Joe Gleason
15 Brent Davidson–9 Mario Lamoureux–11 Derek Rodwell
UND's Defense pairing
4 Derek Forbort–24 Ben Blood
3 Derrick LaPoint–25 Jake Marto
18 Dillon Simpson–5 Chay Genoway
Goalies
31 Brad Eidsness
32 Aaron Dell
[UND Stats]
Michigan Tech’s Forward lines
12 Ryan Furne–8 Jacob Johnstone–29 Evan Witt
19 Bennett Royer–11 Daniel Holmberg–18 Alex MacLeod
32 Tyler Gubb–7 Patrick McCadden–13 Aaron Pietila
23 Ricky Doriott–9 Dennis Rix–17 Mikael Lickteig
MTU's Defense Parings
26 Deron Cousens–25 Carl Nielson
21 Tommy Brown–6 Steven Seigo
3 Brad Stebner–24 Daniel Sova
Goalies
30 Josh Robinson
35 Kevin Genoe
31 Corson Cramer
[MTU Stats]
EDIT: Schlossman erred in the lineup listing Rodwell as both a forward and Defenseman, having 2 numbers (11 and 4), and scratching Derek Forbort. I corrected it on the blog so that it would be accurate. To be absolutely clear, this is not a Goon error. [Redwing77]
College Hockey Scores from Friday, March 4, 2011
Hockey East
Mass Lowell 4 at Vermont 4 OT
Boston University 3 at Northeastern 2
Maine 4 at Massachusetts 3
Providence 1 at Merrimack 6
New Hampshire 0 at Boston College 4
CCHA
Michigan State 2 at Alaska 3 OT
Ohio State 0 at Lake Superior 4
Bowling Green 3 at Northern Michigan 6
ECAC
Brown 0 at Quinnipiac 4
Harvard 2 at Clarkson 1
St. Lawrence 1 at Princeton 4
Colgate 2 at Rensselaer 4
WCHA
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Minnesota State 0 [Box Score]
Minnesota 3 at Bemidji State 3 OT [Box Score]
St. Cloud State 3 at Denver 2 [Box Score]
Nebraska-Omaha 1 at Minnesota Duluth 4 [Box Score]
North Dakota 6 at Michigan Tech 1 [Box Score]
Colorado College 3 at Wisconsin 2 [Box Score]
Analysis – Friday night was a semi interesting night of college hockey and by the end of tonight we will have the final standings and know where everyone is going for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The playoff scenarios are a bit fuzzy right now. First things first, UND clinched their 15th McNaughton Cup outright last night with their win in Houghton, Michigan against the MTU Huskies, and the same two teams will play again next weekend.
We also know that UND, UMD, UNO, DU, UMN and C.C. have home ice, where these teams end up is still up for discussion; both UMN and C.C. have clinched the final two home-ice spots on Friday night. The Wisconsin Badgers continued their free fall/slide and they will be on the road for the WCHA playoffs, the Badgers have not won a game since January 29, 2011. The Badgers will probably have to win the WCHA tourney to make it to the NCAA tourney.
Alaska Anchorage 4 vs Minnesota State 0 – In the battle for 7-8-9 spots the UAA Huskies shutout the Minnesota State Mavericks. UAA Senior Nick Haddad had two goals for the Seawolves and Freshman goalie Chris Kamal stopped 35 shots to get the shutout for the Seawolves... [Puckato], [Delusions of Grandeur],[ADN.COM]
Minnesota 3 vs Bemidji State 3 OT – The Beavers tied the game on a goal from Brad Hunt with 19 seconds left in regulation after receiving a power play on a controversial hooking call against Nick Bjugstad. [Up North Sports Report], [Goal Gophers]
St. Cloud State 3 vs Denver 2 – The SCSU Huskies Senior forward Aaron Marvin scored with 1:36 remaining in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the Huskies a 3-2 win. Sophomore Goalie Mike Lee stopped 32 shots for the Huskies. Before the game Pioneers head coach George Gwozdecky suspended DU senior forward Anthony Maiani one game for a violation of an undisclosed team rule. If the Pioneers win tonight they will be the second seed overall for the WCHA playoffs. I think it’s safe to say that no one really wants to play the SCSU Huskies in the WCHA playoffs, especially if they are sitting on the bubble of an NCAA tourney bid. [Mike Chambers], [Mick Hatten]
Nebraska-Omaha 1 vs Minnesota Duluth 4 – The Bulldogs got two goals from Junior forward Travis Oleksuk to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-1 victory against the UNO Mavericks. Senior Goalie Kenny Reiter made 29 saves for the Bulldogs who with the win are tied for second place in the WCHA standings. The UNO Mavericks defense held Duluth’s all world forwards Mike Connolly, Jack Connolly and Justin Fontaine to one assist between the three of them. [Rink and Run], [Omaha.com]
North Dakota 6 at Michigan Tech 1 – The UND Fighting Sioux wrapped sole possession of the McNaughton Cup defeating the hapless Huskies 6-1. Matt Frattin paced the Sioux with a goal and three assists. According to Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman ‘Sophomore defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, left last night’s game during the first period with an undisclosed injury and MacWilliam’s status for today’s series finale is unknown.’ As far as watching the game last night, I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary in regards to Andrew MacWilliam and how he could have gotten injured. Cross your fingers folks that its nothing too serious.[UND Hockey Blog],[Fighting Sioux], [Daily Mining Gazette]
Colorado College 3 vs Wisconsin 2 – The Wisconsin Badgers extended their losing streak to seven games (0-6-1) and with the loss will be on the road for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. C.C. Tigers Junior David Civitarese’s scored with 2:55 left in the third to lift the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. [Eye of the Tigers], [Madison.com]
Controversial Call on Gophers?
Mike jm posted this on Sioux sports this morning, as I thought last night, the refs were right in calling a penalty; they made the wrong call, it’s a matter of semantics. This straight from the NCAA rule book… If you don't believe me you can peruse rule book...
Interference
SECTION 29. a. A player shall not interfere with or impede the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck, deliberately knock a stick out of an opponent’s hand, prevent a player who has dropped the stick, or any other piece of equipment, from regaining possession of it or knock or shoot any abandoned or broken stick or illegal puck or other debris toward an opposing puck carrier in a manner that could cause the player to be distracted. Waving of arms in front of a goalkeeper by an opponent is interference.
Mass Lowell 4 at Vermont 4 OT
Boston University 3 at Northeastern 2
Maine 4 at Massachusetts 3
Providence 1 at Merrimack 6
New Hampshire 0 at Boston College 4
CCHA
Michigan State 2 at Alaska 3 OT
Ohio State 0 at Lake Superior 4
Bowling Green 3 at Northern Michigan 6
ECAC
Brown 0 at Quinnipiac 4
Harvard 2 at Clarkson 1
St. Lawrence 1 at Princeton 4
Colgate 2 at Rensselaer 4
WCHA
Alaska Anchorage 4 at Minnesota State 0 [Box Score]
Minnesota 3 at Bemidji State 3 OT [Box Score]
St. Cloud State 3 at Denver 2 [Box Score]
Nebraska-Omaha 1 at Minnesota Duluth 4 [Box Score]
North Dakota 6 at Michigan Tech 1 [Box Score]
Colorado College 3 at Wisconsin 2 [Box Score]
Analysis – Friday night was a semi interesting night of college hockey and by the end of tonight we will have the final standings and know where everyone is going for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The playoff scenarios are a bit fuzzy right now. First things first, UND clinched their 15th McNaughton Cup outright last night with their win in Houghton, Michigan against the MTU Huskies, and the same two teams will play again next weekend.
We also know that UND, UMD, UNO, DU, UMN and C.C. have home ice, where these teams end up is still up for discussion; both UMN and C.C. have clinched the final two home-ice spots on Friday night. The Wisconsin Badgers continued their free fall/slide and they will be on the road for the WCHA playoffs, the Badgers have not won a game since January 29, 2011. The Badgers will probably have to win the WCHA tourney to make it to the NCAA tourney.
Alaska Anchorage 4 vs Minnesota State 0 – In the battle for 7-8-9 spots the UAA Huskies shutout the Minnesota State Mavericks. UAA Senior Nick Haddad had two goals for the Seawolves and Freshman goalie Chris Kamal stopped 35 shots to get the shutout for the Seawolves... [Puckato], [Delusions of Grandeur],[ADN.COM]
Minnesota 3 vs Bemidji State 3 OT – The Beavers tied the game on a goal from Brad Hunt with 19 seconds left in regulation after receiving a power play on a controversial hooking call against Nick Bjugstad. [Up North Sports Report], [Goal Gophers]
St. Cloud State 3 vs Denver 2 – The SCSU Huskies Senior forward Aaron Marvin scored with 1:36 remaining in the third period to break a 2-2 tie and give the Huskies a 3-2 win. Sophomore Goalie Mike Lee stopped 32 shots for the Huskies. Before the game Pioneers head coach George Gwozdecky suspended DU senior forward Anthony Maiani one game for a violation of an undisclosed team rule. If the Pioneers win tonight they will be the second seed overall for the WCHA playoffs. I think it’s safe to say that no one really wants to play the SCSU Huskies in the WCHA playoffs, especially if they are sitting on the bubble of an NCAA tourney bid. [Mike Chambers], [Mick Hatten]
Nebraska-Omaha 1 vs Minnesota Duluth 4 – The Bulldogs got two goals from Junior forward Travis Oleksuk to lead the Bulldogs to a 4-1 victory against the UNO Mavericks. Senior Goalie Kenny Reiter made 29 saves for the Bulldogs who with the win are tied for second place in the WCHA standings. The UNO Mavericks defense held Duluth’s all world forwards Mike Connolly, Jack Connolly and Justin Fontaine to one assist between the three of them. [Rink and Run], [Omaha.com]
North Dakota 6 at Michigan Tech 1 – The UND Fighting Sioux wrapped sole possession of the McNaughton Cup defeating the hapless Huskies 6-1. Matt Frattin paced the Sioux with a goal and three assists. According to Grand Forks Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman ‘Sophomore defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, left last night’s game during the first period with an undisclosed injury and MacWilliam’s status for today’s series finale is unknown.’ As far as watching the game last night, I don’t remember anything out of the ordinary in regards to Andrew MacWilliam and how he could have gotten injured. Cross your fingers folks that its nothing too serious.[UND Hockey Blog],[Fighting Sioux], [Daily Mining Gazette]
Colorado College 3 vs Wisconsin 2 – The Wisconsin Badgers extended their losing streak to seven games (0-6-1) and with the loss will be on the road for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. C.C. Tigers Junior David Civitarese’s scored with 2:55 left in the third to lift the Tigers to a 3-2 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. [Eye of the Tigers], [Madison.com]
Controversial Call on Gophers?
Mike jm posted this on Sioux sports this morning, as I thought last night, the refs were right in calling a penalty; they made the wrong call, it’s a matter of semantics. This straight from the NCAA rule book… If you don't believe me you can peruse rule book...
Interference
SECTION 29. a. A player shall not interfere with or impede the progress of an opponent who is not in possession of the puck, deliberately knock a stick out of an opponent’s hand, prevent a player who has dropped the stick, or any other piece of equipment, from regaining possession of it or knock or shoot any abandoned or broken stick or illegal puck or other debris toward an opposing puck carrier in a manner that could cause the player to be distracted. Waving of arms in front of a goalkeeper by an opponent is interference.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Sioux 6 Huskies 1
The game was what we thought it would be tonight, the Huskies have won 4 games the entire season and the first period was a close hard fought period of gritty hockey as the Huskies goaltender Kevin Genoe was rock solid turning back 17 shots, however, hockey is a game of three periods.
In the Second period, the Fighting Sioux’s fortunes changed as the Sioux starting cashing in on the Huskies miscues and turnovers and blew the doors off of the MTU Huskies by scoring three in the second period and then getting two more goals in the third period to run away with a 6-1 win.
Being nothing short of amazing Fighting Sioux senior forward Matt Frattin was a man among boys as he scored a goal and three assists. I know I am biased and I get to see Frattin play every weekend, but I have not seen another player dominate like Frattin has this season. I have to say that Frattin is the player of the year in the WCHA, I think the race for that award has pretty much been decided already. With the Four points Frattin has (28g-18a-46) points and barring injury or an unseen absence Frattin should break the fifty point threshold soon.
Andrew MacWilliam leaves game in second period
With the win tonight UND UND wins MacNaughton Cup outright and is the number one seed in the WCHA. There is some concern for Sophomore defenseman Andrew MacWilliam, who left the game during in the second period and did not return, as of right now it’s not known what happened to MacWillam and there are no details on the reason MacWilliam left the game at this time, speculation is that there is a "possibly injury" maybe, I am sure we will hear more tomorrow. I will write more tomorrow during the morning.
Lines for tonights game against MTU...
The UND SID has posted the lines for tonight's game... Rumor has it that the Sioux are wearing the "Black" jerseys tonight.
Forwards lines
1. Evan Trupp – Brad Malone – Matt Frattin
2. Jason Gregoire – Corbin Knight– Brett Hextall
3. Mike Cichy – Brock Nelson – Joe Gleason
4. Brent Davidson – Maio Lamoureux – Derek Rodwell
Defense pairing
1. Andrew MacWiliam – Jake Marto
2. Derek Forbort – Ben Blood
3. Derrick LaPoint – Dillion Simpson
Goalies
Starter – Aaron Dell
Backup – Brad Eidsness
Scratchs
Carter Rowney Injury, Genoway Injury, Kristo Injury, Hill Healthy Scratch, Dickin, Maris Healthy Scratch, Bruneteau Healthy Scratch...
Michigan Tech’s Forward lines
12 Ryan Furne–8 Jacob Johnstone–18 Alex MacLeod
32 Tyler Gubb–7 Patrick McCadden–9 Dennis Rix
13 Aaron Pietila–11 Daniel Holmberg–29 Evan Witt
23 Ricky Doriott–33 Alan L’Esperance–27 Bryce Reddick
MTU Defensive Pairings
26 Deron Cousens–25 Carl Nielsen
21 Tommy Brown–6 Steven Seigo
3 Brad Stebner–24 Daniel Sova
MTU Goalies
35 Kevin Genoe
30 Josh Robinson
31 Corson Cramer
Scratches
Brett Olson Injury, Milos Gordic and Bennett Royer DQ.
Forwards lines
1. Evan Trupp – Brad Malone – Matt Frattin
2. Jason Gregoire – Corbin Knight– Brett Hextall
3. Mike Cichy – Brock Nelson – Joe Gleason
4. Brent Davidson – Maio Lamoureux – Derek Rodwell
Defense pairing
1. Andrew MacWiliam – Jake Marto
2. Derek Forbort – Ben Blood
3. Derrick LaPoint – Dillion Simpson
Goalies
Starter – Aaron Dell
Backup – Brad Eidsness
Scratchs
Carter Rowney Injury, Genoway Injury, Kristo Injury, Hill Healthy Scratch, Dickin, Maris Healthy Scratch, Bruneteau Healthy Scratch...
Michigan Tech’s Forward lines
12 Ryan Furne–8 Jacob Johnstone–18 Alex MacLeod
32 Tyler Gubb–7 Patrick McCadden–9 Dennis Rix
13 Aaron Pietila–11 Daniel Holmberg–29 Evan Witt
23 Ricky Doriott–33 Alan L’Esperance–27 Bryce Reddick
MTU Defensive Pairings
26 Deron Cousens–25 Carl Nielsen
21 Tommy Brown–6 Steven Seigo
3 Brad Stebner–24 Daniel Sova
MTU Goalies
35 Kevin Genoe
30 Josh Robinson
31 Corson Cramer
Scratches
Brett Olson Injury, Milos Gordic and Bennett Royer DQ.
NHL throws book at Islanders Goon Trevor Gillies...
This buffoon just got back from a nine game suspension and on his third shift back this clown does this despicable act, apparently he didn’t learn anything on his first suspension. Here is an interesting stat, Trevor Gillies has played less than five minutes combined in his last two games and been suspended a total of 19 games. Unbelievable!!! Already Islander fans are saying that Cal Clutterbuck should have been suspended for 5 games, which is a load of crap, Cal hit the Islanders player from behind, he didn't target his opponents head, so no suspension is warrented.
NHL.COM----- New York Islanders forward/Hack Trevor Gillies has been suspended for 10 games for delivering a blow to the head of Cal Clutterbuck of the Minnesota Wild in Tuesday's game at Nassau Coliseum.
Gillies will forfeit $60,975.60 in salary.
The incident occurred at 2:23 of the second period and Gillies was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for checking from behind.
"By targeting his opponent's head, three shifts into his first game back from a suspension for a very similar action, Mr. Gillies has forfeited his privilege of playing in the League for 10 games," said NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell. "While it is fortunate there was no injury on the play, there can be no justification for a player delivering a dangerous check to an opponent in this manner."
Gillies, who was suspended for 9 games on Feb. 11 for his actions in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, is considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and forfeits his salary based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (186).
Watch the Sioux Women vs UW Badgers...
Watch live streaming video from nottinghammediaservices at livestream.com
The Live Chat is on this link...
UND lines:
Alyssa Wiebe - Jocelyne Lamoureux - Allison Parizek
Kelsey Ketcher - Sara Dagenais - Stephanie Roy
Holly Perkins - Mary Loken - Megan Gilbert
Margot Miller
Defense:
Candace Molle - Monique Lamoureux-Kolls
Kayla Berg - Ashley Holmes
Ashley Furia - Madison Kolls
In net: Stephanie Roy
Goon's on KNOX 1310 Friday from 2:00 - 2:30 PM
Listen to Goon live at 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm on KNOX 1310 AM on Friday March 4th, 2011. R.J. and I will be talking about hockey... We will talk about the WCHA playoff race, and the Fighting Sioux's upcoming series with MTU…. If you live out of town you can listen live by clking on this address. [Click to Listen]
Call in 701-775-5559, 1-866-KNOX-1310, email: Live@KNOXRADIO.com
Call in 701-775-5559, 1-866-KNOX-1310, email: Live@KNOXRADIO.com
Dalrymple mum on Sioux bill
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| Grand Forks Herald Picture |
Bismarck, ND --- Gov. Jack Dalrymple said Thursday that he’s asked Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, a former U.S. attorney, to “thoroughly” study a bill in the North Dakota Legislature that would require the University of North Dakota to retain its Fighting Sioux nickname.
But he’s keeping mum about what he will do if the legislation gets the approval of the Senate and comes to his desk for a final signature.
He told the Grand Forks Herald’s editorial board that he needs to know “exactly what it does” before making a final decision. House Bill 1263, which easily passed the House in a 65-28 vote last Monday, could be changed in the Senate.
Another issue is that the North Dakota Constitution doesn’t allow the governor to threaten a veto, he said.
Dalrymple said he told Wrigley to look over the legislation and study the issues behind this bill as it heads to the Senate.
“I want him to totally understand all of the legal arguments on both sides and keep an eye on it,” he said. “But we think that it’s very possible that we could see an amendment or two in the Senate. I’m not going to say anything about it until I see what I’m being asked to sign.”
Reason not to fight... Taylor Hall injuried
While I am old school and believe in the hockey code, I am all for a player solving their differences on the ice instead of hoping the refs make the right call. That being said, a player has to be smart and pick his time and place for fighting, while I applaud Taylor Hall for fighting his own battles, on the other hand Hall picked a fight with a player Derek Dorsett who has been 14 fights this season and ended up getting hurt in the process. If I was the general manager or head coach of this hockey team I wouldn't be all that pleased with Hall, but such is life.
EDMONTON — Edmonton Oilers’ rookie Taylor Hall said Thursday morning that he had only been in two junior fights in his hockey life and didn’t like his chances with the bigger boys in the NHL, but after one goal and a dazzling rush later, Hall shockingly dropped the mitts with one of the toughest pound-for-pound customers, Derek Dorsett, eight hours later.
Give Hall an A for bravery, but an F for foolishness after he exchanged punches with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ forward, who’s had 14 fights this season. Hall hung in after instigating the scrap in the wake of a hard Dorsett hit along the boards, but fell to the ice, landed awkwardly and injured his left ankle. There was no immediate word on how badly he was hurt but it didn’t look good as he limped to the dressing room. His night was over 33 minutes into the hugely entertaining affair with the Oilers driving Jackets’ starting goalie Steve Mason to the bench with three goals in their first 14 shots.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Thursday Links - Is the winter ever going to end addition???
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Back Row (L to R): |
There are quite a few hockey related things out there that might be of interest to hockey fans. For those wondering about Chay Genoway and Carter Rowney, according the Sports Information Director for UND Fighting Sioux hockey Jayson Hajdu said that Chay Genoway made the trip but he won’t play on Friday night, Carter Rowney didn’t make the trip. Rowney was hurt during the Sunday game between BSU and UND.
N.D. Senate panel to hold Fighting Sioux hearing on Monday [Grand Forks Herald]
Here is an interesting article about college hockey. Fighting in hockey begins long before games [Boston Globe]
Air Force coach Frank Serratore says that the Atlantic Hockey Association playoff format is a joke and after looking at their league playoffs format I have to agree that it's a joke. It would be interesting to know who was the genius that designed that playoff format? [Gazette.com]
Dan Meyers from College Hockey News has his WCHA Playoff Prognostications posted. [College Hockey News]
If case you have haven't heard it yet Rob Port from sayanythingblog interviewed Terry Ree; the Sioux Indian half of the comedy team "the Indian and the White Guy," during the Scott Hennen show yesterday. [Click to listen to the Interview]
There was an interesting news tidbit that surfaced from that interview between Terry Ree and Rob Port, apparently the Indian and the White guy were in the process of being booked to perform at the Alerus in Grand Forks, however, the show was never finalized because of the Fighting Sioux nickname issue.
Grand Forks Herald --- Williams and Ree, the longtime comedy duo who bill themselves as “the Indian and the White Guy” and play off race for some of their material, were negotiating in February to play Grand Forks this month when UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname controversy apparently derailed the talks.If this isn’t an example of political correctness run amuck I don’t know what is? There is no other way they can spin this.
Williams and Ree frequently perform on Indian reservations as well as in Las Vegas and at other major venues. They performed two shows at the Spirit Lake Casino near Devils Lake on Feb. 28.
In a video clip posted on sayanythingblog.com, Ree talks about the unscheduled concert and his reaction when Battle told him the engagement would not happen – but might if they agreed not to make references to Indians.
“When I pulled myself up off the floor and stopped laughing, I told him yeah, we’ll do it.”
He hinted, though, that the performance might have included some new material drawn from the UND nickname fight.
“I was going to hang this son of a bitch out to dry, any moron who could be that narrow-minded,” he said.
“I don’t know any Indian that doesn’t like Fighting Sioux,” Ree said in the undated video. “I don’t know any. I’m a Sioux and I think it’s a hell of a deal. I like to see that Indian head on there.”
Bloggers who favor keeping the nickname and logo have been citing the incident as evidence of “political correctness” influencing the debate.
According to Roman Augustoviz @eyeonupuk the Minnesota Rule is still in affect... I guess the WCHA front office figures that Minnesota fans won't take time off work like the rest of us other WCHA hockey fans to go to the Final Five if their team had to play in the afternoon game.
That being said, I wouldn't worry about this yet since their is still a good chance that Minnesota Gophers wont make the Final Five anyways. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that If UMN has to play the SCSU Huskies I could see their season ending at Mariucci Arena, just a hunch. If I am wrong Gopher fans can send me love letters at the end of the playoffs. What are the Gophers going to do when the Big Ten Hockey Conference no longer fawns over them like the WCHA front office does.
Also checked on the Gophers' rule at the Final Five. It's still alive. If Gophers get in, they will play in night session on Thurs.
And if they win first game, Gophers also will play at night on Fri. Theory there is, Gophers fans will flock to X after work both nites.Darren Dreger has a new up date on the Coyotes situation. [TSN.COM]
Here is what Trevor Gillies had to say about his attempted decapitation of Cal Clutterbuck; "I went over and finished my hit," Gillies told Newsday. "There was no intent to injure him. I saw him hit DiBo, and I made a hit on him. That's it." [Star Tribune]
It amazes me that Islander fans can defend the hit by Trevor Gillies. [Light House Hockey]
Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)
Here we are - we’ve finally arrived - the last weekend of the WCHA regular season.
The MacNaughton Cup will be moving to a new home, good-bye Denver, hello Grand Forks. (The Sioux clinched at least a share of it last weekend.) It doesn’t seem that the season started almost five months ago – My how time flies when you’re watching WCHA hockey.
I wonder about the future… Will Goon’s old liver survive the Final 5 in St. Paul? Will team’s still play their “natural league rival” 4 games next season? Will the refereeing improve? (Not likely) How many early departures will teams suffer over this spring? Will UND pick a new nickname?
Okay, enough daydreaming, back to what’s at hand, 10 positions will be decided this weekend, MTU locked up the 12th spot a few weeks ago, and UND locked up the top spot last weekend. The top 4 teams cannot be caught, so it is just deciding who gets what seed there. Spots 5 thru 8, that’s where the action will be. It’s possible to have a 3-way tie for 5th place after this weekend - possible, not probable. The bottom 4 teams are stuck, they cannot get home ice.
WCHA standings
TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota…..….….19-6-1…39
2. Denver……..…………16-7-3…35
3. Nebraska-Omaha.…..16-8-2…34
4. Minnesota-Duluth......14-7-5…33
5. Minnesota……..…...12-10-4…28
6. Colorado College.…12-12-2…26
7. Wisconsin………..…11-12-3…25
8. St. Cloud State........10-12-4…24
9. Alaska-Anchorage…10-14-2…22
10. Bemidji State…….….8-14-4…20
10. Minnesota State…….8-14-4…20
12. Michigan Tech………2-22-2…6
WCHA (Numbers are current PairWise Rank)
#14 Colorado College @ #21 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Tigers took 3-points from the UMD Bulldogs in Colorado Springs and the Badgers were swept by the SCSU Huskies in St. Cloud.
A month ago the Badgers were a big cheese, now they’ve turned into a dried up, crusty cracker – what happened in Badger-ville? They went winless in February, going a 0-5-1. (Perhaps they were lucky - February is the shortest month.) The Tigers have just been plugging along and are 2-points ahead of the Badgers for the final home ice playoff spot. The fans in Mad-town will need to cheer hard this weekend, as they need a sweep to grab that coveted last playoff spot. It’s also quite possible these teams will be playing each other next weekend too, in the first round of the playoffs. CC has been okay on the road this year posting a 6-7-1 record away from World Arena. The Badgers have been good at the Kohl Center going 13-5-2 at home this season. This is going to be a battle, for both teams. If Wisconsin can score first and get the crowd really into it, CC could be in trouble, but if CC can score first they can take the crowd out of the game. SPLIT
#8 Nebraska-Omaha @ #11 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Mavericks split with the DU Pioneers in Omaha and the Bulldogs got 1-point from the CC Tigers in Colorado Springs.
UMD has a 4-1-0 advantage in the all time series versus UNO. The Bulldogs had a rough February, going 2-3-3 and the Mavericks went 6-2-0 last month. Both teams still have a chance to grab the number two seed in the WCHA and neither can drop lower than fourth place. If you start looking ahead at first round match-ups, UNO might be concerned about hosting the Beavers. The Bulldogs need to stop the bleeding and playing a tough UNO team isn’t going to make it easy. Both are still in good shape for making the NCAA tournament, but if UMD can’t stop the bleeding their season might end earlier than expected. UNO has scored 88-goals in league play this season and UMD has netted 85-goals. The Bulldogs are 9-4-2 at home this season, 7-1-2 at the old DECC and 2-3-2 in the new Amsoil Arena, while the Mavericks are 7-8-1 away from Omaha. UMD fans might want this series played back at the good old DECC. I’m leaning towards a split in this series, but a sweep either way wouldn’t be to shocking. SPLIT
#19 Minnesota @ Bemidji St.
Last weekend the Gophers swept the MTU Huskies in Minneapolis and the Beavers were swept by the UND Fighting Sioux in Grand Forks.
The Gophers lead the overall series with a 6-1-0 mark. The Gophers also lead the WCHA in penalty minutes this season with 412, and they are 11th in conference on penalty killing. The Beavers should know this and try to capitalize on their power play chances this weekend, since BSU is leading the WCHA power play perecentage at 21.7%. The Gophers look to lock up home ice this weekend, and can do it on Friday with a win. The Beavers can only climb as high as 8th with a sweep this weekend. Don’t expect BSU to roll over play dead, since home ice is out, coach Serratore won’t let his team do that. Do expect the Beavers to play a tough, close to the vest, style game(s) this weekend. BSU has had problems scoring goals, much like the Gophers have this season. The Gophers found some offense last weekend, but hanging a pair of 5’s on MTU is not exactly climbing Mount Everest. The Beavers need scoring from their top line and power play, if they want to get some points this weekend. I see these games as a race to three. The first team to reach three goals in the game will most likely win it. SPLIT
#2 North Dakota @ Michigan Tech
Last weekend the Sioux swept the BSU Beavers in Grand Forks and the Huskies were swept by the UM Gophers in Minneapolis.
The Sioux clinched at least a share of the MacNaughton cup last weekend and can get it out right by getting one point this weekend. I watched the Huskies and Gophers game last weekend, as well as the Sioux-Beavers. MTU isn’t as bad as their record would indicate, they just haven’t gotten any bounces. Look for the Sioux to use their team speed to cause problems this weekend at John MacInnes Arena. This will be the first of back to back weekends these teams play. Next weekend the Huskies will make the return trip to Grand Forks for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux are 10-4-2 away from The Ralph and the Huskies are 1-10-4 at home this year. (I can see UND winning Friday and then resting players on Saturday, with nothing to gain.) SIOUX SWEEP
#19 St. Cloud St. @ #5 Denver
Last weekend the Huskies swept the UW Badgers in St. Cloud and the Pioneers split with the UNO Mavericks in Omaha.
The Huskies have been mushing their way up standings in 2011. Unfortunately their horrible first half has them sunk into a bottom half finish. They Huskies are heating up at the right time of the year and are not a team people want to see in the first round of the playoffs. The Pioneers have stumbled a bit, but are back home at Magness Arena where they are an impressive 13-3-2 overall this season. The Huskies are 5-6-1 this season away from the National Hockey Center. (They are going to update/renovate the NHC using $31M to do so, I can’t wait to see a new upgraded NHC.) The Pioneers are just about a shoe-in for the NCAA tourney, and the Huskies still have a chance too. DU has talent and is at home, so I don’t think they’ll get swept, but do they have the instinct to finish off teams? SPLIT
Alaska-Anchorage @ Minnesota State
Last weekend the Seawolves split with in-state rival, the UAF Nanooks, in a home-home series and the Mavericks were enjoying a bye weekend.
These teams met back in October in Anchorage, and MSUM won and tied UAA at Sullivan Arena. The Mavericks hold a 7-6-3 home record at Verizon Wireless Center this season and the Seawolves are a lowly 3-10-0 away from Anchorage. Both teams will be on the road next weekend, regardless of what happens in this series. The Seawolves are the second lowest scoring team in the league (only MTU is lower) netting only 54-goals. So needless to say, they want a couple of low scoring games. Same could be said for the Mavericks, they have only scored 66-goals in the WCHA so far this season. I’m going with the home team in this series. MAVERICKS SWEEP
The MacNaughton Cup will be moving to a new home, good-bye Denver, hello Grand Forks. (The Sioux clinched at least a share of it last weekend.) It doesn’t seem that the season started almost five months ago – My how time flies when you’re watching WCHA hockey.
I wonder about the future… Will Goon’s old liver survive the Final 5 in St. Paul? Will team’s still play their “natural league rival” 4 games next season? Will the refereeing improve? (Not likely) How many early departures will teams suffer over this spring? Will UND pick a new nickname?
Okay, enough daydreaming, back to what’s at hand, 10 positions will be decided this weekend, MTU locked up the 12th spot a few weeks ago, and UND locked up the top spot last weekend. The top 4 teams cannot be caught, so it is just deciding who gets what seed there. Spots 5 thru 8, that’s where the action will be. It’s possible to have a 3-way tie for 5th place after this weekend - possible, not probable. The bottom 4 teams are stuck, they cannot get home ice.
WCHA standings
TEAM……………..…....W-L-T...Pts
1. North Dakota…..….….19-6-1…39
2. Denver……..…………16-7-3…35
3. Nebraska-Omaha.…..16-8-2…34
4. Minnesota-Duluth......14-7-5…33
5. Minnesota……..…...12-10-4…28
6. Colorado College.…12-12-2…26
7. Wisconsin………..…11-12-3…25
8. St. Cloud State........10-12-4…24
9. Alaska-Anchorage…10-14-2…22
10. Bemidji State…….….8-14-4…20
10. Minnesota State…….8-14-4…20
12. Michigan Tech………2-22-2…6
WCHA (Numbers are current PairWise Rank)
#14 Colorado College @ #21 Wisconsin
Last weekend the Tigers took 3-points from the UMD Bulldogs in Colorado Springs and the Badgers were swept by the SCSU Huskies in St. Cloud.
A month ago the Badgers were a big cheese, now they’ve turned into a dried up, crusty cracker – what happened in Badger-ville? They went winless in February, going a 0-5-1. (Perhaps they were lucky - February is the shortest month.) The Tigers have just been plugging along and are 2-points ahead of the Badgers for the final home ice playoff spot. The fans in Mad-town will need to cheer hard this weekend, as they need a sweep to grab that coveted last playoff spot. It’s also quite possible these teams will be playing each other next weekend too, in the first round of the playoffs. CC has been okay on the road this year posting a 6-7-1 record away from World Arena. The Badgers have been good at the Kohl Center going 13-5-2 at home this season. This is going to be a battle, for both teams. If Wisconsin can score first and get the crowd really into it, CC could be in trouble, but if CC can score first they can take the crowd out of the game. SPLIT
#8 Nebraska-Omaha @ #11 Minnesota-Duluth
Last weekend the Mavericks split with the DU Pioneers in Omaha and the Bulldogs got 1-point from the CC Tigers in Colorado Springs.
UMD has a 4-1-0 advantage in the all time series versus UNO. The Bulldogs had a rough February, going 2-3-3 and the Mavericks went 6-2-0 last month. Both teams still have a chance to grab the number two seed in the WCHA and neither can drop lower than fourth place. If you start looking ahead at first round match-ups, UNO might be concerned about hosting the Beavers. The Bulldogs need to stop the bleeding and playing a tough UNO team isn’t going to make it easy. Both are still in good shape for making the NCAA tournament, but if UMD can’t stop the bleeding their season might end earlier than expected. UNO has scored 88-goals in league play this season and UMD has netted 85-goals. The Bulldogs are 9-4-2 at home this season, 7-1-2 at the old DECC and 2-3-2 in the new Amsoil Arena, while the Mavericks are 7-8-1 away from Omaha. UMD fans might want this series played back at the good old DECC. I’m leaning towards a split in this series, but a sweep either way wouldn’t be to shocking. SPLIT
#19 Minnesota @ Bemidji St.
Last weekend the Gophers swept the MTU Huskies in Minneapolis and the Beavers were swept by the UND Fighting Sioux in Grand Forks.
The Gophers lead the overall series with a 6-1-0 mark. The Gophers also lead the WCHA in penalty minutes this season with 412, and they are 11th in conference on penalty killing. The Beavers should know this and try to capitalize on their power play chances this weekend, since BSU is leading the WCHA power play perecentage at 21.7%. The Gophers look to lock up home ice this weekend, and can do it on Friday with a win. The Beavers can only climb as high as 8th with a sweep this weekend. Don’t expect BSU to roll over play dead, since home ice is out, coach Serratore won’t let his team do that. Do expect the Beavers to play a tough, close to the vest, style game(s) this weekend. BSU has had problems scoring goals, much like the Gophers have this season. The Gophers found some offense last weekend, but hanging a pair of 5’s on MTU is not exactly climbing Mount Everest. The Beavers need scoring from their top line and power play, if they want to get some points this weekend. I see these games as a race to three. The first team to reach three goals in the game will most likely win it. SPLIT
#2 North Dakota @ Michigan Tech
Last weekend the Sioux swept the BSU Beavers in Grand Forks and the Huskies were swept by the UM Gophers in Minneapolis.
The Sioux clinched at least a share of the MacNaughton cup last weekend and can get it out right by getting one point this weekend. I watched the Huskies and Gophers game last weekend, as well as the Sioux-Beavers. MTU isn’t as bad as their record would indicate, they just haven’t gotten any bounces. Look for the Sioux to use their team speed to cause problems this weekend at John MacInnes Arena. This will be the first of back to back weekends these teams play. Next weekend the Huskies will make the return trip to Grand Forks for the first round of the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux are 10-4-2 away from The Ralph and the Huskies are 1-10-4 at home this year. (I can see UND winning Friday and then resting players on Saturday, with nothing to gain.) SIOUX SWEEP
#19 St. Cloud St. @ #5 Denver
Last weekend the Huskies swept the UW Badgers in St. Cloud and the Pioneers split with the UNO Mavericks in Omaha.
The Huskies have been mushing their way up standings in 2011. Unfortunately their horrible first half has them sunk into a bottom half finish. They Huskies are heating up at the right time of the year and are not a team people want to see in the first round of the playoffs. The Pioneers have stumbled a bit, but are back home at Magness Arena where they are an impressive 13-3-2 overall this season. The Huskies are 5-6-1 this season away from the National Hockey Center. (They are going to update/renovate the NHC using $31M to do so, I can’t wait to see a new upgraded NHC.) The Pioneers are just about a shoe-in for the NCAA tourney, and the Huskies still have a chance too. DU has talent and is at home, so I don’t think they’ll get swept, but do they have the instinct to finish off teams? SPLIT
Alaska-Anchorage @ Minnesota State
Last weekend the Seawolves split with in-state rival, the UAF Nanooks, in a home-home series and the Mavericks were enjoying a bye weekend.
These teams met back in October in Anchorage, and MSUM won and tied UAA at Sullivan Arena. The Mavericks hold a 7-6-3 home record at Verizon Wireless Center this season and the Seawolves are a lowly 3-10-0 away from Anchorage. Both teams will be on the road next weekend, regardless of what happens in this series. The Seawolves are the second lowest scoring team in the league (only MTU is lower) netting only 54-goals. So needless to say, they want a couple of low scoring games. Same could be said for the Mavericks, they have only scored 66-goals in the WCHA so far this season. I’m going with the home team in this series. MAVERICKS SWEEP
More to Cooke than meets the skull
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| National Post Picture |
National Post ---- One of the National Hockey League’s greatest villains finds peace in a garage near the water east of Toronto. Matt Cooke has stocked it with the essential tools, sanders and saws among them, while eschewing any of the chatter that might remind him of what he does during the winter to earn his summer retreat.
“The crash of the waves is my radio,” he said.
Cooke collects antiques. His prized find is a pine cabinet, six feet long and seven feet tall, that he refinished himself after stripping off several layers of paint. There was pink, baby blue, green, white and grey.
“You could tell it came through different eras, where that colour was ‘in’ at the time,” he said. “It wasn’t the easiest thing to get back to wood, but I managed to do it.”
The cabinet is still standing, eight years after its rebirth, in the kitchen of his cottage near Belleville, Ont. It is a testament to the constructive skills of a man with legions of critics screaming about his destructive behaviour, most recently and notoriously with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Highlight reels have been dedicated solely to his apparent willingness to abandon almost all sense of human morality on the ice. Don Cherry railed against Cooke in one segment of Hockey Night in Canada last year, an animated dissertation on Cooke’s decade-long hit parade that ended with a prediction — correct, as it turned out — that without adequate protection, such violence would eventually find Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
The catalyst for Cherry’s rant was Cooke’s (unpunished) headshot on Marc Savard. The Boston Bruins forward had just released a shot on goal when Cooke slammed a shoulder into his right temple, sending him to the ice with a severe concussion and, ultimately, toward the prospect of an early retirement.
Ovechkin's sick goal in ovfertime.
Wow! If you haven't seen this awesome game winning goal by the Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin I would have to say that this is one of the better goals I have seen this season... Alexander Ovechkin now has 25 goals and 40 assists in 64 games.
Islanders hack Trevor Gillies elbows Cal Clutterbuck
You have got to be kidding me, what the hell was this worthless P.O.S. Trevor Gillies thinking about? Did he not learn anything during his last suspension? Tonight was Gillies first game back from a nine game suspension for being a total goon against the Pittsburgh Penguins and he does this despicable crap.
I know some Islander fan will make the argument that Wild forward Cal Clutterbuck hit the Islanders player Justin DiBenedetto hard from behind, maybe he did, so what? If Gillies or DiBendetto took issue with the hit then challenge Clutterbuck to a fight don’t plant his head in the boards with your elbow. I mean really, what the hell was Trevor Gillies thinking? Trevor Gillies is basically a cement head that plays 2.52 minutes a game and gets somewhere in the neighborhood of 9 shifts a game, I think this clown should get 10 game suspension for this.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Matt Frattin makes the INCH Hobey Tracker
Nice to see Matt Frattin get some recognition from the College Hockey pundits. So props to the boys at INCH for putting Frattin in their Hobey Tracker…
MATT FRATTIN
North Dakota | Sr. | Forward
To Date: 35 GP, 27-15–42
The Skinny: The Matt Frattin goal machine keeps turning on the red light and potted three more this past weekend in a sweep of Bemidji State that helped North Dakota clinch the MacNaughton Cup. Frattin is tied for second nationally with 27 goals on the year, and has been particularly hot down the stretch. He’s scored seven goals in North Dakota’s last seven games, and the Sioux are 6-0-1 in that span. Frattin is the leading scorer on one of the nation’s top teams, and among a talented group of forwards, there’s no doubt that he’s the guy you’ve got to keep the closest eye on to slow down North Dakota.
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