Goon's All WCHA Team

This is my tongue and cheek who I would like to see on the All-WCHA team(s). Why not the spoils should go to the “victors” right?

Goon's All UND Homer Team

F - Matt Frattin
F - Corbin Knight
F - Jason Gregoire
D - Ben Blood
D - Chay Genoway
G - Aaron Dell

COY Dave Hakstol
POY Matt Frattin
ROY Brock Nelson

This who I would select for first, second and third teams if I had a vote.

First Team

F - Matt Frattin, UND
F - Jack Connolly, UMD
F - Jason Zucker, DU
D - Chay Genoway, UND
D - Jake Gardiner, UW
G - Aaron Dell, UND

Second Team

F - Jaden Schwartz, C.C.
F - Mike Connolly, UMD
F - Jason Gregoire, UND
D - Matt Donovan, DU
D - Justin Schultz, UW
G - Kent Patterson, UMN

Third Team
F - Drew Shore, DU
F - Justin Fontaine, UMD
F - Corban Knight, UND
D - Eric Olimb, UNO
D - Ben Blood, UND
G - Scott Gudmandson, UW

All Rookie Team

F - Jason Zucker, DU
F - Jaden Schwartz, C.C.
F - J.T. Brown, UMD
D - Justin Faulk, UMD
D - Nick Jensen, SCSU
G - Sam Brittain, DU

POY – Matt Frattin, UND
ROY – Jason Zucker, DU
COY – Dean Blais, UNO

How about the Fans have a hand in the selection process?

While I don’t get a vote nor should I get a vote in the process. Also don’t pseudo media and fan bloggers should; none-the-less, it’s a lot of fun to pontificate about who we think should be on the All WCHA teams… There is one thing I would like to see happen, I think that college hockey fans should be able to have a hand in picking the All WCHA teams. The game of hockey is played for the fans and not just for the media. The Fans are what drive the game of hockey, that’s not to say that the media isn’t good at what they do, I am not saying that at all, however, I like how the NHL All Star teams are picked by fan voting. Why not have college hockey all star team picked that way?

Rhythm or reason?

I think it’s a mute point that Matt Frattin is the best player in the WCHA in my opinion, Frattin has been a man among boys this season. Frattin is the complete player, he plays solid defense, skates very well, he is hard to knock off the puck and hits like a freight train. If I was the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager I would be drooling with the prospects of him being in their line up in the very near future. Brian Burke can have him after the Fighting Sioux end their season in April. Having watched Frattin play all season and he is the best player that I have seen on the ice… That’s not to say that Jason Zucker, Mike Connolly and Jack Connolly aren’t good hockey players as well…. There are a lot of good players in our league; some will never get a sniff on the All WCHA teams.

I also think that if a team finishes number one in the standings that they should have the most players on the All-WCHA team. A college hockey team that finished in fourth or fifth place in the standings shouldn’t have 2/3 of their top line on the first team. Just saying… I know there is a solid argument that Kent Patterson and how he should be on the first team, in my opinion Patterson is a good goalie on a mediocre team so he is worthy of being on the second team, "'to the victor belong the spoils." One defensive player that I feel is being overlooked is Ben Blood, while Blood might only have (2-g7a-9pts) Blood is a solid defenseman and is a +28 so he is truly an elite defensive player for the Fighting Sioux.

Injuries hurt your chances of landing on the first team?

I also think that Jaden Schwartz could have been on the first team if he hadn’t missed so many games with an ankle injury, in my opinion Schwartz is still “one of the best” forwards in the WCHA. I also think the injury kept him from being the rookie of the year as well. For the defensemen Chay Genoway finished 7th in scoring by defenseman but he also missed 8 games, that being said, I do think he is definitely worthy of being on one of the three teams.

Here is how the media voted

Goal Gophers

RWD's Favorite beat writer, Schlossman UND Hockey

Puckato

Omaha World Herald

Ciskie Blog

Baggot WSJ

Eric Stromgren, Bemidji Pioneer

Mick Hatten, St. Cloud Times

Mike Chambers, Denver Post

They said what?

Here is the INCH first shift... I found this though provoking because traditionally hockey teams sitting at the top of the standing are going to score more of their goals against lesser opponents, on the flip side of that argument I believe that it’s only obvious that playes like Frattin would score less goals against the upper echelon of teams.

This question came in to our weekly chat at ESPN.com on Friday:

Ryan (Sheboygan, WI) — Do you think about strength of schedule when casting your Hobey votes? A player like Matt Frattin has all of his points against TUCs while the players from Miami have racked up points against an easier schedule.

Frattin’s performance against a strong schedule has been a popular discussion point from the North Dakota contingent, and prior to this past weekend’s series against Michigan Tech it was a correct note since all of North Dakota’s games came against Teams Under Consideration as determined by the NCAA Tournament selection criteria. Two things about that got us thinking—first, a TUC is a pretty broad category, since more than half of the nation’s teams fall under that umbrella. Second, just how good was Frattin against the truly elite teams?

We looked at three categories and here are the numbers. We’re not here to draw conclusions, just to present the data.

•Frattin against the second-to-seventh place teams in the WCHA (Denver, Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, Colorado College, Wisconsin): 15 games played, 10 points, 0.66 points per game

•Frattin against the eighth-to-12th place teams in the WCHA (Alaska Anchorage, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, Minnesota State, Michigan Tech): 15 games played, 31 points, 2.07 points per game

•Frattin against non-league teams (Alaska, Maine, Notre Dame, Robert Morris): 7 games played, 8 points, 1.14 points per game

Zdeno Chara Hits Max Pacioretty

So what do you think? Is there going to be a suspension coming for Zdeno Chara? You can bet that Colin Campbell will take a look at this hit. Chara was giving a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Chara and Pacioretty have a history as well, as Chara went after Pacioretty back in January after Pacioretty scored a goal in overtime and pushed Chara...

Mike Chambers on the BTHC...

If you haven't seen this article by Mike Chambers it's worth a look, there are some really good points in it about the impending BTHC. As some of you know I am on record as saying I am not in favor of the BTHC because I think it’s going to do some serious damage to the college hockey landscape. There are going to be some winners and losers, this blog post talks about some of the possible winners.

Another good point that I like is currently there are only one of the six Big Ten Hockey Schools in the NCAA tourney, that's if the NCAA hockey tourney started today, so the only Big Ten Hockey team currently in the NCAA hockey tourney is Michigan. That being said there is a chance there could be two teams, the Minnesota Golden Gophers have a small chance but they are going to need a lot of things to go their way to make it into the final 16 teams. I also like the Notre Dame and Miami being in the WCHA, because I think both team would be attractive options.

Mike Chambers, Denver Post --- This season’s big off-ice discussions have centered on the possible, if not probable, new Big 10 hockey conference. I’m all for it. If long-time Colorado rivals and WCHA members Wisconsin and Minnesota want to join Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and the new Penn State program and do their own thing, have at it. And we will happily do ours.

Right now, I like the look of ours. What I mean my “ours” is a hypothetical, Western-based power league consisting of DU, CC, North Dakota, Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame and Nebraska-Omaha, and maybe the other ‘Sota schools — Minnesota-Duluth, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State and Bemidji State. If it’s only a six-team loop — preferrable to guarantee home-and-away series against every league member, a key for building rivalries – I’ll take our six teams over the Big 10 boys.

Right now, our six teams are each among the top 14 in the PairWise Rankings: North Dakota (third), Denver (fifth), Nebraska-Omaha (sixth, tied), Miami (ninth), Notre Dame (10th, tied) and CC (14th, tied). How many does the proposed Big 10 have? One — Michigan (four). Minnesota, while hot lately, is a longshot to make the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin, Ohio State and Michigan State will have to win their league tournaments to get in.

Assuming CC gets in, our guys will go 6-for-6 in making The Show, while the Big 10 (or Big 5 right now) is looking at 1-of-5.

If the Big 10 was really smart, it would partner with our league and make it a 12-team super conference split into two divisions. The Big 10 division would have home-and-away series against each other, so 20 Big 10 games apiece, and also play each of our teams in one, two-game series — making it a 30-game league season (or 28 as it is now if we skip one opponent every year).

Whatever happens is fine by me, because I know “our” programs are going to like where they land. I sense that people within the proposed Big 10 conference are full of themselves about how great they are, and at the same time, I don’t like how our teams, our fans, are feeling sorry for themselves about these big schools doing their own thing. If our teams make a plan and stick together, our new league could be more exciting than what we currently have. Certainly, longtime WCHA rivals DU, CC and UND could sell far more tickets in home games against Notre Dame, Miami and Nebraska-Omaha than Michigan Tech, Alaska-Anchorage or Bemidji State. And undoubtedly, if a super conference happens, Minnesota and Wisconsin would benefit by still playing North Dakota and DU a couple times a year.

How did we do? - Inaugural Blogger Poll Standings

At the beginning of the season I participated in the Inaugural WCHA Website/Blogger Preseason Poll and here is how the vote played out.
1. North Dakota (12) 177
2. St. Cloud (2) 158
3. Duluth (1) 154
4. Denver 125
5. Minnesota 117
6. Wisconsin 113
7. Nebraska-Omaha 81
8. Colorado College 77
9. Bemidji State 73
10. Minnesota State 39
11. Michigan Tech 30
12. Alaska-Anchorage 26

WCHA Player of the Year:

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

WCHA Rookie of the Year:

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

Voters:

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

Here How I voted in the first WCHA Website/Blogger Preseason Poll
1.) UND
2.) SCSU
3.) UMD
4.) DU
5.) UW
6.) UMN
7.) UNO
8.) BSU
9.) CC
10.) MSU
11.) UAA
12.) MTU

Poy Chay Genoway-UND
ROY Jaden Schwartz-Colorado College

Here is now the league ended.
1.)UND - 43
2.)DU - 37
3.)UNO - 36
4.)UMD - 35
5.)UMN - 31
6.)C.C. - 38
7.)UW - 27
8.)SCSU - 26
9.)UAA - 26
10.)BSU - 21
11.)MSUM - 20
12.)MTU - 6

Here is what I predicted in my only attempt at the "What-If"
Team GP Pts
1. UND 28 48
2. Denver 28 42
3. UMD 28 39
4. UNO 28 34
5. UW 28 32
6. C.C. 28 29
7. UMN 28 28
8. Mankato 28 21
8. SCSU 28 21
10. AA 28 18
10. BSU 28 18
12. MTech 28 6

UND President Kelley on the Fighting Sioux Nickname.

UND President Robert Kelley who has tried to appear neutral in the past on the Fighting Sioux Logo and nickname, let his feeling be known for the media yesterday, Kelly said that he “would have urged the committee to oppose the bill. ” I don’t think any of us are all that shocked that a college professor that gradated from liberal Cal Berkley is against the Fighting Sioux nickname.

Grand Forks Herald --- UND President Robert and other officials sat through the four-hour morning session, waiting their turn, but time ran out before they and several others on both sides could testify. “We covered a lot of the same ground” as was presented before the House Education Committee, Kelley said, “and I think the chairman balanced the testimony effectively. I had a testimony, but I wanted to give our students a chance to speak. Also, I knew the board (two members of the Board of Higher Education) would testify effectively.”

Kelley said he “would have urged the committee to oppose the bill” because he’s increasingly concerned about the “uncertainty” it raises for the university as a whole.

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[March 7, 2011]
1. North Dakota (39) 26- 8-3 987 1
2. Boston College (10) 26- 7-1 953 2
3. Yale ( 1) 23- 5-1 892 3
4. Union 25- 7-4 842 4
5. Michigan 23- 9-4 784 5
6. Denver 21-10-5 709 5
7. Miami 19- 9-6 666 8
8. Notre Dame 21-10-5 620 10
9. Merrimack 22- 8-4 583 9
10. New Hampshire 19- 9-6 573 7
11. Minnesota-Duluth 20- 9-6 531 11
12. Nebraska-Omaha 21-13-2 488 12
13. Boston University 18-10-8 353 13
14. Maine 17-10-7 345 14
15. estern Michigan 16-10-10 286 15
16. Colorado College 19-16-3 221 17
17. Minnesota 16-12-6 185 19
18. Dartmouth 16-10-3 165 20
19. Wisconsin 20-14-4 164 18
20. Rensselaer 20-12-5 98 16
Others Receiving Votes: St. Cloud State 21, Ferris State 17, Cornell 10, Rochester Institute of Technology 4, Robert Morris 2, Alaska 1
_____________________

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll
[March 7, 2011]
1. University of North Dakota 503 (29)1 26- 8-3
2. Boston College 480 (5) 2 26- 7-1
3. Yale University 438 3 23- 5-1
4. Union College 394 4 25- 7-4
5. University of Michigan 374 5 23- 9-4
6. University of Denver 330 6 21-10-5
7. Miami University 286 10 19- 9-6
8. University of Notre Dame 257 9 21-10-5
9. Merrimack College 241 7 22- 8-4
10. University of New Hampshire 220 8 19- 9-6
11. University of Minnesota Duluth 179 11 20- 9-6
12. University of Nebraska Omaha 171 12 21-13-2
13. Boston University 77 13 18-10-8
14. University of Maine 58 14 17-10-7
15. Western Michigan University 24 NR 16-10-10
Others receiving votes: Colorado College 17, Dartmouth College 15, University of Minnesota 8, University of Wisconsin 4, Rensselaer 3, Rochester Institute of Technology 1.

Rangers Ryan Callahan nets 4 goals versus Flyers

Nice to see the American boy and Rangers forward Ryan Callahan getting four goals against the Philadelphia Flyers yesterday. Callahan single handily destroyed Eastern Conference Leaders the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0.

If the deal in the desert dies, reincarnation in Winnipeg won't be overnight

I have been following the Coyotes story in Phoenix and seeing how it’s playing out and I have to feel just a little bit hopeful that eventually either the Coyotes or the Thrasher are going to end up relocating in the city of Winnipeg, hopefully sooner rather than later… That being said it’s not going to happen overnight but eventually.

Winnipeg Free Press --- There will not be any announcement at Portage and Main this week to reveal news that the NHL is returning to Winnipeg.

If you're hoping for that — stop. You'll only be disappointed.

There is, however, a chance that the NHL will determine it has exhausted all avenues to keep the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona and begin to look at other options.

Winnipeg, we have come to understand, is at the top of the list of those options. But even if NHL commissioner Gary Bettman picks up the phone and tells True North's Mark Chipman it's time to start talking about a potential purchase of the franchise for relocation -- there will still be the matter of a sale agreement to hash out as well as a blessing from the NHL's board of governors.

That's a lot of steps, so cool your, uh... sorry, jets.

Reports are swirling north and south of the border that the NHL is on the verge of either closing this sale or calling it dead.

Any announcement, if one is to come at all as a result of a collapsed sale of the Coyotes to Matthew Hulsizer, would be weeks or months away.

There's a process that would need to be executed and it requires work and time and lawyers and money.

Chipman's True North Sports and Entertainment has all of the above, but the machine has to be put into action before it can spit out an NHL franchise for the city of Winnipeg and we're unsure if it's even turned on or perhaps quietly idling.

Bettman remains tied to Phoenix at this point as the Coyotes are an official franchise of the NHL and he'll be looking behind every cactus for an answer that keeps the team in Glendale's Jobing.com Arena. He's been doing that for more than two years, so don't expect him to suddenly quit.

Bettman, it should be noted, is quite resourceful when it comes to digging up monied folks willing to invest in shaky sports franchises. So don't count him or this bizarre sale agreement in Glendale out.

The commish is still swinging and he can land an unexpected jab at any moment.

Why is Bettman working so hard to save this clunker? That's a question that's being asked all over the province and likely this country.

For starters, just because many of us are convinced a return of the NHL will work in Winnipeg, there are many others who don't believe. CBC's resident genius Mike Milbury ran off at the mouth on Saturday night suggesting Winnipeg, "will need a sugar daddy willing to lose $20 million a season."

Milbury was quickly shut down by ESPN's Pierre LeBrun and host Ron McLean, who apparently have done more homework on the subject, but the reality is many NHL types are still skeptics when it comes to Winnipeg.

INCH Power Rankings - Sioux remain number 1

For another Week UND is at the top of the INCH Power Rankings...
INCH Power Rankings
March 6th, 2011
1. North Dakota - Jason Gregoire extended his point streak to 12 games with four goals and two assists in the Fighting Sioux’s weekend sweep of Michigan Tech. The junior forward has 14 goals and nine assists in his last dozen matches. 26-8-3 (21-6-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 6-1; W at Michigan Tech, 11-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech (WCHA First-Round Series)...
2. Boston College
3. Union
4. Yale
5. Miami
6. Michigan
7. Merrimack
8. New Hampshire
9. Denver
10. Notre Dame
11. Minnesota Duluth
12. Nebraska-Omaha
13. Boston University
14. Western Michigan
15. Minnesota
16. Maine
17. Wisconsin
18. Colorado College
19. Dartmouth
20. RIT
Dropped out: Rensselaer
Bubble-licious: Air Force, Cornell, St. Cloud State

Goon's on KNOX 1310 Monday from 4:00 – 5:00 PM Monday

Listen to the Goon live at 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm on KNOX 1310 AM on Monday March 7th, 2011. R.J. and I will be talking about WCHA hockey... R.J. and I will also talk about the WCHA playoffs, the Fighting Sioux's upcoming playoff series against MTU and who I think should be on the All WCHA ballot…. If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this address. [Click to Listen]

Call in 701-775-5559, 1-866-KNOX-1310, email: Live@KNOXRADIO.com

Where are they now - Corey Fienhage

s/t to Sabres Prospect and Kris Baker. Check out this fight between Mitch Maxwell vs former Fighting Sioux defenseman Corey Fienhage who now plays for Kamloops Blazers of the WHL...

Corey Fienhage finished -1 with his fourth fighting major of the season as Kamloops lost to Lethbridge, 4-1. The 6'4 "Moose" Fienhage dished out a clean hit along the boards early in the third period and was asked to tangle with a Mitch Maxwell. Earlier in the game, Fienhage ended Hurricane forward Philip Tot's night with another clean, hard hit.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.