Board of Higher Education/NCAA Locking Out Native Americans When Discussing Sioux Nickname

Cross posted from Say Anything Blog.

Of course they've never cared what the actual Sioux Tribal Members thought about the name.

Grant Shaft, a Grand Forks attorney and vice president of the State Board of Higher Education, said that Gov. Jack Dalrymple, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem and leaders of the North Dakota House and Senate have been invited to the face-to-face meeting.

Also invited: Board President Jon Backes, UND President Robert Kelley and Athletic Director Brian Faison.

Shaft said that NCAA President Mark Emmert and Bernard Franklin, a longtime NCAA vice president and head of its governance committee, have agreed to attend the meeting. Additional NCAA officials may also participate.

It will be a closed meeting, Shaft said, adding that Stenehjem and Pat Seaworth, the board’s attorney, have indicated that the assemblage as anticipated “would not require” that it be open under North Dakota’s open meetings law.

Of course the public is going to be excluded as well.

Our current egregious settlement was negotiated in secret by Attorney General (included in the meeting) and the NCAA (included in the meeting.) The settlement was then approved in secret by the Board of Higher Education (included in the meeting).

The settlement with the NCAA was egregious because it had an unprecedented requirement that not one but two tribes approve the use of the Sioux name. One can only conclude that these secret meetings were about getting rid of the name and having the blame fall upon the Indians.

And now the same people, the NCAA and the Board of Higher Education are getting together to make decisions on what is respectful to the Indians by treating the Sioux Tribal Members with disrespect. I'm reminded of the attitude of the 1800's where the government said they knew what's best for the Indians so they should control all of their assets. Now I don't believe in apologizing for things done in the past by people to people that are all long dead. But I don't condone that same attitude by people working for us in 2011.

This Board of Higher Education should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt that they have that much decency.

They sure didn't show any decency when they made this deal with the NCAA and then never made an attempt to keep the name. Grant Shaft, pictured supposedly led the effort to keep the name. He waited a full year to actually do anything. He disbanded his committee after one meeting because the Spirit Lake Tribe was moving towards having a vote on the issue. He then used the trumped up issue of Summit league membership to push through a shortened deadline in order to thwart the will of the people across the state including the Sioux people.

Having these same people represent us in negotiations with the NCAA is a travesty.

Aaron Ward on the UND and Michigan matchup

Former Boston Bruin and Michigan Wolverine player Aaron Ward was asked about this week’s up coming series with the Sioux and Wolverines. Sounds a little like sand bagging. I also doubt that the Sioux or the Wolverines are looking past each other.

George Gwozdecky interview with Chris Botta

Wow, some good stuff in this interview. For Sioux fans at the 1126 mark of the interview George Gwozdecky talks about playing in the REA and the game where he was thrown out after his dance on the dasher. George Gwozdecky on the game he was thrown out in, 'REA is a tough game to play in and officiate in and the officials were being intimidated by the crowd.'

Terry Frei on the Matt Donovan signing.

I saw this newspaper article when perusing the Lets Go DU Blog and the Denver Post beat writer brings up some valid points. The first question that comes to mind is what is the rush to get these players into the AHL? It's not like they're throwing millions of dollars at these kids. As a Sioux fan you have to worry because forward Jason Gregoire is also part of the Islanders system as well and he had a bigger impact on his team than Donovan… As an NHL fan I have never been a fan of Garth Snow and this antics anyways, I always that thought he had a hair trigger guy but was also a cheater because he wore over sized pad and looked like the Marshmellow Staypuft Man.

Islanders D Matt Donovan

Donovan had just finished his sophomore season with the University of Denver Pioneers last week when he signed an entry-level deal and reported to the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Officially, he'll be playing the stretch run of this season under an Amateur Tryout deal before the entry-level contract kicks in next season. That delays until fall the start of the clock on his progress toward such things as restricted free agency and gets him a few games under his belt for the Tigers, who aren't going to make the playoffs.

Donovan was a fourth-round Islanders choice in 2008, and if and when he makes it to the NHL, it will be historic: As it stands now, he would be the first player in the league who was born and raised in Oklahoma.

High-powered NCAA programs bill themselves as vehicles to reach the NHL and accept early signings as part of the process. But Donovan would have been better off to play through his junior season at DU before signing. That's what Matt Carle, a more highly regarded defenseman at the time and the winner of the Hobey Baker Award, did before signing with San Jose in 2006 and jumping straight to the Sharks.

Although Islanders GM Garth Snow is a product of NCAA hockey himself — he had a full four-season career at Maine as a goaltender — his regime has been impatient at times about the development of their prospects at the college level. This isn't some guy who was raised in Moose Jaw, came up through major junior himself and is conditioned to completely buy into the argument that the pro-style schedule and rules of major junior are better for NHL prospects.

You have to wonder if Garth Snow has forgotten his roots, he was a college guy and he didn’t grow up playing hockey in the CHL so he has to know the benefits of staying in college playing against stronger older players.  

Mike Ribeiro hit on Michal Handzus

Check out this hit by Mike Ribeiro on Michal Handzus? Was it a shoulder to shoulder hit or was it a hit to the head? What do you think? I think It looks like Ribeiro hits Handzus shoulder to shoulder but follows through with the elbow and catches Handzus in the head... I think it's funny how the refs rescue Ribeiro before any of the Kings players can get their hands on him.

Michigan Hockey lockeroom and press conference...

If you haven't seen it, here's our team's opponent this week. Michigan Press conference click to view. Hopefully on Thursday night, I want to see a season ending press conference from Red and his team.

Sunday Links

I have to admit that It’s been tough waiting for this Thursday’s Frozen Four, the suspense is killing me. There has been a lot of stuff going on this week and I thought I would get you up to date if you haven’t seen the links and stories out there for this week’s upcoming Frozen Four.

The Fighting Sioux hockey team has been cleaning up in the individual awards.

Aaron Dell was awarded the INCH Goaltender of the Year and Matt Frattin was awarded the College Hockey News Player of the year.

Chay Genoway was on the Minnesota Wild Hockey Radio click here to listen to the podcast. [click to listen]

Julie Robenhymer of Hockey Buzz has a feature on Matt Frattin.



The New York Times has an awesome article about Matt Frattin. On New Path, Leading to Frozen Four... [click to view]

That was what Gilberto Frattin has been hoping to hear since those discussions in the family kitchen.

“I’m a little bit of an old-fashioned type of guy,” he said. “I believe that if you don’t bury your skeletons, they come back to haunt you.

“He made all of the right choices. I’d never take any credit for that. We just gave him support.”

From USCHO and my favorite pseudo reporter PCM; For North Dakota’s Goehring, it’s back to school — this time as teacher [click to view]

Miami Redhawk and Hobey Baker Hat Trick Finalist Andy Miele has signed a professional contract with the Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes. [click to view]

Does anyone see anything wrong with this paragraph?

The Wolverines must beat the team that eliminated them from the Frozen Four in 2007. Michigan suffered a 5-4 overtime loss to the Fighting Sioux that season and the teams have not met since then.

The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux beat the Michigan Wolverines 8-5 in the Denver Regional. [box score]

Allen York the goalie for RPI that the Sioux beat last Saturday afternoon has signed a professional contract with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL and won two games this week. [Parting Schotts]

Roman Augustoviz from the Star Tribune has a great article about Matt Frattin; Tough love puts UND's Frattin on right path... [Click to view]

Virg Foss, the former beat writer for the Grand Forks Herald has a nice article in today's paper... Time will tell about this Sioux team [Grand Forks Herald]

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux Notes: UND, Michigan tangle in Frozen Four semis [fightingsioux.com]

Some news about our Thursday night opponents the Michigan Ugly Helmets; Former walk-on goalie Shawn Hunwick leads Michigan back to Frozen Four [Detroit Free Press]

Here is a break down of the University of Michigan's Frozen Four history [Detroit Free Press]

2nd Annual Robbie Earl Memorial Diver of the Year Award - Frozen Water Division (Redwing77)

A Year in Review

This year is a relatively "down" year in terms of the field. The committee didn't really have any solid choices to fill a top 10. In fact, when considering writing the final run down to the winner of this prestigious award, we couldn't even put up a field of 3. So, what the heck, we're just going to go with the two contestants we have: Jacob Cepis (Sr. Forward - U Minnesota) and Defending 2010 winner Garrett Roe (Sr. Forward - SCSU).

The Challenger

Jacob Cepis, a native of Parma, Ohio came to the Twin Cities from 1.5 impressive years with Bowling Green State University of the CCHA. Well, maybe impressive is relative in this case because BGSU had only one decent player: Cepis. After 18 games and an "impressive" 5 points and 14 PIM, he decided to take his talents to the Twin Cities. Some say his talents were as a sniping, scoring forward citing his stellar rookie year with BGSU on a less than stellar team. Some say it is his showmanship. Well, he certainly opened eyes with the University of Minnesota. He was almost scoring at will, thanks to his ability to score when there wasn't enough players on the opposition to rub him out of the play. It is wondered whether or not he learned at BGSU or at Minnesota when you feel the need to score, wait for a opposing player to skate by you and then fall like you've been shot. In his first half season with Minnesota, he really burst onto this scene flopping all over the place. He nearly overtook Garrett Roe for the inaugural award. Some say it was because it was only because he played 21 of Minnesota's 39 games that season.

Some say his antics mimic the namesake of this award and therefore makes him most deserving. He brings more than merely diving and feigning injury. He has a feisty side to him as well, such as slashing opposing players when they are otherwise caught up and unable to defend themselves. He's always willing to jump into the fray provided that there is minimal chance of retaliation.

Many, including Goon consider Cepis to unseat Garrett Roe for this year's award.

The Defending Champion

Garrett Roe has had an impressive resume of being able to fool WCHA refs, sometimes at will, by flopping to the ice and feigning illegal contact having been received. He tenacity in this regard, opening up his teammate Ryan Lasch for his career season in St. Cloud made him the lock in 2010 for the inaugural award. He even had the reputation to feign serious injury and then be right back out on the ice during the powerplay.

This season, however, Lasch had graduated and Roe found himself in a different role. He was no longer the Robin to Lasch's Batman. His number of dives went down and some even argue that his ability to fool the refs diminished as well. When asked, sources cite the playoffs even last season, where Roe got called for Diving, something WCHA refs are among the most reluctant officials to call (probably because they don't know the difference between diving and a legit call). Such a setback probably left him a bit down in the race to start off his senior season.

Still, you don't win the award and then change completely overnight. He has certainly earned his place on this list once again.

The Winner is....

After much debate and asking around, we have to give the nod to...

Jacob Cepis, Senior Forward from the Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota.

It was hard to give the award to someone other than Garrett Roe. He did such a great job and Cepis seems to be playing the role of "Johnny Come Lately," but you can't argue that Cepis just had more to prove in this category than Roe. Roe used to be the fall guy to Lasch. Cepis came in with the name on the back being just as important as the name on the front of his jersey. Roe's ability comes from the confidence that, by acting in this unethical fashion, you can get the advantage for your teammates. It was a flaw that Cepis doesn't have.

Congrats to Jacob Cepis. You'll be missed by Gopher fans everywhere but will inevitably fade into obscurity just like everyone else who wins this award.

David Backes get his 100th NHL goal.

Congrats to former MSU-M Maverick David Backes on getting his 100th career goal. Watching the goal it looked like who's who of college hockey alums, David Backes MSU, T.J. Oshie UND and Kevin Shattenkirk from BU.

Players not down with Winnipeg?

Illegal Curve Picture

So are the Winnipeg Jets fans really worried what some mediocre third line player at twilight of their hockey career a la Eric Belanger has to say about the city of Winnipeg? I hardly think so, the fact remains is that the NHL is drawing poorly in the desert and I can’t fore see crowds this putrid in Winnipeg. What do you think?

Toronto Sun --- While talk of possibly moving the Phoenix Coyotes to Winnipeg is getting most hockey fans excited, especially those in Winnipeg, Coyotes forward Eric Belanger is among the minority that are not thrilled with the idea.

While this is just the latest turn in the ongoing saga surrounding his team, Belanger isn't about to ignore the issue and hope it blows over.

He knows that the Coyotes' days in the dessert are likely numbered, but Belanger, who rarely minces words, doesn't see Winnipeg as a dream destination.

“The guys have been talking about it a bit more every day, and the one sure thing is that we want to play in Phoenix and not in Winnipeg,” said Belanger. “Personally, and I won't name any names, but I've chatted with guys that have played (in Winnipeg) and don't want to go back. There are reasons why hockey wasn't working in Winnipeg at the end, I don't see how that would have changed.”

Belanger, who has also played for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild and Washington Capitals says he has nothing against the Winnipeg hockey fans that are desperate to see a team back in their city.

“There are good fans there, but Winnipeg is still Winnipeg,” Belanger said. “In January and February, I doubt that my family would follow me out there for a holiday.”

Character issue, a simple search on Google would have concluded other wise.

I was surfing the net tonight and perusing Twitter tonight when I came across Elliot Olshansky’s latest Hobey Watch blog post. I am not here to pick on Elliot I like his work for the most part but a simple search on Google.com would have refuted his claim. None of this season’s Hobey Hat Trick is squeaky clean and I have come to the conclusion that all of this years Hobey Baker Hat Trick Candidates are flawed, such is life…

Hobey Watch, USCHO.COM --- Neither Cam Atkinson or Andy Miele has ever had a disciplinary issue during three or more years of college hockey. If we’re comparing these players to one another in terms of how they fit into the various Hobey criteria, then I have to say that both Atkinson and Miele have a leg up on Frattin in the character department. It’s all well and good to learn from your mistakes, but that doesn’t put you on equal footing with people who never made those mistakes in the first place.

I mean seriously we all know what Matt Frattin did... All you have to do is look it up on google.com and you will see the lawn Mower throwing inicident, after he was arrested for DUI in Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 Frattin was dismissed from the Fighting Sioux hockey team.

Andy Miele had his own issues as well and he had to work on an academic issue to get into Miami.

“It was an academic issue that we needed to clear up,” Miami coach Enrico Blasi said. “Once the NCAA gave us the go-ahead, we brought him in in January. We thought he could help us make a run, which he did, and he knew he’d sacrifice a year on the back end, but it was well worth having him come in early.”

Miele made an immediate impact with the RedHawks, posting six goals and eight assists in 18 games in his shortened freshman season.

B.C. Eagle Cam Atkinson isn't squeaky clean either some might say that he had some anger management issues to work on earlier in his college career.

ASSAULT
Thomas Atkinson, 50, and his two sons Cam Atkinson, 19, and Tommy Atkinson, 20, were arrested Aug. 19 and charged with breach of peace. According to police, the senior Atkinson was driving and attempting to make a left-hand turn from Sheephill Road onto East Putnam Avenue when he was cut off by three teens on bicycles. Atkinson reportedly began exchanging profanities with one of the teens as they all rode onto East Putnam Avenue. When they all reached the McDonald’s parking lot in Riverside, Atkinson reportedly contacted his sons, Cam and Tommy, and they responded to the scene to confront the teens. The two younger Atkinsons allegedly began kicking and punching the boy who had gotten into the argument with their father, injuring the boy’s forehead. Cam and Tommy Atkinson were also charged with third degree assault. The men were released on promises to appear and are due in court Aug. 27.

Spirit Lake Member not invited to April 22nd Meeting.



According to the Grand Forks Herald, ND State and UND officials will meet with the president Mark Emmert of the NCAA on April 22 in Bismarck at site to be determined whether the athletics association is open to revising its position regarding the Fighting Sioux nickname and Indian-head logo. The Spirit Lake tribe has not been invited to this meeting, this is unacceptable in my opinion, I want the NCAA to tell the Spirit Lake Member that supported UND’s use of the Fighting Sioux logo by a 67% margin tell them that the Fighting Sioux Logo is hostile and abusive.

Tribes not invited, but maybe later

When the law was passed, NCAA officials said the policy on usage of American Indian names and imagery stands and the North Dakota law was a “state matter,” and they declined further comment. But many nickname champions have suggested that the NCAA may be willing to reevaluate UND’s status in light of the legislative action, the Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe’s endorsement and evidence of strong support for the nickname among some of the people at Standing Rock.

After Shaft said on Wednesday that he was trying to arrange a meeting with the NCAA and the state and UND officials, several nickname supporters asked why representatives of Spirit Lake and Standing Rock would not be included.

“Until we have these initial contacts and learn where the NCAA stands now, what opportunities there may be for something different, this is not the time to have the tribes at the table,” Shaft said today. “But if there does appear to be room to work with the NCAA, then we will engage the tribes in the talks.”

Lucic works Rosehill

Jay Rosehill vs Milan Lucic, that was a good fight between two heavy weights, Lucic makes a statement that you can't just take gratuitous hacks at the Bruins players without having to answer the bell. Some pundits would say that you don't want your top goal scorer fighting because if Milan Lucic (30g-30a-60pts) breaks a hand he will be on the shelf for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but Lucic has been known for his epic fights in the past.

Despite nickname dispute, NCAA sells Sioux merchandise in online store

But of course they will… So; I want to make sure that I am getting this right, the Fighting Sioux logo is considered to be hostile and abusive by the NCAA, but they are still going to sell jerseys and merchandise with the Fighting Sioux logo anyways. So they are putting dollars signs above principle? I wonder if the NCAA feels dirty for doing this? No I can’t see how anyone would consider that to be hypocritical…

FARGO – Forgive fans of the University of North Dakota if they’re feeling short-changed by the NCAA these days.

With the UND men’s hockey team playing in next week’s Frozen Four, the NCAA’s online store is selling Fighting Sioux apparel. The decision has some wondering how the NCAA can promote selling the apparel yet reached a settlement with the university to retire the logo and nickname.

The NCAA determined the logo and nickname to be offensive to Native Americans.
“According to the NCAA, they feel the Sioux nickname is hostile and abusive,” said 28-year-old Grand Forks resident Jake Bondy, “So why would they sell hostile and abusive gear? It would be like me selling Fords and telling people how bad Chevys are and then I went out and bought a brand new Chevy.”

The NCAA, college athletics’ governing body, and UND have had a long-standing battle over the nickname and logo. The end result was that UND and the NCAA agreed to retire the nickname and logo on Aug. 15.

“The university is authorized as part of the court settlement agreement until the deadline, which includes the use of that logo as part of the championship product,” Christianson wrote.

When asked if the NCAA was hypocritical for selling Fighting Sioux apparel on its Web site, Christianson wrote, “It is not hypocritical – it is part of the settlement.”

A phone call was made to North Dakota’s athletic department seeking comment from athletic director Brian Faison, who was not available.

Spirit Lake Sioux Tribe Hoping to Give Input to NCAA

I have to agree with Tony Delorme, why not let the Spirit Lake Sioux have a seat at the table? If my memory serves me right, Spirit Lake had a vote that was 67% in favor of the Fighting Sioux name? I think it would be interesting to see Members from the Spirit Lake Sioux at the meeting and tell representatives from the NCAA that they are in favor of the Fighting Sioux nickname and they don’t think it’s hostile and abusive. I would also love to be at the table and see what the NCAA members reaction would be.

WDAZ.COM --- Some Spirit Lake tribal members are wondering what their role will be in the latest UND Fighting Sioux Nickname development.

The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education is hoping to set up meetings with the NCAA on legislative developments regarding the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo.

Representatives from the tribe say they feel a little disrespected that they have not been asked to be involved with the NCAA.

The tribe did take a vote on keeping the Fighting Sioux Nickname and Logo and it did pass.

Tony Delorme with the Spirit Lake Nation says there were mixed feelings after the vote from the Senate came in, but the tribes and the state are coming together for something they believe in and the tribes could make a difference with the NCAA.

Blues forward T.J. Oshie to donate both pay checks to charities.



picture by zimbo.com

 I think it’s a nice touch for a hockey player that has had a rough week. Seriously, I don’t know why T.J. Oshie missed practice nor do I really care. Oshie made a mistake and paid for it by missing two games due to a suspension, manning up to his mistake he donated the money he was supposed to make to a St. Louis Blues Charity.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- T.J. Oshie ended a two-game suspension Thursday, apologizing to his St. Louis Blues teammates, the organization and its fans for missing a practice.

Oshie was back on the ice at the team's practice facility after being disciplined by the team for missing a workout Monday in what the Blues called an unexcused absence.

"I was irresponsible. I made a mistake," Oshie said in his first public comments. "I realize that. It was my full responsibility to get here (on Monday) and get here on time."

The 24-year-old center met with Blues general manager Doug Armstrong, coach Davis Payne and his teammates Thursday morning, and will be in the lineup when the Blues host the Calgary Flames on Friday night.

"The toughest thing for me was sitting at home and watching my teammates play a game," said Oshie, who also missed 31 games this season with a broken ankle. "... This morning was the first time I've seen them and I had a smile on my face. From here on out, I'm trying to move forward."

Oshie missed Tuesday's 3-2 shootout loss at home against Minnesota and Wednesday night's 10-3 victory in Detroit.

"We're very comfortable that (Oshie) understands the severity of missing practice," Armstrong said. "He accepts his two-game absence from the team. We've moved on and T.J.'s ready to move on and we'll have him back in the lineup tomorrow.

Oshie was paid for the two games he missed, but he has decided to donate both checks, one to the Blues' 14 Fund and the other to Dream Factory of St. Louis, a pair of charities run by the franchise.

"I want to let people know I did get paid for the two games that I missed," Oshie said. "I don't think that that's right."

John Scott, I will kick the bleep out of him...

CBS Chicago Image

Ah yes; the former MTU Huskies defenseman and former Wild pylon John Scott, the guy that is only redeeming quality is that he is really good at beating the crap out of someone, this is the same defenseman that has virtually no foot speed what-so-ever that ends up being a healthy scratch more times than not against the quicker teams in the NHL. Here at Goon's World we also know him as Mr. Anger Management, the former MTU Husky that threatened to beat the crap out of someone who accused him of running into their car, which he did. A real class act. Just for the record Scott has played so well this season that he hasn't been in the Blackhawks lineup since 3/20/2011.  s/t Rosies Hockey.

chicagobreakingsports.com --- Shawn Thornton received around 40 stitches above his eye Tuesday, accused the Chicago Blackhawks of razzing him from the bench and labeled the Hawks a team that will "chirp a lot," then reiterated Thursday on Boston radio that he and his Boston Bruins squad have a long memory.

Apparently, them's fighting words.

"He said that? That's fine. He can say what he wants," Hawks enforcer John Scott said Thursday of Thornton's team-of-chirpers assessment. "He's going after some of our littlest guys on our team to start a fight. He's trying to challenge (Fernando) Pisani to a fight. What's that say about him?

"He's Mr. Tough Guy and he's trying to challenge Pisani. If I'm in the lineup, he's more than welcome to come chirp at me. I'll kick the (bleep) out of him."

Early departures - the "silly season" is upon us

You can keep up with all of the early departures here. Here is one of the bigger early departures, Merrimack College lost their top sophomore forward Stephane Da Coasta as he he will forego his final two seasons of eligibility and signed a entry level deal with the hapless last place Ottawa Senators.

Warrior Rink Rat --- Merrimack sophomore Stephane Da Costa will forego his final two years of NCAA eligibility after signing a contract with the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, according to multiple sources.

The Parisian-born center scored 90 points in 67 games with Merrimack College from 2009-11.

Da Costa will become the first Merrimack player since Matt Foy in 2007-08 to play in the NHL.

Da Costa is expected to make his NHL debut on Saturday (7 p.m.) against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Ottawa.

The Denver Pioneers got some bad news of their own as they were informed that Sophomore defenseman Matt Donovan has signed an entry level deal with the New York Islanders.

NHL.COM ---- On Wednesday morning, the New York Islanders signed yet another one of their 2008 draft selections to an entry-level contract. Matt Donovan, who spent the last two seasons defending the blue-line at the University of Denver, inked his deal.

“I’m very, very excited,” Donovan said when reached by phone. “I hope that I can play the same game that I’ve played my whole life, continue to play solid defensively and hopefully contribute offensively as well.”

While his entry-level deal will not kick in until the 2011-12 season, Donovan will report to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers immediately, where he will play the remainder of the 2010-11 season with the Islanders American Hockey League affiliate on an Amateur Tryout Contract.

“Starting now will just help me get my feet wet in my professional hockey career,” Donovan said. “It will help me figure out where I am and where need to be (talent and endurance wise), which will really help me figure out how hard I need to work this summer to make it to the Island.”

Alexandria Blizzard win the Central division of the NAHL

The Alexandria Blizzard won the Central Division of the NAHL this past weekend and on the team from Alexandria are a few local players,  from Grand Forks, ND  -  Casey Purpur and Paul LaDue, from West Fargo, ND Tyler Swanson. Also, on the team from Williston, ND Jordan Nelson and Adam Knocknemus from Roseau, MN.

Calgary’s Matt Stajan scores, or does he? No goal...

I was watching this game last night and I thought from what I could see that puck appeared to be laying on Emery's inside the net, this should have been a goal in my opinion, I think the video review booth in this case blew it. I like the idea of having a chip in the puck then you would know for sure if the puck was in the net for not.

Globe and Mail --- The first blow was the goal that wasn’t. The Flames crowded Anaheim goalie Ray Emery and swiped away at the puck then began celebrating as if they had scored. Replays showed the puck was somewhere in Emery’s possession as he fell backwards into his net. Ducks’ captain Ryan Getzlaf reached in and pulled the puck away then, when asked about his handiwork during a second-period intermission, said he did nothing of the sort. “Wasn’t me,” he protested.

After a six-minute delay, referee Gord Dwyer announced the puck didn’t completely cross the line. Flames’ fans quickly let their inner most feelings known.

“I’m telling you it was in. That’s all I can say,” said Calgary’s Matt Stajan, who was in on the action. “It’s too bad they got it wrong. We can’t blame the season on that. but it was a big momentum change.”

“Everybody was scrambling,” Getzlaf said afterwards. “They did a great job taking as long as they could to get (the call) right.”