On the Sioux; They’re one of those teams who don’t recruit, they reload

Check out what Chris Petters from United States of Hockey had to say about the Fighting Sioux after they lost in Thursday's semi final.

Eulogizing the Fallen

North Dakota

North Dakota played a great game. They just didn’t score. Can’t win if you don’t score goals. (How do you like that analysis?) To be honest, it felt like, for much of the third period, there was literally nothing the Sioux could do that would have helped them win. Hunwick was just too good. It just looked like fate was not on North Dakota’s side.

The Sioux had a very good team this year and it’s a shame for their senior class, that stayed together through thick and thin, won’t have a shot at the title. They were sure they’d win and it didn’t work out. That’s a tough pill to swallow.

Bright side for Sioux Fans: North Dakota has one of the top recruiting classes in the country for 2011-12. The Sioux have two really exciting players to watch in Rocco Grimaldi and J.T. Miller coming to Grand Forks. They’re one of those teams who don’t recruit, they reload.

Let's grab some reality...

Press Enterprise

In case you have seen it, check out this post on Sioux Sports.

You must also be a Minnesota Twins fan. Consistently able to get to the playoffs, but just as consistent losing when they get there.

Another thing people should look at is Hakstol has made all these Frozen Fours, but he has only made the title game once. That shows a consistent pattern of (cough cough) not being able to win the big one.

Hakstol = Doug Woog with hair

Here is my response to a poster over on Sioux Sports, I refer to these people as the Debbie Downers or Negative Nellie’s of the World...I have no idea who this person is or do I have any thing against said person. Could be my next door neighbor for all that I know.

So you would rather have Scott Sandelin coach the Sioux than Dave Hakstol? First off Sandy isn’t ever coming back, the word on the street is that his wife hated it here in Grand Forks, ND, I have heard this numerous times so I tend to believe this.

We could start comparing numbers of the two coaches and if Sandy's team doesn't win the NCAA championship I would say that Coach Hakstol is still quite a bit better coach than Scott Sandelin, one could probably still make the argument even if his team wins it all tonight. Let’s not forget that disgruntled UMD fans were calling for this same coach’s head on a silver platter just a short time ago. There were people that wanted to run him out of town on a rail

It amazes me that the Dave Hakstol haters come on here and the minute his team loses a big game and demand that coach Hakstol fired...What is the University go to fire him for? The Fighting Sioux almost won the Triple Crown of College Hockey; they basically were on game short. There is no just cause to fire Coach Hakstol what-so-ever. The haters got all of the answers. Ok hey Hakstol haters, I have a suggestion for you; if you want Hakstol to be fired, I suggest you step up to the plate and open your wallet and buy out Hakstol’s contract, do you have 500,000.00 to a couple of million sitting around in your check book to buy him out? Unless the Fighting Sioux have a string of losing seasons and or a major ethical or criminal scandal with the program the head coach isn’t going anywhere unless; the professional ranks come calling, which is possible.

My next question is; who the hell do you want to coach this team? I would be willing to wager that no matter who was coaching this team Thursday night would have had the same result in the end. Do you think that Blais would have an answer for the way the Wolverines played? Coaches don’t put on skates and score goals and or make body checks. The Wolverines are coached by a 71 year old future college hockey hall of fame coach and his team beat the Sioux at their own game. We really need to give credit where credit is due; that was a hell of a good job exploiting all of the Fighting Sioux tendencies. If any thing we might need to applaud Red who has been coaching probably longer than many in the business have been alive.

Hey let the debate begin...

DU's Joe Colborne and UND's Matt Frattin to make Leaf debuts

If you live in Grand Forks, ND or have Midco Net in this area you can watch Matt Frattin play on channel 16 CBC tonight, so Fighting Sioux fans if you don't want to watch/stomach the Frozen Four check out Fratts as he makes is professional debut versus the Montreal Canadiens or "Les Habitants". According to Pension Plan Puppets Matt Frattin, will play on a line with Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadr. We might get a look into the Maple Leaf's future tonight's line up additions.

The Star ---- Joe Colborne — the 21-year-old prospect the Leafs got from Boston in the Tomas Kaberle trade — will make his NHL debut on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

So will Matt Frattin, the 23-year-old NCAA forward who signed a two-year entry level contract Friday night. Frattin, a finalist for U.S.

college player of the year — losing to Miami (Ohio) forward Andy Miele, despite leading NCAA scorers with 36 goals — was picked 99th overall by the Leafs in 2007.

Former Herald beat writer sums it up well.

I always loved Virg Foss’ work while he was a beat writer for the Fighting Sioux Hockey team and this article sums it up well. I think most of us are still in a state of shock.

Grand Forks Herald --- And so it stings and it will for a long while. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.

But remember this. The pain we feel as fans is nothing compared to what is felt by the players, coaches and staff. They formed a championship-caliber team, but couldn’t win the big one on the biggest of stages.

No matter how flowery the words of praise we heap on this team for remarkable and memorable achievements, the players, more than the fans, will never forget how this season ended.

It ended in shock, disbelief, great sadness and extreme hurt. And there re no words any of us can write or say to make that go away soon, if ever.

Miele wins 2011 Hobey Baker Award

Fox News Photo

Congrats to Miami forward Andy Miele for winning the Hobey Baker Memorial Award this afternoon. While I and other Sioux fans are probably a little disappointed with UND Fighting Sioux forward Matt Frattin not being selected for the award, Andy Miele is a very deserving candidate as well.

St. Paul, MN (Sports Network) - The Hobey Baker Memorial Award Executive Committee announced Friday that Miami-Ohio RedHawks forward Andy Miele was named the 31st winner of college hockey's most prestigious individual honor.

Named after a legendary Princeton hockey player who died in World War I, the award recognizes strength of character in players both on and off the ice.

During his senior season, Miele led all of college hockey with 71 points (24G, 47A) in just 39 games. He also took home the CCHA scoring crown after posting 56 points (16 goals, 40 assists) in 28 contests. His 40 assists were more than any other player had points, which was a first in league history.

Season over, time to move forward. Putting it all into perspective...

There has been a lot of scuttle butt on the blogs and message boards about how UND not winning the NCAA title makes this season a bust or a lost season. I saw where some troll put that UND just finished one of the biggest choke jobs of all time. This is probably a fan of a team that hasn’t played in almost a month already, this is the same team that’s fan base is hoping their schools athletic director fires head hockey coach. But I digress.

I do think it’s disappointing that the Fighting Sioux didn’t win the NCAA title this season especially when they were built to run deep into the NCAA tourney. As we found out once again, the best team doesn’t always win the NCAA title, this was proven in 1997 and again this season as well.

You can expect the unexpected to happen in the NCAA tourney as well. Just ask Miami fans whose team who looked like they were well on their way to winning their first NCAA title, lost the game after having a two goal lead only to watch lead evaporate in 42 seconds in the final minute of the third period. The Terriers then won the game in overtime off a screened goalie/deflection. What do you do? In a one and done tourney you are more apt to see the unexpected happen then if the teams played 5-7 game series where mistakes wouldn’t be as magnified.

Here is the 64,000.00 question; was 2010-2011 a successful season?



In my opinion I think this season has to be looked at as being a success, while some will say it wasn’t the Fighting Sioux came within a game of winning the Triple Crown (Broadmoor trophy, Macnaughton cup and NCAA title). The Dave Hakstol haters will want Hak removed from his position as the head coach of the Fighting Sioux but I think that opinion is short sighted, UND went 32-9-3 and 21-6-1 in the WCHA also they finished second in the nation with goals scored at 4.05 and finished third in the nation in team defense with 2.14. The two teams that finished ahead of the Fighting Sioux were ECAC teams so they might actually have been the best defensive team in the nation this season. The Sioux have been to the NCAA Frozen Four five out of the seven seasons that he has been the coach of the team… That means his teams have finished at least third four times and was the runner up in his first season. That is a huge accomplishment, but I am interested in what the fans think.

Season over, Live chat @1200 pm central Friday - Therapy session with Goon

Lacking of class

First off we win with class and we should lose with class, said fan in picture is not exhibiting class.

In fact that is unacceptable in my opinion. The Sioux got beat by a good hockey team tonight that took UND time and space away and got in the shooting lanes. I don't think there is any shame in losing to Michigan they are historic and good hockey team. You have to give credit where credit is due.

Sioux fans let not your hearts be troubled, this was a tough way to end a magical season but life goes on and I think it's a good idea to have a chat and talk about what lies ahead for the Fighting Sioux hockey team. I think we will see a player or two leave and there are some awesome recruits coming in next season. Fighting Sioux hockey. 

Lines for UND and UM

USCHO has the lines posted for tonight's game between UND and UM Some have said that this is de facto national championship game I think one could make the argument that it is.

MICHIGAN

Forwards

12-Carl Hagelin, 29-Louie Caporusso, 10-Chris Brown
3-Scooter Vaughan, 11-Kevin Lynch, 21-A.J. Treais
16-Ben Winnett, 19-Matt Rust, 23-Luke Glendening
9-Luke Moffat, 22-Jeff Rohrkemper, 18-Derek DeBlois

Defense

24-Jon Merrill, 7-Chad Langlais
4-Kevin Clare, 2-Greg Pateryn
13-Lee Moffie, 37-Mac Bennett

Goalies

31-Shawn Hunwick
35-Bryan Hogan

NORTH DAKOTA

Forwards

19-Evan Trupp, 22-Brad Malone, 21-Matt Frattin
17-Jason Gregoire, 10-Corban Knight, 26-Brett Hextall
15-Brent Davidson, 29-Brock Nelson, 7-Danny Kristo
9-Mario Lamoureux, 27-Carter Rowney, 11-Derek Rodwell

Defense

4-Derek Forbort, 24-Ben Blood
2-Andrew MacWilliam, 5-Chay Genoway
3-Derrick LaPoint, 25-Jake Marto

Goalies

32-Aaron Dell
31-Brad Eidsness

"Sloppy seconds" get into srap in practice. - Sean Avery

Good ole Sean "sloppy seconds" Avery gets into an altercation with his teammate Michael Sauer. There seems to be a reoccurring theme that Avery doesn't play nice with others. h/t SNY Rangers Hockey blog.

NHL throws the book at Raffi Torres for his hit on Jordan Eberle

Last night Chris Wassel, Tim Rosenthal and I were discussing the Raffi Torres hit on Jordan Eberle during the Program radio show and I mentioned that the NHL has pinned themselves into a corner and they have to act and give some teeth to the Torres hit. Personally, I never thought the NHL would put this much teeth into this particular head shot. That being said, Raffi Torres will miss the first two games of the Canucks playoff series.

There are some that are upset with the way the NHL front office has responded to this hit, I don't think it's an understatement to say that they responded in a very punitive fashion, rightfully so! A word to the wise, don’t hit someone in the head with a elbow if you don’t want to be suspended by the NHL.

The fact that people are defending this hit and saying it’s not worthy of a suspension are oblivious to the fact that Torres hit a player in a vulnerable position in the head with a chicken wing elbow. Raffi Torres is a buffoon for thinking this is a clean hit, "If they are trying to get rid of clean hits like that, what's this league going to be in a couple of years?" This was a blatant elbow to an opposition players head.

Per the Nick Kypreos --> Canucks Torres gets suspended for 4 games...

Torres gets four games for elbow

The anticipation is killing me – the Frozen Four is here…

I have to admit that it’s hard to really think about anything but the game tonight. This past week it's been tough to stay focused on the task at hand, however, I am sure that I am not the only Fighting Sioux fan that feels this way. I have to admit that I think this is the best time of the year (the NCAA hockey playoffs, the start of the Stanley Cup) and it’s hard to sit inside and concentrate on the real day job when there are important hockey games to watch. But I digress.

I have had a lot of people ask me if I am going to the Frozen Four, I am not going this year, I almost bought tickets when the Frozen Four lottery applications were being taken, but I thought the prices they were charging at the time were pretty high, in retrospect I think it’s still a good idea. I ended up having some family obligations that wouldn’t have allowed me to go anyways. Anyways, go Fighting Sioux...

Here is the break down of the UND Fighting Sioux roster. Contrary to public belief UND is not “Manitoba’s Pride on Ice” as some have suggested, there are 14 Americans and 13 Canadians on this season roster… Just for the record there are four Manitoban's on this years squad...[Fighting Sioux]

Here is the article by Tib write Rachael Blunt; four focused coaches... [Star Tribune]

U-M's Shawn Hunwick ready for 'dangerous' North Dakota attack [Detroit News]

Frozen Four team capsules... [USA Today]

Frozen Four thumbnails... [Boston Globe]

The Mullet, Barry Melrose talks about the Frozen Four... [click to view]

Fighting Sioux fans to watch Frozen Four hockey tournament at Grand Forks arena [The Republic]

ESPN says that the Fighting Sioux are Frozen favorite [ESPN.COM]

Questions with Bob Sansevere: North Dakota hockey players Matt Frattin... [Pioneer Press]

Keys to grabbing a Frozen Four victory for Michigan, North Dakota... [Michigan Daily]

Skating full circle; Sioux forward Kristo returns after career nearly derailed... [Minot Daily News]

Fighting Sioux back up goalie Brad Eidsness wins Elite 88 Award at Frozen Four... [Fighting Sioux]

Ugly Helmets goalie Shawn Hunwick goes from walk-on to leading Michigan hockey team to Frozen Four... [Mlive.com]

Michigan hockey team expects fierce fight with North Dakota tonight in Frozen Four semifinal... [Ann Arbor.com]

Three things to watch for as 2011 Frozen Four begins today... [Pro Hockey Talk]

Hum!!! They said what?

Checking out an Opposition blog. I guess I could say that I expected more from the Blog that Yost Built. Whatever!!! LOL!!! Really not very creative for a self professed Big Ten blogger.

Blog that Yost Built --- Our opponents in the National Semifinal are those Nazi-loving, inbred hicks from the prairie: The North Dakota Fighting Sioux TBDs.

Coming into the tournament, it was kind of a toss-up for the team that everyone wanted to avoid: BC or North Dakota. The Eagles were knocked out in the first round, but no such luck with the Sioux. They dispatched RPI 6-0 in the lone opening-weekend game that I didn't watch a significant part of. They then beat Denver 6-1 to make it to the Frozen Four.

Frozen Four in Canada...

Our friends from the Coming Down the Pipe blog had an interesting topic on their blog this morning. Ironically, I have put some thought into this subject and had this discussion with others in the past. Personally, I think that the NCAA Frozen Four could be a big success if the event was held in Western Canada. First, location of site for a Canadian Frozen Four is going to be key. Second, the arena would also be important when selecting a possible Frozen Four site. Of course I think Winnipeg would seem to be a no brainier; however, the arena, the MTS Centre only seats 15,015 spectators for hockey and the NCAA might want a bigger arena.

The marquee NCAA event has criss-crossed the United States, it's been held in hockey mad markets, football stadiums, cities without Division 1 college programs and in places where the only ice you find is in your drink. Most of the time the Frozen Four has been successful but other times it has not and in some of those cases, it's a bit surprising.

But considering all of the creative ways the NCAA has come up with the celebrate the championship weekend of the sport, it's never left the country. Is it plausible to think that one day, the Frozen Four might be held in Canada?

To me, the answer is YES.

Apparently according to the Coming Down the Pipe blog, there has already been a discussion about the Frozen Four going to Canada.

Would the event draw fans in Canada where the NCAA game goes laregly unrecognized by the media? I don't know so I asked someone who would in Jeff Jackson, former coach of the OHL's Guelph Storm who leads the Notre Dame Fighting Irish into action on Thursday.

"We’ve actually had talks about that," Jackson said, "I think having it in Toronto would be very successful. We have had a lot of players from that area on our team before, or from other parts of Ontario, so I think it would work extremely well there or in other cities like Calgary, Edmonton... Winnipeg, there are lots of possibilities right across Canada."

Jackson's statement that there have been discussions already of a potential Canadian Frozen Four is consistent with what Paul Kelly of College Hockey Inc.

Raffi Torres Hit elbow Jordan Eberle

Check out this obvious elbow by the Canucks Raffi Torres on Oilers winger Jordan Eberle. How many games does Torres sit for that hit? I am going with two games. What do you think?

Links to the Frozen Four...

There are a lot of news stories out there on tomorrow’s Frozen Four. In reading some of the Michigan based new articles on the Sioux versus the Wolverines I do think that there is a lot of “sandbagging” coming out of Michigan as well. The Fighting Sioux and Michigan Wolverines are both good hockey teams and either team is capable of winning.

Contrary to public belief the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team is not looking past the Michigan Wolverines as some fans from other college hockey programs have suggested. While some UND Fighting Sioux fans might be talking about potential match-ups; because we can, we don’t play the games, this shouldn’t be equated to the Fighting Sioux hockey team looking past anyone. Having watched the Fighting Sioux hockey team for a very long time, this team is as focused as any Fighting Sioux hockey team that I have seen in some time; I would probably say since the 2000 team that won it all.

UMD looks for home-state advantage... [ESPN.COM]

U-M hoping to end tourney run with title... [ESPN.COM]

Here is this week's INCH Podcast [click to listen]

UND aims to take its best shot Morden's Chay Genoway gets his final chance at NCAA title... [Winnipeg Free Press]

INCH has the Frozen Four coaches take [INCH.COM]

Hockey key part of Minnesota culture [ESPN.COM]

Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald; has a story about the Fighting Sioux being comfortable playing at Xcel Energy Center... [Grand Forks Herald]

Dave Campbell, WDAZ ;Frattin Carries UND to Frozen Four... [WDAZ.COM]

Notre Dame hockey: NCAA tourney points piling up for center Riley Sheahan... [South Bend Tribune]

Notre Dame hockey: Senior trio 'Frozen' again... [South Bend Tribune]

Notre Dame hockey: Three Irish icers returning home... [South Bend Tribune]

Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald; Duluth’s Forbort helping North Dakota’s quest for title... [Duluth News Tribune]

Notre Dame hockey audio: Jackson looks ahead to Frozen Four... [Click to listen]

Tale of the Tape and match up courtesy of College Hockey News… [Click to view] The Sioux are 3-0 against Michigan in their last three games.

Goon's in studio on 1310 KNOX - Wednesday from 4:30 – 5:00 PM

Listen to the Goon live at 4:30 pm – 5:00 pm on 1310 AM KNOX on Wednesday April 6th, 2011. R.J. and the Goon will be talking about the Frozen Four and the Fighting Sioux versus the University of Michigan Ugly Helmets... If you live out of town you can listen live by clicking on this web link... [Click to Listen]

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

Goon on the Program at 7:00 PM Central Wednesday

Chris Wassel from the Program has asked me to come on the program and talk College hockey and the Frozen Four with him at 7:00 pm Wednesday evening April 6th, 2011. Call-in Number: (347) 826-7358 [Click to listen]

Frozen Four Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

Here we are the end of the season, down to four teams in St. Paul. It looks the NCAA didn’t get their wish, four conferences represented; we have four teams representing two conferences, the CCHA and the WCHA. There is one #1 seed and one 4th seed in St. Paul this week. (The # numbers are the NCAA tournament seeding ranks.)

#11 Notre Dame (25-13-5) vs #9 Minnesota-Duluth (24-10-6)

The Fighting Irish won their first round game against Merrimack 4-3 in OT, and then dispatch the host team, New Hampshire 2-1 to advance. The Bulldogs beat Union 2-0 (both goals were on the power play) in the first round and then won somewhat controversial (the 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct to Yale’s top star) game, 5-3, against Yale to earn their trip to St. Paul.

The Bulldogs will need to be much better five on five in this game, versus their last couple of outing. I hate to say it, but UMD might have had the easiest path to St. Paul, having defeated two ECAC teams (no disrespect to the Yale and Union fans). The Irish will get the Cinderella title this year, since they are the lowest seed to advance to the Frozen Four. ND won both their tournament games by a single goal, and UMD won both theirs by two goals. The Irish need to stay out of the penalty box on Thursday and force UMD to score at even strength. Needless to say, this time of year it is important to get the first goal of the game. Getting a lead gives a team the opportunity to try and dictate their game style on their opponent. I’d like to say the Bulldogs are going to win, but I think it will be the luck of the Irish. NOTRE DAME WINS 4-3


#5 Michigan (28-10-4) vs #2 North Dakota (32-8-3)

The Wolverines got passed Nebraska-Omaha 3-2 in OT in their first tournament game that ended on a video replay, which was/is still controversial. Next Michigan ended Colorado College’s season, thus earning a spot in this week’s Frozen Four. The Sioux started by shutting out RPI 6-0 (the Engineers are scoreless in their last three NCAA tournament appearances) in their first game and then disposed of league rival Denver 6-1 in the Midwest Regional Final to advance to St. Paul.

These programs are both powerhouses in hockey, with Michigan owning 9-titles and North Dakota owning 7-titles. If the WCHA Final Five is any indication of the Sioux fan bases, this game will feel like a home game for the Sioux. North Dakota has been on a mission this year, and will need to beat out Michigan to keep their mission on track. Michigan making the tournament this year runs it tourney appearance record to 21 in a row. (Michigan’s run could come to an end soon with the start of the Big Ten hockey league.) The Sioux have made the NCAA tournament every year under coach Hakstol’s reign. UND is playing some great hockey now and just need to continue their game, speed, puck control, and solid defense and goal tending. The Sioux are just too deep for the Wolverines to handle. SIOUX WIN 3-1

Keaton Thompson update.

Here is the latest on Devils Lake defenseman Keaton Thompson from Ryan Clark for the Fargo Forum, uber awesome beat writer for the Fargo Force. A little bio on Keaton Thompson, he is a highly skilled defenseman that has stated that he would like to play for UND someday. Thompson just finished his freshman season at Devils Lake High School where he finished second in point on the Devils Lake with (9g-29pts-38pts)...

Keaton Thompson: Thompson sat out of Saturday’s game against the Indiana Ice and he was hanging out in the suites watching the game. Got a chance to speak with him and he said that he’s really enjoying his time with the Force. Latest on Thompson is that he’s waiting to find out of he will be invited to the National Team Development Program’s set up in Ann Arbor after coming back from tryouts a few weeks ago. He said the experience of trying out went well. The NTDP has only announced that seven players were invited to the camp and the remaining roster will not be announced for a while. Chances are Thompson has a very legit shot of making the camp given how many scouts and junior hockey insiders are big on his upside. Thompson has played 11 games this season, which means the Force will have his rights next season unless he does make the NTDP set up and decides to play with them.

Tuesday morning links - two days till the Frozen Four...

Tuesday and two more days till the Frozen Four Kicks off and there is a lot of college hockey news to review. The suspense is killing me and working this week hasn’t been easy. The good news is we will have an NCAA champion by Saturday evening. The Sioux have a one in four chance of being that team.

Sean Leahy from Puck Daddy chats with North Dakota’s Matt Frattin about NCAA Frozen Four, Hobey Baker and pranking his coach [click to view]

USCHO breaks down the UMD and ND game: Coaches analyze Minnesota-Duluth, Notre Dame semifinal matchup...[Click to view]

Matt Frattin and Aaron Dell have made the first team of the INCH All-American team for the 2010-2011 season. Fighting Sioux senior defenseman Chay Genoway made the second team as well... [click to view].

USCHO breaks down the UND and Michigan game: Watch for net-front play in Michigan, North Dakota semifinal... [click to view]

Elliot Olshansky of the USCHO'S Hobey Watch' Looks at the Competition Issue...[Click to view]

Follow the UND Sid on his UND Fighting Sioux hockey travel blog [Click to view] The Sioux are hopping the bus to St. Paul today.