Through These Doors

For the four people that haven't seen this video, my first impression after watching the video was, wow! I think that FightingSioux.com did a great job on the production of that video.Watching that video get a person in the right mood to watch hockey.

Goon's predictions for 14th and 15th of October.

Wisconsin vs Michigan tech: Wisconsin Sweep
Minnesota vs Minnesota-Duluth: Split
Bemidji State vs Colorado College: CC Sweep
Denver vs Boston College/Boston: Boston College and Denver University
St Cloud State vs Northern Michigan: Split
Minnesota State vs Mass-Lowell: Split
North Dakota vs Maine: Split

Alaska Goal Rush
Nebraska-Omaha vs Alaska Anchorage - Nebraska-Omaha
Alaska Anchorage vs Mercyhurst - Alaska Anchorage

WCHA predictions for october 14th-15th

Wisconsin vs Michigan tech: Wisconsin Sweep

Minnesota vs Minnesota-Duluth: Split

Bemidji State vs Colorado College: CC Sweep

Denver vs Boston College/Boston: Boston College and Boston University

St Cloud State vs Northern Michigan: St Cloud State Sweep

Minnesota State vs Mass-Lowell: Minnesota State Sweep

North Dakota vs Maine: Split

Nebraska-Omaha vs Alaska Anchorage/Fairbanks: Nebraska-Omaha Sweep

Alaska Anchorage vs Nebraska-Omaha/Mercyhurst: Split

Where are they Now? Former SCSU Husky Ryan Lasch Interview

Iltasanomat Photo

Cross posted at Inside Hockey.

Former Saint Cloud State University Husky Star Ryan Lasch who played at SCSU from 2006-10 agreed to answer a few questions of mine as part of a where are they now feature. Lasch is currently playing in Finland with the Lahti Pelicans of the SM-liiga. Lasch is also currently the leading scorer of the Pelicans and tied for fifth in the league for scoring as well.

Q: What influenced your decision to attend SCSU? Where there any other schools or major junior hockey teams that were recruiting you?  

Ryan: It came down to Northeastern and St. Cloud. And what influenced me the most was when I took the visit to St.Cloud. Right away I was hooked with the atmosphere and direction Coach Motzko wanted to take this program. Other factors were that St. Cloud played in the WCHA, which I consider the best conference in college hockey and we played out west so it was much closer to home and easier for my parents to come watch me play 

Q: Being from Lake Forest, CA, how did you end up playing hockey?

Ryan: My dad use to speed skate for fun when he was younger, so one day he just took me to a local rink when I was 3 years old. Hockey wasn’t that popular in California at that time, but it was something I loved doing and never considered anything else.

Q: How did you end up choosing college hockey?

Ryan: I’ve always watched college hockey growing up on T.V. and thought it would fit my style of play and it was important for my family and I to get that college degree.  I felt playing college hockey for 4 years I was able to better develop as a hockey player, but also mature as a person. College hockey worked out well for me and I’m happy with the path I took.

Q: What was your most exciting memory at SCSU?

Ryan: The most exciting memory at SCSU right away that comes to mind was beating Northern Michigan in OT at the West regional to get our first ever NCAA tournament victory in school history. It’s something you can always look back on being a part of. It was big step in the right direction for the hockey program at St. Cloud.

Q: Which team did you enjoy playing the most while you were a member of the SCSU Huskies?

Ryan: The team I enjoyed playing the most was the Minnesota Gophers. They were an hour away from us right down the I-94 and considered our big rival. I think we played them 4 times a year. Every game was a packed house. I know when the schedule came out every year the first thing I would look for was when we were playing the Gophers.  The games were always exciting and our fans were crazy!

Q: Which team did you consider your most hated/heated rival as a member of the Huskies? Why?

Ryan: The most heated rival while being part of the Huskies was when we played the North Dakota Sioux. It was a physical game every time we played them a lot more hitting and talking back in forth than normal. It felt like both teams hated each other on the ice more than any other team we played in the league. 

Q: Who was the hardest team(s) to play against in college hockey, WCHA?

Ryan: I don’t know if it was the hardest team to play against, but they weren’t fun to play against and that was Denver.  They played more of a defensive game and sat back and waited for your mistakes. Especially when they were at home it felt like every time we played them it was a low scoring game.

Q: What was your favorite opposition logo?

Ryan: My favorite logo had to be Wisconsin. I like the badger logo, but the big W on the front of their jersey and colors were sweet.

Q: What was your favorite road trip in the WCHA or college hockey?

Ryan:  My favorite road trip would have to be Denver. I just think the city is awesome and our Thursday team dinner would always be at the Denver Chophouse across the street from Coors Field where the Rockies play.

Q; What was your favorite arena in the WCHA to play in?

Ryan: I actually have two arenas that I liked to play in. They were Wisconsin and North Dakota. Those rinks had great energy in them every night. It was exciting to play in front and I look forward to it every year.

Q: What was it like to play on a line with Garret Roe?

Ryan: It was really fun to play alongside Roe. Roe is such a creative player who is always working hit butt off all over the ice to win the one on one battles and loose pucks. Every time he was on the ice he was a threat to score or make something happen.

Q: As a fan of another WCHA team; when our team played the Huskies it seemed like Roe and Lasch were always on the ice together.   

Ryan: Roe and I worked together on the Power play a lot through our husky career. Him being a left shot and me a right shot we complemented each other very well. We were able to have multiple plays from both sides that we could use and it ended up being really effective for us.

Q: You were on the first SCSU team in the history of your program to win an NCAA game; did pyou guys talk about the streak?  

Ryan: We were all aware of the streak going into the NCAA tournament every year. But it was nothing that was ever brought up in the lock room. All that matter to us was how we would go out and play as a team. This streak started way back when so we felt like it was nothing to serious that we had to worry about.

Q: How did you end up playing hockey in Finland?

Ryan: After the season Last year I had a few offers. One was to stay in Sweden and play the other option was to come back to America and then this offer came from Finland. Playing with a few Finnish guys last year I knew about the league and knew it was a tough league very similar to the North American style of hockey. I also that a few college players came to this league after their college careers and have done well like Tim Stapleton, Brian Rafalski, Tim Thomas, and Lee Sweat.

Q: I noticed that you’re currently the top scorer on your team the Lahti Pelicans.

Ryan: I have got off to a great start thus far and we have a really good team that sits in first place right now. I’m just really happy with the opportunity that they have provided me over here. Hopefully this team success can continue and the rest will come into place.

Q: Looking at the roster of your team it appears that you are one of the few players that aren’t from Sweden or Finland; is there a language barrier on your team?

Ryan: There really isn’t a language barrier on the team. For the most part everyone can speak English pretty well. When the coaches talk it was mostly in Swedish or Finnish, but you always had someone on the team right next to you translating the important information.

Q: Were you drafted by an NHL team?

Ryan: I was never drafted, but I don’t look at that as a negative thing. It just made me want it that much more and work harder to get where I want to be.

Q: Do you think someday you will get a chance to play in the NHL?  Is that a personal goal?

Ryan: I hope one day I will be able to have that chance. It’s for sure a personal goal of mine.  Something I’ve worked hard for my whole life and will continue to do until I get that chance.  The best I can do is wake up every day and give it my 100% and hope someone takes notice. Until then I just have to keep playing my style of hockey and prove people wrong.

That's one way to put it...

Image via WikipediaHere is an interesting take on this past summer's realignment, I guess it's one man's opinion. I am not ready to put Andy Baggot in the it's all UND and DU's fault category just yet but he seems to be leaning that way.

Andy Baggot; Madison.com --- Six other WCHA schools — Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, North Dakota and St. Cloud State — subsequently relocated in the new eight-team National Collegiate Hockey Conference and in the process hurled WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod under a moving Greyhound.

McLeod apparently had no clue the exodus was being planned — good God, his office is located on the Denver campus — which doesn't speak well of his instincts or the character of those involved in the clandestine operation.

The unspoken narrative is that the renegades — led by Denver and North Dakota, which have won seven NCAA titles apiece, in cahoots with CC and Omaha — were disenchanted with McLeod's guidance and were worried that the new Big Ten monolith would soon dominate the landscape.

Some from Hockey East not embracing Fighting Irish Move.

I found this article in the Lowell Sun to be interesting and also a bit over the top, I guess not everyone is excited about having the Fighting Irish in Hockey East. I also agree with Mike Machnik because there will be more opportunities for non conference games with the formation of the Big Ten and NCHC conferences.

Chaz Scoggins; Lowell Sun --- If you're one of Hockey East's elite programs, like BC, Boston University, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, that shouldn't be much of a problem. Those schools have wanted to have the latitude to play more than seven non-league games for awhile now, and those are teams every other school in the country wants to play.

But if you're not one of the elite programs, if you're UMass Lowell, UMass Amherst, Providence, Merrimack, and Northeastern, trying to find 14 worthy non-league opponents is going to be a major headache.

Sure, those schools could schedule a flock of games against Atlantic Hockey teams like UConn, Bentley, Holy Cross, and Sacred Heart. But scheduling and beating those teams only hurts you if you're trying to earn an at-large berth for the NCAA Tournament.

The notorious pairwise rankings are a major factor in determining at least 12 of the 16 NCAA berths, and a big part of the pairwise formula is strength of schedule. It doesn't do the River Hawks much good if they win 25 games but nine or ten of those victories are against ACHA schools, while Vermont might have won only 21 games but had a handful of wins over perennial national powers like North Dakota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

Sioux Prepping to Battle Black Bears

Cross posted at Inside Hockey. Yesterday I attended the Wednesday Fighting Sioux Hockey press conference at Ralph Englestad Arena and this is what I took away from the press conference. The Fighting Sioux took second place in the Ice Breaker Tourney last weekend beating Air Force Academy 4-3 before losing to the Boston College Eagles 6-2.

University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol talked about last weekend’s Ice Breaker Tournament and also talked about this weekend’s opponent the University of Maine Black Bears. Last October the Maine Black Bears swept the Fighting Sioux in Orno, Maine 7-3 and 4-2, so the Fighting Sioux are going to be looking for some revenge.

Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol was asked about his two goaltenders and if is there a goaltending battle taking in practice?

“I think there has been a pretty good battle going on in the first, what are were now, we are just over a couple of two weeks in I guess. Ah yeah I think there is a good battle there, you know. I think Aaron [Dell] is still our number one, but that being said, there has been some good competition and some pretty good level of play from both guys in practice. Brad [Eidsness] went in on Saturday and did a good job, he plugged the dam, when we were leaking a little bit in the second period; he did a good job holding the fort. He [Eidsness] has earned himself some more playing time, so he has to keep practicing hard and I will make the decision who starts on Friday. “

Coach Hasktol was asked, what he learned about his team during the last two games?

“We had the chance to learn from good on Friday and we got the chance to learn from some bad on Saturday. That’s the bottom line; I thought Friday we created some of our own problems and we dug ourselves out and made some plays and we were able to come out with a good win. Saturday, I thought we created a lot of our troubles that came back to haunt us later in the game. We took some penalties at the end of the first period and early in the second, that really affected our energy levels and I thought had a great deal to do with leading to some low energy levels and some real sloppy defensive play that over a four minute period that took us absolutely out of the hockey game. So we have got to fix some things, we have to fix those things, we have got to really challenge ourselves to play a complete sixty minute and we have yet to do that in the first two games.”

Coach Hakstol was asked if Maine is similar to last season’s team.

“Yeah. They [Maine] are a veteran team, every key position is occupied by a veteran on their hockey team and by the looks of it they play a very similar style to what they did last year, they have very good team speed and they have good depth and their top line is a very dynamic line, a good line that produces for them, the power play is efficient and is effective. So, I think they are probably similar in the way they play, to the way they were last year, you know and beyond that you probably have to ask their coaching staff that one.”

Were you surprised that Maine didn’t make the NCAA tourney last season?

“Are you trying to get me in trouble here? Let me figure out how to answer that one. Based off of the way that they played there? Yeah, absolutely, I guess I would answer it bluntly, yeah, I am, they’re a good team. I don’t know what they went through injury wise, different things throughout the season, a lot of things come into play, but they sure played well there, they play a great team game, they play with speed, they made plays. Their specialty teams were good, I thought they were a real good hockey team and the factors that went into them not being in the national tournament at the end of the day just speaks to how darn hard it is to get into the national tournament.

Higher Education Board President Says Notre Dame Joined Hockey East Because of the Sioux Name

Someone wake Grant up and tell him that it was about the TV deal.




This guy gives buffoons a bag name.

In addition to the risk of losing affiliation with the Big Sky and potential scheduling and recruitment problems, Shaft said he believes that Notre Dame’s recent decision to affiliate with Hockey East — and not the new National Collegiate Hockey Conference that includes UND — was due in part to UND's being on sanctions because of the " ongoing nickname fight. It doesn't take an MBA degree to realize this decision has more to do with business than public opinion."

Actually Grant it was the TV deal that our new division wouldn't work with them on.

College Hockey News: Notre Dame had a preference for the NCHC because of its Western footprint, but the NCHC ultimately decided it didn't want to accept Notre Dame with its TV deal in tow.

You really have to be arrogant or stupid to interject the Sioux nickname controversy into the Notre Dame decision. But then that's what we get from the higher education in this state. They don't care what the public thinks. All we are is a flock of sheep for them to fleece to benefit those that work for the University system.

On a related topic, UND President Kelley urged the legislature to let the drop the nickname in it's upcoming session. Considering the fact that the Big Sky Conference said they'd blackball us if we kept the name that's not an unreasonable position. However in his speech it seems that he failed to acknowledge our friends and neighbors of the Spirit Lake Tribe that want us to keep the name.

That really irks me that Kelley sitting in his ivory tower clearly has contempt for the opinions of those on the reservation. As far as I can tell he's refused every offer to meet with actual Indians that are supposedly to be saved by the anti Indian rules of the NCAA. Certainly he failed to invite them as he flew down to Bismarck on the University's luxury plane to testify against the name. He also seems to have not insisted that members of the Tribe be brought along to the meeting with the NCAA.

Kelley and Shaft, drop your superiority complexes and actually listen to the people of the Tribe. You might actually learn something.

This was cross posted from my home on SayAnythingBlog.com.

This guy gives buffoons a bag name.

Related articles

• Hockey East Weekly: 11/21/11 (insidehockey.com)

Second Period Shot Chart from BC and UND game...

Here is the shot chart from the second period of the Ice Breaker Tourney; in my opinion the Fighting Sioux defense had a bad night. All four Boston College goals during the second period were scored down low in the slot. If the Fighting Sioux want cut down on goals against this weekend against the Maine Black Bears they are going to have to limit shots by the opposition in the slot. More specifically, you can not give talented players like Chris Kreider offensive chances unmolested in the slot; he is going to bury the puck.

Nick Mattson on playing college hockey

Here is what Fighting Sioux defenseman Nick Mattson had to say about playing College Hockey for the Fighting Sioux. s/t to Nate Ewell the Communications for College Hockey Inc.

Jerry York after the Ice Breaker tourney.

Check out of what Jerry York head coach of the Boston College Eagles had to say after his team won the Ice Breaker Tourney this past weekend in Grand Forks, ND.  York has been coaching college hockey for a very long time and I found his post game comments to be interesting. Notice how coach York also gave the Sioux kudos and credit for their play in the game. s/t to Nate Ewell the Communications for College Hockey Inc.

Don Cherry might get sued by former tough guys.

I do not receive my cable from Midcontinent anymore because I recently switched to Direct Television, the first thing that I discovered is that there is no CBC on Direct TV, something that I didn't consider when I switched to satellite television. That means I can no longer get the coaches corner, while I had read about this story on the various hockey blogs, this was the first time that I had seen this video.

I think that Don Cherry will probably have to apologize for his controversial comments he made at the 5:40 mark of this video. Love him or hate Don Cherry does make some valid point but I believe that he might have crossed the line this time by calling former tough guys Chris Nilan, Jim Thomson and Stu Grimson "pukes," "hypocrites" and "turncoats."

Montreal Gazette ---- Accusing hockey's best-known commentator of "a complete lack of decency," three former NHL enforcers have raised the spectre of legal action against Don Cherry for controversial comments he made last week.

On Tuesday morning, the Nashville-based law firm Kay, Griffin, Enkema & Colbert released a statement saying former NHL players Chris Nilan, Jim Thomson and Stu Grimson are "considering further recourse" with regard to a rant Cherry made on Hockey Night in canada, calling these players "pukes," "hypocrites" and "turncoats."

It was because, according to Cherry, these players have recently said fighting should taken out of hockey.

While Thomson has made public statements saying clearly that fighting should be banned from the game, Grimson and Nilan have not.

Related articles

• Trio called pukes, seek 'further recourse' from Don Cherry (thestar.com)
• Don Cherry comments draw legal threat from NHL trio (cbc.ca)
• Former NHLers suggest they may sue Don Cherry (calgaryherald.com)
• Ex-NHL tough guys say they may sue Don Cherry (windsorstar.com)

Monday Links

Image via WikipediaThis week the Fighting Sioux play the Maine Black Bears and the Sioux have had some bad luck against Maine and Boston College as of late, I broke the numbers down in this article. [Inside Hockey]

The Fighting Sioux have lost 4 games in a row against the University of Maine Black Bears so it's not an understatement to say that the Fighting Sioux are due against the Black Bears. The Fighting Sioux played the Maine Black Bears in Orono, Maine last season and were beaten soundly Friday night (October 22nd, 2010) on national television by a score of  7-4, the Sioux took 10 penalties and had three power play goals scored against them. I think it's safe to that the Fighting Sioux will be looking for  some payback. 

Dan Myer from the College Hockey News previewed the WCHA in a two part series (part one and part two) and had this to say about the Fighting Sioux

Prediction: The Fighting Sioux may struggle early while their kids get used to playing at this level. And, until last season, early season difficulties were sort of the program's M.O. But once guys like Grimaldi and Mattson get going along with the amount of talent and depth always associated with North Dakota hockey, the Sioux will most definitely be a player by season's end. This group will be a tough out in any playoff scenario.

I have to agree with Dan's assessment. I think the Fighting Sioux who played six freshman during the opening weekend are going struggle early and are probably going to take their lumps early. I also predict that the Fighting Sioux will make their patented second half run to set them up for the playoffs.  

Fighting Sioux rookie forward Roco Grimaldi is also one of five players to watch this season. Roco was held out of Friday's game against Air Force Academy with an undisclosed lower body injury and made his season debut against the Boston College Eagles.

Rocco Grimaldi, North Dakota (Fr., F) — The hands-down favorite for WCHA Rookie of the Year, Grimaldi, spent the past two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program. Despite his size (5-foot-6, 165 pounds), Grimaldi has a unique scoring ability. Besides, the last time the Fighting Sioux had a 5-foot-6 player on its roster he turned out to be a Hobey Baker Award winner (Ryan Duncan in 2006-07) in his second season. [Joshua Berhow; College Hockey News]

This past Saturday night when the Fighting Sioux were getting beaten by the Boston College Eagles, some Sioux fans didn't take the loss real well. Check out some of the comments on the Fighting Sioux chat. It's a long season and NCAA Championships "are not" won in October, November and December. In fact, NCAA Championships are won in April and the Fighting Sioux could very well be in the mix come tournament time.

None of us like to see the Fighting Sioux get beaten like they were on Saturday night. That being said, there are probably 56 other teams that would like to have the Fighting Sioux's record the past seven seasons and would love to be in the Fighting Sioux's predicament.

I like, most people, are tired of watching the Boston College Eagles dance around the Fighting Sioux defense and score six goals on the Fighting Sioux goaltenders. There is no way to sugar coat it; that sucks.  Eventually things will change for the Sioux against Boston College just for the record, Jerry York is 66 years old, will be in the US Hockey hall of fame some day, and has an impressive record of 882–547–93. So it's safe to say that York has been coaching for a very long time, personally, I would call him the God Father of college hockey. 

On the flip side of that equation, Dave Hakstol is 43 years old (23 years younger than York) and has a record of 187-92-27. I predict that Coach Hakstol's day will eventually come where he leads his team to a national title and the naysayers will be running to jump on the Fighting Sioux bandwagon. 

In their last five games against the Eagles, the Fighting Sioux have gone an unimpressive 0-4-1 and have had six goals scored on them four times (6-2, 6-1, 0-0, 6-4, 6-5). It's also been almost seven years since the Fighting Sioux last beat the Eagles and that was during Dave Hakstol’s first season as head coach (2004-05 season) when the Fighting Sioux had to play in the Bean Pot Regional to make the Frozen four.

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Poll Monday Sioux drop three places in both polls.

The Numbers; Hakstol vs. Hockey East

This is an article that I submitted for Inside Hockey.

This past weekend the Fighting Sioux lost the championship game of the Ice Breaker Championship to the Boston College Eagles 6-2. While some of the Fighting Sioux faithful have panicked a bit after their team lost another game against the Boston College Eagles 6-2. Some have suggested with the Maine Black Bears coming to town this weekend, that it could be another long weekend for the Fighting Sioux. Looking at the numbers things aren’t really as bad as they seem.

Since Fighting Sioux head coach David Hakstol took over the coaching duties at the beginning of the 2004-05 season, the Fighting Sioux have a record of 11-12-4 against the Hockey East teams.   I think one could classify that as a respectable record against Hockey East teams since three of the last four NCAA titles have come out of Hockey East; Boston College 2008 and 2010, and Boston University 2009.

During that time period (2004-11), there are two teams that have the Fighting Sioux’s number,  coach Hakstol’s teams  have compiled a 1-4-1 record against the Boston College Eagles and a 2-4-0 record against the Maine Black Bears for a cumulative record 3-8-1.  Putting that record aside, Coach Hakstol teams have a 8-4-3 record against Merrimack College, Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  For some reason those two Hockey East teams have coach Hakstol’s number. Fighting Sioux fans hope that their team’s fortunes change this weekend against the Black Bears.

Since becoming the head coach of the Fighting Sioux eight years ago coach Hakstol has a coaching record of 188-94-27 and a 113-64-19 record against the WCHA.  Coach Hakstol’s teams have been to the NCAA playoffs seven times and his teams have also qualified for the Frozen Four five times. During that same time period the Fighting Sioux have won two MacNaughton Cups and three Broadmoor Trophies.

In recent years (2004-2011) the Fighting Sioux have had “some” success against Hockey East teams albeit the Fighting Sioux have a losing record of 11-12-4 that has been compiled against some of the tougher teams of Hockey East.  The first two seasons that Hakstol coached for the Fighting Sioux he had a  7-2-3 record against Hockey East teams.

Here are the stats broken down by  year.

The Current season 2011-12 with the loss last Saturday night, the Fighting Sioux’s record against Hockey teams is 0-1 (Boston College 0-1-0) 11-12-4

During the 2010-11 season the Fighting Sioux went 0-2 against Hockey East teams (Maine 0-2-0) 11-11-4

During the 2009-10 season the Fighting Sioux went  2-0 against Hockey East teams (Merrimack College)  2-0)  11-9-4

During the 2008-09 season the Sioux went 0-3 against Hockey East teams (Boston University 0-1, UMass 0-1 and University of New Hampshire 0-1-0)   9-9-4

During the 2007-08 season the Fighting Sioux went 2-1-1 against Hockey East (University of New Hampshire  1-1-0, Boston College  0-1-1 and Northeastern University  1-0-0) 9-6-4

During the 2006-07 season the Fighting Sioux went 0-3-0 against Hockey East (Maine 0-2-0, Boston  College 0-1-0)  7-5-3

During the 2005-06 season the Fighting Sioux went 3-1-1 against Hockey East (Northeastern University 2-0, University of New Hampshire 1-0-1,  Boston College 0-1-0) 7-2-3

During the 2004-2005 season the Fighting Sioux went  4-1-2  (Maine 2-0-0, Boston College 1-1-1, Boston University, 1-0-0, Northeastern 0-0-1)  4-1-2

Here is the Fighting Sioux’s record against the individual Hockey East teams since the 2004-05 season.

Merrimack College  2-0-0

Boston College 1-4-1

Maine 2-4-0

Boston University 1-1-0

Northeastern University 3-0-1

New Hampshire  2-2-1

EDIT: Minnesota's Bouchard suspended for two games

Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been suspended by the NHL for two games for his high sticking infraction on Matt Calvert. According to Michael Russo, Bouchards agent Allen Walsh refered to the disciplinary hearings ad nothing more than kangaroo courts.

NEW YORK -- Minnesota Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard has been suspended, without pay, for two games for a high-stick to the face of Columbus forward Matt Calvert during NHL Game #16 on October 8, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Bouchard will forfeit $44,108.10. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

At 18:54 of the second period, Bouchard hit Calvert in the face with his stick, injuring the Columbus player in the process. Bouchard was assessed a double-minor penalty for high sticking.

Bouchard will miss games Oct. 10 at NY Islanders and Oct. 11 at Ottawa. He will be eligible to return Oct. 13 vs. Edmonton.

I have to agree with Bouchard’s agent Allen Walsh, anyone who follows the NHL knows that Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard plays a finesse brand of hockey and is not a dirty hockey player, if anything he is one of cleaner hockey players in the NHL. I don’t think we would see Bouchard intentionally try to swing his stick at an opponent and try to injure them. Also, if you watch the video it appears that Calvert stick knocks Bouchard's stick into Calvert's face, I think this was a brutal call by Brendan Shanahan.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard high stick on Matt Calvert

This incident happened during last night's Wild and Blue Jackets games apparently Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Scott Arniel was less than pleased that Pierre-Marc Bouchard only got a double minor. Just for the record  Bouchard has already had a call with the NHL.

It looked like a baseball swing in live action, but the Wild contended Bouchard’s stick was lifted into Calvert’s face.

The Jackets didn’t buy it. Bouchard was given a double-minor, but the Jackets wanted a five-minute major.

“It’s definitely an attempt to injure,” Arniel said. “Our whole bench saw it. Their whole bench saw it." [Blue Jacket Extra]

After looking at this high stick do you think Bouchard's high stick worthy of a suspension? Remember; Bouchard is not some untalented goon and Bouchard doesn't have a reputation of being a dirty player either. My question is, do the fans, players and coaches expect the NHL to suspend each and every major penalty and questionable infraction that happens on the ice? Not every major penalty requires a suspension. While I think this was a blatant high stick but probably "not worthy" of a suspension.

Related articles

• Heatley leads Wild to 4-2 win over Blue Jackets (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Ex-Sharks Heatley, Setoguchi lift Wild in opener (sports.espn.go.com)
• More of the Same: Columbus Blue Jackets Continue to Play Without Passion, Drive (bleacherreport.com)
• Healthy returns: Minnesota Wild will rely on Latendresse, Bouchard, Harding for key depth (thehockeynews.com)

Eagles, Spartans Win on Day Two of Ice Breaker.

Game one

MSU Spartans vs Air Force Academy Falcons

While the first game of the Ice Breaker started off slowly and lacked excitement, the second day of the Ice Breaker Tourney started off with a bang, as the feisty Falcons scored only 27 seconds into the game as Falcon forward Casey Kleisinger scored what could be classified as a highlight reel goal from an impossible angle. Kleisinger took a shot from behind the red line and caught the Spartan goalie Drew Casey off of his left post giving the Falcons a quite one nothing lead.

That goal would be the only excitement for the rest of the first period as the game went back to a tight checking affair; from that point on most of the action in the first period was played in the neutral zone. The game resembled two heavy weight prize fighters feeling each other out waiting for the other to make the first mistake.  The Spartans thought they had tied the game on the power play at the 14:12 mark of the first period as Michigan State’s Dean Chelios appeared to score a goal, however, the on ice officials quickly waved the goal off and after going to the video review and ruled that the puck was in fact redirected off Chelios’ skate.

The game started out slow in the second period as well and at the 08:33 mark the Spartans evened the score with a goal from Greg Wolfe who was left all alone in the slot. The Falcons took the lead at the 18:12 of the second period when Falcons defenseman Scott Mathis launched a wrist shot on net that wasn’t touched by anyone and fluttered past the Spartan goalie Will Yanakeff who was screened by his defensemen.

The game continued to be a chess match until the Spartans evened the score at the 05:21 mark of the third period with a power play goal by Lee Reimer. In watching the replay, I would imagine that the Falcons goalie Jason Torf would’ve liked to have that goal back because he badly over played the first shot and was caught out of position as the rebound ended up behind him in Falcons goal.

With the Spartans Jake Chelios off for holding at the 16:28 mark of the third period,  Scott Mathis had a chance to give the Falcons the lead but  he rang a shot off the cross bar. It wasn’t meant to be for the Falcons as the game went to overtime and  the Spartans made short work of the Falcons as they scored the game winning goal at the :54 mark of the overtime;  All Tournament Forward Lee Reimer picked up a Falcon turnover deposited the puck into the Air Force net to win the game for the Spartans.  While the Falcons out shot the Spartans 28-23 for the afternoon, the only statistic that mattered in the end was the final score.

After the game Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos had to say about his teams win against the Air Force Academy Falcons this afternoon, “I thought our guys again tonight played real hard tonight and that [Air Force] is a real good team, I was really impressed with their team. After the second period we were only down two to one I told them that winning is fun but a comeback win is even more fun.  We went out there and continued to do what we were trying to do the whole game the puck was contested out there on both sides.  I thought I was a real good game.”

Coach Anastos was also asked if he made adjustments during the second intermission, “We didn’t really make a whole lot of adjustments, we continued to do what we were doing, maybe some very minor things, but we continued to play the same way we were playing. I just think that maybe they got tired a little bit, I don’t know because they played last night, I don’t know if that was a factor or not they didn’t see tired to me I thought worked really hard. Maybe that was a bit of a factor, the only thing that we did was we shorten our bench a bit got guys a little more ice time maybe that created a little bit of a different rhythm.”

Final score: Michigan State University  3 – Air Force Academy 2 overtime.
Box Score

Game two 

UND Fighting Sioux and the B.C. Eagles.

The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux and Boston College Eagles have a storied rivalry and played in some epic battles during the NCAA tourney. As of late, the Eagles have had the upper hand in the series, coming into this game the Eagles have gone 3-0-1 against the Sioux, make that 4-0-1 after tonight's 6-2 Eagle win.

The Eagles got on the score board first as Pat Mullane scored at the 2:21 mark of the first period.  The Eagle goal was the result of a bad turn over in the Fighting Sioux end as Mullane was left with the puck in the slot and just simply shot the puck past Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell.

Tonight marked the much anticipated debut of the highly touted freshman forward Roco Grimaldi for the Fighting Sioux, however, Grimaldi's first shift was one that he will want to forget as he was on the ice when Mullane scored for the Eagles. Grimaldi who was held out of Friday’s game with a lower body injury didn’t look like he was slowed a bit by the injury. As the game progress Gramialdi have some nice chances during the game but wasn't able to record a point on the score sheet.

The Sioux tied the game at the 15:55 mark of the first period with a nice goal from Sioux forward Corbin Knight who took a nice pass feed from Danny Kristo  for a shorthanded goal.  The Sioux took the lead on a power play goal at the 5:23 mark of the first period from Sioux defenseman Derek Forbort who shot the puck on net; Eagles goalie Parker Milner was screened by his own guys and had no chance at the shot.

That lead didn’t last for long as Eagles forward Chris Kreider tied the game less than two minutes later at the 7:27 mark of the second period.  The Eagles followed that goal up with a power play goal from Johnny Gaudreau at the 13:16 mark of the second period. Mullane followed up that goal at the 15:55 mark putting the Fighting Sioux down by two goals. From that point the Fighting Sioux never recovered and looked frustrated by the Eagles speed and they started to take undisciplined penalties.

The Eagles Bill Arnold scored at the 17:14 of the second period to send Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell to the bench. Enter backup goalei Brad  Eidsness who was tested almost immediately as the Fighting Sioux continued to give up odd man rushes of untimely turnovers. It was not a strong period of hockey for the Fighting Sioux as they were outscored by the Eagles 4-1 during the middle frame.

After giving up four goals during the second period, the third period did not start very well for the Fighting Sioux either, the Fighting Sioux continued to take senseless penalties and beat a path to the penalty box. The Eagles scored their sixth goal of the game at the 15:15 mark of the third period when Eagles forward Steven Whitney took a pass from Pat Mullane and shot it on net catching the Fighting Sioux goalie Eidsness not covering the left post. Sioux generated a few chances during the latter part of the third period but were unable to get anything past All Tournament Goalie Parker Milner.

Boston College head coach Jerry York was asked why his teams have been so successful against the Fighting Sioux, “that’s probably misleading we have some terrific games. What’s effects me the most about the North Dakota is the rivalry east west, but when you play so many times at the national level.  I think we have played 5 times since 2001 twice in the tournament, twice in the title game, so we have built a great respect for the Sioux and for that to continue to play them, they bring out the best in us and hopefully we bring out the best in them, in the early season it helps us get better.

Final Score:  Boston College 6 University of North Dakota 2

Box Score

The following players  made the Ice Breaker All Tournament Team: Parker Milner goalie Boston College, Patch Alber defenseman  Boston College, Tommy Cross defenseman Boston College, Chris Kreider  forward Boston College, Lee Reimer forward Michigan State, Tie  Brock Nelson forward North Dakota and Bill Arnold forward Boston College.  Chris Kreider forward Boston College was named the Ice Breaker Tournament MVP.

Cross Posted at Inside Hockey...

Ice Breaker Championship - Eagles 6 and Sioux 2

Image via WikipediaGame Four - University of North Dakota Fighting versus Boston College Eagles

Fighting Sioux forward Roco Grimaldi will make his Fighting Sioux debut tonight. The Eagles are 3-0-1 against the Fighting Sioux in their last four games. The Fighting Sioux hold the series edge over the Eagles, 11-10-1 in 22 games. The Eagles are 6-3-1 against the Fighting Sioux under head coach Jerry York. The Eagles under York have a  4-2 against the Sioux in the NCAA tourney. 

Scoring - 1^st Period (20:00)                                    

B.C. Pat Mullane (1) (Johnny Gaudreau) 2:21   

UND Corban Knight (2) (Danny Kristo) 15:55   SH

Scoring - 2nd Period (20:00) 

UND Derek Forbort (1) (Mark MacMillan) 5:23   

BC Chris Kreider (2) (Bill Arnold, Patch Alber) 7:27 

BC Johnny Gaudreau (1) (Bill Arnold, Steven Whitney) 13:16   

BC  Pat Mullane (2) (Johnny Gaudreau, Patrick Wey) 16:05   

BC Bill Arnold (1) (Paul Carey, Tommy Cross) 17:14     

Scoring - 3rd Period (20:00) 

BC  Steven Whitney (2) (Pat Mullane, Johnny Gaudreau) 15:15   

Box Score

Fighting Sioux Lines

29 Brock Nelson – 10 Corban Knight (A) – 7 Danny Kristo
9 Mario Lamoureux (C) – 27 Carter Rowney – 15 Michael Parks
21 Brendan O’Donnell – 16 Mark MacMillan – 19 Rocco Grimaldi

28 Stephane Pattyn – 14 Taylor Dickin –  11 Derek Rodwell

Defensive Pairings

4 Derek Forbort – Ben Blood (A)
2 Andrew MacWilliam (A) – Dillon Simpson
5 Nick Mattson – 20 Joe Gleason
22 Andrew Panzarella

Goalies

32 Aaron Dell
31 Brad Eidsness
35 Tate Maris

Scratches for UND: 13 Connor Gaarder, 19 Roco Grimaldi, 17 Colten St. Clair, 8 Dan Senkbell

Fighting Sioux Roster

Fighting Sioux Stats

Boston College lines

9 Barry Almeida (A) - 12 Kevin Hayes - 22 Paul Carey (A)
19 Chris Kreider - 24 Bill Arnold - Destry Straight
13 Johnny Gaudreau - 11 Pat Mullane - 21 Steven Whitney
28 Tommy Atkinson - 23 Patrick Brown - 10 Danny Linell

Defense Pairings

4 Tommy Cross (C) - Patch Alber
2 Brian Dumoulin - 8 Edwin Shea
7 Issac MacLeod - 6 Patrick Wey

Goalies

35 Parker Milner
30 Chris Venti
1 Brian Billett

Boston College Eagles Scratches: 5 Mark Bergert, 14 Brooks Dyroff, 15 Cam Spiro, 18 Michael Sit, 27 Quinn Smith, 29 Brad Barone

Eagles Roster

Eagles Stats