UND Hockey: Dillon Simpson named Captain of the UND Hockey Team

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – University of North Dakota Men’s Hockey Coach Dave Hakstol announced today that senior defenseman Dillon Simpson has been named team captain for the 2013-14 season. Hakstol also announced that junior forwards Michael Parks and Stephane Pattyn will serve as assistant captains.

Simpson, a native of Edmonton, Alberta, has collected nine goals and 43 assists in 114 career games. Last season he was named UND’s Most Improved Player after leading the team’s defensemen with a career-high five goals and 19 assists in 42 games. In his three years as a collegian, Simpson has helped lead UND to three straight NCAA regional championship game appearances and a 2010-11 berth in the NCAA Frozen Four.

A managerial finance and corporate accounting major, Simpson was a three-time All-WCHA Academic Team selection and a two-time WCHA Scholar-Athlete. He was a fourth-round draft pick (92nd overall) of the Edmonton Oilers in 2011. Simpson’s father, Craig, won two Stanley Cups with Edmonton during a 10-year National Hockey League career that also included stops in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Parks, a native of St. Louis, Mo., was UND’s Rookie of the Year in 2011-12 when he collected 12 goals and 10 assists in 42 games. Last season he scored seven goals and one assist in an injury-plagued season that limited him to just 25 games. A general studies major, Parks has received UND’s Engelstad Family Foundation Endowment in each of the last two seasons. He was selected by Philadelphia in the fifth round (149^th overall) of the 2010 NHL draft.

Pattyn, who hails from Ste. Anne, Manitoba, has missed just one game through his first two seasons at UND, amassing six goals and five assists in 83 games. Last season, both of Pattyn’s goals came against top-12 opponents, while three of his four goals as a freshman in 2011-12 were game-winners. An entrepreneurship major, Pattyn has previous captaincy experience having served as team captain for Portage in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League in 2010-11 before arriving at UND.

UND takes to the ice for the first time on Sunday, Oct. 6, when it hosts the University of Manitoba in exhibition action. The regular season begins the following weekend when non-conference foe Vermont visits Ralph Engelstad Arena Oct. 11-12.

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Remembering the 'Old Ralph' Engelstad Arena (thehockeywriters.com)

Calgary Flames: Corban Knight Scores Against Mike Smith

Snipe! Watch @CorbanKnight beat Mike Smith in the 3rd period (VIDEO) ~ http://t.co/QvalJyW1H7 #CGYPHX
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 26, 2013

Former UND Hockey Players sent Down

Former UND Hockey Players Corban Knight and Danny Kristo have both been sent down to the AHL from their parent clubs.

The #Flames have reduced their training camp roster by four players --> http://t.co/JZ9gYdTzyx
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) September 26, 2013

RT @NYRangers: #NYR assigns following players 2 @WolfPackAHL F: Haley, Kantor, Yogan, Kristo D: Hughes, Johnson, McIlrath, Syvret G: Talbot
— Jim Cerny (@JimCerny) September 25, 2013

Here's my story as #NYR send 9 back to @WolfPackAHL including @dkristo7 & @dylan_mcilrath http://t.co/XqTpPveeDH
— Jim Cerny (@JimCerny) September 25, 2013

NHL Center Ice: It's cheaper if you buy it now

NHL Center Ice (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I just renewed my NHL Center Ice the other day. NHL Center Ice for DirecTV subscribers is 39.99 X 4 = $160.00.  Here's something interesting that I found on Puck Daddy.

 iN Demand:

MULTI-SCREEN MOSAIC: The popular rotating mosaic of multiple screens that shows all the live action games being played around the League, along with score, time clock and channel location, is back for another season. The multi-screen mosaic can be found on the “Game 14” channel of the system’s package lineup.
SAME DAY REPLAYS: Each live game is re-aired beginning approximately one hour after live play ends so that fans can see games they might have missed. Each game will replay in its entirety, repeated continuously overnight and the next day, on the same channel, until the following day’s live games begin. Replays are available in both SD and HD (varies by system).
DUAL FEED TELECASTS: Whenever possible, iN DEMAND delivers both the home and visiting team broadcasts of the same game so that fans can choose which telecast and home-team announcers they want to watch.
STAT CHANNEL: NHL CENTER ICE EXTRA™: A live source for scores, statistics, game previews, game recaps and schedule information. This can be found on the “Game 13” channel of the system’s package lineup.
HD GAMES: The package also offers many games each week in high definition. HD availability varies by system.

2013-14 Atlantic Hockey Pre-Season Poll

I know this is late, I forgot to put this up. Niagara was picked to finish first in the AHA this season by the AHA's coaches. Niagara lost to UND in the first round of the 2013 NCAA West Regional that was held in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

2013-14 Mankato Free Press WCHA Men's Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll

2013-14 Mankato Free Press WCHA Men's Hockey Pre-Season Coaches Poll

Rank Team First Place Votes Points
1 Minnesota State 9 81
2 Ferris State – 65
3 Michigan Tech 1 64
4 Bowling Green – 58
5 Alaska – 54
6 Northern Michigan – 40
7 Bemidji State – 35
8 Lake Superior State – 25
9 Alaska Anchorage – 18
10 Alabama Huntsville – 10

Predicted order of finish (first-place votes in parenthesis). Based on a 9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale; coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Forward Phil Kessel Suspended for the Rest of the Pre-Season

Well, that was swift, the wheel of justice has been spun. I think Kessel's suspension should be longer, because this is the second stick swinging incident for the Leafs star forward in the pre-season. That's unacceptable and that needs to be addressed going forward. We don't want the NHL to start resembling the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation or the movie Slap Shot. Apparently, the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres has been fined an undisclosed amount for his players selection that led to this event.

NEW YORK -- Buffalo Sabres head coach Ron Rolston has been fined for player selection and team conduct as a result of events that took place at 10:01 of the third period during NHL preseason game No. 61 against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Sunday, Sept. 22.

The events took place during the face-off after Buffalo forward Corey Tropp fought Toronto forward Jamie Devane. Buffalo forward John Scott initiated an altercation with Toronto forward Phil Kessel, whom he was lined up against on the face-off, resulting in several fights. In total, 211 penalty minutes, including three game misconducts, were assessed due to the various altercations.

With all of the altercations that have transpired in the pre-season, it should be a good exciting and emotional regular season. I also think that NHL's department of Player Safety has set the tone early and sent the playes in the NHL a message that they're not going go easy on players that cross the line.

Team Canada Jersey's

Apparently, these are the team Canada Olympic jersey's. They've been leaked today. I must admit, that I am not a fan of these at all.

Phil Kessel Light Saber Gif... (Humor?)

s/t to Next impulse sports and to my friend @scofarr

2013-14 ECAC Pre-Season Coaches and Media Polls

2013-14 Pre-Season ECAC coaches Poll

1. Yale (4) – 103

2. Rensselaer (2) – 102

3. Quinnipiac (2) – 93

    Union (2) – 93

5. Cornell (1) – 89

6. Harvard – 67

7. Dartmouth (1) – 64

8. Brown – 46

9. Colgate – 44

10. St. Lawrence – 43

11. Princeton – 26

12. Clarkson – 22

2013-14 ECAC Pre-Season Media Poll

1. Rensselaer (18) – 367

2. Yale (5) – 224

3. Quinnipiac (6) – 292

4. Union (3) – 287

5. Cornell (1) – 238

    Dartmouth – 238

7. St. Lawrence – 212

8. Brown – 188

9. Colgate – 125

10. Harvard – 108

11. Princeton – 102

12. Clarkson – 83

2013-14 WCHA Pre-Season Media Poll

Results

Team (First-Place votes) Total Points

1. Minnesota State (22) 244

2. Ferris State (2) 218

3. Alaska 168

4. Bowling Green 149

5. Michigan Tech 144

6. Northern Michigan 137

7. Lake Superior State 117

8. Bemidji State (1) 108

9. Alaska Anchorage 54

10. Alabama Huntsville 36

Hockey East Pre-Season Poll

2012-13 HOCKEY EAST MEN'S PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team (1st Place Votes)		Pts.
1.	Boston College (9)	90
2.	UMass Lowell	74
3.	Boston University	73
4.	New Hampshire (1)	63
5.	Maine	56
6.	Northeastern	44
	Providence	44
8.	Merrimack	38
9.	Massachusetts	35
10.	Vermont	23

NHL Hockey: Did John Scott Break the Hockey Code?

As I suspected, David Clarkson has been suspended by the NHL for 10 regular-season games for leaving the bench to join a fight/altercation. This is the second 10-game suspension of the pre-season already. The think that it's funny; the Toronto Maple Leafs are the only ones in this whole mess that will face any time on the beach. The Leafs Phil Kessel has a phone hearing fo rhis stick swinging incident.



I am not usually a fan of Damien Cox, but he does bring up some good points here. I was thinking about this as well.

Damien Cox, Toronto Star -- But the question NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan needs to ask himself is whether justice will be done if Kessel is suspended and the Buffalo Sabres don't receive any sanctions at all, not even a token fine.

If Shanahan chooses that option, he will be in effect opening the door to a strategy in which enforcers can jump star players on opposing teams without the league coming down hard on them. The league should protect its marquee players, although it seldom makes that a priority and instead allows the Patrick Kaletas of the world to run wild. You can say Kessel did wrong, but you better have a explanation as to how he should have handled a 6-foot-8 goon who had already dropped his gloves.

You can argue the goon in question, John Scott, did nothing overly wrong under the rules of the game, other than breaking them and getting a penalty. But in combination with Buffalo coach Ron Rolston, Scott instigated the entire affair by doing what most NHL people would argue is completely against the culture and spirit of the game, and that's menacing a skill player who had done absolutely nothing to provoke Scott.

I know that there’s going to be a few people that think that Phil Kessel had a beat down coming. But I ask you; think about it this way. Interchange Leafs forward Phil Kessel with Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Zach Parise or even Jonathan Toews. Now I got your attention, right? Do we really want a two-bit goon like John Scott beating the bejesus out of a star player? Do we want him to just take liberties against marquee players? First off, I am not a dove by any stretch of the imagination. I love a good bare knuckles brawl, but the head coach of the Maple Leafs bares some of the blame in this situation.

Here’s a couple of questions that I will pose to the readers. Should Goons be going after skilled players? How’s a skilled players like Phil Kessel supposed to respond in this situation? Again, you can interchange your favorite skilled player with Kessel. Are skilled players just supposed to accept their beat down? I don’t know. Imagine the outrage if Scott had lined up again Sid Crosby or Patrice Bergeron, both players have had concussion issues. Do we want a cement head like Scott pulverizing the franchise player? You have to expect a player like Clarkson to jump off the bench and come to their aid.

NCAA Hockey: USA Today Poll; UND 6th

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
				2012-13
		2011-12		Final
Rk.	School (1st place)	Record	Pts.	Rank
1	Massachusetts-Lowell (20)	28-11-2	484	3
2	Miami (9)	25-12-5	444	6
3	Wisconsin (1)	22-13-7	364	13
4	Boston College	22-12-4	359	8
5	Minnesota	26-9-5	347	5
6	North Dakota	22-13-7	300	7
7	Notre Dame	25-13-3	285	9
8	Yale (4)	22-12-3	269	1
9	St. Cloud State	25-16-1	230	4
10	Michigan	18-19-3	197	NR
11	Quinnipiac	30-8-5	135	2
12	Union	22-13-5	124	10
13	New Hampshire	20-12-7	116	11
14	Minnesota State	24-14-3	110	12
15	Providence	17-14-7	103	NR

NHL Hockey: Sabres and Leafs Line Brawl.

I predict that there's going to be a few suspensions and fines from this altercation. First, I would be willing to bet that David Clarkson will be looking at a 10-game suspension for jumping over the boards to enter an altercation. That's supposed to be an automatic suspension. This is after Biznasty was just given a 10-gamer for doing the same thing. I don't think that Clarkson has a leg to stand on here.

This is what the Sabres pylon had to say about the incident. Quote courtesy of Buffalo Hockey Beat.

“He had obviously some other guys in the lineup,” Scott told a throng of reporters this afternoon inside the First Niagara Center. “I think their coach kind of wanted to maybe downplay it. But I was just doing my job.

”The 6-foot-8 Scott knew he had to respond and said he would’ve went after anyone who lined up beside him, so he told Kessel, who’s about eight inches shorter and 60 pounds lighter, “Phil, we’re going to have to go here, just to let you know.

”How did Kessel respond?“I think he said, ‘All right, let’s do it,’” Scott said.

Within seconds, a full-scale brawl had erupted between the fierce rivals.“I wasn’t going to try to hurt him,” Scott said about Kessel. “I was just trying to send a message.”Kessel responded by ferociously whacking Scott with his stick as Leafs mauled Scott.

Also, I don't think that Leafs forward Phil Kessel should get off Scott free for swinging his stick, pardon the pun. That being said, I love a good fight, I like a good brawl like the next guy, but a guy like John Scott is basically a waste of a roster space. The guy can barely skate and is in Buffalo to protect the Sabres. My question is, can't they at least find a goon that can take a regular shift and add something to the game?

Kessel: "It was pretty stupid, right? He said he was going to jump me... He's a big boy. If he's coming after me, what are you gonna do?"
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) September 23, 2013

Herald Ryan Bakken: Face it, NDSU doesn’t need UND

Okay, this sounds familiar. I have to admit that – I laugh – eventually the scandals and the failure to discipline their said athletes for these transgressions will come back to haunt them and bite them in the rear end. It's just a matter of time before this comes back and blows up in Mr. Clean's face. I mean honestly, how many of their football players have been in trouble with the law the last few years and had no form of discipline at all? So, they really don't have the moral high ground to stand on.

Hey! It is what it is, they’re the top dog right now… So, let them have their day in the sun, for now. Eventually, the two teams are going to play again. it might be a while

Ryan Bakken, Grand Forks Herald -- When NDSU took the leap to NCAA Division I in 2004, it wanted UND to come along. But UND balked. And UND, as a Division II team, refused NDSU offers to continue the football rivalry because the Bison were able to offer more scholarships and thus have an advantage.

Then, when UND eventually followed NDSU’s upward move to D-I, NDSU athletics officials declined to add their neighbor to their schedule. The decision had the aroma of sour grapes, of payback for UND’s schedule shunning earlier.

However, now NDSU has a legitimate reason for keeping UND off its schedule: It has bigger fish to fry. After back-to-back Football Championship Subdivision national championships and a string of upsets of established Football Bowl Subdivision teams Minnesota (twice), Colorado State, Kansas and Kansas State, NDSU doesn’t need UND.

For those of you who are not convinced, answer this: If NDSU adds Division I hockey as a sport, should UND feel obligated to add the Bison to their schedule?
Of course not. Nor should NDSU be forced into a schedule not in its own interests.

There’s a whole decade of fans that haven’t been treated to this historic rivalry. The two teams haven’t played since 2003. That’s a shame in my opinion. Let’s refresh people’s memory, when the Bison moved up to Division I, UND had for the most part dominated the series between the two teams during the last 1990’s. The Nickel Trophy still resides in Grand Forks, ND.

From Sioux Sports

Trophy holder: UND won 28-21 on Oct. 18, 2003, in Grand Forks
Current streak: UND has won the last 3 nickel trophy competitions
Nickel-winning record: UND leads 35-30
All-time UND vs NDSU record: UND leads 62-45-3

UND Hockey: UND releases North Dakota Strong Jersey

The "North Dakota Strong" jersey UND will wear on Oct. 26 and auction for Breast Cancer research. #NDstrong pic.twitter.com/1GiQIDqJ1m
— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDMHockey) September 22, 2013

Related articles

• UND Hockey: Two Cousins set to make Debut for UND (thehockeywriters.com)
• UND Hockey: Remembering the 'Old Ralph' Engelstad Arena (thehockeywriters.com)
• NCAA Women's Hockey: One-on-One with North Dakota's Brian Idalski (thehockeywriters.com)

NCAA Cabinet Approves Change to NCAA Tournament Process

This week, this is one of the big news stories to come out for college hockey. In a nut shell, the small schools in Division I college hockey are lobbying the NCAA to tweak the NCAA selection criteria to reflect wins on the road. It appears that they have been successful with their efforts. The small schools’ quip is that the certain schools – more specifically the big division I schools – won’t travel to small schools arenas and play them.

That’s not a problem with my favorite team UND, they have a tradtion of making trips to nonconference games.

Some of these schools feel that they’re getting a raw deal when it comes time for the NCAA tournament for bids to the NCAA hockey tourney and they’re being left out in the cold, because they didn’t qualify for the NCAA tourney. Their reason, they claim, is that they are being punished for too many nonconference losses in other teams’ barns

Now, I do believe that there is “some” validity to those claims. Obviously, if your team has too many nonconference losses you’re not going to make the NCAA tourney. Recently, I can think of a couple of teams in the past that this bit in the rear end, because of their bad out of conference record. Also, I think a few teams “just” slipped into the NCAA tourney that would have probably made it with ease if they didn’t have as many bad losses. I also believe the math would probably support this assertion.

As we know in college hockey, not all things are equal. I also believe that there’s a downside to this, the big schools aren’t going to want to travel to a AHA team’s rink and play in front of much smaller crowds than they’re used to playing in front of. So, they will just find big schools to schedule out of conference series with. I do believe the teams that have less will still be left out in the cold.

Moving forward I am surprised there’s isn’t more pushback against this new possible rule change. First, by not having as many home games, these teams are also going to lose money because of them having less home games that they use the revenue from to fund the rest of their athletic department. Also, some of the ECAC schools only have “X” numbers of nonconference game that their schools allow them to play.

College Hockey News – Many coaches have been clamoring for changes in recent years, but, in light of the impending major conference re-alignment coming this season, the issue got particular attention at this year's coach's convention and Men's Ice Hockey Committee meetings.

The concern has been that a big difference in the amount of home and away games, puts teams from the smaller conferences — who, on average, play more road non-conference games — at a disadvantage in the selection criteria.

For example, among teams in the new Big Ten, Wisconsin has 14 non-league games, 10 home and four away; Ohio State has 14 non-league games, 11 home and three away; and Minnesota has 16 non-league games, 12 at home (including a tournament at the Xcel Center) and four away.

The details are still unknown, but there were a number of proposals on the table when the issue was being discussed over the summer. One proposal, for example, would re-balance the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) evenly among home and road games — removing the advantage.

It's not yet known, however, which form the changes will take.

Moving forward, I think you’re going to see more Christmas tourneys and matchups between the bigger more attractive schools. I don’t know if in the end, the small schools will actually benefit from this rule. They will get punished less in the mathematical equation for losing on the road.

NHL Hockey: A Pair of Rookies Suspended by the NHL

The preseason and the suspensions are adding up already... One could say that the Director of Players Safety is a busy man. So, this week, Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Adam Erne has been suspended for three pre-season games. You can watch the suspension video to see the reason why.

Not to be out done, Detroit Red Wings rookie forward Teemu Pulkkinen was suspended 4 pre-season games. You can watch the suspension video to see the reason why.

Also, add the suspension to Coyotes enforcer/cement head Paul Bissonnette was handed a heavy 10-game suspension to be served during the regular season for leaving the bench in an illegal line change during an altercation on the ice.

Comparing the Trophies (NCHC vs. B1G)

Jackie was too chicken to put this picture up herself, even though she has full blogger rights on this blog. :) So, I will take the heat for her. Comparing the two trophies which one do you like better? Obviously, I like the Julie and Spencer Penrose Memorial Cup better.