This week's Brackets from USCHO

Here are this week’s brackets from USCHO's Jason Moy. Finally, this week, Moy has UND in the Xcel Center. That works well for UND fans that would like to make the short trip to St. Paul. I am also shocked that he doesn't have the Boston College Eagles in Worcester yet.

East Regional (Albany):
13 Omaha vs. 4 Providence
11 Harvard vs. 5 Boston College

Northeast Regional (Worcester):
16 Minnesota State vs. 1 Quinnipiac
10 Boston University vs 8 Yale

Midwest Regional (Cincinnati):
15 Robert Morris vs. 3 St. Cloud State
9 Notre Dame vs. 6 Michigan

West Regional (St. Paul):
14 Minnesota vs. 2 North Dakota
12 Massachusetts-Lowell vs. 7 Denver

Conference breakdowns

Hockey East — 5
NCHC — 4
ECAC Hockey — 3
Big Ten — 2
WCHA — 1
Atlantic Hockey — 1

Grand Forks Herald: Forum Attendees Want UND's Logo to Be Unique

One of my concerns moving forward has been the design of the Fighting Hawks logo. Apparently, I am not the only one that has these concerns.

The design of the logo is a very important moment for the administration. I have a lot of anxiety about this process. If they blow the design of the logo and you will never get the fans young and old to get behind the Fighting Hawks nickname, ever.

"I know there are many, including myself, who are afraid we're just going to end up another cheesy bird, another one of many, many hawks," UND graduate Brooke McClintock said at the forum. "We're coming from something so courageous and great and strong, we're going to just fade into the back with a cheesy hawk." (Anna Burleson, Grand Forks Herald)

SME Branding to visit UND campus March 1-3

Tonight, there’s a meeting downtown at the Empire Arts Center. Below is the letter from UND’s Peter Johnson.

SME Branding, the design firm retained by the University of North Dakota to design a graphic identity package for the new Fighting Hawks nickname, will visit the UND campus March 1-3.   During the visit, SME will gather perspectives and input on the desired attributes of the graphic identity.

SME will conduct two public meetings during the campus visit.  The first will be Tuesday, March 1, 6-8 p.m. at the Empire Arts Center in downtown Grand Forks.  The second public meeting will be held on the UND campus, Thursday, March 3, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the Ballroom of the Memorial Union.  While this second meeting is scheduled primarily for faculty, staff and students, members of the public are also invited.

At the meetings, SME Branding will conduct a collaborative session to better understand what the public and the campus community want in the UND Fighting Hawks graphic identity.  The meetings will not examine or discuss logo designs; rather, SME will discuss the design process and will invite ideas and thoughts about the Fighting Hawks graphic identity, how the nickname both relates to and reflects North Dakota, and the attributes the graphic identity should possess.

Said UND President Ed Schafer, “We are very pleased to have arrived at this point in UND’s nickname and logo development process.  Throughout this journey, we have invited and benefitted from public input, and these upcoming meetings provide an additional opportunity for interested UND stakeholders to participate in the discussion and share their thoughts and ideas.”

 

Peter B. Johnson
Executive Associate Vice President
Media Relations Coordinator/Community Relations Officer
Public Relations Group

 

Bruins' Zac Rinaldo Suspended Five-Games for Dirty Hit

The National Hockey League's department of Player Safety has suspended Zac Rinaldo for this dirty hit on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette. At the time of the hit, I was surprised that Rinaldo was only given a two-minute penalty. These are the types hits that hockey is trying to remove from the game of hockey.

NEW YORK - Boston Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo has been suspended for five games, without pay, for an illegal check to the head of Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette during NHL Game No. 933 in Boston on Sunday, Feb. 28, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

Rinaldo is also a four-time, repeat offender that obviously hasn't learned his lesson. This past week, Rinaldo was put on waivers by the Boston Bruins and is now in Providence. For the most part, Rinaldo brings nothing to the table, except for penalty minutes and is a waste of a roster spot Rinaldo also adds little in the way of offense and has only scored. This season, Rinaldo has scored a meager (1g-2a—3pts) in 52 games.
 

(Video) Deryk Engelland’s Dirty Hit on Chris VandeVelde

You have to see this: Calgary defenseman Deryk Engelland’s lays Philadelphia Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde with a dangerous, dirty, unnecessary hit. I am all for checking someone with a clean, hard body check, but this is a very dangerous hit. More puzzling is that the officials only game Engelland only a two-minute minor penalty.

UND 2nd in USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

February 29, 2016

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Quinnipiac	(48)	25- 2-7	998	1
2	North Dakota	( 1)	26- 5-3	931	4
3	Boston College	( 1)	24- 5-5	890	2
4	Providence		25- 5-4	864	5
5	St. Cloud State		25- 8-1	787	3
6	Michigan		20- 5-5	725	6
7	Denver		19- 8-5	703	8
8	Yale		19- 6-4	658	7
9	Boston University		19-10-5	584	9
10	Notre Dame		19- 8-7	559	10
11	Massachusetts-Lowell		21- 8-5	535	11
12	Harvard		16- 9-4	436	12
13	Michigan Tech		19- 8-5	389	14
14	Penn State		19- 9-4	296	15
15	Nebraska-Omaha		18-13-1	293	13
16	Minnesota State		17-10-7	188	18
17	Minnesota		17-14-0	125	20
18	Cornell		13- 9-7	109	16
19	St. Lawrence		17-13-4	97	19
20	Robert Morris		21- 9-4	69	NR
Others receiving votes: Rensselaer 68, Bowling Green 61, Northeastern 40, Clarkson 36, Miami 35, Minnesota-Duluth 22, Air Force 2.

 

UND moves up two spots in the USCHO Poll. In the rankings that matters: UND is second and St. Cloud State is third in the Pairwise Rankings. Denver is seventh, and Nebraska-Omaha is hanging in there at 13th. Minnesota-Duluth is tied for the 14^th spot. UMD has a major problem, they're below .500. So, they would need to go on a winning streak to make the NCAA Tourney.  The Bulldogs need to sweep this weekend, win their NCHC series, too.

 

(Video) Zac Rinaldo Vicious Check on Cedric Paquette

The first question out of my mouth: will this hit receive some extra scrutiny from the National Hockey League's Department of Players safety?

Before you jump down my throat, I am a Boston Bruins fan. But it does appear that Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo caught Tampa Bay Lightning forward Cedric Paquette in the head/jaw with his shoulder. Rinaldo was given a two-minute penalty for illegal contact to the head.

Aren't these the types of hits that were trying to remove from the game of hockey?

Ben Brien Releases Unofficial Fighting Hawks Logo

Of course, this is what I would classify as an acceptable Fighting Hawks logo design, but it will probably never get a look. I hope I am wrong. This is also a perfect example of why the University didn't have to spend a bunch of money. Thoughts? It's it's wonderful.

Dave Starman Breaks down Poganski's Penalty Shot

On Friday night, I was watching the Bulldogs and Huskies game on CBSSN and between periods hockey analyst Dave Starman broke down the Austin Poganski penalty shot. I don't think our friends from Minnesota-Duluth are going to be very happy with Starman's analysis.

(Video) Penrose Clinching Win: UND 4, UNO 1 - Edited

First, I want to throw myself under the bus. Redwing77 sent me a text and let me know that I fricked up the video on this post. That I apologize for and will never let it happen again. Again, I am sorry.

With the win tonight, the University of North Dakota clinched back-to-back Penrose Cups. SCSU can still tie UND but they need to sweep the Tigers and Western Michigan will need to sweep UND. If UND wins one game next they clinch the Penrose outright.

After losing the first game of the series between UND and UNO, the Fighting Hawks won three games in a row outscoring the Mavericks 13-4.

Congratulations to @UNDmhockey for clinching a share of @TheNCHC #PenroseCup tonight. Back-to-Back Champs. #NCHCHockey

— Josh Fenton (@Fenton_JC) February 28, 2016

UND has already compiled more NCHC points this season (53) than the other two Penrose Cup champs (UND 50 last year, SCSU 48 in '13-14).

— Brad E. Schlossman (@SchlossmanGF) February 28, 2016

With the results tonight, UND has clinched a share of the Penrose Cup. It's 17th conference championship! pic.twitter.com/e5buR2Semh

— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDmhockey) February 28, 2016

Things are Looking Much Better

Three weeks ago, the University of North Dakota was swept by the Denver Pioneers (6-4 W, 4-1). There were a few in the Fighting Hawks nation that were a little worried. I said, no need to panic. I guess, I was right. After sweeping (4-1 W, 4-2 W) the Red Mavs. UND is now a two-time Penrose Champion. Since January, UND is 10-3-1. With the road win, UND is 13-3-1 (.794).

Some (unofficial) Concept Art Regarding the Fighting Hawks Logo

by Redwing77

I was just surfing around waiting for the start of the game and found this article on my Facebook feed.

It provides some concept art for the new "Fighting Hawks" logo done by a Dane Storrusten.  Sadly, I've been so busy with real world things that I have not kept up with whatever is going on with the logos so I'm not certain as to whether this is just "fan art" or art published by the actual company for public perusal.  However, I think both logos are interesting and both aren't doable.

The first logo:

Option 1:  The Screamin' Hawk

This has been dubbed the "Screamin' Hawk" by Mr. Storrusten.  I think it is a really neat logo... and completely and totally unadoptable.  Why?  Because interpretation outweighs intention.  There are feathers in the logo.  Feathers, ANY feathers, can be interpreted to having Native American meanings... so adopting this logo is straight up OUT.

The second logo, "The Thunderbird:"

Option 2:  The Thunderbird

This logo has strong similarities (though not the same, as commenters in the article suggest) to the Seattle Thunderbirds logo.  It's geometric and kindof clunky, in my opinion.  This option is, well, OUT for two reasons (there's a third but the third isn't PC so I'm omitting it):  First, it's, again, an allusion to Native Americans... this time Native American totem pole artwork native to the Pacific Northwest.

This brings us to the second reason:  the way to get out of the PC idiocy ISN'T to simply relocate our Native American symbolism.  Last time I checked, Montana and Idaho separated North Dakota from the Pacific Northwest.

Conclusion:

Options 1 and 2 on Goalie masks

These two logos are, by no means, the ONLY logos out there.  I'm not even convinced that these logos are even under consideration to begin with.  That being said, if it DID come down to Option 1 or Option 2, Option 1 is by far the better option.  And it isn't even close.

College Hockey TV schedule +

Looking at this weekend college hockey television schedule, if you have DirecTV, you’re in luck, there’s a lot of hockey on television this weekend.

Vermont vs. Merrimack	Feb. 26	8:35 ET	(NESN+) DirecTV 628.1
Boston University vs. Notre Dame	Feb. 26	7:35 ET	NBCSN Station Stream
Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Cloud State	Feb. 26	8:07 CT	CBSN DirecTV 220
Wisconsin vs. Ohio State	Feb. 26	6:35 ET	BTN DirecTV 610
Michigan vs. Minnesota	Feb. 26	8:05 CT	BTN DirecTV 610
Yale vs. Quinnipiac	Feb. 27	7:00 ET	SNY DirecTV 639
Boston University vs. Notre Dame	Feb. 27	7:05 ET	NBCSN Station Stream
Boston College vs. Mass.-Lowell	Feb. 27	7:00 ET	NESN DirecTV 628
Minnesota-Duluth vs. St. Cloud State	Feb. 27	7:07 CT	FCS 608 DirecTV
North Dakota vs. Nebraska-Omaha	Feb. 27	7:07 CT	ASN Altitude 681 DirecTV

GRAND FORKS HERALD: Public input sought for Fighting Hawks logo development

Looks like UND is going to do the right thing moving forward in designing the Fighting Hawks logo. I think this is good news.

Anna Burleson, Grand Forks Herald -- The design firm working to create UND's Fighting Hawks logo is holding open forums in Grand Forks.

The public is invited to attend a meetings at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Empire Arts Center and at 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The second meeting is primarily for UND students, faculty and staff, but members of the public are also invited.

Conor O'Flaherty, director of brand strategy and development at SME Inc., which was chosen to design the Fighting Hawks logo, said being inclusive and getting feedback from the community is a very important part of his company's plan.

Wild: Game-Ending No Goal Against the Flyers (Video)

Here's the video of the Minnesota Wilds game-ending no goal against the Flyers. Did the on-ice officials blow the call?

I don't know, I think this might have been a goal, the goalies stick is way behind the line. Granted, the video is kind shoddy.

Bruins Pastrnak Scores on the Power Play Against the Penguins

This is the third penalty shot goal of the season for the Boston Bruins. While I am sure that Pittsburgh Penguins fans will disagree with the call. Defenseman Derrick Pouliot's stick penalty prevented a scoring chance by David Pastrnak. Reading the NHL's penalty shot rule, I believe this is the right call.

53.6 Penalty Shot - If a player on a breakaway in the neutral or attacking zone is interfered with by a stick or any other object or piece of equipment that is thrown by any member of the defending team, including the Coach or any non-playing Club person, a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending team. See also Rule 57.3 – Tripping for fouls from behind to a player on a breakaway. (Cont)

57.3 Penalty Shot - When a player, in the neutral or attacking zone, in control of the puck (or who could have obtained possession and control of the puck) and having no other opponent to pass than the goalkeeper, is tripped or otherwise fouled from behind, thus preventing a reasonable scoring opportunity, a penalty shot shall be awarded to the non-offending team. Nevertheless, the Referee shall not stop play until the attacking team has lost possession of the puck to the defending team. (NHL Rule Book)

With Pastrnak's goal, this marks the first time in #NHLBruins history the team has tallied 3 penalty shot goals in one season.

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 25, 2016

Breaking News:NDSU President Calls for Review of School Song Due To "Troubling" Lyrics

Well, well, well. What do we have here? Hmmm. Looks like our brothers and sisters to the south are going to need to pick a new school song. Or edit out the offensive language. I am just shocked that it took them this long to figure it out. On second thought, no I am not. Not shocked at all.

Apparently, the NDSU schools song uses racist racial references to Native Americans.

(Link to the news), (Link to the news), (Link to the News), (Link to the News)

If you look at the song, the offensive words are pretty obvious to most people.

Ho! a cheer for Green and Yellow, Up with Yellow and the Green; They’re the shades that deck our prairies Far and wide with glorious sheen, Fields of waving green in springtime, Golden yellow in the fall— How the great high-arching heaven Looks and laughs upon it all!

Here in autumn throng the nations, Just to gather in the spoil, Throng on freight cars from the cities, Some to feast and some to toil, Then the yellow grain flows eastward And the yellow gold flows back; Barren cities boast their plenty And the prairies know no lack.

Hushed upon the boundless prairies Is the bison’s thund’ring tread, And the red man passes with him On his spoilers’ bounty fed. But the Norse, the Celt and Saxon With their herd increase, and find Mid these fields of green and yellow Plenty e’en for all mankind.

Ho! a cheer for Green and Yellow, Up with Yellow and the Green; They’re the shades that deck our prairies Far and wide with glorious sheen, Fields of waving green in springtime, Golden yellow in the fall— How the great high-arching heaven Looks and laughs upon it all!

Campus Community-

Here's the letter that President Dean Bresciani sent out.

I recently had a troubling matter brought to my attention which I felt called for immediate action. While some may initially find it an overstated concern, others will find it central to a deep and sober examination of our campus history. I believe it is important to share my reactions with you, as they reflect a commitment to maintaining the diverse, welcoming and supportive campus community we all value.

Our school song, the “Yellow and the Green,” has been a long-standing and broadly enjoyed tradition of our campus since 1908. Typically it is only performed through its first stanza; to be honest I have never heard it beyond that and I suspect most in our University community are like me. However, through our University’s system for confidential reporting of bias issues, I’ve learned that the third stanza contains a variety of cultural and ethnic references (toward both majority and minority populations) which by contemporary standards are troubling.

While we cannot “un-write” history or a song, as an academic community I felt it was appropriate to take two actions. The first action was the intermediary but immediate removal of all but the first stanza from NDSU websites and publications. The second action was asking Provost Ingram and Vice President for Student Affairs Alvarez to bring together a faculty, staff and student group to study the song in its entirety and offer recommendations on the balance between our history and tradition of the song with contemporary concerns for its appropriateness. My intention is that the thoughtful and respectful conversation our campus community has traditionally valued will come from doing so.

Dean Bresciani

(Video) Chris Porter Scores Against the Islanders

Former Fighting Sioux and current Minnesota Wild forward, Chris Porter scored his fourth goal of the season against the New York Islanders. Port's career-high four goals in a single season is four. So, the next goal that porter scores will be a career high in goals. Porter had been a healthy scratch for the past seven games.

Lol: ESPN Thinks UND is in Fargo

I just thought this was a little odd. Last time I checked the University of North Dakota campus is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, 75 miles north of the NDSU campus. A simple check on Google would have confirmed this.

FARGO, N.D. -- Nearly four years after retiring Fighting Sioux mascot following criticism from Native Americans, the University of North Dakota briefly found itself back in the business of selling merchandise with a logo the NCAA had ruled hostile and abusive.

The reason is that a settlement agreement with the NCAA over the nickname required the school to keep the Fighting Sioux trademark, and the school felt the only way to do that was to market the product.

So a limited series of items known as the Dacotah Heritage Collection hit shelves last week. Most of them sold out within hours.

Since the story orginates out of Grand Forks, ND. Last time I checked, Peter Johnson's office is in Grand Forks, ND. I guess our buddies from the south have had so much media exposure winning five FCS football championships they forgot where UND was at.

The NCAA in 2005 placed UND on a list of schools with American Indian nicknames, logos and mascots that it found objectionable. UND was the last holdout on that list and filed a lawsuit to keep the name. That suit was settled in October 2007, and one of the terms involved keeping the trademark, UND spokesman Peter Johnson said.

Johnson said the university sold the license to a handful of stores to sell more than 9,000 pieces of merchandise, including more than 1,000 sweatshirts, 3,000 hats and 300 lanyards. Another rollout of limited items will likely take place later this year.

NCHC Suspends Troy Stecher

Junior defenseman Troy Stecher has been given a one-game suspension by the NCHC for game-ending checking from behind penalty. Almost immediately following the game, there were whispers about Stecher missing this Friday's game against the UNO Mavericks. This is a big loss for UND, but there's enough depth to make it through the weekend.

This is a dangerous hit, and the type of hit we would like to see illuminated from all levels of hockey. If you watch the video embed above above, at the end of the video, is the hit in question.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) has issued a one-game suspension to North Dakota junior defenseman Troy Stecher, in accordance with the conference’s supplemental discipline policy, the NCHC announced Tuesday, Feb. 23. The suspension stems from an illegal hit during UND’s game against Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, Feb. 20.

Stecher was suspended after the review of a play in which a hit was delivered to the back of a Minnesota Duluth player at 20:00 of the third period Saturday at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks. A major penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct were assessed on the play.

Stecher will be required to serve the suspension during UND’s next game, which is Friday, Feb. 26 at Omaha. Stecher is eligible to return for the Fighting Hawks in the series finale with the Mavericks on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Baxter Arena in Omaha.