WCHA to add teams, maybe? (by Sioux 7)

Wayne State University in Detroit announced today that they will be dropping their mens ice hockey team. This disaster will affect the remaining 4 teams in the CHA immeasurably, there will be no auto-bid to the ncaa tourney, and won't really be a league with only four teams, Niagara, Robert Morris, Huntsville-Alabama, and Bemidji State. Without a conference these fledgling D-I programs need to find a home or they might suffer the fate of WSU.

Bemidji State already plays a fair number of games against WCHA schools, for the 2007-2008 season they play: St. Cloud (2), Mankato (2), Duluth (2), CC (1), Denver (1), and UND (2). Looking at there schedule they could almost be considered an honorary member. It would make sense for them to join the WCHA for many reasons: location, they are literaly surrounded by the WCHA schools; track record, they have beaten WCHA teams, and they were outstanding at the D-3 level previously; college hockey, everyone needs teams to keep playing at the D-1 level, if teams fail that reflects on hockey as a whole, not just one team.

I hope the WCHA can look past itself and see the big picture and let BSU join our league. Some will complain that strains the recruiting and scheduling, but that can be overcome. Scheduling can be made to have more home-and-home series, with teams that are geographical close, so everyone can see these team every year. Recruiting, hey, the coaches should do what they have always done, that shouldn't be a factor.

As for Robert Morris and Niagara, since they are in Pennsylvania and New York respectively some of the east coast leagues should add these programs to their leagues. Huntsville-Alabama, uff-da, what to do with them... they are all by themselves down south. Is Omaha the closest D-1 team to them? I'm not sure, but maybe the WCHA could coherse UNO from the CCHA and the CCHA take on Huntsville... just a thought. Then would have 12 teams in the W and we could have a North-South subdivision or West-East one, still play everyone but change the playoff format.

College hockey needs these teams to keep playing, nobody, should be happy to see a team dissappear of the landscape.

Coaches Poll (by Sioux 7)

Today the Grand Forks Herald newspaper released its 37th annual WCHA pre-season poll.

Rank School Points

1 UND (7) 79
2 Minnesota (3) 74
3 Colorado Coll. 55
4 Denver 53
5 Wisconsin 52
6 St. Cloud St. 43
7 Michigan Tech 41
8 Minn.-Duluth 23
9 MSU-Mankato 19
10 Anchorage 11

The numbers in the ( ) represent first place votes and the other is the total points.

The poll also includes voting for pre-season rookie of the year and player of the year.

Pre-season Rookie of the Year

Kyle Turris, UW, 9
Evan Trupp, UND, 1

Pre-season Player of the Year

Ryan Duncan, UND, 5
T.J. Oshie, UND, 3
Taylor Chorney, UND, 1
Kyle Okposo, Minn., 1


This early pre-season poll does show some similarities to my earlier preseason predictions. Of course, it is not very often that a team predicted to finish first does win the league. The season doesn't get underway for a little over a week yet, but it is getting closer, we are almost into the month of October.

On a side note:

The Goon and Sioux 7 will be enjoying bird hunting this upcoming weekend along with UND's homecoming festivities. We'll be shooting ducks and other various fowl that are in season. And I be able to comfirm that "actual condition" of said "downed computer".

Going Down? by Sioux 7

Just a little FYI for all the dedicated GOON'S WORLD readers. The Goon's computer has gone down, I'm not sure if it was a standing 8-count or a TKO, but the Goon's computer is out of commission for a little while. I will keep everyone updated when I get more info from the Goon.

WCHA - Preseason Predictions - (by Sioux 7)

With the season bearing down on us, UND's first "game" which is an exhibition match is October 7th, just over 3 weeks away. But before that skates are sharpened, the sweaters doned, and the puck drops let me enlighten (or guessing as the case maybe) what the final standings will be in the WCHA this season.


Coming in at the bottom this year will be...Alaska. I believe there motto is "The Last Frontier" unfornately I think in hockey it is "The Last Place Frontier".

10 - Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves

Just avoiding the doubious distinction of finish last will be...Duluth. The license plates in Minnesota reads "Land of 10,000 Lakes" for the Bulldogs of Duluth it could be "Rink of 10,000 Loses" this year. They suffered a big blow when Matt Niskanen and Raymond Mason left early :(

9 - Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs

Moving up the preseason poll the "middle of the pack" is a little harder to estimate. Coming in at the 8-spot will be...Colorado. So much for the high peaks of the mountains, I think the Tigers are headed for the low lying valleys this season. The scoring by committee only goes so far, sooner or later you need a figure-head to lead the masses. The Tigers this year will be more roar than bite.

8 - Colorado College Tigers

Going to Vegas you want to get 7's but in a preaseason poll, but who knows it might be lucky in the end. Blowing on the dice and comin' up 7 is...Minnesota State. Maybe the bad luck Vikings purple has rubbed off somehow on the Mavericks. They have moments of being a contender, and then suddenly, BAM, down goes MSU. The Mavericks might go into a flat spin this year and goose (Jutting) will suffer a head injury, it will be sad, but they will find a new wingman.

7 - Minnesota State Mankato Mavericks (hey, I just notice but these guys could be 3-M)

Completing the bottom half of this years preaseason bracket and having to go on the road for the first round of the playoff will be...Wisconsin. The badgers did get a nice recruit in Turris, but the wall is gone (Elliott). Without him the badgers ship will leak water like a rusty bucket and they will not be able to fill that void completely, thus they won't win the close ones like they us too. TheBadger might suffer from the cold season leading the furry critter to "hibernate" a few times this winter season.

6 - Wisconsin Badgers

The "middle" teams in the WCHA will be the... Huskies. This will create a little more animosity between the 2 teams when they end up in a tie for 4-5 spot. SCSU lost there cork stopper too, with Geophart leaving, they do how ever have some fire power up front with Nodl and Dey. The MTU have it the other way, they have two exceptional goalies in Teslak and Nolan. These great work/sled dogs will do just work hard and be rewarded in the end with a juicy bone, home ice advantage.

4-tie - Huskies of Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State

The trey spot will belong to a team from the Rocky Mountain state...Denver. I'm not sure what has really led me to this finishing spot for this team. But, I do know that the Gwaz-man always seems to find a way to win games in the regular season. On a side note, what does a bird symbol have to do with being a pioneer, how about a covered wagon or something more Pioneer-ish?

3 - Denver Pioneers

The team coming in on the duece will be the "first loser" in the division, "the other big ten (11)" school...Minnesota Twin Cities. The gphers will have their usual high powered offense this year, but the back half of the ice will be their downfall. They have lost a group of defensemen that will be near impossible to replace in a season, and the goalie, Frazee, will have to stand on his head and make timely saves for the gophers to make a run in the playoffs. If the gophers collapse in the late season again look for the head-gopher to go down his gopher-hole and dissappear.

2 - Minnesota Twin Cities Golden Gophers

That leaves that top spot in the league for the remaining team (remember you are reading this on Goon's World) THE ONE THEE ONLY... FIGHTING SIOUX. Not that I'm biased, which I am, but the Sioux return a large portion of the team from last year. The most notable loss was Toews leaving early for the NHL. The offense will still be potent with Oshie and Duncan (Hobey Baker) and the starting goalie is back as well as most of the d-men.

1 - North Dakota Fighting Sioux

Interesting Read: Make or Break Season for the NHL

Ted Starky has some interesting points on the NHL and and some of the issues that could plague it's future success...

Sports Commentary

The National Hockey League is set to kick off its 90th season with a new look, a new defending champion, and some new stars in new locations.

This year will be a make-or-break season for the league, as after two seasons of trying to repair the damage from the 2004 lockout, the NHL now needs to make positive inroads into raising the sport's profile again. Record-low ratings have left the league with one year to convince NBC to extend its no-fee rights deal at the end of the season to remain on network television. After three years of mostly negative national press, the NHL urgently needs to cast itself in a more positive light to try and regain the sport's standing that was mostly lost in the work stoppage.

Of course, the league also has been plagued with some bad luck, as for three straight seasons, the league’s marquis showcase event has featured a small-market Canadian team against one from a sunbelt U.S. city, not exactly the formula for big U.S. television ratings. Big-market clubs like the Rangers and Flyers haven’t always performed up to expectations, and of the league’s marquis franchises, only Detroit has appeared in a conference final since the lockout ended. The league's partnership with Versus also took a hit when the network failed to land either an NFL or MLB package that would make it must-carry basic cable, and has left the league on a network that few of heard of and fewer will chase down to watch the league's top games.

Some of that could be changing this season, as New York and Philadelphia loaded up in the free-agent market, with stars such as Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere, respectively, heading to those two teams, which should help boost those sagging TV numbers. Another NHL ratings stronghold in Pittsburgh likely will keep improving as the Penguins should be even better after an improbable run into the playoffs, meaning more chances for the league to showcase Sidney Crosby deeper in the spring.

League-wide, every team is changing this year to the form-fitting Reebok Edge jerseys, which have garnered some decidedly mixed reviews from fans and critics, but likely will bring a windfall in merchandising money as fans looking to update their collection will need to purchase a pricer version of an NHL sweater, which include several new designs that should sell well.

The NHL is also in a rare position of not having to face the most daunting problems in pro sports, as the other major sports are facing serious questions about the very integrity of the game. A renegade referee put the NBA in the spotlight this summer, as the legitimacy of some of its contests were put in serious doubt thanks to one official's tie with the mafia. The NFL has one of its stars set to be sentenced in December for running a dogfighting ring, and other players also face serious legal implications in the upcoming months. And baseball has its most hallowed record in the possession of a player largely regarded as a cheat, and the appearance of rampant steroid use for both sluggers and pitchers.

In the end I think the NHL success relies on its television package and marketing scheme. Face it; Versus is a decent television channel however, it is not a top tier television channel like TSN, Rogers Sport Net, FSN, ESPN or even CBC for that matter. The NHL has to get back on the ESPN network where it will be more visible. Also, maybe the NHL needs to stop trying to sell hockey to people that will never be interested in hockey. Hockey is a regional game that is played in the north country.

The Media Experts Predictions on Bochenski and Kessel

I found this on Hockey Buzz a few weeks back and apparently the Ultimate Pool Guide making some predictions about former Fighting Sioux forward Brandon Bochenski might have a off year.



The Hockey News Ultimate Pool Guide 2007-08:

The increase in points for Phil Kessel is the second highest increase projected by the magazine (the first being Scott Gomez). The magazine lists Brandon Bochenski as a candidate to crash and burn this year (the piece is warning poolies about this).

Player projections: (for Kessel and Bochenski)
Kessel, 54 pts, 20 goals (+ 25 pts from last year)
Bochenski, 40 pts, 18 goals (+16 pts from last year)

I think that Bochenski is going to turn some heads with his play for the Bruins this season. I believe All It's going to take is Brandon getting a decent amount of playing time on a line with talented line mates. Last year on the right line Bochenski proved that he could score timely goals.

Jeremy Reich whoops Adam Mair

I found this video over on the Ghosts of the Garden This is what I would classify as a pretty good hockey fight, two guys come together and decide to square off.

The combantants in this incident and settle their difference like men, there is no turtling or hiding behind the refs, one of the players doesn’t whack the other with his stick or stick out his knee like a gutless puke named Ulfie Samuelson, these two players drop their gloves and have at it. When the fight is over the incident is settled and the players move on. This is why I like NHL hockey, the game of hockey polices itself, end of story.

This should get you in the mood for NHL hockey

Although Rick Jeanneret would probably be considered a homer by many fans, I really love listening to him, except the May Day May call, that one really sucked for me as a Bruins fan. My favorite Rick Jeanneret moment is the one where he says; tis the season fla La, La, La Fontaine.

Classic Commodore fights

This afternoon I was on line and I came across a bunch of Mike Commodore fights that are posted on You Tube. This first video is a pretty good fight between Brendan Witt and Commie. As I think to the days of Mike Commodore I will never forget the fight that Commie had with Alex Brooks, now that was a pretty one sided fight. Commie ended up re-arranging Brooks nose.

Commodore and Eager

Commie works Hollweg

I can't stand Janssen

Thorburn vs Commodore (great fight)

Commie Smokes Cheecho train

Commie can score too

Rick Jeanerette describes Commie's goal against Buffalo

Commie smacks Ovechkin

Hakstol Inks 5-Year Contract

Head coach Dave Hakstol will continue to be "The Man" at the reigns of UND hockey for the next five years.

From USCHO,
"Hakstol’s current contract is set to expire at the end of June next year. The new contract gives him a base salary of $210,000 a year, with incentives of up to 25 percent of the base if he and the team attain goals such as making the Frozen Four."

I think the numerous fans and pontificators might now let up on calling for his head on a platter. He has taken UND to the Frozen Four the last 3 seasons, his first 3 seasons as head coach. Not to shabby in my opinion, how many coaches have made 3 appearances in the frozen four, much less 3 in a row to start your head coaching career?

This should continue to add stability in an already solid program.

Here is a point that has to change

WCHA Dominant?

WCHA went 8-9-1 against HE last season (this includes holiday tourneys and NCAA play). BC, Maine and UNH beat the WCHA teams they saw last season, UML, Merrimack, Providence and UVT lost to/tied the WCHA teams they saw.

I saw this over on USCHO tonight, I guess I hadn't thought about it that much, however, he is right. I guess the Sioux are going to have to carry the torch for the WCHA to get the league's honor back. One way to start that would be to sweep the UNH Wild Cats in December when they come to the REA and to beat B.C. and Northeastern University when they make the trip out this October.

The Chickens finally come home to roost

For Sioux fans this day took a long time in coming.
This has been covered a bit on the college Hockey Blog sphere and when I first saw it, the incident kind of sounded like an urban legend, it was almost like it was too good to be true. Sioux fans and other hockey fans are already asking; where do we get the You Tube Video of this incident? We want proof for closure. As a rabid Sioux fan, of course I was hoping it was true because I felt it was a long time in coming. Now finally this incident can be put to bed as justice has finally been served.

It took a couple of seasons but Matt Greene finally got a shot at Oilers prospect Geoff Paukovich and made the most of it.

Here's the deal, back in 2004-05 in the WCHA Final Five, Paukovich playing for the Denver Pioneers crushed Greene's teammate Robbie Bina of North Dakota with an ugly hit that broke Bina's neck. (Bina has since returned to play). Greene, the Fighting Sioux's captain, exchanged words with Paukovich telling him their would be a day of reckoning at a later date. (Note:this would be the politically correct translation of what was said!).

As you all know you can't fight in College hockey but you can in a conditioning camp.
Paukovich now an Oilers prospect showed up at Clare Drake Arena the other day for the U. of A. Conditioning Camp, and Greene of course is an Oilers regular. Greene was late for a session, and the two were slated to be on the same team, when he saw Paukovich in a drill. Greene immediately skated over to Paukovich and told him the day of reckoning had arrived and proceeded to according to onlookers..make short work of Paukovich. The one-sided tilt lasted 15-20 seconds. The two shook hands after the fight. Classic!

Bob Stauffer
Team 1260

For college hockey fans that aren't very familiar with the incident in question this link kind of put the whole incident in perspective from more of a journalistic point of view.

This article put it all in perspective as well...

The incident
The moment came early in the second period with Denver controlling the puck while the referee had his arm in the air ready to blow the play dead as soon as North Dakota touched the puck. It’s a scene played out in rinks around the globe often, but on this afternoon in the heat of the battle, something went wrong.
As the puck came free along the boards, sophomore defenseman Robbie Bina reached to touch it thus triggering the whistle and stopping the play. But when the 5’8 180 lb Bina played the puck, he was simultaneously hit from behind by Paukovich, crashing heavily into the boards.

“It was a delayed penalty touch up and Bina got hit from behind, that’s it,” Greene bluntly stated, clearly still bothered by the memory. “He was two feet off the boards and got hit from behind and it was a delayed penalty call, so as soon as Robbie touches the puck, which he did, the whistle blows and that’s it. I don’t want to point fingers or anything, but from where I was sitting, it didn’t look like it needed to happen.”

Bina lay motionless for a period of time before being carried off the ice, the extent of his injuries not immediately known. Oiler VP of Hockey Operations Kevin Prendergast, who was in attendance that night, wasn’t aware of the severity of the injury until it came up in casual conversation with Hockey’s Future a day or two later back in Edmonton.

“The way he went into the boards, his stick slammed so loudly that I thought it sounded worse than it was,” said Prendergast. “Clearly, I was wrong.”

The result to Bina was a broken neck and possibly the end of his playing career. On the other hand, for the momentary lapse of judgment, Paukovich was given a one-game suspension by the NCAA and another from his coach. However, it should be pointed out that at the time of the incident, the only penalty given to the Denver forward was a two-minute minor for boarding. Whether it was the blown call by the ref, the hit itself or something else, North Dakota’s captain reacted immediately.

“It’s tough, you know, you’ve got your buddy lying on the ice and you can’t do anything about it,” Greene said with frustration in his voice. “If I would have done anything about it I would have had three minutes more in penalties than Paukovich had for breaking the kid’s neck plus a game misconduct and it was at a time when we were dealing with single elimination games for the rest of the year.”

“It was tough to swallow, Robbie’s one of my best friends on the team but regardless of being a teammate or not, you never want to get too personal with things. But when you see a guy every day in classes and then you see him take a hit like that, it kind of messes with your mind,” he added. “I was frustrated, but there wasn’t much you could do about it in that game.”

Paukovich, who was genuinely and deeply regretful for his actions, says his memory of the incident is still largely a blur but clearly recalls Greene’s reaction.

“I was kind of in a daze but… he was pissed” the rookie described. “He and I had some words and that kind of set the stage for the National Championship game. He wasn’t a very big fan of mine after that, that’s for sure.”

Bina missed the rest of the tournament schedule, but was in attendance providing emotional support for his team all the way to the NCAA finals held in Columbus. The prognosis for the diminutive forward is still unclear and at last contact Bina was still wearing both a neck brace and a never fading smile, a trait Greene admires immensely.

“His personality through the whole thing has been unbelievable, a guy that had every reason to be down with just the fact that we were playing in the National Championship game and he was in the stands wearing a neck brace where he would have been playing,” praised Greene. “He never lost the smile off his face, he always came around happy and was always cracking jokes and even now when I go for lunch with him, he’s a great guy.”

Paukovich struggled emotionally after the hit and although he played his way through to the end of the year, some say he was clearly not the same player on the ice.

“That really bothered Geoff in a big way, it’s going to take him some time to recover emotionally,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said during an Edmonton radio interview on the TEAM 1260 in April. “He was able to play for us in the Frozen Four and played pretty well but you could tell he was being very careful.”

“It wasn’t a deliberate thing, he’s a very physical player but he’s not a dirty player,” defended Prendergast. “The incident was unfortunate but he didn’t mean to injure him. We talked to him after the game and you could see it in his eyes that it had rattled him, when you see a kid taken off the ice on a stretcher it affects you.”

The Goon's perspective on the incident

This is what I wrote on Siouxsports.com

The Hit on Robbie Bina was right across the ice from my seat in the club level, I saw the whole incident as it unfolded, and it was by far one of the dirtiest plays that I have ever seen in all of my days of watching college hockey. I have witnessed a few incidents like this in the NHL but not in the college game. The fact the Don Adam only called a two minute penalty should have been the end of that refs career as an on the ice official. Also if you watched the film of the hit you will see Pauko smirking in the box.

The fact that it took so long for a wrong to be righted is puzzling to me, Paukovich should have been challenged the minute he stepped out of the penalty box at the Final Five. I look at Paukovich as being just as bad as Todd Bertuzzi, Ulfie Sammuelson or a Claude Lemieux. They are disgusting players and all will get or got what was coming to them. Live by the sword and die by the sword.

Sweet Throphy

SCSU's Only Throphy

I came across this page while I was on line. That is an awesome throphy in my opinion. It's a shame that UND couldn't play for the DQ cup since they owned all of the Minnesota teams last season. Someone even suggested that the Sioux should have been the rightfull owners of the DQ cups since the Sioux only lost one game to the four teams that competed for the DQ cup. Here is the break down UND went 3-1 against the Minnesota Gophers, 1-0-1 against UMD Bulldogs, 5-0-1 against the Minnesota State State University Mavericks and 3-0-1 against the champion Saint Cloud State University Huskies. Also add two wins against the Bemidji State Beavers and UND was 12-1-3 against the teams that have addresses in Minnesota.

Anyone see Mean Girl?

WCHA Blog Reviews of the Road Trip.

WCHA Road Trip Town No. 4 – Minneapolis
I was checking out this article on Cardinal's WCHA blog and I was wondering if anyone else has seen the humor in this article? Maybe it is just me? Ryan Cardinal is a gopher fan from Minneapolis and ranked his home town 4th. Actually for the Twin Cities I think that a grade of "B" is too low. I don't see any reason to act objective in this situation. Most of us would agree Minneapolis is a great city even with the Gophers and there are a lot of amenities that the small towns do not offer.

But I digress; I guess that 4th place is better than the 9th place ranking that my home town of Grand Forks, ND received, I guess I am not blaming him because there are times that I wonder why I decided to stay here after I graduated from college. There was a reason people let Grand Forks after they graduated. Don't get me wrong; Grand Forks is a nice college town with a great hockey progam to follow but there isn't much to do up here unless your a hunter, like to watch hockey and or are a dirt track racing fan, I happen to be a fan of all three. By the way did I say that I was also a big race fan as well. That can be solved by moving somewhere else and buying a satellite dish. Personally I would have just skipped reviewing my own town.

City Experience (Grand Forks, ND)

Grand Forks really suffers in this area in my opinion, since there isn’t a whole heck of a lot to do aside from watch hockey games. The one staple that I try to incorporate into the trip is a visit to the Columbia Mall, which makes for a good time-killer.


Summary on the Grand Forks Road Trip

I personally rank Grand Forks as one of my favorite roadtrips, but it’s not because of the city. It gives you everything you need to make the trip solid, but it really suffers in terms of other things to do aside from watching hockey and it’s long distance from most other WCHA cities.

Overall Grade: C+

Here is Ryan's review on the Twin Cities Road Trip and the UofMN.

This week, its city No. 4: Minneapolis, Minn., which is home to the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Access

This review as a whole is a bit different for me since I’ve lived in the Twin Cities area my whole life and therefore have never had a chance to ‘visit’ the area. However, as I’ve stated before, I’ve been to all the other WCHA towns, so I feel that I can compare the Minneapolis area to these towns.

Minneapolis is probably the easiest city to get to in the WCHA. It’s about an hour away from St. Cloud and Mankato, two hours from Duluth, and a little over four hours from Madison and Grand Forks. The drive from most of these areas is pretty painless, although the Twin Cities area can certainly generate its share of traffic as you get closer to either downtown.

With the 35W bridge disaster, it’s a little tougher to navigate the area around the Minnesota campus, but it’s still manageable, especially at night (when hockey games generally are) as opposed to rush hour.

The Twin Cities also features an international airport with several flights a day to the Denver / Colorado Springs area, among others.

Bars

As is the case with most big schools in major cities, there are plenty of options for having some fun before and after the games. There are obviously many bars in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area, but I think you’ll find that you won’t need to leave the U of M campus to find a good time.

Before the games, there are three places that most fans venture to that are all in the same general area. Sally’s Saloon and Eatery is the biggest hangout of the three. Like the others, it’s just a few blocks from Mariucci Arena and is a typical sports bar. It gets very busy before the games but is big enough to accommodate the hockey crowd. However, it can get very packed if the campus has another event going on that day. The menu is limited on gamedays but is still very solid. It’s a tad spendy, but the atmosphere is what keeps people coming back over the years.

Down the street a bit you’ll find Big Ten Restaurant & Bar. This place gets packed as well, but mainly because it’s very small compared to Sally’s. Big 10 is known for their subs, which are excellent. They have a much better selection of beet on tap, if that’s your thing.

Stub and Herbs is the other of the mainstays for pregaming. Featuring both an upper and lower level, there’s nothing overly special about it, but they have a lot of room and your traditional bar food.

If you’re looking to have some fun at night, The Library is the most popular bar on campus after dark. It gets very packed with the ‘hip and trendy’ crowd, but they have good specials on the weekend and the “scenery” is nice. And yes, it’s about two blocks away from the infamous Blarney Pub and Grill.

Finally, if you’re looking for a late-night snack after your do some bar-hopping, Burrito Loco, which is adjacent to The Library, is where you’ll want to go. They are open well past bar close and it is the place to go for after hours food.

City Experience

There are quite a few things to do in the Twin Cities area. In the fall, Viking and Gopher football games could kill some time on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. The Wild start up in early October, which would make for a good time in St. Paul on a Thursday or Sunday. Out-of-towners like to frequent the Mall of America as well if they’ve never been to the Twin Cities area.

Hotels

There are not too many options near Mariucci Arena. The best bet for visitors is the Radisson that is right by the three bars / restaurants I mentioned earlier. It’s well over $100 a night though, which could be problematic.

There is a Days Inn down the street a bit that could be a more viable option for the money-conscience.

If readers have other suggestions here, please feel free to chime in via the comments section, since this is one area that I don’t deal with too often in Minneapolis.

Ticket Cost / Availability

As anyone who has visited the Twin Cities to watch a Gopher game, you know that this is a potential issue. Gopher games are all essentially sold out before tickets go on sale to the public. Scattered single seats and standing-room tickets can be had when tickets go on sale in mid-September each year.

However, buying tickets from scalpers out front has always been a popular route of attack, and now that scalping tickets is legal in Minnesota, this is likely to be an increased course of action for folks looking for seats. The standard ticket is $30, but unless the Gophers are playing someone like North Dakota or Wisconsin, you can likely pay under face-value from scalpers to get in if you play your cards right.

As with any roadtrip though, it’s nice to have tickets in-hand before leaving.

Summary

As I said before, I’ve never “visited” Minneapolis since I live here, but I think it has all the ingredients to be a great roadtrip town: the hockey will almost always be good because of the quality of Minnesota’s teams each year, it’s easy to get to the area and it’s centrally located, and there are plenty of places to hangout around Mariucci. Lodging could be a slight issue if you don’t want to have to drive at all, but finding a decent place isn’t an issue at all. And finally, tickets to Gopher games aren’t going to fall into your lap, but with some many resources online to find tickets, it really shouldn’t be too tough to have them with you before you depart.

Overall Grade: B

'

Again the first time that I read this article I thought it was hilarious. Ranking ones city that they live in, hence, making the title of Road trip even more funny to me. That's not to say that this isn't a good article because it was. I enjoyed the article. This is what I put for a response in the comments: -- am not sure how it can be a road trip if all your doing is getting in your car and drivin to the rink? :)--

Looking at the ranking I believe that 4th is a little low for the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis, MN. Just my HMO; when looking at Minneapolis one thing there is not a shortage of is bars; there are an enormous amount of great bars and eating facilities in the Minneapolis and St Paul area. In fact I would rank it as one of the best in the country.

A must read by Elliot Olshansky; break down of the 2007 NCAA field

I thought this was an interesting article by that was written by
Elliot Olshansky of CSTV. The article broke down the teams that made the NCAA playoffs last season. This is what Elliot had to say about the three WCHA teams that made the NCAA tourney last spring. I think you will find it to be an interesting read.

North Dakota - It takes a special group of players to make a pact to stay in Grand Forks, as several of the Sioux's top stars did. Losing Jonathan Toews will hurt -- as will the departure of Brian Lee, even if some in Grand Forks won't admit it -- but in the WCHA, losing a couple of first-round draft picks is par for the course among the upper-echelon teams. The more important thing is that Ryan Duncan, T.J. Oshie, Robbie Bina and Taylor Chorney are back to lead seven of North Dakota's top 10 scorers, and it's unlikely that the string of bad luck that struck the Sioux in the early portion of the 2006-07 campaign will return. VERDICT: Better

While some of the media pundents have said UND isn't going to be as good this season as they were last year. Elliot Olshansky recognizes that UND still has the good core nucleus of a great hockey team that in my opinion will have one of the best defensive corps in the NCAA, the only weakness I see for UND is the goaltending; Philippe Lamoureux is going to have to keep his emotions in check if the Fighting Sioux are going to go far in the NCAA playoffs.

St. Cloud State - It's hard to imagine the Huskies being any better than they were last season with Bobby Goepfert now trying to carve out a professional career in the Anaheim Ducks organization, but then again, Jase Weslosky looked good in most of his appearances last season. More importantly, the high-scoring freshman duo of Andreas Nodl and Ryan Lasch is back for a sophomore campaign, although the early signing of Andrew Gordon will take its toll, as will the graduation of Dan Kronick. Bob Motzko has shown himself to be talented at getting the most out of his team, but there's only so long you can hold off the Wisconsins, Denvers and Colorado Colleges of the world. VERDICT: Worse

St. Cloud was a good hockey team last year that fizzled in the NCAA tourney yet again. Without Bobby in goal they just got worse. While SCSU wasn't very deep on the forward position the future looks very bright for the Huskies if their young goaltender Jase Weslosky 6-gp 5-1-0 gaa 2.67 save %.899 can carry the load. They do return Andreas Nodl who had 16 goals 30 assists for 46 points.

Minnesota - It's hard to be better than the best, which is what the Gophers were, statistically, heading into the NCAA tournament. It's also hard to be better when you've lost your three top defensemen, the forward expected to move back to the blueline to help compensate and the program's all-time leader in goaltending wins. On the other hand, the Gophers' losses at forward are minimal, except that Jim O'Brien could have been expected to take major steps forward this year, and that Mike Carman is not eligible to play until the second semester. Given that the Gophers' strength last season was offensive dominance and the ability to control the puck, if the re-worked defensive corps can hold the blueline effectively, Minnesota should not be too far off. In the meantime, though, the Gophers have a few things to prove. VERDICT: Worse

The Gophers return a good share of their offensive talent, however, they no longer have Alex Goligoski on the blue line quarterbacking the power play. Goligoski was one the best defensive players in the NCAA last season and would have fit nicely in the Gophers defensive scheme. While the Gophers still have some teeth in their line up they are going to have to score a ton of goals to offset having arguably one of the biggest head cases in net Jeff Frazee...

Found this on Sioux Sports

Check out this link Lammy Is a Sieve

Here is a link that some one posted Siouxsports.com. There is the old statement about living in glass houses and not throwing stones. What can I say, you have to love the Gopher fans they are creative.



While we are on the subject of Sieves: Bina goes downtown

You also can't spell sieves without Briggs... reliving the gift...

Former Fighting Sioux player Andy Schneider invited to Ducks Rookie camp

I found this on line and haven't seen a lot written about it. Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Andy Schneider used to be part of the Pittsburgh but was hurt last season didn't play and is now looking for a team to call home. Goon's world wishes Andy good luck and hopefully he can be the next Fighting Sioux hockey player to make the NHL.

Link to the Roster

The Ducks will host Rookie Games versus the San Jose Sharks on Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. and Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. at Anaheim ICE. The two-game weekend set at the Ducks practice facility will highlight top prospects from both National Hockey League (NHL) clubs.

Featured players on Anaheim’s roster include 2007 NHL Entry Draft first-round selection Logan MacMillan (19th overall), 2005 NHL Entry Draft first-round selection Bobby Ryan (second overall), as well as Drew Miller and Ryan Carter, who both appeared with the Ducks in the 2007 Stanley Cup Final. A 17-year-old (7/5/89) center from Charlottetown, PEI, MacMillan appeared in appeared in 68 games with Halifax (QMJHL), collecting 20-35=55 points. Ryan recorded 43-59=102 points with Owen Sound (OHL), finishing eighth overall in OHL scoring. After making their professional hockey debuts with Portland (AHL) this season, both Miller and Carter joined Anaheim for the postseason, making their NHL debuts during the club’s Stanley Cup championship run

The Goon's WCHA goalie Rankings

Here is how I rank the top ten returning WCHA goalies for the up coming season.

1. Michale-Lee Teslak MTU .916 save % and 2.00 gaa
2. Rob Nolan MTU .910 save % 2.26 gaa
3. Peter Mannino DU .919 save % 2.29 gaa
4. Phil Lamoureux UND .913 save % 2.42 gaa
5. Shane Connelly UW .952 save % 1.11 gaa
6. Jeff Frazee UM .903 save % 2.35 gaa
7. Mike Zacharias MSU-M .892 % 3.02 gaa
8. Alex Stalock UMD .889 save % 3.16 gaa
9. Jon Olthuis UAA .883 save % 3.83 gaa
10. Jase Weslosky SCSU .899 save % 2.67 gaa

First off Connelley is no Brian Elliot but he does have the same goalie coach that Elliot had. The MTU tandem of Teslak and Nolan are the two headed monster that most teams would love to have on their team but dread having to face them. Jeff Frazee is going to get a sun burn on the back of his neck from the red light going off all season after the Gophers lost one of the best defensemen in the WCHA, David Fischer and Brian Schack are no where near the talent of Alex Goligoski.

Fall is on its Way...

Summer coming to an end

You can see the begining of fall coming but you can also feel the beginnig of the fall season in the air, I say this literally, as the farmers are harvesting their wheat and barley fields. My alergies have been killing me all week and I can't wait to it rains again to knock down some of this dust.

Incidently I was watching the weather channel this morning and I say 47 degrees as a low temperature, the drop of the puck is 44 days away. Summer is almost over and hockey season is on it's way. Here are a couple of things that I noticed while reading a recent College Hockey News article. Summer Session: North Dakota

Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
2006-2007 record: 24-14-5 (13-10-5 WCHA) Third consecutive Frozen Four appearance
Key Returnees: Robbie Bina D SR., Kyle Radke D SR., Philippe Lamoureux G SR., Ryan Duncan F JR., T. J. Oshie F JR., Matt Watkins F JR., Taylor Chorney D JR. Joe Finley D JR., Chay Genoway D SO.
Key Losses: Jonathan Toews (early departure), Brian Lee (early departure), Chris Porter, Erik Fabian

When the 2006-07 season began there were many question marks surrounding the Fighting Sioux. Such questions early were about the scoring and some questions surrounded Philippe Lamoureux and if he could be an everyday goaltender. Those questions were answered early with the offense, but it was the second half that Lamoureux proved to be an everyday goaltender.

About the 2006-07 season, head coach Dave Hakstol said, "It was extremely competitive and very exciting."

Hakstol also mentioned that "The parity was extremely competitive," meaning that there were many teams that he felt could win it all during tournament time.

The team made the Frozen Four again by defeating Minnesota in one of the greatest NCAA regional games that was ever played. Although it lost to Boston College in the semis, Sioux fans can still be happy about the team's performance.

The season ended when Ryan Duncan won the Hobey Baker award. Duncan was part of the second half surge that helped the Fighting Sioux throughout that part of the year.

"There were a lot of factors for our good second half," Hakstol said. "The development of the underclassmen improved, the transition went well and we found an identity that helped us late in the year."

As for the 2007-08 season, the Fighting Sioux look to be loaded on all cylinders, even despite losing underclassmen Jonathan Toews and Brian Lee. Although the Sioux only have four seniors on the roster, there is plenty of leadership on the team with eight juniors on the 2007-08 roster.

As far as the recruiting class goes, Hakstol said, "It is a very solid class with a good core of guys."

Overall there are six members of the class of 2011. "There are high expectations about this freshman class," said Hakstol. "They have all contributed on their teams in the past."

With four USHL players and two BCHL players on the list of recruits. And another newcomer worth notice is former Alaska-Anchorage forward Shea Hamilton who will look to establish himself as a role player.

"This is no different than any other year," Hakstol said about the teams expectations. "Our No. 1 goal is to be there in March and April. We have a good core coming back, and we want to come with a good start right out of the gates."

Even though the Sioux lost two players to the NHL, this team is still loaded. Expect this team to look towards a fourth consecutive Frozen Four appearance.

Early season prediction: anywhere from first through fourth in the WCHA

First off from everything that I have heard around town and through the Blog Sphere is that Shea Hamilton will not be joining the Fighting Sioux because he was dismissed from the team last spring for undisclosed reasons. Apparently the news media wasn't given the press brief on that one or they just have a case of ADHD.

Also, what is up with the prediction: way to go out on a limb on that prediction. Come on the Sioux will finish anywhere from first place to fourth place. If the Sioux don’t finish in first or second in the WCHA this season I would believe the Sioux will have unachieved as a team.

Ecklund from Hockey Buzz gives Porter Some love.

Ecklund from Hockey Buzz had some nice things to say about former fighting Sioux hockey player.
Check it out the article

a guy that you may not had heard of

Chris Porter.
Chris is a Left Wing from UND, who was drafted by Chicago two drafts ago yet has been unable to come to terms with the Hawks, so as of this past Wednesday he became a UFA.

Chris is a solid two-way player who has displayed great leadership in his college career, and according to one source, "He is getting some pretty impressive contract offers from a few teams..."