Inventory of the Wild's equipment fire

This is a crazy story that you would have to try real hard to make up. When I first read it on someone's twitter yesterday I thought it was a fraternity prank. Being a former athlete I can’t imagine my equipment just going up in flames. Some of these guys have to start all over again. This has to be hard for the goaltenders, who most of us at time think they are nuts anyways. This is the equivalent of a golfer being given new clubs the day before a big golf tourney the Masters. I can’t imagine trying to break in new skates and having to use them in a game when they aren’t broken in yet.

Here's an inventory, and some are a bit comical:

Zidlicky-Good

Johnsson-Good

Zanon-Lost a ton, but not his knee brace

Stoner-Skates and pants only saved

Koivu-Everything lost but skates

Kobasew-Good

Havlat--Everything lost, but they found a set of skates he used to wear in Chicago and put on a new blade

Brunette-Good

Ebbett-Everything gone

Miettinen-Everything gone

Clutterbuck-Everything gone

Brodziak-Good

Boogaard-Good

Belanger-Good

Hnidy--Everything gone, and two left skates burned

Scott-Everything gone

Earl-Everything gone

Backstrom-Everything gone

Harding-Everything gone

Sheppard--Everything gone, except, get this, his contacts and a mouthguard

Schultz-Everything gone, had skates picked up at his house that he wears in pond hockey and he went to Play It Again sports to buy shoulder pads he likes

Latendresse-Good
[Russo's Rants]

NCAA Round Up: The most wonderful time of the year.

Here is this weeks column that I wrote for the Illegal Curve.

In my opinion this is the most exciting time of the year, with the Christmas holiday season right around the corner, that means many of our favorite college hockey teams are playing non-conference games or in holiday tourneys.

On December 29th – 30th, 2009

Florida College Hockey Classic

Maine vs. Princeton
Colorado College vs. Cornell

Great Lakes Invitational

Michigan Vs RPI
Michigan State vs. Michigan Tech

On January 2nd – 3rd, 2010

Badger Showdown

M.C. vs. Wisconsin
Yale vs. Ferris State

Denver Cup

UNO vs. SLU
B.C. vs. DU

Ledyard Bank Tournament

UML vs. Holy Cross
Northeastern vs. Dartmouth

Sheraton/TD Banknorth Catamount Cup

UAH vs. Vermont
UMD vs. Mercyhurst

Shillelagh Tournament

UND vs. Niagara
Colgate vs. Notre Dame

Dodge Holiday Classic

Clarkson vs. NMU
BGSU vs. UMN

World Juniors take Center Stage

With the holiday season comes this years World Junior Championship in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan between December 26, 2009, and January 5, 2010, I have listed below the US college hockey players that are vying for a spot on the USA roster. This years version of the Canadian WJC team is made up entirely of CHL talent and doesn’t have a single college hockey star on their roster. Incidentally, there were a few Canadian collegians that were vying for spots on the Team Canada roster; Denver University Sophomore Patrick Wiercioch was cut because of a knee injury and Harvard University Freshman Louis Leblanc was one of the last players cut from team Canada. Some thought that Dylan Olsen from UMD and Joe Colborne from DU might have a chance to make the Canadian roster as well but they did not make the team.

Forwards

Name School, Year G-A-PTS
Chris Brown Michigan, Freshman 5-7-12
Jerry D'Amigo RPI, Freshman 5-9-14
Chris Kreider Boston Coll. Freshman 2-3-5
Danny Kristo North Dakota Freshman 6-10-16
Kyle Palmieri Notre Dame Freshman 5-2-7
Vinny Saponari Boston Univ. Sophomore 4-8-12
Jordan Schroeder Minnesota Sophomore 4-8-12
Derek Stepan Wisconsin Sophomore 5-17-22
Dave Wohlberg Michigan Sophomore 2-7-9

Defense

Matt Donovan Denver Freshman 2-7-9
Jake Gardiner Wisconsin Sophomore 1-2-3
Max Nicastro Boston Univ. Freshman 1-5-6
John Ramage Wisconsin Freshman 2-5-7
David Warfosky Boston Univ. Sophomore 4-4-8

Goaltenders

Name School,Year W-L-T/GAA/Save Pct.
Mike Lee St. Cloud Freshmen 4-5-3, 2.63, .926
[NHL.com]

Blais back in Grand Forks, ND

The USA WJC tryout has been at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Grand Forks, ND this past week and the Fighting Sioux will play the USA WJC team in an exhibition game tonight at 7:07pm. I heard there are still tickets available if you want to attend the game. The USA team is coached by former Fighting Sioux head coach and current UNO Maverick head coach Dean Blais.

I was off from work yesterday and when I heard that coach Blais was speaking at the Sioux Booster’s luncheon I decided to attend my first ever Sioux Booster’s luncheon at the Alerus Center. It was fun listening to the former Fighting Sioux head coach speak. Blais is always good for interesting quote or two. On playing in Canada Blais said, “We have to be prepared to be booed in every game we play — not just against Canada. We’re going to be booed when we play Latvia.” [Grand Forks Herald]

I have a lot of respect and admiration for the former coach and I think team USA is in good hands with Dean Blais. I expect the USA WJC team to be more disciplined this year than some of the teams from the past few years. Last season’s USA WJC team under Ron Rolston took a lot of undisciplined penalties and lost it’s composure against the Canadian team, I don’t expect that to happen under a veteran coach like Dean Blais.

My 2009 Christmas Wish List…

1.) I want more consistency out of the WCHA officials. Consistently calling the games in a poor manner is not consistency. The on ice official’s performance in the WCHA this year can best be described as brutal and unacceptable. No more officiating games by the score board. If it’s a penalty in the first period it’s still a penalty in the closing minutes of a game. Start calling the obstruction, picks and protect the puck carrier, like the NHL does. I believe that the NCAA Division 1 hockey officials should have to answer to USA hockey. If the on ice officials are not up to standard of USA hockey they are terminated and should not be allowed ref in any level of hockey. The officials on ice performance should be made available by a simple freedom of information act request. No more secrecy surrounding the on ice officials. (I am giving a lump of coal for the WCHA league office; your official’s performance during the first half of the season was brutal).

2.) I want to see the NCAA Division 1 hockey mirror the NHL in quality of officiating, video review, discipline of players, coaches and official, and use the rules the NHL has for deciding ties during the regular season. College Hockey is a great game and needs to step forward into the 21st century. I would like to see all the leagues go by the same rules.

3.) I want to see stiffer penalties for players that injure another player on the ice with an illegal check. A weak and non-punitive one game suspension for knocking out a fellow player with a dirty hit is unacceptable. Suspensions need teeth.

4.) I would like to see more college hockey on television. I would like to see a NCAA college hockey offer a package much like my NHL Center Ice. (Kudos to the NHL network and FCS).

5.) I would like to see the Pairwise Ranking go back to the old days were strength of schedule mattered. Teams that racking up wins against the weak sisters of the poor to make the NCAA tourney is unacceptable. I would like to see the KRACH factor into the selection process when picking the 16 NCAA tourney teams. (A lump of coal for the NCAA ice hockey committee).

6.) I would like to see all references and or discussion of the Big Ten Hockey Conference put to bed forever. It’s a pipe dream that some Big Ten administrator(s) with a college football background wants to push. They had a chance to put the Hockey Show Case games on the Big Ten Network and they games were unavailable for people to watch. (Lump of coal to the BTN).

Check out more from Eric at twitter, and the Goon’s World Blog

Wild’s equipment truck catches fire.

When I saw this story at first I thought, you got to be kidding me. You really can't make this stuff up. I never have heard about a player’s equipment truck just bursting into flames. This sounds fishy and it’s going to be hard for the Wild to get all of their equipment replace for tomorrow’s game. Check out the Twitter pictures that someone took of the debris.

(updated 6:20 p.m. EST): Brunette after Wild's 6 p.m. meeting: "Looks like we're going to try to play, I guess."

(updated): Just talked to a bunch of players. They have a 6 p.m. EST meeting at their hotel with the team. There's lot of concern about playing in new equipment. It's not just a feel thing (it takes players weeks to break in equipment), but a safety thing. Knee braces and stuff like that were destroyed. How do you just throw a new knee brace on a player without making sure it fits properly? More soon.

Details are sketchy right now, but the Wild's equipment truck caught fire today destroying much of the Wild's equipment. [Here are pictures courtesy of a couple tweeters].

The Wild practiced at the Kanata Rec Center this afternoon in suburban Ottawa. After a short drive back to the Scotiabank place, trainers apparently got out in the parking lot and noticed the back smoky. When they opened up the back of the truck, much of the equipment was on fire.

Firefighters were called to put out the blaze, but much was destroyed. Police are investigating the cause of the fire, but equipment trainers have no clue.

"It was a five-minute drive," said bewildered head equipment trainer Tony DaCosta.

This is obviously unprecedented and the team is in complete scramble mode. Remember, in practice, players use their game gear, just not their normal game sweaters.

Assistant equipment trainer Brent Proulx is rushing back to Minnesota to gather equipment and bring it here tomorrow on a flight leaving 5:30 a.m., but the team is also on the phone with the league to determine what can be done regarding the game.

It is not easy for hockey players to just change equipment, and much of the gear was completely destroyed.

Henrik Zetterberg hurt by Ohlund hit.

Check out this hit that has to have Redwings and Swedish Olympic fans worrying about the health of one of their stars Henrik Zetterberg. As far as I can see it's legal and legit hit. Nothing dirty about it. Mattias Ohlund also smoked Phil Kessel earlier in the season with another big hit. Word is that Zetterberg will be out for two weeks with a slight shoulder seperation. [SI]

WCHA Midseason Report.

For the people that don’t read INCH or that haven’t seen the latest from Jess Meyers I thought I would include it so you can peruse it for your viewing pleasure. This is Jess Meyer's midseason report for the WCHA.

BEST NEW FACE

Notching 16 points in his first 18 collegiate games really shouldn’t be that surprising of a feat for North Dakota rookie forward Danny Kristo. The USA Hockey NTDP product has had a habit of creating offense for years both in Ann Arbor and with Omaha of the USHL (57 points in 50 games last season), which is likely why the Canadiens used a second-round pick on him in 2008. Over the holidays he’s likely to be in a different version of bleu, blanc et rouge, playing for Team USA at the World Juniors in Saskatchewan.
--------------------------------------
TOUGHEST ROAD IN

Known recently for brutal first halves and all-but-unbeatable second halves, there may be a flip-flop of fortune in the works for North Dakota this season. The Fighting Sioux are a respectable 9-6-3 at the break but a daunting second half looms. After a January weekend in suburban Chicago for the Shillelagh Tournament, NoDak has second-half trips to Minnesota, Cornell, St. Cloud State and Colorado College, along with home dates with league-leading Denver (there’s no truth to the rumor that the Pioneers’ coach will be tethered to the bench this time) and high-scoring Minnesota Duluth. That’s not a great road map for keeping the MacNaughton Cup in Grand Forks, with the Sioux currently sitting in sixth place.
--------------------------------------
MUST-SEE SERIES

Denver coach George Gwozdecky inflamed the passions between DU and North Dakota last January, taking a stroll across the Ralph’s ice sheet en route to an ejection. The Sioux scored 10 goals that weekend, got three points and eventually got the league title. So when the 2009-10 WCHA schedule was released showing a Grand Forks visit by the Pioneers on January 29-30, don’t think those dates weren’t circled in red on the calendars of many, many NoDak fans.
--------------------------------------
INCH’Ss FIRST HALF ALL-WCHA TEAM

G-Marc Cheverie, Denver: By averaging a shutout roughly every third game he starts, Chevy has Denver fans thinking about another Hobey coming to town.

D-Brendan Smith, Wisconsin: Even on a team with two Smiths and two Johnsons, it’s hard for this Badger’s league-leading 18 assists to remain anonymous.

D-Chay Genoway, North Dakota: The Fighting Sioux were 7-1-1 when Genoway got hurt, on Friday the 13th (of November). They’re 2-5-2 since then. Get well soon Chay.

F-Bill Sweatt, Colorado College: Blackhawk fans must drool when they dream of what this speedy kid from the last stop on Metra’s UP West Line may do in black and red.

F-Jack Connolly, Minnesota Duluth: Perhaps inspired by his brother’s NCAA title at BU last season, the townie Duluthians call “J-Con” has put up a dozen Bulldog goals so far.

F-Rhett Rakhshani, Denver: With 11 goals in a hot first half, Rakhshani is on pace for a career best year and has keyed the Pioneers’ run to the top of the WCHA heap.
[Click to read the whole article]

On the latest INCH chat I hope Glady didn't jinx the Fighting Sioux with this prediction. It’s no mystery that the Fighting Sioux are different team when they don’t have Chay Genoway in the lineup. We will have to see what happens to the Fighting Sioux during the second half of the season. It's kinda like ground hog day and we have seen this all before. I like many Sioux fans are hoping Genoway comes back soon. No offense to Corey Finehage but Genoway is a potential All-American and Hobey Baker candidate.

Dustin (Grand Forks)


As a Sioux fan, what concerns me most is their lack of ability to put teams away on Saturday night. They've coughed up 2 goal leads 3 times, and lost other leads, too. Is this their youthfulness showing through? The emotional effect of Genoway out of the lineup? Their goaltending seems weak at times, too. Thoughts?

Joe Gladziszewski (2:41 PM)


Missing Genoway has been a definite issue for the Sioux. I think Eidsness has been a little shaky for the last few weeks as well. In the past few years, they've played better in the second half. With Genoway coming back from his injury they might have the best depth in their lineup in the country. I expect to see them in the Frozen Four. Whenever I watch them I see a very good team.
[INCH Chat]

Wednesday Press Conference

As always the Wednesday press conference is very interesting. Jason Gregoire said, "team USA is a good team and this isn't just a fluff game." Everyone needs to stand up and be more accountable.

Chris VandeVelde said, "we need to get ready for the second half of the season." "With Darcy out of the line Guys will step up, make smart plays and we will be fine." "We want to limit our penalties, they have killed us at times."

Danny Kristo, on playing his teammates 'it will be fun.' When asked about USA coach Dean Blais, Danny said that "he is a tough coach and I love playing for him."

Coach Dave Hakstol said, "It is going to be fun having Dean in the Building again." "There will be a lot of different looks on our powerplay Saturday night." "We are going to try some different things." "This is a critical stretch for our team and for individual players." "We have six one goal losses, we have a ways to go."

Big Ten Network Announces 2009-10 Hockey Schedule

The Fighting Sioux will help kick off the Big Ten Hockey Coverage when they take on the Minnesota Gophers January 15th. The Big Ten Network is on Midco.com channel 318 in Grand Forks, ND.

CHICAGO – The Big Ten Network will televise nine men's ice hockey games this winter, featuring Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin, and all will be broadcast in high definition.

"There is a growing passion and enthusiasm for college hockey and we're looking forward to bringing that excitement to a national and international audience," Big Ten Network President Mark Silverman said.

The network, available to 73 million homes in the United States and Canada, will televise a regular-season contest every Friday or Saturday, beginning with the North Dakota-Minnesota matchup on Friday, January 15. The second semifinal of the CCHA Tournament will air live at 8 PM ET on Friday, March 19. The network makes its selections in conjunction with the regional sports networks which have existing rights arrangements with both the CCHA and the WCHA.

Additional games throughout the season will be available live anywhere in the world at www.BigTenNetwork.com. The network has made a significant financial investment to provide fans with a high-quality streaming experience that is comparable to watching a game in high definition. The network's full streaming schedule for men's ice hockey will be available at www.BigTenNetwork.com prior to the start the season.

Although the conference does not sponsor ice hockey, Big Ten member schools have combined to win four of the last eight NCAA Championships and 22 titles throughout history. Three different Big Ten schools have won national championships in the last 10 years, including Michigan State's 2007 title.

2009-2010 BIG TEN NETWORK MEN'S ICE HOCKEY SCHEDULE
Friday, January 15 North Dakota at Minnesota 8 PM ET LIVE
Saturday, January 23 Ohio State at Michigan State 5 PM ET LIVE
Friday, January 29 Michigan at Michigan State 7 PM ET LIVE
Saturday, February 6 Michigan at Wisconsin 6 PM ET LIVE
Friday, February 12 Alaska at Ohio State 7 PM ET LIVE
Friday, February 19 Colorado College at Minnesota 8 PM ET LIVE
Saturday, February 27 Michigan at Notre Dame 7 PM ET LIVE
Friday, March 5 Wisconsin at Minnesota 8 PM ET Delay at 11 PM ET
Friday, March 19 CCHA Tournament Semifinal #2 8 PM ET LIVE

College players provide base of USA Junior Team

Interesting Danny Kristo has the second most points of the college hockey players on the USA WJC roster.

The 2010 edition of the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships will take place in Saskatoon and Regina, Saskatchewan, from Dec. 26, 2009, to Jan. 5, 2010. NCAA Division I hockey will be well represented on Team USA, with 15 college players on the roster as of Wednesday. Final cuts are to be made this coming Sunday by coach Dean Blais (University of Nebraska-Omaha) and his staff, but here's a quick capsule look at those 15 NCAA players and their stats as of Wednesday.

Forwards
Name School, Year G-A-PTS
Chris Brown Michigan, Freshman 5-7-12
Jerry D'Amigo RPI, Freshman 5-9-14
Chris Kreider Boston Coll. Freshman 2-3-5
Danny Kristo North Dakota Freshman 6-10-16
Kyle Palmieri Notre Dame Freshman 5-2-7
Vinny Saponari Boston Univ. Sophomore 4-8-12
Jordan Schroeder Minnesota Sophomore 4-8-12
Derek Stepan Wisconsin Sophomore 5-17-22
Dave Wohlberg Michigan Sophomore 2-7-9

Defense
Matt Donovan Denver Freshman 2-7-9
Jake Gardiner Wisconsin Sophomore 1-2-3
Max Nicastro Boston Univ. Freshman 1-5-6
John Ramage Wisconsin Freshman 2-5-7
David Warfosky Boston Univ. Sophomore 4-4-8

Goaltenders
Name School,Year W-L-T/GAA/Save Pct.
Mike Lee St. Cloud Freshmen 4-5-3, 2.63, .926
[NHL.com]

Weekend(s) Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

This will most likely be my last article of 2009, so lets do this thing.

Here are the WCHA standings at the half way mark of the season (everyone has played 14 out of 28 league games).

Looking at the standing a couple things stick out to me.
1-UAA and MTU are the only teams with double digit loses
2-UAA and MTU are the only teams with out a tie
3-Only 6 points separate the top 6 teams

#...TEAM...............W-L-T..PTS
1 Denver...............9-3-2...20
2 Colorado College.....8-3-3...19
3 Wisconsin............8-4-2...18
4 Minnesota-Duluth.....8-5-1...17
5 St. Cloud State......7-5-2...16
6 North Dakota.........6-6-2...14
7 Minnesota............6-7-1...13
8 Minnesota State......5-8-1...11
9 Alaska-Anchorage.....4-10-0...8
10 Michigan Tech.......2-12-0...4

Friday, December 18, 2009
Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan
I'm have to go with the Huskies to beat the Wildcat defectors (fyi - NMU left the WCHA after the 1991-92 season). This should be a good game to watch since they are battling for bragging rights in the Upper Peninsula.

Nebraska-Omaha at Minnesota State
I'm going with the Mavericks to win this game :) This two teams have been playing each other on a regular basis for the past few season, and next year it will be WCHA league games.

Saturday, December 19, 2009
US Under-20 Team at North Dakota
It will be Dean Blais' return to UND, as the coach of the U-20 team. I'm going to say UND uses this game to play with the line match-ups and get all the goalie's some action. SIOUX WIN, welcome back Blais!
Minnesota State at Nebraska-Omaha
The re-match, again I'm going with the Mavericks :)
(I can't lose with these type of games!)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Florida College Classic
Colorado College vs. Cornell
This should be a drubbing, should... TIGERS WIN

Great Lakes Invitational
Michigan State vs. Michigan Tech
I love the WCHA, but I think the Spartans are the better team, SPARTY WINS.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Florida College Classic
Princeton/Maine vs. Colorado College
I'm going to cheat on this won too and pick the the TIGERS (sorry Black Bears).

Great Lakes Invitational
RPI/Michigan vs. Michigan Tech
If its MTU-RPI, I'll go with the Huskies, if MTU-UM I'm going with the Wolverines.

Sioux 7 would like to wish a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR to the Goon's World readers, I'll type at you all next year :)

Bleacher report on checking from behind plays.

It would appear that this is a hockey wide problem and not just indicative to the NCAA. It almost seems like someone is going to have to get killed before something is ever done about the checks from behind. I do not want to see that happen.

The NHL has been handing out suspensions like candy lately, but none seem to be from behind the back.

Joe Thornton got sent out for 10 games for the same hit Minnesota's Voros put on Eric Staal.

Watch the hit here.

So my question is: What is with the NHL's check from behind rule?

It seems like the player has to get hurt for it to be called, which is totally ridiculous. In every game players are getting cross-checked or checked from behind. It seems like the NHL wants people getting hurt.

The NHL needs to open it's eyes and fix the rule. If the rule states that a hit from behind—hitting somebody when their number is facing you—it's a penalty. Then the penalty should be called for a check from behind.

Every other rule is called but this one, and it is going to leave somebody seriously hurt or even worse paralyzed, as Erik Cole almost was.

So NHL, unless you want a player getting paralyzed and their life put into ruins, fix your rule and call the penalty as it is!
[Bleacher Report]

Why?

This question was posted over at INCH. I am not a UMD fan by any means but it is a good question. Let's break this down further. The UMD Bulldogs go 2-2 against two pretty good hockey teams, albeit the refs helped them in one game and you drop them in the Power Rankings in favor of FSU. Wisconsin I don’t have a problem with but FSU? Right!

Let’s take a look at FSU and their schedule; their SOS (Strength of Schedule) of 30 while Duluth has SOS of 7. I would say that the win goes to Duluth. So lets review who FSU has played to date: Canisius twice which includes a loss to them, (not impressive), two wins against Connecticut (not impressive), two wins against RMU (not impressive), then the FSU Bulldogs went to Alaska and where they beat twice (where is UA ranked?) and they return home won two games from lowly BGSU. The FSU Bulldogs then traveled to Miami where they tied twice (semi impressive) and then the Bulldogs beat OSU (not impressive). So if I was a UMD fan I might be a little puzzled.

This time around, we’re the subject of outrage.

Can you explain to the logic of how a team that splits with the No. 2 team in the country, and then splits with the No. 1 team in the country can fall three spots in your rankings?—Glen, St. Paul, Minn.

Glen refers to Minnesota Duluth dropping a few notches despite respectable splits against North Dakota and Denver. Our first impulse was to thank him for insinuating that logic plays a role in anything we do. He should listen to a podcast.

As we’ve often said regarding our Power Rankings, hockey is not played in a vacuum. And UMD’s slide isn’t really a result of anything they’ve done. As a staff, we felt the need to reward Ferris State (owners of a 10-game unbeaten streak) and Wisconsin (10-3-1 after a 1-2-1 start), so both crept ahead of UMD in recent weeks. Simple as that.

David Koci boards Mike Green and fights John Erskine

In my opinion this was another dirty hit and will be the on the next installment of the Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice. I am thinking 2-3 games for this one. I have to give Erskine credit he came right to the aid of his fellow teammate after he was checked through the boards with a downright dirty hit. Koci is nothing more than a cement head.

I do have to agree with some of the posters on Hockey Fights the Capitals really don't have a heavy weight to protect their star players. Sounds like the Captials head coach Bruce Boudreau was not impressed with the hit; rightfully so.

The game was marred by a major boarding penalty by Avs enforcer David Koci to star Washington defenseman Mike Green in the second period, a hit from behind that left Green down for a few minutes, bleeding from the head. Koci almost surely will face a suspension from the NHL over the hit, and Washington coach Bruce Boudreau was livid over it.

"Please, the guy's got one goal in six years. He couldn't play in the American League," Boudreau said. "I've faced David Koci an awful lot, he might be a nice guy, I have no idea. I'm glad he's making a living, but if this is any game, he gets on the ice for the first three minutes, he gets into his fight with the guy and then he sits at the end of the bench, so what good is he?


[Read the rest of the article]

Wisconsin and North Dakota pack them in...

Here is an impressive article on attendance for college hockey. Interesting how bad the Desert Dogs are drawing in Phoenix that three NCAA teams are out drawing them. I would imagine that the poor economy and high tickets prices of the NHL might be affecting some of the attendance numbers on Long Island and Phoenix.

Welcome, one and all, to USCHO.com’s newest blog. I hope to use this resource to address noteworthy material that falls outside the scope of my weekly ECAC Hockey column (though many of my readers would argue that over the years, precious little has qualified as falling out of range of a carefully crafted tangent).

Turnstiles do the Talking
Thanks to USCHO reader Vic Berardelli for noting this little nugget of college hockey information: the games are popular.

No, really. Three WCHA teams (Wisconsin, North Dakota and Minnesota) have out-drawn the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes in per-game attendance, and the Badgers are edging the New York Islanders as well. Wisconsin leads the nation in attendance with 12,638 per game, while UND (11,605) and the U (9,889) also draw quite well. (Michigan and New Hampshire rank fourth and fifth, but fall more than 3,000 short of Minnesota.)

The Coyotes, on the other hand, pull up dead last in the National Hockey League at 9,825 … which is to be expected from a team with high lame-duck potential. The Islanders – despite top pick John Tavares – only pull 12,429 through the gates at Nassau County Coliseum, and rumors are flying that they, too, could soon be on the move.

But it’s not just the pitiful that the WCHA troika is trouncing: they each topped the American Hockey League’s best draw, the Hershey Bears (8,906). Berardelli’s perspicacity also led him to note that in Lowell, Mass., the local UMass-Lowell River Hawks have walloped the AHL’s Lowell Devils by better than a two-to-one margin … while playing in the same building. Up in Rochester, RIT drew more than 7,400 against Colgate at the Blue Cross Arena, home of the AHL’s Rochester Americans. It took the “Amerks” three home games combined to equal that total. (Thanks to editor Ed Trefzger for that note.) The UNH Wildcats sit over 1,500 more per game than the Manchester Monarchs down the road.

Expanding the scope, 22 of the NCAA’s 58 Division I programs are beating the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s 3,202 per-game average. Wisconsin and UND are ahead of the Quebec Remparts’ 11,175, a figure that is more than doubling all other QMJHL teams. [USCHO.COM]

I could only wish: Kovy trade to consider

This was over on John Buccigross blog at ESPN and I while I realized that it's nothing more than mere speculation, and just a pontification I would hope the Bruins are considering a move for offense or a deal similar to this one. In their current state the Bruins aren't going to win many a series games against the better teams in the NHL like Washington or Pittsburgh.

Kovalchuk ($6.3 million cap number going forward) is a pending unrestricted free agent who has yet to sign an extension with the Thrashers. If he doesn't soon, Atlanta will have to trade him. I really believe the Thrashers will make the playoffs in the East as long as their health holds up and goaltending stays solid. And they can make the playoffs whether they trade Kovalchuk or not.

I do think there is a trade to be had with the Bruins because of their young assets and juicy draft picks. If I am the Thrashers, I look for a goal scorer, goalie and the 2010 No. 1 draft pick (from Toronto) that the Bruins own, and that roughly equals Blake Wheeler (restricted free agent after this season), Tuukka Rask and the pick, which should be a No. 4 to No. 12 overall pick. The standings are too close to call right now. Wheeler would be a nice complement to Evander Kane for the next five years. With more ice time and power-play time, Wheeler looks to have 25-30 goal potential. I don't think he is designed to play in a Claude Julien system.

Rask appears to be a potential high-end goalie with an outstanding contract (a $1.2 million cap number for two years after this season). That alone might keep the Bruins from trading him. If the Bruins deem Rask untouchable, Atlanta may still have an interest in Marco Sturm. Sturm and Wheeler would really give the Thrashers great depth at forward. Also, the Thrashers are set up very well cap-wise going forward.

From the Bruins' perspective, this trade makes sense if they can get Kovalchuk to sign an extension (nine years, $63 million?). The cap numbers for Wheeler ($2.8M) and Rask or Sturm roughly equals Kovalchuk's $6.3 million cap number. Wheeler is a good player who will have a long NHL career, but he's not a player of Kovalchuk's caliber.

The No. 1 draft pick is a valuable chip, but it's a chip that likely won't materialize for a few years; if it's not a top 3 pick, and I don't think it will be, the chances of that player being an elite NHL star drops. Sturm would be missed, especially if Wheeler also goes, but it's an easy choice, especially at $3.5 million again next year. Rask is a tough choice; Tim Thomas has not been great and he potentially has a bloated, cap-killing contract if he doesn't return to last season's form. Thomas has a $5 million cap number until the 2012-13 season, when he'll be 39.
[ESPN.COM]

Team Canada WJC Roster.

Hockey Canada released their roster for the WJC and there isn't any NCAA influence on the Canadian team. There was a chance that Harvard’s Louie Leblanc and Minnesota-Duluth's Dylan Olsen would make the team but they were cut by team Canada. The Wild's 2008 draft choice Marco Scandella made the team while Wild draft choice Tyler Cuma did not.

Goalies

1 Jake Allen, Fredericton, N.B./N.-B. Montreal (QMJHL) STL '08
31 Martin Jones North Vancouver, B.C./C.-B. Calgary (WHL) LA '08 (FA/JA)

Défense

2 * Colten Teubert, White Rock, B.C./C.-B. Regina WHL) LA '08
3 Travis Hamonic, St. Malo, Man. Moose Jaw (WHL) NYI '08
5 Marco Scandella, Montreal, Que./QC Val d'Or (QMJHL) MIN '08
6 * Ryan Ellis, Freelton, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NSH '09
22 Jared Cowen, Allan, Sask Spokane (WHL) OTT '09
24 Calvin de Haan, Carp, Ont. Oshawa (OHL) NYI '09
27 * Alex Pietrangelo, King City, Ont. St. Louis (NHL) STL '08

Forwards

4 Taylor Hall,Kingston, Ont. Windsor (OHL) 2010 Dft/Rep.
7 Gabriel Bourque, Baie-Comeau, Que./QC Baie-Comeau (QMJHL) NSH '09
9 Nazem Kadri,London, Ont. London (OHL) TOR '09
10 Brayden Schenn, Saskatoon, Sask. Brandon (WHL) LA '09
12 Adam Henrique, Burford, Ont. Windsor (OHL) NJ '08
14 * Jordan Eberle, Regina, Sask. Regina (WHL) EDM '08
15 Brandon McMillan, Delta, B.C./C.-B. Kelowna (WHL) ANA '08
16 Greg Nemisz, Courtice, Ont. Windsor (OHL) CGY '08
17 Brandon Kozun, Calgary, Alta./Alb. Calgary (WHL) LA '09
19 * Stefan Della Rovere, Maple, Ont. Barrie (OHL) WAS '08
20 Luke Adam,St. John's, N.L./T.-N.-L. Cape Breton (QMJHL) BUF '08
26 Jordan Caron, Sayabec, Que./QC Rimouski (QMJHL) BOS '09
28 * Patrice Cormier, Cap-Pelé, N.B./N.-B. Rimouski (QMJHL) NJ '08
[Link to team Canada Roster]

Check out the Don Cherry clip.

This is the latest dust up involving Don Cherry. Last week Dr. Charles Tator said that “He’s (Don Cherry) was a negative influence, the aggressive, lack-of-respect hockey that he preaches — we need to get that out of the game.” The audio is the response to a reporter that was trying to get him to talk about the incident. I don’t blame Cherry for responding that way at all.

Caution there is some raw/coarse language in this clip.
[Click to listen to the audio here]

An apology from Don Cherry for telling a Toronto radio reporter to “f-off” during a profanity laced tirade on Sunday is highly unlikely.

Scott Moore, the head of CBC Sports, says Cherry is not to blame for the incident and in fact was incited by the reporter who was overly aggressive.

“I think the apology should go the other way,” Moore said in an email.

Moore went on CFRB radio in Toronto today at noon and stated the network is throwing its full support behind Cherry. Moreover, sources confirmed there will be no apology from the Hockey Night In Canada commentator.

In another development, 680 News reporter Colin D’Mello, who attempted to interview Cherry on Sunday, may be suspended by the station.

His main offence was posting Cherry’s expletive filled rant on Facebook and also Twittering it. The clip was picked up by The Globe and Mail and posted. You can also hear the clip on this website at the bottom of this piece.

D’Mello was attempting to get a reaction from Cherry regarding neurosurgeon Charles Tator’s assertion that Cherry has been a negative influence on the game by promoting fighting and the so-called “rock em, sock em” style of hockey. Tator’s concern is concussions in hockey.
[Read the rest of the article]

Lack of ‘O’ a problem for Bruins

Props to Rusty of the Illegal Cruve. Earlier this season I predicted the Bruins would be hard pressed to score goals and were stupid not to resign Phil Kessel. I said it was crazy to suggest that Marco Sturm and Patrice Bergeron were going to pick up the slack left by Kessel. Also, David Krejci has been a disappointment so far this season. Looks like I was right in predicting that the Bruins would be hard pressed to score goals this season.

Key veteran offensive guys - like Marco Sturm, Michael Ryder and Mark Recchi - are posting below-average numbers. Youngsters like David Krejci and Blake Wheeler are not having the kind of years hoped for. The most important offensive player, Marc Savard, has missed almost half the season due to a foot injury and has yet to really get going.

Against the Flyers, Savard had no shots and was a minus-3.

“We’ve got to get better, I’ve got to be better,” Savard said. “I’ve got to start getting results. I’m not getting any of those.”

The obviously frustrated Savard was blaming no one other than himself, but the fact is he needs better wingers to center.

With all due respect to Byron Bitz, as hard-working and honest a player as you’ll find, his stint as a first-liner should be finished. Wheeler hasn’t been able to relocate the scoring touch that produced 21 goals last season.

“That line wasn’t very good for us,” coach Claude Julien said. “Savvy’s got to take some of that responsibility, but it’s not a one-man line. He needs his wingers, and his wingers weren’t there, either. That line was very average for us. It needed to be better.” [Boston Herald]

Wild not on TV. No Commi Tonight.

The Wild game is not on TV tonight, damn VERSUS. I guess I won't be able to watch Mike Commodore play as well. I am so sick and tired of the Versus situation.

Lastly, in order to keep the VERSUS ratings at its usual monster numbers, tonight's Wild-Jackets game won't be televised in either market. Both Minnesota and Columbus gets the shaft because it falls into VERSUS' exclusive window. [Russo's Rants]

Someone please explain where the penalty is...

I want to be clear; the refs didn’t cost the Fighting Sioux the game on Saturday night. That is not the intention of this blog post; my point of this blog post is to hammer home a point that the leagues officials are incompetent and there needs to be a change in the WCHA. Here is a very clear video of the alleged CFB penalty at the end of Saturday's game. Please tell me I am seeing things and that a WCHA on ice official didn’t stop a potential scoring attempt to call a penalty on a legal hip check. Second, Hextall didn’t check the Badger player it looks like Malone did.

Oh yeah the email address for the WCHA Commissioner is bmccleod@du.com

Poll Monday

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll
[December 14, 2009]

1 Miami (48) 13-2-5 998 1
2 Denver ( 2) 11-5-2 900 2
3 Colorado College 11-4-3 841 6
4 Cornell 7-2-2 805 5
5 Boston College 10-3-2 717 10
6 North Dakota 9-6-3 672 3
7 Wisconsin 11-5-2 657 11
8 Quinnipiac 13-3-1 639 7
9 Yale 7-3-2 609 8
10 Bemidji State 13-4-1 594 4
11 Ferris State 13-3-2 556 13
12 Minnesota-Duluth 11-6-1 434 12
13 Michigan State 12-6-2 419 14
14 Mass.-Lowell 10-6-1 418 9
15 Massachusetts 10-5-0 365 15
16 New Hampshire 8-6-3 209 19
17 Alaska 9-5-4 183 16
18 Union 8-3-5 164 20
19 St. Cloud State 8-7-3 120 17
20 Notre Dame 8-8-4 71 18
Others Receiving Votes: Maine 42, Vermont 32, Michigan 23, Minnesota State 11, Colgate 7, Lake Superior 6, RIT 4, Minnesota 3, Nebraska-Omaha 1
---------------------------
USA Today
[December 14, 2009]
1. Miami (33)
2. Denver (1)
3. Colorado College
4. Cornell
5. North Dakota
6. Boston College
7. Wisconsin
8. Yale
9. Bemidji State
10. Quinnipiac
11. Ferris State
12. UMass-Lowell
13. Michigan State
14. Minnesota-Duluth
15. UMass
Others receiving votes: University of New Hampshire 18, University of Michigan 7, University of Alaska 5, St. Cloud State University 3, Union College 3, Rochester Institute of Technology 1.