Through These Doors, episode 9

Just when you think they can't top the last episode, they go out and do it. Again, another great job by Matt Schill and the UND Sports information department.

Goon's Weekly Picks 12/16 -12/17

Fri 12/16/11

Colorado College at Minnesota State 7:37 p.m. CT
Denver at St. Cloud State 7:37 p.m. CT TV-Charter)
Michigan Tech at Northern Michigan 7:35 p.m. ET
Alab-Huntsville at Bemidji State 7:37 p.m. CT (TV-LPT)

Sat 12/17/11

Colorado College at Minnesota State 7:07 p.m. CT
Denver at St. Cloud State 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-Charter)
Alab-Huntsville at Bemidji State 7:07 p.m. CT (TV-LPT)
Russian Red Stars at North Dakota 7:07 p.m. CT Exhibition (TV-FSSN,FCSc)


Colorado College at Minnesota State – Split  
Denver at St. Cloud State – Split  
Alab-Huntsville at Bemidji State – Beavers Sweep
Russian Red Stars at North Dakota – UND win


Last Week 10-2 Record for the season 61-47

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 12 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 28 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)

Weekend Match-Ups (by Sioux 7)

MERRY CHRISTMAS to everyone!

Christmas break is upon us. Thus, we only have a few games on the schedule this weekend, and non next weekend and then some games/tournaments just before New Year’s.


WCHA STANDINGS

Team………………………W-L-T………Points
1. Minnesota………………11-3-0…..……22
2. Minnesota-Duluth……..10-2-2….…….22
3. Nebraska-Omaha………7-4-3……….. 17
4. Colorado College……… 7-5-0……….. 14
4. North Dakota……….…...7-7-0….……..14
6. Denver……………………5-4-3………..13
6. Michigan Tech…………. 6-7-1…….…..13
8. Bemidji State…………. 5-7-2……….. 12
9. St. Cloud St……………. 4-5-3……….. 11
10. Wisconsin……………..4-8-2…..…….10
11. Alaska-Anchorage…...3-10-1…………7
12. Minnesota State……… 2-9-1…………..5


WCHA Games

#7 Colorado College @ Minnesota State
Last weekend the Tigers split with the Seawolves in Colorado Springs and the Mavericks swept the UAH Chargers in Mankato.

The Tigers could leap frog UNO this weekend with a couple of wins on the road. Similarly for the Mavericks, they could move out of the basement with a sweep. The Mavericks will be looking to build off of last weekend’s success and head into Christmas on a high note. The Mavs are averaging almost 3 goals/game in league play, which gives them a chance to win games. The Tigers are 3-4-0 on the road in all games this year. I’m guessing each teams gets a little something in their stocking. SPLIT


#14 Denver @ # St. Cloud State
Last weekend the Pioneers split with the Beavers in Bemidji and the Huskies enjoyed a bye weekend in St. Cloud.

The Pioneers could vault all the way to third in the league this weekend, depending on how all the games turn out. However, they have a tough road trip to St. Cloud this weekend. The Huskies only have one blemish on their home record, they are 3-1-3 at the National Hockey Center, and DU is 2-4-1 on the road. The Huskies can also climb the standings this weekend with some points. SPLIT


NON-CONFERENCE

Alabama-Huntsville (1-17-1)@ Bemidji State (7-9-2)
Last weekend the Beavers split with the Pioneers in Bemidji and the Chargers were swept by the MSUM Mavericks in Mankato. The Charges only have one win on the season, which came against the UNO Mavericks a couple of weeks ago. BEAVERS SWEEP


Michigan Tech (9-8-1) @ Northern Michigan (8-7-3)
Last weekend the Huskies split with the Gophers in Minneapolis and the Wildcats got a road split at CCHA foe Lake Superior State.

I think we could call this series the Battle for Upper Michigan, or something to that effect. The Wildcats are an impressive 6-1-3 at home in Marquette this season and the Huskies are 3-5-0 away from Houghton. Gotta go with the WCHA in this tilt. HUSKIES WIN


EXHIBITION

Russian Red Stars @ #18 North Dakota
Last weekend the Sioux split with UNO Mavericks in Grand Forks and the Red Stars .
Since this game is not officially recognized by the NCAA, I’m un-officially pick the university formerly nicknamed the Sioux to win.


BYE WEEK
Alaska-Anchorage
Nebraska-Omaha
#2 Minnesota
#1 Minnesota-Duluth
Wisconsin Badgers

UNO's Alex Hudson Kicked Off the Mavericks

The UNO Mavericks have kicked Alex Hudson off of the team for his second violation of team rules. As most UND Fighting Sioux fans know, head coach Dean Blais will not pull any punches and if there is a star player screwing up and not abiding by the rules he will not hesitate to suspend them and or kick them off the team. Coach Blais once sat former Fighting Sioux forward Jason Blake for a game when he was in the running for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska-Omaha coach Dean Blais has dismissed senior forward Alex Hudson from the team for his second violation of team rules this season.

UNO did not say what the incident was, and said in a statement that it would have "no further comment on the matter."

Hudson, 24, started the season as the captain, but had that stripped for a first violation of team rules. The 6-foot native of Corona, Calif., missed four games at the start of the season because of the resultant team-imposed suspension. Since his return, he had 4 goals and 10 points in 16 games.

In his four years with the Mavericks, Hudson had 37 goals and 82 points, with a career-high 31 points last season. His best goal-scoring year was his sophomore season when he had 14.

McQuaid Knees Foligno

I would expect the NHL to review Boston Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid's knee to knee check on  Ottawa Senator's forward Nick Foligno. When I first saw the hit, I thought that Nick Foligno would be done for the night but Foligno returned to game after shaking it off on the bench. McQuaid was given a five minute major and a game misconduct.

Chicago's Bolland rips the Sedins

Chicago's BlackhawksDave Bolland rips into the Sedin twins during a radio show and really has nothing nice to say about the Vancouver Canucks, no offense but I can't stand the Canucks either and I have said in the past, "that the Vancouver Canucks are one of the most unlikable teams in the NHL next to the Montreal Canadians."

SportsDirect ---- Chicago Blackhawks center Dave Bolland didn't have too many complimentary things to say about Henrik and Daniel Sedin - or the city of Vancouver, for that matter.

In fact, he referred to the Sedin Twins as "sisters" on two occasions on a recent appearance on Chicago-based WGN Radio.

When asked if he'd welcome them on the Blackhawks - should a deal arise - Bolland was fairly blunt with his response.
Related Info

"Well, they'll never become 'Hawks," he said. "I don't think we'd let them on our team. We'd be sure not to let them on our team. And, yeah, they probably still would be sisters.

No Supplemental Discipline for the Jets Bogosian

According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, there will be no supplemental discipline for the Winnipeg Jet's Zach Bogosian for his hit on Minnesota Wild forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard. I guess that doesn't make Pierre-Marc Bouchard nose and face feel any better.

Per Michael Russo --- Per league source: No Supplemental Discipline for Bogosian. Player Safety Dept. feels that Bogosian did not run at Bouchard and that Bouchard turned just prior to the hit.

So this season we have seen similar hits result in no supplemental discipline; Letang on Burmistrov, Krejci on Stuart, and now Bogosian on Bouchard. My question is; aren't these the types of hits the league wants to get rid of?

Petitions to retain Fighting Sioux nickname for UND begin circulating

Image via WikipediaIs the North Dakota State board of Higher Education on a collision course with the Fighting Sioux nickname supporters? The big question pending is; if the nickname law goes back into effect, what would the ND Board of Higher Education do?

Board could act

If the repeal bill is suspended and the earlier nickname law goes back into effect, “the question then is, ‘What would the State Board of Higher Education do?’ ” Stenehjem said.

Several people argued during the legislative debates that the nickname mandate authored by House Majority Leader Al Carlson, R-Fargo, violated the state Constitution, which grants governing authority over the state’s colleges to the board.

If the requirement that UND keep the nickname goes into effect again, “the board will have to decide what if anything it wants to do,” Stenehjem said.

UND is in the midst of retiring the nickname and logo with a transition that is to be substantially completed by Dec. 31, by state board directive. Board members and UND officials have expressed concern that a continuing fight over the nickname could jeopardize the university’s transition to Division I athletics and its planned affiliation next year with the Big Sky Conference.

Grant Shaft, president of the state board, said on Tuesday that the board has not discussed what it might do in the event referral petitions are filed and the keep-the-nickname law is temporarily reinstated. [Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald]

Bouchard boarded by Bogosian

This is the hit by Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian on Pierre-Marc Bouchard, this is the kind of hits that the NHL is trying to do away with, Bogosian has to be suspended for this hit and there is no room in the game for this type of hit. You simply can not hit someone like this if the checking player see numbers. This is what Michael Russo had to say about this bush league hit.

Biggest concern after the Wild’s seven-game winning streak (overall and road) was snapped tonight is the health of Pierre-Marc Bouchard. He was driven face-first into the ledge that separates the boards and glass behind the Winnipeg net with 1:06 left by defenseman Zach Bogosian.

Bogosian was assessed a boarding major and game misconduct, and Bouchard left with his nose gushing. After the game, the remnants were still there on the ice and by the locker room – a trail of blood. [Russo's Rants]

Bogosian was given a five minute major and a game misconduct and I expect there will be hearing/phone call from Brendan Shanahan and the NHL Department of Player Safety.

Tuesday Links.

Here is the video from the third period of the Minnesota and MTU game. The Tech Hockey Guide has a good break down of the events and what happened Saturday Night.

There is two sides of every story and all week long we have heard how the Tech Huskies were the ones that were to blame but it sounds like after a spirited weekend of hockey the emotions of both teams took over.

Stephen Anderson , The Daily Mining Gazette --- In a game that already had a major contact to the head penalty, five-minute high sticking call and a 10-minute misconduct, Tech defenseman Carl Nielsen exchanged blows with Minnesota's Seth Helgeson, followed shortly after by a heated verbal exchange between Muckalt and Minnesota's coaching staff.

"I'd prefer not to really discuss it. I got my point across," Muckalt said, as evidenced by the video footage on USCHO.com's WCHA blog (bit.ly/ubnW4p).

"Hockey is a passionate emotional game, and as coaches we stand up for our players and support our players. We're proud of our players and really that's all there is to it," he added.

When asked whether it was something unsportsmanlike that Minnesota did to spur the exchange, Muckalt said, "That would be a safe bet, but at the end of the day, that's in the past."

What does this mean going forward? It means that every game is going to be contested and there are not give me's in the WCHA this season. There aren't going to be any breeze game against the bottom rung teams. You will not just be able to pencil in wins before the series have begun.

I haven't seen this much parity in the league from 1-10 spots in a very long time and don't expect it change this season. The second half of the season is going to be a war and the Gophers and Dogs can expect it from here on out.


I am not sure what it is but whatever reason the Denver Post Writers do not like Brad Malone, we get it, you don't like him. I also am sure that the coaching staff will have a talk with Brad Malone about his performance in practice if he isn't going 100 percent. My next question is; what's the point of this blog post? Maybe I am missing something? This the same guy [Adrian Dater] that maligned Cal Clutterbuck, so maybe I am expecting to much from this guy.

In the video I see other players lagging as well. I just find it puzzling that there are 23+ guys at the Avalanche practice and the Denver Post happens to call out Malone.

A couple of things: Sacco stood there and watched everyone pretty closely it seemed like. The guys who lagged behind probably didn’t help themselves – and rookie Brad Malone was one. He was totally gassed and seemed to take his sweet time getting back to the end line after Sacco gave everyone a brief break. The rest of the team was there at the end line ready to go again, but Malone kind of glided on in while everyone waited. That was noticeable to some veteran hockey people watching in the stands, not just me. [All Things AV's]

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 12 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)

Steve Downie fined 2,500 for leaving bench

I am not a Steve Downie fan by any stretch of the imagination but, I don't have a problem with him leaving the bench in this situation. We all know that the penalty could have been a 10 game suspension, but I am fine with the $2,500.00 fine. The simulation of shooting a gun after scoring a goal was totally classless act by the Rangers Artem Anisimov.

NEW YORK – Tampa Bay Lightning forward Steve Downie has been fined $2,500, the maximum allowed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for leaving the bench on a legal line change to become involved in an altercation in NHL Game No. 408 in New York on Thursday, Dec. 8, the National Hockey League's Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 13:23 of the second period. Downie was assessed a minor penalty for roughing and a misconduct penalty.

The fine money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Related articles

• Steve Downie says he was fined for leaving bench to fight (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)
• Downie's words confirmed, NHL fines him $2,500 for leaving the bench (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)

Aaron Dell named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week

Fighting Sioux goalie Aaron Dell has been named the WCHA Defensive player of the week. Dell was rock solid last weekend stopping 59 out of 61 shots in a weekend split against the University of Nebraska Omaha Mavericks.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota junior goalie Aaron Dell has been named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in UND’s series split with Nebraska Omaha last weekend.

Dell stopped 59 of 61 shots (.967 save percentage) in the series, including a 26-save shutout that earned him the game’s No. 1 star in UND’s 1-0 win on Saturday. It was his first shutout of the season and eighth of his career, which ranks fourth all-time at UND behind only Karl Goehring (15), Jordan Parise (10), and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (10). One night earlier, Dell stopped 33 of 35 shots and was named the No. 2 star in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Mavericks.

Over his last three starts Dell owns a 0.99 goals against average and a .963 save percentage. In 16 games this season (15 starts), the Airdrie, Alberta, native is 6-7-1 with a 2.80 goals against average and an .895 save percentage.

Alaska Anchorage junior forward Mitch Bruijsten and Minnesota sophomore defenseman Mark Alt shared WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors, while Bemidji State freshman goalie Andrew Walsh was named WCHA Rookie of the Week.

UND (9-8-1, 7-7-0 WCHA) closes out the first half of the season on Saturday with an exhibition game against the Russian Red Stars. The puck drops at 7:07 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

UND’s WCHA Players of the Week

November 29. Brock Nelson (Offensive)
Dec. 6: Brock Nelson (Offensive), Brendan O’Donnell (Rookie)
Dec. 13: Aaron Dell (Defensive)

How do you not like Kevin Gorg?

This is not a rhetorical question by the way. I see a lot of Minnesota Gopher hockey fans bagging on Kevin Gorg. Listen to this guy, how can you not like Gorg, the man knows his hockey. I listen to him all of the time when he is on P.A. show and he can break down a hockey game.

WCHA unlikely to punish coaches for Saturday's dust up.

Image via WikipediaAccording to Roman Augustoviz the WCHA is probably not going to discipline the coaches from either team. I believe it's a good decision by the league.

But Spencer said things happen sometimes in the "heat of the moment" and mentioned that everyone shook hands at the end of Saturday's game.

Lucia used the same "heat of the moment" phrase on his radio show on Monday in talking about what happened. Lucia also said that he regretted the trash-talking between coaches late in the Gophers's 6-2 victory over Michigan Tech at Mariucci Arena.

Lucia said he was upset because the Huskies were getting too aggressive A handful of penalties, mostly for roughing, were handed out in the final minutes of Saturday's game.

Reading between the lines, it seems unlikely the WCHA will take any action in this matter and considers it closed. If the officials' report does contain any hidden bombshells, I could see the three coaches possibly be given reprimands at worst. Don't think so, though.

Here is some audio from Michigan Tech head coach Mel Pearson and what he had to say about the incident between the benches. [Click to listen to the audio]

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 12 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 28 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)

So you're saying there is a chance - Chara on his injury.

Image via WikipediaThe injury ninja has bitten Zdeno Chara and it's unknown how long he will be out of the line up. Sounds like he is day-to-day but out for tomorrow's game against the Kings in Los Angeles. Chara is an important cog in the Bruins line up and if he is gone for any amount of time it would be bad for the Boston Bruins.

WILMINGTON -- Although he sat out today's practice at Ristuccia Arena in preparation for Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Kings at TD Garden, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, speaking to media for the first time since he sustained a left lower-leg injury in Saturday night's win at Columbus, said he "was feeling better than I expected."

Asked about whether the plan was to take the next week off, Chara replied, "No, the plan is to take it a day at a time, really. You can't really put a time frame on it. You basically have to see how it feels and it feels better than expected.''

Chara, who suffered the injury during a power play in the second period of Saturday's 5-3 road victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena, said he wasn't certain how long he would be out of the lineup.

It also looks like Gregory Campbell is questionable as well as the Bruins Blog is reporting that he was hurt blocking a shot in the game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Poll Monday - Sioux move up

The Fighting Sioux move up to 18th in this weeks USCHO Poll and recieved votes in the USA Today poll.

 

Related articles

• Sioux Slip Past Mavericks (insidehockey.com)

INCH Power Rankings

1. Minnesota Duluth
2. Minnesota
3. Merrimack
4. Boston College
5. Ohio State
6. Colgate
7. Notre Dame
8. Colorado College
9. Western Michigan
10. Union
11. Boston University
12. Ferris State
13. Cornell
14. Denver
15. UMass Lowell
16.Michigan State
17. Lake Superior State
18. Nebraska-Omaha
19. North Dakota
20. Northeastern
Dropped out: Yale, Providence
Bubble-licious: Air Force, Michigan Tech, Michigan, Providence

As always I include the INCH Power Rankings because I find them interesting. I don't see anything that sticks out in this week's power rankings. 

Related articles

• WCHA Power Rankings - December 5 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 28 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 21 (insidehockey.com)
• WCHA Power Rankings - November 13 (insidehockey.com)

College Hockey Inc. will ask the NCAA about a UAH exemption

Image via WikipediaI was wondering if something like this would happen in the future? UAH has had a tough time scheduling games in Huntsville, Alabama so this would be a good way from teams to add a couple more games to their schedule much like the Alaska Exemption.

Joe Paisley, USCHO ---- College Hockey Inc. will ask the NCAA next month to add a temporary travel exemption for Alabama-Huntsville in hopes of helping the struggling independent team schedule more home games.

The NCAA’s travel exemption, which allows schools to travel for games in Alaska and Hawaii and not have them count toward their season limit — 34 regular-season contests in Division I hockey — would need to be passed soon. Many hockey programs are close to finalizing next season’s schedule if the administrators haven’t already.

College Hockey Inc. executive director Paul Kelly said the organization, which promotes the college game, would ask for the exemption to last two to three years during its regularly scheduled meeting with top NCAA officials.

s/t to Joe Paisley who recently was laid off from this job the Colorado Springs Gazette, he can now be found at Paisley Hockey...Joe is one of the best in the business and I wish him the best.

Related articles

• Save - UAH Hockey (mvn.com)
• Save UAH Hockey - a program on the "brink" (mvn.com)
• Effort to Save UAH underway... (mvn.com)

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Fight night in Minnesota.

If you cross check someone in the face with your carbon fiber stick, people aren't going to respond kindly to said action. Minnesota's Seth Helgeson and Tech's Carl Nielsen square off in what appears to be a fight, however, the refs called the "non-fight" a roughing penalty. In fact, both players involved in the event were given a (3 x 2 min for roughing + 10 min misconduct = 16 minutes in penalties). I have never seen anyone get a triple minor for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct.


Here is how the ref scored the exchange.
MTU-9 Carl Nielsen (2-Roughing) 18:29
MTU-10 Carl Nielsen (2-Roughing) 18:29
MTU-11 Carl Nielsen (2-Roughing) 18:29
MTU-12 Carl Nielsen (10-Misconduct) 18:29
MIN-7 Seth Helgeson (2-Roughing) 18:29
MIN-8 Seth Helgeson (2-Roughing) 18:29
MIN-9 Seth Helgeson (2-Roughing) 18:29
MIN-10 Seth Helgeson (10-Misconduct) 18:29