Open Thread: Behind enemy lines, UND vs. UMN

"It's a national semifinal," Minnesota coach Don Lucia. "Who you play is not as important as playing well.

"I'm sure fans will enjoy it. They've been a big rival over the years. For me personally, I don't care if we're playing North Dakota or (whomever). The challenge is to beat a good opponent on Thursday. That's where your focus is. We're not going to get all amped up just because we're playing North Dakota. It's (whomever), the next in line in our path."

Tim Leighton from the Pioneer Press has a really good read from the Minnesota angle on this week's matchup between Minnesota and North Dakota. It's worth taking a look at. Compare and contrast the two quotes. Leighton also quotes former North Dakota alum Craig Perry. I thought that was interesting, since he hasn't played at UND for a very long time.

"The only thing that could make the rivalry even better is if we were playing each other for the national championship," Gophers junior forward Kyle Rau said. "That would be totally cool and awesome."

NHL Humor: Backes Streit Boyes

When Dany Heatley Sits, Wild Win

March, 29, 2014, Minnesota Wild win 3-1 against the Phoenix Coyotes, much maligned forward Dany Heatley is a healthy scratch. Wild fans rejoice.

March 31, 2014, the Minnesota Wild win against the L.A. Kings 3-2. Again, forward Heatley is a healthy scratch.

Is this a coincidence? Maybe.

April 3, 2014, Minnesota loses in a shootout to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-2., Heatley is a minus (-1) and plays 4th line minutes.

April 5, 2014, the Minnesota Wild shutout the Pittsburg Penguins 4-0, Heatley is again sitting in the press box with a suit and tie.

One of my Facebook friends brought this point up, and I had to look into this further. One has to think that Heatley’s final playing days with the Wild are going to be uneventful, with him sitting in the stands in a suit and tie.

Let’s think about this from an economic angle. For $5,000,000.00 dollars you get this kind of production (12g-15a—27pts). For $600,000.00 you get this kind of production (13g-8a—21pts). To be fair, neither player has produced much in the way of points the last five games. Heatley has (0g-0a—0pts) and Justin Fontaine has scored (0g-1a—1pts). That being said, Fontaine isn’t a defensive liability like Heatley is.

If Heatley hadn't been hurt last season, he would have been an amnesty buyout during the summer. The season can't end fast enough for Heatley. The guy needs a new start in a place not called Minnesota. That being said, he’s not going to be sign another deal for 5 Million a year and play first line minutes for anyone in the NHL.

Couple of NCAA tweets

An early look at the #FrozenFour program: #UnionHockey #BCHockey #UNDHockey #GopherHockey #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/zNSLdaFkYW
— Union Hockey Blog (@UnionHockeyBlog) April 4, 2014

I want to thank my friends, coaches and most of all, my family for the support over the years. And thank you SCSU for 3 unforgettable yrs.
— Ryan Faragher (@fedz29) April 5, 2014

Tough to say everything in 140 characters.. pic.twitter.com/qqGioIdOzU
— Nic Kerdiles (@NicKerdiles) April 5, 2014

Vancouver Cancuks So true

Lol pic.twitter.com/06RdDhCT37
— Brendan Shanahan (@NHLSafetyShan) April 5, 2014

This tweet is funny, but indicative of the Vancouver Canucks fans.

NCAA Hockey: Early Departures

Jaycob Megna, defense, UNO, junior, Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Josh Manson, defense, NE, junior, Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Ryan Faragher, goalie, SCSU, junior, Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Nic Kerdiles, forward, UW, sophomore, Anaheim Ducks (NHL)
Gustav Olofsson, defense, C.C., freshman, Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Kevin Czuczman, defense, LSSU, junior, NY Islanders (NHL)
Caleb Herbert, forward, UMD, junior, Washington Capitals (NHL)
Phil Di Giuseppe, forward, UM, junior, Carolina Hurricanes (NHL)
Alex Guptill, forward, UM, junior, Dallas Stars (NHL)
Ryan Dzingel, forward, OSU, junior, Ottawa Senators (NHL)
Bryce Van Brabant, forward, QU, Junior, Calgary Flames (NHL)
Ryan Haggerty, forward, RPI, Jr. NY Rangers (NHL)
Mike Zalewski, forward, RPI, sophomore, Vancouver Canucks (NHL)
Matt Carey, forward, SLU, freshman, Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Trevor van Riemdsyk, defense, UNH, junior, Chicago Blackhawks (NHL)
Josh Archibald, freshman, forward, UNO, junior, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL)
Christian Folin, defense, UML, sophomore, Minnesota Wild (NHL)
Connor Hellebuyck, goalie, UML, sophomore, Winnipeg Jets (NHL)
Scott Wilson, forward, UML, junior, Pittsburgh Penguins (NHL)
Pheonix Copley, goalie, MTU, sophomore, Washington capitals (NHL)
Jake McCabe, defense, UW, junior, Buffalo Sabres (NHL)
Jordan Oesterl, defense, WMU, junior, Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Ryan Carpenter, forward, BGSU, junior, Worcester Sharks (AHL)

Breakdown of early Departures

UMD: 1
UW: 1
RPI: 2
UNO: 2
OSU: 1
UMICH: 2
BGSU: 1
NU: 1
WMU: 1
UNH: 1
C.C.: 1
SLU: 1

SCSU: 1
UML: 3
MTU: 1
QU: 1
LSSU:1

Blast from the past: Vannelli vs.McMahon

The date was October 24, 2004, the Minnesota Gophers beat the UND Fighting Sioux on the score board 6-0. UND would get the best of the Gophers in the physical department. Something you don't see very often in college hockey, a full out knock down fight.

MIN-5 Alex Goligoski (2-Roughing) 20:00
MIN-6 Garrett Smaagaard (2-Roughing) 20:00
MIN-7 Mike Vannelli (5-Fighting) 20:00
MIN-8 Mike Vannelli (10-Game Disqualification) 20:00
NDK-3 Rylan Kaip (2-Roughing)20:00
NDK-4 Quinn Fylling (2-Roughing) 20:00
NDK-5 Rory McMahon (5-Fighting) 20:00
NDK-6 Rory McMahon (10-Game Disqualification) 20:00

UND Hockey: Bench Celly

See told you Hakstol was smiling. MT: NCAA Hockey: UND hockey Embraces Underdog Role - http://t.co/QeB4biyAcP … #THW pic.twitter.com/xTufJO9Ww7
— Eric J. Burton THW (@goon48) April 3, 2014

There's visual evidence of UND head coach Dave Hakstol smiling.

Related articles

• NCAA Hockey: North Dakota Embraces Underdog Role
• UND Hockey: It's Simple, Win and They're In
• NCAA Hockey: Attendance Issues Plague NCAA Regional Tournaments
• NCAA Hockey: Field for the Frozen Four is set

Blast from the past: the handshake game #2

Blast from the past... The Handshake game. End of game UND vs. Minnesota 1/14/2012: http://t.co/GsPYvWzZvZ via @YouTube
— Goon's ND Redneck (@NDRedneck) April 4, 2014

Who could forget the ending to this game, not many times you see a guy getting yanked out of a handshake line. Although, historically, it might have been a typical ending to a North Dakota vs. Minnesota game.  Blood would lose his "A" for his part in the handshake.

Minnesota Wild: Brandon Bollig Hits Zach Parise in the back of the head

Another night, another NHL player hit in the head by an elbow/forearm, there's no excusing this hit. The NHL needs to start protecting its players from predatory type hits, or we're going to have all of the star players on the shelf. This is unacceptable; please tell me why Brandon Bollig needs to hit Zach Parise in this instance, for one it’s from behind. That’s a penalty in itself.

Yeo on Bollig hit on Parise: "Didn't like it. Saw it coming." Said he "targeted" guys his previous shift with late hits #mnwild #blackhawks
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) April 4, 2014

Parise says he has a headache from Bollig: hasn't seen replay, but "all I know is I got hit in the head pretty good." #mnwild
— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) April 4, 2014

Blast from the Past: UND 4 UMN 4

UND had a 3-1 lead  in this game and let it slip away. The Minnesota Golden Gophers would charge back and score two unanswered goals to get the tie. This was the last series that UND played against the Gophers. One of those games that was fun to watch.

UND second most wins the last four years

Most Wins, Last 4 Years 113 - Boston College 105 - North Dakota 104 - Union 97 - Minnesota 90 - Denver, Quinnipiac #cawlidgehawkey
— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) April 3, 2014

Here's a great statistic from ESPN'S John Buccigross. UND has the second most wins the last four years.

UND vs. UMN this should get you in the mood

Since Getty images made their images free for use, I have found some nice ones for the blog.

Mike Milbury responds to Paul Bissonnette tweet

If you haven't seen it, good stuff here. I think both Mike Milbury and Paul Bissonnette have a point

Knowing Mike Milbury has a job talking hockey makes me feel good about life after I'm done playing. Guy's a zero.
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) March 31, 2014

Boston Bruins: Torey Krug no goal (Video)

Blown call by the officials. Boston Bruins defenseman Torey Krug was robbed of a legit goal. Zdeno Chara made no contact with Jimmy Howard.

(Video) Alex Burrows Hit on Ryan McDonagh

This is why people don't like the Vancouver Canucks and Alex Burrows. The game is over, there's 40 seconds to go in the game. There's no way that the Canucks are going to get two goals past all-world goalie Henrik Lundqvist and Burrows decides that its a good time to take a run at  Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh almost starting a brawl. Now, if watch the video you will see that Canucks forward Zach Kassian already had McDonagh tied, nothing illegal with that play. Burrows comes in high on a defenseless player that can't defend himself.

There's no punishment coming from the NHL for this hit. This is why the Rats need to be held accountable in the NHL. I would like to see the NHL get rid of NHL Rule 46.12.

46.12 Instigator in Final Five Minutes of Regulation Time (or Anytime in Overtime) - A player who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation in the final five (5) minutes of regulation time or at any time in overtime shall be assessed an instigator minor penalty, a major penalty for fighting, and a game misconduct penalty, subject to the conditions outlined in 46.22.

19:16 VAN Alexandre Burrows Elbowing (maj) against Ryan McDonagh
19:16 VAN Alexandre Burrows Game misconduct against Ryan McDonagh

Canucks' Burrows should not expect an NHL hearing for this hit on Rangers' McDonagh last night. Watch: http://t.co/qHohe1S38Z @sportsnet
— Hockey Central (@SNHockeyCentral) April 2, 2014

#NYR No supplementary discipline expected for Vancouver's Alex Burrows' hit on Ryan McDonagh last night.
— Katie Strang (@KatieStrangESPN) April 2, 2014

Hobey Hattrick has been announced

The 2014 Hobey Baker Hattrick has been announced. These are the two other players that will sit with Johnny Gaudreau when he wins the Hobey Baker Memorial Trophy on April 11, 2014. Congrats to all three players. They're all good candidates and they're amazing players.

Greg Carey (St. Lawrence University)
Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State)
Johnny Gaudreau (Boston College)

(Video) Brad Malone vs Derek MacKenzie Fight

s/t to The Whistler who sent me this video in an email today. Brad Malone absolutely works Derek MacKenzie. Not even a close fight; Malone also scored a goal as well.

(video) Douglas Murray on Mike Kostka

Here's the video of the Douglas Murray on Mike Kostka. It's pretty clear that it's a shoulder to the head. Murray has a hearing with the NHL's department of player safety. Murray never been suspended by the NHL according to his player page on TSN.CA.

Moment of impact on Murray-Kostka hit. #Habs #Bolts pic.twitter.com/NjNt4LYX19
— NHLEXPERTPICKS.COM (@NHLexpertpicks) April 2, 2014

Douglas Murray hit on Mike Kostka (GIFS) Has Hearing...

GIF: Doug Murray elbowing Mike Kostka in the head. Awful. http://t.co/El6d6JAUyQ
— Pat Iversen (@PatIversen) April 2, 2014

Hab's defenseman Douglas Murray should be getting a long suspension from the NHL's Department of Player Safety after this dirty, bush-league hit on Lightning defenseman Mike Kostka. This is unacceptable. What's your prediction for this suspension?

@CanadiensMTL Douglas Murray awaits a hearing with player safety after hit on @TBLightning Mike kostka. He has been suspended Indefinitely.
— NHL News (@Chel_Stats) April 2, 2014