Thursday, February 05, 2015

Is Evander Kane on Trading Block?

It appears so, check out what's making its way around the blogosphere today. I can think of a couple of teams that he would look good on. You have to wonder if Kane could use a fresh start?



Winnipeg Free Press: Healthy scratch could be turning point in Kane saga



This is a story that has garnered a lot of attention the last few days. To me, it seems a little excessive, but team rules are team rules. Right? On the surface it appears minor, Kane wore sweats to a team meeting.

Here's what at stake, Kane broke team rules and if the coach hadn't disciplined him, it would appear that the coach has two sets of rules. One set of rules for star players and rules for the rest of the team.
Gary Lawless, Winnipeg Free Press --- Kane’s transgression on Tuesday, as it turns out, was fairly was minor. He broke dress code, arriving at the rink for a midday team meeting in sweats, instead of a suit. By gametime, Kane wasn’t a player.

Jets coach Paul Maurice scratched Kane from the lineup and after the game called it a coach’s decision. This is the second time Maurice has made Kane a healthy scratch for disciplinary reasons. The coach has rules and he expects his players to follow them and there are few exceptions. The margin of error for a repeat offender such as Kane is thin. So he got benched.

UND WHKY: Border battle

Grand Forks, N.D. -- Rewind to Nov. 21 of last year and the North Dakota women's hockey was on a eight-game winless skid. The team was swept by the Minnesota Gopher powerhouse and the newly revitalized Bemidji State program. They had a loss and a tie against Wisconsin.

Nothing seemed to be going right at that point in the season. But since Dec. 12, the team has gone 8-1-1. Most recently tallying back-to-back sweeps of Ohio State and BSU. Last weekend North Dakota was able to pull off a in and tie against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

The games that North Dakota has won as of late haven't been high scoring or glamorous, but the program has done enough of the right things to claw themselves back from sixth place in the WCHA to fourth.

The keys to UND's success have been the defense and being backstopped by junior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie. Amsley-Benzie has allowed only four goals in the last six games and has three shutouts against nationally ranked opponents. She has also been named WCHA Defensive Player of the Week twice since the beginning of 2015.

Currently North Dakota trails Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA standings by three points and is ranked 10th in the Pairwise with only six games remaining in the regular season.

This weekend North Dakota will face rival Minnesota on Friday at 7:07 p.m. and Saturday at 4:07 p.m.. The Gophers are 17-1-4 with the lone loss to Bemidji in Nov. of last year. If UND plans to be successful this weekend against the Gophers they will need carry momentum from the past three weeks and have exceptional goaltending and defense.

UND is hoping to pack The Ralph and break last year's attendance record. Attendees will receive one of these ridiculously fun(ny) foam stick hats. Tickets are available for $1 at The Ralph box office.

Wednesday, February 04, 2015

P.K. Subban Fined for Diving



It was only a matter of time before P.K. Subban was fined by the National Hockey League for embellishment. Now with the fine, Subban is now a documented diver. It will be interesting to see if Subban cleans up his act.
NHL.COM -- Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban has been fined $2,000 as supplementary discipline under NHL Rule 64 (Diving/Embellishment), the National Hockey League announced today.

Revised for the 2014-15 season following offseason approval by the League's Board of Governors and the National Hockey League Players' Association, NHL Rule 64 is designed to bring attention to and more seriously penalize players (and teams) who repeatedly dive and embellish in an attempt to draw penalties. Fines are assessed to players and head coaches on a graduated scale outlined below:

Carolina Hurricanes: Brad Malone Scores on the Penalty Shot (Video)



Former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone scored his fifth goal of the season with this beauty on the penalty shot. In 39 games this season, Malone has scored (5g-3a--8pts).

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

2015 Beanpot: Harvard No Goal




Game one of the 2015 Beanpot Tournament, BU vs. Harvard.

After watching the video, I don't know? I have no invested interest in either team, I think Harvard scored a goal. Based on what I can see on my television screen. I don't have all of the angles that the refs have. Tough call to make for the officials. I As a result of this goal being waved off, the two teams went to overtime.


Shelby Amsley-Benzie, WCHA Defensive Player of the Week


Congrats to UND junior goalie Shelby Amsley-Benzie for being named the WCHA defensive player of the week.

WCHA Defensive Player of the Week
Shelby Amsley-Benzie, Jr., G, North Dakota (Warroad, Minn.)
Amsley-Benzie continued her run of stellar play, backstopping North Dakota to a five-point weekend at No. 6 Minnesota Duluth. The junior from Warroad, Minn. recorded her fourth shutout of the season – third against a nationally-ranked opponent – when she stopped all 30 shots faced Friday in a 1-0 victory. She then followed up her shutout performance with a 25-save effort Saturday, helping UND to a 2-2 tie and shootout victory. North Dakota’s netminder helped her team’s penalty kill go a perfect 6-for-6 on the weekend, stopping 10 shots while short-handed. Amsley-Benzie currently leads the nation with a .949 save percentage. Since Jan. 1, she tops the country with both a .971 save percentage and 0.71 goals against average.

Also nominated: Ann-Renée Desbiens, So., G, Wisconsin


Monday, February 02, 2015

UMN vs. UND, Pack the Ralph



USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

February 02, 2015

Team
(First Place Votes)
Record
Points
Last Poll
1
Minnesota State
(20)
21- 5-1
952
3
2
North Dakota
(14)
19- 6-2
946
1
3
Boston University
(16)
16- 4-4
945
2
4
Nebraska-Omaha
16- 7-3
841
5
5
Michigan Tech
20- 7-1
740
8
6
Harvard
12- 5-2
708
4
7
Minnesota-Duluth
15-10-1
680
7
8
Bowling Green
15- 6-5
606
6
8
Miami
15- 9-1
606
9
10
Denver
15- 9-1
536
11
11
Boston College
16- 8-2
488
14
12
Massachusetts-Lowell
16- 8-3
482
10
13
Providence
16- 9-1
405
12
14
Michigan
15- 8-0
324
13
15
Yale
12- 6-3
297
16
16
Quinnipiac
16- 8-2
261
18
17
Vermont
15- 9-2
196
15
18
Merrimack
14- 9-3
173
19
19
Robert Morris
19- 5-4
111
20
20
Colgate
14- 9-3
70
17
Others receiving votes: Penn State 42, St. Lawrence 29, Minnesota 26, Dartmouth 14, Bemidji State 8, St. Cloud State 7, Western Michigan 5, Canisius 2.

Corbin McGuire hit on Connor Reilly (Video)



During Saturday's game, Wisconsin's Corbin McGuire hit Minnesota's Connor Reilly with a knee-on-knee hit. According to Minnesota head coach Don Lucia, Reilly is going to miss a substantial amount of time. The Gophers have already talked to the Big Ten about the hit. I am thinking suspension.

Sunday, February 01, 2015

(Video) UND 4 UNO 3 O.T.



It was a great weekend of hockey, what an amazing series. It's the kind of hockey that I like to watch. I thought UND played well both games, but kind of lost their composure during the later part of the game on Friday night and it cost UND. I touched on it a bit here.

Here are a few fun facts, with the with the win, UND is 16-0-1 when they're leading after two periods. UND is also 13-0-1 on Saturday nights. UNO 1-5-1 when trailing after two.

There have been four games in the series, three-of-four went to overtime. All four games were decided by a goal. Also, there's been one sweep in this series. All-time, UND leads the series 9-6-1.


Saturday, January 31, 2015

UND vs. UNO Game two Lines


UND goes with the same lineup as last night.


(Video) UND vs. UNO (Overtime Implosion)



You have to give credit to the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. They beat UND fair and square. I think last night's display in the overtime period was a textbook display of an implosion.

noun
1.the act of imploding; a bursting inward (opposed to explosion).
2. Phonetics.the occlusive phase of stop consonants.
(of a stop consonant) the nasal release heard in the common pronunciation of eaten, sudden, or mitten, in which the vowel of the final syllable is greatly reduced. The ingressive release of a suction stop.
Compare plosion.

UND vs. UNO (UND goals 1/30/2015)



“We didn’t play a full 60 minutes, but in the third period, we came out and played desperate hockey and showed what kind of team we are,” Caggiula said. “When you lose a game in overtime, it’s never going to sit well. But we have to play a full 60 minutes, like we did in the third period, and I think we’ll have a better result tomorrow.” (Grand Forks Herald)

UNO Head Coach Dean Blais Throws the Water Bottle.

Friday, January 30, 2015

Friday Links UNO vs. UND

Epic series this weekend in Omaha, Nebraska. UND takes on the Red Mavs in an important two-game conference series. Should be an exciting series. #hateundweek






Thursday, January 29, 2015

UND Hate Week in Omaha :)


Ah yes... It's "Hate UND Week" on ESPN 590 AM Omaha. So, if you haven't heard this, you might want to listen to it at the 31:00 mark of the embedded broadcast.

For some interesting hockey analysis from a UNO fan's perspective  you can check out MAV PUCK.

This should be a good series of hockey, both teams hate each other and it should be a rough series. Both games will be on TV and for those with DirecTV, you will be able to watch Friday's game on CBSSN and Saturday's game on Fox College Sports.

If you haven't seen it, Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy has been taking hacks at UNO all season long.
Meanwhile, the poor-but-they-keep-winning-anyway Omaha Mavericks swept Denver.

Omaha will fall off, but might have enough points banked that it doesn't make a difference. North Dakota is better but still not great.


Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Collin Adams Committs to UND

Collin Adams a 16-year old forward from Brighton, MI, has committed to play for UND. Below, is his Elite Prospects page.


Good News for UND Hockey Fans: MidcoSN Adds Saturday's Game at Omaha

This is very good news for UND hockey fans. Friday's game in on CBSSN and Saturday's game is on FCS and MidcoSN.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Midco Sports Network (MidcoSN) announced today that it will add North Dakota’s men’s hockey game at Omaha on Saturday, Jan. 31, to its live television broadcast schedule.

MidcoSN has reached an agreement with NET Nebraska in Lincoln and will air its production of the game on Midco Sports Network channel 622 (HD) and 26 (SD). Dave Ahlers and former UNO hockey player David Brisson will call the action beginning at 7 p.m.

Friday’s game can be seen live nationally on CBS Sports Network, which is also available to DirecTV and DISH Network subscribers. Ben Holden handles the play-by-play and is joined by analyst Dave Starman and rinkside reporter Shireen Saski.

With 10 games remaining in the regular season, top-ranked North Dakota trails fifth-ranked Omaha by one point for first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) standings.


Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Minnesota Wild: Goalie Devan Dubnyk Stops Justin Schultz (video)



Check out this amazing save by Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk as he stops former Wisconsin Badger and current Edmonton Oilers defenseman Justin Schultz. I guess if I was the Wild general manager, I would be looking for a way to Cut Niklas Backstrom and signing Dubnyk.