USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

November 30, 2015

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Providence	(34)	9- 0-3	978	1
2	Boston College	(10)	12- 1-0	936	2
3	Quinnipiac	( 6)	13- 0-2	920	3
4	North Dakota		12- 2-2	813	5
5	Massachusetts-Lowell		10- 1-4	779	4
6	Nebraska-Omaha		11- 2-1	741	6
7	St. Cloud State		11- 3-0	727	7
8	Harvard		6- 1-1	675	8
9	Denver		7- 3-2	555	9
10	Yale		5- 2-2	496	10
11	Boston University		7- 4-3	475	11
12	Michigan		7- 2-2	460	12
13	St. Lawrence		8- 3-2	398	14
14	Bowling Green		9- 3-3	320	15
15	Cornell		6- 1-2	316	16
16	Merrimack		6- 2-4	276	13
17	Michigan Tech		9- 4-1	166	19
17	Minnesota-Duluth		5- 5-3	166	17
19	Penn State		8- 2-3	114	20
20	Notre Dame		6- 4-4	80	18
Others receiving votes: Rensselaer 54, Robert Morris 22, Minnesota State 20, Clarkson 8, Miami 5.

With the sweep of Michigan State University, UND moves up to number four in this week’s USCHO Poll. Also, there’re four NCHC teams in this week’s poll.

Nick Seeler's Flying Elbow on Niklas Nevalainen

Minnesota Gophers defenseman Nick Seeler was assessed a five-minute major and a game misconduct for this hit on St. Cloud State defenseman Niklas Nevalainen. It looks like a flying elbow or  a close line. The Huskies Nevalainen left the ice under his own power.

(Video) Johnny Oduya's Dirty Cross-Check on Zach Parise

Another dirty cross-check and another two-minute minor penalty. Seriously, Dallas Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya's dirty cross-check on Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise is only worthy of a two-minutes penalty. The ref was standing right there. This is a blatant dirty, bush league move is worthy of a look by the NHL's Department of Players Safety. These are the type of hits that the NHL should be removing from the game of hockey.

Johnny Oduya destroys his close friend Zach Parise with a cross-check to the back of the neck. Wild PP

— Michael Russo (@Russostrib) November 29, 2015

Updated: Brandon Dubinsky Will have a Hearing for Dirty Cross Check on Sidney Crosby

There's no defending this bush league cross check by Columbus Bluejackets forward Brandon Dubinsky. I mean seriously, Dubinsky tries to remove Sidney Crosby's head from his body. This dirty hit is worthy of a suspension. If you're a fan of the NHL, there's a chance you're embarrassed that  Dubinsky was only given a two-minute minor for this egregious act of violence. Now will the league step up?

Just for the record, I am not a fan of the Penguins, but I don't want to see the league's superstars knocked out of the game by a senseless, dirty, boneheaded hit.

Wow. Cross Check to the back of Crosby's neck from Brandon Dubinsky gets just a 2 minute penalty. Playoff atmosphere in Columbus tonight.

— John Buccigross (@Buccigross) November 28, 2015

Dubinsky will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Players safety.

Brandon Dubinsky: Will have a hearing with the league regarding his actions in the most rece... https://t.co/VMyqNEGuZ8 #nhl #CBJ

— Left Wing Lock (@Left_Wing_Lock) November 28, 2015

Apparently, former NHL goon Matthew Barnaby didn't think that Dubinsky's cross check warrants a suspension. Wait, what?

The only suspension questionable is one to neck. And not bad at all. 2nd cross check is not suspension. No way no how. We'll discuss Monday

— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) November 28, 2015

NHL might suspend Dubinsky. I don't think he deserves it all. There was Zero force. Just my opinion. Comes down to their opinion

— Matthew Barnaby (@MattBarnaby3636) November 28, 2015

Brad Malone vs Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Former Fighting Sioux forward Brad Malone isn't afraid to drop the gloves when the need arises. In this fight, he pummels Flyers forward  Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. I must say that I am impressed with Malones fighting prowess.

Hockey fights scored the fight a victory for Malone. Since the 2012-13 season, Malone has been in 11 NHL fights. You can view Malone's fight card on this link.

This season, Malone has played in 13 games and scored (1g-3a--4pts).

Grand Forks Herald: Lawyer in UND nickname lawsuit: UND is laughingstock

William J. Brotherton, one of the lawyers in the nickname case that was thrown out of court, says that UND is a laughing stock for picking the nickname. Here's a snippet of this letter to the editor.

And what exactly is a Fighting Hawk? We have red-tailed hawks here in Texas, just like in North Dakota, and the only creatures I see hawks do battle with are crows and the occasional sparrow. This is certainly not the stuff of legend.

I argued in an earlier opinion piece that it was not too late for UND to do the right thing. Now that former Gov. Ed Schafer is going to be stepping in as the new interim president of UND, outgoing president Robert Kelley should suspend the nickname replacement process and keep UND/North Dakota as the nickname of our proud university.

We have become the laughingstock of the political correctness parade. Princeton University is going to remove the portrait of former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson for perceived racism. The University of Missouri president resigned when he wouldn’t renounce white privilege. Where does all this silliness end?

I would think that the University of Oklahoma will soon have to replace its vaunted Sooner nickname. After all, Sooners are the white settlers that raced across the state in the great Oklahoma land rush. And guess whose land they took?

Let’s do the right thing UND. Halt the nickname replacement process, keep the UND/North Dakota name for now, and let’s have a new vote to include that name as one of the selections. And let’s include the Sioux in any future votes, because as I’ve stated earlier and as described in our lawsuit against the university, both North Dakota Sioux tribes gave the Fighting Sioux name to UND in a sacred pipe ceremony held in 1969.

First, I don't see how Dickinson State is going to be able to tell UND they can't use Hawks? First, their mascot is a blue hawk, UND is the Fighting Hawks.

Is it Time to Move on and No More Money for UND

Tim Pagano of Grand Forks, ND, wrote a letter to the Grand Forks Herald editorial page that says that it's time to move on.

Is UND an integral part of this community? Absolutely. Should a robust discourse take place regarding its identity? Of course. This was well accomplished over the past decade.

We as a community and university must look in the mirror. Isn't the fact that there are children starving and living in homes where abuse and neglect are common a more worthwhile cause to fill up facebook comments and newspapers?

Isn't the fact that one in 10 children is born into poverty in North Dakota an issue more worthy of our time? Should we not spend more of our efforts addressing the sex trafficking that is so prominent in our state in lieu of spending so much time on a nickname?

I'm writing simply to state that UND's identity is important, and a strong discussion was needed. However, let's not for one moment think that it was worthy of priority over so many other issues where our neighbors' lives were and continue to be at stake. We are better than that.

Another interesting story that hit the paper today; the UND Alumni Center is now  asking unhappy donors that don't like the new nickname to continue to donate money to UND.

Alumni association spokesman Milo Smith said the appeal was written and posted to the group's Facebook page last week after a significant number of people used social media to say they weren't going to donate.

"To those who say they will never again give to UND because of the nickname change, we would ask that you consider who will be hurt most by that protest," the post says. "By stopping your gifts to the University of North Dakota, you are limiting opportunities for the future business leaders, doctors, scientists, authors, pilots, teachers, engineers and other professionals who are educated at our beloved university."

Thoughts on both articles?  Is it time to move on?

USCHO.com Division I Men's Poll

November 23, 2015

	Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Providence	(36)	8- 0-3	983	1
2	Boston College	( 9)	10- 1-0	936	2
3	Quinnipiac	( 5)	11- 0-2	901	3
4	Massachusetts-Lowell		9- 1-3	816	5
5	North Dakota		10- 2-2	795	4
6	Nebraska-Omaha		9- 2-1	745	6
7	St. Cloud State		9- 3-0	716	7
8	Harvard		4- 1-1	640	8
9	Denver		7- 3-2	565	9
10	Yale		5- 1-2	516	11
11	Boston University		6- 4-2	474	10
12	Michigan		6- 2-1	468	12
13	Merrimack		6- 1-4	402	13
14	St. Lawrence		8- 3-2	378	14
15	Bowling Green		7- 3-3	272	15
16	Cornell		6- 1-1	222	18
17	Minnesota-Duluth		5- 5-3	191	17
18	Notre Dame		5- 3-4	163	16
19	Michigan Tech		7- 4-1	146	19
20	Penn State		7- 2-3	69	NR
Others receiving votes: Rensselaer 27, Massachusetts 22, Robert Morris 21, Clarkson 14, Minnesota State 11, Miami 4, Alaska-Anchorage 2, Michigan State 1.

 

After splitting their weekend series with the St. Cloud State Huskies, UND is not ranked 5^th in the nation. Again, it’s still early and teams are still finding their identity.