Frozen Four Lines: North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac

Quinnipiac (32-3-7)

Forward Lines

7 Sam Anas-26 Travis St. Denis-16 Landon Smith
24 Bo Pieper-19 Tanner MacMaster-12 Thomas Aldworth
39 Andrew Taverner-23 Tommy Schutt-17 K.J. Tiefenwerth
18 Soren Jonzzon-11 Tim Clifton-22 Scott Davidson

Defense Parings

6 Devon Toews-27 Kevin McKernan
13 Chase Priskie-4 Connor Clifton
14 Derek Smith-8 Alex Miner-Barron

Goalies

34 Michael Garteig
29 Sean Lawrence
35 Jacob Meyers

North Dakota (33-6-4)

Forward Lines

9 Drake Caggiula-8 Nick Schmaltz-16 Brock Boeser
29 Bryn Chyzyk-22 Rhett Gardner-14 Austin Poganski
25 Joel Janatuinen-26 Coltyn Sanderson-17 Colten St. Clair
19 Shane Gersich-10 Johnny Simonson-11 Trevor Olson

Defense Parings

3 Tucker Poolman-6 Paul LaDue
20 Gage Ausmus-2 Troy Stecher
24 Christian Wolanin-4 Keaton Thompson

Goalies

33 Cam Johnson
30 Matt Hrynkiw

There will be some lineup changes for UND. First, as we feared, Luke Johnson is out, he was wearing a very big brace (see screen shot from snap chat video). That doesn't look good. Tonight, UND will miss Johnson's faceoff prowess. 

Second: Colten St. Clair will take Johnson's place in the lineup. There’s no way he could play. Hopefully, he will be ready next season. Haden Shaw is out and Christian Wolanin takes his place in the lineup. There are two (Coltyn and Colten) on the third line.  

It will be interesting to see if UND tests the injured shoulder of Bobcats forward Sam Anas'. If I was UND, they should check him, legally, every chance they get. 

Former UND Hockey Players Check In

Tonight's the night! Good luck @UNDmhockey in the @NCAAIceHockey National Championship Game #believeitearnitraiseit

— Ryan Duncan (@rduncan16) April 9, 2016

Good luck to @UNDmhockey today in the national championship game, bring it home buiis! #siouxyeahyeah

— Mark MacMillan (@EasyMac_16) April 9, 2016

Good luck @UNDmhockey in the national title game. Future Hawk leading the way! #FrozenFour https://t.co/VNAW9Sd8IR

— Jonathan Toews (@JonathanToews) April 9, 2016

#LFG #RollTribe #hang8 pic.twitter.com/WRqZnd69wW

— Danny Kristo (@dkristo7) April 8, 2016

I love this picture. So fitting.

A bet is a bet! Pay the man. @UNDmhockey @Scooter_Von @Buccigross @umichhockey pic.twitter.com/bhtWKaWVWb

— Danny Kristo (@dkristo7) March 29, 2016

Congrats @UNDmhockey on making it to the National Championship Game! One more job to do! #finishit #raise8

— Mitch MacMillan (@Mitch_Mac89) April 8, 2016

@BradBerry29 @myUND Get Er Done Men #Wearefamily pic.twitter.com/Cv8jjm2MR0

— craig ludwig (@taz3311) April 8, 2016

Good luck to the Sioux boys at the #FrozenFour #hang8 #tonguesout pic.twitter.com/b1mYfmpltb

— Brendan O'Donnell (@bodonnell21) April 7, 2016

Good luck tonight Fighting Sioux!! I'll be battling from Germany for the 2:30am puck drop! @UNDmhockey

— Brad Miller (@Bradm14) April 7, 2016

Yeah baby!!! Go Sioux!!! 1 more!!! @UNDmhockey

— Derrick LaPoint (@d_lapoint) April 8, 2016

Best of luck to @UNDmhockey the FIGHTING SIOUX in the frozen four. #letsgetthelegsgoing #letsgetthemittsgoing

— Matt Frattin (@Matt_Frattin) April 7, 2016

Good luck to @UNDmhockey in the National Championship game tonight!!! Have fun and play hard!#SiouxYeahYeah

— TJ Oshie (@TJOshie77) April 9, 2016

UNITED IN GREEN!!!!!!!!#BelieveIt-EarnIt-RaiseIt pic.twitter.com/AoyvjPrDDi

— Brad Berry (@BradBerry29) April 9, 2016

Good luck to the Sioux boys tonight in the National Championship game! #Hang8 #FightingSiouxForever

— Rocco Grimaldi (@RGrimaldi23) April 9, 2016

It's Game Day: UND vs. QU

A photo posted by Drake Caggiula (@dcaggiula94) on Apr 9, 2016 at 7:13am PDT

Good luck to the University of North Dakota hockey team as they go for eight. Here are some of the stories making the news today. Tonight, UND is looing to raise it's eighth banner.

Saturday Morning Reading by @schlossman of the @gfherald: https://t.co/jimbsDsG1I

— North Dakota MHockey (@UNDmhockey) April 9, 2016

7 Players to Watch in the National Championship https://t.co/KuMNv02usP #THW

— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) April 9, 2016

Frozen Four Rewind: North Dakota vs. Denver - https://t.co/3GNAYAwoy9 #hockey #THW pic.twitter.com/YjmhHtPN3B

— The Hockey Writers (@TheHockeyWriter) April 9, 2016

Good luck @UNDmhockey in the national title game. Future Hawk leading the way! #FrozenFour https://t.co/VNAW9Sd8IR

— Jonathan Toews (@JonathanToews) April 9, 2016

Michigan, North Dakota both have four 2015-16 All-Americans https://t.co/Pcl6sMVs1H

— USCHO.com (@USCHO) April 8, 2016

#FrozenFour Blog: North Dakota's Berry looks back to the call that changed his career path https://t.co/Y2pogZR7m1

— USCHO.com (@USCHO) April 8, 2016

Alex Tuch: Stay in School

Now that the Boston College Eagles season is over, there's going to be extensive chatter on whether Alex Tuch should sign with the Minnesota Wild.

Lastly, according to sources, first-round pick Alex Tuch will take a few days to let the emotions die down before deciding with his family and advisor if he should turn pro with the Wild.(Mike Russo, Russo's Rants)

Here's some advice, stay school. After listening to many ex-college hockey players talk about how they wished they had stayed in college for another year. What's the hurry?

Last night, during the pre-game former Fighting Sioux All-American Zach Parise, talked about how he wished he'd stayed in college for another year. Can you imagine if he had?

Frozen Four: North Dakota 4 Denver 2

Tonight, the University of North Dakota won a Frozen Four semifinal for the first time since 2005. UND has exercised some demons and finally gotten over the hump in the Frozen Four. I will be posting more later tomorrow. (Here's the link to the goals for UND)

In my opinion, it looks better on paper, UND is now 2-9 in the last eight visits to the Frozen Four.

Only if @goon48 says it is https://t.co/DwjR3gsTyf

— GOHUSKIESWOOOOO (@GOHUSKIESWOOOOO) April 8, 2016

I want to address this. First, this is a penalty. It could've been a five-minute major. It wasn't. Nowhere did I say that it wasn't a penalty. I don't think that Trevor Olson hit the ice again after this penalty. I also wouldn't be surprised to see him in the stands on Saturday night. There's also a reason I muted this guy.

North Dakota beats Denver in the final minute to advance to its 13th Frozen Four Championship game. pic.twitter.com/p2cmE7DZLn

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 8, 2016

Whoops, They did it again.

One of my Facebook friends had this on her Facebook page today. Seriously, why does this happen all of the time? EDIT: This was an unlicensed vender, but still.

Mike McFeely on UND Hockey and NDSU Football

It must be that time of year again. Checking the calendar, it's the month of April and the Bison Football vs. UND hockey comparison is again making the newspapers and blogs. Everyone's favorite Fargo Radio host Mike McFeely has this interesting blog post this morning.

Honestly, I have never really liked UND fans calling NDSU's football program JV. First, let's not forget, UND also has a JV football team and UND third-year head coach Bubba is doing a great job resurrecting a team that was left for dead after the last head coach ran the program into the ground. Now, checking the results the last five years, their JV football team is better than ours.

UND's record isn't even .500 and the Bison have won back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back NCAA FCS championships. That's pretty impressive in any league. While I don't care for the NDSU football team, I must tip my hat to them. They're a powerhouse in FCS football. I suspect that Bubba will have UND's football team playing at an elite level in the not too distant future.

During the football season, UND hockey fans derisively refer to the Bison as a junior varsity or “JV” team because they compete in the Football Championship Subdivision of NCAA Division I, not the highest level of Football Bowl Subdivision. FBS is home of big-time conferences like the Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern Conference, etc. (McFeely)

On the flip side of the coin, we have this argument.

During the hockey season, Bison fans belittle UND hockey as a team competing in a low-profile sport relatively few Americans care about. They point to dismal attendance at NCAA regional sites, low TV ratings and the small number of Division I hockey programs and say, “Hockey is a regional niche sport that few outside passionate hockey towns care about. UND is a big fish in a really small pond.”

Let's face facts, hockey is a unique sport, it's the one sport where a division III school can beat the big boys. Rarely if ever, does this happen in FBS college football. I am not sure that NDSU would ever beat Michigan in football, but UND did so in hockey.

Two weeks ago, while wearing a Fighting Sioux jersey at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, I had many Jets fans come up and complement my jersey. I doubt that few Canadians know who the NDSU Bison are. I wonder if we should just go to our corners and agree to disagree? I don't think we will ever move on until we do.

(Video) Oliver "Butch" Mousseau Eulogy by Don Adam

A classy eulogy by NCHC head of OFficals Don Adam.

Ducan Keith Suspended Six Games For Slash On Charlie Coyle

You can watch the video here.

 The hearing is over, Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Ducan Keith has been suspended for six games. In my opinion, that suspension is a joke. This should be a 10-15 game suspension.

The conspiracy theorist will say since Keith is a star player on the Blackhawks, he's been afforded some leeway by the NHL. It almost appears that this is the truth. If the NHL is serious about removing thuggery from the game, they would punish the star players more severely.

First, this isn't the first time that Keith has viciously slashed someone during the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If you haven't seen it, Keith viciously slashed Jeff Carter of the L.A. Kings. Nowhere, in any league of hockey is it acceptable to slash a player in the face with your stick.

For those that are defending this hit. Don't. This bush league hit is indefensible. This is a barbaric, thuggish, dangerous act. The cross check was labeled as a light hit by the NHL. I agree. There was no slew foot, either. Even if there was, there's no defending this hit. If a third line player had slashed Charlie Coyle we would be seeing a long suspension.

DCU Center Defends NCAA Hockey Attendance

I have to chuckle when I read this article. Apparently, Sandra Dunn, who's part of the management team company that runs the DCU Center, thinks that the NCAA North East Regional that was held in Worcester, Massachusetts last weekend was successful. Uh, okay.  

For Finals - 62% of Seats Were Empty

Worcester’s attendance for the two games on Friday was 6,682 — just over half the seats were filled. For the regional final, despite regional favorite and national power Boston College playing, the attendance dropped from Friday to just 4,572 — 62 percent of the seats were unsold.

“This was the 14th regional held at the DCU Center. Worcester is held in high esteem with the NCAA including a variety of records like “Most Hockey Tournament Games by any Arena (2012)”, “Most Regional Games by any Arena (45)” and “Largest Crowd for a Session (1999)”. In fact, we hold 4 of the top 5 most attended Regionals in NCAA history,” said Dunn.

Actually, if you think about it, Ms. Dunn is probably right. The NCAA loves to play in listless, empty buildings. This regional championship had more fans attend it than the West Regional Championship that was held at the Xcel Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. So, I guess we can look at this as being successful.

Honestly, I think it's funny. Boston College is a 45-minute bus ride from DCU Center in Worcester, MA. Can't they fill up the DCU Center? Apparently not.

Dave Hakstol: We've Seen this Act Before

In the offseason, we saw head coach Dave Hakstol make the transition from the University of North Dakota to the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL. Naturally, as a UND fan, I have watched Hakstol's Flyers with great interest this season. However, last season, I would've had to take a shower after saying that. Times have changed for me.

As a Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild fan I have to admit, that in the past, I hadn't been much of a Flyers fan. I've always looked at them as being a dirty team that happens to play in the Eastern conference. However, like many UND fans, I had to see how Hakstol's transition in Philadelphia, went. They Flyers have also piqued my interest. They're an exciting young team that plays the game the right way. They also have boughten into Hakstol's systems and are playing an exciting brand high-octane hockey.

So, during the season, I have watched the Flyers play a couple of times a week. I've even gotten eight-year-old daughter, semi-interested in Hak's Flyers. They're like our third favorite team.

During Hakstol's tenure at UND, his teams tended to start out slow and peak during the end of the season going into the playoffs. Hak's first season in Philly has also transpired the same way.

Sam Carchidi, Philly.Com -- After a slow start, the Flyers are 21-9-6 since returning from a winless West Coast trip after the holiday break. That type of upswing was part of the coach's resumé at North Dakota, where his teams showed marked improvement in the second half of the season.

In his 11 seasons at North Dakota, Hakstol's teams were 113-73-19 (.598) before Christmas and a staggering 176-69-24 (.699) after Christmas.

"There's so many different stories to those years," Hakstol said the other night. "We were building a completely new team every year, and I don't care how many players you have back; we had anywhere from half our team being rookies during that stretch to a veteran-laden team. But you're building a new team every year there. The same approach here: Show up. Work to win games. Work to get better. Every week, every month - and make sure you're playing your best hockey at the critical time of the year, which is now."

This season, the Flyers weren't expected to make the playoffs, and they were said to be missing a few key parts to make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I think that Hakstol should be one of the top candidates for the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's coach of the year.

No matter what Hakstol's team does in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I think it's safe to say that he's found a home in Philadelphia.

Spenser Penrose Award Finalists Announced

Here are the eight finalists for the Spencer Penrose Award. University of North Dakota head coach Brad Berry is one of the eight finalists. Coach Berry lead his team to a 32-6-4 record. Also, Berry's team won a National Collegiate Hockey Conference Penrose Cup and a Midwest regional championship. If you're keeping track at home, all four of the coaches from the Frozen Four are on the list.

Spencer Penrose Award finalists

Brad Berry, North Dakota
Jim Montgomery, Denver
Rand Pecknold, Quinnipiac
Frank Serratore, Air Force
Nate Leaman, Providence
Jerry York, Boston College
Red Berenson, Michigan
Mel Pearson, Michigan Tech

Hobey Hat Trick Announced

The Hobey Hat Trick, has finally been announced. Here are your three candidates. Famed CCM line member, Michigan Wolverines  freshman forward Kyle Connor, Boston College Eagles All-Hockey East junior goalie Thatcher Demko. And finally, Harvard senior forward Jimmy Vesey have made the Hobey Baker Memorial Trophy Hat Trick Finalists.

(Video) Duncan Keith Slash on Charlie Coyle; Dumba & Shaw Fight

You can watch the video here.

First, Chicago Defenseman Duncan Keith's dirty slash on Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle is unacceptable. I know that the Blackhawks fans are going to disagree with me, but there's no excusing that dirty slash. That's an intent to injure. Nothing Coyle did justifies being slashed like that, Keith could have severely injured Coyle with that gutless act.

Hopefully, the NHL will hand down a harsh sentence. Keith should receive at least a five-game suspension. However, because Keith is a Blackhawk and a star player, he will probably get a one-game suspension if we're lucky. If I was the head of Department of Players Safety, it would be at least a 10-game suspension. This is a bush league act and there's no excuse for this.

Apparently, Patrick Kane can't fight is own battles. First, the hit by Matt Dumba on Kane was a clean, hard, legal hit. (You can take a look for yourself). Nice Dumba beat Andrew Shaw, it was a good fight.

Never Going to Happen

CHL has submitted a brief to NCAA asking major junior players no longer be ineligible to play at US colleges. No response as yet.

— Damien Cox (@DamoSpin) March 20, 2016

I don't think this is ever going to happen. There are too many high-level college hockey people that are against this idea. In my opinion, the CHL and the NCAA are in competition with each other. Also, I don't like the CHL people being able to use the NCAA as a fall back if the CHL doesn't work out for them.

Leafs and Bruins Game-Ending Dust Up

The Toronto Maple Leafs are a bunch of goons. :-)

3-1 #NHLBruins! Empty-netter from Matt Beleskey with 49.5 on the clock in the third.

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 27, 2016

Luke Johnson Scores UND's Second Goal

University of North Dakota junior forward Luke Johnson has become UND's version of Mr. March. Let's say that Johnson is making quite a name for himself when UND is playing in the big money games.

Today, he's done it again, the sophomore forward has scored another big goal to give UND a 2-1 lead against the Michigan Wolverines. Stick tap to Brad Schlossman: UND's Mr. March Johnson has scored a goal in five straight NCAA tourney games.

Drake Caggiula Scores UND's First Goal of the Game

UND forward Drake Caggiula with another highlight-reel goal. That's goal number 21 of the season for Caggiula. This is the first time since the 2010-11 season that UND has had two players with 20 goals or more.

(Video) Ferris State Ends St. Cloud's Season

Here's the biggest shocker of the day. The number-two seeded St. Cloud State Huskies were eliminated by the Ferris State Bulldogs. Scoring for the Bulldogs was Jared Vanwormer with the assist to Gerald Mayhew.

Former Fighting Sioux Defenseman Mike Commodore with his Prediction

The University of Michigan men's ice hockey team is going to get piss pounded today.

— Mike Commodore (@commie22) March 26, 2016

Today, former Fighting Sioux defenseman Mike Commodore took to Twitter to make his prediction on the North Dakota vs. Michigan game. Some of the responses by the Michigan fans are kind of funny, too.