Bina tops YouTube
CBS uploaded Robbie Bina's 170-foot goal to YouTube on Monday and it has become the most popular sports video on the worldwide site for the day.
There are three versions of the goal on YouTube. Two are from the Fox Sports Net broadcast and the third is from the CSTV broadcast. Between the three, more than 100,000 people have watched Bina's goal.
FSN version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXMnye_8wfg
CSTV version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4kxS1ksqtw
Bina said on the trip home from Minneapolis on Saturday night, he started to get phone calls from friends telling him that it topped ESPN's Top 10 plays of the day. He didn't closely follow the national coverage Monday (he was busy curling), but people have been informing him of where the goal has popped up -- like on ESPN's Pardon the Interuption and Around the Horn.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 31 at 1:29 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Duncan, Chorney honored
For the second time in three weeks, UND has two WCHA players of the week.
Ryan Duncan is the offensive player of the week and Taylor Chorney is the defensive player of the week.
Duncan, who also was named the national player of the week by Inside College Hockey, had seven points in a sweep over then-No. 1 Minnesota. The sophomore scored four goals and had three assists. Duncan, who leads the WCHA in goals and overall scoring, was the WCHA's player of the week three times in January.
Chorney had four assists on the weekend and he blocked nine shots. Chorney was a large part of UND's defense, which held the top scoring offense in the conference without an even strength goal in six periods.
UND players in weekly honors this season:
Oct. 31 -- Brad Miller, WCHA offensive player of the week
Nov. 7 -- Anthony Grieco, WCHA rookie of the week
Jan. 2 -- Ryan Duncan, WCHA offensive player of the week
Jan. 16 -- Ryan Duncan, WCHA offensive player of the week
Jan. 16 -- Robbie Bina, WCHA defensive player of the week
Jan. 30 -- Ryan Duncan, WCHA offensive player of the week
Jan. 30 -- Ryan Duncan, Inside College Hockey national player of the week
Jan. 30 -- Taylor Chorney, WCHA defensive player of the week
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 30 at 3:34 PM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Duncan for Hobey?
Before the season, Sioux fans expected their team would have a Hobey Baker Award contender. And as the regular season starts to wind down, it looks like that may end up happening.
....Only it's not one of the guys everyone had predicted.
Rumblings about whether Ryan Duncan should receive attention in the Hobey Baker Award race gained legs this weekend as Duncan posted 7 points in 2 games against the nation's No. 1 ranked team, Minnesota.
Duncan now is the leading scorer (goals and points) in the WCHA -- both overall and in league games. He's the third-leading goal scorer in the nation, too.
He's making quite a case for first-team all-WCHA and the league's player of the year award. If he has strong weekends at home against Mankato and Duluth, there's no doubt he will be touted as a Hobey contender and he may be the focus of a campaign led by the school's sports information office.
The last time they launched a campaign it was in 2003-04 for Brandon Bochenski and Zach Parise. Both ended up being finalists. Bochenski was in the final 10 and Parise was in the Hobey Hat Trick (top three).
I see that some people have wondered why Duncan doesn't appear on the Vote for Hobey ballot. These obviously were made up early, when everyone thought Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie would be UND's top contenders. Because Duncan's name does not appear on this list, it does not mean that he cannot be considered for Hobey Baker.
This is mainly a tool for fans. The 10 finalists are (mostly) determined by ballots sent out to all Division I head coaches. The 58 coaches select the top three players in their conference and in the country. From those ballots, along with consideration from the fan balloting, the finalists are picked.
After those 10 are determined, the selection committee (made up of journalists, NHL scouts and the American Hockey Coaches Association) pick the winner of the award. It is narrowed down to three before the announcement.
Right now, I'd say that Duncan is a longshot to win the award, but he is a serious contender to be a finalist. There is still more than a month left in the season, so a lot could happen. Duncan could drop out of the running or he could surge into being one of the top candidates.
Either way, Duncan is having a fantastic season and will get some kind of recognition for it.
Some people also are wondering if Robbie Bina will get Hobey Baker consideration. He would be an extreme longshot. Bina should be a strong contender for all-WCHA honors, though. There's no doubt that Bina is the best story in college hockey this season. Everyone in and around college hockey has to be thrilled with how his situation has turned out (except maybe Jeff Frazee).
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 30 at 3:42 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Weekend review: Minnesota
Before the weekend, even the most optimistic Sioux fans were hoping for a split. A few days later, optimism is at a season high -- and rightfully so.
The Sioux moved up to No. 12 in the USCHO poll and No. 9 in the PairWise with the sweep of Minnesota. Looking back on the entire weekend:
Offense: A+. When it was 5-on-5, the Sioux dominated. When they were on the power play they dominated. The Sioux even had two shorthanded goals. They put up five goals the first night and a touchdown the second night. It was an impressive performance against the team that had the best defense in the league coming into the series. Minnesota didn't have an answer for Jonathan Toews, T.J. Oshie and Ryan Duncan.... or Erik Fabian and Robbie Bina.
Defense: A. Typically, it would be hard to call giving up six goals an A effort. But when you hold the most potent offense in the league scoreless during even strength play, that is extremely impressive. The Sioux hardly allowed the talented Gophers any great chances during even strength play.
Goaltending: A. Philippe Lamoureux continued to be strong. It appears everyone is confident in the junior now. Side note: Lamoureux has won his last three starts in Mariucci Arena.
Road support: A+. There were Sioux fans everywhere both nights. In fact, I had a friend who listened to the game on the radio and couldn't tell who scored based on crowd noise, because the Sioux fans sounded as loud as Minnesota fans.
No-Sioux rule: F. It was joked about in the press box -- Minnesota won't play UND in sports other than hockey because of the logo... but the school has no problem selling Sioux merchandise in the arena.
Review of the three keys:
1. Score four or more goals per game. Pass. I didn't expect the Sioux to achieve this goal both games. They did it without a problem. UND now is 11-0-0 when scoring four-plus goals in a game.
2. Get a goal from a third or fourth line player. Pass. Both nights, UND achieved this. Erik Fabian scored on Friday and Fabian and Darcy Zajac scored Saturday. The Sioux are 11-0-0 when a third or fourth line player scores now.
3. Don't give the Gophers more than five power plays. Fail. UND missed this by a long shot but it turned out not to matter because of good penalty killing and great offense. The Gophers scored five power-play goals on the weekend, which usually is enough to get wins.
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 29 at 2:17 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Things to chew on
Robbie Bina had two shorthanded goals this weekend... when is the last time you saw that from a defenseman? He has 14 points (7 goals) in the last 14 games. He is one goal off the lead among WCHA defensemen (Alex Goligoski has nine). He cannot be stopped -- not even from 170 feet away.
Ryan Duncan is tied for the lead in the WCHA in overall scoring. He leads the league in goal scoring and he's the third leading goal scorer in the nation with 21.
Jonathan Toews is averaging two points per game since returning from the World Juniors. He has 12 points in 6 games. He also has 9 points in the last three games.
T.J. Oshie has 11 points in the last 5 games.
Erik Fabian has four goals this season. All four have come this month.
Taylor Chorney blocked six shots on Friday -- the same number as Minnesota's entire team.
UND has the No. 4 power play in the nation.
UND has scored 18 goals in its last three games.
Kyle Okposo was -3 on Saturday night.
Minnesota had 23 power plays to UND's 10.
UND outscored Minnesota 7-0 during even-strength play this weekend.
Add all these things up and you get the longest unbeaten streak in the nation (6-0-1).
My question for you: How would these last four games have turned out if they were played earlier in the season?
1. UND blows two-goal lead to Bemidji State, which tied the game 2-2 early in the third and had its home arena rocking.
2. UND falls behind Bemidji State 2-0 in the first period.
3. UND falls behind Minnesota 2-0 on the road in a lively building.
4. UND blows a two-goal lead and falls behind the Gophers 3-2.
Earlier in the season, it seemed like the Sioux kept finding different ways to fall short. Right now, it's the opposite. They're finding ways to win no matter the obstace.
Posted by: Schlossman on Sunday, January 28 at 3:10 AM | Comments (10) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 7, Minnesota 3
Postgame
Game story here. Shot charts will be posted when I get back to Grand Forks.
Extra quotes:
T.J. Oshie's general thoughts: "We got up 2-0 and... kind of hoping that they would shut it down a little bit. But they came back with three unanswered and it was kind of a reality check for us. From there on, we had a great game."
Oshie on his goals: "Hats off to my linemates, if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have gotten any of those goals. I was just kind of the guy at the net at the end of the play. They created everything for me and gave me the opportunities."
Oshie on Bina's goal: "All year long, we've been getting bad bounces, especially before Christmas. They always ended up in the back of our net. It's about time they start going for us."
Oshie on whether the Sioux were sick of hearing all about Minnesota before the series: "Not really, because they earned it. As many wins as they have... they earned our respect definitely. But we didn't want to come in here and give them too much respect."
Phil Lamoureux on the weekend: "From top to bottom, everyone played just phenomenal. We got timely scoring from every line, guys played great defense and the penalty killers did a phenomenal job all weekend long. We're ecstatic about the win, but we understand that our job in the second half isn't over yet and we still have to win games. We're going to enjoy this for a couple days because they were a couple of good wins. They're No. 1 for a reason. We're going to enjoy this for a while, but come the middle of the week, we're going to get back to work and start preparing for Mankato."
Dave Hakstol on the first period: "We got off to a good start, made some nice plays. Minnesota got back into it with some great plays on the power play. We get a bounce at the end of the period -- a dumped puck by Robbie Bina and it ends up tied. It was an exciting period, I'll say that much."
Hakstol on whether Bina's goal deflated the Gophers: "I don't know. I guess it's hard to judge what the feeling is on the opposition bench. I didn't feel that goal changed the feeling on our bench. We gave up three in a row and were spending all the time on the penalty kill, but I didn't feel like there was any problem on the bench. And that's a good sign. The goal certainly gives you a little more energy and a little excitement. One thing it did do was change the momentum of the game."
Hakstol on UND getting goals from the third and fourth line: "Very important. We're starting to see some pretty good play out of Toews, Duncan and Osh, but the fact remains that if we're going to be successful -- and when we're successful -- everyone is chipping in. Bina had a goal tonight, Fabian had a goal tonight -- those are critical goals."
Hakstol on Duncan: "He just gets it done. He gets it done. It's not just his goal scoring. Obviously, he can put the puck in the net. He makes pretty good plays in all three zones. He does it while still flying under the radar."
Hakstol on his team's performance: "We talked about it this morning -- I thought that tonight we were going to have to play a better 60-minute hockey game that we did last night and I thought we did that."
Don Lucia's general thoughts: "There were some bounces that went against us. They had an 180-foot goal. On the 4-on-3, we moved the puck around and Ben (Gordon) had an open net and he hit a guy in the back of the leg. When things aren't going your way and you're not puck lucky, they seem to multiply and tonight seemed like one of those nights. North Dakota played very well. Their top-end guys were good. People were asking where Oshie and Toews have been... well, they should have been here this weekend. They were very good. I thought their whole team was very good. Their team certainly is in rhythm and in sync right now and our team certainly isn't."
Lucia on his decision to pull Frazee: "He wasn't on. That was pretty evident early on those first couple of goals. All year long he's been so sharp and you could just sense that it wasn't going to be his night tonight."
Lucia on Phil's hot glove hand: "He likes to make the glove save and throw it up there for everybody to see incase you missed it. Instant replay. Here it is, incase you don't know where it is."
Lucia on the turning point of the game: "We got the lead and all of the sudden the power play was looking good and we were playing well. Things seemed to change when they got that shorthanded goal. We went in 3-3, and we made a bad decision there (in the second). We were on a power play we were out there for a long time and we get over the red line and we should have dumped the puck. We tried to beat a guy. Don't. Take a penalty. They score on the power play and then on the very next shift, we get wrapped up with our goaltender, can't get to the other side and they score a wrap around. All of the sudden, it's 5-3. That segment was the clincher in the games tonight. You can't give up five goals and expect to win."
First period
UND 1, Minn 0 -- Darcy Zajac 6:16. Zajac carried the puck in the zone on a 2-on-1 rush and took the shot himself, beating Frazee to the short side.
UND 2, Minn 0 -- Ryan Duncan (Jonathan Toews, Chay Genoway) 7:39. Toews set up Duncan, who beat Frazee on the short side from the right circle.
UND 2, Minn 1 -- Erik Johnson (Alex Goligoski) 9:59 (pp). During a 5-on-3 power play, Johnson's blast from the point snuck past Lamoureux.
UND 2, Minn 2 -- Ryan Stoa (Derek Peltier, Kyle Okposo) 14:34 (pp). Stoa, stationed in front of the net, deflected Peltier's shot from the point.
Minn 3, UND 2 -- Mike Howe (Kyle Okposo, Derek Peltier) 15:58 (pp). Okposo found Howe cutting toward the net from the bottom of the left circle. Howe redirected the puck up and over Lamoureux to give the Gophers the lead.
Minn 3, UND 3 -- Robbie Bina (Taylor Chorney) 18:47 (sh). Bina's clearing attempt from about 170 feet bounces a few times and.... oops.
Second period
Note: Frazee out, Briggs in.
UND 4, Minn 3 -- Ryan Duncan (Taylor Chorney, T.J. Oshie) 11:29 (pp). Duncan hits his favorite corner from his favorite spot.
UND 5, Minn 3 -- Erik Fabian (Rylan Kaip, Andrew Kozek) 11:53. It looks like Briggs gets caught up with a defenseman on one side of the net, while Fabian quickly scores on a wrap around.
Third period
UND 6, Minn 3 -- T.J. Oshie (Ryan Duncan, Taylor Chorney) 5:13 (pp). Duncan drew the attention when he got the puck in the right circle, but fed Oshie, who finished.
UND 7, Minn 3 -- T.J. Oshie (Jonathan Toews Ryan Duncan) 11:27. Toews, coming down the left wing fed Oshie, who was on the right side of the net. Oshie went hard at the goal and finished the play.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--9 Jonathan Toews--7 T.J. Oshie
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--14 Brad Miller
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--10 Andrew Kozek
26 Kyle Radke--29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
4 Taylor Chorney--22 Brian Lee
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
Minnesota's lines
29 Ryan Stoa--9 Kyle Okposo--14 Justin Bostrom
13 Ben Gordon--17 Blake Wheeler--26 Jay Barriball
12 Tony Lucia--16 Mike Carman--22 Ryan Flynn
27 Brian Schack--18 Jim O'Brien--24 Mike Howe
10 Alex Goligoski--15 Mike Vannelli
5 Derek Peltier--4 Erik Johnson
20 David Fischer--6 R.J. Anderson
1 Jeff Frazee
34 Kellen Briggs
35 Brent Solei
Posted by: Schlossman on Saturday, January 27 at 6:35 PM | Comments (16) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 5, Minnesota 3
Postgame
Game story is here. Sidebar is here. There is a link to a photo gallery on the same page as the game story. No scanner = no shot charts until I get back to Grand Forks.
Here are extra quotes:
Jonathan Toews on giving up 11 power-play opportunities: "Anytime you give a team like that a chance on the power play, they are going to get pretty darn close to capitalizing. We gave them too many chances tonight, but we didn't panic and we came back at them."
Toews on the slow start to the game: "We just didn't come out and play a good first period. Our best period, obviously, was the second period tonight. We did the same thing last Saturday (fall behind 2-0), so we have to come out with a better start and carry a better effort throughout the whole game tomorrow."
Toews on all the hard-working goals: "Sometimes you try to get too pretty. We're going to try to score goals any way we can. That's what we've been doing lately, so hopefully we can keep that up."
Chorney on giving Minnesota 11 power plays: "We knew we had to stay out of the box against these guys. Tonight, we were pretty fortunate that our penalty kill is good. If that same thing happens again tomorrow, it might not be the same result. We know that, too. We have to be smarter with our sticks. Campion is looking to call everything with our sticks."
Dave Hakstol on whether the game plan was to forecheck hard: "We have tremendous respect for Minnesota as a team and what they've accomplished. We know how tough it's going to be tomorrow night. But the way we play the game is.. we're an aggressive hockey team. We like to put pressure on the puck. The game of hockey is about puck possession. That's the way we try to play the game."
Hakstol on Toews: "I'm pretty proud of the young man. He never uses a crutch when things don't go well. And I'm sure tonight he gave a lot of credit to the people around him. He's a character guy."
Hakstol on winning two straight games in Mariucci: "The last game we won here was 12 months ago, so I don't know if you can draw any conclusions there. We played hard. When you have some good bounces go your way and when you have a good goaltending performance and when you play hard, good things happen -- whether it's at home or on the road."
Hakstol on his lengthy conversation with referee Jon Campion after the first period: "I can't really recap it. It was just usual talking during the game. I was just trying to sort out a couple of things. Mostly, I thought Jon was doing a good job. I just wanted to make sure I could go in and tell our guys where the line is drawn and what they have to adjust to. I don't know whether we did that or not. We gave up 11 power plays. We as a team have to do a much better job of that tomorrow night."
Hakstol on giving up 11 power-play opportunities: "It's playing with fire. I don't care who you are playing against. There aren't very many games where if you give up 11 power plays that you are going to win the game. I'm going to give our guys some credit. They worked hard on the penalty kill. Our goaltending did a good job on the penalty kill. It was good enough to get a win tonight, bottom line.
Hakstol on whether he was having flashbacks to last year's 6-1 loss when the Gophers went up 2-0: "There really weren't, because I felt we were ready to play tonight. No, absolutely not. There were no flashbacks. I felt like we were ready to play. If I remember right, last year... I tried to block that one out... but we were back on our heels basically for 60 minutes. I thought that score last year probably flattered us. We were ready to play tonight and that never entered my mind."
Don Lucia's general comments: "I thought North Dakota played very well. They're obviously playing their best hockey of the season right now. And when you make mistakes like we did, you're not going to win."
Lucia on Minnesota's mistakes: "Two goals were direct results of turnovers. We gave up a goal off a faceoff. Those start to change a game."
Lucia on UND: "I thought North Dakota's top-end guys were very good tonight. Overall, they were stronger on the puck than we were."
First period
Minn 1, UND 0 -- Ryan Stoa (Mike Howe, Kyle Okposo) 2:03 (pp). Stoa deflects the puck in front of the net for a power-play goal.
Minn 2, UND 0 -- Alex Goligoski (Jim O'Brien) 14:20. Minnesota got the extra attacker on the ice during a delayed penalty. Phil Lamoureux made one big stop and Taylor Chorney made another when Lamoureux was out of position. In the end, Goligoski eventually beat Lamoureux high to the glove side.
Minn 2, UND 1 -- Robbie Bina (Jonathan Toews, Ryan Duncan) 1:55 (sh). Duncan forced a turnover as Minnesota tried to carry the puck in the zone. Toews brought the puck the other way on a 2-on-1 rush and fed Bina for the goal.
Second period
Minn 2, UND 2 -- Erik Fabian (Rylan Kaip) 7:08. Kaip went forward with a draw in the right circle and fed Fabian, who was crashing the net.
UND 3, Minn 2 -- Jonathan Toews (Chay Genoway, T.J. Oshie) 9:25. Toews collected a rebound near the right circle and fired it past Briggs to give UND the lead.
UND 4, Minn 2 -- Ryan Duncan (Jonathan Toews, Taylor Chorney) 19:49 (pp). Chorney's blast from the point got on net. Toews' rebound attempt was stopped but Duncan cleaned it up with 10.6 seconds left.
Third period
UND 5, Minn 2 -- Ryan Duncan 17:25. Duncan stripped the puck from Ryan Flynn and beat Briggs to the blocker side.
UND 5, Minn 3 -- Justin Bostrom (Erik Johnson, Kyle Okposo) 18:42 (pp). Bostrom tipped Johnson's shot for a late goal.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--9 Jonathan Toews--7 T.J. Oshie
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--14 Brad Miller
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--10 Andrew Kozek
26 Kyle Radke--29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
4 Taylor Chorney--22 Brian Lee
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
Minnesota's lines
29 Ryan Stoa--9 Kyle Okposo--24 Mike Howe
12 Tony Lucia--17 Blake Wheeler--26 Jay Barriball
16 Mike Carman--18 Jim O'Brien--22 Ryan Flynn
27 Brian Schack--14 Justin Bostrom
10 Alex Goligoski--15 Mike Vannelli
5 Derek Peltier--4 Erik Johnson
20 David Fischer--6 R.J. Anderson
34 Kellen Briggs
1 Jeff Frazee
35 Brent Solei
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 26 at 5:43 PM | Comments (8) | Permalink
Three keys to Minnesota
Although they won't say it, I can just about guarantee you that the Sioux are sick of hearing how good the Gophers are.
What Minnesota has done so far this season is impressive. There have been many great players and great teams at Minnesota, but none have put together an unbeaten streak as long as this team's (22 games, Oct.-Jan.). But the Sioux know they are a good team, too, and I have a feeling they believe they are being slighted and under-estimated by fans.
How will they come out this weekend? Will they play like they're going against the No. 1 team in the country? Or will they come out with a chip on their shoulder like they did against Anchorage earlier this month?
This weekend should be telling for both teams. Sure, the Sioux are 6-1-1 since Christmas. But they're 1-1 against top 15 teams in that span and 5-0-1 against unranked opponents. Are the Sioux ready to show they are one of the elite teams in the country?
Yeah, Minnesota had its impressive streak. But as Don Lucia said this week, the Gophers have the toughest part of their schedule in the second half. They are 2-2 in the last two weeks and haven't looked like the steamroller they were in the first half. Will the Gophers re-establish their dominance?
We'll find out the answers soon enough.
If UND is to have a successful weekend on the road against the No. 1 team in the country, it has to follow what has been the formula for success this season. So, these are the three keys to beating Minnesota:
1. Score four goals per game. The Sioux are 8-0-0 when they do it. They're 5-11-2 when they don't. Against what has been a stingy Gopher defense, this is going to be an extremely difficult task. In 27 games this season, the Gophers have allowed four goals just four times. If the Sioux get the offense going, though, it should add up to a successful weekend.
2. Get a goal from a third or fourth line player. The Sioux are 9-0-0 when this happens and 4-11-2 when it doesn't. Erik Fabian has found the net a couple times since Christmas. Now, it's time for Chris VandeVelde to finally get on the board or for Darcy Zajac to break his 12-game goal drought.
3. Don't give the Gophers more than five power plays. Last season in Mariucci, Minnesota had 19 power plays in the two games. When you put talented players like Kyle Okposo, Erik Johnson, Alex Goligoski and Jay Barriball on the big ice sheet with extra space, bad things are going to happen. UND's penalty killing numbers have been very good in recent weeks, but this weekend is a bad time to test that unit.
Lets hear your keys, predictions and thoughts on the weekend.
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 26 at 2:36 AM | Comments (18) | Permalink
Need to pass the time?
Talk is starting to heat up about this weekend's Sioux-Gopher series. The team left today for Minneapolis and will practice at Mariucci this evening. Expect Jeff Frazee to be far, far away from the building when the Sioux do their weekly shootout competition.
If you're looking for something to pass the next 27 hours, here are a few suggestions. You can check out tomorrow's Herald to see what Jean-Philippe says about his sisters committing to Minnesota and about the rivalry he grew up watching. Also read what Don Lucia says about his team trying to live down the Holy Cross loss.
For the meantime, there are a few things of interest:
The Minnesota Daily says the Gophers need to be good on the penalty kill this weekend. The Pioneer Press says the Gophers will only have 10 forwards for Friday's game. And the Star Trib says it's time for the stretch run.
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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch discusses the future of two first-round draft picks who will be playing against each other this weekend -- T.J. Oshie and Erik Johnson.
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The Manitoba Moose will honor Jonathan Toews for his performance in the World Junior Championship on Feb. 3.
There will be a pre-game tribute video for Toews on the scoreboard. He also will receive a Team Canada Moose jersey, which will be presented to him by former UND coach Brad Berry, who is now an assistant with the Moose.
Toews also will drop the ceremonial opening puck and sign autographs after the game. The first 2,000 fans will receive a color Toews photo and have a chance at winning an autographed Toews Team Canada jersey.
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Zach Parise was named MVP of the NHL YoungStars game Tuesday in Dallas. Parise had six points in the game.
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The Winnipeg Free Press did a feature on Travis Zajac and his transition from college life in Grand Forks to the NHL world in the shadows of New York City.
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Colby Genoway was traded to the Vancouver Canucks. Genoway hasn't cracked the NHL yet, but Vancouver thinks he has the skills to make it someday.
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For those going to the series, the Minnesota cheerleaders are hosting a winter clothing drive. They are asking for new or lightly worn coats, hats, gloves, mittens, boots, etc. All donations will go to the Salvation Army and if you donate, you are eligible for prizes through a raffle drawing.
Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, January 25 at 3:38 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Kozek will travel, but questionable
UND coach Dave Hakstol said forward Andrew Kozek will make the trip to Minneapolis but he is listed as questionable for the series against Minnesota.
Kozek hurt his shoulder last Friday against Bemidji State and did not play Saturday night. Kozek has practiced this week.
He probably won't play Friday night against the Gophers, but an official decision won't be made until later.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 24 at 3:21 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
What could have been
The amount of talent we've seen at UND and Minnesota recently (and currently) is remarkable.
You can look at their results on the ice: UND has been to the last two Frozen Fours. Minnesota was there two years ago and was the most dominating team in the country for much of last season.
You can look at their results in the pros: Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek and Phil Kessel will be playing in the NHL YoungStars game tonight. Drew Stafford, Brandon Bochenski, Curtis Murphy and Erik Westrum will be playing in the AHL All-Star game. Jason Blake is an NHL All-Star and Mike Commodore put his name on the Stanley Cup last season.
You can look at the drafts: UND had three guys go in the first round in 2005. The Gophers had four first-rounders in 2006. Four of the top seven picks in June were Sioux or Gophers.
So, have you ever thought what this weekend could look like if nobody ever turned pro early? Something to ponder -- we would be seeing lines that look something like this (Departed players in italics):
UND
Ryan Duncan--Jonathan Toews--Drew Stafford
Rastislav Spirko--Travis Zajac--T.J. Oshie
Chris Porter--Brady Murray--Brad Miller
Erik Fabian--Matt Watkins--Andrew Kozek
Matt Smaby--Zach Jones
Taylor Chorney--Brian Lee
Joe Finley--Robbie Bina
Jordan Parise
Phil Lamoureux
Minnesota
Ryan Stoa--Ryan Potulny--Danny Irmen
Kyle Okposo--Phil Kessel--Blake Wheeler
Ben Gordon--Mike Carman--Jay Barriball
Ryan Flynn--Jim O'Brien--Kris Chucko
Alex Goligoski--Mike Vannelli
Derek Peltier--Erik Johnson
David Fischer--Jake Taylor
Kellen Briggs
Jeff Frazee
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 23 at 5:40 PM | Comments (15) | Permalink
Weekend review: Bemidji State
I know everyone is looking ahead to Sioux-Gopher weekend. But come the end of the season, there's a chance the two wins UND got last weekend will be just as important as the Gopher series. So lets take one more look back before we start looking ahead:
Offense: A-. UND's production was more than enough. The Sioux scored nine goals on the weekend -- the most since the Mankato series and the most at home since the Quinnipiac series. Not ironically, the Mankato series was UND's last sweep and the Quinnipiac series was UND's last sweep at home. The only problem is that the Sioux need to get more production out of their second, third and fourth lines. The Ryan Duncan-Jonathan Toews-T.J. Oshie line was on the ice for seven of the nine goals this weekend.
Defense: B-. The defense had some lapses Friday night, but Phil Lamoureux bailed them out. There were a couple of breakaways and there was a dominating 10 minutes of hockey where the Beavers had chance after chance. The performance Saturday night was much better.
Goaltending: A. Lamoureux was the difference Friday night. Without him, the Sioux would not have won that game. Look at the shot chart and see where BSU was getting its shots from in the third period. On Saturday, the Beavers scored a goal through heavy traffic, another when a player crashed into Lamoureux and the third came off the stick of a Sioux defenseman. Lamoureux was sharp once again.
John S. Glas Fieldhouse: A. There's no doubt that Bemidji State could use a new arena. Glas Fieldhouse doesn't have much for seating and there are many obvious improvements that are needed. That being said, it is a fantastic place to watch a hockey game. Every seat is right on top of the action and the atmosphere was great on Friday. You can tell why it's a tough building to play in. The Beaver fans were loud and into the game. The Sioux fans traveled well and were very loud, too.
Finding ways to win: A+. At midseason, I said that I thought the biggest thing this team needed to do was find ways to win. During their 1-7 stretch, the Sioux blew a couple of third-period leads and lost. They lost a few one-goal games. And they couldn't get timely goals to fall. This weekend, the Sioux blew a two-goal lead but still found a way to grab the win. The next night, the Sioux found themselves down two goals and came back to win. Had those moments of adversity happened earlier in the season, I'm not sure the Sioux would have won those games. Now, you are starting to get the feeling that they expect to win.
Budding rivalry: B+. The Sioux and Beavers have played a few very good games in recent seasons, especially in Glas Fieldhouse. UND fans traveled very well to Bemidji and Beaver fans traveled very well to Grand Forks. It's obvious that both programs have a lot of respect for each other and it seems like the fans do, too. It feels like the beginning of a fun rivalry. All that's missing are a few Bemidji State wins (it has been since 1970).
Review of the three keys
1. Score the first goal of the game. Pass/Fail. The Sioux jumped out to an early lead on Friday, but that proved to be irrelevant. The Beavers jumped out to an early lead on Saturday and that also proved to be meaningless. Who picks these keys to the game?
2. Don't let the penalty kill percentage drop. Pass. The Sioux came into the weekend killing penalties at a 81.5 percent rate. They killed 83.3 percent of Bemidji State's power plays this weekend. The Beavers were 1 for 5 on Friday and 1 for 7 on Saturday. This was a big key to UND's success.
3. Jonathan Toews needs to get on the scoreboard. Pass. Toews scored goals both nights and added three assists for good measure. He should be the offensive player of the week in the WCHA. It has to excite Sioux fans to see Toews heating up right before the Gopher series.
Okay, Sioux fans... onto the Gophers...
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 22 at 3:59 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 6, Bemidji St. 3
First period
BSU 1, UND 0 -- David Deterding (Ryan Miller, Rob Sirianni) 6:08. Deterding's blast from the top of the right circle found its way through a maze of Sioux players and past Lamoureux.
BSU 2, UND 0 -- Shane Holman (Tyler Scofield) 6:33. Scofield raced down the right wing trying to win a race to the puck, which squirted out to the top of the crease. Holman crashed the net hard and the puck followed him into the net. After a review, referee Bill Mason ruled it a goal. Originally, he did not.
BSU 2, UND 1 -- Jonathan Toews (T.J. Oshie, Brian Lee) 11:32 (pp). Oshie tried to split a pair of defenders in the slot and was taken out on the play. Toews followed behind, picked up the loose puck, made Matt Climie miss on a poke check and scored with a backhand.
Second period
BSU 2, UND 2 -- T.J. Oshie (Jonathan Toews, Ryan Duncan) 3:03. Toews skated around Bemidji defenseman Cody Bostock to create a scoring chance. Climie stopped Toews' shot, but Oshie followed and scored with the backhand.
UND 3, BSU 2 -- Robbie Bina (T.J. Oshie, Brad Miller) 5:37 (pp). Oshie found Bina streaking down the slot and Bina finished off his fifth goal of the season by beating Climie to the stick side.
UND 4, BSU 2 -- Taylor Chorney (Jonathan Toews, Ryan Duncan) 10:46 (pp). Toews found Chorney cutting down the slot. Chorney moved the puck to his backhand to get by a defenseman and beat Climie five-hole.
UND 4, BSU 3 -- Joey Moggach 16:46 (pp). Moggach's shot deflected off Joe Finley's stick and past Lamoureux's blocker.
Third period
UND 5, BSU 3 -- Robbie Bina (T.J. Oshie) 17:09 (pp). Oshie found Bina cutting down the slot again on the power play. Bina poked it past Climie's glove.
UND 6, BSU 3 -- Taylor Chorney (Jonathan Toews) 17:46 (en). Chorney finishes off the win with a empty-net goal on a shot from near the red line.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--9 Jonathan Toews--7 T.J. Oshie
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--14 Brad Miller
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--26 Kyle Radke
29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac--8 Ryan Martens
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
4 Taylor Chorney--22 Brian Lee
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
30 Aaron Walski
Scratches: Andrew Kozek (shoulder), Michael Forney (healthy), Scott Foyt (healthy)
Bemidji State's lines
22 Blaine Jarvins--27 Ryan Miller--11 Rob Sirianni
14 Tyler Scofield--8 Travis Winter--4 Shane Holman
18 Jake Bluhm--17 Garrett Roth--26 Tyler Lehrke
20 Joey Moggach--13 Matt Pope--19 Matt Allen
7 Cody Bostock--3 John Vadnais
6 Riley Weselowski--2 Nathan Schwartzbauer
9 Chris Peluso--25 David Deterding
33 Matt Climie
35 Orlando Alamano
Posted by: Schlossman on Saturday, January 20 at 6:26 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 3, Bemidji St. 2
Postgame:
Herald story is here. Shot charts are below each period.
A few notes --
**Andrew Kozek left the game in the first period and didn't return. After the game, his arm was in a sling and he was icing it.
**Chris Porter didn't get mentioned much in the story but had a strong game. At the end, Bemidji State couldn't get its goalie off because Porter was dominating on the forecheck.
**Kyle Radke played center for the first time. That spot will likely go back to Rylan Kaip tonight.
**Phil Lamoureux saved the Sioux. The Beavers had a ton of good chances in the third period. They had two clean breakaways that he stopped. One of them was Tyler Scofield in the second period. Scofield came in and Lamoureux did an all-out dive to poke check the puck away.
**Chris VandeVelde was on the second power-play unit after Kozek went out.
Extra quotes --
Erik Fabian on Bemidji State: "We got that early goal, but you know they're not giving up. They have a lot of pride, character and grit in their locker room. They came back strong, but we weathered that storm. We got things going in our favor and came away with the win."
Fabian on the game-winning goal: "I came in with the puck on the left side and tried to feed it into the middle to Darcy. It hit his skate and bounced behind him. He just turned around, grabbed it and blindly threw it at the net. I just kept going. The puck came out to the right and I just put my stick on it and it went in the net. I saw the puck and whacked at it because there was another guy right on me."
Fabian on Lamoureux's performance: "Phil's coming in to his own. He really is. He was going through growing pains just like we were earlier in the year. He's our No. 1 guy right now. He's playing with some confidence. He sees the puck. He prepares himself every night, every day, every practice the same way he does for every game. It's starting to pay off. His hard work is starting to pay off and I'm really happy for him."
Lamoureux's thoughts on the game: "Playing against a team like Bemidji State, they are relentless all game long. We weren't clueless to the way they were going to play. We put ourselves in trouble at times with bad penalties and we had our lapses in the game, but it's how you react to those. We reacted very well. If you look at the last 8-9 minutes of the game, we didn't really give them a lot. That's just a credit to how well the guys are playing defensively. When you can handle a barrage, like what they threw at us in the first 10 minutes of the third, and come back strong like that... that's a great sign for our team. Good teams find a way to win. This is one of the tougher buildings to get a win in and we found a way to win. That's the bottom line."
During Bemidji State's third-period onslaught, Lamoureux made a good glove save, skated to the circle and fired the puck down and yelled a few things at his teammates. After that, they responded. Lamoureux on his actions trying to fire up his team: "When you come out lethargic like that, you're going to get beat. The type of chances we were giving up wasn't acceptable. Certain guys have to step up. Chris Porter did a great job before the final 1:30 started and said, 'We're going to finish these guys off.' He stepped up and led by example. He went out and had an unbelievable 1:30 shift along with Osh, Fins and Bins. They couldn't even get it past the red line. At certain points in the game, guys have to step up and try to get people going. At that point, I thought it was my turn. The guys responded well."
Lamoureux on his poke check on Scofield's breakaway: "I don't think he thought I was going to poke check. I don't think anybody does the Johnny Bower poke checks anymore.... the full-out poke checks. I saw an opportunity to do it. I had the time and space to do it and I was fortunate enough to make the play."
Dave Hakstol's quick thoughts on the game: "I'm happy with our effort. We knew it was a tough venue to come in to. We knew it was going to be a great atmosphere. Bottom line is that we need to get wins right now and this was a good win for our team. The difference in the game was a bounce in our favor with three minutes to go. We did a lot of good things. The last three minutes, we did a real good job preserving that one-goal lead. That shows a little bit of growth for our team."
Hakstol on Lamoureux's performance: "I'd pick the goaltenders 1 and 1A as players of the game. Phil made some big saves for us. His biggest saves came in the third period. That's real key goaltending."
Tom Serratore on his team's comeback: "It was just a gutty performance. We were a little flat in the first period, I thought, but boy in the second and third period we emptied the tank and we were a very difficult team to play against. You can't say enough about North Dakota, too. That was a real gutty win for them and I'm sure Dave is really proud of his guys."
Serratore on his team's barrage of shots in the first 10 minutes of the third: "At one time, I saw we were outshooting them 9-2 about halfway through the third period. We didn't convert, but hey, that's what happens in the sport. We played with a huge amount of intensity and we were very difficult to play against and that's what we want the M.O. of our team to be."
Serratore on what he expects in the series finale: "It's going to be interesting to see how we respond. Last year we didn't respond as well as we wanted to. We'll find out tomorrow. Tomorrow is a new day and different day. You can't gauge what's going to happen, that's for sure. You hope you can, but it's very difficult."
First period
UND 1, BSU 0 -- Brad Miller (Chris Porter, Matt Watkins) 10:03. The line generated the chance by doing a good job cycling the puck. Eventually, Porter was able to poke it from behind the net to the crease, where Miller quickly one-timed it in. I don't think Miller knew it went in, as he was screened by a defenseman who was trying to push him out of the play.
UND 2, BSU 0 -- Jonathan Toews (T.J. Oshie) 16:56 (pp). It seemed that just about everybody had two whacks at the puck down low. This is where it gets confusing. In real time, I thought it was Toews who scored. Then, it was announced that it was Oshie. After the game, one of the players told me they thought it was Toews, but two coaches told me it was Oshie. The final stat sheet said Oshie, but collegehockeystats says Toews. Either way, it was good. And it was a power-play goal. (Update: it's going to be given to Toews).
Second period
UND 2, BSU 1 -- Tyler Scofield (Rob Sirianni) 5:19 (pp). Sirianni fed Scofield with a cross-ice pass and Scofield one-timed it past Phil Lamoureux from the right circle.
Third period
UND 2, BSU 2 -- Riley Weselowski (Rob Sirianni, Blaine Jarvis) :23. Sirianni, behind the net, was looking for a BSU player in front of the net, but his pass trickled by his intended target and Brad Miller. It wound up on the stick of Weselowski, who came cutting down the slot and beat Lamoureux before he could move to his right.
UND 3, BSU 2 -- Erik Fabian (Darcy Zajac) 16:24. Zajac picked up the puck in the left circle in heavy pressure, but was able to get off a blind, turnaround shot. Fabian came crashing the net, picked up the rebound and put it past Matt Climie for the game-winning goal. Fabian skated over to where the Sioux fans were sitting and jumped against the boards for his celebration.
Posted by: Schlossman on Saturday, January 20 at 3:18 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink
Three keys to Bemidji State
First off, there will be no live game updates on the blog tonight because there is no wireless internet in John S. Glas Fieldhouse. I'll try to post the goal descriptions after the game, though.
These games will be critical come the end of the season. For those familiar with how the PairWise rankings work, Bemidji State will almost certainly be a TUC at the end of the year (a team with an RPI above .500) and this series could help make or break UND's record against TUCs. Last year, a sweep of the Beavers was of help to the Sioux and it would be a major lift again this year.
Here's what UND needs to do in order to keep things rolling:
1. Score the first goal of the game. On Friday night especially, the Sioux don't want to give Bemidji State any confidence. BSU coach Tom Serratore said this week that Friday night's game is "bar none, the biggest game of the season" for the Beavers. A quick strike will quiet the crowd and the Beavers may start to wonder if their WCHA luck has run out.
2. Don't let the penalty kill percentage drop. UND is successfully killing penalties at a rate of 81.5 percent. In the last seven games, UND's percentage is 92.5, which has been a big reason for UND's recent success. If the penalty killers continue to help a hot Phil Lamoureux, it will be tough to score on the Sioux.
3. Jonathan Toews needs to get on the scoreboard. Who would have guessed that in mid-January, Toews and Robbie Bina would have the same number of goals? Toews had a chance to rest up a little bit this week and should be more energized this weekend. He's as talented as any player in the country and far more talented than anyone on Bemidji State's roster. It's time for that to show in terms of production.... On a side note, Friday night's game may be the last time Toews ever plays a hockey game in front of a crowd under 3,000.
Pick to click: T.J. Oshie (He hasn't forgotten the 'Oshie sucks' chants from last year).
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 19 at 2:38 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
It could be worse
It's hard to find optimism for the UND women's hockey team.
The team is 3-19-2 and 0-17-1 in league play. The Sioux have more losses (17) than goals (16) in league play. They are on an eight-game losing streak and four of their final five opponents are ranked in the top 10 nationally.
But, the At-least-it's-not-this-bad Department has delivered this gem:
Check out the Chatham Cougars.
They know how to lose.
They've done it this entire season. And all of last season. And the season before. And the season before that. And even the season before that.
You have to go back five years to search out a win for Chatham, when it knocked off a team that went 1-20 (that team's one win was Chatham, too).
And they don't just lose, either.
The school is even cruel enough to make the players list their best moment as a Chatham athlete. You end up with stuff like this -- apparently a goalie made a sweet save in practice. And another girl's career highlight is watching her teammate fall down during dryland training (go figure).
So, if you ever find yourself asking whether this season get any worse for the UND women's hockey team, Chatham can answer that.
Yes, it can be far, far, far, far, far worse.
Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, January 18 at 5:32 PM | Comments (11) | Permalink
LaPoint named USHL All-Star
UND recruit Derrick LaPoint was named today to the USHL All-Star Game, which will be played Jan. 30 in Waterloo, Iowa.
LaPoint, a defenseman, has nine goals and 19 assists for 28 points in 30 games for the Green Bay Gamblers. LaPoint is the team's second-leading scorer and the No. 3 scoring defenseman in the league.
For a complete roster, check out the USHL's release here.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 17 at 3:15 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Duncan, Bina honored
For the first time this season, UND has the WCHA's defensive player of the week.
Robbie Bina, who had three assists Friday and a goal Saturday, earned the honor. He also was plus-three on the weekend. Bina has 12 points on the season and 10 in the last 10 games.
UND's Ryan Duncan also nabbed the offensive player of the week honor. Duncan had three goals, one assist and a plus-three rating for the weekend. It is the second time Duncan has earned the honor this season.
UND players in WCHA honors this season:
Oct. 31 -- Brad Miller, offensive player off the week
Nov. 7 -- Anthony Grieco, rookie of the week
Jan. 2 -- Ryan Duncan, offensive player of the week
Jan. 16 -- Ryan Duncan, offensive player of the week
Jan. 16 -- Robbie Bina, defensive player of the week
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 16 at 3:53 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Weekend review: Alaska-Anchorage
After Friday night's tie, Ryan Duncan talked to a handful of reporters and explained why it felt like a loss. After chatting for about two minutes, Duncan ended the interview by saying "Tomorrow, we will defend this building." That, they did.
UND set the tone before the game by confronting Anchorage goalie Nathan Lawson at center ice. Throughout the game they were a physical group and didn't back down from anything. It started with Erik Fabian standing up for himself after getting cross-checked in the back. It reached a high point when Rylan Kaip dropped the gloves. And it ended with Darcy Zajac standing up for Chris Porter. The game worked out to a 4-0 UND win.
The Sioux are 4-1-1 since Christmas break now and have the final two nonconference games scheduled this weekend. Looking back on the Alaska-Anchorage series:
Offense: B. The Sioux reached the key four-goal mark in one of the two games. When they score four or more goals, the Sioux are 8-0-0. When they don't, they're 3-10-2. UND was outshot by Alaska-Anchorage in both games.
Defense: B. There were too many mistakes Friday night, including ones that led to the second and third goals. UND played much better defense Saturday, clearing out Seawolves camped in front of the net and not allowing second chances. The Sioux continued to be strong on the penalty kill, too, successfully killing all 10 Anchorage power plays on the weekend.
Goaltending: A. Phil Lamoureux's save percentage since Christmas break is .950. He was solid again this weekend. The Seawolves didn't score any weak goals Friday and they didn't score any goals at all on Saturday. Lamoureux had to make several good saves to keep the shutout.
Atmosphere: B. It definitely helps the atmosphere when the Sioux are winning. That's something Ralph Engelstad Arena fans haven't seen in more than a month. Still, there is room for improvement.
Cowbell guy: A. Solid performance Friday night. He was the only thing that Sioux fans had to cheer about in the third period. By the way, is there anyone else who hopes they discontinue the mid-game makeovers next season? If you want a makeover, go to a salon, not a hockey game. Hopefully they don't waste the last TV timeout of the third period with the awkward after-the-makeover interview next season. I cringe every time I see it. First off, it is an atmosphere killer. Second off, I've got a fever...
Review of the three keys:
1. Convert on 20 percent of power plays. Pass. UND was 3-for-8 on the weekend, which is a percentage of 37.5. Brad Miller, T.J. Oshie and power-play specialist Ryan Duncan all scored with the extra man.
2. Get a goal out of the second line. Pass/Pass. UND got a goal from the second line both nights. Brad Miller got one on the power play Friday night and Chris Porter broke a long goal drought with an even-strength tally Saturday. Miller and Porter's linemate, Matt Watkins, made a great play to set up Porter's goal by intercepting a pass and feeding the captain.
3. Get more than 11,000 fans in the seats both games. Pass/Pass. The arena was pretty full on both nights and when things were going well, it was a lively place.
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 15 at 3:14 PM | Comments (14) | Permalink
Another classic Greene story
The first 2,500 people at Saturday's Sioux game received free Matt Greene posters. They had four action shots of Greene. One shot was from when he was really little, one came from when he played midget hockey with Little Caesaers in Detroit, one from his UND days and one current photo of him playing with the Edmonton Oilers.
The makers of the poster probably should send a copy to Greene -- he needs some kind of identification.
The Edmonton Sun had a short and funny story of an incident that happened to Greene last week. Check it out here.
Another year, another great Matt Greene story. This one doesn't quite top last year's story -- when Greene got hit by an SUV and practiced the next day while the SUV was totaled -- but this story is good for a laugh.
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 15 at 2:31 AM | Comments (1) | Permalink
All-Star teams picked
He's been a Hobey Baker finalist, an NCAA national champion, a U.S. Olympic athlete and now he's an NHL All-Star.
Former Moorhead High and UND standout Jason Blake was selected to be a reserve at the game, which will be played Jan. 24 in Dallas. It is the first-ever selection for Blake, who is having a monster season with the New York Islanders.
Blake has 23 goals and 18 assists for 41 points in 44 games. He is 10th in the NHL in goals, only five behind his previous career high.
**********
Another former Hobey Baker finalist from UND, Zach Parise, was selected to play in the Young Stars game, which takes place Jan. 23 in Dallas. The Young Stars game is a 4-on-4 contest that takes place before the skills competition. Several other former WCHA players will join Parise, including Minnesota's Phil Kessel and Thomas Vanek and Denver's Matt Carle, who ironically just got sent down to the AHL.
I'm not sure who selects players for these games, but it's completely baffling how UND's Travis Zajac and Denver's Paul Stastny were left off. They picked Kessel over Zajac in the Eastern Conference. Kessel has 5 goals, 4 assists for 9 points in 30 games. Zajac, meanwhile, has more than double Kessel's points (23 in 43 games) and has a plus/minus rating of +2, which is considerably better than Kessel's -10.
Stastny is the NHL's third-leading rookie scorer, but apparently Alexander Radulov's 20 points have been more impressive than Stastny's 34.
**********
The biggest talker during the All-Star voting was Vancouver Canucks defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick, who will not be going to Dallas.
Incase you don't know the story, Fitzpatrick is a third-pair and often-scratched defenseman for the Canucks. He's been up and down between the NHL and AHL throughout his 10-year career. But a random fan decided to start a Vote for Rory campaign to try to get him in the All-Star game by building a Web site.
It caught on and he surged in voting, despite not even being on the ballot. Political attack-ad style commercials were made on YouTube for his top competitors. Fitzpatrick needed to finish in the top two in Western Conference defensemen to assure himself a spot on the roster. He finished third, though, behind Chris Pronger and Niklas Lidstrom.
To watch the hilarious ads, check out the attack on Lidstrom here and check out the attack on Scott Niedermayer here.
As Fitzpatrick surged in voting, the whole process drew heavy criticism from many in the hockey world, most notably Wayne Gretzky and Don Cherry.
My advice: Relax guys. Have fun with it. Nobody tries in the All-Star game, anyway. After locking the fans out of NHL hockey for a full season, you better gladly allow them what they want to see.
Besides, this is one of the best PR things that could happen to the All-Star Game. I usually don't end up watching it, but had Fitzpatrick made it, I definitely would have been curious to see that. People never remember what happened in All-Star Games, but had Fitzpatrick made it, people would have remembered it for that reason.
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 15 at 1:44 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 4, AA 0
Postgame
Shot charts are added below each period. Here are some extra quotes:
Phil Lamoureux on his recent stretch: "My ankle feels a lot better. Coming back, it was really sore most days when I would do exercises or anything. But I really don't notice it anymore. It feels good."
Dave Hakstol on Chris Porter breaking his 12-game scoring drought: "He's gone a long time without a goal. We sat here 24 hours ago and without bringing up his name, I was pretty hard on him. He's our team captain. He's the guy who has to be a leader when it comes to accountability. But he showed some pretty good intestinal fortitude with the way he came back tonight. He scored a big goal -- put us up by two. And he really played a good, solid 60 minutes. That's what we need out of him."
T.J. Oshie on the pregame fireworks: "I wasn't out there, but I heard about it. He's a great goalie and sometimes you need to do a little more than get shots on him to get him off his game."
Oshie on finally getting a goal to fall: "It was nice. It wasn't a very hard goal. I think Lawson thought he had it, but he didn't. Maybe that's the kind of bounce you need to get to turn your season around. Chorns said he tried to get a shot off, but it rolled off his heel. It went right on my stick and it was actually going slow enough that I didn't have to stop it. I just turned around and threw it home."
Oshie on the fourth goal, which he fed Duncan: "They got the puck out (of the zone) on the 4-on-3. To prevent them from getting the full change, I just tried to turn it up right away. I stepped inside the blue line and I gave it to Dunc. He's just an unbelievable scorer and we had a 4-on-2. He took it himself and it paid off."
Oshie on trying to turn around the season: "I think the first half was soft and it wasn't the real Fighting Sioux hockey we were looking for. This last half of the season we have to get gritty and play with a lot of heart."
First period
UND 1, AA 0 -- T.J. Oshie (Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan) 5:39 (pp). After Chorney somewhat fanned on an attempt from the left circle, Oshie picked up a loose puck and fired it in. Lawson was out of position on the play.
UND 2, AA 0 -- Chris Porter (Matt Watkins) 10:42. Watkins picked off a pass along the left wing and fed Porter, who was cutting down the slot. Porter beat Lawson stick side.
Second period
UND 3, AA 0 -- Robbie Bina :28. An Anchorage player tried to clear the puck out of the zone during a scrum in front of the net. The puck came out to Bina, who threaded a shot through traffic and past Lawson high to the stick side.
Note: Rylan Kaip drops Anchorage captain Chad Anderson in a fight early in the second.
UND 4, AA 0 -- Ryan Duncan (T.J. Oshie) 7:52 (pp). Oshie stole the puck at center ice and brought it in on a 4-on-2 rush. He fed Duncan, who fooled Lawson by going low to the blocker side.
Third period
No scoring.
Pregame:
As warmups came to an end, refs had to separate a handful of Sioux and Seawolve players at center ice. Anchorage goalie Nathan Lawson stands near the red line as teams leave the ice after warmups. UND players stood there with him and got into it with a handful of Seawolves.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--9 Jonathan Toews--7 T.J. Oshie
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--14 Brad Miller
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--26 Kyle Radke
29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac--10 Andrew Kozek
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
4 Taylor Chorney--22 Brian Lee
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
30 Aaron Walski
Anchorage's lines
21 Josh Lunden--11 Paul Crowder--12 Justin Bourne
18 Chris Tarkir--71 Jay Beagle--9 Kevin Clark
14 Merit Waldrop--37 Peter Cartwright--44 Nick Lowe
24 Blair Tassone--22 Adam Corrin--55 Jared Tuton
5 Luke Beaverson--33 Mat Robinson
13 Nils Backstrom--7 Mark Smith
47 Ryan Berry--26 Chad Anderson
52 Nathan Lawson
30 Jon Olthuis
Posted by: Schlossman on Saturday, January 13 at 6:24 PM | Comments (11) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 3, AA 3, tie
Postgame
Due to printer malfunctions at Engelstad, there won't be shot charts from Friday's game. There are some extra quotes though:
Phil Lamoureux on the game-tying goal: "When you get stuck in the stomach three times, it's kind of hard to hold on to the puck. Every time they come in there, you have the puck frozen and they stick you... the referees in the league say they're going to protect you, but that wasn't the case tonight. I don't think they do a good job protecting the goalies in our league.
Robbie Bina on his career-high three-point night: "I feel good about the points but we wanted the win. We're going to have to bounce back and try to get two tomorrow."
Bina on the mistakes late in the game: "We had a couple of mistakes that allowed them to tie the game. That one in the second period where they were able to get that breakaway goal, and obviously the third goal to tie it up was kind of a bad play. We threw it out front, they took it from us and popped it in. We've got to clean it up and try to limit the mistakes."
Duncan on UND's inability to bury the fourth goal: "We were definitely hoping, fighting for it. We had tons of chances to bury it. Give credit to their team, their goalie. That's been a problem for our team this year. We've tried to put teams away. I thought we were over that hump. I don't know, hopefully we can take positives out of this and come back and play better tomorrow."
Duncan on UND's struggles at home: "That's something we wanted to key on in the second half. We want to make this barn a tough place to play. To give up a point when we didn't feel they deserved it, it's definitely deflating. But we'll come back tomorrow and we'll defend this building."
Dave Hakstol on Bina's game: "He really stepped forward... I can't even say stepped forward. He just played the way he's been playing. Robbie's played that way the last five games now. He really stepped forward. Tonight, in our own zone, I thought he really calmed things down and made good plays with the puck. Obviously, up ice, he made a couple good plays. I thought he made a good play to keep the puck in on our first goal. The second goal, he made a great play out of the corner to the front of the net. He played well. He needs to continue doing that.
Hakstol on how snakebitten T.J. Oshie is: "He had some good opportunities tonight. The puck wouldn't go in for him. That line created a number of good opportunities. They just need to keep working and continue creating opportunities. For T.J., eventually one is going to go. Hopefully when one goes, a bunch will go. He's just got to stay with it. He can't start trying to do too much, get fancy. He's just got to play the way he played tonight. He played very strong, created opportunities.
Hakstol on the Fabian-Kaip-Radke line: "I thought they did a number of good things energy-wise for us. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, brought a little bit of physical presence. They created some scoring opportunities. We've talked all along, we need everyone to chip in offensively. That's an area where they had some opportunities. I'd like to see them chip in as well.
Hakstol on whether time is running out to get points at home: "Time is out. We talked about that before. One point tonight is one point, but with the situation, it's not a point we're satisfied with. It's one point and we'll come back tomorrow night and try to get two points."
First period
AA 1, UND 0 -- Josh Lunden (Paul Crowder, Justin Bourne) 2:06. Lunden collected the puck in the slot, fought off a Chay Genoway check and beat Lamoureux high to the stick side.
AA 1, UND 1 -- Ryan Duncan (Jonathan Toews, Robbie Bina) 18:22. Duncan picked up the puck at the bottom of the right circle, walked around a diving defender and beat Lawson high to the glove side.
UND 2, AA 1 -- Ryan Duncan (Robbie Bina) 19:46. Bina makes an outstanding play by sneaking by a defenseman along the boards, carrying the puck deep, pulling Lawson out of position and feeding Duncan for an easy goal.
Second period
UND 3, AA 1 -- Brad Miller (Chris Porter, Robbie Bina) 11:24 (pp). Miller scored on a rebound from the inside of the left circle.
UND 3, AA 2 -- Mat Robinson 16:28. Robinson stole the puck from Porter and went on a breakaway. Lamoureux made the initial save, but the rebound went in off Robinson's skate.
Third period
UND 3, AA 3 -- Merit Waldrop (Peter Cartwright, Nick Lowe) 16:53. From the top of the crease, Lowe got two whacks at the puck, then Waldrop had two chances and put it away on the second opportunity.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--9 Jonathan Toews--7 T.J. Oshie
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--14 Brad Miller
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--26 Kyle Radke
29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac--8 Ryan Martens
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
4 Taylor Chorney--22 Brian Lee
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
30 Aaron Walski
Anchorage's lines
21 Josh Lunden--11 Paul Crowder--12 Justin Bourne
18 Chris Tarkir--71 Jay Beagle--9 Kevin Clark
14 Merit Waldrop--37 Peter Cartwright--44 Nick Lowe
24 Blair Tassone--22 Adam Corrin--55 Jared Tuton
5 Luke Beaverson--33 Mat Robinson
13 Nils Backstrom--7 Mark Smith
47 Ryan Berry--26 Chad Anderson
52 Nathan Lawson
30 Jon Olthuis
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 12 at 6:42 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Three keys to Anchorage
Yesterday, the team had its weekly shootout competition. Of course, everyone was waiting for Jonathan Toews to go. When he picked up the puck and started carrying it toward the net, just about everyone on the team had something to say to the World Junior shootout legend -- so you can imagine all the taunts he was getting when he missed on his first opportunity. I would relay what some of his players were saying, but I couldn't understand because everyone was talking over each other trying to get a shot in.
Of course everyone outside the Sioux locker room is waiting to see Toews, too. He was brilliant with Team Canada and has a history of putting together big numbers in the second half of the season. Earlier this week, he looked exhausted, though. Last year, it took him a couple of weeks to return to form after the World Juniors. I'm not expecting big things right away, but by the end of the year he'll likely show everyone why the Chicago Blackhawks are salivating over him.
The three keys:
1. Convert on 20 percent of power plays. The Sioux were at 10 percent when the teams played in Anchorage earlier this season and they struggled last week (10 percent). A big reason for that is three key power-play skaters were missing -- Toews, Brian Lee and Taylor Chorney. All three are back now and the Sioux need to get the power play going if they want to score more goals.
2. Get a goal out of the second line. A major reason UND was so hard to contain last season is because it had two outstanding lines. If you were able to stop Ryan Duncan, Toews and Drew Stafford, then you got to see Rastislav Spirko, Travis Zajac and T.J. Oshie. The second line has been quiet lately for UND, though. Chris Porter hasn't scored in 12 games and Matt Watkins hasn't scored in eight. Tonight, they'll play with Brad Miller, and they need to get some production.
3. Get more than 11,000 in the seats both games. Ralph Engelstad Arena hasn't been a difficult place for opponents to come play this season. A packed arena and a lively atmosphere would help get the team going. Not to mention, when the Sioux were in Anchorage, it was three freshmen (forwards Paul Crowder, Josh Lunden and Kevin Clark) who were the thorn in their side. Those three freshmen have never played in front of a crowd larger than 6,800.
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 12 at 12:16 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Midget update -- Thursday
Shattuck definitely was the biggest draw out there, so it's too bad that the game got started so late. With school and work looming early Friday morning, most left before the end of the Shattuck-Wisconsin game -- which came at about 11:30.
Despite getting heavily outshot (something like 47-17), Wisconsin knocked off Shattuck in a shootout. Wisconsin tied the game with 40 seconds left and scored on two of three opportunities in the shootout, compared to just one for Shattuck.
No surprise who was able to put the puck away in the shootout for Shattuck -- David Toews, Jonathan's brother.
Here's a quick recap of some players of interest (keep in mind, I am not a scout and far from it):
Ben Blood, UND recruit -- Shattuck's forwards spent much of the game buzzing around with the puck, so fans didn't get a great opportunity to see Blood play in his own end. He moved the puck well when he was on the power play. His shot looks pretty effortless. His size is very noticeable. Blood didn't have a lot of opportunities to be physical, but you could tell he doesn't pass up chances to make contact. Check this weekend's Herald for a full story on Blood.
The Wisconsin recruits (Brock Montpetit, Jordy Murray and Derek Stepan) -- As Murray skated up and down the ice with #14 on his back...it was hard not to think of Brady. He plays exactly like Brady did. He's always buzzing. Stepan might have been the most impressive. He played in all phases of the game and was especially good on the penalty kill. He scored Shattuck's first goal, collecting a loose puck in the slot and beating the goalie to the glove side. Of the three, I thought Montpetit was the least impressive. He was still solid.
Ben Youds, Mankato recruit -- Youds is definitely a skilled player. I couldn't believe how much he liked to join the rush and skate deep in the zone with the puck. Shattuck's forwards did a great job of covering when their defensemen pinched. Youds was able to create several opportunities, although when he tried to bring the puck deep in the zone 1 on 2 late in the game, he got an earful from coach Tom Ward on the bench.
In my opinion, the top three uncommitted players were:
David Toews -- Toews centered Montpetit and Murray on the top line. He had a great chance to score early in the game, but couldn't put away the puck on the doorstep. He seemed to see the ice very well. In the first period, he made two great passes to set up scoring chances, including a quick cross-ice pass on the power play. He made a beautiful move in the shootout -- one that would even make big brother proud. He'll be a Division I player.
Stepan Novotny -- He played with Stepan and Eli Zuck. He was definitely noticable on the ice. Not quite as flashy as Stepan, but he got the job done. Novotny scored Shattuck's second goal, firing the puck through traffic. I'm pretty sure he didn't know the puck went in until his teammates were celebrating. He also assisted on Stepan's goal. He, too, will be a Division I player.
Brett Kostolansky -- He played with Youds on the blue line and he is also a skilled player. He seems to have pretty good hands for a defenseman. He stick handled between two Wisconsin forecheckers to step up a rush for Shattuck late in the game. I assume he's being recruited, too.
I didn't follow Wisconsin's players as close, but Niko Kapetanovic played a strong game. He finished with two assists and buried the game-winning penalty shot.
For anyone else who was at the game, please post your thoughts or objections. For those who weren't, hopefully you are able to get out and see some of these interesting players. One I forgot to mention yesterday in the players to watch, is C.J. Ludwig, Craig's son. He's playing for Dallas.
Shattuck plays at noon Friday in Engelstad Arena and Team Illinois, a highly talented group, plays right after. Catch Russell Stover (Jason Herter's team) at 11:30 at the Olympic Ice. The times set up nicely for Friday -- you can go back and forth to watch hockey during period intermissions.
Dallas plays at 9 a.m. in Purpur, followed by the LA Jr. Kings, who were nearly knocked off tonight.
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 12 at 12:46 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Catch Blood, others in action
This evening, the Little Caesars North American Showcase will begin in Grand Forks.
It should be a good tournament to watch. Several current Sioux players have competed in it -- Jonathan Toews, Ryan Duncan and Brad Miller. UND recruit Mike Cichy played in it last year and another UND recruit, Ben Blood, will be playing this weekend.
There are several other potential D-I recruits and commits playing in the tournament. I'm planning on stopping by as many games as I can. I'll post updates when I can for those who can't attend.
UND's all-time leading scorer, Greg Johnson, will be attending the championship game at noon Sunday. He will be signing autographs between periods. Other former Sioux players will be present, too. Jason Herter is the coach of Russell Stover and Craig Ludwig is an assistant on the Dallas Stars. Dallas' head coach is Barrett Wilson, son of Rick Wilson.
Here is a quick guide to the action for those wondering which teams to catch and which players to look for.
For a tournament schedule, click here.
There are some Canadian teams in the tournament, but here are national rankings for the American midget teams playing in the tournament:
1. Shattuck
3. Team Illinois
4. Dallas Stars
5. Chicago Chill
8. LA Jr. Kings
9. Rocky Mountain Wranglers
18. Russell Stover
19. Detroit Little Caesars
24. Colorado Rampage
33. Wisconsin AAA
39. South California Titans
54. Northwest Regulators
Players who already have made college commitments (and their numbers):
Shattuck-St. Mary's
22 Ben Blood -- UND
14 Jordy Murray -- Wisconsin (Brady Murray's brother)
12 Brock Montpetit -- Wisconsin
9 Derek Stepan -- Wisconsin
5 Ben Youds -- Minnesota State-Mankato
Team Illinois
14 Sam Calabrese -- Notre Dame
15 Fredrik Csisar -- Nebraska-Omaha
Dallas Stars
15 Andrew Hamburg -- Colorado College
Other players to watch
Shattuck-St. Mary's
10 David Toews (Jonathan's brother)
7 David Carle (Brother of last year's Hobey Baker winner, Matt)
4 Brett Kostolansky
16 Stepan Novotny
21 Luke Greiner
Team Illinois
8 James Werner
10 Chris Bournazos
17 Kurt Akers
27 Marc Rodriguez
44 Steven Spinell
91 Cody Murphy
Colorado Rampage
4 Tim Serratore
14 Tom Serratore
LA Jr. Kings
15 Max Nicastro
22 Troy Power
I'm not even close to an expert when it comes to these teams and these players. So if you know of any other players to watch or college committed players, please post in the comments section -- especially if you know anything about the Canadian teams.
Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, January 11 at 1:10 AM | Comments (413) | Permalink
Central Scouting releases rankings
The NHL's Central Scouting bureau released its mid-term rankings today. Unless a Sioux player surges in the rankings like T.J. Oshie did two years ago, it appears the streak of four straight years with a first-round pick may be ending this summer.
The top five North American skaters are:
1. Angelo Esposito -- F -- Quebec (QMJHL)
2. James VanRiemsdyk -- F -- New Hampshire recruit
3. Sam Gagner -- F -- London (OHL)
4. Patrick Kane -- F -- London (OHL)
5. Kyle Turris -- F -- Wisconsin recruit
Notable skaters:
63. Brad Malone -- F -- UND recruit
78. Ben Blood -- D -- UND recruit
122. Jordy Christian -- F -- Moorhead High (St. Cloud State recruit)
151. Jeff Foss -- D -- Moorhead High (uncommitted)
171. Brett Bruneteau -- F -- UND recruit
Top five North American goalies:
1. Trevor Cann -- Peterborough (OHL)
2. Jeremy Smith -- Plymouth (OHL)
3. Antoine Lafleur -- Price Edward Island (QMJHL)
4. Brad Phillips -- Notre Dame recruit
5. Andrew Engelage -- Windsor (OHL)
Notable goaltenders:
7. Brad Eidsness -- UND recruit
28. Austin Lee -- Fargo-Moorhead Jets (Mankato recruit)
To check out the lists go here for skaters and here for goaltenders.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 10 at 1:19 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
A look at the shots
New blog experiment. Not sure how often I'll be able to do this, but here is a look at the shot charts from the Colorado College series. I found the first period of Friday's 1-0 loss interesting. It shows how much UND dominated but couldn't get that first goal, as I lamented in the game story.
Here is a guide to the shot chart -- The number is the player who took the shot. If it's not underlined, it missed the net. If it's underlined once, it was blocked and didn't get on net. The only shots on goal are the ones that are underlined twice. Circled shots mean goals. Check marks mean it came on the power play.
Friday night by period:
Saturday night by period:
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 10 at 12:19 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Sioux players named AHL all-stars
Three former Sioux players were selected as AHL all-stars this afternoon.
Defenseman Curtis Murphy will play for the Canadian team and forwards Brandon Bochenski and Drew Stafford will play for PlanetUSA.
This is the fifth straight selection for Murphy, who plays for the Houston Aeros. It is the second selection for Bochenski, who will be a starter, and the first for the rookie, Stafford. Bochenski and Stafford have both been up and down between the AHL and NHL this season.
Bochenski ranks second in the AHL with 28 goals and third with 54 points in 29 games this season. He had 31 points in a 14-game stretch in November and December this season.
Roseau native Dustin Byfuglien also was picked as an all-star for PlanetUSA. Byfuglien plays for Norfolk.
The skills competition will be Jan. 28 at 6 p.m. and the game on Jan. 29 at 6 p.m. It will be televised on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada "and on a network of regional broadcast partners in the United States."
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 09 at 3:22 PM | Comments (4) | Permalink
WCHA looking into altercation
Mankato has developed a reputation for being a physical, often-times undisciplined team filled with players who won't ever decline an opportunity to fight.
Apparently, this includes the coaching staff, too.
Inside College Hockey's Jess Myers reported that the WCHA is looking into a postgame altercation between referee Jon Campion and Mankato coaches Troy Jutting and Eric Means, which reportedly happened Sunday.
After Mankato's 1-0 loss to Minnesota, Means (an assistant) walked down the hall from the team's locker room to confront Campion. The report says Means "unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at Campion." Then, Jutting (head coach) exchanged words with Campion. The argument became very heated and apparently Means "charged at the referee offering to fight."
The altercation was broken up by campus police, who were then were recipients of a Jutting tirade. Jutting, who isn't commenting on the situation, threatened legal action against the police officers, who reportedly physically escorted Jutting and Means back to the Mankato locker room after the incident.
WCHA commissioner Bruce McLeod will interview those involved and make a decision on a punishment.
Mankato is scheduled to play St. Cloud State in a home-and-home this weekend.
To read Myers' report, go here.
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 09 at 2:55 AM | Comments (9) | Permalink
Vote for Hobey underway
The fan voting for the Hobey Baker Award now is open.
There are 40 players listed on the Web site, including UND's Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie. Toews and Oshie were expected to be legitimate contenders after having huge freshman seasons, but neither are in the mix right now.
There are a total of 10 WCHA players on the list. Sadly, they spelled one of last year's finalists, Brian ElliotT's, name wrong. I sympathize with Brian about this frequent mistake.
If you want to vote, visit www.hobeybaker.com/ballot
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 08 at 6:37 PM | Comments (8) | Permalink
Weekend review: Colorado College
As UND held a narrow 2-1 lead against Colorado College late in the third period -- despite outshooting and outchancing the Tigers by a mile -- I was pretty sure the Sioux wouldn't get two points out of that game. Earlier in the afternoon, as I went in search of a soda at the hotel, I saw an employee walking around and notifying other workers to be on the lookout for a loose black cat.
Only this team, it seems, can pick a hotel that has a symbol of bad luck on the loose.
But as the final buzzer sounded, the Sioux had won for the third time in four post-Christmas games. Music was blaring out of the locker room and assistant captain Erik Fabian got to talk about positives with the media.
Has the team turned it around? We'll find out in the next two weeks as the Sioux take on Alaska-Anchorage and Bemidji State in very winnable games. After the Colorado College trip last year, the Sioux were 11-3 the rest of the season. Two years ago, the Sioux were 11-5-1 after visiting the Springs. Looking back on this visit to World Arena:
Offense: C. The level of production -- two goals in two games -- isn't close to enough. But UND showed signs of life on the offensive end, generating many scoring chances. Playing without three key power-play skaters, maybe you could have expected the production to be lower. Now that Jonathan Toews, Brian Lee and Taylor Chorney are back from the World Juniors, the scoring needs to be cranked up.
Defense: A+. Last month, coach Dave Hakstol said that when you get players back from the World Juniors, they are usually different because of their experiences. This may be true for the guys who didn't go, too. They were thrust into larger roles and turned in an outstanding effort. They held the Tigers to mainly perimeter shots on Friday and limited them to 5 shots on goal in the final 40 minutes Saturday.
Goaltending: A. Phil Lamoureux said earlier in the week that he's feeling better and better each week. He looked like it against the Tigers. Lamoureux has allowed just five goals in the last four games. He had a .960 save percentage against Colorado College.
Road support: A. The Sioux fans were as loud as the Tiger fans during parts of the game and were a big reason why the arena was sold out on Saturday. CC's media relations director looked at the crowd before the game and said, "I've never seen this many people here this early before. It's going to be a large crowd." Many of those early arrivers were Sioux fans.
Arena atmosphere: B-. The students were gone for break, which will always kill the atmosphere a little bit. The crowd doesn't make World Arena a real tough place to play. You can tell scoring is hard to come by when you get hundreds of people out of their seats when a forward comes in the zone one on four.
Review of the three keys
1. Don't give CC more than five power plays per game. Pass. The Tigers only had four in each game. This was a key to UND's standout defense Saturday night. The Sioux only took one minor penalty in the final 40 minutes when they allowed just five shots.
2. Have a save percentage higher than .905. Pass. Easily. Lamoureux was very good again, stopping 96 percent of shots he faced.
3. Get a goal from Michael Forney, Erik Fabian or Chris VandeVelde. Pass. Fabian netted his first goal of the season on Saturday night -- also the night UND beat the Tigers.
Posted by: Schlossman on Monday, January 08 at 3:20 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Gameday final: UND 2, CC 1
Postgame
I had far more postgame quotes than usual after Saturday's game...
Erik Fabian on his first goal "Finally, the monkey is off the back now. But I don't care if I got one or if somebody else got one. We just needed to get the win. We got three out of four on the road now after Christmas. We're fairly satisfied with that."
Fabian on the team giving up five shots on goal in the final two periods: "Our team is starting to come together. We really are. We're learning that our season comes game by game. Guys are stepping up, playing well. First period, we gave up 12 shots. We came back and allowed five in the last two periods. I think that's a testament to guys buying into the system and playing team defense, and playing with heart, guts and grit."
Fabian on the Sioux being able to pull out a close game: "Maybe we got a break. They hit a post late in the game. Maybe that's our break. Maybe we finally got one."
Fabian on Joe Finley's first goal: "Big Joe... that was a rocket. I don't think he (Zaba) hardly saw it. He blasted that. It's good for him, he waited a long time. He played well this weekend. He played big, played tough. I was glad to see him get one, too."
Coach Dave Hakstol on Fabian and Finley getting their firsts of the year "That was a protypical Erik Fabian goal -- crashing the net. That was a huge goal. Of course, the goal that Joe Finley scored, that was a real good play by a number of guys. Chris Porter made a real good play to pressure the puck and allow us to keep the puck in and what a huge blow by Joe Finley for his first."
Hakstol on finding ways to win games: "We seemed to really loosen up and play with a lot of confidence last weekend and that carried over to this weekend. I was certainly getting a little worried -- we had two or three really good chances in the first 10 minutes of the third. Zaba played extremely well. You get a little concerned with a goalie makes saves like that and keeps it a one-goal game. But I didn't feel like that changed the mentality on our bench."
Hakstol on turning the season around: "This team has to have a very, very short, narrow, game-by-game focus. We're going to be OK. If we do that, we're going to be OK. By the end of the year, we'll scratch and claw our way back into things. Hopefully, we'll give ourselves a chance to be involved in some of the good stuff at the end of the year. For us, we have to carry a playoff mentality for the next three months. We don't have a choice."
Hakstol on Philippe Lamoureux's performance this weekend: "Phil started the year with a couple of good weekends. He suffered an injury where, even though he was back playing, it was affecting him. It affected him right through the Christmas break. The first time we saw him back and really saw the Phil Lamoureux since he got injured was the first day back at practice from Christmas break. He's played four outstanding games for us. He needs to continue doing his job, and I think that gives the guys in front of him a little more confidence to do their job."
Joe Finley on the team's defense: "I think we gave up 12 or something in the first then four or five in the last two periods. We really packed it in. We were strong on both blues. Offensively, forwards are coming back in the middle of the rink and defensemen moved the puck up. Perfect team win."
First period
UND 1, CC 0 -- Erik Fabian (Ryan Martens, Robbie Bina) 12:00. Martens circled the net and fed Fabian, who was standing at the top of the crease.
UND 1, CC 1 -- Jack Hillen (Brandon Polich, Andreas Vlassopoulos) 14:53 (pp). Hillen's shot from the point got through traffic and beat Lamoureux between the pads
Second period
UND 2, CC 1 -- Joe Finley (Scott Foyt) 19:55. Finley blasts a shot from the left point and beats Zaba high to the glove side for his first career goal.
Third period
No scoring.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--7 T.J. Oshie--14 Brad Miller
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--10 Andrew Kozek
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--8 Ryan Martens
29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac--18 Michael Forney
26 Kyle Radke--25 Scott Foyt
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
31 Anthony Grieco
Colorado College's lines
26 Scott McCulloch--14 Chad Rau--2 Cody Lampl
9 Braydon Cox--20 Brandon Polich--16 Derek Patrosso
10 Scott Thauwald--19 Andreas Vlassopoulos--23 Jimmy Kilpatrick
5 Addison DeBoer--22 Brian McMillin--25 Mike Testwuide
8 Jack Hillen--3 Lee Sweatt
11 Brian Connelly--27 Brandon Straub
7 Kris Fredheim--4 Jake Gannon
31 Matt Zaba
37 Drew O'Connell
35 Chris Kawano
Posted by: Schlossman on Saturday, January 06 at 7:31 PM | Comments (11) | Permalink
Gameday final: CC 1, UND 0
First period
CC 1, UND 0 -- Scott McCulloch (Brian Connelly, Brandon Straub) 18:08. The Tigers took advantage of a Sioux turnover and applied heavy pressure in UND's end. McCulloch, stationed in the slot, was able to fire in a rebound of Connelly's attempt from the left circle.
Second period
No scoring. Note: At 8:20, Matt Watkins is ejected for checking from behind.
Third period
No scoring.
UND's lines
16 Ryan Duncan--7 T.J. Oshie--14 Brad Miller
24 Chris Porter--20 Matt Watkins--10 Andrew Kozek
21 Erik Fabian--17 Rylan Kaip--8 Ryan Martens
29 Chris VandeVelde--11 Darcy Zajac--18 Michael Forney
26 Kyle Radke--25 Scott Foyt
2 Joe Finley--28 Robbie Bina
6 Zach Jones--5 Chay Genoway
1 Phil Lamoureux
30 Aaron Walski
Colorado College's lines
26 Scott McCulloch--14 Chad Rau--2 Cody Lampl
9 Braydon Cox--20 Brandon Polich--16 Derek Patrosso
10 Scott Thauwald--19 Andreas Vlassopoulos--23 Jimmy Kilpatrick
5 Addison DeBoer--22 Brian McMillin--25 Mike Testwuide
8 Jack Hillen--3 Lee Sweatt
11 Brian Connelly--27 Brandon Straub
15 Nate Prosser--4 Jake Gannon
31 Matt Zaba
37 Drew O'Connell
35 Chris Kawano
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 05 at 7:56 PM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Toews grabs gold
Another tournament, another first-place finish for Jonathan Toews' team.
This afternoon, he won his second straight gold medal at the World Junior Championship with Team Canada. Toews scored a goal and added an assist as Canada beat Russia 4-2 in the final. He finished the tournament with four goals and three assists in six games.
Toews also was named to the all-tournament team, but he did not win the Directorate Award for best forward. That honor went to Alexei Cherepanov of Russia.
Toews can add this gold medal to his long list of team accomplishments.
At Shattuck-St. Mary's, he led the prep school to a national championship. There, he also captained the Canadian U17 team to a gold medal. His next two IIHF world tournament experiences came at the World Junior Championship, where his Canadian teams won back-to-back golds. If not for his dominating performance in the shootout against the United States, Team Canada probably would have been playing for bronze this year.
Now, he has half of a season to try to add another title to his resume -- an NCAA championship. And you can just about be sure that this will be his last chance at a college title. After watching the WJC, Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon has to be licking his chops.
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 05 at 3:11 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Chorney, Lee win bronze
UND defensemen Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee will be bringing bronze medals home from Sweden.
The pair of sophomores helped Team USA take third place at the World Junior Championship with a 2-1 win over host Sweden on Friday morning. Chorney got the first assist on the Americans' game-winning goal -- a second-period tally by Erik Johnson.
This is just the fifth time in the 34-year history of the tournament that the United States has medaled. The other times were 1986 (bronze), 1992 (bronze), 1997 (silver) and 2004 (gold).
Jonathan Toews and Canada will play for the gold medal beginning at 12:30 this afternoon.
For more on both games, see Saturday's Herald.
Posted by: Schlossman on Friday, January 05 at 11:14 AM | Comments (2) | Permalink
Three keys to Colorado College
Last weekend, the Sioux accomplished a difficult task -- going on the road and winning two games without three of the team's best players.
It gets harder this weekend. Colorado College is better than Dartmouth and St. Lawrence. Colorado Springs is a harder place to play than Manchester, N.H. And the Sioux are still without two of their best defensemen (Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee) and one forward (Canada's newest national celebrity, Jonathan Toews).
Here are some keys to grabbing points in World Arena:
1. Don't give CC more than five power plays per game. A big key in the elevation is to keep shifts short and not let players get overextended. You have to stay fresh. A good way to wear yourself out is by having to kill a bunch of penalties. Not to mention CC's Scott McCulloch is tied for the league lead in power-play goals.
2. Have a save percentage higher than .905. Phil Lamoureux had a very good weekend at Dartmouth. He said his leg is feeling better each week and this is another good opportunity for him to prove he's capable of digging this team out of its hole.
3. Get a goal from Michael Forney, Erik Fabian or Chris VandeVelde. Goals from unexpected sources have sparked the Sioux this season. Last weekend, Rylan Kaip notched No. 1 and the team went on to win. If someone else can get No. 1 this weekend, there's no doubt it will provide a big lift.
Pick to click: Chris Porter.
Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, January 04 at 10:30 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
IIHF admits mistakes in shootout
Now, we've got a bit of controvery to add to yesterday's classic U.S.-Canada semifinal World Junior game.
The IIHF said referee Ulf Ronnmark should have used video review on Patrick Kane's attempt in the fourth round. Canadian goalie Carey Price stopped the shot but slowly slid back into his net. Ronnmark said he didn't think he needed to use video replay, but the IIHF disagreed.
The chief referee and tournament chairman reviewed the play after the game and concluded that the puck did not cross the goal line. If it had gone in, the tournament directorate (which is made up of one member for each participating country) would have decided what to do about it. One option would have been doing the shootout over again, TSN reported.
Another thing the referee messed up was the order of the shootout. After the first three rounds, the order should have reversed and the Americans should have shot first.
Of course, nobody knows if this would have made any difference in the outcome. But what's a classic game without controversy?
Posted by: Schlossman on Thursday, January 04 at 4:04 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
WJC players won't return for CC
At his weekly meeting with local media today, UND coach Dave Hakstol said the three World Junior competitors will not be back for Saturday night's game against Colorado College.
The WCHA is allowing teams a larger-than-22 travel roster this weekend, which could allow for Jonathan Toews, Taylor Chorney and Brian Lee to meet up with the team after playing in their medal-round games in Sweden.
But Hakstol said the earliest the players could get to Colorado Springs would be about 40 minutes before game time Saturday night.
The travel roster for Colorado Springs will be the same as it was for the Dartmouth tournament.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 03 at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Canada tops USA in shootout
Canada will play for its third straight gold medal Friday and for that, Canadian fans can thank Jonathan Toews' shootout skills.
Toews scored three times in the shootout and when Carey Price stopped American forward Peter Mueller in the seventh round, the Canadians clinched the 2-1 win. In IIHF play, there is a three-man shootout. If tied after that, teams can go back to those players in the sudden death portion (unlike the NHL). Canada kept going to Toews and Toews kept scoring.
UND defenseman Taylor Chorney scored the lone goal for the Americans -- a power-play tally in the second period. Canada tied it with less than eight minutes remaining on a power-play goal by Luc Bourdon.
For more, see Thursday's Herald.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 03 at 11:55 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
The future, the past and the present
While Team USA continues its quest for a medal at the World Junior Championship, a pair of Sioux recruits came away with gold at the Four Nations Cup on Tuesday night.
Danny Kristo and Michael Cichy helped the Americans beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime in the gold medal game. Cichy had two goals and an assist in four games at the tournament. Kristo had one goal and one assist.
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Hunter Bishop, who left UND after the first semester because of playing time, is back with the Vernon Vipers in the BCHL. And it's safe to say the Vipers are happy to have him back. They are 3-0 since Bishop rejoined the team, including a 3-2 win on New Year's Eve which was highlighted by game-tying and game-winning goals by Bishop.
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For those interested in former players, I've recently come across a few articles.
Wayne Gretzky has been raving about Travis Roche. Roche was called up due to injuries on the Phoenix Coyotes. Defenseman Nick Boynton will be back this week, but Roche isn't going anywhere. "Travis Roche has been absolutely incredible," Gretzky said. Read more here. Also, there's another story here.
Karl Goehring was in the spotlight at NHL.com. He talks about getting called up and his rebound after a bad start. Read more here.
Features on Drew Stafford here and here. Will Red Seal Peach catch on in Buffalo, too?
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As always, there have been some interesting articles coming out of the World Junior tournament.
The Toronto Star writes about the three college guys on Team Canada, and their choice of college hockey over Canadian major juniors.
The Winnipeg Sun talks about how big the World Junior tournament is to Jonathan Toews and his family. In fact, Toews' father sat next to Taylor Chorney's father yesterday during the U.S.-Finland game and "made no bones" about the fact that he wanted the U.S. to lose.
The Canadian Press writes about how Dave Hakstol recently had a chat with Toews, telling him to relax and go play like he did in Pee Wees.
Posted by: Schlossman on Wednesday, January 03 at 2:34 AM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Weekend review: Dartmouth tournament
The whole Dartmouth administration vs. UND's nickname thing flopped. Dartmouth had as many protesters as goals Friday night. The Sioux beat the Big Green 4-1 on Friday and topped St. Lawrence 4-2 on Saturday. Ryan Duncan was named MVP of the Dartmouth tournament, although Duncan wanted to defer those honors to Phil Lamoureux. Looking back:
Offense: B. The most encouraging sign for the Sioux is that they got offense from different places in the lineup. The third/fourth line scored each night -- something that only happened once in the previous month. UND also got its first... and second... shorthanded goals of the season.
Defense: A. Much credit goes to the defensive corps for being able to keep shot totals down without two of the team's best blue liners. Scott Foyt chipped in some offense. Joe Finley used his size well. And Robbie Bina continues to be solid.
Goaltending: A. Lamoureux's numbers on the weekend: 1.50 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. He didn't get up an even-strength goal all weekend. This is the kind of goaltending the Sioux need in order to climb up the PairWise rankings.
Road support: A-. I wasn't there to see the number of Sioux fans, but I did see crowd shots on the Web cast and footage from WDAZ's crew. It looked like there was no shortage of Sioux fans in New Hampshire.
Finishing off wins: A. The Sioux were tied both Friday and Saturday as the third period started. Instead of finding ways to lose games, they rallied and got wins. During the last six weeks, three third period tie games slipped away and UND didn't win any. Getting key goals and finishing off games by hitting empty nets will be important for UND down the stretch.
Review of the three keys
1. Score four goals per game. Pass. With the help of empty-net goals, UND got four in both games. The Sioux are undefeated when getting at least four goals in a game.
2. Get a goal from the third or fourth line. Pass. The Sioux got a goal from the third line in both games. Rylan Kaip came through on Friday with his first goal of the season and Ryan Martens scored on Saturday.
3. Score a power-play goal each game. Fail/Pass. UND didn't get a power-play goal Friday, but Duncan got one Saturday. On Friday, the Sioux made up for not scoring on the power play by getting a pair of shorthanders.
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 02 at 3:09 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
USA beats Finland, moves to semis
Team USA scored three straight goals in the third period to break open a tie game and beat Finland 6-3 in the quarterfinals at the World Junior Championship.
The Americans advance to play Team Canada in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Wednesday. That game will be televised by the NHL Center Ice package, which is picking up a feed from TSN. The Canadians beat the Americans earlier in the tournament.
UND's Taylor Chorney had two assists to help Team USA past Finland.
The Americans took a 2-0 lead early on goals by Erik Johnson and Patrick Kane. But Finland rallied to tie it 2-2 in the second. The teams traded goals early in the third -- Wisconsin's Jack Skille scored at :23 of the period and Finland's Oskar Osala (who scored twice for the Finns) tied it at 1:38.
Then, the Americans scored three straight 5-on-3 goals to seal the win. Major junior players Peter Mueller and Trevor Lewis got the first two and Michigan's Jack Johnson the final tally.
USA is looking for its first medal since it won gold in 2004.
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 02 at 3:01 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
WCHA to allow larger travel roster
Todd Milewski, Wisconsin hockey beat writer for The Capital Times, told me this evening that the WCHA has notified UND and Wisconsin that they can bring more than the usual 22 players on trips this weekend.
That would allow World Junior competitors Brian Lee, Taylor Chorney and Jonathan Toews to possibly join UND for Saturday night's game against Colorado College.
Team USA is expected to arrive in Chicago at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Not sure about Team Canada, which I assume will arrive in Calgary (where the Canadians departed from). I'm not sure if the Americans will change their flight plans if they lose to Finland this morning -- which would put them in the fifth-place game Thursday. The gold and bronze medal games are Friday.
Of course, UND coaches would have to decide if they want those three to play when they will have been awake for a long time and possibly jetlagged. But the possibility is there. You be the coach. Assuming the players get to Chicago at 12:30 Saturday and can get to Colorado Springs in time for Saturday night's game, do you play them? Or do you go with a roster that might have a little less talent, but better legs?
Posted by: Schlossman on Tuesday, January 02 at 12:23 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink
