A Few Notes

Nebraska-Omaha looks to have lost another recruit. 2007 forward recruit Lukas Klimek has left the Indiana Ice to go play for Vitkorive in the top professional league in the Czech Republic. It seems like ancient history now, but Omaha lost the first member of their 2007 recruiting class, when forward Anthony Peluso backed out of his commitment to UNO to play in the OHL. While these departures don't leave Omaha shorthanded, it does leave them short. After losing the 6'4" Peluso and the 6'2" Klimek, Omaha's tallest forward recruit is 5'10" Joey Martin, who recently committed to Omaha, followed by 5'9" Rich Purslow, 5'8" John Kemp, and 5'7" Blake Martin.

Minnesota held their Media Day today, and there were a few interesting notes. To update Nate Hagemo's status, he'll be cleared to practice on Saturday, and won't play at the start of the season.

Ryan Stoa, Blake Wheeler, Mike Carman, and Jim O'Brien will play at center. It's an interesting move because I think those guys would probably be better served on the wing, but I can understand Don Lucia's thinking by wanting to put some big guys up the middle.

Kellen Briggs is starting the season as the number one guy, and Jeff Frazee will start as the back-up. Frazee did lose some weight this offseason though, and seems a little more dedicated.

Speaking of Frazee, he is living in a house this year along with teammates Blake Wheeler, Ryan Stoa, Justin Bostrom, and R.J. Anderson, and they are keeping a running journal throughout the season. It's a good read if you get a chance to check it out. If you're looking for signs of how focused the Gophers are, "Mariucci" and "WCHA Champions" were the only words in Justin Bostrom's entry that he bothered to capitalize.

The USHL has a revamped website.

College Hockey News posted their Preseason All-Americans yesterday.

Buc Bowl Updates:

Cedar Rapids 6, Omaha 5 (Shootout)

Ben Arnt gets two points in his first USHL game, which is pretty impressive. Miami's Tommy Wingels had two goals. Superstar Nick Petrecki was -2 with no points for Omaha.

Waterloo 6 Sioux City 2

Waterloo got six goals from six different scorers, including three from Wisconsin.(Craig Smith, Keegan Meuer, and Blake Kessel)

Chicago 6 Lincoln 1

Uncommitted forward Mike Embach had three assists for Chicago. Richard Bachman made 29 of 30 saves.

Indiana 5 Sioux Falls 4

Sioux Falls fell behind 5-1 in the second period and their comeback fell just short.

Green Bay 5 Tri-City 2

Tri-City's back-up goalie got off to a shaky start, which put them in a hole. Ohio State's Sergio Somma had two points in the winning effort.

Ohio 3 Des Moines 6

Michigan recruit Aaron Palushaj scored two points. Ohio's franchise gets off to a less than stellar start.