Just because it angers you.
Me biased? Well, maybe a little.
Thank God these grades aren't reflected in Michigan's APR score. Packer is a stern grader; stern but fair. He pretty much nails it on the head though.
What good would an irrational bias be without a little bit of this.
I'm not sure how this Runnin' with the Dogs post fits into my master plan, but it's pretty funny. Speaking of tough graders...Yeesh.
Oh, and if shamelessly plugging my own work counts as a bias: guilty as charged.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Omaha Recruits Another Finn
Nebraska-Omaha acquired another Scandinavian recruit yesterday when they got a commitment from Jan Mikael Juutilainen, who is currently playing for Jokerit in Finland.
Information about European prospects is a little tougher to come by, but it seems like Juutilainen is a good prospect. He was rated 24th overall among European skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Mid-term draft rankings and second among Finnish skaters.
Though he plays overseas, he's made a couple trips to North America recently which helped him get recruited by colleges. He participated in the World U17 Challenge for Team Finland, where he stood out despite Finland's disappointing finish, and was also a member of Finland's World Juniors team which competed in Vancouver this winter.
Information about European prospects is a little tougher to come by, but it seems like Juutilainen is a good prospect. He was rated 24th overall among European skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Mid-term draft rankings and second among Finnish skaters.
Though he plays overseas, he's made a couple trips to North America recently which helped him get recruited by colleges. He participated in the World U17 Challenge for Team Finland, where he stood out despite Finland's disappointing finish, and was also a member of Finland's World Juniors team which competed in Vancouver this winter.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
In the Interest of Fairness...
I had previously discussed some pretty serious allegations against some Mankato hockey players.
The Mankato Free Press recently published the players side of the story. Unfortunately, the article only made the print edition and not online, so no link.
First and foremost, Brian Kilburg, who was named in the original article about the search warrant, and had his picture shown on local the news, wasn't even involved. He wasn't present at the house on the night of the incident, and was never even questioned by police about the incident. It's a mystery how his name got put into the article other than a journalistic oversight. He's officially the Richard Jewell of college hockey.
As for the rest of the players, Austin Sutter was given a lie detector test about whether or not he had sexual contact with the girl in question and apparently passed. Polygraph tests like that aren't usually legally binding, but I guess it doesn't hurt his case.
Sutter stated that no drugs were used, and that all they did was watch the Olympics, play guitar, listen to music, and then fall asleep.
All that was missing from Sutter's story was the part him going to call his mother to let her know he was home safe while on his way to the kitchen to pick up cookies and juice boxes.
The truth in this matter probably lies somewhere in the middle of the two sides of the story. It's impossible to say how this story will play out, but given the evidence the police were able to attain, they should be able to figure out with reasonable certainty what went on. From what I can tell, it sounds like the original accusation isn't going to be able to hold enough water for the players to face any serious charges.
The Mankato Free Press recently published the players side of the story. Unfortunately, the article only made the print edition and not online, so no link.
First and foremost, Brian Kilburg, who was named in the original article about the search warrant, and had his picture shown on local the news, wasn't even involved. He wasn't present at the house on the night of the incident, and was never even questioned by police about the incident. It's a mystery how his name got put into the article other than a journalistic oversight. He's officially the Richard Jewell of college hockey.
As for the rest of the players, Austin Sutter was given a lie detector test about whether or not he had sexual contact with the girl in question and apparently passed. Polygraph tests like that aren't usually legally binding, but I guess it doesn't hurt his case.
Sutter stated that no drugs were used, and that all they did was watch the Olympics, play guitar, listen to music, and then fall asleep.
All that was missing from Sutter's story was the part him going to call his mother to let her know he was home safe while on his way to the kitchen to pick up cookies and juice boxes.
The truth in this matter probably lies somewhere in the middle of the two sides of the story. It's impossible to say how this story will play out, but given the evidence the police were able to attain, they should be able to figure out with reasonable certainty what went on. From what I can tell, it sounds like the original accusation isn't going to be able to hold enough water for the players to face any serious charges.
You've Gotta Listen to This
The Holy Cross student radio station, WCHC, broadcasted the upset of Minnesota last weekend, and they've put together a highlight tape of their call of the game. You can listen here. It's pretty incredible.
Ryan Potulny Turns Pro
This was pretty much expected, but Ryan Potulny signed with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Potulny was recently bumped from 7th to 4th on hockeysfuture.com's list of top 20 Flyers prospects, but his profile contained this quote:"While scouts still seem split on exactly how well Potulny’s game will translate at the pro level, his emergence as one of the premiere offensive weapons in the NCAA has undoubtedly increased his overall stock"
That about sums it up with Potulny. I don't think he'll ever be a huge threat 5-on-5, but he may be able to carve out a solid niche as a dangerous guy on the powerplay.
Potulny was recently bumped from 7th to 4th on hockeysfuture.com's list of top 20 Flyers prospects, but his profile contained this quote:"While scouts still seem split on exactly how well Potulny’s game will translate at the pro level, his emergence as one of the premiere offensive weapons in the NCAA has undoubtedly increased his overall stock"
That about sums it up with Potulny. I don't think he'll ever be a huge threat 5-on-5, but he may be able to carve out a solid niche as a dangerous guy on the powerplay.
Nick Dineen Commits to Colorado College
Nick Dineen, a forward for the Sioux Falls Stampede, has committed to Colorado College for either the 2007 or 2008 season. Dineen is originally from Omaha, Nebraska, but moved to the Colorado Springs area as a Peewee to play for the Pikes Peak Miners AAA program. Dineen is known has a very gritty, hard worker and received interest from many schools, but he wanted to play in the WCHA, and felt most comfortable with Colorado College due to the time he spent there.
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Shameless Plugs
I sufficiently uncovered myself from a pile of work and found some time to write about NCAA tournament ticket prices over at the long-dormant Sports Writer's Journal.
TV Producers has been searching aimlessly the past couple years for the "male version of Sex and the City". So far all they've come up with is trash like Love Monkey. But I believe I've found what they've been looking for:Beer League. The trailer they produced is really funny.(although if you're the type that faints at swearing, you should probably skip it)You can sign their petition to help get it on the air, but given how funny, witty, and accurate it is, it's got no hope. Instead we'll probably get "Dude Who Acts Like a Chick, but You're Supposed to Like Him Because He's Really a Dude" NBC 9/8 Central.
TV Producers has been searching aimlessly the past couple years for the "male version of Sex and the City". So far all they've come up with is trash like Love Monkey. But I believe I've found what they've been looking for:Beer League. The trailer they produced is really funny.(although if you're the type that faints at swearing, you should probably skip it)You can sign their petition to help get it on the air, but given how funny, witty, and accurate it is, it's got no hope. Instead we'll probably get "Dude Who Acts Like a Chick, but You're Supposed to Like Him Because He's Really a Dude" NBC 9/8 Central.
NCAA Tourney Fallout: Upset of the Century
I waited a couple days on posting this, and it's still pretty hard to comprehend. There was never a point in the game on Friday that I felt confident in Holy Cross beating the Gophers, until a few seconds after the overtime goal went in the net, and even then it took a little while for it to actually sink in. I did say in my preview that if Holy Cross could score first, it would be an interesting game, but I could have never dreamed it would be *that* interesting. It's kind of silly if you think about it, because if you knew nothing about college hockey and just happened to be watching the game, you'd probably say the two teams were about equal with either having the chance to win. You have to tip your hat to Holy Cross because they played a great hockey game that is going to be remembered for a long time.
There were some great post-game quotes including goalie Tony Quesada's "They didn't test me as much as I thought they would," which was surprisingly true, but my absolute favorite was Tyler McGregor, who scored the game-winning overtime goal, who said "At least you(opponents of the Gophers) will have some more ammo next time you play them."
Tyler, you have no idea. "At least I didn't lose to Holy Cross" won't only be a rallying cry for hockey for many years to come, but will also be used in everyday life, as in, "Dear God, I must have made 20 typos in that last blog entry. But at least I didn't lose to Holy Cross."
That's probably the way it should be though. Karma came back and bit the Gophers hard. All season this team struggled with giving their best effort. They earned a pretty solid reputation for having terrible practice habits. They just seemed like a team that heard how great they were enough times that they started believing it. Their failure should be a monument to the fact that effort isn’t something you can just turn on and off like a faucet. Once you lose that intensity, it’s very tough to regain.
A bit of justice was served to a few individual players as well. Last December, Gopher forward and North Dakota native Danny Irmen chose to wave his stick and pull on his jersey to taunt the Sioux fans after scoring a goal. Last Friday, Irmen was waving his stick and weakly tugging on the jersey of a Holy Cross player while he tried to backcheck as Tyler McGregor deposited the game-winning goal into the back of the net. Irmen is likely to sign with the Minnesota Wild this summer, meaning his last collegiate game will have been a loss in his home state, while the rival Sioux earned a second consecutive trip to the Frozen Four.
The same is true for Phil Kessel. He made it a point to taunt his native Wisconsin fans when he scored against the Badgers in Madison. I wonder if Kessel was able to hear the Wisconsin fans when Kessel’s rival Jack Skille score in triple overtime to send Wisconsin to the Frozen Four while Kessel sat at home in Minneapolis trying to decide how he wanted to spend his summer.
Holy Cross’ victory on Friday was a thing of beauty. The little guys that went out and did their job beat the big guys who thought they could coast by on their talent. Opportunities like this where the universe aligns itself and the right people finally get what is coming to them don’t happen very often, but boy is it ever sweet when they do.
There were some great post-game quotes including goalie Tony Quesada's "They didn't test me as much as I thought they would," which was surprisingly true, but my absolute favorite was Tyler McGregor, who scored the game-winning overtime goal, who said "At least you(opponents of the Gophers) will have some more ammo next time you play them."
Tyler, you have no idea. "At least I didn't lose to Holy Cross" won't only be a rallying cry for hockey for many years to come, but will also be used in everyday life, as in, "Dear God, I must have made 20 typos in that last blog entry. But at least I didn't lose to Holy Cross."
That's probably the way it should be though. Karma came back and bit the Gophers hard. All season this team struggled with giving their best effort. They earned a pretty solid reputation for having terrible practice habits. They just seemed like a team that heard how great they were enough times that they started believing it. Their failure should be a monument to the fact that effort isn’t something you can just turn on and off like a faucet. Once you lose that intensity, it’s very tough to regain.
A bit of justice was served to a few individual players as well. Last December, Gopher forward and North Dakota native Danny Irmen chose to wave his stick and pull on his jersey to taunt the Sioux fans after scoring a goal. Last Friday, Irmen was waving his stick and weakly tugging on the jersey of a Holy Cross player while he tried to backcheck as Tyler McGregor deposited the game-winning goal into the back of the net. Irmen is likely to sign with the Minnesota Wild this summer, meaning his last collegiate game will have been a loss in his home state, while the rival Sioux earned a second consecutive trip to the Frozen Four.
The same is true for Phil Kessel. He made it a point to taunt his native Wisconsin fans when he scored against the Badgers in Madison. I wonder if Kessel was able to hear the Wisconsin fans when Kessel’s rival Jack Skille score in triple overtime to send Wisconsin to the Frozen Four while Kessel sat at home in Minneapolis trying to decide how he wanted to spend his summer.
Holy Cross’ victory on Friday was a thing of beauty. The little guys that went out and did their job beat the big guys who thought they could coast by on their talent. Opportunities like this where the universe aligns itself and the right people finally get what is coming to them don’t happen very often, but boy is it ever sweet when they do.
Jack Johnson is Being Held at Gunpoint!
Apparently, at least.
Jack Johnson, who remained adamant all season that he would returning to Michgan next year to play, including two weeks ago when he told reporters "I think the only way you're going to get me out of here is at gunpoint," is now very close to signing with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Michigan Daily had an article today where they ran this quote from Johnson which was originally published in the Raleigh News and Observer:
"At this point, I'm kind of up in the air, I guess," Johnson said in an article published yesterday in the Raleigh News and Observer. "I still feel hesitant on making the jump. I want to make sure. I'm going to talk to a few people who I really confide in, and after talking to them try to make a pretty good decision. Right now, I'm really torn."
So much for that gun. Then again, when you get offered a contract similar to that of Sidney Crosby, you can probably buy yourself many, many guns as a means of self-defense.
Carolina emerged from the NHL lockout as a pretty decent team. They're leading their division and are in second place in the Eastern Conference. They're desperate to add some fresh, young legs to their blueline to go with 38 year old Glen Wesley and 36 year old Bret Hedican. This could be the best chance Johnson has to jump to the pros.
UPDATE: Jack is staying.
Jack Johnson, who remained adamant all season that he would returning to Michgan next year to play, including two weeks ago when he told reporters "I think the only way you're going to get me out of here is at gunpoint," is now very close to signing with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Michigan Daily had an article today where they ran this quote from Johnson which was originally published in the Raleigh News and Observer:
"At this point, I'm kind of up in the air, I guess," Johnson said in an article published yesterday in the Raleigh News and Observer. "I still feel hesitant on making the jump. I want to make sure. I'm going to talk to a few people who I really confide in, and after talking to them try to make a pretty good decision. Right now, I'm really torn."
So much for that gun. Then again, when you get offered a contract similar to that of Sidney Crosby, you can probably buy yourself many, many guns as a means of self-defense.
Carolina emerged from the NHL lockout as a pretty decent team. They're leading their division and are in second place in the Eastern Conference. They're desperate to add some fresh, young legs to their blueline to go with 38 year old Glen Wesley and 36 year old Bret Hedican. This could be the best chance Johnson has to jump to the pros.
UPDATE: Jack is staying.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Bill Thomas Signs with Phoenix
One half of Nebraska-Omaha's high-scoring duo has decided to leave school early for a pro career. Bill Thomas signed a contract to play for the Phoenix Coyotes.
You really can't blame Thomas for signing now. He went undrafted in junior hockey, and is already 22 years old. If he would have come back to Omaha, he would have been taking a huge risk with his future because if he had had a less productive, he likely wouldn't have been offered nearly as much money by another NHL team. It's hard to imagine his stock being much higher than it is right now.
Wayne Gretzky was reportedly quoted as saying that Thomas could step into the NHL right away, although I personally feel that would a huge gamble. Zing! Too soon?
Anyway, Thomas certainly has the offensive talent Phoenix is looking for, but I think he could improve himself defensively and benefit from spending the rest of the year in the AHL to adjust to pro hockey and then trying to make the big club next season. Getting a few shifts per game with the Coyotes probably won't help him much.
Incidentally, other players that left college early once their season was over are doing extremely well in the pros. Matt Carle finally made it to St. Paul, albeit a week too late. Carle made his debut with the San Jose Sharks at the XCel Center against the Minnesota Wild, and scored goal with 15 seconds left in the game to put the icing on a 5-1 victory.
David Backes, who will be playing with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL for the rest of the season is off to a hot start too. He scored in his first AHL game on former North Dakota goalie Karl Goehring to cap off a 3-0 Rivermen win, and was named the game's third star. In his second game, he scored the game-winning tally in the 8th round of a shootout to win the game for the Rivermen, earning the game's first star.
You really can't blame Thomas for signing now. He went undrafted in junior hockey, and is already 22 years old. If he would have come back to Omaha, he would have been taking a huge risk with his future because if he had had a less productive, he likely wouldn't have been offered nearly as much money by another NHL team. It's hard to imagine his stock being much higher than it is right now.
Wayne Gretzky was reportedly quoted as saying that Thomas could step into the NHL right away, although I personally feel that would a huge gamble. Zing! Too soon?
Anyway, Thomas certainly has the offensive talent Phoenix is looking for, but I think he could improve himself defensively and benefit from spending the rest of the year in the AHL to adjust to pro hockey and then trying to make the big club next season. Getting a few shifts per game with the Coyotes probably won't help him much.
Incidentally, other players that left college early once their season was over are doing extremely well in the pros. Matt Carle finally made it to St. Paul, albeit a week too late. Carle made his debut with the San Jose Sharks at the XCel Center against the Minnesota Wild, and scored goal with 15 seconds left in the game to put the icing on a 5-1 victory.
David Backes, who will be playing with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL for the rest of the season is off to a hot start too. He scored in his first AHL game on former North Dakota goalie Karl Goehring to cap off a 3-0 Rivermen win, and was named the game's third star. In his second game, he scored the game-winning tally in the 8th round of a shootout to win the game for the Rivermen, earning the game's first star.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
NCAA Tourney Fallout: The CCHA
It was a rough weekend for the CCHA, and there's been quite a bit said about it. The conference went 1-4 on the weekend and was outscored 24-8. But let me be the first to say that most of the criticism is malarkey.
First off is the unnecessary bashing of Nebraska-Omaha. Coming into the tournament, everyone was saying that Denver and St. Cloud were more deserving of an NCAA tournament bid, and felt that the 9-2 loss to Boston University in the first round was just more evidence to prove that. But the question is, why weren't people saying the same thing about New Hampshire. New Hampshire lost by the exact same to Boston University last weekend, and like UNO, would not have made the tournament if the KRACH Ratings were used instead of the Pairwise Rankings. One game worth of evidence is not more powerful than an entire season's worth of evidence, no matter how much importance you place on that single game.
The fact of the matter is that the system worked to perfection this year. You can argue that the system for picking teams should be tweaked, but as long as they stick with a mathematic formula that is based on performance rather than opinion, the right teams will be getting into the tournament. The beauty of the system is that the more deserving team got in based on what they did on the ice this year. Not what they did the past two seasons, or what they did 40 years ago. That's the way it should be.
It's not fair to say that Denver would have done better than Omaha if they had made the tournament either. In a single-elimination tournament, anything can happen, and so much is based on how teams match up with each other. So it's not about who would do better against Boston University. It's about who deserves to be there more, and in this case, the answer was Nebraska-Omaha.
Miami had probably the most disappointing tournament of the CCHA teams. Some people thought they could go as far as winning their first NCAA championship this season, but those dreams never got off the ground. I didn't get a chance to see this game, but it sounded like things just weren't going to go their way. Again, I didn't get a chance to see Boston College's first goal, but the unanimous opinion was that the puck was clearly kicked in and shouldn't have counted. It's completely unaccpetable for a call of that magnitude to get blown in the NCAA tournament. The first goal of that game was going to be huge after the first period was scoreless, and for BC to score a tainted really hurt Miami's chances. After giving up a powerplay goal, Miami had another unlucky break when BC's Dan Bertram got a breakaway as he came out of the penalty to make it 3-0 and end the game for all intents and purposes. Two empty net goals made the score look a little worse than it really was.
Michigan's result was far from surprising, despite my boneheaded pick. They were a team that came limping into the postseason while North Dakota was playing their best hockey on the season. Michigan actually managed to play the Sioux pretty even. The differene was the goaltending though. Jordan Parise made big saves when he had to, and Michigan just didn't have a top-level goalie to match him. In a season of disappointing efforts, I actually thought Michigan played to their ability. They just ran into a tough match-up.
I thought the game was an extremely interesting contrast in recruiting styles though. North Dakota had more of the "quick fix" philosophy with a lot of super-talented freshmen, while Michigan had the more long-term approach of freshmen that will take a couple years to develop. Obviously North Dakota looked far superior. But I would love to see these two teams meet up in two or three seasons. Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie, and Travis Zajac, and probably a couple others will all be playing pro hockey and North Dakota will have to rebuild, while Michigan's four year players will just be hitting their stride. I think it would be a very different hockey game.
The final CCHA team was Michigan State. They did at least save some respectability for the CCHA by scoring early against New Hampshire and then hanging onto that lead like grim death. They weren't able to do that on Sunday as Maine jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Next year will be an important year for Michigan State. Drew Miller will be the last Ron Mason recruit left for Michigan State. Can Rick Comley's players pick up the slack once Booth, Fretter, and Potter leave? The Lerg cousins will be solid as always, but after that, I think there's some question marks.
So the CCHA is shut out of the Frozen Four for the fourth consecutive year. While that statistic is very disappointing from the league's perspective, I think that lack of success is cyclical and there's a lot of positive signs around the league that this downturn will soon be coming to an end, especially in places like Miami, Ohio State, and Nebraska-Omaha.
First off is the unnecessary bashing of Nebraska-Omaha. Coming into the tournament, everyone was saying that Denver and St. Cloud were more deserving of an NCAA tournament bid, and felt that the 9-2 loss to Boston University in the first round was just more evidence to prove that. But the question is, why weren't people saying the same thing about New Hampshire. New Hampshire lost by the exact same to Boston University last weekend, and like UNO, would not have made the tournament if the KRACH Ratings were used instead of the Pairwise Rankings. One game worth of evidence is not more powerful than an entire season's worth of evidence, no matter how much importance you place on that single game.
The fact of the matter is that the system worked to perfection this year. You can argue that the system for picking teams should be tweaked, but as long as they stick with a mathematic formula that is based on performance rather than opinion, the right teams will be getting into the tournament. The beauty of the system is that the more deserving team got in based on what they did on the ice this year. Not what they did the past two seasons, or what they did 40 years ago. That's the way it should be.
It's not fair to say that Denver would have done better than Omaha if they had made the tournament either. In a single-elimination tournament, anything can happen, and so much is based on how teams match up with each other. So it's not about who would do better against Boston University. It's about who deserves to be there more, and in this case, the answer was Nebraska-Omaha.
Miami had probably the most disappointing tournament of the CCHA teams. Some people thought they could go as far as winning their first NCAA championship this season, but those dreams never got off the ground. I didn't get a chance to see this game, but it sounded like things just weren't going to go their way. Again, I didn't get a chance to see Boston College's first goal, but the unanimous opinion was that the puck was clearly kicked in and shouldn't have counted. It's completely unaccpetable for a call of that magnitude to get blown in the NCAA tournament. The first goal of that game was going to be huge after the first period was scoreless, and for BC to score a tainted really hurt Miami's chances. After giving up a powerplay goal, Miami had another unlucky break when BC's Dan Bertram got a breakaway as he came out of the penalty to make it 3-0 and end the game for all intents and purposes. Two empty net goals made the score look a little worse than it really was.
Michigan's result was far from surprising, despite my boneheaded pick. They were a team that came limping into the postseason while North Dakota was playing their best hockey on the season. Michigan actually managed to play the Sioux pretty even. The differene was the goaltending though. Jordan Parise made big saves when he had to, and Michigan just didn't have a top-level goalie to match him. In a season of disappointing efforts, I actually thought Michigan played to their ability. They just ran into a tough match-up.
I thought the game was an extremely interesting contrast in recruiting styles though. North Dakota had more of the "quick fix" philosophy with a lot of super-talented freshmen, while Michigan had the more long-term approach of freshmen that will take a couple years to develop. Obviously North Dakota looked far superior. But I would love to see these two teams meet up in two or three seasons. Jonathan Toews and T.J. Oshie, and Travis Zajac, and probably a couple others will all be playing pro hockey and North Dakota will have to rebuild, while Michigan's four year players will just be hitting their stride. I think it would be a very different hockey game.
The final CCHA team was Michigan State. They did at least save some respectability for the CCHA by scoring early against New Hampshire and then hanging onto that lead like grim death. They weren't able to do that on Sunday as Maine jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Next year will be an important year for Michigan State. Drew Miller will be the last Ron Mason recruit left for Michigan State. Can Rick Comley's players pick up the slack once Booth, Fretter, and Potter leave? The Lerg cousins will be solid as always, but after that, I think there's some question marks.
So the CCHA is shut out of the Frozen Four for the fourth consecutive year. While that statistic is very disappointing from the league's perspective, I think that lack of success is cyclical and there's a lot of positive signs around the league that this downturn will soon be coming to an end, especially in places like Miami, Ohio State, and Nebraska-Omaha.
NCAA Pick'em Contest Update
I've emailed all the participants that entered the contenst last week, updating them on how they're doing. If anyone has a problem or discrepancy with their score or anything, just let me know.
A perfect bracket would have scored 26 points, although that's slightly skewed since nobody picked Holy Cross to beat Minnesota, which was worth four points. There are two leaders who each have 18 points. The average score was an even 10 points.
A perfect bracket would have scored 26 points, although that's slightly skewed since nobody picked Holy Cross to beat Minnesota, which was worth four points. There are two leaders who each have 18 points. The average score was an even 10 points.
Friday, March 24, 2006
#1 MSU vs. #4 New Hampshire
This should be short. I had a full preview of this game, but blogger ate it and I don't feel like writing it all again.
This is similar to the North Dakota/Michigan game. All signs point to a logical pick of Michigan State. But once again, I can't ignore past history. Michigan State hasn't scored in the NCAA in 196 minutes of game time. The last goal came in the 2001 tournament.
I'm gonna predict Michigan State's NCAA woes continue and New Hampshire's upperclassmen lead the Wildcats to a surprising victory.
This is similar to the North Dakota/Michigan game. All signs point to a logical pick of Michigan State. But once again, I can't ignore past history. Michigan State hasn't scored in the NCAA in 196 minutes of game time. The last goal came in the 2001 tournament.
I'm gonna predict Michigan State's NCAA woes continue and New Hampshire's upperclassmen lead the Wildcats to a surprising victory.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
NCAA Tourney Linkorama
First off, here's a link to the television clearances for this weekend's games.
Don't look now, but Jack Johnson seems like a decent guy, off the ice.
Holy Cross goalie Tony Quesada put together this awesome video that shows a lot of behind the scenes stuff on Holy Cross' season.
Don't look now, but Jack Johnson seems like a decent guy, off the ice.
Holy Cross goalie Tony Quesada put together this awesome video that shows a lot of behind the scenes stuff on Holy Cross' season.
Derrick LaPoint Commits to North Dakota
Derrick LaPoint, a defenseman from Eau Claire North High School in Wisconsin has committed to North Dakota. LaPoint received a lot of interest from most WCHA schools late this season, but ultimately, chose the Fighting Sioux, where his brother works as an equipment manager.
#2 Miami vs. #3 Boston College
Boston College is an extremely talented team, but also a very young team, that seemed to hit a wall late in the season. Boston College only won 4 of their last 11 games, which caused them to fall out of first place in Hockey East and lose the regular season title to Boston University. But with so many good players, Boston College is always going to be dangerous.
The Eagles are led by the best forward in the East in senior Chris Collins. The very tall Brian Boyle has also emerged as a scorer and is showing why he is a first round draft pick on the LA Kings. Boyle will likely sign with the Kings once the season is over. The Eagles also have the incredibly short sparkplug Nate Gerbe that is a constant pest to opponents.
Their defense is extremely talented as well, led by sophomore Mike Brennan and freshmen Brett Motherwell. Cory Schnieder is considered to be one of the best goalies in the United States for his age group.
After a one year absence from the tournament, Miami is back and looks ready to make a nice NCAA tournament run. They ran away with the CCHA regular season title and finished second in the CCHA tournament. The team's star is senior defenseman Andy Greene, who does just about everything for the RedHawks. The team also has an up and coming star in forward Nathan Davis.
One of the biggest reasons for Miami's success though has been the goaltending duo of Charlie Effinger and Jeff Zatkoff. Coach Enrico Blasi has split time between the two all year, and each could see a start this weekend. They could keep the RedHawks in the game if they get off to a slow start.
I really like Miami to win this game. Boston College has struggled down the stretch and struggled against quality opponents. Miami has played consistent, solid hockey all season and I expect this to be the first of many NCAA tournament runs for them.
The Eagles are led by the best forward in the East in senior Chris Collins. The very tall Brian Boyle has also emerged as a scorer and is showing why he is a first round draft pick on the LA Kings. Boyle will likely sign with the Kings once the season is over. The Eagles also have the incredibly short sparkplug Nate Gerbe that is a constant pest to opponents.
Their defense is extremely talented as well, led by sophomore Mike Brennan and freshmen Brett Motherwell. Cory Schnieder is considered to be one of the best goalies in the United States for his age group.
After a one year absence from the tournament, Miami is back and looks ready to make a nice NCAA tournament run. They ran away with the CCHA regular season title and finished second in the CCHA tournament. The team's star is senior defenseman Andy Greene, who does just about everything for the RedHawks. The team also has an up and coming star in forward Nathan Davis.
One of the biggest reasons for Miami's success though has been the goaltending duo of Charlie Effinger and Jeff Zatkoff. Coach Enrico Blasi has split time between the two all year, and each could see a start this weekend. They could keep the RedHawks in the game if they get off to a slow start.
I really like Miami to win this game. Boston College has struggled down the stretch and struggled against quality opponents. Miami has played consistent, solid hockey all season and I expect this to be the first of many NCAA tournament runs for them.
#1 Boston University vs. #4 Nebraska-Omaha
In my mind, this could be the most intriguing match-up of the first round. It's a battle of the old school vs. new school.
Boston University has seen a return to prominence this season. Like Michigan State, it's been a long time since they've scored a goal in the NCAA tournament. They last scored in a 6-4 win over Harvard in the first round of the 2003 NCAA tournament. Since then, they've been shutout twice and missed the tournament twice.
BU has looked like the BU of old this season though. They won the Hockey East regular season title thanks to a late season falter by Boston College, and then went on to win the Hockey East tournament. Also, after dropping the first meeting of the season, BU went on to defeat rival, and number 3 seed in the Northeast regional Boston College 4 straight times.
Boston U's senior class, which had been a disappointment up to this season, is playing their best hockey in their final season. Tiny Brad Zancanaro has developed into a scorer along with senior teammate John Laliberte. David Vander Gulik, who hasn't had quite the same success as his BCHL linemmates Gabe Gauthier and Jeff Tambellini, missed some time due to injury this season, but is back and playing very well. He has two hat tricks in his last four games.
In goal, Minnesota native John Curry has been reliable for the Terriers. He's 9th in the country with a 2.16 goals against average.
Nebraska-Omaha will be making their first trip to the NCAA tournament. The Mavericks first NCAA tournament bid almost eluded them after a late season swoon, however. Omaha climbed as high as tied for fourth in the Pairwise Rankings this season, but after failing to win a game against lowly Western Michigan, and being swept in the playoffs by Northern Michigan, UNO was firmly on the NCAA bubble. There were no major conference tournament upsets though and Omaha was able to sneak away with the last at-large bid.
That doesn't mean the Mavericks are just happy to be there. They'll bring a high-powered offense to Worcester that could cause problems for BU. They're led by the country's most dynamic scorer in Scott Parse, and his talented linemate Bill Thomas. Omaha's offense runs deeper than their dynamic duo, though. They also get solid offensive contributions from sophomore Bryan Marshall, freshmen Tomas Klempa, and junior Alex Nikiforuk. Offensive-minded defenseman Juha Uotila can also join the rush and be a dangerous scoring threat.
The success of the Mavericks should rest on how well they play defense. They lost talented defenseman Joe Grimaldi to the OHL in the second half of the season, but the team seemed to rally behind his loss and played better in his absence. They're still thin on the blueline though.
Goaltending was also a major question mark coming into this season after starting goalie Chris Holt left to join the New York Rangers organization. Freshmen Greg Barrett and Jerad Kaufmanm battled for the starting job, with Kaufmann winning out. Kaufmann's numbers are respectable, but I don't think Omaha can rely on him to steal a game for them in the tournament.
This is a tough game to predict. Omaha is a very tough match-up as a number four seed, but given the way they played down the stretch, I'm going to have to pick Boston University. This should be a very close game, but I see BU's depth and stronger goaltending helping BU win this one late.
Boston University has seen a return to prominence this season. Like Michigan State, it's been a long time since they've scored a goal in the NCAA tournament. They last scored in a 6-4 win over Harvard in the first round of the 2003 NCAA tournament. Since then, they've been shutout twice and missed the tournament twice.
BU has looked like the BU of old this season though. They won the Hockey East regular season title thanks to a late season falter by Boston College, and then went on to win the Hockey East tournament. Also, after dropping the first meeting of the season, BU went on to defeat rival, and number 3 seed in the Northeast regional Boston College 4 straight times.
Boston U's senior class, which had been a disappointment up to this season, is playing their best hockey in their final season. Tiny Brad Zancanaro has developed into a scorer along with senior teammate John Laliberte. David Vander Gulik, who hasn't had quite the same success as his BCHL linemmates Gabe Gauthier and Jeff Tambellini, missed some time due to injury this season, but is back and playing very well. He has two hat tricks in his last four games.
In goal, Minnesota native John Curry has been reliable for the Terriers. He's 9th in the country with a 2.16 goals against average.
Nebraska-Omaha will be making their first trip to the NCAA tournament. The Mavericks first NCAA tournament bid almost eluded them after a late season swoon, however. Omaha climbed as high as tied for fourth in the Pairwise Rankings this season, but after failing to win a game against lowly Western Michigan, and being swept in the playoffs by Northern Michigan, UNO was firmly on the NCAA bubble. There were no major conference tournament upsets though and Omaha was able to sneak away with the last at-large bid.
That doesn't mean the Mavericks are just happy to be there. They'll bring a high-powered offense to Worcester that could cause problems for BU. They're led by the country's most dynamic scorer in Scott Parse, and his talented linemate Bill Thomas. Omaha's offense runs deeper than their dynamic duo, though. They also get solid offensive contributions from sophomore Bryan Marshall, freshmen Tomas Klempa, and junior Alex Nikiforuk. Offensive-minded defenseman Juha Uotila can also join the rush and be a dangerous scoring threat.
The success of the Mavericks should rest on how well they play defense. They lost talented defenseman Joe Grimaldi to the OHL in the second half of the season, but the team seemed to rally behind his loss and played better in his absence. They're still thin on the blueline though.
Goaltending was also a major question mark coming into this season after starting goalie Chris Holt left to join the New York Rangers organization. Freshmen Greg Barrett and Jerad Kaufmanm battled for the starting job, with Kaufmann winning out. Kaufmann's numbers are respectable, but I don't think Omaha can rely on him to steal a game for them in the tournament.
This is a tough game to predict. Omaha is a very tough match-up as a number four seed, but given the way they played down the stretch, I'm going to have to pick Boston University. This should be a very close game, but I see BU's depth and stronger goaltending helping BU win this one late.
Another West Regional Preview + Ciskie's Picks
Much to the chagrin of many a Southern diehard football fan, MGoBlog had an excellent West regional preview. Always nice to see college hockey coverage over there.
Minnesota-Duluth play-by-play announcer Bruce Ciskie also shared his NCAA Tournament Picks.
Minnesota-Duluth play-by-play announcer Bruce Ciskie also shared his NCAA Tournament Picks.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
# 2 North Dakota vs. #3 Michigan
Let me be perfectly up front here. There is absolutely no logical reason to pick Michigan in this game.
North Dakota has too much going in their favor. They just won the WCHA Final Five. They're playing on their home ice. They should get leading scorer Drew Stafford back from a knee injury. Jordan Parise is stopping pucks like he did at the beginning of the season. The Sioux's large freshmen class in starting to mature and play great hockey.
Michigan seems to be at the other end of the spectrum right now. Their goaltending has been shaky at best. The team has looked lethargic and played disappointing hockey this the first couple months of the season, and they're heading into a hostile environment.
With all that said, I'm going out on a limb and taking Michigan. Yes, it's probably stupid, but when a team does something 15 years in a row, it's hard to bet against them. In fact, in school history, only one time has Michigan made the NCAA tournament and not won at least one game; that game being the 1994 de facto national championship game overtime heartbreaker against Lake Superior.
I don't think many people deny that Michigan has the talent to win this game. But they've failed to put that talent together this season. The one exception to that rule is the first line of Brandon Kaleniecki, Andrew Ebbett, and Chad Kolarik. That line has played extremely well for Michigan down the stretch, and should give Michigan at least a chance to win this game. The rest will be determined by how the supporting cast plays.
Jack Johnson and Matt Hunwick are the best defensive duo in the country when they are playing well, but were repeatedly victimized throughout the regular season due to defensive lapses. If they keep the Sioux forwards in front of them, they could provided enough protection for senior goalie Noah Ruden to be successful.
Junior forward T.J. Hensick is another question mark going into this game. He has undeniable talent, but has looked pretty lifeless for large stretches this season. Michigan will need him to make Michigan's second line a viable scoring threat to win the game.
For North Dakota, this game will largely be decided by the play of their freshmen. Freshmen T.J. Oshie has emerged has a great player. Another freshmen Jonathan Toews is still young and developing, but can make things happen when he's on the ice. The freshmen defenseman for the Sioux are just as good. Joining junior Matt Smaby on the point are freshmen Brian Lee, Taylor Chorney, Joe Finley, and Zach Jones. Jones especially has emerged as a solid defender.
All season long, the general consensus about Michigan was that if they could ever get things going on the right track, they could be a very good team. Will they be able to pull things together in time for the NCAA tournament? Probably not, but it's always hard to pick against Michigan in March and April.
North Dakota has too much going in their favor. They just won the WCHA Final Five. They're playing on their home ice. They should get leading scorer Drew Stafford back from a knee injury. Jordan Parise is stopping pucks like he did at the beginning of the season. The Sioux's large freshmen class in starting to mature and play great hockey.
Michigan seems to be at the other end of the spectrum right now. Their goaltending has been shaky at best. The team has looked lethargic and played disappointing hockey this the first couple months of the season, and they're heading into a hostile environment.
With all that said, I'm going out on a limb and taking Michigan. Yes, it's probably stupid, but when a team does something 15 years in a row, it's hard to bet against them. In fact, in school history, only one time has Michigan made the NCAA tournament and not won at least one game; that game being the 1994 de facto national championship game overtime heartbreaker against Lake Superior.
I don't think many people deny that Michigan has the talent to win this game. But they've failed to put that talent together this season. The one exception to that rule is the first line of Brandon Kaleniecki, Andrew Ebbett, and Chad Kolarik. That line has played extremely well for Michigan down the stretch, and should give Michigan at least a chance to win this game. The rest will be determined by how the supporting cast plays.
Jack Johnson and Matt Hunwick are the best defensive duo in the country when they are playing well, but were repeatedly victimized throughout the regular season due to defensive lapses. If they keep the Sioux forwards in front of them, they could provided enough protection for senior goalie Noah Ruden to be successful.
Junior forward T.J. Hensick is another question mark going into this game. He has undeniable talent, but has looked pretty lifeless for large stretches this season. Michigan will need him to make Michigan's second line a viable scoring threat to win the game.
For North Dakota, this game will largely be decided by the play of their freshmen. Freshmen T.J. Oshie has emerged has a great player. Another freshmen Jonathan Toews is still young and developing, but can make things happen when he's on the ice. The freshmen defenseman for the Sioux are just as good. Joining junior Matt Smaby on the point are freshmen Brian Lee, Taylor Chorney, Joe Finley, and Zach Jones. Jones especially has emerged as a solid defender.
All season long, the general consensus about Michigan was that if they could ever get things going on the right track, they could be a very good team. Will they be able to pull things together in time for the NCAA tournament? Probably not, but it's always hard to pick against Michigan in March and April.
#1 Minnesota vs. #4 Holy Cross
Nobody is expecting this to be much of a game, but the Crusaders of Holy Cross are a veteran team that could surprise some people.
The Crusaders are led by two seniors in Tyler McGregor and Pierre Napert-Frenette. McGregor's 50 points tied him for 11th in the country in scoring. In goal, the Crusaders have senior Tony Quesada who made a name for himself two years ago in the NCAA tournament by throwing up in the crease during his team's first round game against North Dakota.
Holy Cross' schedule this season was incredibly weak, as you'd expect from an Atlantic Hockey school, and was made even weaker thanks to disappointing seasons from non-conference opponents Ohio State, Massachusetts, and RPI. The Crusaders did knock off ECAC champ Dartmouth at Dartmouth in January, but that's about it in terms of quality wins.
For Minnesota, the biggest question is will they show up for this game. When the Gophers are motivated, they are better than almost any team in the country. But when they lack that motivation, they look like an average hockey team. There's no question that Minnesota has the fire power to blow Holy Cross out of the building, but if they're too focuses on their second round opponent, Holy Cross could make a game out of this.
I see this game as going one of two ways. Either the Gophers get a couple powerplays early and score to jump on top of Holy Cross and cruise to a blowout victory, or Holy Cross keeps the game tight throughout and the Gophers win it late in the game. Either way I think the Gophers advance. The first goal of the game will be critical in every game this weekend, but it will be especially so in this game. If Minnesota gets a lead, I don't see Holy Cross catching up, but if Holy Cross finds a way to get the first tally, it could be an interesting hockey game.
The Crusaders are led by two seniors in Tyler McGregor and Pierre Napert-Frenette. McGregor's 50 points tied him for 11th in the country in scoring. In goal, the Crusaders have senior Tony Quesada who made a name for himself two years ago in the NCAA tournament by throwing up in the crease during his team's first round game against North Dakota.
Holy Cross' schedule this season was incredibly weak, as you'd expect from an Atlantic Hockey school, and was made even weaker thanks to disappointing seasons from non-conference opponents Ohio State, Massachusetts, and RPI. The Crusaders did knock off ECAC champ Dartmouth at Dartmouth in January, but that's about it in terms of quality wins.
For Minnesota, the biggest question is will they show up for this game. When the Gophers are motivated, they are better than almost any team in the country. But when they lack that motivation, they look like an average hockey team. There's no question that Minnesota has the fire power to blow Holy Cross out of the building, but if they're too focuses on their second round opponent, Holy Cross could make a game out of this.
I see this game as going one of two ways. Either the Gophers get a couple powerplays early and score to jump on top of Holy Cross and cruise to a blowout victory, or Holy Cross keeps the game tight throughout and the Gophers win it late in the game. Either way I think the Gophers advance. The first goal of the game will be critical in every game this weekend, but it will be especially so in this game. If Minnesota gets a lead, I don't see Holy Cross catching up, but if Holy Cross finds a way to get the first tally, it could be an interesting hockey game.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Linkorama
This is definitely the busiest time of the year for college hockey and there's a lot of interesting stuff out there.
Clarkson Hockey Fans had an excellent post about the ridiculous cost of attending NCAA regionals. There's really no reason for tickets to be that expensive. Not only does it hurt the growth of the game, but what's the purpose of having collegiate sports if you're going to price most college students out of attending these events?
I'm feeling foolish for not having linke Runnin' with the Dogs earlier in the season. There's some good stuff over there. First off, there's a creative
Final Five recap. Followed by the, I can't believe I'm actually going to link to this, All-WCHA-Hottie team, if you're into that sort of thing. While I can neither confirm nor deny any of the picks, I will endorse the selections just because it's one of the few times you'll see three Minnesota State Mavericks get named to an all-whatever team. Finally, there was a post about the Hobey Baker Finalists. Kind of boring, but the headline made me laugh.
If you're looking for NCAA tournament coverage, you read about the games this weekend from the perspective of Colorado College, Wisconsin, and Michigan
Goon's World even previews the imminent North Dakota/Minnesota match-up. Normally the gods would punish this sort of foolishness, but he's probably right.
Clarkson Hockey Fans had an excellent post about the ridiculous cost of attending NCAA regionals. There's really no reason for tickets to be that expensive. Not only does it hurt the growth of the game, but what's the purpose of having collegiate sports if you're going to price most college students out of attending these events?
I'm feeling foolish for not having linke Runnin' with the Dogs earlier in the season. There's some good stuff over there. First off, there's a creative
Final Five recap. Followed by the, I can't believe I'm actually going to link to this, All-WCHA-Hottie team, if you're into that sort of thing. While I can neither confirm nor deny any of the picks, I will endorse the selections just because it's one of the few times you'll see three Minnesota State Mavericks get named to an all-whatever team. Finally, there was a post about the Hobey Baker Finalists. Kind of boring, but the headline made me laugh.
If you're looking for NCAA tournament coverage, you read about the games this weekend from the perspective of Colorado College, Wisconsin, and Michigan
Goon's World even previews the imminent North Dakota/Minnesota match-up. Normally the gods would punish this sort of foolishness, but he's probably right.
Tourney Stats
I took at look at each team's records against other teams that made it into the tournament. The results weren't all that different from what you would expect, with a few exceptions.
Wisconsin: 10-3-1
Boston University: 10-4-1
Minnesota: 8-4-1
Harvard: 5-3-1
Michigan State: 8-6-4
Nebraska-Omaha: 6-5-1
North Dakota: 9-8-1
Miami: 4-4
Colorado College: 5-6-1
Maine: 5-6
New Hampshire: 5-7-2
Cornell: 2-3
Michigan: 3-9-4
Boston College: 3-10-1
Holy Cross: 0-1
Bemidji State: 0-2
Wisconsin: 10-3-1
Boston University: 10-4-1
Minnesota: 8-4-1
Harvard: 5-3-1
Michigan State: 8-6-4
Nebraska-Omaha: 6-5-1
North Dakota: 9-8-1
Miami: 4-4
Colorado College: 5-6-1
Maine: 5-6
New Hampshire: 5-7-2
Cornell: 2-3
Michigan: 3-9-4
Boston College: 3-10-1
Holy Cross: 0-1
Bemidji State: 0-2
Monday, March 20, 2006
NCAA Tournament Pick'em Contest
I'm in a particularly jovial mood this week, and feel like my Excel skills could use some work, so I've decided to have my own NCAA Tournament Pick'em Contest.
The rules are pretty simple. One entry per person. All entries must be emailed to me at westerncollegehockey@gmail.com before the first game starts.
The scoring a little different than most tournament pick'em contests. Instead of getting a set amount of points for each correct pick per round, for each correct pick, you get the number of points of the seed of your team. For example, if you pick Minnesota to beat Holy Cross and they do, you get one point because Minnesota is the first seed. If you pick Holy Cross to win and they do, you get four points because Holy Cross is the fourth seed.
Here's a link to the bracket: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/reports/confinfo.php?c=7&d=bracket
Please note that the winner of the Midwest bracket meets the winner of the East bracket in the semifinals and the West bracket winner meets the Northeast bracket winner.
Hopefully we get a few entrants in this. The winner will be showered with eternal fame and glory. Best of luck.
The rules are pretty simple. One entry per person. All entries must be emailed to me at westerncollegehockey@gmail.com before the first game starts.
The scoring a little different than most tournament pick'em contests. Instead of getting a set amount of points for each correct pick per round, for each correct pick, you get the number of points of the seed of your team. For example, if you pick Minnesota to beat Holy Cross and they do, you get one point because Minnesota is the first seed. If you pick Holy Cross to win and they do, you get four points because Holy Cross is the fourth seed.
Here's a link to the bracket: http://www.collegehockeynews.com/reports/confinfo.php?c=7&d=bracket
Please note that the winner of the Midwest bracket meets the winner of the East bracket in the semifinals and the West bracket winner meets the Northeast bracket winner.
Hopefully we get a few entrants in this. The winner will be showered with eternal fame and glory. Best of luck.
#2 Cornell vs. #3 Colorado College
The second match-up in the Green Bay is an interesting contrast of styles. The offensive firepower of Colorado College will take on the stout defense of Cornell.
As different as these two teams are, both are also somewhat similiar. Both teams had players who were incredible last season as juniors, but fell somewhat short of expectations this season. Colorado College returned Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich, while Cornell brought back Hobey Baker finalist David McKee. Sertich was still impressive this year, netting 48 points, but he wasn't the same dominating force he was last season. Dave McKee was much less impressive in the pipes for Cornell though. McKee's save percentage dropped from .947 to .904 while his goals against average went from 1.24 to 2.16.
Despite McKee's struggles, Cornell still had a very good season, finishing with a 21-8-4 record. They finished 2-3 against NCAA tournament teams, which includes a split with Michigan State, and a 1-2 record against conference foe Harvard.
Cornell's leading scorer is the dangerous Matt Moulson. After that, the scoring for the Big Red is fairly balanced throughout the other lines. They may not score a lot of goals, but they always have a player who is a threat to score out on the ice.
For Colorado College, the scoring is much more top-heavy. Coach Scott Owens has gone back and forth between putting leading scorers Brett Sterling and Marty Sertich on the same line all season. I think they should play on the same line. Sterling seems to be a little more effective when he has Sertich setting him up.
The big issue for Colorado College is if anyone will step up behind those two. Brian Salcido might be one of the best offensive defenseman in the country, but it's tough to count on a defenseman for points. Losing Aaron Slattengren really hurt the Tigers depth.
Colorado College will be fresh coming into this game since they didn't make it to the Final Five after they were upset by St. Cloud. That series may have been a harbinger for the game against Cornell. The Tigers struggled against a tough defensive team in St. Cloud and I think Cornell will give them the same sort of trouble. It's been a season of ups and downs for the Tigers, and I think it ends with a down, as they lose to Cornell by a score of 3-2.
As different as these two teams are, both are also somewhat similiar. Both teams had players who were incredible last season as juniors, but fell somewhat short of expectations this season. Colorado College returned Hobey Baker winner Marty Sertich, while Cornell brought back Hobey Baker finalist David McKee. Sertich was still impressive this year, netting 48 points, but he wasn't the same dominating force he was last season. Dave McKee was much less impressive in the pipes for Cornell though. McKee's save percentage dropped from .947 to .904 while his goals against average went from 1.24 to 2.16.
Despite McKee's struggles, Cornell still had a very good season, finishing with a 21-8-4 record. They finished 2-3 against NCAA tournament teams, which includes a split with Michigan State, and a 1-2 record against conference foe Harvard.
Cornell's leading scorer is the dangerous Matt Moulson. After that, the scoring for the Big Red is fairly balanced throughout the other lines. They may not score a lot of goals, but they always have a player who is a threat to score out on the ice.
For Colorado College, the scoring is much more top-heavy. Coach Scott Owens has gone back and forth between putting leading scorers Brett Sterling and Marty Sertich on the same line all season. I think they should play on the same line. Sterling seems to be a little more effective when he has Sertich setting him up.
The big issue for Colorado College is if anyone will step up behind those two. Brian Salcido might be one of the best offensive defenseman in the country, but it's tough to count on a defenseman for points. Losing Aaron Slattengren really hurt the Tigers depth.
Colorado College will be fresh coming into this game since they didn't make it to the Final Five after they were upset by St. Cloud. That series may have been a harbinger for the game against Cornell. The Tigers struggled against a tough defensive team in St. Cloud and I think Cornell will give them the same sort of trouble. It's been a season of ups and downs for the Tigers, and I think it ends with a down, as they lose to Cornell by a score of 3-2.
#1 Wisconsin vs. #4 Bemidji State
I'm going to try to preview all of the first round NCAA tournament games, or possibly just all the ones involving western teams(screw you, Maine/Harvard). We'll start with the first game in the Green Bay regional between Wisconsin and Bemidji State.
Towards the beginning of the season, I said that Bemidji State was probably the most likely small conference school to knock off a number one seed. Last year they took eventual national champion Denver to overtime in the first round. They started out this season on a tear by sweeping two WCHA teams in Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State.
They finished the season with a respectable 20-13-3 record, but were slightly less than .500 away from home, and in what is likely a more telling stat, 0-2 against tournament teams when they got swept by North Dakota in a home and home series.
Junior Layne Sedevie should get the start in goal for the Beavers. He's put up a respectable 2.37 GAA and 9.19 SV%
The Beavers top line features two juniors who lead the team in scoring, Luke Erickson(16-19-35) and Ryan Miller (17-12-29), and senior Ryan Huddy(8-20-28) who is the playmaker on the line. Huddy is the son of former NHLer Charlie Huddy.
The Wisconsin Badgers season has been all about Brian Elliott. Wisconsin was the most dominant team in college hockey before Elliott went down with a knee injury in the second half of the season. The Badgers struggled with freshmen Shane Connelly forced into service, and for a while, Elliott was shaky when he returned after his injury. But once he regained form, Elliott shut down St. Cloud State, and then Michigan Tech in the playoffs, and despite a loss to North Dakota in the Final Five, Wisconsin looks to be back where they were.
Wisconsin doesn't score a lot of goals, but they've got some dangerous scorers on their top line. Joe Pavelski quietly finished tied for 11th in the country in scoring with 50 points, while linemate Robbie Earl is one of the most dangerous scorers in the country.
The real key for the Badgers though will be the play of their defense. If they can keep Bemidji's forwards on the perimeter and block a lot of shots, it will be very difficult for the Beavers to generate any offense.
The Badgers were considered most likely to flame out in the NCAA tournament, and Bemidji has Cinderella written all over them, but I don't think I can pick them to knock off Wisconsin. I think Wisconsin has recovered from their stumble down the stretch that cost them the WCHA regular season title. I think this game will be very close, but Wisconsin should prevail in a low scoring battle. I'll take Wisconsin by a score of 3-1
Towards the beginning of the season, I said that Bemidji State was probably the most likely small conference school to knock off a number one seed. Last year they took eventual national champion Denver to overtime in the first round. They started out this season on a tear by sweeping two WCHA teams in Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota State.
They finished the season with a respectable 20-13-3 record, but were slightly less than .500 away from home, and in what is likely a more telling stat, 0-2 against tournament teams when they got swept by North Dakota in a home and home series.
Junior Layne Sedevie should get the start in goal for the Beavers. He's put up a respectable 2.37 GAA and 9.19 SV%
The Beavers top line features two juniors who lead the team in scoring, Luke Erickson(16-19-35) and Ryan Miller (17-12-29), and senior Ryan Huddy(8-20-28) who is the playmaker on the line. Huddy is the son of former NHLer Charlie Huddy.
The Wisconsin Badgers season has been all about Brian Elliott. Wisconsin was the most dominant team in college hockey before Elliott went down with a knee injury in the second half of the season. The Badgers struggled with freshmen Shane Connelly forced into service, and for a while, Elliott was shaky when he returned after his injury. But once he regained form, Elliott shut down St. Cloud State, and then Michigan Tech in the playoffs, and despite a loss to North Dakota in the Final Five, Wisconsin looks to be back where they were.
Wisconsin doesn't score a lot of goals, but they've got some dangerous scorers on their top line. Joe Pavelski quietly finished tied for 11th in the country in scoring with 50 points, while linemate Robbie Earl is one of the most dangerous scorers in the country.
The real key for the Badgers though will be the play of their defense. If they can keep Bemidji's forwards on the perimeter and block a lot of shots, it will be very difficult for the Beavers to generate any offense.
The Badgers were considered most likely to flame out in the NCAA tournament, and Bemidji has Cinderella written all over them, but I don't think I can pick them to knock off Wisconsin. I think Wisconsin has recovered from their stumble down the stretch that cost them the WCHA regular season title. I think this game will be very close, but Wisconsin should prevail in a low scoring battle. I'll take Wisconsin by a score of 3-1
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Mankato Players in Trouble
There was a lot of speculation about why some players for Minnesota State Mankato were conspicuously missing from the team's final two weekend series. The rumors about what they did to earn those suspensions ranged from not that serious to allegations of felonies being committed.
The Mankato Free Press finally released all the names of the players involved and what exactly they were accused of doing.
As far as the players involved, Brock Becker and Christian Toll's careers at Mankato are done either way since they were seniors. Shane McCormick probably wasn't going to playing regarless. Brian Kilburg didn't miss any time, so I'm guessing he wasn't as involved as the others. Blake Friesen was also practicing with the team, so he probably wasn't as involved. That just leaves Austin Sutter's future with the team up in the air.
There are pretty strong rumors going around Mankato that after investigation, the police aren't going to press any charges, so perhaps the accusation is worse than the truth. If that's the case, the five game suspension is suitable for the dabbling in illicit substances and things can return to normal next season. It should be interesting to see how the rest of the story plays out.
The Mankato Free Press finally released all the names of the players involved and what exactly they were accused of doing.
As far as the players involved, Brock Becker and Christian Toll's careers at Mankato are done either way since they were seniors. Shane McCormick probably wasn't going to playing regarless. Brian Kilburg didn't miss any time, so I'm guessing he wasn't as involved as the others. Blake Friesen was also practicing with the team, so he probably wasn't as involved. That just leaves Austin Sutter's future with the team up in the air.
There are pretty strong rumors going around Mankato that after investigation, the police aren't going to press any charges, so perhaps the accusation is worse than the truth. If that's the case, the five game suspension is suitable for the dabbling in illicit substances and things can return to normal next season. It should be interesting to see how the rest of the story plays out.
Matt Carle leaves for the Pros
The most recent player to leave college for the pros is Denver's Matt Carle. With Denver being one of the last team's out for the NCAA, Carle was free to sign with the San Jose Sharks.
Carle, who is a Hobey Baker finalist, had pretty much proved everything he needed to at the college level. He was one of the most dominant players in all of college hockey this season. He may actually have the potential to start playing with the Sharks in the NHL right away next season.
Carle, who is a Hobey Baker finalist, had pretty much proved everything he needed to at the college level. He was one of the most dominant players in all of college hockey this season. He may actually have the potential to start playing with the Sharks in the NHL right away next season.
Conference Tourneys
I've got a lot of catching up to do. We'll start with the conference tourneys from this past weekend.
I was one of the few people in attendance at the Joe last Friday to see the CCHA semifinals.
The first game between Miami and Northern Michigan was a very good one. The Wildcats came out flying and looked hot, but Charlie Effinger really made the difference for Miami. Northern jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. In the second, Wildcat defenseman Nathan Oystick got a point blank chance and Effinger made a beautiful save to keep it 2-0. One shift later, Miami goes down and scores a goal. Effinger made another beautiful save on a 2 on 1 to keep the score 2-1. If he lets either of those in, Northern is probably able to steal the win.
On a side note, Northern's powerplay was absolutely brutal against the Red Hawks. Miami lined up four guys along the blueline and Northern refused to dump the puck into the zone. As a result, the Wildcats couldn't get the puck into the Miami zone. It was painful to watch.
The second game was just as ugly. Michigan scored the first goal of the game, and then it was pretty much all Michigan State the rest of the way. The Spartans controlled the neutral zone and kept Michigan from being able to generate any offense. Michigan looked sluggish most of the game. Despite that, they still had chances to tie late in the third period when Matt Hunwick blasted a shot off the post.
This is discussion for the offseason, but any talk about Andrew Cogliano going pro is ridiculous. What does he have to offer to an NHL team or AHL team for that matter other than the ability to skate really fast? I've now seen him play 5 times, and he's looked less than impressive in 4 of those games. He'd really benefit from some extra time in college.
Michigan outplayed Northern pretty badly in the consolation game, but Bill Zaniboni stood on his head and gave Northern a chance to win. Michigan prevailed 3-2 though.
Michigan State won a tough defensive battle against Miami in the final. Jeff Lerg is playing great in goal. Michigan State is playing great into the tournament.
In St. Paul, St. Cloud won the play-in game pretty easily after they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, despite being outshot and outplayed by Duluth.
North Dakota came from behind to win the first semifinal match-up. They were really able to use their speed against Wisconsin. I think North Dakota is playing just as well as anyone right now.
The St. Cloud/Minnesota semifinal was the game of the weekend. I had made fun of St. Cloud's inability to score goals this season, but apparently they were just saving all those goals for a special occasion. That was a gutty performance by St. Cloud to give up those late goals and still be able to come back and win in overtime. The Gophers showed that goaltending could be a huge concern in the NCAA tournament. That's probably the only thing that could hold them back from winning the NCAA tournament.
The Saturday results weren't surprising. The Gophers, who were tired from the night before, came out flat in the third place game and lost to the Badgers, while St. Cloud, who was playing their 6th game in 9 days, didn't have the energy to overcome North Dakota.
I was one of the few people in attendance at the Joe last Friday to see the CCHA semifinals.
The first game between Miami and Northern Michigan was a very good one. The Wildcats came out flying and looked hot, but Charlie Effinger really made the difference for Miami. Northern jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first period. In the second, Wildcat defenseman Nathan Oystick got a point blank chance and Effinger made a beautiful save to keep it 2-0. One shift later, Miami goes down and scores a goal. Effinger made another beautiful save on a 2 on 1 to keep the score 2-1. If he lets either of those in, Northern is probably able to steal the win.
On a side note, Northern's powerplay was absolutely brutal against the Red Hawks. Miami lined up four guys along the blueline and Northern refused to dump the puck into the zone. As a result, the Wildcats couldn't get the puck into the Miami zone. It was painful to watch.
The second game was just as ugly. Michigan scored the first goal of the game, and then it was pretty much all Michigan State the rest of the way. The Spartans controlled the neutral zone and kept Michigan from being able to generate any offense. Michigan looked sluggish most of the game. Despite that, they still had chances to tie late in the third period when Matt Hunwick blasted a shot off the post.
This is discussion for the offseason, but any talk about Andrew Cogliano going pro is ridiculous. What does he have to offer to an NHL team or AHL team for that matter other than the ability to skate really fast? I've now seen him play 5 times, and he's looked less than impressive in 4 of those games. He'd really benefit from some extra time in college.
Michigan outplayed Northern pretty badly in the consolation game, but Bill Zaniboni stood on his head and gave Northern a chance to win. Michigan prevailed 3-2 though.
Michigan State won a tough defensive battle against Miami in the final. Jeff Lerg is playing great in goal. Michigan State is playing great into the tournament.
In St. Paul, St. Cloud won the play-in game pretty easily after they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, despite being outshot and outplayed by Duluth.
North Dakota came from behind to win the first semifinal match-up. They were really able to use their speed against Wisconsin. I think North Dakota is playing just as well as anyone right now.
The St. Cloud/Minnesota semifinal was the game of the weekend. I had made fun of St. Cloud's inability to score goals this season, but apparently they were just saving all those goals for a special occasion. That was a gutty performance by St. Cloud to give up those late goals and still be able to come back and win in overtime. The Gophers showed that goaltending could be a huge concern in the NCAA tournament. That's probably the only thing that could hold them back from winning the NCAA tournament.
The Saturday results weren't surprising. The Gophers, who were tired from the night before, came out flat in the third place game and lost to the Badgers, while St. Cloud, who was playing their 6th game in 9 days, didn't have the energy to overcome North Dakota.
Friday, March 17, 2006
2008 Recruiting Board Updated
I added 14 new names to the 2008 Recruiting Board in case anyone is interested in checking that out.
Nick Larson Commits to Minnesota
The Gopher Blog is reporting that Nick Larson, a forward at Hill-Murray High School has committed to Minnesota.
It had been pretty strongly rumored that Larson would commit after the high school season was over. Larson will either be in the 2007 class or 2008 class depending on who leaves early for Minnesota. Not only is Larson a talented player, but having that sort of flexibility is incredibly important with so many players leaving college early for the pros.
It had been pretty strongly rumored that Larson would commit after the high school season was over. Larson will either be in the 2007 class or 2008 class depending on who leaves early for Minnesota. Not only is Larson a talented player, but having that sort of flexibility is incredibly important with so many players leaving college early for the pros.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
News of the Day
David Backes, who just completed his junior season at Minnesota State Mankato, has signed a deal with the St. Louis Blues. Backes reportedly did not sign for the rookie maximum, but got pretty close to it. He'll start out immediately with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Best of luck to a very classy player in his future endeavors.
Alex Kangas committed to the Gophers for the 2007 season. It's a big signing for the Gophers, who got a suitable replacement for Kellen Briggs, but also pretty much what was expected. Once Kangas decided to play another year of juniors, he was pretty much destined to be a Gopher.
Alex Kangas committed to the Gophers for the 2007 season. It's a big signing for the Gophers, who got a suitable replacement for Kellen Briggs, but also pretty much what was expected. Once Kangas decided to play another year of juniors, he was pretty much destined to be a Gopher.
NTDP Tryouts
Chris Heisenberg did an excellent job piecing together some names that will attend the NTDP tryout in Ann Arbor this weekend.
In addition to those names, there were a couple good players left off the list. Three of the biggest surprises were Austin Handley, who had committed to Michigan State, Kevin Bodker, who spent a little time in the USHL this season, and Brett Kostolansky of Shattuck-St. Mary's.
There's a couple names off that list that I think you can pencil in for next year. I've seen reports of Brock Montpetit, David Wohlberg, and Justin Florek already agreeing to play with the team next year.
After that, I think the following forwards have a pretty good chance of making it: Robbie Czarnik, A.J. Jenks, Sean Logue, Mike Cichy, Kevin McCarey, Ben Hanowski, Jordan Schroeder, Vinny Saponari, and Max Cook. That's 9 forwards, with 6 of them from the West.
On defense, I think Joey Marciano, Steve West, and Ian Ruel all look like pretty safe bets.
In goal, I think Mike Clemente will make it. I'm not sure who the other goalie will be.
It's also been rumored that there will be a lot players who played junior hockey in Canada, but have dual-citizenship, like Michigan forward Jason Bailey, or U17 player Colin Wilson. It will be interesting to see the reaction if a lot of kids that grew up over the border start taking up a bunch of NTDP spots.
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid group for the NTDP program. This years class is heavily tilted towards the Midwest. I also think there's a few more high end talents in this class than there have been in the previous two classes.
In addition to those names, there were a couple good players left off the list. Three of the biggest surprises were Austin Handley, who had committed to Michigan State, Kevin Bodker, who spent a little time in the USHL this season, and Brett Kostolansky of Shattuck-St. Mary's.
There's a couple names off that list that I think you can pencil in for next year. I've seen reports of Brock Montpetit, David Wohlberg, and Justin Florek already agreeing to play with the team next year.
After that, I think the following forwards have a pretty good chance of making it: Robbie Czarnik, A.J. Jenks, Sean Logue, Mike Cichy, Kevin McCarey, Ben Hanowski, Jordan Schroeder, Vinny Saponari, and Max Cook. That's 9 forwards, with 6 of them from the West.
On defense, I think Joey Marciano, Steve West, and Ian Ruel all look like pretty safe bets.
In goal, I think Mike Clemente will make it. I'm not sure who the other goalie will be.
It's also been rumored that there will be a lot players who played junior hockey in Canada, but have dual-citizenship, like Michigan forward Jason Bailey, or U17 player Colin Wilson. It will be interesting to see the reaction if a lot of kids that grew up over the border start taking up a bunch of NTDP spots.
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid group for the NTDP program. This years class is heavily tilted towards the Midwest. I also think there's a few more high end talents in this class than there have been in the previous two classes.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
What's the Deal with Michigan?
This season hasn't exactly been business as usual for the Michigan Wolverines. For the first time in over a decade, they failed to finish either first or second in the CCHA. Before last weekend, they hadn't won a series since mid-December. I got the chance to watch Michigan play against Ferris State last weekend, and here were my thoughts.
First and foremost, anyone who thinks this season's result is a sign of doom and gloom to come, I think they're crazy. I loved the direction that Red has his team heading in.
Michigan's biggest problem right now seems to be that they're young. They've got a lot of freshmen players like Jason Bailey, Tim Miller, Travis Turnbull, and Danny Fardig who are going to tough, very good four year hockey players at Michigan, and should be very difficult to deal with when they're juniors and seniors. The problem is that they're just not there yet physically and mentally. Even Tyler Swystun, who was originally recruited as a scorer, showed the potential to be a tough two-way player.
Travis Turnbull continued to impress me. He works hard and creates scoring opportunities, which is all you can ask for from a forward.
I finally understood the Andrew Cogliano hype. He had looked fairly pedestrian in the previous games I had seen him play, but he was a dominant force on Saturday night. I don't think another year of college hockey would hurt him, but I also think he could just as easily turn pro over the summer.
Jack Johnson played a much more controlled game than he has lately. He didn't make any jaw-dropping hits, but he also didn't get caught out of position. On a weekend when the elbows were coming up on both sides, JJ was fairly quiet. This summer should be quite an interesting saga. Jack and his family have been so adamant about him staying that it's tough not to believe, however unlikely it may be.
Goaltending looked like less of a question mark with the way Noah Ruden played last weekend. Billy Sauer will still be very good some day, but I think the team is a little more confident having a senior playing behind them than having a young freshmen. I think Ruden is a little more mentally ready for playoff hockey than Sauer is right now.
The biggest concern Michigan has had all season is getting the puck out of their zone, especially late in games. From what I could tell, the biggest problem Michigan had was that they got too fancy at times. When they got control of the puck in their own end, they were always looking to make a pass through the center of the ice to give a teammate an opportunity at a rush up the ice. That strategy works well when teams back off and just try to defend. But when teams are more aggressive with their forecheck, they start clogging up those passing lanes and creating turnovers, which turn into goals. That could correct this by just keeping things simple and doing whatever it takes to get the puck out of the zone, and worry about offense later. Instead of making a pass through the center of the ice, they could just chip it off the boards out to center and then go attack the other team and force them to try and set things up all over again. Sometimes I think it's better to trade possession for position.
In a perfect world, I'd say this team will be ready for a national title run in two or three years when the current crop of freshmen has completely matured and they bring in some young, talented scorers to play around them. But with college hockey, you can never play for the future, because it's too easy for a great team to lose, and not that unlikely that an average could win it all.
Perhaps I just happened to catch Michigan on the right weekend. Now that they've established themselves as a high three seed or low two seed in the tournament, I could see extending their NCAA quarterfinal streak, though some match-ups, like playing North Dakota at the Ralph would be pretty difficult. After that, I think it depends on who they get placed in a regional with. I can't see them beating Minnesota right now, just because I don't think their defense could stand up to that kind of pressure over the course of a game. I don't think they match up well with Wisconsin either. You never know with playoff hockey in a single elimination tournament. Anything could happen.
First and foremost, anyone who thinks this season's result is a sign of doom and gloom to come, I think they're crazy. I loved the direction that Red has his team heading in.
Michigan's biggest problem right now seems to be that they're young. They've got a lot of freshmen players like Jason Bailey, Tim Miller, Travis Turnbull, and Danny Fardig who are going to tough, very good four year hockey players at Michigan, and should be very difficult to deal with when they're juniors and seniors. The problem is that they're just not there yet physically and mentally. Even Tyler Swystun, who was originally recruited as a scorer, showed the potential to be a tough two-way player.
Travis Turnbull continued to impress me. He works hard and creates scoring opportunities, which is all you can ask for from a forward.
I finally understood the Andrew Cogliano hype. He had looked fairly pedestrian in the previous games I had seen him play, but he was a dominant force on Saturday night. I don't think another year of college hockey would hurt him, but I also think he could just as easily turn pro over the summer.
Jack Johnson played a much more controlled game than he has lately. He didn't make any jaw-dropping hits, but he also didn't get caught out of position. On a weekend when the elbows were coming up on both sides, JJ was fairly quiet. This summer should be quite an interesting saga. Jack and his family have been so adamant about him staying that it's tough not to believe, however unlikely it may be.
Goaltending looked like less of a question mark with the way Noah Ruden played last weekend. Billy Sauer will still be very good some day, but I think the team is a little more confident having a senior playing behind them than having a young freshmen. I think Ruden is a little more mentally ready for playoff hockey than Sauer is right now.
The biggest concern Michigan has had all season is getting the puck out of their zone, especially late in games. From what I could tell, the biggest problem Michigan had was that they got too fancy at times. When they got control of the puck in their own end, they were always looking to make a pass through the center of the ice to give a teammate an opportunity at a rush up the ice. That strategy works well when teams back off and just try to defend. But when teams are more aggressive with their forecheck, they start clogging up those passing lanes and creating turnovers, which turn into goals. That could correct this by just keeping things simple and doing whatever it takes to get the puck out of the zone, and worry about offense later. Instead of making a pass through the center of the ice, they could just chip it off the boards out to center and then go attack the other team and force them to try and set things up all over again. Sometimes I think it's better to trade possession for position.
In a perfect world, I'd say this team will be ready for a national title run in two or three years when the current crop of freshmen has completely matured and they bring in some young, talented scorers to play around them. But with college hockey, you can never play for the future, because it's too easy for a great team to lose, and not that unlikely that an average could win it all.
Perhaps I just happened to catch Michigan on the right weekend. Now that they've established themselves as a high three seed or low two seed in the tournament, I could see extending their NCAA quarterfinal streak, though some match-ups, like playing North Dakota at the Ralph would be pretty difficult. After that, I think it depends on who they get placed in a regional with. I can't see them beating Minnesota right now, just because I don't think their defense could stand up to that kind of pressure over the course of a game. I don't think they match up well with Wisconsin either. You never know with playoff hockey in a single elimination tournament. Anything could happen.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Quicker Saturday Recap
The higher seed won every game tonight. Ho hum.
That said, there was still a controversially call in Denver that kept that game from going to overtime. Once again, all the cameras in the world can't save WCHA officials from their own incomptence.
St. Cloud continued their incredible inability to score, missing some crucial open nets against CC.
Western Michigan extended Miami to overtime before losing. I'm glad Western's season is over. They made my head hurt trying to figure them out this year.
Northern Michigan continued to roll by sweeping Nebraska-Omaha. It turns out the big advantage in Northern getting the 4th seed wasn't the first round bye so much as it was home ice in the second round. The loss knocks UNO to the bubble. They're in serious danger of not making the NCAA tournament. I never would have guessed that a month ago.
Alaska-Fairbanks and Minnesota State both need to regroup in their upset bids after losing tonight. I expect both to come out and play hard on Sunday.
That said, there was still a controversially call in Denver that kept that game from going to overtime. Once again, all the cameras in the world can't save WCHA officials from their own incomptence.
St. Cloud continued their incredible inability to score, missing some crucial open nets against CC.
Western Michigan extended Miami to overtime before losing. I'm glad Western's season is over. They made my head hurt trying to figure them out this year.
Northern Michigan continued to roll by sweeping Nebraska-Omaha. It turns out the big advantage in Northern getting the 4th seed wasn't the first round bye so much as it was home ice in the second round. The loss knocks UNO to the bubble. They're in serious danger of not making the NCAA tournament. I never would have guessed that a month ago.
Alaska-Fairbanks and Minnesota State both need to regroup in their upset bids after losing tonight. I expect both to come out and play hard on Sunday.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Quick Friday Recap
Apparently my open thread idea didn't exactly take off today. Oh well. Always worth a shot.
The upset of the night has to be Duluth over Denver in overtime. I thought Duluth had pretty much packed it in for the season, but they came out and stole one tonight. That makes things mighty interesting for Denver.
Minnesota State also pulled an upset by beating North Dakota in overtime. That makes five wins a row for the Mavericks, including three overtime victories. This was an absolute must-win game for the Mavericks tonight to have any hope of beating the Sioux. It should make tomorrow night's game very interesting.
A third Minnesota team pulled an upset in the WCHA when St. Cloud knocked off Colorado College. Same old, same old for the Huskies. They can't score goals to save their life, but Bobby Goepfert was able to bail them out.
I really hope Ryan Potulny remembers to thank Alaska-Anchorage is his Hobey acceptance speech. I'd still like the opportunity to go up against the Seawolf defense and see what kind of numbers I could put up.
Wisconsin looks to be back to normal as they cruised over Michigan Tech. I'm guessing they'll struggle to sweep the Huskies though.
It was almost deja vu for Michigan as they found a three goal three period lead slipping away against Ferris State. I'll have more on Michigan later in the week. I will say that it's good to see that Ferris State plays just as dirty as they ever did.
Fairbanks pulled the big upset tonight by knocking off Michigan State. The powerplay really failed MSU tonight. They weren't able to capitalize on their chances and now find themselves facing elimination and not making it to Joe Louis for the first time in many years.
Northern Michigan had a nice win over Nebraska-Omaha. The Wildcats are on a roll, winning their last five. Granted, all those games have been on their home ice, but I don't think this is a team I'd like to face at the Joe. They'll need to win the CCHA tournament to get into the NCAAs, but I could honestly see them taking the title at the Joe.
Miami cruised to a pretty easy win over Western Michigan., and they should win easily tomorrow. At this point for the RedHawks, it's all about getting ready for the NCAA tournament.
In high school action, St. Thomas Academy will meet Duluth Marshall for the Class A state title. If I were Jordan Schroeder, I'd keep my head up tomorrow. In Class AA, Cretin-Derham Hall will meet Grand Rapids in the final after GR upset favorites Hill-Murray. Hill-Murray was ultimately done in by some shaky goaltending, while Grand Rapids goalie Reidar Jensen got his second win of the state tournament, despite facing more shots than his opponent in both games.
The upset of the night has to be Duluth over Denver in overtime. I thought Duluth had pretty much packed it in for the season, but they came out and stole one tonight. That makes things mighty interesting for Denver.
Minnesota State also pulled an upset by beating North Dakota in overtime. That makes five wins a row for the Mavericks, including three overtime victories. This was an absolute must-win game for the Mavericks tonight to have any hope of beating the Sioux. It should make tomorrow night's game very interesting.
A third Minnesota team pulled an upset in the WCHA when St. Cloud knocked off Colorado College. Same old, same old for the Huskies. They can't score goals to save their life, but Bobby Goepfert was able to bail them out.
I really hope Ryan Potulny remembers to thank Alaska-Anchorage is his Hobey acceptance speech. I'd still like the opportunity to go up against the Seawolf defense and see what kind of numbers I could put up.
Wisconsin looks to be back to normal as they cruised over Michigan Tech. I'm guessing they'll struggle to sweep the Huskies though.
It was almost deja vu for Michigan as they found a three goal three period lead slipping away against Ferris State. I'll have more on Michigan later in the week. I will say that it's good to see that Ferris State plays just as dirty as they ever did.
Fairbanks pulled the big upset tonight by knocking off Michigan State. The powerplay really failed MSU tonight. They weren't able to capitalize on their chances and now find themselves facing elimination and not making it to Joe Louis for the first time in many years.
Northern Michigan had a nice win over Nebraska-Omaha. The Wildcats are on a roll, winning their last five. Granted, all those games have been on their home ice, but I don't think this is a team I'd like to face at the Joe. They'll need to win the CCHA tournament to get into the NCAAs, but I could honestly see them taking the title at the Joe.
Miami cruised to a pretty easy win over Western Michigan., and they should win easily tomorrow. At this point for the RedHawks, it's all about getting ready for the NCAA tournament.
In high school action, St. Thomas Academy will meet Duluth Marshall for the Class A state title. If I were Jordan Schroeder, I'd keep my head up tomorrow. In Class AA, Cretin-Derham Hall will meet Grand Rapids in the final after GR upset favorites Hill-Murray. Hill-Murray was ultimately done in by some shaky goaltending, while Grand Rapids goalie Reidar Jensen got his second win of the state tournament, despite facing more shots than his opponent in both games.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Conference Playoffs Open Thread
I've never tried this before, so hopefully this goes well.
I had promised previews for all the playoff series, but with my trip to St. Paul and mid-term exams, it never got done. I'm leaving for Michigan tomorrow so I won't be around to do much over the weekend.
So I'm putting the onus on you the reader. If you have a prediction or witty remark to make about any of the games this weekend, feel free to leave a comment on this thread. Or, once you get back from a game this weekend, leave your thoughts on the games.
I had promised previews for all the playoff series, but with my trip to St. Paul and mid-term exams, it never got done. I'm leaving for Michigan tomorrow so I won't be around to do much over the weekend.
So I'm putting the onus on you the reader. If you have a prediction or witty remark to make about any of the games this weekend, feel free to leave a comment on this thread. Or, once you get back from a game this weekend, leave your thoughts on the games.
Alex Foster Turns Pro
The first major defection to the pros after the college hockey season was Bowling Green forward Alex Foster who signed a contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It's nice to see Foster cash in on a great season in which he was one of the nation's leading scorers. At the same time, it's a tough loss for the Falcons will be trying to improve on their last place finish next season.
It's nice to see Foster cash in on a great season in which he was one of the nation's leading scorers. At the same time, it's a tough loss for the Falcons will be trying to improve on their last place finish next season.
A Great Day for Hockey
I had a terrible cold yesterday, causing me to sneeze and have a runny nose all day. There was a thick fog that gave me about ten feet of visibility on some stretches of road. I was trapped in radio hell with Sean Hannity, FoxNews Radio, some idiot on WCCO who was ripping Tommmy Amaker because he bet a bunch of money on Michigan to beat Indiana(which any sensible person would tell you will never happen in my lifetime.) And for one gruesome segment a Laura Schlesinger/James Dobson duo in which they told sexual assault victims to stop crying so much. My dinner consisted of Doritos and awful small talk with an overnight clerk at a gas station.
But I still had a great day. Because I walked into Xcel Center at 10:55am yesterday and didn't leave until 11:03pm. There's nothing better than spending an entire day watching hockey.
I won't even bother pointing out things I had wrong in my predictions, since it's pretty much everything. I was inches away from going 0-4. I will give my thoughts on the games.
Mankato East vs. Little Falls
This was a very good, very wide open game. Mankato East battled back from three goals down to cut the lead to one twice, but ultimately fell just a bit short in their comeback. They never could get that goal to even things up. Little Falls goalie Jake Kluver wasn't outstanding, but he made some very key saves, including two great glove stops at 1-1 that really could have changed the momentum of the game. East just had too many defensive breakdowns against a talented offensive team. They gave everything they had though. I even broke journalistic rules(which is ok, since I'm not really a journalist) and cheered for them as they tried to come back. They're a fun team to watch, and it's a shame most of the team will be gone next season.
Individually, Little Falls had some players on the college radar. Jared Festler and Joey Cotton were supposed to be Little Falls best players, but they didn't impress me that much. They can certainly move the puck, but I think they got a little too fancy at times. The real star for Little Falls was Ben Hanowski. He scored two goals. One was a perfect shot topshelf, and the other was a nice breakaway. He's got very good hands for his size. He could be a little more physical with his size, but I think he'll definitely be a college player.
Derek Hager from Mankato East didn't impress me much when I saw him earlier this winter, but I thought he was one of the best players on the ice yesterday. He should have been the leading scorer yesterday with a goal and three assists but I believe they shortchanged him an assist on East's second goal. His goal was beautiful for he made a pass at the blueline, and drove hard to the net for a perfect tip-in. He's a very hard worker with a decent amount of talent. It would be a shame if he wasn't playing junior hockey somewhere next season. He could play for my team anyday.
Duluth Marshall vs. Blake
Marshall was a very physical, very disciplined team. They pretty much controlled play. Things just weren't meant to be for Blake. They got down 3-0 after the first period, but had a chance to come back. They hit the inside of the goalpost twice in the second period. The whole team celebrated on the ice after one of the shots, even though the puck was still in play. Marshall added a fourth goal late in the period that pretty much sealed it. If Blake had made it 3-2 instead of 4-1, it would have been a totally different game.
Kent Patterson was probably the best prospect playing in the game. He had a rough game yesterday. The first two goals were a tip through a screen and a nice one-timer that he had no chance on. The third and fourth goals were probably avoidable. On the third goal, he jumped on a loose puck in between the circles, but then let go and Marshall scored. Now I'm not sure on the rule in high school. In college it would have been a penalty if he had held onto it, but I don't know about high school. The fourth goal came off a scramble in front, where Patterson stayed down too long instead of getting up and back in position and Marshall slid a puck through.
Overall, I think he'll still be a very good goalie some day. He's an excellent puckhandler and is always trying to start the rush by making a quick outlet pass.
Mike Louwerse isn't on the 2007 Recruiting Board, but he's been identified as a college prospect for some time now. He didn't do much in the first period of the game. You could tell Marshall really focused on him, as he got destroyed three of four times by huge hits. He was a completely different player in the second and third though. He's very shifty with the puck. He reminded a bit of Marty Sertich. I think he'll be a good college player down the road.
For Marshall, I liked the game of junior Bob Gutsch. He's a big, tall kid that plays a physical game, but can also put the puck in the net. Sophmore Brian Erola had the hit of the day when he laid out Mike Louwerse.
St. Thomas Academy vs. Orono
St. Thomas was the much better team in this one, but Orono almost stole it with better goaltending and being opportunistic. Orono scored their first goal on a scrum in front of the net in the first period. St. Thomas didn't get on the board until Jordan Schroeder scored a pretty backhand goal. Orono answered right back with a fluke goal where the goalie let the puck slide between his pads, and an Orono player barely nudged it in. It looked like that goal would stand until St. Thomas scored on a tip from the point with 13 seconds left. After that, all the momentum was in St. Thomas' favor. They quickly won it in OT after Orono turned the puck over in their own zone.
I was pretty impressed with Jordan Schroeder. He was probably the most flashy player on the ice yesterday. He's practically impossible to stop one-on-one and he had some crazy moves, including one where he put the puck between his legs and beat a defenseman to set up a goal that was eventually called back. That said, there's not much else to his game. He's a little bit like Phil Kessel, except without the great snapshot. He's certainly got time to develop that game though. I think he might be better served in the USHL where he's playing against better defenseman.
His linemate sophomore Connor Rooney was in the same mold as Schroeder, but not as flashy. He could end up on some college team's radar if he continues to develop.
Hermantown vs. Thief River Falls
Another excellent game. TRF built an early 3-1 lead before Karl Gilbert scored three goals for Hermantown in the third period to win 4-3. Some people were saying TRF choked, and some said TRF was hurt by the loss of Mike Forney in the second period due to a wrist injury. From my standpoint though, TRF just ran out of gas. They skated two lines the entire game and by the third period, they were dead. With Forney in the lineup, they occassionally mixed in their third line whenever they got a lead. But once he left, they stuck with two lines. Hermantown played solid hockey the whole game.
North Dakota recruit Mike Forney only played half the game, but he was on the ice for more than half of that time, so I got a decent look at him. I had heard people talking about how he didn't go in the corners prior to the game, but watching, I think that's completely false. He did a very good job at throwing his weight around yesterday. He's usually the high man on TRF's forecheck, while the other two forwards try to force a turnover, which could be what people are referring to, but I think it makes sense, because it gives their best player the opportunity to pick off a pass and have a great scoring chance.
He set up one great scoring chance with a nice move where he kept the puck on a two-on-two, and also made a nice breakout pass to set up a chance where he tipped the puck between his legs to a streaking teammate. Overall, I thought he looked good. He has very skinny legs for someone that is going to be playing college hockey next season, but he can definitely get around the ice.
So that was my day of hockey. Four long games was exhausting, but if I could, I'd definitely want to do it again today with the AA quarterfinals.
But I still had a great day. Because I walked into Xcel Center at 10:55am yesterday and didn't leave until 11:03pm. There's nothing better than spending an entire day watching hockey.
I won't even bother pointing out things I had wrong in my predictions, since it's pretty much everything. I was inches away from going 0-4. I will give my thoughts on the games.
Mankato East vs. Little Falls
This was a very good, very wide open game. Mankato East battled back from three goals down to cut the lead to one twice, but ultimately fell just a bit short in their comeback. They never could get that goal to even things up. Little Falls goalie Jake Kluver wasn't outstanding, but he made some very key saves, including two great glove stops at 1-1 that really could have changed the momentum of the game. East just had too many defensive breakdowns against a talented offensive team. They gave everything they had though. I even broke journalistic rules(which is ok, since I'm not really a journalist) and cheered for them as they tried to come back. They're a fun team to watch, and it's a shame most of the team will be gone next season.
Individually, Little Falls had some players on the college radar. Jared Festler and Joey Cotton were supposed to be Little Falls best players, but they didn't impress me that much. They can certainly move the puck, but I think they got a little too fancy at times. The real star for Little Falls was Ben Hanowski. He scored two goals. One was a perfect shot topshelf, and the other was a nice breakaway. He's got very good hands for his size. He could be a little more physical with his size, but I think he'll definitely be a college player.
Derek Hager from Mankato East didn't impress me much when I saw him earlier this winter, but I thought he was one of the best players on the ice yesterday. He should have been the leading scorer yesterday with a goal and three assists but I believe they shortchanged him an assist on East's second goal. His goal was beautiful for he made a pass at the blueline, and drove hard to the net for a perfect tip-in. He's a very hard worker with a decent amount of talent. It would be a shame if he wasn't playing junior hockey somewhere next season. He could play for my team anyday.
Duluth Marshall vs. Blake
Marshall was a very physical, very disciplined team. They pretty much controlled play. Things just weren't meant to be for Blake. They got down 3-0 after the first period, but had a chance to come back. They hit the inside of the goalpost twice in the second period. The whole team celebrated on the ice after one of the shots, even though the puck was still in play. Marshall added a fourth goal late in the period that pretty much sealed it. If Blake had made it 3-2 instead of 4-1, it would have been a totally different game.
Kent Patterson was probably the best prospect playing in the game. He had a rough game yesterday. The first two goals were a tip through a screen and a nice one-timer that he had no chance on. The third and fourth goals were probably avoidable. On the third goal, he jumped on a loose puck in between the circles, but then let go and Marshall scored. Now I'm not sure on the rule in high school. In college it would have been a penalty if he had held onto it, but I don't know about high school. The fourth goal came off a scramble in front, where Patterson stayed down too long instead of getting up and back in position and Marshall slid a puck through.
Overall, I think he'll still be a very good goalie some day. He's an excellent puckhandler and is always trying to start the rush by making a quick outlet pass.
Mike Louwerse isn't on the 2007 Recruiting Board, but he's been identified as a college prospect for some time now. He didn't do much in the first period of the game. You could tell Marshall really focused on him, as he got destroyed three of four times by huge hits. He was a completely different player in the second and third though. He's very shifty with the puck. He reminded a bit of Marty Sertich. I think he'll be a good college player down the road.
For Marshall, I liked the game of junior Bob Gutsch. He's a big, tall kid that plays a physical game, but can also put the puck in the net. Sophmore Brian Erola had the hit of the day when he laid out Mike Louwerse.
St. Thomas Academy vs. Orono
St. Thomas was the much better team in this one, but Orono almost stole it with better goaltending and being opportunistic. Orono scored their first goal on a scrum in front of the net in the first period. St. Thomas didn't get on the board until Jordan Schroeder scored a pretty backhand goal. Orono answered right back with a fluke goal where the goalie let the puck slide between his pads, and an Orono player barely nudged it in. It looked like that goal would stand until St. Thomas scored on a tip from the point with 13 seconds left. After that, all the momentum was in St. Thomas' favor. They quickly won it in OT after Orono turned the puck over in their own zone.
I was pretty impressed with Jordan Schroeder. He was probably the most flashy player on the ice yesterday. He's practically impossible to stop one-on-one and he had some crazy moves, including one where he put the puck between his legs and beat a defenseman to set up a goal that was eventually called back. That said, there's not much else to his game. He's a little bit like Phil Kessel, except without the great snapshot. He's certainly got time to develop that game though. I think he might be better served in the USHL where he's playing against better defenseman.
His linemate sophomore Connor Rooney was in the same mold as Schroeder, but not as flashy. He could end up on some college team's radar if he continues to develop.
Hermantown vs. Thief River Falls
Another excellent game. TRF built an early 3-1 lead before Karl Gilbert scored three goals for Hermantown in the third period to win 4-3. Some people were saying TRF choked, and some said TRF was hurt by the loss of Mike Forney in the second period due to a wrist injury. From my standpoint though, TRF just ran out of gas. They skated two lines the entire game and by the third period, they were dead. With Forney in the lineup, they occassionally mixed in their third line whenever they got a lead. But once he left, they stuck with two lines. Hermantown played solid hockey the whole game.
North Dakota recruit Mike Forney only played half the game, but he was on the ice for more than half of that time, so I got a decent look at him. I had heard people talking about how he didn't go in the corners prior to the game, but watching, I think that's completely false. He did a very good job at throwing his weight around yesterday. He's usually the high man on TRF's forecheck, while the other two forwards try to force a turnover, which could be what people are referring to, but I think it makes sense, because it gives their best player the opportunity to pick off a pass and have a great scoring chance.
He set up one great scoring chance with a nice move where he kept the puck on a two-on-two, and also made a nice breakout pass to set up a chance where he tipped the puck between his legs to a streaking teammate. Overall, I thought he looked good. He has very skinny legs for someone that is going to be playing college hockey next season, but he can definitely get around the ice.
So that was my day of hockey. Four long games was exhausting, but if I could, I'd definitely want to do it again today with the AA quarterfinals.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Minnesota High School State Tourney Predictions
I figured I might as well give this another shot and give my thoughts and wild-ass guesses on these games. Full DECC also had a great preview of all the games.
We'll start with Class A:
Mankato East vs. Little Falls
WAG: I think Little Falls will start the game a little faster since they played at the X last year, while East is making their first trip to the tourney. Little Falls also probably has a little more talent, but I've got a funny feeling about East's chances. Maybe I'm caught up in the hype, but they've played great hockey over the past couple games and always seem to find a way to get it done. I'll take Mankato East in a very close one, possibly in overtime.
St. Thomas Academy vs. Orono
WAG: I'm perhaps a little skeptical of Orono since they qualified for the tournament as the third seed in their bracket, but didn't face either of the higher seeded teams in their bracket. St. Thomas Academy has shown the ability to play great hockey this weekend and have already beaten Orono 4-0 earlier this year at the Schwan's Cup. I'll take the Tommies.
Duluth Marshall vs. Blake
WAG: Marshall looks to be a very good hockey team and could be one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. But I'm going to pick an upset, and say Kent Patterson steals the win for Blake.
Hermantown vs. Thief River Falls
WAG: Hermantown won the earlier meeting this year by a score of 9-0. I don't think it will be a blowout like that, but I think Hermantown will prevail. TRF forward Mike Forney will be playing in front of a ton of scouts with a chance to earn himself a first round draft pick this summer.
Hermantown vs. St. Thomas Academy
WAG: I love that STA plays a more wide-open game, but once again, I'll take Hermantown.
Mankato East vs. Blake
WAG: I think East's magic runs out here against the more talented metro area team. Blake wins easily.
Hermantown vs. Blake
WAG: I'll take Hermantown to win the whole thing.
And for Class AA
Lakeville North vs. Blaine
WAG: Lakeville has lost all three of their first round games in school history. I don't expect that to change. I think Blaine moves on.
Hill-Murray vs. Minnetonka
WAG: I really like Minnetonka's chances in this one. Emotion and momentum should play a huge role in these games and I think the Skippers have got a ton of that on their side. That said, I don't have the guys to pick against Hill-Murray. I think Hill-Murray wins in overtime.
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Eagan
WAG: Again, Eagan is riding momentum and emotion after making their first ever state tournament, but I really like Cretin's team. I think CDH wins the game
Grand Rapids vs. Roseau
WAG: The two non-metro teams on the AA side meet in the first round. This should be a great game to cap off the day. I'll pick Roseau to win.
Hill-Murray vs. Roseau
WAG: This tournament has been Hill-Murray's to lose ever since Holy Angels faltered. I'll stick with the safe pick and take the heavy favorites.
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Blaine
WAG: I think CDH wins in a close one.
Hill-Murray vs. Cretin-Derham Hall
WAG: Hill-Murray has already beaten CDH pretty easily this season. I don't think the pressure of a state championship will change that result.
We'll start with Class A:
Mankato East vs. Little Falls
WAG: I think Little Falls will start the game a little faster since they played at the X last year, while East is making their first trip to the tourney. Little Falls also probably has a little more talent, but I've got a funny feeling about East's chances. Maybe I'm caught up in the hype, but they've played great hockey over the past couple games and always seem to find a way to get it done. I'll take Mankato East in a very close one, possibly in overtime.
St. Thomas Academy vs. Orono
WAG: I'm perhaps a little skeptical of Orono since they qualified for the tournament as the third seed in their bracket, but didn't face either of the higher seeded teams in their bracket. St. Thomas Academy has shown the ability to play great hockey this weekend and have already beaten Orono 4-0 earlier this year at the Schwan's Cup. I'll take the Tommies.
Duluth Marshall vs. Blake
WAG: Marshall looks to be a very good hockey team and could be one of the favorites to win the whole tournament. But I'm going to pick an upset, and say Kent Patterson steals the win for Blake.
Hermantown vs. Thief River Falls
WAG: Hermantown won the earlier meeting this year by a score of 9-0. I don't think it will be a blowout like that, but I think Hermantown will prevail. TRF forward Mike Forney will be playing in front of a ton of scouts with a chance to earn himself a first round draft pick this summer.
Hermantown vs. St. Thomas Academy
WAG: I love that STA plays a more wide-open game, but once again, I'll take Hermantown.
Mankato East vs. Blake
WAG: I think East's magic runs out here against the more talented metro area team. Blake wins easily.
Hermantown vs. Blake
WAG: I'll take Hermantown to win the whole thing.
And for Class AA
Lakeville North vs. Blaine
WAG: Lakeville has lost all three of their first round games in school history. I don't expect that to change. I think Blaine moves on.
Hill-Murray vs. Minnetonka
WAG: I really like Minnetonka's chances in this one. Emotion and momentum should play a huge role in these games and I think the Skippers have got a ton of that on their side. That said, I don't have the guys to pick against Hill-Murray. I think Hill-Murray wins in overtime.
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Eagan
WAG: Again, Eagan is riding momentum and emotion after making their first ever state tournament, but I really like Cretin's team. I think CDH wins the game
Grand Rapids vs. Roseau
WAG: The two non-metro teams on the AA side meet in the first round. This should be a great game to cap off the day. I'll pick Roseau to win.
Hill-Murray vs. Roseau
WAG: This tournament has been Hill-Murray's to lose ever since Holy Angels faltered. I'll stick with the safe pick and take the heavy favorites.
Cretin-Derham Hall vs. Blaine
WAG: I think CDH wins in a close one.
Hill-Murray vs. Cretin-Derham Hall
WAG: Hill-Murray has already beaten CDH pretty easily this season. I don't think the pressure of a state championship will change that result.
Super Crazy No Way Stats
Last Saturday, the Quinnipiac/RPI game and Yale/Union started both started at 7 o'clock. Quinnipiac was able to beat RPI, and make the 150 mile drive back home to Connecticut before a winner was decided in the Yale/Union 5 overtime game.
2007 Recruiting Board Prospect Derrick Lapoint reportedly played 49 and half minutes in a 51 minute game against University School of Milwaukee in the state tournament.
2007 Recruiting Board Prospect Derrick Lapoint reportedly played 49 and half minutes in a 51 minute game against University School of Milwaukee in the state tournament.
Bonus Linkorama
Quick addendum for stuff that didn't make it on the last post:
I chime in on college hockey's APR success.
The Gopher Puck Blog is on top of the Star-Tribune's All-Metro hockey teams. It's pretty hard to argue with any of their picks.
A couple new blogs made the Blogs I Read list. The first is obviously my other blog. Just it's not a senseless self-promotion, I'll add that if any aspiring writers write something and they'd like me to post, I'd be happy to. The good news is that you don't have to feel intimidated since I think I've set the bar pretty low.
The Detroit Blog is a pretty interesting look at the Detroit and the city's history.
The Double A Zone is the NCAA's official blog(not to be confused with the Double D Zone, which is a different kind of website altogether). I found it pretty interesting though. There's a weekly conversation with NCAA president Myles Brand. One feature I also found extremely helpful is that posts are archived by topic, for easy searching.
I chime in on college hockey's APR success.
The Gopher Puck Blog is on top of the Star-Tribune's All-Metro hockey teams. It's pretty hard to argue with any of their picks.
A couple new blogs made the Blogs I Read list. The first is obviously my other blog. Just it's not a senseless self-promotion, I'll add that if any aspiring writers write something and they'd like me to post, I'd be happy to. The good news is that you don't have to feel intimidated since I think I've set the bar pretty low.
The Detroit Blog is a pretty interesting look at the Detroit and the city's history.
The Double A Zone is the NCAA's official blog(not to be confused with the Double D Zone, which is a different kind of website altogether). I found it pretty interesting though. There's a weekly conversation with NCAA president Myles Brand. One feature I also found extremely helpful is that posts are archived by topic, for easy searching.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Linkorama
Runnin' with the Dogs had an excellent post about a trip to last Friday's UMD/Minnesota game. I still think Lewis Carroll is creepy, but the story about the game was far more entertaining the actual game itself.
CC Hockey is on top of things with a CC/St. Cloud preview.
I forgot to add this to the last Linkorama, but check out this Alexander Ovechkin highlight video. I started referring to Ovechkin with a string of expletives after his World Juniors shenanigans, but I may have to consider adding the word talented before those expletives.
Wisconsin and Minnesota
both have some guys that will be exhausting their eligiblity soon, and are given a fitting tribute. Both teams also registered a pair of sweeps this past weekend.
The UAA Hockey Fan Blog handed out a couple post-season awards. Gotta say I agree with him on the MVP pick, which is a shame.
The season is over in Lakerville. It's kind of a shame. I was hoping to see LSSU back in the NCAA tournament.
I got props on the Clarkson Hockey Fan Blog. I have no idea what the Commissioner's Cup is, but I'll show up at the party. Especially if there's cake and punch.
CC Hockey is on top of things with a CC/St. Cloud preview.
I forgot to add this to the last Linkorama, but check out this Alexander Ovechkin highlight video. I started referring to Ovechkin with a string of expletives after his World Juniors shenanigans, but I may have to consider adding the word talented before those expletives.
Wisconsin and Minnesota
both have some guys that will be exhausting their eligiblity soon, and are given a fitting tribute. Both teams also registered a pair of sweeps this past weekend.
The UAA Hockey Fan Blog handed out a couple post-season awards. Gotta say I agree with him on the MVP pick, which is a shame.
The season is over in Lakerville. It's kind of a shame. I was hoping to see LSSU back in the NCAA tournament.
I got props on the Clarkson Hockey Fan Blog. I have no idea what the Commissioner's Cup is, but I'll show up at the party. Especially if there's cake and punch.
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
Well, when you're right 53% of the time, that means you're wrong 47% of the time. I guess I probably should have told you that before you went and bet your life savings based on my fearless predictions last week.
That said, I didn't do too badly. I picked the winners of 20 games last week and was correct in 14 of them.
I went three for four with the CCHA playoffs, correctly picking the upset of Alaska-Fairbanks beating Notre Dame in a defensive struggle. Of course there was the pick I was the most confident in:
Oy.
I was a much less impressive 11-5 in picking the high school sectional winners. It always helps to pick the higher seed in 11 of the 16 games, though it seems I got a little too upset happy as Eagan, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, and Thief River Falls prevailed. We've got a tie for outstanding idiocy in the high school category:
All in all, I think I avoided embarassing myself, which has always been one of my goals in life. I doubt I'll get predictions up for the 8 state quarterfinal games, partially due to time, partially due to fear of really embarassing myself. Hopefully I'll predict the WCHA and CCHA playoff series thouh as a means of previewing them.
That said, I didn't do too badly. I picked the winners of 20 games last week and was correct in 14 of them.
I went three for four with the CCHA playoffs, correctly picking the upset of Alaska-Fairbanks beating Notre Dame in a defensive struggle. Of course there was the pick I was the most confident in:
"I don’t expect LSSU’s dominance over Western to change and for the Lakers to sweep easily."
Oy.
I was a much less impressive 11-5 in picking the high school sectional winners. It always helps to pick the higher seed in 11 of the 16 games, though it seems I got a little too upset happy as Eagan, Grand Rapids, Hermantown, and Thief River Falls prevailed. We've got a tie for outstanding idiocy in the high school category:
"Minnetonka crushed second seed Eden Prarie, but I think Bloomington Jefferson is an excellent team. I think Bloomington Jefferson will win."I guess they were called wild-ass guesses for a reason.
"I think CEC will get great goaltending again from Reid Ellingson and advance out of the regional."Ellingson made 13 saves and let in 4 goals as C-E-C lost to Grand Rapids. You'll have better days in the future, Reid.
All in all, I think I avoided embarassing myself, which has always been one of my goals in life. I doubt I'll get predictions up for the 8 state quarterfinal games, partially due to time, partially due to fear of really embarassing myself. Hopefully I'll predict the WCHA and CCHA playoff series thouh as a means of previewing them.
New Blog
Colorado College is now represented on the linklist to the left thanks to the Colorado College Hockey Blog. There's quite a few quality updates in the first couple days for the blog.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Feel Free to Point and Laugh
I've undertaken a new blogging adventure called The Sports Writer's Journal.
It's basically an opportunity for me to practice my writing in the hopes of sucking a little less.(My business model shows the potential for 30% less suck after the first year.) There's probably gonna be a lot of stuff about hockey because, well, I live in Minnesota and there's not a whole lot of other stuff going on. So if you get a chance, try to read it.
It's basically an opportunity for me to practice my writing in the hopes of sucking a little less.(My business model shows the potential for 30% less suck after the first year.) There's probably gonna be a lot of stuff about hockey because, well, I live in Minnesota and there's not a whole lot of other stuff going on. So if you get a chance, try to read it.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
First Round CCHA Playoff Preview
Here's my take on the first round of the CCHA playoffs.
# 9 Alaska-Fairbanks at #8 Notre Dame
My analysis: The first season under Jeff Jackson has been a pretty good bounceback year for the Irish. Thanks to the new tournament structure, instead of being forced to head out on the road and play a difficult road game, they get the luxury of playing the first round of the playoffs on their home ice. The Joyce Center doesn’t provide much in the way of home ice advantage for the Irish though.
These two teams split both regular season series and I expect them to split on the first two nights here too, but like last year, I think Alaska-Fairbanks goaltending will come through and give them the win in a close three game series. It’s been a disappointing season for the Nanooks after a promising start, but I think they’ve got it in them to make another post-season run in the CCHA tournament.
#10 Ohio State at # 7 Ferris State
My analysis: This season has been a major disappointment for the Buckeyes. They’re still on the NCAA tournament bubble, and could climb back into the picture if they win the first two rounds of the CCHA playoffs, but many people expected this team to be the best in the CCHA.
Ohio State is the more talented team, but I like the Bulldogs playing in front of their home fans. It’s always difficult to win in Big Rapids, and I don’t think Ohio State can generate the offense necessary to win the series. I’ll take Ferris State to sweep the Buckeyes.
#11 Western Michigan at #6 Lake Superior
My analysis: Playoff hockey is being played in Sault Ste. Marie for the first time in a while, and I expect the Lakers to be fired up in front of their home fans.
Western Michigan may have played themselves out of a chance at an upset last weekend. Their 3 point weekend against Nebraksa-Omaha move them up in the standings, and gave them Lake Superior, who outscored the Broncos 23-2 in their 4 games this season.
I don’t expect LSSU’s dominance over Western to change and for the Lakers to sweep easily.
#12 Bowling Green vs. #5 Nebraska-Omaha
My analysis: Omaha has to quickly get over the shock and disappointment of losing their first round bye and get ready for a tough first round series against Bowling Green.
These games should be shootouts, as each team has two players in the top 10 in scoring nationally, and both have inexperience goaltenders. I think a shootout would be to Omaha’s advantage though. The Falcons may steal the first game of the series, but I think the Mavericks will come back and win the next two.
# 9 Alaska-Fairbanks at #8 Notre Dame
My analysis: The first season under Jeff Jackson has been a pretty good bounceback year for the Irish. Thanks to the new tournament structure, instead of being forced to head out on the road and play a difficult road game, they get the luxury of playing the first round of the playoffs on their home ice. The Joyce Center doesn’t provide much in the way of home ice advantage for the Irish though.
These two teams split both regular season series and I expect them to split on the first two nights here too, but like last year, I think Alaska-Fairbanks goaltending will come through and give them the win in a close three game series. It’s been a disappointing season for the Nanooks after a promising start, but I think they’ve got it in them to make another post-season run in the CCHA tournament.
#10 Ohio State at # 7 Ferris State
My analysis: This season has been a major disappointment for the Buckeyes. They’re still on the NCAA tournament bubble, and could climb back into the picture if they win the first two rounds of the CCHA playoffs, but many people expected this team to be the best in the CCHA.
Ohio State is the more talented team, but I like the Bulldogs playing in front of their home fans. It’s always difficult to win in Big Rapids, and I don’t think Ohio State can generate the offense necessary to win the series. I’ll take Ferris State to sweep the Buckeyes.
#11 Western Michigan at #6 Lake Superior
My analysis: Playoff hockey is being played in Sault Ste. Marie for the first time in a while, and I expect the Lakers to be fired up in front of their home fans.
Western Michigan may have played themselves out of a chance at an upset last weekend. Their 3 point weekend against Nebraksa-Omaha move them up in the standings, and gave them Lake Superior, who outscored the Broncos 23-2 in their 4 games this season.
I don’t expect LSSU’s dominance over Western to change and for the Lakers to sweep easily.
#12 Bowling Green vs. #5 Nebraska-Omaha
My analysis: Omaha has to quickly get over the shock and disappointment of losing their first round bye and get ready for a tough first round series against Bowling Green.
These games should be shootouts, as each team has two players in the top 10 in scoring nationally, and both have inexperience goaltenders. I think a shootout would be to Omaha’s advantage though. The Falcons may steal the first game of the series, but I think the Mavericks will come back and win the next two.
Cosmetic Changes
I added a new blog to the list of college hockey blogs. I've been meaning to add Runnin' with the Dogs to the linklist for some time now, and I finally got around to it. It's a pretty funny and sarcastic look at UMD hockey.
I've also added a new section on the linklist of non-hockey blogs that I frequently read. They're all pretty interesting reads, so check them out if you get a chance.
I've also added a new section on the linklist of non-hockey blogs that I frequently read. They're all pretty interesting reads, so check them out if you get a chance.
Academic Progress Rates
A few years ago, the NCAA decided to take the academic progress of their athletes a little more seriously and threw out their highly flawed graduation rates in favor of the Academic Progress Rate(APR). The APR measures if a player is on pace to graduate while he is at the school. So if a player leaves school after his sophomore season, but is where a sophomore should be academically, it doesn't hurt the program.
The scores are on a scale up to 1000, with 925 being the absolute minimum acceptable score. Teams that score below that could face penalties such as a loss of scholarships. This year, the NCAA also cited a "squad size adjustment" meaning there were a number of programs that fell below the 925 cut-off, but due to insufficient data, they won't be penalized. Those programs get a few years to correct their APR numbers before they receive punishment.
Here's the APR numbers for the WCHA:
Colorado College 994
Wisconsin 975
Minnesota 974
Denver 970
Minnesota State Mankato 962
St. Cloud State 938
Minnesota-Duluth 931
North Dakota 918(squad size adjustment)
Alaska-Anchorage 914(squad size adjustment)
And the CCHA:
Notre Dame- 1,000
Northern Michigan-989
Bowling Green- 987
Miami- 982
Michigan- 982
Ferris State- 972
Western Michigan- 972
Ohio State- 971
Michigan State- 969
Lake Superior- 961
Alaska-Fairbanks- 955
Nebraska-Omaha- 949
Those are pretty decent numbers across the board for the schools out west. St. Cloud was below the 925 mark last season, but improved their score for this year, so they will avoid penalties. North Dakota and Alaska-Anchorage obviously have to improve quickly or they face sanction from the NCAA.
The scores are on a scale up to 1000, with 925 being the absolute minimum acceptable score. Teams that score below that could face penalties such as a loss of scholarships. This year, the NCAA also cited a "squad size adjustment" meaning there were a number of programs that fell below the 925 cut-off, but due to insufficient data, they won't be penalized. Those programs get a few years to correct their APR numbers before they receive punishment.
Here's the APR numbers for the WCHA:
Colorado College 994
Wisconsin 975
Minnesota 974
Denver 970
Minnesota State Mankato 962
St. Cloud State 938
Minnesota-Duluth 931
North Dakota 918(squad size adjustment)
Alaska-Anchorage 914(squad size adjustment)
And the CCHA:
Notre Dame- 1,000
Northern Michigan-989
Bowling Green- 987
Miami- 982
Michigan- 982
Ferris State- 972
Western Michigan- 972
Ohio State- 971
Michigan State- 969
Lake Superior- 961
Alaska-Fairbanks- 955
Nebraska-Omaha- 949
Those are pretty decent numbers across the board for the schools out west. St. Cloud was below the 925 mark last season, but improved their score for this year, so they will avoid penalties. North Dakota and Alaska-Anchorage obviously have to improve quickly or they face sanction from the NCAA.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Linkorama
St. Cloud Times writer Kevin Allesnpach took a humorous look at goalie Bobby Goepfert and his (lack of) photo editing abilities. As blog reader Colin would say, Microsoft Paint is serious business.
The Wisconsin State Journal's Andy Baggot gave his tribute to Wisconsin's seniors. It's actually a really good article and gives some pretty good insight into what things were like at the end of the Sauer-era and beginning of the Eaves-era at Wisconsin. It also probably explains why Tom Sawatske is now playing for Notre Dame.
Colorado College smack week continues over at Let's Go DU with this gem of a banner. Funny stuff.
Chris Heisenberg had another great post on his blog previewing the 2007 recruiting class for the 5 big schools in the WCHA. There's not too much that hasn't been mentioned here before. He lists Grand Rapids HS forward Pat White as a target for Wisconsin and Denver. He also mentions that Denver might be one of the schools interested in Andy Inderieden after he spends a year in the USHL, and that Colorado College is possibly interested in Adam Estoclet. He also mentions the Colorado schools being interested in Tony Serratore, who is kind of flying under the radar since he plays out in Colorado, but put on an impressive performance at his Select Festival this year.
Chris Heisenberg has also added a lot more names to his recruiting website, including a bunch for 2008, although I have a feeling some names on that list might get taken off later this summer at the major junior drafts.
A nice USHL article that mentions Michigan Tech recruit Eli Vlaisavljevich.
The Wisconsin State Journal's Andy Baggot gave his tribute to Wisconsin's seniors. It's actually a really good article and gives some pretty good insight into what things were like at the end of the Sauer-era and beginning of the Eaves-era at Wisconsin. It also probably explains why Tom Sawatske is now playing for Notre Dame.
Colorado College smack week continues over at Let's Go DU with this gem of a banner. Funny stuff.
Chris Heisenberg had another great post on his blog previewing the 2007 recruiting class for the 5 big schools in the WCHA. There's not too much that hasn't been mentioned here before. He lists Grand Rapids HS forward Pat White as a target for Wisconsin and Denver. He also mentions that Denver might be one of the schools interested in Andy Inderieden after he spends a year in the USHL, and that Colorado College is possibly interested in Adam Estoclet. He also mentions the Colorado schools being interested in Tony Serratore, who is kind of flying under the radar since he plays out in Colorado, but put on an impressive performance at his Select Festival this year.
Chris Heisenberg has also added a lot more names to his recruiting website, including a bunch for 2008, although I have a feeling some names on that list might get taken off later this summer at the major junior drafts.
A nice USHL article that mentions Michigan Tech recruit Eli Vlaisavljevich.
16 Chances for Me to Look Stupid
The connection to college hockey here is slim, but I figured why not. I'm going to preview and give my wild-ass guess(WAG) for all 16 of the Minnesota State High School Sectional championship games.
We'll start with the big guys in Class AA.
Section 1AA- #1 Lakeville North vs. #2 Rochester Century
WAG: I don't have much of a clue on this one. Lakeville North already dispatched one Rochester school in John Marshall, and I think they'll take care of Century too.
Section 2AA- #1 Cretin-Derham Hall vs. #3 Woodbury
WAG: CDH won the first meeting between these Suburban East conference foes 5-1, but got taken to overtime in the second game before winning 3-2. I think CDH has too much talent though and wins in a close one.
Section 3AA- #1 Hill-Murray vs. White Bear Lake or Centennial
WAG: The WBL/Centennial semifinal is tonight, but I think WBL will win, setting up a rematch of the great 1-0 game earlier this season. I think Hill-Murray will win once again in another very close game.
Section 4AA- #1 Blaine vs. Armstrong or Wayzata
WAG: Blaine hasn't lost since mid-December, including a win over Armstrong. I think they'll keep their streak alive and make it to the XCel.
Section 5AA- #4 Apple Valley vs. #2 Eagan
WAG: Eagan is the higher seed, but Apple Valley split the season series with Eagan, winning the last meeting 4-0 at home. Apple Valley is also coming off a huge win over Holy Angels. I think the momentum carries over for Apple Valley and they make it to the XCel.
Section 6AA- #1 Bloomington Jefferson vs. #3 Minnetonka
WAG: Minnetonka crushed second seed Eden Prarie, but I think Bloomington Jefferson is an excellent team. I think Bloomington Jefferson will win.
Section 7AA- #4 Cloquet-Esko-Carleton vs. #2 Grand Rapids
WAG: This is a very tough one to pick between two pretty good teams. I think CEC will get great goaltending again from Reid Ellingson and advance out of the regional.
Section 8AA- #1 Moorhead vs. #2 Roseau
WAG: Two-storied programs. I think Moorhead is just a little bit better this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Roseau won this one.
Section 1A- #4 Marshall vs. #3 Mankato East
WAG: So far the craziest bracket after the lower seed won both district semifinals. East won the earlier match-up between the two and should be able to ride their good goaltending and solid defense to a win.
Section 2A #1 Duluth Marshall vs. #3 Sauk Rapids
WAG: Sauk Rapids upset a pretty solid St. Cloud Cathedral team, but Marshall looks like a very solid team. I think they'll win.
Section 3A #1 St. Thomas Academy vs. #2 Red Wing
WAG: St. Thomas won this section last year and look to be pretty dominant again. I think St. Thomas wins easily.
Section 4A #1 Little Falls vs. #2 Alexandria
WAG: Little Falls has a very solid team. I expect their talented group of youngsters to dominate the game.
Section 5A #4 Totino-Grace vs. #2 Blake
WAG: Totino-Grace upset top seed Breck, though Blake very easily could have been the top seed in this section. I expect a close game, but I think Blake's goaltending will give them the slight edge and the win.
Section 6A #4 Faribault vs. #3 Orono
WAG: This has been a crazy bracket. First 7th seed Holy Catholic Family upset second seed Shakopee. Then fourth seed Faribault destroyed top seed Delano by a score of 8-3. I'll say Orono gets the win and 2007 Recruiting Board prospect Adam Estoclet regrets transferring from Orono to Benilde-St. Margaret's.
Section 7A #1 Hermantown vs. #2 Hibbing
WAG: This was almost a match-up between two of the state's best sophomores in Nico Sacchetti(Virginia-MIB) and Jake Youso(Int'l Falls), but the higher seed prevailed in both semifinals. In the absence of any sort of knowledge on the two teams, I'll just pick the upset and choose Hibbing.
Section 8A #1 Thief River Falls vs. #2 Warroad
WAG: This should be a great game. Thief River Falls is led by Mike Forney while Warroad is led by Aaron Marvin. Warroad may be slightly less talented, but I think they'll be able to steal the win.
We'll start with the big guys in Class AA.
Section 1AA- #1 Lakeville North vs. #2 Rochester Century
WAG: I don't have much of a clue on this one. Lakeville North already dispatched one Rochester school in John Marshall, and I think they'll take care of Century too.
Section 2AA- #1 Cretin-Derham Hall vs. #3 Woodbury
WAG: CDH won the first meeting between these Suburban East conference foes 5-1, but got taken to overtime in the second game before winning 3-2. I think CDH has too much talent though and wins in a close one.
Section 3AA- #1 Hill-Murray vs. White Bear Lake or Centennial
WAG: The WBL/Centennial semifinal is tonight, but I think WBL will win, setting up a rematch of the great 1-0 game earlier this season. I think Hill-Murray will win once again in another very close game.
Section 4AA- #1 Blaine vs. Armstrong or Wayzata
WAG: Blaine hasn't lost since mid-December, including a win over Armstrong. I think they'll keep their streak alive and make it to the XCel.
Section 5AA- #4 Apple Valley vs. #2 Eagan
WAG: Eagan is the higher seed, but Apple Valley split the season series with Eagan, winning the last meeting 4-0 at home. Apple Valley is also coming off a huge win over Holy Angels. I think the momentum carries over for Apple Valley and they make it to the XCel.
Section 6AA- #1 Bloomington Jefferson vs. #3 Minnetonka
WAG: Minnetonka crushed second seed Eden Prarie, but I think Bloomington Jefferson is an excellent team. I think Bloomington Jefferson will win.
Section 7AA- #4 Cloquet-Esko-Carleton vs. #2 Grand Rapids
WAG: This is a very tough one to pick between two pretty good teams. I think CEC will get great goaltending again from Reid Ellingson and advance out of the regional.
Section 8AA- #1 Moorhead vs. #2 Roseau
WAG: Two-storied programs. I think Moorhead is just a little bit better this season, but I wouldn't be surprised if Roseau won this one.
Section 1A- #4 Marshall vs. #3 Mankato East
WAG: So far the craziest bracket after the lower seed won both district semifinals. East won the earlier match-up between the two and should be able to ride their good goaltending and solid defense to a win.
Section 2A #1 Duluth Marshall vs. #3 Sauk Rapids
WAG: Sauk Rapids upset a pretty solid St. Cloud Cathedral team, but Marshall looks like a very solid team. I think they'll win.
Section 3A #1 St. Thomas Academy vs. #2 Red Wing
WAG: St. Thomas won this section last year and look to be pretty dominant again. I think St. Thomas wins easily.
Section 4A #1 Little Falls vs. #2 Alexandria
WAG: Little Falls has a very solid team. I expect their talented group of youngsters to dominate the game.
Section 5A #4 Totino-Grace vs. #2 Blake
WAG: Totino-Grace upset top seed Breck, though Blake very easily could have been the top seed in this section. I expect a close game, but I think Blake's goaltending will give them the slight edge and the win.
Section 6A #4 Faribault vs. #3 Orono
WAG: This has been a crazy bracket. First 7th seed Holy Catholic Family upset second seed Shakopee. Then fourth seed Faribault destroyed top seed Delano by a score of 8-3. I'll say Orono gets the win and 2007 Recruiting Board prospect Adam Estoclet regrets transferring from Orono to Benilde-St. Margaret's.
Section 7A #1 Hermantown vs. #2 Hibbing
WAG: This was almost a match-up between two of the state's best sophomores in Nico Sacchetti(Virginia-MIB) and Jake Youso(Int'l Falls), but the higher seed prevailed in both semifinals. In the absence of any sort of knowledge on the two teams, I'll just pick the upset and choose Hibbing.
Section 8A #1 Thief River Falls vs. #2 Warroad
WAG: This should be a great game. Thief River Falls is led by Mike Forney while Warroad is led by Aaron Marvin. Warroad may be slightly less talented, but I think they'll be able to steal the win.
Gopher Hockey Being Investigated By Police
Fox 9 News put the Gopher hockey program back in the news again, this time reporting that police acquired a search warrant to investigate the Gophers taking recruits to Blarney's Pub.
The news report mentions the footage they showed earlier of a 17 year old recruit(hint: his name rhymes with Shmike Shmorney"), who didn't drink that night, and actually ended up driving his host home that. There were other recruits there that night that did get pretty hammered though.
The police are investigating records of who has visited Minnesota and who their hosts were. They are also investigating free ticket lists to see who was giving free tickets to Blarney's owner Mike Mulrooney.
The situation may take years to resolve, but the involvement of the police is probably not good news for Minnesota. The NCAA probably would have been willing to brush the situation off, but if the police uncover something, the NCAA will be forced to take action.
The news report mentions the footage they showed earlier of a 17 year old recruit(hint: his name rhymes with Shmike Shmorney"), who didn't drink that night, and actually ended up driving his host home that. There were other recruits there that night that did get pretty hammered though.
The police are investigating records of who has visited Minnesota and who their hosts were. They are also investigating free ticket lists to see who was giving free tickets to Blarney's owner Mike Mulrooney.
The situation may take years to resolve, but the involvement of the police is probably not good news for Minnesota. The NCAA probably would have been willing to brush the situation off, but if the police uncover something, the NCAA will be forced to take action.
Congrats Duluth
Now that all the votes have been counted, it looks like the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs will be getting their new ice arena.
61% of voters voted yes on a miniscule raise in restaurant tax to create funding for a new ice arena. The vote seemed like a no-brainer. Restaurant-goers in Duluth will end up paying in the vicinity of an extra dollar on their restaurant tabs in return for a beautiful new arena that should help make Duluth a more competitive hockey team, and bring more events and extra revenue into the city.
61% of voters voted yes on a miniscule raise in restaurant tax to create funding for a new ice arena. The vote seemed like a no-brainer. Restaurant-goers in Duluth will end up paying in the vicinity of an extra dollar on their restaurant tabs in return for a beautiful new arena that should help make Duluth a more competitive hockey team, and bring more events and extra revenue into the city.
Seabrook Chooses DU
Keith Seabrook, a defenseman from British Columba who was featured in this Let's Go DU blog entry, has committed to play for Denver in 2007.
Also of note, Brad Thiessen, a goalie from the BCHL that was considering North Dakota among other schools, committed to Northeastern.
Also of note, Brad Thiessen, a goalie from the BCHL that was considering North Dakota among other schools, committed to Northeastern.
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