A Tradition of Excellence

Monday Evening Post

2012-02-27T19:36:00.000-06:00

It's been about a week and a half since the last Sioux hockey update, so some of these items are a bit dated. Nonetheless...

The NHL trade deadline came and went today without any blockbuster transactions taking place, but two former Sioux defensemen were involved in deals that have them packing their bags for The Sunshine State. The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired Brian Lee from the Ottawa Senators for former Hobey Baker Award winner Matt Gilroy. It's interesting to note that since December 30th Ottawa was 12-0-1 with Lee in the lineup, and just 4-8-2 when he sat out. Tampa Bay also picked up defenseman Mike Commodore from Detroit for a seventh round draft pick. Commodore appeared in just 17 games this season for the Red Wings, so the trade could prove to be the best scenario for him. He wishes things would have worked out in Detroit, but at the same time he's looking forward to the opportunity in Tampa Bay.
Matt Frattin was recently called up by the Toronto Maple Leafs, and head coach Ron Wilson thinks the former Sioux star is a good fit for the second line.
Late last week New Jersey Devils' center Travis Zajac resumed light skating as he continues to work towards a return from his nagging Achilles tendon injury. He was back on the ice this morning, but there is no timetable set for his potential return.
Chicago Blackhawk captain Jonathan Toews has missed his last handful of games due to an upper-body injury. He was also involved in a single car accident last week, but he reportedly suffered no injuries as a result of the crash.
The results of the 2011-12 Hockey Night in Canada/National Hockey League Player's Association Player Poll were recently released and former Sioux Jonathan Toews, Zach Parise, and Dave Tippett all garnered some attention.
Matt Watkins was recently called up by the Phoenix Coyotes. He became the 15th former Sioux to skate in the NHL this season when he made his big league debut last Tuesday against Los Angeles. The Coyotes, of course, are coached by former Sioux Dave Tippett and he has his squad on a heck of a roll. Phoenix has not lost a game in regulation during the month of February and in one month's time they've climbed from 12th place in the Western Conference to sitting atop the Pacific Division.
Former North Dakota defenseman Aaron Schneekloth recently recorded his 300th career point as a member of the ECHL's Colorado Eagles. Schneekloth has been particularly hot during the month of February. He's played 12 games this month and has produced multiple point efforts in nine of them. During that span he has registered 19 points (6G, 13A) as he continues to lead the league's defensemen in both goals and assists. His 52 points (18G, 34A) are also 12 more than any other defenseman in the league. His Colorado teammate Michael Forney has also been putting up some nice numbers as of late. The former Sioux forward has 15 points (7G, 8A) in his last 11 games, including a five point effort Friday night in which he put up a hat trick and two assists.
Jason Gregoire has been out of the St. John's IceCaps' lineup recently due to a shoulder injury, but that didn't prevent the St. John's Telegram from getting to know him.
Concordia University of Wisconsin has parted ways with men's hockey coach Tony Hrkac.
Fighting Sioux junior center Corban Knight was named last week's WCHA Offensive Player of the Week after his strong performance against Michigan Tech.
With UND's Connor Gaarder and others making their marks on the college hockey landscape, the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament is starting to get noticed as a pipeline to the NCAA.
Recruit Drake Caggiula has had multi-point efforts in all three of Stouffville's (OJHL) Divisional Semifinal games. Caggiula has four goals and two assists as the Spirit leads Aurora 2-1 in their best of seven series.

LaDue Continues to Improve

2012-02-26T17:16:00.002-06:00

He's not the youngest sibling in one of college hockey's royal families, he's not being heavily wooed by one of the Ontario Hockey League's premier franchises, and he doesn't take the ice as a highly-regarded third round NHL draft pick. No, Lincoln Stars defenseman Paul LaDue doesn't generate the buzz and the press clippings of a Nolan Zajac, Jordan Schmaltz, or Andy Welinski. But one thing he has done this season is quickly establish himself as one of the USHL's elite defensemen, something the Lincoln Stars' staff must be extremely pleased with after having selected LaDue all the way down in the 16th Round of the 2010 USHL Entry Draft.

Through 40 games, the 19 year-old LaDue's 27 points currently rank sixth among USHL defensemen, his strong +25 rating is second among defensemen & tied for fourth among all players, and his nine goals are the third most among d-men. Impressive numbers for the USHL rookie blue liner, and they add to a growing trend of LaDue displaying the ability to not just adjust to heightened levels of competition, but to thrive while doing so.

As a sophomore at Grand Forks Central (ND-HS), LaDue recorded a respectable 11 points (1G, 10A) in 27 games during the 2008-09 season, but it was during the following year that his game really took off. As a junior at GFC he put together an All-Region and All-State season while helping the Knights take home the 2010 North Dakota state championship trophy. His ten goals were the most in the state among defensemen during the 2009-10 season, and his 35 points were the third most.

Having already established himself as one of the premier players in North Dakota high school hockey, last season LaDue opted to forgo his senior year at Grand Forks Central in order to join the North American Hockey League's Alexandria Blizzard. And after a slow start, he eventually settled into his new surroundings and earned NAHL All-Rookie Second Team honors with a 22 point (3G, 19A) campaign while being selected to participate in the league's Top Prospects Tournament.

LaDue's transition to the USHL's level of play has been swift, having earned Defensive Player of the Week honors just seven weeks into the season. And it was just a couple of weeks after earning those USHL weekly honors that he committed to playing college hockey for his hometown University of North Dakota. Throughout the season he has been a key component in Lincoln's run towards the top of the USHL's Western Conference standings, where the Stars currently find themselves just three points behind first place Omaha (the Stars also have two games in-hand).

Now, as the Lincoln Stars enter the stretch run of the USHL regular season, the North Dakota blue line recruit appears to be playing his best hockey of the season. Over the past month and a half LaDue has been producing at a point-per-game clip while also significantly bolstering his +/- rating. Dating back to the middle of January, LaDue has produced 13 points (6G, 7A) in 13 games while registering a nifty +13 rating. His strong play as of late certainly bodes well for Lincoln, who will be looking to make a serious run at winning their third Clark Cup championship.

Looking ahead, LaDue is expected to spend another year in Lincoln prior to taking his game to Grand Forks for the 2013-14 season, but that could change depending on North Dakota's offseason roster turnover. Arrival date notwithstanding, LaDue will eventually be counted upon to provide a steady, yet offensive presence for North Dakota's defensive corps. And if past results are any indication of what the future might hold, expect LaDue to have an early and significant impact for the University of North Dakota.

Recruit Profile: Brendan Lemieux

2012-02-18T14:53:00.000-06:00

Photo-Twitter.com

Current Team: Toronto Red Wings AAA U-16 (Greater Toronto Hockey League)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2014
Position: Forward
Birthday: March 15th, 1996
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 179
Shoots: Left

Elite Prospect Profile Page (GTHL does not track individual player statistics)
Green Bay Gamblers: Gamblers Sign Brendan Lemieux to Tender (Feb 2012)
GF Herald Commitment Article (Feb 2012 via HF Boards)
Toronto Star: From NHL Stars to a Minor Hockey Bench (Jan 2011)
Breakout Magazine: Family Ties - Pages 10 & 11 (Dec 2010)
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2014
In January of 2012 he was named to the GTHL's Top Prospects Game, featuring 40 of the GTHL's highest rated players, but was unable to play in the game.
In the fall of 2011 he attended a College Hockey Inc. showcase, where one coach said Lemieux "may have been the best player there." (The Hockey News Prospect Watch, Sept 2011)
2010-11: Played for the Toronto Red Wing AAA Major Bantams of the GTHL.
His father, Claude, played in 1215 games over 21 NHL seasons and won four Stanley Cup Championships, including in 1995 when he was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as Playoff MVP. His uncle Jocelyn also played in 597 games over 12 NHL seasons.

Fighting Sioux vs. Michigan Tech: Notes & Links

2012-02-17T06:50:00.004-06:00

North Dakota vs. Michigan Tech - Series Notes & Links

Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
Series Notes: North Dakota and Michigan Tech
The Dakota Student: High Stakes vs. MTU
The Daily Mining Gazette: Tech Sees New Sioux
A College Hockey News feature from a couple of weeks ago details Michigan Tech's resurgence this season.
The Huskies are a well-balanced bunch up front. They have nine forwards who have produced at least 12 points this season. By comparison, the Sioux have five forwards who have reached that mark. On the back-end however, just one Tech player has reached 12 points while five Sioux defensemen have done so. These numbers, by the way, include Joe Gleason as a defenseman even though he has recently been playing up front more often than on the blue line.
Speaking of Gleason, the junior "jack-of-all-trades" has been on a nice run lately. He has ten points (0G, 10A) in his last ten games after registering just three assists in his first 18.
After being held to just one point last weekend (a Brock Nelson goal Saturday night), expect UND's Knight Line of Nelson, Corban Knight, and Danny Kristo to have a big series.
In UND's eleven team games played since the Christmas break, nobody has more points than Carter Rowney's 12 (7G, 5A). Kristo has 11 (5G, 6A) while Nelson (6G, 4A) and Gleason (0G, 10A) each have 10.
Once the dust settles after this weekend's play we should see some separation in the race for playoff home-ice. Sitting in sixth place with 24 points, North Dakota currently holds a one point edge on seventh place Michigan Tech. Meanwhile, the two teams immediately ahead of UND in the standings, Colorado College and Nebraska-Omaha, are facing-off this weekend in Colorado Springs. Both the Tigers and Mavericks hold a one point edge on the Sioux. Bemidji State (at Minnesota) and St. Cloud State (vs. Alaska-Anchorage) each trail North Dakota by three points.
Sioux Sports says that UND's national tournament hopes would really be bolstered with a weekend sweep.
The UND Sports Spotlight was recently shining on freshman winger Mark MacMillan:

USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
USCHO's Weekend Picks
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Inside Hockey Series Preview
Sioux Sports Series Preview
Episode 15 of Through These Doors:

Thursday Evening Post

2012-02-16T19:58:00.000-06:00

A fun weekend of hockey in The Zenith City followed by being a bit under the weather during the week has led me to fall behind on disseminating Sioux hockey news. Also, due to the fact that the half-marathon and marathon training season is once again upon me, I'm going to start posting the links without as much personal commentary, as that will help utilize my time more efficiently. Continue to expect the Series Notes & Links, Recruit Profiles, etc., but I don't plan on doing the Series Recaps any longer. There are usually at least 3-4 good game stories written after every game (GF Herald, UNDsports.com, USCHO, opponent's beat writers, etc.), so there is more than enough fodder out there for you Saturday and Sunday morning readers. I also hope to start doing more original writing, so please bear with me as the blog continues to evolve. Without further stalling, here's what's been going on in the world of Sioux hockey:

Sioux winger Brendan O'Donnell impressed enough during his injury shortened season to be ranked among Tampa Bay's top prospects.
As Tradition of Excellence blogged about last October, next season's Nebraska-Omaha vs. North Dakota outdoor game was made official this week. Here is the Omaha World-Leader's take on the weekend. Tickets go on sale October 1st.
Head coach Dave Hakstol says the legislation mandating the use of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo creates "insurmountable challenges" for North Dakota athletics.
Travis Zajac's checkup showed that his Achilles tendon is healing as it should, and he should be able to resume skating by the end of the week.
Zach Parise is feeling great and is focused on the present. New Jersey's captain also says he does not want to talk contract during the season, but keeping Parise is a matter of dollars and sense for the Devils.
Former Sioux player and current Lincoln Star coach Chad Johnson is loyal to his players.
Hunter Bishop was recently named a co-recipient of the Hamilton Bulldogs' Community Player of the Month Award.
Leaf's TV asks Matt Frattin 20 Questions:

Frattin also did an interview with Leafs Nation.
Jason Blake's presence in the Anaheim Duck lineup seems to have a significant impact on the team's success.
David Toews (Toledo-ECHL) and Brian Lee (Ottawa-NHL) both recently returned to their respective lineups after sitting out with injury.
Tony Hrkac's NCAA single season scoring record could be unbreakable.
Evan Trupp was named the ECHL's Player of the Week. The following goal certainly helped his case:

Aaron Schneekloth recorded his 300th point as a member of the Colorado Eagles (ECHL).
Rastislav Spirko and Team Slovakia recently won the BellSwiss Bank Championship. In the four-team knockout format Spirko notched a goal in two games.
Keaton Thompson and the Team USA Under-17 team recently swept all three of its games at the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament in Slovakia. Thompson recorded one assist during the tournament.
Miles Koules and the Under-18 team finished in third place at the Five Nations Tournament in Finland. The Americans won two and lost two as Koules produced one assist in four games.
North Dakota landed another recruit for its Class of 2014. Brendan Lemieux of the Toronto AAA Red Wings has given a verbal commitment to the Fighting Sioux. He is the son of former NHLer Claude Lemieux.
Recruit Zane Gothberg is keeping a level head.
Recruit Drake Caggiula was named to the OJHL's All-Prospect 1st Team.

Fighting Sioux vs. Minnesota-Duluth: Notes & Links

2012-02-10T07:58:00.002-06:00

North Dakota vs. Minnesota-Duluth - Series Notes & Links

Friday and Saturday 7:07 CST
Both games will be broadcast on regional radio across the UND Radio Network. As for television, Friday night's game only will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network (Directv channel 613). Each game will also be streamed by B2TV for $8.00/night.
Lots of good stuff in Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
Kevin Pates' (Duluth News-Tribune): North Dakota Back in Duluth
Series Notes in PDF: North Dakota and Minnesota-Duluth
Specialty teams could play a big role this weekend. UMD ranks near the bottom of the league in both power play percentage (10th - 18.6%) and penalty kill (10th - 76.1%) while North Dakota is fifth in the league on the man advantage (20.7%) and first on the kill (85.5%).
Danny Kristo is knocking on the door of the Fighting Sioux Century Club. The junior winger has 95 career points. Linemate Corban Knight is next in line with 83.
UMD's top three scorers Jack Connolly, Travis Oleksuk, and JT Brown have combined for 116 points this season, yet none of them are NHL draft picks. Brown is the reigning WCHA Offensive Player of the Week after scoring five goals, including four on Friday night, in last weekend's series against Alaska-Anchorage. Oleksuk is sitting on 99 career points, and with a strong stretch run Connolly could break the 200 point barrier. The senior center currently has 179 career points.
The Bulldogs will be looking to get back on track this weekend. Since their 17-game unbeaten streak came to a halt, UMD is 3-3-1 and has been outscored 20-17. They scored 4.29 goals per game and gave up 1.82 during the streak, but the Bulldogs are averaging 2.43 while allowing 2.86 since.
This week's UND Sports Spotlight for Men's Hockey is Andrew Panzarella:

USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
USCHO's Weekend Picks
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
INCH's Checking in Around the WCHA
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Goon's World Series Notes
Sioux Sports Series Preview
UND Athletic Dept. Travel Blog
The Ciskie Blog: Bulldogs Better Be Ready For Sioux
Episode 14 of Through These Doors:

Thursday Morning Coffee

2012-02-09T10:54:00.000-06:00

Brad Schlossman of the GF Herald wrote an article last weekend featuring Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol's thoughts on the CHL-NCAA recruiting battle, and yesterday Rogers Sportsnet's Patrick King issued a rebuttal. King's response is noticeably one-sided, and Chris Peters of The United States of Hockey does a great job of breaking it all down.
Yesterday it was announced that freshman Brendan O'Donnell will soon undergo season-ending surgery, relegating North Dakota to 18 available skaters, just enough to field a full lineup. If anyone else is forced to miss time from here on out, the Sioux will be forced to skate with a short bench. O'Donnell joins Derek Rodwell and Rocco Grimaldi on UND's season-ending surgery list.
Evan Trupp had his first career three point game as a professional last night, popping in a goal to go along with two assists as the Bakersfield Condors (ECHL) knocked off Utah 4-0. He now has seven points (1G, 6A) in 10 games since being traded from Cincinnati. His former Pony Express linemates Brad Malone and Matt Frattin also contributed to their teams' wins yesterday. Malone had a goal and an assist in helping Lake Erie (AHL) to a 4-3 win over Rockford while Frattin scored the game-winner in a 4-3 Toronto Marlie (AHL) victory over Rochester.
Portland's (AHL) UND connection of Matt Watkins and Brett Hextall produced a goal and two assists Tuesday night as the Pirates defeated Manchester 4-2. Ryan Duncan has been out of Portland's lineup recently.
In infirmary news, Kyle Radke is on Rio Grande Valley's (CHL) 30-day IR while Joe Finley has been out of Rochester's (AHL) lineup with a lower body injury that head coach Ron Rolston terms as being "somewhat long-term."
Finley and fellow Rochester American Corey Fienhage were recently a part of HF's Buffalo Sabre prospect breakdown.
Darcy Zajac is the most recent Albany Devil (AHL) to be featured on Devils Insider.
Travis Zajac had his Achilles tendon re-evaluated in Winnipeg yesterday. The Devils are not expected to release details of the evaluation and Zajac's status until later today, but leading up to the doctor visit New Jersey's staff was optimistic that the news would be favorable and that their top center would be able to resume hockey activities soon.
Former Sioux Ryan Johnson was recently featured at Livestrong.com.
Recruit Jordan Schmaltz came in at #34 in TSN's 2012 NHL Draft Midseason Rankings.
Yesterday Jordan's younger brother and fellow Sioux recruit Nick Schmaltz committed to rejoining the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers for next season, effectively turning down an offer to join the USNTDP Under-17 team. Nick, who is currently with the Chicago Mission U-16 team, played 11 games with Green Bay earlier this season, thus they retain his future USHL rights. Sioux recruit Chris Wilkie is also a potential invitee to USA Hockey's 40-player U-17 selection camp.
Sioux recruit Keaton Thompson and the Team USA U-17 squad opened the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament today in Piestany, Slovakia by knocking off Switzerland 6-1. Their next action will come bright and early tomorrow morning when they take on Germany at 6:30 AM CST.

Recruit Profile: Colten St. Clair

2012-02-08T18:56:00.000-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: University of North Dakota (Redshirt)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Forward
Birthday: November 22, 1992
Hometown: Gilbert, AZ
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 183
Shoots: Right

Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
NHL.com: Scouts See St. Clair's Work Ethic as Second to None (Jun 2011)
Fox Sports Arizona: Two Arizona Prospects Hope to Be NHL Ice Breakers (Jun 2011)
Arizona Rubber: Commitment Article
2011-12: He is currently enrolled at UND but is sitting out the season as a redshirt after questions concerning online high school course certifications led to him being ruled ineligible by the NCAA Clearinghouse.
2010-11: He spent the season with the Fargo Force of the USHL, producing 25 points (11G, 14A) in 42 games while serving as an assistant captain. In five playoff games he recorded a goal and an assist.
In November of 2010 he played in the World Junior A Challenge, notching three assists in four games in helping Team USA take home the gold medal.
2009-10: He played for the Fargo Force and issued a 33 point (15G, 18A) campaign in 54 games. He added two goals and an assist in 13 playoff games.
In November of 2009 he took part in the World Junior A Challenge where he scored two goals and had three assists in five games for the gold medal-winning Team USA squad.
In August of 2009 he played for Team USA at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, producing a goal and two assists in four games.
He took part in USA Hockey's Select 17 Development Camp where, according to US Hockey Report, he was the camp's top ranked forward and "outstanding in every game."
2008-09: Playing for the Fargo Force, he produced 26 points (17G, 9A) in 55 games as a USHL rookie. He also had two goals and three assists in ten playoff games.
He was the second leading scorer at the 2007 USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, producing nine points (5G, 4A) in five games.

Tuesday Evening Post

2012-02-07T17:45:00.000-06:00

Chris Porter played two games in Peoria (AHL) over the NHL All-Star break and Blues' head coach Ken Hitchcock's analysis was that the former Sioux captain needed to get after the puck a bit more. Porter listened, and Hitchcock said he was "by far" St. Louis' best player Saturday against Nashville. He is slated to skate on the third line tonight with Chris Stewart and Vladimir Sobotka when St. Louis visits Ottawa. Porter, by the way, will become an unrestricted free agent this summer unless St. Louis extends him. In other Blues news, there has been some speculation that St. Louis could be looking to add some offensive punch prior to the trade deadline, but one observer says the Blues should not mortgage the future. That future certainly includes TJ Oshie, who along with David Backes, was called the heart and soul of the team.
Michael Forney was called up to the AHL's St. John's IceCaps yesterday, and he is in the lineup tonight against Providence. Forney has had a strong season with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) as he is tied for fourth on the team with 37 points (13G, 24A) in 44 games. Forney has two assists in 12 career games in the AHL, all with the Chicago Wolves. In some bad news out of St. John's, Jason Gregoire reportedly suffered what is considered to be a long-term shoulder injury.
Jonathan Toews was the third overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, but according to Doug McIntyre of ESPN, he would go number one overall if teams had it to do over again. The full version of the article is only available to ESPN Insider subscribers. Toews and the Blackhawks will look to end their recent swoon tonight when they resume their lengthy road trip against Colorado.
Travis Zajac is scheduled to have his ailing Achilles tendon evaluated in Winnipeg Wednesday. Zajac has appeared in just eight games this season for New Jersey after suffering the Achilles injury during the offseason.
NHL.com recently published a feature on UND's leading goal scorer Brock Nelson, saying the big winger is excelling at North Dakota.
Highly regarded 1995-born defenseman Ian McCoshen of the Waterloo Black Hawks (USHL) has narrowed his collegiate choices down to four schools, one of which is North Dakota. The Hudson, WI native is also considering Minnesota-Duluth, Nebraska-Omaha, and his homestate Wisconsin Badgers.
Recruit Jordan Schmaltz and the Green By Gamblers will be entertaining Waterloo in a Tuesday evening USHL tilt. Schmaltz is second among USHL defensemen in scoring this season with 25 points, trailing Omaha's Nolan Zajac by just one point despite having played seven fewer games. NHL.com has also updated it's three 2012 mock drafts, and Schmaltz checks in at #23 on Steve Hoffner's and #28 on Adam Kimelman's.
A pair of Sioux recruits are currently overseas, preparing to take part in some international competition. Miles Koules and the Team USA Under-18ers are in Finland for the Under-18 Five Nations Tournament, while Keaton Thompson and the U-17ers are in Slovakia for the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament. The Under-17 team opens play Thursday morning against Switzerland, while the Under-18 team opens the Five Nations Tournament against the Czech Republic Thursday afternoon. Both squads will be looking to defend titles as Team USA went undefeated in each of these events last year.

Recruit Profile: Zane Gothberg

2012-02-06T21:03:00.000-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Fargo Force (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Goaltender
Birthday: August 20th, 1992
Hometown: Thief River Falls, MN
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 190
Shoots: Left

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
USHL 2011-12 Week 17 Goaltender of the Week (Jan 2012)
USHL 2011-12 Week 16 Goaltender of the Week (Jan 2012)
New England Hockey Journal: Gothberg Growing, Gaining Confidence (Nov 2011)
Slightly Chilled: Circle of Life... (Oct 2011)
WEEI Radio Boston Blog: Zane Gothberg Can't Mask His Excitement (Jul 2011)
USA Hockey: Gothberg Always Willing to Work Hard (Oct 2010)
The Bruins Blog: Great Experiences For Goaltending Prospect Gothberg (Aug 2010)
WEEI Radio Boston Blog: Zaney Draft Pick Breaks Goaltending Mold (Jul 2010)
NHL.com: Family Matters For Gothberg (Jun 2010)
MN Hockey Hub: Prowler Between the Pipes (Jan 2010)
He was selected in the 6th round (165th overall) by the Boston Bruins in the 2010 NHL Draft.
In November of 2011 he participated in the World Junior A Challenge, helping Team USA win the bronze medal. He played in two games and posted a 0.50 GAA and a .979 Save Percentage, including a 4-0 shutout of Sweden in the bronze medal game.
2010-11: He spent the season with the Fargo Force of the United States Hockey League, playing in 23 games with a 2.23 GAA and .908 Save Percentage.
He was a member of the undefeated, gold medal-winning Team USA entry in the 2010 World Jr. A Challenge, posting a 2.05 GAA and .929 Save Percentage in four tournament games.
2009-10: As a high school senior he played for the Thief River Falls Prowlers (MN-HS), posting a 1.81 GAA, .925 Save Percentage, and three shutouts in 27 games on his way to winning the Frank Brimsek Award as the top senior goaltender in Minnesota high school hockey. He also earned 1st Team All-State honors.
In August of 2009 he was named to the USA Hockey Select Under-18 team that played at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He saw action in three games and posted a 4.96 GAA and .865 Save Percentage.
He attended the USA Hockey Select 17 Development Camp in July of 2009, posting a 3.60 GAA and .893 Save Percentage in five games on his way to being named one of the camp's top five goalies by the US Hockey Report.
2008-09: In his junior year at Thief River Falls he played in 27 games, recording a 1.49 GAA to go along with four shutouts in earning Honorable Mention All-State recognition.
2007-08: As a high school sophomore at Thief River Falls he played in 26 games and posted a 2.15 GAA.

Super Sunday Evening Post

2012-02-05T20:20:00.001-06:00

Dillon Simpson recently came in at #17 on Copper and Blue's list of the top 25 Edmonton Oiler prospects under the age of 25. Simpson was drafted by Edmonton in the fourth round (92nd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.
The latest Sioux recruits, Adam Tambellini and Bryn Chyzyk, had big weekends on the ice. Chyzyk recorded one goal and three assists to help the Fargo Force (USHL) earn three out of four league points, while Tambellini produced two goals and three assists in two Vernon Viper (BCHL) wins. Tambellini was also the subject of a Dan Sallows profile, who had a number of nice things to say about the Viper forward, including, "Fighting Sioux fans are in for a treat come the 2013-2014 season, because the kid is going to be an absolute stud." Here is a nice highlight/interview video of Tambellini:

Recruit Drake Caggiula returned from injury Thursday night and had two goals and an assist in three weekend games that saw his Stouffville Spirit (OJHL) take four out of a possible six points.
The Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman wrote a column for today's paper that examines the possible solutions to the NCAA losing committed recruits to the CHL.
Matt Frattin scored two goals last night in the Toronto Marlies' 5-2 win over Abbotsford. Last season's NCAA goal scoring leader now has five goals in his last five games.
Zach Parise had a goal and an assist today to extend his point streak to five games (5G, 2A) as New Jersey defeated Pittsburgh 5-2. The Devils have now won four straight and are well within striking distance of a top four finish in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, The Minneapolis Star Tribune offers up their take on the scenarios that could lead to Parise playing for the Wild. Another feature on New Jersey's captain cuts right to the chase: He just wants to win.
Jonathan Toews is currently second in the NHL in Faceoff Percentage, trailing former Wisconsin Badger and current San Jose Shark Joe Pavelski by just 0.5%. He's also taken over the league lead in Takeaways, and it's how well he does the little things all over the ice that make him one of the best all-around players in the world. He's also advanced to the final round of Real GM's Be the GM contest, where he is matched up against Sidney Crosby. So go ahead and cast your vote.
Brandon Bochenski continues to have a superb year for Barys Astana (KHL). The former Sioux All-American currently leads the league in goals with 23 and is tied for third in points with 52 (23G, 29A). While he is tempted to take another shot at sticking with an NHL team, he has found himself a comfortable life overseas.
Kyle Radke continues to be sidelined by injury for the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (CHL).
The Dallas Stars inducted former Sioux goaltender Ed Belfour into their Walk of Fame last night, and the Dallas crowd welcomed him with the classic "Eddie! Eddie!" chant. Here's a video of the pregame ceremony:

Belfour says he is enjoying the retired life, but doesn't rule out the possibility of returning to the game as a coach.
For those of you who read Swedish, Lee Goren recently stated he'd like to stay in Sweden to finish up his career. For those of you as fluent in Swedish as I, here's the article text translated via Google Translate and then edited by yours truly:

Goren Would Like To End His Career in Sweden
Kana Dicken talks to Lee Goren about playing time, his thoughts on the sport, and what the rest of his career holds.

     He had to skip practice on Wednesday, but expect Lee Goren, who would happily play out the remainder of his career with Skellefteå, to be on the ice tonight. After all, the more playing time he gets, the better. He logged a significant amount of ice time against Färjestad, 22:56 to be exact, so it's no wonder that Goren was not on the ice Wednesday.

     "It was Anders (Forsberg) who told me that I was cycling today. And I couldn't argue," says a smiling Goren. "There has nevertheless been a lot of minutes on the ice recently." But does he enjoy it that way? "Absolutely. All players want to play as much as possible. They want to be involved and contribute, make a difference on the ice."

     And it's not just playing time that drives Goren. The Tunge forward radiates energy off the ice. He simply likes the hockey life. "It has reached a certain point, where you are getting a little bit older and you realize that you need to enjoy it. You have no idea how many years you have left as a hockey player. Plus, there's a good group of guys here and a good team of leaders that I enjoy."

     Goren has also enjoyed some of his better seasons with Skellefteå, including this season, as he is not far off from matching his career-best numbers. "I feel really good here. Last time I left Skellefteå was to win a championship, and I did. Now I have come back to win one here." And the Canadian definitely wants to stay in Skelleftea for additional seasons. "This is where I want to finish my career," he observes. "I feel I have a few more years to play."

     Have you started to talk with Skelleftea about your future plans? "I don't know what my agent has done. But the team knows that I want to come back for another season, so it's up to them."

     But let's not jump the gun just yet, as it is time to think about tonight's game against Stockholm.
"They are difficult to play against and they have a really good goalie. It becomes even more challenging for us now that we are the league leaders, we are always the team to beat. It is important that we are ready to play."

Recruit Profile: Jack Rowe

2012-02-04T12:00:00.000-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Forward
Birthday: April 7th, 1994
Hometown: Cary, IL
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 168
Shoots: Left

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
GF Herald Commitment Article (Aug. 2010, via Goon's World)
USA Hockey: Rowe Stacking Up Titles Like They're Poker Chips (Oct. 2010)
NHL Entry Draft Eligible in 2012
2010-11: Played for the Team Illinois Under-18 team, producing 13 points (9G, 4A) in 19 games.
In August of 2010 he was a member of the USA Hockey Select 16 team that played in the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Huttwil, Switzerland. He produced four goals and two assists in four games, leading Team USA in both goals and points.
He participated in USA Hockey's Select 16 Development Camp, producing five points (4G, 1A) in six games. US Hockey Report ranked him as the #16 forward at the camp: Played pretty well considering he had banged-up ribs. Smooth skater who doesn't shy away from physical game. From Team Illinois.
2009-10: While playing for the Team Illinois U-16 team he registered 31 points (19G, 12A) in 38 games.
He took part in the USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, producing four points (3G, 1A) in five games.
2008-09: He played for the Chicago Mission Bantam Majors, recording 34 points (23 G, 11A) in 31 games, leading the team in both points and goals.
At the USA Hockey Select 14 Development Camp he registered two assists in five games.

Friday Morning Coffee

2012-02-03T07:13:00.000-06:00

The Detroit Red Wing's Mike Commodore will be looking to claim the team's sixth defenseman spot down the stretch.
Matt Smaby, who has missed the majority of the season recovering from surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament, is in Syracuse (AHL) working his way back into game condition in the hope of making his Anaheim debut as soon as possible. In personal news, Smaby and his wife had their first child last week.
In what seems like the daily Zach Parise update, the New Jersey star says his contract negotiations will not be affected by the Devils' financial situation, but he does admit that the entire process has been harder than he had anticipated. On the ice Parise continues to play well, picking up two goals (including the game-winner) in last night's 5-3 win over Montreal. After a slow start statistically, he has put up 32 points over his last 29 games to help keep New Jersey in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Jason Blake has missed the first two games coming out of the All-Star break due to a lingering foot injury, but he appears close to returning to the Anaheim lineup. The Ottawa Senators' Brian Lee has also been on the shelf due to injury, having missed the last eight games due to a lower body ailment. He resumed practicing this week and could be in the lineup this weekend.
While every other team has returned to action since the NHL resumed play following All-Star Weekend, TJ Oshie, Chris Porter, and the St. Louis Blues finally get back at it tonight against Los Angeles. After a strong run that saw them climb towards the top of the Western Conference, head coach Ken Hitchcock says they have to take it up another level to become an elite team.
Ed Belfour and Jonathan Toews each have one of the 15 Best Individual Seasons in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks, one of the NHL's Original Six.
A few weeks ago Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol had some comments on the CHL vs. NCAA debate, and The Hockey News says the rivalry will only intensify. Expect recruit Nick Schmaltz to be a player that the CHL pursues very hard. He is one of the top 1996 birth year players in North America and is a highly-coveted prospect by the Ontario Hockey League. In related news, the WHL's Everett Silvertips fired their longtime general manager yesterday. Everett holds the CHL rights to USNTDP U-18 star defenseman Seth Jones, who reportedly has narrowed down next year's playing options to Everett or North Dakota. What this means in the grand scheme of Jones' decision is anyone's guess, but it certainly adds another level of intrigue.
This morning the Vernon Morning Star published a very nice feature on UND's newest recruit, Adam Tambellini. One teammate says about the UND commit, “It’s not that often you see guys his age doing what he does. The poise he plays with is pretty awesome for the age he is right now." Tambellini also states that after his campus visit, the decision to commit to UND was "kind of a no-brainer."
Keaton Thompson and the USNTDP Under-17 team will be off this weekend as they prepare for the Vlad Dzurilla Under-18 Tournament in Slovakia. The tournament will run from February 9-11 as Team USA looks to defend its title. Miles Koules and the Under-18ers return to play tonight against Lake Superior State after having last weekend off. The Under-18 team is a respectable 5-7-2 against collegiate teams this season.
Recruit Drake Caggiula returned to the Stouffville Spirit (OJHL) lineup last night after missing a couple weeks due to injury. He notched an assist on the only Spirit goal of the night in a 2-1 OT loss.
After their performances against Wisconsin, North Dakota's Danny Kristo was named first star of the week among Montreal Canadien prospects, while Brock Nelson earned second star status among New York Islanders prospects.
Here is Through These Doors, Episode 13:

Recruit Profile: Adam Tambellini

2012-02-01T20:27:00.002-06:00

Photo-BCHL.com

Current Team: Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Forward
Birthday: November 1st, 1994
Hometown: Port Moody, BC, Canada
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 171
Shoots: Left

BCHL 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
Vernon Viper Commitment Press Release
Dan Sallows: Player Profile (Feb 2012)
Vernon Morning Star: NHL Culture Boosts Vernon Viper Rookie Adam Tambellini
Vernon Morning Star: Vipers Add Elite Talent
Vernon Central: All in the Family
The Province: Siblings on Hockey Radar
NHL Entry Draft Eligible in 2013
Took part in the 2011 CJHL Prospects Event in Langley, BC. Playing for the President's Cup-winning Team West, he recorded a goal and an assist in two games. Both of his points came on game-winning goals, including scoring the overtime game-winner in the first game of the two game event.
Participated in Canada West's 2011 World Junior A Challenge Evaluation Camp.
2010-11: Played for the Edmonton SSAC Midget AAA of the Alberta Midget Hockey League, producing 54 points (29G, 25A) in 34 games. In the AMHL playoffs he recorded six points (4G, 2A) in five games. He also played three games for the Sherwood Park Crusaders of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, scoring one goal.
He played in the 2011 AMHL All-Star Game, picking up an assist for Team South in a 5-4 loss to fellow Sioux recruit Geoff Crisfield's Team North.
He scored all three goals for the Edmonton SSAC Athletics in a 3-2 championship game victory over the Sakatoon Contancts at the prestigious 2010 Mac's Midget AAA Hockey Tournament in Calgary.
2009-10: Played for the Edmonton SSAC Midget Minor team of the Alberta Midget Minor Hockey League, producing 51 points (27G, 24A) in 34 games, which was good enough for eighth best in the league. He also played in six playoff games, producing ten points (6G, 4A).
He is the son of Edmonton Oiler GM Steve Tambellini and the brother of former University of Michigan standout Jeff Tambellini.

Recruit Profile: Bryn Chyzyk

2012-01-31T23:53:00.009-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Fargo Force (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Forward
Birthday: November 5th, 1992
Hometown: Virden, MB, Canada
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 181
Shoots: Left

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
Fargo Force Commitment Release
USHL Commitment Press Release
Slightly Chilled Profile
USHL Week 7 Player of the Week
Fargo Forum: Chyzyk Making Waves
MJHL: Chyzyk a Familiar Name With Kings' Fans
2010-11: Played with the Dauphin Kings of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, registering 71 points (22G, 49A) in 62 games on his way to earning MJHL Rookie of the Year honors. He was named the league's Week 5 Player of the Week, and his 71 points were the seventh most in the league.
He took part in the 2011 MJHL All-Star Game, producing three assists in the contest. He was a Sher-Wood Division All-Star teammate of current Sioux forward Stephane Pattyn.
2009-10: Played for the Southwest Cougars of the Manitoba Midget Hockey League and was second on the team with 57 points (26G, 31A) in 43 games. He led the Cougars in scoring during the playoffs with 11 points (4G, 7A) in eight games.
He was named the MMHL Offensive Player of the Week on December 11
2007-08 & 2008-09: Played for Virden (MB) High School, where he produced 26 goals and 29 assists for the Golden Bears.

Tuesday Evening Post

2012-01-31T18:41:00.001-06:00

Just a few hours after getting word of Fargo Force forward Bryn Chyzyk's collegiate intentions, UND received its second commitment of the day yesterday when Vernon Viper (BCHL) forward Adam Tambellini said he plans to play his college hockey at North Dakota, choosing UND over Michigan, Minnesota, and Penn State. Tambellini, the son of Edmonton Oiler GM Steve Tambellini and brother of former Michigan star Jeff Tambellini, has tallied 38 points (20G, 18A) in 41 games as a Viper rookie. He could potentially arrive in North Dakota as early as next season, but it appears 2013 is the more likely scenario. Tambellini, who was considered to be one of the top non-committed players in North America prior to his commitment, is a Viper teammate of fellow UND recruit Geoff Crisfield. Expect much more on UND's two latest recruits in the next few days when their recruit profiles are published.
Apparently New Jersey Devils' general manager Lou Lamoriello is telling other GMs around the league that he will not be dealing Zach Parise prior to the February 27 trade deadline. Instead, if Parise were to be dealt it would be after the season but prior to the July 1st free agency period, which would give the offering team an exclusive negotiating period with the former Sioux star in advance of him becoming an unrestricted free agent. While New Jersey management is doing what most believe is the right thing in keeping Parise in New Jersey as they try to secure a playoff berth, virtually nothing has been done to try to keep their star beyond this season.
Jonathan Toews will return to Chicago's lineup tonight when they take on Vancouver in what is the first game of a nine game road trip. Toews missed last Tuesday's game against Nashville with an apparent wrist injury and used the long All-Star weekend to recover. In other good news for Chicago, they will also be getting former Vermont star Patrick Sharp back, who's been out of the lineup since January 8.
Jason Blake is questionable for the Anaheim Ducks in their match-up with Phoenix tonight. He is suffering from a lingering foot injury.
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference, UND's new hockey home starting with the 2013-14 season, signed an exclusive national television deal with the CBS Sports Network today. There is still much to be determined over the next year and a half in terms of UND's national and regional television presence, but from the way it looks now, the deal with Fox College Sports that allows all North Dakota home games to be broadcast nationally will not be renewed after next season.
There was an interesting article in the Duluth News Tribune recently featuring Tyler and Josh Cisar, a high-scoring pair of brothers who play for the Moose Lake Area hockey team. Josh recently scored eight goals in a game, which is the second highest single game total in Minnesota high school hockey history. The record is held by Max Oshie, the great-uncle of former Sioux TJ Oshie. Max set the record in a 1948 game against Thief River Falls. Who was unfortunate enough to be in net that night for TRF? None other than former UND goalie and benefactor extraordinaire Ralph Engelstad.
Carter Rowney is the most recent player featured by UND Sports Spotlight:

Monday Evening Post

2012-01-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

North Dakota received a verbal commitment from Fargo Force forward Bryn Chyzyk today. Chyzyk, who visited UND last Friday during the Wisconsin series, chose North Dakota over future NCHC foes Nebraska-Omaha, Minnesota-Duluth, and Western Michigan. Northern Michigan was also said to be in the mix for a player who has burst onto the USHL scene this season. Chyzyk is currently the second leading scorer for Fargo with 31 points (20G, 11A) in 37 games, and his 20 goals rank as the sixth best in the USHL. For a quick introduction to the latest North Dakota recruit, here is Chyzyk's Force in a Minute feature (CAUTION: Video contains Justin Bieber reference 1 of 2):

Luke Johnson and Jack Rowe each had big games this past weekend in USHL action. Johnson had a three point game (1G, 2A) Friday night to help Lincoln to a 5-2 victory over Des Moines, while Rowe had a five assist night Saturday in Cedar Rapids' 6-5 shootout loss to Waterloo. Johnson now has 30 points (10G, 20A) in 32 games this season, while Rowe, after missing the first month of the season due to injury, has 14 points (2G, 12A) in 25 games. He's been playing particularly well as of late, recording 12 points (2G, 10A) and a +8 rating in his last 14 games after recording just two assists and a -5 in his first 11.
Luke Voltin returned to the ice last weekend for the first time since leaving the USNTDP, going scoreless in two games with the Des Moines Buccaneers. Voltin was initially claimed off of USHL waivers by the Chicago Steel, who then moved the forward to Des Moines via trade.
Jordan Schmaltz took part in an interview on The Pipeline Show last week following the NHL/USHL Top Prospects Game.
Fighting Sioux centerman Corban Knight was recently interviewed by Litter Box Cats.
According to a leading Toronto Maple Leaf blog, former Sioux and current Toronto Marlie Matt Frattin is considered one of the top prospects in the Maple Leaf system. Frattin has three goals and an assist in his last four games, including a two goal performance against former linemate Brad Malone's Lake Erie Monsters last Thursday. Malone also had a goal in the 6-2 Marlie win.
Chris Porter has been recalled by the St. Louis Blues following a two-game conditioning stint in Peoria (AHL), while Jake Marto is back with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL).
Oilers Nation recently caught up with Oklahoma City Baron (AHL) head coach Todd Nelson in order to see how things are going for Edmonton's top farm team, and Nelson gave a glowing report on former Sioux standout Chris VandeVelde:

Chris VandeVelde has made excellent gains this year. He's a lot better player than he was last year. He's a pretty dominant centerman at this level. And what I mean by dominant is just his play; his all-around game. If you look at his numbers, they're nothing to get all excited about, but what he does for us is he plays a very good defensive role. He does excellent penalty killing for us, and he's strong on draws. He's a big strong centerman, and he has improved drastically from last year.

New Jersey Devils' center Travis Zajac has yet to resume skating since being shutdown earlier this month, but GM Lou Lamariello expects Zajac to be back with New Jersey at some point this season. As the article also points out, Zajac's wife gave birth to a baby boy last week, Zenon Nathan Zajac. Meanwhile, In Lou We Trust says New Jersey would be stupid to trade star winger Zach Parise.
Jonathan Toews is expected to return to action tomorrow night in Vancouver. The All-Star Break came at a great time for the Chicago center, allowing him some extra time to recuperate from a wrist injury suffered a week and a half ago.
ESPN's John Buccigross recently released his list of the Top 100 players in the NHL. North Dakota had two of the top 14, with Toews coming in at number two and Parise at number 14.
Matt Greene and the Los Angeles Kings have been playing some very good hockey recently, but perhaps they've been overshadowed a bit by the NBA's Clippers and Lakers. The Fame Makers are looking to change that (CAUTION: Video contains Justin Bieber reference 2 of 2):

The Fame Makers with the Los Angeles Kings from Anze Kopitar

Wisconsin Recap

2012-01-29T15:01:00.000-06:00

Being on the outside looking in with regard to the national tournament picture, North Dakota came into the weekend knowing that it must defend its home arena during the stretch run if it hopes to earn an NCAA tournament berth. By way of 5-3 and 4-2 victories, the Sioux defended Engelstad Arena and avenged a Badger sweep in Madison earlier this season. Here are a few observations:

North Dakota is now 11-3-1 since the Sunday game of the Bemidji State series. Through that game the Sioux were scoring 2.42 goals per game while allowing 3.00. Since then they are scoring 3.53 while allowing 2.60.
Michael Parks was very good this weekend. As a whole he's been very solid all season long, but it appears as though he's finding the form that allowed him to score the sixth most goals in the USHL last season. He had four points (3G, 1A) through the first 21 games, but since then he's produced five points (3G, 2A) in six games.
Stephane Pattyn celebrated his 21st birthday in style by scoring his first career goal Friday night. On what was the game-winning goal, he strongly held his position in front of the net and Mario Lamoureux rewarded his efforts by slipping him a pass that Pattyn neatly tucked home.
One obvious key to limiting the damage caused by Wisconsin's top guns is to keep the puck off their sticks. UND won 58% of the faceoffs this weekend while holding Justin Schultz and Mark Zengerle, two of the top point producers in the nation, to a combined two points (0G, 2A) and a -4 rating. North Dakota's overall team defense was very good this weekend as well. Wisconsin had a difficult time generating quality scoring chances.
Joe Gleason is settling into his forward role quite nicely. He's been very good over the past few games at gaining the offensive zone with speed, and when that happens it really puts the opposing team on its heels. He's a tremendous skater with the invaluable ability to play either defense or forward effectively, but he's really becoming a difference maker while playing up front.
Derek Forbort returned to the lineup this weekend, seeing his first action since getting injured during the World Junior Championships. He seemed confident, he played with a bit of an edge, and he had a very nice series. With the upcoming off-week, the team now has two weeks to try and get everyone as healthy as possible for the last month of the regular season and playoffs.
The top line of Brock Nelson, Danny Kristo, and Corban Knight picked up where it left off last Saturday. After being held off the scoresheet last Friday in St. Cloud, "The KnightLine" has produced 17 points (7G, 10A) during the team's three game win streak.
With Brock Nelson scoring a goal each night, the Fighting Sioux are now 12-2-0 when he scores, 3-8-2 when he does not.
Andrew MacWilliam appears to be breaking out offensively. In 20 games prior to flipping the calendar, the junior defenseman had one assist. In the seven games played in 2012, MacWilliam has recorded five points (2G, 3A), including last night's bomb from beyond the blue line. As a unit, North Dakota's defensemen contributed eight points (2G, 6A) against Wisconsin.
Based on the play of the goaltenders this weekend, I'd expect the goalie rotation to continue in Duluth. There were several weird, flukey goals scored this weekend, but both Aaron Dell and Brad Eidsness did what they had to do in order to give the team a chance to win.
The Sioux are now tied with Colorado College for fourth place in the conference standings. However, the two teams immediately below them in the standings (Michigan Tech and Nebraska-Omaha) have two games in hand on the Sioux. UND is off next weekend, while Michigan Tech travels to Minnesota State and UNO hosts Bemidji State. The following week UNO travels to Michigan Tech while North Dakota takes to the road against Minnesota-Duluth.

Recruit Profile: Miles Koules

2012-01-28T12:20:00.001-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: US National Team Dev. Program Under-18 Team
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Forward
Birthday: June 25th, 1994
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 187
Shoots: Right

Elite Prospect Profile/Stat Page (2011-12 stats are USHL games only)
2011-12 USHL/International/College combined statistics can be found via The Recruits stat page
Future Considerations: Koules Bulking Up
NHL.com: Koules Watching Koules
USA Hockey: Koules Realizes Dream as a Member of Team USA
Dan Sallows: Q&A With Miles Koules
Brad Schlossman Blog Commitment Post
NHL Entry Draft Eligible in 2012
He has gone as high as the first round's 30th overall pick in early 2012 mock drafts.
Ranked #151 amongst North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Service's 2012 Midterm Rankings. Hockey Buzz had this to say about his ranking: "Miles Koules is at 151 on the list, and I couldn't disagree more. The American forward has been greatly misused by the NTDP, and should receive consideration as a 2nd or 3rd round pick. The offensive abilities he has are too much to ignore."
Hockey Buzz Scouting Report #1: A UND Commit, Koules is strong on his skate and shows incredible flashes of offensive talent. Not only can he set up linemates and make them better, he's shown a real ability to shoot the puck with accuracy and a quick release. He's not afraid to drive the net, either. Scouting Report #2: Skill and drive describe the son of former Tampa Bay Lightning owner, Oren Koules. An explosive skater who can zig-zag though traffic, Miles shows a high IQ for the game as well as creativity and vision. He's a gifted shooter who always seems to be creating offense. Not to mention he's as humble as they come.
He was a member of USA Hockey's undefeated championship-winning team at the 2011 Under-18 Four Nations Cup in Monthey, Switzerland, notching one assist in four games.
In August of 2011 he and fellow Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz took part in the NHL's Research and Development Camp (featuring about 40 of the top 2012 NHL Draft prospects), where he had a very solid performance: The shifty winger impressed several of the scouts with his heady play and his knack around the net. Koules showed off a nice finishing touch, scoring a pair of goals in the scrimmages and clipping eight targets on just 10 shots during the skills competition. He was the winner of the Accuracy Shooting portion of the Skills Competition. Future Considerations scouting report: really caught my eye. He displayed strong puck skills and was at his best with the puck on his stick, creating offense. Although he is somewhat smaller then most of his peers, Koules is not physically intimidated and more then willing to travel into the ‘danger areas’ of the ice.
2010-11: He was a member of the USNTDP Under-17 team. Participating in international, USHL, and collegiate exhibition play, he recorded 26 points (14G, 12A) in 42 games.
At the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, MB, he accounted for eight points (4G, 4A) in 7 games as Team USA earned the tournament's silver medal.
In November of 2010 he was a member of the Under-17 Four Nations Cup winning team, leading the tournament in scoring by producing seven points (5G, 2A) in four games. Future Considerations filed this scouting report: skates well with explosive bursts that aids his water bug type game darting in and out of traffic…has good creativity and solid hockey sense…has nice vision and ability to generate offensive chances…has an effective shot although the velocity is only average…produced eight points in six games for a skilled USA squad.
In August of 2010 he played on Team USA's Under-17 Select team that won the Under-17 Five Nations Tournament in Hutwill, Switzerland. He produced four points (3G, 1A) in four games.
In June of 2010 he attended USA Hockey's Select 16 Development Camp, where he recorded five points (2G, 3A) in six games while being ranked as the camp's #10 forward by US Hockey Report: deceptive, sneaky player with a good stick. He's strong on the puck, wins a ton of 50/50 battles, and has a good shot.
2009-10: Competed for the Shattuck-St. Mary's Under-16 team, producing 58 points (20G, 38A) in 53 games.
In July of 2009 he attended USA Hockey's Select 15 Development Camp, where he recorded four points (4G, 0A) in five games.
In July of 2008 he participated in USA Hockey's Select 14 Development Camp, picking up two assists in five games.

Fighting Sioux vs. Wisconsin: Notes & Links

2012-01-27T06:17:00.007-06:00

North Dakota vs. Wisconsin - Series Notes & Links

Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
Series Notes: North Dakota and Wisconsin
Sioux Sports says that UND's road to the national tournament is getting steeper. If North Dakota does not want to rely on winning the Final Five to qualify for the NCAA playoffs, the team will have to earn some series sweeps down the stretch.
According to Bucky's Fifth Quarter, North Dakota is well aware of Wisconsin's top playmakers.
The UW Badger Herald says that the young Badgers will be facing a stiff road challenge this weekend, but if recent history is any indication, Wisconsin could be leaving North Dakota with points. The Badgers are 6-1-1 in their last eight games at Engelstad Arena.
With Justin Schultz and Mark Zengerle having big seasons, the Badgers are looking to Tyler Barnes to provide additional production.
Wisco defenseman Justin Schultz is the player to watch this weekend. He is the best college hockey player I've seen all season, and he's at the forefront of the race for the Hobey Baker Award. He is currently fifth in the nation with 37 points (12G, 25A), just three off the national lead (UMD's Jack Connolly has 40). His 37 points from the blueline are 11 more than the number two point producing defenseman, Nate Schmidt of Minnesota (26). Leading the way up front for the Badgers is sophomore forward Mark Zengerle, who is tied for second in the nation with 38 points (10G, 28A).
Sean Lee and associate head coach Cary Eades recap last weekend's SCSU series and preview the Wisconsin matchup:

Bucky's Fifth Quarter Take 5 With Brad Schlossman
Bucky's Fifth Quarter Series Preview
Wisconsin State Journal Series Preview
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal Series Preview
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
USCHO's Weekend Picks
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
INCH's Friday Four-Cast
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Inside Hockey Series Preview
Sioux Sports Series Preview
Lastly, here's Episode 12 of Through These Doors:

Thursday Evening Post

2012-01-26T20:02:00.000-06:00

This is a bit of a short post, but it's nice to get the links posted as quickly as possible heading into the weekend. Enjoy:

For the third time this season Jake Marto has been recalled by the St. Johns IceCaps (AHL). In his previous two stints with St. Johns, Marto has recorded three assists in 12 games, while he has produced five assists in 20 games with the Colorado Eagles (ECHL).
There is still no timetable set for the return of injured New Jersey Devil centerman Travis Zajac. Zajac was shut-down after his surgically repaired Achilles tendon became inflamed. He has played in eight games this season, producing one goal and two assists.
The Regina Leader-Post published a wonderful story on Kennedy Bobyck, the ten year-old daughter of former Sioux standout Brent Bobyck. While she fully intends to one day suit up for North Dakota, she has more pressing matters to deal with this weekend. Kennedy and family are off to Ottawa where she will be competing in the finals of the Canadian Tire NHL Junior Skills Championships during All-Star Weekend. Former Sioux Jonathan Toews will be presenting the championship trophy at the event, as he is the founding member of the Canadian Tire Hockey School.
Toews was recently ranked 69th on Bloomberg Businessweek's Power 100, making him the highest ranked hockey player on the list that ranks the 100 most powerful athletes in the world.
There's also some good news on the Toews injury front. General manager Stan Bowman says he expects the Chicago captain to be in the lineup when the Blackhawks resume regular season play next Tuesday against Vancouver.
Lastly, Toews is currently taking on Steven Stamkos in the semi-finals of Real GM's Be a GM contest. He's already taken down Jimmy Howard, Shea Weber, and Alex Ovechkin, so make sure to vote Captain Serious into the finals.

Wednesday Evening Post

2012-01-25T19:23:00.000-06:00

On the Fighting Sioux injury front, Brendan O'Donnell is out for this weekend's series against Wisconsin, while Derek Forbort is listed as questionable. O'Donnell suffered his upper-body injury against Minnesota, while Forbort is still ailing from an injury he sustained at the World Junior Championships.
The first-ever NHL/USHL Top Prospects Game took place yesterday in Muskegon, MI. Team East defeated Team West by a score of 5-3 with over 100 NHL scouts in attendance. Sioux recruit Luke Johnson, one of just three 2013 draft-eligible prospects invited to participate, recorded two assists for Team West, while fellow Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz played for Team East.
For the second consecutive week, Fargo Force goalkeeper Zane Gothberg was named the USHL Goaltender of the Week after helping the Force pick up three wins, including his third shutout of the season. He has been in net for the duration of Fargo's current nine game win streak, having posted a .943 save percentage and 1.43 GAA during that span. For the season, Gothberg leads USHL netminders in shutouts (3), is second in GAA (2.34) and save percentage (.918) and is third in wins (15).
Reel Hockey Scouting has compiled scouting reports for future Sioux defensemen Charlie Pelnik and Jordan Schmaltz. The reports are rather unique in that they feature complete game iso videos of each player. Charlie Pelnik Scouting Report and Jordan Schmaltz Scouting Report
Recruit Drake Caggiula, who was nicked up and had to sit out a couple games last weekend, is expected to be back in the Stouffville Spirit (OJHL) lineup this week. Caggiula has recorded 27 points (8G, 19A) in 19 games for the second place Spirit.
David Toews has been placed on the Toledo Walleye's (ECHL) IR list with concussion symptoms.
With the NHL All-Star break upon us, a few former Sioux have been reassigned to their AHL squads. Joe Finley (Buffalo Sabres) was assigned to Rochester, Taylor Chorney (Edmonton Oilers) to Oklahoma City, and Chris Porter (St. Louis Blues) was sent to Peoria. Porter's stint is officially a two game conditioning assignment, meaning he does not need to clear waivers in order to rejoin the Blues.
Mike Commodore was on 590 The Fan's Brady and Lang in the Morning Show, and he discussed what it's been like to play for the Red Wings after coming over from the Columbus Blue Jackets. And while it wasn't discussed on the radio show, Commodore did Tweet his thoughts on the newest Detroit Tiger, Prince Fielder: "Cheli's Chili might want to change those glass windows to plexiglass before opening day. They might be within Fielder's range." Well, Google Earth says Chris Chelios' restaurant is 735 feet from home plate at Comerica Park, so he may not be that far off.
A feature published by The Hockey Writers asks whether the New Jersey Devils should trade Zach Parise.
Jonathan Toews was placed on IR yesterday, enabling Chicago to call up an extra player from Rockford, their AHL affiliate. Toews also will not be participating in the All-Star Game as he looks to recover from the wrist injury that forced him to miss Tuesday's game against Nashville. Due to the long All-Star break, the IR assignment will not force Toews to miss any additional action if he is ready to go once the NHL resumes regular season play.
A Los Angeles Kings blog says the play of assistant captain Matt Greene is often overlooked.

Monday Evening Post

2012-01-23T20:53:00.001-06:00

Jonathan Toews did not take part in Blackhawk practice today, and he has been ruled out for Tuesday night's game against Nashville after suffering an upper-body injury last weekend. He is also likely to miss this weekend's All-Star game in order to take advantage of the extra rest. The added rest comes at a good time as Toews' importance to the Blackhawks is immeasurable, and one observer says that unless Sidney Crosby can overcome his concussion issues, Toews is the future of the NHL.
Taylor Chorney, recalled from Oklahoma City yesterday, is expected to be in the lineup tonight for Edmonton when they take on San Jose.
TJ Oshie, Chris Porter, and the St. Louis Blues are Western Conference contenders.
The red-hot play of Fargo Force goaltender Zane Gothberg (nine game win streak) has been receiving a lot of attention as of late, but a few future Sioux blueliners have also been producing some nice numbers in the USHL. Paul LaDue of Lincoln has seven points (3G, 4A) and is a +8 over his last seven games. Keaton Thompson of the USNTDP U-17 team has four points (1G, 3A) and is a +5 in his last five games, while Green Bay's Jordan Schmaltz appears to have found his groove in producing eleven points (3G, 8A) and a +3 in his last seven games.
Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Clarke Saunders, who will transfer to UND following this season season, did all he could to keep his team competitive against top-ranked Minnesota-Duluth last weekend. In Friday's 2-1 loss at Amsoil Arena, Saunders stopped 52 of 54 Bulldog shots. On Saturday night he faced 47 more, stopping 43 of them in the Chargers' 4-3 loss. That's a lot of rubber in what was a respectable showing for Huntsville, which is now 2-24-1 on the season. Who did their two wins come against? Saunders' future WCHA/NCHC foes Nebraska-Omaha and Denver.

Sunday Evening Post

2012-01-22T17:59:00.001-06:00

The Edmonton Oilers recalled Oklahoma City Barons' defenseman Taylor Chorney this morning. Chorney has played 25 games with the Barons, producing three goals, eight assists, and a +4 rating. This will be his second stint in the NHL this season, having previously played two games apiece for the Oilers and St. Louis Blues.
Chicago Blackhawk captain Jonathan Toews was forced to leave yesterday's 5-2 loss to Nashville with an apparent upper-body injury. At this point the injury is not expected to keep him out of the lineup for an extended period of time, as head coach Joel Quenneville categorized Toews as day-to-day. With Patrick Sharp already sidelined, Chicago cannot afford to have Toews shelved for very long. The Edmonton Journal considers the former North Dakota star the Hart Trophy frontrunner, while Nashville associate coach Brent Peterson calls Toews "the best two-way player since Mark Messier."
The New Jersey Devils may be turning to the NHL for some assistance in meeting their day-to-day financial obligations. Such a scenario does not bode well for a team that is looking to extend the contract of its captain Zach Parise, who says "it's hard to be competitive" if you don't spend to the cap. The more details that surface in regard to New Jersey's financial situation, the less likely it appears that they will be able to keep Parise.
The Anaheim Ducks are apparently open to dealing Jason Blake should they receive the right offer. Blake, who is in the final year of his contract, has been playing some terrific hockey since his return from injury. Blake's recent performance may very well be piquing the interest of teams looking to add some depth to their lineup for the stretch run.
Brandon Bochenski recorded a hat trick and added two assists in yesterday's KHL All-Star Game. Bochenski and Team Fedorov were able to pull out a 15-11 victory.
Brock Nelson was recently featured as part of the UND Sports Spotlight series:

More than 100 NHL team representatives are expected to be on-hand when recruits Jordan Schmaltz and Luke Johnson take to the ice in Tuesday night's USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
Team USA dropped the bronze medal game at the Youth Olympic Games yesterday, losing to Canada 7-5. Recruit Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist as Team USA tried to mount a comeback, but a 7-2 deficit after two periods proved to be too steep of a hill for the Under-16 team to climb. In examining the boxscores, goaltending was the difference in Team USA's two medal round losses. The Americans out-shot Russia and Canada by a combined margin of 72-35, yet were outscored 12-7. Nick Schmaltz finished the tournament tied for the team lead in assists (four) and points (six).

St. Cloud State Recap

2012-01-22T13:16:00.002-06:00

The Fighting Sioux took to the road looking to gain some separation in the chase for home-ice and came away with a split in what was a very entertaining weekend of hockey. St. Cloud State earned a 3-1 victory Friday night behind freshman goaltender Ryan Faragher, while North Dakota bounced back with an exciting 3-2 win Saturday. Here are some observations:

Friday night the play was a bit sporadic, but the Sioux came back Saturday with a complete 60:00 game. They had jump from the drop of the puck and didn't let up until the final horn, and that effort gave Dake Hakstol his 200th career victory behind the Fighting Sioux bench. He joins Gino Gasparini and Dean Blais as the only North Dakota head coaches with 200 or more victories.
The goaltending this weekend was very solid for both teams. Ryan Faragher was masterful in making several brilliant saves, including a larcenous effort on Brock Nelson Saturday night. North Dakota's Brad Eidsness and Aaron Dell were also very good as they too had several big saves on the weekend. It will be interesting to see how the SCSU goaltending situation plays out down the stretch with incumbent Mike Lee soon to return from injury. The old adage says a player doesn't lose a job due to injury, but what Faragher has done in Lee's absence cannot be ignored. Expect a goaltender rotation until one of them is markedly better than the other and establishes himself as the number one guy. Perhaps we will see the same situation play out for the Fighting Sioux, as Eidsness' recent play certainly warrants more time in net.
Danny Kristo was the best player on the ice this weekend. Saturday night especially he was motoring all over the place in all three zones, and he seemed to have the desire to have the puck on his stick at all times with a willingness to do anything it took to get it there. His puck possession abilities are phenomenal. Corban Knight was also very sharp, as he appears to be getting closer to full-health.
It was great to see Michael Parks in the lineup. The way that he went into the corners and pressured pucks might not have been indicative of a player suiting up at less than 100%, but there were definitely moments where his body language and facial expressions communicated his pain and discomfort.
Carter Rowney played a heck of a game Saturday despite not finding the scoresheet. Key to his performance was his shift with about 4:00 left in the game. He was all over the place in helping the Sioux maintain the offensive zone at a time when SCSU was really ramping up the energy and pressure in looking for the game-tying goal.
In the Battle of the Walking (or Skating?) Wounded, it appears as though UND came out of the weekend without adding to their injury list. SCSU wasn't so lucky however. They had two players, Jordy Christian and Cory Thorson, leave and not return during Saturday's game.
The weekend results leave North Dakota sitting in sixth place in the WCHA standings with 18 points. The Sioux are one point up on both Michigan Tech and SCSU, with Tech having two games in-hand. Wisconsin is two points back of UND with 16, setting up for a key series this coming weekend at Engelstad Arena. Every conference point is critical at this stage of the season as fifth place (Denver) and ninth place (Wisconsin) are separated by just three points.
As always, it was great to see how well the Fighting Sioux faithful travel, as the cheers supporting the road team were much louder than any home team's fan base ever wants to hear in their own building. This was evidenced by Saturday night's third period roar after the officials overturned what would have been the game-tying goal. I did not see the referee wave off the goal following the review, and the response from the National Hockey Center crowd immediately led me to believe that the goal was going to stand. The roar, of course, was the large UND faction celebrating the no-goal.

Friday Afternoon Links

2012-01-20T12:27:00.000-06:00

I figured I could squeeze in one last batch of links before hopping on I-94 eastbound for this weekend's series against St. Cloud State. Enjoy the reading, have a great weekend, and here's to wishing the Fighting Sioux, both men and women, the best of luck against SCSU.

This morning Team USA and Nick Schmaltz doubled up Russia on shots but eventually dropped a 5-2 decision in the semifinals of the Youth Olympic Games. They will play the loser of this afternoon's Canada-Finland semifinal in tomorrow's bronze medal game.
The NHL recently published a nice feature on the USHL's Top Prospects Game, while the USHL announced the team breakdown for the inaugural event. Sioux recruits Jordan Schmaltz and Luke Johnson are scheduled to take part in the game, which will be played Tuesday, January 24 in Muskegon, MI.
Aaron Schneekloth has been at or near the top of all offensive categories among ECHL defensemen this season, making him one of the driving forces behind the Colorado Eagles' running and gunning defensive corps.
The Anaheim Ducks are currently among the hottest teams in the NHL, having gone unbeaten (6-0-1) in their last seven games. The Hockey Writers examine what's turned their season around, while an Anaheim fan blog identifies Jason Blake as a main catalyst of the Ducks' resurgence.
The Chicago Blackhawks have been getting some unexpected production out of rookies like Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes, but one observer says the consistent performance of captain Jonathan Toews is the key to Chicago's success. Toews, who is perhaps the most complete player in the league, was recently named to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game for his first-half performance, and one of his duties on All-Star Weekend will be to take part in the Canadian Tire NHL Junior Skills National Championship.
Toews' Blackhawks, Mike Commodore's Detroit Red Wings, and TJ Oshie & Chris Porter's St. Louis Blues are all looking to become the Masters of the Midwest.
In Lou We Trust provides a rather extensive statistical breakdown in comparing Zach Parise's production this season to his previous four.
The 23rd Annual Terry Casey Memorial Cup is underway in Great Falls, MT. The high school hockey tournament honors former Fighting Sioux All-American Terry Casey, who was a native of Great Falls. Casey's #12 is one of just two numbers to have been retired by the North Dakota men's hockey program. Ralph Engelstad's #23 is the other.

Fighting Sioux vs. St. Cloud State: Notes & Links

2012-01-20T04:10:00.003-06:00

UND (12-9-2, 8-8-0 WCHA) vs. St. Cloud State (9-11-4, 6-7-3 WCHA) - Series Notes & Links:

Gametime: Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
As always, the games will be broadcast over the radio airwaves via the UND Radio Network, but there will be no television coverage regionally. In the St. Cloud area the games will be broadcast on Charter channel 87, while in the Twin Cities Comcast will carry the series on channels 13 (St. Paul) and 23 (Minneapolis). The game is also available via webcast at B2Live for $8.00.
Series notes in PDF: North Dakota and St. Cloud State
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
The big news that came out Thursday afternoon was that much-heralded freshman Rocco Grimaldi will have season-ending knee surgery. Grimaldi's two month shutdown was not enough for the knee to heal on its own, leading to the decision to move forward with the surgery. He joins Derek Rodwell as Sioux who have had their seasons ended prematurely, and freshman Brendan O'Donnell (out against SCSU) will know more on the severity of his injury next week. Derek Forbort is also out this weekend, while Michael Parks is traveling with the team and will be a gameday decision.
While St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee is close to returning from a lower-body injury, it won't happen against North Dakota. The Huskies will continue to rely on freshman Ryan Faragher in Lee's absence. Faragher, of course, played a gem of a game against the Sioux back in October, making 44 saves in a 4-0 SCSU win. Drew LeBlanc, SCSU's offensive leader, is also out this weekend.
This is a mighty important series in the fight for first round home-ice. North Dakota currently sits in seventh place with 16 points while SCSU sits one spot behind with 15. Michigan Tech, currently in sixth place with 17 points, plays Saturday night in a non-conference game against Northern Michigan.
Jordy Christian has taken on a blue-collar role for the Huskies. Christian is the son of former Sioux Ed Christian and is the cousin of Brock Nelson.
Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol will be looking to pick up career victory number 200 this weekend. If he does, he will join Gino Gasparini and Dean Blais as the only coaches in program history to achieve that mark.
Danny Kristo is closing in on the Fighting Sioux Century Club. He currently has 89 career points.
The St. Cloud Times chronicles what is most likely to be the final time the Fighting Sioux jersey will be worn on the ice at the National Hockey Center.
From the For What It's Worth Department, UND is not the only school engaged in a nickname controversy. This story is almost too rich to make up.
Inside College Hockey says emotions were running high around the WCHA last weekend.
UND Athletic Dept. Travel Blog
St. Cloud Times Series Preview
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
USCHO's Weekend Picks
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
INCH's First Shift
INCH's Friday Four-Cast
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Inside Hockey Series Preview
Sioux Sports Series Preview
Lastly, here's Episode 11 of Through These Doors:

Wednesday Evening Post

2012-01-18T21:46:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest Fighting Sioux injury update: Derek Forbort, Brendan O'Donnell, Rocco Grimaldi, and Derek Rodwell are all out for this weekend. Michael Parks hasn't officially been ruled out but more than likely will not see action against St. Cloud State. Don't expect any sympathy from the Huskies, however. Number one goaltender Mike Lee and their top forward Drew LeBlanc have both been sidelined for long stretches due to injury, while forwards Cam Reid and Mitch MacMillan both left the team over the holiday break. MacMillan, of course, has since joined North Dakota but will not be able to play until next January.
Former Fighting Sioux All-American & assistant coach John Marks was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame tonight. Marks, who currently serves as head coach of the USHL's Fargo Force, is the ECHL's all-time leader in games coached, wins, and seasons spent behind the bench. ECHL Press Release
Earlier this week it was announced that Brandon Bochenski was named to the KHL All-Star Game. He's having a strong season for Barys Astana as his 42 points currently rank sixth in the league while his 19 goals are fourth best. For those of you not familiar with the Russian "super-league," here's a not-so-glamourous look at the top hockey league not based in North America.
Want a great stat line? Here is Jason Blake's from Sunday's victory against Vancouver: 2 goals, 1 assist, +3, and 10 shots, all in just 13 minutes of ice time. After missing 34 games this season, it seems he's doing all he can to make up for lost time. The Ducks are hosting Dave Tippet's Phoenix Coyotes tonight.
TJ Oshie of the high-riding St. Louis Blues took part in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch fan Q&A session today. Much like I was during my days at UND, Oshie fesses up to being quite the collector of campus parking citations.
Though he was recently sent down to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, Matt Frattin certainly got his licks in while playing with the Maple Leafs. He makes two appearances in the NHL's 25 Biggest Hits from the first half of the season.
With two goals in the Blackhawks' 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres tonight, Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to five games. During the streak he has produced four goals and three assists in leading Chicago to a 4-0-1 record
As Buffalo continues to struggle amid high expecations, speculation says both Derek Roy and Drew Stafford could be on the trading block. The Edmonton Journal asks whether Stafford would be a good fit for the Oilers.
Russia handed Team USA a 7-1 defeat today in the final game of preliminary round play at the Youth Olympic Games. The good news (or bad news?) is that Nick Schmaltz and the Americans will have a chance to exact their revenge on Russia as the two teams meet again on Friday in the tournament semifinals. In four preliminary games Schmaltz produced a team-leading four points (1G, 3A). His three assists also lead Team USA.
Nothing official has been reported in terms of Luke Voltin's move to the Chicago Steel. My guess is that it's a paperwork thing and that it is just a matter of time before it is announced.

Luke Voltin To Join USHL's Chicago Steel

2012-01-18T14:08:00.002-06:00

Recruit Luke Voltin tweeted this afternoon that he will not pursue the WHL option but will instead begin playing in the USHL as soon as he can so that he can honor his commitment to North Dakota. As Slightly Chilled's Ryan S. Clark details in this post concerning Voltin, there is a bit of an involved process for Voltin to transition from the USNTDP to another USHL team. Nothing specific has been released in terms of what led to his dismissal from the Under-17 team.

Update:
Ryan S. Clark has tweeted that Voltin will be joining the USHL's Chicago Steel.

Tuesday Evening Post

2012-01-17T21:54:00.000-06:00

TJ Oshie scored a dynamite goal last night to put the streaking St. Louis Blues atop the NHL's Western Conference. The play started with a face-off win deep inside their own zone, and some slick passing and great spacing gave Oshie the opportunity to receive and bury a beautiful pass from David Perron. It was going to take a special play to beat either Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak or his Stars counterpart Kari Lehtonen, and Oshie and his linemates were able to get it done and provide what turned out to be the only goal in a 1-0 thriller. The St. Louis Game Time blog calls it the Blues' Goal of the Year (So Far) and goes so far as to say that last night's win could be a turning point for the franchise. It's been quite the in-season turnaround for St. Louis. In the thirteen games with Davis Payne behind the bench, the Blues went 6-7-0. Since Payne was replaced with Ken Hitchcock, the Blues have soared to the top of the West by going 21-5-6 Oshie is currently tied for the team lead in goals with 14 and is second on the team in points with 30. Here's the goal from Monday night:

Detroit defenseman Mike Commodore returned to the Red Wings' lineup tonight against the Dallas Stars. It's the first action for Commodore since taking a shot to his right foot Sunday, January 8.
The emerging play of Chicago Blackhawk winger Viktor Stalberg is meshing nicely with superstars Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.
Though the New Jersey Devils continue their strong play and are now threatening to move into the top four of the Eastern Conference, trade rumors continue to swirl around captain Zach Parise, and they will only intensify as we approach the February 27 trade deadline. In Lou We Trust speculates what it would take for other teams to land Parise, while St. Louis might have the necessary components to make Parise a Blue. The situation has the cash-strapped Devils in a bit of a tough situation as it's awfully hard to imagine that they'd deal Parise in the heat of a playoff race. On the other hand, they certainly don't want to see him walk as an unrestriceted free agent this summer. Whatever happens, it will be one of the top NHL story lines over the course of the next several months.
Last weekend's North Dakota-Minnesota series was featured in the NY Times.
Zane Gothberg had another outstanding game last night for the Fargo Force, posting his third shutout of the season and the second in his last five games. The reigning USHL Goaltender of the Week stopped all 27 shots he faced in leading the Force to a 4-0 win against Sioux Falls. Gothberg and the Force are riding a seven game win streak, during which time the future Sioux netminder has a 1.41 GAA and .946 Save %.
Nick Schmaltz had a goal and an assist to lead Team USA to a 5-4 win over Finland in the Youth Olympic Games. The Americans, who now sit at 2-1-0, will close out preliminary round play Wednesday against Russia.
There has been no substantiation at this point, but it is being rumored that North Dakota recruit Luke Voltin has been dismissed from the USNTDP Under-17 team. Chris Dilks of the Western College Hockey Blog first reported the news, and Voltin no longer appears on the team's official roster. He has played in 25 games with the U-17 team, producing five goals and seven assists. Updates will be posted as information is made available.

Monday Evening Post

2012-01-16T19:51:00.003-06:00

As a result of Saturday night's handshake altercation, UND defenseman Ben Blood has been stripped of his assistant captaincy, and head coach Dave Hakstol said the possibility remains that additional disciplinary measures could be handed out. Blood said he "understands and respects the punishment." Corban Knight and Andrew MacWilliam will continue to serve as North Dakota's assistant captains. Danny Kristo, meanwhile, apologized for his Friday night actions via Twitter.
In another blow to UND's depth, freshman forward Brendan O'Donnell's upper-body injury appears to be significant and he will be re-evaluated within the next couple of days. Michael Parks was also injured in last weekend's series against Minnesota and will be evaluated later this week. Derek Rodwell is already out for the season, Rocco Grimaldi and Derek Forbort were held out of the lineup last weekend, while Corban Knight and Mario Lamoureux played despite being banged-up.
Freshman Connor Gaarder was recently featured in this UND Sports Profile:

Recruit Zane Gothberg was named the USHL's Goaltender of the Week for his stellar play with the Fargo Force over the weekend. Gothberg won both of his starts and is currently riding a 6-0-0 streak during which he has posted a 1.65 GAA and .937 Save %.
In more USHL news, the league announced today that its Top Prospects Game will be webcast live and free on Fast Hockey. Sioux recruits Jordan Schmaltz and Luke Johnson are scheduled to participate in the event that takes place January 24 in Muskegon, MI.
After notching two assists in Friday's 5-3 win over Chicago, Jordan Schmaltz sat out Green Bay's Saturday game due to the flu, while Stouffville Spirit forward Drake Caggiula suffered a lower-body injury in yesterday's contest and is listed as day-to-day.

Nick Schmaltz Battles Against Canada's Eric Cornel - Getty Images

Recruit Nick Schmaltz (above) and Team USA had the day off today following yesterday's 5-1 loss to Canada at the Youth Olympic Games. The loss dropped the Americans to 1-1-0 in preliminary play, which they will wrap up by taking on Finland tomorrow and Russia on Wednesday. Schmaltz has two assists thus far during the tournament.
Anaheim Duck forward Jason Blake continues to impress since returning from his lacerated wrist tendon injury, scoring twice and adding an assist in last night's 4-2 win over Vancouver. Blake has been playing on the Ducks' third as he works his way back into game condition, and last night that line gave the Canucks fits.
Jonathan Toews had a strong weekend, helping Chicago earn three out of a possible four points. He had a goal in Saturday's OT loss to Detroit, while his goal and assist led the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over San Jose last night.
Battling it out with Chicago and Detroit for Central Division supremecy is resurgent St. Louis, and Blues' star TJ Oshie's career-best year is a big reason why.
Matt Greene scored the game-winning goal Saturday night in the Los Angeles Kings' 4-1 victory over Calgary. It was the third goal of the season for the big defenseman, who had never scored more than two in a season prior to Saturday. The Mayor's Manor touched on Greene's accomplishment in its The Good, The Bad, and The Something feature.
Zach Parise could become an unrestricted free agent this summer, and that prospect already has a number of teams drooling over the New Jersey star. One of the things that makes Parise such a coveted player is his ability to play in all situations, and those abilities have been on full display this season as he and the Devils have been the league's best penalty killers. New Jersey is the only team in the league with a kill percentage greater than 90%, and both Parise and Devils' rookie Adam Henrique have more shorthanded points than they do on the power play.
Joe Finley received his third call up of the season when Buffalo summoned the big blue liner for Saturday's tilt with the New York Islanders. The Sabres dropped a 4-2 decision.
Former Sioux All-American Brandon Bochenski was recently named to the KHL All-Star Game. He will play for the East All-Stars, whose forward group also includes one of the all-time great Russians in Sergei Federov, along with recent World Junior Championship standout Evgeny Kuznetsov. Bochenski currently plays for Barys Astana, for whom he has recorded 40 points (18G, 22A) in 36 games.
Former Sioux goaltender Anthony Grieco and HC Asiago recently wrapped up play in the 2012 Continental Cup Super Finals in Rouen, France. Asiago had a rough go of it, dropping all three of its Super Finals contests, including both of Grieco's starts.

Minnesota Recap

2012-01-15T19:21:00.004-06:00

North Dakota was looking to exact a measure of revenge this weekend after being swept by the University of Minnesota earlier this season. After producing a thrilling 2-1 victory Friday night in an electrified Ralph Engelstad Arena, UND's hopes of a sweep were dashed by way of Saturday's 6-2 Minnesota win. Here are a few thoughts:

Aaron Dell played very well Friday night, but he allowed some goals Saturday that we've come to expect him to save, eventually being replaced by Brad Eidsness to start the third period. Minnesota goaltender Kent Patterson also didn't seem to be himself early on Saturday, but he settled down and was solid down the stretch.
Outside of Danny Kristo's checking from behind penalty, the Sioux played with a lot of poise Friday as the young lineup did not seem to have any problem adjusting to the intensity of the rivalry. Saturday was a different story however, as North Dakota suffered let downs in several key areas. The passing was not as crisp, the power play struggled in maintaining possession, there were too many odd-man chances, and, as mentioned earlier, the goaltending was not as solid. Ups and downs tend to happen on a night to night basis, and Minnesota did what good teams do, which is to capitalize on the opportunities presented to them.
Minnesota's fifth goal on Saturday, coming late in the second period, was a back-breaker. After falling behind 4-0 the Sioux were able to scratch back to within a couple of goals, and in doing so they brought the crowd back to life, which seemed to rattle the Gophers. A third unanswered goal by North Dakota would have blown the roof off the place, but Minnesota was able to stymie the comeback with a deflating goal that came with under a minute to play in the period.
Brendan O'Donnell skated off the ice Saturday night with what appeared to be an upper-body injury, but no update on his status has been reported.
Brock Nelson was a treat to watch this weekend. His hands and instincts are tremendous, and he has a deceptively quick shot that he can release from a variety of angles.
Things got ugly at the end of Saturday's game as Ben Blood was tripped while the teams mingled in front of the benches after the final horn sounded. Then, in the handshake line Blood took a shot at Minnesota's Kyle Rau and eventually wound up engaging in a brief tussle with Seth Ambroz. The teams were eventually separated and ushered into their locker rooms with no further issue. The intensity of the series and the agitating style with which Rau chooses to play obviously spurred Blood, and it is unfortunate that a handshake skirmish was the end result. Here's to hoping these two teams meet again in this year's Final Five.

Recruit Profile: Chris Wilkie

2012-01-14T12:57:00.000-06:00

Photo-NAPHL.com

Current Team: Omaha U16 Lancers (North American Prospect Hockey League)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2014
Position: Forward
Birthday: July 10, 1996
Hometown: Omaha, NE
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 170 Lbs.
Shoots: Right

NAPHL Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile Page
NAPHL Commitment Press Release
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2014
The Scouting News says he "has a very good head for the game, and his work ethic is one of a kind."
He was named the Prospect Hockey League's Under-16 Pointstreak Peak Performer following this season's December PHL event in Dallas. Press Release
He has appeared in one game this season for the USHL's Lincoln Stars.
In July of 2011 he participated in USA Hockey's Select 15 Development Camp, finishing the camp tied for fourth in scoring with 10 points (3G, 7A) in five games. The US Hockey Report ranked him as the #17 forward at the camp and had this to say about his performance: Worked for his points. Competes. A native of the Cornhusker state. Played last winter for Omaha U16.
He spent the 2010-11 regular season with the Omaha U-16 Lancers, playing in 20 games and recording 8 points (3G, 5A).
In 2009-10 his Omaha Jr Maverick AA team won USA Hockey's 2010 Bantam Tier II National Championship. He finished the tournament tied for fifth in scoring with 10 points (5G, 5A) in six games, including scoring the championship winning goal with just four seconds remaining in the title game.
His father David Wilkie, who spent parts of six NHL seasons with Montreal, Tampa Bay, and the New York Rangers, is his head coach with the U-16 Lancers.

Saturday Morning Coffee

2012-01-14T10:57:00.002-06:00

The Fighting Sioux earned a thrilling 2-1 victory over arch-rival Minnesota last night. North Dakota welcomed Corban Knight back to the lineup, Andrew MacWilliam scored his first career goal, and smooth operator Brock Nelson potted the game-winner in what was an outstanding hockey game. Outside of Danny Kristo's major and game misconduct for checking Ben Marshall from behind, a young Sioux lineup played with an awful lot of poise and control in a very tense game. The atmosphere in The Ralph was electric last night as head coach Dave Hakstol picked up victory number 199. Tonight he looks to join Gino Gasparini (392) and Dean Blais (262) as the only coaches in school history to earn 200 wins. More thoughts on the series forthcoming in the Series Recap.
North Dakota picked up a verbal commitment yesterday from Omaha AAA Under-16 star Chris Wilkie. Wilkie is an Omaha native who currently leads the North American Prospect Hockey League (NAPHL) in scoring, goals, assists, power-play goals, and power-play assists. He is a high school sophomore who at this point would be scheduled to join UND in 2014. In 16 games he has recorded 38 points (17G, 21A) in leading the Lancers to a 12-3-1 record. He is an Omaha teammate of Minot's Alex Schoenborn and Williston's Austin Hingtgen. There is a recruit profile in the works that should hopefully be posted later today or tomorrow.
Recruit Nick Schmaltz and Team USA opened the 2012 Youth Winter Olympic Games with a 7-2 victory over host country Austria early this morning. Schmaltz pitched in with two assists while winning 75% (9 of 12) of his face-offs. The American Under-16ers will take on Canada tomorrow.
Sioux recruits playing in the USHL performed well last night. Paul LaDue had two goals and an assist while teammate Luke Johnson added two assists in Lincoln's 6-2 victory over Sioux City. Jordan Schmaltz contributed two assists to Green Bay's 5-3 win against Chicago, Jack Rowe recorded an assist in Cedar Rapids' 6-5 loss to Waterloo, and Miles Koules scored a goal as the Team USA Under-18ers lost to Indiana 4-3. Zane Gothberg continued his recent stretch of outstanding play by stopping 23 of 24 shots in Fargo's 8-1 thrashing of Tri-City. Over his last five games Gothberg has a 1.57 GAA and a save percentage of .943 in leading the Force to a 5-0-0 record.
Speaking of the USHL, Matt Greene recently discussed what playing in the league meant to his development as a hockey player.
Matt Frattin was the overtime hero last night for the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Jason Blake scored his first goal of the season in Anaheim's 5-0 win in Edmonton last night.
Zach Parise says he understands the frustration Travis Zajac is currently going through in dealing with his Achilles tendon injury.

What's Your Favorite Sioux-Gopher Memory?

2012-01-13T16:18:00.000-06:00

The greatest rivalry in all of college hockey is about to be renewed tonight, and that begs the question, what is your favorite Sioux-Gopher memory? Countless memories, both joyous and heartbreaking, come to mind when trying to pick a rivalry-defining moment. But after a great deal of reflection, I've settled on my top three:

#3: February 15, 1998 - The Comeback:

"They just turned it up. They got their 'A' game back and kicked our butts."
- Minnesota coach Doug Woog

After having lost the night before, Minnesota was looking to salvage a split in a rare Sunday game at Old Engelstad Arena. The Sioux came out flat, a rare occasion considering they had outscored their opponents 86-38 while having won 14 of their previous 15 contests. The defending national champions, led by 1998 WCHA Player of the Year Curtis Murphy and fellow All-Americans Jason Blake & Karl Goehring, fell behind 3-0 in the first period and there was little to suggest that the Sioux would be able to mount any sort of comeback against goaltender Steve DeBus and the Gophers.

Then, Murphy's power play goal just under 7:00 into the third period ignited both the team and the crowd, and less than eight minutes later the Engelstad Arena crowd was in a delirious frenzy after goals by Blake and Jeff and Jay Panzer gave the Sioux a 4-3 lead. The five-goal third period was capped with an empty netter, and Minnesota was forced to head back home without a point.

If memory serves, I believe that was the game that gave birth to "Welcome to the Jungle" as the unofficial "get off your tail and make some noise" song, and at one point, the crowd was so fired up that the noise caused Midwest Sports Channel's cameras to shake during the broadcast. To this day I have never heard a Fighting Sioux crowd as loud as it was that day.

#2: March 17 & 25, 2007 - Reversal of Fortune:

“I just took a whack at it. I couldn’t believe when the crowd started going crazy. I didn’t see it go in.”
- Minnesota forward Blake Wheeler

After winning the WCHA regular season title, Minnesota entered the 2007 WCHA Final Five Championship game looking to avenge the home sweep North Dakota had served up earlier that season. Minnesota was the #2 ranked team in the nation, and the red hot Sioux were ranked #7 after a second-half surge that had seen them go 15-2-4.

A scoreless first period was followed by a second period that saw Minnesota take a 2-1 lead. After Ryan Duncan tied the game for the Sioux early in the third, both teams went scoreless until this happened:

Wheeler's lunging swipe propelled Minnesota to the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament, where they were placed in the West Regional along with their favorite neighbor, North Dakota. After each team did its part by winning their first round game, a rematch of the previous week's Final Five championship would decide which team would get to punch its ticket for St. Louis and the Frozen Four.

"Nobody likes to lose the WCHA championship game and it kind of stuck with us all week."
- North Dakota forward Chris Porter

Each team scored in the first period, and after a scoreless second period North Dakota took a 2-1 lead early in the third on a Robbie Bina power play goal. The Sioux held the tenuous one-goal lead for over ten minutes, until a power play goal by Jay Barriball evened the score. Neither team scored the rest of the way, setting up overtime drama for the second time on just 8 days. North Dakota was applying good pressure in the extra session, and they started planning for St. Louis because of this:

Perhaps the most memorable aspect of these two games was their proximity not only on the calendar, but within the games themselves. In more than 133 minutes of action, neither team was able to enjoy more than a one goal cushion, leading to some very dramatic and intense play.

#1: February 2 & 3, 1996 - Giant Killers:

"The only time that game was close was when the referee dropped the opening puck."
- Minnesota coach Doug Woog

My number one memory of the Sioux-Gopher rivalry comes from the first weekend I'd ever seen the two teams play in person. Top-ranked Minnesota came into Engelstad Arena a confident bunch, having won 12 straight and going unbeaten in their last 20. Led by eventual Hobey Baker Award winner Brian Bonin, Minnesota looked to deliver a knockout punch to a North Dakota team that had scored just eight goals while staggering through a four game losing streak. Furthermore, the Gophers had not given up a goal in over 192 minutes.

Well, it didn't take another four games to score eight goals, as North Dakota came out with guns blazing. When Billy Trew scored halfway into Friday's 1st period, the offensive barrage was on and didn't let up until the Sioux had the sweep. By the time the dust settled the Fighting Sioux had lit the lamp 15 times via 8-2 (Friday) and 7-5 (Saturday) victories. The sweep not only ended the Gophers' impressive unbeaten streak, but it marked the beginning of a tailspin that saw them lose six of eight games.

Those are my favorites. What are yours?

Fighting Sioux vs. Minnesota: Notes & Links

2012-01-13T11:42:00.002-06:00

North Dakota vs. Minnesota - Series Notes & Links:

Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Series Notes in PDF: North Dakota and Minnesota
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
This weekend marks the final time these two teams will meet in Grand Forks for a regular season WCHA series. With North Dakota moving to the NCHC and Minnesota to the Big 10 come 2013-14, Timothy Boger says this is the beginning of the end.
The Gophers swept UND earlier this season, but the fortunes have turned a bit as Minnesota will be looking to cool down the hot Sioux.
The Fighting Sioux enter this weekend having gone 7-1-1 over its last nine games in what is hopefully the beginning of its annual second half surge.
Nathan Wells of SB Nation Minnesota examines how things have changed over the past two and a half months, and Gopher Puck live covers that topic as well.
Kevin Gorg of Fox Sports North chimes in on the renewal of the rivalry.
Minnesota freshman Kyle Rau came up big in November, and he's excited for his first series at The Ralph.
GF Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman participated in a Q&A with Gopher Sports.
The Fighting Sioux remain pretty nicked up as Rocco Grimaldi is out for the weekend while Corban Knight and Derek Forbort are both questionable.
USCHO's Weekend Picks
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
INCH's Friday Four-Cast
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Goon's World Series Preview

Friday Morning Coffee

2012-01-13T08:27:00.000-06:00

A few quick notes, with the UND vs. Minnesota Notes & Links to come a bit later today:

Evan Trupp was traded from Cincinnati to Bakersfield yesterday. With the move to the ECHL's Western Conference, Trupp will be facing off against Jake Marto, Michael Forney, and Aaron Schneekloth of the Colorado Eagles on a pretty regular basis as there are only eight teams in the West. In 20 games with Cincinnati Trupp had 12 points (2G, 10A).
Jonathan Toews is among a trio of Chicago Blackhawks selected to play in the NHL's All-Star Game. In his five NHL seasons Toews has now been named to the All-Star game three times, and there is no doubt that number would be four had he not been busy winning a gold medal along with Best Forward honors at the 2010 Winter Olympics. All-Star Weekend is scheduled for January 26-29 in Ottawa.
Detroit Red Wing defenseman Mike Commodore has been unable to play the past two games due to an injury suffered last weekend. He took a shot off his ankle last Sunday and has been unable to go since.
Zach Parise was recently featured as part of the Tampa Bay Lightning's Frozen Four promotion. Tampa Bay will be hosting the event this April.
Brad Miller's Gwinnett Gladiators were part of a recent feature that gives us a brief glimpse into the life of an ECHL hockey player. The RV looks nice, but is there really room for 25?

Thursday Morning Coffee

2012-01-12T06:30:00.000-06:00

Jonathan Toews took a puck off the head during Chicago's 5-2 win over Columbus Tuesday night. A deflected Duncan Keith point shot earned Toews a few stitches, creating an "old-time hockey" look that's appreciated by both Chicago's captain and its head coach.
New Jersey captain Zach Parise scored the overtime winner against Edmonton last night, extending his current point streak to five games. During the streak he has eight points (2G, 6A), and he also notched his 200th career assist Tuesday night against Calgary.
Travis Zajac was hoping to be in the lineup when New Jersey visits his hometown of Winnipeg Saturday night, but due to lingering soreness in his Achilles tendon the team staff has opted to shut him down until after the all-star break. Zajac played in eight games after returning from injury, but he has now missed the Devils' last five games after his Achilles became inflamed.
The 2012 Youth Olympic Games fire up this weekend in Innsbruck, Austria and Sioux recruit Nick Schmaltz will be participating. Team USA opens its play Saturday against host country Austria and they will take on Canada Sunday. Here is the IIHF's Schedule and Standings page.
Joe Finley is doing what he can to support injured Benilde-St. Margaret's hockey player Jack Jablonski, who suffered a severe spinal cord injury on December 30 after being checked into the boards. Finley and Jablonski worked out at the same training facility over the summer, and Finley recently sent Jablonski the Buffalo Sabre jersey he wore in his NHL debut earlier this season.
Former Sioux great Tony Hrkac is looking to turn his Concordia (WI) Falcons into a NCAA Division III power:

NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Prospect Rankings

2012-01-11T10:16:00.001-06:00

The NHL's Central Scouting Service released its mid-term rankings today and several Sioux recruits made the cut among North American skaters:

#35 - Jordan Schmaltz
#151 - Miles Koules
#197 - Drake Caggiula

The recently de-committed Stefan Matteau came in at #13.

Tuesday Evening Links

2012-01-10T21:59:00.001-06:00

Because I was unable to watch the game, there is no recap for last Saturday's 3-1 victory over Clarkson in the US College Hockey Classic. Instead, here's the latest from the Sioux hockey world:

The Fighting Sioux lost another USNTDP recruit to Canadian major juniors after 2012 recruit Stefan Matteau announced via Twitter today that he plans on joining the QMJHL's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada next season instead of making his way to UND. Matteau's father, Stephane, was hired as an assistant coach for the Armada prior to this season, and after Stefan's rights were traded to the Armada last Saturday, the handwriting was certainly on the wall. Today Matteau made it official, and it is hard to blame the young man for wanting to play for his father. While it is somewhat conforting that he announced his decision in January rather than mid-summer (a la JT Miller), it continues the growing trend of high-end US talent making collegiate commitments only to back out in favor of major juniors. Signed letters-of-intent carry weight only within the jurisdiction of the NCAA, thus there are no repercussions for a recruit signing a LOI only to back out at a later date. It will be interesting to see how this trend influences the recruiting process and whether or not coaching staffs become a bit more gun-shy about offering scholarships to elite US talent. This on-going topic was touched upon in a recent Q&A with College Hockey Inc.'s Paul Kelly.
Matteau's US Under-18 teammate Miles Koules also had his major junior rights traded prior to today's Western Hockey League trading deadline. Koules' rights were sent from Everett to Medicine Hat, but it is believed that Koules' commitment to UND is stronger than that of Matteau. However, the major junior teams can be tremendously persuasive in their recruitment of committed players, so Koules' commitment status certainly warrants monitoring.
Yet another Sioux recruit who has drawn serious attention from the major junior ranks, Jordan Schmaltz, was recently featured as a potential Minnesota Wild draft pick in this summer's NHL Entry Draft.
It became official today that Mark MacMillan's older brother Mitch has joined the Fighting Sioux. Mitch spent a year and a half playing at St. Could State prior to his decision to leave the Husky program. Due to NCAA transfer guidelines, he will not be eligible to suit up for North Dakota until next January.
Stephane Pattyn had a strong game against Clarkson last weekend, and the local newspaper from his MJHL days put together a nice feature on him. Also garnering attention from his hometown media is Corban Knight, who will be counted upon to help lead North Dakota's push towards the postseason.
Anaheim Duck Matt Smaby cleared waivers last week and was assigned to the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) to get back into game shape after having not yet played this season. The former Sioux defenseman, who has not scored a goal in 122 career NHL games, scored one in his first contest with Syracuse.
Matt Frattin was assigned to the Toronto Marlies (the Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate) last week. As the Leafs begin to return to full health, Frattin's ice time would have diminished significantly, so the Leaf's opted to send him to the Marlies to keep his development on-track.
Jason Blake has played in just six of the Anaheim Ducks' 40 games this season, but he has been involved in both of the winning streaks they been able to string together.
The St. Louis Blues have powered their way to the top of the NHL's Central Division, and they've done so with a core of talent, including TJ Oshie, that was developed within the Blues' organization.
Travis Zajac sat out tonight's game at Calgary as he continues to recover from an inflamed Achilles tendon. He states that dealing with his Achilles injury has been a lot tougher than he expected.
In the Devils Army midseason review, Zach Parise was named the team's first-half MVP. Meanwhile, Detroit Red Wing defenseman Mike Commodore graded out at a B for his first half performance.
Parise's contract status is a hot topic around the league now that the Devils and their star winger can begin contract extension talks that could prevent him from hitting the open market. No talks are currently scheduled, and while Parise has expressed his desire to remain in New Jersey, it will take more than money to convince him to remain a Devil. Meanwhile, longtime Devil Petr Sykora went on record saying it's imperative that the team gets a new deal done with their irreplaceable star, and father JP has said he will have little to no impact on the situation. There have been rumblings that the Devils may look into trading Parise, but as they push towards a playoff berth in what has been a bounce back season, don't expect to see him play for anyone other than New Jersey this season.

Fighting Sioux vs. Clarkson: Notes & Links

2012-01-07T09:53:00.002-06:00

North Dakota (10-8-2, 7-7-0 WCHA) vs. Clarkson (9-9-4, 3-4-2 ECAC) - Game Notes & Links:

Saturday 7:37 CST at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Canada.
The games will be broadcast on the airwaves across the Fighting Sioux Radio Network and via UND webcast. There is no TV coverage of this game. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Series Notes in PDF: North Dakota and Clarkson
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading and a bonus Saturday Morning Reading. The Saturday edition focuses primarily on the CHL vs. NCAA debate, including a nice Q&A with Fighting Sioux head coach Dave Hakstol. It's a must read, especially after the JT Miller about-face last summer and the continued CHL recruitment of current Sioux commitments Stefan Matteau and Jordan Schmaltz.
Just like last weekend's series against Harvard, this is a very important nonconference game for the Fighting Sioux in terms of positioning themselves for a NCAA tournament berth.
North Dakota will be playing with a short bench as Derek Rodwell and Rocco Grimaldi are out, Corban Knight and Derek Forbort are doubtful, and captain Mario Lamoureux is questionable. Obviously, in a perfect world everyone would be healthy and ready to play, but all things considered there is a developmental silver lining to this current rash of injuries. The freshmen have been thrust into the position of playing big-time minutes in very important situations, and thus far they have met the challenge. What doesn't kill you supposedly makes you stronger, and the ability of the underclassmen to step in and step it up bodes well not only for the rest of this season when the team returns to health, but for the seasons to come as well.
When UND takes to Winnipeg's MTS Centre ice in tonight's US College Hockey Classic, it will be a homecoming of sorts for several members of the Fighting Sioux, as Winnipeg has been very fertile recruiting ground over the history of North Dakota hockey. Additionally, playing a regular season game in Canada is not only a great way to further market North Dakota's program in Manitoba, but NCAA hockey as a whole.
The Fighting Sioux lead the all-time series with the Knights, having won all six previous match-ups. The two teams also have several common opponents this season. North Dakota has defeated Alaska-Anchorage 5-2 and 4-1, while Clarkson and AA battled to a 4-4 tie. The Knights have also played Maine twice this season, losing both games (4-3, 6-1), while UND took three of four points from the Black Bears back in October (3-1, 3-3). Clarkson lost its only match-up with Harvard (3-2), with the Sioux having just earned a win and a tie against the Crimson (4-4, 7-3).
USCHO's Weekend Picks
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
INCH's National Notebook
CHN's Tale of the Tape
CHN's WCHA Weekend Preview
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Inside Hockey Series Preview

USHL Prospects Game, Rodwell Done For Season, Etc,

2012-01-05T22:01:00.000-06:00

A quick Thursday night update:

Sioux recruits Luke Johnson and Jordan Schmaltz were both selected to take part in the inaugural USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game January 24th in Muskegon, MI. The game will feature 40 of the USHL's top players yet to be drafted by NHL teams. Schmaltz, who started the season with Sioux City but was later traded to the Green Bay Gamblers, has 16 points (8G, 8A) in 24 games and has twice been named the league's Defensive Player of the Week. Johnson, who has 22 points (7G, 15A) in 24 games for the Lincoln Stars, is one of only three players chosen who are not NHL Draft-eligible until 2013. As a side note, players from the USNTDP teams were not chosen to play in this showcase event.
It was announced today that Fighting Sioux winger Derek Rodwell will miss the rest of the season in order to have surgery on his injured shoulder. He hurt the shoulder in last weekend's series against Harvard and his absence will make an already short bench even shorter as the team heads into the second half of the season. Rodwell has played in nineteen games, producing two points (1G, 1A).
Jason Blake made his return from injury last night in the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 loss to San Jose. Blake played on a line with Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, and the heavy second line minutes caused him to "run out of gas" down the stretch.
Matt Smaby, who is also looking to get on the ice for Anaheim, was placed on waivers today in the hope that he clears and can thus be assigned to Syracuse (AHL) for a conditioning assignment. Smaby has not played all year after suffering a torn thumb ligament in the preseason, and he says he's ready to do whatever it takes to return to action.
Team USA was defeated by Russia 7-4 yesterday in the gold medal game of the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario. Sioux recruit Keaton Thompson had an assist in the gold medal game and finished the tournament with four assists in six games. Fellow recruit Luke Voltin also played in all six tournament games and produced a goal and an assist.

Wednesday Evening Wind-down

2012-01-04T18:22:00.002-06:00

Here are some updates from the world of Fighting Sioux hockey:

Team USA ended play at the World Junior Championship today, defeating Switzerland 2-1 in the 7th Place game. Derek Forbort has not played since the preliminary round game against the Czech Republic, and he is doubtful to play Saturday against Clarkson. Forbort played in three games and had two assists prior to his injury.
The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge concludes tonight, and Sioux recruits Luke Voltin and Keaton Thompson are part of the USA squad that will be playing for the gold. Team USA will be looking for payback in the rematch with Russia, which served the Americans with the only blemish on their record, a 3-2 loss in preliminary play. Gametime is 6:00 CST. For the tournament, Thompson has three assists while Voltin has a goal and an assist in five games.
Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz, whose season is really beginning to take off with Green Bay, was named the USHL's Defensive Player of the Week yesterday. It is the second time he's received the honor this year, and the seventh time in his one and a half-year USHL career. He was also recently featured in a very nice prospect Q&A done by McKeen's Hockey.
Sioux recruit Luke Johnson and his Lincoln teammate Jared Hanson each finished the Stars' 7-6 win (SO) over Des Moines Friday with a +5 rating. It ties the highest +/- rating in the league this season.
For a brief, one-minute scouting report on recruit Stefan Matteau, go to the 48:55 mark of Sports Radio NY's January 1st clip.
UND freshman forward Connor Gaarder continued his breakout season by being named the WCHA Rookie of the Week today. Gaarder had two goals and two assists in last weekend's series against Harvard, and it is the fourth consecutive regular season weekend of action that a UND player has earned weekly conference honors.
The Fighting Sioux will have to deal with the injury bug yet again this weekend, as both Rocco Grimaldi and Derek Rodwell have been ruled out for the Clarkson game. Corban Knight and Derek Forbort are also unlikely to play, while Mario Lamoureux is questionable.
The New Jersey Devils and Travis Zajac were prepared to deal with his comeback from an achilles tendon injury throughout the season, and they are holding him out of the lineup tonight against Boston to help him recover. Zajac's teammate Zach Parise, meanwhile, cracked a list of the Ten Best Players in Devils History.
Because several members of the Colorado Avalanche have recently returned from injury, Brad Malone has been a healthy scratch over the past few games. They've therefore decided to send him down to Lake Erie (AHL) so he can get more playing time, but he "did plenty of good things during his stay with the Avalanche."
Matt Greene recently had some New Year's Resolution suggestions for his teammates.
Jason Blake, who has been itching to return to game action, will be in the lineup tonight when the Anaheim Ducks take on the San Jose Sharks. It will be the first action for Blake since October 14 when he suffered a lacerated wrist tendon when he was stepped on by Shark's defenseman Brent Burns in the third game of the season. Duck teammate Matt Smaby is also nearing his return from injury. Smaby, who has not played this season after suffering a torn thumb ligament in a preseason game, has begun practicing with the team and should be available to play soon.
Mike Commodore said he is "starting to actually feel like a hockey player again" after appearing in several consecutive games for the Detroit Red Wings.
Drew Stafford has been mired in a season-long slump, but he took a big step toward busting out with a one goal, two assist performance last night against Edmonton.
Matt Frattin celebrated his birthday in style last night by producing a goal and an assist in Toronto's 7-3 win over Tampa Bay.

Harvard Recap

2012-01-02T20:54:00.001-06:00

The Fighting Sioux entered a non-conference series needing a big weekend to bolster their national tournament hopes, and with a short bench they took three out of four points against a solid Harvard Crimson squad. Friday night saw the two teams battle to a 4-4 draw, while the Fighting Sioux sent their revered nickname out in style New Year's Eve by blowing by Harvard 7-3 in the final game in which a North Dakota athletic team will officially be known as the Fighting Sioux.

Friday night the Sioux started out slow, played a good second period, and finished with an uncharacteristic third period in which they relinquished a two goal lead. Saturday night was a different story, as they had jump from the get-go and played a strong 60 minutes. There appeared to be some tired legs late Saturday, but considering the injuries this team is dealing with, that is very understandable.
The freshmen are really starting to come into their own. A lot of very young players are playing an awful lot of minutes, and they are performing admirably. The team has had an awful lot of personnel issues this season and a lot of players have been thrust into roles that were not expected of them, and they have risen to the occasion and then some. Already short on skaters when fully healthy due to the pre-season eligibility issues of Colten St. Clair and Michael Di Puma, North Dakota played every healthy player on their roster and still was short a forward and a defenseman due to the unavailability of Corban Knight, Mario Lamoureux, Derek Rodwell, Derek Forbort, and Rocco Grimaldi. The fact that the shorthanded Sioux were able to post a seven-spot on a respectable Harvard team is a testament to this team's ability to adapt and evolve when faced with difficult situations. Saturday's victory was a signature win, and it could become a defining moment for this team.
Scoring came from all over the lineup this weekend, with the top line not getting into the scoring column until Saturday night. Freshmen Nick Mattson and Brendan O'Donnell provided some spark Friday while Connor Gaarder continued his strong play by scoring his first collegiate goal Friday and following it up with a big three-point night Saturday. Six freshmen produced points in the Saturday night victory.
On the injury front, it sounds like Grimaldi is still a couple weeks away from knowing how well the shut-down helped his knee heal. Knight, Lamoureux, and Forbort will be evaluated as the week goes on and may or may not be ready for the Clarkson game Saturday night while Rodwell is out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.
In browsing through some stats New Year's Day, a few interesting numbers jumped out. I sent them out yesterday via Twitter as I came across them, but here they are for those of you who do not use Twitter:
Freshmen accounted for 16 (8G, 8A) of the 30 points the Sioux tallied this weekend
The Sioux are 8-2-1 with Connor Gaarder in the lineup, 2-6-1 with him out.
Dillon Simpson had 0 points the first nine games of the season. He's now had at least one point in eight of his last 11 games.
Danny Kristo has factored in on seven of UND's ten game-winning goal this season.

International and All-Star Tournament Updates

2011-12-31T17:06:00.000-06:00

There are several international/all-star competitions that are either ongoing or have recently wrapped up. Here's a quick rundown of those events:

Yesterday afternoon Team USA again ran into some hot goaltending at the World Junior Championship and moved to 1-2-0 for the tournament after getting dropped by the Czech Republic 5-2. UND sophomore defenseman Derek Forbort was injured after being checked into the boards by a Czech player and was unable to return to action after heading to the locker room. Opportunistic opponents, average goaltending, lack of offensive execution, and stellar play by opposing netminders have all spelled doom for what America thought might be another golden WJC experience. Tonight's matchup with Canada was supposed to be the biggest preliminary round game of the event but instead the Americans will be playing for pride as they are headed for next week's relegation round. Forbort will not dress for tonight's game against Canada, which is set to begin at 7:00 PM CST.
Robbie Bina's EHC Wolfsburg squad was eliminated from the Spengler Cup yesterday after losing to to Dinamo Riga 4-1 in the tournament semifinals. The host team, HC Davos, claimed the tournament championship earlier today by defeating Dinamo Riga 3-2.
Team USA dropped a narrow 3-2 decision to Russia yesterday in preliminary round play at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Windsor, Ontario. Team USA, whose record is now 1-1-0, has today off before returning to action tomorrow at 6:00 CST against Canada West. Keaton Thompson has one assist and Luke Voltin is pointless thru the first two games, and if you care to watch these Sioux recruits and their Team USA teammates, all tournament games are being streamed live at Fast Hockey. You need to register in order to log-in, but the games cost nothing to watch.
Recruit Drake Caggiula and the OJHL North All-Stars came up just short in the Central Canada Cup Challenge. The Quebec League All-Stars won the tournament with Thursday night's 5-1 victory over OJHL North, with Caggiula notching his team's only goal. For the tournament Caggiula had three points (2G, 1A) in five games and converted both of his shootout attempts, including the semifinal game winner. In OJHL regular season play, he entered the holiday break on a five game point streak that saw him put up nine points (4G, 5A) in helping the Stouffville Spirit to a 4-0-1 record.
On the women's side, two Sioux recruits are taking part in the 2012 Women's Under-18 Championship. Samantha LaShomb is representing Team USA, which opened their tournament with an 8-0 victory over Russia this morning, while Meghan Dufault and Team Canada hammered Switzerland 13-1. Team USA has won three of the last four gold medals in this event, and the Americans and Canadians have met for the gold all four years. Team USA and Canada each resume play tomorrow at Noon CST, with the US taking on Sweden and Canada facing Germany.

Post Holiday Break Update, Part 2

2011-12-31T12:19:00.000-06:00

This should hopefully get the blog caught up on the backlog of links and updates that have accumulated over the past week and a half. Expect an international update later today, a Harvard series recap Sunday or Monday, along with the remaining recruit profiles over the next week or so:

TJ Oshie was sidelined for St. Louis' first two games out of the holiday break, but he returned to action last night and scored the Blues' only goal in a 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville. Oshie now has 19 points (11G, 8A) and a +10 in his last 24 games after a bit of a slow start, but still feels as though he can play better. His 24 points are one shy of David Backes' team leading 25, while his 12 goals are second to Alex Steen's 13.
The Blues travel to Detroit to take on Mike Commodore and the Red Wings tonight. Commodore, who put in his work off the ice during an unfamiliar run of healthy scratches, has now played in the Wings' last four games, including last night's game against Chicago in which he registered his first point as a Wing. Red Wings' coach Mike Babcock says Commodore has seized the opportunity after earning his way back into the lineup.
The New Jersey Devils have sustained their recent strong play, having won eight of their last eleven games. Travis Zajac's return to the lineup has bolstered the Devil's depth up the middle, but the consistently strong play of the top two lines has been key during New Jersey's surge. Zajac has been centering the third line and will most likely not be 100% health-wise until next season as he continues working his way back from an Achilles tendon injury. The Devils and team captain Zach Parise, meanwhile, can enter into contract extension negotiations beginning tomorrow.
Last night Jonathan Toews, who has had a number of memorable NHL goals, was successful on his first career NHL penalty shot. The 'Hawks eventually earned a 3-2 victory over Detroit and extended their league-best point total to 52. Toews, who leads the 'Hawks with 21 goals and is second on the team with 38 points, continues to be mentioned in early Hart Trophy speculation and Chicago sports fans should be thankful for their hockey captain. Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville says it's the little things that make Toews so special. He was also recently featured in a rundown of Canada's last 10 years at the World Junior Championships, and he is one of many stars who can call themselves both Fighting Sioux and Shattuck-St. Mary's alumni.
Anaheim Ducks forward Jason Blake, who suffered a lacerated wrist tendon just three games into the season, has been practicing with the team and should return to game action within a week. Meanwhile there is no set timetable for the return of Blake's teammate Matt Smaby, but Duck beat writer Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register said that Smaby is progressing nicely and official word on Smaby's status should come soon. Smaby underwent thumb surgery prior to the regular season and was originally expected to be out 2-3 months.
Last week Colorado Avalanche rookie Brad Malone earned a nice review on his play since being called up from Lake Erie (AHL). In nine games with the Avs Malone has two assists and is a +1.
Joe Finley, who made his NHL debut with Buffalo earlier this season, is climbing the Sabres ladder and not looking back.
Drew Stafford has been in a season-long goal scoring drought, and he says extra focus is key to breaking out.
David Toews made his AHL debut last night with the Rockford Ice Hogs. Prior to the call-up Toews had spent the entire season with the Toledo Walleye, playing in 24 games and producing nine points (2G, 7A).
Taylor Chorney of Oklahoma City (AHL) received a three game suspension for an illegal check earlier this week.
Reigning ECHL Player of the Week Michael Forney of the Colorado Eagles will have to sit out one game after receiving an instigating game misconduct last night against the Alaska Aces.

Fighting Sioux vs. Harvard: Notes & Links

2011-12-30T10:05:00.000-06:00

North Dakota (9-8-1, 7-7-0 WCHA) vs. Harvard (4-3-3, 3-3-2 ECAC) - Series Notes & Links:

Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Series Notes in PDF: North Dakota and Harvard
Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
This is a very important nonconference series for the Fighting Sioux in terms of positioning themselves for a NCAA tournament berth. It's a situation that is familiar to a host of WCHA teams this season, as the conference has not experienced its usual nonconference success.
Harvard, like the Fighting Sioux, is hovering near the .500 mark, but the production of their freshmen means they've been getting a full team effort this season.
With North Dakota and Harvard having met on the ice just 11 times (UND leads 8-2-1), the Crimson are a relatively unknown opponent. Read a little more on the Harvard program and its history.
North Dakota will be without Derek Forbort, who is representing Team USA at the World Junior Championships in Calgary/Edmonton. Injury-wise Rocco Grimaldi is still out at least 2-3 more weeks while Corban Knight and Mario Lamoureux will be gameday decisions.
UND and Harvard do not share any common opponents at this point of the season, but Harvard has played Clarkson, North Dakota's opponent next Saturday in Winnipeg. The Crimson defeated the Golden Knights 3-2 in Potsdam.
We are at the halfway point of the conference season, and a variety of outlets have offered up their midseason awards and reviews: USCHO First Half Facts, Bucky's 5th Quarter WCHA First Half Awards, CHN WCHA Midseason Awards, The Ciskie Blog WCHA Midseason Awards, INCH's WCHA Midseason Report.
USCHO's Weekend Picks
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
CHN's Tale of the Tape
Inside Hockey Series Preview

Post Holiday Break Update, Part 1

2011-12-29T17:56:00.001-06:00

Following the holiday break and a pleasant road trip to western North Dakota, the blog is now back to active status. There's been a decent amount of noteworthy activity in the land of Sioux hockey, and we'll look to tackle it all over the course of the next several days. There are a few recruit profiles left to complete, there are two significant international tournaments going on, and with a big nonconference series coming up against Harvard, the posting should become pretty regular during the next week or so. Hopefully everyone had a great holiday season, and here's the first round of updates and links:

Derrick LaPoint scored his first professional goal last Friday in the Reading Royals' (ECHL) 6-4 victory over Greenville. LaPoint currently has five points (1G, 4A) in 24 games with Reading. He's also played in five AHL games this season-four with the Syracuse Crunch and one with the Peoria Rivermen.
Brady Murray recently returned from injury to make his season debut with HC Lugano of the Swiss National League. He has registered seven points (3G, 4A) in eight games and recently signed a contract extension that will keep him in Lugano through the 2013/14 season with an option for an additional year.
Michael Forney of the Colorado Eagles has been as hot as anyone in the ECHL lately, recently being named the league's Player of the Week. Forney produced six points (3G, 3A) and was a +7 in helping the Eagles to a 3-0 record over the course of the week. He is currently riding a nine game point streak during which he has recorded 14 points (8G, 6A) to go along with a +11 rating. For the season Forney has 27 points (12G, 15A) and a +9. Also helping Colorado earn at least one point in 11 of its last 12 games has been Aaron Schneekloth, who leads all ECHL defensemen with 28 points (11G, 17A) in 30 games. Jake Marto, meanwhile, has rejoined Colorado after a 12 game run with St. John's (AHL).
The 2011 Spengler Cup, one of the oldest invitation-only hockey tournaments in the world, is currently taking place in Davos, Switzerland. Former Sioux defenseman Robbie Bina is taking part with his EHC Wolfsburg (Germany Tier I) squad, and earlier today they eliminated Team Canada 3-2 (SO) to advance to the semifinals. Travis Roche was originally chosen to participate for Team Canada, but was forced to back out due to injury.
Derek Forbort is currently in Alberta representing Team USA in the 2012 World Junior Championships. In their tournament opener Team USA trounced Denmark 11-3, with Forbort notching two assists. The Americans were upset 4-1 Wednesday afternoon by an offensively gifted Finland team, despite outshooting the Fins 38-24. Team USA has an off day today before concluding preliminary round play against the Czech Republic Friday (2:30 CST) and Canada Saturday (7:00 CST).
Recruits Luke Voltin and Keaton Thompson will be taking part in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge beginning today in Windsor, Ontario. The United States of Hockey put together a very nice preview of Team USA, including brief scouting reports of all players. Team USA kicks off their tournament today at 6:00 CST, and all games can be viewed live over the internet at Fast Hockey. This has become a high-profile showcase event for players still two to three years out of their draft year, and among those taking part will be highly-regarded prospects Nathan MacKinnon and Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad is just the second player ever to be granted exceptional player status by the OHL (John Tavares was the first), which allowed him to play in the league at the age of 15.
Recruit Drake Caggiula is currently participating in the Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge in Smith Falls, Ontario. The tournament, which consists of all-star teams from several Canadian junior A leagues, concludes tonight at 6:00 CST when Caggiula and his OJHL North teammates take on Quebec for the tournament championship. Caggiula has a goal and an assist in four tournament games. He's also gone two-for-two in shootouts, including the game winner in the semifinal game earlier today. The game can be viewed live via Neulion.

Wednesday Afternoon Tea

2011-12-21T13:57:00.001-06:00

Having been unable to get this post out earlier today, the Morning Coffee has been replaced with Afternoon Tea:

Derek Forbort is currently participating in Team USA's World Junior Championship selection camp in Camrose, Alberta. The final roster will be announced tomorrow morning, and expect Forbort to be on it, particularly now that defenseman Seth Jones will not take part due to an injury suffered in last night's exhibition game against Russia. The tournament kicks off for Team USA Monday, December 26th at 7:00 PM CST when they take on Denmark. The tournament takes place in Edmonton and Calgary and all of Team USA's games will be aired live on the NHL Network.
The College Hockey News recently published their WCHA Midseason Awards. They have Brock Nelson as a 2nd Team All-Conference performer, while Ben Blood is a 3rd Teamer.
Recruits Keaton Thompson and Luke Voltin will be participating in the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge beginning December 28 in Windsor, Ontario.
Recruit Jordan Schmaltz was recently profiled by HockeyProspect.com.
Jordan Schmaltz (#22) and Stefan Matteau (#30) each find themselves among McKeen's Top 30 2012 NHL Draft Prospects.
Jordan Schmaltz's younger brother and fellow Sioux recruit Nick will be leaving the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers in order to rejoin the Chicago Mission U-16 team. Nick has now played 11 games with the Gamblers, meaning his USHL rights will be retained by Green Bay without the team having to draft him this spring. In his 11 games with Green Bay he scored one goal to go along with three assists while posting an impressive +7 rating. Here's what Gambler head coach Derek Lalonde had to say about the younger Schmaltz's brief USHL stint: "That's a world-class player. He's arguably in his age group the best in the world. I don't know if people can put it in perspective and appreciate that. Obviously a lot is going to change, but what people are seeing out there - that's special."
Travis Zajac scored his first goal of the season last night against the New York Rangers. Though New Jersey originally hoped to gradually increase his playing time, he was moved up to the Devil's second line last night when Patrick Elias was unable go. He missed the team's first 30 games recovering from Achilles surgery and made his season debut last Friday night. New Jersey has been playing its best hockey of the season as of late, and getting Zajac back will only make them stronger.
New Jersey missed the NHL playoffs last season after 13 consecutive appearances, but Zach Parise's return to full health has the Devils right back in the thick of the playoff chase. Parise will become an unrestricted free agent this summer if he and the Devils are unable to agree upon a contract extension, and The Hockey News recently speculated on what the future might hold for the former Sioux star.
The streaking St. Louis Blues have jumped into the upper-half of the Western Conference's top eight, and leading the way have been TJ Oshie and the Blues' top line. Oshie currently leads St. Louis with 11 goals, 12 assists, and 23 points, including seven points (4G, 3A) and a +4 in his last six games.
Derrick LaPoint has been bouncing all over the place this season. After starting the season with the ECHL's Reading Royals, he had been called up and sent down by the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) on three separate occasions. This past weekend he was summoned by the Peoria Rivermen (AHL), played a game Sunday night, and was returned to Reading.
Michael Forney and the Colorado Eagles (ECHL) have been red-hot recently. Forney is currently enjoying a six-game point streak during which he has recorded ten points (5G, 5A), including six (3G, 3A) in his last two games.
We'll leave you with a beauty of a goal, courtesy of Toronto Maple Leaf Matt Frattin. The play starts deep in their own end, but eventually every Maple Leaf touches the puck before Frattin tucks it home with a strong rush to the net:

WCHA Blogger & Website Preseason Poll: Mid-Term Review

2011-12-19T22:58:00.003-06:00

We are at the midway point of the WCHA regular season with every team having played 14 of its 28 conference games. This, of course, means it is time to review the WCHA Blogger & Website Preseason Poll. Minnesota and Michigan Tech have exceeded expectations, as the Gophers sit five spots higher than what was forecast for them and the Huskies four, while preseason favorite Denver sits four spots lower than what the pollsters foresaw. And while there is a lot of hockey left to be played, the blognosticators correctly slotted 6 of the 12 teams within one spot of their current position. Here are the current WCHA standings along with their corresponding jump/slide from the preseason poll:

1	Minnesota	+5
1t	Minnesota-Duluth	+3
3	Colorado College	-1
4	Nebraska Omaha	+/-0
5	Denver	-4
6	North Dakota	-3
7	Michigan Tech	+4
7t	St Cloud State	+/-0
9	Bemidji State	+1
10	Wisconsin	-3
11	Alaska-Anchorage	-2
12	Minnesota State	+/-0

Outside of goaltender, the picks for the preseason All-Conference team are hard to argue, as Jack Connolly and Justin Schultz are absolute no-brainers, with Jason Zucker, Ben Blood, and Jaden Schwartz also living up to the preseason hype. There are several players (Bjugstad, Brown, Shore, R. Schwartz, Broadhurst, Nelson, Hunt, Jensen, etc.) who have been outstanding in the first half and perhaps deserve All-Conference honors, but we'll wait until the season's end to broach those heated debates. The goaltender position is neck and neck between Kent Patterson and Kenny Reiter, as preseason pick Aaron Dell started the season slowly before picking it up as of late. The edge in goal is ever-so slightly given to Patterson, as he leads the league in GAA and Save %, with Reiter nipping right on his heels.

The preseason player of the year was Jason Zucker, with Jaden Schwartz coming in one vote behind. While both Zucker and Schwartz have been outstanding, it is very hard to argue against either Connolly or Schultz.

The runaway winner of the preseason Rookie of the Year has played in only four games, but in the absence of Rocco Grimaldi there is a host of deserving candidates. Josh Archibald, Kyle Rau, JP LaFontaine, Caleb Herbert, Jayson Megna, Joey LaLeggia et. al. are all viable candidates, and the second half will hopefully see this picture come into clearer focus.

The preseason Defenseman of the Year was Justin Schultz, and rightfully so. The Wisconsin blueliner has been sensational all season and is a legitimate Hobey Baker candidate.

The Breakout Player of the Year is a bit harder to gauge, considering 13 players received at least one vote. Of the three who received two votes, Beau Bennett has been sidelined most of the season, Zach Budish has been decent but nothing more, and JT Brown probably had his breakout performance down the stretch last season and thus hasn't really been a true "breakout" performer. Among those receiving single votes, Terry Broadhurst, Brock Nelson, and Ben Hanowski are the leading candidates at the halfway marker.

It has been an entertaining first half, and the second half promises even more of the same.

Recruit Profile: Jordan Schmaltz

2011-12-18T17:04:00.004-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Defense
Birthday: October 8th, 1993
Hometown: Verona, WI
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 175
Shoots: Right

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
Reel Hockey Scouting Scouting Report
McKeen's Hockey Prospect Interview
Sioux City Musketeers/ESPN: Jordan Schmaltz on Fast Track to NHL
USA Today: Top US-Born Players For 2012 NHL Draft
Buzzing the Net: Draft Tracker - 5 Questions With Jordan Schmaltz
Dobber Hockey: Americans a Hot Commodity (Part 1)
United States of Hockey: American Prospect Update
Green Bay Press Gazette: Jordan Schmaltz Feels at Home With the Green Bay Gamblers
Sioux City Musketeers: Commitment Press Release
NHL Entry Draft Eligible in 2012
He is ranked #35 amongst North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Service's 2012 Midterm Rankings.
He was ranked #6 among USHL 2012 draft-eligible players in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Preliminary Rankings.
Hockey Buzz Scouting Report: A big bodied defender with offensive skill, Schmaltz is an agile skater who loves to rush the puck himself and control the game. He has vision out the butt and knows how to open lanes on the Power Play. His shot possesses some power and weight behind it, but will get better as he gets stronger.
A variety of outlets have him pegged as a first round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He ranks #21 on Copper N Blue's Consensus Top 100 (a composite of eight popular draft prospect rankings).
He took part in the USHL/NHL Top Prospects game on January 24, 2012 in what will was a showcase event for the USHL's top 2012 NHL Draft eligible talent. His Team West defeated Team East by a 5-3 margin.
In November he took part in the 2011 World Junior A Challenge in Langley, BC, producing an assist in 5 games for the bronze medal winning Team USA entry.
In November of 2011 he was involved in a blockbuster deal in which he was traded from the Sioux City Musketeers to the Green Bay Gamblers.
In October of 2011 he was named the Defensive Player of the Week during week 2 of the 2011-12 USHL season.
In August of 2011 he took part in the NHL's Research and Development Camp, featuring about 40 of the top 2012 NHL Draft prospects.
2010-11: As a USHL rookie he played 53 games with the Sioux City Musketeers and led all league defensemen with 44 points (13G, 31A) on his way to earning All-Rookie and All-USHL honors. He was also named the USHL's Defensive Player of the Week five times.
He helped lead Team USA to the gold medal at the 2010 World Junior A Challenge, recording one assist in 4 games.
2009-10: He played in 11 games with the USNTDP Under-17 team, producing two goals and zero assists. He also went pointless in two games with the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers.
He played for Team USA's gold medal winning entry in the 2010 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, accounting for one goal and zero assists in six games.
From 2006 to 2010, he was a member of the Chicago Mission youth hockey organization, producing 87 points (31G, 56A) while playing in 124 games.
He is the older brother of 2014 Sioux recruit and Green Bay Gambler teammate Nick Schmaltz.
His father, Mike, and two uncles, Marc and Monte, are former Fighting Sioux football players.

Saturday Morning Coffee

2011-12-17T08:29:00.000-06:00

Travis Zajac made his season debut last night for New Jersey, but teammate Zach Parise stole the show with a career high-tying four point (1G, 3A) performance. Parise's been on some kind of roll lately as his big night now gives him 16 points in his last 10 games. Zajac, who missed the first 30 games of the season due to an offseason Achilles tendon injury, centered the Devils' third line and had 15:22 of ice time, including about a minute on the power play. He said he felt good physically but had a little rust.
Parise is one of the best hockey players in the world, and he is one of the few that combines elite talent with scrappiness.
Coming off last season's career-best 31 goal campaign, Drew Stafford has not had the start to the season he or the Buffalo Sabres envisioned. However, he scored a goal last night against Toronto and may be showing signs of breaking out as he now has a point in four of his last five games.
Last night Chicago moved into a tie with the Minnesota Wild for the most points in the NHL after defeating Anaheim 4-1. In Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks might have the best 1-2 punch in the league, but it has been the phenomenal play of Toews that has pushed the team to the top of the standings.
Former Sioux defenseman and current Los Angeles Kings assistant captain Matt Greene took a minute to briefly discuss his time at North Dakota:

Jason Gregoire returned to action last night for the St. John's IceCaps (AHL) following a lengthy lay off due to injury, and he registered an assist in a 4-2 victory over Manchester.
Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth continues to propel the Colorado Eagles' run up the standings. He scored the game winning goal last night in a 3-2 victory over Utah, and he now has 22 points (10G, 12A) and a +10 rating in 25 games. After a bit of a slow start transitioning from the CHL to the ECHL, the Eagles have gone 10-2-2 in their last 14 to move into second place in the Western Conference's Mountain Division. Former Sioux Michael Forney earned the primary assist on Schneekloth's game winner and now has 17 points (6G, 11A) in 25 games.
Sioux 2012 recruit Stefan Matteau jumped into the International Scouting Service's Top 30 ranked 2012 NHL Draft prospects.
Sioux 2013 recruit Jack Rowe scored the game-winning goal and was named the game's 1st Star as Cedar Rapids defeated the Team USA Under-18ers 2-1 last night. It was the first USHL goal of his career.

Fighting Sioux vs. Russian Red Stars: Notes & Links

2011-12-16T22:04:00.001-06:00

North Dakota vs. Russian Red Stars (Exhibition) - Game Notes & Links:

Saturday 7:07 PM CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Series notes in PDF: North Dakota
The Russian Red Stars defeated Army and lost to Yale in college exhibition contests last year, and North Dakota's Engelstad Arena is the first stop on this season's US tour.
Expect North Dakota to do some experimenting with its personnel against the Red Stars.
After taking on the Fighting Sioux, the Red Stars will travel to Alexandria (Blizzard) and Bismarck (Bobcats) to take on a pair of NAHL squads in what will be the only non-collegiate games of the tour.
Little is known about the Russian Red Stars. The team is comprised of players who currently play in Russia's Minor Hockey League (MHL), ranging in age from 17-21. Some of the MHL's teams are affiliated with Russia's elite league, the KHL, others are feeder teams for lower-level professional teams, and some have no professional-level affiliation at all. The league has players who have participated in various international competitions (U-17, U-18, etc.), some of whom are NHL draft picks. The league does contain elite-level talent (ISS's #1 ranked 2012 NHL Draft prospect Mikhail Grigorenko played in the league last season), but I would expect that any of the league's world-class talent will be preparing for the World Junior Championships.
Expect some wide-open, freewheeling hockey out of the Russian team, nothing resembling what we saw last weekend against Nebraska-Omaha. On their North American tour last season the Red Stars allowed 7.4 goals per game.
Derek Forbort will not be available for the game as he will be taking part in Team USA's World Junior Championship pre-tournament camp beginning Saturday in Camrose, Alberta. Former Sioux head coach Dean Blais will be leading Team USA, and he will be assisted by former Sioux player/assistant coach Scott Sandelin.
Unavailable due to injury will be Rocco Grimaldi, Corban Knight, and Mario Lamoureux.
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
USCHO's Weekend Picks
WCHA Weekly Press Release

Recruit Profile: Stefan Matteau (DECOMMITTED)

2011-12-16T10:59:00.003-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: US National Team Dev. Program Under-18 Team
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012
Position: Forward
Birthday: February 23rd, 1994
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 209
Shoots: Left

Commitment Update: Matteau has announced his intention to join the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL next season instead of playing for North Dakota.
Elite Prospect Profile/Stat Page (2011-12 stats are USHL games only)
2011-12 USHL/International/College combined statistics can be found via The Recruits page
USA Hockey: "Little Stef" Hopes to Follow Dad to the NHL
USA Hockey: Matteau Brings NHL Bloodlines to Under-17 Team
Dan Sallows: Q&A With Stefan Matteau
The Hockey News: Prep Watch - The Next Matteau
Notre Dame College/College Hockey 24/7: Matteau Earns NTDP Spot, Drawing College Interest
Notre Dame College/GF Herald: Commitment Article
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2012.
He is ranked #4 among USHL 2012 draft-eligible players in the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's Preliminary Rankings.
He was a member of USA Hockey's undefeated championship winning team at the 2011 Under-18 Four Nations Cup in Monthey, Switzerland. Including the pre-tournament exhibition game, he recorded two goals and two assists in four games.
The US Hockey Report had this to say about his performance at the 2011 USHL Fall Classic: The biggest surprise for us was the play up front of 6’1”, 209 lb. LW Stefan Matteau who this observer thought was clearly the #1 forward for the US Team. A power forward, he was very tough to contain. He’s really picked his game up a notch over a year ago and it will be interesting to see if he can sustain it throughout the year. If he does, he could very well be a first round pick in June.
2010-11: He was a member of the USNTDP Under-17 team. Participating in international, USHL, and collegiate exhibition play, he recorded 18 points (7G, 11A) in 47 games.
In February of 2011 he was part of the Under-17 team that went undefeated at the Vlad Dzurilla Tournament in Piestany, Slovakia. In three tournament games he produced one goal and two assists.
In the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, he accounted for 6 points (2G, 4A) in 7 games as Team USA earned the tournament's silver medal.
He was a member of the 2010 Under-17 Four Nations Cup winning team, playing in four games.
2009-10: He played on the Telus Cup champion Notre Dame Midget AAA Hounds (Wilcox, SK, Canada), producing 71 points (26G, 45A) in 65 games.
He continues a proud tradition of Notre Dame Hounds making their way to North Dakota. Former Sioux Bob Joyce, Jeff Ulmer, Jason Ulmer, Rylan Kaip, Brent Bobyck, and Jason Herter are also Notre Dame alums.
His father, Stephane, played 13 NHL seasons.

Thursday Morning Coffee

2011-12-15T07:14:00.000-06:00

The Chicago Blackhawks earned a 4-3 shootout victory over the Minnesota Wild last night in what was a milestone evening for Jonathan Toews. Toews' 2nd period assist was the 300th point of his career, and he later added a regulation goal and the shootout winner on his way to earning the game's 1st Star. Toews, who has won World Junior and Olympic gold, the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy, and is the early favorite for this season's Hart Trophy, has achieved a career's worth of accolades before even turning 24. For a little added perspective on his youthful accomplishments, Chicago's captain is nearly four months younger than Maple Leaf rookie Matt Frattin.
Earlier this week Toews appeared on WGN Radio's Jonathon Brandmeier show with teammate Daniel Carcillo. While there wasn't much substance to the appearance, there were a few humorous moments, including some insight into teammate Patrick Kane's nickname. The Toews bit begins about a third of the way into the segment.
Toews made the cut as part of the NHL's Top 10 Shootout Specialists. He wasn't the only former Sioux to qualify, as TJ Oshie was given an honorable mention while Zach Parise topped the list.
With Albert Pujols and Tony LaRussa recently saying farewell to St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch wants to know who can help fill their void, and TJ Oshie and the St. Louis Blues are part of that mix.
Zach Parise and the New Jersey Devils completed a Florida sweep this week to continue their recent surge, and the production of the Devils' top line has been the key to their recent success.
The Devils are looking to extend their good fortune by welcoming their top centerman back into the fold, as Travis Zajac is still on track to return to the lineup tomorrow.
Brad Malone, who has played two games with Colorado, was recently featured in an Avalanche Q&A.
Chris VandeVelde and Taylor Chorney have both been key components to the Oklahoma City Barons' strong start.
Hunter Bishop, who has not played this season due to a preseason injury, is helping to make a difference off the ice.
Sioux goaltender Aaron Dell was named the WCHA's Defensive Player of the Week after his strong weekend against Nebraska-Omaha. Dell got of to a slow start this season, but he is now returning to his All-American form of a year ago.
The Fighting Sioux will be making their way to Winnipeg next month, looking to earn a victory north of the 49th Parallel.

Recruit Profile: Charlie Pelnik

2011-12-14T21:27:00.002-06:00

Photo-NBC17.com

Current Team: Shattuck-St. Mary's (MN) Under-16 Team
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Defense
Birthday: May 15th, 1995
Hometown: Cary, NC
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 190
Shoots: Left

Shattuck-St. Mary's 2011-12 U-16 Roster/Stats Page
Reel Hockey Scouting Report
The Cary News: Cary Teen Making Mark In Hockey
NBC 17: Raleigh Teen Wants To Be First Pro Hockey Player From The Area
Brad Schlossman UND Blog: Commitment Post
Cary Citizen: 15 Year-Old Caryite Commits to Play Hockey at UND
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2013
In June of 2011 he took part in USA Hockey's Select 16 Development Camp, playing in 5 games. The US Hockey Report ranked him #13 among defenseman: From Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. North Dakota recruit. Quite raw, didn’t have a great week, but there’s a lot to work with here. Fargo’s top pick. Also picked by Plymouth in OHL draft.
2011 OHL Draft Scouting Report: a great combination of size skill and grit, good team player who is fearless & is willing to stick up for his teammates, plays a solid defensive game with good positioning and gap control, likes the physical game, makes things miserable for opposing forwards, tough to play against in the corners & in front of his net, good skater for his size with quick acceleration & good mobility, makes good first pass clearing out of the zone, needs to work on his puck handling and can be undisciplined at times....drafted by Fargo of the USHL...committed to North Dakota....rated as a mid to late first rounder but will most likely drop.
In March of 2011 he was invited to take part in the USNTDP Under-17 tryout camp, featuring the 45 best 1995 birth-year players in the United States.
2010-11: As a high school sophomore he played for the Carolina Junior Hurricanes Under-16 AAA team that went 30-18-6.
July of 2010 he participated in the USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, going pointless in 5 games. US Hockey Report ranked him as the #7 defenseman at camp: From Carolina Jr. Hurricanes organization. Big, with a bit of nastiness. He wasn't consistent, though, and had at least one day where he struggled to find his game. Plenty of upside here.

Tuesday Morning Coffee

2011-12-13T06:46:00.001-06:00

As part of its constant evolution, the blog is going to take a bit of a different approach to sharing the various news stories and links that are currently posted in a somewhat irregular fashion. I am usually able to get Sioux-related news items out via Twitter rather quickly, but sometimes the links to these items are outdated by the time they are included in a blog post. Therefore, I'm going to begin posting such links more frequently in order to get them out in a more timely manner. The links usually accumulate fast enough to warrant a blog post every couple of days or so, and these posts will not take the place of the Series Previews, Weekly Recaps, Recruit Profiles, etc. Also, I welcome any and all feedback, so if you have any suggestions, recommendations, or corrections, feel free to leave a comment as they are always appreciated. So without further rambling, please enjoy your initial cup of the Morning Coffee:

Jonathan Toews recently appeared on the NHL Network's NHL Live program.
Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks are off to a very good start this season, and much of the credit can be attributed to the production of The Fantastic Four, all of whom currently rank in the top 15 in the league in points.
The Blackhawks have been finding ways to win this year even when they have not been at their best.
Zach Parise had a goal and two assists last night in New Jersey's 5-4 victory in Tampa Bay. It took Parise 21 games to reach the 11 point mark this season, but the production has been ramped up as of late as he has 11 points in his last 8 games. Now that the Devils' top line of Parise, rookie Adam Henrique, and sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is hitting its stride, it will be interesting to see what role Travis Zajac is assigned when he makes his return to the lineup. Zajac could play as early as Friday.
Parise and TJ Oshie each made the cut for Jeremy Roenick's All-American-Born team. Parise made the first line and Oshie the second. Also of note, 11 of the 12 included by Roenick are former college players.
Oshie recently sat down with St. Louis' KSDK to answer a few questions regarding the Blues' season thus far.
Aaron Schneekloth continues to produce for the Colorado Eagles. His 12 goals and 12 power-play points lead all ECHL defensemen.
Brandon Bochenski notched a hat trick last week for Barys Astana (KHL).
Jason Gregoire, who has missed a good portion of the St. John's IceCap season due to injury, is one of the native Winnipeggers playing in the Jet organization.
Current Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Clarke Saunders has confirmed that he intends to transfer to North Dakota, regardless of whether the school is able to save it's fledgling ice hockey program. And due to UAH's initial decision to disband its program, Saunders will be eligible to play immediately.

Recruit Profile: Keaton Thompson

2011-12-12T21:36:00.000-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: US National Team Dev. Program Under-17 Team
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013/14
Position: Defense
Birthday: September 14th, 1995
Hometown: Devils Lake, ND
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 165
Shoots: Left

Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page (Stats are USHL games only)
2011-12 USHL/International/College combined statistics can be found via The Recruits page
Played on Team USA's undefeated gold medal winning team at the 2011 Under-17 Four Nations Cup and had one goal and two assists in four games.
USA Hockey: From Quarterback to the Under-17's Blue Line
Brad Schlossman UND Hockey: Commitment Post
Slightly Chilled: Homeward Bound
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2013
In June of 2011 he attended USA Hockey's Select 16 Development Camp, earning All-Star honors. The US Hockey Report ranked him as the #6 defenseman at camp after recording two assists in five games: From Devils Lake HS. Joining NTDP. Good defensively, nice outlet passes, and judiciously picks his spots to join the rush.
2010-11: He earned All-Conference and All-State honors as a freshman at Devils Lake (ND-HS), playing in 24 games while leading the state in points by a defenseman with 38 (9G, 29A). Prior to the high school season, he participated in the Upper Midwest Elite League, recording one assist in 16 games for the Great Plains team. After the high school season, he joined the USHL's Fargo Force and played in 13 games.
In July of 2010 he attended the USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, where he produced three assists in five games. The US Hockey Report ranked him as the #6 defenseman at camp: 9/14/95 birthdate from Devils Lake HS in North Dakota. Nice smooth skater. Nice flat passes. Keeps it simple. A lot of upside.
2009-10: As an 8th grader at Devils Lake High School he accounted for 18 points (7G, 11A) in 24 games.
July of 2009 saw him take part in the USA Hockey Select 14 Development Camp, tallying 2 assists in 5 games on his way to being rated as one of US Hockey Report's Top 10 defensemen.

Week 10 Recap: Sioux & Mavs Split

2011-12-12T17:36:00.001-06:00

In the final series of the first half of the WCHA season, relatively new foes battled like bitter, traditional rivals in what was a slug-fest of a series. Nebraska-Omaha came to Grand Forks in what will be the only series of the regular season between the two teams, and after 120+ minutes of physically taxing hockey, each team limped away with two conference points. Friday night saw the teams battle to a 1-1 deadlock through regulation, with the Mavericks ultimately getting the 2-1 overtime victory. Saturday night was even more of a defensive and goaltending dominated affair that saw North Dakota goaltender Aaron Dell lead his team to a 1-0 shutout victory. Here are a few thoughts:

The lack of scoring wasn't indicative of poor play or a lack of offensive skill, but more a result of the defensive style of play each team chose to employ. Both teams did a very nice job limiting each other's ability to enter the offensive zone with possession, and that really led to a lack of flow each night. The chances seemed to come in spurts for each team, with neither really able to generate sustained offensive pressure.
There are several worthy candidates (Schultz, Schmidt, Sova), but Aaron Dell is very much deserving of WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors when the weekly award winners are announced Tuesday afternoon. On the weekend he posted a tidy 0.99 GAA to go along with a 0.966 Save %, and his positioning and rebound control were superb all weekend.
Both teams were very physical over the weekend, with North Dakota being led by Andrew MacWilliam. He delivered several controlled yet punishing hits and visited the penalty box only after scuffling with Tony Turgeon at the end of Saturday's first period. In the third period Saturday he also made a very nice play to break up a Maverick scoring opportunity with a well-timed slide that came only after one of the referees interfered with MacWilliam in the high-slot area.
On defense in general the Fighting Sioux did a great job of playing the body, neutralizing a number of potential Maverick opportunities by forcing the play to the boards. Very active sticks also deflected a number of passing attempts and shots. Besides MacWilliam, the defensemen that stood out to me were Nick Mattson and Derek Forbort.
There may have been a bit of a lapse in the overtime loss that allowed the Mavericks to score the game winner, but the pass that Matt White made to send Ryan Walters in alone on Dell had to be perfect, and it was. It was about as nice of a rink-wide breakout pass as you'll ever see, allowing Walters to enter the zone at full speed, who made a nice move to get the puck up and over Dell's left pad. And who knows, if that play had taken place in regulation the two extra bodies on the ice might very well have taken away the space needed to effectively execute it.
It was nice to see that freshman Connor Gaarder was awarded the Hard Hat Saturday night. He was very active all weekend, and even earned some power play time Saturday night.
The Mavericks came out looking to hit somebody this weekend and Danny Kristo appeared to be one of the main targets, but to his credit he took the hits and kept bouncing back. He further showed his resolve Saturday night by coming out of the lockerrom to start the third period primed to take the game over, and within a minute he had converted a tremendous individual effort into what turned out to be the game's only goal.
The Sioux were forced to shuffle the lineup a bit Saturday after Corban Knight suffered a lower-body injury the night before. Captain Mario Lamoureux, who did not play Friday, rejoined the lineup Saturday and gave a much-needed tougher-than-nails effort. It was a big win Saturday in that it kept North Dakota right in the thick of the race for playoff home-ice, and it was accomplished with guys playing hurt, playing out of position, and playing expanded roles.
The mid-season holiday break couldn't come at a better time for the Sioux, as the next four weeks contain just three regular season games. The break in action will hopefully allow the likes of Knight and Lamoureux to heal up a bit and return to full strength sooner rather than later. Also, with a month before the next conference series, we should know more on the health status of Rocco Grimaldi. Conference play resumes when Minnesota pays a visit to Engelstad Arena January 13-14, and that series marks the 8th week of Grimaldi's original 6-8 week injury diagnosis.

Recruit Profile: Nick Schmaltz

2011-12-11T16:06:00.002-06:00

Photo-GB Gamblers

Current Team: Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2014
Position: Forward
Birthday: February 23rd, 1996
Hometown: Verona, WI
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 170
Shoots: Right

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page (USHL only)
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
Brad Schlossman UND Hockey: Commitment Post
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2014
He is widely considered to be one of the top 1996 birth year players in North America.
He began the 2011-12 season playing for the Chicago Mission U-16 Midget Minor team until Green Bay (USHL) added him to the roster. He is the youngest player to play in the USHL this season.
He will compete for USA Hockey's Under-16 Select team at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games January 13-22 in Innsbruck, Austria.
He participated in USA Hockey's 2011 Select 15 Development Camp and was the second leading scorer, tallying 12 points (3G, 9A) in 5 games. The US Hockey Report analysis: Center has soft hands, sees the ice very well. Gets open, and finds the open man. He’s the brother of North Dakota recruit Jordan Schmaltz. From Verona, Wisc. and Chicago Mission U16.
He led the 2010 USA Hockey Select 14 Camp with 10 points (1G, 9A) in 5 games. US Hockey Report: Showed nice hands and a touch with the puck.
From the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2011 he played for the Chicago Mission youth hockey program. In 115 Tier 1 Elite games with Chicago, he accounted for 190 points (91G, 99A) and 66 penalty minutes.
He is the younger brother of 2012 incoming Sioux recruit and Green Bay Gambler teammate Jordan Schmaltz.
His father, Mike, and two uncles, Marc and Monte, are former Fighting Sioux football players.

Team USA in Fargo, Malone Debuts, Oshie Evolving, Etc.

2011-12-10T12:12:00.001-06:00

I took a rare night off from the Fighting Sioux home hockey schedule in order to take a look at 2012 incoming recruits Stefan Matteau, Miles Koules, and Zane Gothberg. Matteau and Koules play for the USNTDP's Under-18 team and were in Fargo to take on Gothberg and the Force. Here are a few observations:

Koules centered a line featuring Matteau on his left wing and BC recruit Frankie Vatrano on his right.
The highly-skilled Team USA dictated play for much of the game, but Gothberg was outstanding. He stopped 35 of 38 shots and was very good in the shootout. He was tracking the puck very well, played with a lot of confidence, and earned the game's 1st Star. He's been a bit inconsistent this year for the Force, but that could be attributed to the Force as a whole being inconsistent.
Matteau comes as advertised. He's not at all afraid of the physical side of the game, and he uses his size (6'1" 209 lbs.) effectively. He scored a goal on which he out-muscled a Force player behind the net, eventually working the puck to teammate Thomas Di Pauli. Gothberg made the initial save on Di Pauli's shot, but Matteau had worked his way into position in front of the net and was able to deposit the loose change. He's also a solid skater (at one point impressively and nimbly hurdling a downed Force player at center ice), he has a nice, quick wrist shot that he displayed on his shootout goal, and he was solid on the backcheck. There has been talk of Matteau potentially taking the CHL route rather than playing collegiately, but if he does indeed make his way to North Dakota next fall he will be an immediate impact player as a solid two-way power forward.
Koules didn't find the scoresheet, but he has a nice nose for the puck. He, like most of Team USA, is a very solid passer, has very solid offensive instincts, and is a good, agile skater that accelerates very well. He's also good on the forecheck. Looking at his season as a whole, it's a bit surprising that he has just two goals in 24 games. That being said, he does lead the Under-18ers is assists, so perhaps he is developing into more of a playmaking centerman than the goal scorer he has been in the past.
Though speculation has U-18 defenseman Seth Jones eventually jumping to the CHL, North Dakota is said to be in the mix if he were to opt for the college route. He's earned nothing but rave reviews from every corner of the hockey world, and after watching him live he certainly lives up to the expectations. He's very poised and quarterbacks the powerplay like he invented it. He skates well, passes well, blocks shots, logs heavy minutes, and anticipates the action very well rather than reacting to it. He's an elite defender who will go very early in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Michigan recruit Jacob Trouba was also impressive. He jumps into the play very well and is a very good all-around defenseman. Others who stood out on Team USA were Kyle Osterberg (Minnesota-Duluth recruit), Thomas Di Pauli (Notre Dame), Matthew Lane (Boston University), and Nicolas Kerdiles (Wisconsin), while Austin Farley (Minnesota-Duluth), Brian Cooper (Nebraska-Omaha), and Justin Wade (Notre Dame) impressed for the Force.
Somehow, I managed to survive the game and the shuttle ride back home without hearing any news on the Sioux-Maverick game. I went off the grid and was able to watch North Dakota and UNO in its entirety following the USHL action.

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Brad Malone made his NHL debut last night for the Colorado Avalanche, becoming the 13th Fighting Sioux alumni to skate in the NHL this season. He logged 10:12 of ice time while centering the fourth line in the 4-1 loss to Edmonton. All Things Avs has a bit more on his debut.

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Prior to the St. Louis Blues relieving Davis Payne of his head coaching duties in favor of Ken Hitchcock, TJ Oshie was averaging 1.46 shot attempts per game. Since Hitchcock has taken over, Oshie's shots per game have doubled to 2.93 and he has routinely been among the best players on the ice. Hitchcock attributes the turnaround to an adjustment in playing style. Rather than playing an east-west game, Oshie is becoming a north-south player who is maturing before our very eyes.

Other Notes:

I forgot to mention this earlier, but Alabama-Huntsville goaltender Clarke Saunders recently stated he was planning to transfer to North Dakota after the season due to UAH's adminstrative decision to discontinue Division I ice hockey. That situation, however, has been thrown into a state of flux due to the recent about-face on the part of UAH. The school is now planning on doing whatever it can to keep the program solvent, and they have begun the process of scheduling games for the 2012-13 season. Nothing is certain, and where this leaves Saunders is unknown at this point, but if the Chargers do indeed receive a reprieve he would have to sit out a year under NCAA transfer rules if he opted to leave Hunstville. Saunders, a sophomore with a 3.30 GAA and .918 save percentage in 15 games this season, would join Zane Gothberg as incoming 2012 goaltenders.
Former 'Hawk Jeremy Roenick recently commented on the Hart Trophy-caliber season Chicago captain Jonathan Toews is having, including stating that Toews is very motivated by last season's Stanley Cup hangover. If you so desire, watch the entire interview.
Recruit Nick Schmaltz scored his first career USHL last night in the Green Bay Gamblers 6-5 overtime win against Cedar Rapids. Assisting on the goal was big brother and fellow Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz. The 15 year-old Nick later added an assist and has now played in 8 USHL games, accounting for two points (1G, 1A) and a +5 rating.

Fighting Sioux vs. Nebraska-Omaha: Notes & Links

2011-12-09T04:58:00.001-06:00

North Dakota vs. Nebraska-Omaha - Series Notes & Links:

Friday 7:37 CST/Saturday 7:07 CST
The games will be broadcast on a variety of media outlets across the region. Here's the standard Broadcast Information.
Series Notes in PDF: North Dakota and Nebraska-Omaha
Most everyone is well aware of the obvious UND connection with Nebraska-Omaha head coach Dean Blais. But through Blais' recruiting, that connection is even stronger this year as the Mavericks' roster features the sons of three former Fighting Sioux standouts.
UND's top centerman Corban Knight doesn't do it with a lot of flash, but he is once again having a tremendous season.
UND's back-to-back series sweeps are the direct result of the red-hot production from Brock Nelson, Knight, and Danny Kristo, and the Mavericks are well aware that they will have to account for the Knightline.
Nebraska-Omaha is coming off a non-conference series split with Alabama-Huntsville, and following the Mavericks' Friday night loss head coach Dean Blais said he was "embarrassed" by his team's performance.
Matthew Semisch of Radio Free Omaha put together a nice Q&A with GF Herald beat writer Brad Schlossman.
Last weekend the Fighting Sioux put together another great team effort, which paved the way to WCHA individual recognition for the second consecutive week. Brock Nelson has earned back-to-back Offensive Player of the Week honors after recording 5 points (4G, 1A) against Alaska-Anchorage. Meanwhile, freshman Brendan O'Donnell earned Rookie of the Week honors after his two goal performance in the far north.
Derek Forbort was named to Team USA's World Junior Championship preliminary roster Monday afternoon, and joining him at the Team USA camp later this month will be UNO's Josh Archibald. Mav's coach Dean Blais will be Team USA's head coach.
Brad Schlossman put together a list of nicknames for this year's Fighting Sioux players. Also from his blog is the Friday Morning Reading.
Sioux freshman Connor Gaarder is the subject of this week's GF Herald Four Questions.
Zach Parise discusses North Dakota's predisposition to second half surges in USCHO's This Week in the WCHA.
Andrew MacWilliam, who was recently featured by UND Sports Spotlight, says he was a better football player than he was a hockey player:

Travis Zajac's Return On Schedule, Malone Called Up, Etc.

2011-12-08T21:49:00.001-06:00

There's been a lot of activity in the world of Fighting Sioux hockey recently. Enjoy the nuggets:

Travis Zajac returned to practice with the New Jersey Devils Wednesday, and he appears on track to return to game action in two weeks. Zajac, who has yet to play this year due to an offseason Achilles tendon injury, said he is pain free and that his legs feel good. The Devils will surely welcome him back to the lineup with open arms as they currently hover near the .500 mark. Zajac was unable to play in his hometown of Winnipeg during the Devils' recent road trip, but teammate Zach Parise was in action against his hometown team, the Minnesota Wild. And due to Parise's impending free agency status, speculation has begun on whether Parise might return to the Twin Cities for good.
Brad Malone had an impressive training camp this fall with the Colorado Avalanche and has been streaking for the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL) as of late. This afternoon his solid play was rewarded as he was called up by the Avs. He is expected to meet the team in Edmonton Friday, where he could be making his NHL debut. If he does crack the lineup, he will be the 13th Fighting Sioux alumni to see NHL action this season.
The most recent Fighting Sioux alum to make his NHL debut was the Buffalo Sabres' Joe Finley, who debuted last Friday. Finley has appeared in three games, going scoreless with a -1 rating. His ice time was limited in the two games he played last weekend, but Wednesday night against Philadelphia his shifts came more regularly and he played a solid game.
Matt Frattin had what was probably his best game as a Maple Leaf this week against New Jersey, scoring a goal on a powerful drive to the net during a game in which he was a force all over the ice. He recently discussed his collegiate and Frozen Four experiences and made a radio appearance with 590 The Fan.
Jake Marto started the year in the ECHL with the Colorado Eagles prior to being called up by St. John's (AHL). He began as the IceCaps' number 6/7 defenseman, but has since worked his way onto the team's top pairing.
TJ Oshie continues his outstanding play. In a recent game St. Louis Blues color analyst Darren Pang named Oshie the player of the game and stated that even if Oshie hadn't scored a goal, he still would have been the best player on the ice. He's been all over the ice and has been an integral part of the Blues surge under new head coach Ken Hitchcock.
Jonathan Toews' tremendous November recently earned him the NHL's Second Star of the Month, and it has pushed him to the forefront of the early Hart Trophy speculation. Toews, who might very well become the greatest captain in Blackhawk history, was recently named a finalist for Manitoba's Male Athlete of the Year. Steve Yzerman, one of hockey's all-time greatest captains, recently profiled Toews as a part of Chicago's 85 Years of Blood, Sweat, and Cheers series. Former Sioux goaltender and recent Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Ed Belfour was also featured in the series.
David Toews, meanwhile, is making his own mark in the professional ranks. He has been a consistent presence for the ECHL's Toledo Walleye.
Brock Nelson has been on quite a tear recently, earning back-to-back WCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors. The New York Islander draft pick's productivity was recently analyzed by the Isles' statistician, while Nelson and a host of other collegians are faring well in Copper and Blue's NHL Equivalency ratings.
Sioux recruit Drake Caggiula was named to Team North, which will compete in the Central Canada Cup Challenge.
Recruit Zane Gothberg says he is enjoying being the Fargo Force's number one goaltender.
One note on the Recruit Profiles: They are being posted in reverse order of the commitments, but they will also be updated as the recruits' pre-Sioux careers progress. Any individual honors, achievements, scouting reports, etc. will be added throughout their time as recruits. So if you're interested, check The Recruits page from time to time to see how things are developing for the future of Fighting Sioux hockey. Also, if anyone has additional information on any of the recruits, pass it along and I will include it in the profiles.

Recruit Profile: Luke Johnson

2011-12-07T20:31:00.002-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Lincoln Stars (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Forward
Birthday: September 19, 1994
Hometown: Grand Forks, ND
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 165
Shoots: Right

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
Black & Blue: Commitment Story
Lincoln Journal-Star: Like Old Times-Luke Johnson Playing For Team He Grew Up With
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2013
Was a member of the Team USA Under-18 Select team that participated in the 2011 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament. He played in 5 games, scoring one goal and adding as assist.
Participated in USA Hockey's Select 17 Development Camp in July of 2011, playing in 5 games and producing 2 points (1G, 1A).
2010-11: Played his sophomore season with Grand Forks Central (ND-HS), registering 42 points (17G, 25A) in 25 games on his way to earning All-East Region and All-State honors.
Fall 2010: Played for Great Plains in the Upper Midwest Elite League, producing 21 points (9G, 12A) in 20 games.
2009-10: As a freshman, he produced 46 points (17G, 29A) in 27 games for the North Dakota state championship winning Grand Forks Central team and earned All-East Region honors.
Took part in the USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, playing in 5 games and recording one goal and two assists.
2008-09: Played for Grand Forks Red River's North Dakota state championship team as an 8th grader and notched 26 points (9G, 17A) in 27 games.
His father, Steve, is a former Fighting Sioux 1st-Team All-American who is currently serving as an assistant coach for St. Cloud State. Steve played at North Dakota from 1984-88.
His uncle Chad Johnson, who is currently his head coach at Lincoln, played for the Fighting Sioux from 1990-93.
He is the cousin of fellow Sioux recruit and Lincoln Star teammate Paul LaDue.

Recruit Profile: Luke Voltin

2011-12-06T21:30:00.003-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: US National Team Dev. Program Under-17 Team
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Forward
Birthday: April 13, 1995
Hometown: Blaine, MN
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 175
Shoots: Left

Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page (Stats are USHL games only)
2011-12 USHL/International/College combined statistics can be found via The Recruits page
Played on Team USA's undefeated gold medal winning team at the 2011 Under-17 Four Nations Cup and had two assists in four games.
USA Hockey: Voltin Still Happy He Chose To Play Hockey
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2013
In June of 2011 he attended USA Hockey's Select 16 Development Camp and finished tenth in points with 7 (4G, 3A) in 5 games. The US Hockey Report ranked him as the #3 forward at camp after earning All-Star honors: From Hill-Murray (Minn.) HS; going to NTDP. Good hands. Good feet. Extremely athletic.
2010-11: Played 28 games for Hill-Murray (MN-HS), registering 31 points (13G, 18A) as a sophomore.
Performed well at USA Hockey's Select 15 Development Camp during the summer of 2010, leading US Hockey Report to rank him #8 among camp forwards after tying for 9th in scoring with 8 points (4G, 4A) in 5 games: Played mostly JV at Hill-Murray last season. A lot of power and energy to his game. Can score, can finish. Well-rounded -- comes up with high marks in all areas. Good upside.
2009-10: As a freshman, played 6 games for Hill-Murray and produced 2 points (1G, 1A).

Week 9 Recap: Sioux Take Two From UAA

2011-12-05T20:23:00.003-06:00

One week after its offensive coming out party, the Fighting Sioux men's hockey team traveled to the far north to take on the University of Alaska-Anchorage. In what is always a very difficult road trip, the Sioux were able to return to the lower 48 with a second consecutive 4 point sweep, a sweep that has propelled them into a fourth place tie in the WCHA standings. Friday night saw North Dakota jump on the Seawolves early and often, busting out to a 3-0 lead within the game's first 10 minutes en route to a 5-2 win. The Sioux were unable to replicate the explosive first period Saturday night, opting instead for a three goal second period that keyed a 4-1 victory. Some observations:

This was obviously a significant sweep, as the team was focused on avoiding a let-down following a raucous and wildly entertaining sweep against Colorado College the weekend prior. The mantra of "no more steps back" was certainly adhered to in Anchorage.
Even though the team sits in a tie for fourth in the conference standings, both CC and Denver have two games in hand on the Sioux. That being said, the consecutive sweeps have brought North Dakota back into the top 6, thus positioning itself for home-ice in the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs.
I feel like I'm repeating myself (and I promise I'm not just doing the old cut and paste from previous recaps), but the top line was outstanding yet again. Brock Nelson continues to rack up the goals at a pace even quicker than Matt Frattin did a year ago, and Danny Kristo demonstrated how to effectively turn a 2-on-5 rush into a goal for the good guys. Also, the New York Islanders' statistician took a closer look at Nelson's productivity this season.
Freshmen Mark MacMillan, Brendan O'Donnell, and Michael Parks were on the same line again this weekend, and they accounted for two of Friday's five goals. Even strength goals from lines two through four will be a very significant factor in the team's success this season, and consistent production from the freshman line would be invaluable.
Brad Eidsness and Aaron Dell split the goaltending duties, and both responded with solid performances. Dell appeared to be a bit sharper than Eidsness, but by no means is that a knock on Eidsness' performance; Dell was just really, really good Saturday.
The defensive corps, led by a dominant Ben Blood, is really coming into its own. It is quickly becoming the unit everyone thought it would be heading into the season.
Mario Lamoureux is about as tough as they come. His ability to play through pain is definitely part of the reason he wears the C.
And last but not least, how about that power play unit? The Sioux converted five of their eleven man-advantage opportunities, good for a sizzling 45% clip.

Other Tidbits:

Derek Forbort was named to Team USA's World Junior Championship preliminary roster. Team USA's camp will run from December 16-22 in Camrose, Alberta, while the tournament itself runs from December 26 through January 5 in Calgary and Edmonton. Forbort was a member of last year's bronze medal winning team, and that experience makes him a likely candidate to make the final roster again this year. A healthy Rocco Grimaldi would have been a virtual shoe-in to make the team, but he is still several weeks away from returning to action.
I have started posting recruit profiles under The Recruits page. Drake Caggiula, Paul LaDue, and Geoff Crisfield have been profiled thus far, and I will continue posting the profiles in reverse chronological order of their commitments, as time allows. There are ten more recruits to go, with USNTDP Under-17er Luke Voltin next on the list.

Recruit Profile: Geoff Crisfield

2011-12-04T23:02:00.001-06:00

Photo-BCHL.com

Current Team: Vernon Vipers (BCHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Defense
Birthday: February 19th, 1993
Hometown: Calgary, AB, Canada
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200
Shoots: Left

BCHL 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
BCHL Commitment Press Release
Vernon Morning Star: Crisfield Profile
Vernon Morning Star: Crisfield Displays Talent and Character
Participated in Canada West's 2011 World Junior A Challenge Evaluation Camp.
Vernon Central had this to say about Crisfield following a recent game against the Penticton Vees:

One indication of the Viper effort was their hit total of 52, the most in any game this season by the Vipers. Leading the way was Geoff Crisfield, who laid hellacious hits on two of the Reilly brothers, Mike and Connor.

Troy Stecher jumped Crisfield after the hit on Stecher’s defence partner, Mike Reilly. Crisfield won a decision in that bout, in perhaps his most emotional and most physical game as a Viper.

2010-11: Captained the Calgary Royals (Alberta Midget Hockey League-AAA) and recorded 27 points (5G, 22A) and 152 penalty minutes in 34 games. He earned the Brian Benning Trophy as the league's Top Defenseman, an honor that in 1995-96 was awarded to former Fighting Sioux standout Travis Roche. He was named the Chrysler Division's December Player of the Month en route to earning an invitation to the league's All-Star game, where he was named Captain of the Chrysler Division All-Stars. He also recorded 2 assists and 30 penalty minutes while playing 6 games with the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Calgary Mustangs.
2009-2010: Played for Calgary's highly-regarded Edge School, where he tallied 16 points (1G, 15A) and 62 penalty minutes in 25 games. He also played in 6 games with the Calgary Royals (AJHL), notching 1 assist and 8 penalty minutes.

Recruit Profile: Paul LaDue

2011-12-04T00:54:00.001-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Lincoln Stars (USHL)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2013
Position: Defense
Birthday: September 6th, 1992
Hometown: Grand Forks, ND
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 185
Shoots: Right

Pointstreak 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile/Stat Page
USHL Commitment Press Release
Lincoln Journal-Star: Good Start Earns LaDue Chance With Hometown Program
USHL Week 7 Defensive Player of the Week
Lincoln Journal-Star: Defenseman LaDue Making Quick Impact With Lincoln Stars
2010-2011: Played for the Alexandria Blizzard (NAHL), recording 22 points (3 G, 19A) in 56 games and a +22 rating on his way to earning NAHL All-Rookie 2nd Team honors.
Alexandria Blizzard: LaDue's Tough Decision Paying Off
2009-2010: As a junior he played for the North Dakota state championship winning Grand Forks Central Knights, producing 35 points (10 G, 25A) in 27 games. He also earned regular season All-East Region, All-State, and All-State Tournament team honors.
2008-09: Played in 27 games for Grand Forks Central, recording 11 points (1G, 10A) as a sophomore.
Cousin of fellow Sioux recruit and Lincoln Star teammate Luke Johnson.
Also had offers from WCHA programs St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, and Minnesota State.

Recruit Profile: Drake Caggiula

2011-12-03T14:20:00.008-06:00

Photo-USHL.com

Current Team: Stouffville Spirit (Ontario Junior Hockey League)
Anticipated Arrival at UND: 2012/13
Position: Forward
Birthday: June 20, 1994
Hometown: Pickering, Ontario, Canada
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 180 Lbs.
Shoots: Left

Stouffville Spirit 2011-12 Profile/Stat Page
Canada East 2011 World Junior A Challenge Profile/Stat Page
Elite Prospects Profile Page
OJHL Commitment Press Release
York Region Commitment Article
He played for tournament runner-up Team North during the inaugural Central Canada Cup Challenge, recording two goals and an assist in five games while also converting two-of-two shootout attempts.
Earned a silver medal with Canada East at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge in Langley, BC
NHL Entry Draft eligible in 2012
OJHL 2010-11 Northwest Conference All-Prospect 1st Team
The Scouting News: Drake Caggiula (F-1994–Stouffville–OJHL): Not yet committed to a NCAA school but is a high end prospect with big time upside that is already on numerous watch lists.
During the 2010-11 regular season, he registered 45 points (22G, 23A) in 48 OJHL games for Stouffville. In the playoffs, he had 8 points (2G, 6A) in 8 games.
For a little perspective, he was recently ranked as the Erie Otters' (OHL) 7th best prospect, one spot behind Minnesota-Duluth's Joe Basaraba and one spot ahead of Wisconsin's Michael Mersch, both of whom are NHL draft picks.

Fighting Sioux vs. Alaska-Anchorage: Notes & Links

2011-12-02T04:25:00.000-06:00

North Dakota vs. Alaska-Anchorage - Series Notes & Links:

Gametime: Friday & Saturday 10:07 CST
As always, the games will be broadcast over the radio airwaves via the Fighting Sioux Radio Network. As a bonus, the Fighting Sioux Sports Network will be picking up Anchorage's GCI Cable broadcast. The game will not, however, be carried by Fox College Sports, but the UND athletics website has more detailed information on the local TV coverage. For those of us who overpay for our DirecTV, and for those of you outside the reach of the FSSN, there is a free webcast available of this weekend's action.
Series notes in PDF: North Dakota and Alaska-Anchorage
The past several years, Jake Marto was North Dakota's do-it-all guy. This year, junior Joe Gleason is bouncing back and forth between defense and wing, and he has handled the role with aplomb.
North Dakota is looking to avoid the pitfalls of the tricky Alaska-Anchorage road trip.
With several experienced forwards sidelined with injury, Seawolf freshman Eric Scheid has been picking up the slack.
Defenseman Nick Mattson has had the most immediate impact among the freshman class. He recently sat down to talk about his early season experiences as a member of the Fighting Sioux:

Fighting Sioux sophomore Brock Nelson was named last week's WCHA Co-Offensive Player of the Week after his 6 point (3G, 3A) weekend against Colorado College. Nelson shared the honor with the Tigers' Rylan Schwartz, who notched back-to-back hat tricks against the Sioux.
North Dakota is the College Hockey News' Team of the Week.
Seawolve senior forward Curtis Leinweber is the cousin of former Fighting Sioux defenseman Chris Leinweber, who played for UND from 1999-2003.
Seawolves Wes McLeod, Brett Cameron, and Scott Allen were all teammates of Sioux defenseman Dillon Simpson on the 2009-10 Enerflex Cup winning Spruce Grove Saints (awarded to the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoff champions).
UND Athletic Dept. Travel Blog
USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
USCHO's Weekend Picks
CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
CHN's Tale of the Tape
WCHA Weekly Press Release
Inside Hockey Series Preview

Joe Finley Will Make His NHL Debut Friday

2011-12-01T18:27:00.000-06:00

The Buffalo News is reporting that former Sioux defenseman Joe Finley will be making his NHL debut tomorrow night when the Sabres host the streaking Detroit Red Wings. Finley began the year on a training camp tryout basis, earned an AHL contract with Rochester, and eventually worked his way onto the Amerks' top defensive pairing. While in Rochester he led the team with a +10 plus/minus rating while registering 2 points (1G, 1A) in 18 games.

Buffalo signed Finley to a two-way AHL-NHL contract Monday, and he received the call-up to the big club Wednesday after Sabre defenseman Jordan Leopold suffered an upper-body injury Tuesday night.

Finley and Sabre head coach Lindy Ruff both had a few comments on the promotion today after practice, and when he takes to the ice tomorrow he will become the 12th Fighting Sioux to skate in the NHL this season.

Running Down the Sioux Recruits

2011-12-01T07:42:00.000-06:00

Here's the latest news in the world of Sioux recruits:

The most recent recruit added to the fold is Drake Caggiula, a forward with the Ontario Junior Hockey League's Stouffville Spirit (I'm not positive on the pronunciation, but I've heard play-by-play announcers go with kuh-JU-lee-uh). Caggiula began this season playing four games with Des Moines (USHL) but has since moved back to Stouffville, which is where he played last season. He earned a silver medal with Canada East at the recently completed World Junior A Challenge, and since his return from the tournament, he has produced 8 points (3G, 5A) in 3 Stouffville games.
Former Grand Forks Central defenseman Paul LaDue also recently committed to the Sioux. LaDue spent last season with the Alexandria Blizzard (NAHL) and currently plays with his cousin/fellow Sioux recruit/former GFC Knight teammate Luke Johnson and the Lincoln Stars (USHL). LaDue has produced 10 points (2G, 8A) in 15 games this season, his +10 rating leads the team, and his 10 points are sixth best among USHL defensemen. A couple weeks ago he was named the league's Defensive Player of the Week, and he hasn't wasted any time making an impact in Lincoln.
Luke Johnson is also continuing his strong start to the USHL season. The Lincoln Star rookie ranks second on the team with 16 points (6G, 10A) in 14 games, and he is coming off a Thanksgiving weekend that saw him score two goals in three games.
Jack Rowe of Cedar Rapids (USHL) has played in six games this season after returning from injury, but has yet to find the scoresheet as he works his way back into game shape.
Charlie Pelnik leads Shattuck-St. Mary's U-16 defensemen with 3 goals.
Jordan Schmaltz is feeling at home with the Green Bay Gamblers (USHL), where he has scored two goals in 5 games since his trade from Sioux City. He currently leads all USHL defensemen with 3 power play goals, and his 5 total goals are second best among league blueliners. His younger brother Nick has also played four games with Green Bay after beginning the year with the Chicago Mission Under-16 team. He has yet to produce any points for the Gamblers, but he does have a +2 rating.
Luke Voltin is fifth on the USNTDP Under-17 team with 9 points (3G, 6A) in 14 games. Fellow Sioux recruit Keaton Thompson has 6 points (3G, 3A) in 14 games with the Under-17ers.
Stefan Matteau continues to have a strong season for the Under-18 team. He leads the team with 17 points (7G, 10A) in 22 games, and his 3 PPG and 2 GWG are also tops on the team. Under-18 teammate Miles Koules, who has been working hard to develop his strength, is fifth on the team with 11 points (2G, 9A) in 22 games.
Earlier this month a number of Sioux players/recruits were involved in an array of international tournaments. Brad Schlossman broke down the results quite nicely.
Vernon Viper (BCHL) defenseman Geoff Crisfield has been earning solid reviews as of late for his rugged, stay-at-home defensive play. Below is an interview after he recently earned Viper Star of the Game honors (if you want to skip the game highlights, the actual interview starts at about the 1:30 mark):

Running Down the Sioux in the Pros: ECHL & Overseas

2011-11-30T18:25:00.000-06:00

As advertised, here is the rundown of the former Sioux playing in the ECHL and various leagues overseas. Tomorrow's post will feature updates on the Sioux recruits.

ECHL:

Colorado Eagle defenseman Aaron Schneekloth is quite possibly having the best statistical year of his professional career. The Eagles franchise moved from the Central Hockey League to the ECHL this season, but the change in competition hasn't slowed Schneekloth. Through 17 games he has 16 points (8G, 8A), 6 power play goals, a +10 plus/minus rating, while his 16 points, 8 goals, and 6 PPG lead all ECHL defensemen. He was also a runner-up for last week's ECHL player of the week award after producing five points (4G, 1A) in three games. Earlier this month Schneekloth took part in a podcast to discuss several aspects of his career, including touching on his time spent at North Dakota.
Schneekloth's Eagle teammate Michael Forney is also having a solid year, with 10 points (4G, 6A) in 17 games. Forney was recently featured in the Eagles' Player Profile series, and there was a decent amount of Mighty Duck talk. Here's the interview:

Something about November must get the Toews family revved up. While brother Jonathan has been busy tearing up the NHL, David Toews has been on a nice streak of his own. The Toledo Walleye forward is currently on a 5 game point streak, during which he has accumulated 6 points (1G, 5A).

Overseas:

Adam Calder is having a big year in the EPIHL (England Tier II). Through 20 games, he leads the Slough Jets with 21 goals and 39 points. His 39 points also rank him second in the league.
Colby Genoway has 26 points (6G, 20A) in 19 games with Lausanne of Switzerland's Tier II league. He leads the team in assists, ranks second in points, is fifth in the league in assists, and is tied for 11th in points.
Jean-Philippe Lamoureux is among the top goaltenders in Austria's Tier I league. He has started 23 of Olimpija Ljubljana's 24 games and has posted a 2.28 GAA and .937 Save %, both of which are second best in the league. The save percentage is his best since his high school days in Grand Forks.
Andrew Kozek has 28 points (20 G, 8A) in 19 games for the Nikko Icebucks (Asia League). His 20 goals lead the Icebucks and rank second in the league, while his point total is tied for the sixth highest in the league.
Curtis Murphy has notched 22 points (6G, 16A) in 24 games for EHC Linz (Austria-Tier I). He is the top point producing defenseman in the league.
With 20 points in 16 games, Bill Trew leads the wonderfully named Landshut Cannibals (Germany-Tier II) in points and is tied for the team lead in assists. His 20 points are also 15th best in the league.
Jordan Parise joined the Dresdner Eislowen after former Minnesota goaltender Kellen Briggs went down with an injury. In 11 games Parise leads the league with a 2.09 GAA, and his outstanding play has led to a contract with Augsburg of Germany's elite league. He is expected to make his Augsburg debut Friday against EHC Munich, which features former Sioux Jason Ulmer as its second leading scorer.
Brandon Bochenski (Barys Astana-KHL) has 19 points (9G, 10A) in 21 games. His 9 goals are tops on the team and his point total has him tied for the team lead.

Running Down the Sioux in the Pros: NHL & AHL

2011-11-29T20:16:00.000-06:00

Today's offering is a rundown of how some of the former Sioux in the NHL and AHL have been faring. Tomorrow's post will feature the ECHL and overseas professionals, while Thursday will cover Sioux recruits.

NHL:

Jonathan Toews has been red-hot as of late, putting up a stat line of 8G-8A-16 Pts and a +8 in Chicago's last 9 games. For the season, Toews has 25 points (13G, 12A), a +9, 4 GWG, and a 61.5% face-off percentage. He leads Chicago in goals, points, and game winners while dominating in the face-off circle. Blackhawk head coach Joel Quenneville says Toews is better than ever, perhaps because the little things Toews continues to work on are adding up to a lot. The Captain has earned his respect the right way, one analyst has him in the early lead for the NHL's Hart Trophy, and earlier this month CBC featured him in their Open Ice Gameday segment.
Drew Stafford and Buffalo have not had the start to the season they were hoping for, and that has the Sabres alternate captain looking to regain his scoring touch.
TJ Oshie is tied for second on the St Louis Blues with 15 points (6G, 9A) in 23 games. Oshie, who also has a +6 rating, has been playing very well recently on a line that also features Alex Steen and former Minnesota State Maverick David Backes. The Blues are 7-1-2 in their first 10 games under new coach Ken Hitchcock.
Zach Parise has had a frustrating start to his season statistically, though he and his coach feel he's been playing good hockey as he returns from last season's knee injury. Parise, who has never made it out of the first round of the playoffs with the Devils, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and potential trade speculation has been swirling after he recently met with members of his management team. There's no hiding Parise's desire to win a Stanley Cup Playoff championship, but will he continue his pursuit of The Cup as a Devil?
Travis Zajac continues rehabbing from his preseason Achilles injury, and it is anticipated he will begin practicing with his teammates when the Devils return from their current roadtrip. Also, Zajac was recently named as one of the 50 greatest players in the history of the British Columbia Hockey League, and younger brother Darcy (Albany-AHL) recently discussed what it was like growing up in the Zajac family.
Matt Frattin continues to earn his ice in Toronto as a member of the Maple Leaf's All-WCHA "Kid Line."
Joe Finley, who has been playing well for the AHL's Rochester Americans, recently signed a multi-year NHL two-way contract with Buffalo. Finley is expected to give the Sabres additional depth and size on their blueline, if and when he is called up to Buffalo.

AHL

Chay Genoway is the leading point producer among Houston's defensemen with 11 points (1G, 10A) in 19 games. Genoway's 11 points, which have all come in the last 13 games, rank second among the AHL's rookie d-men.
Brad Malone and the Lake Erie Monsters have gone 5-0-0-1 over their last six games, and Malone has been a big reason why. He has 8 points (3G, 5A), 2 game winners, and is a +5 during the Monsters' hot stretch, and he was recently featured in a short Q&A.
Ryan Duncan (4G, 7A) and Matt Watkins (4G, 7A) are each tied for second among Portland Pirates with 11 points. Watkins, who was recently featured by the Portland Daily Sun, has been especially hot of late, producing 7 points (3G, 4A) and a +5 over his last 4 games. The Pirates have won six of their last seven after a bit of a slow start.
Corey Fienhage has joined Jake Marto and Derrick LaPoint as former Sioux who have received in-season promotions from the ECHL to the AHL. Fienhage began the year with Gwinnett of the ECHL, but was called up by the Rochester Americans last weekend. He's played in one game with Rochester thus far.