Wednesday Morning Post

• Last Saturday's matchup with the NTDP Under-18 team might not have counted in the standings, but it was certainly more than just an exhibition game for UND.
• Mario Lamoureux has signed a Professional Try-Out contract with the Oklahoma City Barons (AHL). Lamoureux began the season with the ECHL's Ontario Reign, where he produced three goals in four games.
• Jonathan Toews notched his third career hat trick last night in helping lead Chicago to a come from behind victory against Ottawa. Here are the goals:

• Sioux alum Ryan Johnson was named Player Development Consultant for the Vancouver Canucks.
• Rangers Unlimited checks in to see how top NYR prospect Danny Kristo is faring in Hartford, with video of all six of Kristo's goals this season. Kristo has nine points (6G, 3A) in nine games thus far, second most among AHL rookies.
• Fox Sports West produced a really nice video featuring LA King winger Matt Frattin. Frattin discusses his move to southern California, his locker room banter with former Cornell goaltender Ben Scrivens, and his line dancing abilities. Check it out: 

• UND recruit Trevor Olson scored a pair of goals this past weekend as he's making the most of what's left of his USHL career. Olson, who will suit up for North Dakota next fall, is set to undergo season ending surgery in mid-November.
• Defenseman recruit Tucker Poolman scored his first goal of the season Sunday afternoon in the second period of Omaha's 6-5 win over Muskegon. He added two more in the third period for his first career USHL hat trick.
• A pair of exhibition games will get The World Junior A Challenge rolling this weekend, with pool play commencing next Monday. Team USA's entry will feature three North Dakota recruits in Ryan Mantha, Austin Poganski, and Nick Schmaltz while Rhett Gardner is currently battling for a roster spot at Canada West's selection camp.

Wednesday Morning Post

• Junior forward Mark MacMillan is set to take on a significant leadership and scoring role for UND this season, an opportunity he is relishing.
• Senior defenseman Dillon Simpson came in at number 13 on the Copper and Blue blog's "Top 25 Oilers Under 25" rankings.
• The Ontario Reign (ECHL) caught up with the recently re-signed Mario Lamoureux, who is looking to build on last season's outstanding All-Rookie performance.
• Michael Forney had a terrific summer playing hockey Down Under. He now goes from Australia to Austria, as he will join former Sioux teammate JP Lamoureux on Villacher of the Austrian elite league.
• UND recruits Austin Poganski, Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Mantha and the rest of Team USA pulled out a clutch win yesterday at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, beating Russia 4-2 in pool play. Schmaltz scored a goal and added two assists in the victory, which put the Americans in solid position to advance to the tournament semifinals. They take on Slovakia later this morning (10:30 AM CDT), and a win would vault them into Friday's semifinal round. The UND contingent, by the way, has factored in on five of the six goals Team USA has scored in pool play and Schmaltz is tied for the tournament lead with three points (1G, 2A) in two games.
• McKeen's Hockey has released its Top 30 Prospects for the 2014 NHL Draft, and Schmaltz comes in at number 14. Future Considerations, meanwhile, has Poganski (number 26) in its preliminary rankings. Poganski is also the main feature of The Hockey News' most recent edition of The Hot List, and he says his "hardcore, blue collar" game will fit right in with UND's style of play.

NHL.com's "30 in 30" series is underway and a few Sioux alums have been featured thus far:

• Corban Knight is ranked as a top 5 prospect for the Calgary Flames.
• Derek Forbort came in at number five among Los Angeles' top prospects.
• Where does the newly acquired Matt Frattin fit in with the Los Angeles Kings?

Signings, Awards, Etc.

Signings:

• Danny Kristo signed a two-year Entry Level Contract with the Montreal Canadiens Wednesday. He has reported to Hamilton, the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, and he is expected to be in action tonight when the Bulldogs take on San Antonio. He is excited to take on this new challenge.
• Captain Andrew MacWilliam signed a two-year ELC with the Toronto Maple Leafs Wednesday and he will report to the Toronto Marlies, their AHL affiliate.
• Former Sioux captain Chris Porter signed a two-year, one way contract with St. Louis yesterday. It is the first one way deal for Porter, who celebrated the signing by picking up a pair of assists in the Blues' 4-3 shootout win over Chicago last night.
• North Dakota junior defenseman Derek Forbort is expected to forsake his senior year of eligibility and sign with the Los Angeles Kings, who will be making a push to get their former first round pick into the fold.
• Dillon Simpson tweeted his intentions of returning to North Dakota for his senior season.

Awards:

• Danny Kristo was named the College Hockey News Player of the Year this week. He was also named to the All-CHN First Team, while linemate Corban Knight made the All-CHN Second Team.
• The Ontario Reign's Mario Lamoureux led all ECHL rookies with 65 points (25G, 40A) this season and was named to the ECHL All-Roookie Team. Lamoureux, who was a very impressive +30 on the season, also finished second in the ECHL Rookie of the Year voting.
• Michael Forney of the Colorado Eagles finished the ECHL season with 79 points (35G, 44A) in 71 games, and for his efforts he was named to the All-ECHL First Team. Forney's 79 points were second most in the league while his 35 goals were the fourth most.
• Aaron Dell of the Allen Americans led the CHL in GAA (2.30) and finished second with a save percentage of .916, numbers good enough to earn him CHL Most Outstanding Goaltender honors for the 2012-13 season. He was also named to the All-CHL Team and the CHL All-Rookie Team.

Etc:

• Former Sioux great Tony Hrkac came in at number five among the Top 35 All-Time Milwaukee Admirals (AHL).
• Zach Parise recently took part in a Q&A with ESPN.
• Evan Trupp's Alaskan homecoming was a good move for the ECHL's Alaska Aces.
• Matt Greene is recovering nicely from back surgery and could return to the LA King lineup in time for the postseason.

Friday Morning Coffee

• Danny Kristo, Corban Knight, and Rocco Grimaldi earned All-WCHA honors this season, and as a team UND placed 11 players on the All-Academic Team. A contingent of WCHA bloggers, writers, etc. also voiced their collective opinions on who the best of the best were during the 2012-13 WCHA regular season.
• Chay Genoway was traded to the Washington Capitals organization yesterday. He will report to the Capitals' AHL affiliate in Hershey.
• TJ Oshie is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
• Since Evan Trupp's trade to his hometown Alaska Aces (ECHL), the former Sioux winger has found the scoresheet in every game he's played. He has two goals and four assists in three games since joining the Aces.
• Mario Lamoureux (Ontario) continues to lead all ECHL rookies in point production with 59 points (25G, 34A) in 64 games. He is currently riding a seven game point streak during which he has amassed 10 points (4G, 6A).
• Brock Nelson (Bridgeport - AHL) is on a five game point streak during which he has produced eight points (2G, 6A). He currently leads all Sound Tigers with a 0.85 points per game average, and don't be surprised if he earns a late-season NHL call-up.
• A Chicago Tribune writer offers his reasoning as to why Jonathan Toews is the Chicago Blackhawk's first-half MVP.
• The Minnesota's GM recently discussed the impact of the Wild's newly acquired superstars Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. And if the Wild ever need an emergency Zamboni driver, Parise might just be their guy.
• A few months ago The Hockey News featured former Sioux standout goaltender Darren Jensen in its Backchecking segment.

Thursday Evening Post

• According to Hockeybuzz, North Dakota defenseman Dillon Simpson ranks 16th among the Edmonton Oilers' Top 20 Prospects.
• Michael Forney was named the ECHL Player of the Week after a weekend that saw him score three goals and chip in four assists in just two Colorado Eagle games. There was no resting on his laurels, however, as Forney had a goal and two assists last night in the Eagles' 10-1 demolition of Utah. Forney currently leads the ECHL with 10 goals, and he's accomplished that, rather remarkably, by registering only 26 shots on goal.
• Mario Lamoureux is on a nice run with the ECHL's Ontario Reign. Over his last seven games the former Sioux has eight points (2G, 6A) and is a +6. His eight points are fourth most on the Reign roster.
• Brock Nelson is acclimating quickly to professional hockey. He is second on the Bridgeport Sound Tigers with nine points (5G, 4A), and he is 5th in points among all AHL rookies. Over his last three games he has recorded five points (3G, 2A), and he has become an all-around force for the Sound Tigers.
• Matt Frattin appears to be about one week away from returning to the Toronto Marlies' lineup. Frattin has been recovering from surgery following the knee injury he suffered in last season's AHL playoffs.
• Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Brian Lee has been practicing with the USHL's Fargo Force as he waits for a resolution to the NHL lockout.

Tuesday Evening Post

• The Phoenix Coyotes fan blog Howlin' Hockey took a look at the outstanding accomplishments of Coyotes head coach and former Sioux Dave Tippett, whose efforts, the blog says, make him an unsung hero in the desert.
• With the NHL lockout now in its sixth week, NHL players who have chosen not to play in Europe have been trying to stay busy any way they can. One such way is through charity games, and a few former Sioux will be doing just that this week. Chris Porter and Zach Parise are part of a stellar lineup scheduled to take part in the Defending the Blueline charity game coming up this Sunday at Mariucci Arena. Jonathan Toews, meanwhile, will be taking part in the Champs for Charity game Friday night at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois.
• The New York Hockey Journal took aim at listing the top 25 players from the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. Drew Stafford made the list, coming in at number 21, but a certain New Jersey Devils' centerman is noticeably absent from the rankings. This page contains numbers 11 through 25, while this one has the top 10.
• Mario Lamoureux scored his first professional goal for the Ontario Reign (ECHL) Sunday afternoon. He also had an assist and finished the game with a plus 2 rating in the Reign's 5-2 win over the South Carolina StingRays. The StingRays' Hunter Bishop, who played four games with the Fighting Sioux before transferring to Ohio State, picked up an assist in that game as well. 
• Former Sioux Michael Forney (Colorado) is currently leading the ECHL in goal scoring with five, while Eagle teammate Aaron Schneekloth leads ECHL defensemen with five points (1G, 4A).
• USA Hockey released its roster for the US Junior Select Team last week and UND recruit Luke Johnson (Lincoln-USHL) made the team. The Junior Select Team will participate in the World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) November 5-11 in Nova Scotia. Hockey Canada is expected to release its WJAC Canada West selection camp roster tomorrow, with UND recruits Wade Murphy (Penticton-BCHL) and Adam Tambellini (Vernon-BCHL) expected to take part.
• And in closing, I'm sure most everyone has already seen this, but I'd be remiss if I didn't link to Brett Hextall's music video masterpiece, Hextall Style 2500. Whoop 'em: 

Corban Knight, A Center of Attention

Corban Knight's prowess at the faceoff dot is well known among North Dakota hockey fans. As a sophomore, Knight set the UND single-season record by winning 59.9% of his draws, and he has a career faceoff success rate of 59.1%. Included in those career numbers is the 58.7% clip he recorded last season while playing a good portion of the season with a broken hand. That's right. Not even a broken hand could deter Knight's faceoff dominance. In UND's two recent exhibition games, the senior centerman won an astounding 78.3% (36 of 46) of his draws. So how do his numbers compare to those of UND's recent notable centers? Take a look below.

*Just a couple of notes on the numbers:
The "% Taken" column represents the percentage of the team's draws the player took, while the "Team Rank" column represents where the player's individual Faceoff Percentage ranked on the team (a player must have taken at least 10% of the team's faceoffs to qualify for the Team Rank).

Also, this comparison only dates back to the 2004-05 season. Otherwise, Zach Parise would be very prominently featured as he was very good in the faceoff circle. As a sophomore in 2003-04 Parise won 59.1% of his draws, but the numbers from his freshman year were not readily available, thus his exclusion from this comparison.

Travis Zajac
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (04-05)	485	363	848	0.572	27.7%	1624	1442	3066	0.530	1
SO (05-06)	649	502	1151	0.564	36.4%	1642	1520	3162	0.519	1
Career	1134	865	1999	0.567	32.1%	3266	2962	6228	0.524	-

Travis Zajac is currently one of the best faceoff men in the NHL, much like he was while at North Dakota. What's particularly impressive about Zajac's numbers is that he was the primary faceoff man for North Dakota from day one, taking nearly a third of UND's faceoffs during his two years with the Sioux. His workload as a sophomore (he took 36.4% of the team's draws) is topped only by Knight's 37.2% last season. Of course, Knight missed three games a year ago, and his pro-rated "% Taken" number would have been 40% had he played every game. Zajac's 649 total faceoff wins as a sophomore is the highest total of anyone in this comparison. Knight won 581 draws as a junior, and if he's healthy I'd expect him to threaten Zajac's number this season.

Jonathan Toews
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (05-06)	204	162	366	0.557	11.6%	1642	1520	3162	0.519	2
SO (06-07)	443	332	775	0.572	26.2%	1541	1421	2962	0.520	2
Career	647	494	1141	0.567	18.6%	3183	2941	6124	0.520	-

Like Zajac, Jonathan Toews is one of the NHL's best at winning faceoffs. During his two year stint at North Dakota, he won 56.7% of his draws while taking 18.6% of the team's faceoffs. Interestingly, Toews was never the top faceoff man for the Sioux. As a freshman he was second to Zajac in faceoff percentage while as a sophomore he was bested by T.J. Oshie.

T.J. Oshie
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (05-06)	154	139	293	0.526	9.3%	1642	1520	3162	0.519	-
SO (06-07)	190	134	324	0.586	10.9%	1541	1421	2962	0.520	1
JR (07-08)	343	273	616	0.557	21.9%	1452	1356	2808	0.517	1
Career	687	546	1233	0.557	13.8%	4635	4297	8932	0.519	-

T.J. Oshie played on the wing for a good portion of his UND career, much like he does with the NHL's St. Louis Blues, but when he took to the faceoff dot he was very effective. His 58.6% success rate as a sophomore is the highest in this comparison aside from Knight's sophomore and junior seasons. One caveat to Oshie's numbers as a sophomore is the relatively small number of draws he took. Taking 10.9% of the team's faceoffs very narrowly qualified him for the Team Ranking as he played right wing much more frequently than he played down the middle.

Chris VandeVelde
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (06-07)	152	130	282	0.539	9.5%	1541	1421	2962	0.520	-
SO (07-08)	366	299	665	0.550	23.7%	1452	1356	2808	0.517	2
JR (08-09)	479	384	863	0.555	29.5%	1510	1413	2923	0.517	1
SR (09-10)	477	403	880	0.542	32.4%	1460	1253	2713	0.538	3
Career	1474	1216	2690	0.548	23.6%	5963	5443	11406	0.523	-

Chris VandeVelde was one of UND's main faceoff men over the entire span of his four year career, taking 23.6% of the team's faceoffs from 2006-07 to 2009-10. And for as prolific as he was, he was equally consistent. During his career he won 54.8% of his draws, and the lowest percentage of his career came as a freshman when he won 53.9%.

Brad Malone
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (07-08)	36	27	63	0.571	2.2%	1452	1356	2808	0.517	-
SO (08-09)	199	204	403	0.494	13.8%	1510	1413	2923	0.517	4
JR (09-10)	360	268	628	0.573	23.1%	1460	1253	2713	0.538	1
SR (10-11)	490	359	849	0.577	31.6%	1514	1175	2689	0.563	2
Career	1085	858	1943	0.558	17.5%	5936	5197	11133	0.533	-

Brad Malone developed into a very good faceoff man during his four year Sioux career. Just a 50% centerman through his first two seasons, Malone topped 57% during both his junior and senior seasons. As a junior he led UND with a 57.3% success rate, while his career-best 57.7% rate as a senior was second on the team, bested only by Knight's single-season school record 59.9%.  

Mario Lamoureux
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (08-09)	18	24	42	0.429	1.4%	1510	1413	2923	0.517	-
SO (09-10)	79	69	148	0.534	5.5%	1460	1253	2713	0.538	4
JR (10-11)	252	201	453	0.556	16.8%	1514	1175	2689	0.563	1
SR (11-12)	236	176	412	0.573	15.5%	1441	1221	2662	0.541	2
Career	585	470	1055	0.555	9.6%	5925	5062	10987	0.539	-

Mario Lamoureux took a limited number of draws as a freshman and sophomore, but as an upperclassman he was one of the top faceoff men for the Fighting Sioux. His 57.3% mark as a senior ranks as UND's sixth best single-season percentage since the 2004-05 season.

Corban Knight
Year	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	% Taken	Win	Loss	Total	FO %	Team Rank
FR (09-10)	73	53	126	0.579	4.6%	1460	1253	2713	0.538	-
SO (10-11)	469	314	783	0.599	29.1%	1514	1175	2689	0.563	1
JR (11-12)	581	409	990	0.587	37.2%	1441	1221	2662	0.541	1
Career	1123	776	1899	0.591	23.5%	4415	3649	8064	0.547	-

Knight's numbers are fantastic across the board. He's assumed a heavy faceoff workload, and as mentioned earlier, his career success rate is a sterling 59.1%.

Below is a summary of the top single-season and career faceoff numbers:

Top 10 Single-Season FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
	Player	FO %	Year
1.	Corban Knight	59.9	2010-11
2.	Corban Knight	58.7	2011-12
3.	T.J. Oshie	58.6	2006-07
4.	Brad Malone	57.7	2010-11
5.	Brad Malone	57.3	2009-10
6.	Mario Lamoureux	57.3	2011-12
7.	Travis Zajac	57.2	2004-05
8.	Jonathan Toews	57.2	2006-07
9.	Travis Zajac	56.4	2005-06
10.	Jonathan Toews	55.7	2005-06
10.	T.J. Oshie	55.7	2007-08

Top 5 Career FO %, 2004-05 to 2011-12
	Player	FO %	Years
1.	Corban Knight	59.1	2009-10 to 2011-12
2.	Travis Zajac	56.7	2004-05 to 2005-06
3.	Jonathan Toews	56.7	2005-06 to 2006-07
4.	Brad Malone	55.8	2007-08 to 2010-11
5.	T.J. Oshie	55.3	2005-06 to 2007-08