Sunday Morning Coffee

• UND held its annual Night of Champions award program last week and junior forward Jocelyne Lamoureux was named the 2011-12 Female Athlete of the Year. Also earning recognition were Brad Eidsness, the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and Michelle Karvinen, the Female Rookie of the Year.
• In the latest episode of UND Sports TV former Sioux Brad Malone talked about his first season in the professional ranks while Danny Kristo discussed his decision to return to North Dakota for his senior season. The Malone segment opens episode 32.2 and Kristo's segment comes at the 2:00 minute mark of episode 32.3 on this page. 
• The Rat Trick, a Florida Panthers blog, ranked its top 20 forwards from the 2011-12 season, and Zach Parise and Jonathan Toews both made the list.

NHL Playoff Update:

• Following Friday night's 1-0 victory over Nashville, Dave Tippett and the Phoenix Coyotes are one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals. The Coyotes hold a 3-1 series lead and will look to finish off the Predators Monday night when the series returns to Phoenix for game five.
• With a commanding 3-0 series lead, the Los Angeles Kings will look to sweep their way into the Western Conference Finals when they host game four against TJ Oshie and the St. Louis Blues this afternoon. Matt Greene, who Blues coach Ken Hitchcock says is among a trio of Kings defenders who is "no fun to play against," is among the postseason leaders in shorthanded ice time, and the Kings' penalty killing unit has been perfect in killing all 14 of St. Louis's power play opportunities in the series.
• The New Jersey Devils will attempt to take a 3-1 series lead on Philadelphia when they host game four tonight. Zach Parise says the Devils' playoff run has been a blast, while teammate Patrik Elias says this edition of the Devils has an ingredient that's been missing in recent years, and part of that is due to the versatility of guys like himself and Parise. Backhand Shelf considers Parise to be New Jersey's leading candidate for the Conn Smythe Trophy, while the outstanding New Jersey Devils blog In Lou We Trust takes a deeper look at Travis Zajac's impressive postseason performance.

AHL Playoff Update:

• Oklahoma City evened its second round series against San Antonio at one game a piece via a 5-4 OT win last night. Chris VandeVelde staked Oklahoma City to a 1-0 lead in the first period with his first goal of the playoffs. The series resumes Monday night in San Antonio when VandeVelde and Taylor Chorney will look to help the Barons take a 2-1 series lead. If you want to see VandeVelde's goal, go to the 0:25 mark of the following game recap video:

• After dropping the first game of their second round series against Abbotsford the Toronto Marlies have bounced back with two straight wins to take a 2-1 series lead. The Marlies won last night's game three by a 4-1 margin, and former Sioux Matt Frattin scored the game-winner for the second straight game. He now has six points (4G, 2A) in six playoff games, and you can check out his latest goal right here:

• St John's (Jason Gregoire, Jake Marto) leads their series with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2-1, with game four scheduled for this afternoon.

USHL Playoff Update:

• Lincoln split a pair of games with Waterloo over the weekend and now trail the Black Hawks 2-1 in the best-of-five Western Conference finals. Sioux recruits Luke Johnson (1G, +1) and Paul LaDue (1A, +2) each chipped in on the Stars' 4-3 victory Friday night, while Waterloo bounced back with a 5-0 shutout last night. The Stars will look to extend the series to a decisive fifth game when the two teams play game four tomorrow night in Waterloo.
• Green Bay defeated Indiana 3-2 Friday night to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Sioux recruit Jordan Schmaltz continued his stellar postseason play by contributing an assist and a +3 rating. Schmaltz is second among all USHL defensemen in both +/- rating (+9) and points (2G, 3A) during the postseason. The Gamblers will go for the sweep this afternoon.

Fighting Sioux Honor Roll 2011-12

Here's a running post of honors earned by Fighting Sioux past and present for their performance during the 2011-12 season. This post will be updated as honors and awards are announced:

Former Sioux:

• Chay Genoway, Houston Aeros (AHL): Houston Aeros Man of the Year 
• Brent Davidson, Boras (Sweden): Boras HC Defenseman of the Year
• Zach Parise, New Jersey Devils (NHL): New Jersey Devils Team MVP
• Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks (NHL): NHL All-Star (DNP, Injured)
• Aaron Schneekloth, Colorado Eagles (ECHL): All-ECHL First Team
• Aaron Schneekloth, Colorado Eagles (ECHL): ECHL Defenseman of the Year
• Brandon Bochenski, Barys Astana (KHL): Eastern Conference All-Star
• Hunter Bishop, Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL): Hamilton Bulldogs Co-Man of the Year

2011-12 Fighting Sioux:

• Dave Hakstol: Inside College Hockey National Coach of the Year
• Dave Hakstol: Inside College Hockey WCHA Coach of the Year
• Brock Nelson: College Hockey Weekly 2nd Team All-American (West)
• Brock Nelson: College Hockey News All-CHN 2nd Team
• Brock Nelson: Inside College Hockey 2nd Team All-American
• Brock Nelson: All-WCHA 3rd Team
• Brock Nelson: Inside College Hockey WCHA Breakthrough Player of the Year
• Brock Nelson: WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team
• Brock Nelson: NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
• Danny Kristo: College Hockey Weekly Honorable Mention All-American (West)
• Danny Kristo: NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
• Ben Blood: College Hockey Weekly Honorable Mention All-American (West)
• Ben Blood: All-WCHA 3rd Team
• Ben Blood: NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team
• Aaron Dell: WCHA Final Five Most Valuable Player & All-Tournament Team
• Derek Forbort: WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team
• Andrew MacWilliam: WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team
• Mario Lamoureux: WCHA Final Five All-Tournament Team
• Brad Eidsness: WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year
• 11 Players named to the WCHA All-Academic Team

Wisconsin Recap

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.

St. Cloud State Recap

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.

Week 9 Recap: Sioux Take Two From UAA

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.

Week 8 Recap: Sioux Sweep Colorado College

This is the first weekly recap I've done in a few weeks due to an off-week and a non-televised series (the split at Bemidji State). The plan is to get caught up with all the happenings of Sioux men's hockey over the course of the week, including a host of future and former Sioux updates. Today I offer up the recap of this weekend's Fighting Sioux series, while the updates pertaining to the former Sioux and Sioux commitments will come over the course of the next few days.

North Dakota entered the weekend looking to shake itself of the offensive funk it had been in, and they did just that by scoring 11 goals en route to a sweep of the #4 ranked Colorado College Tigers. Friday night saw the Fighting Sioux hang a touchdown on the Tigers in a wildly entertaining 7-6 victory, while Saturday saw the team complete the sweep with a solidly played 4-3 victory. It was a much-needed conference sweep for the Sioux, and here are a few observations:

• The top line of Brock Nelson, Corban Knight, and Danny Kristo was phenomenal, accounting for 16 points (7G, 9A) on the weekend. Kristo was electrifying all weekend, making plays all over the ice, while Nelson continued his breakout sophomore season with a 6 point (3G, 3A) weekend, showing very nice hands both offensively and defensively. Knight won 35 of 57 faceoffs (61.4%), which was big considering the proven ability of the Tigers to quickly turn faceoff wins into offensive chances.
• Brendan O' Donnell, who I heard was very active during the Bemidji State series, continued his strong play since his return from injury. He was very noticeable this weekend, as was fellow freshman Michael Parks, and the line of O'Donnell-Mark MacMillan-Parks looked very good Saturday even though they were held off the scoresheet. Offense from these three freshman will be key with Rocco Grimaldi sidelined until at least January.
• Derek Rodwell got his first goal of the year Saturday night by deflecting a Ben Blood point shot past CC goaltender Joe Howe with under 18 seconds left in the first period. Rodwell is a tireless worker and it was very nice to see his effort rewarded with a momentum swinging goal.
• Even though CC scored 9 goals this weekend, I didn't think the goaltending of Aaron Dell was all that bad. The goals CC scored were, for the most part, goals you can't always expect a goaltender to stop. That being said, Brad Eidsness relieved Dell after CC's 6th goal Friday night and he helped stymy the Tiger attack. 
• Derek Forbort, with some crisp passing and sharp stick work, was solid this weekend and Joe Gleason continues to put forth strong efforts, whether it be as a forward or a blueliner.
• Some of the opportunistic goals opponents were scoring on the Sioux earlier in the year started going North Dakota's way. The team capitalized on several opportunistic chances this weekend and those goals went an awful long way in securing the sweep.
• As for the Tigers, Rylan Schwartz stole the show with back-to-back hat tricks, but younger brother Jaden was equally fantastic. His puck possession and passing skills are elite, making CC's top line a real treat to watch.