Weekend Musings, Etc.

The North Dakota men took to the ice for an exhibition game against the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 team Friday night, and here are a few observations following the 6-4 UND victory:

• First for the most obvious, Knight Line Version 2.0 looked outstanding. Rocco Grimaldi, Corban Knight, and Danny Kristo combined for eight points (4G, 4A) and a +8.
• Clarke Saunders was the sharper of the two goaltenders vying for the starting job, and one would have to think he will be getting the start in the regular season opener against Alaska-Anchorage Friday night.
• The line of Stephane Pattyn, Colten St. Clair, and Derek Rodwell impressed. They were fast, gritty and hard to play against while also generating some nice offensive opportunities.
• It's great to see Derek Forbort so willing to shoot the puck. Granted it's only been exhibition action thus far, but he's scored a couple of very nice goals from the blueline without showing any hesitancy towards pulling the trigger.
• The strength of Andrew MacWilliam is something else. During one sequence he couldn't get a Team USA forward lined up squarely, but he was able to catch him with a forearm that contained enough power to separate puck from player. He must be just a beast to play against.
• Defenseman Jordan Schmaltz's offensive reputation comes as advertised. He's very smooth with the puck and has great offensive instincts. He also logged a lot of time on the power play and penalty kill units.
• Defensively there are still some things to clean up, but with an experienced bunch that should happen much sooner rather than later.
• For Team USA, North Dakota recruit and Devils Lake native Keaton Thompson looked good. He's a good skater who plays a very poised game. Scouts are high on him and with a solid season he could sneak into the first round of next summer's NHL Draft.

In other news...

• The UND women took to the road this weekend. They dropped the Friday night game against Ohio State, but bounced back with a Saturday afternoon victory.
• Matt Greene and a couple other NHLers spent some practice time with a Los Angeles area youth hockey team.
• The AHL and ECHL seasons kicked off Friday, and a number of former Sioux have had strong opening weekends. Brock Nelson and Matt Watkins got off to nice starts for Bridgeport (AHL). Nelson had a goal and two assists while Watkins had a goal and an assist in two Sound Tiger victories. Brad Malone notched two assists as Lake Erie (AHL) split its first two games of the year. In the ECHL, Aaron Schneekloth (1G, 2A) and Michael Forney (2G, 0A) helped Colorado to a weekend split while David Toews picked up a goal and an assist in two games with Bakersfield.
• Jean-Phillipe Lamoureux leads the Erste Bank Liga (Austrian elite league) with a .943 save percentage. He also has a 2.08 GAA. Lamoureux isn't the only former Sioux off to a strong start in Austria. Andrew Kozek is the league's leading goal scorer with nine, Ryan Duncan is T-3rd in goals with seven, and Curtis Murphy is T-9th in points among defensemen with eight (2G, 6A).
• Aaron Dell, who last weekend was released by the Colorado Eagles (ECHL), has signed with the Allen Americans of the CHL.
• In USHL play, North Dakota recruit and Grand Forks native Paul LaDue is a +8 with three assists in just four Lincoln Star games, while Sioux City defenseman Ryan Mantha leads his team with a +5 in three games. 
• The much-discussed on-campus arena for Nebraska-Omaha appears to be getting the greenlight. If it does indeed happen, it will be a big-step forward for the UNO program as it heads into the NCHC era.

Thursday Morning Coffee

• 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.

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

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

• 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.

Fighting Sioux vs. Clarkson: Notes & Links

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

Harvard Recap

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.

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.

Week 4 Recap (Part 1): Sioux Split

Following their first road trip of the season North Dakota returned home to Engelstad Arena for a weekend pair with St. Cloud State, and the Sioux wound up with a split as SCSU rode a red-hot goaltender to a 4-0 victory Friday night and North Dakota produced its best defensive performance of the season to earn a 3-1 win on Saturday.

• Friday night saw North Dakota throw everything including the kitchen sink at Husky freshman goaltender Ryan Faragher, but he turned away each of the 44 shots he faced in place of the injured Mike Lee. It was the second consecutive game that saw UND offensively dominate yet come away without a conference point. As I was walking away from the Kohl Center following the Saturday night loss to Wisconsin I commented that I'd take that type of offensive performance every game because the Sioux would win 90% of those games. Apparently the hockey gods decided to test (and quickly debunk) my theory the very next game.
• The Sioux outshot SCSU 39-16 through two periods, and though SCSU led 1-0 it certainly felt like the second goal of the game was going to be the dagger. And it was. When the Huskies scored less than three minutes into the third, the arena and everything in it not draped in red & black seemed to instantly deflate. The building was ready to erupt with a NoDak goal, but that energy was sapped when they fell behind 2-0.
• As alluded to earlier, Husky goaltender Ryan Faragher was sensational Friday night. Saturday at Wisconsin Joel Rumpel played a great game that was aided quite a bit by his defense. Faragher's performance, on the other hand, was a case where a goaltender virtually stole a game all on his own as SCSU saddled him with a lot of shorthanded minutes and he responded beautifully.
• Defensive responsibility was much improved this weekend. The forwards did a much better job at getting back defensively and occupying SCSU in transition. One play that really comes to mind was an odd-man chance in the second period of Saturday's game. Mike Parks was leading the Sioux rush, and when SCSU was able to successfully defend and turn the play up-ice, Parks (who ended up behind the net) was the first forward back and helped break up a Husky chance.
• As it turns out, a doubtful Rocco Grimaldi is pretty dang good. He ended up with one assist on the weekend, and he's one of the rare, electric players that leaves you holding your breath whenever he possesses the puck. When he's fully healthy, watch out.
• Saturday night, there were a few cases where the team seemed to have some trouble passing out of the defensive zone, and the third line (MacMillan-Grimaldi-Gleason) got stuck on a couple extended shifts as a result. 
• The goaltending of Aaron Dell was solid and he's showing signs of returning to his sophomore form. However, I sit on the end that the visitors attack twice and at times it seemed as though he might've been struggling with tracking the puck.
• Look for Grimaldi to start seeing some time on the penalty kill as he works his way back into full health and game shape. He has a solid reputation of being a forechecking nuisance/point hound on the PK.
• I really liked the second line on Saturday night. Lamoureux-Rowney-Rodwell went up against the LeBlanc line much of the night and did a great job defensively.

The weekly recap of former Sioux in the pros and Sioux recruits, along with a few other items, will be on the docket for tomorrow. The steady stream of trick-or-treaters severely cut into the writing time tonight.