Tuesday Morning Post

• Looking for a quick way to get up to speed on the men's college hockey season? The United States of Hockey has put together a 2013-14 college hockey preview that includes rankings for each conference and capsules for all 59 teams.
• As a professional rookie Brock Nelson got a taste of the NHL in the playoffs last season in the Islanders' first round series against Pittsburgh, and now he has earned a spot on New York's opening night roster.
• Joe Gleason has signed a deal with the Rockford Icehogs, Chicago's AHL affiliate.
• Following his hat trick yesterday for Astana (KHL), Brandon Bochenski now ranks among the league's top five in points (13), goals (7), game winning goals (3), and      +/- (+10).
• Matt Greene will be spinning some records tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 on KCRW's Guest DJ Project. That should be worth a listen if you are able to catch it.
• Kevin Allen of the USA Today says North Dakota recruit Nick Schmaltz is among the top American-born prospects for the 2014 NHL Draft. Schmaltz was interviewed following last week's All-American Prospects Game, and here's what he had to say:

Thursday Morning Post

• A number of Sioux alums will be hitting the ice for the 2013-14 season this week as NHL rookie/prospect camps and tournaments kick into gear. Toronto's Rookie Tournament will feature four Sioux alums as the Maple Leafs (Andrew MacWilliam), Ottawa (Ben Blood), Chicago (Joe Gleason), and Penguins (Carter Rowney) will compete in a round robin tournament beginning today and running through the weekend. Danny Kristo will be part of the New York Ranger contingent competing at the Traverse City Tournament while Corban Knight and the Calgary Flames will be participating in the Young Stars Classic in Penticton, BC (Flames games will be streamed on their website). Derek Forbort will be attending the Los Angeles King rookie camp, which includes a pair of games against Anaheim, and Brock Nelson will participate in the New York Islanders rookie camp.
• Leading into the rookie tournaments, The Calgary Herald detailed Knight's unusually busy summer, while Blueshirts United featured Kristo in this nice interview:

• Hockey Prospectus recently ranked the Rangers' top prospects, and Kristo came in at number two while freshman forward Adam Tambellini was ranked fifteenth. Meanwhile, CBS New York says Kristo will be given every opportunity to crack the Ranger lineup. 
• Forbort checks in at number six amongst the Mayor's Manor top LA King prospects.
• Also from Mayor's Manor, Matt Frattin is fitting in nicely in Los Angeles following his offseason trade from Toronto.
• Following a strong performance at a tryout camp, Sioux alum Tate Maris earned an invite to the St. Charles Chill (CHL) training camp.
• David Toews has signed with the Reading Royals (ECHL) for the 2013-14 season.
• Former Sioux defenseman and Grand Forks native Nick Fuher has joined the Winkler Flyers (MJHL) staff as an assistant coach.
• The Hockey Guys have ranked the top recruiting classes for the next two seasons, and North Dakota's are ranked number two for 2013 and number one for 2014.
• Nick Schmaltz is a key cog in UND's 2014 freshman class, and TSN's Craig Button has him slotted at number 25 in his initial rankings for the 2014 NHL Draft.
• Sioux alum Phil Jackson recently did a Q&A with the LA Kings, and he mentions his time spent playing hockey as a youth with former Sioux All-American Terry Casey. Jackson and Casey were neighborhood friends in Great Falls, MT prior to Jackson's family moving to Williston, ND.

Monday Morning Coffee

• After earning its first sweep of the season this past weekend against Michigan Tech North Dakota will enter the holiday break on a high note. After the impressive showing in Houghton, several UND players will be strong candidates for WCHA Player of the Week consideration. Corban Knight and/or Danny Kristo could take home offensive honors, while Clarke Saunders and Joe Gleason put up very nice numbers on the defensive side. UND will next take on Holy Cross January 4-5 at REA.
• If you have not already seen it, Sports Illustrated published a very nice article on North Dakota hockey's loyal following.
• The National Post featured Toronto Marlies winger Matt Frattin in an article in which Toronto brass had a number of nice things to say about the former Sioux star. Frattin came up big over the weekend as he scored the game tying goal with just 10 seconds left in regulation and then helped seal a 4-3 victory over Rochester by scoring in the shootout. He now has 12 points (8G, 4A) in 12 games this season.
• Brock Nelson recently went one on one with The Checking Line. He is currently tied for 3rd in scoring among AHL rookies with 22 points (11G, 11A) in 25 games.
• The Des Moines Register wrote on a quartet of Iowans currently playing for the Omaha AAA Under-16 Lancers, and included in the piece is North Dakota commit Christian Evers. The Omaha AAA program, which also produced UND commit and current USA NTDP forward Chris Wilkie, has quickly developed into a very powerful hockey program.
• North Dakota recruit Tucker Poolman's (Omaha-USHL) effectiveness on the power play earned some recognition from the USHL in its weekly update. Poolman, a defenseman, added a seventh power play goal over the weekend and is now tied for the league lead in that category. Meanwhile, recruit Paul LaDue continues to lead all USHL blueliners with 21 points (4G, 17A) in 24 games.
• The recently decommitted Brendan Lemieux got himself into some trouble with an illegal hit.

Weekend Musings

A few thoughts on this past weekend's hockey action at REA. First for the men (to be taken with one, maybe two grains of salt considering it was an exhibition game):

• Danny Kristo and Corban Knight have developed some great chemistry. The top line is going to be really tough to stop considering what those two bring to the table, and it will be interesting to see who becomes the regular left winger. Freshman Drake Caggiula performed admirably in flanking Knight’s left-side against Manitoba, but my guess is that we will see someone else get that assignment Friday night against Team USA.
• Kristo was the best player on the ice Saturday night and he appears poised for a monster season. He is electric and he seems to have gotten stronger over the summer as Manitoba was unable to move him off the puck. He is going to be very difficult for opposing teams to contain this year.
• This weekend marked the much anticipated return to the lineup for Rocco Grimaldi, and he did not disappoint. He had the crowd buzzing on numerous occasions with his playmaking and creativity, and it didn’t take long to realize that he is a very special talent. Just how good will he be this year? My guess is that he is going to have the most productive offensive season by a North Dakota freshman since Zach Parise.
• The RPM Line was in effect for the exhibition opener. I'm a big fan of keeping this line together considering how they played down the stretch last season. Of course, the enthusiasm was dampened when Michael Parks left the ice with an apparent lower body injury, but Mark MacMillan, Carter Rowney, and Parks all looked really good.
• As expected, defenseman Joe Gleason returned to his natural position. He did a very nice job filling in upfront last season for a shorthanded team, but he is more of a difference maker on the backend.

Now for the women, who bounced back from Friday's heartbreaking loss with a solid overall performance Saturday afternoon:

• In addition to what the top line will be expected to create, North Dakota should have some good offensive depth this season. They will be able to roll out three lines capable of regularly generating offensive opportunities.
• Shelby Amsley-Benzie looked confident in net and played good all weekend.
• Leah Jensen did a nice job playing right-wing with the Lamoureux sisters, picking up her first career goal Saturday by getting to the net and knocking home a rebound.
• It didn’t take too long to realize that freshman winger Becca Kohler has a fantastic shot. She can really unwind on the puck.
• Meghan Dufault is a dynamic player and though she didn’t find her way onto the scoresheet, she created some nice opportunities and was hard to knock off the puck.

Fighting Sioux vs. Michigan Tech: Notes & Links

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:

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.

Fighting Sioux vs. Alaska-Anchorage: Notes & Links

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

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.  

Exhibition Game, Recruit News, NHL Preseason News

On the night the 2010-11 WCHA championship banner was raised to the Ralph Engelstad Arena rafters, the Fighting Sioux men's hockey team came out with guns blazing, defeating the University of Regina Cougars 8-1. Here are some of my observations from the game, for what they're worth:

• Scoring came from up and down the lineup, and several freshmen made their presence felt immediately. With Rocco Grimaldi (injury) and Colten St Clair (NCAA Clearinghouse) out of the lineup, the freshman class accounted for a goal and six assists and generally looked very solid throughout the evening. It'll be interesting to see how the lines are shuffled when everyone's available to play.
• The defense was very solid and active all night, regularly jumping into the play and tilting the ice towards the Cougar goal. Joe Gleason was very noticeable, as was freshman Nick Mattson.
• The top line of Brock Nelson-Corban Knight-Danny Kristo looked really, really good. They dictated the action anytime they stepped onto the ice. Kristo, at times, played at a level higher than anyone else out there and Nelson easily could have had a hat trick or more as he clanged a couple off the iron in addition to the two pucks he buried. Knight is just a smart, heady player that is downright fun to watch.
• Even though he didn't make it into the scoring column, freshman Mike Parks played with a motor that wouldn't quit. He's fast, he's a puckhound, and he was good on the backcheck.

Next weekend the games will begin to count in the standings as North Dakota will host the 2011 Ice Breaker Tournament. The Air Force Academy, Michigan State, and Boston College will all descend upon The Ralph for what should be a tremendous weekend of college hockey.

In Fighting Sioux recruit news:

• Luke Johnson notched an assist in his first game with the Lincoln Stars, a USHL franchise he is plenty familiar with.
• Keaton Thompson opened his USHL season this weekend, and had he not chose to play for the USNTDP Under-17 team, Thompson might otherwise have found himself on the gridiron. Fellow Sioux recruit and Under-17 teammate Luke Voltin  scored two goals and had an assist in two games over the weekend.
• Jordan Schmaltz will serve as an alternate captain for the Sioux City Musketeers.
• Stefan Matteau is off to a strong start for the USNTDP Under-18 team (the info on Matteau is about halfway down the page). Matteau, Miles Koules, and the rest of the U-18 team kick off their schedule October 3 when they take on the University of Michigan. They also travel to the University of Denver, Colorado College, and the University of Vermont before beginning USHL play.

NHL preseason news:

• Detroit Red Wings defenseman Mike Commodore could miss up to three weeks with a knee injury.
• The Anaheim Ducks will be without the services of Matt Smaby for 2-3 months due to a thumb injury.
• The Winnipeg Jets reassigned Jason Gregoire to the St Johns Ice Caps of the AHL. Former Sioux Jake Marto and Michael Forney are also at St Johns training camp.
• Brad Malone was reassigned from the Colorado Avalanche to the AHL's Lake Erie Monsters.