Friday Morning Post

• Senior defenseman Dillon Simpson was named team captain for the 2013-14 season, with junior forwards Michael Parks and Stephane Pattyn serving as assistant captains. Simpson was also tabbed as a player to watch in the NCHC this year in CBS Sports Network analyst/College Hockey New columnist Dave Starman's NCHC overview.
• The Hockey Writers' Gabriella Fundaro does a great job covering women's hockey and in her WCHA preview she says that despite their losses to graduation, North Dakota still has plenty of talent to make a run at the top of the WCHA standings.
• Corban Knight's bid to make Calgary's opening night roster ended yesterday when he was assigned to their AHL affiliate in Abbotsford. Away from the rink Knight has been forced to deal with a natural disaster and CBC Sports took a look at his family's recovery from this past summer's devastating Alberta flooding.
• NHL rookie Brock Nelson remains at New York Islanders' training camp, where he is fighting for a spot on the Isle.
• Buffalo Sabres winger Drew Stafford is looking forward to the upcoming season with a refreshed optimism as he looks to put Buffalo's disappointing 2012-13 season behind him.
• After signing the first one-way NHL contract of his career, Chris Porter finds himself in the middle of a logjam in terms of earning playing time in St. Louis. 
• Mike Commodore will reportedly be joining Vladivostok (KHL) for the 2013-14 season, joining Brandon Bochenski and Rastislav Spirko as Sioux alums playing in Russia's "super league." Bochenski, by the way, is currently T-8th in points with 10 (4G, 6A) while Spirko is T-18th with 8 (5G, 3A).
• Tony Hrkac will be inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday.
• Nick Schmaltz and Ryan Mantha were part of the victorious Team Johnson at last night's All-American Prospects Game in Pittsburgh, defeating Team Mullen and Shane Gersich 5-2. Schmaltz picked up an assist and was very good throughout the game while Gersich may have been the best player on the ice for the first period plus. Overall he played a fine game and was very noticeable in all three zones while Mantha played a solid defensive game. The United States of Hockey offers a nice recap of the event.
• UND recruits Austin Poganski and Chris Wilkie are hoping to form a dynamic duo for Tri-City (USHL) this season as the past, present, and future teammates look to help kickstart the Storm's offense. A highlight of the article is the North Dakota recruiting pitch Wilkie gave to Poganski while the two were playing in the Under-17 Four Nations Tournament. It worked.

Tuesday Morning Coffee

• North Dakota forward and Manitoba native Stephane Pattyn was featured in a very nice Winnipeg Free Press article.
• Aaron Dell was recently named the Central Hockey League's Goaltender of the Month for November. Dell leads the CHL in both GAA (2.03) and Save Percentage (.930). 
• Matt Watkins was named alternate captain for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He will wear the A in Sound Tiger road games.
• ESPN.com says Mike Commodore's return to the AHL is part of a bigger mission.
• After patiently playing a game of wait and see with the NHL lockout, Jonathan Toews says heading overseas is "absolutely" on the front burner.
• Even after last week's apparent negotiation meltdown between the NHL and NHLPA, Zach Parise remains optimistic.
• The Hockey Writers are in the midst of ranking their top 90 prospects for the 2013 NHL Draft, and they have some nice things to say about North Dakota native/UND recruit Keaton Thompson (No. 26). Here's their take on the Devils Lake product:

Mr. Impressive – The smooth and easy of defense; fluid, consistent, calm under pressure, one and out passes, can join the rush, and not afraid of the rough stuff. A player who has been increasingly impressive so far with hints of what he can develop into. Go ahead, Keaton, add some weight and strength and see where this game can take you.

• Colorado Eagle (ECHL) defenseman Jake Marto was recently the subject of a player profile video and he spent a couple minutes discussing his time playing for the University of North Dakota:

North Dakota vs. UAA/UA: Goal Rush Notes & Links

North Dakota vs. Alaska-Anchorage/Alaska - Brice Alaska Goal Rush Notes & Links

• Gametime: Friday vs UAA 8:05 CDT/Saturday vs. Alaska 10:05 CDT
• Both games will be broadcast on regional radio across the UND Radio Network as well as across the web via UND Insider. Webcasts for the games are available for purchase on a single game basis or as a four game package.
• Series Notes (PDF): North Dakota and Alaska-Anchorage and Alaska
• Brice Alaska Goal Rush Tournament Central
• Brad Schlossman's Friday Morning Reading
• Anchorage Daily News: UAA Brimming With Confidence
• Anchorage Daily News: North Dakota to be Seriously Shorthanded vs. UAA Friday
• Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: North Dakota in Town for Goal Rush
• Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Seawolves Aim For Third Brice Goal Rush Prize
• Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Nanooks Vie For Third Goal Rush Crown
• Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Teams Make Big Trips For Goal Rush
• TOE: Corban Knight is a Center of Attention
• Alaska Nanooks Hockey Blog: A Look at the 2012 Goal Rush
• Senior Danny Kristo, who will not be playing this weekend due to suspension, is the lone active member of the UND Century Club with 109 career points. Corban Knight could join the club with a big night Saturday. Knight, who will be sitting out Friday's game due to suspension, enters the season with 97 career points. Carter Rowney is third on the active list with 46.
• Michael Parks will not play this weekend due to a lower body injury suffered in the exhibition game against Manitoba. As for the full list of suspensions, sitting out Friday's game against Alaska-Anchorage are Kristo, Knight, Rowney, Andrew MacWilliam, and Brendan O'Donnell. Saturday's absentees will be Kristo, Connor Gaarder, Stephane Pattyn, and Andrew Panzarella.
• UND freshman Jordan Schmaltz is a highly-touted offensive defenseman who should see a lot of special teams play. Nick Naumenko's UND record for points by a freshman defenseman is 34, set in 1992-93, and that's a number Schmaltz could approach this season. Naumenko, Jason Herter, and James Patrick all hold the freshman defenseman record for assists with 24, and that's a number Schmaltz could challenge as well.
• Alaska-Anchorage's roster features Hayden Trupp, the younger brother of former Sioux star Evan Trupp.
• A player to watch during Saturday's matchup against Alaska-Fairbanks is Andy Taranto. Taranto, who starred for the Fargo Force in 2008-09, is a senior who has been one of Alaska's top offensive threats throughout his career in Fairbanks.
• USCHO's This Week in the WCHA
• USCHO's Weekend Picks Thursday Edition and Regular Edition
• CHN's Tale of the Tape vs. UAA and Tale of the Tape vs. UA
• CHN's WCHA Power Rankings
• CHN's WCHA 3 Up, 3 Down
• CHN: WCHA's Final Regular Season As We Know It Begins Tonight
• WCHB Weekly WCHA Preview
• WCHA Weekly Press Release
• The Hockey Writer's Combine: Brice Alaska Goal Rush Game Notes
• Sioux Sports Weekend Preview
• Episode 2.03 of Through These Doors:

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.

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.

Tuesday Evening Links

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

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