Comings & Goings

It's been awhile since the last post containing transaction news, but in the last few weeks a decent amount of player movement has taken place amongst the UND hockey world. Below is a rundown of the recent comings and goings:

• North Dakota received a verbal commitment from defenseman Ryan Mantha yesterday. Mantha, who will play for Sioux City (USHL) this upcoming season, joins Nick Schmaltz, Chris Wilkie and Brendan Lemieux as 1996-born UND commitments. To learn more about UND's newest recruit, you can check out his Recruit Profile or you can catch him in action September 28th when Sioux City opens the USHL regular season against the Fargo Force at Scheels Arena.
• Taylor Dickin, who spent one and a half seasons with North Dakota, has opted to transfer to the University of Manitoba. Dickin and the Bisons will travel to Grand Forks October 6 to take on UND in an exhibition tilt.
• Jordan Parise came to terms with Valpellice of Italy's Serie A, joining Anthony Grieco as former Sioux goaltenders who have signed on with an Italian elite league club. Earlier this summer Grieco signed with Pontebba. Parise spent last season playing in Germany while Grieco played with Asiago of Serie A.
• Corey Fienhage signed an AHL contract with the Rochester Americans. He split time last season between Rochester and Gwinnett (ECHL).
• Michael Forney re-signed with the ECHL's Colorado Eagles. Forney spent the bulk of last season with Colorado, where he was one of the team's top point producers. He also spent some time with the AHL's St. John's IceCaps and Texas Stars.
• Joining Forney in Colorado is Aaron Dell. Dell, of course, recently forfeited his final season of collegiate eligibility to sign a professional contract, and he will be one of two new faces in goal for Colorado.
• Andrew Kozek has signed with Dornbirner of the Erste Bank Liga (Austria Tier 1). He spent last season with the Nikko IceBucks of the Asia League.

Thursday Evening Post

• Yesterday it was reported that junior forward Taylor Dickin has not been practicing this week due to the lower body injury suffered Friday night against Denver. He is unlikely to play this weekend against Minnesota State, which of course means the Fighting Sioux will play one forward short.
• After being dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning on the NHL's Deadline Day, former Sioux defensemen Mike Commodore and Brian Lee were excited to make their Lightning debuts, and they were able to do just that Tuesday night against Montreal. They were paired together during even strength situations, and they were both regulars on the penalty kill. They both had very solid games for their new team and Lee delivered what was probably the hit of the game:

• For Lee, the trade to Ottawa might provide a fresh start that will enable him to spark his career, while for Commodore it is perhaps a bittersweet move after he quickly became a fan favorite in Detroit despite his abbreviated stay. Commodore, by the way, tweeted his appreciation of the aforementioned article.
• Matt Frattin was apparently the target of a number of trade inquiries leading up to the deadline, but Toronto GM Brian Burke is too high on Frattin to trade him (towards the bottom of the article).
• In an injury update, Jonathan Toews is said to be progressing in his recovery from an upper-body injury that is unofficially suspected of being a concussion. He will not travel with the team to begin their next roadie, but it is possible that he could join the team at some point on the trip. Toews is also mentioned in a Rogers Sportsnet article covering the increase in the number of Winnipeggers playing for the WHL's Tr-City Americans, the team that once held Toews' CHL rights.
• Phoenix Coyote head coach Dave Tippett currently has 397 career wins as a NHL head coach. When he reaches the 400 win mark, he will become just the 28th coach in league history to do so.
• The Fargo Force will be holding their first-ever Skills Challenge this weekend. Sioux recruit Bryn Chyzyk will lead Team Chyzyk while fellow recruit Zane Gothberg will compete for Team Farley. The Skills Challenge will take place at 4:00 PM Sunday afternoon at Fargo's Scheels Arena.