The All-WCHA Hottie Teams

The conference tournaments are over, the NCAA regionals are set, and that means only one thing: it's time to give out the most prestigious honors in college hockey. For the third year in a row, Runninwiththedogs presents the All-WCHA Hottie Teams!

Coach: Jamie Russell**
Bloggers: MeanEgirl, Boosh, and The Darkness, of the Tech Hockey Blog

1st team:
F Chris Porter, UND**
F Darcy Zajac, UND
F Tyler Ruegsegger, DU
D Taylor Chorney, UND
D Trent Palm, UMD
G Rob Nolan, MTU*

2nd team:
F Ryan Peckskamp, SCSU
F Michael Forney, UND
F T.J. Oshie, UND*
D Ryan Berry, UAA
D R.J. Linder, MSU-M*
G Nathan Lawson, UAA*

3rd team:
F Bryan McGregor, UMD*
F Chris VandeVelde, UND
F MacGregor Sharp, UMD
D Zach Blom, DU**
D David Carlisle, SCSU
G Glenn Fisher, DU

Freshman team:
F Tyler Ruegsegger, DU
F Darcy Zajac, UND
F Ryan Peckskamp, SCSU
D Trent Palm, UMD
D Drew Dobson, MTU
G Alex Stalock, UMD

*denotes two-time honoree
**denotes three-time honoree

This year was slightly different, in that I consulted others for their input (thanks for all the photos and campaigns!) I agreed, with some advice, disagreed with some, and was totally puzzled by some. I decided to invite fellow fans to make their own lists.

Suze's Picks (UAA)
F Patrick Mullen, DU
F Jay Beagle, UAA
F Chris Porter, UND
D J.P. Testwuide, DU
D Alex Goligoski, UMTC
G Rob Nolan, MTU

Let's Go Mavs's Picks (MSU-M)
F Darcy Zajac, UND
F Braydon Cox, CC
F Ryan Peckskamp, SCSU
D R.J. Linder, MSU-M
D Brian Kilburg, MSU-M
G Rob Nolan, MTU

Catie's Picks (DU)
F Jonathon Toews, UND
F Andrew Gordon, SCSU
F Patrick Mullen, DU
D Andrew Thomas, DU
D Mike Vannelli, UMTC
G Bobby Goepfert, SCSU

Nin's Picks (UW)
F Patrick Mullen, DU
F Matt Tyree, MSU-M
F Michael Gergen, UMD
D R.J. Linder, MSU-M
D Blake Friesen, MSU-M
G Rob Nolan, MTU

MeanEgirl's Picks (MTU)
F Justin Bourne, UAA
F Darcy Zajac, UND
F Brandon Polich, CC
D Casey Borer, SCSU
D David Fischer, UMTC
G Rob Nolan, MTU

WinTwins's Picks (SCSU)
F Brandon Vossberg, DU
F Andrew Gordon, SCSU
F Braydon Cox, CC
D R.J. Linder, MSU-M
D Casey Borer, SCSU
G Rob Nolan, MTU

Melmac's Picks (UMTC)
F Justin Bourne, UAA
F Chris Tarkir, UAA
F Chris VandeVelde, UND
D J.P. Testwuide, DU
D Mike Vannelli, UMTC
G Rob Nolan, MTU

HockeyMom's Picks (UND)
F Chris Porter, UND
F T.J. Oshie, UND
F Tyler Ruegsegger, DU***
D Taylor Chorney, UND***
D Trent Palm, UMD***
G Rob Nolan, MTU***

***denotes athlete filled in by me. HockeyMom voted nine times for Porter and once for T.J. She sucks at counting.

If You Leave Me Now...

...you'll take away the biggest part of me

Ooh, no, baby please don't go

If you leave me now, you'll take away the very heart of me

Ooh, no, baby please don't go

A love like ours is love that's hard to find

How could we let it slip away?

We've come too far to leave it all behind

How could we end it all this way?

When tomorrow comes we'll both regret

Things we said today...

If you leave me now, you'll take away the biggest part of me

Ooh, no, baby please don't go.

In case you haven't heard, Mason Raymond is headed to Manitoba, and Matt Niskanen to Iowa, to play in the minor leagues for the Vancouver Canucks and Dallas Stars, respectively. This comes on the heels of their All-WCHA First Team selections, and Nisky's selection as My Guy of the Year.

I guess this was somewhat expected, and it's better that it happened sooner rather than later, but I really really hate that they will be playing for my two most hated NHL teams. Both affiliate teams are located fairly close to here, so I hope to make a trip down to cheer for them.

I wish them all the best, but I really do wish they had returned for one more season. I guess we'll never know what might have been, and we'll have to re-load for next season without them, but I'm allowed to wish.

We'll miss you, guys. Keep your heads up and your sticks on the ice.

*photos courtesy of www.umdbulldogs.com

DanceMania

W000000000000t!

I was on Dancemania with THGIA! We were the girls in leather!

Final-y!

Oh yes, it's here, comrades. I'm leaving for the Final Five in one hour, with UMDDogz and The Hottest Girl in Alary's. It's going to be off the chain.

Section 115. Probably the only 'Dogs fans in the section. Come buy me beers say hello. Don't be offended if I don't remember afterwards.

The Count

The final numbers are in!

First of all, My Guy of the Year is Matt Niskanen! He ran away with the competition, scoring 31 points this year. Michael Gergen (16) and Mike Curry (14) combined don't even add up to Nisky's total. Rounding out the competition are Matt McKnight (9) and Jason Garrison (3), both of whom were injured for extended periods of time.

The Freshman Scoring Champions are Drew Akins and Jordan Fulton, both with 10 points. Akins was ahead for quite awhile, put Fulton put on a charge in the last few games to catch him. Following up are Alex Stalock (4), Logan Gorsalitz (2), Trent Palm (1), and Chase Ryan (1). I fully expect to see all of these guys make great improvements next year, especially once they are in the regular lineup.

And now, for the comparisons.

Color coding:

This year

Opponents this year

Last year

Opponents last year

Okay. Got it? Here we go.

Record: 13-21-5 11-25-4

League Finish: 9th 9th

Playoff Record: 1-2-0 2-2-0

It's hard to show by the numbers the differences between the teams, but the 'Dogs won only 1 game in the second half of the 2005-2006 series, then rebounded to beat Denver in the playoffs. I believe the 2006-2007 Bulldogs were much better, finishing at .500 in the second half of the season after a very difficult and trying first half. We also played two 0-0 games, and our defense and goaltending improved as the season wore on.

Goals: 103 121 97 148

Goals per Game: 2.64 3.10 2.42 3.70

Penalties: 303 267 306 279

Penalty Minutes: 691 603 792 703

Penalties per Game: 7.8 6.8 7.7 7.0

Penalty Minutes per Game: 17.7 15.5 19.8 17.6

Power Play: 44/205 (21.4%) 32/205 (15.6%)

Penalty Kill: 198/234 (84.5%) 179/229 (78.2%)

Strangely, we scored about the same number of goals this year as last year (only a 6 goal difference), but our opponents are scoring less (27 goal difference), so clearly our defense has improved. We took about the same number of penalties (3 penalty difference), but we took about 100 less minutes in penalties, which means we are taking less majors/misconducts, probably due the NCAA's points of emphasis for the start of the 05-06 season, and the time it took for us to adjust. However, our opponents took, on average, one less penalty per game than the 'Dogs did. Is it a discipline issue? Or a conspiracy issue? (I'm kidding! Kidding!) Our PP (3rd in league) and PK (4th) were much improved, and our combined special teams ranked first in the league.

Goaltending:

Johnson

Games/Starts/Minutes: 18/17/1065:06

Record: 8-7-2 (2 SO) (9th in league)

GAA: 2.14 (5th)

SV%: .922 (3rd)

Stalock

Games/Starts/Minutes: 23/22/1363:30
Record: 5-14-3 (1 SO) (14th)
GAA: 3.34 (14th)
SV%: .881 (14th)

Total
GAA: 2.98

SV%: .893

Reichmuth

Games/Starts/Minutes: 28/26/1636:13
Record: 6-16-4
GAA: 3.45
SV%: .877

Ziegelmann

Games/Starts/Minutes: 8/7/415:49
Record: 2-5-0
GAA: 3.32
SV%: .892

Johnson

Games/Starts/Minutes: 7/7/358:22
Record: 3-4-0
GAA: 4.19
SV%: .848

Total

GAA: 3.66
SV%: .871

Here is where you really start to see the difference between this year and last year. We only had 2 more wins and 1 more tie, but our GAA and SV% are drastically improved. We were keeping our games close. It's sad to see Al at the bottom of the league, but he will have next year to really show his stuff. Josh Johnson deserves a standing ovation (the one from the National Hockey Center fans was great!, but this guy needs another) for his improvement. Josh gave up half as many goals per game this year as he did last year. Other coaches dream of that kind of improvement.

Scoring Champion (F) Mason Raymond (46) Tim Stapleton (30)

Scoring Champion (D) Matt Niskanen (31) Matt Niskanen (14)

Mase was the second leading scorer last year, behind Buster, but holy cow, our leading scorer had 16 more points this year? WOW! Additionally, Nisky more than doubled his point totals, while leading the d-corps in scoring both years. Josh Meyers will give him a run for his money next year, since he SHALL be healthy for all of next year, AND Nisky will be coming back. It is the will of the people.

So, blah blah blah, stats stats stats, I hope you've all found enlightenment.

MeanEgirl's Day Off

MEg and tDarkness forced me to go to the Mall of America today.

I'm sort of embarrassed to admit it, since those of us who leave near the MoA never go there. What's the point? There are 4 malls closer to me than the MoA, and I don't have to walk 10 miles if I need to get to a store across the mall. Plus, I hate shopping. And people.

Anyway, how could I turn down a chance to hang out with someone my own size? I should point out that, if you stacked me on MEg's shoulders, we would only come up to tDarkness's elbow. He is very tall.

The trip ended up being fabulous, because I was able to find a fuzzy UMD hockey helmet I can wear to the Final Five. Superb. The Darkness has a hat fetish, so he found 2 hats, and MEg found some excellent tailgating supplies. MEg is afraid of rides that might be fun, so we didn't go on any rides. We mostly spent our time looking for some banana flavored ice cream and a cowbell.









Here we are looking like pimp mamas at the greatest of all stores, Dollar Tree.










Here we are masquerading as Bucky and Goldy fans.











Now we are pretending to be CC and DU fans, except we're not killing each other. It's fitting, since Tech bounced CC this year, and we knocked Denver out last year!










It felt like I was wearing a dead Gopher on my head. ::Shudder::











Here we're testing out some gear in case they need extra players during the Final Five.

There's evidently going to be a meet and stalk greet tomorrow at the Plymouth Old Chicago. It was organized by the fabulous Brenthoven and once again, MEg is forcing me to attend. It starts at 8.

*Edit* Evidently, the joke's on us!

Last Night

Last night was a tough loss for the Dogs, but honestly, even though it was really, really, really, really, really, really devastating, it...

Well, it wasn't that bad.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I think it would have killed me if Kronick had scored that OT goal. It would have been a knife through my heart. And then liver. And spinal column. And pinky toe. I commented to DA and UMDDogz that I could handle a loss, as long as it wasn't handed to us by Dan Kronick.

So, there is a Hockey God, and I was spared. I had the home defibrilator on standby just in case.

I know, it's so cliche, but how can you root for someone to lose in a game like that? Even a rival. As I noted to a SCSU fan who sent me some hottie pictures, I think we've got a pretty good one going. Screw the Gophers, who think that everyone gets up for them and no one else.

Each team had some chances, some missed opportunities, and some unbelievable luck. Pipes, fanned shots, fabulous saves from out of nowhere. St. Cloud had 2 goals that were (correctly) disallowed, but by mere centimeters. Our PK shone, especially when we started OT down a player. I can't imagine how tired and sore those guys were/still are. It sounded like quite a few guys were playing through varied injuries.

I'm proud of the Dogs for this weekend. There were a lot of fans from various teams (meaning just about everyone who made a prediction) thinking the Dogs would get manhandled. And why wouldn't they think that? We've been shut out twice by St. Cloud this year, and beaten in all four games this season. Instead, we won the first game and took the games we lost to overtime and triple overtime. Sunday was the fifth longest game in college hockey history. I don't buy the excuse that St. Cloud underachieved. Maybe they underachieved in their game against UND, as some of their fans claim. I just think the Dogs finally started playing to their ability.

To the senior class, there may be only four of you, but you were each an integral part of this Bulldog team, and you will be missed tremendously. I'll be posting a senior goodbye later, but I don't think I could thank those guys enough.

Win or lose, we made a game of it, and I couldn't be happier for the effort...

Okay, I could be happier. If we'd won. But next year, we're going to be killers.

.

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Bulldog six that day,
The score stood two to two, with but sixteen minutes to play.

And then when Fulton fanned a shot, and Gergen did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair.
The rest clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast.
They thought, "If only the Bulldogs could get themselves reset.
We'd put up even money now, if Raymond hit the net."

Akins seemed a bit lost, without linemate Curry;
And Kemper, who was a wrecker, took a sketchy penalty
So upon that stricken multitude, grim melancholy set;
for there seemed but little chance of anyone hitting the net.

But Gergen let drive some good shots, to the wonderment of all.
And Fulton tried a wraparound, but none would get the call.
And when the whistle blew, and men saw what had occurred,
there was nothing in the net, except Bobby Goepfert.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
it rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
it pounded through on the mountain and recoiled upon the plain;
for the Bulldogs, mighty Bulldogs, were refusing to be slain.

There was ease in McKnight's manner as he stepped into his place,
there was pride in Carroll's bearing and a smile lit Nisky's face.
And when, among the many cheers, the face-off match was set,
no stranger in the crowd could doubt tDogs would hit the net.

Ten thousand eyes were on them as they skated up the ice.
Five thousand tongues applauded, cause Johnson's saves were nice.
Then, while the writhing Goepfert was flopping on the ground,
the Bulldogs all dug at it, but no one could get it 'round.

And now the rubber cylinder came hurtling through the air,
and Johnson stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Shot by the sturdy Husky the puck unheeded sped --
"That ain't my style," said Johnson.

"No goal!" Jon Campion said.
From the benches, maroon and gold, there went up a muffled roar,
like the beating of the storm waves on a stern and distant shore.
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone (probably the Bob),
and it's likely they'd have killed him had not replay done its job.

With a smile of certain victory, each Bulldog's visage shone,
they stilled the rising tumult, they bade the game go on.
At a signal from the referee, the linesman dropped the puck,
the goal horn blasted loudly, but Jon Campion said, "No luck!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened Huskies, and their fans answered "Fraud!"
But at scornful looks from Bulldogs, the audience was awed.
They saw each face grow stern and cold, they saw the muscles strain,
and they knew that Johnson wouldn't let that puck go by again.

The sneer has fled from Fulton's lip, the teeth are clenched in hate.
He enters the faceoff circle, against a guy named Nate.
And now the linesman holds the puck, and now he lets it go,
and now the air is shattered by the force of Nodl's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville -- the mighty Bulldogs got knocked out.

*this poem is an adaptation of "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest L. Thayer

0-fer? No, Sir!

Ugh. I kind of hate that post title, but I'm going with it anyway.

The disgusting fact is, this is our first win against a team from the state of Minnesota.

BUT WHO CARES?????????????? WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who cares if Kronick scored a goal?? It was the ONLY GOAL!
Who cares if we're in 9th place?? We didn't care last year! (Well, we cared, but it didn't stop us from beating Denver!)
Who cares if St. Cloud fans left in droves after Meyers scored on the PP? I'm sure tUMD fans stayed til the end!

I listened to the game tonight with UMDDogz, The Alleged Webmaster, and DA, while flipping between the HS hockey tournament and the Gophers-Seawolves game, while monitoring the Wild game through GameTracker. It was sort of a lot of hockey. You might say.

Ummm... I don't even know what to say, I'm so excited! Yay! Let's get out there and SWEEP!

Important other news: 7 Bulldogs were named to the WCHA All-Academic Team.
Andrew Carroll
Jason Garrison*
Michael Gergen*
Matt Greer
Matt Niskanen*
Mason Raymond
MacGregor Sharp

*denotes one of My Guys

Numbers
Playoff Wins Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!

My "Guys" Competition:
Matt Niskanen: 30
Michael Gergen: 16
Mike Curry: 14
Matt McKnight: 8
Jason Garrison: 2

Freshmen Competition:
Akins: 10
Fulton: 9
Stalock: 4
Gorsalitz: 2
Palm: 1
C. Ryan: 1
(Ahem, freshmen!)

On Notice:
Drew Akins: GD 19 PD 8
Trent Palm: GD 26 PD 26
Ryan Geris: GD 36 PD 7
Travis Gawryletz: GD 37 PD 4
Matt Greer: GD 14 PD 14
Jeff McFarland: GD 13 PD 13
Jay Cascalenda: GD 13 PD 13
Michael Gergen: GD 10 PD 6
Jordan Fulton: GD 9
MacGregor Sharp: GD 4
Andrew Carroll: GD 6 PD 6

Postcards from RWD, Vol 8: Hottie Warning

Dear Jamie Russell,

This should not be.

Sincerely,

Runninwiththedogs

(photo from INCH)

(game recap coming once I stop shaking from excitement)

A Thought...

...while watching the high school hockey tournament:

What if you were forced to listen to a conversation between Lou Nanne and Sid Hartman?

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

No, not Christmas...

Not even the playoffs...

March is when the All-WCHA Hottie Team is announced!

This year, since I have about five or six more readers than the zero I had last year, I'm enlisting your help. If you've got a hottie on your team, send evidence! Especially if you think the guy's going to be overlooked (As Mae West says, "It's better to be looked over than over-looked.")

The All-Hottie Team works the same way as the regular All-Conference Team. There's a first team, second team, third team, and freshman team.

Please send your submissions to Runwiththedogs(at)hotmail(dot)com. And don't send me a virus, because I will cut you.

***EDIT*** Readers are, as always, invited to make their own teams. I've contacted some of you individually, but this is open to anyone. It's 3 forwards, 2 defensemen, and Robby Nolan 1 goalie.

Rolling Out The Red Carpet

I wish I'd gone to the MTU-UMTC games this past weekend. Not because I'm a huge fan of either team, but because I could have defended the honor of the Tech fans being harrassed in videos you can find over at the Michigan Tech Hockey Blog. I realize the losers doing the harrassing got thrown out, so physical violence wasn't required, and I probably would have gotten kicked out as well, but I think a youtube video of me and my ninja skillz would have been pretty cool. I think I've met those guys before... or at least, some guys EXACTLY like that, at that exact venue.

Also, I don't understand why Boosh doesn't like Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics. It is an excellent book that is, believe it or not, in my own little reference library. If you want a horrible book, try Introduction to Nuclear Engineering by Lamarsh and Baratta. But then you'll want to kill yourself.

Snow Day

The most awesome thing in the world happened today: my work closed early! I feel like a child again!

Apparently, in Duluth, things are getting crazy. Thunder and lightning, spray from Lake Superior washing over the lift bridge, and no hope of rescue since the plows have stopped running. It was good thinking for the Badgers to get going early, as they missed the worst of the storm and are holed up in the Holiday Inn probably chowing down on room service.

There IS a Gauntlet forthcoming from my dear friend at the Wisconsin Hockey Blog, so sit tight and count some snowflakes.

Also, you could read this fab article about the Bulldog seniors, and more specifically Biggie Mac, over at the WCHA site. I'm going to go watch Back to the Future. RWD out.

How To Win A National Championship

in ten easy steps

Hear ye! Hear ye! The UMD Bulldogs are officially out of the basement!

That's the Good News.

The Bad News: we need the Non-Evil Huskies to prevent the Gophers from winning the league, or else we'll be travelling to that big trailer park out west to face the Evil Huskies. And we don't want that, for a multitude of reasons.

We need to keep it together in the next few weeks, because March hockey is the most important hockey of all. (Yes, I realize April is when the Frozen Four is, but you can't have April hockey without March hockey.)

Here's the plan.

I. Kick Wisconsin while they're down. They were just swept by Tech, and they're vulnerable. Go for the jugular!

IIa. Draw St. Cloud in the play-offs. Roll in, silence Kronick, and knock them out of the Final Five. We're overdue for a win against them. I like our chances in a best-of-three.
IIb. Draw the Gophers in the play-offs. Swoop down on the John and continue the Gophers' playoff woes. We played them hard back in November, and they had to cheat to win. They don't have Crazy anymore, and if they were to end up in second, they would be a demoralized team.

III. Dominate whoever we face in the play-in game. Take no prisoners.

IV. Friday night, kill the #1 seed. We'll have already knocked off either St. Cloud or UMTC, so we'll just knock the other one off.

V. Become the first winner of the play-in game to win the Final Five.

VI. With out auto-bid, win the regional semi-final (preferrably with a shut-out, like we did in 2004.)

VII. Win regional final.

VIII. Hold 3-goal lead in Frozen Four semis this time around.

IX. Hoist our first National Championship banner.

X. Riot. (Optional.)

Next year: repeat steps IV-IX.

9 more wins, baby! (Though 11 would be nice...)

The S Word

Sadly, I was working tonight, just in case someone needed to run out and buy something completely needless, despite the relentless snow. So, I missed out on the awesomeness that was tonight.

RWD would like to extend a standing ovation to senior goaltender Josh Johnson for his shutout tonight, the second of his Bulldog career. Believe it or not, Josh has a winning record, in the conference as well as overall. I know he's struggled through some things during his career, and I am glad to see him man up to the task.

The other story of the night is Kemper the Wrecker, with two goals, one being an unassisted shorthanded goal to get the 'Dogs on the board. I'm sure those crazy ladies we met in Denver were screaming their lungs out for you, Nick.

Numbers
Points Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!
Wins Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!

My "Guys" Competition:
Matt Niskanen: 30! (Excellent! Off notice!)
Michael Gergen: 15
Mike Curry: 13
Matt McKnight: 8! (It's about time!)
Jason Garrison: 2 (Any time now, buddy!)

Freshmen Competition:
Akins: 10
Fulton: 9! (Listened to my direction!)
Stalock: 4
Gorsalitz: 2
Palm: 1
C. Ryan: 1

On Notice:
Mike Curry: GD 15
Drew Akins: GD 16 PD 5
Trent Palm: GD 23 PD 23
Ryan Geris: GD 33 PD 4
Travis Gawryletz: GD 34
Matt Greer: GD 11 PD 11
Jeff McFarland: GD 10 PD 10
Jay Cascalenda: GD 10 PD 10
Michael Gergen: GD 7
Jordan Fulton: GD 6
Josh Meyers: GD 4

Mr. McGregor's Garden

With pitchfork in hand, Bryan McGregor certainly kicked some butt tonight, getting 2 of the 3 Bulldog goals. Would I have loved it if McGregor had found his scoring touch, oh, say, two seasons ago? Or even last season? Yes. But it isn't too late for Mr. McGregor to lead the charge over the Peter Rabbits of this world. I'm ready for Bryan to pull a Buster Stapleton and lead us to a Final Five.

Time for the stick salute tomorrow night, boyos.

Numbers
Points Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!
Wins Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!

My "Guys" Competition:
Matt Niskanen: 29!
Michael Gergen: 15 (Missed a breakaway, booo!)
Mike Curry: 13 (Great chances!)
Matt McKnight: 7
Jason Garrison: 2

Freshmen Competition:
Akins: 10
Fulton: 8
Stalock: 4
Gorsalitz: 2 (Gives new meaning to the term "Crash the Net")
Palm: 1
C. Ryan: 1

(Dear freshmen, get your butts in gear and score.)

On Notice:
Nick Kemp: GD 11 PD 6
Mike Curry: GD 13
Drew Akins: GD 14 PD 4
Trent Palm: GD 21 PD 21
Ryan Geris: GD 31 PD 4
Travis Gawryletz: GD 32
Matt McKnight: GD 9 PD 4
Matt Greer: GD 9 PD 9
Jeff McFarland: GD 8 PD 8
Jay Cascalenda: GD 8 PD 8
Michael Gergen: GD 6
Matt Niskanen: GD 6
Jordan Fulton: GD 6 PD 6
Mason Raymond: GD 4
Josh Meyers: GD 4

New Blogger in Anchorage?

I was reading the Anchorage Daily News today (as its one of the dozens of newspapers I read cover to cover on a daily basis, so I can keep up on what's going on in the Narrow World of College Hockey), and I came across an ad for a new blogger for the Seawolves. I didn't know they were looking, as I thought Donald had it covered, but apparently not.

You see, apparently when I interviewed Donald for The Gauntlet back in November, I inadvertently made public a potentially damaging fact about him. You see, Donald was not born in the United States. He is, at his own admission, "100% Scottish blood." I guess he didn't realize that this admission would come back to haunt him.

Months later, Donald's blogging visa is expiring (he is currently working under an H1-Blog visa), and he needs to apply for a green card to keep on blogging. However, the Internet needs to prove that there aren't any United States citizens who are also qualified for and interested in the job. I think Donald probably assumed he was safe, since he has been doing such a great job covering the Seawolves.

However, UAA athletic director has to prove that Donald is uniquely qualified for the job, and prove why the other applicants are unable to meet the job's requirements.

Other applicants include:
Dirty (unqualified, Craig Dahl-like candidate)
Frank Bretti (revenge)
Troy Ward (more revenge)
Puck Swami (possible dark horse)
DGGoddard (also a foreigner)
Dude Love (totally unqualified, must have opposable thumbs and walk upright in order to apply)
Rabid Husky (ditto)
Walsky's mom (possibly going to bring down the blog from the inside?)
John Hill (revenge, the third)
RWD (as a joke)
Doyle Woody (Donald's archnemesis)

Since there are so many applicants, and they are spread far and wide, the interview process will most likely be a lengthy one. Donald had better come out with some good posts in the coming weeks, if he wants to keep his job.

I'll keep you posted, folks.

Milestone

I was going to title this post Beta Blockers because that's seriously what I need, but there's a more pressing issue here.

I don't know why no one bothered to tell me my Numbers were totally jacked up, but they were. (Actually, Ciskie told me, but not until later
LAST YEAR we were 11-25-4 overall, and 6-19-3 in the conference.
AS OF TONIGHT we are 10-17-4 overall, and 6-14-3 in the conference.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS?
It means we are ONE WIN away from matching our overall win total from last year, and we just TIED OUR CONFERENCE POINTS FROM LAST YEAR. SO TAKE THAT, RANDOM COMMENTER WHO SAID I SHOULD STOP BLOGGING BECAUSE THE 'DOGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE EVERY YEAR SINCE I STARTED BLOGGING. HA.

I'm sure that person doesn't read the site anymore. But oh well.

Also, recruiting genius Chris Heisenberg put another recruit on the board for UMD: Camrose's Mike Connolly (forward). Mike is a huge pickup for the Dogs, and we are definitely happy to have him coming here. Congratulations to the coaching staff on picking up such a quality recruit. Scott Kishel (defenseman) of Virginia-MIB also verbally committed to tDogs earlier this week. Sounds like a great, skilled defender who will be good on the PP.

Solid game tonight for tDogs, could have been a win for either team, but we did get a point on a Friday, now finish it off with 2 on Saturday!

Numbers
Points Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!
Wins Until We Surpass Last Year's Total: DONE!

My "Guys" Competition:
Matt Niskanen: 28 (Great hard hits!)
Michael Gergen: 15! (So hot!)
Mike Curry: 13! (Excellent falling down assist!)
Matt McKnight: 7
Jason Garrison: 2 (WELCOME BACK, BABY!!)

Freshmen Competition:
Akins: 10
Fulton: 8
Stalock: 4
Gorsalitz: 2
Palm: 1
C. Ryan: 1

On Notice:
Nick Kemp: GD 9 PD 4
Mike Curry: GD 11
Drew Akins: GD 12
Trent Palm: GD 19 PD 19
Ryan Geris: GD 29
Travis Gawryletz: GD 30 PD 11
Matt McKnight: GD 7
Matt Greer: GD 7 PD 7
Jeff McFarland: GD 6 PD 6
Jay Cascalenda: GD 6 PD 6
Michael Gergen: GD 4
Matt Niskanen: GD 4
Jordan Fulton: GD 4 PD 4

Okay 'Dogs, let's get that WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gooning It Up

In a RWD first, North Dakota's premier blogger Goon gives us his perspective on former UND player and coach Scott Sandelin. (BTW, he's our current head coach.) You can also read what I wrote on his blog, although it has nothing to do with Dave Hakstol.

Sioux Fans Still Have Fond Memories of Sandelin
I think it would be safe to say that Fighting Sioux fans have fond memories of current UMD coach Scott Sandelin. Scott Sandelin (the player) played for the Fighting Sioux from 1982 to 1986, playing in 149 games, scoring 16 goals and adding 77 assists for 93 points. Sandelin left UND after 4 years and went on to play professionally in the NHL, AHL, and IHL. During his professional career, Scott Sandelin had a cup of coffee in the NHL, where Sandelin played in 25 NHL games with the Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadians, scoring no goals and adding 4 assists for 4 points.

The Coach
Scott Sandelin was an assistant coach under Dean Blais the last time the Fighting Sioux won the national championship during the 1999-2000 season. In 2000 Sandelin left The University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux after experiencing a national title to take over the reins of the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs hockey program from former coaching legend Mike Sertich. Since taking over the reins of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, Sandelin has a record of 106 (W) –139 (L) –29 (T). Bulldog fans are beginning to become restless: since Sandelin took the Bulldogs to a 2004 Frozen Four, the Bulldogs have had three losing season in a row.
This season there seems to be a current theme that is consistent all over the Internet among Bulldogs fans, seems they are fed up with the current state of their Bulldog team and they are beginning to call for Sandelin's head. This puzzles me; I believe firing Sandelin would be a mistake and there is no guarantee a new coach would be able to change the fortune of the Bulldog hockey team without the team getting an new arena. In my opinion the Bulldogs need a new arena to be successful in winning the recruiting battles with the bigger WCHA schools. For now, Sandelin appears to be safe as all indications are that the UMD athletic department will not fire Sandelin after the current season because Sandelin signed a new multi year contract in this past summer during the offseason. Also, word has it that the UMD’s athletic department is strapped for cash and doesn’t have enough money to buy out his contract.
Sandelin’s best season coaching in Duluth was during the 2003-2004 season, where Sandelin led the Bulldogs to the Frozen Four before bowing out to eventual national champion Denver University. Coming into this season, many WCHA fans thought UMD had turned the corner and would be a force this season in the WCHA season race. This optimism was brought on after the Bulldogs, who had about 12 freshmen playing in their line up, made the 2006 Final Five by bouncing defending national champion Denver out of the WCHA playoffs in three games, and ending the Pioneers's NCAA title hopes. All I can say is thank you very much. Nate Ziegelmann led the charge in the post season and led the team to St. Paul.
After Dean Blais left the University of North Dakota during the summer after the 2003-2004 season to coach for Columbus of the NHL, there was a buzz around Grand Forks about who should be the next coach of the Fighting Sioux. There were a fair number of fans that were calling for Sandelin to return to the Fighting Sioux. I have to admit that I was one of fans that was hoping Sandelin would make a return to the program. I was disappointed when the University of North Dakota appointed Hakstol coach without even having a national search for a head coach, to this day you will still hear grumbling around Grand Forks about this subject, but it was muted after Hakstol took the Sioux to two Frozen Fours. That talk resurfaced again this season after the Fighting Sioux got off to a rough start. I just believe that Sandelin is a good coach and is doing a great job in a very competitive league. From top to bottom the WCHA is best league in the NCAA hockey; the margin for error is very small as we can see from this year's standings.

Goon is a loyal reader of Runnin' with the Dogs blog and would like to thank RWD for the opportunity to contribute to an awesome blog.