Over the River and Through the Woods

tUMD 6, Broken Down Chevy 3

Do I really have to do this? I mean, does anyone care?

Saturday home games usually involve the same ritual. I wake up somewhere uncomfortable after getting a terrible night's sleep. Some college football is watched. Signs are made. Biddco and I have to listen to the same songs: Party in the USA, You Belong To Me, I'm On A Boat, I'm In A Box (which is a parody of On A Boat involving Balloon Boy), and Single Ladies. Some of those are interchangeable but if I haven't heard Party in the USA about six times by the time we head out for dinner, then I'm not fully ready for game time.

This weekend I was sitting in my living room trying to cram as much information about backflush costing (NOT EVEN ON THE EXAM! NOT EVEN MENTIONED! WHAT A WASTE!) as possible into my brain. I got an A in the class. Guess it was worth it. Unlike when I missed celebrating the Final Five win. Bleah.

So I had to sit at home, B2 feed on the big screen, chat room with my family, chat room for the Duluth News Tribune, USCHO game thread, tPB thread, Twitter... Yeah, there's a lot going on.

Wade Bergman got his first goal that counted! (We all know he actually scored his first goal against the Gophers, but that's fine.) And then My Jacky scored, getting Team Cougar on the board for the night (well in that game, as Malcolm Gwilliam had already done so in the MTU-UMTC game), and then Tyler Ruegsegger scored and then Oleksuk and then FINALLY we could all breathe.

In the 2nd period we all went to a dark place of which we will not speak.

Some time in the first 9 minutes of the 3rd period I said something about how I had not heard Kyle Schmidt's name much and that I was ready for him to score a goal. ONCE AGAIN you can give me the 3rd assist on his goal because I TOTALLY CALLED IT. I am sure I have outlined this gift of mine but for those of you who don't know, when I make a call, IT HAPPENS. For example, once when I was away at school, I called my ex-boyfriend and he happened to be at a Twins game. Torii Hunter was up and I said "Tell Torii Hunter to hit a home run," AND HE TOTALLY DID IN THAT AT BAT. If that doesn't convince you, I was at a Twins-Yankees playoff game and as they were doing the starting lineups they announced Henry Blanco (this was the year Baby Jeebus was injured in, like, the second game of the year) and I cheered like crazy and everyone looked at me like I was nuts and then HE HIT A HOMERUN THAT LANDED LIKE THREE ROWS IN FRONT OF ME and then everyone in the section thought I was a genius.

Then My Jacky scored AGAIN and then Rob Bordson FINALLY got himself Off Notice-Goals Only and then Gwoz pulled Chevy (because did it even matter) and I yelled GIVE THE PUCK TO JACKY!!!! as a hat trick nets a LOT of points in fantasy hockey and I am always mindful of that. Alas. No empty net goals were obtained.

I realize this is a terrible recap but I had to at least get something in the books. AND NOW THE AGONIZING BREAK IS UPON US.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 2! (Just as I asked!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 10! (Goin' down down down down down!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 26! (Wish it had been 27, but I'll take it!)
Brady Lamb: 8
Mike Seidel: 8!

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 9
Mike Seidel: 7
Wade Bergman: 2!
Keegan Flaherty: 2
Dan Delisle: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 26!
Mikey: 19!

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 9

Drews
Olson: 10
Akins: 15

On Notice
Cody Danberg
Dan Delisle
Keegan Flaherty
Chad Huttel
Scott Kishel
Brady Lamb
Drew Olson

Goals Only
Jordan Fulton
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Study Break

tUMD 2, Imperialist Oppressors 3

All right all right all right. Putting down my World Domination textbook to write this, even though game time is in 2 hours (edit: now 1 hour, as it took me a long time to write this) and I could totally just cheat and do one of my "weekend wraps" where I cover both games in one post. I'm hoping for a much better outcome.

I drove up to Duluth with my dad in one of those whirlwind up-and-back the same night trips. Fortunately I was in my seat BEFORE puck drop and introductions. Well, not really in MY seat. One of the benefits of having seats at the very top of my section is that no one wants to sit there. We ended up having a row to ourselves, or as I called it, a luxury row. So we moved into the middle and then we stood the whole game. I couldn't help it, I was very anxious and could not stand still.
The first period was very uneventful. tUMD had a power play chance early, which seems to happen a lot, and they did not capitalize, which also happens a lot. It wasn't that early, I guess, it was about 6 mins into the game, but I feel like those early PPs are such a missed opportunity. They're well-rested, the other team hasn't had a chance to get adjusted to their style, the goalie's not quite settled yet. Of course, 5 on 3 opportunities to tie up the game when the opponents are tired are also good chances to score. Or so it would seem.

DU got on the board in the second period thanks to junior forward Jesse Martin, who pretty much came out of nowhere for me this year. I'd never heard of him before! I think it's maybe because he has a boring name. I mean, it's easy to remember someone named Rhett Rakhshani. Well, also because he is very good. And extremely unattractive. But Jesse Martin seems about as plain vanilla as you can get and thus his emergence this year has surprised me. That goal was assisted on by one half of DU's power couple, William Wrenn (a LOT of people fell for that!!) and Anthony Maiainollyollyoxandfreeani. The DECC was as close to dead silent as 4437 (ha! Yeah right! That many people did not show up!) could be. I do not believe there was a single DU fan in the house.

I yelled at the Dogs that I didn't want to see any of that two goal lead crap, and caused this old man in front of me to visibly jump. Drew Akins scored on the Bulldogs' second power play opportunity. It was actually a power play I thought was going nowhere in a hurry, but they pumped it in with 22 seconds remaining. I didn't see what happened because there were a lot of folks in the way and it was at the other end of the rink from me.

I'd like to pause here for a public service announcement. Dear Bulldogs: when you go through your little celebratory fist pump line, it's supposed to go Goal Scorer, First Assist, Second Assist, Losers Who Didn't Get A Point. Not whoever gets there first.

Joe Colborne scored on a PP chance where he was literally a foot in front of Peanut Butter Hjelle and he roofed it. The puck went almost straight up. Guys. No need to let them in so close. That's classic Denver right there, and classic Colborne: right in front of the net, just hangin' around waiting for the puck. He's not untouchable, just give him a nice friendly hip check. He's tall, yes, but he's not very solid.

DU got that all-important 2 goal lead on a Kyle Ostrow PP goal, but tUMD answered fairly quickly with a neat goal. I can't really describe it because I'm just not good at that sort of thing, but Monkey was carrying the puck into the zone (IMAGINE THAT, IT ONLY TOOK TWO PERIODS OF HOCKEY TO FIGURE THAT OUT) and just plowed right through these DU guys and maintained possession of the puck and then something happened that I don't remember, either he shot the puck or passed it or lost it and MCON recovered it, but it was in the net! With half a period to go! Yes!

With about 7:25 to go in the game, DU took a penalty (a vicious elbow to the head that knocked a helmet off, which could easily have been a five minute major) and then another one, and then Chevy made this amazing save and then the wheels fell off the power play unit and flames blasted from my ears and nostrils.

It kind of looked like this, except without the beard, and replace DEFENSE with OFFENSE.













Once tUMD had the goalie pulled, things went crazy. Cheverie is a good goalie. There's no doubt about it. He made some great saves, and we needed to be perfect, but everything was just a little off, a little to the left or a little early or a little late or a little too far, and then the game was over. There was a sort of horsecrap call at the very end when DU had an obvious hand pass that was not blown dead, and then they iced the puck, and then there were only two seconds in the game instead of 10. Which is not THAT big of a deal but still, 10 seconds is time for a face-off win, a quick shot, and a rebound, and two seconds is not.

Oh well. Win tonight. DU will be without their star defenceman, Patrick Wiercioch, and we will be without Dylan Olsen, who did not have his best game last night. Best of luck to BOTH of them at the World Juniors camp, and I hope they represent college hockey well!

I don't know who's going to be in goal, but I do know Delisle Smash! is in for Hendo.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 3 (Let's make that 2 tonight!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 12 (And bring that down to 10!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 23
Brady Lamb: 8
Mike Seidel: 7

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 9
Mike Seidel: 7
Keegan Flaherty: 2
Wade Bergman: 1
Dan Delisle: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 23
Mikey: 16! (Only exclamation point in The Numbers, sadly)

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 9

Drews
Olson: 10
Akins: 15

On Notice
Cody Danberg
Dan Delisle
Keegan Flaherty
Chad Huttel
Scott Kishel
Brady Lamb
Drew Olson

Goals Only
Rob Bordson
Jordan Fulton
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

On The Move

MacGregor Sharp is now with the AHL's San Antonio Rampage. Joining him is MeanEgirl's secret boyfriend, Stu Bickel. Guess that's not such a secret anymore.

Thank you to MacGregor's 2nd biggest fan, Vizoroo, for the tip.

University of Denver Roster Includes Team's First Gay Couple

(above) DU freshmen Adam Murray and William Wrenn are the University's first openly gay couple.


The University of Denver is known as the curve-setter for political correctness in the collegiate world. From the replacement of their offensive, imperialist mascot Boone to workshops on microaggressions, they have set a tone of tolerance and acceptance. And now the school's hockey team sets out to break down one of the biggest barriers in today's society: gays in sports.

Two of Denver's freshmen, goaltender Adam Murray and defenceman William Wrenn, both of Anchorage, Alaska, are the University of Denver men's hockey team's first openly gay couple. According to the DU Clarion, the pair have been "best friends" since they were twelve. It appears they did not begin their relationship until after they both left for the United States' National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "We just kind of hit it off," Wrenn was quoted in the Clarion, "We get along really well."

The Pioneers' coach, George Gwozdecky, is known for his commitment to diversity, reaching out to those who are differently abled. Gwozdecky's assistant coach, Derek Lalonde, suffers from alopecia universalis, while student assistant David Carle has a condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Gwozdecky stated he is "always glad to help people who may be denied an opportunity simply because of their appearance, or their health concerns, or their sexuality."

"We really like playing for Coach Gwozdecky," Murray said in a recent interview. "He's just super!"

Wrenn added, "He's a fabulous dresser!"

Wrenn and Murray may be Denver's first gay couple, but they are not alone in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association. The University of North Dakota's Brett Hextall and Mario Lamoureux have been open with their relationship since a Valentine's episode of Brad Miller Time, a popular intermission video played at North Dakota home games, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities stars Danny Irmen and Ryan Potulny were rumored to be in a relationship as well, though they never publicly confirmed it.

Upon hearing about the couple, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities forward Jordan Schroeder issued a statement to the media. “I am fully committed to my heterosexuality. I have no intention to stop dating women and starting dating men. I think it’s important for me to publicly state that I am straight. I am happy for William and Adam and hope they reach their goal of gay marriage.”

When asked about how the Minnesota-Duluth student section's recent gaffe involving a homophobic chant would affect him this weekend, Murray seemed unconcerned. "It's not anything we haven't heard before," he said, shrugging it off. "I'll listen from my seat the bench and see if anything happens."

PP

Just spilling over from a discussion on Rink and Run re: the power play. I'll discuss, Shakespeare style.

Two opinions, both alike in dignity,
On the Internet, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where power play stats makes Bulldog fans unclean.
From forth the fatal minds of these few foes
A set of Bulldog fans state their thoughts;
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Do with this post find the facts they sought.
The statistics of our special teams prove,
The true merits on which to judge their fight,
Which, but my number crunching, nought could remove,
Is now these few lines' traffic of my site;
The which if you with patient eyes attend,
What here shall miss, my toil shall strive to mend.

What say ye, Stats Man?
Here are the unbiased statistics on the powerplay:

Vs. "Bad" teams (LSSU, MSUM, Clarkson, MTU, UMN): 19-62, 31%
Vs. "Good" teams (NMU, SCSU, CC, UND): 6-40, 15%

And in response, Hockey Fan?

Bad teams don't necessarily have bad penalty kills. The bottom line is that our power play is one of the best in the nation. It isn't perfect, but it's very good.

And, let's go to the numbers!

Lake Superior State
Record: 1-0
Our PP: 33.3%
Their PK: 85.3%
+18.6%

Northern Michigan
Record: 0-1
Our PP: 0%
Their PK: 82.6%
-17.4%

Minnesota State
Record: 2-0
Our PP: 38.4%
Their PK: 82.8%
+21.2%

St. Cloud State
Record: 0-1-1
Our PP: 25%
Their PK: 84.6%
+9.6% (Although they did get 2 SHG)

Clarkson
Record: 2-0
Our PP: 20%
Their PK: 75.3%
-4.7%

Colorado College
Record: 1-1
Our PP: 16.7%
Their PK: 88.6%
+5.3%

Michigan Tech
Record: 1-1
Our PP: 50%
Their PK: 62.2%
+12.2%

Minnesota-Twin Cities
Record: 2-0
Our PP: 18.2%
Their PK: 82.9%
+1.1%

North Dakota
Record: 1-1
Our PP: 12.5%
Their PK: 88.2%
+0.7%

So, overall, tUMD has performed at or above the level where the opponents' PK would predict we perform. They have the 7th best power play in the country.

Now, why doesn't it feel that way sometimes?

The Thrill of Victory

tUMD 3, Nazis 2

Ah yes, the hockey game. Sorry, I'm busy watching a travesty of a football game.

Saturday was an interesting day. I was very nervous all day. MEg, Biddco and I went to Carlton to watch Ciskie's kid in his goaltending debut. He did a good job, considering he had not even played in practice. He just needs to work on not looking over to the sidelines to see if we saw his save. Especially when the rebound is lying in the crease. I think that happened to Brad Eidsness on our Oleksuk goal; he was looking at his mommy. Although if his mommy was in the stands she probably wasn't very happy with the things said about her.

We busted out the banana last night. The banana, I should mention, is 2-0. We also debuted Sieve-mas carols, which are not new (Michigan Tech does them), but new to us! No one threw up behind us, or in front of us, or near us. We had a few signs, including Ron His Horse Is Thunder for Hobey. In case you did not understand the sign, Mr. His Horse Is Thunder was until recently the tribal leader of the Standing Rock Lakota, and is a key opponent of the Sioux nickname. And nothing gets the undies of Sioux fans in a bunch faster than he does, now that Myles Brand is dead. If that sign made even one UND fan angry, my mission was accomplished. (In response to the dismay from one of my Twitter followers at my usage of "Nazi", I'm sorry you were disappointed I am not classy, but I don't think I've ever tried to uphold any standard of class.)

Please note, opposing fans: Connolly-Connolly-Fontaine is not a line. And when you said "I bet we won't see Reiter in net on Saturday," it's not an astute observation. We have what's called a goalie rotation.

Ah yes, the game. I have turned off the football one.

The pre-game did not go so well, as a DECC security, um, "woman" told us we could have signs but not hang them over the railing. Nor could we hang it at the top of the section, where we hang signs oh, pretty much EVERY OTHER GAME. And then ANOTHER person came over to tell me I could not have a Sioux Play Like Pioux sign. However, that sign lived to fight another day, which was awesome! And then ANOTHER cop told us to stay off the railing, and that there was a ZERO TOLERANCE policy because we had too many people in the row. Which we did. But he also kept letting people go by us when the puck was in play! I'm always trying to help people improve themselves, so I loudly stated "PUCK IS IN PLAY!"

The first period was unpleasant. I was very unhappy. The second period began much in the same way, and I made some very angry tweets. And may have loudly stated my displeasure. Which can carry in a nearly silent arena.

The third period was awesome, of course. Kyle Schmidt (how about this guy? Our juniors are stepping it up! Kyle is as stealthy as a ninja!) broke the shutout. I feel like MEg, Biddco and I should get the 3rd, 4th, and 5th assists because we were raining a torrent of SHUTOUT heckles at him as the puck went in. You are welcome, Kyle.

Ben Blood took a penalty and the power play was just what tUMD needed... although we hadn't been particularly successful. (Something that has been frustrating fans, and which I agree. Denver puts Big Joe Colborne in the crease. We can put Big Danny Delisle there, as someone on Pates' blog suggested.) Until Bordo took a penalty to negate that. But then Farmer MacWilliam took a penalty as well! Excellent.

As far as Safetynetgate, I didn't see it. I mean, really, I have enough trouble following the puck ON the ice let alone when it deflects and flies through the air. Whatever. tUMD was the beneficiary of a blown call, and that's that. Don't quit til you hear the whistle.

So some stuff happened and the puck was on net and then I saw it lying there and I was FREAKING OUT because how many times in the series did crazy stuff happen where tUMD could just not drop the hammer? and then the puck was in the net, and I was hugging MEg and screaming and then we ran and hugged the cop (the guy, not the, um, "woman") and freaked out.

And then the game went into overtime and I honestly could not tell you what happened because I suck at watching games analytically. I'm unable to dispassionately watch a hockey game, and thus I was unable to even tell who was on the ice, just that the puck was in the net, and I was in the midst of a pile of about 50 people. Glorious! I know I'm too old to sit with the students, but really, I can't enjoy an overtime win as much sitting alone in my regular seats.

Damn, do I ever love hockey.

Oh yes, Numbers.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 3! (AWESOME OVERTIME WIN!!!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 12! (W000T!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 23!
Brady Lamb: 8
Mike Seidel: 7!

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 9!
Mike Seidel: 7!
Keegan Flaherty: 2
Wade Bergman: 1
Dan Delisle: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 23!
Mikey: 15!

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 9!

Drews
Olson: 10
Akins: 15

On Notice
Dan Delisle
Keegan Flaherty
Chad Huttel
Brady Lamb
Drew Olson

Goals Only
Rob Bordson
Mike Connolly
Jordan Fulton
Scott Kishel
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Off Our Game

tUMD 2, Hostile and Abusives 4

Last night was not the best of nights. It wasn't the worst of nights, by any means, we weren't run out of our own building or anything, but it was a night when pucks bounced and sticks were lifted and goalies made some errors.

Last night wasn't one of the best of nights for the students, either. I was sitting with them as I normally do when I come up by myself, and halfway through the first period some dudes came up and wanted to sit in the seats behind us, which had been vacated by some girls. They stopped before filing into the row and one said "Dude, is that puke?"

It was. In a big puddle on the floor in front of the seat behind MEg... and also on her jacket. AND WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW. DAMN YOU, STEALTH PUKER. At least tell the arena staff to come clean it up... or APOLOGIZE for your friend puking on someone's jacket. Seriously. Fail.

Anyway, it's hard to start chants when the atmosphere surrounding you smells like puke. Or when you're gagging. Or when Sioux fans are trying to trip you on the goal lap.

Tonight I'm very nervous. We will either win or get smacked down by, like, a touchdown. Or at least a field goal. I don't know. Les Connollys and La Fontaine are not going to go quietly into that good night. Bordson will probably not be 100% due to UND's best efforts to kill him. Team Cougar needs to rebound from a horrible night last night.

We are going to quadruple our cheering efforts tonight.

Where Angels Fear To Tread

Oh, my friends, I am lame, I know. This bye week has gotten me lazy lazy lazy. I tuned into National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation two nights in a row! And both nights, it was totally tuned to my favorite part, when Clark is in the attic wearing a fur capelet, a turban, and gloves while watching home movies! Serendipitous! I was so lazy I was contemplating NOT going to Duluth this weekend because it would take too much energy. Also I was contemplating not going to Duluth because OMGMACGREGORSHARP!!! is going to be here with the Ducks. Dear Chuck Fletcher, could you trade James Sheppard to Anaheim in exchange for MacGregor Sharp? I would be happy. So would Goon.

However, just like Fantine in Les Misérables, I dreamed a dream last night about the Final Five. tUMD beat the pants off the Gophers in the play-in game and the arena was empty. And also the bleachers were made of, like, plywood. Then we played UND and were tied 2-2 when the dream ended. So I'm back in action.

Speaking of MacGregor Sharp, here is an article from the Red Deer Advocate about the man himself. Thank you to the person who sent me the article, you are awesome!! ;^) To translate, "centre" is Canadian for "center."

On our coaches' role in his development:

“I played in pretty much every situation and really worked on my defensive game,” he said. “I talked to our coaches about playing pro hockey at some point and they stressed the fact that you have to be responsible defensively to get to that level. Faceoffs, penalty killing and defensive zone play . . . I worked hard at them and they’re all a big part of my game.”

On his decision between major juniors and college:

“Originally, I was just going to work on my game for a year (at the junior A level) and then probably go to Medicine Hat,” said Sharp, who was selected by the Tigers in the 2000 Western Hockey League bantam draft. “But I got a scholarship pretty early in my first season and ended up sticking with that. I followed through with it and it worked out pretty well.[..]

“I didn’t really have any plans as to where I would end up, the big thing was to continue working at my game while getting an extra couple of years to develop. I don’t think I weighed enough or was a big enough guy when I was younger to play really well in the Western League. Those couple of years of developing in college were really good for me.”

Paging Paul Kelly... please pick up the white courtesy phone.

Anyway, tUMD plays UND this weekend. I do not know if you folks are aware of this, since most of you don't have time to scour the dregs of the Interwebs, but I am sad and pathetic and have time to do so, and thus I know that UND is referred to as the "Fighting Halos." From what I understand, the moniker refers to UND fans' inability to accept their team deserves the penalties they take. They are simply above reproach. I will make sure to watch closely this weekend. Because, of course, I am going.

Team Cougar has picked up Rob Bordson. I hope this does not cause undue stress. Making him My Guy was detrimental.

Dylan Olsen has been invited to Team Canada's tryout camp for the World Junior Championships. tUMD recruit Justin Faulk has been invited to Team USA's. This is nontopical, but congratulations to both!

This is the biggest test that tUMD will have had in this young season. These next two weeks are more daunting than walking down a hallway full of Naval aviators at a Tailhook symposium. I mean, UND and DU are no Bemidji State, but they are certainly still formidable opponents.

Whoever has the better goaltender will win this series. Ditto for the next. tUMD needs to be responsible in their own end. No one comes to RWD for analysis (except for very misguided souls) so I won't bore you in a feeble attempt. Put the puck behind Eidsness and keep it in front of Kenny and Brady.

It's been far, far, FAR too long. I am so beyond jacked for some BULLDOG HOCKEY!!! See you at tDECC!!!

Gratitude

Thanks for reading. I am amazed, every time, when someone new tells me they read this. I doubt I will ever get used to it. Plus, unlike the team, RWD readers never stress me out. Thanks for the fun comments, and the emails, and the couches to sleep on, and for buying Peanut Butter Hjelle Time shirts, and the drinks, and the zany cheers and signs, and the RWD links on your sites, and the fantastic friendships, and the inspiration, and the incredible memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!

SharpCast

Anaheim Ducks podcast with MacGregor Sharp!!

Nerdy podcast man takes a shot at college hockey in the middle there.

Grand Theft Bulldog

UMTC 3, tUMD 4 (OT)
UMTC 2, tUMD 3

Let's talk about how epic this weekend was. I can describe it with two events.

First. When Travis Oleksuk scored the game-winner with twelve seconds left in overtime on Friday, my brother (who was watching at my dad's) jumped up, launching the small dog in his lap across the room.

Second. When I got home from the game on Saturday, I had this email from my cousin:

If anyone so much as mentions that there were hockey games between UMD and UM (henceforth to be known not very affectionately as the "south campus”) at Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, that person will not only not have any stuffing but will also not receive dessert...

Sweep-sweep-sweep, sweep-sweep-sweep, sweep-sweep sweep sweepsweep! (Sing that to the tune of "Jingle Bells." Top 40 material right here.)

How did this happen? I don't even know. Tenacity? Luck? Skill? Determination? A desire to please me? All of these things and more?

I went to both games. There are about a million reasons why I love being a Bulldogs fan, and being at Mariucci reminded me of a few. Like, ticket prices, atmosphere at games, the ability to hear the public address, parking for free or almost free (depending on what time of year), being able to move around during intermission without having to practically crowd-surf...

Being at Mariucci is pretty fun. The crowd really gets into it. I mean, at times there were five whole people in the student section cheering! They are also really nice to opposing fans, and extremely punctual. Nobody came in more than 11 minutes into the game.

Gopher fans simply do not know how to trash talk, and it is sad. I have a lot more respect for someone who runs their mouth the whole game than someone who randomly starts up in the middle of the 3rd period, once the Gophers have tied it up. I love going back and forth with people. As long as they are sane, we usually end up having fun.

Gopher fans are also extremely hilarious when they accuse the refs of a bias against them. Now they know how pretty much every other team feels when they play the Gophers! Ah well. Justice was served.

Now let's discuss some individuals. Of course all of you guys are fantastic but there are a few who I must chat with.

Travis Oleksuk
Overtime goal = amazing. You caused a dog to be launched. Also you shut up so many idiots. Please don't miss any more games.

Jack Connolly
Always excellent. You got Team Cougar a lot of fantasy points this weekend and you made the Gophers look silly focusing all their attention on Fontaine. Mike Hoeffel tried to recreate one of your Friday night goals but failed, swinging away like it was baseball. Additionally, your parents looked very nice on TV.

Chad Huttel
You are a very good goalie. Thank you.

Kenny Reiter
You are a good goalie too, but I do question some of your choices. Playing the puck is cool. But there are five other guys on the ice who can help you out when there are guys from the other team there.

Justin Fontaine
Sorry you had to be triple-teamed, but the Gophers just aren't man enough to go one-on-one with you.

Kyle Schmidt
I thoroughly enjoyed you making Kangas look foolish. You certainly have a talent for embarrassing the opponents. Continue!

Mike Connolly
It was great when you deked out three Gophers. I wonder if they collected their jockstraps off the ice themselves or if the Gophers had to hire someone for that purpose. It would have been incredibly sweet if you had scored, but it still looked neat.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 4! (SWEEPALICIOUS!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 14! (Keep rackin' them up!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 21! (Still the nation's points leader!)
Brady Lamb: 8 (Obviously jitters at being added to Team Cougar)
Mike Seidel: 5! (Embellishment, my you-know-what!)

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 8!
Mike Seidel: 5!
Keegan Flaherty: 2
Wade Bergman: 1
Dan Delisle: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 21!
Mikey: 14!

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 8!

Drews
Olson: 10
Akins: 15

On Notice
Dan Delisle
Keegan Flaherty
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Chad Huttel
Drew Olson

Goals Only
Drew Akins
Rob Bordson
Jordan Fulton
Dylan Olsen

Dirty Dozen

Today is Dirty's birthday.

Dirty is a pretty neat person who I talk to pretty much every day. On the InterWebs, of course, because he lives in the middle of nowhere and we are both sociopaths who eschew normalcy.

Dirty makes me laugh pretty much every time I talk to him. We are also always simultaneously reacting in the same bizarre way to the most random of things. I really need to start saving examples because I don't know if that even made sense. He'll know what I mean.

12 Hilarious Things Involving Dirty

1. He posted this picture on SiouxSports a few years ago. At least, I think it was him, but if not, I now associate it with him.














2. Last year I had to drive MEg, Dirty, and Dirty's vile henchman to the airport on Christmas Day. I got confused driving in construction and we ended up going the wrong way and I had about a thimbleful of gas in my tank and it might also have been snowing. Dirty was in the backseat of the car yelling like he was a televangelist about how we were never going to make it to the airport. I think you had to be there but it was really funny. They were pretty desperate for a driver, clearly.

3. Last year I named Dirty Blogger Hottie of the Year. It offended people. Just like pretty much every post on his hilarious blog. He did make a typo in the post by saying "a historic" rather than "an historic."

4. USCHO poster Jockstock (rumoured to be Tyler Hirsch) wrote this ode to Dirty.

5. This post on Dirty's Diatribe not only epitomizes his love/hate relationship with Startthebus, but it also is a quintessential Dirty/fan interaction.

6. At a Gopher-Sioux game, Danny Irmen told Dirty he liked his cape, and that his sister had one just like it. Dirty has some great interactions with players. And also Gwoz. I was amazed that that post had 41 comments but pretty much all of them are in Chinese or Korean or something.

7. I Gauntletted Dirty (remember when I used to do that?). It is a terrifying example of how similar we are. Two insane egos fighting for control. I totally claim responsibility for Dirty starting a blog, as I suggested it in the interview.

8. Dirty got in a game-long argument with this 14-year-old kid from Ashland at a tUMD/UND game at tDECC. MEg and I got stuck with this kid this year and sent Dirty a little photo greeting. This kid can not WAIT until Dec 4/5.

9. Dirty was obsessed with Chris "Hollywood" Clark and his spiky hair. He used to give hair tips on USCHO but ran out and now uses a tip from Hollywood himself permanently: "when its minus 20 and u have to go outside.. make sure u wear a winter hat as the mohawk does not enjoy the winter weathe[r]."

10. Dirty makes the most amazing shirts, including a "Tech Fans: Have you seen me?" Casey Pierro-Zabotel shirt or a picture of Dude Love deep-throating a hot dog captioned "I score more than Tech."

11. If I ever need to make an offensive but hilarious comment, I can always always always make it to Dirty and he never finds it offensive and usually is either already thinking the same thing or at least finds it hilarious.

12. Just terrifying.











HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DIRTY!

MACGREGOR SHARP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anaheim Ducks Recall MacGregor Sharp

AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is AWESOME news. Congratulations MacGregor! Way to represent the Bulldogs. Let's hope you get more than just a cup of coffee!!

(Just in case you are scoring at home, there are 3 former My Guys who are playing/have played in the NHL: Nisky, Garrison, and Sharp. If that's not an endorsement for enduring my creepiness, what is?)

Multiple Personalities

Roses are red
Violets are blue
I am schizophrenic
and so am I

I think I've used that on here before, but I think it's funny. UMDDogz should know where I got that poem from... let's see if he chimes in.

ALL THAT because holymotherofjustification, I am the TWEET OF THE WEEK on INCH. Biddco let me know!

There's some boring stuff to scroll through, and then:

TWEET OF THE WEEK
runwiththedogs:
about 4 hats on the ice … pathetic

The people behind the Minnesota Duluth Runnin’ with the Dogs blog tweeted this message shortly after the Bulldogs’ Justin Fontaine scored his third goal in Saturday’s 8-1 rout of Michigan Tech (he would add a fourth goal before all was said and done). The message touches on an INCH pet peeve: If you are wearing a hat to a hockey game and a player scores three goals, it is your duty to toss said hat onto the ice.

Don’t want to chuck your favorite lid? Bring one you don’t care about. And
even if it is your best hat, throw it anyway—the good karma you’ll get from the
hockey gods will far surpass the out-of-pocket cost of replacing it.

Just a quick note to INCH: there is only one person behind RWD. One schizoid crazy stalkerific person. Also, you made a spelling error which I corrected.

PEOPLE. IT IS REALLY SAD WHEN I CAN NAME ALL BUT ONE OF THE FOUR PEOPLE WHO THREW THEIR HATS ON THE ICE: BIDDCO, DHG, and a dude who was at Old Chicago whose name I do not recall, I am sorry sir, but I applaud your effort, as I saw that you threw your stocking hat, missed the ice the first time, had someone throw it back at you, and then threw it again successfully. (Biddco, who is always helpful, identified this person as tHendoTwins from tPB.)

IT IS NOT LIKE THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. OMFG. FOR REALS. UNACCEPTABLE. Now, when Jacky gets a hat trick on Friday against UND, you mofos better not mess it up. I am bringing a hat to every game. It will be easy as I will just steal one of Biddcos out of his room.

On an unrelated note, is it bad that it's 7:56 PM and I am drinking my 4th cup of coffee?

A Day Late and a Dollar Short/Eight is Enough

tUMD 2, Fortunate Nerds 3/tUMD 8, Unfortunate Nerds 1

Oh, I totally failed you all this weekend, I'm sorry. Except I did tweet the Saturday game! Awesome! I tried to avoid typos. It was kind of fun, but it also sort of took away from my maximum enjoyment.

So, Friday. Went to the Coach's Show lunch at tSports Garden. Failed to listen to most of what Sandelin was saying as I was arguing with Ciskie's father-in-law. We have differing views on the team. I will leave it at that. Then they had a drawing and called my ticket number and I yelled "THAT'S ME!" and came on down like it was The Price is Right. And I had to run by Sandy to get it at the front table, where Bob Nielsen was sitting. And it was also live on the radio. Fortunately, there were like 10 people at the brunch and most were geriatric, and who listens to the radio anyway? This sort of ruined my plans to talk to Nielsen about the one-sided article in the Duluth News Tribune about the student section, because 1. the geriatrics were monopolizing him and 2. I had sort of wrecked my credibility by looking like a moron. At least I didn't yell "F*** YEAH!" or something. That would really ruin my case.

The game pretty much depressed me. Especially when the Huskies scored in the middle of the 2nd goal lap. And also the sign that I made offended an idiot. It said "EVERY TIME A COWBELL RINGS" and on the back "GOD KILLS A HUSKY," with KILL in red letters and paint splattered on the sign like blood. That's not really that bad. I didn't draw a dead dog or anything. I should have.

Good things from Friday include goals from JACKY!!!!! and Mikey Seidel, with a Brady Lamb assist on the Jacky goal, which means that all of My Guys had points. I didn't think tUMD played particularly poorly, as they had about a million chances that just didn't pan out. Some days you have the puck luck, some days you don't. Some days you eat the bear, some days the bear eats you. Other good things include seeing my bestie and Biddco after a long period of not seeing them.

Then Saturday.

Saturday we made a bunch of signs including a NORTH WISCONSIN sign with a map of Wisconsin and the UP; a Revenge of the Nerds-themed sign, and one that just said NO. The NO sign was probably the most hilarious. It was so universally applicable.

Then we went to the MTU alumni dinner at tGarden, but I missed out on 1. talking to Jamie Russell and 2. seeing the hottie who is in charge of the MTU alumni stuff. Tragedy. I saw Jamie for like 10 seconds as he was leaving. Then I saw Ross walking like a robot as he was walking to the bathroom to throw up. Before the game. Way to go.

Since Tech won on Friday, Biddco lost the bet he had with MeanEgirl. This meant he had to wear her Kinrade jersey. Then she listed off about 800 things we could not do, including 1. cover the jersey 2. throw it on the floor OR ground 3. throw it in the lake 4. take it off 5. put pins or tape on it or 6. allow anyone else to wear it. Biddy and I got creative and realized he could still ride the pony with it (in front of the Tech parents, which was a bad idea) and also he could hike up his pants and tuck it in like a nerd (ALSO in front of the Tech parents, which was ALSO a bad idea). I laughed so hard I could barely walk. He looked amazing.

He looked ESPECIALLY amazing running EIGHT laps, as tUMD scored EIGHT goals. What? And Justin Fontaine had 4 of them! tUMD fans are lame and only 4 people threw hats on the ice. THAT IS PATHETIC, PEOPLE. PATHETIC. I am going to have to start wearing hats to games simply to make sure I'm ready in case of emergency. Really, there were some stupid hats being worn. Get with the program, people! It's been 5 years since the last one! Did you forget how it worked? I wish I had a YouTube video of Fonz's 3rd goal. Oh my. BIG weekend for Brady Lamb and MCON as well, and former My Guy Rob Bordson. Biddy and I discovered the secret to Rob Bordson's newfound amazingness, although I will not share.

SO incredibly proud of how the guys responded after Friday's loss. Now come down to the Cities and sweep the Gophers.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 6! (Let's knock that down some more this weekend!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 18! (Keep rackin' them up!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 18! (Another awesome weekend!!!!)
Brady Lamb: 8! (Elevating his game to a new level!!!)
Mike Seidel: 4! (Superb!!!)

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 6!
Mike Seidel: 4!
Keegan Flaherty: 2!
Wade Bergman: 1
Dan Delisle: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 18!
Mikey: 13! (Catching up!)

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 6!

Drews
Olson: 8
Akins: 15

On Notice
Dan Delisle
Jordan Fulton
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Chad Huttel
Drew Olson

Goals Only
Drew Akins
Rob Bordson
Cody Danberg
Dylan Olsen

Friday XIII, Part 2

Last time it was Friday the 13th, this happened. Tech nerds, beware!

Stay... Just a Little Bit Longer

With rumors surrounding the future of Runnin' with the Dogs, the Bulldogs’ blogger has stated she has no intention to leave the eponymous blog.

“I am fully committed to this team and blog,” said RWD, who serves a humorous foil to typical sports journalists such as Bruce Ciskie and Kevin Pates. “I have no intention of leaving college early to blog for pro hockey.”

“It is unfortunate that these rumors continue to come out and I have no idea where they begin. I think it’s important for me to publicly state that I am going nowhere. I am dedicated to this team and plan to help them reach their goals for the remainder of this season and future years.”

RWD was the first amateur college hockey blogger on the Web and has been the center of several internet rumors over recent months regarding her future in college and professional hockey blogging.

It Was a Good Day

tUMD 2, Lucky Sons-of-you-know-whats 6

Yo. We have to keep it real up in this piece. Check ourselves prior to wrecking ourselves.

I'm feeling like ripping off a rapper tonight. Let's do this. The video has naughty words. Just sayin'.

Just waking up in the morning gotta thank God
I don't know but today seems kinda odd
Big win from the 'Dogs, no smog
Got a lotta folks surfin' to my blog
I got my work on, but didn't stay long
Finally game time for the Bulldogs, gotta play strong
Hooked my plasma TV up to the B2
Got the home team call radio feed too
Game time is soon, countin' down to the clock stop
The centermen get set, time to take the puck drop
Huttel in the box for a trip
Didn't have to touch the guy, made himself flip
And everything is alright
Campion and Beaurline have got our backs all night
CC gets on the board from Mike Testwuide
Then in the box again, try to make 'em bleed
Get out the first only down by one
But we won on Friday, this is just for fun
Don't matter how we play on Saturday
Still in the game, today was a good day

In the second got a goal by Schmidt
Didn't even need the refs to go review it
Fans boo because the goal judge turned on the light
But CC high sticked and the Dogs gotta fight
Call's even, Hjelle gets roughing but of course he's not leavin'
Time to play Don't Stop Believin'
Give up a couple more goals, they got us runnin 'round
Knock em down on the ground
Shake em up, shake em up, shake em up, shake em
Pair off with a couple of Tigers and watch us break em
Get the face, face-washin', face-maskin'
Penalties even and we play the game awhile five on five
Because no more Tigers had to take a dive
Prosser froze the puck in the crease, but they let us play
Today was a good day

Third period starts up
Power play got nothin' so we don't miss the puck luck
Ref has his say, Lowery hits Akins on a breakaway
But he might not have scored anyway
So he puts both Drews in the box
CC gets a lucky shot, Dylan Olsen walks
Another penalty, penalty, penalty
Just after one gets free
Mike Seidel gets a goal
but we're running out of time to dig outta this hole.
Huttel goes crazy to get a spark
Probably gonna leave a mark, kicked him outta the park
But he's not banned for the next game
And the other guy got two minutes of blame
Refs ask Olsen and Akins to leave
Though it's for the best, we're our own worst enemies.
Campion gives us a few tweets
Power plays even up on the stats sheet
End the game with a hooking call on Deboer,
Thanks guys, but I don't think we need it anymore.
We never got started it's too late now,
We're gonna need those favors another day, anyhow.
Didn't even need the refs' help to throw the game away.
I got to say it was a good day.

Numbers tomorrow. Or something. Word to your mother.

Oh What a Night!

tUMD 4, Fanless Wonders 3

From the way this game ended, the intensity and the excitement, one would think this game had been played in March. Or April, almost. I'm still in my jersey and I probably didn't stop shaking for about 10 minutes after the game. I am listening to CMT radio on Rhapsody right now to try to mellow out. MeanEgirl just died a little inside upon reading this. If she still reads RWD. I consider this a test. Although it's a stupid test because I know Biddco still reads it and will tell her. But Biddco likes to be mentioned on RWD. So everyone wins.

In case you are unaware, UMD has a really really really really really really really long winless-on-Friday-nights-in-league-play-on-the-road streak. Or history. Or something. It's not actually a streak, but it is an unpleasant trend over the last several years.

I hope this is the start of something new.

I'm going to make a call right here and say that it is.

Can I just say how insanely in love I am with this team right now? I mean, not romantically. Platonically. And as a whole, not as individuals, so please, no need for legal actions. But who wouldn't be? Seriously. They have found so many different ways to win a hockey game. Come-from-behind, lead-all-the-way, and now regain-the-lead. How about HUGE BLOWOUT tomorrow? I would not object.

The second period... could just be forgotten. Erased from existence.


That was fun! Anyway. Why dwell on the negatives? That is Sandy's job! I do this for free! I want to be duckies and bunnies!

I missed the first goal, as I worked. If you follow me on Twitter, or simply look at the Twitter box in the sidebar on the left, you can see that I rejoiced in the late start time as it meant I could work more overtime. I have switched from alcohol to workohol, it seems. So I got home just in time for the goal to be scored. I did see Mike Seidel's goal, though, and celebrated. I didn't even get too angry when CC scored.

Ok, then things happened. Remember: erased from existence. A penalty shot occurred but it actually HAS been erased from existence, at least on the stat sheet. A save was made on it. By Kenny Reiter.

An avid RWD reader asked me via text today, and if you don't mind, I will present the transcript here.

Avid RWD Reader: Think we can win 2 nite
RWD: F*** yeah, oleksuk power!!!!

I'm a genius. Oleksuk got his first goal as a Bulldog tonight! The first of about 10 million! Even though a stupid jerk on CC tried to take out his knee! I will take out YOUR knee, CC jerk, Jeff Gillooly style! Or maybe not. Ole wasn't hurt so I can be calm. Just under five minutes later, a person took a penalty for CC. I looked down at my computer screen, and I looked up and there was brief hugging and then STATIONARY TIGER HEAD (who assassinated FLOATING TIGER HEAD in a military coup) appeared and then the audio caught up and Kyle Schmidt had scored!!!! OMFGWTFBANANABBQ!!!1!!1! (Speaking of long strings of letters, the stat sheet has that goal as EA DP GW LL. It would have been neat to also add SH and HT)

Then Kishel got a hooking penalty and I died a little and then Fults got a cross-checking penalty and I died a lot. It meant UMD would spent over a minute killing a 5 on 3, and the remainder of the game on the penalty kill. And oh, the stress. And then the added stress as Coach Owens believed that an empty net was preferable to sieve Joe Howe, so it was 6 on 3. DA texted me and referred to the situation as "exciting." I pulled large chunks of hair out of my head. We all react differently.

However, it was not really 6 on 3, as recently drafted defenceman "Pipe" decided to get into the game. Since the referees did not notice him, we were not called for a too many men penalty, and he proved invaluable in the UMD win. Scott "Chuck Yeager" Kishel also broke the sound barrier getting out of the penalty box and into the fray as his penalty expired. I was staring at the television with my eyes bugging out of my head like the old man getting hooked in the "PENALTY" graphic at the DECC, and somehow UMD kill both penalties AND the game and I had a grand mal seizure.

Whew.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 7! (Briefly in 1st place til DU won!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 20! (Yes!!!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 15! (And somehow named first star of the game!?)
Brady Lamb: 4! (Another power play goal!)
Mike Seidel: 2! (Two game point streak!!!)

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 4! (Family in attendance! Need to get goal tomorrow!)
Mike Seidel: 2!
Wade Bergman: 1
Dan Delisle: 1
Keegan Flaherty: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1

Connollys
Jacky: 15!
Mikey: 7

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 4!

Drews
Olson: 6
Akins: 6
(This is so weird! The Drews are staying out of the box!)

On Notice
Dan Delisle
Keegan Flaherty
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Chad Huttel

Goals Only
Cody Danberg
Jordan Fulton
Mike Montgomery
Dylan Olsen
Drew Olson

Dislike

I know that CC fans and teams are universally despised by the DU faithful, but is that really where it ends? I've been doing some digging into the program lately, and I'm wondering...

Does anyone actually like CC?

Their coaches don't.
Former UMTC assistant coach Mike Guentzel left CC for the USHL after just one undistinguised season under Scott Owens.

Their recruits don't.
First round draft pick John Moore elected not to come to CC mere weeks before he was slated to show up on campus. Recruit Colton St. Clair also bolted for UND.

Their goalies don't.
Richard Bachmann split after a less-than-impressive (relative to his freshman year) season, and freshman Hudson Stremmel didn't want to play second banana to fellow first-year Joe Howe. This gives hope to The Worst WCHA Fantasy Hockey Team Ever, whose only goalie (and first round draft pick!) is Tyler O'Brien.

Their administration doesn't.
CC players are constantly running afoul of the administration. However, if they didn't try to have three-ways with underage girls or dress up in blackface, maybe that would not be such a problem.

Their fans don't.
7 UMD fans outcheered the entire arena last year. I don't think they have a student fanbase. No one shows up in school colors, and in every crowd shot, everyone looks bored!

Their A/V staff doesn't.
They would rather broadcast "Floating Tiger Head" when play is underway than show their team.

Their bloggers don't.
They never post. Or quit, like my buddy CCH.

Their mascot doesn't.
There are most likely less than 2000 tigers (of all subspecies!) left in the wild. Stupid horrible awful people poaching them? Or just shame at their CC (and also Detroit) association?

Really, who's left? Randy May?

Things That Go Bump in the Night

tUMD 4, Violent Repeat Offenders 2

I know! I know! It has been over 24 hours since the game ended, and I have no real excuse for not posting. Other than no one cares.

Clarkson decided that rather than playing hockey, they wanted to play some sort of Ultimate Cagefighting Penalty Fest. UMD is no stranger to numerous penalties. We average just under 23 per game. WHAT. That's over a period of hockey. Argh. Mostly this is because they get stupid 10 minute misconducts for nothing. Or get CFBs. Hm. Whatever. Just keep winning!

I'm so bummed I wasn't at this game. There were SO MANY SHENANIGANS and I did not get involved in ANY OF THEM. AND my sweet little Mikey Seidel GOT HIS FIRST GOAL! I think I blew my cat's eardrums out. The first of many, I'm sure!!

Ok, I'm going to make up for this later in the week. blahhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 8 (EZAC!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 22 (EZAC!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 14! (DIVISION ONE POINTS LEADER!!!!)
Brady Lamb: 3! (Yay!!!)
Mike Seidel: 1! (First goal as a Bulldog!!!)

Freshmen
Dylan Olsen: 3
Wade Bergman: 1!
Dan Delisle: 1
Keegan Flaherty: 1
Jake Hendrickson: 1
Drew Olson: 1
Mike Seidel: 1!
(all freshmen now have a point)

Connollys
Jacky: 14!
Mikey: 7!

Olsen/Olson
Drew: 1
Dylan: 3

Drews
Olson: 6
Akins: 6

On Notice
Dan Delisle
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Chad Huttel
Mike Montgomery

Goals Only
Cody Danberg
Keegan Flaherty
Jordan Fulton
Dylan Olsen
Drew Olson