North Dakotajugend

In case you were unaware, this year is the final year for the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo. It will be retired once the athletic season is over.

It might be a good time to get a new school song as well. Here is my suggestion, in honor of good ol' Ralph:



*Please note, if you have not seen the movie Cabaret, you have to watch the whole thing in order to get the point.*

Another BREC in the Wall

tUMD 1, Those Still Yet to Win in Their New Arena 1

So, we made the drive up to Bemidji to see what we could see. And what do you think we saw? We saw the other side.

No, not really, I was getting us confused with the bear that went over the mountain. We saw a tie. And even though UMD got that power play goal late in the game, I knew that lead wouldn't hold. Granted, it was hard to get things going. This is my first time seeing Bemidji State play live and they did not play a style I expected them to play. These guys stomped on the Bulldogs last year and this year were struggling to find offense. It took someone named Bilbo Baggins or something almost the entire game to find the net. Most of the game seemed to be focused around stopping the Bulldogs rather than beating them.

Bemidji's goalie made some great saves including one on JT Brown in OT that I thought was a for sure game winner. Kenny did not make any brilliant saves that I noticed. Much of UMD's puck luck this weekend came from Bemidji players being a day late and a dollar short on rebounds. I am not sure Bemidji players knew they could play in the slot or camp out in front of the net. tUMD's defence played an outstanding game.

tUMD should have scored on the 5 on 3. Here's the deal with that play: once tUMD got the delayed penalty, a Bemidji player made an even worse hit on another Bulldog as if daring the refs to make the call. They did. Yay.

Overall the BREC is nice but lacks atmosphere. The students do not have a leader. They do even fewer cheers than UMD fans. And their mascot is named Bucky but looks like an ethnic Goldy. Get it a leather tail or something. Most students were in costume and there were some really funny ones, like a Rubik's Cube or Wooderson from Dazed and Confused.

Alcohol is for sale at the BREC. Unfortunately this led to some obnoxiousness. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that the biggest jerk of the night was a guy in a Sioux jersey who went down behind the Bulldog bench and started swearing at them and pounding on the glass, then tried to get by me to get out of the row. I told him to wait for a whistle and blocked his way. He took umbrage, swore at me, then climbed over a bunch of other seats and spent the rest of the time he was there swearing at me some more. Two students came up during the break between the 3rd period and overtime and screamed and swore at the UMD team and at Suz for almost the entire break before an usher came and led them, very slowly, away. I like to be a big jerk too but I am now sober while I do it. A Bemidji player grabbed JT Brown's facemask and it popped open, and no call was made. So Phil Loadholt can't do that to a Packer but Bemidji can get away with it? So I yelled "I know they haven't won yet but you don't have to give them the game." I'm mean.

I still had a great time despite the outcome. And now I'm chillin' in paradise at the Bjorneby homestead on Lake Bemidji.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 13! (Ugly wins count the same!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 27! (Sweet!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 12!
JT Brown: 11
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 2
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
JT Brown: 11
Justin Faulk: 5!!! (Off notice!!! Tragically unable to see his goal as it was at the other end of the rink and they did not replay it!!!)
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 13!
Jacky: 12!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 6
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
Wade Bergman
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Brady Lamb
Mike Montgomery
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Jack Connolly (WHAT??? JACKY, GET IT TOGETHER!!!)
Keegan Flaherty
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Hazing

tUMD 3, Those Yet to Win in Their New Arena, 2 (OT)

We won! Who cares if we sucked hardcore for long stretches at a time?

First let me address something. My dear friend Eric Stromgren (newly promoted to beat writer for the Bemidji Pioneer!!!) quoted Frank Tom Serratore in his weekend preview:

“We’ve been thrown to the wolves a little bit here and the thing is, it never gets any easier,” Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore said. “After Minnesota-Duluth, we have St. Cloud State. Then after Anchorage it’s Denver. It’s a mental and physical challenge. You have to stay out of the box and play good on special teams.”

No, Frank Tom, that's not what happened. You didn't get thrown to the wolves, you joined the WCHA. You don't get 6 weeks of cupcake teams in between your challenging games anymore. Did you think you would open the season playing Mankato, Tech and... I don't know, yourselves??? (Oh wait, you did.) FYI, there are no weekends off in the WCHA. We in the peanut gallery weren't just telling ghost stories. Also, please try to speak using the correct pronouns. I do not need to stay out of the box nor do I need to play well on special teams. I am not on your team. (He's not the only culprit, I know; it's a freaking epidemic, but since I was already sniping at him for one thing, I figured I should pile it on.)

I liked watching the game on TV and while it wasn't in HD with tons of fancy bells and whistles like the Gopher broadcasts are, it was fine. Plus most of the filler crap on Gopher broadcasts is a gigantic waste of my time. I was at MEg's to watch the game so we had extended periods of time where we had the sound off so we could listen to the Michigan Tech game, so I can't comment on the broadcasters. Other PBers seemed to like them. Neither had toupees which I find unfortunate.

Guys, thanks so much for winning for my "birthday game." Even though it took you 64 minutes and 52.1 seconds to do so, and you almost gave the game away about 100 times, it still counts. (Travis Oleksuk is a god.) I ate about 500 slices of turkey bacon in your honour, and we had a toast with sparkling apple cider. I feel much more confident about driving up tomorrow, knowing that at least you won't be swept, you are the final unbeaten team in the WCHA, and you didn't let the rankings go to your heads and have a total meltdown like last year.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 13! (Ugly wins count the same!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 27! (Sweet!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 11!!
JT Brown: 11!! (Look out, Jacky!)
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 2
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
JT Brown: 11!!!
Justin Faulk: 4!!!
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 12!!!
Jacky: 11!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 6!!! (Assisted on the GWG!)
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
Wade Bergman
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Brady Lamb
Mike Montgomery
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Jack Connolly (WHAT??? JACKY, GET IT TOGETHER!!!)
Justin Faulk
Keegan Flaherty
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Highway 2 Robbery

First, some facts.

1. Today is my birthday. (Well, it's almost over.) I am 28. I have one foot in the grave already.

2. Friday is my "birthday game." Saturday is my backup "birthday game." And Wade Bergman needs to get me a goal.

3. Travis Oleksuk was named offensive player of the week. Last week, JT Brown was rookie of the week. This week, Aaron Crandall or Kenny Reiter will be defensive player of the week.

4. UMD is ranked #3 in the polls right now. Pretty much guarantees we'll be swept by Suckmidji this weekend.

And now...

Anyone know how much the tickets are for this weekend?

The cheapest are $25 and they go all the way up to $35. Kids' tickets are $20. No wonder there are still tickets available for the second series in their brand new arena...

Shiver Me Timbers!

Holy hell, I just got back from my seat selection, and before we get to that, we must discuss just how rotten the weather was. It rained the whole drive up (and morons were driving without their lights on! Huzzah!) and on the way back it snowed, then rained, all while gale force winds practically blew me off the road. This ranks up there with my Worst Hockey Drives Ever. Other worst drives include:

Driving back from Houghton with MEg monstrously hungover on an hour of sleep
Driving up to Duluth with FHG and Kleiner and hitting unexpected swirling snow and annoying traffic
Driving home from Duluth with MEg in a whiteout

Anyway, I picked my seats today. I waited for probably 20 minutes for my turn in this little lobby right by the Champions Club thingy. It was kind of lonely because everyone else there seemed super grouchy. One guy was really mad about how low he was on the priority list. Sir, perhaps this was something that could have been remedied months ago when you got your selection date, when it wasn't necessary to invent a time machine in order for you to be made whole. I bet your head would have exploded if I had mentioned this was my second year as a season ticket holder and we were picking at the same time! Great Scott!!! 1.21 Jigowatts!!!

I had my first and only foray into the Champions Club to get a hard hat, and then a person named Butch was assigned as my personal guide. He asked if there was anywhere specific I wanted to go, like the ends or the sides. I said "Between the ends and the sides?" Because I am an idiot. I showed him more specifically where I wanted and away we went. I got seats pretty much where I wanted (Section 216, Row 8, Seats 20 and 21) and I hope Biddco can pick right next to me on Thursday. Sorry to everyone who is in my vicinity.

Here is a view from my seats:




























You can totally imagine this as a game. Look, that large blue crane thing is Dan DeLisle. And then those two things right on the point are like Montgomery and Olsen, and then the cones are the opponents.

Ciskie roped me into coming down to some sort of radio promotion thing, and then ambushed me by trying to force me to discuss the Vikings AND did not allow me to use my alias, Penelope von Streuselbottom. I refused, so then he got me to talk about the new arena and I said I took the last two good seats, which was not what I was supposed to say. I am sorry, I did not get the script in advance. If you were listening, I am also sorry. I hope you were not, because it is 45 seconds of your life that I have ruined, in addition to any time you spent on RWD.

Lots of stuff coming this week!! So, more time to waste on here!

Six of One

tUMD 6, Drownedwolves 0

Tickets to the game? Er, I don't remember what it breaks down to per game.
Gas? I think about $30.
Junk food at the convenience store? $10 or so.
Mini hockey road trip with my best friend? Priceless.

What a glorious game. Other than MEg wearing a Seawolves jersey for most of the game. And also I almost killed us (well, not Bethlyn, I think I would have taken the brunt of the crash) turning onto Harbor Drive, but we lived. Obviously.

Travis Oleksuk scored in the first minute of the game. I was ecstatic. Partially because it was an excellent goal, partially because we scored first in a game, which we never seem to do. That was the only goal of the first period but there were numerous chances.

In the second period Fonz got a PPG that I didn't really see as it was at the other end, and then Dan DeLisle had a beauty of a goal for his first as a Bulldog. The last time tUMD faced the Seawolves at tDECC was the last regular season game two years ago and they sucked; Dan DeLisle was at that game. I was sitting with Bruce and pointed him out (I'm not that creepy, it was easy to deduce the 7'6" guy in the Totino-Grace jacket was DeLisle) and we were both blown away by his gigantism. And both horrified that a recruit had to see that crappiness. Thank you, Dan, for seeing how you could rectify the situation.

In the third period, an excellent goal by Kyle Schmidt opened the scoring in the period, and then Mike Seidel took one of those new mandatory-major penalties. I feel like in a few years a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty is going to be a mandatory forfeit. I was nervous, mostly because of the shutout. Travis Oleksuk was like "No, RWD, I got this," and after about 2 minutes of killing (which went by quickly! Usually I feel like even 10 seconds takes FOREVER) he had a nifty breakaway for a shorthanded goal. It looked originally like Kamal had made the save but then the puck trickled through his legs and into the net.

Jacky and Curtis Leinweber, in the ultimate "Pick on someone your own size" battle, got matching minors for cross checking and were awarded for their efforts with a 2-minute coffee break. They seemed to be having a scintillating conversation, probably about the new DECC, because at one point Jack gestured to the scoreboard. He must have been saying "In AMSoil arena, we'll have instant replay." Curtis seemed opposed.

Dan DeLisle scored with 4 seconds left, strangely. He just sort of stuffed the puck into the net. Half the arena was already gone and did not witness what can only be the start of a massive scoring streak for Mr. DeLisle.

Tuesday: Seat Selection
Friday: Devastate Bemidji
Saturday: Devastate Bemidji again while I am in attendance!

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 14!
Points until we reach last season's total: 29!

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 10!! (Too busy mixing it up to get too many points!)
JT Brown: 9!! (But some goals would have been nice for Team Cougar, dear)
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 2!
Drew Olson: 0 (Playing forward!)

Freshmen
JT Brown: 9!!!
Justin Faulk: 3
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 11!!
Jacky: 10!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 4
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 2

On Notice
David Grun
Jake Hendrickson
Mike Montgomery
Max Tardy

Goals Only
Justin Faulk
Keegan Flaherty
Brady Lamb
Dylan Olsen
Mike Seidel

Rookie Cards

tUMD 3, Werewolves 2 (OT)

Hello. What a game that was. Definitely not your typical UAA/UMD game. You know, one of those games where whoever's failure is less epic wins. Instead it was, from what I am led to believe by Ciskie and Pates, a game with exciting saves and plays and blocked shots. The last 7 or 8 minutes were just INSANE. The last two minutes of regulation nearly killed me.

And then overtime redeemed me. Oh JT Brown, you are amazing.






















Too soon? Well,



















Better?

(Thanks to comrade Dave H. for the inspiration.)

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 15!
Points until we reach last season's total: 31!

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 9!! (Probably will be 12 or 13 tomorrow!)
JT Brown: 7!!!!!!!!! (OTGWG!!!!!!!)
Brady Lamb: 4
Mike Seidel: 1
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
JT Brown: 7!!!!!!!!!!
Justin Faulk: 3
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 10!!!!! (2 goals!!!)
Jacky: 9!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 4
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 0

On Notice
Dan DeLisle
Keegan Flaherty
Jake Hendrickson
Mike Seidel
Max Tardy

Goals Only
David Grun
Mike Montgomery

The Gauntlet: NewsRadio Edition

This week, in honour of the upcoming series with UAA, we are bringing back the Gauntlet to torment JimmyJam, Donald's minion from the UAA Fan Blog.

In honor of that, I give you this.


Excellent. Now, commencez!

RWD: So, how did you get hooked up with Donald?

JJ: I got hooked up with Donald when he asked for help on the blog. I've been wanting to write for a while and contribute so I decided to help.

RWD: Did you know Donald previously?

JJ: Yeah, Anchorage is a somewhat small place; most of the USCHO posters from Anchorage know each other and hang out.

RWD: You... hang out with Donald? [That, my friends, is the whole Interwebs gasping in shock.]

JJ: At games and such, not at other places, I made that mistake once. [!!!]

RWD: Oh? [ORLY] Do tell.

JJ: I don't remember much, alcohol was involved, and I got dragged to a place I would rather not have gone. [A Seawolves game?]

RWD: Aha! I think I know where! What directives did he give about your contributions to the site?

JJ: Find my own niche. Figure out what I'd want to write about and go with it.

RWD: Does he stand over you with a whip and beat you every time you make a typo?

JJ: No but then again I use spell check like lazy college kid, mostly because I was one. [Lazy college kids, spell check doesn’t catch everything! That’s why it takes so long to edit these Gauntlets.]

RWD: How did you become a UAA fan?

JJ: My parents and grandparents have been fans since the beginning of the program. My grandfather was a booster club president. So I've been going to games literally since I was born. I've seen way too many games [not possible] and some really good players.

RWD: Yeah I suppose the visiting teams had some stars.

JJ: yeah, Reinprecht and Heatley are the most vivid memories. [So if I had to list 2 exceptional players I had seen in the WCHA, these two are not the first two to come to mind. Odd.]

RWD: Those are the best players you've seen?

JJ: No, not by a mile.

RWD: I see. [Then… why say them?]

JJ: Heatley maybe in the top 10.

RWD: Was he playing hockey when you saw him, or crashing into a brick wall?

JJ: both lol [Simultaneously or separately?]

RWD: Is your child a UAA fan?

JJ: Yes, very much so. She loves watching them.

RWD: Isn't that child abuse?

JJ: No. [Yes.]

RWD: Torturing the poor girl with season after season of losses?

JJ: You get used to it a little bit; there's always hope though.

RWD: There is? Even this season?

JJ: Yes. [No.]

RWD: Locate this hope. Say, latitude and longitude.

JJ: 61° 10' N, 150° 1' W. [These are Anchorage’s coordinates. I don’t think there’s any hope there.]

RWD: I see. So who are some of your favorite UAA players, past and present?

JJ: Past would be Peluso, Clark, Glencross, Cygan, and Krake. Present would be Grant, Wiles and Gunderson. Gunderson was hilarious.

RWD: In what way? [In his goaltending attempts?]

JJ: Funny to talk with. [Funny like a clown? Did he amuse you?]

RWD: What about your second favorite WCHA team? What team is that?

JJ: Tech. Nice people I've met from there. A little nerdy but so am I. [It’s like talking to Yoda. What the hell?]

RWD: What about Twitch Boy? Now that he's in Alaska, have you seen him? Or at least his hotdog hat?

JJ: Yes I have but I haven't seen the hotdog hat. I was disappointed.

RWD: Have you turned him into a UAA fan yet?

JJ: Not yet, I'll work at it, I mean it's not like he's a fan of a winning team either.

RWD: This year! [Tech is undefeated!]

JJ: 5 games in... UAA's been unbeaten through 5 games in before.

RWD: Probably when playing UMD. [Sigh] How do you like the new jerseys?

JJ: I like them, a very classic look to them. We've got a unique logo [it's no realistic bear] and nice colors [yuck!] so there's no need to be outlandish.

RWD: Ugh, green and gold, no thank you. What about the new WCHA, do you like it?

JJ: Omaha yes, Bemidji no. [Indeed!] I also don't like how Bemidji got gifted with the Minnesota-only schedule.

RWD: Minnesota-only?

JJ: No travel to Alaska or Colorado, basically the 3 tough road trips. [Tech is brutal in the winter though.]

RWD: I see. Well, no extra games for them then.

JJ: True.

RWD: You don't have to pay for them to come and play you.

JJ: Eh whatever. [How Zen. Donald would be steaming.]

RWD: Donald feels very strongly about that, but you do not?

JJ: It's part of the deal, I don't like it much either but it's not going away. I'd love to get rid of it but it's not the highest priority.

RWD: Despite Donald's letters. [Next step: mail bombs.]

JJ: Despite.

RWD: Speaking of Donald, if the Seawolves and the Aces played an exhibition… would anyone care?

JJ: I dunno, it's hard to say. I think people would care but I don't think the result would change people’s minds. The Aces are good one thing: marketing, that's why they do better. [I don’t understand why schools don’t have every marketing student at the school working on marketing for the teams FOR FREE.]

RWD: If I were watching on TV, no one would be visible in the stands. But that's because, just beyond the camera, true fans are packed into the "better" seats, right?

JJ: Correct, the Sullivan has high glass that makes the game unwatchable from iceside [what?] seats. There is truth to that.

RWD: What about the rest of the statement?

JJ: Also true because the only ones to show up would be the hardcore sit in those seats. [My head just exploded.]

RWD: Would you like to rephrase that into a sentence that makes sense?

JJ: no lol, ok the better seats that aren't visible would be full because that's where the people who actually want to watch the game sit.

RWD: So beyond our viewpoint, the arena is standing room only. I see.

JJ: Somewhat.

RWD: And then you get behind the scenes after the games. How does that work? Do you dress up as a janitor? Hide in the laundry cart with the dirty jockstraps?

JJ: I have a press pass, the university likes us somewhat.

RWD: You and Donald have press passes, free ticket giveaways... does anyone PAY to see UAA?

JJ: Yes, thousands. [No wonder no one pays, the tickets are so expensive! Thousands?]

RWD: I see.

JJ: Well apparently not. [Touché]

RWD: I haven't been able to tell from your videos, who is the hottest Seawolf?

JJ: Secure in my masculinity, I would say Grant.

RWD: What? He looks like Jar Jar Binks.

JJ: Eyes girl, the eyes. [He’s been hypnotized or something.]

RWD: …are googly.

JJ: Ok.

RWD: Hm, I see he has longish hair. What about you, still mohawkin’ it?

JJ: Yes ma'am.

RWD: Superb.

JJ: Damn right.

RWD: Let's talk about this weekend.

JJ: Ok shoot.

RWD: How can the Seawolves win this weekend? [Trick question! They cannot!]

JJ: Playing tough defence, keeping the goal scoring, great goaltending.

RWD: Keeping the goal scoring? [The goal does not score itself. Silly Seawolves are confused!]

JJ: 3 goals at least in every game, that's not bad, that can win you games. [Not if we get 9.]

RWD: And how can they lose this weekend?

JJ: Playing bad defence like last weekend, goal scoring going away.

RWD: Is Shyiak a good coach?

JJ: Yes, I had doubts, especially last season, but you can see with this group that they are responding well to his coaching. I was harsh on him and I was wrong.

RWD: PEOPLE! A MAN JUST ADMITTED WRONGNESS. FIRST TIME EVER. Do you miss John Hill?

JJ: No, [fornicate] him.

RWD: I... would prefer not. [Horrific.]

JJ: Good for you lol.

RWD: Do you think he gets more bloated every year?

JJ: Possibly, maybe he sees himself getting the job at Minny with every crap year Lucia has. [Maybe he sees Leprechauns that tell him to burn down the rink.]

RWD: Do you read Justin Bourne's articles on Puck Daddy?

JJ: Yes, I read his blog as well.

RWD: I have no follow up questions. I just enjoy reading his perspectives as a former pro player.

JJ: They are interesting, it's something you really get to see written about.

RWD: Do you mean rarely?

JJ: Yes sorry rarely. NO DONALD!!! [One can only assume beatings commenced.]

RWD: Terrifying. What about a weekend prediction to wrap things up?

JJ: Split, Bulldogs win Friday [yes] and UAA wins on Saturday [no].

RWD: Scores?

JJ: 4-3 on Friday and 3-1 on Saturday.

Predilections

So I found this website, GenderAnalyzer, which claims the ability to predict the gender of a blog author. I put myself in.

















Huh.

As for my esteemed colleagues:
Dirty - 77% male
DG - 91% male
Goon - 81% male
MEg - 61% male
60min - 88% male
Ciskie - 96% male
Donald - 96% male
USAFA Bulldog - 83% male
Hockey Joe - 68% male
Jeremy (Husky Hockey Time) - 82% male
Kevin Pates - 93% male
Geist - 77% male
Schlossman - 76% male
Stromgren - 63% male
Dilks - 94% male
Red Cloud - 83% male
Roy - 80% male

Hm.

Loony Tunes

Another tUMD blog has begun! Check out The Maroon Loon blog for a somewhat different take on the game. In addition to the blog, they have a radio show on KUMD on Thursdays at 9 pm and post the podcasts on the blog, too. Exciting!

Awesome News

As previously posted, tUMD's equipment manager Chris Garner has been battling cancer and hasn't been with the team as he recovers from his treatments.

The great news is Chris came up this weekend for the games! He was able to watch both games and spend some time with the team. Since his immune system has been low due to his bone marrow transplant (and since we all know hockey arenas are amusement parks for germs), it's fantastic news to know he was able to see the team and watch the games.

The jersey and memorabilia auction starts on Oct 24th! Don't forget to bid!

Notes on a Weekend

tUMD 5, Monks 3
tUMD 7, Monks 1

Mes amis, how could I have abandoned you like this? No posts, no tweets, nothing since Thursday?

I know, I know. Sometimes life interferes, and sometimes, life is just too important to spend it snarking about hockey.

What a perfect weekend it was for all of us, wasn't it? I just finished watching a Vikings win and it was just the icing on the cake. The cherry on the sundae. The empty net goal by Mike Connolly with three seconds left in the game. Got it.

Friday I did actually go to the game, along with 6 members of my family, and we started off the season the right way: with dinner at Sammy's. As we got to the game (right on time... 30 seconds into the period...) we ran right into elusive Gopher fan/RWD reader The Beard, with an extra special sighting of Mrs. The Beard (who is not bearded), which is always a blast. Apparently The Beard coached a person on Providence. He must have done an ok job as said person managed to get an assist this weekend. It must have been nice for him to see some real hockey instead of the crap going on at Mariucci.

Friday's game was maybe not the best game tUMD could have played. It took the guys awhile to get going. My uncle, not knowing this, felt that every puck that went somewhere in the offensive zone was going to go in the net and yelled "THERE IT IS!" UMD dumped the puck in the zone and I asked why he didn't say anything. Good times! Then Providence got the first goal with under two minutes to go in the first period, and a collective "here we go again" arose from all of us.

But, these aren't your grandfather's Bulldogs! Or, more specifically, these aren't my grandfather's Bulldogs. Justin Fontaine scored a little over a minute later on the power play to even it up going into the break! It's like a brand-new hockey game when the team can come out tied after the break instead of down a goal.

I'm so pleased I was there to see JT Brown's first goal as a Bulldog! He's of course already one of My Guys, but MEg decided we also needed him on our fantasy team. OF COURSE. He is just a sick player. We have 2 legit lines and are working on a third. Sucks to be all those people who thought tUMD lacked "depth." Providence tied it up on the PP, which was annoying, but Mike Connolly, with an absolute blast that caused me to do a double take because I thought it was another player, put tUMD on top again, and then Travis Oleksuk, on a clean shorthanded breakaway, drew a penalty shot... and actually scored on it!!! Awesome! Miraculous, even!

It would have been nice, in the third period, to continue to pour it on, but no more scoring occurred until Providence pulled their goalie and scored to come within one. That was unfortunate. Then Mike Connolly got an empty net goal to seal the game for us and we drove home happy!

I have no specific game commentary for Saturday's game, as I wasn't listening or watching. I was, however, unable to stay off my BlackBerry during the wedding dinner, which is horribly rude of me, but I WAS VERY STRESSED when I heard Crandall let in the first shot he faced. Not even a minute into the game! But I should have more faith, because Kyle Schmidt got us back into the game and from the second half of the first period onward, tUMD poured it on. They had 41 SOG, but oddly only one PPG. Not to worry. If we score 6 non-PPGs every game, I don't care if we have ANY power play goals! And Crandall stopped the next 17 shots he faced, which was great!

Next weekend I should be fully engaged in the hockey game, listening Friday and attending Saturday.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 16 (Ready for next week!)
Points until we reach last season's total: 33 (Also ready for next week!)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 8!!!!!!!! (OUTSTANDING!)
JT Brown: 6!!!!!!!!! (INSANE!)
Brady Lamb: 4!!!!!!!!!!! (YAY!)
Mike Seidel: 1
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
JT Brown: 6!!!!!!!!!!
Justin Faulk: 3!!!!!!!
others: zeros

Connollys
Mikey: 8!
Jacky: 8!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 4!
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 8
DeLisle: 0

On Notice
Jake Hendrickson

Goals Only
Dan Delisle
David Grun
Mike Montgomery

Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: Duluth #1

Hi folks, it's Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs are at home, so the team won't have to travel, but you might!

It'll be quite a bit cooler than last weekend here in the Northland. Friday we're looking at a high of 56 and mostly sunny skies. If you're driving right back down again, like RWD & co, you should see an overnight low of 45 and a very slight chance of rain. Providence has less of a chance of winning than we have of getting rain. Uh-oh there, folks, I might have jinxed us there! Heh heh heh.

Saturday afternoon is UMD football's homecoming game, and it looks like the weather will be nice, if a little brisk. It should warm up to the mid-50s and you should see some sunshine, but dress warmly and bring a blanket. Or dress with no shirt and paint your chest maroon and gold. Saturday night it'll get down in the low 40s, and Sunday it should be sunny and in the high 50s for the drive home.

All right folks, that's your weather for this evening, hope to see you all out there at the DECC for our first home game of the season, dontcha know?

Postcards from RWD, Vol 12

Dear Bulldogs,

If you are going to suck, let me know right away please. Give me a sign. Say, getting swept by Providence this weekend. Don't be confused, I don't want that to happen, but I don't need any of the 2004-05 soul-sucking heart-breaking sucker-punching gut-wrenching undefeated through three weekends then completely throw it away with only 3 more wins in the first half and allow a 14-goal differential in the playoffs. No, that was hardly the worst season we've ever lived through as a fanbase, in fact we had even fewer wins in subsequent seasons, but we all knew that was coming.

I'm in a sports-related depression right now. The Twins? They managed to keep roping me in with their clutch hits and winning streaks and Thome homeruns and such. Then they clinched the division and became the suckiest bunch of sucks who ever sucked. The buzz, pre-season, about the Vikings, perpetuated by one Bruce Ciskie, was they would win the division. They have one win. They got Randy Moss, and I became hopeful again, and then let me down AGAIN Monday night. (Dirty said "And with that nice stop it's time to send in the clowns." And then there was clownery.) The Wild have the opportunity to suck in three countries this year, a rare opportunity, and they are seizing the day. But I appreciate their upfront terribleness, because now I have low expectations.

The Bulldogs are the one bright spot for me right now, and I don't know if they are even a bright spot. Certainly a 1-0-1 weekend is not rotten, and three years ago I would have been pleased, but now we have expectations and talent and a new arena and Hobey candidates.

Here are my bare minimum expectations for a non-sucky season:

1. Home ice for the WCHA first round play-offs.
Just home ice, I feel, is lenient. Like I said, these are bare minimum expectations.

2. A Final Five appearance.
The Final Five, in its new, annoying, format, gives each team only one guaranteed game. Annoying. Under the old format, three teams's fans had two guaranteed games and two teams's fans had one guaranteed game. Now six teams's fans have one guaranteed game. That sucks, especially for people coming from out of town. A fan from Denver, Grand Forks, etc. could take two days off from work and reserve a hotel room for three nights only to find their team loses on Thursday. The Final Five is still a heck of a time, but that would certainly suck some of the fun out of it. This has turned into a rant about the new Final Five, but unlike in years past, when we simply hoped for a top three berth to guarantee two games, now the seeding barely matters, except for #1 and #2 getting a bye. (A bye is nice, no doubt, but one could argue that #1, #2 and #3 got a bye under the old system.) Just get there.

3. An NCAA regional bid.
Anything can happen in the playoffs, as we've seen from Holy Cross, RIT, Buttmidji, etc. Just get to the playoffs and we'll worry about winning later. Winning would make for an AWESOME season and we're worried about non-suckiness only.

4. At least 1 player on the Hobey Baker top ten list.
It doesn't really matter who it is. Perhaps Fontaine this year and then Jack Connolly next year, as I've mentioned before. Perhaps Jack could put Mike on his shoulders and they could wear a large overcoat and try to pass as one person. Perhaps JT Brown will outscore Paul Kariya and win as a freshman.

5. WIN THE FREAKING ARENA OPENER.
DUH. MOST IMPORTANT.

Okay, now don't lose this weekend... AND don't suck!

XXOO,
RWD

Superior Showcase, We Hardly Knew Ye

tUMD 3, Mildcats 2

Well, folks, there we go. The Superior Showcase has come to an end. And Michigan Tech is the winner. Up is down! Black is white! St. Cloud lost to Clarkson! All of our goals were scored by defencemen!

MEg and Biddco came over for a little listening party. MEg listened to Michigan Tech's game through headphones while we broadcast tUMD game through the speakers of our desktop computer. The internets worked almost the entire time, for once! Domino's pizza is really tasty.

I'm pleased to see the first win of the season, and I hope I'm witnessing another one in FIVE DAYS. FIVE DAYS UNTIL I'M IN DULUTH, AGAIN, FINALLY, AT tDECC, IN MY SEATS, WATCHING A BULLDOG HOCKEY GAME. Yes.

I hope this time both the offense AND the defence are playing at full strength. And, our freshmen kick all kinds of ass.

Numbers
Wins until we reach last season's total: 16 (x)
Points until we reach last season's total: 33 (x)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 2
JT Brown: 1!!!!!!!!!
Brady Lamb: 1!!!!!!!!!
Mike Seidel: 1
Drew Olson: 0

Freshmen
Justin Faulk: 2!!!!!!!
JT Brown: 1!!!!!!
others: bupkis

Connollys
Mikey: 3
Jacky: 2

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 3!!!!
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 4
DeLisle: 0

On Notice/Goals Only
Nobody (only 2 more game to get your scoring on!)

All Over But the Shouting

LSSU 6, Some Team I Don't Even Recognize 6

Oh yes, there shall be shouting. Preferably not just from me. Derek Plante, get that larynx warmed up.

I didn't watch or listen to this game because I was at work for two periods and couldn't get the newfangled interwebs to broadcast it. Thus I have some difficulty here in dissecting exactly what happened. But, someone had blundered. (Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.)

So, Kenny was stormed at with shot and shell, our top three boldly rode and well, and the entire game I was in hell.

Am I an idiot for wishing this was a 1-1 tie where our goaltending was sharp and our scorers just hadn't clicked yet? Is this at all weird? Because I'd be frustrated with our scorers, but not terrified that they'd never score a goal again. Whereas... well, never mind that. It is one game, no matter what I said on Twitter. That's visceral stream-of-consciousness stuff.

So my sports depression continues. 2 Twins losses, 2 Wild losses, and now this, which is not a loss but feels that way.

Bright spot of the game? Kyle Schmidt. He always gets a goal when we are in our most desperate situations. Oh and my cute little elf Benny Royer from MTU scored 2 goals, including the OTGWG.

Numbers (!!!!)
Wins until we reach last season's total: 16 (practice run)
Points until we reach last season's total: 33 (doooo it)

My Guys
Jack Connolly: 2!!!! (Including a shorty from my favorite shorty!!!)
Mike Seidel: 1!!!!!!! (So very timely!)
Etc: Zippy

Freshmen
Everyone: Zoot

Connollys
Mikey: 3!!!!!!!!
Jacky: 2!!!!!!!!

Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 2
Drew: 0

Dan/Drew
Olson: 4
DeLisle: 0

On Notice/Goals Only
Nobody (lucky for you guys!!!)

Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: The Yoop

Hi folks, it's Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Sault Ste. Marie, MI to face the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday night. Tomorrow's forecast is mostly sunny during the day with a high of 68, and a low of 44 tomorrow night. That's Fahrenheit, folks, we're not in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. No worries about rain but you might want a nice cozy jacket over your jersey. Expect a flurry of goals, though, because Lake State sucks.

We'll be making the 164 mile drive to Marquette, MI, after the game. No inclement weather is expected.

Saturday, the weather in Marquette should be partly cloudy with a high of 67, and Saturday night it should get back down to 48. It will feel extra cold for the Wildcat fans, since they will already be smarting from our vengeance. No Cats No Cats No Cats No!

The drive back to Duluth should be easy with clear skies the whole way. Happy trails, Bulldogs fans!

I Can't

I really just can't.

The Twins are like, ripping my soul out through my nose. I can't deal.

This morning was so awesome. I awoke to the radio saying "Randy Moss is officially a Viking." God, it was a good day. Then it turned into a "good day" in the Ice Cube sense. Blah.

Got an excellent tweet from a Bulldogs fan, though.

@runwiththedogs I f***in follow you for dogs hockey and this bull**** tweeting every two seconds raggin on the twins has got to f***in stop. You're a terrible fan and should find a new damn hobby

I'm not a terrible fan! I'm a person with persistent anger issues that I funnel into professional sports! Which I guess is pretty much one of the definitions of terrible fandom. But it works for Bruce Ciskie and the Packers/UW football/Brewers baseball/rhythmic gymnastics. All is well and good though, because we talked it out and now I owe him because I came up with an idea for a post! Kind of!

(I very rarely say angry stuff about tUMD and I need to divert that anger somewhere before the levee breaks and a torrential downpour of curse words would be unleashed upon RWD. I think words I would never say! I know it seems impossible but it's true.)

We are fewer than two days away from BULLDOG HOCKEY and mere months away from a SUPER BOWL VICTORY. I should be flipping out with excitement and I'm just so mad that the Twins took that from me.

My comrade Chuck from Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets (which doesn't have a good abbreviation since 60min doesn't work as she's one of the contributors, and 60MNANR is just too weird) conducted a poll of as many bloggers/webmasters that mimics the media and coaches' polls that were just released. He tracked down as many as he could but some folks didn't respond no matter how hard I nagged them. Ahem.

Here are the results:
1. North Dakota (12) 177
2. St. Cloud (2) 158
3. Duluth (1) 154
4. Denver 125
5. Minnesota 117
6. Wisconsin 113
7. Nebraska-Omaha 81
8. Colorado College 77
9. Bemidji State 73
10. Minnesota State 39
11. Michigan Tech 30
12. Alaska-Anchorage 26

WCHA Player of the Year:
Jack Connolly, tUMD (6)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (5)
Jacob Cepis, UMTC (1)
Chay Genoway, UND (1)
Jason Gregoire, UND (1)
Matt Read, BSU (1)

WCHA Rookie of the Year:
Jaden Schwartz, CC (6)
Beau Bennett, DU (2)
Derek Forbort, UND (2)
Nick Bjugstad, UMTC (1)
Erik Haula, UMTC (1)
Matt White, UNO (1)
Mark Zengerle, UW (1)
Sam Rendle, BSU (1)

I voted for Beau Bennett for Rookie of the Year. If you can't guess my Player of the Year vote you are an idiot. My picks for the standings were previously posted here.

Participants
Goon, Goons World
RWD (that's me!!), Runnin' With The Dogs
Brandon, Sioux Yeah Yeah!
Chuck Schwartz, Exile on Dayton Street, Gandalf the Red; Sixty Minutes
Hammy, Gopher Hockey Blog
Dirty, Dirty's Diatribe
Jeremy, Husky Hockey Blog
USAFA Bulldog, The DECC is Stacked
Jon, Mav Puck
F2B&G, Michigan Tech Hockey Blog
Exiled One, College Hockey Recruit Exchange & DaHuskies
Donald, UAA Hockey Fan Blog
Millsy, The Beaver Pond

I have the day off tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep on things and have a better post tomorrow! tDogs are headed to tSoo right now and should be there fairly soon! Sweet dreams, comrades!

My Guys!

So we only have 8 days until hockey begins! Isn't that amazing?!

Actually, it's not. Everyone else gets to play some ancient Canadian senior league team. We do not. Annoying.

But I've gotta pick my guys! They need to be prepared for next week!

Back for more:
1. Jack Connolly
2. Mike Seidel
3. Brady Lamb

Everyone gets renewed! Yeah!

And we've got some new guys!
4. Drew Olson
5. JT Brown

I think I've decided to throw my "no freshmen" rule out the window. Obviously. Since I've picked a freshman Guy three years in a row.

All right, Guys, you've got your assignments, now go out and kick some butts!

666

This is my 666th post on RWD. It's so metal. I'd like to dedicate this post to the late Earl Root.

So, the insiders voted in their respective polls recently (the 94X WCHA Media Poll, conducted by the man who will be hiring me to do colour commentary this fall, Bruce Ciskie; and the Grand Forks Herald Coaches’ Poll, conducted by the always delightful Brad Schlossman), and I have to say that these folks need to read RWD. Then they would know of my clairvoyance and all make the same picks as I did.

Here are the media poll results:

1. North Dakota (28) 347
2. Minnesota Duluth 300
3. St. Cloud State (1) 295
4. Denver 242
5. Wisconsin 218
6. Minnesota 203
7. Colorado College 182
8. Bemidji State 156
9. Nebraska-Omaha 125
10. Minnesota State 97
11. Alaska-Anchorage 51
12. Michigan Tech 46

Preseason WCHA Player of the Year
Chay Genoway, UND (10)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (5)
Justin Fontaine, tUMD (4)
Jack Connolly, tUMD (3)
Jason Gregoire, UND (2)
Mike Connolly, tUMD (1)
Matt Read, BSU (1)
Evan Trupp, UND (1)

This is like Sesame Street. One of these players is not like the other. 8 people cast excellent votes. Fascinating there are no Gophers, Badgers or Pioneers represented. That’s the state of hockey, folks.

Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year
Jaden Schwartz, CC (10)
Derek Forbort, UND (6)
Beau Bennett, DU (4)
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (2)
Tyler Barnes, Wisconsin (1)
J.T. Brown, Minnesota Duluth (1)
Rob Gunderson, Alaska-Anchorage (1)
Radoslav Illo, Bemidji State (1)
Jason Zucker, Denver (1)

I don’t know who Rob Gunderson is. Chuck from 60MNANR Googled him for me last night. Rob Gunderson for Hobey!

I can’t quibble with the near-omission of tUMD players (fortunately there’s another J.T. Brown groupie out there) because there isn’t an incoming freshman from the Bulldogs projected to have a significant impact on the game. tUMD is an upperclassman’s team; so is St. Cloud, and though they allegedly have some notable recruits (doubtful), those players didn’t receive any votes either. The three players most likely to have an impact on their teams immediately are Jaden Schwartz, Beau Bennett, and Nick Bjugstad: players whose teams don’t have any guys on player of the year list. Teams like UND, St. Cloud and tUMD have their top lines filled with seasoned veterans and their freshmen, talented as they may be, won’t see the ice time that their counterparts on other teams will.

Here is the esteemed panel of judges:

BSU
Brian Schultz, KKBJ (hehehe)
Eric Stromgren, Bemidji Pioneer

CC:
Ken Landau, KRXP
Joe Paisley, Colorado Springs Gazette

DU:
Mike Chambers, Denver Post
Jay Stickney, KXDP

MSUM:
Shane Frederick, Mankato Free Press
Mike Sullivan, KTOE

MTU:
Dirk Hembroff, WKMJ
Brandon Veale, Daily Mining Gazette

SCSU:
Mick Hatten, St. Cloud Times
Don Lyons, KNSI

UAA:
Kurt Haider, KENI
Doyle Woody, Anchorage Daily News

UMD:
Bruce Ciskie, KZIO
Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune

UMTC:
Roman Augustovitz, Minneapolis Star Tribune

UND:
Tim Hennessy, KQHT
Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald

UNO:
Dave Ahlers, KKAR
Chad Purcell, Omaha World Herald

UW:
Andy Baggot, Wisconsin State Journal
Brian Posick, WIBA/WTSO

Officially Unaffiliated Though Possibly Unofficially Affiliated:
Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey
John Gilbert, WCHA.com
Todd Milewski, USCHO
Dan Myers, College Hockey News
Jess Myers, INCH
Theresa Spisak, USCHO

And then the coaches voted, too. From what I understand and then mathematically proved, coaches cannot vote for their own teams, and rank the others from first through eleventh. So, obviously one St. Cloud vote is from Hakstol, and one UND vote is from Motzko. That doesn’t explain why the coaches weren’t smart enough to pick the eventual winner, tUMD.

1. UND (10) 120
2. St. Cloud State (2) 105
3. Minnesota-Duluth 100
4. Denver 88
5. Minnesota 82
6. Colorado College 67
7. Wisconsin 64
8. Nebraska-Omaha 55
9. Bemidji State 46
10. MSU-Mankato 41
11. Alaska-Anchorage 19
12. Michigan Tech 15

Player of the year:
Jack Connolly, tUMD (5)
Chay Genoway, UND (4)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (3)

Fortunately, the most votes for player of the year went to the correct person, although it should have been unanimous.

The voting for rookie of the year is so obvious I can identify who voted for whom.

Rookie of the year:
Jaden Schwartz, Colorado College (9) (Hakstol, Motzko, Sandelin, Gwozdecky, Owens, Serratore, Jutting, Shyiak, Russell)
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (1) (Lucia)
Tyler Barnes, Wisconsin (1) (Eaves)
Matt White, Omaha (1) (Blais)