Month: April 2008

This is the first of three Fighting Sioux All-Decade teams. Click here for the 1990s team. Check back later for the 2000s All-Decade Team.

I came up with this list based on statistics, honors, and championships. More consideration was given to players who played their entire career in the 1980s.

Forwards:
Steve Johnson-Tony Hrkac-Bob Joyce
Phil Sykes-Mark Taylor-Doug Smail
Cary Eades-Perry Berezan-Jim Archibald
Troy Murray-Lee Davidson-Chris Jensen

Neil Eisenhut, Dave Tippett, and Brian Williams are the reserve forwards.

Defensemen:
James Patrick-Craig Ludwig
Ian Kidd-Russ Parent
Scott Sandelin-Marc Chorney

Rick Zombo and Howard Walker are the reserve defensemen.

Goaltender:
Ed Belfour

Jon Casey and Darren Jensen are the backup goaltenders.

This is the type of list that (hopefully) will spark some debate. Feel free to chime in with your own list or take me to task for a glaring omission.

As expected, Kevin Porter won the Hobey Baker Memorial Award for 2007-2008.  The senior forward tallied 33 goals and 30 assists in 43 games for the Michigan Wolverines this season and led his team to the Frozen Four.

Porter joins Brendan Morrison (1997 recipient) as the only two Hobey winners in Michigan history.

The other two 2008 Hobey Hat Trick finalists were Ryan Jones of Miami and Nathan Gerbe of Boston College.

Porter finished his career at Michigan with 85 goals and 98 assists for 183 points in 162 games.

Here’s my top ten list of games, stories, and memorable moments from this year’s North Dakota Fighting Sioux hockey team.  Follow the highlighted links to articles and video clips from this season.

Number 10: The Pact

This year started out with so much more promise because T.J. Oshie, Taylor Chorney, Joe Finley, and reiging Hobey Baker winner Ryan Duncan all turned down pro contracts and returned for their junior seasons. The four returning players combined for 43 goals and 81 assists this season, 36 percent of North Dakota’s scoring for the year. Check out Patrick C. Miller’s great story, “The NHL Can Wait“.

Number 9: The Hall of Fame Game

The defending national champion Michigan State Spartans came to Ralph Engelstad Arena in a much-anticipated matchup, and North Dakota came to play. The Sioux scored early and often, as six UND players scored in a 6-0 rout. Senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux looked sharp, turning aside all 23 shots he faced after struggling in exhibition action against Manitoba (2 goals on 2 shots). Lamoureux’s shutout would be one of four in his first five games of the season.

Number 8: The Fog

In a game called after two periods due to poor ice conditions, North Dakota and Boston College skated to a 0-0 tie at Conte Forum. If only the first period of the Frozen Four semifinal could have counted as the completion of this game from October 19th…

Number 7: The Donnybrook

After losing 4-0 on Friday night in Madison despite peppering Badger goaltender Shane Connelly with 43 shots, the Sioux came out firing in Saturday’s rematch. The key goal was Oshie’s game-winner with three seconds remaining in the first period, but this tilt will be remembered for the line brawl which came with four minutes remaining in the hockey game. Oh, and by the way, North Dakota won, 3-1.

Number 6: The Streak

After falling to St. Cloud State on January 4, 2008, North Dakota embarked on an 18-game unbeaten streak (15-0-3). This run put them in a position to capture a #1 seed in the national tournament (see #3, below). The Fighting Sioux lost only four games in 2008 after finishing 2007 at 9-7-1.

Number 5: The Trupper

February 1, 2008. North Dakota and Minnesota were locked in yet another epic battle. The teams traded first period goals and then went scoreless for the final 52 minutes of regulation. Enter Evan Trupp. The freshman from Anchorage, Alaska scored a spectacular game-winner at 2:23 of the overtime and North Dakota prevailed, 2-1. For the season, Trupp had five game-winners and his scoring punch was sorely missed down the stretch after he went out with a broken leg.

Number 4: The Comeback at the Ralph

Someone should tell the Denver Pioneers that second periods last twenty minutes, not just nineteen. The Pios held a comfortable 4-1 lead with but sixty seconds to go in the middle frame, but the Sioux would not go quietly into the locker room. UND scored not one but two late goals, drawing to within one on Andrew Kozek’s nice feed to Ryan Duncan. Kozek would add two goals in the third to complete his hat trick (check out the three goals here, here, and here) and the single greatest comeback ever witnessed at the new Ralph Engelstad Arena. Emotions from this game spilled over into Saturday’s contest, as the two teams scuffled after the second period. North Dakota would sweep the series and move into second place in the WCHA.

Number 3: The Battle for a #1 Seed

This is the reason that the WCHA teams play for third place at the Final Five (well, this AND money). North Dakota and Colorado College went head to head in a showdown that many felt would take place in the championship game. In any event, the Fighting Sioux put together their most complete performance in a month and locked up the top seed at the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wisconsin. North Dakota was blistering on the power play, scoring three times in seven chances against a very good Tiger penalty kill. Colorado College, meanwhile, limped into the West Regional after losing both games at the Final Five and fell to Michigan State 3-1 in its NCAA tournament opener.

Number 2: The Hobey Hopefuls

After Ryan Duncan won the Hobey Baker award last season (becoming just the second Sioux player to capture the elusive trophy), junior forward T.J. Oshie and senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux were named as two of the top ten finalists. Oshie didn’t have the statistical season of some of the other candidates (18 goals and 27 assists put him in twelfth place nationally), but his complete game resonated with the voters. Oshie also battled through injuries for much of the season.

Lamoureux put up staggering numbers, leading the nation in goals-against average, save percentage, and shutouts while playing the country’s most difficult schedule. In my opinion, JPL deserved to be in the Hobey Hat Trick. He was the best at his position, played the toughest competition, and brought his team to the Frozen Four.

Number 1: The Comeback at the Kohl Center

This will go down in the annals of Fighting Sioux hockey history as one of those “I remember where I was when….” games. North Dakota survived (yes, survived) the first two periods of hockey against the hometown Badgers in the Midwest Regional Final. UND was lucky to be down only 2-0 (thank you, Lamoureux, and your trusty sidekicks, the pipes). And then the captain did what captains do: they leave it all on the ice. Rylan Kaip netted just his eighth goal of the season at 3:33 of the third (and how perfect is that?), and 47 seconds later, Ryan Duncan took a brilliant pass from T.J. Oshie and tied the game at two. Andrew Kozek completed the UND comback at 1:47 of the overtime, and North Dakota was headed to Denver.

So there you have it – my top ten from 2007-08. It was a wild ride and one I wouldn’t have missed for anything.

Thank you for reading. I welcome your comments and suggestions as well as items you feel should be included on this list.

The Eagles outworked, outhit, and outhustled North Dakota for the majority of the hockey game and capitalized on several scoring chances in the first period, effectively putting the game out of reach after twenty minutes of play.

Team speed was definitely a factor in this contest, as Boston College created offensive opportunities and took away time and space defensively by being the quicker, more explosive team.

As BC’s forwards applied continuous pressure, North Dakota struggled to break the puck out of its own end and hold the puck in the zone at the offensive blue line. The Fighting Sioux exhibited precious little puck poise in this game; that is to say, UND as a team made poor decisions all over the ice and did not protect the puck. Consequently, Boston College capitalized on turnovers, mistakes, and breakdowns and buried their chances, particularly in the first period.

One key moment in the hockey game occurred at the 13:00 mark of the opening period. North Dakota trailed 1-0 but found itself on the power play. Boston College junior (and Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist) Nathan Gerbe forced a turnover at the blue line and raced in on Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, beating the senior netminder for a short-handed tally. Less than two minutes later, Gerbe scored again with the teams skating 4 on 4. The scoreboard read 3-0, and the rout was on.

“When we went down 2-0, I thought we were fine,” said North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol. “Even after the third goal we thought on the bench that things would be okay, but we didn’t get out of the period that way. Once we were down four, that was a little too big of a hill to climb.”

UND didn’t get out of the first period with a three goal deficit because the Eagles’ relentless attack wouldn’t let them. Dan Bertram sent a rocket past Lamoureux with 15 seconds remaining in the opening frame, and North Dakota never recovered.

A second key moment in the game occurred behind the play, away from the eyes of the officials. Eagles junior forward Andrew Orpik went knee-to-knee on UND defenseman Taylor Chorney less than three minutes into the second period, and Chorney would not return to the game. No penalty was called on the play.

I’m not suggesting that a power play at that moment would have changed the outcome. The bigger impact was Taylor Chorney’s absence from the lineup. Freshman blueliner Jake Marto filled Chorney’s role admirably, and scored the lone Sioux goal, but North Dakota missed Taylor Chorney’s speed and puck-handling ability for the final 37 minutes of the game.

With the loss, North Dakota’s season ends at 28-11-4. The senior class of Robbie Bina, Rylan Kaip, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, and Kyle Radke have played their last game in the green and white. Sioux fans are left wondering whether Taylor Chorney, Ryan Duncan, Joe Finley, Andrew Kozek, T.J. Oshie, and Chris VandeVelde will be back for another run at the title in 2009.

Thank you once again for supporting the SiouxSports.com blog this season. I welcome your comments and suggestions. Check back throughout the off-season for player news, features, and commentary.

April 5, 2007. St. Louis, Missouri. The NCAA Frozen Four semifinal. Yet another in a seemingly endless string of bouts between two heavyweights. Arguably the two hottest teams in the tournament: Boston College, winners of 12 straight games, versus North Dakota, winners of 19 of their last 21 contests. A furious final seven minutes turns a 2-2 tie into a 6-4 Eagles victory.

This type of game has become almost commonplace for these two clubs. Thursday’s game will mark the seventh time in the past ten seasons that Boston College and North Dakota have met in the NCAA tournament. The teams have played four times in the Frozen Four and twice for the National Championship.

Before we look forward to this Thursday’s Frozen Four semifinal matchup, let’s look back at some memorable moments in what has become an intense rivalry….

March 28, 1999. Madison, Wisconsin. BC defeats UND 3-1 (en) in the NCAA quarterfinals. The Sioux, who received a first-round bye in the NCAA tournament, lose for only the sixth time all season, and finish the year at 32-6-2, one game short of the Frozen Four.

April 8, 2000. Providence, Rhode Island. UND defeats BC 4-2 (en) in the NCAA title game to claim its seventh national championship. The Sioux rally from a 2-1 deficit after two periods.

April 7, 2001. Albany, New York. BC defeats UND 3-2 (OT) to win its first NCAA crown since 1949. Krys Kolanos nets the game-winner at 4:43 of overtime after UND scores twice in the final four minutes of regulation to even the score.

March 26, 2005. Worcester, Massachusetts. UND defeats BC 6-3 in the NCAA East Regional Final to advance to the first of four consecutive Frozen Fours. Colorado College, Denver, and Minnesota also advance, setting up an all-WCHA Frozen Four.

April 6, 2006. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. BC defeats UND 6-5 in the Frozen Four semifinal. North Dakota scores twice in the final five minutes to make it close, but it’s too little, too late.

North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol isn’t reading too much into being matched up against Boston College for the fourth consecutive season.

“We are just happy to be playing at this time of year,“ Hakstol said. “It’s been a season full of challenges, and this will be a great game for us and what has become a much respected but very heated rival.”

Sioux senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux added that the team was focused on the game this Thursday.

“This is a new year, this isn’t last year or 2006,” said Lamoureux, who has played all but one game for UND this season. “We are approaching the game as we always do and preparing as best we can to play our best hockey. I don’t think we’re going to worry too much about what BC is going to do.”

Boston College head coach Jerry York, who picked up his 800th career coaching victory last weekend in the regionals, noted that the two teams have historically collided in the postseason.

“Now we get to play the Sioux again,” said York. “This is the third straight time in the Frozen Four. We’ve got a great history of playing the Sioux. It just seems like if we’re going to advance in the tournament, we have to go through the Sioux at some point.”

Boston College has been to the Frozen Four eight times in the past 11 seasons, winning one championship (2001). North Dakota has made the Frozen Four seven of the past 12 seasons, winning two championships (1997 and 2000).

BC claims three of the top 11 scorers in the country heading into Thursday’s contest. Junior forward Nathan Gerbe, a member of the Hobey Hat Trick, leads the way for Boston College with an impressive 30 goals and 30 assists. Freshman forward Joe Whitney (10-40-50) leads the nation in assists, and sophomore forward Ben Smith (23-22-45) has benefited from being Gerbe’s linemate.

The Eagles also have scoring depth; the top six BC forwards have collected 261 points this season (102 goals, 159 assists). North Dakota’s top six, by comparison, have collected 170 points this year (85 goals, 85 assists).

Where the Fighting Sioux make up the scoring difference, however, is on the blue line. The top four scoring UND defenseman have 93 points this year (17 goals, 76 assists), while the top four Boston College blueliners have 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists).

Boston College Team Profile
National Rankings: #7/#3
PairWise Ranking: #6 (tied)
KRACH Strength of Schedule: 12th of 59 teams
Head Coach: Jerry York (14th season at BC, 334-180-50, .637)
This Season: 23-11-8 Overall, 11-9-7-Hockey East (4th)
Team Offense: 3.57 goals scored/game (3rd of 59 teams)
Team Defense: 2.36 goals allowed/game (14th of 59 teams)
Power Play: 21.7% (46 of 212)
Penalty Kill: 83.9% (177 of 211)
Last Season: 29-12-1 Overall (NCAA Runner-up), 18-8-1 Hockey East (2nd)
Key Players: Junior F Nathan Gerbe (30-30-60, named to the Hobey Baker Hat Trick), Freshman F Joe Whitney (10-40-50), Sophomore F Ben Smith (23-22-45), Junior F Benn Ferriero (17-24-41), Freshman G Jon Muse (23-11-8, 2.26 GAA, .920 SV, 3 SO)
NCAA Championships: 2 (most recent, 2001)
NCAA Appearance: 28th (most recent, 2005)

North Dakota Team Profile
National Rankings: #3/#2
PairWise Ranking: #3
KRACH Strength of Schedule:1st of 59 teams
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol (4th season at UND, 106-55-15, .645)
This Season: 28-10-4 Overall, 18-7-3 WCHA (2nd)
Team Offense: 3.05 goals scored/game (16th of 59 teams)
Team Defense: 1.76 goals allowed/game (1st of 59 teams)
Power Play: 19.1% (36 of 188)
Penalty Kill: 87.4% (159 of 182)
Last Season: 24-14-5 Overall (NCAA Frozen Four semifinalist), 13-10-5 WCHA (3rd)
Key Players: Junior F T.J. Oshie (18-27-45, Hobey Baker finalist), Junior F Ryan Duncan (18-22-40), Sophomore F Chris VandeVelde (15-17-32), Sophomore D Chay Genoway (8-21-29), Senior D Taylor Chorney (3-21-24), Senior G Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (27-10-4, 1.64 GAA, .936 SV, 6 SO, Hobey Baker finalist)
NCAA Championships: 7 (most recent, 2000)
NCAA Appearance: 23rd (most recent, 2007)

By The Numbers
Last meeting: October 19, 2007 (Chestnut Hill, MA). Boston College and North Dakota battle to a 0-0, two-period tie in a game delayed and ultimately shortened due to fog and poor ice conditions.
Most important meetings: The Sioux and Eagles have met twice to decide the National Championship, with UND taking the title in 2000 and BC winning it all in 2001.
All-time: UND leads the all-time series between the schools, 11-9-1 (.548). The teams first met on December 29, 1959, with the Sioux winning 5-3. In addition to the more recent playoff meetings listed above, UND and BC also played in national semifinal games in 1963 and 1965, splitting the two contests. When the newly-formed Hockey East began play in 1984-1985, it created a five-year interlocking schedule with the WCHA. During that time, Boston College and North Dakota met 7 times, with John “Gino” Gasparini’s Fighting Sioux squad going 5-2-0 against Len Ceglarski’s Eagles.

Game News and Notes
UND senior goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux leads the nation in every major goaltending category, including goals-against average (1.64), save percentage (.936), and shutouts (six). Lamoureux needs 17 saves at the Frozen Four to give him 1000 for the season. Boston College forward Nathan Gerbe has seven goals and seven assists in his last seven games. North Dakota is outscoring opponents 44 to 12 in the first period this season. Both teams have plenty of big-game experience. 13 North Dakota juniors and seniors see significant playing time, while 11 Boston College upperclassmen are in the regular lineup.

The Prediction
If previous games between these two teams are any indication, this one will be thrilling and go down to the wire. North Dakota has an edge in goaltending and penalty killing, two areas which become more important in the playoffs. If the Fighting Sioux can contain the speedy forwards from Boston College (and I think they have a chance on the smaller ice sheet), they will win a close contest. If BC can find space and create offense, only Lamoureux will stop the Eagles from advancing to their third consecutive championship game. Former UND head coach Dean Blais once said that in the playoffs, hockey should just be called “goalie”, and I’m sticking with his advice and going with the best goaltender in the country. UND 3-2.

Here are possible reasons why UND goaltender Jean-Philippe Lamoureux was not named one of three finalists for college hockey’s Hobey Baker Memorial Award:

5) The committee couldn’t pronounce Lamoureux.

4) The panel believed Lamoureux was only the second-best goalie on his team after seeing video of Sioux junior Aaron Walski against Red River in the North Dakota state high school championship game.

3) The voters wanted to include a player who didn’t lead his team to the Frozen Four (Jones).

2) Committee members read Lamoureux’s statistics wrong; thought he had a goals-against average of 93.6 and a save percentage of 1.64.

1) Conspiracy theorists claimed that Phil, Philippe, and Jean-Philippe were three brothers who each collected nine victories and two shutouts this season.

Well, there you have it. Since there is no reasonable explanation why Lamoureux was left out of the Hobey Hat Trick, this is all I could come up with. Feel free to add your own explanation in the comments section below.