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UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

binnyrus said:
Sadly, I cannot. I saw the 2nd major . . . when Smith hit Cournoyer - who then hit a MSU defender who then banged into the goalie. It was all so odd . . . I mean the game was over and I think, most people were pretty much not watching anymore . . . even more odd, no UMD retaliatory penalties. That fact alone tells me that it came out of the blue. It just didn't make sense. As someone else told it to me - Smith hit Irwin and then went after Cournoyer. It didn't make sense.
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I think Binny's assessment is pretty much accurate from what I know. I was sitting at that end, the game was over, and was surprised when I saw Irwin go down on the ice. It all happened fast, in the last 20 seconds or so.. I didn't see either hit. The refs & linesmen conferred for about 5-10 min while the teams shaking hands (minus Smith). I was surprised when they announced the 2 majors. Did talk to some other folks after the game. Checked the collegehockeystats.net box score when I got home to get the official info.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Agree with Binny. I just don't get it. I can't recall any reason for retaliation.

This from a DNT Rink and Run Blog: http://rinkandrun.areavoices.com/2012/02/21/umd-winger-brown-back-at-practice/

UMD women’s coach Shannon Miller said Tuesday she’s expecting the WCHA to rule on possible additional penalties to Minnesota State-Mankato junior winger Lauren Smith of Burnsville, Minn. At the end of last Friday’s 4-1 win over Mankato at Amsoil Arena, Smith was called for a five-minute contact-to-the-head penalty (to UMD’s Haley Irwin) and a five-minute checking-from-behind penalty (to UMD’s Audrey Cournoyer), plus a 10-minute game misconduct penalty and a 10-minute game disqualification penalty. Smith, Mankato’s scoring co-leader, did not play in Saturday’s 7-1 loss.

What happened after that was Coach Means getting in Coach Millers face, literally, and dropping a f-bomb and comments about hoping Haley was injured. It was so bizarre.

Regarding the men's game/ senior night: If I recall, they do it between periods or before the game-- the parent thing.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

We were just above where it happened, but didn't see all of it. Smith not only checked Cournoyer from behind, she checked her into the top goal post. Then we noticed that Shannon and the MSU coach were going at it pretty heatedly, and the refs went over to get between them. It was only then that we noticed Haley laid out flat on the ice trying to get up, and the trainer coming out to help her. That was what surprised us - Haley Irwin isn't an easy player to lay out. She's too tough. So she was hurting.

From what we could tell, it did come out of the blue. The hit on Cournoyer was at the buzzer; the hit on Irwin was a little before, we thought.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

The only question appears to be, should Smith be suspended for the rest of this season or that plus some additional games starting next season? I don't recall ever seeing one player being called for two majors plus two misconducts at the same time during a game - 30 minutes all at once. It's very fortunate that no one was seriously injured.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

D2D- I was wondering if UMD would begin the second game on a PP? But then, I've never seen that where a penalty is assessed at the end and it carries over.

I do have one additional question: What, if any, will the ramifications of Coach Mean's actions bring? We all know what happens to Shannon when she blows her top.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

skatefast said:
D2D- I was wondering if UMD would begin the second game on a PP? But then, I've never seen that where a penalty is assessed at the end and it carries over.
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All penalties assessed against a team in a game are for that game only. It is only penalization of an individual -- essentially suspensions -- that carry over.

skatefast said:
I do have one additional question: What, if any, will the ramifications of Coach Mean's actions bring?
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Many times in situations involving disciplinary action against a coach or player, past behavior is a consideration. I'm not aware of any past "bad behavior" on Mean's part, so that could play a role in what course of action the WCHA chooses to take. It isn't just bad language that gets a coach in hot water; if it was, I can think of one coach on another team that would be constantly suspended. If anything is going to be done regarding Smith or Means, we should know by this weekend's series in Wisconsin.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

So does't past behaviour include constant use of unprofessional language?

Sorry, ARM, I respect your posts and positions a lot but I feel this last post leaves some reading between the lines.
 
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Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

skatefast said:
So isn't past behaviour include constant use of unprofessional language?
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I haven't noticed that from Means, and I have from some others. Perhaps it is a function of where I'm located in certain road arenas. There are certain coaches over the years, where everybody in the rink can tell when they are hollering at the officials: Murphy, Giesen, Idalski, and Miller come to mind. Maybe Means is the same way, but I've never heard it.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Here's an interesting and ironic, or maybe it's an apropos, tidbit.

Lauren Smith's bio on the MSU website indicates that she "is a proposed law enforcement major".

Maybe she was getting her cop chops down.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Congrats to Haley Irwin being named co-Offense Player of the Week. :D

And Means is a Troy Jutting protege. That's close enough to issue a suspension, right?
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

John Gilbert's article on the UMD/Mankato incident, including quotes from coaches

“Taking a time-out with 40 seconds left? That’s b.s. (edited for USCHO censors),” Means said. “On the bench, I said, if they put No. 12 out there, run over her.”

I stopped Means. “Are you kidding? Did you really tell your players to run UMD’s top player?” As it turned out, Smith took out UMD’s top two forwards, which should put her in the WCHA record book somewhere, with two 5-minute majors, a game misconduct and a game disqualification, with her double-barreled attack at 20:00.

“I’m proud of her and I wish she could play tomorrow night,” Means said, meaning Saturday’s rematch.
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Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Eric Means needs to find some other way to occupy his time. That's a dangerous attitude for a coach in any sport at any level and sure doesn't belong in women's hockey.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

JosephPSchmoe said:
Eric Means needs to find some other way to occupy his time. That's a dangerous attitude for a coach in any sport at any level and sure doesn't belong in women's hockey.
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Assuming Gilbert's quote from his interview is accurate - and I have no reason to believe that it's not - I couldn't agree more. I wonder if the league is looking into this further?
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

It was just published today, so I doubt they've had time to look into it. Obviously it's going to be a "two and out" weekend for his team and then their season is over, so I don't know how any sanctions would work.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

And this just in from the league:


MADISON, Wis. – Minnesota State University women's hockey coach Eric Means has decided not to coach tonight's first round WCHA playoff game at the University of Wisconsin.

Said Means, "After having some time to think about the events that occurred during our game at the University of Minnesota Duluth on February 17, I have decided to voluntarily step away from the bench for our first play-off game versus the University of Wisconsin to reflect more deeply about my actions last Friday. And although I have not been suspended by the league, I am confident that this time away from the game will provide the opportunity to consider how this situation might have been handled differently. I will have no further comments regarding this issue."

"The WCHA fully concurs with this decision from Coach Means," said WCHA Associate Commissioner Sara Martin.
 
Re: UMD - Bulldogs -'11-'12 Season Thread

Awfully big of him to take himself out of a game his team has zero chance of winning on what will be the last weekend of their season. I hope the league takes some further action, but I don't know what else they could do. And Sara Martin probably didn't want to get involved.
 
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