UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

[lawdoggies]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Absolutely devastating loss to UNO's MacNaughton chances as well as their NCAA chances.

- - - - - - -

Poor effort by our guys tonight, and, last night as well. You can't mail them in in this league. And that really is what happened both nights. Maybe some good will come of this but the tomorrows are running out fast this season. As deflating a loss as there has been in the history of the program, considering how important this game really was.

Nothing is a given in hockey. As you pointed out before, Tech hadn't won a game against UNO in a long time - maybe they were due to win one. Tech is a very young, but talented, team. I'm not sure that its record this year is reflective of the team's efforts. Tech and UNO played 2 close games in Houghton in November; both were 1 goal games (with and empty netter in the 2nd game). I thought Faulkner was pretty solid, the 1st goal was on a 2 on 1 breakaway. All 4 games looked to me to be hard fought competitive games. I've always enjoyed UNO's speed and skill and will miss these games next year.

 

[LincolnMav]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Is it friggin friday yet??? So ready to get this weekend going. Going to be fun having ND in the house. Cant believe there isnt a thread about this weekend or I could be blind. Looking like mid-40s with a chance of rain for the outdoor matchup. GO MAVS!!

 

[LincolnMav]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Wow we needed that sweep! Hopefully the penalty kill can tighten up for the stretch run. The Wisconsin series will be huge. Go Mavs!!

 

[Red Cows]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Still haven't come up with apropos commentary about last weekend's fiasco.

Much needed weekend for UNO this weekend and last night's game was arguably one of the wildest in school history. We have a propensity for making stars out of nobodies on our opponent's teams. We gave up the first two career goals to a freshman last night, and 4 power play goals to a team that before last night had one of the 10 worst power plays in the country and is still one of the 5 worst offenses in the nation, even after their 5 goal "explosion" against us last night. Our defense stinks. No way you can even sugarcoat it. Not only have we given up the most goals of any team in the conference with a winning record (11 goals behind the next team on that list!), by far, UNO HAS GIVEN UP THE MOST GOALS OF ANY TEAM IN THE NATION WITH A WINNING RECORD!!!

The only team that is even in the same league with them is Boston University, who has given up one less (and has a worse overall record than does UNO since they have scored 26 less goals this season than UNO has) Nobody else is even on that radar screen.

UNO's NCAA scenario is not good without a run of some kind for them in the WCHA tournament. Right now, root for the following:

1. Wisconsin needs to win the 3 games they have left that are not against us. They are JUST above the bottom of the TUC line and we need to sweep them and we also need them to stay a TUC if we do. (Wisconsin sweeping SCSU would bolster our now bleak MacNaughton chances, by the way--as well as that of other teams, though).

2. We need Colorado College to stay a TUC. They are currently the last TUC team on the list. However, their schedule is NOT favorable for this to happen. Series (both at home, though) with SCSU and Mankato and on the road with MTU. If they fall off the TUC cliff..................forget it.

3. We need UMD to become a TUC. They are just below the bottom of the current TUC line. This is a double edged sword. They only have two conference series left, and, a series with Huntsville that won't matter even if they win both their UAH games. We'd need them to sweep Minnesota (Gopher fans are laughing) and Huntsville and then we'd be in a situation where I am almost positive we'd be better off losing at least one game to them and maybe even both of them. Them becoming a TUC would flip some comparisons for UNO as things stand right now.

4. To flip our comparison with Northern Michigan, we need them to lose out. Doing so would probably make TUCs of both their remaining opponents and that would make our TUC record better than theirs.

All these things happening maybe move us to 16 or 17. Without winning some WCHA tournament games, I just don't see UNO getting into the NCAA tournament and if UNO does somehow get in it will probably be as a 4 seed as I'm not sure they'd finish in the top 12 of Pairwise even if they outright won the WCHA tournament. That might get them a 3 seed. There is just too many possibilities to extrapolate out that far right now.

Getting swept by Quinnipiac and North Dakota, and/or that one goal Icebreaker loss to Notre Dame have, to this point, really hosed what has otherwise been a pretty good season, considering we were picked either 7th or 8th in the WCHA (coaches and media) and my guess is that we'll end up 4th.

I think we are gonna fall short on the NCAA's. Hope I am wrong.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Time to resurrect the thread and take another (in-depth) look at UNO's NCAA chances. We're currently 22nd in Pairwise.

I am ONLY looking at this through the end of the regular season. Any suppositions about opponents then in conference tournaments would get this way more complex than it already is at the moment.

Every assertion I am making here makes the assumption that UNO wins all 4 remaining league games (note: I am dubious of this myself). This is pretty much a requisite from the get-go for UNO and even then they are likely to need to at least get to the WCHA Final 5 as well.

There are 3 teams behind us in Pairwise that own the comparison with us. Colgate at #28, Northern Michigan #27, and Ohio State at #24.

Colgate (TUC#28) has Yale (TUC#15) and Brown (TUC#32--the cliff team on the list) both left on the schedule. We need to flip the TUC record comparison with them and we are close, now. If UNO wins out Colgate will have to as well to stay ahead of us. Worse for them, if they beat Brown, they'll push them off the TUC cliff and they'll lose both wins this season against them. Our chances of turning them are excellent.

Northern Michigan (TUC#27) is another team we need to turn the TUC record against. They only have LSSU (not a TUC) left. The only way I see us flipping them is in our post season tourney as we can't turn the TUC record by winning out. We also would desperately need CC to stay a TUC in this particular case as well. If they don't, forget it. Our series split with them is now an albatross around our neck in this comparison.

Ohio State (TUC#24) is another team where the respective TUC records are the problem. However, if UNO sweeps Wisconsin, then Ohio State would HAVE to sweep Miami this weekend to stay ahead of us in Pairwise. UNO would still own this comparison, then, even if they were swept in Duluth the following weekend. This is another one where the chances are good.

The next team up the list is Alaska (TUC#20). There is no way that I can see to flip them in the regular season.

Next up is Boston University (TUC#18). I don't see any way of flipping them in the regular season, either.

St. Lawrence (#TUC17) is next. To flip them, St. Lawrence must lose to both Union and RPI, and UNO must sweep Wisconsin, and, again, CC MUST remain a TUC. Iffy to say the least.

Up next is Yale (TUC#15). They have games left with Colgate (TUC#28) and Cornell (TUC#33--the first team OFF the TUC cliff, currently). If we sweep, then the Colgate game would be a MUST for them to stay ahead of us in Pairwise as that's the only way they'd have a better TUC record.

Notre Dame (TUC#14) is next. They are one of the easier "gets" in front of us. If we sweep Wisconsin, we'll flip them no matter what they do the rest of the regular season.

Denver (TUC#12), surprisingly, is another relatively simple one. If UNO wins out, and Minnesota sweeps DU this weekend, this comparison flips.

SCSU (TUC #11). I don't see any way realistic way to flip them since SCSU has a 4-1 comparison advantage. It's theoretically doable, but, very unlikely.

Western Michigan (TUC#10). I don't see any way to flip them. Would be tough to do even in the post season as well.

U Mass Lowell (TUC #9). This one is actually plausible. If UNO wins out, then U Mass would have to win 3 of their 4 remaining games (all are against TUCS) to continue to own the comparison. Root for anybody playing U Mass Lowell.

Niagara (TUC#8). This is another easy one, as they only own a 1-0 comparison against us, A .5427 RPI vs. our .5235 RPI. They only have a series against Air Force left. While winning out for us might not get us past them in the regular season they'd be vulnerable to us if we have any success in the WCHA tournament as they are not likely going to be improving that number from here on out and we certainly can improve ours. Root for Air Force against Niagara.

Minnesota State (TUC#7) Even if we win out, they only need to win one of their games against either CC or North Dakota to retain their comparison win against us. If they lose out, and we win out, that would flip them for us, though.

This is no credible way that I can see to flip any other team on the Pairwise list starting at #6 on up.

In my opinion, UNO, by winning out, has realistic chances of flipping 4 or 5 teams by regular season's end and 50-50/iffy chances against another 3 or 4 teams.

UNO needs to sweep Wisconsin no matter what. Colorado College MUST remain a TUC. Root for Yale or Brown to beat Colgate. Hope that Miami gets at least one point from Ohio State. Root for Colgate in the Colgate/Yale game. Pray for a Gopher sweep of DU this weekend. Root for the Purple Cows to lose out.

It's doable, but we aren't getting in without some success in the WCHA tourney, THAT is for sure.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Ryan Walters update.

First, here is an HD presentation by Nebraska Public Television (NET) done by Larry Putney about Walters (4:23 running time):

http://www.netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/uno-hockey-ryan-walters-player-feature

The interview portion of the video with Walters takes place at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where UNO practices a lot.

The interview with Coach Blais take place at the brand new Ralston Arena, home of the Omaha Lancers (USHL) where UNO also practices.

Besides practicing at the CenturyLink Center, UNO has also been known to practice at three other rinks in town. We need our new, announced arena to get built! ASAP.

Walters is currently 2nd in the nation in scoring, 2 points behind St. Lawrence's Greg Carey (in the same number of games). UNO has 4 regular season games left and Carey has 2.

Scott Parse's '05-'06 single season (a season in which UNO made the NCAA tourney and got to the 2nd round of the CCHA playoffs) UNO scoring record of 61 points is perhaps safe as Walters has 45 points, currently, and is on a pace to end up with 54 if UNO plays only 2 WCHA tourney games and does not make the NCAA tournament. Parse played 38 games that season. UNO currently has played 32.

Walters is, at this writing, currently #1 on CBS Sports Hobey Baker Watch and has been #1 there for most of the last couple months:

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/e.../cbssportscom-hobey-baker-award-watch-week-19

He is currently 7th in the utterly meaningless fan voting for the award but that is an astounding achievement, IMO, considering that the school has done little to nothing to even champion his cause and the media here has taken little notice as well.

The fan voting is absurd to the point that Corban Knight, who is facing criminal charges and is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on the matter in North Dakota on March 7th, is leading the voting despite the fact that his chances of winning the award as a result are exactly ZERO. Yeah, they are awarding the Hobey Baker Award to a player awaiting trial on criminal charges. Not.

Walters only real competition for the award is Johnny Gaudreau and Drew LeBlanc. Those 3 probably finish 1, 2, & 3.

For Walters to win it, I think he has to win the scoring title and UNO either has to make the NCAA tourney and/or have a great showing in the WCHA tournament. If SCSU wins the MacNaughton, that will go a long way to buttressing LeBlanc's chances. I think Gaudreau's candidacy has already peaked, particularly since BC has limped down the stretch since January 1st at 6-6-2.

I sure hope Walters comes back for his senior season. Haven't heard an iota of talk about this from any quarter.

 

[Back check]

Ryan Walters update.

First, here is an HD presentation by Nebraska Public Television (NET) done by Larry Putney about Walters (4:23 running time):

http://www.netnebraska.org/interactive-multimedia/sports/uno-hockey-ryan-walters-player-feature

The interview portion of the video with Walters takes place at the Omaha Civic Auditorium, where UNO practices a lot.

The interview with Coach Blais take place at the brand new Ralston Arena, home of the Omaha Lancers (USHL) where UNO also practices.

Besides practicing at the CenturyLink Center, UNO has also been known to practice at three other rinks in town. We need our new, announced arena to get built! ASAP.

Walters is currently 2nd in the nation in scoring, 2 points behind St. Lawrence's Greg Carey (in the same number of games). UNO has 4 regular season games left and Carey has 2.

Scott Parse's '05-'06 single season (a season in which UNO made the NCAA tourney and got to the 2nd round of the CCHA playoffs) UNO scoring record of 61 points is perhaps safe as Walters has 45 points, currently, and is on a pace to end up with 54 if UNO plays only 2 WCHA tourney games and does not make the NCAA tournament. Parse played 38 games that season. UNO currently has played 32.

Walters is, at this writing, currently #1 on CBS Sports Hobey Baker Watch and has been #1 there for most of the last couple months:

http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/blog/e.../cbssportscom-hobey-baker-award-watch-week-19

He is currently 7th in the utterly meaningless fan voting for the award but that is an astounding achievement, IMO, considering that the school has done little to nothing to even champion his cause and the media here has taken little notice as well.

The fan voting is absurd to the point that Corban Knight, who is facing criminal charges and is due to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on the matter in North Dakota on March 7th, is leading the voting despite the fact that his chances of winning the award as a result are exactly ZERO. Yeah, they are awarding the Hobey Baker Award to a player awaiting trial on criminal charges. Not.

Walters only real competition for the award is Johnny Gaudreau and Drew LeBlanc. Those 3 probably finish 1, 2, & 3.

For Walters to win it, I think he has to win the scoring title and UNO either has to make the NCAA tourney and/or have a great showing in the WCHA tournament. If SCSU wins the MacNaughton, that will go a long way to buttressing LeBlanc's chances. I think Gaudreau's candidacy has already peaked, particularly since BC has limped down the stretch since January 1st at 6-6-2.

I sure hope Walters comes back for his senior season. Haven't heard an iota of talk about this from any quarter.

Knight and other seniors/captains are being "charged" with being part of a rookie party (that became public knowledge thru unfortunate circumstances). Knight does not drink, does not swear. He is a great guy and if you did your research you would know that if character is a big part of the Hobey process then that will be a big help to Knight. Rookie parties take place every year for thiousands of sports teams every year. It's likely that North Dakota's was no different than UNO's or 99% of the others, except law enforcement became aware of it and must act on the knowledge of the obvious underage drinking.

Your comments re Knight are irresponsible. To mention criminal charges and not report the circumstances behind them is inappropriate to say the least.

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Knight and other seniors/captains are being "charged" with being part of a rookiie party (that became public knowledge thru unfortunate circumstances). Knight does not drink, does not swear. He is a great guy and if you did your research you would know that if character is a big part of the Hobey process then that will be a big help to Knight. Rookie parties take place every year for thiousands of sports teams every year. It's likely that North Dakota's was no different than UNO's or 99% of the others, except law enforcement became aware of it and must act on the knowledge of the obvious underage drinking.

Your comments re Knight are irresponsible. To mention criminal charges and not report the circumstances behind them is inappropriate to say the least.

"Yeah, I murdered my girlfriend. But it wouldn't have been a big deal if the cops didn't find out about it." That seems like the argument you are making. They aren't just being charged with being part of a rookie party. They supplied alcohol to minors and some of the freshman apparently got very sick. It was a big enough deal that the coach suspended them. Knight could very well still be in contention for the Hobey, but to act like this was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is laughable.

http://bismarcktribune.com/sports/c...cle_db24f4f4-0785-11e2-b721-0019bb2963f4.html

 

[Back check]

"Yeah, I murdered my girlfriend. But it wouldn't have been a big deal if the cops didn't find out about it." That seems like the argument you are making. They aren't just being charged with being part of a rookie party. They supplied alcohol to minors and some of the freshman apparently got very sick. It was a big enough deal that the coach suspended them. Knight could very well still be in contention for the Hobey, but to act like this was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time is laughable.

http://bismarcktribune.com/sports/c...cle_db24f4f4-0785-11e2-b721-0019bb2963f4.html

As I said it was a regular rookie party that became public. Knight has exceptionally strong character.
It definitely would not have been a big deal if the police did not become aware of it. Every team that has a rookie party would have to go through what the UND guys are going through if the police found about their parties.
Your "murder" analogy - c'mon man.

 

[Tipsy McStagger]

As I said it was a regular rookie party that became public. Knight has exceptionally strong character.
It definitely would not have been a big deal if the police did not become aware of it. Every team that has a rookie party would have to go through what the UND guys are going through if the police found about their parties.
Your "murder" analogy - c'mon man.

Knight has exceptionally strong character, but not quite strong enough that as captain he couldn't step in soon enough to keep Caggiula from being hospitalized. What makes it a big deal is that the police had to get involved. One kid ended up in the hospital and two more needed help getting to their rooms and had to be monitored the rest of the night. If these "rookie parties" are as common as you claim, and all of them include this much drinking, there is no way more players wouldn't get caught.

 

[Back check]

Knight has exceptionally strong character, but not quite strong enough that as captain he couldn't step in soon enough to keep Caggiula from being hospitalized. What makes it a big deal is that the police had to get involved. One kid ended up in the hospital and two more needed help getting to their rooms and had to be monitored the rest of the night. If these "rookie parties" are as common as you claim, and all of them include this much drinking, there is no way more players wouldn't get caught.

A few of the rookies had too much to drink. The police did not need to get involved. They did because some dorm officials were concerned. The hospitalization and monitoring turned out to be unnecessary. Drinking to excess is common at rookie parties. I accept your opinion on the matter and maybe you are right but I don't see these events as a black mark for Knight.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Knight and other seniors/captains are being "charged" with being part of a rookie party (that became public knowledge thru unfortunate circumstances). Knight does not drink, does not swear. He is a great guy and if you did your research you would know that if character is a big part of the Hobey process then that will be a big help to Knight. Rookie parties take place every year for thiousands of sports teams every year. It's likely that North Dakota's was no different than UNO's or 99% of the others, except law enforcement became aware of it and must act on the knowledge of the obvious underage drinking.

Your comments re Knight are irresponsible. To mention criminal charges and not report the circumstances behind them is inappropriate to say the least.

Knight and 4 other teammates of his, Andrew MacWilliam, Danny Kristo, Carter Rowney, and Joe Gleason are all charged with "unlawful delivery to certain persons". This is a Class A Misdemeanor in North Dakota, the most egregious level of misdemeanor in that state. All 5 of them are adults and none is less than 22 years old. Most of them are older than that, even. This is legal "nice" way of saying they procured alcohol for minors or otherwise provided it to them.

Whether they are guilty of these charges or not I have no way of knowing. They all face a preliminary hearing in court on the matter on March 7th.

There is no way the Hobey Baker Award is going to be awarded to a player that probably is going to be awaiting trial on this matter, or one that has possibly just plea-bargained this whole incident into some lesser charge. Please tell me how anybody could hold Knight up as some bright shining example after this incident and hand him an award that has, as it's very first piece of criteria for awarding it, the stipulation that "Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice". Does anybody really think he's going to win the award with this hanging over his head? I'm all ears for any rationalizations on that topic.

I have absolutely no idea what whether Knight might drink or swear has to do with any of this. Is that supposed to be some sort of mitigating factor, I guess? Or something that might help him win the award, in general? You don't really make that clear. And, since I don't know Knight personally, I have no way of knowing whether he's a great guy or not, either.

It's worth mentioning here that procuring alcohol for minors here in Nebraska, when any sort of injury or death is involved, is a felony as of just last year. The legislature had also tried to make procuring for minors under any set of circumstances here a felony as well but the bill worded that way came up one vote short of passage.

I am not personally passing any judgement on what Corban Knight did or did not do. I just don't think he's going to win the award under these circumstances. I'd bet some pretty big money on it. Apparently, somebody in the school administration there thinks there was something to all of this since the players involved were suspended. I have seen posts by North Dakota fans in various forums on a couple of occasions that postulate the same thing--that's he's hosed himself out of any real consideration for the award as a result of this incident.

Your assertion that "rookie parties (whatever those are) take place every year for thousands of sports teams" is no excuse for underage drinking, which is what your making that statement says to me by you even making it. Did I drink when I was underage? Yes, I did. But, that didn't make it right, or legal, and in hindsight is something I definitely do not condone, now. I did some ridiculously stupid things here and there when I had been and I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself or somebody else as a result.

Corban Knight is undeniably one of the finest hockey players in the country, though, whatever character issues there may or may not be, aside.

 

[MAVFANJEFF]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

yep some drinking went on in North Dakota. Big deal. Why it's being discussed in the UNO thread is foolish. It's a NoDak problem let them talk about it in their season thread.

Nice job tonight too bad we lost. Wisconsin looked good.

 

[Back check]

Knight and 4 other teammates of his, Andrew MacWilliam, Danny Kristo, Carter Rowney, and Joe Gleason are all charged with "unlawful delivery to certain persons". This is a Class A Misdemeanor in North Dakota, the most egregious level of misdemeanor in that state. All 5 of them are adults and none is less than 22 years old. Most of them are older than that, even. This is legal "nice" way of saying they procured alcohol for minors or otherwise provided it to them.

Whether they are guilty of these charges or not I have no way of knowing. They all face a preliminary hearing in court on the matter on March 7th.

There is no way the Hobey Baker Award is going to be awarded to a player that probably is going to be awaiting trial on this matter, or one that has possibly just plea-bargained this whole incident into some lesser charge. Please tell me how anybody could hold Knight up as some bright shining example after this incident and hand him an award that has, as it's very first piece of criteria for awarding it, the stipulation that "Candidates must exhibit strength of character both on and off the ice". Does anybody really think he's going to win the award with this hanging over his head? I'm all ears for any rationalizations on that topic.

I have absolutely no idea what whether Knight might drink or swear has to do with any of this. Is that supposed to be some sort of mitigating factor, I guess? Or something that might help him win the award, in general? You don't really make that clear. And, since I don't know Knight personally, I have no way of knowing whether he's a great guy or not, either.

It's worth mentioning here that procuring alcohol for minors here in Nebraska, when any sort of injury or death is involved, is a felony as of just last year. The legislature had also tried to make procuring for minors under any set of circumstances here a felony as well but the bill worded that way came up one vote short of passage.

I am not personally passing any judgement on what Corban Knight did or did not do. I just don't think he's going to win the award under these circumstances. I'd bet some pretty big money on it. Apparently, somebody in the school administration there thinks there was something to all of this since the players involved were suspended. I have seen posts by North Dakota fans in various forums on a couple of occasions that postulate the same thing--that's he's hosed himself out of any real consideration for the award as a result of this incident.

Your assertion that "rookie parties (whatever those are) take place every year for thousands of sports teams" is no excuse for underage drinking, which is what your making that statement says to me by you even making it. Did I drink when I was underage? Yes, I did. But, that didn't make it right, or legal, and in hindsight is something I definitely do not condone, now. I did some ridiculously stupid things here and there when I had been and I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself or somebody else as a result.

Corban Knight is undeniably one of the finest hockey players in the country, though, whatever character issues there may or may not be, aside.

Misdimeanor charges against Kniight dropped.

 

[Red Cows]

Re: UNO 2012-13 Season Thread - Blaising To An Xcellent Season?

Uh, it's spelled misdemeanor.

What are you, his brother, girlfriend, mom, dad or something?

I'll just reply with what was written by someone in the commentary of the article itself here on USCHO:

Since the report is entirely bereft of details of why the charges were dropped (as is every other one I have seen), I'd say not. The lack of detail is suspicious, to say the least, considering that Knight is ND's Hobey nominee. What an interesting coincidence, the charges are dropped against him and him alone. And everybody else involved pled guilty. And, I have not seen even so much as one supposed insider comment or theory from any quarter saying that Knight was unfairly charged along with his teammates or, that he was a non-participant in this matter.

The fix, as they say, appears to be in. We all know what it LOOKS like happened here.

Apparently, star North Dakota hockey players that are up for the Hobey Baker Award are above the law. That's what it LOOKS like.

You'd have thought the North Dakota press, under the circumstances, would have gone out of their way to provide the details of his "exoneration" due to the obviousness of at least the appearance of some level of impropriety here. These circumstances, barring some specific explanation of why these charges were dropped against him and him alone, might have the opposite effect of drawing more scrutiny to the matter now, not less.

I'm certainly pretty suspicious.

Couldn't have said it better myself.