What's Next?...Goalie Edition

One of the first things Coach Motzko and company need to secure during this off-season is sign a quality back-up goaltender for Mike Lee. Dan Dunn was not spectacular this year, but he did great things for us last year ('09-'10) and by all accounts was a fine back-up behind sophomore Mike Lee this year ('10-'11). Mike Lee really started to find his stride during the second half and put up some pretty nice numbers (.922 save percentage and 2.41 GAA in 19 games) and is likely to be our number one net-minder for the 2011-2012 season. That doesn't mean that SCSU can rely on him for all things in all situations. Goalies like Lee need strong competition and will likely have better performance if another goalie might be able to challenge him for his job. As it currently stands, SCSU has commitments from seven forwards, five defensemen, and ZERO goalies. So what does the talent pool look like? I choose to take a peek at the available USHL goalies as that is the league I am most familiar with and the league from which SCSU picked up SCSU greats like Bobby Goepfert ('01-'02 USHL Goalie of the Year) and Mike Lee ('08-'09 USHL Goalie of the Year).

Available USHL Goalies (w/ decent stats):

• OMA- John Keeney- GAA= 2.27, SV%= .917
• OMA- Todd Mathews-  GAA=2.29, SV%=.916
• TRI- Scott Diebold- GAA=2.50, SV%=.920
• LIN- Kevin Murdock- GAA=2.88, SV%=.909
• DUB- Jackson Teichroeb- GAA=2.63, SV%=.901

If I did my fact-checking correctly, these are the top 5 USHL goalies (depending on which stats you are looking at) that do not currently have a college commitment. What do you think of these potential goalies? Should SCSU reach out to any of them for next season? What other goalies need to be considered from the USHL or other leagues?

Of the decisions that the St. Cloud State hockey program needs to make this summer, this is one of the decisions that I am most anxious about. I guess only time will tell.

Go Huskies!

NCAA and Frozen Four thoughts

At the beginning of the season I had every expectation that St. Cloud State would make it to the NCAA's and I had a good feeling that this "could be the year" that the Huskies made their Frozen Four debut. However, we all know that this season did not turn out as planned. Despite the unceremonious conclusion to the Huskies hockey season, there is still a reason to finish off watching the rest of the NCAA tournament and the Frozen Four. Our WCHA conference once again displayed its dominance over collegiate hockey by sending UMD, CC, UNO, DU, and UND to the NCAA tournament. This becomes even more significant considering all of the noise being made about UofM and UW leaving for the the Big 10 Conference. Based on this year (which has been arguably a little fluky...look at the under-performance of SCSU and the over-performance of UAA) one may come to the conclusion that the WCHA does not need the UofM or UW to remain as the top conference in collegiate hockey. Programs like UMD, CC, UNO, DU, UND, SCSU, and even BSU, MSU, and UAA still make for a heck of a competitive conference (sorry MTU...maybe next year you will be considered as "competitive"). All this aside, I want to say congratulations to the WCHA conference teams that went to the NCAA tournament. 

Of the 5 WCHA teams that made it to the NCAA tournament 2 have made it to the Frozen Four. UND made their way into the Frozen Four with dominating victories over RPI and Denver. I got to watch part of the UND vs. DU game and thought that the Fighting Sioux looked near unstoppable. UMD made their way into the Frozen Four with victories over Union and Yale. Congratulations UND and UMD! The other two teams joining UND and UMD in this years Frozen Four is Notre Dame and Michigan. Even though UMD knocked out the Huskies in the WCHA 1st round playoffs and UND is a major Husky hockey rival (and I would never cheer for either of these two teams during the regular season) I encourage all Husky fans to support the WCHA and its remaining members in the Frozen Four. Though you may not like it, these teams are still our colleagues and we should support any WCHA teams winning the national championship. Be sure to be following bloggers Goon's World and Running with the Dogs for the latest news and updates about our WCHA teams in the Frozen Four.

University of North Dakota and University of Minnesota-Duluth I wish you the best of luck at the Frozen Four!

*Just a little video reminder about the hope and dream that was the 2010-2011 hockey season:

Sulking Over...Back at Last

Mike Lee- CIC Player of the Year!

The 2010-2011 Husky Hockey season is over. Some may say it came way too soon, others would say (based on how the team as performed this year) it could not come soon enough. It is true that this year has been a struggle for Husky fans everywhere. The first half of the season was dismal at its best. However, the Huskies stepped up their game after Christmas rising to the point of having the second best "post-Christmas" record in the WCHA. Only league leading (and eventual MacNaughton and Broadmoor Cup winners) North Dakota was higher, grabbing two more points than St. Cloud. All of this second-half success for the Huskies only made their eventual defeat in the first round of the WCHA playoffs hurt so much more. The Huskies, and in particular Mike Lee, put on an outstanding performance during the final game that saw UMD win in a triple OT. Sophomore goalie Mike Lee made an incredible 60 save performance for SCSU.  His save total is the most by a Husky goalie since Bobby Goepfert had 67 saves in another triple OT WCHA playoff game against UMD in 2007. Despite this terrible loss, I also felt quite proud of Husky fans. While following the St. Cloud State Live Blog for this last game I found that there were fans watching the Live Blog from:

• Minnesota (Roseau, Warroad, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, Woodbury to name a few)
• Colorado
• Washington, D.C.
• Oregon
• California
• Tennessee
• Thiland
• Sweeden

And these were only the Husky fans that were following the game from this specific blog who commented where they were from. This list does not include those who were on this blog but didn't say where they were from, those who may have been watching the game on the Internet, or following the game through KVSC radio, or those following the game through anther site (like USCHO, WCHA, CHN, etc...). Needless to say I am proud of Husky fans supporting our team nation and worldwide. 

To read more about the end of the season please check out these two fantastic links:

• R.I.P. Husky Hockey 2010-11
• SCSU men's hockey year-ender: Defeated, not disheartened

Husky Hockey News

• Former Husky Joe Motzko has received a 1-yr contract extension with ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL.
• Defenseman Oliver Lauridsen has chosen not to return to St. Cloud State next year in signing an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. This means that he will not have the chance to play with SCSU recruit and brother Markus Lauridsen. You can read more about his reaction here.
• After only a couple games Lauridsen is already done for the year with the Flyer AHL affiliate Adirondack Phantoms with a dislocated shoulder. Check out this hit and ensuing fit that took place AFTER Lauridsen had dislocated his shoulder:

• Former Husky Tony Mosey is also done with his team the ECHL FL Everblades. However, Mosey is gone not because of an injury, but because the team released him.
• Former Husky Captain Aaron Marvin has been signed amateur tryout contract with the Calgary Flames.
• Goalie Mike Lee was selected by the Center Ice Club as Player of the Year. In the second half, Lee had a .922 save percentage and 2.41 GAA in 19 games.
• Check out Husky alum Andreas Nodl's recent goal against the Washington Capitals:

More to come later...

Go Huskies!!!

The Underdog with the Upperhand- Playoff Time

Let's hope St. Cloud continues its winning ways

The WCHA Playoffs begin tonight when the St. Cloud State Huskies will be visiting the the University of Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs at the new AMSOIL Arena. Despite the UMD Bulldogs ending the season in the #4 position in the WCHA and the Huskies claiming the #9 position, the Huskies have a better "post-Christmas" record and took 3 of 4 points from UMD back in February (including an 8-2 smack down). What does this all mean? Most likely nothing. It is a brand new season and both teams will be fighting tooth-and-nail to make it to the Final Five. However, here is what the experts are saying:

Predictions:

St. Cloud Times

"No. 9 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth — The Huskies are 10-5-3 in the second half, while the Bulldogs are 8-6-3. Minnesota-Duluth moved into the AMSOIL Arena, but it has yet to become a dominant place for the Bulldogs. Minnesota-Duluth is 3-4-2 at AMSOIL, which includes a 7-2 loss and 3-3 tie with the Huskies. The Bulldogs are not the most physical team in the WCHA, which plays into the Huskies’ favor. Prediction: St. Cloud State in three."

USCHO.com

"Theresa: This is a tricky, tricky series in my mind. Earlier in the year, the pick would be a no brainer. Now, however? The Bulldogs have been stumbling a bit down the stretch while the Huskies are one of the hottest teams in college hockey. That being said, UMD gets the edge for overall consistency while SCSU has been, as I said earlier this season, consistently inconsistent. Who do I go for? Short playoff formats favor the streaky: I’m going with SCSU (probably in three)."

Goal Gophers

Chris: "The year Tech beat CC in the playoffs, I happened to be at a first-round series between UMD and St. Cloud State and I told then-Huskies beat writer Mike Killeen that if Tech pulled off the upset, I would walk across the National Hockey Center ice stark naked. I had no intention of actually doing it, because everyone knows I’m all talk and no action, but oddly enough in the past few years I have been on that campus when no one was around and thought about actually sneaking into the building and doing it, just in case when the Great Scorer comes to mark against my name, he marks not whether I won or lost but how I played the game. I didn’t, natch, because I’d screw it up somehow and get arrested or something, and that’s all I need, more bad publicity. Back to hockey. The St. Clouds beat the UMDs bad a couple of weeks ago, so you can throw out the record book, as the kids say.  I’ll go with the ... Bulldogs take the series at home, losing 3-2, winning 4-2 and then taking a five-overtime thriller 6-5 on Sunday evening"

Roman: "Seems it has been a couple years since I've seen St. Cloud State. The Gophers split with SCSU in late October. Know much more about UMD. They can score. This Mike Connolly have five goals -- in one game -- against the U of M. Jack Connolly and Justin Fontaine find the net a lot, too. But the Amsoil Arena has not proved to be much of a home team edge this season. 'Dogs should try to move this series to the DECC. ... Being a contrarian Huskies win 4-2, 3-5, 2-1 overtime."

Goon's World

"In early February the Huskies invaded Amsoil Arena and beat the Bulldogs 8-2 and tied in the rematch 3-3. SCSU is 5-2-2 in their last 9 games with loses to UND and DU, not too shabby. The Bulldogs are 2-4-2 in their last 8 games with wins over UNO and MSUM. This series has upset written all over it. SCSU is playing its best hockey of the year and are looking like the team that was picked to finish in the top 3 to start the year. The Bulldogs seem to be sliding into the playoffs. UMD needs to get back on track if they want to secure a bid to the NCAA tournament, which would include winning their first round playoff series. The Huskies still have hopes of making the NCAA tournament, but they need to win this series and do some damage in St. Paul to get in. Looking at the stats UMD has not last a league game when they were ahead after the 1st period, same goes for their 2nd period. The Huskies need to get a lead or be tied after the 1st and 2nd if they want to win, according to the stats. This could be the most interesting series this weekend, in my opinion.
SCSU in 3"

WCHA Blog

"The Huskies are coming off a well-played weekend at Denver where they split with the Pioneers. Prior to that they swept Wisconsin at St. Cloud in embarrassing fashion if you're a Badger fan. The Huskies are playing well right now, but started out the month horribly. They're 4-4-2 since the start of February.
Duluth is coming off a split with Omaha last weekend, and dropped three of four points at CC the prior week. Duluth is 3-4-3 in February and is not playing well right now.
For me, this is the match-up I wanted most. The Gophers don't lose at home in the playoffs, and we had no luck vs. CC earlier this season. Surprisingly, the Huskies lead the overall series against UMD 54-36-7, and are on a 4-0-2 run against the Dogs since Jan. '09. Things change though. Statistically, the teams look fairly even. The Dogs have three high scoring forwards, but the Huskies are putting some goals up now, too. Special teams will probably be the key in this one, and the Huskies special teams are playing well right now. I wouldn't be surprised to see Duluth take this in three, but I'm really impressed with this St. Cloud team right now.
Huskies advance to the Final Five in three games.
Huskies win Friday 3-1
Bulldogs win Saturday 4-2
Huskies win Sunday 3-2"

College Hockey News

"The matchup: After struggling early on, St. Cloud State has seemed to find itself down the stretch. The Huskies have lost just twice over its last eight games — a pair of 3-2 losses to the top two teams in the WCHA. Included in that run is a series at Amsoil Arena against the Bulldogs, where SCSU took three of four points, including an 8-2 win Feb. 11. That series started a downward spiral for UMD, which has won just two of its last eight. The Bulldogs are at their best when their penalty kill is working. In their last five wins, they have shut out teams with the man advantage. In their last five losses, opponents have scores nine power play goals.
Our take: With the above statistic in mind, the Huskies have scored a power-play goal in each of their last three games. The Bulldogs are a pretty good team 5-on-5, so if SCSU is going to pull the upset, they will need to find a way to take advantage of the UMD penalty kill. St. Cloud went 4-of-10 on the power play in February — the teams' only meeting of the season.
Pick: HUSKIES IN THREE"

It looks like all (well almost all) the experts are picking St. Cloud State (as the "underdog") to come out with the wins and advance to the Final Five. Should be a very exciting and closely matched game though. I am also picking St. Cloud State to win in 3 games.

Final total:

St. Cloud Advances= 7
Duluth Advances= 1

Lines:
Hanowski- Roe- Eddy
Festler- Marvin- Novak
Reid- LeBlanc- Dowd
MacMillian- Christian- Oslund


Lauridsen- Jensen
Gravel- Johnson
Zabkowicz- Barta


Lee

Other Links:

• "SCSU hopes to be cut above UM-D"- Discusses the upcoming games against UMD. 
• "A key 2nd-half return for SCSU"- Talks about the importance of getting David Eddy into the lineup. Also mentions that ADD may be behind some of his early academic struggles at SCSU.
• "WCHA men's hockey 1st-round playoff pairings; team records before and after Christmas"- Looks at team records before and after Christmas. The Huskies were ranked #11 before Christmas and ranked #2 for best record after Christmas. Only league-leading UND had a better record after Christmas.

A video to make you smile:

GO HUSKIES!!!!

Calm before the storm

Defensive Player of the Week Mike Lee waits to take on the Bulldogs

Right now it feels like the calm before the storm as the Huskies wait and prepare to burst into Duluth this weekend for what will prove to be an awesome series and smashing defeat of the Bulldogs. Until then, here are a couple links for your reading pleasure:

• The WCHA has announced its yearly awards. The "big ones" going to: 
• Matt Frattin (UND) as Player of the Year
• Chay Genoway (UND) as Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year
• Justin Schultz (UW) as WCHA Defensive Player of the Year
• Jason Zucker (DU) as WCHA Rookie of the Year
• Aaron Dell (UND) as WCHA Goaltending Champion
• Dean Blais (UNO) as WCHA Coach of the Year.  
• Representing the St. Cloud State Huskies, Drew LeBlanc was on the WCHA Third Team. Personally, I believe Garrett Roe should have also made the Third Team and Nick Jensen should have definitely made it to the All-Rookie Team. But, I am admittedly more than a little biased. 
• It is being reported that this weekends match-up between the Huskies and the Bulldogs will not be aired locally in St. Cloud. I have heard that it may be available on the B2 Network/ America One Live pay-per view online video streaming service. Currently, however, there is no sign of the games being broadcast there either. Sorry Husky fans.
• Also, take a look at Mick Hatten's latest blog. You can see that since Christmas, the Huskies have the second highest record. Only the league leading Fighting Sioux have done better since Christmas than the Huskies (however, the Huskies have played with a tougher schedule). I won't necessarily call it the "turn around of the century" yet, but a couple more wins this weekend and at the Final Five, and I think we have ourselves a very interesting story.
• Hatten has also reported that right wing freshman Nic Dowd has been practicing with the team and is expected to return to the line-up this weekend in Duluth. Dowd suffered an upper body injury in the first period of the second game against Wisconsin and did not play last weekend at Denver. 

Go Huskies!!!

Info on SCSU vs. UMD playoff games and more

Go Huskies!

Here is some quick information on the UMD vs. SCSU WCHA Playoff games this weekend:

• Ticket Info
• More Ticket Information- SCSU Ticket Office
• Center Ice Club Road Trip

Radisson Hotel Duluth Harborview - Group Rate $84 + tax 

Standard Double Room (includes complimentary continental breakfast) 

Please call the hotel directly at 218-727-8981 and ask for the "Center Ice Club" rate 

Check-in Time: 3:00 PM 

Cut off Deadline: 3/10 

• KVSC will be covering the games this weekend.
• Since Christmas, SCSU has won 10 games, tied 3 games, and loss 5 games. They have played teams like Miami, UNO, UMD, UND, UW, DU in that time span.
• Only slightly worse, UMD has won 9 games, tied 3 games, and loss 6 games. They have played teams like UW, UofM, SCSU, and UNO.
• St. Cloud has won 1 more game than UMD since Christmas, but has done so with a more difficult schedule. 
• In the only match up of the year, St. Cloud beat UMD 8-2 and then tied UMD 3-3.

Other Stuff:

• The Coach Bob Motzko show is now available on the CIC webpage. In the show you will hear about St. Cloud's last games at Denver, the hiring of Gino Gasparini, and about the upcoming WCHA playoffs in Duluth. Coach Motzko pointed out the many people in Duluth may be in the Twin Cities for the HS tournament so there should be plenty of room for Husky supporters to come to the new AMSOIL Arena. Make sure to be there!
• The Center Ice Club player of the week is Ben Hanowski. Hanowski had two goals this weekend against Denver.
• Goalie Mike Lee is the WCHA defensive player of the week. Good Job!
• Former Husky Mark Parrish will be back playing in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres.

Go Huskies!

Last Regular Series Recap

Captain Aaron Marvin celebrates his GWG Friday night at Denver

The Huskies concluded the regular season with an away game split with the University of Denver. The Huskies and Pioneers battled out two very close games. Friday night the Huskies beat Denver 3-2. Senior defender Brett Barta scored the first goal during the first period giving the Huskies the early lead 1-0. Not much later, Denver tied the game up at 1-1. However, before the 1st period would end, the Huskies took the lead to 2-1 with a goal from sophomore Ben Hanowski. The second period would go by scoreless; however, DU would tie things up 2-2 early in the third. Senior captain Aaron Marvin tallied the game winning goal with less than 2 minutes left in the third to give the Huskies the 3-2 victory. You can read more about the game here:

• Marvin GWG Lifts SCSU to 3-2 Victory
• Marvin's goal delivers the win, 3-2
• DU falls to 4-5 with loss to St. Cloud State

On Saturday, we would see another hard fought game. Denver scored the lone first period goal. The Huskies came out stronger in the second and freshman defender Kevin Gravel scored a late period goal to make it 1-1. The goal was Gravel's first of the year. Denver then fought back with and even-strength and short-handed goal to make the score 3-1 with less than 7 minutes left to play. Sophomore Ben Hanowski scored his second goal of the weekend with under 3 minutes to play to make it 3-2. The Huskies were unable to get the late game tying goal. For a team that struggled early this season to get pucks to the net, the Huskies outshot the Pioneers 35-33. Despite the loss, the hard-fought effort by the Huskies was probably good preparation for the conference finals. You can read more at:

• Huskies Fall 3-2 at Denver
• Pioneers tip Huskies, 3-2
• DU plants No. 2 seed for WCHA playoffs

WCHA Playoffs:

The Huskies will be playing the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the 1st round of the WCHA playoffs. The Huskies have played UMD twice this year, both times at the new AMSOIL Arena. The Huskies dominated the Bulldogs on Friday, February 11th to the tune of an 8-2 victory. On Saturday, the Huskies and Bulldogs skated to a 3-3 tie. The Huskies have played well in new arenas this season going 3-0-1 at the new UMD and BSU arenas. However, now that it is playoff time that really does not matter. The Huskies will have to just play their best because any loss at this point (almost) means the end of the season. To view the whole WCHA playoff lineup click here. I will bring you more on this playoff series later this week.

Check out (most of) this season's home goals:





Go Huskies!

St. Cloud State vs. Denver. Go Huskies!

SCSU and DU will fight it out this weekend in the last regular season match-up

This weekend will be the last regular season games of the 2010-2011 season. The Huskies will be playing against the University of Denver. Despite being the number two team in the conference right now the Denver have gone an unimpressive 2-2 in the last four games against UNO and MTU (yes I said MTU). There is a lot riding on this weekends games. If DU sweeps SCSU and MTU sweeps UND (highly unlikely) DU could possibly be co-champions of the MacNaughton Cup for regular-season champions. Conversely, with a sweep at Denver and the right circumstances (Colorado College and Wisconsin split, or, if either of those two sweep, then Minnesota lose twice at Bemidji) St. Cloud could get one of the final home-ice playoff spots. So this is a big game for both clubs.

Predictions:

USCHO.com

Theresa: "Another time two teams meet for the first time all season! SCSU has been fairly inconsistent all season (and highly frustrating for Husky fans), but has played arguably some of their best hockey in the last few weeks. The Pioneers, on the other hand, may quite possibly be falling apart — splits in their last four weekends. Plus, it’s never good when your coach still says there are things to really work on this late in the season. Is it possible Denver peaked too early (again)? All shall be revealed soon enough, of course. As for this weekend, I think a split is probably the most likely result, given both teams right now. SCSU Friday, DU Saturday."

 Tyler: "Denver is up and down just like it was at the end of the regular season last year and SCSU has caught the Pioneers at the right time. The Huskies are playing their best hockey since the holidays, scoring like they should be and have proven they’re able to skate with any team in any arena. SCSU desperately needed a leader when one of its assistant captains was dismissed/left the team and Drew LeBlanc has been that guy. The junior has 18 points in the 14 games since the New Year. Split."

Goal Gophers

Roman: "Pios were only 4-4 in Feb., maybe they are saving their strength for the playoffs. Spilt with Michigan Tech (really) and UNO past two weekend. DU has wins over 10 WCHA opponents, SCSU could become 11. DU has split with SCSU on its last four visits to the Mile High City. The Huskies are coming off a dominating sweep of Wisconsin. Garrett Roe is one of SCSU's hottest players with five goals and six assists last month... Split"

Goon's World

"Last weekend the Huskies swept the UW Badgers in St. Cloud and the Pioneers split with the UNO Mavericks in Omaha.

The Huskies have been mushing their way up standings in 2011. Unfortunately their horrible first half has them sunk into a bottom half finish. They Huskies are heating up at the right time of the year and are not a team people want to see in the first round of the playoffs. The Pioneers have stumbled a bit, but are back home at Magness Arena where they are an impressive 13-3-2 overall this season. The Huskies are 5-6-1 this season away from the National Hockey Center. (They are going to update/renovate the NHC using $31M to do so, I can’t wait to see a new upgraded NHC.) The Pioneers are just about a shoe-in for the NCAA tourney, and the Huskies still have a chance too. DU has talent and is at home, so I don’t think they’ll get swept, but do they have the instinct to finish off teams? SPLIT"

WCHA Blog

"The Huskies are one of the hottest teams in the league right now, but Denver is a pretty good team, too. Home-ice advantage and senior night will probably play into this, but the Huskies are fighting for that final home-ice spot in the playoffs, so desperation by the Huskies could come into play here. I think the Huskies will give a great effort, but things just won't line up for them.
Split. Huskies win Friday 3-2, Denver wins Saturday 4-2"

Looks like all the "cool kids" are picking a split for this weekend. As I did last weekend (which turned out GREAT) I am going to pick a St. Cloud State Sweep. The Huskies are hungry and looking to play. 

Lines: (from SC Times)

Hanowski- Roe- Eddy
Thorson- Marvin- Novak
Festler- LeBlanc- Reid
MacMillian- Christian- Oslund

Lauridsen- Jensen
Gravel- Johnson
Zabkowicz- Barta

Lee

*Nic Dowd will likely miss his first game of the season. He should be able to return no later than the first round of WCHA playoffs.

WCHA Playoffs

Speaking of the first round of the WCHA playoffs, both the WCHA Blog and Goal Gophers have prognosticated that St. Cloud will be playing at the University of Minnesota for the first round. Although, this will bring a great rivalry and be particularily entertaining, much like the Huskies the Gophers have been playing well as of late. Also, the Huskies have never won a WCHA playoff game at Mariucci.


Other Important Links:

• Continuing to dominate the weekly awards, Garrett Roe has also been named as the first star of the week last week by USCHO.com
• Also, the St. Cloud Times wrote a nice piece on senior Garrett Roe titled,"Roe plays the only way he knows".
• WCHA.com has a good article about the Huskies visiting Denver this weekend titled, "Resurgent Huskies challenge Denver".
• Here is some more information on the 2011-2012 Husky Schedule.

From The Other Side:
*Here are some posts from the popular DU blog, "Lets Go DU"

• Here you can see DU fans recognizing the national (actually international) celebrity status and notoriety of the National Hockey Center in the popular TempurPedic ad.
• Apparently DU has troubles with fan support so Coach Gwozdecky has ordered more. Not sure why a team that is ranked number 2 in the WCHA would have problems with fan support?
• The Charlie Sheen craziness has hit Denver.
• Finally, a "code red" has been issued at Magness Arena. The video was so well done that I had to include it on my blog. Good job to whoever did this video!

Well there you have it folks. It is sure to be a fun and exciting weekend as the regular season comes to its conclusion. I look forward to sharing the good details of the Huskies success against Denver and our top 6 finish in the league with you on Monday.

GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

St. Cloud State is the Team of the Week (and other notes)

Good Job Team!

The St. Cloud State Huskies have been named the Team of the Week by College Hockey News. This comes after Garrett Roe received several individual accolades for his play this weekend. Some great quotes from the article include:

"...the Huskies have played some of their strongest hockey of the season over the last three weeks — and following their dominant sweep of the Badgers over the weekend..."

"...if the Huskies continue to score like they did against Wisconsin, there is a good chance SCSU can make a deep run in the WCHA playoffs..."

"SCSU's series at Magness Arena also has national implications. Victories could move the Huskies even closer to the at-large bubble in the Pairwise, where they currently sit in a tie for 19th with in-state rival Minnesota."

"St. Cloud is among the hottest teams in the league. Perhaps most impressive is the quality of opponent during that stretch, however."

Other Notes:

• After a bad hit in the first period in Saturday night's game against Wisconsin, freshmen sensation Nic Dowd may not be playing this weekend. Coach Motzko said, "If this was the playoffs, he'd play. This might be a decision where we play it cautionary for this weekend." Tough news for the Huskies who are going to need everyone contributing to get the wins they need from Denver.
• Check out Mick Hatten's blog for more information on Dowd as well as our first preliminary look into next seasons schedule.
• You can check out some good stuff on the importance of this weeks final regular season games in an article titled, "A PWR tour of WCHA teams".
• You can check out a preview of the DU vs. SCSU game at the Denver Athletics website.
• Former SCSU goalie Jase Weslosky has joined former SCSU goalie Bobby Goepfert with the Florida Everblades.
• Fellow Husky blogger and former Husky player Mike Doyle has a good post titled, "Viewer comments on the SCSU vs. UW broadcast". Please read it. It demonstrates both the complete idiocy of some fans around the WCHA as well as the dignity of Mike Doyle in his response. Great post from a great blog.

Go Huskies!

Garrett Roe...The Hat Trick of Weekly Accolades

Garrett Roe's Awesome Weekend!

Senior Garrett Roe has been a phenomenal player during his time at St. Cloud State. Don't believe me? Take a look at some All-Time Ranking stats below:

• Assists: 1st (111)
• Shots on goal: 1st (463)
• Shots per game: 1st (3.05)
• Assists per game: 2nd (0.73)
• Points: 3rd (176)
• Points per game: 4th (1.16)
• Game-winning goals: t-4th (11)
• Power-play goals: t-4th (26)
• Goals: 7th (65)
• Games played: 9th (152)

I could go on, but I won't. At the beginning of the season Garrett Roe was being discussed as a probable Hobey Baker candidate as one of the top players in the WCHA and in Division I collegiate hockey. Unfortunately, Roe and the rest of the Huskies had a real late start to their season and were vastly under-performing. However, as of late, Roe and the Huskies have been doing MUCH better. Garrett Roe demonstrated this weekend why he is still one of the best college hockey players around. Roe scored a total of four goals this past weekend against Wisconsin. Two goals and the game winner on Friday (2/25) and two more goals and the game winner on Saturday (2/26). His play was enough to earn him several weekly player awards. This week Garrett Roe is the Inside College Hockey Player of the Week, the WCHA Offensive Player of the Week, and the Center Ice Club Player of the Week. You can read more about them below:

• INCH Player of the Week
• Roe Named INCH Player of the Week
• WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
• Roe Named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week
• Center Ice Club Player of the Week

From Coach Bob Motzko:

"If we’re going to make any noise in the playoffs, we need Garrett Roe scoring. We know what he can do."

Congratulations to senior Garrett Roe!

Other Stuff

• This week's Bob Motzko Coaches Show is now available at the CIC webpage.
• The WCHA recently released an article about WCHA playoff scenarios. According to the site:

"St. Cloud State gets home ice if: they sweep Denver and UW gets exactly three points, OR they sweep Denver, UW gets 0, 1, or 4 points, Minnesota gets 0 points, and St. Cloud State’s final goal differential in league play (goals for minus goals against) is greater than Minnesota’s."

•  USCHO.com released an article titled, "The improtance of defeating TUCs in the PairWise system". The article had this to say in relation to SCSU:

"St. Cloud State is the one team BSU can affect if it loses its TUC status. The Huskies are 3–1 against the Beavers this season with a .4677 winning percentage against TUCs and that would drop to .4259. 

The reality is all signs point to BSU’s RPI falling below .5000. The Beavers would likely have to get, at least, a split with Minnesota and then win its playoff series to remain a TUC.

Five of SCSU’s comparison wins (Dartmouth, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Ferris State and Alaska) rely heavily on winning percentage vs. TUCs and the Huskies will likely lose all five without their record against BSU.

Three or four points for SCSU this weekend in Denver could help turn some comparisons and move the Huskies up the PWR, but BSU’s imminent falling out of the TUCs would bring SCSU right back down. A Denver sweep would most likely get the Pioneers into the top four in the PWR."

• However, Coach Motzko has said on numerous occassions that because of our poor play early in the season, the Huskies are not looking at the numbers or the computers this year. They just know they have to win every game they can. Period.
• USCHO.com also did an article on the hiring of "Gino" Gasparini. Check it out here, "St. Cloud State hires Gasparini as special advisor"

And finally, a video I came across today about the extrordinary work that Husky Productions does to broadcast Husky games. Thanks Husky Productions!



Go Huskies!