North Dakota wins 7-3 over Minnesota

North Dakota's first line is going crazy Murray, Parise, Bochenski. This trio is lighting it up. The scores in the North Dakota games this year appear to be blown out of proportion, the games are incredibly high scoring. What's the deal, is it North Dakota's dominance, or do the teams in the WCHA just have horrible goaltending?

Well Bochenski is one of the (and quite possibly THE) best forward in college hockey right now. Remember, he had more points for UND last season than the more heralded Parise. Add Parise and Murray to the mix, a pair that were line-mates with Shattuck a few years ago and are very close friends, and you have the right chemistry for an explosive line.

There are some good goalies (and some terrible) in the WCHA but UND hasn't played any of them except for Minnesota's, who's goalies have been getting lit up all season so far. Berkhoel with Denver, McElhinney with CC, and Reichmuth with Minn-Duluth (whom did well in giving up only 3 goals to UND earlier this season) are a few of the goalies that can match UND. But make no mistake about it, UND is that good and can make Patty Roy look foolish when they're on.

MINNESOTA vs. NORTH DAKOTA (11/7):

In a WCHA battle that featured two of the best teams in the nation, had all the elements of being a terrific matchup. This game featured two teams who have a combined 23 (not 24 as I errantly reported previously) NHL prospects.

When all was said and then, the Fighting Sioux were not only victorious, but dominated much of the game thanks to some great skating, puck support and some phenomal play by a UND team loaded with talented players who are just a joy to watch. Three key players did not dress for this game. North Dakota’s top Dman, Andy Schneider (PIT) was out due to a high ankle sprain. Minnesota was without Dmen Keith Ballard (COL), who’s out with a leg injury and Chris Harrington out with a knee injury. UND junior forward (and NJ Devils prospect) James Massen was a healthy scratch.

UND came out with some fire, and it didn’t take them long to get on the score sheet. At the 1:11 mark, junior Dman Matt Jones (PHX) fired a shot from near the blueline that deflected off of the shoulder of Gophers Dman sophomore Peter Kennedy while he was skating in front of the Gophers net and went in behind Gophers netminder, Kellen Briggs. Junior Centerman Rory McMahon was credited with the lone assist. This game featured alot of hits and some great one-on-one matchups. Among the best was the battle going on between Minnesota sophomore phenom, Tomas Vanek (BUF) and rugged UND sophomore Dman, Matt Greene (EDM). An area that plagued the Gophers much of the night was turnovers and poor man coverage. At the 12:40 mark, the Fighting Sioux made the Gophers pay for one of those mistakes. Gophers senior forward Matt Koalska (NSH) lost his coverage on UND sophomore phenom, Zach Parise (NJ). Parise, took a great pass from junior forward Brandon Bochenski (OTT), who then tipped it past Briggs. Bochenski and Greene got the asssists. That made it 2-0 UND. The Gophers would respond at the 15:09 mark. Junior forward Jake Fleming corraled a fluttering puck off of a rebound off the boards and tips it past UND netminder, Jake Brandt. Senior forward Jon Waibel and junior forward Garrett Smaagaard would get the assists on Fleming’s goal. That made the score 2-1 UND.

In the 2nd period, Minnesota would finally come to life offensively as they began to get scoring chances. But not before getting into some penalty trouble. At the 7:37 mark, punishing freshman Dman, Jake Taylor [NYR] (who was one of the few Minnesota players tonight that played very well), was called on an intereference call that looked more like a cross-check. At the 8:22 mark, Bochenski scored on a lucky bounce off of his knee that resulted from a bad clearing attempt (or rather a bad break) by senior Dman Joey Martin (CHI). The unassisted goal put UND up 3-1. Later at the 11:38 mark, Bochenski would answer the bell again. This time on a terrific individual effort that all started with a faceoff win. He won the battle along the boards with Gophers Dman junior Judd Stevens, then skates in on Briggs. Briggs attempts to stick-check the puck away from Bochenski, but Bochenski stayed with the play and backhanded pass Briggs. The goal was scored on a 4-on-4 situation. Zach Parise drew then only assist, putting UND up 4-1. At the 15:44 mark, Bochenski would be called for a cross-check, which put the Gophers on the Power Play. A few moments later, UND netminder Jake Brandt would make what would be the save of the night. Tomas Vanek fired a shot from the opposite end of the ice that was clearly labelled for the net. Instead Brandt managed to stretch all of his 5’9” frame and his goal-stick out to make the save. The puck bounced off of Brandt’s out-stretched stick. At the 16:14 mark, senior forward Troy Riddle (STL) would pull the Gophers within 2, thanks to a great pass from freshman forward Ryan Potulny (PHI). Riddle fires in a low shot under Brandt to cut UND’s lead to 4-2. Potulny and sophomore forward Gino Guyer (DAL) got the assists. But Minnesota was not done yet. Lesss than a minute later at the 16:40 mark, sophomore forward Tyler Hirsch would pull the Gophers to within one. One a great individual effort, Hirsch receives a flipped pass from junior forward Barry Tallackson (NJ). He then makes a nice move to around UND sophomore Dman Lee Marvin to cut to the middle to fire a shot thru the 5-hole into the net. The unassisted goal made it 4-3 UND.

In what would be the controversial moment of the game, with about 2 minutes left in the 2nd period, Gopher Tomas Vanek appeared to have scored a goal. It all started with a bad clearing attempt by UND’s Matt Greene from the corner. Vanek picks up Greene’s pass then moves in to fire it on net. Greene spotting Vanek moving to the net makes a dash to the net to get behind his netminder to corral the puck in what looked like it was being craddled in his arm while in the crease. After the whistle blew, Greene then dropped the puck right into the net. Gophers team captain Grant Potulny immediately went over to the referee to ask why it is not a goal or why Minnesota would not be awarded a penalty shot. The referee ruled no goal on the play and apparently stated to the Minnesota players and bench that the puck was up against Greene’s body. Minnesota head coach, Don Lucia didn’t really argue the call, but his players did.

The 3rd period would see the Fighting Sioux going back to what worked in the first period for them, while Minnesota would be plagued by many of the same mistakes that plagued them in the 1st period. Another turnover would turnout to once again be costly for the Gophers. At the 1:07 mark, freshman forward Brady Murray (LA) would put UND back up 5-3. Matt Koalska failed to make a clear out of the zone. The puck instead pinballs around, off of a couple of skates before Bochenski comes up with it. He makes a nice drop pass to Murray who then goes top shelf over Briggs glove. Bochenski would get the only assist on the goal.

Later in the period, Minnesota was awarded a Power Play, thanks to UND foward, senior David Lundbohm getting a hooking call. It was bad enough that the Gophers PP wasn’t working at the time, but then a huge mistake is made on Minnesota’s part. At the 4:48 mark (about 1:45 into the PP), the Gophers are assessed a penalty for Too many men on the ice. Fortunately for them, UND did not score on what would be an ensuing Power Play. However, at the 8:14 mark, UND would get another goal that you could say was lucky. Sophomore Dman Lee Marvin, skates into the Minnesoat zone and just before he runs out of real estate, he decides to shoot the puck in from near the goal line on weird angle shot that somehow goes into the net in what looked like off of Briggs’s pads. That made it 6-3...and that was Kellen Briggs night as well. Briggs was replaced by Justin Johnson. Johnson wouldn’t fare much better. Midway thru the 3rd period, the Gophers would get into penalty trouble that would prove costly. At the 11:49 mark, sophomore Dman Andy Sertick (PIT) [normally a forward but playing defence due to the injuries to Ballard and Harrington] would be called for a trip. At the 13:18 mark, freshman Dman Jake Taylor would be called for boarding. With a 5-on-3 Power Play, the trio of Bochenski-Parise-Murray (aka “The Brady Bunch”) would once again work their magic. On a power play that featured some excellent passing by UND, sophomore Brady Murray would get his 2nd goal of the night thanks to nice feed from Bochenski. Murray shot the puck to the far (open) side of the net. That made the score 7-3 UND. While Bochenski and junior forward Colby Genoway would get the assists, another should have been awarded to Zach Parise, who was a key contributing factor on Murray’s goal at 13:45. The game would end 7-3 UND.

In addition to some terrific work by UND, it was the Gophers lackluster offence much of the game as well as the number of turnovers that would decide the outcome of the game.

Two Gophers of note actually had solid games. Freshman Dman Jake Taylor (NYR) and sophomore forward Gino Guyer (DAL) were arguably the best Gophers tonight. Taylor was punishing all night. He helped create what little spark there was for Minnesota. Guyer, who was key in winning faceoffs for the Gophers also made some nice plays to help setup scoring chances for the Gophers. Many of the Gophers players had just an awful night. Among them was Tomas Vanek (BUF), who couldn’t make a good pass in this game even if his life depended on it. One example was an odd-man rush into the UND zone with freshman Dman Danny Irmen (MIN). Irmen was wide open and ready for the pass that Vanek simply couldn’t get right.

While UND as a team played very well, there was much praise to go around. The Bochenski-Parise-Murray is fastly becoming one of the nation’s most potent lines. While Bochenski and Parise receive much of the accolades (and deservingly so), Brady Murray (LA) shouldn’t be discounted. He was magnificent tonight. What Los Angeles Kings fans will like about Murray is his hard-working, grinding style and great sense of anticipation. He also possesses some great hands. He’s a player who’ll crash the net and is more than willing to pay the price for doing so if it means to get that goal. He attacks the net with abandon and is quite tenacious at doing so. Murray will take the abuse but he’ll also dish it out. That was evident in the 2nd period on a shot in front of the net were he tried to stuff the puck past Briggs only to get abused by Sertich and Waibel. Moments later, he’s right back into the faces of the Minnesota players to give the abuse right back to them.

Two other UND players that were exceptional tonight were two young Dmen with size. Sophmore Matt Greene (EDM) and freshman Matt Smaby (TB) became a few Gophers players’ nightmare tonight. Greene, who was all over Vanek much of the night, also showed that he’s not just another tough guy. He showed some very good passing abilities on the as well as being a fairly good skater who possesses a rocket of a shot. But above all, he didn’t get into much penalty trouble tonight. Freshman Matt Smaby is a player that Tampa Bay Lightning fans will fall in love with if he continues to play like he did tonight. Smaby is huge (6’2/220) for starters. He uses his big frame and his sheer strength very well. He can also deliver the brutal hits.....just ask Minnesota’s Jon Waibel. Waibel was the recipient of a brutal but clean Smaby hit in the 2nd period. Besides being big, brutal and strong, he’s also smart. He made some great defrensive plays tonight and showed that he can handle the puck well too.

the gophers are playing just horrible hockey, without any commitment!
:mad:

That first goal was a killer IMO. After that, it was all catch up. This team misses Paul Martin more then they miss Ballard. They absolutley need one of there Dmen to pretend to play D for any amount of time.

Quote:
A few moments later, UND netminder Jake Brandt would make what would be the save of the night. Tomas Vanek fired a shot from the opposite end of the ice that was clearly labelled for the net. Instead Brandt managed to stretch all of his 5’9” frame and his goal-stick out to make the save. The puck bounced off of Brandt’s out-stretched stick.

The reason for this save was the continued ignorance of referee Schmitt. UND's Mike Prpich was checked from behind into the boards head-first. When Jake Brandt saw the ref's arm go up, he headed to the bench for the extra attacker. But surprise! The penalty was on Prpich! Schmitt was calling him for slashing! After the boarding play! When Vanek started carrying the puck out, the entire building wondered what the **** was going on, and why there was no whistle, including the other Gopher players on the ice. When Brandt dove to make that save, it was really a game-saving play!

Mr. Schmitt continues to show his utter hatred for UND. I may be a bit biased, but I know North Dakota deserves penalties. However, whenever Schmitt is the ref, they usually draw an extra 5 or 6 more than the other team. This game was a perfect example. He allows a boarding call right in front of him (he was standing 6 feet away watching) to go by, but when the player who went head-first into the boards swats at the ankle of another player in frustration, THAT gets called! Schmitt is an embarrassment to the WCHA. I've seen him officiate games in St. Cloud and Minneapolis, and while he doesn't dig them into as deep a hole as he tries with UND, he makes some ridiculous calls. If he just called the games fair, it would be appreciated. Every team deserves some penalties. But when the only ones called are minor little hooks at center ice, and not the sticks to the throat (ask Andy Schneider!), well, that's a problem.