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Roman Augustoviz spends Minnesota's winters covering college hockey, specifically the Gophers, and other University of Minnesota sports. During the summer, he writes about the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx, with a dose of U sports sprinkled in. Follow him on Twitter @RomanStrib.
Posts about North Dakota
Gophers vs. UND in January will be hot, hot ticket
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: November 8, 2012 - 8:40 AM
John Reynolds, who has followed Gophers hockey for 40 years, is not a happy camper.
He can't understand why the Gophers will not play North Dakota the next few seasons.
The Don tried to explain why on his weekly radio show on Monday. He said, in matter-of-fact fashion, that the U could not schedule a team with an American Indian nickname in a nonconference game by school rules. That dispute -- to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname or not -- at UND has only been settled recently.
In late September, UND and the NCAA agreed which signage could stay and which had to go at Ralph Engelstad Arena. A month later, workers took down the "Home of the Fighting Sioux" sign on the front of the building.
By then, Lucia seemed to imply, the Gophers' schedule, which will include a whopping 14 nonconference games -- the U will have only 20 conference games in the six-team Big Ten -- was all filled up for the next few seasons. The U will be playing the other Division I teams in the state and schools like Notre Dame, where his son Mario is a freshman, Boston College and Northeastern, Lucia said.
UND? They might return to the U schedule in three, four years, Lucia said.
Last year on the Gophers' trip to Grand Forks, UND coach Dave Hakstol told boosters at a Friday lunch that he would love to play the Gophers every year. He would keep a spot open for them. He even proposed a home-and-home series so fans of both teams could see the other team every year.
Because it's such a long bus trip from Grand Forks to Minneapolis, a home-and-home series would have to have a travel day in between. So games would be either Thursday-Saturday, or Friday-Sunday if the Gophers agreed. No sure thing.
Hakstol made it clear UND wants the rivalry to continue. Lucia has often said the Gophers' trips to Grand Forks are his favorite. But he does not seem particularly broken up about the Gophers not playing UND for a few seasons.
Certainly not like longtime Gophers fan John Reynolds is.
Here are John's top five reasons to keep the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux on the U's schedule:
1. PairWise rankings support playing tougher schedule. (Those rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, are used by the NCAA to pick nine at-large teams for its postseason tournament.)
2. Attendance and revenue at Mariucci (go) through the roof for those games. (Yes, they do.)
3. Tradition. The thing Mariucci fought for…let MN kids play college hockey who are every bit as good as the Canadians ND brings in. This more than anything else has fueled the intensity over the last 50 years. (John Mariucci is a former Gophers player and coach.)
4. TV ratings. By far the most watched Gopher games of the year. More ad revenue for FSN means more money for U athletics.
5. History. No games in college hockey match the historical significance of this game and rivalry. And no teams produce more amazing finishes. Broten's game-winner in '79 finals, Blake Wheeler's diving play in WCHA finals. I could go on and on. ... This (break in the rivalry) is like saying Ohio State and Michigan should stop playing football.
This season the Gophers and North Dakota meet only once. They play their last WCHA series on Jan. 18-19 at Mariucci. UND will be joining the National Collegiate Hockey Conference next season.
Four UND freshmen face underage drinking charges
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: September 25, 2012 - 8:27 PMFour freshmen on the North Dakota hockey team will appear in court on Oct. 30 after being cited for underage drinking.
The charges stem from a team party on Sept. 15. Authorities got involved after a call for medical assistance. Drake Caggiula, one of the freshman, was taken to a hospital for possible alcohol poisoning.
The other freshmen facing charges are Jordan Schmaltz, Bryn Chyzyk and Zane Gothberg, a Minnesotan. Gothberg is a highly touted goalie from Thief River Falls.
For the complete story in the Grand Forks Herald click here.
Seven players, including the team's captain and three assistant captains, were suspended for a game because of their roles in the party.
AIR FORCE FAVORED IN ITS LEAGUE
The Atlantic Hockey Association preseason coaches poll has been released. Air Force, the defending regular season and conference tournament champion, is picked to win the conference. The Falcons received eight of a possible 12 first-place votes.
The only AHA teams the Gophers play are Canisius and Air Force. They play Canisus on Oct. 28 at Mariucci Arena. Canisius is picked to finish ninth.
The Gophers play the Air Force, coached by Frank Serratore, the father of Gophers forward, Tom, on Dec. 29 in the Mariucci Classic.
The AHA coaches poll:
1. Air Force (8) 112
2. Niagara (3) 101
3. Mercyhurst 89
4. Bentley 87
Rochester Institute of Technology 87
6. Holy Cross 74
7. Connecticut 65
8. Robert Morris (1) 61
9. Canisius 38
10. Army 30
11. American International 20
12. Sacred Heart 19
Four more UND players suspended for one game, Kristo for second game
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: September 21, 2012 - 10:01 PMThe aftershocks of a North Dakota team party on Saturday are still being felt.
On Friday, the school suspended three sophomores -- Connor Gaarder, Andrew Panzarella and Stephane Payne -- for UND's second game of the season on Oct. 20 against Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks.
The suspensions were based on additional information gathered by the athletic department's investigation.
North Dakota, which is playing in a tournament in Alaska, on Monday suspended captain Andrew MacWilliam and assistant captains Corban Knight, Danny Kristo and Carter Rowney for the season opener on Oct. 19 against Alaska Anchorage.
All those suspensions, according to a UND news release, stem from a violation of team rules at the party last weekend. Wonder what rule was broken? That's a tough one.
On Friday, UND also announced two more one-game suspensions for an unrelated matter. Kristo got a second game, meaning he will miss both games in Alaska, and Brendan O'Donnell got one game, the opener.
Two of the disciplined players are Minnesotans. Kristo is from Eden Prairie, Gaarder from Edina.
Good thing UND is used to played short-handed. North Dakota played a handful of games last season under the usual 20-player norm because of a rash of injuries.
UND coach Dave Hakstol had no comment on the additional suspensions.
When North Dakota athletic director Brian Faison issued the first four suspensions Monday, he also announced several additional team disciplinary measures including, but not limited to:
* Athletics Department-issued team probation under which any further violations by a team member could result in immediate reduction of scholarship, suspension from competition, or expulsion from the program.
* The implementation of a mandatory team community service program
* A weekly team alcohol education program
UND bolsters its netminding
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: May 24, 2012 - 12:13 AMUND had announced its freshman class -- and one transfer -- for the 2012-13 season, the Fighting Sioux's last in the WCHA.
The transfer is 6-3, 200-pound Clarke Saunders, who played goalie for Alabama-Huntsville. When UAB declared the school was dropping the sport, he used that window to find another school. The school later saved the sport.
Bottom line, Saunders was a good goalie on a bad team and now has a new team.
Last season he averaged an NCAA-leading 34 saves per game and had a .906 save percentage while the Chargers went 2-28-1. He is from Brockville, Ontario, and is a junior.
UND also signed a goalie, Zane Gothberg of the Fargo Force. Gothberg, of Thief River Falls, was co-goalie of the year this past season in the USHL.
He led the USHL with a .921 save percentage and seven shutouts and was second with a 2.22 goals-against average. His record was 26-14-4. He set Force records in all those categories and was the team MVP. He is 6-3, 200.
Those two are expected to compete for the starting job next season is Aaron Dell, who would be a senior next season, signs a pro contract. Dell was 18-10-2 last season with a 2.67 gaa and a .900 save percentage. He was not drafted by an NHL team, so he is a free agent.
The other freshmen the Fighting Sioux are bringing in:
Forwards
Drake Caggiula, 5-10, 161, Pickering, Ontario. .... MVP of the Ontario Junior Hockey League playoffs. Had 17 goals and 37 points for Stouffville which reached the Central Canada Junior A finals.
Ben Chyzyk, 5-11, 181, Virden, Manitoba. ... Had 28 goals and 49 points in 57 games with the Fargo Force last season.
Coltyn Sanderson, 6-1, 185, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. ... Had 32 goals and 81 poits in 57 games for the Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
Defenseman
Jordan Schmaltz, 6-2, 175, Verona, Wis. ... Had 10 goals and 41 points in 55 games in the USHL, mostly with the Green Bay Gamblers. He tied for second in scoring among defensemen in the league. ... Earned all-rookie and first team all-star honors in USHL in 2010-11 playing for Sioux City when he had 11 goals and 44 points to lead league's defensemen in scoring. ... Father and two uncles lettered in football at UND.
* The early signing period for Division I hockey was No. 9-16 last fall, the regular signing period runs from April 11 to Aug. 1.
Great day of college hockey watching about to start
Posted by: Roman Augustoviz Updated: March 25, 2012 - 5:22 PMWhat a great college hockey doublehead today on TV. Two WCHA rivals -- the Gophers and North Dakota -- knock heads at the Xcel Energy Center.
If you are coming to the game and go in the wrong door, you will be surrounded by motorcycles. The Donnie Smith Bike Show is next door in the same complex. Lots of chrome, denim, tatoos, beards and wheels.
In the X there will be lots of big hits, cheers, and emotion at the end. One team is going to be very happy. One very sad. And it's a pretty even matchup. Gophers hold a 3-2 lead in season series, but Sioux won two of last three games.
Other game on TV matches UMD, the defending national champion, and Boston College, which won the title two years ago. Both know what it takes to get to the Frozen Four and what to do when they get there.
Here is the TV lineup for today:
Sunday's second-round games
Boston University vs. Gophers in West, 2 p.m. ... ESPNU (tape delay)
North Dakota vs. Gophers in West, 4:30 p.m. ... ESPNU
Boston College vs. Minnesota Duluth in Northeast, 7 p.m. ... ESPNU
Frozen Four pairings
Semifinals on Thursday, April 5
Union (East champion) vs. Ferris State (Midwest champion), 3:30 p.m. ... ESPNU
UMD/Boston College (Northeast champion) vs. UND/Gophers (West champion), 7 p.m. .. ESPN2
Championship on Saturday, April 7
Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. ... ESPN2
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