>Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: Duluth #1
>
Hi folks, it’s Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs are at home, so the team won’t have to travel, but you might!
It’ll be quite a bit cooler than last weekend here in the Northland. Friday we’re looking at a high of 56 and mostly sunny skies. If you’re driving right back down again, like RWD & co, you should see an overnight low of 45 and a very slight chance of rain. Providence has less of a chance of winning than we have of getting rain. Uh-oh there, folks, I might have jinxed us there! Heh heh heh.
Saturday afternoon is UMD football’s homecoming game, and it looks like the weather will be nice, if a little brisk. It should warm up to the mid-50s and you should see some sunshine, but dress warmly and bring a blanket. Or dress with no shirt and paint your chest maroon and gold. Saturday night it’ll get down in the low 40s, and Sunday it should be sunny and in the high 50s for the drive home.
All right folks, that’s your weather for this evening, hope to see you all out there at the DECC for our first home game of the season, dontcha know?
>Postcards from RWD, Vol 12
>
If you are going to suck, let me know right away please. Give me a sign. Say, getting swept by Providence this weekend. Don’t be confused, I don’t want that to happen, but I don’t need any of the 2004-05 soul-sucking heart-breaking sucker-punching gut-wrenching undefeated through three weekends then completely throw it away with only 3 more wins in the first half and allow a 14-goal differential in the playoffs. No, that was hardly the worst season we’ve ever lived through as a fanbase, in fact we had even fewer wins in subsequent seasons, but we all knew that was coming.
I’m in a sports-related depression right now. The Twins? They managed to keep roping me in with their clutch hits and winning streaks and Thome homeruns and such. Then they clinched the division and became the suckiest bunch of sucks who ever sucked. The buzz, pre-season, about the Vikings, perpetuated by one Bruce Ciskie, was they would win the division. They have one win. They got Randy Moss, and I became hopeful again, and then let me down AGAIN Monday night. (Dirty said “And with that nice stop it’s time to send in the clowns.” And then there was clownery.) The Wild have the opportunity to suck in three countries this year, a rare opportunity, and they are seizing the day. But I appreciate their upfront terribleness, because now I have low expectations.
The Bulldogs are the one bright spot for me right now, and I don’t know if they are even a bright spot. Certainly a 1-0-1 weekend is not rotten, and three years ago I would have been pleased, but now we have expectations and talent and a new arena and Hobey candidates.
Here are my bare minimum expectations for a non-sucky season:
1. Home ice for the WCHA first round play-offs.
Just home ice, I feel, is lenient. Like I said, these are bare minimum expectations.
2. A Final Five appearance.
The Final Five, in its new, annoying, format, gives each team only one guaranteed game. Annoying. Under the old format, three teams’s fans had two guaranteed games and two teams’s fans had one guaranteed game. Now six teams’s fans have one guaranteed game. That sucks, especially for people coming from out of town. A fan from Denver, Grand Forks, etc. could take two days off from work and reserve a hotel room for three nights only to find their team loses on Thursday. The Final Five is still a heck of a time, but that would certainly suck some of the fun out of it. This has turned into a rant about the new Final Five, but unlike in years past, when we simply hoped for a top three berth to guarantee two games, now the seeding barely matters, except for #1 and #2 getting a bye. (A bye is nice, no doubt, but one could argue that #1, #2 and #3 got a bye under the old system.) Just get there.
3. An NCAA regional bid.
Anything can happen in the playoffs, as we’ve seen from Holy Cross, RIT, Buttmidji, etc. Just get to the playoffs and we’ll worry about winning later. Winning would make for an AWESOME season and we’re worried about non-suckiness only.
4. At least 1 player on the Hobey Baker top ten list.
It doesn’t really matter who it is. Perhaps Fontaine this year and then Jack Connolly next year, as I’ve mentioned before. Perhaps Jack could put Mike on his shoulders and they could wear a large overcoat and try to pass as one person. Perhaps JT Brown will outscore Paul Kariya and win as a freshman.
5. WIN THE FREAKING ARENA OPENER.
DUH. MOST IMPORTANT.
Okay, now don’t lose this weekend… AND don’t suck!
XXOO,
RWD
>Superior Showcase, We Hardly Knew Ye
>
Wins until we reach last season’s total: 16 (x)
Points until we reach last season’s total: 33 (x) My Guys
Jack Connolly: 2
JT Brown: 1!!!!!!!!!
Brady Lamb: 1!!!!!!!!!
Mike Seidel: 1
Drew Olson: 0 Freshmen
Justin Faulk: 2!!!!!!!
JT Brown: 1!!!!!!
others: bupkis
Connollys
Mikey: 3
Jacky: 2 Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 3!!!!
Drew: 0 Dan/Drew
Olson: 4
DeLisle: 0 On Notice/Goals Only
Nobody (only 2 more game to get your scoring on!)
>All Over But the Shouting
>
Oh yes, there shall be shouting. Preferably not just from me. Derek Plante, get that larynx warmed up.
I didn’t watch or listen to this game because I was at work for two periods and couldn’t get the newfangled interwebs to broadcast it. Thus I have some difficulty here in dissecting exactly what happened. But, someone had blundered. (Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die.)
So, Kenny was stormed at with shot and shell, our top three boldly rode and well, and the entire game I was in hell.
Am I an idiot for wishing this was a 1-1 tie where our goaltending was sharp and our scorers just hadn’t clicked yet? Is this at all weird? Because I’d be frustrated with our scorers, but not terrified that they’d never score a goal again. Whereas… well, never mind that. It is one game, no matter what I said on Twitter. That’s visceral stream-of-consciousness stuff.
So my sports depression continues. 2 Twins losses, 2 Wild losses, and now this, which is not a loss but feels that way.
Bright spot of the game? Kyle Schmidt. He always gets a goal when we are in our most desperate situations. Oh and my cute little elf Benny Royer from MTU scored 2 goals, including the OTGWG.
Numbers (!!!!)
Wins until we reach last season’s total: 16 (practice run)
Points until we reach last season’s total: 33 (doooo it)
My Guys
Jack Connolly: 2!!!! (Including a shorty from my favorite shorty!!!)
Mike Seidel: 1!!!!!!! (So very timely!)
Etc: Zippy
Freshmen
Everyone: Zoot
Connollys
Mikey: 3!!!!!!!!
Jacky: 2!!!!!!!!
Olsen/Olson
Dylan: 2
Drew: 0
Dan/Drew
Olson: 4
DeLisle: 0
On Notice/Goals Only
Nobody (lucky for you guys!!!)
>Mike Seidel Travel Advisory: The Yoop
>
Hi folks, it’s Mike Seidel here with your weekend weather report. This weekend, the Bulldogs travel to Sault Ste. Marie, MI to face the Lake Superior State Lakers on Friday night. Tomorrow’s forecast is mostly sunny during the day with a high of 68, and a low of 44 tomorrow night. That’s Fahrenheit, folks, we’re not in Sault Ste. Marie, ON. No worries about rain but you might want a nice cozy jacket over your jersey. Expect a flurry of goals, though, because Lake State sucks.
We’ll be making the 164 mile drive to Marquette, MI, after the game. No inclement weather is expected.
Saturday, the weather in Marquette should be partly cloudy with a high of 67, and Saturday night it should get back down to 48. It will feel extra cold for the Wildcat fans, since they will already be smarting from our vengeance. No Cats No Cats No Cats No!
The drive back to Duluth should be easy with clear skies the whole way. Happy trails, Bulldogs fans!
>I Can’t
>
@runwiththedogs I f***in follow you for dogs hockey and this bull**** tweeting every two seconds raggin on the twins has got to f***in stop. You’re a terrible fan and should find a new damn hobby
I’m not a terrible fan! I’m a person with persistent anger issues that I funnel into professional sports! Which I guess is pretty much one of the definitions of terrible fandom. But it works for Bruce Ciskie and the Packers/UW football/Brewers baseball/rhythmic gymnastics. All is well and good though, because we talked it out and now I owe him because I came up with an idea for a post! Kind of!
(I very rarely say angry stuff about tUMD and I need to divert that anger somewhere before the levee breaks and a torrential downpour of curse words would be unleashed upon RWD. I think words I would never say! I know it seems impossible but it’s true.)
We are fewer than two days away from BULLDOG HOCKEY and mere months away from a SUPER BOWL VICTORY. I should be flipping out with excitement and I’m just so mad that the Twins took that from me.
My comrade Chuck from Sixty Minutes, No Alibis, No Regrets (which doesn’t have a good abbreviation since 60min doesn’t work as she’s one of the contributors, and 60MNANR is just too weird) conducted a poll of as many bloggers/webmasters that mimics the media and coaches’ polls that were just released. He tracked down as many as he could but some folks didn’t respond no matter how hard I nagged them. Ahem.
Here are the results:
1. North Dakota (12) 177
2. St. Cloud (2) 158
3. Duluth (1) 154
4. Denver 125
5. Minnesota 117
6. Wisconsin 113
7. Nebraska-Omaha 81
8. Colorado College 77
9. Bemidji State 73
10. Minnesota State 39
11. Michigan Tech 30
12. Alaska-Anchorage 26
WCHA Player of the Year:
Jack Connolly, tUMD (6)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (5)
Jacob Cepis, UMTC (1)
Chay Genoway, UND (1)
Jason Gregoire, UND (1)
Matt Read, BSU (1)
WCHA Rookie of the Year:
Jaden Schwartz, CC (6)
Beau Bennett, DU (2)
Derek Forbort, UND (2)
Nick Bjugstad, UMTC (1)
Erik Haula, UMTC (1)
Matt White, UNO (1)
Mark Zengerle, UW (1)
Sam Rendle, BSU (1)
I voted for Beau Bennett for Rookie of the Year. If you can’t guess my Player of the Year vote you are an idiot. My picks for the standings were previously posted here.
Participants
Goon, Goons World
RWD (that’s me!!), Runnin’ With The Dogs
Brandon, Sioux Yeah Yeah!
Chuck Schwartz, Exile on Dayton Street, Gandalf the Red; Sixty Minutes
Hammy, Gopher Hockey Blog
Dirty, Dirty’s Diatribe
Jeremy, Husky Hockey Blog
USAFA Bulldog, The DECC is Stacked
Jon, Mav Puck
F2B&G, Michigan Tech Hockey Blog
Exiled One, College Hockey Recruit Exchange & DaHuskies
Donald, UAA Hockey Fan Blog
Millsy, The Beaver Pond
I have the day off tomorrow, so I’m going to sleep on things and have a better post tomorrow! tDogs are headed to tSoo right now and should be there fairly soon! Sweet dreams, comrades!
>My Guys!
>
Actually, it’s not. Everyone else gets to play some ancient Canadian senior league team. We do not. Annoying.
But I’ve gotta pick my guys! They need to be prepared for next week!
Back for more:
1. Jack Connolly
2. Mike Seidel
3. Brady Lamb
Everyone gets renewed! Yeah!
And we’ve got some new guys!
4. Drew Olson
5. JT Brown
I think I’ve decided to throw my “no freshmen” rule out the window. Obviously. Since I’ve picked a freshman Guy three years in a row.
All right, Guys, you’ve got your assignments, now go out and kick some butts!
>666
>This is my 666th post on RWD. It’s so metal. I’d like to dedicate this post to the late Earl Root.
So, the insiders voted in their respective polls recently (the 94X WCHA Media Poll, conducted by the man who will be hiring me to do colour commentary this fall, Bruce Ciskie; and the Grand Forks Herald Coaches’ Poll, conducted by the always delightful Brad Schlossman), and I have to say that these folks need to read RWD. Then they would know of my clairvoyance and all make the same picks as I did.
Here are the media poll results:
1. North Dakota (28) 347
2. Minnesota Duluth 300
3. St. Cloud State (1) 295
4. Denver 242
5. Wisconsin 218
6. Minnesota 203
7. Colorado College 182
8. Bemidji State 156
9. Nebraska-Omaha 125
10. Minnesota State 97
11. Alaska-Anchorage 51
12. Michigan Tech 46
Preseason WCHA Player of the Year
Chay Genoway, UND (10)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (5)
Justin Fontaine, tUMD (4)
Jack Connolly, tUMD (3)
Jason Gregoire, UND (2)
Mike Connolly, tUMD (1)
Matt Read, BSU (1)
Evan Trupp, UND (1)
This is like Sesame Street. One of these players is not like the other. 8 people cast excellent votes. Fascinating there are no Gophers, Badgers or Pioneers represented. That’s the state of hockey, folks.
Preseason WCHA Rookie of the Year
Jaden Schwartz, CC (10)
Derek Forbort, UND (6)
Beau Bennett, DU (4)
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (2)
Tyler Barnes, Wisconsin (1)
J.T. Brown, Minnesota Duluth (1)
Rob Gunderson, Alaska-Anchorage (1)
Radoslav Illo, Bemidji State (1)
Jason Zucker, Denver (1)
I don’t know who Rob Gunderson is. Chuck from 60MNANR Googled him for me last night. Rob Gunderson for Hobey!
I can’t quibble with the near-omission of tUMD players (fortunately there’s another J.T. Brown groupie out there) because there isn’t an incoming freshman from the Bulldogs projected to have a significant impact on the game. tUMD is an upperclassman’s team; so is St. Cloud, and though they allegedly have some notable recruits (doubtful), those players didn’t receive any votes either. The three players most likely to have an impact on their teams immediately are Jaden Schwartz, Beau Bennett, and Nick Bjugstad: players whose teams don’t have any guys on player of the year list. Teams like UND, St. Cloud and tUMD have their top lines filled with seasoned veterans and their freshmen, talented as they may be, won’t see the ice time that their counterparts on other teams will.
Here is the esteemed panel of judges:
BSU
Brian Schultz, KKBJ (hehehe)
Eric Stromgren, Bemidji Pioneer
CC:
Ken Landau, KRXP
Joe Paisley, Colorado Springs Gazette
DU:
Mike Chambers, Denver Post
Jay Stickney, KXDP
MSUM:
Shane Frederick, Mankato Free Press
Mike Sullivan, KTOE
MTU:
Dirk Hembroff, WKMJ
Brandon Veale, Daily Mining Gazette
SCSU:
Mick Hatten, St. Cloud Times
Don Lyons, KNSI
UAA:
Kurt Haider, KENI
Doyle Woody, Anchorage Daily News
UMD:
Bruce Ciskie, KZIO
Kevin Pates, Duluth News Tribune
UMTC:
Roman Augustovitz, Minneapolis Star Tribune
UND:
Tim Hennessy, KQHT
Brad Schlossman, Grand Forks Herald
UNO:
Dave Ahlers, KKAR
Chad Purcell, Omaha World Herald
UW:
Andy Baggot, Wisconsin State Journal
Brian Posick, WIBA/WTSO
Officially Unaffiliated Though Possibly Unofficially Affiliated:
Chris Dilks, Western College Hockey
John Gilbert, WCHA.com
Todd Milewski, USCHO
Dan Myers, College Hockey News
Jess Myers, INCH
Theresa Spisak, USCHO
And then the coaches voted, too. From what I understand and then mathematically proved, coaches cannot vote for their own teams, and rank the others from first through eleventh. So, obviously one St. Cloud vote is from Hakstol, and one UND vote is from Motzko. That doesn’t explain why the coaches weren’t smart enough to pick the eventual winner, tUMD.
1. UND (10) 120
2. St. Cloud State (2) 105
3. Minnesota-Duluth 100
4. Denver 88
5. Minnesota 82
6. Colorado College 67
7. Wisconsin 64
8. Nebraska-Omaha 55
9. Bemidji State 46
10. MSU-Mankato 41
11. Alaska-Anchorage 19
12. Michigan Tech 15
Player of the year:
Jack Connolly, tUMD (5)
Chay Genoway, UND (4)
Garrett Roe, SCSU (3)
Fortunately, the most votes for player of the year went to the correct person, although it should have been unanimous.
The voting for rookie of the year is so obvious I can identify who voted for whom.
Rookie of the year:
Jaden Schwartz, Colorado College (9) (Hakstol, Motzko, Sandelin, Gwozdecky, Owens, Serratore, Jutting, Shyiak, Russell)
Nick Bjugstad, Minnesota (1) (Lucia)
Tyler Barnes, Wisconsin (1) (Eaves)
Matt White, Omaha (1) (Blais)
>1.21 Jigowatts
>
I was hoping to have some posts while on vacation but I really don’t. Driving through Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and now Pennsylvania has been uninspiring, to say the least. Sorry. 3 weeks and one day and we are in college hockey nirvana, so hold fast.
>M’aidez!
>
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Runnin' With the Dogs 