ND Pride

Well, I have not seen any Elite II games this year and only checked the roster once. How did you come to the conclusion that it is at a JV level? JV hockey in North Dakota is terrible - except maybe at a couple of schools. Perhaps Elite II has gone down hill but I would be interested in hearing more regarding how you came to that conclusion. What was their season like? Were the Elite II teams from Minnesota poor? A good number of the players in Elite II in 04-05 from Minnesota are now in the USHL, NAHL and at least one (Cade Fairchild) is in the USA Developmental Hockey Program out of Ann Arbor. I doubt that the entire league has gone from that level to JV. What led you to that conclusion - which I assume is about the ND/NE Minnesota team?

Quite a few generalizations being made in there and I don't necessarily have a problem with some of the statements. On the other hand the statement that "Elite 2 hockey is the equivalent of JV hockey" does not square with what I have seen, in fact, it is far from a credible statement. For example, prior to the 04-05 high school hockey season the Elite II team roster had Paul Weisgarber, Erik Galt, Andy Petersen, Jake Delisle, Nick Klenow, Justin Welk, Marc Harrie, Jeff Foss and Jordy Christian just to pick a few off the top of my head. Now that is an Elite II team and they did not win all of their games in that league. That hardly sounds like JV hockey to me.

Regarding rosters, I do not have my rulebook handy on juniors but rosters are in flux. Roster sizes change based on the date and there are trades, etc during the year. For example, the USNTDP Junior team that plays in the NAHL has 45 players listed on Pointstreak. Other NAHL teams have variable numbers at this time. I did post that he is working out with the Jets and has done so for the past week.

Josh Ramberg from Fargo South is playing for Augsburg of the MIAC. Klenow is working out with the Jets.

I would have to agree with you on that one. I just don't see how Central can be considered the fourth best in the East at this time. I would rate them lower than that currently with the expectation that they may move up to the top half, perhaps, as the season progresses. It is very early to make definitive statements.

West Fargo did beat Century 4-1 and North beat Bismarck High 3-2. Both were afternoon games.

I heard that the penalty count was something like 14 for Bismarck Century and 13 for North. Actually, there were some calls made because of the new empahsis but there were quite a few tripping calls too.

Last year's Mr. Hockey Paul Weisgarber scored the game winning goal tonight for the Waterloo Blackhawks in their 4-3 win over Cedar Rapids. In high school hockey tonight West Fargo lost to Bismarck High 6-3 and as previously noted North beat Century 5-4 after leading 4-1 after two periods.

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I have not heard of any schools that are considering hockey. I do not see the possibility of Saint Mary's developing a hockey team in the near future. As far as the future of North Dakota hockey you can rule out Junior Gold as a developmental option for the top level players. North Dakota will be linked to some extent to Minnesota as that is the closest quality hockey area in the US. The only meaningful change would be to go with minor and major midget teams with perhaps one or two AAA teams and the remainder AA. That would free teams from high school boundaries and kids could be ability grouped. That type of system is unlikely because we are located next to the strongest center of high school hockey in the country - Minnesota. If North Dakota went the USA Hockey major and minor midget route the teams could have to do some traveling although they might actually find it easier to play top level Minnesota high school teams. Shattuck-St. Mary's uses the USA hockey format and has a AAA major midget team and plays teams such as Holy Angeles, etc. Actually, the more I think about it the best thing for North Dakota hockey would be to go the USA hockey format as it would allow for more games, ability grouping, and better competition. The downside is that is would ruin ND high school hockey, fewer kids might get a chance to play, the sport would expand the season and take kids out of soccer, track, baseball and create specialization that could actually have some negative impact on the development of athleticism. This is all speculative and has been kicked around before on various threads and on various hockey sites. Youth hockey - not sure if any are getting bigger in any absolute sense. Population growth is minimal in North Dakota. Some programs may attract additional kids for awhile but I don't see much growth over the long term. Separating North Dakota in the hockey districts could result in more kids getting a chance to go to the 14, 15, 16, and 17 USA Hockey Select Festivals. A great exposure for kids but they have to be good enough to compete at a national level to merit the trip. Some of our kids have done very well there and most have been able to fit in with that level of competition. Not sure that there will be much additional benefit. The best thing is for the high schools to hire great coaches and develop off season training programs that are developmentally appropriate and hockey specific.

South 21 and Minot 7, looks as though the fire has been extinguished.

On average, the top four teams in the East and in the West during the 2005-06 hockey season had fewer penalties than the five teams at the bottom. In the East Red River, South, Grafton and West Fargo - had a group average of 14.1 penalty minutes per game. Those in the lower segment of the EDC - Central, North, Shanley, Jamestown and Wahpeton averaged 18.2 penalty minutes per game. In the West Minot, Williston, Devils Lake, and Bismarck High averaged 11.3 penalty minutes per game compared to 12.9 minutes for Hazen, Century, Dickinson, Mandan and Bottineau. It is certainly true that good teams have better skaters than poor teams and that they theoretically have less need to "cheat" (take penalties, hook, interfere, etc) to be successful. There are other variables, however, that also effect penalties - coaching philosophy, quality of refs, overall style of play, etc. etc. In the East, the top team in the EDC regular season standings - Red River - averaged 16.0 penalty minutes per game which was the highest of the top four teams. West Fargo (4th in the regular season) was next with 15.8 minutes, Grafton had 13.0 (3rd in regular season standings) and South the number two team in the EDC and eventual state champs averaged 11.6 minutes per game. In the lower half of the regular season EDC number 6 Central averaged 18.4 minutes, North 16.2, Shanley 13.2, Jamestown 20.8, and Wahpeton 22.5 minutes. As long as I am at it here are the stats for the West in rank order by finish in the regular season: Minot 12.4 minutes, Williston 8.2 minutes, Devils Lake 11.1, Bismarck 13.5, Hazen 13, Century 10.7, Dickinson 13.2, Mandan 17.0, Bottineau 10.4. If all teams in the state were ranked by lowest average penalty minutes per game here is what we would have: #1 Williston (8.2), #2 Bottineau (10.4), #3 Century (10.7), #4 Devils Lake (11.1), #5 South (11.6), #6 Minot 12.4, #7 tie Grafton (13) and Hazen (13), #8 tie Shanley (13.2) and Dickinson (13.2) #9 Bismarck (13.5), #10 West Fargo (15.8), #11 Red River (16.0), #12 North (16.2), #13 Mandan (17.0), #14 GF Central (18.4), #15 Jamestown (20.8), and #16 Wahpeton (22.5). Speaking of individuals the most penalized player last year was from Wahpeton. He received 99 minutes in 18 games for a game average of 5.5 minutes. A Jamestown player was second with 52 minutes in 10 games for a 5.2 minute average. Another Jamestown player held down the third spot with an average of 3.63 minutes based on 80 minutes over 22 games. A Bismarck player came in a close fourth with 90 minutes in 27 games for a 3.6 minute average. There is a lot more that could be added about penalties especially if we had a nice stack of game sheets to analyze. We can see that teams in the East have more penalties, on average, than teams in the West. That obviously does not mean that teams from the West are better. Style of play can explain some of that. Also, I think we might find a lot of frustration penalties (roughing, slashing, fighting, etc) from some teams at the bottom, especially in the East.

Jamestown does have a lot of seniors returning and they may have been playing since they were sophomores but the team has been posting fewer wins each year. Last year was a big disappointment as I expected them to do better. Zach Welding will hopefully rebound and have a good year but I expect them to be a middle of the pack team. Minot loses a lot of seniors but they have some high quality players returning. Minot should win the West with maybe Williston up near the top as well. Century has some players returning but they had a terrible season last year as well. Four of their top five scorers return (including the top two) but between the top two they only scored 12 goals. They will have to improve their productivity a ton if they expect to finish in the upper quarter of the west. Again, I think it comes down to the quality of the incoming bantam group and how hard some of the upperclassmen worked during the offseason. Minot should be the team to beat in the west this season.

Well, with the University of Mary-fargo Center being a legitimate entity I am not surprised to see that type of reference. With some colleges having multi-city centers it is not unusual for those out of the immediate area to make that "mistake" although the degree is technically pursued in total in the "center" city.

Apparently former Grand Forks Central forward, and current Tri-City Storm player, Mario Lamoureux will be joining brother Jacques next fall at Northern Michigan. Good luck to Mario. There are a number of posts regarding Mario's decision on the thread entitled "Prospective Sioux recruits" in the Hockey section.

Fargo South Report Last season South went 25-2 overall and there was plenty of success to spread around the roster. South lost eleven seniors to graduation including Mr. Hockey Paul Weisgarber (now of the Waterloo Blackhawks - USHL), Erik Galt (North Iowa - NAHL), and Grant Larson (F/M Jets - NAHL). South has plenty of quality returning but the reload will not have as much powder as last year's cohort. Perhaps most impressive is the return of senior goalie Sean Deichert (1.23 GAA, 93% saves). Sean should have another great year but should face a bit more pressure than last year. South returns Danny Wurden on defense (33 Points) but there will need to be some rebuilding unless the Bruins plan to run with only 3-4 players out of the back. Up front Ian Powers returns (37 points) along with Logan Doeden (24 points), Kris Graalum (23) and Jake McDougall (22). Again, plenty of offensive potential but they are probably not going to score an average of 6.4 goals a game like last year. South was the best team in the state last year on paper and, for the most part, the best team in the state on the ice - they won the state title. Keep in mind, however, that Red River beat them twice last year and only lost by one goal in the championship game. South is good but they will have to work hard to approximate last year's result. I almost forgot to mention Tyrel McBain who is reportedly a transfer to Fargo South. He put up 53 points last season for Hazen, including 37 goals. He clearly has some skills and will add depth to the South attack. It will be interesting to watch his development in the EDC this year.

Fargo North Report North lost seven seniors to graduation including their top two point men. Some of those seniors were role players so there was reasonable playing time for the twelve juniors who will make up this year's senior class. North should be led by senior forward Tyler Klein (20 Points). The supporting cast includes Tanner Bombenger (11 Points), Ryder Bekkedahl (9), and Matt Labernik (8). Sophomore Grant Narveson (8 points) could be the top returning defenseman. North will have more experience on defense than last year with 4-5 d-men who had significant playing time. Jeran Dahl has transferred back from Moorhead High and should provide some help. The goalie position will be a big question mark for the Spartans as none of the returning goalies had significant playing time last season. North has not made it to state since the 2001-2002 season. If the Spartans are going to advance this year they will need significant leadership from the blue line in protecting an inexperienced goalie and facilitating a better breakout for their offense. The club could post a record better than last year's 7-9 EDC mark but the team will have to develop significantly to do so.

I notice that my comment about John Erickson, who started International Hockey Schools, having contacts has been misinterpreted as suggesting that he would recruit to build Shanley. I did not mean to communicate that message, and did not use the word recruit, but simply noted that he has had contact with kids who come to his camp from all over the country. Some of those kids who attend his camps come from weak hockey regions and often look for a place to play in a quality program. Shanley works to develop their own players and, for example, Moorhead also works to develop their own players but because of Moorhead's success many players have left their home to come and play for Moorhead. What about Fargo South? Did they recruit two Shanley players this past year or a Hazen player this year? No. And what about Red River - Nick Krebsbach from Minot, Danny Irmen from Fargo, etc. etc. If Shanley develops a strong program in their feeder system and ultimately in their high school then it is inevitable that some kids will jump ship from other Fargo schools, maybe even Moorhead, as well as other areas. It would be a compliment to the program and would not be recruiting. John Erickson is a class fellow and would only operate in a way consistent with the proper mission of his employer - in this case Shanley High School. Actually, I believe John is relatively inactive in his camp and his son coordinates most of the program.

Thanks for the note guys. Actually, I did do Grafton first and reprinted it - or rather - copied it right before the Grand Forks Central report. I will see if I can get North and or South done tonight.

I also heard yesterday that John Erickson took the Shanley position. Given his extensive contacts with players from across the country in his hockey camps, it may bode well for some additional players coming in down the road. John is a very nice guy and I wish him luck.

Devils Lake Report Last season Devils Lake finished with a 13-9-2 record and 11-4-1 in the west. On the positive side they beat Bismarck High twice, tied Grafton in their second meeting, and lost to Minot three times by one goal. On the negative they also lost to Jamestown and Fargo North. They did play good hockey down the stretch to make it to state and were respectable against Fargo South and only lost by one to Minot. This squad only loses 4 seniors - that's good. However, there will only be five seniors on this years squad and senior leadership can be critical in big games. Just the same there were six sophomores who had a lot of playing time last year and they should add a lot of leadership to the team as juniors this year. On the offensive side the club returns Kyle Everson (29 points), Jorey Heit (22 points) and Mark Henke (19 points) - that is a reasonably good nucleus. In addition, they have 4-5 defensemen coming back who had a lot of playing time last year. Combining an experienced defense with a returning goalie who played in 23 games last year with a 2.65 GAA could make Devils Lake tough on the defensive side of the puck. Junior goalie Danny Groves should be a key part of the team's success and if a second and third line is developed we could see a strong showing from Devils Lake. On paper, from a pre-season perspective, I would say that Devils Lake could be a very dangerous team to face. They had a good season last year and have enough players to carry forward to a successful 2006-07 campaign. I doubt that they have enough offense to challenge for the top three spots in the EDC but I expect they will be a formidable opponent for the 4th place position in the EDC tournament.

Shanley Report The good news for Shanley is that help is on the way. The bad news is that it is a few years off. The Deacons started strong in 2005-06 as they only lost one game in their first 5. The first game was an uplifting one goal victory (4 point) over Grand Forks Central. Overall their record was 9-13-1 and 5-6 EDC. Not too bad for a program with no JV feeder system. Shanley had 4 games that were one or two goal losses and with a little luck and fewer player defections to the apparently greener pastures of Fargo South we might have seen the Deacons at .500 or better. In any case, the prospects for 2006-07 are not uplifting. Six seniors graduate from a short bench team of 17 total players. On the plus side, both goalies return so there is at least some experience in net. Scoring punch may be hard to find as only one returning player has more than 4 goals (Junior Pat Thomas with 8 goals and 3 assists). The benchmark for Shanley should probably be how much they can improve from the beginning of the season to the end. Same old story here - are there any incoming bantams that can produce and for Shanley in particular - are there any transfers that have taken up residence? Gotta love the game because it will most likely be a challenging season.

West Fargo Report West Fargo improved a great deal in 2005-06 over the previous year. In 2004-05 they lost a ton of games by one goal. In 2005-06 things looked great as the Packers won six of their first seven games. The highlights of their season included a 10-1 pummeling of Bismarck Century in their opening game and 3, yes count them: ONE, TWO, THREE wins over Grand Forks Central. They should have scheduled 25 games with Central last year. Unfortunately after one of those wins over Central the Packers followed up with zero goals against Fargo North (0-3 L)and Grafton (0-6 L) (Central, by the way, beat Grafton 2 out of 3). Again, what's the point? West Fargo improved but had some consistency problems. They finished 12-11-1 on the season and 8-7 in EDC - in a perfect position to make a run for state. That was last year but what about this year. The uncoming season looks grim as the Packers have lost 15 seniors. Jake Miller returns at forward (17 points) along with multi-sport performer Tyler Swanson (17 points). Alex Olson is also a notable senior forward (14 points). From there they better hope for some great bantams or kids who worked hard over the summer. In any case, the loss of 15 seniors will be too much to bear. I expect West Fargo to struggle all season long unless they pick up an unlikely load of high quality transfer students.

Red River Report On paper Red River had some potential going into the 2005-06 season. By the time the state tournament rolled around they had a lot more than potential - they were again challenging for another state title. The team had a number of excellent players but their depth was questionable. Just the same they crafted a 13-1 EDC record - won the EDC championship and finished the season 2-2 against a Fargo South team (25-2) that was arguably one of the best teams in school history. So, what's the point? The point seems to be that Red River always seems to be a contender - even when the competition seems superior on paper. For the upcoming season Red River has to cope with the loss of 12 seniors including leading scorer Marc Mihulka (53 points). The Rough Riders return Eric Meland (39 points), Jarrett Galbreath (27 Points), Ryan LaDoucer (26 points), and Andrew Vigen (15 points), to mention a few. A nice core but there are a lot of spots to fill. Again, without a bantam list it is hard to write a storyline. Red River will need to find some depth and a leader between the pipes. I would bet they will find both. Team chemistry and character will be key elements in the success of this year's team. I would expect the 2006-07 Red River squad to challenge whoever emerges as a contender for EDC and state honors. It is easy to be an optimist with the strong core of players that return.

Grafton Report Grand Forks Central Report Last season looked as though it would be an unremarkable one for Grand Forks Central. Central started the year with a 4 point loss to Shanley and then reeled off a 5-8 record over the next 13 games. Those who thought Central would be a marginal team at best, were looking like prophets. Things did turn around however, and the team finished with an impressive 9-3 run including wins over Minot, Warroad, Grafton and a respectable 5-3 loss against South. The team ended up 3rd in the state and played their best hockey at the end of the year. So how do things look for this year? I don't have a list of incoming bantams but things look challenging for Central. The team lost 11 seniors including 4 of the top 5 point producers. Jon Greicar did not put up big numbers but finished his high school career on a productive roll and a stong showing in the Chicago Showcase. The only returning player in the top five is Alex Simonson, a junior forward who produced 23 points last season. Tom Haug returns (12 points) as does Cody Mishleau (8 points). The Knights also lose Kelvin Shane in net. The news between the pipes may not be so bad as Josh Ness played in 4 of the last 5 games of the season and had a 3-1 record. A pessimist would look at the Central situation and predict that they would finish lower than their 5th place in the regular season EDC standings. On the other hand, we are talking about Grand Forks and players always seem to step up to continue the tradition. It will take more than the development of a couple of Elite League and Elite II players to make Central a top four EDC team in 2006-07. If a significant cohort of players worked hard on dryland activities and captain's practices over the summer and early fall you might see a scenario much like last year - a slow start and a stronger finish.