UND99

I picked up a pair of tickets to both Friday and Saturday's playoff games against Michigan Tech expecting family to be able to make the trek to GFK, but with the impending snowfall the travel plans have fallen through leaving me with extra tickets. I'm asking $15 per ticket ($30 per night), which is below what you can buy them at the box office. DM or email if interested, ticket location details are below: Friday: Sec 311, Row E, Seats 17 & 18 - $30 for the pair Saturday: Sec 311, Row E, Seats 5 & 6 - $30 for the pair *The tickets are at will-call, so we could meet in the REA lobby to do an exchange. Email: traditionofexcellence@hotmail.com

In addition to the outstanding freshman duo, I think you can expect Herbert to break free of his sophomore slump next year, and they have a couple of studs coming in with the likes of Kyle Osterberg and Dom Toninato.

Another thing to consider is right now the team is carrying 7 defensemen when in the past 8 has been more common. Perhaps the staff is trying to get back to a deeper D corps? Also, high school graduation acceleration can go awry, so Keaton Thompson is not a lock to come in this fall. And as we've seen quite a bit of recently, there is also the possibility of someone transferring out. My guess on the odds of early pro signees is Forbort 50/50, Simpson 80% chance he stays. That's based on a combination of gut feeling and things I've read and heard concerning those two individuals.

UND's most recent commit, Troy Stecher (Penticton), was named the BCHL Interior Conference's Best Defenseman for 2012-13: http://www.pentictonvees.ca/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=3172&leagueID=8370&page=68961

Here's a Tri-City "Get-To-Know" video featuring Austin Poganski. The highlight clip of his first USHL goal at the tail-end of the video displays the strength he already has as a HS junior as he sheds a check and then gets to the side of the net to score despite having a big defenseman draped all over his back. That defenseman, by the way, is Ben Storm, a 6'6" 229 lb behemoth committed to SCSU:

Yes, and to add an affiliate player to its protected roster a USHL club would have to drop a player to make room for the affiliate. Hence the desire to keep their affiliate players under the six game threshold. At least that's how I interpret it. USHL player transaction regulations have always been a bit fuzzy to me!

PPG at 7:13 of the 1st period: Kristo from Knight & Schmaltz

Here's a list of all current UND commits, listed by order of commitment date: http://atraditionofe...e-recruits.html

Voltin committed at ~the same time as Johnson did, so he hasn't been in the fold for too terribly long. Rowe, on the other hand, is our longest tenured commit, and he needs another year or two of USHL seasoning. Injuries have really hampered his development. In terms of D, Stecher is UND's most NCAA-ready impact commit outside of LaDue. He's a do-it-all defenseman who will step in next season and contribute when called upon.

Agree. You never know what a player's pro future might bring. Ryan Johnson, among the most offensively limited (non-fighting) forwards to ever play 700+ games at the NHL level, carved out a very nice career for himself on the basis of working hard, killing penalties, winning faceoffs, and blocking shots. Mario being one of the top rookies in the ECHL certainly warrants him continuing his pro career in North America to see where it takes him.

Crisfield has said that it looks as though he will be back in Vernon next year (video embedded in the link posted below), which would leave one to believe that Forbort is staying for his senior season and that Thompson will be joining the team a year ahead of schedule. http://atraditionofexcellence.blogspot.com/2013/02/recruit-roundup.html

I've got numbers for a couple tournaments Evers played outside of the NAPHL. Cumulative totals are: 29GP, 13-19-32, 30 PIM

He had a stretch of just five games (three weeks on the calendar) where he didn't register a point, including one tilt in which he received a game misconduct. Nothing of any significance really. He had five points in the four games leading up to last night's seven point explosion, so he's doing just fine.

Cathedral could certainly make it out of 5A, but Holy Family would have to run an awfully tough gauntlet to make it to state. Aside from HF, 6AA includes Benilde, Eden Prairie, Minnetonka, Wayzata...

Yes, these charges stem from the team party back in September that led to the opening weekend suspensions.

Here's my recruit profile on Mr. Gardner for those interested: http://atraditionofexcellence.blogspot.com/2013/01/recruit-profile-rhett-gardner.html

Tambellini, who had 39 points (22G, 17A) in 36 games with Vernon, is the third leading goal scorer in the BCHL. He's obviously a great addition to Surrey's club, who already has the No. 2 goal scorer in the league in Brady Shaw. For Vernon, expectations were high coming into the season, but thus far 2012-13 has been quite a disappointment for the Vipers.

Here's a cool Q&A with former Sioux fan favorite Rastislav Spirko. He is currently the leading goal scorer for Avtomobilist of the KHL: Spirko Q&A

Erie (PA) Otters as well.

I knew I read a Poganski NHL Draft projection somewhere. Still a long ways off though: https://twitter.com/USHRhockey/status/281593471092002817

Think I read somewhere Pogo had 3rd Round potential.

Rocco was not at his best against Russia, but he was better against Canada. That being said, he was better than Gaudreau, Barber, Kuraly, Lucia, Biggs, etc.against the Pool of Death's top teams. Motivational technique from Housley? Perhaps. But it sure seems odd that he would sit a guy who possesses a skillset that no other player on Team USA's roster can match. It will be very interesting to see what kind of icetime Rocco gets in the QF's against the Czechs.

Jack Eichel, who I believe is a BU commit.

Hah, that didn't even dawn on me until you mentioned it! How fitting!

Gersich was the 2nd ranked forward at the Select 16 Development Camp this past summer. Chris Wilkie was No. 3, Poganski No. 9: 2. Shane Gersich (Kelly Green, 5GP 5-6-11) 5-11/170 — Was outstanding all week long. Led the camp in scoring and had at least one point in every game. Is the top uncommitted ’96 forward in the country. An excellent skater who is able to pick up steam with the puck on his stick, Gersich makes plays while accelerating and is very agile and tough to check. We do not know who is recruiting him (everyone perhaps?), but our guess is that the Holy Family Catholic High School product, who has All-America potential, ends up at Minnesota or North Dakota. In 21 games played last season, the Chaska, Minn. native put up a 30-30-60 scoring line. We can only imagine what he will do next season as a junior. (Note: Gersich was a freshman last season, not a sophomore.) 3. Chris Wilkie (#8 Grey, 5GP 2-6-8) 5-11/180 — A constant threat, the North Dakota recruit is worth the price of admission. Will pile on the points in college. While he is of average size, we think Wilkie has a real shot to be a pro because his skill level is so high. The Omaha, Nebraska native had 150 points last season for the Omaha Lancers AAA team. Will play for the NTDP this season; there is a good chance he will lead the team in scoring. 9. Austin Poganski (#18 Kelly Green, 4-2-6) 6-1/195 — We did not have a ton of prior knowledge of the St. Cloud Cathedral forward, but he really jumped out at us. A tall, lanky winger with great legs and an explosive first step, we are told that the NTDP is considering him for the final forward spot on the U17 Team. Was named to the Five Nations U17 team. A top uncommitted college prospect who is only going to get better as he fills out.