former players

[nodak hockey fanatic]

Ballard had successfully broken his stick, but he was unaware that Vokoun's head was the cause.

You could see how shaken up Ballard was following the incident as he waited and watched from the bench (and at one moment had to retreat to the locker room area).

first, he swung a second time after hitting vokoun in the head and broke his stick on the crossbar. second, he should be shaken up, he just about took his goalies head off. i don't think anyone is claiming what ballard did was intentional, but i bet he will be a little more careful where he's slinging that stick the next time he gets beat for a goal.

and i know this site is "politics free", so not sure why your banner gets a pass, maybe its ok to bash one party not the other?? but i'll post a response of my own to you. i don't want to put it in my banner area because i don't need everyone to see it everytime i post...

dave k's democracy... why earn it when we'll take it from someone else who did and give it to you for free!

[choyt3]

Kids at all levels are taught to be responsible for their stick. Doesn't matter where Ballard played his college hockey. That was a stupid act.

[The Sicatoka]

What's the point of breaking your stick over the net anyway.

To me it shows a total lack of self-discipline and self-control, and a lack of maturity.

And in this case the idoicy ended up harming someone else.

[junior24]

YES! the return of DaveK and his brilliant posts.

[AZSIOUX]

Kids at all levels are taught to be responsible for their stick. Doesn't matter where Ballard played his college hockey. That was a stupid act.

dumb dumb dumb. plain and simple. watching it over and over he skates away which was very strange but maybe he didnt realize. who knows. i worked for the coyotes for a year in 05/06 and he was one of the nicest guys on the team but hell most nhl players are it seemed. very scary incident for the goalie and lets hope everyone else sees that and doesnt make a idiotic reaction like that again!

[sprig]

Well, so much for taking the high road.

Did it occur to you that as he skated away he had not yet realized that Vokoun had been hit? Didn't you see how visibly shaken he was while Vokoun was being taken off the ice on a stretcher? After he realized what had happened there is no question that he showed concern.

Try watching the entire clip and try to forget that Ballard used to play for the Gophers.

You must just show up here to argue, It was a dumb thing to do, period.

Looked much much more detailed/graphic in HD.

[DamStrait]

Just saw that on SportsCenter, that's terrible. I hope that people take the high road here and resist using this as an excuse to take a cheap shot at Ballard because of where he played his college hockey. It was obviously unintentional and I feel really bad for Vokoun first and foremost but also for Ballard. He has to feel just awful about this.

You know, your holier-than-thou act is getting really, really old - but that's probably your intention.

[Goon]

What's the point of breaking your stick over the net anyway.

To me it shows a total lack of self-discipline and self-control, and a lack of maturity.

And in this case the idoicy ended up harming someone else.

I think it's a waste of $200.00-$300.00 for a stick it also sets a bad example for the kids playing hockey.

[mujack]

No discipline, I believe luciapet taught him that... Breaking a stick after a goal what a effin baby. Man up

[redwing77]

I'm inclined to say Ballard made a foolish mistake and one that will haunt him for a while.

He was angry. Perhaps because he got burned (I didn't see the play leading up to the goal). In any case, I think both sides are right.

It's retarded to break your stick or hit the net with your stick after a goal (or any time).

However, calling out Ballard for what obviously was a mistake and not intentional is also not that accurate either.

Ballard has worked hard, so I've observed. I think he's better now than he ever was as a Gopher.

I saw the look on his face. The camera showed him looking up at the scoreboard for some reason (counting down the seconds?). He wasn't even sitting on the bench.

I wonder what happened after that. Did he play the remainder of the game? How did he play?

I personally would want to get out on the ice and stay there. I'd want no part in sitting on the bench or going to the locker room.

According to Twitter on Brad's blog, they talked it out and are ok now. That's only part of it. He has to work his way back in favor of his teammates and the media aren't going to be helpful.

[farce poobah]

OK, call me crazy.

Among NHL scorers through 12/1/09, which school has the alumni with the greatest points so far this season:

(A) North Dakota State

(B) UND

Answer: Trick question. It's a tie. NDSU (Bottineau) Dustin Penner and UND Zach Parise with 30 points each.

Strange but true.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm#?navid=nav-sts-indiv

[Siouxmama]

Think he felt bad after the goalie slashing?

From the GFH:

To compound matters, the Thrashers winning goal by Maxim Afinogenov with 5.5 seconds left in the game deflected off Ballard's stick.

DeBoer said Ballard's spirits improved on the flight home, when Vokoun assured him he was fine and that there were "no hard feelings."

[The Sicatoka]

OK, call me crazy.

Among NHL scorers through 12/1/09, which school has the alumni with the greatest points so far this season:

(A) North Dakota State

(B) UND

Answer: Trick question. It's a tie. NDSU (Bottineau) Dustin Penner and UND Zach Parise with 30 points each.

Strange but true.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm#?navid=nav-sts-indiv

FAIL.

The Bottineau campus was under the control of Minot State University during Penner's matriculations.

You can see his college stats are listed as "MSU - Bottineau" (of the NJCAA).

PS -

Is Jason Blake a Ferris State Bulldog or a North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

If you say "Sioux", Penner is a Maine Black Bear.

[The Sicatoka]

Isn't the code for defensemen:

Slash my goalie and I'll beat you down.

So, should Ballard have to apply a beat-down to himself now?

(I have visions of a scene from "Fight Club".)

[nodak hockey fanatic]

It seems like you`re just trying to pick a fight, but you`ll have to find somebody else to fight with. I have no desire to take the bait as I really don`t enjoy that sort of thing.

ok, i almost spit my coffee all over my coffee screen. you should put a disclaimer on your posts that are more ridiculous than usual. even you have to find this post quite amusing davek. 90% of your posts are a direct response/argument with another poster, or some comment about fighting, um, etc. that is meant to entice debate and response.

[siouxforeverbaby]

FAIL.

The Bottineau campus was under the control of Minot State University during Penner's matriculations.

You can see his college stats are listed as "MSU - Bottineau" (of the NJCAA).

PS -

Is Jason Blake a Ferris State Bulldog or a North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

If you say "Sioux", Penner is a Maine Black Bear.

I was just going to post that it was MSU-Bottineau at the time. They recently changed their name to the Dakota College at Bottineau, but are still an affiliate of Minot State.

[Sioux-cia]

I'm on ignore?

No! The poster you were commenting about is.

[burd]

FAIL.

The Bottineau campus was under the control of Minot State University during Penner's matriculations.

You can see his college stats are listed as "MSU - Bottineau" (of the NJCAA).

PS -

Is Jason Blake a Ferris State Bulldog or a North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

If you say "Sioux", Penner is a Maine Black Bear.

To locals, it will always be just "The Forestry."

The story of how Penner got to the Forestry and ended up skating with the Cup is an inspiration to under-the-radar kids everywhere.

[farce poobah]

FAIL.

The Bottineau campus was under the control of Minot State University during Penner's matriculations.

You can see his college stats are listed as "MSU - Bottineau" (of the NJCAA).

PS -

Is Jason Blake a Ferris State Bulldog or a North Dakota Fighting Sioux?

If you say "Sioux", Penner is a Maine Black Bear.

Oh, I feel much better now. Thanks for setting me straight.

And I agree with Burd; its a great story.

[ScottM]

The 'Hawks will be announcing multi-year extensions for Toews, Kane and Keith later today.

[Goon]

The 'Hawks will be announcing multi-year extensions for Toews, Kane and Keith later today.

Looks like Toews and Kane are going to be making 6.3 million a year.

[Siouxmama]

Looks like Toews and Kane are going to be making 6.3 million a year.

Good deal! Enough money for Kane to pay his Taxi fares now!

[nodak hockey fanatic]

Good deal! Enough money for Kane to pay his Taxi fares now!

still no tip though, so that cabbie better have correct change!

[remington_270]

Live video going on now.....

Live

[remington_270]

After two weeks of tweaking and salary-cap manipulations, Hawks general manager Stan Bowman completed identical five-year deals for forwards Kane and Toews worth a reported $31.5 million each, while defenseman Keith inked a 13-year, $72 million contract.