Men's Hockey - vs. North Dakota (26 Mar)

They got very little attention ahead of what was possibly the biggest (easily, the latest) game in the program's recent history - at least since the turn of the millennium - but it turned out there was plenty of cause for that lack of attention. The North Dakota Fighting Sioux, ranked #1 in the country, put on a clinic of efficient hockey that, while never thoroughly dominating on the ice, was certainly dominating on the scoreboard. RPI ran into a more well-rounded and talent-laden team in the first round of their first NCAA tournament experience in 16 years, but the only truly disappointing element to the game was the team's inability, for the third consecutive NCAA appearance, to not score a goal as the Engineers fell 6-0 to North Dakota.

North Dakota
Higgs/Polacek/Lee
Cullen/Malchuk/Rabbani

Angers-Goulet/O'Grady/Brutlag
Tinordi/Rogic/Helfrich

Bergin/Foss
Bailen/Kennedy
Koudys/Dolan

York

The 20-day layoff that the Engineers experienced between their last ECAC tournament game and their NCAA regional appearance represented the longest break between games since the tournament expanded to 16 teams in 2003. Some expected RPI to be rusty due to the layoff, others expected them to have more energy. Neither truly ended up being true, but the Engineers did seem to be able to at the very least run with North Dakota in the first period, and actually controlled play to some extent during portions of the opening 20 minutes.

RPI actually had the game's first decent scoring opportunity just seconds into the affair, forcing UND goaltender Aaron Dell to be sharp right away to keep the Engineers off the scoresheet. RPI was ready, willing, and able to set the physical tone early on, though that did lead to a penalty to Bryan Brutlag just 45 seconds into the game. That penalty was killed off, and a big, bruising hit by Josh Rabbani that leveled UND defenseman Brock Nelson (and led to his being helped off the ice, not to return) could have signaled a serious momentum shift, but North Dakota turned around rather quickly and notched the game's first goal on a bit of a dribbling puck. Brad Malone picked up a slow mover that he placed between Allen York's pads. York got a piece of it, but could not stop it from eventually crossing the line.

That would be the only goal of the first period, but the Engineers certainly had their chances, most notably on a shot taken by Chase Polacek that rang off the post loud enough to reverberate in the Resch Center. Brock Higgs also had an opportunity to light the lamp in the first period after finding the puck at his stick with Dell well out of the net, but he was unable to pull the trigger thanks in part to a solid backup from the UND defense.

Malone scored again early in the second period, this time on the power play, to put UND up 2-0, but the Engineers were still largely hanging with the Sioux. The game's turning point, however, came midway through the period. Shortly after killing off a short 5-on-3 after penalties to Brock Higgs and Jeff Foss - in fact, just seven seconds after Foss exited the penalty box to allow RPI to escape the penalty kill unscathed - UND's Danny Kristo scored a nifty goal on a toe drag, blunting any potential momentum from the penalty kill and giving the Sioux a comfortable 3-0 lead.

From there, the game was mostly academic. RPI began to look a little gassed, having given their all during the game's first 30 minutes to keep up with the Sioux and getting nothing to show for it. North Dakota would score on the next two penalties, netting a power play goal on a second penalty to Jeff Foss and a shorthanded goal with their captain, Chay Genoway, in the penalty box late in the second. While the end of the first saw the Engineers trailing only 1-0, the end of the second saw them back 5-0, a comeback looking quite unlikely even with 20 minutes left.

The coupe de grace came just 32 seconds into the third when Hobey Baker favorite Matt Frattin scored despite drawing a slashing penalty against Mike Bergin in the process - he was not about to be stopped. From there, the Sioux relented slightly, preferring to work for the shutout instead. The Engineers, meanwhile, were completely gassed. Their only offensive opportunities of the third period came on three power plays, but RPI still was unable to put anything home. In fact, on some of the man advantages, North Dakota continued to have a pretty solid control of the puck, occasionally pulling up rather than taking shots on Allen York. They put only eight shots on net after 14 in the first and 18 in the second.

Ultimately, RPI didn't play poorly despite their long layoff - they didn't seem rusty at all and they even seemed to play the type of game they set out to play. The only truly ugly element of the entire game was on the scoreboard. Who knows what could have happened if Higgs or Polacek had been able to put the puck home in the first period - but that is neither here nor there. Not scoring a goal, in the end, was the toughest part for RPI fans to have to swallow. The last goal RPI has scored in the NCAA tournament was the famous goal by George Servinis that won the 1985 national championship.

And so ends a remarkable season that had its share of highs and lows, characterized by the lowest of the low being followed by one of the highest highs in March. Seven seniors - Chase Polacek, Tyler Helfrich, Jeff Foss, Bryan Brutlag, John Kennedy, Scott Halpern, and Kevin Beauregard, have played their final games in an RPI sweater. Joel Malchuk is expected to return for his redshirt season - but there is one key underclassman who we know will not be returning.

Allen York on Tuesday signed a pro contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, forgoing his senior season and becoming the fourth Engineer to sign his first NHL contract this season, following Jerry D'Amigo, Brandon Pirri, and Kirk MacDonald. That leaves a big gap for RPI next season, but fortunately Seth Appert has six months to decide what to do in net. Most likely, junior-to-be Bryce Merriam will be the man between the pipes, but another goaltender will be needed to come in on the roster. That could be the already-recruited Jason Kasdorf, who had been expected to replace York in 2012, or it could be another goaltender yet to be added, with Kasdorf replacing instead Jeremy Coupal on the roster when the practice goalie graduates next year.

Other junk - Chase Polacek finishes his career with 160 points, 19th place among all time scorers at RPI.

With 106 points, Tyler Helfrich finishes his career tied with Norm Bean '70 and Joe Ens '78 for 50th all-time.

Allen York finishes his career at RPI as the top goaltender in program history in goals against average with 2.47.

Greg Burgdoerfer has now been on the roster for three NCAA tournament games - two with Air Force in his freshman season, and one with RPI this year - but did not dress in any of them.

#4 RPI vs. #1 North Dakota
NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal - Resch Center (Green Bay, WI)
3/26/11 - 1:30pm

RESULT: North Dakota 6, RPI 0

BOX SCORES

College Hockey Stats

USCHO

RECAPS

RPI

USCHO

Troy Record

Albany Times-Union

Grand Forks Herald

Dickinson Press

Green Bay Press-Gazette

Denver Post

Bismarck Tribune

VIDEO
YouTube (Seth Appert remarks)

YouTube (Chase Polacek and John Kennedy remarks)

YouTube (Dave Hakstol remarks)

YouTube (Brad Malone and Corban Knight remarks)

RECORD: 20-13-5 (11-9-2 ECAC, 24 pts)

Reale Deals
1. G Allen York, 36 saves

2. F Brock Higgs, 4 shots

3. F Chase Polacek, 3 shots

Not The Way It Was Drawn Up

Didn't get that goal we wanted, in the end. Doesn't much matter. North Dakota's like a runaway truck. They played their game and didn't give us a seam.

So ends a remarkable season, an important benchmark on the road back to respectability. There is more work to be done, and we'll get started on that in October.

The Dream is Alive

Last year, we had a bonafide champion in Rensselaer County. The Averill Park girls basketball team won not only the state championship in Class A, but also the federation championship, which pits the public school champion against the very best from New York City. That made them the best of the best throughout the entire state.

That team had practically all of its best players leave at the end of the year. After starting off this season with a mediocre 7-7 record, they lost their last four games of the season and limped into the sectional tournament as a relatively low seed, an afterthought.

Then they won a game. And another, this time against an undefeated team considered one of the best in the state. They won another to claim an improbable sectional championship. Then they won again to kick off the state tournament. They were told they were in over their heads against a second undefeated team, but they managed to win that one too at the very end to reach the state semifinals. That followed on with another juggernaut they were supposed to lose to, and they won that game on a last-second shot at the buzzer to find themselves in a place no one, not even themselves, most likely, expected them to be just three weeks prior: defending their state championship.

"We just got tired of losing," more than one of the team's players said. "We wanted to prove everyone wrong."

It didn't matter how their season ended. They got their chance in a single-elimination tournament, and they made it count. Repeatedly. All it took was a team effort and a refusal to lose, even when no one thought they had a prayer.

"Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right." - Henry Ford

16 years.

That's a long time to wait for another chance. The last three weeks, of course, have been agonizing as well. But the waiting is over.

As long as there is time left on the clock, the dream is alive.

Low-Seeded and Rusty

So, the Engineers are a #4 seed. They also didn't play last week (or the week before that, but that's beside the point). Some would say... well, they're going to be rusty and they're a low seed, so they're going to get bounced with no problem. And maybe they're right.

But... maybe neither of those are particularly relevant, either.

How have #4 seeds and teams that have had extra rest fared in the tournament lately? Well... pretty good actually. #4 seeds are in bold, teams playing with extra rest are in italics.

2006
Bemidji State - Lost to Wisconsin
Colorado College - Lost to Cornell
Holy Cross - Defeated Minnesota, lost to North Dakota
Nebraska-Omaha - Lost to Boston University
New Hampshire - Lost to Michigan

2007
Air Force - Lost to Minnesota
Alabama-Huntsville - Lost to Notre Dame (2 OT)
Maine - Defeated St. Cloud State, defeated UMass, lost to Michigan State
Miami - Defeated New Hampshire, lost to Boston College
UMass - Defeated Clarkson, lost to Maine

2008
Air Force - Lost to Miami
Clarkson - Defeated St. Cloud State, lost to Michigan
Michigan State - Defeated Colorado College, lost to Notre Dame
Niagara - Lost to Michigan
Notre Dame - Defeated New Hampshire, defeated Michigan State, defeated Michigan, lost to Boston College
Princeton - Lost to North Dakota
Wisconsin - Defeated Denver, lost to North Dakota

2009
Air Force - Defeated Michigan, lost to Vermont
Bemidji State - Defeated Notre Dame, defeated Cornell, lost to Miami
Miami - Defeated Denver, defeated Minnesota-Duluth, defeated Bemidji State, lost to Boston University
New Hampshire - Defeated North Dakota, lost to Boston University
Ohio State - Lost to Boston University
Vermont - Defeated Yale, defeated Air Force, lost to Boston University

2010
Alabama-Huntsville - Lost to Miami
Alaska - Lost to Boston College
Bemidji State - Lost to Michigan
New Hampshire - Defeated Cornell, lost to RIT
RIT - Defeated Denver, defeated New Hampshire, lost to Wisconsin
Yale - Defeated North Dakota, lost to Boston College
Vermont - Lost to Wisconsin

2011
Air Force
Colorado College
Nebraska-Omaha
New Hampshire
RPI
Union

#4 seeds are 8-12 in the first round since 2006, while teams that were off the previous week are 10-9 in the same stretch. Meanwhile, at least one #4 seed has won in the opening round in every tournament since 2006, and at least two supposedly "rusty" teams have won in the opening round against a team fresh from the fight in each of the last four years - not to mention that North Dakota has suffered losses to such teams in each of the last two tournaments (though neither were as a #1 seed).

Oh, and we've had at least one team in the Frozen Four for the last four years running that were either a #4 seed or were rested heading into the tournament (or both).

Hockey isn't basketball - a low seed isn't necessarily a killer. We'll see what happens tomorrow, we're just over 24 hours to go until we tangle with the Sioux.

-----

Today, games get underway in the East and West regionals in Bridgeport and St. Louis. There's the potential for an all-ECAC final in Bridgeport if Yale and Union, the higher seeds, win their games. Yale and Air Force have met once before this season, and it ended in Yale's first loss out in Colorado in a game they were winning 3-0 with 15 minutes left to play. Now in their backyard, I don't see this ending the same way. Meanwhile, Union and Minnesota-Duluth provides one of the truest toss-up games of the first round, as 8/9 matchups frequently do. This one's probably anyone's game, the Dutchmen have the stronger team while Duluth has the stronger individual players.

Out in St. Louis, it's Boston College and Colorado College in an interesting high/low matchup. The Eagles are certainly favored, but the Tigers seem like they could at least provide an interesting game if nothing more. Finally, there's Michigan and Nebraska-Omaha. Michigan shows up every year, but they rarely have been bringing home the national championship, with their only two championships during their long stretch of NCAA tournament appearances coming in 1996 and 1998. Omaha, meanwhile, had a pretty decent season overall but simply could not beat Bemidji State to save their lives this year (fully 1/3 of their losses this year are to the Beavers, including two in the WCHA playoffs). Dean Blais vs. Red Berenson has all the makings of a barnburner in this matchup between teams that were CCHA rivals just last year.

So Sioux Me

I usually try to keep politics and political stances away from this blog - we're an equal opportunity provider of RPI and college hockey news and information. Fortunately, most of the time we don't even get within a mile of political issues, but with a game with North Dakota now on the horizon, especially given what that game could mean for UND if they lose, there's an issue that I'd rather not just avoid - the Fighting Sioux nickname.

In response to continued pressure from the NCAA, among other entities, the University of North Dakota announced in 2009 that the nickname would be retired, a decision which has understandably upset the majority of UND supporters, given their dedication and love for the school's programs, especially when it comes to their flagship hockey program.

The argument put forward by the NCAA and those who have campaigned against the name is always pretty much the same: that calling the team the "Fighting Sioux" is somehow offensive or degrading to Native Americans. The term "hostile and abusive" was specifically used by the NCAA.

Before I get into whether that makes sense or not, let's look at the evolution of the rather American concept of having official team nicknames. During the turn of the 20th century, most professional teams didn't have nicknames other than those basically assigned to them by the newspapers that covered them. The "Yankees," for instance, grew from the fact that the team was New York's entry in the American League, a name that transitioned from the team's old name, the "Highlanders," which came into being due to the team's original stadium location at Hilltop Park in Manhattan. Both were originally used only by the media to describe them.

RPI had a similar occurrence that helped lead to their current name. The Institute's sports teams were frequently called the "Bachelors" in antiquity, perhaps in part because the school was essentially all-male at the time. That transitioned into the name the school currently uses, the "Engineers," naturally, because the school is renowned for its engineering programs and has always placed a very firm emphasis on that field of study.

We've had our own issues with nicknames (remember the chicken?), but at least ours weren't tinged with accusations of bigotry and racism - they were just an attempt to be more inclusive to other fields of study. Even that didn't go over very well, and this Lally School of Management graduate is quite satisfied with cheering on a team called the Engineers.

In North Dakota, the discussion went far beyond the one at RPI. Supporters of the Fighting Sioux name were called every pejorative in the book by those opposing it, with "racist" seeming to be the term du jour. Why? Are there too many assumptions being made?

In what way is the Fighting Sioux name "hostile and abusive" to the Sioux tribes? Teams and schools do not take on monikers to mock those which they associate with. Did Denver take on their name to be hostile toward the pioneers who explored and settled the west? Does Alaska's use of the Inuit word "nanook," which means polar bear, constitute abusive conduct since the term is sometimes used by the ignorant to refer to Arctic tribes? No, of course not.

And yet, for some reason, "Fighting Sioux" is. Whenever I've heard the name used, the imagery it conjures up should actually be considered flattering. When the Sioux tribes had their land, their way of life, and their very lives threatened by European expansion, they did not meekly submit. They resisted to the end. That is the spirit by which the Fighting Sioux name is quite clearly used.

The university has not used an actual "mascot" since the early 1970s, which was a good move to spike something that seems like it could be actually hostile and abusive. But now, at the conclusion of this season, UND has announced that they will be discontinuing the name, finally capitulating after decades of pressure, increased over the past 10 years by the NCAA (which, incidentally, is not pressuring the BCS conference Florida State Seminoles or the Illinois Fighting Illini to change their names).

Thus, if the Engineers emerge victorious on Saturday, it will likely spell the end of the Fighting Sioux era, and that's a true shame (not that it wouldn't potentially end two weeks later after the Frozen Four anyway, of course). The name has already been associated with seven national championships in men's hockey and is truly legendary in our sport.

It doesn't sound like they've settled on a new name. Some have suggested returning to the name "Flickertails," which is what was in use prior to the adoption of "Sioux" (basically cute little squirrels). Others, tongue firmly in cheek, have suggested the name Suhaki as a workaround, although that doesn't work real well for the university's other sports. (For what it's worth, the people behind "Save our Suhaki" have installed a method for finding out if your own name is "hostile and abusive.")

So, "Fighting Sioux" is "hostile and abusive," eh? OK, so that must necessarily mean that nicknames using groups of people are, by their very nature, hostile and abusive. Thus, to make amends for being hostile and abusive for so long, UND should change their name in order to be hostile and abusive toward the Sioux's greatest enemy instead. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the North Dakota Cavalry. It's a name that reflects the area's history and it even adheres to that fad that never quite went away whereby new sport team names do not end in "s." Best of all, it's hostile and abusive to those that drove the Sioux from their land. Just change the primary color from green to blue. Everyone wins!

Is my logic wrong? Whatever. They'll always be the Fighting Sioux to me - and I will continue to refer to them as such whether the NCAA likes it or not.

UPDATE, 6:04 p.m.: Hmm. This is interesting. Just reading now that a supermajority in both the North Dakota House and Senate passed on legislation to Gov. Jack Dalrymple ordering UND to keep the name Fighting Sioux, and that the governor signed the measure on March 15. I'm sure this will eventually cause another round of bellyaching by the NCAA - hopefully, the name is allowed to stand this time.

Tonight's Podcast: Joe Paisley

With the Engineers off to the NCAA tournament, it's time to bring back the podcast - and who better to talk to than Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Joe Paisley? After all, he's one of the few guys out there that have seen both RPI and North Dakota this season. Besides, we owe him an appearance, since we tried to have him on at the beginning of the season before the RPI/CC series and failed due to technical issues.

Before the season started, few observers would have pegged that RPI/CC series as one between teams that would still be playing in late March, and yet here we are. Joe is in St. Louis getting set to cover the Tigers' game against Boston College. We'll ask him about the Engineers, the Fighting Sioux, the Tigers, and the Denver Pioneers, who lurk as a potential opponent on Sunday if RPI can pull off the upset. We'll also break down the NCAA tournament and provide a wrap-up on the women's NCAA tournament.

We hit the "airwaves" at 9pm Eastern tonight, and we'll talk to Joe around 9:30. Don't miss it! Click "Listen to Without a Peer" in the upper right hand corner of the page at the appropriate time to listen in live.

Know Your Enemy: North Dakota

Well. This wasn't on the schedule at the beginning of the year. Must have missed this one.

Actually, it technically was, since we always put the schedule out to include the entire NCAA tournament (you know, just in case), but at any rate, it's time to take a close look at the opponents for Saturday's contest in Green Bay. There's no such thing as an easy opponent this time of year, but the first test for the Engineers is a tall one indeed - the #1 team in the nation, if not in the tournament.

North Dakota

Nickname: Fighting Sioux
Location: Grand Forks, ND
Founded: 1883
Conference: WCHA
National Championships: 7 (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000)
Last NCAA Appearance: 2010
Last Frozen Four: 2008
Coach: Dave Hakstol (7th season)
2010-11 Record: 30-8-3 (21-6-1 WCHA, 1st place)
Series: North Dakota leads, 7-1-0
First Game: January 2, 1960 (Troy, NY)
Last RPI win: November 24, 1984 (Grand Forks, ND)
Last UND win: January 13, 1990 (Grand Forks, ND)

2010-11 game: March 26, 2011 (Green Bay, WI)
Key players: D Derek Forbort, fr. (0-15--15), F Matt Frattin, sr. (35-22--57), D Chay Genoway, sr. (6-26--32), F Jason Gregoire, jr. (24-17--41), F Corban Knight, so. (13-29--42), F Brad Malone, sr. (16-21--37), F Evan Trupp, sr. (16-21--37), G Aaron Dell (28-6-2, 1.87, .921)

The names are what stand out in UND's hockey history - names like Ed Belfour, Craig Ludwig, Troy Murray, David Christian, and Tony Hrkac. Today's NHL ranks are littered with former Sioux - Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Jonathan Toews, T.J. Oshie... the list goes on.

Hockey has been synonymous with North Dakota since the end of World War II, when the school hired student John Jamieson as the team's first hockey coach in 1946. It didn't take long for UND to establish itself as a worthy hockey power, taking down a Michigan team that was just a month away from becoming the first NCAA champion by a 6-5 score in Ann Arbor in 1948.

The upward trend continued into the 1950s, where the school was one of the founding members of the WIHL, the forerunner of the WCHA. They reached their first Frozen Four in 1958, blasting Harvard 9-1 in the semifinal before falling to Denver, but the next season the Sioux broke through, claiming their first national championship in the 1959 Frozen Four at RPI Field House, where they won a pair of heart-stopping 4-3 overtime games over St. Lawrence and Michigan State.

Head coach Barry Thorndycraft was behind the bench in Troy, and he would earn a second national championship in 1963. That was the last national crown the Sioux earned for nearly 20 years, but the team stayed competitive through the 1960s.

One thing RPI and North Dakota have in common are ruinous tenures by UND alum Rube Bjorkman. He spent one year at RPI in 1964, leading the Engineers to the Frozen Four that season but nearly causing the program to die when he left for New Hampshire. Bjorkman had moderate success in Durham, but while at his alma mater, the team entered a 10-year period of mediocrity.

That period ended as soon as Bjorkman stepped down in early 1978. His repalcement, Gino Gasparini, returned the team to the Frozen Four in 1979, his first season behind the bench. Under Gasparini, the Sioux returned to prominence, winning three national championships during his tenure from 1978 to 1994. That stretch included a much-remembered pair of upsets (at RPI, anyway) in Troy in the NCAA tournament, as the Sioux twice defeated an RPI team that entered the tournament with a record of 32-4 as one of the favorites for the national championship.

The Fighting Sioux are arguably in the midst of their greatest sustained success in the history of their program. Since the 1996-97 season, they have scored seven MacNaughton Cups as WCHA regular season champions, five Broadmoor Trophies as WCHA tournament champs, and have only missed 20 wins and the NCAA tournament once (2001-02, their first season in the college hockey cathedral known as Ralph Englestad Arena). During that stretch, they have reached the Frozen Four seven times, winning two national championships in 1997 and 2000.

North Dakota has completed the WCHA sweep (regular season and playoffs) three times. The first two times, in 1987 and 1997, they won the national championship. 2011 is the third.

This team has all kinds of experienced offense, led by Hobey Baker Award favorite Matt Frattin, Evan Trupp, and Corban Knight, and their defense is keyed by Aaron Dell, who was the backup to Brad Eidsness heading into the season. Dell has been superb all season long, however, being named the WCHA's goaltender of the year. The team is deep enough to roll with four dangerous lines that will burn you if you take a shift off. That's a key reason why they come into the NCAA tournament with a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1).

What does RPI have going for them? Well, they didn't just emerge from the all-out war that is the WCHA tournament. They will have had almost three weeks for their minor bumps and bruises to heal - and in recent years, teams that have had a couple of weeks off before their NCAA tournament have found success, usually quite unexpected (that would seem to bode well for Nebraska-Omaha and Union, too). They've shown resiliency this season as well against top teams, including a victory over then-#1 Yale (who boasts the only goaltender with better numbers than Dell this year). Of course, the Engineers also have a Hobey Baker candidate of their own and a goaltender who has been known to keep his team in practically every game he's played this season.

Let there be no doubt as to which team in this matchup has the pressure on them. Anything short of the national championship for North Dakota, especially given their dismissive demeanors after winning the MacNaughton and the Broadmoor, will be a failure. The Engineers, while they surely are going to go for the win, are merely happy to still be playing. That alone, or even combined with the elements above, isn't going to suddenly make RPI favorites, but there's something to be said for the freedom that comes with using house money.

We'll see what happens on Saturday. North Dakota are the favorites and rightfully so, but there's no reason not to go into this game without hope. If RPI goes for broke and Allen York has a strong game, anything's possible.