Apparent knee injury sidelines Wild left wing indefinitely

Minnesota Wild coach Mike Yeo said forward Zach Parise will miss a minimum of two games as a result of what the team is labeling a “lower-body injury” suffered early in Thursday’s 3-2 home loss to the Nashville Predators. Parise underwent an MRI this morning and Yeo said the team is still awaiting the results of that exam and there is currently no time frame for his return.

The injury occurred on Parise’s first shift of the game, just past the one minute mark, on a hard hit by Nashville’s James Neal near the boards which resulted in a knee-to-knee collision between the two. After the hit, Parise limped off and skated down the tunnel behind the Minnesota bench but returned to skate a handful of shifts before leaving the game for good with two minutes to play in the opening period.

Following the game, Minnesota coach Mike Yeo responded to initial questions about Parise’s status stating only that he would have an update in the morning. However, as his post-game press conference continued, Yeo’s body language and comments became increasingly cryptic.

“The bottom line is we’re losing Zach and we’re probably going to lose some offense,” Yeo said, adding that Parise will not play in Minnesota’s next game on Saturday against the Tampa bay Lightning.

The news is devastating to a team already without young forwards Tyler Graovac and Justin Fontaine for the next several weeks and the best options available from the Wild’s struggling farm team in Iowa are either injured or off to miserable starts. Zac Dalpe, the Iowa player most likely to have been recalled in this instance, is out for five months following surgery on Thursday to repair a torn labrum in his left hip.

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Funding Will Help Grow and Advance Sled Hockey Across U.S.

USA Hockey announced today that Rochester Minnesota’s Rochester Sled Hockey program is among 10 sled hockey programs nationwide that will equally share $250,000 in grants provided by Labatt USA through its Pass it Forward initiative.

“We’re grateful to Labatt for providing funding to help further the development of sled hockey,” said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. “The substantial number of applications we received shows the desire all across the country to continue to grow sled hockey. It was not an easy task for our selection committee to settle on the 10 recipients.”

“When we began working with USA Hockey to figure out how Labatt could help support sled hockey, we learned that awareness and access are the sport’s two biggest challenges,” said Lisa Texido, brand manager of Labatt USA. “Everyone deserves the chance to play hockey and this ‘Pass It Forward’ initiative helps bring access to hockey to more athletes who want to play the game.”

Each of the 10 programs will receive $25,000 to be used for items such as sleds, stick, ice time and uniforms. Rochester is one of five previously established USA Hockey sled programs to receive the funding with five newly created programs receiving assistance as well.

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Wild D to donate $100 for each hit he is credited with at Xcel Energy Center

SAINT PAUL, Minn. – Defending The Blue Line® (DTBL) and Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba today announced the launch of “Dumba’s Hit’s for Heroes” – an initiative to support the charity throughout the 2015-16 National Hockey League (NHL) season. Dumba will donate $100 to DTBL for each hit he records on home ice at Xcel Energy Center during the 2015-16 Minnesota Wild regular season. 

    “Defending The Blue Line provides great assistance for military families and I’m proud to support them with a program fans can get excited for and track throughout the Wild season,” said Dumba. “While I’ve worn the number 24 throughout my career, I wanted to do something special to acknowledge the history and excitement the number holds for Wild fans.”

    Dumba, 21 (7/25/94), recorded 42 hits in 58 regular-season games in 2014-15. The native of Regina, Sask., totaled two hits in two games on home ice at Xcel Energy Center during the 2015-16 preseason.

     “We’re excited to have Matt on board as our latest player ambassador. He’s full of energy, and displays the same values of integrity, work ethic, and commitment that we hold in high regard,” said Shane Hudella, President & Founder of Defending The Blue Line. “His generous gift of the “Dumba’s Hits for Heroes” campaign will be a tremendous help that directly increases the amount of military kids we can get started in hockey this year, and we are very grateful.”

    Defending The Blue Line is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization created by a group of National Guard soldiers from Minnesota. The charity assists families of all branches of the military with costs associated with hockey, as well as other sports. They provide financial assistance for registration fees, free equipment, summer camps, and send many deserving families on a special night out to watch pro, collegiate, and minor league sports games before or after deployment.

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Longtime official to become first female to skate in a WCHA men’s contest

Veteran official Kristine (Langley) Morrison, who has worked four NCAA Women’s Frozen Four tournaments and several international competitions, will serve as a referee this weekend at Ferris State, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced today.

“The WCHA is committed to providing growth opportunities for all of our officials,” said WCHA Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement. “As part of that process, we are exploring new evaluation and development paths for our female officials. Kristine has consistently been rated among the top on-ice officials in the women’s league and is certainly deserving of this opportunity for continued professional growth.”

A member of the on-ice officiating staff for the women’s WCHA since 2005, Morrison will skate Ferris State’s Crimson & Gold intrasquad game Saturday and the Bulldogs’ exhibition contest against the University of Lethbridge on Sunday.

Morrison, who played hockey college hockey at Wayne State, is married to veteran official Jonathan Morrison who works Big Ten games in Minnesota and Wisconsin as a linesman.

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Coast-to-coast action highlights a full slate of WCHA games

After successful opening weekend which saw six of its teams go 4-0-2 in non-conference action and 3-0-0 in exhibition play, all eight women’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) teams take to the ice this weekend in preparation for next week’s conference openers.

The weekend’s slate of interleague contests begins tonight with No. 1 Minnesota, exhibition winners over the Minnesota Whitecaps 5-4 on Sept. 25, launching its national title defense with a pair of games in State College, Penn. against the Penn State Nittany Lions. Minnesota returns three All-Americans in senior forward Hannah Brandt (first team), junior forward Dani Cameranesi (second team) and junior defenseman Lee Stecklein.

Brandt enters the 2015-16 season as the NCAA’s active career scoring leader with 221 points (90 goals, 131 assists) which ranks her 16th in NCAA history.

The Maura Crowell era behind Minnesota Duluth bench continues with the Bulldogs (2-0-0) traveling to Boston to face No. 2 Boston College. Crowell’s tenure got underway last week with a pair of road wins at Lindenwood led by WCHA Offensive Player of the Week Ashley Brykaliuk. The junior forward compiled five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in 4-3 and 4-1 victories.

Senior goaltender Kayla Black stopped 48 of 52 shots in her 103rd and 104th career games between the UMD pipes. The Bulldogs’ career leader in shutouts (19) and saves (2,558) is now tied with Rita Schaublin for the most games played in team history.

Like UMD, No. 9 Bemidji State takes its undefeated record and heads east this weekend to take on Vermont. Jim Scanlan’s Beavers (1-0-1), 11-9-1 on the road last year, opened the season with a win and a tie against Robert Morris University at the Sanford Center.

Sophomore defenseman Alexis Joyce had a big weekend to earn her WCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors. Joyce tied for the team lead with three points, including the season’s first goal for BSU, and was a plus-5 with two blocked shots. Returning first-team All-American goaltender Brittni Mowat made 18 saves in Friday’s 3-1 win over the Colonials.

Crowell was not the only rookie coach to get off on the right foot last week. New Minnesota State coach John Harrington also enters the weekend undefeated after his Mavericks (1-0-1) tied and defeated Union College at home. WCHA Rookie of the Week Corbin Boyd made her first career goal even more memorable by scoring Friday’s game-tying tally with just 1:48 remaining in regulation.

MSU’s 3-0 win in its second game of the season is significant in that it took the Mavericks 18 games (0-16-1) to pick up their first win of the 2014-15 season.

Minnesota State takes on the Rochester Institute of Technology (R.I.T.) this weekend in Rochester, N.Y., less than 300 miles from Lake Placid, N.Y. where Harrington and his Team USA teammates defeated the mighty Soviet Union their way to capturing an Olympic gold medal under coach Herb Brooks.

Like the Gophers, St. Cloud State opened its season with a one-goal win over the Minnesota Whitecaps last week. Second-year coach Eric Rud’s Huskies have the privilege this weekend to welcome Merrimack College to Division I women’s college hockey.  SCSU travels to North Andover, Mass. to face off against the Warriors in their first-ever regular season games.

Elsewhere around the league … Four-time Olympic medalist and two-time WCHA Player of the Year Jenny Potter officially returns to the league this weekend for her D-I head coaching debut with Ohio State as the Buckeye hit the road to take on Lindenwood. … Wisconsin heads west to open its season in San Jose, Calif. The No. 3 Badgers face Providence in a two-game series at Sharks Ice – the official training facility for the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. … North Dakota begins its regular season in Troy, N.Y. with a series against RPI.

The post Women’s college notebook appeared first on Minnesota Hockey Magazine.

No. 1 jersey to be retired in Oct. 30 ceremony

Move over Brett Hull, Keith “Huffer” Christiansen and Bill Watson. You’ll soon have some company.

On Oct. 30, the University of Minnesota Duluth will officially retire Glenn “Chico” Resch’s No. 1 jersey during a first intermission ceremony at AMSOIL Arena, making the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame charter member the fourth Bulldog male in any sport to be so recognized. He’ll join Brett Hull, Christiansen and Watson in that exclusive club.

“We congratulate “Chico” on this prestigious and well-deserved honor,” said UMD athletic director Josh Berlo.  “Not only did he enjoy prosperous playing career both here and in the National Hockey League, but he’s always been an outstanding ambassador for UMD and Bulldog hockey.”

A three-year fixture in goal for the Bulldogs, Resch was selected to the All-Western Collegiate Hockey Association second team as a senior team captain in 1970-71. He exited the Bulldog program ranking among the top three leaders in virtually every career and single-season statistical category for UMD goaltenders.

“The world for me changed during my time at UMD,” said Resch, who now makes his home in Emily, Minn. “It was a launching point for me — both personally and professionally. I met my wife (Diane) there and everything I was able to accomplish after that in hockey and in broadcasting I owe to those four years.”

Photo courtesy of Minnesota Duluth Athletics

The recipient of UMD’s Outstanding Senior Athlete Award for 1970-71, Resch went on to spend 14 years in the NHL with the New York Islanders (1973-81), Colorado Rockies (1981-82), New Jersey Devils (1982-86) and Philadelphia Flyers (1986) before retiring in 1986 at the age of 37. He became the first ex-Bulldog to appear in an NHL All-Star Game, doing so in 1976, 1977 and 1983.

After retiring, he served as the goaltender coach for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1987-88 and embarked on a broadcasting career that same season — as the color commentator on Minnesota North Star telecasts.  He also handled that same role for UMD hockey (KBJR-TV) for three years (1987-90) before returning to the coaching ranks as Minnesota North Stars’ goaltending coach and scout in 1990-91.

He returned to the television booth permanently in 1996 and, for the next 18 seasons, was the lead analyst for the New Jersey Devils on MSG+ and FSN New York.

Resch, a native of Regina, Saskatchewan, was one of 12 individuals inducted into the UMD Athletic Hall of Fame’s inaugural class back in 1991.

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Bemidji State begins season at No. 9 in the country

The season’s first U.S. College Hockey Online Division I women’s poll was released this morning and, to no one’s surprise, Minnesota opens the season as the No. 1 team in the nation. The defending national champions, coming off of a 34-3-4 season garnered all 15 first-place votes.

The Golden Gophers are joined in the poll by fellow WCHA combatants Wisconsin (3) and North Dakota (6) while Bemidji State debuts in the No. 9 spot to begin the season, up one spot from where BSU finished a remarkable breakout campaign in 2014-15 which saw the Beavers defeat the Gophers to advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff title game.

New coach Maura Crowell’s Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs open up outside the top ten but did receive five votes in the poll to earn some consideration.

All five Minnesota Division I teams take the ice competitively for the first time this coming weekend (Sept. 25-27):

Minnesota and St. Cloud State begin play hosting single exhibition games against the Minnesota Whitecaps on Friday and Saturday, respectively, while UMD opens its season on the road with a Saturday-Sunday series at Lindenwood.

Bemidji State opens Jim Scanlan’s second season at home against Robert Morris University on Friday and Saturday and John Harrington’s debut behind the Minnesota State bench with a pair of home games against Union College, also a Friday-Saturday series.

USCHO.com Division I Women’s Poll
Minneapolis, Minn./September 21, 2015

Others receiving votes: Northeastern 11, Mercyhurst 6, Minnesota-Duluth 5, St. Lawrence 4.

The USCHO.com Poll is compiled weekly and consists of 15 voters, including coaches and women’s hockey writers from across the country. USCHO.com provides in-depth coverage of college hockey.

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It’s been a busy week for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). In addition to launching its new web platform, the league also began selling subscription packages for WCHA.tv – the online streaming platform of the men’s WCHA.

The conference has partnered with Stretch Internet to allow fans to watch all 10 league teams and up to 196 games during the 2015-16 season on just about any device – computer, tablet, phone and many Smart TVs – with a responsive experience customized for that particular medium. High-quality HD streams, when available from the originating arena, will be viewable in multiple screen layout options (including picture-in-picture, multi-view format to watch up to four games simultaneously and full-screen video).

Live and archived game broadcasts, from the season’s opening face-off through the Broadmoor Trophy championship game, are available through the following WCHA.tv subscription packages:

• League-wide Season Pass ($129.99) –For less than $1 per game, fans receive live and archived access to a minimum of 192 and a maximum of 196 WCHA games, including: Every WCHA regular season league game, along with each team’s non-conference home contests and select home exhibition games, the league’s postseason tournament and the 2016 WCHA Final Five.
• Single-team Season Pass ($89.99) –For fans who only want to watch their favorite team, this package delivers live and archived coverage for the selected team’s non-conference home games, select home exhibition games and all WCHA regular season league contests (home and away). Note: Picture-in-picture and multi-view format are not available for this package.
• League-wide Nightly Pass ($9.99) –Fans can watch live broadcasts of every game played in a WCHA arena that night, up to five games spanning three time zones.
• Single-team Nightly Pass ($7.99) –Fans can watch their favorite team play at home or on the road (WCHA games only) with this one-team, one-game price.

“We are excited to get the 2015-16 season underway, and are thrilled to offer our fans a variety of options to watch the league and their favorite team via WCHA.tv,” said WCHA Commissioner Bill Robertson in a league release. “Our partnership with Stretch Internet will give WCHA fans the best possible experience with high-quality, easily accessible and multi-faceted streaming broadcasts.”

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The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) announced the launch of the conference’s new –look website on Tuesday, Sept. 15 for both its men’s and women’s pages. Wcha.com’s redesign is the result of a partnership between the league office and website provider 867 Studios.

“We wanted to provide WCHA fans with an easily accessible and visually striking showcase of the league’s tremendous student-athletes, coaches and institutions,” said Men’s Commissioner Bill Robertson and Women’s Commissioner Aaron Kemp in a joint statement released by the league. “With its simplified layout, content and continued statistical integration with collegehockeystats.net, we feel the new wcha.com will be a go-to resource for our fans.”

In addition to its responsive design, allowing for scalability across devices, the new wcha.com’s large, rotating displays near the top of the home page and team pages magnify current news and stories, while content is organized in a simplified manner.

The site’s statistical platform, which is integrated with collegehockeystats.net and contains some of the most expansive analysis available, is also responsive – with more enhancements planned as the season unfolds.

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NSCC shifts to Saturday start

The third annual North Star College Cup will feature a semifinal matchup between the tournament’s first two champions but on Saturday rather than Friday. The University of Minnesota announced today that the NSCC is adopting a Saturday-Sunday format beginning in 2016 after two years of utilizing a Friday-Saturday arrangement.

That means defending champion Bemidji State will square off against inaugural champ Minnesota at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 30 following Minnesota State and St. Cloud State’s 1 p.m. semifinal contest at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.

The winners will battle for in-state bragging rights in Sunday’s 4 p.m. title game while the puck drops in the consolation game at 1 p.m.

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