#2 North Dakota
(3-0-1, 1-0-1 WCHA)
at
Alaska Anchorage
(2-2-0, 0-0-0 WCHA)
Oct. 23-24, 2009 • 10:07 pm CT • Sullivan Arena (6,251) • Anchorage, Alaska
RADIO: 96.1 The Fox (KQHT-FM) • Webcast: GCI.net
TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network, GCI Cable
THIS WEEK: Second-ranked North Dakota takes to the road for the first time this season when the Fighting Sioux face Alaska Anchorage on Friday and Saturday night at Sullivan Arena.
The puck drops at 10:07 p.m. Central each night.
MEDIA INFORMATION: All Fighting Sioux men's hockey games, home and away, can be heard on 96.1 FM (The Fox) and on stations across the Fighting Sioux Hockey Network. Veteran broadcaster Tim Hennessy returns for his 30th season as the voice of the Fighting Sioux. Steve Olson provides color analysis and Paul Ralston is the intermission host for home broadcasts.
Both games this weekend will be televised live on the Fighting Sioux Sports Network. Alaska-based GCI is producing the broadcasts. The games will not be carried on Fox College Sports this weekend.
Video webcasts of this weekend's games are available at www.gci.net. FREE live stats are available at GoSeawolves.com and FREE audio is available at FightingSioux.com.
TICKET INFORMATION: For ticket information, call the UAA ticket office at 907-786-1293.
ABOUT ALASKA ANCHORAGE: This weekend will mark the first WCHA games for the Seawolves, who split a pair of non-conference games last week at the Brice Alaska Goal Rush tournament in Fairbanks ... UAA blanked Rensselaer 3-0 on Friday before falling 5-3 to Robert Morris on Saturday ... Senior G Jon Olthuis made 25 saves in the win over Rensselaer to earn his second career shutout ... Olthuis is 2-1-0 this season with a 2.69 goals against average and a .897 save percentage ... Senior F Kevin Clark (right) scored one goal in each game ... Clark and junior F Tommy Grant are tied for the team lead with five points ... Head coach Dave Shyiak (Northern Michigan '93) is in his fifth year at UAA and is 42-88-19 (.346) overall.
SERIES HISTORY: UND holds a 39-16-3 (.698) edge in the all-time series with UAA and is 14-13-0 (.519) all-time in Anchorage.
The Sioux have taken six of the last seven meetings between the two teams, including a sweep in Anchorage last season (2-1, 6-2). D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) scored the overtime winner in the opener of that series last February, and F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) scored a hat trick the following night to help the Sioux complete the sweep.
VandeVelde leads all active Sioux in career goals (four) and points (six) in nine games against the Seawolves.
Genoway and sophomore Fs Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) are next with four points each.
POLL POSITION: UND climbed to No. 2 this week in both the USCHO.com/CBS College Sports and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls, a jump of two spots in both. The Sioux are also ranked No. 2 in this week's Inside College Hockey Power Rankings.
Please refer to page three for complete national poll information.
UND'S LAST ACTION: UND opened the WCHA schedule by taking three of four points from No. 9 Minnesota last weekend in Grand Forks, winning 4-0 on Friday and skating to a 3-3 overtime tie on Saturday.
Four different goal scorers found the net for the Sioux while sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestemere, Alberta) stopped all 22 shots he faced in a 4-0 win on Friday night. Sophomore F Jason Gregoire's (Winnipeg, Manitoba) first-period power-play goal stood up as the game-winner. Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) added a power-play tally and junior D Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire, Wis.) notched the first career shorthanded goal of his career. Sophomore F Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks) also scored while sophomore F Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) collected a pair of assists.
Junior D Jake Marto (Grand Forks) scored with 6:50 remaining on Saturday to give the Sioux a 3-3 overtime tie with the Gophers. Genoway added two more power-play goals for the Sioux and freshman F Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) had a pair of assists for the second time in four games. Eidsness made 16 saves.
UND held a decided edge in special teams in the series, going 4-for-12 on the power-play and killing all nine Minnesota chances with the man advantage.
LAST WEEK'S LEFTOVERS: A couple of significant notes emerged from last weekend's series against Minnesota:
*Friday's 4-0 victory by Eidsness and the Sioux marked the first time UND had shut out the Gophers since All-American Karl Goehring and the eventual-NCAA champion Sioux accomplished the feat on Jan. 21, 2000.
*The Sioux are unbeaten in their last six against Minnesota (4-0-2) and 9-2-2 over the last 13 meetings.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: At 3-0-1, the Sioux are off to their best start since the 2002-03 season when UND rattled off six straight victories to open the year.
KILL OR BE KILLED: UND killed all nine Minnesota power-plays last weekend, including a five-minute major on Friday, and is now 15-for-15 to open the season.
UND has more kills without allowing a goal than any other team in the nation. Alaska (Fairbanks) ranks second at 13-for-13.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Five of UND's seven goals last weekend against Minnesota were scored by defensemen.
Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) led the way with three goals, all on the power-play, matching his output from the entire 2008-09 season when he was a second-team All-American and the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year. Genoway leads the team in goals (three) and points (six) and is tied for the team lead with three assists. He leads all WCHA defensemen in points, goals and power-play goals.
Junior D Jake Marto (Grand Forks) and Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire, Wis.) also scored for the Sioux last weekend. LaPoint's goal was the first shorthanded effort of his career and snapped a personal 16-game goal-scoring drought.
BALANCING ACT: UND has scored 15 goals through the first four games despite just one multi-goal performance by any individual (two goals by Genoway last Saturday). Ten different Sioux have already scored goals this season and 16 of the 19 skaters who have seen game action have already notched at least one point.
SHOOTING GALLERY: UND outshot Minnesota 77-41 in last weekend's series and now boasts a 152-76 shots-on-goal edge over its opponents this season. From the second period on, the Sioux are outshooting the opposition 101-43.
QUICK ON THE DRAW: The Sioux have also been dominant in the faceoff circle this season, winning 59 percent of their draws through the first four games. Junior F Brad Malone (Miramachi, New Brunswick) has won a team-best 68.1 percent of his faceoffs.
EIDS WIDE SHUT: Sophomore G Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) started both games against Minnesota, running his streak of consecutive starts to 38, the third-longest in Sioux history.
Only Jean-Philippe Lamoureux (55 straight from 2006-08) and Al Finklestein (40, 1951-53) had longer starting streaks at UND (right).
Eidsness, who has also appeared in 44 straight games, lowered his career goals against average to 2.48 to move past Jake Brandt (2001-05) for fifth all-time at UND.
Eidsness' .670 career winning percentage is tied with Tony Couture (1988-91) for seventh all-time among Sioux goalies with at least 40 appearances.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH: Senior D and Sioux captain Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba), who had three power-play goals last weekend against Minnesota, is the leading scorer among active WCHA defensemen with 86 career points and is bidding to become only the 11th rearguard in UND history to reach the 100-point plateau.
Genoway's six career game-winning goals are tied for second all-time by a Sioux defenseman, trailing only the eight scored by Nick Fuher from 2001-05, and his 11 career power-play tallies rank seventh among Sioux defensemen.
Last season's WCHA Defensive Player of the Year, Genoway leads all WCHA defensemen in goals, points and power-play goals and is the team leader in the same categories.
YOU ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FIRST: Freshman F Brett Bruneteau (Omaha, Neb.) made his collegiate debut last Friday against Minnesota, becoming the eighth different freshman to debut for the Sioux this season.
Junior F Brent Davidson (Morden, Manitoba), sophomore D Corey Fienhage (Apple Valley, Minn.) and freshman Gs Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) and Tate Maris (Denver, Colo.) are the only Sioux who have yet to see regular season action this season
HOME SWEET HOME: After taking three of four points from Minnesota last weekend in Grand Forks, the Sioux are now unbeaten in their last 16 straight home games (including playoffs), posting a 13-0-3 record during that stretch. UND is 27-4-5 (.819) at home since the start of January 2008.
UND has played in front of a capacity crowd in 21 consecutive conference home games at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Sioux have sold out 37 of the last 45 home games over the past two-plus seasons at the 11,634-seat “Ralph.”
CLIMBING THE COACHING LADDER: UND head coach Dave Hakstol enters this weekend with 133 career victories, fourth most in UND history and 16 shy of Rube Bjorkman (1968-78) for third all-time.
Only John “Gino” Gasparini (392 wins from 1978-94) and Dean Blais (262 wins from 1994-04) won more games at UND than Hakstol.
BLINK AND YOU'LL MISS IT: Sophomore F Jason Gregoire's (Winnipeg, Manitoba) goal 39 seconds into UND's season opener was the second-fastest UND goal on record to open a season (UND's box score records are incomplete prior to the 1966-67 season).
The fastest Sioux goal to open a season is six seconds, scored by Lee Davidson on Oct. 13, 1989 against Alabama-Huntsville. That goal is also the fastest Sioux goal to open any period.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS: UND welcomes back 15 letterwinners from last year's team that captured the MacNaughton Cup and advanced to the NCAA tournament.
Highlighting the returnees are reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Year and AHCA All-America defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and All-WCHA third-team goaltender Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta).
Senior F Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.), who scored a career-high 35 points last season, is the team's top returning scorer and is one of nine returning players who notched at least 10 points in 2009-10.
FAB FROSH: The Sioux roster also includes 10 freshmen in 2009-10, UND's largest incoming freshman class since 2005-06, when 13 rookies donned the Kelly Green and White.
That 2005-06 class included the likes of 2007 Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Duncan and current NHLers Jonathan Toews (Chicago), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis) and Brian Lee (Ottawa).
In fact, 11 members of that 13-player 2005-06 freshman class, eight of whom graduated as seniors last season, are currently playing professional hockey:
GENOWAY, CICHY HONORED: A pair of Sioux were recognized when InsideCollegeHockey.com announced its 2009-10 preseason All-America and all-rookie teams.
Senior D Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) was named to the INCH preseason All-America third team. Last season, Genoway was named a second-team All-American and the WCHA Defensive Player of the Year after collecting a career-high 32 points. He was also named an ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American and a WCHA Scholar-Athlete.
Said INCH: “Genoway is college hockey's version of Illinois quarterback Juice Williams—it seems like he's been at North Dakota forever. Fighting Sioux fans wouldn't mind a few extra years of his production. The reigning WCHA Defensive Player of the Year is also a dangerous threat on offense; he's scored 80 points in three seasons, including a career-high 32 points last season.”
Genoway, this year's team captain, enters the season with 80 career points and is aiming to become just the 11th defenseman in school history to reach the 100-point plateau for his career.
Freshman F Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) was named to INCH's preseason All-Rookie team. A seventh-round draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Cichy led the Indiana Ice to a United States Hockey League championship and was named the league's playoff MVP with 25 points (including a USHL-record 16 assists) in 16 games. He totalled 76 points in 56 regular season games.
FEELING A DRAFT: UND enters the 2009-10 season with a roster that includes 15 players who have been drafted by National Hockey League teams. The group includes goalie Brad Eidsness (Buffalo), defensemen Andrew MacWilliam (Toronto), Derrick LaPoint (Florida), Corey Fienhage (Buffalo), Joe Gleason (Chicago) and Ben Blood (Ottawa) and forwards Danny Kristo (Montreal), Mike Cichy (Montreal), Corban Knight (Florida), Brett Bruneteau (Washington), Jason Gregoire (New York Islanders), David Toews (New York Islanders), Brad Malone (Colorado), Brett Hextall (Phoenix) and Chris VandeVelde (Edmonton).
A total of 24 Sioux have been drafted during the tenure of sixth-year head coach Dave Hakstol, including first-rounders Jonathan Toews (Chicago, 2006), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis, 2005), Brian Lee (Ottawa, 2005) and Joe Finley (Washington, 2005).
FOREVER SIOUX: Every member of UND's coaching staff and support staff is a graduate of the University of North Dakota.
Head coach Dave Hakstol (1989-92), associate head coach Cary Eades (1978-82), assistant coach Dane Jackson (1988-92) and volunteer assistant Scott Koberinski (1985-89) each played for the Fighting Sioux.
Additionally, hockey operations manager Pat Sawnson (2002), athletic trainer and strength coach Mark Poolman (1992), team physician Dr. Greek Greek and media relations director Jayson Hajdu (2000) are also UND graduates.
SEA TO SHINING SEA: So much for the notion that hockey is a “regional sport.” UND junior F Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) is the first New Brunswick native to ever play for the Sioux while sophomore F Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) is the first Californian to suit up for the Sioux.
Freshman Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) is just the second native of Connecticut to ever play for the Sioux and the first since Frank Morgan way back in 1951-52.
Below is a geographical breakdown of the entire 2009-10 Sioux roster:
- Minnesota (6): Ben Blood (Plymouth), Corey Fienhage (Apple Valley), Joe Gleason (Edina), Ryan Hill (Hermantown), Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie), Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead)
- Alberta (5): Aaron Dell (Airdrie), Brad Eidsness (Chestermere), Corban Knight (High River), Andrew MacWilliam (Calgary), Carter Rowney (Sexsmith)
- Manitoba (5): Brent Davidson (Morden), Chay Genoway (Morden), Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg), David Toews (Winnipeg), Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg)
- North Dakota (2): Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Jake Marto (Grand Forks)
- Alaska (1): Evan Trupp (Anchorage)
- California (1): Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach)
- Colorado (1): Tate Maris (Denver)
- Connecticut (1): Michael Cichy (New Hartford)
- Nebraska (1): Brett Bruneteau (Omaha)
- New Brunswick (1): Brad Malone (Miramichi)
- Wisconsin (1): Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire)
ALL IN THE FAMILY: UND's 2009-10 roster features five players who have had family members previously play for the Fighting Sioux: defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) and forwards Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), David Toews (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Darcy Zajac (Winnipeg, Manitoba).
Genoway, Toews and Zajac each have older brothers who once played at UND, Lamoureux's father and brother played for the Sioux and Hextall has a great uncle who played for the Sioux.
Genoway's brother, Colby, was a forward at UND from 2002-05 and scored 81 points in 115 career games. He most recently played for the Manitoba Moose of the AHL.
Hextall's great uncle, Dennis, was a forward at UND from 1964-66 and scored 101 career points in 63 career games. Hextall's hockey bloodlines extend to his father (Ron), grandfather (Bryan Jr.) and great grandfather (Bryan Sr.), each of whom enjoyed lengthy NHL careers. His father, Ron, is currently the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings.
Lamoureux's brother, Jean-Pierre, was a goalie at UND from 2004-08 and is the school's all-time co-leader in goals against average (2.14). His father, Pierre, was a goalie for the Sioux from 1979-82 and was a member of UND's 1982 NCAA championship team. Another brother, Pierre-Paul, is in his first year as UND's student-assistant coach while twin sisters Jocelyne and Monique are sophomore forwards on the Fighting Sioux women's hockey team. Both are currently pursuing rosters spots on the U.S. Olympic team.
Toews' brother, Jonathan, was a forward at UND from 2005-07, scoring 85 points in 76 career games and earning All-America honors in 2007. He is now the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Zajac's brother, Travis, scored 96 points in 91 games from 2004-06 and currently plays for the New Jersey Devils.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW: Seventeen former Fighting Sioux played in the National Hockey League last season, the most of any team in the WCHA.
UND's 17 NHLers in 2008-09, its most since sending 21 in 1993-94, included: Ryan Bayda (Carolina, now with Pittsburgh) Jason Blake (Toronto), Brandon Bochenski (Tampa Bay), Taylor Chorney (Edmonton), Mike Commodore (Columbus), Matt Greene (Los Angeles), David Hale (Phoenix, now with Tampa Bay), Ryan Johnson (Vancouver), Brian Lee (Ottawa), T.J. Oshie (St. Louis), Zach Parise (New Jersey), Chris Porter (St. Louis), Matt Smaby (Tampa Bay), Drew Stafford (Buffalo), Jonathan Toews (Chicago), Landon Wilson (Dallas) and Travis Zajac (New Jersey).
Additionally, four former Sioux can be found in the NHL coaching ranks, including Phoenix head coach Dave Tippett, Tampa Bay assistant coach Rick Wilson, Buffalo assistant coach James Patrick and Phoenix video coach Steve Peters.
~Go Sioux~
