Here is my list of predictions and reasoning for the WCHA:

Upper Tier

1-North Dakota = even without a nickname, they are still the only thing the state has going for them, plus Chay Genoway is healthy again

2-Minnesota-Duluth = this is a gut feeling…and they have Jack Connolly–yikes.

3-St. Cloud State = 11 drafted players,  3 of which are incoming freshmen.  Oh, and Garrett Roe and Mike Lee.

4-Denver = another gut feeling…I could have put DU anywhere in the top 8 and felt comfortable

Middle Tier

5-UW-Madison = returners are strong, but the graduating class was too.

6-U of Minnesota = pretty good freshies, but the upper class has yet to prove themselves

7-Colorado College = no idea.

8- Bemidji State = I really like BSU, they have chemistry and a love for the game.  Now they need to prove themselves worthy in a tougher slate of competition.

Lower Tier

9- Mankato State = Welcome to the bottom tier.  Maybe if they spent less time/money on academic commercials they could build a real team.

10- Nebraska-Omaha = Seriously?  We have Nebraska in our league?  I will boo this team until the cows come home. 

11- Alaska-Anchorage = The Seawolves haven’t figured out that the sea needs to be frozen in order to skate on it.

12- Michigan Tech = Obviously they put the “Student” in Student-Athlete.

Participants of “Movember” are as follows:

C-Kyle Brodziak
D-Brent Burns
RW-Cal Clutterbuck
RW-Chuck Kobasew
D-John Scott
D-Greg Zanon

NHL Teams
New York wins this category with two, while each of the other states each have one.  Some may argue the “original six” should be part of the measurement, but then wouldn’t Minnesota have an argument to claim the Dallas Stars too?  Others may argue the success of the Red Wings as a franchise, the Avalanche’s record this season, or the fact the Minnesota Wild have sold out every game in their franchise history, but those points may come later. States get 5 points for every NHL team, no other points will be awarded since the NHL is governed in salary caps and is not an accurate measure of talent, but it is of spirit. 

NY: 2 (10pts)
MN: 1 (5pts)
CO: 1 (5pts)
MA: 1 (5pts)
MI: 1 (5pts)


D1 Collegiate Teams
The Men’s teams will be counted by schools per state while the women will be counted by players on the Olympic team since D1 is the only division of women’s hockey at the present time and is the only measure of state hockey significance.  States get 1 point for every D1 team playing currently as well as a point for every female on the Olympic hockey team.

NY: (10 M,  0 W)        (10pts)
MA: (10 M, 6 W)         (16pts)
MN: (5 M, 6 W)          (16pts)
MI: (6 M, 0 W)           (6pts)
CO: (3 M,  0 W)          (3pts)

Excellence
The excellence section refers to championships won in both the NHL and Division 1 Hockey.  Obviously the amount of teams each state has is one idea, but winning is something completely different.  The teams will earn 1 point for every National Championship they have won.  They will be organized by state like this: State: (#ofNHLwins,#ofD1hkywins)  Note: The NY Rangers and NY Islanders have both won 4 Stanley Cups. 

NY: (8,4) 12pts
MA: (5,9) 14pts
MN: (0,5) 5pts
MI: (11,19) 30pts
CO: (2,9) 11pts

Tradition
This section is a hybrid between excellence and history.  The scoring is simple, each state will get a 1/10 of a point for every player born in that state that has played (or is playing) in the NHL.

NY: (82) 8.2pts
MA: (163) 16.3pts
MN: (200) 20.0pts
MI: (118) 11.8pts
CO: (7) 0.7pts

Critique
Okay, I understand there is no methodology of actually interpreting which state is the best overall for hockey, but it is fun to test anyway.  Obviously there will be arguments for high school hockey, win percentages of schools and teams, as well as who throws the most octopi on the ice (no question there).  However, this is a very good start on a measuring stick.  Please let me know if you think any other categories MUST be included.

From our statistical analysis it has held true that the three “M” states are still the reigning champions.  Michigan is the statistical winner.  However, instead of calling one state the champion overall, it is probably better to call each state what they really are: Category Champs.

The Points
MI: 52.8
MA: 51.3
MN: 46
NY: 40.2
CO: 19.7

Conclusion

Michigan: The Excellence Champion
A perennial favorite to win the Stanley Cup along with insane collegiate players makes this state worthy of its crown of excellence.

Massachusetts: The Collegiate Champion
Taking nearly half of its points directly from Men’s D1 Hockey programs, it is obvious Massachusetts is the place to be after high school.

Minnesota: The Tradition Champion
The over 10,000 icy ponds and frozen lakes make this state the traditional champion.  Youth hockey is extremely huge in Minnesota and more players have come from this state to play in the NHL than any other. 

New York: The Powerhouse State
New York has over eight million people living in its capitol city, which is about 3.5 million more than Minnesota has in its entire state.  This means New York supplies hockey with money and masses.  If we were to make a table out of the top four states, New York could definitely hold its own weight.

Colorado: The New State
Other than maybe Wisconsin (for collegiate) and Alaska (for atmosphere), Colorado is becoming a new hockey hotbed.  It desperately needs work in the amount of NHL recruits from the state, but with the three colleges becoming even better than they have been in the past expect this state to rival Michigan for championships soon.

Clutterbuck notched his 3rd goal, a shorthanded marker in the first period of the game, giving himself a team-leading +4 on the plus/minus board.

Koivu’s 4th of the season came on an even strength, energetic play by defensemen Marek Zidlicky who assisted the goal.

The Wild went on to take the home victory over Dallas 3-2.  The Wild will play again on Tuesday against the Eastern Conference bottom, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

-13 Isn't Anything to Brag About

Remember, Remember, When It Was September?

After a rough 1-6-0 start to the 2009-10 season where only one game was at home, the Wild look ahead to their November schedule which provides a little more security and a lot more home ice. The Wild have marked improvement in their past seven games going 4-3-0 for a season record of 5-9-0, which is good for last place in the Western Conference. At this point however, (many fans hope) the Wild have now started the rest of a positive season for the State of Hockey. It is difficult to say right now, but the boys in green and red have shown their abilities in the past two games against the high-powered New York Rangers (minus Gaborik) and the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins (including Crosby and Malkin) in which they are 2-0-0.

Noteworthy Notes:

-Home Record–> 4-1-0
-Away Record–>1-8-0

-The Wild are one of six teams without an overtime loss in the NHL.

-Erik Belanger and Mikko Koivu lead the Wild in points with 12 each in 14 games

-Cal Clutterbuck (+1) and John Scott (+3) are the only players with a positive +/- this season

-Brent Burns (-13) , Mikko Koivu (-10), and Nick Schultz (-10) have the three worst +/- in the NHL

-Clutterbuck has 42 hits in 9 games

The Minnesota Wild already have more ups and downs in their season than a roller coaster at the Twin Cities’ area Valley Fair amusement park.  Of course, at this point in time their 3-8-0 record suggests the first 1/8 of the season was more like a ride at an abusement park.  The injury list has included names like Clutterbuck, Boogard, and Havlat.  Mikko Koivu gained the captain “C” for the year and thus far as done a mediocre job at leading his team to road victories. 

While the Wild are a perfect 3-0-0 at home this season, they will have to keep that pace in order to have a fighting chance this season.  The Wild’s road record is 0-8-0, with it’s most recent loss coming to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on October 26th. 

Although the Blackhawk’s leading scorer last year was Martin Havlat, the Wild have yet to see him succeed at the same levels he did last season.  This is very different from Marian Gaborik, for which the Wild dumped to the New York Rangers and is well on his way to becoming their MVP.  However, he is rumored to have a “lower body injury” which can only mean one thing for the Rangers, bad news. 

Check back for more updates. 

The Third Jersey

• Fletcher has knowledge–he graduated from Harvard in 1990.
• Fletcher has the genes–his dad was hall-of-famer Cliff Fletcher, who worked with hockey in scouting, player development, and managing
• Fletcher has experience–he has been with three NHL teams in his career, the Florida Panthers, Anaheim Ducks, and Pittsburgh Penguins
• Fletcher has had success–he made it to the Stanley cup finals with all three of the aforementioned teams
• Fletcher has roots–he is from legendary Montreal
• Fletcher has recommendations–Lou Nanne has known Fletcher since he was 11 years old and agrees with the decision to hire him. 
  

  Chuck Fletcher is the "Total Package"

The first game starts tonight at 7:30pm, central time in Manitoba where the first two games will be played.  The following two (or three if needed) will be played at the Aeros home rink, while the final two games (if needed) will find the teams returning up north to Manitoba. 

These two teams link to Minnesota.  The Aeros are the Minnesota Wild’s club team, duh.  The Manitoba Moose used to be the Minnesota Moose before they mooved (pun intended) after two seasons in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

Notice a similarity?

ADMIRALS FORCE GAME 7 WITH 7-0 WIN OVER AEROS
MILWAUKEE, Wisc. – The Milwaukee Admirals staved off elimination for the second straight game Monday night with a 7-0 drubbing of the Houston Aeros at Bradley Center. Seven different Admirals scored goals and Houston was shutout for the first time in the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs. Robert Dietrich led the Admirals with a goal and three assists in the contest and Drew MacIntyre stopped all 21 shots he faced in net for Milwaukee. The Aeros and Admirals will square off Wednesday night in Game 7 at Bradley Center at 7:00 p.m. This is the second straight series in which the Aeros have gone to a Game 7 and the team is 5-1 all-time in Game 7 including 3-0 in the Calder Cup playoffs.

GAMESHEET

Hugh Jessiman started the scoring for the Admirals at the 7:34 mark of the opening period when he picked up the puck at the right face-off dot and slapped it home short side on Aeros’ goaltender Anton Khudobin. Milwaukee scored just over five minutes later on a goal by Robert Dietrich. The Admirals’ defenseman picked off a pass in the neutral zone, skated into Houston’s zone, and blistered a slap shot past Khudobin from 15 feet inside blueline. Khudobin was pulled from the game in favor of Aeros’ goaltender Nolan Schaefer following the goal by Dietrich.

Patric Hornqvist scored at the 18:10 mark of the first period for his third goal of the playoffs to give the home team a 3-0 lead heading into the intermission. The three goals allowed marked the most goals the Aeros have given up in a period during the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs.

The Admirals matched their goal total from the first to the second period. Bryan Smolinski, Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson all scored to make it 6-0 Milwaukee after 40 minutes of play. Smolinski’s goal was the only one on the power play, and through two periods Houston was 0-6 on the power play while Milwaukee was 1-3.

Ryan Maki finalized the scoring at the 17:51 mark of the final period when he netted a rebound to give the home team a 7-0 victory.

Notes:
- Houston was defeated by seven goals in a playoff game for the first time since May 6, 2006 when they lost to the Admirals 7-0 at Bradley Center in Game 2 of the West Division Finals.
- The Aeros were outshot by Milwaukee for the sixth straight game.
- Wednesday’s Game 7 is the seventh such game in Aeros history. The team is 5-1 all-time in Game 7 and 3-0 in Calder Cup playoffs.
- Houston lost two straight games for the first time in the 2009 Calder Cup playoffs. Prior to allowing seven goals in the loss tonight, Houston was 4-0 and had only allowed five goals in games following a loss.

– HOUSTON AEROS: The Calder Cup, Our Reason —