WCHA Offensive POTW: Mitch Bruijsten

Junior Mitch Bruijsten's Friday night hat-trick in Colorado Springs to lead the Seawolves to a 6-3 win earned him WCHA co-Offensive Player of the Week honors.  Congratulations to Mitch on receiving the award.  Here's most of the text from the league's announcement:

Bruijsten, a 6-4, 205-pound junior right winger from Nijmegen, Netherlands, posted his first collegiate three-goal hat trick (on just three shots) to help the Seawolves to a 6-3 WCHA road victory over No. 6-ranked Colorado College last Friday (Dec. 9) at Colorado Springs World Arena. With his team trailing 2-0, Bruijsten netted an unassisted shorthanded goal at 17:37 of the first period to close the gap to one and then tied the game at 2-2 with a power-play tally at 3:00 of the second. After CC regained the lead at 3-2, Alaska Anchorage rattled off four straight goals to secure their first win over a top 10-ranked team, with Bruijsten completing his hat trick with a man-advantage goal at 3:00 of the third period to earn No. 1 star of the game honors.

Seawolves 6 - Cutthroat Trout 3

There is a difference between not scoring and not being able to score.  The Seawolves showed tonight that they are able to score.  And doing it should help erase the idea from their minds that they are not able to score.  

They've shown excellent offensive tendencies in the first four games of the season scoring 4+ goals a game.  Had tough streak for the next 8 games scoring only 7 goals during that stretch.  And now in the last 5 games they've come close again to the 4 goals per game mark with 19 goals.

This team CAN score.  Nuff said.  Hopefully tonight's result builds some confidence amongst our boys.  From Kurt's always excellent call it seemed that CC imploded and the Seawolves took advantage.  Congrats to Mitch Bruijsten on his hat-trick with the first coming shorthanded.  Nice.

Don't expect CC to piss down their leg again tomorrow night.

Here's the boxscore.  

Note: I'm mired deep in a cold right now folks.  I haven't had a cold like this for quite a few years so I'm keeping this short.  I'll have a post on new recruit Austin Sevalrud as soon as I can get to it.

CC Cutthroat Trout? Better Than Tigers

In the past I've asserted that the CC Tigers had the absolutely stupidest nickname in the WCHA.  That's saying quite a bit with as much as I hate UND.  Of course, Mavericks and Bulldogs are pretty close contenders for the stupidity crown.  College sports team's nicknames should reflect some geographic attribute or regional cultural or something with some sort of local interest.  With Tigers being no closer than about 8000 miles to Colorado Springs it gets the retard crown.

Perspective: Have Some Please

It appears that some of us fans are frustrated with our team's performance this season.  Well, as head Internet cheerleader for the Seawolves it's incumbent on me to say a few things.  Let's take a look at reality shall we?

Post Game Interviews vs North Dakota 12-3

There is a malaise of sorts hanging over the UAA hockey program. The team is losing and not playing well, the players seem frustrated, and the fans seem either uninterested or frustrated themselves. It's tough to be young team finding it's legs in the WCHA as mercy is non-existent. Once again a small time frame with a lapse in play was the doing in for the Seawolves, this time North Dakota used the second period to build a 4-1 lead and never look back.

Interviews tonight with Tyler Currier (the best player this weekend in my opinion) and Coach Shyiak.

A trip to the Springs and CC beckons before the holiday break and then a 10 day road trip to kick off the new year.

Post Game Interviews vs North Dakota 12-2

Tough loss for UAA tonight as NoDak scored 3 goals in the first ten minutes that they made hold up in a 5-2 loss for the Seawolves. Interviews tonight from Curtis Leinweber and Brad Gorham.

... And The Horse You Rode In On

You other fans have no need for me to discuss exactly what being a fan of a team means.  It's a bit different for everyone.  One aspect of being a fan of a particular team often might mean that you hate another team.  The word hate scares a lot of people.  Not me.  What follows is a description of my hatred of UND's Fighting Sioux hockey program.  Don't even click the read more below if full use of language offends you.  

The Only Good Indian Is A Dead Indian

A comment in the last post gives rise to today's preview of the upcoming series against UND.  An anonymous person hoped "for more red meat stuff".  Okie doke ... there is tons of "red meat" stuff that I read every week.  It comes from the ever adroit UAA Sports Information Department put together by the polished and professional Dallas Baldwin.

Scalp The Squaws!!!

I didn't have much to say Saturday about how the guys played since the overwhelming sense I got from that night's game about the refereeing overrode everything.  But there were some nice performances from some guys that should be highlighted.

First Thoughts On A 3 Point Weekend

Points was what I said this weekend would need to be all about.  Regardless of referees Matt Ulwelling and Craig Welker doing everything they possibly could to insert themselves into the result ... the Seawolves held on tonight for the 5-5 tie after winning 5-4 on Friday night.  A three-point road weekend in the WCHA is always real nice.  They led tonight at one point by a 5-1 margin and just thereafter lies the biggest part of the story of an overwhelmingly queer game.   The referees.

Designated Rivalry Weekend Preview Extravaganza

It's a big "WCHA Designated Rivalry" week for the Seawolves as they head down to Mankato to face the purple Mavericks.  Of course, that really means nothing other than it's the one team that UAA faces 4 times year in and year out.  It's hard to say if that familiarity has bred any dislike between the squads over the years.  I have no sense of such a thing for whatever that's worth.

UAA/MTU: Saturday Thoughts

I was gonna use my game notes to write a recap and pretend that sitting in the press box had some usefulness.  Watching the team lose a game 5-0 that really wasn't a five to nothing game is tough on a fan.  I saw a certain couple of fans that I know never leave early getting up and heading to the car with about 4 minutes left.  So let's talk eh?

Post Game Interviews vs Michigan Tech 11/19

In the grand scheme of things, your team will occasionally play like the best team in the world, others they play like Nanooks in disguise. Tonight UAA played like Nanooks in disguise. Outworked, out hustled, outscored (but not outcoached as some dunderhead spoke, how anything that happened in that game was because of coaching is on another plane of existence) the Seawolves endured another frustrating night of poor effort and missed chances.

Interview tonight from Coach Shyiak only, players were unavailable by the time I needed to get out and get out home, apologies there.

UAA/MTU: Friday Night Photos and Recap

During the game last night I was proud of myself for making sure that I wrote down thoughts and observations as they occurred to me.  I've tried making such notes in the past and rarely used much of it in my final posts.  But last night I put gold onto the page.  Pure genius.  Unfortunately for you guys ... the browser window on the graciously loaned Windoze netbook I've been using wasn't actually on the interwebs ... and so all that hockey blogging gold went for naught.  It was frustrating so I went to bed and put this off til this morning.

Post Game Interviews vs Michigan Tech 11/18

Seawolves win tonight 3-1 over Michigan Tech, breaking a 6 game losing streak and picking up their first win in WCHA play. Interviews tonight with Mark... errr Eric Scheid (sorry about that Eric), Corbin Karl, and Coach Shyiak.

A win tomorrow night would bring UAA out of 12th (and move North Dakota to 12th).

What's That Smell? Oh ... Huskies.

We've seen a mix of success so far this season.  A nice start (won both tournaments .. remember?) yes ... but there's no denying that the Seawolves haven't won a game in their last six.  

The bye week is an important factor this week and I think MTU is a great opponent to have coming into your rink following that.  The Seawolves are 5-1-2 against MTU in the last 8 games so everyone on the squad should have some confidence coming into the games about the ability to get what is nothing short of some very necessary points this weekend since they've all experienced nothing but success against the Huskies.

Sunday Potpourri: Good Pics and Bad Blogging

I haven't written for a while.  You may have noticed.  Or not.  No real reason other than every time I sat down at the keyboard anything that came to mind sounded uninteresting, unoriginal and just un-.   And then not writing became more appealing than writing.  For a few years I've managed to schlep text to these pages through some pretty difficult times for a hockey fan.  Honestly though, my inability to get anything posted over the last two-plus weeks has pretty much nothing to do with hockey.

Blogging just dropped down to the bottom of my priority list and the bye week helped that.  A few things above it on the list aren't particularly important and a few things are.  Fear not though, I'm sure my posting frequency will return to something more like normal without too much delay.

So today let's review a few things.  The Minnesota series wasn't fun.  Lucia's tactical use of neutral-zone trapping on Saturday night did the trick.  The Seawolves looked great in the 2nd and 3rd period that night but working extra hard on the last two periods of a weekend was perhaps saving it until too late.  I count that in my list of "shouldawon" games.

Last night's game in Duluth was another for the "shouldawon" category.  The guys sure had their chances I thought.  I counted at least three missed chances that shoulda been easy goals.  Shoulda don't get you a W though does it?

Nobody likes to lose.  Points in the WCHA standings are always important.  But not winning is also a chance to learn something about yourself.  It's still early in the season (not even 1/3 of the way into it).  If you add the two "shouldawon" games the Seawolves would be 5-4-1 right now ... instead they are 3-6-1.  Ask any long time WCHA fan and they'll explain how important it is to perform well at the end of the season versus the beginning.

Just look at last year's Seawolves for a perfect example; after 10 games the Seawolves were 2-6-2.  The last 14 games of the season they went 9-5 splitting with UofM, sweeping MTU, getting swept by UND, splitting with UNO and UA_ before sweeping Mankato in the final regular season series and sweeping the Gophers in the playoffs before losing in the WCHA Final Five to CC.  I'll take the current record with that understanding ... because I have as much patience as the Pope has Catholics.

Now go back to the top and check out the excellent pictures taken by the UAA Fan Blog's excellent sports photographer Tom Acquilano.   Good stuff.  Use the pictures as you wish; clicking on the "get yours" or "view all" tabs at the bottom of the slideshow will take you to the source on photobucket.  If you desire higher resolution of a specific photo let me know via email and we'll get you the full sized original free of charge.

Saturday Live Blog Versus Da Gophs

Seawolves Zero - Gophers Way More

There's not a lot I need to say here tonight/this morning.  Is there?  The Seawolves pretty much got a good ole butt-kickin.  I would hesitate to use a word like dominated but the score is reflective of such.  The boys had their chances here and there but when opportunities arose, the response was lacking.  Shooting the puck wide when the net is open ain't gonna cut it in any league.

That isn't to take anything away from the Gophers.  Kent Patterson came up with a couple of real nice saves to earn the shutout and their offense was a machine-like.  Is there really anything else to say?

To make it a game tomorrow night the Seawolves will have to do two things better than they did tonight and those things in general are called offense and defense.  They'll have to finish and they'll have to find a way to keep the Gopher snipers from finding their spots.  I know ... it's obvious.  Nevertheless, it's true.

I didn't find it to be an ugly game.  I found some bright spots; Leinweber looked good up on the wing but perhaps not quite fully comfortable.  Nice to see Eric Scheid get his first ice time along with the first chance to see Kory Roy.  Both did ok under the circumstances.  The Seawolves did block a lot of shots but I think the better game plan might be to test the opponents goalie a bit more than they did tonight.  Eh?

All the lines had their moments.  If our boys had finished their best chances it would have been a much closer game.  Fuck having to say "if" though.  Sorry to be blunt.  But it sucks to write "if" in that context.

Nights like tonight remind us why the two-game series in college hockey is special.  Saturday is another day.  That's all I have.

Game Day: Seawolves v. Gophers - Certain Retribution Edition

Watch/Listen:

TV: GCI Channel One (Live Statewide - 10:30pm tape-delayed in Anch/MatSu)
Live Blog: Here ...
Live Audio: KTZN 550AM (Kurt Haider) pay-per stream available at GoSeawolves.com
FREE Video Stream: uaahockey.nmtvsports.com

Other Stuff to read:
ADN Story: Da Gophs-r-gud (Doyle Woody)
Star Trib: Nate Schmidt Feature (Roman Augustoviz)
Star Trib: Big Series (Roman Augustoviz)
GopherSports.com: Q & A with Kurt Haider

It's getting to be a regular motivational quote factory over in the Minnesota hockey program.  Last season after the UAA's Friday night victory Gopher player Jake Hansen said, "We knew that we are a better team than they are and we didn't take advantage of it [Friday]." This time around the quote torch has been passed to Gopher radio man Wally Shaver.  Click this link to hear what he had to say at the end of his program "The Goal Line" for Gophersports.com.

2011-2012 Seawolves Intro Video

AKSWF alerted us in the Chatango to the release today of this new Seawolves Intro on their Facebook page.  Pretty nice.  I like it lots.  Best one yet.  Christopher Hargrave gets the credit for producing this.  Well done Christopher.  The 36 Crazy Fists music is great.  A fine job all around.

How Many Dead Gophers Does It Take To ...

The Seawolves were the first WCHA playoff opponent to win a game at Mariucci Arena.  That wasn't last year.  On March 10th, 2007 the Seawolves broke that Gopher unbeaten streak. Last year they became the first team to win 2 games at the Mariucci Arena during the WCHA playoffs.  Then the next night they became the first team to win 3 games at the Mariucci Arena.  The Seawolves are 6-8-2 against the Gophs since.

Already Time To Get Over It

I can imagine that before this weekend a few of us Seawolves fans were harboring unrealistic expectations and/or even wild hopes for remaining undefeated for a nice long time.  Come on now ... admit that some transient "7-0-1" imagery went through your head.  There were lots of good signs from the first 4 games to lead to such hopes.  But psst ... there was going to be a 2 in the L column at some point this year.  Obviously though, these two losses aren't the end of the season. 

Getting your hats handed to you early in the year is better than late in the year.  And it's pretty clear to me (despite not seeing the games) that the Seawolves got their first real taste this year of getting outplayed.

This weekend it was UNO's turn to dominate all the categories.  They attempted 75 shots on Saturday night.  The Seawolves blocked TWENTY and still 40 got through to Kamal.  They won the faceoff battle on Saturday 39-28 as well.   Quite the turnabout when that was the Seawolves modality the first two weekends.  I come back to the theme that the bad taste in their mouths from this weekend should be a very useful reminder and spur some good hard practices this week.

For us hardcore Seawolves fans this coming weekend has about a hundred times more excitement so I know I'll forget about these two losses pretty quickly.  No matter what you read this week on the internet, I promise you there are Gopher players fired up about getting a chance at some payback wins up here.

Game Day Post: Seawolves vs. Red Cows

I fell down on the job here a bit this week.  Sorry I didn't get to a preview.  I will not be hosting a chat today or tomorrow.  You have only one choice for viewing this series; webcast on AmericaOne (formerly B2 networks).  The cost is either 8 dollars for a single game or 30 dollars for a 30 day UNO hockey pass.  I cannot discern which is the case without registering.  I will be listening to Kurt Haider on the radio.

No TV From Omaha; Big Surprise or No?

Why is there no TV this weekend?  Future college hockey national powerhouse Nebraska-Omaha cannot even interest an Omaha TV station to broadcast it's home games? WTF?  I thought this was an elite program that was going to help give the Butt-Hurt Hockey Conference a national spotlight and they can't even get their local broadcaster interested?  Well, no doubt in two years NBC Sports will be begging them for the rights.  Right?

Seawolves 6 - Mercyhurst 2

Congrats on another pretty dominating performance resulting in a quality win.  The Seawolves again pushed the pace of the game and played some damn smart hockey throughout.  Mercyhurst showed some heart in the 2nd period and worked hard to get the score to 4-2 early in the 3rd and for a moment or two it looked like a dangerous 2 goal lead.  Then in a quick span of 1:14 the Seawolves put it out of reach.

Seawolves 3 - Red Mavs 0

In a penatly-free 60 minutes for both squads, the Seawolves (the 4th time ever being unpenalized for a full game) needed just 5 minutes and 41 seconds during the 2nd period to build a 3 goal lead and chase Uno's goaltender to the bench.  After writing about my concerns that the fun-filled family card game would get chippy, the zero penalties result is a big surprise to me.  That the Seawolves won wasn't a surprise.

Brice Goal Rush: Game Day - Seawolves v. Card Game

Watch/Listen:

TV: GCI Channel One (Statewide in Alaska)
Live Blog: GoSeawolves.com
Live Audio: KTZN 550 (Kurt Haider) pay-per audio stream available at GoSeawolves.com
Live Video Stream: America One (formerly B2)

Other Stuff That's Worthy of a Link:

Jordan Kwas Feature (Doyle Woody Anchorage Daily News)
Josh Archibald Feature (Chad Purcell Omaha World-Herald)

Notes:  I'll add UAA's lines when I receive them.  I will not be hosting a chat for either game this weekend.  I do not have GCI Channel 1.  I recommend the GoSeawolves.com Live Blog.  I trust that Nate or Dallas (whichever is moderating) will provide much better updates than I do anyway.  I plan to check in there from wherever I end up watching the game. EDIT: I do not see a chatroom installed on the site for this game.  Perhaps it will be up later? 

I hope that you don't have to watch this game via America One.  At least UAA's home games are webcast for free on a platform that doesn't REQUIRE you to install some proprietary plugin.  Too bad Alaska's other D-1 hockey program is more interested in selling their webcast rights for some minor pittance versus providing a usable free stream that enhances the visibility college hockey.

Lots of good stuff to be on the lookout for in this afternoon's game.  Hopefully we'll see some/all of the guys play that we haven't seen yet.  It'll be fun to see who nabs the goals of course.  It's also a real good preview of next weekend's first series for WCHA points since a trip to Omaha is next on the itinerary.

Go Seawolves!!!

Brice Alaska Goal Rush Preview

The Seawolves will be off to the Banks of the not-so-Fair for this weekends games.  I used to think Fairbanks got it's name because someone thought the banks of the Chena River were somehow fair.  They most assuredly are not however.  They are muddy and nasty in Fairbanks.  Icky even. 

INCH National Player of the Week: Mickey Spencer

In what is most likely just a first weekly award for his 4 goal and 2 assist weekend Inside College Hockey website has named Mickey Spencer it's National Player of the Week.  It seems fairly obvious  to expect at minimum for Mickey to also be named WCHA Offensive Player of the Week.  So congratulations to Mickey for this nice national recognition.

One Tourney Down, Uno To Go

Today I'd like to eschew my propensity for verbosity in favor of being concise. The Seawolves played some pretty damn good hockey this weekend.  They pretty much dominated Clarkson; we all saw it.  The Golden Knights have a couple of nice players but overall the Seawolves imposed themselves on them all night.  Karpowich earned that tie for the team.  

Seawolves 4 - St. Cloud 3

The Seawolves wrapped up the 2011-2012 Kendall Classic championship on the strength of Mickey Spencer's 3 goal night.  Spencer had been a healthy scratch quite often last season but came on late and ended the Gopher's season scoring the game winner in the 2nd game of the WCHA playoff sweep at Mariucci.  The Mick was awarded Most Outstanding Player of the tournament with his 4 goals in 2 games.

Kendall Classic: Seawolves 4 - Clarkson 4

Perspective is a really interesting psycho/sociological trait.  We only develop perspective as a result of our experiences; Hume describes all that very well.  How you feel about tonight's tie is all about your own perspective.  For me ... I'm a bit nonplussed.  Perhaps a wee bit frustrated.  But hey, it's the first real night.  Lot's of guys played well.  The three rookies in the lineup all looked good.  The Seawolves outshot Clarkson 41-23 on the night with a margin of 13-4 in the first period.

Post Game Interviews vs Clarkson (Kendall Classic) 10/7

Hey everybody, Jimjamesak here with the post game interviews from tonights game against Clarkson. Interviews tonight are from Mark Pustin, Derek Docken, and Coach Shyiak. Unfortunately I'll be on my way out of town during tomorrow nights game and I won't be doing them tomorrow, most likely the only game I miss all season. Please to click on the video to go to the YouTube page and bump the number of views up for me!

Kendall Classic: Game Day 1

Friday, October 7 2011

UAA Seawolves vs. Clarkson Golden Knights

Sullivan Arena 8:05pm (AST)

On The Fly WCHA Teleconference Synopsis

The WCHA held it's teleconference this morning at 8 a.m.  Here's how it went ... They all said some version of ... "guys worked hard in off-season ... excited to get going ... not sure how good our team will be ... and there's no i in team .. give a hundred percent".  Ok ... so I took some liberties with my paraphrasing.  But yeah the theme was established and pretty much adhered to.

Kendall Classic Preview: Clarkson and St. Cloud

UAA's opponent's this weekend for the Kendall tournament are Clarkson and then St. Cloud.  The Seawolves have never played Clarkson.  They play in the ECAC.  Every player but one on the roster has eastern ties.  I only troll BCHL, AJHL, MJHL, USHL and NAHL junior leagues so I only know something about one Clarkson player.  I do know a thing or two about St. Cloud though.  So I'll save them for last.

DU Students Are Kyle's Mom

Some 400+ University of Denver students attending the Pioneer hockey team's preseason exhibition game versus McGill University from Montreal, Quebec were stupid enough Saturday night to regale their opposition with "U-S-A  U-S-A  U-S-A" chants.  Um ... hint-o-rama here future DU alumni ... when an American University plays a Canadian University it isn't like the Olympics .. um cos .. THERE are Canadians on your team.  Morons.

One long time anonymous DU fan said this on the internet ...

"Disgusting display by the Students tonight chanting USA! Led by a student wearing a KE hat - that E was a Greek E for Sigma - sadly these students have no idea of the great Canadian players that have come through this school and given us our greatest moments - time for someone(DG?) to teach them some history. I was disgusted with their chants and singing American anthems."

Some people are believed to be saying that what's even more troubling are the unconfirmed reports of unrestrained nationalistic zealotry advocating violence: shrill cries of "Kill The Fucking Canadians!" were said to have allegedly been heard.  

So just like Kyle's mom; it seems the DU student body has lost whatever minimal semblance of rational thinking they ever had before enrolling in that sorrowful pocket-emptying diploma-factory.

DU's three Canadian born players Joey Laleggia, Shawn Ostrow and Sam Brittain were said to have been heard to simultaneously utter "WHAT THE FUCK?" at one point.

Some people are also now saying that DU might not be such a safe place for Canadian players.  I can't say I disagree with that.  They've recently formed the "National" conference.  It's not called the "International" conference, is it?  Perhaps this "National" conference will indeed have benefits for other schools in the future.  If the 8 ultra-elite butt-hurt schools that formed the league all swear off recruiting Canadian players it's got to be proportionally good for the rest of US college hockey.

2011-2012 Freshman Class

Scott Allen, Austin Coldwell, Derek Docken, Corbin Karl, Sam Mellor, Andrew Pettitt, Kory Roy and Eric Scheid are the eight new Seawolves this season.  Perhaps the best thing every season about analyzing the freshman is that I don't really know what they bring to the party.  So it's all pure anticipation.  And I'm full of positive anticipation regarding these guys.

2011-2012 Sophomore Class

Matt Bailey, Brett Cameron, Rob Gunderson, Chris Kamal, Jordan Kwas, Wes McLeod, Andrew Pickering, Mark Pustin and Quinn Sproule are the nine members of this years Seawolves sophomore class.  Most of these guys are already established players easily worthy of the veteran moniker.

NAIT Exhibition Preview: Fear The Dion, Darlings

I'm far from an expert on many things.  One of those many is university hockey in Canadia.  So I thought I'd poke around the NAIT hockey website and see what I could learn.  And out jumped #32 Dion Darling's balding head.  Far be it for me to have much to say about balding heads but that's not really the point.  He looked to be pretty old though.

Kendall Classic: Free Tickets For Kids

The Kendall Classic tournament is a bit over a fortnight away but it's a good time to point out the above deal so you can let your friends know about it that might otherwise be unaware.  There's not a lot here for me to describe.  You pay regular admission and bring two kids: they get in free.  Pretty straightforward deal.

Just think of all the "ooohs and ahhhs" your children will exclaim when they see the first future NCHC (lol .. still a stupidly awkward name for a league) team to come to the Sully this year.  They'll be truly amazed at this "elite" program/university (yawn) ... that finished behind UAA in the standings last season.  Um ... or they won't notice at all as they cheer the team onto (as Lyle Woods says) "another Seawolf victory".  That'll be after they beat Clarkson of course.

After the 2012-13 season, I wonder if UAA will ever travel to SCSU of the NCHC to play them at the NHC?

2011-2012 Junior Class

Mitch Bruijsten, Chris Crowell, Tyler Currier, Alex Gellert, Daniel Naslund, Mickey Spencer and Scott Warner are the seven players that make up this season's all-important junior class.  The senior class's leadership is of course important; but with 359 combined games between these juniors ... the sheer quantity of experience and maturity amongst them will the biggest part of the leadership of this year's Seawolves squad.

2011-2012 Senior Class

Jade Portwood, Brad Gorham and Curtis Leinweber comprise this year's Senior Class.  Though fewest in numbers amongst all four classes; these three guys are certain to contribute more than their proportional share to success this season.  Each brings a comparitively unique set of skills and experience from the others.  The common attribute they share is leadership both off the ice and on.

Thursday Potpourri: What It's All Gonna Be About

 

I must admit that hockey fever has not yet begun to manifest itself.  Today's decently sunny and pleasant weather doesn't do much to change that.  I'm also in the middle of a move to new digs which distracts from getting the kind of start on the season that I usually feel by this time of the year.  None of that is to say that there'll be less content here.  It's only going to get busier here over the next few weeks.  So let's talk about a few things.

Dear 2011 Seawolves Freshmen

All,

Welcome to Anchorage, UAA and Alaska. It's cool here, you'll probably like it and all that ... but summer is over, classes are in session and hopefully you are all taking captains practices seriously and getting fit.  There's a boatload of y'all.  And this year's team is gonna need you all to be fit and ready to go in just less than a month.

UAF Accepts Invitation To Join WCHA

Less than 24 hours after receiving it,  the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks have accepted the WCHA's invitation to join and begin play in the 2013-14 season.  Good on them and welcome to your big brother's conference.

The New Conference's Name Is Whut?

I figure by the time most people read this that the Butt Hurt Hockey Conference (Denver, UND, UMD, CC, Miami and UNO) will have an official name.  Before that happens, I just want to get on the record.  This is literally the only thing I care about with regard to the BHHC's plans.

The History of Why This Happened...

There's a lot of blame being tossed around for this mess: Penn State, the Big Ten, DU, North Dakota, even somehow UAA I bet. But to get sense of why this is happening you need to go back further to 1993.

The New World Order...

I suppose my hope that I could nearly completely ignore the College Hockey world this summer was, well, misguided. Time to talk about the elephant in the room I guess...

UAA and UAF Likely Conference Mates ... Finally

The same sort of hegemony by the haves of college hockey that conspired to keep it's two most distantly located members in different conferences, now looks to be leading to a situation where one can easily infer that the Seawolves and Nanooks will finally be conference mates again.

Sunday Potpourri: John Hill and Other Stuff

Yay it's July.  But somewhat of a shame that the summer hasn't been a bit nicer weatherwise.  It hasn't been the worst ever though.  I took the pic above (and the new banner background) at 11:42 PM on June 21st from the roof of a 5 story building in west Anchorage.

Welcome New UAA Assistant Coach: T.J. Jindra

Just a day or so over a month since Ryan McKelvie departed as UAA Assistant Coach and the Seawolves have hired a replacement.  Welcome to T.J. Jindra who spent last season as a volunteer assistant at Notre Dame where he played from 2003-2007 and captatined the Irish for two seasons.  Jindra was a dedicated two-way player who was willing to sacrifice at Notre Dame in the same mold as every Seawolf player on last year's squad.

Tony Larson Asserts Himself During Clark Cup

Tony Larson sure seems to be asserting himself nicely in the Clark Cup Playoffs and Finals for the Dubuque Fighting Saints.  The 2011-2012 incoming University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolf freshman defenseman and Former Blaine High School power-play quarterback from Ham Lake, Minnesota enjoyed a solid rookie season on the blueline in the USHL for Dubuque  The 5ft 10in, 180lbs Larson played in 47 games scoring 2 goals with 10 assists and an overall respectable +4 rating on a team that finished 37-14-9 for the 2nd best record in the league's regular season.  His totals were good enough to be the 3rd highest scoring defenseman on the roster.

AJHL's Canmore Eagles Kory Roy To UAA

Chris Heisenberg has added left-handed center Kory Roy from the AJHL's Canmore Eagles to the list of incoming freshman for the 2011-12 season.  The 5ft 11in, 185lb forward scored 30 goals and added 33 assists in 53 regular season games on Canmore's top line this past season.  His career AJHL numbers are 41g-60a in 110 games.

Ryan McKelvie Departs The Seawolves

UAA assistant coach Ryan McKelvie has accepted an offer to become the head coach at D-III Lake Forest College just outside Chicago.  McKelvie completed his first year as a WCHA assistant during this past season.  In the in the emailed UAA announcement Coach Shyiak said,

"Ryan has been an integral part of our success this year. He has worked very hard in his responsibilities and recruiting efforts. This is a great opportunity for him at Lake Forest College and we wish him all the best and thank him for all he has done."

Sunday Potpourri: Eat The Rich

The top 400 richest people in the United States of America now control more wealth and resources than the bottom 150,000,000 (that's one-hundred and fifty million btw ... in case big numbers don't register).  So ... my 150 million homies?  How about a BBQ?  Is it time yet?  The weather is getting nicer.

Allen Leading Spruce Grove On Road To The RBC

Future Seawolves player Scott Allen has been on a playoff tear for the AJHL's Spruce Grove Saints.  In the inital rounds of AJHL playoff games Scott posted an impressive 1.1 points per game, which led the team.

In 9 games he scored 7 goals and added 3 assists.  Spruce Grove played 13 AJHL playoff games en route to their current participation in the Doyle Cup series which determines the western representative for the RBC Cup which is Canada's defacto Junior A championship.

Factors Important To Attendance: #1 = Winning

Since Google Blogger comments system is acting up (it freaking ATE my detailed response to comments in the previous post regarding attendance and TV coverage), I thought I'd recreate and greatly expand on that response here.  First, allow me to restate the general assertions.

2010-2011 UAA Recruit Wrap-Up

Time for the season ending update for the incoming Seawolves rookie class.  This is a real positive group of committed players led perhaps by Sam Mellor but there's lots of other good players coming to wear the Green and Gold next year who look to turn a few heads also.

2010-2011 UAA Hockey Fan Blog Awards

Rookie of the Year

Matt Bailey/Jordan Kwas

This choice came down to a battle of statistics for me.  Is 4 goals and 20 assists somehow that much more valuable than 10 goals and 10 assists?  I can't see answering that question either yes or no.  So it's a Co-Rookie of the Year for me.  These are two players that will have a lot to say about the level of success for the team next year.  These guys are distinctly different hockey players as well, Bailey has speed and raw power where Kwas best tools are quickness and deftness with the puck.  I'd imagine we might see them as linemates at some point next season.  

Most Improved Player

Mitch Bruijsten

Nine goals and eight assists a year after scoring 2g-3a?  That's a dramatic improvement.  Much of that improvement is due to Mitch's smarter and better skating this season.  He's more direct with shorter strides and has found himself on the good side of the puck more often precisely because of that change in style.  He played with confidence for a large portion of this season as well which was a noticeable change from last season.

Heart and Soul

Craig Parkinson

If you don't know already, I think about Justin Johnson whenever I consider this award.  J.J. had a unique intensity and energy that is mostly unattainable by your average human hockey player.  So that's the standard.  I loved that there was a group of players that all deserved consideration for this award but I chose Craig because every role he filled this season he did exceptionally well and he took on the mantle of quite a few.  The number of draws alone that he completely stole by any means necessary.  Craig was a leadership force on the ice, on the bench and no doubt in the locker room.  In 37 games he went to the box for only 20 minutes.  He also nearly doubled his 09-10 scoring with 8g-13a.

Most Valuable Player

Tommy Grant

Tommy led the team in scoring this season with 16g-16a in 37 games.  Thirteen of those goals came in conference play which was the 7th highest total in the league.  His five game winning goals was 1st highest in the league as well.  That particular statistic made him a lock as the MVP in my mind.  But it didn't end there.  Tommy played in every situation all season long.  He killed penalties and scored a shortie and on the power play he laid on 9 assists with 4 goals.  He was a threat on nearly every shift in one way or another whether with his substantial speed or his hard shot. An MVP should be a guy that can raise the level of play by his teammates; Tommy did that.

Report Cards: Part II

It is once again my (now annual) task to present my entirely subjective grades and evaluation of each Seawolves player.  So without any long winded build up (except to say there's no long winded build up) here they are in order by jersey number:

Thursday Potpourri: Captains, Banquet, Schedule & Tommy Grant

Four Captains have been named for the 2011-2012 season today by Coach Shyiak.  Seniors Brad Gorham, Jade Portwood and juniors Chris Crowell and Scott Warner were selected.  Here is the link to the announcement on the GoSeawolves website.  

2011 Seawolves Report Card: Part One

As in years past it's time for me to weigh in with some grades and comments about the season.  Actually, it's past time as I usually get to this earlier.  Fortunately, the delay was caused by the team's trip to the Final Five.  I'm not one to stick to some pre-formatted standardized grading methodology and every year I've done this, I've done it a bit differently; same thing here.  The first caveat is that I'm arriving at these grades subjectively and relatively.  What matters here is how I think the team performed in the noted areas based on my expectations as to their potential.

UAA Hockey Arena: My Penultimate Words

Let's talk about arenas shall we?  I don't really want to but there's a hubbub.  It's not something I'm fond of doing as my blogging style lends itself more to the rant & rave milieux. Getting a dumb parking ticket at the University while trying to delve into the whole issue doesn't exactly get my juices flowing so expect this to be my personal next to last words on the subject. My last words with regard to arenas will be an announcement of an on campus standalone arena for UAA Hockey.  I will now endeavor to simplify the process here for everyone's mutual benefit and edification.

Sunday Potpourri: Simple Math, Peluso and Thankys

With the end of the various conference tournaments yesterday, good mathematics places the Seawolves as the 17th best Division I team out of 58.  Bad mathematics places the Seawolves as the 20th best team.  Good mathematics says the Seawolves played the 2nd most difficult schedule of all teams.  Bad mathematics agrees.

Season Ends With Tough 4-2 Loss To CC

A perhaps forgotten bit of a plague from the first half of the season overtook the Seawolves tonight early in their Final Five game against CC.  Then later they found themselves playing against some sort of mirror image of themselves.  Scoring chance after scoring chance went unfulfilled for more than a few guys.

Game Day: WCHA Final Five versus CC

Here's a video from the UAA Seawolves Hockey Facebook page that was just posted by Dallas Baldwin.  I "ripped" it from Facebook and uploaded it to YouTube so I could embed it here.  Today's lines are posted below.  Make sure you follow the above link to the Seawolves Facebook page to see the two other videos Dallas posted today including Campbell Blair talking about the team.  And keep checking it (as I will) throughout the weekend as the Seawolves progress through this tournament.

Game One Of WCHA Final Five: A Preview

I have mentally struggled today to gain a handle on writing this preview; for a number of reasons.  The first being that every regular reader here has pretty much got to be up to speed on tomorrow's opponent.  There really isn't much that I can offer in the way of new information.  Secondly, nobody really needs me to say that this game is a big deal.  

Also, what more needs to be said about the tactics and strategy that the Seawolves will utilize tomorrow?   Even less than full time readers here should know what's up with that.  And I'm not going to go out of my way to write something for the 400 extra people reading this who've suddenly become fascinated with the Seawolves.  And yeah, the audience here is double this week what it might otherwise be.  But, I'm writing for you guys that have been here all year.

So this will just be what it is.

On The Road With Kurt Haider

We're graced with another excellent and unsolicited contribution this afternoon from the man with the best play by play call and voice in the WCHA, the inimitable Kurt Haider.  Thank you Kurt for the update about the goings on.  

WCHA Final Five Teleconference Notes

The WCHA Final Five teleconference has just ended after almost exactly an hour.  Below are my notes and impressions.  All the coaches were gracious in congratulating North Dakota for their McNaughton Cup and naturally all expressed they were excited to be going to the Final Five.

Eric Tuott's ADN Compass: Add Ice To Sports Center

Last Thursday, UAA Seawolves Alumni Eric Tuott sent me (for my perusal) his submission to the Anchorage Daily News Compass page which is their section for opinion from the community.  The piece focuses on the proposition that the approved new UAA Sports Center include an ice rink.

My Final Five Thursday Preview

There's five teams other than the UAA Seawolves playing this weekend in St. Paul at the Xcel Energy Center in the WCHA Final Five tournament (yeah that means it's a 6 team tourney).  I thought this evening I'd break it down a bit and provide my thoughts about the three non-Seawolves teams playing Thursday.  And no, I'm not predicting anything.

Parent Submitted: Rob Gunderson (Sr.)

A Parents Perspective on UAA
I feel compelled to state my opinion of our son’s situation – in the fall of 2010 he began his NCAA experience as a Freshman Goaltender with the UAA Seawolves. My motivation is from two directions, one of extreme gratitude and another of distaste for others historical opinions of the UAA program in general.

Reader Submitted: The Erik Carlson Collection

Erik Carlson's Jersey Collection ... click to enlarge

THE DREAM
A season starts anew, hockey hopes and dreams set high,
coaches, players, family, girlfriends all there.
The games hard fought, some won some lost, but never say die,
an underdog UAA may be, but heart and teamwork like ours is rare.

Seawolf fans come together, cheer our men in green and gold!
The time for winning is now, the goal so close
Hockey history is waiting to be written, the story yet to be told
Sweat, blood and tears are shed in pursuit of the ultimate boast

 A WCHA championship awaits the lucky few
UAA, UAA, UAA
Our hopes and dreams are with you.

-Erik Carlson-

Over the past couple of years Seawolves fan Erik Carlson (who describes himself as an "old school UAA fan") has sent words of encouragement to the blog and shared his thoughts in email with me.  Erik played high school hockey at Palmer High School with Cotton and Forrest Gore back in the 80s.

Can UAA Win Three Games?

While I would probably agree that it was time for Fox Sports North to move on from Rug and Doug, I can't say I'm impressed with their replacements. Near the end of the Seawolves/Gophers broadcast on FSN, Anthony LaPanta asked Larry Olimb the dumb question which inspires the post title today.  Silly LaPanta.  That's just as dumb as Rug asking Doug that question.  And then LaPanta asks Doug the same question during the post game.  Let's talk.

The Final Five Info You Need To Know (And Some You Don't)

With the sweep of the Gophers this weekend the Seawolves, as you may have heard, will be playing at the Red Baron WCHA Final Five. The action starts Thrusday and I'm here with some helpful info:

The Schedule
This isn't totally complete yet as we have to await the winner of Game 3 between CC and Wisconsin to set it completely.

Seawolves Final Five Schedule

The Seawolves will face either Wisconsin or Colorado College this coming Thursday night in the 7:07pm game of the WCHA Final Five conference tournament.  The Seawolves have faced Wisconsin only twice this season with both of those games at the Sullivan Arena on Friday and Saturday night December 4th and 5th.

All The Video That's Fit To Embed

FSN has all the video highlights available on their webpage for embedding.  Click on the Read More link below to view them.  Congratulations again to the Seawolves on a great best of 3 series win and for getting it done on consecutive nights.

Seawolves Advance To Final Five

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole.  Combined with Friday night's win over the Gophers, tonight the Seawolves have now made that phrase their trademark.  Both wins were created by the selfless defensive play of everyone on the ice.  Chris Kamal was certainly excellent in both of these games but I've not seen a team full of hockey players commit themselves in their own zone in any way shape or form like this years squad has been doing and continued to do this weekend.

Jake Hansen: "...we are a better team than they are ..."

Without comment from me, I submit the following quote from Gopher Jake Hansen

"We knew that we are a better team than they are and we didn't take advantage of it [Friday]."

Seawolves Take Game One 4-3 Over Gophers

Tonight's game had a little bit of everything for a Seawolves fan.  A great opening period and a half where they built a 3-0 lead by playing a great defensive game had me pumped and full of confidence for a win.  Then 16 seconds changed everything and I was about as anxious regarding an outcome as I have ever been.  When the Gophers tied it at 3-3 that anxiety ramped up another notch.

Goal Gophers: Dave Shyiak Talks to Roman

Roman Augustoviz on the Star Tribs Goal Gophers blog talked with Coach Shyiak today and has this entry regarding the series.  Dave talks about the differences in the two teams and UAA's strengths such as the Seawolves doing "everything by committee" and how the Seawolves are "strong defensively".  

What's a Gopher? Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus

Otherwise known as the Thirteen-lined Ground Squirrel, Gophers can be pesky buggers.  This weekend the Seawolves will need to find ways to overcome that peskiness in order to win their best 2 out of 3 WCHA playoff series at The John in Minneapolis.  And much as is true when trying to rid these rodents from your garden; a multi-pronged strategy will be the most effective method.

Roman Augustoviz Blog: Good Lucia Quotes

Minneapolis Star Tribune Goal Gophers blogger Roman Augustoviz has a good post on his blog tonight that tells me Coach Don Lucia is completely and fully taking the Seawolves seriously this weekend.  As critical as I can be at times of other bloggers I'll give credit to Roman here ... as throughout the year he's been one of the best media bloggers.

Kamal Featured In SI: Young Goaltenders

Seawolves goaltender Chris Kamal is featured today at the Sports Illustrated website in this article by Darren Eliot in his "View From The Ice" column.  Darren details Chris' achievements this season as well as his pre-UAA goaltending background with which you may or may not be familiar.

Playing For Each Other As a Factor in Success

There's been an aspect of this season's Seawolves team that I've discussed outside the blog with other UAA fans but haven't really addressed here at length.  Today though, I'd like to do that.  I've heard it said and wouldn't begin to disagree that this years Seawolves team is a very tightly knit group of players.  Perhaps more than any recent group.

Chris Kamal: 2nd WCHA Rookie of the Week Award

Seawolves goaltender Chris Kamal was honored for the 2nd time in 5 weeks as the WCHA Rookie Of The Week award winner.  This past weekend Chris led the Seawolves in a regular season ending series sweep of Mankato.  He also earned the honor back on February 1st following his shutout of this weekends playoff opponent the Minnesota Gophers.  Chris shares this weeks honor with Gopher rookie Nick Bjugstad to complete an interesting circle of synergy. 

Sunday Potpourri: The Future, The Past and This Week

Before I get to a recruit update, Peluso request and WCHA playoff picks I'd first like to talk about politics!!! Yeah huh?  Anyway, In my ongoing attempt to indoctrinate you all to my abhorrent political philosophy of Egalitarianism today I'd like to present a documentary by the vile Communist propagandist Errol Morris and his Marxist Fascist Socialist musician buddy Philip Glass.

Seawolves Sweep Mankato With 4-1 Saturday Win

Tonight's game looked much like last nights in terms of energy and flow.  The Seawolves though overcame a poorly played 2nd period tonight.  Chris Kamal came up big more often tonight than on Friday in my view.  He may have given up a goal tonight but at least there's a nice backstory on that one.  I'm posting this now and will continue to update as the outcome of the DU and SCSU game is still in question and UAA's playoff trip is still in doubt.

Mankato "Dominates" Seawolves And Loses 4 - 0

A good drinking game tonight while watching the game would have been to take a shot everytime the Mankato TV announcing crew referenced how MSU was "dominating" the Seawolves.  If it wasn't for my Dad getting pissed off about such references it would have been funny; and of course we both would have ended up drunk as monkeys.

Mankato Series Made Simple

As I mentioned earlier in the week, this weekend the Seawolves both have and don't have their fate in their own hands.  A four point weekend will go a long way to creating a good matchup for the WCHA playoffs.  And with any lesser accumulation of points, the Seawolves could make their playoff task proportionally more difficult.  And nothing about getting 4 points out of Mankato is going to be easy.

Request To UAA HOF: Retire Mike Peluso's Jersey

Today I have submitted a request to the UAA Hall of Fame committee chair Chris Green for their consideration in retiring jersey #24 in honor of UAA Seawolves hockey alumnus Mike Peluso.  The text of my submission can be read by clicking "read more" below.  I hope every reader here can take a few moments and join me in this nomination by sending Chris an email.  His address is chrisgreen@uaa.alaska.edu.  Thank you.

Dallas Baldwin: The Best SID In The WCHA

Each week here I try to provide some sort of preview of the upcoming series.  With the last regular season series upon us, I think it's time once again to give credit for this to whom the credit is really due.  UAA SID Dallas Baldwin is without equivocation the engine that makes my previews go.  Her timely efforts each week are nothing short of rich with excellent information.  I'd completely be just a mouthpiece flapping in the wind without them.

I have little doubt that SID's at other schools work hard and provide quality information to the media but I'd put Dallas' contributions up against any of them for comparison anytime.  Steve Cobb should give her a raise.  The best SID in the WCHA deserves it.

If you don't visit goseawolves.com and read the weekly releases already then start doing it.  Send her an email expressing your thanks.  Send Steve Cobb an email telling him to give her a raise.  

The whole staff of UAA's Athletic Department are certainly underrated for their efforts.  I really only see what they do for the hockey program but I'm often aware of exactly how busy they all are supporting all the fine sports.  Good on every single one of them.  Again, show your appreciation to them soon eh?

Seawolves 4 - UAF 1

The Seawolves tonight came out with the fire and emotion that is necessary to win a game against their biggest rival.  For the first 20 minutes of this game they were super sharp.  They executed pinpoint passing and scored three beautiful goals to leave no doubt as to which team would come out with the W.

Post Game Interviews 2-19-11 vs Alaska Fairbanks

Interviews 2-26 vs Alaska Fairbanks
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Shootouts suck, they're a horrible way to decide things. And to the UAF fans, I'm sure if UAA had won you'd be saying the same thing (I'd bet a few UAF fans are saying the same thing anyway). I'd just like to see it decided on the ice, a 20 Minute OT? Take the guys off, zam the ice, play a 20 minute OT, it gives the teams a chance to decide it on the ice instead of a glorified breakaway drill. I'd be saying the same thing if UAA had won, it's just a bad way to do it.

Seven Seconds Determine Outcome

No doubt Brad Gorham would trade his first goal in a Seawolves uniform for a win tonight.  But after he tallied just 25 seconds into the game, the team was unable to find the twine again.  Couple that with a meltdown of sorts in the third period and at least the misery of riding home on an airplane after a loss was pretty short.

Senior Tribute: Sean Wiles

This is the final of five tributes which I'm publishing today highlighting the careers of each of the five graduating UAA Seawolves senior class.  The members of the class in alphabetical order are Tommy Grant, Nick Haddad, Craig Parkinson, Luka Vidmar and Sean Wiles.

Senior Tribute: Luka Vidmar

This is part four of five tributes which I'm publishing today highlighting the careers of each of the five graduating UAA Seawolves senior class.  The members of the class in alphabetical order are Tommy Grant, Nick Haddad, Craig Parkinson, Luka Vidmar and Sean Wiles.

Senior Tribute: Craig Parkinson

This is part three of five tributes which I'm publishing today highlighting the careers of each of the five graduating UAA Seawolves senior class.  The members of the class in alphabetical order are Tommy Grant, Nick Haddad, Craig Parkinson, Luka Vidmar and Sean Wiles.

Olds Grizzlys D-Man Corbin Karl Commits to UAA

High scoring defenseman (12g, 27a in 56 games) Corbin Karl  (March 30, 1990) from the Olds Grizzlys in the AJHL has committed to join the Seawolves for the 2011-2012 season.  His 12 goals this season ties him for second in goals amongst that league's blueliners.  

His total points for the season place him third on the Olds squad.  Karl is listed at 6ft and 200lbs and is from Foremost, Alberta.  Great name for a town.

The Grizzly's press release characterizes Corbin as having superior leadership abilities.  Coach Kevin Willison is quoted saying, 

"The short time that I have known Corbin he has certainly shown his leadership qualities. Through any kind of adversity, Corbin would be willingly to sacrifice himself for the benefit of his team. Playing multiple roles and always coming to the rink with a positive attitude and a great work ethic were traits that made Corbin a consistently positive leader."

Welcome to the Seawolves Corbin.  You're joining a team that is on the rise and which looks to be on the backend one of the better future group of blueliners in the league.

His addition to brings potential blueliners to next year's Seawolves to a total of 9 which I think opens up more possibility for the F/D listed Curtis Leinweber and/or Brad Gorham to move up to the forward line.  It also provides depth on the backline as insurance against injuries.  The Seawolves this season have had a relatively injury free year but planning for such inevitable things is certainly prudent.

Thanks to an alert commenter for this information.  I'm pretty busy today writing Senior Tributes and may not have noticed but for that.

Senior Tribute: Nick Haddad

This is part two of five tributes which I'm publishing today highlighting the careers of each of the five graduating UAA Seawolves senior class.  The members of the class in alphabetical order are Tommy Grant, Nick Haddad, Craig Parkinson, Luka Vidmar and Sean Wiles.

Senior Tribute: Tommy Grant

This is part one of five tributes which I'm publishing today highlighting the careers of each of the five graduating UAA Seawolves senior class.  The members of the class in alphabetical order are Tommy Grant, Nick Haddad, Craig Parkinson, Luka Vidmar and Sean Wiles.

All Things Butterbean

Just a sampling of various Butterbean stuff.  Enjoy.  Click the links in the last section.  They may not be that interesting but when the website owners see a bunch of hits from Alaska they're gonna say WTF? 

Extemporaneous Monday Night Rivalry Rant

It's rivalry week.  Though in the WCHA the Seawolves primary rival has been and always will be UAF.  Geography dictates that.  Unless and until the Big Ten Hockey Conference happens and there is some sort of reorganization of college hockey conferences UAA and UAF look destined to be forced to maintain this rivalry from their respective conferences.  It is what it is.  I don't like it much.