Faceoff

Stuart re-called by Thrashers

FELDY: Rochester native Colin Stuart was called up by the Atlanta Thrashers on Friday, for the second time this season.

Stuart played in one game with Atlanta earlier this season, a 4-2 loss to the Boston Bruins (who Colin's brother, Mark, plays for) on Dec. 13.

Atlanta also called up Bemidji native and former St. Cloud State forward Joe Motzko.

Colin Stuart and Motzko had spent most of this season playing for Atlanta's AHL affiliate in Chicago. Stuart had 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 42 games for the Chicago Wolves this season. He helped the Wolves win the Calder Cup (the AHL's championship) last season. He also played in 18 games for the Thrashers last year, scoring three goals and adding two assists.

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I'm going to bury my head in a pillow for a few hours now and pretend like my Sioux didn't get b@*$!-slapped by St. Cloud tonight. ... Hats off to Phersy's Mavs, though, for spanking the Gophers. I usually dread the nights when we're in the office and Phersy's team wins while mine loses. Phersy was pretty calm tonight, though ... surprisingly. Must have a big MMA weekend on his mind.

Speaking of this weekend, Phersy will have to hold down our little slice of the blogosphere for a few days. I'm heading out to western SoDak to visit Mrs. Feldy's family. Might be the most boring drive on Earth, other than the Grand Forks-to-Minot, N.D., drive I used to make while working in Minot. If nothing else, it'll be a relaxing three days, though I was hoping to catch a Rapid City Rush hockey game while there. Unfortunately, they're out of town. ... I might check in here a time or two if I can get a wireless connection. Otherwise, happy weekend, Faceoff rubes.

H.S. Sports: Could metro-area conference shuffling trickle down to Big 9?

FELDY: My head's been spinning the past few weeks, trying to keep up with all of the high schools switching conferences in the Twin Cities metro area, and trying to assess how those changes could ultimately trickle south and possibly impact the Big Nine Conference.

Word came down yesterday (Wednesday) that Hutchinson will indeed be leaving the Missota Conference to join the Wright County Conference, starting in the 2010-11 school year.

That will leave the Missota with just seven teams. And now there are rumblings that another Missota school -- Farmington -- is among nine schools considering forming a Dakota County Conference. The DCC would possibly pull in Apple Valley, Eastview, Eagan, Rosemount, Lakeville North, Lakeville South, Burnsville, Hastings and Farmington.

So, here's some speculation, just the wheels turning in my head; I haven't spoken with any A.D.'s about this:

If Farmington was to pull out of the Missota, along with Hutchinson's departure, the Missota would be down to six schools. With just six on board, scheduling might be difficult in some sports. In football, Missota teams would be faced with the difficult task of having to fill three non-conference games per season.

So, following the bouncing ball, how could this possibly affect the Big Nine or HVL? Well, when Hutchinson and (possibly) Farmington depart the Missota, the remaining six teams would be New Prague, Northfield, Prior Lake, Red Wing, Shakopee and Academy of Holy Angels.

With Holy Angels being in Richfield, I'd think it could find enough schools in the southern suburbs that it could easily fill its schedules in all sports. Ditto for Shakopee and Prior Lake.

That leaves us with New Prague, Northfield and Red Wing. My question on all three: Why wouldn't they be good fits for the Big Nine? Travel wouldn't be an issue; the bus rides to any of those places for Big Nine teams are no worse than, say, Winona going to Mankato. All three of those schools field competitive teams (for starters, New Prague and Red Wing are among the best four or five teams in a very good Section 1A of boys hockey; and Northfield advanced to the Prep Bowl this year in football).

Plus, I've heard from a couple of very reliable sources that one or two of the current Big Nine schools would like to find a different conference to play in. In fact, I've been told that Albert Lea football coach would love to get out of the Big Nine and get the Tigers into a conference where they can face teams they're more competitive against.

One more idea: Why not dissolve conferences all together? Just let teams play their regular season games against the other teams in their section? That would leave plenty of room on basketball and hockey schedules to schedule rivals that may not be in the same section. Another upside to this would be that there would be no guesswork when it comes time to seed for section tournaments. Seeding would be solved by simply looking at teams' records against the other teams in their section, and using head-to-head as a tie-breaker.

Former Gophers dominate AHL All-Star Game

FELDY: I was skimming the box score from the AHL All-Star Game today (the game was played on Monday) and noticed a heavy contingent of former Gophers on the scoresheet, which also leads me to wonder how long it will be before we see these guys in the big show?

The PlanetUSA All-Stars beat the Canadian AHL All-Stars 14-11 at Worcester, Mass.

The name that jumped out at me right away was Jeff Frazee. He's the guy who Alex Kangas esentially ran out of Minneapolis with his strong play last season. Frazee was supposed to be the top dog in goal for the Gophs, but he never looked comfortable and Kangas stepped in a little more than a year ago and didn't give Frazee a shot to get his job back. Frazee left the U last March when their postseason run ended, and this week he found himself starting for the PlanetUSA team in the AHL All-Star Game. He ended up getting the win, too, stopping seven of the 10 shots he faced. 

Frazee has a 17-8-0-2 (W-L-OTL-SOL) record for the Lowell Devils, with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. As you may have guessed, Lowell is the top minor league affiliate of the New Jersey Devils.

Two other former Gophers, Jeff Taffe and Ryan Potulny had monster games. They played on a line with All-Star Game MVP Jared Ross, who finished the game with a goal and six assists. Taffe had a hat trick and two assists, and Potulny had two goals and four assists. My quick math says that's an 18-point night for that line.

In 38 games for the Springfield Falcons (Edmonton affiliate), Potulny has 19 goals and 14 assists for 33 points. Taffe has played in 41 games for the Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins (Pittsburgh) and has 18 goals and 30 assists for 48 points. He is fourth in scoring in the AHL.

Minnesota Wild farmhand Barry Brust played the third period in goal for the Canadian All-Stars, stopping 12 of 15 shots. Brust is 8-7-0 with a 2.42 GAA and .915 save pct. for the Houston Aeros this season.

* A side note: Rochester native Colin Stuart didn't play in the AHL All-Star Game this season, but he has 9 goals and 6 assists in 41 games for the Chicago Wolves.

ICE HAWKS: Some good news

PHERSY: Coach Fatis gave me a call today to let me know that Andrew Fairbanks had surgery on his knee today. And I'm happy to report that the surgery went very well, even better than expected.

Fatis said the doc went in, was able to pull out some cartilage, and that he saw no further damage to Fairbanks' knee. There was no structural damage, and that's fantastic news. It means Fairbanks could be back on the ice in as little as three weeks. Fatis said it's more likely to take about four weeks, but unless there is a major setback, Fairbanks should be back on the ice before the playoffs.

No definite word yet on Phelps. But Fatis promised me Phelps is doing everything in his power to get back on the ice. He's working hard on his injured knee, and I'd guess Phelps will be back sooner rather than later. I do hope he takes his time, though, as the Hawks need him for the playoff run!

In other Ice Hawks news, the team has signed defenseman Matt Stubbits to a 14-day tryout. Stubbits is from Chicago, and word is he's a brawler. Really tough kid ... he's even dropped the gloves before against our very own Mr. Fairbanks. Stubbits will practice with the team for the first time tomorrow. He has a twin brother who is playing for Albert Lea of the NAHL right now. Stubbits has been around junior hockey for a few years, so he's a vet and should bring a nice, physical presence to the team.

The Ice Hawks also signed goalie Mike Whitlow. He's been with the team for a few weeks, backing up his cousin, Alex Bjerk. It's unclear what will happen with Whitlow once Sam Hingtgen is ready to go, which should be this weekend. Whitlow was basically signed on an emergency basis.

Coach has a few weeks for figure out all the roster stuff ... playoff rosters must be set by Feb. 10.

So that's all I've got for now ... hope that keeps you Ice Hawks fans going for at least a little while! Go Hawks!

A wild hockey weekend

FELDY: About the only thing that seemed at all normal in the hockey world over the weekend was the Ice Hawks continuing their winning ways over the weekend, beating the Mustangs at Spooner on Friday, 7-5, and beating the Northern Lights at Bloomington on Sunday, 5-1.

HIGH SCHOOLS

* In high school hockey, No. 9-ranked Rochester Lourdes got back on track Friday with a 7-4 win over East Grand Forks, snapping a two-game losing streak, but the Eagles went to Delano on Saturday and got upset, 3-2. The Eagles will be just fine; their other four losses all are to really strong teams and a common theme has prevailed: Lourdes is outshooting its opponents by big margins in most games, the Eagles just need to cash in on a few more chances. If Lourdes gets back to the point where it's not thinking about things, just reacting, it'll be a dangerous team in the postseason. There's enough talent on this club that it not only can get to state, but it can win the whole thing. They lost to No. 1-ranked St. Thomas Academy by three goals last week, 5-2, but STA's last two were empty-netters. Lourdes is deep enough at forward to match its top three lines against anybody in Class A. The Eagles dress six quality defensemen every night, too, and sophomore goalie Nick Heimer has been outstanding at times. Heimer needs to stay confident; he may have to steal a crucial game for the Eagles at some point.

* Rochester Century proved that, despite a sub-.500 record, it is a legitimate contender in Section 1AA and the Big Nine Conference. The Panthers knocked off No. 6 Duluth East on Friday, 3-2, with sophomore goalie Cam Sellnow stopping 48 shots and Thomas Lund scoring the game-winner six minutes into the third. Century couldn't stay out of the box on Saturday, though, and gave up for power-play goals and a short-handed goal in a 6-1 loss to Duluth Marshall, the No. 13-ranked team in Class A. Century is as good as any team in the Big Nine or the section when teams are at even strength. The Panthers have four players back now who were held out of a loss to John Marshall two weeks ago for acaemic reasons, and they were only missing two injured players over the weekend (defensemen Connor Faupel and Nick Raehsler). Coach Bruce Frutiger said he thinks those two guys could be back to game form by next week some time. Raehsler has been skating (he suffered an MCL injury a few weeks back) and Frutiger said Faupel will likely start skating again today (he's been out about a month with a shoulder injury). Century is getting its depth back at the right time, with less than a month remaining in the regular season.

COLLEGES

* The WCHA race has tightened up. Big time. The top five teams are separated by three points after North Dakota took three points from conference leader Denver at Grand Forks over the weekend.

Speaking of the DU-UND series, Denver coach George Gwozdecky put on a show for the fans in Grand Forks on Saturday night. It's the only time I've ever seen a coach walk across the ice and offer to serve a penalty himself. Here's the video link from Fox Sports Rocky Mountains. Some Sioux fans were blistering Gwozdecky on message boards Saturday night. Personally, I like the guy; he's always good for some humor. And I'd be willing to bet Gwoz's stunt on Saturday wasn't spontaneous. He wanted to light a fire under his team, and it worked. They outplayed the Sioux (outshot them 40-25) and ended up with a 2-2 tie because Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness played a fantastic game.

Denver (24 points) now has a one-point lead over North Dakota (23), with Wisconsin (22) alone in third and the Gophers (21) tied with Colorado College (21) for fifth. Minnesota and Wisconsin were idle. Good news, though, for Gophs fans: Your club has only played 16 conference games, while every other team has played at least 18. In fact, CC has played 20 conference games, which means it could struggle to gain home-ice advantage for the first round of the league playoffs. The Gophers are in good shape because they have two games in hand on the three teams ahead of them and they trail DU by just three points. Minnesota doesn't have a weekend off the rest of the season.

Wisconsin might have the toughest road to a conference title of any of the top teams. The Badgers finish with series against Duluth, at Minnesota, home against Denver, at Mankato, then home for North Dakota.

By the way, if the NCAA tournament started now, it looks like only two WCHA teams would be in: Minnesota and Denver. The Gophers are No. 4 in the PairWise Rankings; DU is 8th. The PairWise are really the only rankings that count at this point because they mimic the method used by the NCAA selection committee. Because of automatic bids for conference champions, teams basically need to bein the top 12 of the PairWise to feel comfortable about making the 16-team NCAA tourney. Duluth and North Dakota are right on the bubble, tied for 14th.

Does Radke belong in Twins Hall of Fame?

FELDY: OK, put the sore neck jokes aside for a bit and think about the question: Does Brad Radke really belong in the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame?

Our answers are irrelevant because he's going into the team's HOF on July 11, along with former scouting director George Brophy. That doesn't mean we can't debate it, though. My feeling is he's going into the team's HOF because of his longevity, and that's not a good enough reason to be put in a Hall of Fame.

Phersy and I had a strong debate in our print column last week about whether Bert Blyleven should go into the Baseball Hall of Fame. I sided with Bert there, but I can't side with Radke on this one.

Baseball is a numbers game -- everything is stats-oriented, and Radke's stats are just OK. Shouldn't you have to be great to get into a HOF?

Let's weigh Radke's pros and cons, looking at some numbers from his Twins career:

* In 12 seasons, he compiled a 148-139 record, a .516 winning percentage. In Radke's defense on this point, he played on some really poor teams early in his Twins career, yet only twice from 1995-2006 did he win less than 10 games, and those two times came after the Twins had returned to being a team to beat in the A.L. Central (he won 9 games in 2002 and 9 in 2005). Still, outside of his 20-10 season in 1997, he never won more than 15 games. He won 15 in 2001 and 14 in 2003.

* He was durable, starting less than 28 games just once in 12 seasons. In 2002, Radke started just 21 games, the fewest by far of his MLB career. So, durability may have been his greatest asset. You knew you could count on him taking the ball every fourth or fifth day, and you knew most of the time that he'd at least keep it close for your offense. Again, though, I ask: Should durability alone be enough to get a guy into a HOF?

* Radke pitched more than 200 innings nine out of 12 seasons with the Twins. See my prior statements about durability.

* He allowed 326 home runs in 378 games. I scoffed at Phersy last week when he tried to use Blyleven's propensity for allowing home runs against me, so I can't really use this argument against Radke. However, when you throw this stat on top of his other career numbers, it's just another reason to say "no" to his admission to the Twins Hall of Fame.

* His career ERA was 4.22. Even in the Era of juiced baseballs, this is again just an OK number.

* The other pitchers in the Twins Hall of Fame right now are ... Jim Kaat (appeared in 3 All-Star Games, the 1965 World Series and the '70 ALCS); Blyleven (5th all-time in MLB in strikeouts, 9th in shutouts, 13th in innings pitched, 26th in wins); Frank Viola (Cy Young winner, World Series champ); and Rick Aguilera (3-time All-Star, World Series champ, 6 seasons of 32 or more saves). Based on Kaat's numbers (the most games he won in a season were 17 and his win-loss records were just a little better than average most years), I could see an argument for Radke being in. ... But maybe Kaat also shouldn't be.

I guess when I ask myself what I remember most about Brad Radke's career, it's just what I stated before: He was a gamer. He'd make his start every fourth or fifth day, he'd never complain about injuries, never gloat about good outings. And he played his entire career with the Twins, something which we Twins fans greatly appreciate. Heck, that's a big reason why I and many other fans still love Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek.

And it's not as if I'm fuming that Radke is being added to the Twins HOF. I mean, part of having a Hall of Fame is so fans can remember their favorite players for years to come, and Radke had plenty of fans and plenty of respect from Twins fans (again, home run jokes aside).

What do you think, Twins fans? Are Radke's numbers good enough to earn a spot in the Twins Hall of Fame? Or are stats less important when you're talking about inducting someone into a team HOF as opposed to the Baseball HOF?

Ice Hawks top the 'Stangs

PHERSY: Ice Hawks win, Ice Hawks win. Here's what I received from coach ...

SPOONER, Wis. — Tyler Groth scored a goal and added three assists to lead the Rochester Ice Hawks in a 7-5 Minnesota Junior Hockey League victory over the Wisconsin Mustangs.
Groth’s linemates — Danny Grady and Korby Anderson — also played well. Grady finished with a pair of assists, and Anderson scored a goal in the second period.
“Yeah, that line is playing really well,” Ice Hawks coach Nick Fatis said. “Both of their goals were really pretty, highlight-type goals. The chemistry is definitely there with them right now.”
The Ice Hawks have now won eight consecutive games.
Ricky Litchfield opened the scoring for the Ice Hawks, converting a pass from Jay Gorman 35 seconds into the first period. Robby Dahl scored at the 6:23 mark of the first, and Dirk Foss added a tally five minutes later.
Anderson capped the first-period scoring, with assists going to Groth and Dahl at the 14:31 mark. The Ice Hawks held a 4-2 lead after the first period.
Rochester added a pair of power-play goals in the second. Shaun Walters scored off passes from Foss and Litchfield, and Morgan Sanchez added a power-play tally at the 12:23 mark. Grady and Foss had the assists.
Groth added what Fatis called “the dagger” 10:37 into the third, scoring a short-handed goal with an assist from Grady.
“That was the big one,” Fatis said. “It was really a sharp game for us. We looked pretty good. Our goals were great, and we made some great passes. Our passing is 10 times better than it was two weeks ago.”
The game turned physical late, but Fatis was proud of the restraint shown by his players.
“The game got really rough, even over the line at times. But we battled through, and the guys kept their composure,” Fatis said.
The Ice Hawks improved to 31-6-0-0. They return to action at 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Bloomington against the Twin Cities Northern Lights.

Gophers will play ... USC!!!

PHERSY: This is no joke, the University of Minnesota football team will play a home-and-home series with the University of Southern California ... yeah, USC!!! The series starts in 2010, with the Gophers hosting USC on Sept. 18. What a way to start off the season. Probably a massive loss for the Gophers, but still, it's a good sign that the program is at least willing to play a national power. I was a little shocked when I saw this. I guess Glen Mason isn't in charge any longer!

Can't wait for that new stadium to open!

H.S. Hockey: Faribault's Larson moves on from near-death experience

FELDY: It was a year ago Wednesday that Alex Larson's heart stopped while he was on the ice. Larson, then a junior forward for the Faribault high school team, dropped to block a shot (which he did, the puck hitting him in the chest), got up, collided with a Winona player then collapsed to the ice.

Here's the story, written by Faribault Daily News sports editor Marc Zarefsky. Check it out; it's cool to know that Larson has really gained some persepective from what happened. Sounds like he's pretty much ready to put hockey behind him, too, and not because he's fearful.

Trouble in Ice Hawks land

PHERSY: Well, last weekend proved to be a devastating one for your favorite junior hockey team ... the Ice Hawks suffered a couple injuries that will seriously hamper their chances down the stretch. Both Justin Phelps and Andrew Fairbanks suffered knee injuries, and it's unclear when either player will be back.

Coach Fatis said Fairbanks has had knee problems in the past. He went out for pregame warmups last  weekend, and it was bothering him a little bit. He seemed to re-injure the knee, and it immediately started swelling. The swelling got a little out of control, so Fatis said Fairbanks went to the doctor and discovered he has extensive cartilage damage in his knee. Right now, it's really up in the air as far as his return is concerned. Fairbanks will see the doctor again Tuesday, and they will figure out what they're going to do ... ie, whether it will require surgery or not. Torn knee cartilage can be a pain in the rear, but hopefully it's something the doctors can clean up, and Fairbanks can return for the playoffs.

For Phelps, he went out for his first shift of the game last Saturday, and he scored a goal. On his second  shift, he was checked from behind, and on the hit, he suffered a torn MCL. Fatis said it's a grade 2 tear, and that doctors have said it could be anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks before Phelps is ready to play again. He's already started therapy, and coach said Phelps wants to play next weekend against the Lumberjacks. But that's not going to happen ... coach said he just wants Phelps to get completely healthy and ready for the playoffs. "That's what's most important. He's the kind of kid who would play right now, but we need to do what's best for him," Fatis said.

Other injury news: Fatis said Sam Hingtgen will be ready to play next weekend and see live game  action. He's been out for a month with a concussion.

So, the Ice Hawks will be a few men down tonight up in Spooner. Phelps is the heart and soul of the team, and Fairbanks is a great kid, a smart player who does everything the coaches ask of him. They will both be missed. But hopefully the rest of the Hawks will step up in their places, and put it together and grab a big road win tonight. A win basically would go a long way in the Ice Hawks locking up the No. 2 seed in the MnJHL playoffs.

Look for another big game from the Grady-Groth-Korby Anderson line. Man have they been playing well lately. They're scoring tons of points, and that's been huge over the last month. If they keep playing well, the Ice Hawks have the depth needed to beat anybody!

Go Hawks!