Faceoff

One last skate with the Hawks

PHERSY: Your Rochester Ice Hawks are on a bus headed back to Minnesota. I'm not certain of their schedule right now, but they have set up one last 'Skate with the Hawks.'

The Ice Hawks will say goodbye to their fans from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Rochester Recreation Center. Players and coaches will be available for pictures and autographs, and fans are welcome to bring their skates. The event is free and open to the public.

The Ice Hawks are returning home after a phenomenal performance at the USA Hockey Junior A, Tier III national tournament. The Ice Hawks made the national semifinals for the third time in the program's history. The Hawks are bringing home a nice banner, a trophy and some shiny new medals!

So, don't miss a chance to tell these young men 'thanks' for another great season. The Ice Hawks finished with a record of 49-10-0-1. They were the Minnesota Junior Hockey League showcase champions, the MnJHL regular-season champions, the MnJHL Bush Cup playoff champions and national semifinalists. 

To live and dye with the Ice Hawks

PHERSY: OK Ice Hawks fans, so a few months ago, when the players dyed their hair blond, I made the mistake of "jokingly" telling coach Nick Fatis that if he could somehow get this team to the national semifinals, that I would dye my hair blond.

I definitely hoped coach would forget that statement. But he didn't! And he held me to it. Let's just say I look like a fool ... next time I'll definitely keep my mouth shut!

But the good news is I'm not the only one who looks like a fool. The rest of the coaching staff jumped on board, too. So we all look like dorks together. Here's a picture of us shortly after our "dye" festival last night:

Now, the Ice Hawks will play the South Shore Kings of the Eastern Junior Hockey League in today's national semifinals. The start time is 11:30 a.m. (Central) ... please note the time change. I had it wrong on yesterday's live blog. The Hawks are the No. 4 seed, so they play the early game.

This will be the toughest team the Ice Hawks have played all year. The South Shore Kings are probably the best team in the country, but that means the Ice Hawks have nothing to lose.

Up front, the Kings are led by Chris Wagner. He was the EJHL's MVP and the offensive player of the year. He's headed to Colgate next season on a full-ride scholarship. The Kings also feature EJHL rookie of the year Charlie Coyle. He has a scholarship to play at Boston University next season.

Here is the rest of the Kings' Division I commit list: Brian Schultz (Army), Nolan Descoteaux (RIT), Eric Robinson (Dartmouth), Doug Carr (UMASS-Lowell), Shane Walsh (UMASS) and Brad Barone (Boston College).

So yeah, that's eight Division I players for the Kings. And the Ice Hawks don't have a Division I commit on their roster.

It's going to be tough, but you can't doubt what the Ice Hawks have accomplished this season. Hopefully, they can shock the world one more time.

ICE HAWKS: TIME CORRECTION!

PHERSY —

The Rochester Ice Hawks advanced to the national semifinals on Sunday at the USA Hockey Junior A, Tier III national tournament.

Though the Ice Hawks suffered a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Junior Blues, they won the wild-card spot because of goal differential.

There was a time error on today's live blog, though. The Ice Hawks, who are now the No. 4 seed, will play at 11:30 a.m. (central) against the top-seeded South Shore Kings. The time listed on the blog would have been correct if the Ice Hawks had won their bracket and been the No. 2 or No. 3 seed. But because they lost and got the wild card, they are the No. 4 seed.

It was a perfect storm of good and bad in the day's other games. A few games that were expected to be blowouts were not. And two of those non-blowouts went in the Ice Hawks' favor. One did not.

The New Hampshire Monarchs, who have more than 10 Division I players on their roster, were expected to cruise past Helena. But Helena forced overtime, and a Helena win would have put the Ice Hawks out of the tournament. But the Monarchs held on for a tie, giving the Ice Hawks a spot in the national tournament.

There will be a live blog again tomorrow from the New England Sports Center in Marlborough.

Ice Hawks: Phelpsy, will be ... OK

PHERSY: OK folks, just wanted to check in on here super quick.

 I know a lot of people were wondering about Phelps and how he was doing. I did speak to him after the game, and he was definitely hurting.

He suffered three separate injuries on that nasty check from behind (which wasn't called). Phelps' chin was split wide open (worse than it was before), he badly hurt his ribs (wouldn't be surprised if they were broken) and he also bruised his hand (or bunged it up ... as he said ... thanks 'Fubar').

All that, and Phelpsy went out to play the third period! Dude's a freak! Gotta love it.

So after the game, Phelps basically said that he's got four games left in his junior hockey career, and there's nothing that's going to keep him off the ice. So, there you have it.

I don't think any teammates will be complaining about injuries any time soon!

So, that's all for now. There were 233 unique users on the blog today. Personally, I think that's amazing. You Ice Hawks fans are awesome! Tomorrow will be tougher ... so spread the word if you can. Weekend games are always brutal for hits. But Ice Hawks fans will be there!

Just to let you know, and I'm guessing most of this will hit the PB Web site later tonight, but there will be a feature on Ryan Hurd, the Ice Hawks game story and a notebook full of Phelps info in tomorrow's paper. Buy a copy, OK?!!

Anyway, I'm going to run. Still haven't had supper!

I'll go live with the blog about 10 or 15 minutes before faceoff tomorrow to give you the starting lineups.

Thanks for reading!

Going live in 5

PHERSY: I'm going to launch the blog in five minutes. Just wanted to check in quick and post the starting lineups. I'll post them on the live blog, too. The Ice Hawks just hit the ice ... the first game (Bobcats 4, Blues 3) got over early.

See you on the blog soon ... here is the Ice Hawks lineup:

Scratches ... Flott, Wight, Lloyd, Mundy, Hingtgen, Bromberg.

Forwards
Korby Anderson - Alex Campbell - Tyler Groth
Morgan Sanchez - Cory Volk - Justin Phelps
George Jackson - Shaun Walters - Zack King
Alex Whitney - Joe Velasquez - Matt Rucinski

Rick Weber - Ryan Hurd
Matt Hannibal - Matt Lezotte
Erik Ordahl - Tyler Roberg

Goalies
Simon Eriksson
Jordan Yaggy

Live blog is coming!!

PHERSY: Hey Ice Hawks fans, we're only a few hours away from game time!

The coaches are already out at the rink, watching some lower-level junior hockey. The players will be heading over there in about two hours to watch the other two teams in their pool play. And soon enough, they'll be on the ice for warmups.

I was able to hang out with coach Fatis a little last night, and I will say he's super nervous. But if you know coach, he's always nervous, so it's nothing new! Seattle will be a tough opponent, and if the team doesn't come out and play well, it would be trouble. But if they play well, they'll be just fine!

OK, so I'm going to grab some lunch before I head over to the rink. I'll probably launch the live blog about 4:30 p.m. your time and give you a pregame interview or two, and the starting Ice Hawks lineup!

If you're looking for the link to the live blog, you can access it here. Otherwise, it's on the main page of www.postbulletin.com

See you all soon!

College hockey | Mazzocco out as Gophers play-by-play man

FELDY: I'm sure college hockey fans in Duluth, Mankato, St. Cloud, etc., join me at this moment in saying: Thank you FSN! You never want to see someone lose a job, but ... buh-bye Frank Mazzocco.

Anthony LaPanta will take over next season as the TV play-by-play voice of the Gophers. The analyst has yet to be named, but it won't be Doug Woog. Apparently Woog will still be part of FSN's broadcasts, but won't be the main analyst.

Great moves by FSN for multiple reasons. First, Mazzocco was intolerable to listen to at times for non-Gophers fans. As a play-by-play man he was fine, but his homerism was pretty much unbearable. As for Woog, I thought he actually had improved in recent years in terms of calling things as he sees them, and trying not to be a complete homer. The problem is, he stumbled over his words so much the last year or so that it was difficult to understand what he was saying at times.

LaPanta is a very good choice to replace Mazzocco. He does a tremendous job on FSN's high school hockey broadcasts, is thorough in his preparation and has a strong knowledge of Minnesota high school hockey and the WCHA.

Thoughts from Gophers fans and non-Gophers fans? Good move? Bad move? Don't care? Whaddya think?

Junior Hockey | Former Ice Hawk is an All-American

FELDY: Owatonna's Joel Gaulrapp, a former Ice Hawk, has been named to the NCAA Division III All-America West First Team.

Gaulrapp, a forward, was the NCHA Player of the Year this season at Wisconsin-Stout, where he had 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points. Stout's season ended with a 2-1 loss to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the NCHA Peters Cup tournament.

Gaulrapp has also been named an alternate for the NCAA Skills Challenge, which takes place on April 9 at Ford Field in Detroit. The Skills Challenge is held the day between the NCAA Division I Frozen Four and the national championship.

In three seasons at UW-Stout, Gaulrapp played in 88 games, scored 51 goals and added 54 assists for 105 career points. He ranks fourth in school history in assists, and fifth in goals and points. He is also a two-time First Team All-NCHA player.

Gaulrapp last played for the Ice Hawks in 2003-04, when the team made it to the Junior B national semifinals. After that season, he moved on to play for the Southern Minnesota Express of the NAHL.

Gustavus forward David Martinson received the Sid Watson Award, the D3 equivalent of the Hobey Baker. Martinston had 29 goals and 49 points this season.

Ice Hawks: Live blog and nationals schedule

PHERSY: Hey Hawks fans! Are you ready for Nationals?

Well, the P-B is sending me out there once again, so if you can't make it to Marlborough, Mass., make sure to check in with the P-B each day as I'll have the live blog, including between period interviews with players and coaches. Here is the Ice Hawks schedule at nationals:

(All times changed to central)

4:40 p.m. Friday - Ice Hawks vs. Seattle Totems

5 p.m. Saturday - Ice Hawks vs. New York Bobcats

4:40 p.m. Sunday - Ice Hawks vs. St. Louis Jr. Blues

So, about 15 minutes before each game, hit www.postbulletin.com and look for the link to the live blog. I'll be there rinkside from the New England Sports Center! I can't wait. I fly out on Thursday, and I'll be all jacked up and ready for Friday's first game.

Make sure to check the Post-Bulletin all week for stories about the Ice Hawks. Starting Wednesday, we'll have a story every day through the national tournament! Good stuff, I hope! I spoke with coach today, and we will have a feaure on goalie Simon Eriksson for Wednesday's paper.

Anyway, I thought I'd include a few photos I took during last night's game, to keep you fans busy over the next few days, until your Hawks stories start hitting the paper!

Warroad's Nelson, Gophers' Schroeder on THN 'Watch List'

FELDY: Rochester hockey fans saw just how potent Warroad's Brock Nelson could be during the opening round of the Class A state tourney when he posted a six-point game against Lourdes.

Gophers fans (and fans around the WCHA) know exactly how good Jordan Schroeder can be when he's on top of his game.

The two native Minnesotans are also among the players that The Hockey News can't wait to see in the big leagues. Nelson is No. 1 on THN's list of '10 Players We're Excited To See in the NHL.'

Schroeder is No. 10.

Here's a link to the full list.

Ryan Kennedy, author of the article, also gives a little nod to the Minnesota Wild for making the first college free-agent signing of the season, U Mass center Casey Wellman.