The Minnesota Wild's minor league affiliate Houston Aeros hosted Chilly’s Pet Pals night. Toyota  Center gave the team special permission to bring dogs into the building so we are inviting fans were able to actually purchase special tickets to take their dogs to the game with them with a portion of those tickets going to the Houston Humane Society (HHS). HHS  also hosted a mobile adoption on the concourse so fans had the ability to their families. A number of dog training/kennel groups as were sponsors for the night and everything for the night was as far as promotions in the arena was dog related. Dan Irmen posed with his Yorkies and Bryan Lundbohm posed with is dog and child for pre-event promotional photos prior to the even for the Humane Society. 

Former Gopher Evan Kaufmann had the game-winning goal for DEG Metro Stars in their 3-1 win over Eisbären Berlin in the Deutche Eishockey Liga Finals to tie the series 1-1. Chris Harrington had an assist on one of the other goals.  Harrington also had an assist in the previous game that DEG dropped to Berlin 3-2.  
    
Team USA Women won the Gold medal in World Championships defeating Canada 4-1.  Gigi Marvin, Natalie Darwitz, Jenny Potter & Jocelyne Lamoureux all had points in the Gold medal defending victory.
 

The US National Team Development Program Tryout List Full of Minnesota High School players again this year

A University group opposes the North Dakota Fighting Sioux nickname

It seemed that even the Frozen Four planning committee had a Boston University bias giving the Terriers the Washington Capitals dressing room.

Air Force's Greg Flynn hit all five targets on 6 shots in NCAA Skills shooting accuracy competition.  Greg is the brother to the Gophers' Ryan Flynn.

Four Minnesota native players named All Americans Alex Stalock (University of Minnesota Duluth) Jamie McBain (University of Wisconsin) Ryan Stoa (University of Minnesota) 1st Team and Chad Rau (Colorado College) 2nd team.  University of Minnesota's Ryan Stoa will have his image added to the Mariucci Arena mural this fall after being named 1st team All American

U of MN freshman scoring sensation & highly ranked draft pick Jordan Schroeder loses HCA Rookie of the Year honor to BU goalie Kieran Millan

International Falls native Kevin Constantine recently coached his 700th professional for the Minnesota Wild's AHL affiliate Houston Aeros. He has an overall record of 343-260-9-88 in 11 seasons in professional hockey.

The Minnesota Wild may have been eliminated from playoff contention but their AHL Houston Aeros have clinched a playoff berth and will face the Peoria Riverman in the first round.

Phil Kessel finished the regular season for the Boston Bruins with a bang, notching a hat trick against the NY Islanders.  The former Gopher had a team-high 36 goals in 70 games despite missing time due to a bout with Mononucleosis.

A recent incident of a Maine goalie being arrested on assault charges against his girlfriend is somewhat Similar to 2005 incident against Maine hockey players.

Great breakdown of NCAA player numbers in the NHL by Dan Myers, how many WCHA players there have been in the league

Several Minnesota players included on the National Hockey League's Combine list including Zach Budish, Jordan Schroeder and more

Calgary Flames forward Rene Bourque has been seen in Edina skating at Minnesota Made after seeking treatment with ARP Wave in Burnsville.  He is expected to rejoin the team for the playoffs.

Nick Angell had an assist to pull HV71 within 1 goal with less than 3 min left in Game 5 of Swedish Elite final but Färjestad won game 3-2. Angell's HV71 fell 4 games to 1 in the Swedish Championship final to Färjestad HK. HV71 is coached by former North Star Ulf Dahlen.  Nick Angell picked up another assist for HV71 in the previous game after playing a team high 28 minutes after the club fell to a  3-1 series deficit to Färjestad after 3-2 loss.  Angell is due to return home to Duluth soon.

Defenseman RJ Anderson will get a 2-game ATO with the AHL Springfield Falcons after playing 3 games with the ECHL Johnstown Chiefs.  Golden Gopher RJ Anderson has been signed by the Springfield Falcons of the AHL joining Ryan Potulny. The Falcons have two games remaining.

Former University of North Dakota Sioux JeanPhillipe Lamoureaux named ECHL Goaltender of the Year with Alaska Aces

University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog Matt Greer has signed with the Syracuse Crunch for the remainder of the season. He was drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Moorhead's Brian Lee dropped Maxime Lapierre with one punch in Lee's first NHL fight with the Ottawa Senators

The Shjon Podein Children's Foundation @Team25 now on Facebook, Become a Fan!

Former Minnesota Wild forward Jim Dowd has officially announced his retirement from the National Hockey League.

The rise of the Minnesota High School player in NHL Scouting and Drafts thanks in part to the success of the Upper Midwest High School Elite League is detailed in a recent story on NHL.com.

Former University of North Dakota Head Coach and Current Fargo Force head coach Dean Blais' photo was used in David Letterman's "Guys who look like Dave" segment.

Despite a nagging "lower body injury" Kyle Okposo returned to the New York Islanders lineup for the final game of the season.  He has been highly complimented by first year head coach Scott Gordon for his late season improvement.  Gordon is an assistant coach for the IIHF World Championships and Okposo is a likely addition to the Team USA roster.

Ryan Potulny finished the season ranked first in scoring for the Springfield Falcons with 38 goals, 24 assists in 70 games. He ranked 6th in the league with 17 power play goals.

Jeff Taffe finished the season as the 11th best scorer in the AHL with 25 goals and 50 assists & +14 rating for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

St. Cloud's Michael Sauer, who got his first game in the NHL with the NY Rangers, was third in the AHL with a +29 rating for the Hartford Wolf Pack under head coach Ken Gernander.

Shorewood's John Curry was second in the AHL with the best record amongst goaltenders with 33 wins on the season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and only 15 losses and 1 Shootout Loss. Curry also notched 4 shutouts this year for WBS.  Curry had a goals against average of 2.38 and save percentage of .916.  Curry's back-up for the Penguins, fellow Minnesotan Adam Berkhoel, had a record of 15-11-2 with a save percentage of .910 and goals against average of 2.53.

Rookie goaltender and All Star Jeff Frazee finished the year with a record of 28-22-6 and a save percentage of .920 and goals against average of 2.62 for the Lowell Devils. He had four shutouts on the year.

The Return of the Robin hockey tournament recently concluded in Rochester. Winners of the divisions were: Selects: Ice Clams over Screwed in 2000, Open D1: Hard Times Up North over Sign Tech, Open D2: Fur Traders over River City Rats, Open D3: Fritz Drywall over Off in the Woods, 30+ D1 Ryan Siding over Grateful Dead, 30+ D2: Center Trophy, 40+ D1 Baker Bearing, 40+ D2: Breakroom, Fossils: Briske Bombers.  Several prominent names were listed on the roster of the Ice Clams who were repeat champions of the Selects. The roster listed on the website included the names: Derek Hansberry, Nick Pernula, Adam Gill, Aaron Gill, Billy Hengen, Pat Borgestad, Matt Erredge, Joel Gaulrapp, James Gaulrapp, Reed Whiting , Bryce Lampman, Josh Singer, Brian Cummings, Nate Hansen, Mike Zacharias



Quick Speculation:

Should Jacques Lemaire return to Montreal as head coach or General Manager, or even elsewhere, look for current Wild assistant coach Mario Tremblay to go with him.

Quick Quotes:

“The second half speaks volumes about the character in this locker room,”
-Kyle Okposo on the finish of his NY Islanders (AP)
    
"We just had a little bit more talent"
- Boston University's Colin Wilson in post-game interview on why they beat Vermont

Quick Take:

Quick Facts has speculated for years on a replacement coach for the Minnesota Wild, believing that Jacques Lemaire would retire from the Wild following this season.  Crystal's Todd Richards has always been the primary choice for Quick Facts.  While Mike Ramsey should be given consideration for the position it isn't likely that he will be.  However, other candidates that should be considered are Coleraine's Ken Gernander, head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack, Roy Sommer, the head coach of the Worcester Sharks, Ryan McGill of the Quad Cities Flames and Claude Noel, assistant coach of Columbus Blue Jackets.  To trot out the same old fired NHL retreads that have been heard from before is what would be the biggest mistake in the history of the Wild franchise.  The NHL is taking new directions and youth can only be served with a fresh new perspective.  The success of all the AHL/IHL coaches that have already made their name in the league, from Bruce Babcock, to Randy Carlyle to Bruce Boudreau, to Dave Tippett, to Todd McLellan that is the direction this team needs to take, and that direction should be taken with Todd Richards.

Now that Wild General Manager & President Doug Risebrough has been fired attention turns to who the replacement will be. While Risebrough was a good expansion General Manager his "Five Year Plan" never came to fruition.  With the level of support shown by the fans of the State of hockey, the team deserves better.

It is time to look for a replacement in the front office as well as behind the bench and in order to do so one need only look at the recently successful franchises. In Pittsburgh, Chicago, San Jose, Detroit and Washington, there is leadership that is guiding those teams to great new heights but it is the men behind the general managers that could be the reason.  Assistant General Managers, Jim Nill, Stan Bowman, Chuck Fletcher, Wayne Thomas or Brian MacLellan are men who would be ready to lead their own teams and who Quick Facts believes should be considered for the position of General Manager for the Minnesota Wild.  

With Jim Nill of the Red Wings the Wild would get the leadership in scouting and intense success in building a franchise where players are willing to take pay decreases in order to stay with the club to maintain that success.   Stan Bowman has helped rebuild the Chicago Blackhawks into a powerhouse in the Central Division through excellent drafting and trades.  Chuck Fletcher has a long resume of successful franchise building and a heritage in hockey. He learned from his father, and in building Anaheim with Bill Robertson and has helped Pittsburgh rise from the ashes with former Nashville assistant General Manager Ray Shero, now the General Manager of the Penguins.  Wayne Thomas has spent eleven years as an assistant general manager, has been a coach, a professional goaltender and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.  He has run the Sharks' affiliate and scouting programs, and is very familiar with the operational responsibility of a general manager.  Brian MacLellan is in his seventh season with the Washington Capitals.  Before joining the team as a professional scout he earned his MBA in finance from the University of St. Thomas after a long playing career that included a Stanley Cup with the Calgary Flames and he worked for a consulting firm Minneapolis. He has supervised the scouting staff of the Capitals and assists George McPhee in player-related matters.

Another name, who has been a recent candidate for other positions, is Chicago Wolves General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff.  He has consistently built a championship-contending franchise independent of an affiliation and now in partnership with the Atlanta Thrashers affiliation.

Quick Facts believes these are the primary candidates for consideration for the, thankfully, now vacant, Wild General Manager postion.