Chris Casto Turning Pro

UMD sophomore defenseman Chris Casto has decided to take his talents to the professional ranks.

The 6-3 Stillwater native will be or has signed a free-agent contract with the Boston Bruins. The undrafted Casto spent two seasons at UMD, playing 77 games and logging some big minutes over that time. Casto scored five goals and totaled 22 points as a Bulldog.

Monday night, Casto announced his

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Brewers Paying Players Twins Didn't Want

We're a week from Opening Day.

Actually, it's less than that.

So I'm going to throw a few baseball thoughts out there.

First off, over the course of spring training, the Brewers have now guaranteed $61 million to two former Twins. Carlos Gomez signed a three-year extension worth $24 million on top of a $4 million deal he already got for this season. Go-Go struggled to hit consistently in

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Game 38: UMD at Wisconsin (WCHA Rd1 Gm2)

MADISON, Wisc. -- And away we go from Madison, where the UMD men try to keep the proverbial -- and actual -- dream alive against Wisconsin.

Junior forward Joe Basaraba has shaken a virus and will play in this game, while senior captain Cody Danberg was injured Friday on a hit by Sean Little of Wisconsin (it was a boarding call in the third period) and will not be in the lineup. For Danberg and

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Everything on the Line for UMD

MADISON, Wisc. -- It has been a long time since this has happened, which means we're probably a little spoiled at this point.

Saturday night, UMD will play to preserve its season.

It's been five years, since the "Goals Somewhat At A Premium" 2007-08 season, that UMD has faced elimination this early.

Friday night, the Bulldogs couldn't generate any real consistent attack, couldn't slow down

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Adventures in Bad WCHA Officiating, Part 843

I don't have the strength to opine about UMD-Wisconsin at the moment. So please watch this video.



This was a five-minute major for contact to the head and a game misconduct for UND's Andrew MacWilliam.

Seriously.

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Game 37: UMD at Wisconsin (WCHA Rd 1 Gm 1)

MADISON, Wisc. -- UMD takes a four-game winning streak into Friday's game here to open a best-of-three against fourth-seeded Wisconsin.

Usually, such circumstances would keep a coach from doing any lineup tinkering. Unfortunately, UMD doesn't have that luxury.

Junior forward Joe Basaraba (virus) has missed a good chunk of the practice week and will not play in the opener. He did make the trip,

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Bulldogs, Badgers Finish Rivalry (For Now) With Playoff Series

Greetings from the mansion. Travel day tomorrow, and then it's time to hit the Kohl Center for playoff hockey.

UMD and Wisconsin haven't met in the postseason since 1993, when the Bulldogs bested UW 7-5 in the third-place game of the first-ever Final Five (at least the first year it was branded as such). They haven't met in a first-round series since 1991, and UMD has never beaten Wisconsin in a

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2013 WCHA Awards Announced

Here is the WCHA's annual awards release, which came out earlier Thursday.

St. Cloud State University forward Drew LeBlanc, a driving force behind the Huskies’ success in earning a share of the program’s first-ever conference regular season championship and MacNaughton Cup, has been honored as both the WCHA Player of the Year and the WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year to highlight the

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Game 36: Omaha at UMD

Alex Stalock is playing for the Sharks right now (NHL Network). So pardon the brevity. I need to go watch TV.

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley - Cameranesi - Basaraba
Danberg - Hendrickson - Flaherty
DeLisle - Decowski - Krause

Olson - Welinski
Smith - Casto
Corrin - Bergman
Crandall (Aaron) - McNeely - Fons

UNO
Walters - Montpetit - White
Searfoss - Zombo -

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One Man's All-WCHA Ballot

As is typical, I was handed a ballot for the All-WCHA team on Friday night, before UMD's game with Omaha.

And also typical is my general rule to post my ballot for the masses. I think it's fun for discussion, as everyone voting is going to have a different perspective.

The same rules apply. These selections are based on what I've seen, and discussions I've had with folks around the league. I

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: Great Comeback Win Before Attention Turns to Seniors

Friday night was the kind of game UMD fans have been waiting for all season. In fact, it marked just the second time all year the Bulldogs won a home game after trailing at any point. Omaha started well, scoring twice in 40 seconds to take a 2-0 lead, then scoring a power-play goal less than a minute after UMD closed to within 2-1. A less-than-capacity crowd at Amsoil Arena was left to do a lot

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Game 35: Omaha at UMD

There's a lot going on. State tournament. Winter weather coming. I now have my All-WCHA ballot. Maybe I'll let Hunter help me.

Oh, and it's late in the season, so it must be time for Dean Blais to dress eight defensemen.

(Looks like four full forward lines, but Tony Turgeon and Brian O'Rourke are defensemen by trade.)

Lines?

Lines.

UMD
Seidel - Herbert - Crandall (Justin)
Farley -

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Private School Problem Has Few Solutions for MSHSL

The Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament is one of the state's great traditions. For nearly 70 years, fans have gathered to watch the best of the best in the state, and it's always a tournament that just about anyone can win.

People screamed bloody murder when the Minnesota State High School League elected to go to a two-class system for hockey. The tournament was being watered down,

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Game 34: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

Here we go with the final non-conference game of the season. Could be interesting. It's an odd spot, as it will be UAH's last game, no matter what. Will any of these seniors try to go out in a blaze of glory? Considering one of the seniors is named "Geoffrion," I hope UMD is smart about how it approaches this game.

For UMD, freshman goalie Matt McNeely is not dressing because of a lower-body

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Minnesota State High School Hockey Tournament Schedule

Here is the schedule for the state quarterfinals, starting with Class A on Wednesday. Please note that the top five teams in voting were seeded, with the matchups for seeds No. 1-3 determined by a random draw.

Wednesday’s Class 1A Quarterfinals #2 Breck (24-3-1) vs. Marshall (14-10-1), 11 a.m. #3 Hermantown (23-4-1) vs. Duluth Marshall (16-12), 30 minutes after end of 11 a.m. game (Will air on

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Saturday Hockey Notes and Thoughts: UMD Wins, But Where Was Everyone?

I don't want to poo-poo the actual game result. UMD won 4-2 over Alabama-Huntsville on Friday, in a game that probably should have been much more lopsided. The Bulldogs hit a season-high three goalposts, including three by Caleb Herbert on shots that clearly beat UAH goalie John Griggs. It was the wrong kind of hat trick for the sophomore.

Generally, UMD played all right. About the only notable

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Game 33: Alabama-Huntsville at UMD

First-year UAH coach Kurt Kleinendorst knew his work would be cut out for him, and it might not be immediately that the effort is rewarded. But the Chargers bench boss is continuing to work anyway, hoping to have this program ready for the jump to the WCHA next season.

There aren't a lot of negatives. A new league offers the kind of stability that Independent status doesn't these days.

(By the

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Ken Pauly Puts Himself in Crosshairs of Major Junior Fight

Somehow, the fact that Benilde-St. Margaret's lost in the Section 6AA final Wednesday night is a positive for most everyone out there. Even BSM coach Ken Pauly.

Why?

Because it allows Pauly to ride off into the sunset and enter the offseason, perhaps giving him some distance from an ugly story that blew up this week involving his program and a talented freshman player he booted.

Everything

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