Joe Finley, a player in the Capitals system, and Matt Frattin, his old college teammate at North Dakota, were arrested for disorderly conduct, among other things. Around 3 a.m. Tuesday, the pair threw everything from a kitchen table to glassware to a lawnmower into the street, blocking traffic. Just Joe and Matt being Joe and Matt, apparently:

It was their own property, so there was nobody's property that was damaged other than their own," [UND Police Lt. Dan] Lund said. "They said they just kind of routinely destroy each other's stuff."

They made things worse when cops came. Frattin ran inside the house and refused to come out, getting him a charge of fleeing. When asked for identification, Finley showed a credit card not belonging to him, and indicated the name on the card was his. That got him a charge of giving false information.

Oh, and in case you were wondering,

Police say alcohol played a role in the incident.

Two UND Players Cited [Grand Forks Herald]

Eggheads scientists are concerned that Mount Redoubt, which is roughly 100 miles from Anchorage, could erupt at any moment sending a storm of ash "several millimeters" thick raining down on the city and effectively shutting it off from the rest of the world. So officials in St. Cloud have been warned of the possibility that the team might not be able to fly to Alaska in the middle of February. Darn.

If I had a nickle for every time my plans got ruined by volcanic activity, at least I could get back some of the $8.50 I spent to see Dante's Peak.

Volcano to Disrupt College Series? [Fanhouse]
College Hockey Game Could Be Postponed Due to... Wait For It... Volcano [Barry Melrose Rocks]
Photo via

Freshman Andrew Conboy (who took Kampfer down from behind) and sophomore Corey Tropp (who slashed him with his stick after he was down) were suspended for the rest of the season and Conboy immediately dropped out of school. Tropp is reportedly considering it, because he will need permission to rejoin the team next year and it's possible he won't get it. That's surprisingly tough and fair.

But that doesn't mean we're done answering The Big Questions. For example, there's still the matter of Kampfer's father, who stormed down to the visitor's locker room after the game, threatening to beat up any Spartans who got in his way. Not exactly a mature response, but then again, maybe they shouldn't have stopped him. And maybe this criminal violence says something larger about the game of hockey and fans who crave it. Oh, and what about those nasty Wolverine students who chanted obscenities in front of the children. Real classy, Michigan! You couldn't have at least waited until the player's backs were turned before verbally assaulting them? Sheesh.

An inside look at ugly incident on and off the ice [Detroit Free Press]
Conboy leaves MSU, Tropp's future still not certain [The State News]
As Michigan State players withdraw from team, DPS looks into on-ice incident at Yost [Michigan Daily]

You may remember Kampfer as the unfortunate hockey player who got his skull cracked open by a member of the Wolverine football team. Kampfer recovered from his injuries and made it back to the ice this season—until Saturday night when two Michigan State hockey players worked the ol' No. 6 on him:

In the final minute, Michigan State freshman forward Andrew Conboy came up behind Kampfer, grabbed him by the neck and slammed him to the ice. With Kampfer defenseless on the ice, Michigan State sophomore forward Corey Tropp — who had been knocked down by a clean open-ice hit moments earlier by Kampfer — slashed him in the neck area with his stick. Tropp received a double disqualification, and Conboy received two roughing penalties.

Michigan State hockey is a embarrassing joke this season. Just two seasons removed from a national championship, they are currently in last place in their conference. They have never had a losing record or finished lower than sixth since joining the CCHA in the early '80s, but that's all but assured this year. Worst of all, they were swept by arch rival Michigan this season, losing three of those games by four or more goals. Disfiguring a helpless opponent would certainly release some of that frustration, but I'm not sure if it really helps the program.

Mike Milano was kicked off the U-M football team for what he did to Kampfer, and nobody should cry foul if the same happened to Tropp or Conboy. (Coach Rick Comley said he would "deal with" his players.) With MSU football seemingly revived and the hoops team on its best roll in years, the least the Spartan hockey goons could have done was kept their putridness under the radar and not killed anybody. Good thing no one cares about hockey, right? (Grumble, Grumble....)

Kampfer speaks out after slashing incident [Detroit Free Press]
What We Learned: Don’t trust the Spartans, passerby [Two Line Pass]
[Photo via The State News]

That's what is known as a "natural" hat trick, which the Hockey Hall of Fame suspected had never happened before (shorthanded) at any level. It turns out that it has—C.J. Young of Harvard did it in 1988—but there have still only been six shorthanded hat tricks in Division I history. So the Hall in Toronto took his stick anyway and will keep it in their archives. Try scoring more goals now, smart guy!

The Mavericks led 2-1 when Harrison scored his first goal midway through the second period. Junior forward Jerad Stewart started the play, and Harrison finished with a shot over the glove of goalie Aaron Walski (17 saves).

Harrison jumped a pass deep in the Mavericks’ offensive zone for his second goal, which came just 53 seconds into the third period. His final goal, with 1:41 to play, was an empty-netter with the Mavericks facing a 6-on-3 situation. Harrison backhanded a loose puck out of the zone, and it slid down the middle of the rink and into the goal.

Zach Harrison is a pretty okay guy to have on your PK [The Two Line Pass]
Harrison’s hockey stick gets the call to the Hall [Mankato Free Press]

Joe Finley, a player for the University of North Dakota, apparently smacked Wisconsin's Bucky Badger with his stick during a fracas the other night. And now, a price shall be paid!

Finley has been sent to the principal's office and the verdict is in - Big Joe must write a letter of apology to Bucky Badger. Seriously.

Just to be mean, Finley should seal the envelope tight. We'd love to see Bucky try to open it, and then collapsing in frustration. Damned non-opposable thumbs!

Joe Finley Less Popular In Wisconsin [Japers' Rink]

• Wisconsin's been considered the nation's best team from the beginning of the season, whereas Boston College was on the bubble to just make the tournament a couple weeks ago.

• The Wisconsin band loves to play a song originally written for a Budweiser jingle in the 70's. At a hockey game in 1975, the crowd once wanted to hear a polka, the only polka that the band director knew was the Budweiser song, so they substituted "Wisconsin" for "Budweiser," and it stuck.

• Each time had a Hobey Baker Award finalist. For Wisconsin, it was goalie Brian Elliot, and for Boston College, forward Chris Collins.

• Black people count: Wisconsin 1 (forward Robbie Earl), Boston College 0.

• Boston College has a lot of NHL ties. Adam Reasoner's brother Marty plays for the Boston Bruins, Andrew Orpik's brother Brooks plays for the Pittsburgh Penguins, and Stephen Gionta's brother Brian plays for the New Jersey Devils.

• The last time Wisconsin made it this far was in 1992, when they lost to Lake Superior State. After the game, several Badgers verbally abused officials, their head coach was suspended by the NCAA, and Wisconsin had their tournament appearance vacated. So if they lose, don't change the channel, they might just wig out.

The Wisconsin Hockey Blog [blogspot.com]
U.S. College Hockey Online [USCHO.com]
INCH [InsideCollegeHockey.com]