Leivermann update (and other stuff)

Corey Leivermann returned to Fargo on Tuesday, and The Forum caught up with him at practice. The story also has comments from Leivermann's dad, Bruce. I talked to Bruce after my column was filed on Monday night and he made similar comments. He was very upset that Omaha's C.J. Ludwig taunted Corey and the Force players, basically while a stretcher was being brought onto the ice. You can see some of that in the video of the hit below the story.

The Force and the Lancers continue their series tonight in Fargo. While everybody's expecting more fireworks, none of the principle characters will be in the game. Leivermann is out for the series with his injuries, Ludwig was suspended for three games and Matt Leitner -- another MSU recruit -- got a one-game suspension for leaving the locker room after being given a game misconduct for his own taunting actions following his empty-net goal and before the hit on Leivermann.

In Tuesday's column, I also mention former West goalie, Tyler Bruggeman, who is having an outstanding run through the North American Hockey League playoffs for the St. Louis Bandits.

A commenter on this blog recently asked about David Backes' status for the upcoming World Championships. Apparently, the ex-Mav was invited to play in the tournament but declined. That's not too surprising considering played in the Olympics and is ready for a break. He has played in the last couple of Worlds, so he's hoping a longer break might help him snap out of what's become a notoriously slow start come fall.