DULUTH, Minn. - The University of Minnesota-Duluth has scolded student fans of its hockey team after receiving reports they peppered the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux with offensive chants at a recent game.

Minnesota-Duluth Athletic Director Bob Nielson sent student season ticket-holders a letter Feb. 17 saying "any profane, racial, sexist, or abusive comments or actions directed at officials, opposing players or teams" could lead to their ejection from the arena or cost them their season tickets.

The Duluth News-Tribune reported (http://bit.ly/AaEhLv) on the letter Tuesday.

North Dakota fan Chad Czmowski told the newspaper that students made war-whooping noises and chanted "Hi, HOW are you?" and "smallpox blankets" during the Feb. 10-11 series. The latter refers to some historical claims that Indians were given smallpox-infected blankets by white settlers.

"I thought it was over the top," Czmowski said. "I'm all for rowdy cheering and rowdy student sections. Personal attacks, it was too much and there is no place for it."

Dave Zentner, a season ticket holder since 1955, said he didn't hear anything he considered to be offensive from the student section.

"I'm sure we've heard some dumb things over the years," he said. "I'm not sure if they were racist or bad sportsmanship. We've been road warriors and have been subjected to a lot of profanity and abuse in the league. I think overall, everybody has a few silly fans."

The reported chants followed North Dakota's return to using the Fighting Sioux nickname. The school has tried to drop the name, but supporters of the mascot recently gathered enough petition signatures to temporarily restore a state law that had required its use. The question will ultimately be put to state voters.

A University of North Dakota spokesman was not aware of Nielson's letter to students or any problems with chants at the weekend games and had no immediate comment.

In his letter to students, Nielson said the chants were hostile and racist.

"We decided it was an opportunity to reinforce our policy . to focus on cheering for our team and avoid comments that are considered inappropriate," Nielson told the News-Tribune.

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Information from: Duluth News Tribune, http://www.duluthsuperior.com

BOSTON - A Boston University hockey player has pleaded not guilty to raping a female student and has been ordered to have no contact with the woman.

Max Nicastro, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., was also ordered held on $10,000 bail after his arraignment Tuesday in Brighton District Court.

Authorities say the junior defenseman and 2008 Detroit Red Wings draft pick sexually assaulted another student Sunday morning.

His lawyer says no crime was committed.

Nicastro is the second BU hockey player accused of sexual assault this season.

Coach Jack Parker says he's troubled by the allegations but doesn't think the accused players reflect the culture of the program.

He says players are warned every season about the dangers of alcohol abuse and sexual harassment.

Nicastro has been suspended from the team.

OTTAWA - Sheldon Kennedy is predicting that his former coach and abuser Graham James won't do jail time after pleading guilty to new sex offenses against two more of his past hockey players.

Kennedy told a Senate committee Tuesday that he supports proposed new mandatory-minimum sentences for sex offenses against minors because they will help convince more victims to come forward.

"I don't think sex offenses (are) happening more in society as we open the paper up every day and see it on the front page," said Kennedy, the former NHLer who went public with his accusations against James in 1997.

"But I do believe that our young people and older people are feeling safer to come forward."

Despite that improved atmosphere, Kennedy argued that more must be done to ensure that abusers face "consistent convictions that will stick."

Kennedy was speaking on the eve of a sentencing hearing Wednesday in Winnipeg for James, the former junior hockey coach who has twice been convicted of abusing young players under his influence.

James was sentenced to three and half years in 1997 for abusing Kennedy and two others, and in December he pleaded guilty to the abuse of yet two more, including former NHL star Theo Fleury.

WINNIPEG - Retired NHL star Theoren Fleury says it's common sense that his junior hockey coach should get jail time for sexually abusing him when he was a teenage player.

But Fleury also says he's already moved on — no matter what happens to Graham James in court.

James is to appear at a sentencing hearing in Winnipeg on Wednesday. He pleaded guilty via video link in December to repeated sexual assaults against two former junior players: one of them Fleury and another who cannot be named because of a court-ordered publication ban.

The Crown and defense will make their sentence recommendations. The hearing will also allow the victims to be heard.

Fleury won't attend as he'll be in Vancouver preparing to host the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards later in the week. He's prepared a victim impact statement, however, although he says he doesn't have any expectations about what the judge's eventual sentencing decision will be.

"I have already moved past and I am the victor over sexual abuse," Fleury said from Calgary in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"And my sole focus and sole purpose in my life — and for the remainder of my life — is to support other victims who have come forth, or are yet to come forth, and have started the journey and the path to healing."

The latest convictions against James date from a period between 1983 and 1994. He has already served a 3 1/2-year sentence for abusing three other former players about the same time, including former NHLer Sheldon Kennedy.

Kennedy says he will be at the sentencing hearing. Also planning to attend is Greg Gilhooly, even though charges relating to him were stayed when James pleaded guilty in December.

In an email, which also appears on Gilhooly's Facebook page, the former goalie said the hearing in Winnipeg will be the first time he's seen James in 30 years.

"I have a ticket in hand and plan on being there, though I will admit that some days I go back and forth on this," said the email from Gilhooly, now a corporate lawyer in Ontario.

In an interview Monday, Gilhooly said he will definitely be in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

"I'm ready and I believe it's important to show myself that he has no power over me anymore," he said.

James has been free on bail while awaiting his sentence.

Gilhooly, a Princeton University graduate with a law degree from the University of Toronto, asked the court to remove the publication ban on his name after the stay of charges in his case. He'd originally gone to police in the spring of 2010 after discovering James had been quietly pardoned in 2007 for his earlier convictions.

He forwarded the revelation to The Canadian Press and the resulting political firestorm led to changes in Canada's pardon system.

Gilhooly said it's important for him to attend the sentencing because he doesn't want James or his lawyer to refer to him "in concept" only. He says he doesn't know what to expect of James — or of himself.

"I've thought a lot about going to the sentencing hearing, but I haven't visualized any aspects of it. I honestly don't know how I'm going to react when I do see him."

Kennedy said he wants to be at the hearing to support Gilhooly.

"It's a hard day to face your abuser in whatever type of abuse that is. For so long you think it's your fault and most of the time these people are in a position of power over you," said Kennedy, who was honoured with a humanitarian award in Swift Current, Sask., over the weekend — the city where James was his coach.

"With Greg, I feel for him that his case was stayed," Kennedy continued. "I think it's important that we stand up. It's not just me. We're standing together."

According to an agreed statement of facts, James started fondling Fleury in September 1983 while the hockey player slept. The groping and fondling escalated over a two-year period to a point where James would masturbate in front of Fleury before performing oral sex.

The pattern was almost identical with the second victim. Those attacks took place between 1989 and 1994.

Some legal experts have said James could get a conditional sentence to be served in the community, since he has already done time for similar offenses during the same period.

Gilhooly said he's steeling himself for the possibility and questions a justice system that would allow that.

"In many ways Graham is no different than (serial child killer) Clifford Olson, except that Graham decided to leave his victims alive at the very end after doing what he did with them," he said.

"Graham is a serial pedophile, who picked and chose his victim, and then moved on to the next, and the next, and the next. If our court system believes that the sentence he received the first time is adequate, I say the court system is an ass."

Kennedy said he believes James was offered a deal for pleading guilty or for the charges related to Gilhooly being stayed.

Crown attorney Colleen McDuff said in December that no plea deal was struck and the Crown will be asking that he be sent to prison.

But even if James gets more jail time, it won't matter that much to Gilhooly.

"Honestly, I don't think that it's going to help," he said. "In the end, Graham remains who he is, and he did what he did, and … whether he gets jail or not is not going to impact my recovery."

Kennedy said even if the sentence is light, it would still help bring public attention to the sexual abuse of children.

"If Graham does get a conditional sentence, there's going to be a lot of people that aren't happy with that, and it will cause quite a ruckus. We need to be able to make sure we direct that in a proper manner."

Fleury suggested the judge is likely to reserve decision on the sentence. If that's the case, he hopes to be able to make it to the actual sentencing.

"But the 'final' has already happened for me. I'm already past it," he said.

"I have taken my own personal journey, my own personal path, and I am in a great place in my life. And the reason why I'm there is I get the opportunity on a daily basis to help other people who have gone through similar situations get where they need to go."

— By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton, with files from Sylvia Strojek

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Doug Weight will fill in as the New York Islanders interim coach for their game at Buffalo on Tuesday night, filling in for Jack Capuano who is sick with the flu.

Capuano travelled with the team to Buffalo following the Islanders' 6-0 home loss to Ottawa on Monday afternoon. He was too ill to attend the Islanders skate Tuesday morning, and remained at the team hotel for the game.

Weight is in his first year serving as Islanders' senior adviser to general manager Garth Snow and an assistant coach. A four-time NHL All-Star, Weight retired in May after playing three of his 19 NHL seasons with the Isles.