The Sicatoka

Next thing you know Philly fans will be calling for Dave Hakstol's head. It's what you do when you get shut out by a red-hot goalie in the post season, right?

No, that writer is saying consistent winning performance is what defines a winner and puts a team in position to end their season with two neutral ice weekend sweeps (current format). He would rather see that consistent high-level performance rather than the rollercoaster that he points out that the team he covers has been on. And, you know what, he's right. You have to be a winner to be in position to end with two neutral ice weekend sweeps. There are 7 "ended the season with two neutral ice weekend sweeps" banners in Ralph Engelstad Arena. There will be fifteen, ... 15, banners in Ralph Engelstad Arena saying that North Dakota was the season-long highest performing team in the toughest conference in the NCAA. Fifteen seasons of being, over the course of an entire season, the best of the best. There's no way you can discount the effort it takes to hang those 15. And nobody has more. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to point all that out.

As I sit here having just watched #6 Montreal's Carey Price beat #3 Boston 2-0, and #7 Buffalo's Ryan Miller defeat #2 Phillly 1-0, both on the road, I understand even more how lower seeded Michigan and a performance of a lifetime from Hunwick can happen last Thursday. And this is especially so in a 1-and-done format. More food for thought (thanks PCM): http://boardsroom.blogspot.com/2011/04/und-vs-michigan-statistical-analysis.html

Perspective ... http://host.madison.com/sports/columnists/andy_baggot/article_b3441a6c-13bf-5c91-bc2f-1d14bc187142.html

Mike Chambers just can't seem to let that go. He tried rehashing it before the Final Five. He tried rehashing it before the Regional. Mike Chambers just can't seem to let that go.

The phrase "NC$$'s ... subject to ongoing litigation" just makes me

He's confused after hearing that we'd applied for our own "License to kill gophers by the government of the United Nations. Man, free to kill gophers."

It would serve the Big Ten('leven)(welve) members right if the Womens WCHA told them, "Well, you want to play Big Ten Hockey. Great. Do it for women too. See ya. Buh-bye."

I know the doom and gloom crowd is out in force in the "Early Departures" thread, but I'm going to go by the numbers (see post 1 of this thread). If the projected 8 (six forwards and two D) are brought in the roster would have 3 goalies, 8 defensemen, and 17 forwards. Normally the roster going into a season is 3, 8, and 15. That tells me to expect 2 early departures from the ranks of the forwards. That's workable.

Oh yeah, and that Frozen Four in Anaheim, ... did they draw 100 people for that?

Well, ... Frattin is one. Malone. I've heard Genoway has signed.

But that's not an early departure.

I took some solace in that and the fact that UMD couldn't push it over the top until they got a coach who came from the North Dakota program.

Allow me one, big, "what they did wrong": They needed to get ahead of the Kristo story. When there are gaps in the storyline people fill it in with their own narrative, and it's seldom positive and always distracting.

Steve took an assistant job at a WCHA school for a reason. Normally that reason is that it's a step toward a head job at a WCHA school.

Didn't Chris Porter take this route? His bio seems to indicate such: His senior season ended in April 2007. He was signed as a free agent by STL after August 15, 2007 even though he'd been a CHI draft pick. That seems to be the rule in action.

I found my answer, assuming CHN knows what it's talking about:

Read was an undrafted free agent, wasn't he? Gregoire is an NYI pick. Different situations.

Need an NHL draft guru here: If Gregoire stays four full years and isn't signed by August 1, 2012 doesn't he become a free agent? If so, that'd be one way out of the dreadful NYI system.

Forbort and Simpson will be getting all the ice they want next year. They'll both be top four D. Kristo? Montreal wants to spend money on a guy who doesn't have the maturity and decision skills to dress for a -30F wind chill stroll? Montreal would be better spending money on an autographed copy of "I Woke Up and Took Command of My Life" by Matt Frattin and giving it to Kristo. Someone should send a copy to TJ Oshie in St. Louis also (as he was recently suspended by the Blues).

You have to wonder how Montreal views Kristo's recent off-ice injury. If I were Montreal I'd want to see if Kristo can bring his life into balance the way his teammate Frattin did. Different situations, but poor decisions that affect your team are still poor decisions that affect your team. Oh, and mentioning poor decisions, I believe Kristo's pal TJ Oshie recently made some poor decisions that cost him a multi-game suspension in St. Louis. The hockey world is a small world at those highest levels.

The only way this will get resolved one way or the other is out in the open. At least a couple folks understand that. http://plainsdaily.com/entry/dem_leaders_call_on_backes_to_make_ncaa_meeting_open_to_public/

I'm somewhat stunned by this development. I found the situation where RadioFM (790 KFGO/740 The Fan KVOX) was home of Bison Athletics on the radio but the RadioFM sports director was also the voice of UND Football to be a most peculiar alignment. That was Dan Hammer. No, wait. Now it's Jack (former NDSU first base man, " ... track it down, Marge! ... " ) Michaels. Compound that with (as someone mentioned) that RadioFM (740) has picked up the official NCAA broadcast of all three Frozen Four games. (Here's where I tell you to listen to 970 WDAY-AM and Tim Hennessy. Don't be fooled.) Part of me wonders if KFGO isn't having "buyers remorse" when it comes to local college athletics if they are picking up "a regional niche sport" Frozen Four broadcast and are going back to a most peculiar, almost contradictory, sports director alignment (where your sports director is the voice of the rival of who the station carries). Say what you will, but I'm quite sure that the T-wolves or Wild (or Bison M/WBB) don't draw as many listeners in Fargo-Moorhead on a Friday or Saturday night as Fighting Sioux Hockey did.

+1 for you for knowing it's "Sica-toka", not "Sic-atoka".

It's either acceptable or profane. There's no other criteria, especially skin color of the speaker, that should ever apply to a word.