The Sicatoka

Somewhere back in here, http://siouxsports.com/cgi-bin....1;t=202 , I made the following comments: Random thoughts: To me the best UND lines were the ones that had all three factors: Playmaker Board grinder Scorer. Think about Ulmer, Goren, Bayda: Jason Ulmer was the playmaker. Ryan Bayda owned the boards. Lee Goren scored. Bayda got a lot of goals that year but they were mainly from three feet and were rebounds of Goren shots. How about Panzer, Lundbohm, Bayda: Panzer set it up. Bayda ran the boards. Whitey Lundbohm scored. Why not go back to The Circus: Hrkac set it all up. Bob Joyce scored, but was strong enough to run the boards also. Steve Johnson was great on the boards, however, later in his career became a playmaker. The third guy on that line (Johnson, Parks, Bobyck) only had to not make mistakes. Break this down and what do you need? True playmaking centers, true goal scorers (with a preference to the stand in front and take the abuse variety), and a guy to dig the puck out and get it to the creative guy. Now, think about each player and what they do. Rate each guy (on a 1 low, 5 hi scale) in those three areas: creativity, board ability, scoring ability. You need some of each on each line. And then throw in the other factor: chemistry (good luck at that). It's hard going on second-hand knowledge of Genoway and Parise and not knowing how Fylling's game changed at Sioux Falls. I'm pondering it now. It ain't easy. I'm still pondering and it still ain't easy.

A nudge to get this one back in view.

Hey Greyeagle, give them credit. They've expanded their horizons to include age discrimination too! http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3059502.html

I think Rick's point is this: The core of Lucia's CC teams were recruited by his predecessor (Buetow). The core of Lucia's Minnesota teams were recruited by his predecessor (Woog). He can coach talent, but have we seen an entirely "Lucia team" (recruits and coaching) yet? (I'm not entirely sure if I want to or not.)

dagies:

I'm going to say what I've wanted to say for quite a while: Too many people expected too much from the 2001-2002 team. Period. The 2000-2001 team ran well because of Jeff Panzer, Bryan Lundbohm, Travis Roche, and Karl Goehring. That team was four D, a pair of penalty killers (Spie and Notes), KG, and an offensive line and a half (Panzer/Lundbohm/Bayda plus some support by senior Wes Dorey). How much of that returned? A pair of D (who greatly underperformed in 2001-2002) and Spie and Notes. And does anyone else remember Mary Beth Blais' problems? The 2000-2001 team was playing its guts out for Coach Blais. I'll say it: The 2000-2001 team overachieved. Now look at 2001-2002. A new arena. Distraction? Can you say "Uh huh!" How many new faces in The Room? 12? 13? (Freshmen plus transfers.) How many freshmen dressed each night? 10? 11? That's half and that half was even spread among the forwards (6), defense (3), and goaltending (1) on the average night. There was no strong, experienced suit to fall back on. Nothing to fall back on? Yup. Nothin'. The previously mentioned underperforming defensemen were met in underperformance by only an underperforming senior goaltender. The closest thing to a strong suit was a first line made up of Ryan Bayda, an overachieving Tim Skarperud, and a freshman (Bochenski). But one line is not enough. Spie and Notes didn't step up to make up for the lack of seniors like Skarp did. Luckily, Spie and Notes get another chance. Will they take it? I hope so. I had big hopes in 2001-2002 for the Hale boys too, except the worst happened: their mother passed away just as the team was getting back to school in the fall. I'm pretty sure that slowed those two, who I expected to see step up, through at least the first half. And I'll say it here because I heard Tim Hennessy mention it on the air: David Hale was not well (non-hockey medical) for a good deal of last season. (That's all I'll choose to say here.) Let's see, three of your four returning defensemen are underperforming or have outside issues, and the fourth can't break the lineup past three freshmen. Good luck. Forwards? How about a team where if you put every forward with D-I experience on the ice (Skarp, Bayda, Spie, Notes, Hale, Lundbohm, Palmiscno, and transfer Brendan Connelly) and you don't have a senior and you still have to put a minimum of four freshmen out? Sound like a formula for success? Putting high expectations on a team that half of it was in junior leagues the year before is unrealistic. Yet, too many did it. I expected that team to take some lumps in 2001-2002. That's why I preached "patience" a lot last year. But I've seen the glimmers of hope for the future. Rory McMahon and Chris Fournier started to assert themselves in the last weeks of last season and it was fun to watch. Bochenski proved he can score even when he is the focus of the other team. Ryan Hale realized that he can make havoc and dominate games. The young defense started to figure out how to handle the speed and motion of the college game. I still wonder about goaltending, but Siembida and Brandt's numbers behind a young defense weren't terrible. Guys need to come in this fall and show some character and establish themselves in the roles it takes to be a winner. They have the talent, they need to finish the intangibles: leadership, desire, teamwork, role playing. That'll take a period of adjustment. The schedule to start the season is reasonably friendly in that regard. Let's hope people step in and step up to the roles. I'm going to preach "patience" until December 1. If they don't have it figured out by then, the schedule will eat them alive. http://www.uscho.com/schedul....ender=m I think the team took all of its lumps at once (reloading talent, following up a group of overachievers, and new arena blues). I think this team will mature into something that will remember all the lumps they took as freshmen and return them. I don't expect it all to happen next season, but the lumps of 2001-2002 will be returned to the rest of the league before this group is through. That's my $0.02.

I had Hale and Martin in mind. I forgot all about DeMarchi being a Devils pick. Very interesting.

Let me come at this from a different angle: The Devils have traded a young defensemen that most had pencilled in for their post-Stevens, post-Daneyko rapidly-approaching future. Does this mean that getting some of their other draftees signed and into the system sooner becomes a priority? I ask because one of those guys is Minnesota's Paul Martin.

And the answer is ..... http://www1.ncaa.org/members....-02.htm Summary: Recent and future sites include: Year East Midwest Northeast West 2002 Worcester N/A N/A Ann Arbor 2003 Providence Ann Arbor Worcester Minneapolis 2004 Albany Grand Rapids Manchester Colo. Springs 2005 Worcester TBD TBD Minneapolis 2006 Albany TBD TBD Grand Forks

Just finished reading the CSB report on the Matts. Jones: "smooth, powerful skater with an effortless stride and good balance" "can physically dominate the defensive zone" "strong in one-on-one situations." Greene: "good skater with a strong stride and good speed" "an abrasive player who can intimidate and dominate a physical game" "very strong in one-on-one situations." There's an echo in there. Is it the CSB or what the coaches are looking for in a defenseman? And I really like that "strong in one-on-one" thing. If that's the defensive player Blais is recruiting, well, how do D get hung out on one-on-ones? Normally because his teammates were in open attack mode in the offensive zone. I like it! I like it!

David Hale. Andy Schneider. Mike "239 PIM" Prpich. And an "abrasive" defenseman. I'm thinking they may already need to renovate that brand new arena. The penalty box is probably going to be too small.

I'm surprised that Greene went before Jones. Is it that NHL "we love size" thing at work or something more? (Greene is 3 inches taller.) And how in the world did Blais and Company get a Michigan guy like Greene away from the Wolverines and Spartans? Sparty got Joe Markusen (Grafton, ND) a couple of years ago so we'll just consider this an equalizer.

Yo 'dagies,' you short-changed Mr. Greene an 'e' and he doesn't sound like a guy you should short-change.

Mentioning goalies with a boat anchor in their breezers, most 5'11" guys in the WCHA run in that 175 to 190 range. Minnesota goalie Travis Weber is 5'11" and 205! Now I'm not one to talk (definitely not), but I never envisioned Weber as verging on Irbe-esque.

Well, the Dallas GM back in May said that Ed Belfour wouldn't be re-signed. Yesterday Dallas traded with Columbus for Ron Tugnutt. The DallasStars.com page speaks of Turco and Tugnutt as the pair for next season. This leaves Belfour looking for work. Columbus is an obvious solution for him based on the vacancy left by Tugnutt, but there are other goaltenders is in the Columbus system including Karl Goehring. So, knowing Marc Denis is the only goalie on the CBJ roster now, what do all you soothsayers think will happen? Long time minor-leaguer JF Labbe and former Niagara Purple Eagle Greg Gardner are in CBJ's AHL Syracuse affiliate. Former UAA goalie Gregg Naumenko and Karl Goehring are the next level down in Dayton. Who's getting a shot where next season?

There is one big advantage to a regional on your adversary's ice (whether playing that adversary or someone else): If you survive that test, how much worse can the Frozen Four site get? I want teams that can survive the toughest tests.

This makes it official: http://www.fightingsioux.com/sports/hockey/

If the National Concrete Center gets a regional maybe Fargo should bid to hold a regional in the Fargo Mausoleum, errr, I mean Coliseum, or maybe Valley City or Mayville-Portland should bid using their new arenas. Heck, by that standard, REA II in TRF's got it locked up!

Don't feel too lost. It's hard to keep all of the teams and levels straight. The Saskatoon Contacts are a Midget AAA team. That level is generally considered a half to full step better than HS hockey in the US although there are individual exceptions to every rule. I'm sure some Twin Cities AA HS teams could easily handle some Midget AAA teams. (Shattuck - St. Mary's plays under a Midget AAA classification.) The BCHL is a Canadian Tier II junior league. That is the next step up from Midget AAA. Comparable would be the USHL in the US. The Western Hockey League (WHL) is Canadian Tier I, also called Major Junior. They make direct payments to players where Tier II teams pay the host families. That's why players with MJ time have to sit out a year before playing in the NCAA (the payment infers "professional" according to the NCAA). Now that's a brief overview and may not be 100% accurate but I'm sure someone will come in and fill in the blanks. And yes, McMahon and Prpich were Contacts teammates in 1999-2000.

'dagies': The growth is interesting, but the position "10" (Prpich) is listed at on that roster is more interesting.

Random thoughts: How's Brian Canady's knee? He hurt it in the playoffs in Minneapolis. Tim Hennessy mentioned on the radio during the Saturday game that injury may (key word: may) cost him the 2002-2003 season. Anyone heard anything new? Someone clued me in on this comparison: Name (League) Gm G A Pts PIM Pts/Gm PIM/Gm Mike Prpich (BCHL) 57 33 24 57 239 1.00 4.19 Jim Archibald (WCHA) 154 75 69 144 540 0.94 3.51 And in closing: "Skate or sit."

The 7 pm start is correct. Yes, it will be harder to make a Friday game.

Goon: That 607 played slightly uphill (elevated green). It was playing into the wind one day. That's the day I learned, with a good lie, I can hit my driver as a fairway wood (driver, driver, 2 iron, chip on, two putt, ouch).

Goon: I used to play a course that had a hole where the first number on the yardage marker was a '6', as in 607 yard par 5. Oh, did I mention the elevated green? And people wonder why I carry a driver, a spoon, and a driving iron. If you aren't sure what those are check out http://users.stargate.net/~histgolf/history/oldclubs.html . Let's see, 320 to the hole, should I hit cleek and lofter or driving mashie and niblick or play it safe and go mashie and spade? You have to love those old "Gutta Percha" club names.

Want the NCAA's POV? http://www.ncaa.org