Old Barn Guy at Home

I'm in agreement with you if you are saying that the outside ice practice was not the problem for the team. I was only commenting on your statement in your first post (which I am now not able to find). I was under the impression that you were claiming that the pretty much the only difference between inside and outside ice was the roof over the indoor ice. I think the most probable cause for the apparent lackluster performances was the flu, the altitude, injuries unknown to us, or a combination of those. Also, with some key players just returning to the line up that weekend, they probably weren't at their game conditioning level yet.

You couldn't be more WRONG about the ice comparison. Apparently you have never skated outside. The ice is different, and with the many cracks and bumps, no matter how minute, it is amazing that there haven't been more injuries. I'm not talking about the NHL-type outside ice that is pampered and worked on by professional rink workers. The outside ice at community rinks, while not terribly dangerous, they still are not the same. I speak from experience because my high school team (on which I played) played all of our home games outside. My first time in indoor ice was at the OLD barn. What a treat that was, especially with no wind!

You really hit the nail on the head. With the present goaltending situation, UND has the depth and talent to be a serious contender at the end of the year. A lot of things can happen between now and then, but knowing we have the potential to shut a team down (esp. one that had scored 24 in the previous 4 games) gives us the opportunity to win ANY game we are in. I also believe the team has begun to play with more confidence, knowing that if they make a mistake, someone is backing them with strength to keep them in the game. Last night's game was far from our best effort, but Cam kept us in there. I am looking for a hungrier group of Hawks to come out of the chutes tonight, as I expect the Dogs will also be highly motivated to gain a split.

Burd, I think you missed my point. My point is just what you said, no matter what you call them, they are our team. Let's not make "much ado about nothing."

I will try to paraphrase here, as best I can...... Back in the mid-1800's, a guy named Abraham Lincoln was debating an opponent for a political seat (I don't think it was for the presidency). Anyway, after the opponent had made some statements about some topic, Lincoln responded with this: "If you have 3 cows and a horse, but let's call the horse a cow, just for the sake of argument. Then how many cows would you have?" The opponent responded, "Why I would have 4 cows!" Lincoln responded, "No, you would still have 3 cows and a horse......because no matter what you call the horse, it's still always going to be a horse!" It will always be the "Sioux" to me, no matter what anyone may want to call them! Let's go SIOUX!

Thanks for the rules interp passage. I wasn't sure about the "touching" or "possession" application to this rule (that's why I said it was "my understanding"). I was wrong on my "understanding," and in that case, the goal probably should have not counted because it looked like the puck was deflected with a UND players stick above the crossbar (4 feet high). I'm glad they did count it. UND gets enough bad breaks on officials' calls so it's nice that this one went in their favor.

Regarding the "high stick" goal on Friday: I believe the problem the announcers (and many others, also) were having probably stemmed from their lack of hockey rules knowledge. It is my understanding that if a player from Team A makes puck contact with a his stick above the crossbar: 1) no goal can be scored if it goes directly into the net, 2) a whistle to stop play occurs if a teammate on Team A is the first to touch the puck. What cancels out the whistle is if an opponent (Team B) touches the puck. Then the puck is "fair game" for all players. This is what happened when the puck, deflected with a UND high stick, hit the St.Cloud goalie. With the puck, then in play for either team, the UND player shot the rebound into the net. Good goal!

I was actually looking for names of players I may have coached in high school. I do think I know where the Ice Den is (up north, I believe, next to a car wash and restaurant).

Thank you for the info. I enjoyed reading over the info about the adult leagues rosters', just to see if I would recognize any names (I didn't).

Has anybody on the boards here seen the AZ State team play, or know which rink is their home ice? I may want to attend a game or two down there this winter.

HILARIOUS COMMENT!

Anybody else think that the announcer (whiner) sounded a lot like "Captain Binghamton" from the old "McHale's Navy" tv show? I remember when I used to work the UND summer hockey camp, the kids always wanted to see this tape of the "water bottle incident." I think that tape always seemed to be laying around near the vcr in the lecture room at the old Ralph.

I remember the "guy" well. Jay Caufield played in the game following the penalty debacle that took place in Maine the week before. All four Sioux RW's were disqualified, if I remember correctly, so Jay got his big chance. I knew Jay from working at the UND summer hockey school. He was great with the young kids.

So many fans are quick to blame the head coach for anything that goes wrong. So here is an instance where maybe, just maybe, the guy who was in charge of putting this team together and for getting the most out of their abilities, should get the credit for GETTING them there! Don't fool yourself, there probably isn't a coach or coaching staff in D1 NCAA hockey that could have done what Hak and his staff did this year. I feel this team was the weakest Sioux hockey team I have ever seen (going back into the 60's), but somebody got them to gel and perform.....and that someone is Hak!

I totally agree. This season was quite a ride, from struggling players looking for identities to a team put together that played right at the top of their game against some of the best college hockey teams in the country. Tough way to lose, but a lot of teams were on the other side of the glass tonight.

I also was at this game. I believe that Mike Lamoine scored a goal for the Sioux. i also watched the Dynamo team at their morning skate. They had all kinds of little skills drills going on all over the ice. At the end of the practice, one of the coaches blew his whistle and gave one of the players the puck bag and pointed at all the pucks on the ice. The player picked up all of the pucks while his teammates exited the rink.

I might go to O'Sullivan's in Mesa, but will probably watch at the townhouse in Scottsdale with the comforts available there.

This is, without a doubt, one of the finest coaching jobs a Sioux hockey head coach and staff have ever done (and I've seen a lot of them). Earlier this season, I told people that this was the worst Sioux hockey team I had ever seen ( I think it was after that loss to Omaha when Zane was out with his injury). But the coaches were working them to become successful as a team, and darned if they didn't do just that. They don't have that usual super star player to score the big goal for them, but what has transpired over the past month has convinced me that this team is an actual threat to win at the Frozen Four. I was hoping for a chance to see them take on the Gophers this season, and here it comes. Congrats and thanks to the coaches and the players for providing such a great ending of the season, whether they win it all or not.

I remember seeing the Sioux hockey team playing on delayed tape (or possibly it was film) on one of the Fargo tv stations back in the late 50's or very early 60's. They had a couple of players that had memorable names ("Blacky" White & "Whitey" White). The first time I was actually at a Sioux hockey game came when I was in high school and our team played a preliminary game (it was ok with the NCAA then) before the Sioux played Michigan Tech, with Tony Esposito with the Huskies. That game was in THE old winter sports building, and I will always remember the smell of the cigar smoke, the popcorn and hot dogs cooking in the lobby. The atmosphere was never better!

Former Sioux goalies that played in the NHL are (as best I can recollect): Bob Iwabucci (North Stars) Darren Jensen (Flyers) Jon Casey (North Stars/Blues) Ed Belfour (Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers)

Cary Eades would certainly be an outstanding candidate for this job. It would all depend on if Denver would want another former Sioux-connected coach in the new league. (Hak, Sandy, Blais & Steve Johnson) Cary would do well for them, I'm sure.

With hard work and effort, a team can beat a group of more talented players. Maybe not all of the time, but it has been done. One of my favorite quotes is from Henry Ford: "Whether you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."

Arena Man: You will enjoy being at O'Sullivan's for the Sioux games. Enjoy!

Regarding dump and chase: It's usually the best method to use when the defending team strings out across their defensive blueline. Most teams don't have the skill players to stickhandle their way through this picket fence. This happens at all levels, even the NHL. Watch the Blackhawks turn the puck over time and again when they try to stick handle through the "picket fence." Even Kane and Toews have trouble with this. Of course there are, at times, exceptions depending on the technique used by the defenders, but the most efficient way of entering the offensive zone vs this tactic is to dump the puck in deep. You need to have your other forwards breaking in at top speed to assure gaining possession of the puck, otherwise the defending team will just shoot the puck back out (or ice it if they are on the PK). So to summarize: It's the opposing defensive strategy that usually will determine the type of offensive zone entry method to be used.

JR: One of my favorite BLACKHAWKS players. We were at the game in Phoenix last year when they honored him (they were playing the Toews-less Blackhawks that night).