Kevin G

So many guys look markedly improved from last season. Credit to those guys for their commitment to offseason work and to the coaches for coaching 'em up.

I'm no expert on skating, but I had this exact same impression. Cooper Moore moved so well last night.

Taking too many penalties, but the boys look good. Johnson, Jamernik, Moore, Costantini have all looked great. DeRidder too.

This will not be the first trip to the Valley for at least a couple of Crusaders. According to Holy Cross's roster, freshman goalie Louden Hogg and junior defenseman Jack Robilotti both played for the Fargo Force.

That's awesome, @gfhockey. Seriously. Honestly your posts are some of my favorites. I love puzzles.

On FloHockey.tv, Chris Peters releases his initial NCAA men's hockey power rankings: Gophers Denver Duluth Quinnipiac Michigan North Dakota Mankato Harvard Northeastern St. Cloud BU Notre Dame Clarkson Providence UMass Ohio State

For those who may not know, Eielson, born in Hatton, made the first flight from North America to Europe over the North Pole. Amazing man.

I'd go one step further and say I'd be surprised if one of the freshmen didn't end up with Gaber.

Good analysis from the lower bowl!

That was fun. I have a good feeling about this team.

Kleven!!

Kleven slapper!

Some good play by DeRidder on the PP

My feed is excellent. Exactly opposite of Thursday Night Football.

Biggest takeaway from first period of the season: These four freshman forwards can play. They all looked comfortable, they all looked creative, and they all looked like above-average skaters. Seriously, let's GO!

silky mitts

Griffen "Nets"

Katie Hale looks different.

Hockey in a nutshell.

It's so good to have Sioux hockey back.

Just read the article. What jumped out at me: Grant Cruikshank is still playing college hockey. How did he snag an eleventh year of eligibility? And has anyone else heard that his mom was a pretty good skater?

I read the post too quickly and thought, "Good grief, Brock has hand-in-mouth disease?"

It seems like so much will depend on how the freshmen adapt to the college game. This team has depth in spades, but it could really use some high-end offensive skill. So ideally at least two of the freshmen forwards will "pop" and be able to stick in a top-6 role. IF that happens, this year's team will be so dangerous. Also--and this is just a crazy hunch--I think Hain might display another level of offensive prowess this year (assuming his knee is totally healthy). Plus Caulfield and Kunz will (hopefully) assert themselves with authority, and boom! Let's GO!

Getting it out of the way early?

And that rug really ties the room together.