Manderleigh13

I really enjoy games in Madison. They are a great crowd. In the past I have had parents wave their babies in my face screaming "Go Badgers" and have had fans who ask about the team. They are usually a nice crowd. I went up to Houghton and the announcer told the Sioux fans that they liked "good sportmanship." The MTU crowd certainly didn't have "good sportmanship" towards the Sioux crowd. A lot of the Sioux fans in our section were commenting on how it was a rough crowd.

Kermit- Can you please paste the article in here so we can read it? I wasn't able to access it either.

I know Wisconsin named their captains already and captains were voted on by the team. I believe the Sioux vote as well but I am not sure when.

If it's true, good for Matt. He deserves it.

A friend in Bismarck called tonight to tell me that he heart Hakstol would be named coach tomorrow.

The story says that today was the last day for internal candidates to apply. The coaching job wasn't supposed to be announced today.

I wouldn't object. Blais recommended Hakstol and I think he would do a great job. Hakstol knows the chemistry of the team and I'm sure has strong relationships with most of the players. Hakstol worked under Dean, allowing him to see how Dean coached the team and know some of the drills Dean had the guys work on. He has done a great job recruiting and I think he would do a great job coaching as well. I think Hakstol would be the best choice with Berry under him and another guy- possibly one of the Sioux alumni they are looking into. On another note, Sandelin is doing well in Duluth so the chances he'll want to leave may be small (but at the chance to coach UND- who knows).

With the Devils selecting Zajac, probably means he won't be at UND past his sophomore or junior season. They like to grab the guys early.

NHL.com is apparently behind the Blue Jackets website. Sorry, I found the real story now.

Dean is not leaving. NHL.com reports that Gallant is to be named coach. http://nhl.com/onthefly/news/2004/06/214840.html

http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=65960 This is from back around the time Parise signed with New Jersey but an interesting argument as to whether Jones or Ballard is better. I think that if the Coyotes put the two of them together on the same line, some great possibilities will arise.

Forget Bo. Let get Greene, Jones or both inked. Then I'd say the WCHA would be officially up for grabs.

The movie is great. My friend and I almost clapped when they won-almost like we were really at the game. I can't wait to buy it.

WCHA-Member Men's Recruiting Classes For 2004-05 Listed http://wcha.collegesports.com/sports/m-hoc.../051704aab.html Sioux have listed: University of North Dakota Rylan Kaip, F, 6-0, 175, R, 3/19/84, Wilcox, SK (Notre Dame/SJHL) Phillippe Lamoureux, G, 5-10, 170, R, 8/20/84, Grand Forks, ND (Lincoln/USHL) Kyle Radke, D, 5-11, 200, L, 5/13/85, Bashaw, AB (Grand Prairie/AJHL) Rastislav Spirko, F, 5-9, 175, L, 6/21/84, Vrutki, Slovakia (Tri-City/USHL) Travis Zajac, F, 6-2, 205, R, 5/13/85, Winnipeg, MB (Salmon Arm/BCHL)

They did bus to Houghton. I saw the bus when there and we talked to Jones after Saturday's game and he told me they were ordering pizzas and getting on the bus to head back that night. The trip only takes between 6 and 8 hours, so not too bad.

They fly to Madison commercially. Houghton has an airport in the neighboring city of Hancock that NWA services only the planes are extremely small and seat about 32 people. When I was up there in January, they had on the news how they have to continuously plow the little runway that they have. Flights into Hancock are very expensive usually.

That makes sense. I just meant that if they got fans to fly on it, the fans would be paying for part of the plane- not that the team would get the plane cheaper.

To clarify my not filling the plane: If the team did charter, they would have to do the Fly with the Sioux every weekend to make up the money that they would be spending and if they don't fill it up, they lose money. I don't think many fans would pay $800 for every Sioux roadtrip that requires flying. And having it for every trip, would take the thrill out of it. Having it be a rare occasion, makes people more likely to jump at it. I also don't know if Coach or the guys would like to have Fly with the Sioux on every trip. They would probably like to sleep and relax on the plane after a long weekend.

I would assume it would be cheaper to fly commerically and they certainly won't fill up a plane if they charter one. I know there were some talks about them chartering at one point, but those never went through. Last year they flew commercially because I know people who were on their plane then too. I'm sure they are part of Northwest World Perks program, giving them free flights after enough trips- which would save the team money. Maybe they get a team discount for having 30 seats on the plane filled up. I would guess a big thing would be cost though. If commercial flights fly them to where they need to be and at times that work, that's probably the best choice.

What's the reasoning behind which part? Why they are chartering to Maine or why they still fly commercially?

My friend flew with the Sioux on a commercial fight out of Madison this past February, so they still fly commercially.

I think 17 is a little young but 18 isn't. Doesn't seem like a big difference but a lot can happen in one year. A lot of the Sioux were 18 when they were drafted (Parise, Jones, etc.). Most are going to stay in college anyway to develop into better players.

I think you just about summed it all up on your list!

"Welcome to the Jungle" is the classic hockey song. It cannot be retired.

Thanks for keeping us updated sprig. I had been following and it was nice to see some others were as well. Too bad they couldn't pull it off but they should be proud of how they played.