Wilbur

I feel like I just lost my dog....Someone asked me the other day who the sioux played in their season opener and I had absolutely no clue.... There was a day when I knew the entire sioux schedule right off the top of my head, the record of the team they were playing that week, the specific cities the sioux were traveling too, the 11 starters on offense and defense, who was injured, what the key matchups were, and I could tell you the scores of when the teams played the year before......I wish that the sioux played NDSU this year or something to spark the interest, but it just isn't the same right now... Stupid question of the day (very ashamed of myself for this)...but.....when can the sioux qualify for postseason play in football again?

Or the sioux could finish in the top three in the league to avoid the three games!!!! All kidding aside I think that the way the format plays out right now is perfect. Yeah the Sioux had shaky legs, but they also had 6 days off between games. Maybe next year the sioux will get the twelve day break that they've missed out on these past two years....

I'm going to miss the rug, and the wooger. Unless Anthony LaPanta has been holding back all of these years, the U of M, broadcasts will be taking a couple of steps back...... Its almost like FSN is blaming the poor crowds, and three years of poor performances on the ice on the broadcasts...

Boston College Cornell Minnesota Denver I wouldn't watch, nor care about the winner. Probably wouldn't even check on the outcome online......probably wouldn't check on the outcome until....October?? Dream Final Four: UND Maine BU Colorado College

Sigh....another season comes to an end..... I'm anxious for next year already. We have an all conference goaltender coming back. We could have the best defensive core in the country, and we return all but two forwards. I don't see anybody leaving early, and next year could be fun! Think of this D-core: Blood-Genoway LaPoint-Marto McWilliam-Gleason Simpson-Fienhage Yeah, that makes me smile.

Nice win for the sioux. Eidsness was sharp, and I thought the d-core played very well. With Frattin back tonight it will be nice to have the lines back to normal. Other observations: ~Kristo was a beast ~Fienhage played well, surprised he doesn't play more ~Don Adam is still bad.....he missed a slash on Trupp in the corner that was blatant to the whole rink....should have been a UMD powerplay ~The reff who got cut came back. What a guy! Guesses on lines for tonight Gregs-Hex-VV Frats-Malone-Trupper Knight-Kristo-Zajac Lammy-Toews-Cichy

I suppose you are right....but still....the kid is way too talented to only have 28 points. A lot of gopher fans I know admit that he mailed it in after the world junior tournament. I guess Minnesota's top line could have been Stoa-Barribal-Schroeder.....that might have put his production up a bit.

I'm extremely disappointed with Schroeder this season. I picked the guy at the beginning to be among the candidates for player of the year....instead his buddy Barribal gets hurt and he doesn't do anything the entire season. I couldn't believe that the empty net goal that he scored on UND was only his ninth goal of the season. Probably one of the more talked about recruits coming to the University of Minnesota, and other than his rookie season I would probably call his career a bust. I agree with a previous poster, it was nice that he only put his whole heart into the world junior tournament, and not into WCHA play. Hey, the USA won gold, and to top it off, the gophers didn't make the final five!

Section 118...row 23 I believe.... There will be six of us cheering on the sioux!

Lucia is a classy guy, and I really hope he shook Hextall's hand, even in the heat of the moment. Unless I see otherwise I have to be of the opinion that tDon shook every guys hand. As for the F5......ahh yes, for the first time in my many years attending the wonderful sporting event.....no gophs... I'm actually kind of upset they won't be there (OF COURSE GLAD THE SIOUX WON!). I was looking forward to a possible Sioux-Gopher play in game, and its always fun cheering for any team playing against the gophs. Its almost like every other team unites to cheer against the gophs. A great example was the year when UND won the final five the last time. The 8-7 OT game between the gophs and scsu was one of the greatest atmospheres I've seen. It was gopher fans against SCSU, UND, Wisconsin, Duluth, and yes, even those pesky Tech fans in attendance. Predictions: I'll say: Thursday: UND 5 Duluth 3 Friday: Wisconsin 4 SCSU 2 Denver 4 UND 1 Saturday: UND 4 SCSU 3 Denver 2 Wisconsin 0 (In an absolute sleeper....)

I'm a coach, and its sad to see that the diving at the upper levels has matriculated its way down to the high school and youth levels. I've had guys come back to the bench and give me that "wink" and its absolutely gut wrenching as a coach. Its almost like the guys that flop in basketball, or the wide recievers that pretend to get interfered with and call for a flag on every incomplete pass. I couldn't wait for Robbie Earl to be out of the league, and I'll now say the same thing for Jacob Cepis. The guy did what it takes to get his team a win, which I guess is the bottom line in the business, but I'll never have respect for that guy. He and Earl, and guys like Tony Voce can take credit for kids all over the country taking dives and taking the integrity out of a great game. That being said, hats off to Kangas. Played a great game made some great saves. Hopefully in tomorrow's game we don't see goals that come from guys on either side taking belly flops.

They should make the pairwise rankings into a college class. I mean, what do you think about "Understanding the Pairwise 305", or "Intro to Pairwise 110". Or even "Advanced placement Pairwise 310". Or even possibly a pairwise theory class. That would be fun. I'm betting most college students would probably fail a pairwise class right now. I graduated four years ago, passed statistics, calc, and trig classes, and still can't comprehend the pairwise.

A couple of my fellow sioux fan pals hate the fact that UND consistently goes and plays top ranked non conference opponents like Cornell, or Miami. I love the fact that they play these teams and hope they continue to do so. In the future I'd love to see them get a series against Michigan, or get another one against BC. Doesn't BU come to the Ralph next season some time?

I'll tell you one thing, if you've got guys like Cichy, Bruneteau, and Toews battling for the last spot, only good things can come out of that. I think those guys would see a regular shift with a lot of teams, and if any guy goes down any of them can step into a role and produce. Anybody think that Dell will see a game this weekend? I have a feeling if the sioux win Friday night that Dell will get the nod on Saturday. My heart tells me though that its all Eidsness all the time from here on out.

The Sioux need to keep up the momentum this weekend. After going through a strech of seven games where they were 1-6, they can turn that stat around with a 7-0 stretch heading into the postseason, and hopefully 9-0 going into the final five. Regardless, if they sweep this weekend they'll have 20 wins going into the postseason, and I have no idea how the NCAA could keep a team with 20 wins out of the postseason, even if the Sioux didn't make the final five.

Here is how I have things working out: 1. Denver-Splits with CC 2. Wisconsin -Splits with Goldy 3. SCSU-Splits with Mankato 4. Duluth-Sweeps UAA 5. UND-Sweeps Tech 6. CC 7. UM 8. Mankato 9. UAA 10. Tech I don't think Denver will sweep CC this weekend, as they have already wrapped up the league, and CC is almost due for a win eventually. The Sioux will most likely sweep Tech, but I don't think that Duluth loses in Anchorage either. Goldy will play Bucky tough, but that series will end in a split. And SCSU and Kato will both win their home games....but hey, go Cows! Lets all be happy the sioux got home ice! Any team that comes into the Ralph and takes two of three deserves to be at the X instead of the Sioux.

Completely agree with this statement. For the last twenty years it seems as if the state tournament has been an add on of the EDC tournament. I attended all the games yesterday and they were all fair outcomes. BHS played horribly (Peluso even admitted it) and got by a West Fargo team that beat Red River. Williston's goaltender probably stole them a game, but they did stand up and play toe to toe with South all game long. Century dominated Grafton, and they were almost on the wrong end of the scoreboard as Offutt (I think thats his name) stood on his head the entire game. Central will win the state championship, but hopefully this is a sign that there is a bit more parity in the state. A team to look out for next year (other than Central) is Bismarck Century. They have a ton of underclassmen with a lot of skill. After Central, I thought they were the best puck control team yesterday, and the second best skating team after Central as well. Today's Predictions: Central over BC 5-1 BHS over Williston 3-2 OT

I am very excited for the tournament this year. Central will hands down win the championship, but its great that you see schools like West Fargo and Bottineau making the tournament. Besides the Central vs. Bottineau game, you could argue that this should be one of the best first rounds in state tournament history. Bismarck vs. West Fargo is anyone's guess, Williston vs. Fargo South should be good, and Grafton and Bismarck Century should be a good late game as well. Congrats to Bottineau! They will lose to Central, but its great for those kids to take the trip to the Ralph!

Great weekend for the sioux! All the cards went the right direction. The sioux win three of their last four and they've got home ice in the playoffs. I knew that the gophs would take it to CC this weekend, just had that feeling.... Must split at CC! Must split at CC!!!!!

5-2 Gophers in the third period....good for the Sioux.

So far so good! The Sioux win tonight and the gophs win tonight and things will be looking good for the sioux! All they'd need is a split next weekend then and a sweep over Tech at home. No Way CC sweeps DU...no way.

Ohh come on, if its good for the sioux its good for me. The gophers need to sweep C.C. for the sioux to get home ice. I don't think C.C. is that great of a team, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if the goofs put it together at home for a weekend. Sioux Sweep, Gophs Sweep! It could happen!

I'm anxious for this series to get going. UND needs some help from the goofs, but I think they'll get it. If the Sioux get a sweep this weekend and the gophs get a sweep we've got a tie ball game going into Colorado Springs next weekend. It may seem like a bit of a longshot, but the sioux are very capable of getting home ice in the playoffs.....maybe they'll get a home series against the gophs.

Regardless of who starts both guys need to be ready to go. Dell and Eidsness both need to prepare like they'll be in the net any time the sioux strap it on. I'll use the old adage that both are simply a heartbeat away from being the guy in the game at any point in time. I think you start Dell on Friday night and then give Eidsness Saturday night against DU. Hopefully both guys give UND a great chance to win both games. The Sioux can ill afford to drop any more conference games, and it all starts in the net. You can't beat the #1 team in the nation with cheap goals. Cheverie won't give up any freebies for DU, and our goalies need the same type of performance.

I think the first period on Friday night is HUGE. If the Sioux come out and play the body and take it to the pios and get a couple of early goals it could be a great weekend. If they sit back and let Gwoz work the officials they could easily get swept at home. This is a big weekend for Hakstol as well. He can't let Gwoz work over the officials the way he does. Every time Gwoz tries to pull his normal crap Hak has to have his word with them as well or it will be the same old same old 5 DU powerplays in a row. Its good to see Eidsness get back on track and hopefully he's ready to go for the postseason run. He needs to be our best player over the last two months of the season for something special to happen.