I Ranger

This is certainly a set-back especially so late. I think this puts some pressure on Hak and the boys to find some blue-chip forwards for next year with this spot opening up and only two forwards committed for next year with both being young guys who could be pushed back to juniors. I'm not sure who is out there for forwards but they are sure going to have to find a few. Probably a d-men or two as well with only Schmaltz committed for next year. Hard to believe it wasn't that long ago where we were having discussions on this board about who would possibly be the forward held back to play another year of juniors and now we don't have enough forwards coming in.

I agree and from everything they have said they want nothing to do with leaving their current conference. I never understand why Air Force always gets brought up on this board as this great hockey team that should be invited into power conferences. I don't see any reason why they would ever want to join a conference where finishing anywhere but last would be a good season for them. They have had a few decent seasons recently but would be Michigan Tech like in a normal conference. I guess I've never really understood the love fest for them on this board. Maybe I'm missing something.

And Simpson is not 6' 5" unless he grew 4 inches this summer.

I'm thinking we may have some scholarship money opened up now with Bruno and Cichy transferring. We certainly need to bring in another forward to hit the magic number of 15.

I agree with you here that we need to bring in another forward (assuming/hoping Gregoire stays) and I don't think it will be Matteau or Koules early. I'm thinking it will be someone ala Davidson or Dickey. It sure would be nice to have Cichy around for depth but obviously he didn't want that role. Here is how I see things now: Gregoire-Knight-Kristo Miller-Nelson-Grimaldi O'Donnel-Rowney-Macmillian St. Clair-Lammy-Rodwell Parks or Dickey could be slot in on the third or fourth lines as well.

I believe yesterday was the beginning of the 2011-2012 season according to Hak per his last press conference with the start of off-seaon workouts. Sounds like Brock skated today and feels good which is huge since he needs to put in a full summer of lifting to put on some much needed strength and some beef. Hopefully Gregoire is there with them as well.

Article on Henrik Samuelsson and no mention of interest in UND. He mentions he is going the NCAA route but doesn't list UND in schools he is interested in. Not sure if the link will work as I have never posted a link on here before. http://dansallows.com/interview-henrik-samuelsson/

My bracket is crap. 0 for 4 on the frozen four and I couldn't be happier!

Having Mac on the ice with the Frattin line but not wanting Genoway is going to be tough since they are paired together and I don't see that changing this weekend. In my opinion since Genoway has come back from the knee injury he has been terrific and hasn't seemed to be trying to do too much and letting things come to him.

I'll roll with Gregoire today.

Don't forget Parks and St. Clair as well. I think at least one of the six will probably be held back for another year of juniors but have no idea which one that might be. I was actually thinking O'Donnell might be the one but have no inside info behind the guess other than this is his first year playing in the BCHL.

Brian Cooper of the Fargo Force committed to UNO. I think UND was interested but I heard he was deciding between UNO and Minnesota but don't quote me on that. With Blais at UNO, they are starting to be a real competitor on and off the ice.

Friday-Malone Saturday-Gregoire

I sure hope they put Marto back at D. If you noticed at the end of the game saturday night when the Sioux were up by 1, Marto was playing D with MacWilliam and the other pairing playing was Genoway and Blood. I liked the idea of Marto at forward with the forward injuries but now that we are healthy I think the Marto at forward experiment needs to end. With those two pairings at the end of the game saturday, you are basically saying that we have either our 3rd or 4th D-man playing forward rather than D. I think we need to roll Genoway-Mac, Blood-Forbort and Marto-LaPoint from here on out or at least come playoff time.

I'll go Gregoire for Friday and Frattin for Saturday.

Trupp

Looks like some things are already starting to fall into place for next year. Heisenberg has Danny Mattson commiting to Bemidji State as of today. Wonder if this is a similar situation to Mike Fink.

I'm with you here. He does many things that the common fan may not notice and like you said is always great on the PK and is a great setup man for Frattin. He is definitely fun to watch.

Knight

Also, Mike Parks for next year at forward. I was thinking that O'Donnel was the most logical one to hold back but it sounds like he has been ripping it up as of late. I sure hope we get a d-man for next year shortly. I'm suprised we haven't heard of anybody on the D side as of yet. Only Mattson for next year so far.

I will be in Duluth for the opening of the new rink. I got my tickets through a Bulldog sesason ticket holder. He could get tickets a while back and ordered 6 extras. Nice to know a few season ticket holders for the Dogs.

Thanks for the help. I will look for tickets in those sections.

Anybody know much about the Mankato arena? I am looking at tickets right now and plan on ordering either tonight or tomorrow. The best available are 100 level tickets but those seem to be too low for my liking. I would rather be up in the 300 level than too far down. Any recommendations?

Looks like we have a new recruit. According to Heisenberg, Pelnik from the Carolina U16 committed. No clue who he is or even what league he plays in. Looks like he is a 6-3 defenseman. A 95 birth year so he is 15 years old. Plays Tier I midget according to Heisenberg's site.