Just Curious

Come on people. We are getting our butts handed to us by a group of people who don't deserve it. How do Nebraska-Omahd players have some of the top spots. They have a cake schedule compared to WCHA teams. We should put forth a greater effort to ensure that the toughest conference in the league be represented in the top of the hobey voting. With the number of people on this forum alone, we should have some contenders in at least the top ten.

Nothing really new on the NDSU front. The talk was earlier in the year and has since died down a bit. I know there are many people involved with the club team that are very eager to go DI and I would not be surprised that if funding goes well for the next few years, a vote would be forth coming. I think alot depends on how they finish this year, if they make the playoffs I could see the issue coming up again next year, if not, maybe in 2 or 3 years.

There has been alot of talk here at NDSU (yes, I go to this hated university, but am a die hard Sioux fan, so give me a break) about going to D1 hockey. The club team has made huge strides between its first and second seasons and actually pulled in some decent recruits away from other club teams (Minot namely). I am personally split on it, although I did vote for NDSU. It would be nice to see the rivalry jump to a new sport, but although it would take NDSU 5-10 years to establish a decent program, local hockey talent would now be split about where to go. Its hard enough to keep local ND and MN kids around to play for UND instead of SCSU, U of M, etc. I think there would be a negative affect on both clubs adding another source for D1 hockey this close. I do like ISU, its a good school, but I don't think they are close to going DI in hockey.

Chris Vande Velde had a hat-trick in Lincoln's 8-1 win over Chicago Sunday night. He also had an assist. So, its good to see he had a good game, hopefully he starts to really pour it on for the second half of the season.

I thought it was great though that people finally started to admit that the Sioux play different based on you his in net. The stat showed during the game was closer than I expected, but when Phil is in net they only average 1.9 goals per game, while they average 4 when Parise is in net. I am not sure why. Maybe its some personality issues. Does anyone know any interworkings of the team? Does Phil get along with everyone? I can't explain it, maybe its a confidence issue, or conincidence. Until the whole team changes the way they play with Phil in the net, it will always influence on whether or not he will get the start. He played great all weekend, although he did get frustrated after awhile on Friday, but who wouldn't; your team playing like crap and you getting shell-shocked the whole game. I feel though, that if Parise had been healthy, Hakstol would not have hesitated to put him in on Saturday. I have always felt he was a excellent goaltender. Hopefully he will get his chances and the team will begin to step up for him.

Thanks for the sites. Sorry about the threads, I actually didn't think it posted either time. My page timed out and I just assumed it never made it up.

Does anyone have a good website for the WJC? I can find lots of sites with the results, but I was wondering if any sites had the box scores and stats. Thanks.

Does anyone have a good website for the WJC? I can find lots of sites with the results, but I was wondering if any sites had the box scores and stats. Thanks.

Not that this is a great article, but its good to see that Toews got a little bit more press than Kessel for once. http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/12/246712.html Either way, a more positive article for UND than the gophers. Hopefully the series will have the same outcome.

So, I am confused, but does anyone know why Vande Velde would be selected for the US Select U18 team and not the WJHC team? Does it have to do with age, talent, or status??

I would tend to agree with you, but there are several other factors that will have a bearing on how the season goes. The way the team is handled by the coaching staff will be crucial with so many young guys. I am NOT questioning the coaching staff or their ability, only stating that a young team will need a lot of guidance and will require work on team leadership, comradory, and motivation. While the defense is young, I think the goaltenders will have to step up in order to keep this team hanging on. Mistakes cannot be held against the young guys and the team needs to give eachother a chance. I think we are in for a great year, regardless of what place the team ends up in. I look forward to watching the team grow and talent develop.

So, maybe this was posted and I missed it, but it has been officially announced that he will be in the WHL. http://www.kelownarockets.com/pressrelease.asp?ID=298

I would have to agree. I was impressed with Hakstol's control over the team after the Bina injury. I fully expected Smaby to go out and kill someone, he had been very physical the last few weeks and since he had been partnered with Bina many times, you tend to think he took it a little harder. But, I think Dave calmed everyone and no on took a stupid penalty after it. I know personally I would have flown off the handle, but that was just me.

For those of you interested in the AHL ASG, here is a link to a short article: http://www.theahl.com/AHL/News/2005/02/14/930803.html I just talked to a friend who watched the game. He said both Parise and Bochenski looked really good. Parise took 2nd in the fastest skater competition. Bochenski had a goal, Parise had the assist on it. Side note: The Wilds recruit, Mikko Koivu, looked good also.

Actually I was talking about the Sioux Sports Network that picks up the games when FSSN does not. And this has been hit or miss this year, so I thought I would check. I guess it was too much trouble for everyone.

Does anyone know if the BSU series is going to be picked up by cable one this weekend???

I thought I would throw my two cents in at this point. I can agree with both sides to some degree here. I have been disappointed by the season so far, but I have the team set at pretty high standards, I think we all do. As for Hakstol, well its got to be tough. Assistant head coaches are typically the "good cop" in the good cop/bad cop routine. Blais was known for his paint peeling rants and for criticizing players. Hakstol was more than likely the guy who made peace afterward. Now reverse the situation, most of the upper classmen might have a hard time being afraid of someone who they used to see as the push over. This might explain the lack of motivation. If Hakstol has a hard time getting the upper classmen to respond the way he wants, that would trickle down into the rest of the team. I also think GF is quite the picky town. Hakstol is always under the microscope, having every decision criticized, and since Blais was so well liked, he might feel pressured to do some of the same things he did. I think in a few years, we will see what kind of coach Hakstol is. In fact a losing season might be good, it is a test to see what everyone is made of. I say, lets just enjoy hockey for the great sport it is for the rest of the season and see what becomes of it.

Offense is a good thing, but you know what......games are decided by both the offense and the defense. Last year UND could score 4-6 goals a game and if they gave up 3 or 4 they were still ok. This year they can only score 2 to 3, and when you give up that many or more a game then you don't win. I know that UND's offense is underproducing this year. They will take another year together I think before they really start clicking and produces big numbers, so until then the defense needs to step it up to help win games. The bottom line is, UND needs 2 goals to be enough in order to win, otherwise the playoffs won't last long. Shooting the puck helps, of course, but the defense in general needs to be working on moving their feet, getting into position, and stop getting beat to the puck. To help the offense they need to move the puck at the point better. Use each other as outlets, and stop hanging on to the puck so long. You guys have a point on taking shots, if the D would put more pucks on net, the rebounds would start to come and the goals will follow. But, to say hockey games are won be one-way hockey, is just not accurate. You have to play good two-way hockey to consistently win games, bottom line.

I haven't continued the conversation because I have been trying to decide what to say. I have gotten a few private messages that have occupied my time. I am sorry if people took the Smaby comment to heart, I am, but the bottom line is that there were several times where he was visibly gliding. I was brought up in a system where that got you benched in a hurry. I was never the best player out there, but I did always hustle and gave everything I had. It was a personal opinion. I was disappointed in their play, namely the amount of heart shown last night. Yes, there were people that played great and are very talented. My main point was that is people like Bina are going to play their butts off and pour there heart into the game, they should get more ice time and maybe the higher recruits will realize its time to step up.

I realize that the following statement is going to upset a whole lot of people, but after last night's game it needs to be said. Robbie Bina and the 4th line played better hockey than the rest of UND last night and yet most of those guys only get to dress for 50% of the games. I realize these players didn't put up big numbers, but they also didn't make a whole lot of mistakes and had some excellent opportunities. Bina, who has to split what little ice time he usually gets between wing and D, played outstanding. The one penalty he got was a weak call, he got alot of time on the power play and did a great job moving the puck, was praticallly flawless on defense, showed a tremendous amount of hustle. I hope the coaches saw what everybody else saw last night and finally give Bina a shot. I mean Smaby and Jones skated at half speed all night and ended up hurting the team. In my opinion, Bina is the best defensemen that UND has and with more ice time I think he would fullly develop. Same goes with last nights 4th line. I know some of them play on a regular basis, but not all of them. They are a good grind line. They back-checked very well, put alot of pressure on the forecheck, and actually had a tremendous amount of opportunities there in the second period.

As far as Sydney Crosby goes.............I don't think any school is going to be picking this kid up. He is in his second year of major juniors, which means he has lost 2 years of playing at the college level, plus the way he is going, if the NHL ever gets back in gear they will be trying to pull him in early. "Students who have played in Canadian Junior Leagues before their regular high school graduation year will lose one year of NCAA eligibility per year. Players who competed in major junior after their regular high school graduation year will lose a year of their college ice hockey eligibility, plus must sit out one season in residence per year." - pulled from http://athleticscholarships.net/icehockeyscholarships.htm So, as nice as it would be to get this kid playing at UND or the WCHA period, I don't see it happening.

I hate to bother everyone again, but I am in the process of making a hockey music cd for my outdoor games and I would like to put some songs on from the UND games. I got that Alan Parson's Project song, but what is the other one they play before the game starts. Its more upbeat, techno sounding?? Thanks for any help.

Thanks

So, I know this is going to seem like a silly question for this forum, but I just wanted to know if anyone knew the name(s) of the song(s) that the players come on to the ice to after the first warmup and right before the starting lineup is announced. Thanks