ND Pride

Well, the kids who play these games, especially the top players from different schools are team mates in the off season for select teams and also on some AAA teams. I think eveyone just wants to see good hockey and let the best team win. I do not believe in any Grand Forks conspiracy type of garbage. There are good and balanced refs all over - but there are some that are simply poor. I think any hometown team could come up with one or more hometown refs that they would not like to have. My opinion is simply that it was a terrible job. There is a lot more behind these penalties and I was told that the ref apologized after the game for a penalty he called. The game is for the kids, lets get officials who have that level of professionalism as a priority. Congrats to all of the teams and good luck at state.

I saw that North/Red River game too and I think that it was a terrible job by the ref. It was not just North or Fargo people either who came to that same conclusion. They should have refs from other parts of the state in these situations. There were some Grand Forks people who were sympathetic as well.

South beat Grafton 3-2 in double OT. Any thoughts on the Saturday games? Central/West Fargo was a clear decision but the Red River/North game was interesting with North leading 2-0 into the third period. Any thoughts on how that third period unfolded? How about the South/Grafton game? South outshot them but had to take it into ovetime to win. How did the refereeing look over the tournament?

South beat Central 2-0 and Grafton beat Red River 2-0 as well.

South played on Friday at 5:30. The last I heard it was 2-0 South over Central with 2 minutes left in the game. Any other scores from the West or Grafton/Red River to share?

Today North beat Shanley 5-3 and West Fargo beat Jamestown 3-2. North had some trouble putting Shanley away. The North goalie, Justin Welk, came up with some huge saves when Stensgaard got through on a couple of breakaways. The game was choppy at times and each team had some penalties that hurt their momentum. The West Fargo/Jamestown game was fairly good with some nice intensity probably a carry over from their last one goal encounter. Thursday's North/Central game was interesting. Some fans felt North outplayed Central in the first period but 4 penalties in that period hurt North. Marto scored with a 5 on 3 advantage after making some nice moves. North shut down the Central power play with high energy and good defense for the most part early, with the exception of the 5 on 3, but Central adjusted and actually finished with 3 power play goals. Should be some great hockey later today and Saturday. There have been a suprising number of junior scouts around the rink today and yesterday.

Red River beat West Fargo 6-0 Grafton beat Jamestown 8-2 Out west Minot beat Dickinson something like 11-0 and Mandan beat Bismarck Century. I think the Mandan score was 5-2 or 5-3.

So, who will advance from the west? Clearly, Minot is the no-brainer pick but after that it is not so clear. I'd like to say Bismarck High as the #2 team but they lost both WDC games to Hazen Beulah and also lost to Williston near the end of the season. Mandan beat Bismarck High and Century but Mandan lost both games to Williston. Who can you trust out there? Maybe the western teams have figured out how to stop Charlie Bair. If that is the case then the easy call is the top four seeds all advancing but as far as West Region finish I'd pick Minot first and it's a coin toss from there on how Bismarck, Century and Williston will finish up. Any other thoughts on the West or East?

He moved back to his hometown (Duluth, Minnesota) quite a few years ago.

South beat Shanley 12-1 late in January - not sure how interesting a rematch in the East Region will be. Shanley had an entirely different level of team last year. As far as South and a western team - if South finishes 1 or 2 in the East Region Tournament I would expect them to handle their western opponent without too much trouble. If they slip in the East region, which I doubt, and finish 3rd or 4th it would be tougher to open at state against a team like Bismarck High and especially Minot. Should be an interesting conclusion to the 04-05 hockey season.

I'm sorry to say but all the talk about this mandan kid (Charlie Bair) is BS if you ask me. I bought into all the talk myself until I saw him play a couple weeks back. Considering Mandan's schedule scoring as many goals as he has wouldnt be as hard as you may think. Mandan has a very weak schedule. Granted it does take some skill to score that many goals regardless.. I just believe that there are about at least a dozen players in the East that outplay him in a heartbeat. But thats just my opinion <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We have heard opinions about who the best players are in the state but are their any opinions on the most under rated players in the East Region?

He played on Thursday, February 3rd against North.

I have to agree. They have some players and they work hard. Ritchie is having a good season and so is Welding. They could upset someone in the East Region Tournament but with a trip to state on the line all of the teams should be focused and the top 4 or 5 teams have more depth. In high school sports, however, anything can happen.

Interesting outcome tonight as West Fargo lost to South 2-1 - maybe they are more capable than I gave them credit for although they lost to North 6-2 in the Coliseum a week ago. Did anyone see the WF/South game and have comments? I would have to say, looks as though South and Red River are the top teams in the east but Central is coming on with their win over Red River and North. Minot established more credibility with their win over Grafton tonight as well. Also, Charlie Bair picked up 4 goals and two assists against a weak Dickinson team yesterday. The kid can play but the bottom half of the west is a struggling group and the right kind of player can pile up the points out there. The East Region tournament is going to be a tough tournament this year - will be interesting to see which teams can put three good games together.

Your possible upsets could happen but I do not think West Fargo or Jamestown could sustain a high level of play for the full three game tournament. We will know in a couple of weeks. South and maybe Red River will be the teams that should advance with a dogfight between Central, Grafton, and North for the remainaing spots. There are a lot of variables in determining who will advance to state including game coaching, a hot goalie, and depth at defense and forwards. It could come down to discipline - which teams spend the least time in the box. I think this year it is extremely difficult to predict because no single team or group of teams have clearly established themselves as dominant over the entire season.

South beat Grafton tonight 2-0 and Central beat Red River. North took care of West Fargo 6-2. The last two weeks of the regular season should be interesting. Looks as though South and Minot are in the driver's seat right now.

Your assessment of Charlie Bair is pretty good. I watched him most of the game focusing first on his skating. He is fairly smooth, good speed, and has nice lateral movement and transitions. He is about 5'9 and 155 or so and runs track and cross country according to his coach so has not had an opportunity or desire to add weight. In summary I thought he was a very good skater. Regarding physical play he is average. I watched that closely and I did not see him initiate any contact but then his role is clearly to score and he does a lot of it. I expected West Fargo to focus on him given his scoring success so far this season. I don't know if they did or not - they did hit him hard a few times knocking him down at least twice - but - he still scored 4 goals. Jack you might be a little hard on him defensively - he did make some nice defensive plays - some poke checks - good coverage on the penalty kill, etc. But I agree with you somewhat - that is not his strength - but I think on that team again the kid can score and that is his role. You are right, at the next level he would need to improve in that category. Bair has good hands. He passes well and receives the puck well. His stickhandling skills seem to be way above average. The kid also has a sense about scoring - as #1 Sioux fan says - he must have had 20 shots himself. A scorer should have a lot of shots. He also knows when to shoot and does not hold the puck until everyone on the ice and in the arena knows that a shot is coming. He has a quick release. Overall, I was impressed with him and he exceeded my expectations. The kid was fun to watch and his team mate Montplaisir had some great passes. If Charlie adds some weight and strength and improves physical and defensive play as Jack says he will be a good candidate for a junior team somewhere. West Fargo played a nice game too. It was one of the more exciting high school games that I have seen this season. Trevor Anderson for West Fargo had a nice game. I'll add him to my list of defensemen to watch in the East Region along with the others mentioned in a previous post.