Five-HoleFrenzy

Maybe not who you think unless your thinking of the Titanic's downfall.

"Joined: 09 Jan 2004 Posts: 2820 Location: Maplewood" This is a certain GPL posters info which would be a dead givaway that limited mouse clicks and/or keystrokes would have been required to reproduce the lists.

Nice article but I couldn't help thinking that this guy hasn't seen rivals match up in the WCHA otherwise this game wouldn't have seemed like the exception.

Looking at the road that North Dakota had to take to win a championship it was going to be a difficult task. First round game with Michigan that was frankly pretty ugly, Battle with Minnesota to come out of the region that was a tough game. Matchup with BC in the semi-final that was as hot as any team including the Sioux down the stretch. I think it caught up with North Dakota a bit. Contrast that to what could have been had North Dakota been seeded in the East region with Clarkson ,Maine, and UMass like St Cloud was or the Mid West with Notre Dame, BU, Michigan State. I think North Dakota would be sitting right now waiting for a championship matchup with either BC or Minnesota had that happened. Certainly some if, ands, and buts but it is kind of sad to see the championship go to someone other than a WCHA team.

I'm surprised Brock Trotter was not mentioned as he would be a great addition to any of the teams. In fact I would take Denver players like Ruegsegger, Rakshani, Corbin, May, or Veideman over most of the EZAC, CHA, or Atlantic Hockey players they picked.

FWIW I apologize for posters that come on here with no class. I would just like to say that for me, it was a privilege to watch the game tonight. This is why I am a College hockey fan and in particular, a WCHA hockey fan. I tip my cap to North Dakota for turning their season around and becoming one of the best teams, if not the best team in the country down the stretch. Good luck in the NCAAs

So LC, are you saying that Minnesota has had a difficult schedule? Granted they have played ranked teams but they have had favorable circumstances in when and where they have played them. Colorado at home and playing with the flu bug going through there team. Michigan and Michigan State in the Showcase at home where Mich and Mich State had a rivalry game mid week. Wisconsin at home with key players out of the lineup. Maine at the X which is a virtual home game. Wayne State and Ohio State as non-conference foes...Enough said. So far No UND, No Denver, and no UAA trip which is never easy. They have put up a nice record so far but we will see how it holds up after the first of the year.

7>5 might not be so far off. UNH and Notre Dame have played very well as of late and UNH is probably the best team right now. Notre Dame is kind of in the same boat as Minnesota as they haven't had a difficult schedule but I think their defense/goaltending is probably better than Minnesota. So you could argue that Minnesota, right now, is 3rd best with the caveat that UMN is still the only 1 loss team Another thing to consider for the rest of the season is what affect the World Jrs will have on Minnesota. Having 5 players taken makes for some interesting possibilities like injuries, freshmen hitting the wall, lineup instability. We will see how good Minnesota's depth is come January.

This is a good question and I think that for as much as Motzko is an improvement over Dahl they face an uphill battle to keep up with North Dakota, Wisconsin, Denver, CC, and Minnesota. Just looking at UND's and Wisconsin's recruiting classes for the next couple of years they are reloading in a big way. Minnesota and Denver are maybe just a tad behind but certainly not too shabby. CC is probably the worst (On paper) of these 5 but they still have some very skilled players lined up as well. This is what SCSU is up against in my opinion. Without top flight goaltending such as they have now they will struggle to finish in the top 5 consistently.

Bozak committed to Denver I believe...

Yes, records for the last ten years (Statistics from Hockeydb.com) so that would be the seasons from 96/97 through last season. If you look at the records it is pretty easy to see where the difference of 30 wins is. Woog's last two seasons were 17-22-0 and 15-19-9 and Lucia's first season was 20-19 whereas North Dakota had 1 sub-par season, 2000/2001, when they were 16-19-2 Also of note is expanding the records to 15 years and 20 years. Then the totals look a bit different if my math is correct: 15 years Minnesota - 383 wins North Dakota - 356 wins 20 years Minnesota - 543wins North Dakota - 491 wins The thing that I look at as significant is the major change that took place, from a coaching standpoint, in both programs. Gasparini's last years were a tough time in Sioux history as was Woog's last years for the Gophers.

I know you included the J/K but as I did the math off the hockeydb site that thought crossed my mind about the difference in competetion between the CCHA and the WCHA. If my math is correct here are the numbers: Michigan - 286 wins North Dakota - 279 wins Minnesota - 249 wins (just for grins, if someone wants to they can start a 279 > 249 bit) That is a good question about recruits and It's obvious that the results on the ice for the WCHA indicate that there is a recruiting advantage for the reasons you mentioned.

You are close but I believe Michigan has the most wins dating back the last 10 years.

It could very well be that "here" is between locogopher's chair and his keyboard

"Mission Statement: Thank you for checking out my NHL Entry Draft Preview. This is my third annual draft preview, and this one should be the best yet. I have several years of experience scouting amateur hockey players and projecting their ability to make the NHL. I currently scout for McKeen

"No doubt that Triouxper is awfully harsh, but you came to the Sioux board and started this." Not that it really matters but no he didn't. He just swallowed the bait. Spirko?

Exactly how did a thread about Spirko get off into yet another Kessel tug of war? SSDD. Hey give em their due, no matter how old their routine gets they still managed to hook a couple of gopher posters.

Interesting as this is somewhat comparable to comments made by Grant Potulny after Minnesota completed their back to back titles in Buffalo. Three peat after winning two titles is maybe a little more believable than a statement after winning one and that did not come to fruition. Another example is Denver after last year with how well Fischer and Mannino were playing plus having Carle back and a host of talented forwards. You could have easily predicted a three peat for Denver and as it turns out they didn't even make the NCAAs. Better to keep the pie-hole shut and not create bulletin board material for your opponets but given that, thank you Adam Burish for adding to the already large target on Bucky's back for the rest of the WCHA.

Good effort to come back by UND. Goaltending let you down unfortunately but congratulations on a very good season. UND will be even better next year.

I used the term sham earlier in the week and now you see there was some truth to it. Actually calling them a sham is not giving Holy Cross the credit they deserve for their effort tonight. As embarrassed as I am by the Minnesota performance I will say congratulations to Holy Cross. I also want to wish good luck to the Sioux tonight. Please restore some pride for the WCHA.

Michigan has some talented forwards but they have less firepower than most of the top WCHA teams. Their defense is prone to turnovers with forchecking pressure and their goaltending is not good enough to overcome those mistakes. That should mean about 5 goals for UND. Michigan will maybe score 3 goals against Parise and that is only if Parise has a average game. 5 to 3 for UND...It even rhymes

Sandbagging? Perhaps but after watching Briggs, Frazee, and the defensemen this weekend the Gophers CURRENTLY are a house of cards. Having seen a few Michigan games on the dish this year they have had the same problems with very little defense and poor goaltending.

With the tables turned on two of the most privileged hockey programs as far as home ice regionals, UND will end Michigan's season with ease. The only question that would remain is if UND even gets a chance to end Minnesota's season. If they do get that chance they will end Minnesota's as well. North Dakota has the two big M schools in name only. Both will be exposed as the shams that they currently are after next weekend.

So is this something like the "Don't tell me what to do" punchline you used earlier? Cause if it is I must be missing it although I am amazed at how well you know me. For the topic at hand. To earn some brownie points with some of my friends in the Twin Cities who are Sioux supporters (but obviously not big enough ones since they tolerate me) give the ROY to none other than...T.J. OSHIE!