sagard

Honest question here. I didn't get home until the third period both nights and didn't choose to watch closely for some reason. From this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOITMukHhmQ At the 1:00 minute mark you see Trupp doubled over, at 1:06 you clearly see #12 Lucia standing on the bench looking along with the rest of his team down on Trupp. Did Lucia really spear Trupp and then jump off as if nothing happened?

Thanks for the vids Jim. Get used to it again UND fans. You kick a teams ass all weekend combined with old school WCHA reffing your boys are going to face a ton of stick work the rest of the way. Jones was hilarious. These guys are nasty and cheap especially when getting pounded all weekend. No shocking result there. Again get used to it. It's part of hockey like it or not.

It doesn't really matter if the guys were a little fatigued or not. I don't see any circumstances the way the games were played that Gophers leave town with a point. If the Gophers and Sioux meet up at the X or in the regional they will get rolled again unless all 20 of them can match the intensity of the Sioux. Great weekend for the Sioux, plenty of time to recover from it for the Gophers.

Great weekend for you guys. Hopefully Gophers show up next time we face off. I think there will be at least one more match either at the X or at Mariucci.

I have absolutely no problems with you firing Hakstol. Especially in light of this weekend.

You guys are seriously complaining on a night when you chased our best player from the game after a touchdown? Outshot and outplayed the Gophers and basically made my guys look like mites? Take it for what it was Hextall got under the Gophers skin and drew the Gophers best forward into stupid penalties.

Nice work by your guys tonight, don't think I'm going to need to watch those first to periods on the DVR. Hopefully the Gophers show up tomorrow.

Hardly surprising from Wooger. I hope the players don't make excuses for their efforts. Maybe my guys should try three defensemen on the PP.

Isn't it time for a game thread?

"crush" "team"

I'm guessing PA will get Hakstol and Hill/Hastings on the air and waste their time with some stupid questions. KFAN has shown they have no great hockey minds so I would expect the only interesting part might occur during a coach conversation.

Kind of like the Sioux are known for delivering blind side crosschecks right?

I've heard once or twice that you need the best available recruit no matter where they are from and I bet JL would get those kids to play some defense.

I think the US needs to get it's own house in order before worrying about the sissy Euros. Probably time for a five year stretch of hard ass coaches. Maybe we could lure Lemaire into coaching the team after he retires from the Wild.

Seems to me like the boys in green got knocked around all weekend last time the Gophers came to Grand Forks. Gave me a lot of false hope about last year. The Gophers have some size and some crazy up front this year. I'm thinking the fight is going to be in the Sioux end this time around. If it's light weights I'm guessing Carmen, if it's the big boys Flynn will the guy. Let's just hope it's not a Barribal/Duncan tilt.

Miami was VERY good last year. They were the only team that challenged BC and really should have beaten them in the regional.

You guys could also go the other way and wish Coach Lucia well. Guaranteed to be on TV.

The US coulda beat them, but they weren't prepared for success and gagged. The Russians shoulda beat them, but thank goodness for small favors. Nice work by the Canucks again. Try again next year.

The question is whether or not the U17 and U18 programs need to exist or would the money be better spent trying to make the USHL better or the moving the NAHL to TierI. Truthfully I'd be OK with a few more years of USNDPT if they would work harder to get the elite level US coaches to take turns or --gasp-- get some Canadian help running the show. I'd much prefer they work with the college system and work to get guys like Eaves, Lucia, Red, York, Parker, etc... I'd like to see this approach tried more frequently unless the college coaches don't want any part of it. Canada doesn't have this issue because they have overwhelming numbers and talent and comparisons to their tryout evals aren't really fair. On good years the US may be close to matching them on the top two lines. But most years Canada will be better on the top and deeper so they can really run a tryout anyway they want and they will still have a better team. It isn't their system that gives them a better team, it is their better players. Almost every year Canada is a lot better on the blue line and in nets than the US. Losing to them hurts, but really can't be a surprise. The games that I struggle with are getting blown out by the Russians, tying the Swiss, getting worked by the Slovaks.

The non-support against the Russians is weird. Against anyone else I can see it. I realize the US won't ever dominate in Hockey. However the program should have goals and be accountable for reaching them. For the WJC I truly believe they should be playing in the Gold Medal game once every three years and pulling down the championship when the opportunity presents itself. Right now all I see out of USA Hockey is them patting themselves on the back when one of their program kids makes the NHL.

That is typical WCHA refs for you. Kangas has been called on it this year putting the Gophers two men down, I figured that is just how WCHA refs roll.

They have 20 guys dressing per game. Something should have happened to Tavares or Eberle after JVR got decked. Let their pest have his fun, if he is going to wreck one of our top guys their top guys have to pay the price. It's ugly, but it's how you win. Not sure USA Hockey has the stomach to attempt to win at all costs every year. You know your in trouble when Frazee has been your best and most clutch goalie in the last five years. Just watch the Canada/Russia highlights again and Russia#3 not only fubar'd the tying goal, but he deflected one in past his goalie earlier as well. Ouch.

He had a nice tourney, I can't deny it. I just couldn't help feeling they were cooked when he was sitting there on the bench with his ice pack. You don't have to fight, you just have to do some really cheap **** to their players. Not the sissy slashes and pushing our guys were doing.

JVR is a huge WJC disappointment for me. His getting decked and nobody retalliating against Tavares turned the entire tourney around for both teams. And thanks to USA Hockey to pick Buffalo for the '09 WJC instead of trying to put it in a town that would get some support for the US kids. They are going to be facing hostile crowds in their own country. Ridiculous.

It sounds like the whole holier-than-thou argument UND fans pull on the Gophers fans. I have to live with sucky US hockey and you have to live with cheering for the Russians. I'm still pulling for Canada tomorrow night.