sagard

Does anyone know if the Fins and Swedes send their best players over during these summer tryouts?

Isn't Mitera likely a lock at the blueline as well?

I wouldn't read much into it. Neither are EJ or JJ. I'd say barring injury the US defensive core will look almost identical to last year.

My god a compliment from you and Sioux-Habit in the same decade. Is it the end of days?

GF will be flooded with resumes from dozens of current assistants in the college game. I'd suspect Hakstol will pick someone who has been doing a good job recruiting and is willing to hit the road. I'd be shocked if dozens of guys aren't be lining up for this opportunity.

Now that is a roster Kevin McHale would be proud of.

How does a team as terrible as the Blackhawks run out of cap space? Amazing..

I suspect both UND and the Gophs will be fine with or without Kessel or Toews. UW is my pick to win the league, but I'm sure either UND and/or the Gophs will be pressing them the whole way.

Are we arguing about domination or effort? I thought the effort was there both games and the Gophers had a nice edge the Maine game. The Cornell game was a toss up. The shots the Gophers did get weren't the same type of looks they had vs. Maine. Mostly perimeter garbage. You just keep wearing the Blue and Baby Blue when the Gophs face Maine OK?

Because Kessel talk can do only so much. http://www.jimsville.com/Images/060318UNDSTC/index.html From the picture that was posted last week it looks like Oshie has spent a bunch of time in the weight room this summer.

That's probably the nicest thing you've ever said about Lucia and the Gophs.

Could be. Could also be those games are symptoms not causes. UND in '05 closed 9-2-2 with losses only to DU who probably had the best single season team in my memory that year. I'm not trying to take anything from the UND effort that game. It was amazing. They were shorthanded, dealing with the Bina emergency and in their 3rd game of the weekend. UW last year could be a good example too. Their scorers had gone cold, but good old Kellen fixed them right up for playoffs. As for exactly what the right thing for us Gophs fans to do when we stink up the 3rd place game? I don't know. The game clearly matters. It may make no difference in seeding, like in '05, but it still needs to be played hard. Actually in '05 I thought the Gophers did play very well until the Spirko goal. Shaky tending but that really isn't a shocker. After UND got ahead they simply showed the Gophs what was in store for them in Columbus.

It is certainly understandable with the rock solid blueliners the Wild have had that Roche never got a legit shot. Hopefully Phoenix will get him a real shot.

I think the heat has gone and made everyone nutso. Without Kessel the Gophs finish 2nd or 3rd in WCHA last year and RP doesn't get the contract he did. I think it's pretty clear he is gone and I suspect will see 50+ NHL games next season.

It looks like a "+" sign with some scribbles around it. I probably could figure out what it says, but that would likely defeat all the therapy I went through this spring.

Nothing the Gophers do at the X will typically be good enough for the Sioux fans here. There really isn't a problem with that. The last three third place "Champs" at the X have made the Frozen Four! Cool. Of course up until that point only one 3rd place "champ" made it to the Frozen Four previously. CC in '97 for those who are really interested. The bottom line is that the Gophers have sucked at the X the last two years. One of those years (when Lucia apparently still knew how to coach) he was able to get them back into form a week later and they played hard at well all weekend vs. Maine and Cornell. The next season (when Lucia forgot what the heck he was doing) they got sucked into a tight game with Holy Cross and lost. The result of the Holy Cross game clearly wasn't because of a dozen stupid penalties and a goalie who had lost his edge, it was because of the way Lucia prepared them for the 3rd place UW game! This thread rocks. It's a Kessel thread that has wandered instead of vice versa!

You thought that was "brilliant!", I find it amazing how he as a know nothing 3rd Year coach in Fairbanks convinced the NCAA powers that be to cancel it in the season ending hockey tourney. Don't worry though. tDon convinced the rest of the clowns that the rotating schedule would be good for them and he'll eventually get his way here too. Of course the WCHA will just jack the price of the quarter final game to full rate so they don't lose out on any of the Final Five package money. It's all about Lucia. You beat him once, twice, or even several times. Heck even Holy Cross beat him. But eventually all will fall under his spell. Now that he's done with the Blues, I suspect he's trying some Jedi mindtrick stuff on the B's right now.

Can you all finally admit Kessel is anything but a "Mr. Media"? The guy is shy and doesn't communicate well. I want him to play for the Gophers and the US WJC team. Like Slap Shot, I won't be convinced he's playing for the Gophers until I see him in uniform.

Teams like UND/UM/UW don't plan on off years. Anything less than the Frozen Four is a disappointment if I'm a fan of any of those three heavyweights. I don't buy any of the talk. Toews is going to develop at either Norfolk or UND just fine. The question is simply whether Chicago wants to start his clock towards free agency. I still think Toews (and Kessel) are good enough to be top six forwards on their NHL teams and will neither will ever play in the AHL.

I guess I'm the fool who believed the UW fans when they all insisted the diver was the only one departing. I'll never understand why Pavelski didn't enter college in '03-'04.

Typically you need to have balance. The exception recently was the '03-'04 DU crew who really had Berkhoel. That was all they needed. UW was plenty good offensively much of the year last season. DU in '04-'05 lit teams up like Christmas trees, statistically they were #2 in the nation and #1 by a bunch in the WCHA on offense. Cornell and Maine have had recent teams that were brilliant defensively, but couldn't muster anything offensively when they needed it.

I'm pleased. The US WJC team should be VERY good if a goalie can step in and play well. The Gophers need someone big and hopefully nasty as well.

We are all so busy watching and teasing each other, while UW just sits back and laughs as they appear to only be losing Earl. A healthy Chucko would help the Gophers. They are looking to me to be a little soft next year even by their standards. Does anyone think either the Gophers or Sioux are done losing players yet? I'm putting the over/under at three more from the Gophs/Sioux combined.

We Gophers fans didn't see Parise's best hockey. He had a bad weekend vs. the Gophers in Grand Forks and was hurt while the Mariucci series was played. It is my opinion that Parise made a huge stride during the '05-'06 season. From listening to many Sioux radio broadcasts it seemed like he was under constant pressure this year. His save percentage went significantly up, despite facing far more shots per game and no doubt far more quality shots per game. He seemed to flop around quite a bit in the past, but I wish Briggs would flop at times because that would mean he at least knew where the puck was.

Good luck to Parise. If he can improve his game one more time like he did between his Sophomore and Junior years he will get NHL ice time.