sagard

Gopher Puck Live had to remove all it's highlights that came from Fox. Fox had sent a letter threatening legal action if the video clips were not removed. Very heavy handed group.

I think it just plain stinks for the player and I wish him the best in his recovery. I personally side with the group that believes mask or a minimum of eye protection should be required. That way players don't have to pay for their own machismo actions. I could live with NHL players going maskless because almost every NHL player is good enough to control their sticks at almost all times. In all lower levels the players need to be protected from themselves. A situation like Nicks should have been avoidable. This tells me that these injuries just aren't uncommon enough to continue going on as is.

Wow. ZP is finally a Rodent.

Sadly they were bookended by 4-2 losses, but the OT goals in the Regional for the Gophers were extremely fun. The whole third period of the Maine game I was dreading having to sit through a Maine/Cornell regional final. Irmen's third period penalty shot against UW and Tallackson last minute winner @ UW stand out as well.

Smaby is tough. He put Grant P. out for several weeks with a hit at Mariucci as well.

"Dad- that guy in the grey shirt said the Green shirts always win against the Gophers. I thought the Gophers always win?" -dagard - age 4.

It was a good thread, but now your just crowing like an SCSU fan.

Now now. There was only one "savior" that played college hockey. Though he only had a brief time in Grand Forks, he did leave his brother and many friends to carry on his work. As for Kessel saving the Gophers? They weren't a bad team last year, I'd say it's more hope that he will give them the instant offense factor that Vanek gave them in his brief stay. But I'm sure your right about many Gophs fans going over the top about him.

First of all, Minnesota and DU had fairly successful post seasons and certainly both relied on defensemen to create offense at times. DU's pair of Skinner and Carle are very similar to the Leopold/Martin combination the Gophers enjoyed for a season. Spectacular at both ends. I think you underestimate how good the Gophers were defensively this past season. Their GAA went down almost a third of a goal per game from '03-'04 and was actually almost a quarter of a goal less than either of the their recent championship teams. UND was far superior physically and really superior in all aspects than the Gophers at the end of the season. Of course there was probably only two additional teams who were also better than the Gophers, three if you count Michigan. The Gophers problem this season was truly at the offensive side of the rink. They were down three quarters of goal per game from the '02-'03 champions and very nearly full goal per game from the '01-'02 champs. I'm convinced they will never be that great in nets and they need the high powered offense to make up for the goals they give up. I don't think many fans that pay attention will ever discount UND and their recruits. One thing I don't quite understand though is if Kessel and Toews are the same caliber player and same age, why Toews would be assumed to have a longer college career? It seems like Parise and Vanek, they are both probably two year players. Both should be awesome to watch and the vile red neighbors to the east have to be seathing as I think they were highly interested in both players. If the Gophers recruits perform close to their expectations, the Gophers will be good enough to win the NCAA's if they get the bounces. This season they got several breaks/bounces (mainly backing into the last #1, playing at home, and of course the two OT games in the regional) and still really weren't that close. I actually think UND will be better next year than this whether or not Greene stays or leaves. Stafford, Zajac, Murray and Spirko gives them better returning forwards than just about everyone. The goaltending is in fine shape and the improved offense will allow the new defensemen to adjust to the college pace without having to be perfect. As much as I'd like to think the title is between the Gophers and UND, those freakin' Colorado teams look to be pretty darn good next season as well.

Wow. You make me feel like the team I root for will have little chance against the Sioux in the coming years with the group of defense they currently have. Of course I'm sure none of the three Sioux freshmen defensemen will wear down next season, and definetly not at the end of the year at the Frozen Four when they are playing the best teams who are playing their best. I think you are right on with Lee though, he seems to be very calm when he has the puck and able to make good passes or take the hard shot when he is the open player.

I think his performance indicates UW and Mich State should have worked harder in hiring him instead of their current coaches. I don't really care for him either but DU after starting 5-5 closed the year on a Cornellesque of 27-4-2 run against slightly stiffer competition.

I think most who follow this stuff closely expected Zajac to do better than Chucko this year, and likely next year as well. Next year I'm hoping Chucko turn into a 30-35 point player and give the Gophers the physical presence that they desparately need against WCHA opponents. Year three is where I think Chucko will outperform Zajac, simply due to Zajac will not likely still be playing college hockey. Kind of like how Sertich/Guathier/Sterling drastically out performed Parise and Vanek this year.

I'm sure that depends on who you ask. I don't think there is anything wrong with it either way. The plays that are obvious in real time often get called. Tallackson for sure got nailed for this several times this year, but subtlety isn't exactly his strong suit.

Picks in hockey are part of the game, always have been and always will be. Referees are put in a tough position by having to decide whether or not the offensive player cross the line into interference or if they are just battling for position. In the Gophers case Irmen was in fact sent to the box (correctly) for basically setting a pick on a UND player in the semi's. Lot's of effective cycling includes a timely pick that releases a puck carrier from a corner to a shooting position. I think the article posted said it best with the frame stating the puck should not have gotten past Parise. I certainly agree with the sentiment that DU seems to have been very effective with their picking/obstruction game while on the attack. If I recall the DU OT goal at the X against UND, I believe Gauthier tried a pass or a shot and it bounced back to him. He was then able to walk it in as the two Sioux defensemen were engaged with other DU forwards.

Trust me it hurts plenty to lose. It will always hurt more when you expect to win and come up short. I for one will not miss many of the players the Sioux are graduating. They basically came in as freshmen and got worked by my team, only to have completely reversed the score by the time they were seniors. That is a sign of a nice group of players.

One biiillllion dollars goes a long way in the mafia.

Don't go mixing in reality with the Lucia haters Dagies!

Heart was not what this years Gophers lacked. They played hard until the end.

DU could win four straight and the back to back wouldn't mean any less to me. They were a lot of fun. That said I have disliked the way DU has played hockey for many years. Take them down. Not a lot of holes in the Sioux game right now.

We'll earned victory for your guys. Good luck against DU.

I can not believe I fell for that.

Neither has the history of choking like the purple.

Harrington of all people should keep his mouth shut. I'd be very surprised if either teams needs bulliten board material to get them going tomorrow. If Harrington can manage to drill one of the lgm cleanly like he did against Cornell, I'm all for it. If he's too wound up he'll likely match Greene minor for minor.

Bite your tongue PCM, stats are very useful. The question that will be answered Thursday is a classic recent trend vs. larger sample size question. I really think this game will be decided by at what point the Sioux wear down the Gophers and take over. If the Gophers can get a two goal lead and control play through two periods (they easily could have had this in St. Paul), I like their chances to hold on. If the Sioux stay even or have the lead going into the third they will likely cruise like they did in St. Paul. Nobody should worry about the Sioux cooling off. They will bring a great effort. UNH is the only team I can remember recently who hasn't showed up for Frozen Four games.

You guys need to relax. The Sioux have been there before and will be there again. They are playing an opponent they know they can beat, but certainly could lose if the Gophers make a few breaks. The time for nerves is when clinging to a late third period one goal lead or heading into the inevitible OT.