sagard

You guys need to get over what other people think of UNDs schedule. The BC games will be nice measuring stick for both teams. The only thing you all don't have is a quality opponent in your Holiday tourney. That will change in the future. The WCHA will prepare the Sioux fine for the playoffs.

USCHO has the message board, I really don't read many of the recaps. Similarly, the only stuff I read on INCH is stuff that gets posted on USCHO, POI, or here.

Not me. I always agreed he would stay at UND until they win a NC. You know, 7-8 years!

That was too easy!

Maine started last year 20-2-3. Then they collapsed. Then they got the Michigan draw. Ouch.

I think most championship teams will have two lines that can score on any given shift. Sometimes a team can get pretty far with a single line. The other main thing is to have four lines that can be completely trusted. A team that has to shorten it's bench will struggle to win two games on a weekend. This fact is the main reason in my opinion the Gophers have not been swept since late '00-'01. I didn't see the Sioux enough last year to know about their depth, I do have the feeling it wasn't where it needed to be. This is the biggest question mark of the '03-'04 Sioux to me. If Blais has to overplay the top lines down the stretch, it will take a toll on the team during the playoffs. The same thing applies to the blueliners. All six need to be able to play against all opponents. This is my biggest worry for the Gophers. I truly don't think goaltending will be the bane of either the Sioux or the Gophs this year.

Yeah, then we could talk to/about eachother on a fourth message board...

You guys sure are sensitive about INCH articles. They did pick UND second.

What a bunch of tabloid crap! Pretty good players on the list though.

I'd be happy to trade a couple of Gophers Hobeys for a NC straight up, if you really want one? Granted they aren't mine to trade, but I'm guessing Broten, Bonin and Stauber would back me.

If you guys really mean it, put it in your sig lines. I mean it worked for "Rabid Husky" didn't it? This year will be the toughest for the Gophers. They will have to win four games in at best neutral environments. In '02 they had to win once in a neutral against a tired opponent, and twice at the X. Even then it obviously could have gone either way. In '03, they in my opinion (no disrespect intended, I certainly don't want the Sioux in the Gophers regional this year) had the easiest road to Buffalo AND it was at Mariucci. Buffalo also proved to be very neutral from a crowd stand point. They got good draws both years in the respect that they avoided Michigan in Yost and the other strong WCHA team did not. None of the above diminishes what they accomplished in my eyes, they are just facts. They have unlucky in many years since '81 when I started watching. The trick will for winning the tourney will be the same as the last two years. Get a top seed in a non-Grand Rapids regional, play your best hockey at the Frozen Four, get the critical OT goal.

OK sagard, you want brave. I will show you brave. I think that the Lakers of LSSU are both loaded and poised for another run at the title.

You guys and Blais can keep blaming the goalies, it is truly comical. The stats say Brandt should have played more often not less. My guess is the Sioux will have enough offense this year, the goalie, whoever wins the job won't be ridiculed.

Another brave pick of the field.

The reason I like Lucia is due to his longevity, his winning at all stops, and of course his recent NCs. I due like him and Blais over: Mason: His teams were not feared since the '80s. Walsh: Questionable ethics, results were in fact top shelf. Sauer: His teams were not really NC contenders his last ten years. Jack Parker is the only questionable top five pick, but only active coaches like Lucia, Blais, York, and Berenson in my opinion can pass him.

Maybe not, but then you certainly must exclude Blais! 21minutes! I win on the under!

Boy it sure looks like Gino G has top ten coaching credentials and Blais easily could have been on the list. Not so sure about Mason, Walsh and Sauer.

http://slack.net/~whelan/tbrw/2003/rpi.shtml This shows last years RPI components. It shows UND at #25, but that excludes the Ferris game. One could easily argue that the KRACH number is more accurate, but the currently the RPI SOS is used.

I'm not so optimistic about the Sioux this year. Of course, I'd like them to play horribly, which they won't. The Sioux improved a lot last year, way more than I expected. Last season as said before, was very similar to the '00-'01 Gophers. Flashes of brilliance, occasional goaltending problems, just not quite enough consistancy. What the Sioux need is for either Massen, Lundbohm or someone to turn the Sioux second line into a devastating scoring line. During the playoffs one line may get shut down in a given game, the rest of the team needs to score enough to manage the low scoring win.

Dude, Ferris was within two goals for maybe 15 minutes of a 60 minute game. They stayed within one for a whole minute and a half! Anyway I'm glad you liked it, I sure did! Gophs/Sioux tickets are always avialable outside Mariucci. They are just typically a little more expensive than face. Gophers ticket office is 612-624-8080. They might have a very limited number of single seat tickets, they would probably know if/when they would go on sale.

I don't see the Sioux much, but R. Hale looked to be your best player and hardest worker against Ferris. I'm guessing some of those others may be a little more skilled, but from a one game snapshot you could do worse than Hale for captain.

The first rule about highlights is you don't talk about the highlights.

If he tipped Bochenski before his USHL season, that is a very nice tip.

I completely agree with this. From afar I really wondered why Brandt didn't play more often.

1. UND - Glorious return to the top. Claims the McNaughton anchor. 2. UM - Fail to capture the "ultimate", settle for another NC. 3. DU - Down again, up again, down, guessing an "up" season. 4. UMD - Scoring questions. 5. CC - Probably the only team in top five that could lose home ice. 6. SCSU - I can hear the whining about Dahl already. 7. MSU - More of their ties turn to losses than wins. 8. UW - I just love putting them down here. 9. MTU - Still better than AA. 10. AA - Three wins. I would not be shocked with any of the top four winning either the league or conference tourney. I think the separation Due to the balance of offense and defense of UND and the Gophers experience, these are the two WCHA teams who are NC threats. I had hopes that this years Gophers team would rival the '99 Sioux and blast everything in sight, but that is not going to happen. JJ will do fine, but he is not the type of goalie who is going to hide freshmen defensemen's mistakes. Despite what others may post the Gophers defense is unproven and some would even call it suspect. The thought of Ballard lining up against the opponents top line does not warm my heart. Judd Stevens will probably move into the top two defensive pairings and he will now be facing much better players than he faced as a third pairing defensemen. Similar to Dean and his goalies, Lucia will throw ice time at a bunch of defense and I am confident by year end the Gophers will have six defensemen playing very well. If the Gophers are pumping in 4-5 a game and giving 3-5 a game, they will clearly be the most entertaining team in the country.